Amazing cruise! But Sunshine not a good match for NY crowds...

Carnival Sunshine Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 85

Overall rating:

3 out of 5
Verified Review
Carnival Sunshine

8 Night Eastern Caribbean (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 01, 2016

Ship: Carnival Sunshine

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 7178

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

I am a loyal Carnival cruiser. Every ship that I've ever sailed on I've been on at least twice--leaving from NY is super convenient and the embark/debark has always been very smooth.  I was elated when a "new" boat arrived in NY this year; there are such limited options in general for NY. 

Highlights of the cruise: Excellent service, excellent entertainment, excellent food. Carnival has never disappointed me in any of these areas--we even saw our waiter from our last cruise--and he remembered us! Guy's Burger Joint is a great thing-that met and exceeded my expectations. It was great to go to a different port (Dominican Republic) as my husband and I have pretty much been to all the ports that are offered from NY several times...Half Moon Cay is the place I could go to 100's of times and never lose the sense of serenity and "slice of paradise" feeling when I'm there...Our cruise director, Emma, was super sweet and clearly she has a passion for what she does, which is great to see. Missing Malcolm "Woo Hoo" Burn as we sailed with hime 4 or 5 times...but overall Emma was super charismatic and peppy-and lets face it every cruise ship employee works tirelessly most hours of every day so that we can enjoy a vacation...I have a lot of admiration and respect for all of them! 

 

Lowlights of the cruise: The rooms are SUPER dated; and are generally smaller than other carnival ships. The Ocean Suite we stayed in was smaller, and the bathroom size was almost laughable considering it was nearly twice the size on the Splendor. This would all be fine if the prices were not the same--so basically we payed the same amount of money last year for a bigger and better room. 

*There were several instances where the food or drink "ran out"---something which I've never experienced on any cruise before. Whipped Cream, Mango (for drinks), root beer, Coors Light, VANILLA ICE CREAM?" Never did get to have that root beer float; the *three* times I went there was no root beer.  Carnival, if you are going to have a "Shake Spot," please make sure you have the ingredients to make what is on the menu.  

*This casino must have the absolute worst ventilation of any Carnival ship I've been on. And worse still, the cherry smell that they use to cover it up. So its this dirty, cherry, smokey, stale smell--smoking machines are literally right next to non smoking machines. It makes no sense.  And don't be to eager to hit 1500 spins to get that free drink card; there were several nights where there were no waiters around for HOURS...and when we approached the bar we were told we had to be sitting at a machine to get served....yet there were no waiters...hmmm..

*The clientele may be changing; several people acted like animals and yelled, screamed, and cursed up and down the halls nightly at 3am..door decorations were stolen and shoes were thrown up and down the hall.  One afternoon, I heard a loud noise/yell/scream in the hallway and opened my cabin door to make sure everyone was ok--to be greeted by a classless individual cursing me out to "get back in my cabin" and that this was "her vacation too..." She threatened to "**** me up...." CLASSY people, classy. 

*I won't sail the Sunshine again; too small, too dated in many areas, and in my opinion not a good fit for the NY crowd.  

 

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
Always great! Except when they ran out of stuff! Mainly at the bar and the "Shake Spot." Guys Burger Joint- a daily treat! Also-eat at the Cucina Del Capitano's restaurant-best tiramisu ever! Service is top notch, always. If you like food, you'll like Carnival.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
I miss Arts and Crafts! The activities were a solid 5 out of 10 for my family and I. We participated in numerous trivia games, Trivial Pursuit,etc. Kind of boring in general.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
Talented cast--great shows. The venue is SUPER small, so get there early. People camp out and RUN (literally) to get seats to the shows. Yes, that actually happened.

Children's Programs

N/A

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
In the MDR: Raymond, Montree, and Clive! Our room steward: Henry! All of the guest service reps that had to deal with the crazies on the ship!

Ship Quality

3 out of 5
Cleanliness is never an issue on Carnival. This ship is not a good match for NY crowds-rooms are smaller; less storage space. Casino is a nightmare (from someone who made nightly stops)-The theater is also the nightclub, the main dining room is also where the art auction is, not a lot of space but I guess they make do.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
Smaller than ocean suite on other Carnival Ships. but for the same price. Get a balcony on this ship; don't spend the extra money for the suite-it's not that much different.

Ship tip

The Havana Bar area is beautiful, find it and eat your Lido meals there--quiet! Also--an omelette station is there until noon I believe--great stuff! Skip the art auction: same pieces from 10 years ago. Must go: Guys Burger Joint. Enjoy your cruise-you deserve it! :)

Ports of call

New York, New York

5 out of 5

Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic

5 out of 5

Grand Turk Island

1 out of 5

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)

5 out of 5
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6 Comments

friargirl    8 years ago

While we had a great time, we were on the same cruise as pianogal4. I was surprised that they ran out of certain wines (and not cheap ones) with several days left in the cruise, and we also had a hard time getting Coke or a Pina Colada toward the end. I, also, would agree with the comment on fellow cruisers. We were in an aft wrap, but had a group of college age kids who were unbelievably rude, drunk, loud and would think nothing of throwing their plates carelessly into the hallways. They were so loud one night ....and at all hours...I was tempted to call security. Someone else handled them. Other than these couple of things, we had a great time and will sail on her again next summer.

tolondon2012    8 years ago

Thanks for ur honest review.. I will be on her in April..

garygoods    8 years ago

What do u mean by the New York crowd. We r from Pennsylvania and thought it was great. I think it's great to have the Sunshine sail out of New York. Other ships have the same complaints but overall the good outweighs the bad.

Job2828    8 years ago

Sounded honest to me... we go in 19, first time on Sunshine, hoping it to be ad good ad any other Carnival cruise we've been on. But have seen them run out of ice cream and coffee before.

peaceharmonync    8 years ago

I also think the beverage package has ruined any opportunity to get service at any of the bars...thank God I don't drink much !

peaceharmonync    8 years ago

Wow...surprised at your comments regarding The Sunshine...I find her to be a really nice ship and have been on many other Carnival ships...we stayed in the Spa balcony and they were large enough and very updated. As far as class of guests...unfortunately that can be found on all of the cruiselines...sounds like you picked a bad week....

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