Great itinerary, not so great ship

Item: Carnival Sunshine
Rating: 3
Author: socrma

Carnival Sunshine Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

socrma

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 35

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

8 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 17, 2017

Ship: Carnival Sunshine

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

The ports of call included Grand Turk, San Juan, St Kitts and St Maarten and we enjoyed them all, especially St Maarten. We went to Moho Beach and are considering another vacation just to this island. As far as the ship, we will not cruise on the Sunshine again (unless of course it is bargain price, or free). This was our second time on the Sunshine. The first time was a February cruise and the average age was probably 65. The entertainment was dated and all closed early. The overall ship felt understaffed, especially in the entertainment and dining areas. Many of the food options were only open for small windows of time throughout the day. (Ex. You cannot have a Guys burger for dinner, only lunch and they are really good burgers!). Our recent cruise was for Spring Break which dropped the average age significantly more like 25 (many families with kids from 1-18), yet the experience was the same. If you are looking for entertainment and a variety of food options, other than a rather boring buffet or pizza, I would recommend Carnival, but not the Sunshine. Our last cruises on the Magic and Breeze were great.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

Entertainment

1 out of 5

Children's Programs

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

3 out of 5

Grand Turk Island

3 out of 5

San Juan, Puerto Rico

3 out of 5

Basseterre, St. Kitts

2 out of 5

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

3 out of 5

8 Comments

mmikeh 7 years ago

I agree, I was on Sunshine over Christmas 2016, the best part was the Itinerary. Also found dining options a little lacking, & the buffet extremely undersized. The public restrooms were either out of service, paper towels or soap, & the stall were so small I had to straddle the toilet to close the door. Other cruise lines public areas were larger & cleaner, with a noticeable staff always cleaning. The entertainment was a lot of Michael Jackson, which was ok the first night, but by the third I was ready for something different.

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lisablack 7 years ago

We have been on the Sunshine and did not enjoy ourselves as much as on other ships. We do not want to stand in line for over 30 min. to get into a show, only to be watching a screen because the room is so small and the way it is designed. The piano bar singer was terrible...unless you were drunk. Much better on other ships that we have been on...favorite is the Legend although it was our 1st, you never forget your 1st love. Excited for the Magic in 34 days!

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wgdyer89 7 years ago

We were on the Sunshine Feb 24th through March 4th. Entertainment was lively and hit every time span. Emma kept things going till late and then they had music and dancing afterwards in another lounge. Either you went to your cabin early or you didn't pay much attention to your fun time schedule

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sherried 7 years ago

with so many ships to choose from, why go on the same one twice? especially considering you didn't enjoy the first time..

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sarahpatton 7 years ago

don't the Breeze and Magic have the same dining times?

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MrBill 7 years ago

There's a cup for every saucer. Maybe Crystal, Celebrity or QE might fill your travel quests.

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sunshinel9ver 7 years ago

You must have stayed in your cabin the whole cruise. There are 5-7 different restaurants on the great Sunshine. The Havana Bar is to die for with the Cuban samplers. The Italian restaurant if phenomenal. You must be a buffet restaurant person. Sorry!!!

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jbattle48 7 years ago

Guy's does not shut down til 6pm...the deli was an option... there was a comfort food buffet in addition to the regular buffet...

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Other reviews of this sailing

Great cruise

very fun

2017 Spring Break Cruise on the Carnival Sunshine