A Good Ship Overall

Carnival Sunshine Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 56

Overall rating:

4 out of 5
Carnival Sunshine

8 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: April 15, 2017

Ship: Carnival Sunshine

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 7188

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

The Carnival Sunshine wasn't my favorite ship, but I still love Carnival cruising!   We booked a Grand Suite and it was WELL worth it!  The Embarkation process alone for Suite Guests, Gold and Platinum members is simply a breeze.  Our room was Amazing, double balcony and Jacuzzi in the bathroom.  Whoever says they don't spend a lot of time in their room WILL spend a lot of time in this room.  We certainly did!  My fault I booked when it was the most of the US's Easter vacation so there were hundreds of kids running "ALL OVER THE PLACE".  We escaped to our room or the Serenity Deck (3 decks with the waterfall was just beautiful!)  on most days and just avoided the Lido Deck Pool area as much as possible.  Guys Burgers - amazing as always!  The Steakhouse food was presented beautifully and was delicious, but the location of the restaurant in the Mezzanine area - awful!  You're view is not of the ocean, but of the orange life boats. Just not my idea of a romantic meal.  The Havana Bar was a great haven for personal Omelettes and just relaxing away from the craziness of the Buffet area.  We took our food there often.  The view is fantastic at the back of the ship.  We had two Elegant nights and we dressed for it!  There were still people there who came in very casual clothing, but hey, their not going to kick them out right?  The photographers were a "BIT" pushy, but they also have to make their money and we ended up spending $250 on pics anyway!  The ship had rough seas from Saturday night through Tuesday morning, so I ended up in Medical for a "shot in the BUTT" since I was VERY, VERY sick!  Miracle shot is all I can say.  I will probably not cruise on the Sunshine again only because other ships are more appealing.  

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Children's Programs

1 out of 5
Not really sure since most of the hundreds of kids didn't seem to be enrolled in any of them. They were too busy running all over the ship creating havoc.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5
Since it's refurbished from the old Destiny, there's probably not much they can do - except for the Serenity Deck! JUST AWESOME!

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
LOVE LOVE LOVE our Cabin! We will never cruise if we're not in a Grand Suite! Yes, it costs more, but so worth it!!!

Ship tip

Serenity Decks are wonderful, but get there early!!

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

3 out of 5

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

2 out of 5

Basseterre, St. Kitts

3 out of 5

San Juan, Puerto Rico

1 out of 5

Grand Turk Island

3 out of 5
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3 Comments

pants    7 years ago

One of the best things about Baltimore Harbor was how long it was. After rough seas coming home, we hit the Harbor entrance at dinner and we felt the change. From there on, it was like cruising on glass.

kmkerr8    7 years ago

sounds like the cruise I took out of Baltimore in Oct to Bermuda and it was rough.

2SeaCats    7 years ago

My mother, 3 sisters, & I went on a cruise (another cruise line) to Bermuda the end of October out of Baltimore.....the Atlantic is very rough that time of year!!! My mother wore that preventative seasickness patch & my sisters & I took the less drowsy preventative seasickness pills from the start cause we weren't sure if we would get seasick or not & didn't want the trip spoiled!! Soooo glad we did!! Worked great for us!!! Half the ship & crew were sick!!! Sounded like the ship was hitting speed bumps!! We had a good time anyway!!! Don't know how the dancers in the shows were able to do all their lifts without dropping anyone!!! Crazy!!! Loved our trip!! One of my sisters & I went walking on the track on the top deck & it was like a carnival ride with the ship deck falling out from your feet one second and coming up to meet your feet the next!!! We couldn't stop laughing!!! Sure wish someone would come up with a ride like that!!! Anyway better to take something if you aren't sure if you will get seasick!!!

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