After adjusting our expectations Cruise was Enjoyable

that is interesting.

Interesting. We have a cruise booked on Horizon next year.

One more thing, Carnival is about to utilize new technology and no longer use the sign & sail cards. This new technology is a computerized wristband of sorts. This thing will track your whereabouts in a good way. For example, if there are many cruisers in watching the comedy show or the broadway styled show, then they will know to have more staff available to assist with drinks or whatever. The wristbands will allow for much faster on and off the ship. It will also be able to know if you're in or out of you room so the staff can know if it's a good time to prepare your room for you. This technology maybe ready for you as soon as your next cruise. I know the Carnival Vista will be utilizing this November 2017 and all ships will eventually have it availble to them.

My expierence on Carnival's Sunshine is much more favorable. I would like to add this to my fellow cruisers, especially first timers: Do your research and do it well. What's important to you and your family on a cruise? Do you need things such as a work-out facility, basketball court, water slides, etc.? Consider your age group...Are young people (30"s and less) a problem or an annoyance? Do you want less party atmosphere and more calm elegant cruising? Which cruise line are better rated? Which cruise line and cruise ship suites your needs from the questions above the most? Carnival Sunshine may not be right for you but it maybe what the next person can extremely enjoy. I would recommend for someone in the retirement age group, to go with another brand of cruising such as MSC or Celebrity. If you have young children and money is no object, go with Disney. If you are newlyweds or family and you want an excellent quality all around expierence, go with Royal Caribbean or NCL. Carnival is the lowest rated of the top cruise lines according to most internet research but don't let that stop you. Carnival including the Sunshine ship can give you an excellent, positively memorable, and refreshing vacation. I recommend Carnival for first timers, newlyweds, those that want a quick get-away, those with young children to teens, families on a budget, and college aged young adults. In my opinion, some make the mistake of going aboard a party ship but they are not there to party. Indeed that's a receipe for disaster! If you pick the wrong ship, what will happen is one bad experience followed by another and another until you simply hate that ship or that brand! Don't get me wrong, problems with plumbing or food or service would ruin any cruise. I belive that if the person gave better thought to what type of ship they need for their fun week is the start of the best time aboard any cruise ship. Helpful tips can be found online or on youtube. By the way, my time spent on Carnival Sunshine was quite enjoyable and I would consider that one again.

U place ur door hanger to cruising and they will come in.. if u place ur door hanger on snoozing they will come back later. So it is truly up to u.

I was just on the sunshine in June and I did not have to state a specific time for cabin cleaning. It was either morning or night or both. We selected both and they did it when we were not there. You have to select a specific time now?

My first time on the Sunshine is in January. Can't wait.

my wife and enjoy the sunshine and going back on her in January. why dont u leave the fun ship to others and sail royal Caribbean.

More of a break down.................. We now have 46 cruises under our belt so this review is based on our experience and collective comparison. Broken up into categories with listed max points and scores earned based on our personal feelings of importance. Our age group 60 – 70. Total points converted to Stars, 100 points equaling 5 Stars 5 - (Max 15) Cabin (Cleanliness, Movies, Steward Maintaining, Air Conditioning, Bathroom) 7 - (Max 11) Entertainment Shows 12-(Max 15) Music – Variety of Venues 17-(Max 20) Food Quality & Variety 4-(Max 4) Service General 10-(Max 10) Drink Quality & Pricing 4-(Max 5) Dinning Waiters Experience Service Friendliness 6-(Max 15) Ship Cleanliness, Technology, Specialties 1-(Max 5) Boarding & Disembarkment Summary Why: (Max 15) Score-5 Cabin- First cruise ever where we were told we had to set a time to have our room clean and made up. All others cruises we would place a tag stating make my room and it would be attended to twice a day. Maybe it’s our age but some days we like to sleep late, take a afternoon nap, or eat at a different time so setting a dedicated time for making our room would be an inconvenience. We were told this was a new policy, however after complaining about several bad days of service the room was attended to twice a day when not occupied. If this is a new Carnival policy it will have a bearing on our future cruise choices. When attended to it was done well. Room size appeared a little under average and bed had no end tables on either side. No movie rental option or account checking via the TV, air conditioning would seemingly be reduced everyday around 2 AM resulting in our waking up and opening the balcony door. Phone had no auto wake up setting; frig had to be replaced due to excessive noise and balcony drape had small deterioration holes. Room appearance and technology reflected age of ship (20 Plus Years). On the plus side bed was comfortable and shower had excellent water flow (sink water flow poor). (Max 11) Score-7 Entertainment Shows were in line with ships this age, we attended none, but other guests expressed basic satisfaction. However they can’t compete with the newer ships and guests who expressed satisfaction had never cruise ships with Broadway Class shows. The Sunshime however make a special effort to provide other forms of entertainment that you don’t find on other ships (which included staff members) so this elevated their score. (Max 15) Score-12 Music – Variety of Venues –this is a Carnival strong point because they offer more variety in venues then most. The Sunshine also shines in this area but we did feel it’s a shame they removed the dance floor from the main lobby. (Max 20) Score-17 Food Quality & Variety - Here is where the Sunshine shines more than most. Even though it doesn’t offer as many restaurants as newer ships it menus choices are above average and the food quality in both paid and free dining rooms is above average. They due suffer as other for sometimes serving food just warm instead of hot and like most other ships desserts lack the exceptional pizzazz of years gone by. (Max 4) Score-4 Service in General We found the service department and department heads to be very responsive and actually put them to the test this cruise, earning them a Max Score. (Max 10) Score-10 Drink Quality & Pricing – Although we did purchase the cruise drink package the base pricing of drinks was below average and the quality above average. For many this can be an important part of enjoyment and significant additional cost. (Max 5) Score-4 Dinning Waiters Experience Service Friendliness – Providing food is warm and quality good we can still enjoy our dining experience regardless. If the waiter isn’t smiling or friendly, this is not enjoyable but we will manage ok. Most cruise ships today spread the staff so thin that they really don’t have time to strike up a conversation as they did years ago or entertain you with napkin tricks. Sad but true it takes away for the experience. Still hard to rate something that really doesn’t exist as any more. With very few minor exceptions service was Very Good (Max 15) Score-6 Ship Cleanliness, Technology, Specialties - Although the Sunshine was clean, signs of age were everywhere and lacks the specialties of the newer ships – like bumper cars, ice skating, bowling, air float rides, wave surfing, ice bars and the list goes on and on. The ship just can’t compete in this area. Positive note Wi-Fi was decent – not great but doable. (Max 5) Score-1 Boarding & Disembarkment - This was the Sunshine’s greatest failing point. So many ships do better and I just felt there was no technological reason both areas couldn’t have been better. The only way to disembarkment in a fairly timely manner is to take you luggage off with you and at our age that’s not always easy. Boarding was unorganized; we’ve experienced worse, but not in the last ten years. Most cruise ships have gotten their act together and after over 20 years of service you would think the Sunshine would have this process perfected. Not So. FINALLY Did we enjoy this cruise – After adjusting our expectations the Simple answer is Yes. Would we sail her again sadly No and with so many other choices we’d find it difficult to recommend her without achieving a super bargain price offering. Score 66/100 3 Stars

Good thing there are so many other ships you can pick from. Cross this one off your list.

Hi Ddancers! So glad your food was very good on the Sunshine. We took our first cruise in 2009 on Carnival Sensation and vowed never to cruise again it was so horrible! NASTY ship and the bathroom in our cabin reeked so badly of raw sewage we had to have the plumber come and service it! Mercifully, it was only a 3 night cruise. The ship was (I think) the oldest in the Carnival line and it certainly showed it. RUST EVERYWHERE. Most of our shipmates were drinkers (have nothing against social drinking, mind you) and absolutely drunk out of their minds. TEENAGERS too! It made me feel happy for you to know that your food was good. Our food was terrible and we both knew a McD's cheeseburger would be welcome when we got home. We were looking for the fantastic food everyone raves about. Not on the Sensation. I can identify with the embarkation because it took us forever to get on ship too! Try another cruise line and see if you don't agree----much better!

oh this was for the carnival sunshine right? I went on that one s well and was not impressed at all. The food was not good at all

could you elaborate