First Cruise Ever

Carnival Sunshine Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 40

Overall rating:

3.8 out of 5
Verified Review
Carnival Sunshine

8 Night Southern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: June 29, 2018

Ship: Carnival Sunshine

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 6215

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

See above comments. I also felt like I had to rush to get everything while on the ship, food, seats for entertainment and as I mentioned lounge chairs on the Lido deck. Drinks, gift shops, pictures, etc. were over priced! I was a bit disappointed and not sure at this time if I'd would take another cruise on Carnival until I research other cruise lines.

Embarkation

4 out of 5
Fast and easy going through security. Received me and my husband's luggage fairly quick but had to wait until 11PM for my son's luggage?

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
Food was excellent in the main dining rooms and the specialty rooms! My husband got sick. We think it was something he ate on the ship. He had diarrhea for 24, had to go to the on board medical doctor who gave him Imodium AD. He was quarantined for 30 hours. The buffet was hit or miss. So food choices were good and others were not too appetizing.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
Geared toward young adults.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Melvanicio our room steward was hospitable, accommodating and very friendly. Novi, our waitress was outstanding--fun, upbeat, attentive, and hard working!

Ship Quality

3 out of 5
The ship is old! Again my husband got sick?

Cabin / Stateroom

2 out of 5

Ship tip

Overcrowded and overbooked. We had to get up at 7AM to find a lounge chair on the Lido deck. Pool was extremely small for thousand of guests!! Don't like that if one person wanted to drink and purchase the alcohol package all the adults in the stateroom had to purchase the plan? Need more communication for 'first time cruisers'. Drinks were way overpriced and guests are not allowed to bring a bottle of their own liquor! The WiFi did not work! I don't want to pay for WiFi if it doesn't work 100%! The 'Mandatory Safety Meeting" was poorly run. We stood shoulder to shoulder in the hot designated Muster area for 40 minutes waiting for guests who didn't show up. I felt claustrophobic and like I was in a concentration camp! At times up on the Lido deck with the DJs activities the crowd got out of hand, I.e., provocative dance, taking items of clothing off, chugging alcohol using a funnel and tube,, etc. There are young children on board and I found it to be a bit offensive and inappropriate.

Ports of call

Oranjestad, Aruba

4 out of 5
Great tour guide who spaced out the site, but felt rushed and not enough beach time.

Willemstad, Curacao

4 out of 5
Tour guide was waiting, but unfortunately he was not a good tour guide. I felt rushed and again there was not enough time on the beach. However, we enjoyed the sites and learned a lot about Curacao. I would fly there and stay for several days.

Grand Turk Island

4 out of 5
We didn't book an excursion at Grand Turk, but wish we did. It was great to walk off the ship and onto the beach. However, the beach was overcrowded; lounge chairs were literally butted against each other where there was no separation to swing your legs around to stand up unless you had an end lounge chair.

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Was this review helpful? 40

9 Comments

Ally57    6 years ago

Did not like this ship either. It was hard to navigate, very Rocky, poor service. We chose it for the ports in 2015 but will never sail this ship or cruise line again. But everyone is different. Our favorite is Royal Caribbean

Mydogluke    6 years ago

All cruise line prices for pictures, drinks, gift shops are just about the same......... Love Carnival

erniewood    6 years ago

Cruising isn't for everyone.

okhappy493    6 years ago

We sailed on her in 2015 and as usual with Carnival we got more than our monies worth, the ship is very young at only 11 years old, we would sail on her many times in the future.

anastasia5    6 years ago

My husband and I are going in March, what did you’re husband eat that made him sick?

sheenarn    6 years ago

Sorry you had such a bad time. We went on this ship recently and had a wonderful time.

lrgd    6 years ago

When you cruise you need to clean or sanitize your tv remote and bathroom, they don't clean really good anything, so I always take clorox wipes or lysol. All ships are the same.

sheenarn    6 years ago

I have had a great time on this ship.....

joyandjerry    6 years ago

Uh, all of the cruise excursions overcharge. Nothing is a bargain. We just enjoy what is included!

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