Good Cruise to Nowhere
Carnival Sunshine Cruise Review
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 3
Helpful Votes: 91
4 Night Bahamas (Charleston Roundtrip)
Sail date: August 29, 2019
Ship: Carnival Sunshine
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 5 years ago
Review summary
First time with Carnival. The company does a good job trying to have something going on all the time. All the crew members we met were polite and tried to be helpful. The ship needs more staff at the bars and dining venues. Waiting over 30 minutes for food or drinks is a bit much. Pick up a copy of the ship layout at the customer service desk. It takes about a day to learn how to navigate the ship. Buy FTTF. Worth every penny to us.Embarkation
The gates to the cruise port parking opened at 10 am. You make your first stop in the lot to pay (pre-pay online or credit card, no cash) $20 per day, free with Handicap placard or plates. Second stop is to drop off your luggage and it will be delivered to your cabin later in the day/evening.
We parked in the handicap area right across the street from the check in building. You will be asked at least twice to show your boarding pass and either your birth certificate or passport. (They don't want you to leave your documents in your suitcase. )
We had Faster to the Fun and were checked in in under 3 minutes. Went to the FTTF waiting area and the first groups (Platinum and Suite guests) were called to board at 11 am. 3 minutes later they called FTTF group. Loaded up on shuttle buses for the 4 minute ride to the cruise terminal. Went right through to the FTTF security line and we were walking up the gangway by 11:30 am. Went straight to our stateroom, 8333, dropped off our carry on bags and headed to a bar. If you don't have FTTF, your cabin will be ready at 1:30 PM. Our luggage arrived at 3 PM.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The buffet food was ok, but we don't care for buffet food. Dinner the first night was in Farenheit 555. If you make your reservations online, make sure you call the dining line to confirm. They did not have us listed and I had an email confirmation from the manager.
There is a $38 pp upcharge. Food was very good but the service was slow and I mean very slow.
We had the sea brunch every morning in the Sunrise dining room. Again, service is slow. Took 30 minutes to get a Coke one morning. You can look at the menu before you sail. We found the food to be very good and came out nice and hot. We tried the omelets, great steak and eggs, eggs Benedict, crispy bacon, hashbrowns reminds you of Bojangles, but still good. The 12 hour french toast looked good, but too much for me.
Second night we had dinner in Cucina deli Capitano. Wow! For a $15 pp upcharge this place was great. Service was outstanding. The fried calamari appetizer was as good as any land based restaurant. The bone in tomahawk porkchop was better than some fine steakhouses we visit. The entire experience was so good, we cancelled our steakhouse reservations for the last night and dined here again. (The Captain even dined here one night with his family).
We tried JiJi Asian Kitchen on our third night. Another $15 pp upcharge. The food and service here were also very good. The pork belly was awesome.
During the breakfast and lunch times, these two restaurants are free serving omelets, pasta and stir fried food.
Never got to try the pizza, line to get pizza was always 20-30 minutes long. The Deli was about the same. Not enough help behind the counter.
Guy's Burgers had great fries. Could not find room to eat a burger but I asked a few folks who did and they all said the burgers were great.
Onboard Activities
There is something to do for everyone. You will not be bored.
Service and Staff
Our room steward was 5 stars. 3 out of the 5 dining areas we ate in were 5 stars. Steakhouse 2.5 and the MDR for breakfast 3 stars. The staff in all areas were very nice but the MDR and steakhouse were very slow.
Ship Quality
Ship is showing some age and rust, but it stays at sea. Ship was clean and the staff were constantly cleaning. Casino is tough to stay in unless you smoke.
Cabin / Stateroom
Cabin was wonderful. Shower was larger than regular cabin. Loved the wrap around balcony. Very quite. Would book this cabin again.
Ship tip
Even having FTTF, getting to the port when the parking lot opened at 10 am was too early. We waited 45 minutes, until 11 am before the busses were loaded to head to the ship.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
If you have the time, come a day early or stay a day after your cruise and explore the area. Great place to visit.
Disembarkation
We had FTTF with early disembarkation. Met our group in the theater at 7:15 am and we were in our car driving home by 7:45 am. It did help that US Customs just waved everyone through the terminal. We had not been anywhere but out to sea.
Traveler Photos
