Awful experience. I won’t waste my money again.

Item: Carnival Sunshine
Rating: 1.5
Author: ambergeisz

Carnival Sunshine Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

ambergeisz

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 34

Overall rating:

1.5 out of 5

Verified Review

5 Night Bahamas (Charleston Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 14, 2019

Ship: Carnival Sunshine

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8196

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Carnival is an awful cruise line. Do Not go on Carnival Sunshine. They knew our room had sewage issues and they still let us board. They tried to cover the smell up with so much air freshener it gave 3 of us headaches. If they would have just called us before we boarded and given us the option to back out we wouldn’t have a problem. They are such a money hungry company they didn’t even offer a partial refund.

Embarkation

3 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

The main dining room food was awful. Most of the time we just left.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

They were okay.

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

Our room steward was amazing. It was not his fault the plumbing was broken. Guest services thought it was a solution to give us a bathroom two floors down instead of a new room. They were awful.

Ship Quality

1 out of 5

Smelled of smoke in most common areas.

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5

We could not use our bathroom. It smelled like sewage thus making the room smell like sewage. It was awful. They gave us a bathroom two floors down to use. I had to walk my son to the bathroom two floors down in the middle of the night. Terrible experience.

Ship tip

Don’t do it. When I called customer service after my cruise to let them know what happened they offered me 15% off my next cruise. You couldn’t pay us to cruise with them again so that literally does nothing.

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Ports of call

Princess Cays (Cruise Line Private Island)

3 out of 5

The food was awful

Thumbs Up 1

Nassau, Bahamas

1 out of 5

We did the quest and they over booked it so we stood in the sun for an hour waiting for another bus. Very disorganized.

Thumbs Up 1

Disembarkation

1 out of 5

It took hours. It was awful. We couldn’t get off the ship fast enough.

13 Comments

smayhew 4 years ago

Just disembarked yesterday. We experienced the sewage smell for the first 24-36 hours. We were on Deck 6 and the smell was horrid at the midship elevators. Thankfully, we didn’t have the smell in our cabin. We found the staff, food and entertainment to be great. However, this was a short cruise with a lot of drunks. I’ve never seen so many adults behaving badly. Sad that children had to see that. Of course, this isn’t Carnival’s fault. I’m not a prude and have nothing against people partying, just please keep it in he bars and out of the cabin areas after midnight. We had loud revelers in the hallway outside of our cabin 3 out of 4 nights. Very frustrating. Ship is too small for the number of people on board. Very crowded. Better cruises ahead!

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Fiesta83 4 years ago

Better luck at Disneyland on your next family vacation

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n2sunfun 5 years ago

I think most of the debarkation problems are caused by passengers not following the proper procedures. It causes “traffic jams” & everything gets backed up. Customs only allows so many folks jammed in the area at 1 time. If it gets too crowded Carnival has to stop the folks from exiting. People follow their instructions & it will go smoothly & you’ll get off much faster!

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NanMarie 5 years ago

It says cabin 8196 at the top of review.

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afahey 5 years ago

If they can’t pay you to go on another cruise with them, why bother calling? There’s obviously nothing they can do to make you happy. We were just on the Sunshine last week and had a fabulous time. We ate in every venue on the ship with the exception of Bonsai (because we don’t eat sushi) and JiJi because we ran out of time!! The food was great!!! Love the Sunshine and it’s crew. Mikey the cruise director is great too!! The port of Charleston is a sh*t show but that isn’t Carnival’s fault. The people that work there are not Carnival employees. The city of Charleston runs it as does any city with a cruise terminal. Homeland Security & Customs run debarkation so if it takes forever, they’re the ones at fault, NOT the cruise line.

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Mydogluke 5 years ago

The Sunshine is a wonderful ship. Don’t let this negative review keep you from booking her. So many food venues to choose from. Havana Bar is to die for. Love Carnival and the Sunshine.

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LGarrett36 5 years ago

I am interested in which room as well... we sail in two weeks

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shadgoff 5 years ago

Yes what cabin were you in. We are booked on Sunshine in March

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SAW06 5 years ago

Seems that cruising isn’t for you... maybe go to Disney next time... LOL

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cruisinthelight 5 years ago

I traveled on Sunshine in 2015 and hated it but issues were not as bad as yours. But I can def see them ignoring you as they did not seem very customer friendly. Im trying Carnival again 2021 but on their brand new ship Mardi Gra. keeping my fingers crossed!

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tjturner 5 years ago

So sorry you had such a bad experience on the Sunshine, it’s one of our favorite ships. Don’t give up on cruising just try a newer ship

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queenb12702 5 years ago

Wow, what a hot mess. Sorry that they weren't very accommodating. I wouldn't be interested in another cruise either. @JennyBella99 - it's listed at the top of the cruise summary. 😉

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JennyBella99 5 years ago

Which stateroom were you in? I am going on the Sunshine in May and want to make sure it isn't the same one as yours!

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