The Sunshine is a great ship! I would highly recommend it for first-time and seasoned cruisers. Big cabins, friendly staff, fun activities, good food, and very relaxing. Easy to get off and on, though I hated to leave! Would love to sail on her again!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Embarkation is very easy at Charleston! We took an Uber to the port, dropped our luggage, and hopped on a shuttle to go check in. Smooth, quick process with no significant wait at any time. The only thing that wasn’t well-organized was outside having to fill out a wellness form (because of the Coronavirus scare.) But even that was quick and easy to do!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
I never ate anything I didn’t enjoy, although I do think the menus had better choices a few years ago. We ate in the Sunset dining room every night, which is the smaller of the two MDRs. Our waiters were incredible (thanks I Gusti and Naved!) We also had the Seaday Brunch both times it was offered and the food was great, but those days were very busy and it took quite a while to get our food. We didn’t eat in any specialty restaurants this trip, and I’m not a fan of the buffet, so I usually had a Guy’s burger or something from the Deli or Wok for lunch.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
This trip, we sat in on more of the indoor activities, like games (Yahtzee) and trivia. Houston from the Fun Squad is hilarious! He needs to be a cruise director on his own ship! We sat by the pool on the Serenity deck but it was too cold to get in until the last sea day, but I love the Sunshine’s Serenity area! Would love to have hit up the water slides, but again, it was just too cold.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
We actually didn’t go to the stage shows this trip. I haven’t been too impressed with Carnival’s big productions in the last few years - some are getting a little too risqué to be considered family friendly in my opinion. We did see one comedian for a PG show and I thought he was hilarious! I avoid the R rated shows...I don’t care for all the cursing and vulgarity that usually goes along with them, but to each his own. I think you can be just as funny without all that.
Children's Programs
No children with us this trio
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
I think the Sunshine has a wonderful, friendly staff! Our cabin steward was Arif - he was very attentive and always called us by name when we passed him in the hallway. Our room was always clean and ready. I mentioned our wait staff earlier, and they were fantastic, friendly, and fun!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Common areas were always clean and think the Sunshine is an easy ship to get around and learn. My only complaint would be the intermittent sewage smell...wasn’t everywhere but was definitely noticeable at times.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
An ocean view cabin on the Sunshine is huge compared to some ships! We had 4 adult women in our room and were very comfortable. Lots of storage, but it did help that I brought some extra magnetic hooks for the walls and an over the door shoe organizer, which helped out tremendously with all our toiletries, brushes, etc. The beds were comfortable for all of us. I had the upper Pullman bed, and I think and extra handle on the end would make climbing up and down easier, but otherwise no complaints.
We didn’t do an excursion - just walked around some shops and went to Señor Frogs. I would like to have done some type of tour since we have visited Nassau before, but the others in my group didn’t want to. It’s not my favorite port - lots of folks hounding you to see their stuff or ride in their taxi. I’d recommend and excursion at this stop.
The beach was beautiful and there were tons of lounge chairs and plenty of shade. I do wish I had brought my water shoes because it’s VERY rocky when you try to get in the water! Painfully so if you have tender feet like me! The food at the buffet was pretty good. Nothing to shout about, but it’s what I’d expect for this type of stop. And it’s included, so I was happy with it!
Quick and easy! We put our luggage out the night before and chose the earlier disembarkation time (8:45-9:15ish.) We ate at the Lido buffet and then when they announced we could leave, we were off within 10 minutes. We requested a porter, who loaded our luggage and pushed it all the way out to where we met our Uber, which was great!
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