Better than anticipated! Return to big-ship cruising could not have been better!!
Carnival Sunshine Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern
Contributor Level:
Third Mate
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 3
Helpful Votes: 82
7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Charleston Roundtrip)
Sail date: February 28, 2022
Ship: Carnival Sunshine
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 7239
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 2 years ago
Review summary
Enjoyed it so much I told me CFO who has book two rooms in December for her family and my co-worker who is considering the Sunshine for a girls' weekend. We are looking at other cruises out of Charleston, but most of the trips are 4 days to the Bahamas. I would like to see more 7- and 10-day cruise going farther south to SJU, STT, BON, etc. Try to find another port other than Nassau.Embarkation
Excellent. The folks at the Charleston could not have been better. The staff guiding you to parking and then to the check-in area were friendly and well trained. They told you exactly where to go and what you would need to have in-hand when you arrived. They were so efficient there were no lines!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Ate in the main dining room for dinner and sat at two different tables the entire week. Service teams were very attentive and gave wonderful recommendations when I could not decide between two entrees. The food was better than expected -- lobster, filet, veal, escargot, french onion soup, baked alaska, the grilled salmon - we are foodies and enjoyed every dinner!!! Service teams were Bernie, I Nyoman and Piott, and Alam, Andy and Ketsiree. Both teams called us by name and new our preferences after only one night! They made our dinners exceptional. One thing to reconsider is the staff sing and dance events each night. Although fun and entertaining, the songs go way too long and should be briefer. For example the songs play all the way (all verses and choruses) and should only be one verse and chorus. Very disappointed that after purchasing the Cheers package we could not get the wine by the glass we wanted at dinner. The only wine available was terrible!! The staff was great to bring us different options but J Lohr should be available throughout dinner for the cruise. We heard the J Lohr was available in the $$ restaurants.
Onboard Activities
We did the golf course and loved it. Again, no lines. We also did the speed racer water slides and loved them!! Husband turned 58 on this cruise and he rode the slides again and again. The staff event assisted me with taking photos and videos when he spashed down! Great photos, video and memories!! I also did the ship scavenger hunt with loved going all over the ship to find the answers. It is important to do this towards the end of the cruise so guests have a chance to see the items.
Entertainment
The Sunshine Band was our favorite on Deck 5. The female vocalist, Anna from Brazil, has pitch perfect and so fun and nice to talk with between sets. The guitarist and keyboardist were the best we have ever heard! They even pulled the guitarist to play solos in the big dance shows. Again, the band was amazing although they had only been together for a short time. We saw them instead of the Rock in Roll show they were so great. The 70's and 80's show was the best of those eras and we even enjoyed the country night -- although we are not country fans. We've been on 25+ cruises in our life (Carnival, RCCL, Holland Amer, Celebrity and AMA River Cruises) and this was the BEST band we have ever experienced!!
Children's Programs
We don't have kids. The good thing is that on this cruise I could count all of 5 kids. Maybe is waws the time of year we cruised or maybe it was the great programs for the youngsters.
Service and Staff
Excellent service from our two dining rooms teams of Bernie, I Nyoman and Piott, and Alam, Andy and Ketsiree. They worked well together and assisted us in making selections and running for the extras like horseradish sauce, aux jus, etc. Our cabin steward
Ship Quality
Loved this ship in Charleston over the earlier, old dog of a ship the Fantasy (or similar). We loved the layout with the common areas hosted on the same decks and decks dedicated to guest rooms. The sports deck with all of the activities was great -- loved the golf, sky walk, water slides, ping pong, etc.
Cabin / Stateroom
Room was very comfortable for two guests and there was plenty of storage space for a 7-day cruise and all of our stuff. The balcony was a bit smaller than anticipated and would have liked to have a sliding door instead of the slamming hinged door. Our cabin steward, Suhendri was fantastic! He called us by name and was so very helpful and professional. Although we asked for morning service, we ended up needing afternoon service because we slept in. :) Our room was always clean with fresh towels when requested and extra pillows as needed. Suhendri made our cabin extra-special and with so many days as sea, extra-lovely and special. Each day there was a different towel animal welcoming us home.
Ship tip
Book early to get the room you want and book a 7 day cruise because you'll never discover all this ship has to offer on 3-4-5 day cruise.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
We live in SC and have been to Charleston many times. We did enjoy the easy on and easy off. From door to door (in our room) the time was 2 hours and 20 minutes. It's a 2 hour drive from our home to Charleston. That's how great the ground team is in directing cars to the proper parking area and the staff to get you checked in. We did not feel rushes nor did we feel like they skipped steps in security.
We've been to the Bahamas many times and this port has limits as to what is available. We went to the free-beach down from the Margaritaville resort. Next time we will just go to Margaritaville resort and purchase an all-inclusive day-pass. The free-beach had loud "boom boom" rap music and people constantly asking if we wanted drink or food service. It was not a very relaxing experience. I did enjoy walking through the newly renovated Margaritaville area. Easy on and off the ship. Appreciated the security checks to return to the ship.
Princess Cays (Cruise Line Private Island)
We loved the cay, but feel that drinks under the Cheers program should be honored. Also, the lunch buffet was only located on one part of the beach so since we were on the north end, we missed lunch as it closed at 1 p.m. No worries, we ate once back on the ship and had a later dinner in the dining room. One thing may be to make guests aware of the security check prior to boarding the tenders which was a surprise. We did not have any issues but just would like to have planned for the lines and time it takes to get through the check.
Beautiful port but we went to the port beach which was overrun with people. We had a difficult time finding chairs. The water was great, the port facilities were lovely and we especially enjoyed the John Glenn Friendship exhibit at the port. The shops were clean and offered a great array of items. Again, we appreciated the security check.
Disembarkation
Very easy and liked the silent disembarkation! The fact that Charleston does not allow the general announcements was a BONUS! The silent disembarkation was a nice change from the loud-speaker announcements every few minutes. Maybe the ship was not full, but walking off the ship at 9 a.m. was fabulous. No issue finding our luggage or car and appreciate the bus transport to the car park.