Fun Solo Cruise
Carnival Sunshine Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 4
Helpful Votes: 90
5 Night Bahamas (Charleston Roundtrip)
Sail date: May 23, 2022
Ship: Carnival Sunshine
Cabin type: Oceanview
Cabin number: 5336
Traveled as: Singles/Friends
Reviewed: 2 years ago
Review summary
This was a fun solo cruise with good food, good service, and no major issues. Embarkation and disembarkation were a little different at Charleston than other ports I've been to, but pretty quick. There was always plenty to do and see on the ship. Entertainment was great and I got exactly what I wanted at the two ports: plenty of sun (actually a bit too much...sunburn), a lot of time in the water, and quality time at the beach. There were some crowds at certain times and places, but wait times were not terrible.Embarkation
I thought it was going to be horrible from things I had heard people say. It wasn't bad at all. In fact, it was quite a bit quicker than I thought it would be. The main thing that I didn't like was they formed three lines as you entered the building, but the signs telling you which line was which were way up at the front, so people were understandably confused as to which line was for which embarkation time. Employees would go through every few minutes and yell out instructions, which were sometimes hard to hear over noise.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
A lot of people seem to be complaining about the food in reviews. It seemed to be pretty much the same to me as it was the last couple of Carnival cruises I went on in 2020 and 2019. Everything I got in the main dining room was good. The lasagna they had one night did have a little bit of an off taste...not sure why, but everything else was fine. Guy's Burgers was good as usual, the pizza was great. There were usually long lines at the pizza place and the Asian restaurant at lunch, but they actually moved surprisingly fast. I only at at the Lido buffet during breakfast, and what I had there was the same as I remembered from February 2020. I love all the different flavors of cakes they have at the lido buffet. Carnival has the best desserts for sure.
Onboard Activities
Pools stayed pretty crowded most of the time. The ship needs more hot tubs! The Serenity hot tub was always occupied, and it closed at 7 or 8 pm most nights, which makes no sense. The best time to be in the hot tub is at night when it's cooler! The other two were always full at night when the Dive-In movies were showing. Somehow I managed to get into them the last two nights at least. I wish they had a hot tub somewhere away from the main lido deck area and the screen. Some people get in them to watch the movie and stay in there for 2+ hours.
I used the fitness center on the sea days. It is very well equipped, though they could put some sanitizing wipes out a couple more places.
I would've liked to go to karaoke, but they scheduled it at the dumbest time...5:30 to 7:30! My dining time was at 6, most shows were at 7:00. On my other cruises karaoke usually didn't start until 7:30 or 8:00.
Entertainment
Loved the shows. I saw the Epic Rock show for the 3rd time, and I still loved it. The Playlist Productions shows are always good. The "Love and Marriage" show is always hilarious. The cruise director TJ was a great host. Very energetic and fun.
Service and Staff
I've never had bad service on a Carnival cruise (so far). The waiters in the main dining room were friendly and efficient as usual. In fact, maybe more efficient than usual. They took orders quickly, food came out quickly....I had some pretty slow dining room service on one Carnival cruise, but this one was fast. I was able to get my food and eat in plenty of time to go to the show after dinner. My room steward was the BEST. My room was actually right next to where her supplies were kept, so I saw her in the hallway quite a bit. She was always as nice and friendly as could be, and the room was always in great shape. Everyone else on the ship was friendly and did a good job. I have no complaints.
Ship Quality
The ship layout is really no better or worse than any other Carnival ship I've been on. I do wish there were more hot tubs (I love a good hot tub!). The Serenity area is very large and occupies parts of three decks, which is nice. It would be nicer if they would not close off the top section at night (which they did a couple of times). I like the design of the theater where the shows are held. There really aren't too many bad seats in there. It's a pretty nice ship overall. Everything looked clean and I never saw any major problems or lack of maintenance. One thing that is a bit annoying: the low-hanging lamps in the Lido Marketplace area. Some of them are placed in the perfect spots for people to bang their head into them when standing up from the table. I did it once and I saw a couple other people run into them as well. The lamps directly over the tables were fine, but the ones hanging right over the spaces between tables are just asking to have a run in with someone's head.
Cabin / Stateroom
Loved this cabin. This is the first time I've had an Oceanview and I can never go back to an interior. I love having sunlight coming into the room during the day. I was traveling solo and the room was a great size. It would have been fine with 2 or 3 people as well. I had plenty of room for myself and my stuff. The bed was comfortable and the room was always kept clean. I did hear a little bit of noise at times from machinery somewhere below (room is at the back of the ship and directly above one of the dining rooms), and I could hear a little bit of noise sometimes of people talking somewhere nearby, not sure where. This room is on the same deck as the casino, Ocean Plaza, and top deck of the Liquid Lounge, so it is very convenient to get to those locations.
Ship tip
Don't expect perfection. A cruise is no different than any other vacation. Not everything is going to be a 5-star experience. Relax and have fun.
Thumbs up
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Ports of call
Charleston is a nice place with no road markings (most of them are worn off), hard to see road signs, and narrow streets filled with horse and buggy tours. Don't get me wrong, I like Charleston, I just don't like driving in Charleston.
I did an excursion to Pearl Island for a beach day and snorkeling. I loved the excursion. Pearl Island had a nice beach, was not crowded (we were the only ship in port that day), and the snorkeling was fun. I'm not a huge fan of the main tourist area of Nassau. I have only been there while traveling solo, and I don't like to venture too far from the port alone, so I can't say much else about it. The area near the port is okay...it kinda seems a bit sketchy in some places though, and I was approached by a couple of people on the street selling things. One of them got pretty pushy.
Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)
Very, very nice! The beach area is very long, so if you want to get away from the crowds, you have to walk a bit to get farther away from where the tender boats drop you off. The water was really nice here, and I pretty much stayed in the water all day. If you don't pay for a clamshell or a cabana, there is very little shade. (No umbrellas, though I think you can bring your own) The food they served at the island was included. I didn't think much of the jerk chicken, but the rest was okay. They had burgers, some different salads, rice & beans and a couple other side dishes, & desserts. I did not try the bar or visit the shops. They told us the last boat back to the ship was at 3:15 pm, but the employees on the island started cleaning things up at 2:00 pm, like they were rushing everyone to leave. A lot of people did start to leave around 2:00, so those who waited for the last couple of boats got more time without crowds!
Disembarkation
I am not a huge fan of the silent disembarkation. There are no PA announcements due to Charleston's noise ordinance, so you have to find somewhere with a TV screen (or go to Lido deck to the big screen) to watch for your deck or zone number to be announced. Other than that, disembarkation was fine. It was actually the quickest I've ever disembarked from a ship.
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