Quick trip

Item: Carnival Sunshine
Rating: 3.7
Author: MikeG65

Carnival Sunshine Cruise Review

MikeG65

Contributor Level: First Mate

15 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 25

Helpful Votes: 446

Overall rating:

3.7 out of 5

4 Night Bahamas (Charleston Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 23, 2023

Ship: Carnival Sunshine

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8299

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

It was a quick trip for the weekend and I knew she was an old ship, so I’m not complaining, just pointing out some realities that did not bother me overall or dilute my enjoyment of just being on the water and having a good time.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

It went as I expected with no issues but the facilities in Charleston need severe updating

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Didn’t go to the main dining room but the steak house was excellent and capitanos was very good Service was ok, they seemed confused about our status because the dinner was complimentary by the casino and they forgot too bring the wine bottle before we ordered drinks and had to redo the tab. The coffee bar service was the best. The casino bar was excellent but over all the ship was packed and they did not have enough servers or bar keeps across the board.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Pool deck was ok, comedy show was great, casino was small but so is the ship so there’s that. Shows were excellent. Love and marriage funny as usual.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Stage shows were great, play list and 80s rock, great performances, music in the atrium great, lime light solo guitarist a little boring, trivia was ok

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Service was great when we got it. Casino service was the best as was at the coffee bar.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Not well maintained. Paint chipping everywhere and rust. You get turned around a lot on this ship if you don’t know where you are. Get get through from aft to mid section or forward on some decks so you got to go down one deck and back up at miss shop to get to forward or aft. Common areas not kept up very well as this was a full ship and they didn’t have the staff to keep up with the mess during the day.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Cabin was not the best location right next to mid ship elevators and stairs and just below market place. So much load noise and dragging stuff across the floors up stairs at night. The balcony was so small and not clean when we got on board. Shower had no water pressure and this should have been addressed fixed before we got on board. Not sure how the cabin steward cleaned the shower without noticing.

Ship tip

Adjust your expectations, it’s an old small ship on a quick weekend cruise

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Princess Cays (Cruise Line Private Island)

3 out of 5

Food was not so good and cold. Lines were extremely long too food breaches are ok . Lot of rocks so be careful in the water. Beaches were small. No comparison to coco cay- RCs private island. The best part of the island was the local people!!!

Thumbs Up 0

Charleston, South Carolina

4 out of 5

So outdated but no worries, after 2024. Carnival is sunshine is porting out of Virginia and Charleston no more.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Easy Peazy

Traveler Photos

9 Comments

justjess333 1 year ago

Our first cruise with our kids is coming up in September. This review really helped level set expectations. Thanks for the honest feedback!

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javawoody 1 year ago

Appreciate the review

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Ship2Shora 1 year ago

Thanks for the detes😎

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lsbs 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

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Gwbigdog 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise

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enjoyurdaysmile 1 year ago

The chipping is not good on a ship and they really do need to take care of that but I hope it will be in the near future.

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enjoyurdaysmile 1 year ago

My husband and I sailed on the ship in 2018. We had a good time it is a small ship and I'm sorry that your shower pressure wasn't good. I don't know if the cabin Steward turns the shower on I think they clean with just special cleaners through a spray bottle I've never seen them clean but obviously we don't because they're cleaning when we are out of the cabin. If this ever happens again on another ship and get in touch with customer service, tell them what happened and they will call the proper authorities and come to look at your shower.

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AuntPinkie 1 year ago

Appreciate your detailed feedback. Glad you enjoyed your quick getaway. Sorry your cabin was in a bad location.

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CruzeFan 1 year ago

Glad you enjoyed it.

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Other reviews of this sailing

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