Another Great Cruise on the Sunshine
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: August 14, 2023
Ship: Carnival Sunshine
Cabin type: Inside
Cabin number: 2106
Traveled as: Large Group
Reviewed: 1 year ago
Review summary
This was a great cruise. It was my 2nd on the Sunshine out of Charleston. There was good food, good entertainment, and excellent service. The only downsides: the cruise director was not my favorite, and Carnival could do a better job keeping kids (mainly teenagers) in line, and out of the Serenity area. Some of their parents need to be talked to as well, really.Embarkation
Embarkation was way better this time than in May 2022. Charleston still has the weirdest embarkation process I've seen so far, but it was actually pretty quick and efficient this time.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The food all seemed to be pretty much the same quality as my last couple of cruises. The pizza was always good, as usual, and even if the line for pizza was long, the wait time was usually not bad at all. I only had the buffet for breakfast, and it was typically good. Actually, I think some breakfast items have improved since May 2022. And I've said it before, but I'll say it again...I LOVE the cakes they serve at the Lido buffet during lunch and dinner, particularly the citrus cake. The MDR food was good as well. I am not a steak person at all, and almost never eat them, but I had a steak for dinner one night and it was probably the best dinner I had the whole cruise. It was tender and well-seasoned. I'll definitely have it again next cruise.
The one thing I did not like was the noodle bowl I got at JiJi Asian kitchen for lunch one day. I very much prefer the way they used to do it, where you chose your ingredients, meat, and sauce and they stir fried it for you. Now you get a choice of meat...that's it. My bowl had something in it with a very odd flavor and smell that ruined it for me. The old way took longer, but it was better.
Onboard Activities
My friends talked me into trying the ropes course with them. This was the first time I had ever done it and it was actually pretty fun. A little nerve-wracking at first, but not bad once I got the hang of it. I used the fitness center on both sea days. This ship has a great fitness center. It's very well equipped and you can get in a good workout. I enjoyed using the sauna in the men's locker room as well.
For some reason, it was easier this cruise to get into the hot tubs. They were still typically pretty crowded, especially at night, but they stayed open until midnight every night, and I was usually able to get in one of them after 10 pm. Carnival needs to do a better job keeping kids out of the Serenity deck hot tub, though. One night 6 kids got in it after I got there, all under 18, and they were all talking to each other about how they got by with it. Some of them could actually pass for 21, but at least two of them very obviously were not. This was late at night, and I didn't see any security or other staff around to do anything about it, unfortunately. I did report one incident to Carnival after the fact. There was something happening that should most definitely NOT have been happening on the Serenity deck, but I don't need to post details here.
It did seem like there were not as many activities going as as usual. They had the usual trivia, games, deck parties, etc. but there were some times on both sea days that it seemed like there wasn't really anything happening and there should have been.
Entertainment
The Love and Marriage show was done differently on this cruise for some reason. They only asked 6 questions and had the men go out of the room when the women answered their questions and vice versa. I don't know if all Carnival ships and cruise directors do it this way or if it was just the way Jasper does it. I definitely prefer the old way, though, with 10 questions and the couples writing their answers down while sitting back to back. The old questions (and answers) were funnier.
I saw "Epic Rock" for the 4th time. I still love it. It's my favorite show I've seen on any ship. I hope they have some new shows in the works, though. I want to see something different on my next cruise!
Service and Staff
Everybody was awesome this cruise. I actually only saw my room steward once, on the last day, but that was because every time he came to do the room I was somewhere else. He did a great job, though. The room was always clean when I got back to it. The wait staff at dinner were all extremely nice and friendly. I was cruising with a large group that was split between two tables and it had to be tough to keep up with all of us, but they did it very well.
Jasper, the cruise director...not sure what to think of him. Sometimes he was really funny, sometimes he could come off kind of rude during the shows and other events. I would say that's probably just his "cruise director" persona, but some of my friends spoke to him on one of the port days and he just kind of ignored them. Some things he said to people during the 80s deck party were a little rude too. He's not my favorite cruise director.
Ship Quality
This was my 2nd time on the Sunshine, so I was pretty used to the layout. Most of the people with me were not, so it was a bit confusing when we had to go up to Deck 5 to cross to the back of the ship, and then go back down to Deck 3 to get to the dining room. After the first night though, it was fine. For the most part, I like the design of this ship. I think it needs two more hot tubs somewhere, though.
The ship was as clean as it can be with 3,000+ people on-board. I saw crew members cleaning all the time. I also saw some people making unnecessary messes quite often too, mostly in the Lido buffet area. Also, I know accidents happen, but when you drop your entire plate of food on the floor in the buffet, at least pick some of it up and put it on an empty table or something until a crew member can finish cleaning the rest up. Don't just leave it all there for the other passengers to step on for the next 10 minutes.
Cabin / Stateroom
This was an "interior" cabin with two portholes. It appeared to be pretty much the same size as the "ocean view" cabin I had in 2022 on deck 5. The only difference was it had portholes instead of a larger window. It was a nice cabin. I always love having natural light coming in during the day. This cabin is on deck 2, almost at the front of the ship, so there is definitely quite a bit of noise when the ship docks. On port days, I woke up to some pretty loud sounds of machinery. Honestly, though, it didn't really bother me. While at sea, there is also a knocking noise that can be heard occasionally. If anyone is really bothered by noises and stays in this room, I would suggest bringing some earplugs to wear while sleeping.
Also, deck 2 is a little bit too far from the action for me. In 2022, I stayed on deck 5, which I thought was a really good location. I used the stairs to get around the entire cruise. From deck 2, it's a long walk on those stairs to Lido...even longer to the Serenity deck. So I used the elevator a bit more this time.
Ports of call
Charleston is a nice place to visit. There's lots of historical places to explore, good places to eat and shop. As I mentioned in a previous review, it can be a pain to drive through with all the narrow one-way streets and the tour groups on horse-drawn carts everywhere.
Thumbs Up
1
I got a day pass at the Margaritaville Resort. The walk there from the cruise port was not bad at all. The resort was a little pricey (like everything else), but really nice and fun. You just have to learn to completely ignore all the people on the street trying to sell you stuff. It wasn't too bad the day I was there. My friends and I just walked on by and didn't even make eye contact.
The newly redone port area at Nassau is pretty nice. Definitely better than it was on my first trip in 2019. There are still several empty places, and some that say "coming soon," so hopefully it will be even better on future trips.
Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)
I love the beach and the water at Half Moon Cay. It's a great place to swim in the super-clear water. My group walked a good distance down the beach from where the tender boats let us off. The beach is super-crowded in front of the pirate ship bar and the buffet area, and gets less and less crowded the farther you walk. We found a nice spot with some chairs under some shade trees and there was no one anywhere near us. It was a bit of a walk back to the buffet area to eat, but it was worth it for the shade and quiet. I think the buffet was better this time than in 2022. I also discovered the Linzer Torte on the dessert buffet that was awesome!
Disembarkation
Disembarkation seemed a little bit disorganized. Once again, they had people going down to get off when their deck or zone number had not been called. That happens a lot, but is not really Carnival's fault. It was better this time in that they actually made announcements for zone numbers. In 2022 they were not allowed to due to a noise ordinance.
Traveler Photos
