Carnival Sunshine Cruise Reviews - Reviews

We have been on many cruises before, and the Carnival Sunshine was by a mile our favorite ship!  There was so much to do on board the ship.  The renovation was well worth the expense.  We are looking at booking on the Sunshine again very soon.  Our only complaint (as it has been on all of our Carnival Cruises) was the entertainment.  There is not enough family friendly entertainment on the ship.  We enjoyed the magician, but otherwise, costuming, jokes, and subject material was often inappropriate and offensive to even the adults in our group.  That being said, we were finally on a ship that had plenty of other things to do besides attend the nightly shows.  An awesome trip!

Well we had a blast- The ship was beautiful, food we like Mongolian style, and lots of gluten free options. Our kids ranged in age from 2- 16 and they all absorbed every minute of their cruise. We like newer ships as they have more to offer and have done numerous cruises with Carnival, Royal C., Disney, Celebrity, etc. I met many nice people on this one and enjoyed the game area for kids (pool tables, mini golf, obstacle course w/arness). The comedy shows was a real highlight and something we looked forward to every night (family friendly and adult only).

I was very surprised though to have a poor art auction experience and those around me agreed and we left early. This guy Fabrizio was so rude to his staff, and even us- wish I had a video of how he spoke to us (never been treated so rude in my life by someone who is trying to sell me a collectible). I was looking at some Muhammad Ali autograph memorabilia and the price was very fair or competitive but the experience ws unreal. They had a piece of art they were describing with the U.S. Flag upside down- really the auctioneer should have caught that right away but he looked at it and went on describing it until we told him. I could go on about how he told us he was going to take the champagne away and threatened to close the auction- Right then I knew this was going to go from bad to worse and it did- so my advice to you- save some time and avoid this auction guy and do one on another cruise ship.

Have fun!!!

Excellent ship, great staff and absolute BEST CRUISE DIRECTOR EVER!!!! (Jaime Dee). This was our third cruise with Carnival and we were not disappointed.  If anyone was unhappy on this cruise it was in my opinion because they didn't pay attention to the information provided by the staff.  They kept us constantly informed on what to expect and how to proceed to alleviate delays and long waits.  We took their advise and never had any problems.

We had a great time and loved the new Sunshine.  There were a few minor things that happened, however your staff was very courteous and handled the situation.  My boys had a terrific time, we cant wait to go again!

capacity of theatre very low.

Buffett layout choices-limited.

Ship layout very confusing. takea a longtime to get from one place to another.

Staff was very good. overall exceeded expectations

This was our first cruise and exceeded our expectations.  The staff was very friendly, and the ship was extremely clean.  The food was excellent, and there were many activities to choose from.  My husband and I had a blast, and our kids (ages 10 and 13) had plenty to keep them busy. 

 First off not my first cruise the ship is very poorly laid out states one of biggest ships remodeled yes but the didn't change any of the showrooms just added more staterooms so we would wait in line for dome shows up to an hour get to door sorry where full. The adult deck always full only time we could find space when where in port didn't the  leave ship. Only one hot tub for adults. And then you have the casino deck all other ships that I have been on has nice seating from casino all the way down past coffee shop just open white space except the hours at night when they set up all the camara guys taking pictures what few hours a day space used rest of time nothing . Well they did have few tables at coffee shop 5 I think wow. The only reason gave this ship 2 stars is the people that work are still great and will help you in anyway. And the speciality steak house was great any think that was great or better or didn't want to wait for you paid extra. 

First time ever taking family on cruise. There was a total of 15 people in our group and 5 different cabins. Ports of call were not really family friendly and just to go to the beach for 1/2 a day for our family was almost $1,000. My wife and I stayed on the 12th floor in the NEW spa floor and the rooms are smaller than the older below balcony rooms and only 2 elevators go to this floor. Would not recommend staying on this floor due to the elevator issue and too easy of access from the general public to the rooms. Need to install some type of security for these floors. Boat was recently renovated but not real friendly. Our family with small kids had to walk through the smokey Casino to get to and from and we did not appreciate that. Overall it was a good experience but next cruise is back to just me and the wife and let the family cruise on their own.

My husband and I went on the 7 night cruise and had a magical time! First of all, the cruise ship was so massive that we often forgot we were even on a boat! I was nervous about seasickness, because this was my first cruise, but we didn't even feel the ship rock until the last day! The cruise directer Jaimie was amazing! She was so active with the cruisers and constantly making herself present for help or fun! And all the other members of the cruise line were so friendly and helpful! The food was so amazing, and the set up with the restaurant was just what we wanted! The restaurant was set up like any normal restaurant: we were led to an available table, sat alone (no other couples like I have heard some cruise lines do), ordered what we wanted off the menu, and checked on by a server! It was sooo great and relaxing! I highly recommend a massage while on the boat! And read your itinerary; everyday there were so many activities to do! Between live larger than life game shows and comedy shows we never had a dull moment. Also, the Alchemy bar is were you can meet great people! Or at least that's what happened for us! We made so many amazing new friends that we will surely be cruising with in the future! Not only was the boat amazing, but the excursions were outrageously fun! In Jamaica we went swimming/riding the dolphins, shopping in the local spot, and ate lunch by Doctors Cove. Such a culture shock, but totally memorable! In Grand Camon we Discovered Scuba Diving with the Lobster Pot Scuba group! Absolutely my favorite! Such a great experience! I felt safe the whole time, and now I am inspired to become scuba certified! Last but certainly not least, we went motorcycling around Cosumel, Mexico! Our tour guides lead us around the island's beach front with a breathtaking only in my dreams kinda view! We stopped for pictures along a coral reef rock beach, and got some only seen in post cards kind of pictures! We stopped at the first Catholic church on the island, which was so cool since my husband and I were just married in the Catholic church. Immediately adjacent to the church is an ancient Mayan ruin, with a Mayan ancester dressed to the T in some authentic garbs for pictures! Next we passed through the downtown city to see the more humble lodging of the locals! Don't be afraid to say "Hola!" because everyone was super friendly! Finally, we stopped at a local beach front restaurant, where our tour guide ordered us some authentic fajitas while we swam in the crystal clear water. When we were ready to dine we rinsed off in the outside showers and feasted on the most delicious fajitas I have ever had (And I'm from New Orleans so I know some good eating!). The tour guides were amazing, and although I have forgotten their names I will never forget their faces or their amazing tour! Since the cruise I have not gone a day without mentioning it, taking about the trip, or showing off some really cool suvenier. I am totally hooked on cruising!

Overall we had a great cruise! We've been on Carnival before but not this ship or destination. Love the new features like the Havana Bar and Pool bars and waterslides. Pools are still way too small but the adult only area was nice even though kids were still allowed to pass through. Regarding the bars, they are still expensive and changed their Margarita recipe which now uses disgusting syrupy mix that completely wasted the Patron that was added. They were completely undrinkable, we used to love the ones they used to make with 1800. The weather was not great, extremely cold the first day which was expected, but the rest of the cruise was so windy, we never got to use the ropes course and barely got to use the pool or other outside areas at all. Our summer cruises have had much better weather and the same amount of crowds since kids were out of school for Thanksgiving. To top it all off because of the weather changing and a cold that was going around we got sick on the same day.

The Sunshine was an awesome ship.  I never cruised the Destiny, but viewed the renovation underway on the tv in our stateroom, magnificant  transformation.  The 2013 Commemorative Inaugural Book was a really nice treat to bring home.  The hammocks were so relaxing and such a nice addition in the Serenity.  The Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse was the best (but all the steakhouse's on the previous cruises have been).  My husband is experiencing some difficulty walking and the staff was the best catering to his needs.  The staff on the taxis to Grand Cayman also paid exceptional attention to cruisers with mobility needs, and ensured we exited the taxis first.

The only reason I did not give this review five stars is the first captain's night was AWFUL.  This was my tenth cruise with Carnival, and I never experienced the wait time we encountered on this cruise.  We only waited an hour, but some people we spoke with waited well over 90 minutes.  We had anytime dining, but this pager system did not work very well this night.  There was no place for us to sit, we stood on the stairs the entire wait.  We were told not to return to our staterooms as the pagers would not receive the signals there.  

The ship departed from New Orleans and was very accommodating to the locals and showed the NFL and College football games. 

The amentities afforded my new platinum status were very rewarding, Thank You very much. 

I look forward to my next cruise.

room good size compared to other cruise lines

food was good and lots of variety

what we liked the most are the latin food and latin music

entertainment was good

there should be a movie theatre rather than a outdoor movie screen

swimming pool too small

staff worked hard to please

Only negattive comment is with the music, there should be a lounge or bar playing music catering to mostly older passengers rather than all rock all the time

For a newly refurbished ship it looks old. Stained carpets, leaking hallways and ceilings. Maintenance people constantly working on things. Staff very disorganized and it appeared that there was a lack of communication between staff and departments. Staff appeared untrained. Had requested a refrigerator many months prior to our trip. This was to house my husbands diabetes medication, only to not find it in our cabin. When we asked about it we were told they did not have any communication about this and there were no available refrigerators to be had. They were all taken but we spoke with another couple during our cruise and they had a refrigerator in their cabin but never asked for it, they were using it to store extra food and desserts . We had to inconvientlly store the medication in the infirmary. Waiters in the dining room were disorganized we received the wrong food almost every night. One time we were ushered around the entire dining room because the waiter did not know where the table was. Buffet food was very poor with no variety and they served the same exact breakfast foods everyday. Our housekeeper was very sweet and kept our room very tidy. We very much enjoyed the itinerary and the excursions. Disappointed that our excursion in France was canceled. 

This was my 5th cruise, 2 at Carnival, 2 on NCL and once on Celebrity.  The Carnival Sunshine was on my bottom list in terms quality of ship, food and entertainment.

- Numerous water leak from the ceiling in the hall way.  I am surprised that they could not fix the leaks.  Throughout the 9 days of cruise water leak was not fixed.

- On 2nd night of 9 day cruise, my balcony cabin sprang a leak from the celing on to my bed.  The water leak was quickly fixed but left a very bad impression.  My complain was simply brushed-off by the ship's guest service.  When you have many water leaks around the ship this may be a minor issue for Carnival. 

- Entertainmnt hall (Liquid lounge), no pun intended, was very small and poorly layed-out.  

- Show quality was generally poor to fair.

- Food quality was mixed, poor to fair but hand-made Pizza was excellent.

- The best part of the cruise was the ports of call.  This was my favorate part of the cruise.

Summary, I cruised on other Carnival ship before and found to be average but do avoid Carnival-Sunshine.          

Carvinal cruise sunshine was excellent. All the shore excursions, staff, food, entertainment and overall service was excellent. Highly recommend this tour

Overall, I had a very positive cruise with Sunshine.  I cannot say enough good things about the staff and crew on board.  They were extremely helpful and attentive and always made us feel important and welcome.

I really did not like the buffet because of the crowds of people and quality of the food, but loved having choices.  I loved Guys Burgers for lunch and the smaller selection of breakfasts that you had on the 5th bar area.  Such a good idea. The restaurant food had great choices and the staff was great also.

Our rooms were very nice.  I had a ocean view room and the room was quite spacious and the closet space was great.

With 3000 persons on board, I never waited.  Ports were on time, embarktation and debarktation process was flawless.

My only complaint was the leaks on the ship.  It made me a bit uneasy.  Also, on "sea days" it would have been nice to have an extra show added midday.  I did get a little bored.

All and all you did a great job.  I was only of the passengers that was orginally on the April cruise that was canceled, so my expectations were pretty high.  You did a great job on the customer service end.

In April, I said I would never go on Carnival again, but you are winning me over.

Thanks.

Look, the cruise was great, the ports were wonderful, the excursions were ridiculously expensive, as usual, and the food was great.  Just AVOID THIS BOAT. Carnival Sunshine supposedly came out of dry-dock a completely revamped "just like new" ship in May, 2013.  It is not "just like new" and I went on the Carnival Spirit when it was pretty new, so I have some camparison. We had an inside spa cabin.  I HIGHLY recommend the spa cabins, the additional pampering you get and the access to the thermal suite is 100% worth it. However, our a/c never worked and we complained about it a couple times, but they kept saying that it was normal when they tested it.  Well, if normal is 75 degrees at 8am, then yes, but it only got hotter from there.  FINALLY they gave us a fan, but there was no apologies, no explanation, just "there's nothing we can do." The movies started late several times, and the sound was too low, so you couldn't watch from the hot tub, then a couple days it was too low to hear the dialog at all. Speaking of the hot tubs, they were not hot.  At all.  And staff passed the buck, on-deck staff said to contact customer service, customer service said to contact on-deck staff. There is certainly not enough deck space, and the "no saving chairs" policy is not enforced.  I saw a group almost come to blows over 4 folks trying to reserve chairs all day, even though they left for an hour and a half for breakfast!  I wanted to rumble with another group, but my husband's cooler head prevailed and we were eventually able to find two chairs together in the sun. The water slides were super fun, I could have gone on them all day! I'm not sure why the ropes course always seemed to be closed while we were in port and then closed due to wind while we were sailing.  They're on deck 12 or so, it's gonna be windy up there!  Either open up in port or remove it so there's more deck space. Overall, cruising the med is a fabulous vacation, just find a difference ship!

We had a great time on our Carnival Cruise. The room was great and the itinerary

was fantastic. I would recommend this trip to people with high energy and a zest for travel!

It's hard to choose a favorite spot, the entire experience was eye opening,  historical, and beautiful.  Here's a view of Barcelona, the old with the new shows how diverse this city is and it was the beginning and end of a great adventure.  

We spent a considerable length of time reviewing various cruise line offerings including Holland Line, the River Ships and other similar offers. We found that Carnival gave us the most places at the best cost. Wee tried to take excursions in every port and found that the tour descriptions were well written and accurate. The food on board was excellent and my wife , who is gluten intolerant, was accommodated nicely. The staff was the best .