Carnival Sunshine Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Time away was relaxing.  The people who worked on the ship were friendly.  However, we were very disappointed with the service.  Our steward came into our room only once a day.  The waiters in the dining room were so busy that we didn't get that personal attention and it typically took 90 minutes.  We believe that the staff has been cut way back but the tips are still automatically included.  The sound system in the Liquid Lounge was poor.  We also wish there was more variety in the entertainment.  We were able to pick up our own luggage from the main hallway at 7:00 PM.  This was frustrating too.

Ports of call were great; room was spacious; loved Amelia, the singer/guitarist and Edon of the piano bar.  They were entertaining and built a great community spirit through their shows.

On the other hand, the "show" with the dancing we saw was incredibly lame--reminded us of an SNL skit. 

Sometimes had trouble finding a chair anywhere on any of the decks. When we did find a chair, we occasionally couldn't find a server to take drink orders.

Loved the outdoor movies.  Food was fine--no complaints. 

Our room wasn't always cleaned in a timely fashion. 

Our favorite staff on the ship was Rowena, who took great care of us on deck and in the piano bar.  She was consistently cheerful, kind, friendly and helpful.  Give that girl something good!

The cruise was very nice, accentuated by the service of all the members of the Sunshine staff. The wait and cleaning staff were pleasant and always on top of messy areas. They made sure each traveler was well taken care of and if anything was needed they went above and  beyond to take care of it.

The ports were well serviced and all the tours were nicely done.

This was the kids first cruise and they enjoyed themselves tremendously.

Overall the vacation was well done and everyone went home very happy. I would recommend this ship and set of ports to anyone ready to go and enjoy. 

The staff were amazing. everyone was friendly and very helpful. I was disappointed with the ship itself. Set up very odd having to go from one deck to the other to move from one end of the ship to the other. This was my third cruise and the food was the most mediocre I have had on a cruise ship. Also there was a problem with the scheduling in the spa and they couldn't find my appointment. So I didn't get a massage. It was the most disappointing cruise I'd ever been on. I will consider a different cruiseline for our next vacation.

Thanks, Yolanda

Always travel on Carnival Ships but this was the first 5-day Cruise and I still had a Great Time!!! And I even took Engagement Photos that came out Amazing!!! Thanks Once Again Carnival for another Great Experience!!!

We enjoyed the cruise.  The service from waiters, waitresses and housekeeping was excellent.  Some things need to be changed.  Getting on board take more time than getting through airport security.  We had to show our Sign and Sail card 4 times before getting on board.  Also getting off the ship - everyone was upset because we were told to go to 5 but no staff was there to guide us where to go and also we were not told we could get off first because we had a shore excursion - where others did.  Departing on the final day the announcement was made to go to 5 - then we were told at Guest Services the day before to go to 3.  When we tried a staff person, told to go to 4 if we were leaving early for our flights.  Also everyone (including us) was aggravated when the internet plan wouldn't work on cell phones or the computers provided.

I'd definitely recommend this cruise & Carnival Sunshine to others. It was long (8 nights) and gave us time to truly relax and have fun.  We did a lot of things on the ship from laying out on the decks, to watching the contest, drinking the drinks you'd never make at home, to playing bingo, gambling in the casino, to catching two comedy shows, a magic show and the Rock of Ages show (which was totally awesome).  Meals in the dining room were very good.  Our wait staff, Cesar & Michaela, were top notch.  Out cabin steward, Pedro, took good care of our room and us, but we didn't see him much.

The negatives about the cruise were that our dishes in the dining room were not always clean.  There were lip prints on our glasses...they quickly apologized and replaced them.  By night 3 we always inspected the glasses and silverware.  There were several hours where the air conditioning didn't work on our floor but they work as quickly as possible to get it fixed.  Neither of these items were enough to make us want to never go back!  In fact, we'll probably cruise again with Carnival.

enjoyed the excursions, had great service, walking tour in san juan, speaker, guide too politcal and abit too long.forget her name..marlene, ? wouldn't  recommend her.

We are avid cruisers and we take a yearly Spring Break cruise as a family vacation.  We are a family of 3 and cruising is our most favorite vacations.  We decided to take the Carnival Sunshine out of Port Canaveral as we live 40 minutes away from the port.

Our embarkation process was very smooth as the all the boarding counters were well staffed and the lines were moving very fast.  One of things l liked was Carnival’s time selection of boarding.  We selected 12:00-12:30 and we arrived at the port at 11:50 and were on the ship by 12:20!  Since we have passports they did not take our pictures as they used the ones from our passports.

The ship is in excellent shape and the staff is super friendly.  Our cabin steward was super helpful and knew our names as soon as we told him our cabin number.  We proceeded to Lido deck for some lunch and off we went to explore the ship.  Although we live in Florida, the weather was on the cooler side were we needed a light sweater, but this did not stop us….  The Muster drill was very fast and they did not have us spending too much time outside due to the cooler winds.   

We selected my time dining and had a great meal on the first night.  We did not watch any of the shows, but did go to the comedy shows.  One thing I did not like is that Carnival does not have a nightly comedy show anymore and we had to wait until the 4th night to see another comedian.   The entertainment was ok, but the Cruise Director Mason was very entertaining and kept everyone informed of the daily activities.  The nightly musical games in the Atrium bar were a blast as teams would compete for points.

Overall, we had great experience other than the staff at the Red Frog Rum Bar were not as welcoming as we expected the Carnival staff.  In all the cruise was great and we would definably cruise on the Sunshine again.

wonderful food and so many selections!  The crew were all so friendly

and helpful.  Really enjoyed the shows- the singers/dancers were terrific

and so energetic with great special effects! All the ports were very beautiful and interesting- so much to see and do.  We enjoyed our cruise very much.

My only suggestion would be to give each cabin a map of the ship (we don't all

have devices) and a paper diagram would have been appreciated.  thanks.

It was a good cruise.  Too many people packed in a small space for me.  Pool was very small and filled with kids and not enough pool chairs.

Our room was below the buffet dining room and for hours at late night they scrap and move chairs and tables.  It was impossible to sleep!  I know the place needs to be cleaned, but someone needs to look at the procedures realizing that there are cabins on the 8th floor.

Grand Turk was our favorite location on this cruise....get a poolside Cabana at the Margaritaville Pool...well worth it.

We made the best of it because we traveled with great friends - and we did have a great time - but not overly impressed with the Carnival Sunshine...the dining room food was not up to expectation and the crew which has always been plentiful - was short staffed and overworked - always friendly, but not as available as in years past.

It really stood out to us that Carnival is in a cost cutting mode...not what you want when you're spending hard earned money...

The staff and food was very good.  Having been a past cruiser on the Destiny, I found the decor throughout the ship to be an improvement. Many found the redesign of the Lido and hallway seating to be much less.  There seem to be fewer seats on the Lido when at sea.  We also missed the seating in the hallways just to take a break, read or people watch.  Also love the Alchemy Bar, great drinks and servers treat you really special, worth the extra money. They also need more activities especially when you are at sea for 3 days.  Need more than Trivia and art shows.  The evening shows were enjoyable but we were forced to go to the early show because we were never got done early enough from the 8:15pm dinning room to make the second show.  

First 3 nites very loud, powerful banging on wall of cabin.  Guest Services came up, heard it, and said they knew what it was and NOTHING could be done about it.  So for our vacation the first 3 nights we had mostly sleepless nights.  Am really upset with Carnival that they knew a guest's sleep could be ruined under certain weather conditions (moderately rough sea).  They knew the potential of a problem is there, but still let guests reserve the room.  Also understand rooms each side and deck above and below are affected.

On an upbeat note, food was really great.

I got my family to go on the carnival sunshine because I heard good things about this ship! I was wrong and my family was very upset! For starters, the port was great, the wait wasn't that long at all! We get on the boat and usually they deliver our luggage pretty quick, not this time. No one in my family, nor myself was able to shower before LATE (8:15)  dinner. Every single night we ate dinner, our food was the last food to come out while people were leaving, we were getting our appetizers. The waiters needed help, and the manager didn't even TRY to help. A waiter dropped a dish, and he just stood there waited for the waiter to serve the food and come back to pick it up! Not cool at all, he obviously needed help, then told him to hurry up because it was almost show time!?  Short staff was the reason the manager gave us! When I went back to my room there was our luggage! Done of our items were missing went to the desk they made note of it. Only to find out the luggage handlers broke the bottom of my bag. The desk told me when I got off the boat to purchase new luggage and they would reimburse me for 100$. It's not like there was a wall mart close, so I ended up paying 160 dollars for a luggage! I brought them the receipt and they informed me they will only give me back 120$! And there was nothing else they could do for me! Not nice! the food was not the same as the other ships I've been on but I do being a lot of business to carnival and I have been very loyal but the way my family and myself were treated on this cruise was terrible! We are going in the VISTA March 24th 2018 so hopefully this will be a better experience! Please contact me for detailed pictures and names! 

CRUISE WAS GREAT. HAD A COLD BUT MADE THE BEST OF IT

WOULDN,T CHANGE A THING

YES  GREAT CRUISE TO GO ON

BEST WAY WE CAN PUT INTO WORDS - GREAT TIME.

SHIP TIME IS ALWAYS FUN TIME

The staff was outstanding. Very cordial and friendly from all over the world. They work long hours and never show the stress. Their fundamental work ethic and desre to improve theirs and their families lies is what is lacking in many of my fellow Americans. Immigrants with this same attitude is what made and makes America great. American companies should hire any staff member from this cruise.

Food was well presented, unfortunately it was slifhtly above average but understandable why. Mass production...

You need more deck area and lounge chairs. They are all gone by 10 a.m.

Favorite part of the cruise was going to Grand Turk and Curacao.  We were delayed getting into Aruba due to weather which I understand happens and had nothing to do with the cruise line.  

We were disappointed the spa didn't have a pool and frustrated that I had pre-booked a spa treatment (couples massage) for my husbands birthday.  When we were finished they brought me a bill which I had explained I already pre-paid for the treatment a month ago.  They explained that Carnival reimbursed our sign and sail card the amount that I paid but added another 15% gratuity to the bill; I tried to argue I had already paid the gratuity but they insisted I had not.  So essentially they received a 30% gratuity.  The massage itself was really good and I may have given them that type of gratuity regardless but that should have been my choice and not forced on us.  Took away from the relaxation a massage is supposed to provide.  I will not ever pre-book spa treatments if we cruise again.  The woman at the main check in desk was not friendly at all, quite rude to people actually.  (wished I had gotten her name)

The sushi restaurant was awesome!  Great food and waite staff.  Was disappointed they didn't have shows on the cruise, every cruise we've taken had broadway type shows but this one did not.  They did have comedy shows which we attended.  Cabin stewards were fine although not as visible or attentive as we've had on past cruises.  Stateroom was great although our safe was broken and when I asked to have it fixed they did come in to look at it but never fixed it.  Movies at night were fun to attend and was a great selection.  The dining room staff was really good, very attentive and always called us by name.  They really busted their butts, hard workers.  Food was great and loved the omelet station for breakfast.  Deck chairs were difficult to get during sea days, we had the spa room (upper decks) and those chairs would fill up before 8am, they were the most comfortable chairs with padding.  Wished they reserved those for individuals who paid extra for the spa rooms.  We'd pay extra for reserved seating.  The games on the upper deck was great although it stayed closed during the first half of the trip due to weather (high wind) which stunk and resulted in a large amount of children to play in the hot tubs which made it difficult for us adults to get in.  The pool water was quite cold and didn't have too many people getting in them.  Would have needed a wet suit to stay in one. 

To get to our dining check in station we had to go through the casino which was one big smoke filled room (GROSS).  We are not smokers and it was absolutely disgusting to walk through; felt like a needed a chest x-ray every time I went close to it.  Would really love to see them get a better exhaust system there, was really really bad!

The islands were beautiful, missed out on scuba diving in Aruba due to weather, diving in Grand Turks was great; amazing reefs and wall dive.  They staff at Oasis divers were wonderful, funny, friendly and very attentive to their groups.  Curacao was another beautiful island, we did our own walking tour and visited their Maritime Museum; great place to visit and learn the history of the island.  The beaches there are also great, had a wonderful area for swimming that was protected from the surf.  Tried to rent a scooter but they were sold out:(  Would love to own property on either Grand Turk or Curacao.

Favorite experiences- dining experience was exceptional at Sunrise

Room, table 574.  The team head waiter was Zefry Fernandes.  The team waiter was IKetut Ade Sumardika.  The assistant team waiter was Danny.  The magician, Jacob, was very entertaining.

The performances in the Liquid Lounge were great! 

The is ship is very attractive. We enjoyed relaxing on board.  The food and service is exceptional.  We liked St. Kitts and Grand Turk the most of the four stops.

Carnival needs to bring back the live music for the shows.  They really lack without the live music intervention.  Of the 3 shows, the last one was them most exceptional.  The others were just average or below what we have been treated to in the past.  We could tell from the small crowd attendance that the shows were not up to par.  During other cruises, the auditorium has been packed.  The entertainment is very important to us and is a deciding factor on which cruise line we will frequent in the future.

Also, there needs to be more daily activities for those who do not gamble or play bingo.