Carnival Sunshine Cruise Reviews - Reviews

The ship has been nicely remodeled ( although a bit difficult to navigate for the first few days due to the layout) the cabins are still small and the closets are ackward ... However, the staff and customer service was excellent !!! Better than any cruise I have been on... ( I been on more than 25) so I think that is saying a lot. The food was above average for the carnival line. The steakhouse was a again above average on food and service. The adult pool area was great with really nice decor. The spa was updated too and ... They did a nice job in only allowing guest who had paid extra to use the 'spa facilities" so it never seemed crowded. Overall we were pleasing surprised with our budget friendly vacation choice.

All in all, the cruise was pretty good. Our cruise director, Jaimie, was the best we have experienced so far as she really made the trip much better for everyone. However, we were very disappointed in the quality of the food. It was either not cooked right or was way too salty and spiced up. The quality of the meat products was very poor. Every evening one of our party had to turn back their meal and get something else. This was totally unacceptable as we are not used to this from Carnival. Even the desserts were sub-par and made entirely too sweet. The quality of the ice cream was similar to that of a giant tub that you can get from WalMart. For the first time ever I actually lost weight on this cruise. Other than the poor quality of the food, everything else was okay. Our cabins were kept spotless by our stewards and the entire crew that we interacted with were very friendly and seemed happy to be on board. So.........if you want to lose weight go on a Carnival Sunshine cruise.

This our 3rd cruise. 1st with Carnival. We traveled on Carnival Sunshine.

The quality of the food served, except for the deserts, was less in selection, taste variety and quality, than other cruise lines. The destinations were really good.

The cruise entertainment director was exceptional. The shows were very good and well done. Our room attendant was friendly. As far as the other employees go some seemed friendly others you could tell they were just doing a job. The layout of the ship is a disaster. Except for deck 9 you had to go up or down  in some case for several decks to get from point A to point B and with the turning of the staircases you questioned in your mind whether you were going towards the front or aft of the ship, There concern for hygiene seemed to be non existent. There were hand sanitizers around the ship but unless you were really looking off to the side when traveling around they were for the most part out of site. In all the communications on board not once did anyone mention the importance of using the hand sanitizers. If you were on the front or mid section of the ship you had to travel to deck 5 and go threw the casino ( which was  filled with  smokers that when you finally left you  smelled like a smoker)to sign up for dinner if you booked my time dining. Then you had to go down two decks to get to the dinning area and wait for seating.

My parent and I love this trip very much. The trip schedule is also good. We will back again.The ship and food and staffs are all nice. We hope take it again with my family and my friends. 

CRUISE WAS FANTASTIC. CLEAN SHIP, TOP NOTCH CREW,GOOD FOOD, GOOD SHOWS AND INTERESTING PORTS. NOW THE DOWN SIDE.( A FEW TOO MANY PEOPLE FOR THE OLDER SHIP DESIGN). VERY CROWDED IN ALL AREAS EXCEPT BUFFET AREA DECK 9 AFT. GUYS BURGERS ARE OUT OF THIS WORLD.   BURGER JOINT FRIES UP APPROX. 3200 TO 3600 LBS. OF 80/20 GRIND ON AN AVERAGE 8 NIGHT CRUISE. NOW, THAT IS ONE BIG PILE OF HAMBURGER MEAT. RECCOMEND THIS CRUISE TO EVERYONE!!!!!

If I had not been on my honeymoon, I would have not been pleased with this cruise.  Food in the dining room and buffet was only so-so.  Special restaurants were nice, but you don't want to feel that you have to eat at a special restaurant to have a good experience.  Cocktails were good, but very expensive-- and the program to buy 15 drinks a day for a special price was way too boozy for me.  We had to cancel visiting the last island, and the communication for that was poor-- and no compensation or extra events to make up for it.  Was charged for "Sunshine Club" fees throughout the cruise-- and still can not figure out what those were for, and was charged for that multiple time. Meh.

I am giving it 3 stars even though a few things need to be fine tuned. First,w e were not assigned a room until the morning of the cruise which was nerve wracking because we didn't know where our bags were going to end up. The fun days at sea were too long as we cruised in circles around the Bahamas. we couldn't go to cast a way cay because of sea swells. The ship has a very small pool and the hot tub was filled to the brim so we couldn't get in it. The decks were filled during movie nites and we need more monitors in the places you can"t see the big screen. The food was good except for the Italian Place which was very bad and needs a total overhaul as far as the menu goes. The sauce sucked and you should do some research at our favorite place called Pasquilino's in Irwin, Pa. They have the best sauce and angel hair too. As we were traveling as a couple we did not use the water place on the roof. We used the spa and felt like we were over charged as the price when we booked it as the special was about 100 more when we checked out. We did use the casino, or it used us BUT my husband HATES smoking and it is all in there so we can use a non smoking section or no smoking at all.

The food, staff and ship were fantastic as usual!  Can not ask for a better cruise. Our steward was the best we have ever had and the food was every thing we have been craving.  Just keep up the good work with what works and try new things geared toward the older generation. 

The cruise ship I understand was remodeled, but the layout of the dining rooms is not good. You have to go to deck 5, walk thru the casino, then take elevator back down to get to the dining room. The pizza and hamburgers were really good, the steakhouse was great, the buffets were adequate, but nothing outstanding about the buffet lines. Entertainment was a real letdown. No great shows. Seemed like comedy acts were it, unless you went to the bars for music.  Adult pool and spa were good, other pool was small and packed out.  Probably would not cruise the Sunshine again. Sorry, Carnival, 8 days was too much time on ship with little entertainment except in the casino.

Due to the hurricane, we were not able to go to Bermuda, but were told inside the terminal that we would be going to Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and Grand Turk. Needless to say we were disappointed but the weather rules. Carnival, to make up for the big change, offered us a 25% discount on a future cruise. To go to the ports that were were substituted would have been a little under 50% less than we paid

We tried to make the best of it but were really disappointed in the ship. There were only 2 small pools.  On seas days of which there were four, there was not much to do but sit by the pool, play trivia, go to the casino. Our balcony was dirty upon arrival and was never cleaned on our 8 day cruise. We could hardly see out our window or door. As an aside, our next door neighbors smoked on their balcony. The dining experience in the any time dining room was horrible. When we got seats, the wait staff was overrun and thus service was slow. We watched our food come up and it took 10 minutes to serve it to us. It was mildy lukewarm. The breakfast menus were not in the room to begin the cruise. When we did get them and put them on our door, they would not stay. Consequently, our orders were not take. We found out later, they were shoved under neighbors doors. On a good note, Guy"s burgers were delicious as well as the cantina food and the pizza. Service at the Havana Bar was good. There was not much in the way of bar waiters, so we had to get our own drinks. Why do we pay a 15% gratuity when we get no service?We ate at Gi Gi's and there service and food was very good. We were able to try things we had never had before. We went to two comedy shows that were not funny. Both comedians got on their pulpit and talked about their own personal political views.

Overall, for the amount we paid for this cruise, we were very disappointed and disatified.

For starters we were not offered anything.we were told this is where your going. I realize that Carnival can"t control the weather, but we should have had the option to take it at another time. We paid for Bermuda and got San Juan, PR Which was filthy,dead pissy walk ways, no time to plan.St Thomas nice if you never been, but been there done that. Grand Turk,well $74.oo for appetizer,a coke ,margarita with info on the ship that wi-fy was available,but could not connect. Third day in had to move rooms for the noise at 2-3 in the morning wake you out of a dead sleep.yes you moved us to a nice room,thank you.no fridge though. Staff was rude, movie nights old popcorn saved from the night before,yuk. didn't know popcorn was that expensive, come across cheap in my book.we would of had a better time Helping the Hurricane victims on the Islands hit by the storm even if it was our 26th Anniversary cruise.would like to see more options dew to storms before we board.I would like to see a 25% discount on this cruise along with the 25% on the one I booked on the ship in May.We cruise a lot and we like you, but you dropped the ball on this one.

Due to hurricane Joaquin, they changed the itinerary and we ended up going to Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and Grand Turk.  The cruise staff is wonderful....the food was good overall, but the desserts were not great....thanks goodness for the ice cream.

The cruise turned out to be nice even though the itinerary was changed.  It was a very expensive trip though to go to the Caribbean which we have been to a million times.  I did enjoy Grand Turk which I had only been to one other time.  But Carnival did give everyone a 25% credit off their next trip with a few places not included, good for 2 years and returned excess port taxes to us.

The service was excellent.  Someone is doing their homework in training their personnel.  We had the anytime dining and the waiters made it a point to know us by name and refer to us that way.  The same with our cabin steward. 

The one issue I did have is that we put a 15 pack of canned club soda in a check in bag and it was confiscated.  I know you no longer could bring plastic bottles, and there were rather large signs about that you could not check your wine and/or champagne but nothing about cans.  You are still aloud to bring cans onto the ship if you carry them on but apparently you can not put them in your luggage.  I was able to get the soda back after a few hours which was nice considering I spent $80 for a bottle of liquor from the cruise ship and then they took my soda .

All in all though we were with friends so we did have a great time and the entertainment that we went to was very good.  A big plus was that there were not that many kids on the ship so there were plenty of lounge chairs but limited shade on this ship.

Because of hurricane Joaquin we were unable to go to Bermuda.  We were very bummed as we had planned for months and months to go on this unique cruise. Although we understand it was for the safety of everyone on board, we think that Carnival cruises should have given us the option to take this same cruise that they are offering in May 2016, instead of having to embark on a cruise we did not want (eastern Caribbean) and paid far more for.  Leaving Port Canaveral for Bermuda is a unique cruise and CANNOT be compared to going to the Caribbean.  But, besides that the dining room food on most evenings was not edible.  We had a party of 9 and every night over half of the table left all or most of their food.  The singing shows were appalling.  The female lead singer couldn't carry a note and made most of the shows loud (shouting) miserable.  Besides the casino there was little to do after 11pm.  I've been on ten (10) cruises and I would have to say this was probably one of the worst.  I will say the staff were very accommodating, helpful, and especially the servers in the dining room they were excellent. However, I will not recommend the Carnival Sunshine to my family and friends.   

We liked this cruise because it departed from Port Canaveral, which is a little over an hour from Orlando, and was a little longer than the standard 2 or 3 night cruise to Nassau. Perfect for a quick getaway. You really need more that 2 or 3 nights to get into relaxation mode and we did! Excellent value! Truly a fun cruise! Just one small note-if you don't like cigarette smoke, don't get a cabin anywhere near the casino. It will drift in from the halls.  

I had been on carnival Mardi Gras in 1980 but this was my husbands first cruise. We had balcony room deck 8, our steward was Ray a women she was awesome. Dinner was good did the formal twice..enjoyed the food in the buffet because it was casual. Other then the muster drill was long and hot I have nothing bad to say other than its over. I think the smoking section should be moved to the Serenity floor due to its 21 and older to be on that deck and away from kids

Trip was great! Everyone on the ship was so friendly! We met some pretty cool people. I loved how clean our rooms were every time we got back (Jesus) was great at that. Our waiter, murdika was the sweetest person. Definitely recommend this ship to all our friends and family! 

I was very excited to go on the Carnival cruise on the Carnival sunshine....I was,fairly disappointed as this was out 8th cruise.I felt that you can feel that they were cutting costs everywhere I turned....the food and beverage experience was only fair...the dining room food quality was nothing more than banquet food at best.they had lobster on the menu at $20.00 per person???? The on ship activities we also a disapoiment..the comedy was good however the shows were a joke.I was rather bored on sailing days....the last day they had a chocolate buffet...with a chocolate fountain ...they did not have strawberries as a cost cutting measure....come on Carnival😩

Most of the luncheon buffet was mostly made of what was for

Dinner the night before I can remember having Steak fries one

night and saw them the next morning as "Home Fries"..NOT

Even cut up,the next night we had Steak and for lunch we had

"Beef Stew",the next night we had Lamb..."ShepherdsPie" 

And had "Hot Dogs" for lunch and tried to serve hot dogs as

"BREKFAST SAUSAGE".....We are not Stupid...Enough.Paid 

for internet and worked only when we were in Port, came back

to our room and it was flooded( they did give us $47.00 a piece 

for the flooding and having a fan in our room for 2 days to dry out the room.

My partner is legally bind, and she was rousted by security because she wasn't

moving fast enough to his liking.

We have cruised before and this is not what we had in the past.Food is 

A very big part of a cruise and for it to be leftovers just isn't what we had

Ever imagine they would serve to paying customers

Ronstar

Smooth ship on the open seas, casino was fair pays better than most.

food was ok, deserts were lacking in flavor..in other words they looked better than they tasted.

all the staff was great

and as always already looking forward to the next cruise