Carnival Sunshine Cruise Reviews - Reviews

This is a refurbished ship, so you have to take that into account when you consider things like cabins, amenities, etc.  Overall, this is a solid ship, and this itinerary is very good.    The best part of the ship is probably the Children's Water Works play area on Decks 11-12.  It is really great.   The worst parts of the ship are the main lounge and the evening shows/entertainment.   The main lounge looks like it is from the 70's, with weird lighting, poor seating, and it always feels ridiculously cold in there.   

I enjoyed my vacation because of the people I met and also my family memebers we're there. The staff could of been more happy and friendly, the islands were amazing. When you go to Aruba make sure its planned and you have everything you want to do set.

I was woken up every morning and kept awake for hours every single night by random LOUD noises coming from below (room 1505, first floor, so likely the engine room or cargo hold on floor 0). Absolutely ruined the trip.

But there were other negative elements;

1. St Kitts was a horrible place

2. Everything in St Kitts was also closed due to it being a holiday

3. The last shore leave was cut short (departure moved from 5pm to 3)

4. We were over an hour late for getting off the boat two times, stuck standing in a hall all that while waiting for them to get the clearance for us to debark

5. The pools were far too small and constantly full

6. Far too little time in San Juan

7. They stopped people on the gang way to take their pictures while there was a MASSIVE line to get off (we were at the front of the line to get off and were over an hour late, I can't imagine how long it took for those at the back of the line when every 3 or 4 couples would stop and wait for their picture to be taken... multiple times... )

I did not want to wait an hour in line to see a comic perform in a small room instead of on a stage where the people could enjoy it.

The Hasbro show may have been good for 10 year olds.

And why did they fire the bands that used to play by the pool??  Too darn Cheap.

This was our first cruise.  We loved everything about the trip!  The shows were entertaining,  the excursions on the islands were everything we expected. The seating for dinner was quick. All staff were courteous. We saw several comedians and enjoyed all shows.  You will have to stand in line to get into the comedy show. 

Only complaint would be to have them lock the exit doors before next show for comedian.  People leave then sneak back in the exit.  It is awful when you waited 20-30 minutes and then see someone come in the exit.  There were shows we could not get into because it was so full.  We watched 15 people walk back in the exit one night.  The show was not even that crowded at that time.

Staff was wonderful, clean boat, always activities on board, we love Carnival! The staff is very attentive to our needs.  Enjoy being able to get food 24/7 and always had a clean room.

Overall, the cruise is just what we needed to get away for a few days.  The weather was good and the overall experience was fine.  Did not get to watch any of the shows completely, but what I saw was okay.  We spent most of our time in the casino, since that what my mother likes to do.

Cruise was enjoyable and relaxing.  Only disappointment was the anytime eating for dinner.  On previous ships you went right to the dinning room and only waited about 5 to 10 minutes to get seated.  On this cruise you had to go to the 5th deck wait in line to get a time to eat and one night was given a pager and waited 45 minutes to get seated.  To me this isn't anytime eating.  We were able to get an assigned eating time and from then on things were fine.  Loved having so many days at sea.

We enjoyed the cruise soo much!  We (my husband and 23 yr old son) went on this cruise with my youngest sister and her boyfriend to celebrate her 50th birthday.  The Farenheit 555 staff was very helpful in making her birthday dinner special.  They made a special birthday dessert with a candle for her and added a glass of champagne to make the dinner a super festive occasion! The ship was beautiful, the destinations were absolutely beautiful,we enjoyed great food and tropical drinks and felt spoiled by the attentive staff.  We can't wait for our next Carnival Cruise!!!

If you want the cruise experience at a good value I would defiantly recommend Carnival. The onboard shows were outstanding, the comedy club was top notch with the but a little over crowded. The only thing I could complain about is the food. I have been on many cruises lines and the this one has or should I say had the worst food for the first 3-4 days of the cruise. I am talking about the food that is included with the price not the stuff you find in the restaurants that you pay extra for....that was pretty good. Now maybe I got use to it or maybe there were some issues that got resolved but by the end of the cruise the food in the main dinning room was really not bad, so something changed. But all in all I would say if you are trying to save a few hundred and don't mind eating fast food quality for a few days it a pretty good time.

Cruise was excellent. Itinerary was what we were looking for. The price was great. A few improvements could be useful. The anytime dining is not recommended, choose an assigned seating (less confusion and less wait time). The disembarkation needs to be revised. It took forever to get off the ship and we missed our shuttle pickup and had to wait 2 hours for another shuttle. Of course we could have made it, if we carried ALL of our own luggage off ourselves (being senior citizens, that is not a reality). The smoke in the casino was so bad, we had to use other decks to go bow to aft.

Overall it was a great cruise and we would recommend it.

My husband turned 40 on the water! We really enjoyed the spa, our balcony, the entertainment, the food, the ports. We stayed busy and didn't even get to do everything that the boat had to offer (mini-golf, skywalk, waterslides). The 3-story serenity deck for adults only was the place to hang out away from the kids and that was nice, since we don't have them yet! 

We had a wonderful  and relaxing time.

I liked the way they did anytime dining this year.

Due to the high volume of children on board due to the summer month I wish that the second PG comedy show at 8:30  did not include children. We liked to have dinner, go to the 7:15 show and then the 8:30 comedy show.  The later comedy shows I did not enjoy due to the language and the nature of the subjects. 

The transfers to and from the airport were great.

Everyone on the ship were warm, caring and very hard workers.

I loved Jamie Dee. The first time we had a female director. She was so enthusiastic, involved and helpful. She added a lot to our cruise.

We are experienced cruisers and this is the perfect cruise to take your grandchildren on their first cruise! This was our first Carnival adventure. We brought two girls, a 9 year old and a 14 year old. The cruise programs were exciting for both of them and Carnival really targets the kids programs for each specific age group. Our “adult” 14 year old loved staying in the program to 1AM without grandparents hovering. Both the girls loved the Dress-up evening and being treated every night in the dining room as a grown-up. Now for another great part for parents and grandparents! Want to get away from the kids from an hour or two? The adults only section on deck 11 is noise free and a delight. What was amazing on the cruise is that we felt VERY comfortable letting the grandkids do their thing away from us from the first day. There is always Carnival personal around with eye and ear contact of the kids every minute. What I also liked was that bar venues are a bit off the track of the kids areas. The water park on top of the ship was amazing! We loved the PG and adult shows of the comedian. A 5 day cruise with carnival is the perfect cruise to spend exclusive time with your grandkids. The staff was excellent from our cabins to the dining room. 

This was our first cruise and we didn’t know what to expect. We spoke with fellow cruise members that stated Sunshine was a good ship to be on; however the ship itself is just a vessel. It was the staff and crew members that truly made the Sunshine a memorable vacation. Five stars ladies and gentlemen!!

The boat was a bit crowded but that just meant you had to adjust your schedule a little. We barely waited in food lines but comedy and the shows were always packed. Lots to do around the boat to keep busy. If you want a sun chair, get one EARLY as they are all gone by about 10am and stay occupied throughout the day. Boat was clean and all the wait staff was extremely friendly. 

Had a Great Cruise was not ready to come home. All of the excursions were nice but Grand Turk was really a poor and dirty island.Jewelry is very reasonable in St. Kitts. The shows on board were Awesome! Also it was my sons 15th Birthday and all of the staff made him feel very special.

 I hadn't cruised in 4 years, and didn't know what to expect on the Sunshine since it was an older cruise ship. I was impressed and had a wonderful time with my family and extended family.

The dining room staff was the best on earth and made our experience all that much better.  Jose/Joey, Adrian, Dragan and Shakiera, you were the best!!

Our cabin steward Andy also kept up with our messes and made our room the best cabin, thanks for all your hard work!

The Zappitelli Family

First cruise. Stayed mostly on the Atlantic side. Really was looking forward to those aqua waters. Too much shopping pushed down your throat for my taste. 

A carnival cruise that was just a little above the normal.  We have taken over thirty cruises on many different ships on numerous cruise lines and know what we like and what we expect.  This is a very good Carnival cruise and I recommend it to anyone looking for a get away.  We did go at the wrong time of the year. And that alone created some problems for us. However, overall it was a good cruise and on that I would recommend.