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Carnival Cruise Lines

Full review - 6/22 to 27 Carnival Sunshine

By Cruise till you drop , June 28 in Carnival Cruise Lines

Cruise till you drop

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Carnival Platinum members for a long time who have went off to Celebrity mostly and to some extent Princess. Making a small comeback with a 5 night family cruise.

Things that Carnival did well

A) The cabin seems spacious for a balcony. Bathroom shower is a nice size, storage space is good. Bed is comfortable. Pillows were not so good for me but everyone has different opinions about pillows.

B) Food in MDR was pretty good but portions are definitely smaller. I don’t mind smaller portions but some of the hungrier adults in our group weren’t so impressed with smaller portion size so they started ordering multiple appetizers. Carnival accommodated those requests.

C) Food in the buffet was also pretty good but it does seem like the number of stations are much smaller than the past (perhaps because of the burger, pizza, deli and burrito places that many utilize). The deli is open late which I thought was nice. And as always, Omelettes in the Havana area was a treat.

D) Towel animals in the stateroom continues and is a nice touch for the kids

E) Ports of call - Nassau was ok as we did the Margaritaville Resort Day Pass and that was a blast (we booked this on our own and was also very walkable)

F) Staff was friendly and accommodating

Things that Carnival fell short

i) Embarkation was a little confusing but as Platiunum, we got on about 25 minutes faster than our non Platinum travel mates (family). I can see why people say Charleston port was not built for cruise ships as this had to be the funkiest and slowest boarding for us for some time (mostly Celebrity and Princess lately).

ii) Carnival Sunshine seems to have been fairly well maintained but feels crowded for sure in terms of common space and the number of passengers. Everywhere you go just seems crowded.

iii) For families with kids, there is really only one pool and it’s small and overcrowded, especially on sea days (really no room to swim). And they station a guard at the pool and if there is any swimming or splashing, you get warned because it’s a soaking pool, not a swimming pool (basically as there is only one main pool, it gets crowded and all you can do is stand in one place and soak, including the kids). Also the deck gets very hot and scorches your feet. There were 2 hot tubs which always seemed full.

iv) There is a kids splash zone but it’s very small and suitable only for very young children in my opinion.

v) In our group of 4 cabins, we’ve experienced

A) fridge does not work (but it was quickly replaced)

B) bathroom that smells like urine

C) No baby crib when we arrived and when they brought it and set it up, neglected to put in a mattress

D) Luggage tags never arrived.

vi) As for the cabin, no end tables beside the bed and charging station is not bedside are huge pet peeves. The room gets hot at night, and the WiFi is horrible in the cabins, especially on the balcony (people aren’t spending money if they’re in the cabins and balcony)

vii) WiFi is terrible. Not only doesn’t it work in places such as your balcony, it cuts out a lot and you have to constantly log back in. Very annoying.

viii) We had the bubbles package with includes Soda and Juices but no bottle of water. Thats insane to me. It was about half the reason to get it.

ix) Casino is very Smokey so I didn’t bother. Part of the group did participate with various levels of success (last season day was the worst luck).

x) Arcade is also very Smokey as it’s beside the casino. Also many games are a rip off as they are almost impossible to win (esp the claw machines)

xi) Bingo is also a complete rip off as they advertise a $5,000 prize on the last day but when you show up, they say it’s only awarded if someone gets Bingo within 49 calls (which is very difficult to do). After 49th call, basically winner gets $1,500. Overall for the 3 games, Carnival gave away $2,250 but likely pulled in at least $10 to $20K in profit.

xii) Ports of call - Princess Keys was kind of a wasteful day as at least one of their tender boats was put out of commission and we were about 1.5 hours delayed getting off the ship. And it’s an ok stop but it’s a beach stop and that’s about it. And a big storm rolled in and everyone got in line to go back and that was slow, again due to the tenders out of commission.

Conclusion - if you sail with Carnival and go on the Sunshine, you need to go in with very very low expectations. They do the food right, but in other areas, they are lacking in a big way. For us, even though we’re Platinum, I’m afraid we are done with Carnival as we’ve experienced so much more with Celebrity and somewhat Princess. I realize those may be apples and oranges but I don’t see Carnival charging much less for a cruise so in my eyes, they need to be compared.

I feel that Carnival used to be about families and kids but IMHO, it’s all about the adults now and how to make the max amount of money (this seems to be what Carnival is all about now).

If you have any questions, let me know

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Thank you for taking the time to write this review

Hugs from Texas

Thanks for the review. Bingo is the same on every Carnival ship, IMHO a waste of time. The Sunshine is in her twilight days, obviously not the same experience as sailing their new ships.

8 hours ago, jimbo5544 said: Thanks for the review. Bingo is the same on every Carnival ship, IMHO a waste of time. The Sunshine is in her twilight days, obviously not the same experience as sailing their new ships.

What surprises me is that once this ship moves to Norfolk VA in Jan 2025, it will start doing 8 and 6 day cruises to the Bahamas. I would have thought with her age that she was destined for 4 and 5 nighters.

14 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said: What surprises me is that once this ship moves to Norfolk VA in Jan 2025, it will start doing 8 and 6 day cruises to the Bahamas. I would have thought with her age that she was destined for 4 and 5 nighters.

I have seen more than a couple movements that have me scratching my head, but I am sure there are a lot of dynamics to the equation.

A couple of follow up points from my original review

a) disembark at Charleston was terrible, mostly as a result of waiting 45-60 minutes for a shuttle bus to take us from the ship to the parking lot (for those that drove to the port). If we would have known that, we could have walked there faster

b) I got Covid. I was feeling tired and congested during disembark day and the day after. Took a home test and it was positive. I think I have a mild case but not a souvenir I was planning to bring home

Thank you for your review. A fair and accurate assessment, in our opinion.

6 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said: A couple of follow up points from my original review a) disembark at Charleston was terrible, mostly as a result of waiting 45-60 minutes for a shuttle bus to take us from the ship to the parking lot (for those that drove to the port). If we would have known that, we could have walked there faster b) I got Covid. I was feeling tired and congested during disembark day and the day after. Took a home test and it was positive. I think I have a mild case but not a souvenir I was planning to bring home

Covid is here to stay.

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said: Covid is here to stay.

You’re probably right but it still comes as a shock, especially when you try to be so careful. And it sucks when it happens to you

1 hour ago, Cruise till you drop said: You’re probably right but it still comes as a shock, especially when you try to be so careful. And it sucks when it happens to you

We agree on all of that. I was not trying to drag this into a Covid discussion, rather, more of a comment on this experience called life, as opposed to a cruising experience.

2 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said: You’re probably right but it still comes as a shock, especially when you try to be so careful. And it sucks when it happens to you

Cruise ship is not a place that is called being safe. But a lot of people traveling by air are also bringing back. It’s is what it is - live life.

Celebrity and carnival have very little in common. I am not surprised by your review. Seems pretty much what I expected.

Thank you for the review. We will be on the Sunshine in August.

The Sunshine is are favorite ship, been on 10 times. 6 of those from Charleston. Going again in Sept. Completely agree with the embarkation/debarkation process, lots of steps involved. But we still have always been sitting in the Havana Bar having our first drink and eating some lunch by 11:30.

We love it because it has everything we enjoy and the areas we like to hang out in.

I see people say it feels crowded, but we have never felt that. Unlike the Mardi Gras, that feels crowded.

Sad to see it going to Norfolk, with no parking at the port, now that appears to be a nightmare of a bus ride from the videos I have seen.

A lot of good times on the Sunshine.

23 hours ago, CruisinArn said: The Sunshine is are favorite ship, been on 10 times. 6 of those from Charleston. Going again in Sept. Completely agree with the embarkation/debarkation process, lots of steps involved. But we still have always been sitting in the Havana Bar having our first drink and eating some lunch by 11:30. We love it because it has everything we enjoy and the areas we like to hang out in. I see people say it feels crowded, but we have never felt that. Unlike the Mardi Gras, that feels crowded. Sad to see it going to Norfolk, with no parking at the port, now that appears to be a nightmare of a bus ride from the videos I have seen. A lot of good times on the Sunshine.

Good points. As for the crowds feeling, our most recent experiences have been on newer Celebrity and Princess ships so perhaps not a fair comparison. But I will say the worst crowding on the ship had to be the Lido deck pool area on Sea days.

On 6/29/2024 at 7:04 AM, jimbo5544 said: Thanks for the review. Bingo is the same on every Carnival ship, IMHO a waste of time. The Sunshine is in her twilight days, obviously not the same experience as sailing their new ships.

Bingo is a rip-off on all the ships now. As an older ship, Sunshine's design is old and crowded. I agree that Charleston had the worst embarkation and debarkation of any port we have ever used.

Not sad to see it moving to Norfolk, as we are about 15 minutes from the port and booked for March next year!

Well, maybe a little sad, because it would have been nice to have a different ship, but better than no ship. I'm still excited to see what the Sunshine is like, and it's an Uber ride away, so no worrying about the parking situation. We've done Norfolk before, and no real complaints.

Thank you info in the review - I don't think I'm too surprised with anything in the review, we usually know what to expect from Carnival. I wouldn't think there is any comparison to Celebrity or even Princess, I know when I've priced things, it's never been close.

47 minutes ago, simplelife said: Bingo is a rip-off on all the ships now. As an older ship, Sunshine's design is old and crowded. I agree that Charleston had the worst embarkation and debarkation of any port we have ever used.

Nothing has changed with bingo on Carnival ships, so I am not sure what the “now” comment is in reference to. The Sunshine is the first of a significant redo of three older ships. Options are a good thing, if you want newer ships and sail from main ports, then you can do that. My guess people in SC love having a ship that sails from Charleston. Is the terminal the same as Miami or PC? Nope. Does it save people a bunch of $$ in cruising local? Yup

Cruise Envy

What was the platinum gift on your cruise?

We sail Sunshine at least once a year as we love going down to Charleston and its only a little over a 3 hr drive so that is a bonus. Although we generally prefer the newer, bigger ships hand down, the Sunshine is the one older version that we dont mind for a quick hitter. Although different than the norm, we know the embark and debark situation very well so its not an issue for us.

I can see where crowding can be an issue for some if you frequent lido and the pool areas in general (or the buffet etc.). We make sure we have our own outdoor space as a reprieve from the masses or visit serenity (Sunshine has one of the best serenity areas by far). We will be on Sunshine to say our goodbyes to port Charleston this December. We may catch Sunshine out of Norfolk at some point but we are not fans of the area and its further north than we care to cruise from so have no plans at this time.

...You’re probably right but it still comes as a shock, especially when you try to be so careful. And it sucks when it happens to you...

Not sure how covid on a cruise ship, airplane or any other place where there are crowds can possibly be a shock at this point. Take precautions if you are so inclined as the one thing we have learned is "people" spread the virus. The more people, the more chances increase.

Sickballer34

Does anyone know when they open the parking lot and what time is the first check in time for the Sunshine out of Charleston? Just curious as we have a 4 plus hour drive and wondering when we can at least park....thanks

I’m assuming the parking lot opens early as there are people exiting the ship from the disembarking cruise and need to get out of the lot.

The first arrival time for the next cruise starts at 10:30am. We got there sometime between 10 and 10:30 and lot was open

39 minutes ago, Sickballer34 said: Does anyone know when they open the parking lot and what time is the first check in time for the Sunshine out of Charleston? Just curious as we have a 4 plus hour drive and wondering when we can at least park....thanks

They usually don't open the parking lot until around 9:30. Once all the folks from the last cruise are out.

Thanks appreciate the info

Heyyy, we were on the same sailing as you! I agree that the ship was crowded and I felt like there were lines for everything. We did the Faster to the Fun and felt like that was definitely worth it for embarkation, we were on the ship fairly quickly. We also opted to unload ourselves and walk to our car, it was quite a haul, but we were at our car by 7:05am! We also came down with Covid. Good times. The Facebook group for this sailing was showing that LOTS of people got it.