My mom (88) and I cruised on the 5/17/13 sailing of the Carnival Sunshine. First of all, we experienced nothing like those poor people on the initial 5/5/13 sailing! Our room did not flood, our toilet worked and only a couple of times did we smell the awful odor others have complained about and then only in the hallways.

Our expectations were for a completely renovated ship, great food, wonderful excursions to places we have only dreamed about in Europe, and lots of shipboard activities. I have to say our expectations were met except for the "completely renovated ship" one: while the ship was indeed refurbished and beautiful, it was not the complete renovation the Sales Agents were promising. Nothing awful, mind you, just not completely truthful. For example: in our bathroom, you could see where the mildew was removed from the shower surround with bleach, leaving orange stains; the sprinkler head in the ceiling of our cabin was held up with masking tape (!); our balcony had exposed rust spots; the entrance to the Main Dining Room on Deck 3 had a very, very dirty sill on it; there was dust everywhere, so much so in our cabin that I wrote my name in it; nothing below the passenger decks has been done, as evidenced by my visit to the Medical Center: awful, peeling linoleum floors, extremely dirty door surrounds, really a mess considering it is a Medical office. The doctor and nurses, however, were extremely professional and competent and it is a real shame they have to work in such awful surroundings.

About my visit to the Medical Center: almost immediately upon entering our cabin, my allergies were activated. I believe it is mold in the ceiling, since the vent where the a/c blows is far from new and had dark stains on it. I bought Benedryl from the gift shop ($14.00!!!) and it did nothing. When I would leave my cabin, my allergies would improve; when I returned, it would become unbearable again. Finally after 5 days of this, I went to see the doctor and got a steroid shot ($127.00 for visit and shot). I went to Customer Service and requested a refund of that money because I believe it is mold left in the cabin, but they would not refund it. Oh, well, live and learn: they were MY allergies after all. lol And I'm sure the dust didn't help either. On the 6th day of the cruise, my mom came down with the allergies! She chose to just wait it out and now I'm having to take her to the doctor tomorrow for her shot. Read more