Just got back from a 12 day Med.cruise on the Carnival Sunshine. There were six of us in 3 rooms(two balcony one inside). Generally had a great time but also some things we didn't like. The Sunshine was recently renovated(used to be called Destiny) and the general look of the public areas was very nice, much more toned down than any of the other Carnival ships we have been on. The ship has all the new "funship 2.0" upgrades(Blue Iguana Bar, Guy Fieri? Burgers, Serenity Spa, Etc.). Although the ship was supposed to be finished there still seemed to be a lot of work being done (painting, drilling, etc.). I wouldn't mind these things so much but they felt the need to do them when we were at sea instead of when we were at port. Nothing like smelling paint and /or glue while you're relaxing on a deck lounger getting some sun!! The serenity adult area was very nice but you had to get there early(by 7am) to get a couch or cushy lounger or you were out of luck on the days we were at sea. This was the first Carnival cruise we've been on where they actually did something if you left your chair unattended for too long. They would put a sticker with the time on it and if you weren't back in 45 minutes you lost the chair. Even with that we saw people get into arguments over the chairs being unoccupied. I don't know if they'll ever solve the "unoccupied chair situation".

OK so lets start at the beginning. We began and ended at Barcelona. Embarkation and debarkation were great--never seen things go so smoothly and the terminal itself was clean and nice- unlike some of the Florida/Caribbean terminals. We got to Barcelona a few days early but you could get there the same day as the cruise if you trust the airlines. Barcelona airport is only a half hour from the cruise terminal. A taxi would have cost ~35 euros. We stayed at a hotel called Hotel Nouvel . It was off of La Rambla (a great location for just walking around). La Rambla is a street running from Placa Catalunya to Estatua de Colom. It allows some traffic but is mostly a wide boulevard for walking with street vendors and outdoor eating. The hotel cost 330 euros for 2 nights(triple room, no breakfast). It was clean and quiet.

I will go into more depth about the port stops, food, activities, etc. in another review but the cruise was a great way to see multiple cities in a short period of time.