This was my 7th cruise. I cruised with my husband and 6 adult family members, 5 of which were first time cruisers. I picked this cruise because I was excited to see the 2.0 changes as well as New Orleans.

First off, New Orleans exceeded my expectations. As I stated, "it is like a more fun and cooler Vegas minus all the hookers and casinos (well, they do have Harrah's) and instead with down to Earth, fun people. The food was (mostly) fantastic. I thought the beignets at Cafe Du Monde tasted like disappointing funnel cakes. My advice is to avoid this dirty tourist trap. We stayed at the Best Western plus French Quarter landmark hotel at 920 N. Rampart Street. Close enough to all the action but not too close (I couldn't imagine the noise if one stayed ON Bourbon Street). It was an easy walk to all the fun, I felt safe, and it was clean.

So after 2 days of New Orleans fun we excitedly boarded Sunshine. We arrived at the terminal at about 12:30PM and were onboard in maybe 45 minutes. I noticed quickly how MODERN the ship looked, not boderline cheesy as I would describe Destiny or even some of the other ships. The themed rooms and bars on Destiny were replaced with pure class. We headed to a mostly empty Cucina del Capitano and inhaled some DELICIOUS lunch. Their sauces/pastas (cooked al dente!) were perfect and satisfying to this half Italian. Read more