I am an avid cruiser. If you read my other reviews you will see I have traveled many other lines and usually go with extended family. Have easily cruised 20 times and also frequent theme parks in Orlando area regularly. This trip on Sunshine included my family of 4 (14 yr old son and 17 yr old daughter) my parents in 60s, aunt in 50s, cousins in their 30s and their kids (son 17, son 10, daughter 6) and also best friends in their 40s came along. Last year July, I cruised on the Sunshine and had such a fabulous time that I eagerly talked my group and also some other friends that I didn't mention, to book this ship for this Spring Break. Embarkation is smooth - no problems. It prob took about 30 min from checking in the front door to boarding ship. Had fantastic lunch as soon as we got on and was able to eat in the Havana Bar area were it is not crowded. The Havana bar also easily took care of finding that my hubby was already prepaid for drink package and gave him his sticker and we also decided to buy soda package for our 2 teens. No problems, and quick service (hint: tip a dollar and they bartenders will remember you and come serve you faster when there is a crowd). I am going to give overall summary of experience now:

Cabins - Had balcony room and it was nice. It was on Deck 9 and easy to get to the center of action. Bad thing is that when you are Spring Breaking, kids run nonstop up the hall till around midnight. Not messing anything up, but it is not quiet so warning to book elsewhere if you like more quiet or cruise during a diff time of season. The stewardess kept our room clean and turned down. I didn't see her until day 3. She wasn't as friendly as most others I have had but she did a good job so no complaints there. ANother plus, fridge is now empty so you don't have that "junk" of snacks for sale to bother you so you can actually put stuff in there to keep cool for later.

Dining - HIt and miss. Some of the wait staff was super attentive and some nights the food fantastic, other nights were so-so. The one night my group of 16 ate together was terrible. 2 of the members never even got their dessert. Also, the night of celebration for our anniversary and my daughter bday was not honored that night. Even though they did do it the next night, my extended family was not present so it was not as meaningful. One plus for the ship is that the wait for that large group was close to 40 min and they later sent some goodies through room service to apologize, nice touch. And a pointer, if you get the all inclusive drink package, you can get the large liter bottle of water for no charge. No you cant get it from your room as one lazy waiter tried to say because he didn't want to go to the back to get one - they will charge you. INSIST they give you one. It is convenient to have by pool or wake up thirsty in middle of night. Read more