Price and ports of call. This was our very first cruise (but not our last). We loved the Sunshine - took us newbie oldtimers a bit to learn how the dining room worked, the different decks etc etc. Only downside for me was the amount of young children on our ship (600) I like kids but these were 8 to 12 year olds that hogged the main pool and 2 hot tubs, screamed constantly and so loud it interfered with the dive in movie we watched at midnight! I kept wondering - where are their parents that this is ok??? However, all that didn't bother my husband at all.

Staff was outstanding - bent over backwards to be friendly and do anything they could to serve us. We felt like kings!

Good shore excursions and I even won a catamaran & snorkeling outing in St. Maartens! (excited beyond belief). We are already booked for another 8 days in December but Western Caribbean this time and are sticking with Carnival - their service cannot be faulted in every department.