Carnival Sunshine Review
Rating by category
Additional details
This cruise was chosen for a family reunion; 15 family members set sail out of New York for a short cruise to Canada. The New York sail away was wonderful – past lower Manhattan, the Freedom Tower, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.
Carnival is almost never my first choice for a cruise, but the Sunshine proved to be the best Carnival ship I have been on. The common areas were clean, fresh, and well-appointed. That being said, these same common areas are designed for a ship of about 1500; since the Sunshine carries about 3000 passengers, all common areas are constantly crowded with more passengers than can be accommodated.
The food was generally good, but not outstanding (except for the melting chocolate cake at dessert; my son also assures me that Guy’s hamburgers were great). As with most buffets, the Sunshine’s was marginal, at best. It took a day to figure out that the omelet station for breakfast was actually located in the Havana Bar off the back of the main balcony, and it was a much calmer place to breakfast with much better food than the main buffet.
Cabin Review
Aft-View Extended Balcony
Our cabin was small, but clean and adequate. (Based on the fact that we were paying a premium for an aft extended balcony, the space could have been much better!) The one major flaw was a refrigerator plugged in and under the only place where one could sit to dry hair and put on makeup, or write a letter or word a keyboard. Really, it was of no value and cut down on the space considerably. There were not enough hangers AT ALL and those that were there were scratched up and snagged plastic - not anything you would want to hang a delicate garment on. (I highly recommend taking your own hangers on a cruise - space considerations on luggage prevented me from doing so on this trip)
Port Reviews
Halifax
Halifax is a great port, and I have been there before. Ships are always met by a bag pipe player as the city has a Scottish history and was home for a time to the 78th Highlander Regiment of the British army. This time, rather than take a shore excursion, we grabbed a taxi at the terminal and went to the Citadel, an old British fort at the top of the hill where actors working for Parks Canada recreate what the fort was like while a working defense fort designed to protect Halifax from a land attack. (It has worked, as Halifax has never been attacked from the land side). We got there in time to see a rifle demonstration, take the English tour, and see the cannon fired, which is shot everyday at noon in a ceremony, and hear more bag pipes. We then took the long, beautiful walk back to the pier through downtown Halifax and the waterfront, stopping for a late lunch at the Alexander Keith’s Brewery, which is a must see.