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Carnival Pride

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Good value, fun cruise despite drawbacks

Puerto Vallarta

This was the my first cruise and it was the worst experience that I have ever had... the rooms were flooded out and there was a mold smell/musty smell and the food was awful. They help me to my room when we first got on but didn't help at all when we got ready to  go and I am disabled  and needed help.  My skin was irritated by something  inside of the room .  When I came home  i had bit marks and red marks all over my body I went to the doctor and it turns out that I got bit by bed bugs! The pool that was on the ship was disgusting as though they didn't clean the water inside it. The windows where also dirty as well you could barely see through them. The dining area was not sweep or vacuum it was food all over the floors. I would never refer anybody this this cruise. So this is a warning of some of the things and my experience on this cruise

Absolute worst cruise ever

We chose this cruise line because of the balance of fun for both the kids and us adults. We had a fantastic time aboard sunshine. Staff were phenomenal, always working hard and in great spirits and our housekeeping/room attendant Yoko even knew all of our names and made it a point to make sure we always had what we needed. There is so many activities to do on the ship its often hard to choose! Our family loved the Dr Seuss parade and breakfast. We also enjoyed the water park almost daily. The only downside was the pool was quite small and often way to crowded to get in. There were plenty of lounge chairs to enjoy by the pool and soak up some sun though. There were always tons of options for food through out the day from breakfast to dinner and the restaurants aboard. Our kids particularly loved the endless all day ice cream. We even were able to take our kids to camp ocea and enjoy adult time and had a wonderful couples massage at spa 9. Overall it was a wonderful experience for all of us.

Carnival sunshine 

My significant other chose this cruise as a family and friends vacation. The smoothest part was leaving the ship on the last day, but that was just the best luck we had the whole trip. She’s much more of an avid cruiser than me. It’s been 10+ years since my last cruise. The food was worse than hospital food-all of the food-(and I know this because I work in a hospital). It’s very obvious the ship is being retired and money is being restricted to keep the profit margins the same. If you order drinks (alcohol or nonalcoholic) it will be your entire meal before they are delivered to your table. And don’t ask for directions to anywhere. No one actually walks you there. I will say the housekeeping for our cabin was fabulous. I fully believe they did the absolute best they could with the resources given to them.  Entertainment was ok. Kids enjoyed the kids camp more than we thought. The shows were very good. There wasn’t a huge variety to choose from in my opinion. A child’s hand was caught in the elevator door because the safety sensors are not working correctly, half the elevators barely recognize an adult hand. The medical tent was going to charge $500 just to wake the doctor.  We waited longer for a shuttle to half moon cay than we actually got to spend time there. Oh and you have to walk through the smoking section to get to the kids camp. Just beware that since Carnival will no longer sail from Charleston, and this ship is retiring, the quality of this cruise overall will only decrease.

Aging ship and bad food

First the embarking and debarking wasn’t bad at all we had a great room steward was great it was our first cruise we sailed out of Charleston I guess we had our hopes up more than we should’ve we drove 7 hours to get to the port rented a room for two nights prior so we was out a lot of money to begin with.  The first night went pretty well sorta confused where the dining room was, was disappointed with the food over all it is sustainable we never ate at the specialty restaurants.  The atrium and lobby is very lovely I can say that our room was clean the ship however shows her age a lot though.  The ship has adequate bars and pretty much good service with an exception to some staff.  The live music played every night we felt it was in the cabin with us we heard it to plainly to rest.  It rained all day at Nassau so really never enjoyed it which wasn’t Carnivals fault our next stop was Half Moon Cay we were super excited about it and was on the elevator when it was canceled due to impending weather well that was very very disappointing no the weather couldn’t be helped.  We however would’ve loved to have sailed back one day early and salvaged what was left of our vacation some place else.  Carnival should help with expenses or future cruises as much as it all costs when their island they own is cancelled.  One thing I really think they can improve on is how they distribute soda no kid should have to go to the bars to order a Pepsi like  they are ordering shots if crown and it’s very inconvenient for everyone and not everyone wants alcohol all the time they are there. They should have soda and beverage stations for that.  Over all I don’t want to book another cruise and I’d my mind don’t change I won’t.

Not what I expected 

I don't get homesick...and wanted to go home

Onboarding their computer system crashed and they lost 2,500 people's registration information. Lines were terrible and hot. They cut corners in everyway on included food and drinks. Nothing I ate was good. We only tried our dining room once and it wasn't good. The two mornings bacon was available they would monitor giving two pieces. Included food areas were over crowded and tables were sparse during normal dining times. Drink packages are a scam. Like many others I met, drinking and drinking yet feeling nothing. But the casino where people were spending money had stronger drinks. This made me question if water was added to the booze in main areas. The main pool was very small and too cold to get in. We had bad weather both ship days so water areas were out and hot tubs were over crowded. I was traveling with my 4 year old so daycare was the reason I chose a cruise for our vacation. We walked in and heard several kids crying for their mommies. This made me very nervous but he wanted to try. His area was grossly over crowded and when I picked him up an hour and a half later he said don't take me there no more. They said it was craft time but he told me they did have any supplies left and they just sat there. So me time, spa time, casino,ect was out without childcare. He didn't enjoy this but they had a daily show I liked in the Liquid Lounge. Halfmoon Cay was beautiful but again issues with getting off ship. We didn't get there until 12 and had to head back due to long boarding lines at 3. We missed the buffet so we could have a little beach time. The best part had so little time. Off boarding this morning people were lined all the way down steps at 7AM with luggage they didn't even check hoping to get off the ship faster. The staff members were saying to each other why is everyone so unhappy and wanting off? I still feel off balance from the ship rocking. My cabinet doors would open and shut water was so rough. Cold water and no daycare left our young kids with nothing to do but stay in our rooms.

Not what I was expecting 

Went with family and this was my first cruise. Staff was extremely helpful and friendly. We loved the feeling of being pampered and did not even have to clean up after ourselves, even though I did so. Dining was exceptional and the crew was out of this world, they really rocked their jobs. 

We took a couple of excursions, not enough time in Nassau to do what we wanted, Blue Lagoon was okay. The couples spa was awesome of course, scavenger hunt was so much fun, loved the outdoor movie, casino was not so good to me, oh well you win some you lose some. The comedy show was a little risky-a for my husband and I but we tried it. 

Only true down side was I left my bracelet in my cabin when we debarked and have not been able to get it back. Anyway we love it and plan to cruise many more times. We had a great  time.

Just Ducky cruise

We sailed on the Carnival Sunshine out of Charleston, SC on a 5-day cruise that started on 04/24/23.

This was our 11th Carnival Cruise and 31st cruise overall (19 with NCL and 1 with RCCL). We have Platinum status with Carnival.

We had flown into Charleston the day before and had reservations at the Embassy Suites in the historic district on Meeting Street. It is located inside the former Citadel fortress. 

Our flight into Charleston arrived at 10:00 am on that Sunday, 04/23. We took a taxi ($30) to the hotel and since we had arrived well before their check-in time, they let us store our luggage in a secure room while we went out to explore the old part of the city.

We had purchased combo tickets to take two tours that day, a horse and carriage tour and a harbor cruise tour.

The hotel is only a block away from the bus stops for the free DASH shuttles the city has in the historic district. The shuttles run every 20 minutes or so and we jumped on one that had a stop on Market Street. We walked through the famous markets located there in block-long buildings while checking out the various vendor booths and their displays.

Our first tour was with Palmetto Carriage Tours and their barn is located just a block away from the markets. We arrived there an hour and a half early and decided to sit inside to be out of the sun. While waiting for our tour, an earlier carriage tour was loading. One of the staff there asked if we wanted to get onto the earlier tour since they had 2 open seats which was fine with us.

Our carriage was pulled by a large blonde roan horse named Bezos. The tour took us an hour ride with informative narration by the driver. We found out that the horses come from Amish country farms and are well cared for. We also found out that all carriage tours must stop at a city checkpoint where they told which route they can take. That means that you can take several tours and see different parts of the city each time. We enjoyed the tour and would recommend it to all.

After we returned to the barn, we walked a few blocks back up to Meeting Street to catch another Dash shuttle back towards our hotel where we hopped off and immediately jumped onto a different shuttle that would bring us to the waterfront. The harbor tour’s pier was only a few blocks from a bus stop near the aquarium.

We just missed one cruise that had left a few minutes before we arrived, so we hung out walking around the area to admire the harbor views. 

The 1 1/2 hour tour on the Carolina Belle took us past the harbor sights going out to Fort Sumter and passing other fort areas as well as Patriots Point where the USS Yorktown and USS Laffey are docked. We finished the tour going under the Ravenel bridge before returning to the pier. It was an interesting tour. They sell drinks and snacks and they have restrooms on board. You can sit on the open top deck or down below in the closed deck with chairs and windows for viewing. We wanted to sit below, but the air conditioning made it very cold down there.

After our harbor cruise, we walked back to the bus stop and took a shuttle back to the hotel where we found that our room was ready, so we checked in. After gathering our luggage, we went to our room. The hotel is incorporated in the historic old fortress. Our room had 2 gun slits in the brick outer wall. The service and staff of the hotel was amazing.

Day One

The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel before heading to the cruise terminal. Taxis are scarce in the inner city, so the front desk had arranged a car service to take us to the terminal which was about a mile away. 

We arrived at the terminal around 10:00 am. The terminal to check in is not next to the pier area. As platinum members, we had a priority boarding and were seated in a designated waiting area. By 11:00 am, they were calling groups to start the boarding process which entailed leaving the first terminal and boarding buses that brought us to the second terminal which located next to the pier by the ship.

We were on board the ship by 11:30 am. While we had been told prior to our trip that as a platinum benefit that we could drop off our carry-on luggage at our cabin immediately after boarding, we found out that all cabins were not accessible while their crews prepared them. We just headed topside for a quick snack and then walked around exploring the ship.

The Sunshine was our 10th different Carnival ship to sail on. We found out that she had been originally named the Destiny when she was launched in 1996. She was refitted and renamed the Sunshine in 2013. She had additional improvements added in 2018. Currently, she is the oldest ship in the Carnival fleet. A lot of the ship seemed to have a fresh look to it which impressed us.

By 1:00 pm, they announced that the cabins were now open, so we headed down to cabin 82** which was an inside cabin on deck 8 located midship under the lido pool deck area. Our luggage had already arrived, so we took everything inside and unpacked immediately.

We headed back topside to find a shady spot to sit and watch the sail away which was scheduled for 4:00 pm. We ended on deck 10 overlooking the pool area below. At 4:00 pm, the ship let out a load blast of its horn and everyone clapped and yelled in celebration. They had a DJ playing a fun party tunes which had a lot of folks dancing in unison by the pool. We sailed out past Fort Sumter as we headed out to sea.

For dinner, we just went to the Lido Marketplace buffet which is fine with me. 

They had two comedians performing on the ship, Steve Wilson and Spike Davis. We went to both of their shows in the Limelight Lounge. We lucked out in that when we left the first show, the line for the second show was very short. After the comedians, we went to the Liquid Lounge Theater to see the Welcome Aboard show hosted by the cruise director, James Love who mentioned that we had 3,400 passengers on the ship. We thought the comedians were funny and the show which included a performance by the Playlist Productions cast was entertaining. 

Day Two

This was a scheduled sea day. After sleeping in, we went to the Ocean Plaza to attend a trivia game before going up to the buffet for a late breakfast. We attended a few more trivia games in the afternoon and then went back up to the pool area to sit in the shade and listen to the DJ playing music.

We had signed up for “Your Time Dining” which started at 5:30 pm in the Sunset Dining Room. This required us using the Carnival Hub app on our phone to check in when we were ready to be seated. The app would confirm a table number and you would walk up to the counter before they took you to the assigned table. My wife ordered a steak while 

I ordered a fish dish. My meal was okay, but the steak was under cooked and tough.

For the evening entertainment, they had the same two comedians with three shows between them along with a Playlist Production Show called “Soul Train”. We had seen all of the Playlist Production on other Carnival cruises, so we decided to see the first two comedian shows. This time, the line for the second show was a bit longer than the first night. But we were able to get into both shows which were funny.

Day Three

This day had a port visit this day to Nassau, Bahamas. Our ship was the only one in port this day. It was our 7th visit to Nassau, so we decided to stay on board the ship and enjoy it while being less crowded.

We started the day with a trivia game before heading up for breakfast. We did a few more trivia games and then headed back to the lido deck for a quick lunch and hanging out by the pool area.

After the sail away from Nassau, we went back to the Sunset Restaurant for another sit down dinner. We ordered the same steak and fish dishes. This time, the steak was overcooked and tough. My meal was okay.

We listened to some music that evening before heading to the theater to watch the “Love and Marriage Show” which was funny and entertaining. James Love did a great job.

Day Four

This day had a visit to the private island called Half Moon Cay which required tender service to go ashore. We had booked a tram tour on the island in the early afternoon, so we went to breakfast and then attended a few trivia games. 

By the late morning, there were no lines to take a tender to the island. We arrived more than an hour prior to our scheduled tour. We were able to take an earlier tour which brought us past all the beach locations by the harbor before heading off to the horse stables and then a Manta Ray farm located further away. We thought the tour was interesting and it was a great way to see a lot of the island during the 45-minute ride with 2 quick stops. 

We grabbed the first tender that was available to head back to the ship before the rush. We spent the rest of the afternoon sitting by the pool area listening to music.

After two bad experiences in the main dining room, we just went to the buffet for dinner.

For the evening, they had 2 comedian shows and a Playlist Production called “Latin Nights”. We skipped the show in the theater and went to see the 2 comedians that evening. Again, they were both funny.

Day Five

The final day on board was a sea day as we headed back to Charleston. We did our usual routine with breakfast and then trivia games in the morning and early afternoon. We spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool listening to music before heading back to our cabin to pack our luggage to be put outside our cabins.

We went to the buffet once again for dinner. They had another Playlist Production show called “Epic Rock”, and 3 comedy shows. We went to the first comedy show and then went to the Ocean Plaza to listen to a band. We had planned to go to the late comedy show and I went to get into line early so that we could be sure to get into see the show. While the first show was entertaining, the final one we attended was disappointing as the comedian repeated several jokes from his previous shows.

Disembarkation Day

As Platinum members, we had the option for priority disembarkation which required us to be at the Sunrise restaurant on deck 3 forward before 7:15 am. We got up early and went up to the buffet for one last breakfast by 6:00 am.  They were making announcements shortly after that. We were at the restaurant by 7:00 am only to find out that they had already cleared the room. One of the security officers let us get into the line to get off the ship right away and we were in the terminal to gather our luggage by 7:15 am.  We had a short walk to Concord Street across from the Customs House where they had a taxi stand. Only flight home was the next day, so we took a cab back to the airport where I had a car reserved with Hertz.

We spent the morning and early afternoon visiting the Magnolia Plantation located north of the city. The plantation is full of gardens and pathways by the Ashley River and throughout their 500 acres of land. The flowers were all in bloom. We took a 45 minute tram tour that told us about the history of the plantation and pointed the various wildlife found there including many different birds along with alligators and turtles. 

After the tram tour, we had a short walk to go to the "from slavery to freedom" tour. We thought it was an interesting tour with a guide telling us about the history of the plantation and how integral the use of slaves was needed to clear the land and farm the dangerous rice fields (alligators, snakes, leeches, and mosquitoes). Once the slaves were emancipated, the plantation had to cease rice production as no one wanted to work the fields anymore, regardless of how much was offered in pay. There are 4 slave houses that we toured. We enjoyed our visit to the plantation.

Observations

Platinum level – We feel that Carnival does a great job recognizing repeat customers and making us feel special (especially compared to recent NCL experiences where you are taken for granted). For platinum members, they welcome you at the terminal and give you priority boarding and disembarkation. We received a ship pin with the year on it. They had a terrific party for platinum and diamond members with what seemed like unlimited drinks. They also offered a free drink on the last sea day. You have priority service with tender service if wanted.

Food – We did not go to any specialty restaurants that required a fee, so cannot comment on those. Overall, we felt the food  and variety offered was very good in the buffet and the main dining room except for the steaks offered without a fee. We liked the Blue Iguana Mexican options as well Guy Fieri’s Burgers and fries. For breakfast, they offered made-to-order egg dishes, but you had to go to the Havana Bar area kitchens to get them. The lines for those were always short as we felt that most folks were not aware of them.

Bar Service – We are beer drinkers and took advantage of their buckets of beer specials throughout the cruise. Their beer offerings were varied, and we found ones we liked. We do not drink enough to warrant buying their drink packages which would have cost double what we spent for our bar tab. 

Staff – A shout out to two employees. First, our room steward Tamba who had 34 cabins to service on our cruise. Our room was always clean and serviced more than adequately. He also left a towel animal surprise each day. Secondly, our bar waiter I Made who always was johnny-on-the-spot with filling our beer buckets on the pool deck as well as the comedy shows.

The cruise director, James Love (bye y’all) was excellent, and his staff did a great job with the various events on board the ship.

Entertainment- The many musical acts, comedians, and shows in the theater offered plenty of variety for us.

Trivia – We enjoy trivia games. We came in 2nd or 3rd several times. We finally did win one trivia on the last day and earned a coveted 24 carat plastic ship on a stick. So, we are 10 for 10 with having a ship trophy from each of the 10 Carnival ships we have sailed on (whew, no pressure there).

Weather – The weather in Charleston was cool and windy, but other days were much warmer. The only rain we encountered was a few hours on the afternoon of our day in Nassau. 

Overall – We really enjoyed our trip to Charleston and the cruise to the Bahamas. We had a great time and feel that Carnival cruises do a wonderful job for us to have fun. We are looking forward to our next adventure with Carnival.

We had a great time!

I chose this cruise based on my daughters spring break and the local saving us flight tickets. They over booked the cruise creating hell for the staff to be able to keep up. Food was NOTHING like we’ve had on our 8 previous carnival cruises. Rooms were minimally cleaned and definitely was not worth what we spent. They turned out two person cabin into a three person by placing a cot in the only space to stand or walk through the room. Vanity area was unable to be used bc they put the fridge in the chair hole. Shelves dusty in the room. Dining room food came out cold and under cooked every night. Buffet was nasty. Eggs were like soup. All breakfast items cold. Condiments not with the proper food groups. They would clear the plates but not clean the tables off. I can say they upped their game in hand washing stations but thank god because ALL sanitizer machines were empty.

Overcrowded and outdates

Chose this cruise as we could drive to Charleston instead of having to take a cruise out of Florida where we would have to fly to.  Every meal we had either buffet, restaurant, steak house was all fantastic. All the staff worked hard and were very pleasant.  There were long lines at the pool bars but staff were working hard to get us our drinks.  Guy's hamburgers were a big hit with my grandson eating about 13 of them in 5 days.  We had an inside cabin and there were 3 of us and it was just too small for me but we weren't in there very much so it worked.  Bed was comfy and plenty of storage underneath for luggage.  Plenty of storage space in the room for our clothes, etc.  Leon was the cruise director and he was awesome.  Did the Blue Lagoon with dolphin encounter and loved every minute of it.  I am a very hesitant cruiser but really had a great time.  Did not buy an alcohol package so can't comment on that.  Already booked the same cruise for the same time next year but did upgrade to a balcony for then.

Loved the Sunshine

Carnival has seriously went down hill. The food was awful at the buffet. Dining room food is practically what used to be available at the buffet. The portions are so small in the dining room it’s almost like a kids meal. Imagine paying 100s of dollars to eat fried chicken or a small piece of chicken for dinner.

You best eat your hamburgers and pizza because gone are the days of having a nice elegant dining room meal. 

In our cabin we had 3 light switches that looked broken but worked. One even flickered if left on. Steward was excellent. I honestly felt bad that he he had to be on such a bad ship. The pool looked like the original destiny pool lol. The tv at the pool just had Destiny painted over with white paint instead of writing Sunshine. I would highly recommend avoiding carnival at all cost. The downgrade in things it’s just plain sad.

Overpriced Walmart Cruise

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