Just returned from a blissfully relaxing and sunny cruise aboard the beautiful Carnival Sunshine. This was our sixth Carnival cruise, and our first Gold VIFP cruise. This particular cruise was chosen mainly for the itinerary, and was originally booked on the Dream over a year ago. In the meantime, the Dream and Sunshine switched ports, so here we were. At first, I was disappointed about being on a "smaller" ship, but after reading about all the upgrades to the Sunshine, I began to think I got the better deal. Post-cruise now, I still feel the same way. The cruise aboard Sunshine went beyond our expectations, especially based on horrible comments and opinions here and elsewhere.

Pre-cruise, we stayed at the Courtyard Marriott in Cocoa Beach. It was nice and convenient, being only a short shuttle ride away from the port. We decided to play it safe and fly in the day before. Embarkation was super fast and smooth. We barely had a chance to catch our breath and have a seat in the priority lounge, before we were on our way again and on the ship.

The Sunshine is visually very pleasing, the decor is very subtle for a Carnival ship, and quite resort like. Yes, the suites are smaller than on Conquest class ships and above, but they still offered comfort and relaxation, with a lovely balcony view. The cruise director, Jamie, and her staff provided plenty of activities and dare I say it, "fun" for all. I would love to have even a fraction of her energy!! Plenty of live music was evident in many venues, both during the day, and into the evening. The single production show that we attended, Epic Rock, is outstanding...and this is coming from someone who is easily bored with even professional entertainment. However, the theater on the Sunshine doubles as a nightclub and suffers from some design issues because of it. Read more