Our cruise on Carnival Sunshine started in Port Canaveral (Orlando) on Friday for an 8 day Eastern Caribbean cruise. Embarkation was very simple. We arrived at the terminal at 11:30 and were on the ship in about an hour. Check in and getting your sail and sign card was very quick. We ate at the Lido Market Place on deck 9 lido. Food was good but there was some trouble trying to find a table for 4. For the next few hours we did the ropes course and swam in the pool. At around 3:15 the Emergency alarm was sounded for the muster drill. The muster stations (except for 2) are located on deck 4. The other 2 are in the Liquid lounge (deck 4) and the sunset dining room) deck 3. The muster drill lasted about 30 minutes while all safety rules were given. After the drill we headed up to deck 9 for sail away party as we left Port Canaveral on time. At 6:00 we had dinner in the Sunset dining room which was great. We had a very nice waitress named Florina who took are names and immediately knew them. The food was quickly served and was very good. The dining room was clean and had a great atmosphere. After that we headed to our stateroom. Our room was 1451 on deck 1 and had an ocean view window. The room was large and clean but the bathroom was small. A flat screen TV is in the room and has TV news channels. Bed sheets were clean and were very soft. We had a lot of luggage so our room had a lot of stuff in it but we were able to fit 4 people into it comfortably. We went to the liquid lounge that night where we meet our cruise director Wee Jimmy who had a good sense of humor. The next day was a Fun day at sea. There was all sorts of activities to fit your style of fun from the casino, bingo, drink making contests and spa activities for the adults to ropes course, waterworks, pool, sports square, karaoke, and games for families to Camp Carnival, Circle C, Club 02 for the kids and Teens to mingle. On Sunday we arrived to Grand Turk at 7:00 am. Getting off the ship was easy and quick. On Grand Turk we went snorkeling at the beach right next to the ship and just hung around the Margaritaville pool. Our ship was leaving at about 1:00 but right as we were heading back to the ship another cruise ship was coming in (Holland America Noordam) so there was a big crowd on the pier trying to get back to Sunshine and off the Noordam. After sail away Carnival Hosted a VIFP party for Members with a Gold, Platinum, and Diamond cards in the liquid lounge (I have a gold Card) Complimentary appetizers and drinks were given to us (really good pineapple drinks and strawberry drinks). Wee jimmy and all the other crew gave us a warm welcome back to Carnival and gave us some details about the line and future a future ship(s). Monday was St.Thomas and we arrived there at 1:00pm. We took a tour with Marian taxi service and Queen Marian and her husband Tony were our guides. The two amazing guides gave us a tour of the city (Charlotte Amalie) and then took us to Mountain top home of the famous Banana daiquiri. They showed us all the land marks on that side of the island and then took us to Koki beach which has a fish feeding area and crystal clear waters. We left St.Thomas at 9:00 pm and headed to our next port of call San Juan Puerto Rico. We got in at about 8:00am and got off and took the free trolley around town and got off at the El Morro fort. We walked from there to a neighboring fort just down the street (2 must see sites). 3 other ships came in (AidaVita, HAL Westerdam, and Royal Caribbean Quantum of the seas) so the downtown area, trolley, and shopping got busy. We headed back to the ship and left Puerto Rico for our final port of St.Maarten. We arrived in St.Maarten at about 8:00am but there were 3 other ships in (Carnival Pride, Oasis of the seas, and Celebrity Reflection) so the pier and shopping area was very crowded but we took a bus tour around Philipsburg and the island (Dutch and French side) and took a 1 hour break to shop and see the island culture. We then went back to the port and got dropped off but we walked around the town for a little bit. Our ship headed out at 5:00 pm and were headed back to Port Canaveral but had 2 fun days at sea ahead of us. The next day at sea we went to a Ship life Q and A meeting in the liquid lounge by Wee Jimmy and Ericka (You've gotta lover Erika). There you could ask any question about the ship, crew, and Carnival. All the questions and answers were really good. For the rest of the day we went to live music in the Ocean plaza, played mini golf, and waterworks/ropes course. That night after dinner we went to the family comedy show (really good and funny) after dinner and had a great time. After that we went to the lido deck to watch a movie on the outdoor movie screen. The next day we ate breakfast in the Sunrise dinning room (Aft dinning room) and had a good waiter and had a great breakfast. Later they had a towel making lesson in the liquid lounge and I learned how to make elephant, dog, and monkey. Later they had an Ice carving on lido where an artist carved a Native American Chief head and it was really cool. At 12:00 the Groove for St.Jude dance party took place on lido and we raised about $1000 dollars for the kids at St.Jude cancer hospital which was fun dancing with others and raising money for the kids. Our final dinner came and the food was the best that night. The waiters sang for us and we did our good byes with our amazing dinner crew. They final night we went to the Punchier comedy club for the PG show which we were a little disappointed about as there was no show but a bunch of people (mainly kids and parents) lined up to ask silly questions but it was still cool. The final show was the best. They had amazing singers and used the LED screens behind the stage which gave great effects. Disembarkation day was long. We arrived about a half hour late into Port Canaveral and docked at about 7:30. They did not start Disembarking till about 9 but we were zone 32 so we were one of the last off so we were off at about 11.

The ship:

The ship was originally built as Carnival Destiny in 1996 but went under a major renovation in 2013. A lot of the features were new and the ship looked new but there were still parts that were the same as destiny. I did not feel as this was a new ship (I went on Carnival Breeze in January 2013 7 month after it was built so the Breeze felt newer) but a ship that had been modernized. This ship had a weird layout (like a hybrid Destiny-Dream class). The ship was a little cramped but not too bad. The ship was always clean and fresh and there were many activities to do such as Sports square, Water works, Ropes course (Sky course), spa, comedy, Kids club, pubs and bars, and family activities. Read more