Carnival Sunshine Review
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This review would be entirely different if my husband wrote it. This was his first cruise, and my 7th or 8th. He had nothing to base his experience on. I have been on multiple Carnival, Princess, & Holland American cruises. I have greatly enjoyed all of them, and I DID enjoy this cruise for the most part, but this was by far my least favorite ship.
I don't even know where to start. I know I will sound snobbish, but the first thing that struck me was the hideous color scheme in our ocean suite. Brown and orange...ew. So much of the ships decor looked tacky and dated, and it just had a multi million dollar refurbish. Our room was LOVELY. If you can afford the ocean suite, I highly recommend it. We had a balcony with 4 chairs, king sized bed with mirrors all over, two LARGE closets, a dressing area with more drawers, a couch & coffee table, a jetted bath tub...it was NICE. I was really disappointed in the room attendant reusing towel animals and what happened to the chocolates on the pillows at night? Maybe that was a different line, I don't know.
The food was on and off, as was the restaurant service. We only ate in the Sunset dining room twice. It was small, cramped, low ceiling and LOUD. The Sunrise dining room was much nicer. The food and service in both dining rooms was wonderful. We ate at the Italian restaurant the first night on board and I could have eaten there EVERY night! The beef short rib entree is to die for. My husband got the chicken parm and it was really good, but he kept nibbling off my plate. For those who are fans of tiramisu, they have some of the best I have ever had. Also, if you eat in one of the fancy restaurants on the first night, you will get a half carafe of wine for free.
Cabin Review
Ocean Suite
Our cabin was DIVINE, but soooooo ugly. Who thought orange and brown would be a good combo for rooms should be fired.
Port Reviews
St. Maarten
We took a taxi to the beach at Phillipsburg, which is the downtown shopping area. We ate a delicious lunch at a beach bar, the buckets of beer were cheap and cold and the water was warm.
St. Kitts (Port Zante)
We did a lot of shopping and then found a local restaurant called Ballahoo. (I may have spelled it wrong, but the locals will get you there!) The food was DIVINE! It's not cheap food, but well worth it. We both has a drink, we both had appetizers and entrees and I believe our total was around 80.00. The spiny lobster salad and spicy calamari are awesome!!
San Juan
I was not feeling very well the day we got to San Juan. We didn't get off the ship until lunch time and we were to set sail at 2pm, if I recall correctly. It was dirty, hotter than hades, crowded, and I could not wait to get back on the ship.
Grand Turk
We did not want to leave. The Ultimat Snorkel Adventure was a blast, and then they were kind enough to take us to a beach bar/restaurant called Jack's Shack, so we could have some amazing food. The conch, butterflied shrimp and jerk chicken were out of this world. If you want to find it, just walk on he beach past Margaritaville and keep going until you see it. It's not that far and its WORTH IT. The water at Grand Turk is warm and crystal clear. We might have been the last people back on the ship, because I was too busy asking the locals about living expenses and taxes. I want to retire there. :)