Carnival Sunshine Review
Disappointed In The Ship And Some of the Crew
Rating by category
Additional details
First of all let me say that even though I gave this a 3 out of 5, I am under the belief that a cruise, much like pizza, even when it's bad, it's still pretty good. Maybe my expectations may have been too high for a 19 year old ship. Perhaps I bought into all the hype of the 2013 re-furb. Whatever the case, I will probably avoid this ship in the future.
The common areas are tight and crowed (particularly on the Lobby Deck (3) Mezzanine (4), Promenade (5), and the Lido deck (9). Pretty much all the public areas. Couple that with what in my experience, was an abnormal population of elderly passengers, (I've never seen so many walkers, scooters, wheelchairs, and canes) it was tough to get around. I started traversing through the cabin hallways on 6 and 7 whenever I needed to go forward or aft.
I felt that some of the entertainment crew members were only kind of phoning it in. The trivia contests were the most uninspired I've ever experienced. It seem like the host(s) weren't enjoying themselves and just going through the motions. I arrived at one trivia contest at the exact time it was to start, and the host was already on question 8. Couldn't wait to get it over with I guess. I never saw our Cruise Director in 8 days, unless she was on the TV or hosting a show or a contest.
Cabin Review
Balcony
The cabin was small and somewhat dated. And what EVERYONE says about the bathrooms is true, very small. However, the room was clean and our Room Steward, Jorge, was wonderful. The most helpful and cheerful person we met on-board. We never received our nightly chocolates with our turn down service. We later found out that this is no longer being done per Carnival Corporate.
Port Reviews
Aruba
We did a self-guided walking tour. I enjoy Aruba. We did a little sight-seeing and a little shopping. Sort of weird hours at this port from 1PM until 10PM.
Curacao
Rainy day in Curacao. We decided after checking the weather that we would just do another self guided walking tour. A little more sight-seeing and a little more shopping.
Port Canaveral (Orlando)
This was our first time out of Port Canaveral and I found it to be most enjoyable. The terminal staff were awesome. It was very easy to get in and out. Highly recommend.