08/15/2022
A photo dump… a review and info will come later 🙂
Edited with our review and info:
We had a quick belated anniversary getaway on the ☀️Carnival Sunshine☀️ to our favorite island- Half Moon Cay! We took advantage of the specialty dining for the first time which was delicious each time. Here is a quick review- mostly so I can remember these things later 🤪
The Sunshine is:
*fast and easy*
We took an Uber from a hotel and found the port to be easy and fast- we never stopped moving or had any lines to wait in from the time we arrived at the port and had boarded and completed the muster drill in less than 45 minutes.
We chose to take our own luggage off and left the room at 6:35am. The same Uber driver picked us up and we were back at the car and on our way by 7:25. We made it home by just after 1pm!
Since we didn’t port anywhere except Half Moon Cay we didn’t have to deal with customs and that made things faster also.
*super friendly*
The first night we had Amir as our server in the dining room, and even though we didn’t dine there anymore, he greeted us when he saw us around the ship.
Our room steward was Roy- we loved Mr. Roy!! He was attentive and seemed to always be there asking how we were doing, but never intrusive.
The servers in the bars, casinos, and restaurants really hussled, worked hard and were very friendly as well.
*super comfy and mostly clean*
I don’t know how many people were on board, but I never felt crowded (except during debarking for Half Moon Cay). The Havana bar area on the back overlooks the water and it took most folks a few days to discover it, so it was a nice spot to enjoy breakfast and lunch. The Serenity Deck has 3 levels and was busy, but comfortable. The pool was a bit dirty and murky on the serenity deck, and the water fall feature looks nice but takes away from functional space so it feels more crowded.
While the ship is showing her age in spots (aren’t we all 🤣), the housekeeping staff was constantly cleaning and wiping in the corridors, restaurants, bathrooms, and casino- nothing ever felt dirty or nasty.
*Half Moon Cay*
We were directed to get a ticket for the water shuttle to HMC, but when it came time to go ashore the ticket system didn’t work because everyone crowded down near the deck where we would get on the shuttles and whoever pushed to the front got one when they wanted to- whether they had a ticket or not. The shuttles hold a lot of folks and we were on our way quickly. A bit of crowded chaos, but everyone was in good spirits and acted like they had good sense.
The island was beautiful as always. We snorkeled for a little while and then laid in the water like slugs all day 🤣🌊 we took our own cooler bag with beverages from the ship and also our own inflatable pool floats. We were underwhelmed with the beach lunch burger bar- but there weren’t other options so we couldn’t be choosy….
*lacking entertainment options*
There was no Playlist Production show (due to technical difficulties, from what I’ve heard). The comedy was not nearly as good as we’ve seen on Elation/Ecstasy. There was a band that was good, and Daniel from the piano bar was good, everything else was not worth writing home about and one fella was downright bad! We don’t go JUST for the shows, but we do enjoy them, and were not impressed with this lineup- but again, it didn’t make or break our trip!
Overall a great time on this ship and we can’t wait to go again. The passengers were friendly and we enjoyed chatting with people from all over. SC schools started back today, so there were not a lot of kiddos on board. (Not that there’s anything wrong with kids on a cruise- we just noticed how few were on this one).
For the dining:
The Main Dining Room was good, just sloooooowwww.
Cucina del Capitano- (Italian) This was amazing food; their calamari was delicious and we would go again. We also took advantage of the lunch pasta there and ordered the 1/2 portion and even though it was delicious, we couldn’t finish it all!
JiJis- (Asian)- also amazing; I really loved their fried rice and sweet and sour shrimp; will definitely go again. The Mongolian Wok at lunch was also fantastic!
Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse- also amazing and will definitely go again!
For Sea Day Brunch each day- I grabbed a Bloody Mary from the casino bar (where I had comped drinks 🤪) and we went to brunch early- around 8:45. The service was a little slow and took awhile, but the steak and eggs and croissant are worth the wait. After 9:30 there was a wait- so early is better!
I can’t wait to go again! It was an amazing trip and I’m so thankful for time with my Cliffie! ❤️
