Carnival Sunshine

I dropped the rating one star as both my wife and I got very, very sick within a couple days of debarking. Noro virus is a nast, nasty bug. They really should increase the number of sanitizing stations and require their use when entering the dining rooms.

Carnival Sunshine Highlights
Passenger Capacity — 3006 (felt like every single one of those people were on our cruise!!!
We had a very good time on this cruise with the family, there were a total of 11 of us on the cruise. There were both good and bad things that came along with the cruise, such as:
(Good) — Great waterpark and sports area for kids & adults alike, excellent new restaurants that offer a higher-​end meal than what you would find in the main dining room or on the lido deck buffet area. Also added, are a taco/​burrito bar and a Guy Fieri burger bar, both had great food and a good alternative for breakfast and lunch and also a Red Frog Run bar and Blue Iguana Tequila bar to make things a bit more upscale. They also added a hot dog cart on the sports deck for a quick bite. We ate at the Italian alternate dining restaurant and it was phenomenal, both with the food and the service, it couldn’t have been better. There are also a two comedy shows for families and two for adults every night of the cruise.
(Bad) — You now have to ask for ice and an ice bucket, first time for me (this is my 19^th cruise) and they don’t have a fridge in the cabin. We also had a terrible time with the «Anytime dining», which was a joke, if you have more than two or four people waiting. One night we waited one hour to be seated and an another hour for our food. I have done this with other cruise lines and had a much better ordeal. I didn’t care too much for the shows, but my wife and others enjoyed them, I think?
Carnival Sunshine is not a new ship; it’s a completely refurbished 17-​year-​old ship — formerly Carnival Destiny — with an array of new features that include bars, restaurants and entertainment venues, 182 new cabins and even a new partial deck.
The design throughout is also radically different from that found on the old Carnival ships, as former designer Joe Farcus’ garish color schemes give way to the more understated designs of Hamburg-​based Partner Design. Colors are subtle, and the palette throughout — from the main dining rooms to the corridors and cabins — is distinctly muted. Certain areas — the corridor on Deck 5 with Fahrenheit 555, the Piano Bar, Ocean Plaza and the main dining rooms — could actually do with more décor, as they’re so featureless.
What you come away with is the distinct feeling that there has been a quiet revolution going on, with a triumph of style over tack. In fact, there are certain areas of the ship, such as the Library Bar, Java Blue, Havana Bar, Fahrenheit 555 and Ji Ji, where you’d be hard pressed to tell this was even a Carnival ship. These changes point the way to where the line is going — attracting a clientele with more sophisticated tastes and palates, and one that expects variety and quality.

Carnival 2.0
We sailed on Destiny … different ship now with attitude!
Nice to see different uniforms, not the same red, white & blue.
Loved the renovations!
Our 12^th cruise … exceeded our expectations
Keep it up Carnival!

After fourth day of sailing the ship reaked of manure. Drains in bathroom had dirty liquid running out of them. If the ship didnt have plumbing issues I would have gave it a four star. But that horrible smell was a deal breaker. The lower levels smelled like straight crap. Who wants to smell that on vacation.

Ship wasn’t what I thought it would be after 155 million dollar remodel. If you have a chance go on the Carnival Magic, or another ship. Rooms seemed a little smaller, and you could feel every wake.

The Carnival Sunshine is a great ship. It used to be called The Destiny and a couple of years ago they brought it into dry dock and gutted the whole ship and renamed it The Sunshine. I sailed The Destiny about 5 years ago and I didn’t recognize it at all. The Sunshine is completely different and has all the bells and whistles of the Carnival 2.0 upgrades.
The food options are the best I have ever seen on a cruise. Not just Carnival. I have sailed Royal Caribbean, NCL, Princess and Carnival and The Sunshine has the best food options. On the Lido Deck you have Guy Fieri’s Burger Joint (which is quite possibly the best burger you will ever have), Blue Iguana Cantina (Burrito Bar), Pasta bar, Mongolian Wok (Stir Fry), Deli, 24 hour pizza place and not to mention he regular buffet. This ship also has a pour your own beer station on Lido Deck. You just swipe you Sail and Sign card and pour. They also have a pour your own wine bar in the Library.
For dinner there are several options. There are specialty restaurants called Cucina del Capitano, JiJi Asian restaurant, a steak house and a sushi restaurant. And of course, they have the regular dinning room.
If you like bars there is no shortage of them. There is the EA Sports bar attached to the casino, the Red Frog pub in Ocean Plaza, The Alchemy Martini bar also in Ocean Plaza, a tequila bar and run bar both on lido deck and another bar at the atrium. There are also bars in the Liquid Lounge, The Limelight lounge and the Piano bar. There is also the very popular Havana Bar at the back of Lido deck.
There is a whole lot of comedy in the Limelight lounge. Sing along piano at the piano bar, Vegas style shows in the liquid lounge and live music at Ocean plaza.
At Ocean plaza there is also a taste bar that gives you the chance to taste great food. Next to that there is a coffee house and a milk shake spot. There are also «fun hubs» around the ship with computers to connect to the web.
The sports deck is great. They have something called Water Works where they have 3 massive slides and 2 kiddie slides not to mention a splash pool. Next to that is the sports area where they have mini golf, foosball, pool tables, shuffle board, and a massive twister board. There is also a sky course where you get attached to a harness and have to go on an obstacle course. There is a main pool with 2 hot tubs. Above lido deck there is a massive TV screen where they play nightly movies under the stars. There is also a Serenity Deck where you have to be 18 years old or older. There is hot tubs and deck chairs.
They also have a full SPA that does everything. Massages, mani/​pedi, hair salon and shaves for men.
I have been on many different cruise lines and many different ships that this is at the top.

You can’t beat a pour your own beer station. The ship is very different from other Carnival ships. The ship has some new areas. The Havana bar is our new favorite place. They also have lots of new areas to dine and drink. The spa is nice because they added the sauna areas, but no thassotherapy pool :(no more room on the ship they say! The sky court was a lot of fun, so were the racing slides! We will definitely cruise on the Sunshine again!