Trip Review - Cruise on Carnival Sunshine

Earlier this week I disembarked from an eight-night Carnival cruise on the ship Carnival Sunshine. This cruise left from Norfolk, VA, and was scheduled to sail to Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, and Amber Cove.

How I Booked This Cruise

This cruise was a casino offer I received after submitting my Caesars Diamond status to Carnival. I originally obtained Wyndham Diamond status through the Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card. Wyndham had a reciprocal agreement with Caesars, allowing me to match to Caesars Diamond status. This status came with valuable perks, including free parking at Caesars properties, comped room rates, waived resort fees, and even a free Atlantis Bahamas stay. One of the most lucrative benefits of Caesars Diamond status was the ability to match to other land-based casinos and cruise lines. Since June 2024, I have sailed on four free cruises and have two more booked using this method. However, as of February 1, 2025, you can no longer match to Caesars Diamond simply by holding the Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card. Since Caesars’ tier year ends in January, I no longer hold Caesars Diamond status, but I did match to Bally’s Superstar status before my Diamond status expired, keeping me in the status match game for now!

Once I submitted my Caesars Diamond card to Carnival, Carnival extended a casino offer to me, hoping I would gamble in their casino. My husband (Player 2) also had Caesars Diamond status and completed the same matching, allowing us to each receive a free room. Each casino offer covered a free room (up to a Balcony) on select cruises, requiring only a $100 deposit per person plus taxes and port fees. The $100 deposit was converted to onboard credit, and we also received $50 each in FunPlay for the casino, totaling $100 between us.

While searching for cruises with our offers, we found two departures from Norfolk. Our family (parents, siblings, aunts) wanted to join but preferred not to fly due to expensive domestic flights. Norfolk was within driving distance, making it the best option. Unfortunately, despite our offers including free balcony rooms, only interior rooms were available for casino bookings. We booked two adjacent interior rooms, using one for storage while all four of us stayed in the other. Although a bit cramped, our young children fit comfortably, with our son in a crib and our daughter sleeping between us.

Carnival Sunshine

Carnival Sunshine is actually the oldest ship in the Carnival fleet! I didn’t realize this until after booking, which initially made me nervous. I never considered myself a cruiser before starting casino matching. Prior to these free cruises, I had only been on one cruise in early 2020, right before the pandemic. Since then, I’ve learned what frequent cruisers already know: choosing a cruise based on the ship is more important than the ports. Even with great destinations, an old, small ship with poor food and entertainment can ruin a vacation. Newer ships have more amenities and upgrades, so now I research ship reviews before booking.

Although Carnival Sunshine first set sail in 1996, it underwent a major renovation in 2013. Modern amenities and updated public spaces helped bring it in line with newer ships. It accommodates around 3,000 passengers and has 1,500 cabins.

Onboard Activities

Carnival Sunshine offers a variety of activities to keep guests of all ages entertained. The onboard water park features multiple exhilarating water slides, a splash pad with smaller slides for toddlers, and a giant tipping bucket for an extra splash of fun. Up on the top deck, SportsSquare is packed with excitement, including basketball courts, a giant chessboard, an oversized Twister board, the SkyCourse ropes course, cornhole, mini golf, and more. The ship also has an arcade on deck 5, which was a hit with our toddler.

For those looking to unwind, the ship has 10 bars, a lively casino, and diverse nightly entertainment. The Limelight Lounge was a hub of activity in the evenings—one night, we enjoyed a ‘70s/‘80s dance party, which later transitioned into a hip-hop club vibe. Another night, we caught the late-night comedian, who had my husband laughing the entire time.

Carnival Sunshine also caters well to families with young children. The water park was a huge hit, and the onboard kids' club provided plenty of engaging activities. Special events like the Build-A-Bear workshop and a Dr. Seuss book reading were highlights for my 3-year-old, who absolutely loved them.

The Food

Overall, I thought the food was good. The buffet was the smallest I’ve seen on any of our cruises so far, but the ship made up for it with a variety of included restaurants serving pizza, tacos, burritos, and burgers. Personally, I found the breakfast buffet underwhelming, but a great alternative was the Havana Bar right next to the Lido buffet, where you could get made-to-order eggs and omelets. These were far superior to the scrambled eggs from the buffet.

For lunch, my favorite spot was the taco/burrito bar, which felt similar to Chipotle. The quality and taste of the shrimp and steak were fantastic. There was almost always a long line, but it moved quickly. Guy’s Burger Joint was another family favorite—and judging by the long lines every day, we weren’t the only ones who thought so. There was also a deli serving pizzas, subs, and sandwiches. The pizza was solid and, more importantly, satisfied my toddler. And, of course, we couldn’t resist the soft-serve ice cream and frozen yogurt stations by the pool. I’m pretty sure I had at least four ice cream cones a day… no regrets.

For dinner, we dined mostly in the main dining rooms—Sunrise and Sunset. We chose early dining because starting a meal at 7:45 PM with young kids is a recipe for chaos. Traveling as a group of 12, we were able to sit together most nights, though my parents, who booked later and had "My Time" dining, weren’t always able to join us.

The food in the dining room was noticeably better than the buffet, though the buffet did have some solid dinner options, especially the pasta dishes. The dining room always had strip steak available, which I ordered every night. We’re big eaters, so we typically went for two appetizers and two entrées each! At the beginning of the cruise, the strip steak was cooked perfectly, but halfway through, something changed—the steaks started coming out rare. Like, still-mooing rare. I usually order medium rare, but these were practically purple inside. We adjusted by ordering them medium, which resulted in a proper medium rare, so it worked out in the end. One night, they served lobster tail, escargot, and prime rib, which was a hit with everyone.

The service in the dining room was excellent. He addressed each of us by name and went out of his way to engage with my kids. On two occasions, he surprised my daughter with her own special bowl of jello, which kept her entertained for the entire meal. The entire dining room staff was friendly, attentive, and made us feel truly welcome.

The Casino

My husband and I had a great time in the casino. On most cruises, we stick to the slot machines, loading money onto them by charging it to our room and playing until we either come out ahead or decide to call it quits after losing a few bucks. One of my favorite things about playing in a cruise casino is that any money charged to the room folio gets billed to the credit card on file at the end of the trip—an easy way to increase credit card spending for rewards. This strategy used to work even better when Carnival gift cards were available at a 10% discount through AARP, but unfortunately, that option is no longer available. However, there are still ways to save, such as purchasing discounted gift cards from sites like Raise.

After some minor losses at the casino, we were able to offset a good chunk of them by buying Carnival gift cards at an 8% discount from Raise and applying them to our folio at the self-serve kiosks (located on decks 3 and 5). When all was said and done, we were down about $225 total—not bad considering how inexpensive the cruise was to begin with!

This was also the first cruise where my husband and I did some more advanced gambling. Normally, we just spin the slots for 5–10 minutes each night, but this time, we focused on video blackjack and used basic blackjack strategy. The rules on video blackjack weren’t great compared to the tables—blackjack paid 6:5, and there were restrictions on doubling and splitting. However, as a blackjack newbie, I appreciated the lower minimum bets and the ability to learn the game at my own pace without feeling the pressure of a dealer or pit boss watching my every move.

Luck was on our side in one way—we managed to rack up a significant amount of Carnival Casino points, so we’re hoping to see some free room offers in our inbox soon. By the end of the cruise, my husband had earned over 10,000 points, while I finished with over 4,600. Next time we cruise, we’re planning to try video poker, since the rules are typically better, and hopefully, we can either break even or—if we’re lucky—walk away with a small profit.

One downside to the casino on Carnival Sunshine was that it allowed smoking, which I didn’t love as a non-smoker. It was also unpleasant having to walk my kids through the smoky air just to get to other parts of the ship.

The Ports

This cruise had some solid port stops, though my goal for this trip was to keep things laid-back and relaxing. I purposely didn’t book any excursions or plan elaborate activities—I was perfectly happy just finding a nice beach and spending the day in the ocean.

Grand Turk was a highlight for us. The water was absolutely unreal—crystal clear and the most stunning shades of blue. I always knew Turks and Caicos was a beautiful destination, but after seeing it firsthand, I’m now very motivated to book a longer stay there. The port area has some shops and a large Margaritaville with complimentary pools and beach lounge chairs, all just a five-minute walk from the ship. We decided to walk a bit farther down and set up on the beach in front of Jack’s Shack, mainly because we didn’t want to swim right in front of our massive cruise ship. Originally, I had planned for us to walk to Governor’s Beach, about 15–20 minutes away, but the road we were on felt a little sketchy, so we opted to stay put at Jack’s Shack instead. It turned out to be a great choice!

Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic was another nice stop. The port itself is well-developed, with several pools and plenty of shops to browse. I love collecting ornaments as souvenirs from every new place I visit, and I found a beautiful one here to add to my travel Christmas tree—a little tradition of mine. In addition to shopping, we spent the day at the kids' water park, which was perfect for a relaxed and fun afternoon.

Some Drawbacks of the Cruise

Too Many Sea Days

The original itinerary already had quite a few sea days—three to start the cruise, followed by three port days, then two more sea days before returning to Norfolk. Our scheduled stops included Half Moon Cay (Carnival’s private island in the Bahamas), Grand Turk (Turks and Caicos), and Amber Cove (Dominican Republic). Unfortunately, due to unfavorable weather conditions, our stop at Half Moon Cay was canceled. The tender boats weren’t able to operate safely that day, which was a huge disappointment—especially since it was the port I was most excited for. I had heard great things about the island’s beautiful beach, high ratings, and the fact that lunch was included. My parents were also disappointed, as they had booked a kayaking and jet ski tour that got canceled.

This unexpected change meant we spent six out of our eight days at sea—a lot, even for a longer cruise. I’m used to Mediterranean itineraries, where it’s common to have eight port days on a 10-day cruise. This trip was much slower-paced in comparison. My husband, on the other hand, wasn’t complaining—he loves a more relaxing trip, and it gave him extra time to max out his drink package and hit the casino.

Delays Getting Onto the Ship

Our sailing was delayed by three hours due to weather. Even though Norfolk had clear skies on embarkation day, the ship encountered rough conditions on its way back up the coast, causing the delay. Carnival sent an email and phone call advising us to arrive at the terminal three hours later than our original check-in time. We were originally scheduled for 1:00–1:30 PM, but with the delay, we couldn’t arrive until 4:00–4:30 PM—later than I would have preferred. Normally, I like boarding around lunchtime to enjoy the buffet and explore the ship.

For parking, we chose Asphalt Lots, which provides a shuttle to the Norfolk cruise port. While booking online was easy and affordable ($85 for the 8-night cruise), the experience itself was frustrating. After parking, we had to wait 1.5 hours in line for a shuttle to the port, which was only 15 minutes away. The problem? They were only using about five or six vans, each holding 8–10 passengers, to transport hundreds of cruisers. Since they had to shuttle people to the port and then return for more passengers, the process was painfully slow. Add a 1 year old and a 3 year old into the mix, and you can imagine the “fun” we had waiting in line.

Getting back to the lot after the cruise wasn’t much better—we had to wait 45 minutes for a shuttle, even though we were off the ship before 8 AM. One of the employees mentioned that they rented extra shuttles for disembarkation because they weren’t prepared for the number of passengers they originally transported. I find that hard to believe—shouldn’t they know exactly how many people need to be shuttled based on their online bookings?

If you’re cruising from Norfolk, I’d recommend trying Cedar Grove parking instead. While it’s more expensive, it’s only 1.5 miles from the port and reportedly uses large buses instead of small vans, making for a much smoother experience.

Once we finally made it to the cruise terminal, we encountered more delays. The lines to get through security and board the ship were insane. It took another 1.5 hours to get on board. I’m not sure if the delay caused the bottleneck or if Norfolk’s cruise operations are just disorganized, but we didn’t step foot on the ship until after 6 PM. The kids were hungry and cranky, so after dropping our bags off in the cabin, we made a beeline for the Lido Deck buffet.

We also missed our safety debriefing at the muster station because of the delays. By the time we finished dinner and went to our designated station, there was no one there to check our key cards for attendance. Carnival placed flyers in our mailbox the next day saying we had missed it, but surprisingly, we weren’t required to make it up.

Interior Rooms Were Not Ideal

This was our first time booking interior rooms for our family of four, and while they were functional, they weren’t our favorite. Other family members had ocean-view cabins, and not only did they have a window, but their rooms were significantly larger. The added space included a couch and seating area, which made their cabins feel much more open and spacious compared to ours.

Next time, we’ll strongly consider upgrading—not just for the window, but for the extra space. The difference was especially noticeable on a cruise with so many sea days. Even though we used our second interior cabin as a storage area for the stroller and luggage, our main cabin still felt cramped. I think if we had a more port-heavy itinerary, we wouldn’t have noticed as much, but with all that time on the ship, the small space started to feel confining.

We Felt a Lot of Motion on This Cruise

Our cabins were located on Deck 1, which usually means less motion since it’s lower and closer to the waterline. However, we were also in the aft (back) of the ship, and we definitely felt it. This was the most ship movement I’ve ever noticed on a cruise.

On multiple days, our bathroom door wouldn’t stay closed—it kept rocking back and forth unless we latched it tightly. Fortunately, none of us got seasick, but it was a reminder to always bring Dramamine or another anti-nausea, just in case.

Final Thoughts

Overall, this was a great cruise. Traveling with a large group of family members instead of just my family of four made for an interesting dynamic, but it was a fun experience. This was our first time sailing with Carnival, and while the cruise line sometimes gets a reputation for being cheap, I felt that the service we received was on par with other cruise lines we've sailed in the past. Despite being on one of the oldest ships in the fleet, there were plenty of activities to keep us entertained throughout the trip.

That said, I’ll probably avoid booking another cruise with so many sea days. I used to consider transatlantic or Greenland cruises, thinking I’d enjoy the extended time at sea, but this trip made me realize that I prefer cruising as a way to explore multiple destinations without the hassle of flights and constant packing. Moving forward, I’ll be focusing on itineraries with a better balance of port stops and sea days.

I’ll also prioritize booking at least an ocean-view room—or even consider a paid upgrade—on future cruises. After experiencing an interior cabin with young kids and all the extra gear that comes with them, I now realize how much of a difference having a larger space (and a window!) can make. Carnival’s interior cabins just felt too cramped for our family, and having that little bit of extra space would definitely improve the overall experience.