Carnival Sunshine 2023--Chef's Table

If you haven't taken part in the Chef's Table experience on one of Carnival's ships, you are missing out!  Yes, there's an extra charge for it, but in my opinion, it is SOOOO worth it!  I believe they offer this every night during the cruise, and you can reserve it ahead of time.  The cost varies with the ship.  You will receive information in your cabin letting you know what night you will be attending the Chef's Table and what time and where to meet.  

This was my third time doing the Chef's Table (each time on a different ship), and it was Joseph's second.  Our experience started with a tour of the ship's Galley (kitchen).

Since the Chef's Table takes place during the normal dinner times, the kitchen area is VERY noisy!  However, it's very interesting to see just how busy the kitchen and wait staff are and how many plates of food are produced and go out of the galley.

While we were in the galley, there was an area set up for us to sample some small appetizer portions.  Adults were provided with champagne.

Once we finished in the Galley, we were all taken to the Ship's Library on Deck 4 for the remainder of the dinner.  Everyone had an assigned seat which was designated with a name placard and a personalized copy of the evening's menu.

As you'll be able to see from the photos below, the portions are small, but you will NOT leave hungry!  This is about a ten-course meal, and you will be stuffed by the end of the evening!  Red and/or white wine is complimentary for adults with your meal (and is pretty free-flowing!), and those under age twenty-one (21) can have water, tea, lemonade, or the soda of their choosing.  Coffee is available as well.

Before each course, the chef explained everything about the dish including his reasons for choosing that particular dish for the menu, and the chef will sometimes also explain and demonstrate certain techniques that are used in a particular course.  The dishes on the Chef's Table menu are selected by the ship's head chef.

The food was AMAZING!!!  We've always enjoyed this experience, and this time did not disappoint either!  The chef is more than happy to talk with you individually once the evening is over, and if you have allergies or other food issues, you can let them know ahead of time, and they will make adjustments for you.

A day or two after the event, you'll also receive a group photo delivered to your cabin.

If you don't mind paying extra for an experience like this, and you enjoy fine dining, I highly recommend trying the Chef's Table!  They change the menus once a year or so, so if it's been a few years since you've done this, you should try it again.  We've had a different menu each time!

Carnival Sunshine--Embarkation Day, March 2023

We always enjoy exploring the ship once our bellies are full, as we find this is the best time to check things out before too many others are on the ship.  This was our first time on the Sunshine, so everything was new to us.  The Sunshine also has a layout that's pretty different from most other Carnival ships, so it threw us off just a little bit.

The Liquid Lounge is what I would consider the main evening entertainment area (where the evening shows are performed).  The main entrance is found on Deck 4 Mezzanine, and the second floor is on Deck 5 Promenade.  The interesting thing about the Liquid Lounge is that the seating in the center of the room is not fixed like on most Carnival ships.  The chairs can be moved around to whatever configuration is needed.  The Veterans Appreciation Gathering is also held in the Liquid Lounge.

The Havana Bar can be found at the back of the ship on Deck 9 Lido, and this became one of my favorite places!  On most Carnival ships, there is a small bar at the back of the Lido Deck along with a pool and a hot tub plus the pizza station.  Not on the Sunshine!  The Havana Bar is Cuban themed with a few Cuban-themed snacks available at different times throughout the day and decor to match.  The bar is four-sided with plenty of seating, and there are also several other tables and chairs around.  In my opinion, this area is the hidden gem of the Sunshine!  It took most people until the last day or two of the cruise to find it, so it was pretty quiet all the time, and it was NEVER crowded!

You can see the waterslides behind the funnel here, but I don't remember us ever trying them out.  It was just a little too chilly for us!

The Serenity Deck is Carnival's adults-only area (21 and up), and I think the Sunshine's Serenity area is one of the best in the fleet!  The Sunshine's Serenity Deck encompasses areas of Decks 11, 12, and 14 at the front of the ship.  In the two pictures below, you can see portions of the Serenity area on Decks 11 and 12.

In all my cruises with Carnival, I have to say that I don't think I'd ever visited the RedFrog Pub.  It was pretty neat!  The main reason Joseph & I were there was because we were participating in a Keychain/Shot Glass Exchange with other people from the Facebook group we were in (more about that in a later post).   

Joseph always signs up for the kids' clubs on the ship even though he may not end up going very often.  Since he was fourteen (14) at the time of the cruise, his club was Circle C.

If I remember correctly, Joseph only went to Circle C a few times at the beginning of the cruise, mainly to meet other kids.  Once he met some kids he liked, he hung out with them quite a bit and didn't ever really go to Circle C.  Circle C did have several activities that sounded really fun, though!

The last thing on our list before departure and dinner was meeting up with Boonthip, a Carnival bartender we'd made friends with on a previous cruise and keep in touch with, and meeting our cabin steward!  We found Boonthip at one of the bars by the pool on the Lido Deck, but she spent most of her time on this cruise working at the Havana Bar (hence the main reason it was my fave!).

Our cabin was a Cloud 9 Spa Balcony stateroom on Deck 12, and our cabin steward was Amir from Indonesia.  He was amazing, friendly, and very attentive to anything we needed!

Next up--dinner at the Chef's Table!

Carnival Sunshine--March 2023

I apologize for the lateness of the review of the Carnival Sunshine, but better late than never, right? 😉  My youngest son and I cruised on the Carnival Sunshine over Spring Break 2023, and I have to say that I think this is one of my favorite Carnival ships!

The Carnival Sunshine currently cruises out of Charleston, South Carolina but will be relocating to Virginia in January 2025.  I'm so glad we got the chance to cruise on her while she's still in Charleston, and we'll be cruising on her again in May 2024 as a family for summer vacation.  Since we always like to be in the area at least one day before embarkation, Joseph and I spent part of the day Friday in Beaufort, South Carolina.  I'll take the time to do a separate post about Beaufort, but it's just a little over an hour south of Charleston.

Embarkation Saturday was a little drizzly and foggy, but there's nothing like the site of that Carnival funnel!

Once you're done with the check-in process, one of the last things before boarding the ship is taking the Embarkation Day photo!  No cruise is complete without one!

One of the most important things to do as soon as you're on board is take care of the muster drill!  Carnival has made this SUPER easy now, so we visited our muster station (which is located on the top of your boarding pass) and got cleared for that.  Carnival staff members are there to scan your boarding pass which checks your name off.  You do NOT want to be that person who doesn't visit the muster station and has their name announced over the ship's loudspeaker!

Once we've completed muster, we have two stops on the list--a bar for a drink and Guy's Burger Joint for lunch!  As a family, we've decided to make Guy's Burgers our first meal on every cruise.  On our way out to the Lido Deck to get our burger, we ran into the Carnival Towel Animal, and Joseph HAD to have his picture taken with him/her!

Now that our bellies are full, it's time to explore the ship!  Stay tuned for more about the Carnival Sunshine!

Cruise scrapbook layouts

In addition to traveling with my family, I also love to scrapbook!  I have a ton of vacation pictures that haven't made it into scrapbook layouts yet, but I thought I'd share some of the ones that have!  If you'd like to follow my crafty blog, you can visit it at marinewifesscrappinlife.blogspot.com.  

Thanks for stopping by!