From DCL to Carnival, what to expect?

[mevelandry]

Another question about dining: if they assign you to one dining room, does the menu change every day? And can you ask for a 1/2 order or more of one thing, like you can do in DCL?

And if you decide to eat at the buffet or eat a burger or a tacos somewhere else, do you have to tell them you are not going to be there?

 

[AFamily]

Another question about dining: if they assign you to one dining room, does the menu change every day? And can you ask for a 1/2 order or more of one thing, like you can do in DCL?

And if you decide to eat at the buffet or eat a burger or a tacos somewhere else, do you have to tell them you are not going to be there?

Yes the menu will change daily. There are a few things that will be on every menu, but in general it is different.
And yes you can still get as much as you want. On our last Cruise, we had a couple that sat at our table and every night they would get a meal and then after they ate it would ask for a side or meat that looked good on someone else's plate and they were happy to bring it out. The only time I personally had an issue on both Carnival cruises I was on was on lobster night, usually the formal night. I enjoyed the lobster tail and would ask for a second one and the second one was never as good, but any other dish was always good.
You do not have to tell them you don't plan on coming, if you are not there, then they will just serve the rest of the table as usual.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Another question about dining: if they assign you to one dining room, does the menu change every day? And can you ask for a 1/2 order or more of one thing, like you can do in DCL?

And if you decide to eat at the buffet or eat a burger or a tacos somewhere else, do you have to tell them you are not going to be there?

CCL is rolling out a new "American Table" menu fleet wide, I don't know if it's on the sunshine yet or not. You can find it on cruise critic, it looks kind of interesting. They have an appetizer every night called "Didja" as in "did ya ever" it's something like frog legs or ox tail, something a little different to try. I'm excited about it!

 

[PrincessTrisha]

You can check out the Carnival menus here:

http://www.zydecocruiser.net/menus/CarnivalCruiseLineMenus.htm

Along with pictures of the some of the dishes. The Sunshine does not have the new American Table menus yet. They still have a Didja ever? item though (candied salmon, escargot, frog legs, alligator fritters, etc.).

They have a good selection of everyday items (appetizers and entrees) and then they have a changing menu for each day. The daily pasta dish can be served as either an appetizer (smaller portion) or an entrée (larger portion). They will bring you whatever you ask for so if you'd like a dish to taste, they'll be happy to bring you one.

As with all cruiselines, if you have assigned dining, it is always polite to inform your tablemates and servers if you know you're not going to be there.

 

[mevelandry]

Yes the menu will change daily. There are a few things that will be on every menu, but in general it is different.
And yes you can still get as much as you want. On our last Cruise, we had a couple that sat at our table and every night they would get a meal and then after they ate it would ask for a side or meat that looked good on someone else's plate and they were happy to bring it out. The only time I personally had an issue on both Carnival cruises I was on was on lobster night, usually the formal night. I enjoyed the lobster tail and would ask for a second one and the second one was never as good, but any other dish was always good.
You do not have to tell them you don't plan on coming, if you are not there, then they will just serve the rest of the table as usual.

Do you get to know in advance what kind of menu you'll get? Because if there's lobster night, I'll be miserable (don't eat sea food and get sick just with the smell of it)...

 

[mevelandry]

As with all cruiselines, if you have assigned dining, it is always polite to inform your tablemates and servers if you know you're not going to be there.

Tablemates? Hopefully, we can find a way to have none...

 

[AFamily]

Do you get to know in advance what kind of menu you'll get? Because if there's lobster night, I'll be miserable (don't eat sea food and get sick just with the smell of it)...

In the Fun Times (Carnival's daily paper) it gives the dress code, but not the menu, but the server should be able to give you an idea on the day that they will have it. Also you may want to pull up some of the daily menus online too.

Tablemates? Hopefully, we can find a way to have none...

Not sure how the newer ships are set up (I've only been on the older ones) but we were always at a table that can hold 8 to 10 people. There were tables that were smaller, and maybe the my time dinning in different, but we always sat with other people. It can be a little awkward at first (what kind of people are these?) but we have been fortunate to have some very nice company and honestly that is one of the things my wife has said that she is not going to like about DCL, that we may not be sitting with anyone at dinner.

 

[mevelandry]

I think I selected "Table for 2" somewhere but I guess I can always call...

I selected "Your time" for Dining.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

I think I selected "Table for 2" somewhere but I guess I can always call...

I selected "Your time" for Dining.

If you selected "Your time dining" then you won't have an assigned table and will be able to dine anytime between 5:45 and 9:30pm (double check the hours once onboard in the daily funtimes but that's been pretty standard in my experience). When you check in at the podium, you'll be asked each night if you'd like a to share a table. You just have to tell them no and you'll get your table for 2. If you choose to skip the main dining room, there is no one to inform because you won't have servers waiting your arrival and you won't have tablemates.

Lobster is served on the first formal night on Carnival (which will generally be day 2 on most sailings). As a head's up, there is a seafood dish on every night's menu (along with a beef dish, a pork dish, a chicken dish, a vegetarian dish, a pasta dish, etc.)

 

[mevelandry]

How formal is formal? Are they going to kick you out if you don't have the tuxedo and cocktail dress?

 

[mevelandry]

Also, how do you book specialty restaurants?

 

[natural_beautyx4]

The Carnival Sunshine has a few really great features; I'm planning on a cruise on that ship next fall (I like Carnival cruises).

In the buffet area, they have great thin crust pizza, Guy's Burgers, Blue Iguana Burritos and tacos, Mongolian Wok, The Havana-Cuban area, plus the regular buffet area (salad bar, hot dishes, desserts, etc.) and the comfort kitchen.

There are a few for fee restaurants on the ship - JiJi's Asian Kitchen, Cucina de Capitano, Bonsai Sushi and the Steakhouse (most of these are dinner only - except for bonsai sushi).

You have the choice of assigned dining or anytime dining. For assigned dining, you'll get a table assignment for the entire cruise; for anytime dining, you go to the assigned dining room and they'll show you to a table.

For evening entertainment, they have the production shows, but there is also the comedy club (earlier in the evening is family friendly and then the later shows are +18); they also have live music in the Red Frog Pub, and often in the Havana Bar. There will also be Dive In Movies (shown on the big screen around the pool area) - they also provide blankets and free popcorn!

Room service is bit more limited than Disney as it's cold food only (continental breakfast, sandwiches and salads); but they do have really good chocolate cake and cheesecake on the menu as well.

The Serenity area (adults only) on the Sunshine is really great - it's multi levels and the pool has a 3 story waterfall in it.

There will be lots of trivia throughout the day. They will have the Dr. Seuss activities on the ship as well (Parade, story telling, brunch).

The waterworks area has 5 slides - ranging from the twister slide, to racing slides, to kiddie slides. Plus a variety of water features (sprayers, bucket, etc.)
There is also a ropes course on board, along with the "sports square" on the upper deck.

Some of the cabins were added during the refurbishment of the ship. All of the bedding and soft goods in every cabin have been updated, along with the public areas.

Bermuda is also a great place to visit - its an exceptional island; its very British. Beautiful beaches, great people, lots of see and do there so you'll be able to fill the 3 days with no problem.

My husband and I have booked this ship for our anniversary and your post just gave so much more to look forward to. Thanks!!!!

 

[AFamily]

How formal is formal? Are they going to kick you out if you don't have the tuxedo and cocktail dress?

They suggest tie and coat, but they shouldn't turn you away for just a tie and I don't know how strict the longer cruises are, but on shorter ones you will see some people with out the tie.

 

[mevelandry]

They suggest tie and coat, but they shouldn't turn you away for just a tie and I don't know how strict the longer cruises are, but on shorter ones you will see some people with out the tie.

We might book something else that night. A coat takes a lot of room in the luggage and we like to travel light.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

From the Carnival.com website:

Cruise Elegant Dress Code

• Men: dress slacks, dress shirts, and we also suggest a sport coat; men may also wish to wear a suit and tie or tuxedo
• Women: Cocktail dresses, pantsuits, elegant skirts and blouses; ladies may also wish to wear an evening gown
• Not permitted for both men and women: Jeans, men’s sleeveless shirts, shorts, t-shirts, sportswear, baseball hats, flip-flops and bathing suit attire

Basically pants and a non-tshirt are the requirements for men. I'd say many don't wear the sport coat, especially in the Caribbean.

You can book the steakhouse ahead of time through the online cruise planner at carnival.com or you can book the specialty restaurants once onboard. They will have tables set up in the lobby area on embarkation.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

My husband and I have booked this ship for our anniversary and your post just gave so much more to look forward to. Thanks!!!!

Glad to hear that. I've done 5 Carnival cruises (in addition to 5 DCL, 2 Celebrity, and 2 Royal). I love cruising on Carnival - they truly are the Fun Ships! I have a 21 night cruise on the Carnival Pride happening in January 2016 and I just can't wait.

 

[mevelandry]

21 days... wow. That is a lot!

 

[jenng1976]

I have sailed 8 Carnival and 1 HAL so far (soon to try the Wonder in Hawaii!) and I think you will have a great time on the Sunshine since you have a good attitude about it. The cruise lines are all similar in many respects ... And each specialize in their own little things to differentiate themselves.

I personally would recommend trying the cookies in the Coffee Shop Cafe, they are an extra cost (about $1) but are so so good! The adult Serenity areas are my personal favourite spot - padded loungers and quieter than the main pool area. As someone else mentioned - the melting chocolate cakes are delish (I get one every night!) though others rave about the Bitter & Blanc. You can find the menu for the day on your tv, or outside the dining room if you want to check it out in advance.

Our favourite evening entertainment is the Comedy Club - but it's popular so it's good to get there a bit early!

Hope you have a great time trying a new cruise line. I'm certainly looking forward to trying Disney next month!

 

[cub77cub]

Hi!

We have done one cruise on the Dream. We are booked on the Wonder for March... then on the Carnival Sunshine for October.

For those who tried both cruise lines, what small or major differences will I notice.

Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance.

We cruised on the Wonder once and are going again this November. We have been on two Carnival cruises (Magic and Conquest). It's a different atmosphere. People joke about Disney having too many kids. You will see more kids running around on Carnival than Disney! If you are taking kids, Disney wins hands down. You cannot beat the service on Disney. The shows on Carnival are ok, but Disney is better. We did enjoy the food on Carnival. Carnival only allows one bottle of wine or champagne per guest (over age 21). You can purchase a beverage package on Carnival. This can be just soda, water and fancy coffee or a beverage package that includes wine, beer and liquor. We have found that Carnival is not promoted by travel agents. We were told that Carnival doesn't really work as well with TA.

 

[mevelandry]

We cruised on the Wonder once and are going again this November. We have been on two Carnival cruises (Magic and Conquest). It's a different atmosphere. People joke about Disney having too many kids. You will see more kids running around on Carnival than Disney! If you are taking kids, Disney wins hands down. You cannot beat the service on Disney. The shows on Carnival are ok, but Disney is better. We did enjoy the food on Carnival. Carnival only allows one bottle of wine or champagne per guest (over age 21). You can purchase a beverage package on Carnival. This can be just soda, water and fancy coffee or a beverage package that includes wine, beer and liquor. We have found that Carnival is not promoted by travel agents. We were told that Carnival doesn't really work as well with TA.

DH and I don't have kids. On the Disney Dream we spent most of our time at the Quiet Cove, I imagine we'll spend most of our time at the Serenity Area on the Sunshine!

I'm thinking of the bottomless soda package because of the juice selection coming with it...

Don't know about the wine package yet, i'm not much of a drinker and the last time we have done a package, we left with an extra bottle.

We did not see a show yet because DH is not interested in shows. So far I could not compare.

I read somewhere else that you can't book the specialty dining until you are on board... Is it true? Where can you book it?