Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: Sunrise
Dates: September 29-October 6. 2019
Home Port: Brooklyn, New York City
Ports of Call:
Boston, Massachusetts
Portland, Maine
Halifax, Nova Scotia
St. John, Newfoundland
Planned Excursions:
Boston – We plan to take a trip to Salem, Massachusetts for the day.
Portland – Discover Portland trolley tour and Casco Bay cruise
Halifax – Double-decker bus tour
St. John – Trolley tour
August 15, 2019 – Update:
Our first and hopefully only monkey wrench has been delivered. We are no longer sailing out of Manhattan, but rather Brooklyn, due to Pier 92 being deemed unsafe and in need of repairs. This change affects thousands of people who have worked hard to put their travel and transportation plans into effect. And we all wanted to sail past the Statue of Liberty! The question that is on many of our minds is, when did the Port Authority notify Carnival that this port change needed to be made? Simply because if they’ve known for months and continued to sell this cruise departing from Manhattan, then shame on Carnival! We decided to change our hotel from midtown Manhattan, which would have been so close to the old pier location, to downtown Manhattan, closer to to the new pier location.
What to pack? Well, part of the answer to that question is easy…no TSA lines as we are taking the train to NYC the day before we set sail. But, as we all know, fall weather can be very unpredictable. Rain? Fog? Sleet? Sunshine? Snow?? So, the need to pack an assortment of clothing that can be mixed and matched and layered is key, along with a couple pairs of shoes, in case we get stuck in the rain. And, since Carnival allows certain beverage carry-ons, we plan to bring some wine and Diet Coke from home as well. There’s no 3oz. liquid limit on a train!
October 6, 2019 – Update – The train trip from Union Station to Penn Station was ok – we booked Acela. We used Red Cap services for luggage and wheelchair assistance. We were not greeted with luggage and wheelchair assistance as requested when we arrived in NYC however. Our return trip from Penn Station to Union Station was a little jostling to be honest. We had very good service on both ends from Red Cap upon our return to Union Station.
October 10, 2019 – Update – I have just learned that the cruise that embarked the same day we disembarked will be missing several ports of call due to a nor’easter. Feel sorry for those folks. Glad it didn’t happen to us! Just proves there’s always something to be thankful for!
Port Hi-lights –
New York – The 911 Memorial was a definite must see for us. Sobering reality seeing the names of the victims and the Survivor Tree. We enjoyed an Italian dinner at Harry’s with Karen’s friend, Dana, on Saturday night. Our hotel was under construction so we needed to drag luggage to the corner for any transportation options. We walked to the South Street Seaport to see the tall ship. We were concerned that we wouldn’t sail by the Statue of Liberty with the port change. The Captain did not disappoint! He did 2 complete 360 degree revolutions so everyone got to see Lady Liberty as we sailed out of port. Good job Captain!
Boston – Headed to Salem for the day which is about a 45 minute drive from Boston. There’s also a ferry between Boston & Salem, but we decided not to take it due to the pier locations on both ends. Salem is very walkable, with shops and restaurants a’plenty. Near the Visitor’s Center is where you pick up the trolley for a tour around the city. Met Karen’s friends, Belle and Victor, for lunch at LongBoards and a little shopping. Found a Christmas store – Merry & Bright – for our Salem ornament.
Apologies for the double pictures. I’m baffled as to why or how to correct it. Believe me…I’ve tried!
Portland – Enjoyed a trolley tour of Portland withPortland Discovery Land & Sea Tours, that included a 30-minute stop at Portland Head lighthouse…in the rain. Which was not enough time! Enjoyed a lobster roll and Haddock bites lunch at Portland Lobster while listening to a live band, in between our trolley tour and boat tour. Then headed out on Casco Bay for a cruise around to see the lighthouses.
St. John – Finally a beautiful day with sunshine. Enjoyed a few beers, harbor-side with some shopping for ornaments after a trolley tour. Got a couple unique, locally made ornaments, made from the mud of the Bay of Fundy by a ‘character’ who was great and friendly. Also saw the reversing water falls during our trolley tour.
Halifax – Another tour by original London double-decker buses to acquaint us with the area. Then a trip down from the terminal for a local brew. The terminal had many vendors inside. We found a beautiful pewter ornament, called Winter Blossom. At least it didn’t snow, as was predicted!
Sadly, the fall foliage part of this tour basically eluded us, despite what the website that tracks it stated. We did see a tree here and there but nothing like the pictures you see posted of beautiful colors. The weather was cool…ok cold!…for me, with wind and rainy, overcast skies. Just not ideal fall cruising to the Atlantic Northeast. The water got rough, with white caps as we left Portland and headed to Canada. Once in Canada, the waters smoothed out.
In Summary –
Our overall satisfaction with this cruise is not very high. This will most likely be the last time we sail Carnival. The ports were ok as we wanted to visit them and sail from NYC. The onboard experience was something else again. At least for us. (Feel free to read IMHO blog post.) The biggest negatives that hit us hard were the responses (or lack thereof) to concerns we expressed to Guest Services and crew staff. Who knew that the ship didn’t have heat in the cabins? And guess who is coughing and blowing her nose as she writes this? What was Carnival thinking when they sent a “Caribbean” ship to the Atlantic Northeast in October? Overall food quality was poor in both execution and temperature. Normally we enjoy going to the ship’s shows, but not on this cruise. Bug bites – oh yeah…while sleeping. Our cabin was on the Lido deck, too close to the elevators and open atrium. Lots of noise from both, sometimes making it difficult to traverse the hallways as people gathered to participate or watch and enjoy the music or partying. We keep experiencing different locations on the ships as we travel, hopefully we booked a better cabin location for our next cruise! What can I say about the crew? Severely lacking, for the most part, in customer service skills. I guess we are just used to a better experience overall. We did enjoy the piano bar and the electric violin trio.
There was a mix of ages on this cruise from infants to senior citizens. I personally found it to be a bit overwhelming at times with 3000 passengers on board. There were many passengers with mobility aids from canes to walkers to scooters to wheelchairs. I’m saddened to hear some of the stories about instances involving these passengers. A few times, my cane was ‘kicked’ out from under me as people rushed by. I was almost going to ‘kiss the floor’ as a lady who wasn’t watching where she was going rammed into my right shoulder from behind, causing me to lose my balance. Thankfully, I managed to stay upright on a wet, slippery deck. I have never had these issues on any other cruise ship. We’ve likened sailing Carnival to a ‘store brand’ while preferring a ‘name brand.’ The old adage is true: You get what you pay for!
Karen makes selecting pictures to post very difficult, with approximately 1900 shots taken on this cruise. Check out the gallery to the left for the chosen few!
To reach a port we must set sail ⛵
Sail, not tie at anchor ⚓
Sail, not drift. 🌊
~Franklin D. Roosevelt
Twenty Steps at a Time 