Sun, Fun and Food Aboard the Carnival Sunshine – 8 days in Eastern Caribbean – stops in St. Maarten, St. Kitts, San Juan and Grand Turk.
Sun, Fun and Food Aboard the Carnival Sunshine – 8 days in Eastern Caribbean – stops in St. Maarten, St. Kitts, San Juan and Grand Turk. The food aboard the Carnival Sunshine was absolutely amazing! 24 hour pizza and ice cream, incredible asian food, Italian food, a great steakhouse and a private dinner with the Executive Chef. Who know there was so much gourmet food aboard a cruise ship?!?!
If you follow us on Instagram, you already know that we recently went on our very first cruise. We went on an 8-day Eastern Caribbean Cruise on the Carnival Sunshine. I was super worried about the food and getting seasick. It turns out I didn’t need to worry about either! We never got seasick, and the food was amazing! I am still thinking about all of it!
We stopped in four ports – St. Maarten, St. Kitts, San Juan and Grand Turk. They were all so beautiful! And the sunsets? The sunsets in the Caribbean were the best EVER! Keep reading to see all the photos!
Ji Ji Asian Kitchen
We ate at Ji Ji on our first night. Ji Ji means “lucky lucky”. We were certainly lucky to eat here!
The food is served family style. We ordered a ton of food – appetizers, main dishes, side dishes and dessert. Ji Ji isn’t included in the food plan on the cruise. It costs $15 per person to eat here. It is totally worth the money!
Cucina del Capitano
Cucina del Capitano was my favorite place to eat on the ship. I absolutely loved everything we ordered. Like Ji Ji, Cucina del Capitano costs $15 per person to eat here and the food is served family style. My favorited dishes where the arancini and the carbonara. I am wishing I had both right this very minute!
Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse
bottom photo courtesy Carnival
Chicken Legs favorite meal was at the high-end steakhouse Fahrenheit 555. The meal was as good as any steakhouse we’ve been to. For $35 per person, you get an appetizer, salad, main dish and dessert. It was a ton of food for the money. You can get several cuts of steaks (I got a filet), surf & turf (think steak and lobster) or even lobster ravioli. As I said, I got the filet and it was cooked to perfection. My photos didn’t turn out since it was dark inside the restaurant. Trust me though, it was delicious!
The Chef’s Table
The Chef’s Table is an experience not to be missed. It costs $75 per person and includes a tour of the galley and a 9-course gourmet meal with the ship’s Executive Chef. The meal is in a private room off of Fahrenheit 555. The food was to-die-for. Make sure to pace yourself so you don’t get full before dessert! I tried to only eat half of each course so I had room to sample everything. The food was nothing short of amazing. I highly recommend doing the Chef’s Table. Make sure to sign up for the experience early. Seating is limited. Once all the spots are filled, that is it.
Guy’s Burger Joint
Guy’s Burger Joint is a burger place by Guy Fieri. Guy developed the burgers exclusively for Carnival. It is included in the meals on the ship. They serve lunch and early dinner.
I was super skeptical of eating here, but the burgers are AMAZING. I would totally pay for one off of the ship. My favorite burger was the Piggy Burger – it was topped with a bacon patty. Worth every single calorie!
Blue Iguana Cantina
Blue Iguana Cantina is included in the meals on the ship. They serve breakfast burritos and lunch. I was totally obsessed with the chicken tacos at Blue Iguana Cantina. I could live off of these things! I need the recipe for the chicken meat!
Pizzeria del Capitano
Before we left for the cruise, I checked out what the food was going to be like. I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t going to starve. I saw that our ship had a 24-hour pizza place, and I knew I was going to be fine. The pizza at Pizzeria del Capitano was seriously delicious! I would pay for it off the ship. Chicken Legs befriended the pizza maker and got the hook up every time he went. His favorite was the 4-Cheese with Pepperoni and Mushrooms. It was a white pizza with a roasted garlic sauce. I plan on recreating this soon!
Alchemy Bar Cocktail Class
We took a Mixology Class at the Alchemy Bar. The Alchemy Bar is a vintage-themed cocktail “pharmacy” with mixologist who “prescribe” concoctions from different elixirs and ingredients. You can grab a prescription pad and create your own cocktail. The class we took lasted 2 hours and we made three different cocktails. My favorite was the The Perfect Storm – Bacardi Oakheart Spiced Rum, Bacardi Rum, strawberry purée, a hint of rosemary sprig and fresh lime. I got the recipe so I can make it at home (and share it with you!).
Red Frog Pub
The Red Frog Pub features the Caribbean’s best rums and beers – including Carnival’s own ThirstyFrog Red. Chicken Legs tried the beer and really liked it. I preferred the fun, fruity rum cocktails.
We stopped at four ports on the cruise.
St. Maarten
We did the Top 10 Best of St. Maarten excursion.
We stopped at a nude beach. Yes, there were some naked people there. There was one guy that kept walking closer and closer to us at the sign. I thought he might pose for us!
Watching the planes come in on the beach was the highlight of the tour. If we went back, we would get a cab down to the airport and watch the planes come in all day. There are tons of cabs at the airport beach and it wouldn’t have been an issue getting back to the ship. Make sure you aren’t late getting back on the ship because they will leave you! They left people on our cruise! I would die!
St. Kitts
We took a catamaran out in St. Kitts and went snorkeling. The water was amazing!
San Juan
We were on our own in San Juan. We spend the day walking around Old San Juan on these amazing blue cobblestone roads.
Grand Turk
Grand Turk was beautiful!
Chicken Legs and I spent the afternoon chilling at Margaritaville.
We literally ate a Cheeseburger in Paradise!
I loved all the fun towel animals we came back to each night.
The sunsets on the cruise were some of the best I’ve ever seen! Seriously amazing.
A huge thank you to Carnival for making our first cruise such a fun experience.
Now, I am off to hit the treadmill and work off all this amazing food!! 🙂
Did you ever find a recipe for the Blue Iguana chicken meat?
I have it. Would you like for me to email it to you?
How wonderful that your first cruise was so great! We're VIPs with Carnival and love them! They make every cruise so enjoyable for everyone. St. Maarten is one of our favorite ports and we always take a taxi down to Maho Beach and lounge around watching the planes land. If you get the right cab driver they will take you on an extended sightseeing drive there so you can get pictures, etc. at no extra charge. I hope this is the first of many cruises for y'all!
Love those sunsets….with a fruity rum drink in hand!
Your first cruise! Glad you enjoyed!