Lee and Karen Duquette
on the Carnival Sunshine Cruise Ship
(page 1 of 2)
February 8 - 11, 2024

This was a fun trip until the very end when the two RV Gypsies walked almost a mile to their car and that is when Karen Duquette realized that she did NOT have her cell phone with her because she left her cell phone in their room, on the desk. Yes, that is definitely where it was left, so the cleaning crew should have turned it in. It was a long walk to where the car was parked and they could not walk back to the ship.

THEY NOTIFIED THE CRUISE SHIP AND IT TOOK A FULL MONTH TO FIND KAREN'S PHONE.

The two RV Gypsies loved the Cruise Director, James Love. They even love his name. He was always upbeat and friendly.

THE LOVE AND MARRIAGE SHOW ON STAGE:

Of course James Love conducted several activities and games during this cruise. Karen and Lee Duquette attended The Love and Marriage show. First, the cruise director asked for couples "newly wed" to stand. Then he chose a couple to come up on stage. Then he asked for couples married a long time to stand. Lee Duquette did not want to stand up, but Karen Duquette convinced him to stand. It turned out that they were the couple married the longest, (58 years) so they were chosen to come on stage. Then a third couple was chosen, but Karen is not sure why.

Each couple was seated in chairs on the stage with their backs to each other. Karen was on the far end, facing the audience to the right side of the stage. Each person was given a clipboard with a piece of paper on it, plus a pen. The cruise director asked questions and each person had to write an answer on their paper. The first question was easy - "when and where did you meet?" Karen does not know what got into her, but with each question thereafter, she just started to laugh her head off. Serious laughing!!!! She was laughing, "rocking" in her chair and stomping her feet. She could see the audience laughing too. Questions were very personal and specific.

Each question only required one answer, but for the last question, the cruise director told Karen to write three (3) answers about a certain event that happened when she had first met Lee. Karen really had to think hard to answer a question about so long ago, and of course she was laughing the entire time. Unknown to Karen, the cruise director held up only one finger to the other participants so they only needed to write one answer. Karen's answers made the audience roar with laughter (as did most of her answers).

All three couples were given a small trophy of the ship and a bottle of champagne. (SHOWN BELOW). For the remaining days on the ship, everywhere Karen and Lee went someone yelled what Karen thought they were saying "ice cream" and Lee thought they were saying "I scream"). This phrase had to do with the answers Karen gave to questions. They felt like celebrities. People seated across the dining room even walked over to their table to comment.

Since both Karen and Lee Duquette were on stage, they could not take any photos and they did not know anyone in the audience. They hope that maybe someone will come across this website and send any photos they took. But most likely, no photos were taken because the audience were laughing their heads off during most of the show.

Later, Karen and Lee Duquette found the note shown below in their room along with a plate of chocolate covered strawberries. Lee took a photo of the strawberries (but he had already eaten a few).

Below: The cruise director, James Love, hosted a really nice event for Veterans and their families. While waiting for the ceremony to begin, Karen Duquette took a photo of her feet and the shiny floor with reflections from the ceiling. She showed the photo to Lee he also took a photo of his feet and the ceiling reflections on the shiny floor.

Below: Then a slide show began to honor all Military Personnel and Veterans who served.

As each department of the U.S., Military was shown on screen, the active military persons and Veterans were asked to stand and be acknowledged. So of course, Karen and Lee each stood when their military branch was shown on screen.The first screen was the slogan and the second screen was the song, which actually played.

Below: Two screens were shown for each department, but Karen somehow only photographed one screen of each at first.

After the amazing, respectful slide show, everyone who served in the U.S. Military was asked to stand (if they wanted to), one at a time, state their branch of service and speak whatever was on their mind. Karen Duquette spoke in honor of Lee Duquette's Uncle Pat D'Amato who served in WWII and was a war hero because he saved several lives while in the military.

At the end of the program, a group picture was taken of the Military people and Veterans on stage. Then another photo was taken with the cruise director. Since Karen and Lee Duquette were on stage, they could not take pictures, but a nice lady in the group sent the group photos she took to Karen's phone.

Below: Lee Duquette took a photo of the welcome sign on the table for Veterans. Karen Duquette took photos of some of the other Veterans and the snacks served.

None of the other cruise ships that Karen and Lee have been on ever welcomed their Veterans in any manner.

Below: Returning to the ship after their Segway tour (shown later on this website), the two RV Gypsies found everyone enjoying a party. As they entered, the cruise director announced on his microphone that "Karen and Lee are here" and he posed for a photo with her, and everyone applauded. Someone handed Karen a "glow stick".

Below: Lee and Karen Duquette tried on a ship's hat and contemplated buying them, but did not because it was way overpriced. Karen does enjoy unusual hats though.

However, Karen Duquette did buy the gold Captains hat. It was marked $12, but the cashier only charged her $4.

Below: Fun games on the ship. Karen Duquette was chosen to participate in one of the games. Questions were asked and contestants gave hand signals to try to answer the questions correctly. If they answered correctly, they moved one colored circle closer to the end. Her team did not win, but it was a lot of fun. Lee Duquette did not participate so he took a few photos with his phone. Karen was wearing the "Captain's Cap" that she bought on the cruise.

The ship itself was great as were the workers. But the food was not so good, even though service was good. (This was the first time Karen and Lee did not like the food on a cruise). The buffet was really bad because most of the food was cold and meats were tough. Karen Duquette hardly ate much during this cruise. After the cruise, Karen read comments on line that other people agreed with her opinion of the food.

The cruise wanted everyone to scan the menu on their phone (see the photo below). But they would pass out a menu if asked for. Portions were skimpy, but more could probably have been requested.

Below: Usually during the evening dinner in the main dining room, crew members did a little performance, mostly some dancing. Karen Duquette was never seated where she could get decent photos of the performances. It really was not that exciting anyway.

Below: Two photos of James Love, the amazing and fun Cruise Director, enjoying entertaining the guests.

Continue on to Page 2 on the Carnival Sunshine cruise ship