Just returned from a spring break cruise on the Sunshine. It was a wonderful trip and confirmed that most of the negative things said on this site are very minor and don't reflect the true nature of the trip or the ship.
Embarkation in New Orleans was easy. Arrived about 2 pm, and did not stop longer than 5 minutes anywhere in the process. My family of 3 children and my wife and I had balcony cabins on level 6. While not adjoined they were next to each other. Both were ready when we walked to them. Our luggage came 15 minutes later.
Having sailed on Carnival several times the layout of the ship was exactly like all the Carnival ships except the brand new ones. I really enjoyed the refurbuish and my family could pick out many of the up dates and improvements. As to the buckets and smells, only one bucket and one smell all week. Your really had to be searching for them.
Check out the deck plans to see what is above and below you. We had a hallway below us and were not disturbed by any noise.