Sunshine to Charleston

[jimbo5544]

ok .

 

 

 

LOL, that is what the Carnival Exec I told that to said as well......

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[iamchrisstone]

Here is a drone video of the Sunshine so you guys can see it from a different view point. Feel free to share it.

 

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[summersigh]

I also wish there were a few 7-dayers interspersed in the 4's and 5's.

That being said, I'm sure the Sunshine will do well in Charleston. It's an easy day drive from a lot of cities in Georgia and the Carolinas. That and the fact that there are thousands of folks in that region who work 4 day weeks - like the staff at many of the hospitals - so to take a cruise would only involve taking 1 or 2 days off.

We loved the Sunshine - it did not feel dated. There were more places for lunch on Sunshine than on any other ship we've sailed. The Serenity was 3 decks tall if I remember correctly. The water slides and ropes courses were quite popular.

[yaddayaddayadda]

I’ll be sailing on her July 18, 2019. My third cruise out of Charleston, and the third ship I’ll be sailing on.

[iamchrisstone]

Here is the updated video I told you guys about. It shows some great sides of the Sunshine!

 

[YOUTUBE]qHmvIkBWutg[/YOUTUBE]

[iamchrisstone]

I was just talking to my buddy and with Charleston being quite a bit closer to us, I think we will book another Sunshine cruise.

[mouche]

Love love this news, sailing on the Sunshine this October, wish I had known she was moving to Charleston I would have waited as Charleston is only a short car ride away. Oh well, I am so glad Charleston is getting a new bigger ship, and I hope to be sailing her often.:D

[uncleg]

 I really hate this ship, sailed on it in 2016.  It was by far the worst ship I have ever sailed on and first time I could not wait to get off a ship.  Poorly laid out, filthy, over crowded, wore out and beyond ugly.   The Atrium bar looked like the Brady bunch house threw up.  So disappointed!  Was planning a trip for next year to celebrate nieces graduation and had hoped to sail out of Charleston, looks like we will be going to Port Canaveral for a better ship.

[CruiseAdict218]

5 minutes ago, uncleg said:

 I really hate this ship, sailed on it in 2016.  It was by far the worst ship I have ever sailed on and first time I could not wait to get off a ship.  Poorly laid out, filthy, over crowded, wore out and beyond ugly.   The Atrium bar looked like the Brady bunch house threw up.  So disappointed!  Was planning a trip for next year to celebrate nieces graduation and had hoped to sail out of Charleston, looks like we will be going to Port Canaveral for a better ship.

 

What month did you sail? We sailed in Oct when it was in NY and we had the exact opposite, probably our families favorite Carnival ship.

Edited March 13, 2019 by CruiseAdict218

[uncleg]

1 minute ago, CruiseAdict218 said:

 

What month did you sail? We sailed in Oct when it was in NY and we had the exact opposite, probably our families favorite Carnival ship.

November 11, 2016, absolutely hated it, I have probably been on about 12 cruises, that one made me take a break cruising, next year will be my first since that one and only because we promised my niece we would go for her graduation.

[CruiseAdict218]

4 minutes ago, uncleg said:

November 11, 2016, absolutely hated it, I have probably been on about 12 cruises, that one made me take a break cruising, next year will be my first since that one and only because we promised my niece we would go for her graduation.

 

That’s unfortunate, which ship do you have booked?

[iamchrisstone]

The Sunshine wasn't our favorite, but it was nice.... to us.  No where near new, but for the age and the price point, we enjoyed her.  Here is our recap video.

 

 

 

Edited March 13, 2019 by iamchrisstone
put video in incorrectly

[Hoops_Baller]

32 minutes ago, uncleg said:

 I really hate this ship, sailed on it in 2016.  It was by far the worst ship I have ever sailed on and first time I could not wait to get off a ship.  Poorly laid out, filthy, over crowded, wore out and beyond ugly.   The Atrium bar looked like the Brady bunch house threw up.  So disappointed!  Was planning a trip for next year to celebrate nieces graduation and had hoped to sail out of Charleston, looks like we will be going to Port Canaveral for a better ship.

 

The Sunshine went through and extensive upgrade and refurb in 2018, so the experience in 2016 is not necessarily relevant.  Everyone just needs to make sure they consider all information before making decisions, and also much of any vacation is what you make of it.

[Bingobaby0]

I don't understand why you think there are only short cruises out of Charleston, we are going to Bermuda on the Sunshine for 6 nights in September.   They also offered one for 7 nights.

[summersigh]

The Sunshine is our favorite Carnival ship.  We sailed her in Jan and May of 2016 and had a great time.  In fact we booked her out of Charleston for later this year and next year.

 

We like a balcony on deck 7   The food in the MDR was good - no, of course it's not a Michelin Star Restaurant but what we ordered tasted good and there was a good variety.  I can't imagine anyone leaving the dining room hungry.  The only place we smelled smoke was in the casino and the hallway just outside of it.  If you look at a deck plan before you go it;s not really difficult to get around.  There are so many "included" lunch venues you'd need to eat 2 lunches a day to try them all

[PhillyFan33579]

7 hours ago, uncleg said:

 I really hate this ship, sailed on it in 2016.  It was by far the worst ship I have ever sailed on and first time I could not wait to get off a ship.  Poorly laid out, filthy, over crowded, wore out and beyond ugly.   The Atrium bar looked like the Brady bunch house threw up.  So disappointed!  Was planning a trip for next year to celebrate nieces graduation and had hoped to sail out of Charleston, looks like we will be going to Port Canaveral for a better ship.

 

I have sailed on roughly half of Carnival’s ships and Sunshine is definitely my least favorite ship I have sailed on, but I wouldn’t say I hated her. 

 

Two things my wife and I like to do when cruising is go to lots of comedy shows and hang out in the Serenity area.  The Limelight Lounge is by far the worst lounge where comedy is shown and the Serenity area is the loudest Serenity area we have been on due to its location right next to the Lido pool deck. 

 

We we still had a good time on our cruise on Sunshine, but it was the first Carnival ship where we both said we will likely never sail on her again. 

 

On the the bright side, the water slides on Sunshine are really good, I love the atrium bar, and the ocean plaza area between Alchemy and the Red Frog Pub is a great place to hang out at night. 

Edited March 14, 2019 by PhillyFan33579

[schazzy]

11 hours ago, summersigh said:

There are so many "included" lunch venues you'd need to eat 2 lunches a day to try them all

 

Sounds like a plan!

[Gamecock_Cruiser]

Out of 8 cruises so far, I am going to miss having a Fantasy class ship over a larger ship so close to home. Smaller ships have a lot less crowded feel to me, which I prefer.

 

[BoDidly]

On 3/14/2019 at 8:06 AM, Gamecock_Cruiser said:

Out of 8 cruises so far, I am going to miss having a Fantasy class ship over a larger ship so close to home. Smaller ships have a lot less crowded feel to me, which I prefer.

 

I will take Sunshine over Ecstasy any day, much better ship.

[13cheermom]

10 hours ago, BoDidly said:

I will take Sunshine over Ecstasy any day, much better ship.

 

i totally agree with this!  This is the reason we have never sailed from this close to home port and have chosen to drive 10+ hours to PC.  We have sailed on the Sunshine several times before and enjoyed the ship.  So looking forward to a quick trip to the port for our cruise in September later this year.

[summersigh]

Something else we love about the Sunshine is convenience.  My DH has mobility issues and can only walk short distances before he needs to sit and rest.

We book a balcony cabin near the aft elevators.  If we go down the elevator we're right at the door of the MDR for dinner.
 

If we go up to Lido deck for breakfast or lunch there's the Lido Buffet, the pizza place, deli, Italian, Asian and Cuban all within a stone's throw and all "free".  With the Havana Bar in the back there are always good seats near a window aft of the Lido buffet area.
 

If DH is feeling adventurous we take a slow stroll to mid ship for the pool area with Red Frog Rum Bar, Blue Iguana Tequila bar, Mexican food and Guys Burgers.
 

Night life is easy too.  Taking the elevator to Deck 5 there's the Ocean Plaza with live music most nights, the Alchemy Bar, Red Frog Pub ... all just forward of the elevators.

We don't much care about the casino or most of the shows so this is the perfect ship for all we need for a nice cruise.

[CruiseAdict218]

On 3/13/2019 at 2:22 PM, Hoops_Baller said:

 

The Sunshine went through and extensive upgrade and refurb in 2018, so the experience in 2016 is not necessarily relevant.  Everyone just needs to make sure they consider all information before making decisions, and also much of any vacation is what you make of it.

It went through a minor 2 week one back in October 2018, only big change that seems to have taken place was the addition of the Seafood Shack unless I’m missing something else but most should still be the same since her conversion from the Destiny took place.

[NCTribeFan]

I also love the Fantasy class ships but preferred Fantasy over Ecstasy. 

 

I sailed Sunshine a couple of years ago on a Journeys sailing from Port Canaveral to San Juan and quite liked her.  I liked the various venues and loved having the Italian eatery available for no charge at lunch time.  After I sailed Vista I thought that Sunshine was a bit of a mini-Vista class.

 

Anyway, I'm booked on her to Bermuda in October (my Diamond sailing).  Looking forward to sailing from Charleston yet again (I love it there!) and giving Sunshine another go.  Hopefully, we'll have better weather on the sea days than I had last time and I'll get to spend some time enjoying her Serenity Deck.

[scpirate]

On 12/7/2017 at 11:57 AM, Bigmo6967 said:

This is awesome news for me living in SC

I'm in Columbia so it 2 hours to port instead of Florida but the itinerary is not worth it to me did it twice not wasting any more money on Bahamas.

[schazzy]

On 3/16/2019 at 11:21 AM, summersigh said:

Something else we love about the Sunshine is convenience.  My DH has mobility issues and can only walk short distances before he needs to sit and rest.

We book a balcony cabin near the aft elevators.  If we go down the elevator we're right at the door of the MDR for dinner.
 

If we go up to Lido deck for breakfast or lunch there's the Lido Buffet, the pizza place, deli, Italian, Asian and Cuban all within a stone's throw and all "free".  With the Havana Bar in the back there are always good seats near a window aft of the Lido buffet area.
 

If DH is feeling adventurous we take a slow stroll to mid ship for the pool area with Red Frog Rum Bar, Blue Iguana Tequila bar, Mexican food and Guys Burgers.
 

Night life is easy too.  Taking the elevator to Deck 5 there's the Ocean Plaza with live music most nights, the Alchemy Bar, Red Frog Pub ... all just forward of the elevators.

We don't much care about the casino or most of the shows so this is the perfect ship for all we need for a nice cruise.

 

My MIL also has some mobility issues, so we too booked aft cabins because most of the places that she will go to regularly are just an elevator ride and short walk away.