Carnival Sunshine has made its highly anticipated arrival in Charleston, South Carolina, launching a schedule of four- to 11-day voyages from the Port of Charleston.
The 3,000-passenger ship will sail four- and five-day sailings to the Bahamas and six- and seven-day voyages to Bermuda and the Caribbean as well as the first-ever Cuba cruises from Charleston. The latter will be five-day sailings calling at Havana.
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Carnival Cruise Line celebrated the vessel’s arrival in its new homeport over the weekend with festivities that included a luncheon for travel advisors, local officials and VIPs as well as a donation to homeless assistance center One80 Place.
The repositioning results in Carnival Ecstasy being deployed to Jacksonville for year-round four- to seven-day cruises to the Bahamas and the Caribbean and Carnival Elation moving to Port Canaveral for a four- and five-day Caribbean/Bahamas schedule from Florida’s Space Coast.
“Carnival launched Charleston’s first year-round cruise program nearly a decade ago and we’re delighted to homeport Carnival Sunshine which offers our guests so many wonderful onboard features and amenities,” said Terry Thornton, Senior Vice President of Nautical and Port Operations for Carnival Cruise Line, in a statement.
“This weekend’s festivities were a great way to celebrate the arrival of Charleston’s newest year-round cruise ship while supporting a longtime charitable partner that has made such a tremendous impact on the community.”
Carnival Sunshine’s move to Charleston is significant in that it positions the ship near another large U.S. population base. Currently, Carnival sails from as many as 20 different North American homeports and it’s estimated that approximately half of the U.S. population is within a day’s drive of a Carnival homeport.
Highlights onboard Carnival Sunshine include more than 500 balcony staterooms and nearly 50 suites; the three-level Serenity adults-only retreat; a suspended ropes course; a water park and a plethora of food and beverage options such as Ji Ji Asian Kitchen, Cucina del Capitano, Fahrenheit 555 steakhouse, RedFrog Pub and the Alchemy Bar, among others.
