Carnival’s Destiny is Sunshine
17-year-old cruise ship is unrecognizable after a $150-million rebuild
One day last week, somewhere on the Mediterranean Sea, I overheard a woman by the pool say Carnival had done a great job refurbishing the Sunshine.
Actually, this is not a refurbish; this is a rebuild.
Carnival took its 17-yearold ship called Destiny, spent $150 million and created an unrecognizable Destiny — thus the name change to Sunshine. In the annals of modern cruising, this is one of the most ambitious overhauls on record and it could start a trend with other cruise lines.
A new ship of this size costs $600 million to $700 million, so the Sunshine represents a massive saving. Besides, with the new look and feel, Carnival managed to add most of the Fun Ship 2.0 features found on its latest new ship, the Breeze.
The change from a 2,600passenger ship to one of 3,000 passengers is what makes it such an ambitious overhaul in this day and age.
Would Carnival consider doing this with more ships?
“Too early to tell,” came word from the media relations people. “We still need the summer of evaluating all that we added to this ship.”
This is a family ship. That’s clear by looking at the ship’s schedule once it leaves the Mediterranean for North America in November. After one winter in New Orleans, it’s moving to Port Canaveral (Orlando) — the heart of Disney country — in the spring of 2014.
While the kids are entertained in age camps on the Sunshine, Carnival made sure that Serenity (the space for adults) not only has a new look but a lot more in the way of space on three decks near the front of the ship. Toward the stern on the top decks, massive waterslides, Sports Square and other related competitive areas have also been greatly enhanced.
Carnival’s designers changed their thinking about what a show room should be. Destiny had room for 1,500 seats; Sunshine has 800 with removable floor seats that turn it into a giant nightclub in late evening. To compensate for the downsizing, Carnival added more shows each day.
Every cruiser’s favourite question is: What about the buffet?
Here is where Carnival gets creative. Market Place now includes more pop-up food stations, reducing the never-ending lineups. The Asian and Italian restaurants back on to the Market Place, adding more seating and more cooks to turn out fresh omelettes in the morning.
Ji and Ji, the Asian restaurant, and the Italian restaurant Cuccina del Capitano both have a dinner charge of $12, but during lunch you can pretty much dig into the same food at no charge. The Havana Bar splits these specialty restaurants down the middle, making for a lively evening spot.
The pride of Carnival’s specialty restaurants has always been the steak house, Farenheit 555. That tradition continues and so does the price, $35.
There are 168 more cabins and, with the same space as Destiny, you would expect overcrowding in public areas. Additional deck space near the bow, downsizing of the theatre and a smaller Market Place gives this new ship more of an openness.
Next week: a unique look at Venice.