meandmyhoneycruiseforever

We were on the Sunshine December 3rd.  I had read not to arrive at the port before 10:00.  We got there about 10:15 and the gates were not open yet.  We got our car in the line and the gates opened about 10:30.  Paid to park, dropped our luggage, checked in, transported to ship - we were on the ship by 11:15.

I never received any answers prior to our cruise - but we did do this excursion, so I thought I'd post some info in case anyone else was interested.

We are Honda Goldwing riders, and the bikes were Harleys - and that was fine.  It is not truly a Harley dealership - more like a garage with about a dozen bikes.  Most of the bikes were pretty beat (not unusual for rentals), but they all ran ok.  The tour was a lot of fun - I'm glad we did it.  Actual riding time is about 2½ hours - we saw almost all of the island.  There were several stops for pictures and information - our guide was very good.  Helmets are required and provided - although all they had were extra large and it was difficult to get them to feel comfortable.  Our tour group included 7 bikes, plus the leader and tail gunner.  There was also an afternoon excursion - not sure how many were in that group.  The roads are very narrow and drop off several inches at the edge.  You also have to be on the lookout for wild goats and donkeys.

All in all, it was a fun excursion, and if you enjoy riding - go for it!

Thank you everyone!  Lots of great information - now I just have to wait for the day to arrive.  Certainly looking forward to exploring Charleston and  our Journeys cruise on the Sunshine!

Thank you waterbug123 for the very helpful information.  We have booked the Best Western in Mt. Pleasant.  I understand it's nothing fancy, but it met our price requirements and I think it will be fine.  I do have one final question - is there anything that is not available on Sundays?  Since our 3 days in Charleston will be Saturday, Sunday and Monday, I just want to make sure we don't plan something on Sunday that will be closed.  The weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are usually fairly slow tourist times (which is why we cruise then - cheaper too!), so I'm hoping crowds won't be too terrible.

I think we have definitely decided on visiting Patriot's Point, doing a carriage ride through Charleston, visiting the downtown market, and walking downtown.  Other than that, we'll just play it by ear.

Thanks again for all of the useful info.  Looking forward to visiting this fair city.

We do plan to spend one day exploring downtown.  We'd also like to tour the aircraft carrier/submarine - we've had several people tell us that is well worth the time.  If there is enough time, we'll probably explore the surrounding area as well - possibly a plantation or Patriots Point.  Is parking a problem in downtown?  We thought that since we have our car, it will give us more freedom to do our exploring.  We're definitely not "fancy" people, so we can probably manage in N. Charleston or the West Ashley part you mentioned.

Thank you everyone for your input.  Since we will be in Charleston for 3 nights, the price of the hotel becomes more important to me.  I've looked at a couple of travel comparison sites - I've seen hotels as cheap as $50 per night (think Motel 6) with no shuttle to cruise.  The nicer hotels downtown all seem to be in the $150 - $300 range (even without the shuttle).  I thought if I could get a room around $70-$80, even if I have to pay $220 to park, it beats a $200 room.  Since I'm entirely unfamiliar with the Charleston area, I'm just trying to avoid any dangerous areas (if there are any).  Hubby and I stay in Motel 8, Super 8, etc., all the time - generally they are fine.  We've only had a couple where we said absolutely not.

We will be sailing on the Sunshine December 3rd.  Our plan is to spend a few days in Charleston before our cruise.  We are looking for a CHEAP hotel (as long as it's clean and bug-free, we're fine) and we don't necessarily have to be close to the port, since we will have our car.  I've looked at hotels that include a shuttle to the port, but generally they are pretty expensive.  Even with the cost of parking for the cruise, if I can find a really inexpensive hotel (thinking Motel 6, etc), I think we'd be better off because then our car will be at the port and we won't have to wait for a shuttle or uber.

I'm not at all familiar with Charleston, so when I use the hotel search sites I can't tell if I'm looking at an area I should avoid.  Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you for the help - I will put it on my calendar to do about 2 weeks out.

Sorry - I know this has been asked and answered, but I've had no luck using the search feature.

I'd like to e-mail the maitre d on the Sunshine to request a certain table size. I've done it successfully in the past, but I don't remember how long before the cruise to do it (2 weeks seems about right), and I don't remember the e-mail address to use.  I think it is _ _matitred@carnival.com, with the ship code going in the blanks, but I don't know what the Sunshine code is.

Any help would be appreciated.

My husband and I will be on Bonaire in December on the Carnival Sunshine.  We are interested in doing the ship sponsored shore excursion motorcycle ride.  Has anyone done that excursion?  I am not interested in booking privately, so please only people who have done the ship sponsored excursion.  Do you know if it books up quickly?  How much actual riding time do you get?  (The description says 3.5 hours, but I assume there is some transporting to and fro, as well as safety instructions).  Any info would be appreciated.

We are also on the 12-3-17 sailing. Where do they post the improvements being made?

Can anyone tell me what will be done to the Conquest during drydock? We are sailing on her soon after she comes out of drydock.

First let me admit that I stole this thread idea from Carnival. I thought it would be a change to hear some nice things.

My story - on our very first cruise (many years ago) we had cheese blintzes for dessert one night. The next night I looked at the menu and none of the desserts appealed to me and I told our server that I sure wished I could have the cheese blintzes again. To my surprise she was able to get them for me.

One more - we were cruising on our anniversary and when our server found out, he made me a rose out of a napkin and tin foil. It was lovely and I still have it.

Thanks for the info! Looking forward to being there the end of March.

Do you know how much it is to rent snorkel equipment at Eden Rock? We have our own, but it takes up too much room in our luggage.

Thank you everyone for all of the help! Now we just have to wait for Sunday to get here!

For the first time we are driving to the port this weekend instead of flying in. Can anyone tell me is Liberty in Terminal 6 or Terminal 10? Will it make a big difference - we have already reserved and prepaid for parking at the port. Thanks in advance for the help!