mlshum

Thanks so much for reading along and I hope you have an awesome cruise! Not exactly an "assignment" as much as a surprise! Some of my pics are a little out of order but the story of those shirts will up in an upcoming post along with some more extensive photos. LOL The ladies were quite proud of that achievement!

Sail away was at 4pm. It was cold and windy. (Did I mention that it was cold??) This was one of the stranger sail aways that I can recall. We took our place on the rail on Deck 11, expecting the music and dancing to get started at any time. It wasn’t to be. This was a quiet sail away. Too quiet. No music, no dancing, no blowing the ship’s horn. What’s up with that?? I would later learn that there is a noise ordinance in Charleston, and they cannot do those things that we normally do on a sail away. Go figure! It felt strange. Still....even though it was quiet, cold and windy (did I mention that it was cold??) it was still just as exciting as always. I LOVE that feeling of getting started on a new adventure! At one point Lucinda turned to us and asked, “Does it ever get old?” The answer is no! It never, NEVER gets old. Every cruise and every sail away is just as exciting as the very first cruise in 2010. I love them all! Port of Charleston Port of Charleston Port of Charleston Passing a fort as we sail out As we were standing on the rail, a very drunk man stepped up beside Aaron and started a conversation. He started off by asking if Aaron was drunk, too. The answer was no, not drunk. I don’t think he had even had an adult beverage at that point. The poor guy was on his first cruise and was scared to death. He proceeded to complain about the weather (It was cold and windy, you know.) and how he was nervous about sailing in the storm. At that point, Aaron started feeling a little “nauti”. (That was a terrible pun, I know! I’m ashamed. LOL) Aaron told the poor drunk guy that he had “checked the nautical charts and this would “be bad for the next couple of days.” The guy was dismayed. The wife asked Aaron why he’d told the guy that. The guy was ready to get off the ship immediately. Aaron thought it was hysterical because he had made it all up. He told them he was kidding. Turns out, Aaron was right! It WAS stormy and bad for the rest of the day and all of the next day! Could he have cursed us with his joke?? Hmmm........ Hanging out on the railing Getting ready to sail Lucinda's first duck Ron and I during our cold sail away We all stayed on deck in the COLD and WIND for about 30 minutes watching as we headed out to sea. We passed the little island with the cross. We passed Fort Sumpter. When it became apparent that there wasn’t going to be a party, we headed inside to get warmed up and cleaned up a little for dinner. Ron found a pirate duck on the way to dinner. So cute! I also set out one of my Valentine’s Day ducks. My ducks in a row First duck Dinner every evening with this group was so much fun! We all managed to sit together at a large round table. Our waitstaff consisted mainly of Oka and Gusti. They were awesome! Service was always quick and the food was very good overall. We didn’t have any evening when we felt that service was slow. It was probably one of the best dining room experiences we’ve had on our cruises. I had the chicken parm and finished off which chocolate melting cake (of course!). One aside, Ron and Aaron both had calamari and neither of them thought it was very good this time. Dinner - First night Dinner - First night While we had one of the large round tables, so did another group immediately behind where Bobby sat each night. He sometimes had a little difficulty hearing what we were saying to him because we were in front of him, but he had NO problem hearing what was being said behind him, whether he wanted to know or not! He heard one lady describe how she had worn the wrong undergarments and was having problems with them riding high and a gentleman who gave a detailed....very detailed....recap of his day at the spa. He didn’t relay much of what he heard and refused to give details, but it was definitely a funny quirk of his hearing aids. We love our “friends who have become family”! When the waitstaff did their song and dance the first night, Lucinda joined them. She’s amazing! Her energy and enthusiasm really set off our entire day and made everyone around her smile. The trip was off to a great start! Lucinda's first dance After dinner several of us went to the Limelight Lounge to see Carl Faulkenberry’s comedy act. He was hysterical! He’s definitely one of my top five favorite comedians that we’ve seen on a ship. If you have a chance to see him, I highly recommend it. He is from Texas and has sort of a deadpan style. It worked! We were laughing the whole time. Carl Faulkenberry After the comedy show we went to the Welcome Aboard show and met up with the rest of our crew minus Daryl and Frances who had gone back to their cabin to rest. There are large circular couches with some chairs behind them in the Liquid Lounge. These worked very well for us, and we tried to get one every time we went to a show or event in the theatre. We “met” Leon the cruise director. I loved him! He was so engaging and EVERYWHERE on the ship. They did the typical “shake the balls out of the containers” game and Playlist did an abbreviated show. The funny thing is, this would be the ONLY production show we would be able to catch for the entire cruise. The other nights were singing and a very small amount of dancing, apparently due to weather conditions. I wish those in our group who were on their first sailing could have seen an actual full-length show. Still, these were good. Kim commented at the end of the cruise on how much she had enjoyed the shows. I know she and Bobby plan to sail again so hopefully she’ll be able to catch a full production at some point. Leon, our cruise director, at the Welcome Aboard Show Goofing off....as usual! After the show, we pretty much scattered. Some went back to their rooms, some went to the casino, Ron and I took a stroll on the deck to see if the weather had improved (it hadn’t...still COLD and WINDY), got an ice cream and decided to call it a night. Our first towel animal was there where we got back. To be continued..........

You know that every time I go to FL I can’t stay away from a port. Disney hasn’t “grabbed” me like that. Who knows what the future holds?

That’s the ship we sailed from Norfolk. It’s an amazing ship. I know you’ll love it!

I sailed from Norfolk in Oct. and very much enjoyed it. They are having some growing pains getting it figured out but I’m sure all they need is a little time. They seem really thrilled to be a year round port.

I knew the ship would no longer be sailing from Charleston. I had read they were using the site for a retail development and some high end housing. Whatever it is, I hope it works out well for the city. It really is a beautiful area.

Thanks so much for your kind words and for reading along!

Hopefully you’ll get at least one last sailing before the big move!

Thanks so much for your answer! I was reading a little about some of the plans for building on that site. It sounds amazing. I hope it works out well for Charleston. I know that the people I met in Norfolk are thrilled that Sunshine is moving there full time. Maybe it will be a great thing for both cities.

Yay for another Mountaineer and thanks so much for reading along! Gotta love Tudors, lol

Thanks so much for your kind words and for reading along!

It does get a little rocky after we left port. Read ahead! LOL Actually, I've never been to Disney! When our kids were small, we simply couldn't afford it, (mainly because we had small children and they're expensive!). When they were older, they didn't want to go. We've just never gotten around to making the trip. Thanks so much for reading along!

So before I get back to the Story, I need to introduce the "cast of characters" in photo. I should have done it yesterday, but it completely slipped my mind. Here we are... Ron and Michelle (me!) Cami and Emory Derrick and Lucinda Daryl and Frances Bobby and Kim Liz and Aaron So....on we go! Saturday, February 4th, 2023 - Cruise Day! After a couple years’ wait it was FINALLY time to get this group cruise started! Yay! (happy dance) I’m always like a kindergartner on the first day of school on cruise day. I am up with the sun and ready to roll! Ron and I headed down for breakfast. Hampton always has a nice breakfast included with the stay. They’ve never let me down yet! We were meeting all our group in the lobby at 9:45 to head over to the port for parking. We all had a 10:30 check in time. Liz in the lobby Ron, also waiting in the lobby. See how patient we are! (not!) Breakfast finished, bags packed...time to go! Daryl and Frances were again with us. They were a little nervous about the check-in process since this was their first time and we had promised to take every step of the way with us. We took a minute to download the HUB app onto Frances’s phone before we left the hotel. Cami and Emory took their car, Derrick and Lucinda took their truck, Bobby and Kim took their car and Liz and Aaron rode with them. Everyone was present and accounted for. Let’s get this show on the road! Charleston has a somewhat confusing boarding process like nothing else that I’ve experienced I any other embarkation ports. The cruise parking is relatively well marked along the way with signs but not all of them seem correct. It seems that some of the road signs might have been left over from previous parking configurations. The sandwich signs were more recent so between those and the port officials pointing us in various directions, we found where we needed to go without too much trouble. Cruise parking sign Parking in Charleston is one large open lot. When you pull onto the lot, you pay for parking. They slap a small colored sticker on your windshield. The cost is $105 for the five day cruise however, if you have a handicapped designation it is free and you park much closer to the check in building. I thought that was a nice touch. Parking lot After paying for your parking, you pull into a white tent. This is where you drop off luggage. Ron jumped out of the car, quickly gave the porters our luggage and jumped back in our car. We were then directed to a specific parking space. From there we would walk. Did I mention it was cold? It was STILL cold. It was in the 40’s at this point. The wind was blowing. I was freezing! Poor Frances was REALLY freezing! We hurried along a marked pathway that led to a metal building labeled on the side “Building 324”. Kind of like Area 51 maybe? This was the building where we would complete the first part of our check in process. We joined the line and in just a few minutes we were called up to check in and have our pictures taken for security. Daryl and Frances stayed with us through the entire process. The officials who were directing traffic flow let them go to the desk to check in with us. Just as we reached desk 1, desk 2 opened so it worked out perfectly and Daryl and Frances had no problems at all. We did the normal routine...check passports, check boarding pass, take picture...you know the drill. We were then free to sit until our boarding number was called. Our entire group of twelve checked in and sat down. This entire part of the process probably took less than fifteen minutes. It was running quite efficiently. Check-in area We joined the line and in just a few minutes we were called up to check in and have our pictures taken for security. Daryl and Frances stayed with us through the entire process. The officials who were directing traffic flow let them go to the desk to check in with us. Just as we reached desk 1, desk 2 opened so it worked out perfectly and Daryl and Frances had no problems at all. We did the normal routine...check passports, check boarding pass, take picture...you know the drill. We were then free to sit until our boarding number was called. Our entire group of twelve checked in and sat down. This entire part of the process probably took less than fifteen minutes. It was running quite efficiently. Checked in and waiting to load a bus to go to the ship and final security check Once our boarding zone number was called, we were loaded onto shuttle buses for transport to the ship. You could see the ship......it would have been a short walk....but you MUST take the bus. Most of our group was loaded onto one bus and it looked like Ron and I were going on a separate bus when they discovered there was still room for two more on the first bus. We climbed aboard and were on our way for a very short ride over to the ship. We were all excited. Some of our people were seeing a cruise ship up close and personal for the first time. I remember seeing Sensation the first time back in 2010. Even now, I still get goosebumps when I see the ship. The security check-in is right after the bus ride. You go into another building, the terminal building if you will, and are immediately sent to the lines for metal detectors and scanning. If you've read any of my past reviews, you know that I don't always have the greatest of luck with security. For some reason, I always seem to have done something wrong, be wearing the wrong thing or just get randomly selected for "enhanced screening". I always try to be very careful and check the rules beforehand, but it still seems to catch up with me. I'm proud to say at this time, I breezed right through! Yes! Now over the years, my dear sweet girl, Liz, has given me no end of grief over my various brushes with security. I am the mildest mannered and innocent person she knows apparently. She was actually on hand to witness the TSA debacle in the Concord, NC airport (see the Sunrise story) and that has become one of her favorite "Michelle" stories. Today would be a day of retribution! Yes! Like I said, I sailed through security with no problems. My halo was intact and shiny. You must have been able to see the goodness glowing in my face. OK, maybe not, but still, they didn't give me a hard time. Maybe I'm getting better at the whole "security" thing. Liz was in the line beside me. She was stopped for having a small pair of scissors in her bag. She kept insisting that she didn't have any scissors in her bag, and they were proceeding to go through the offending bag. In the meantime, the rest of our group was going on through security with no problems other than Bobby having to have his new knee wanded. (Wanded....is that even a word? Spell check says it isn't. If it isn't, then it SHOULD be.) Come to find out, her bag and Derrick's bag had somehow been confused. He DID have a pair of scissors, but SHE got blamed for them. Justice, I say! Knowing Derrick, he may have found a way to plant them in her bag. If that's the case, I owe him big time! Everyone was through security, everyone had backpacks and such and we immediately proceeded to boarding. Whoopie! We were going on a cruise! My first step on board!! I always love walking into the atrium the first time on each ship. We stepped into the Sunshine atrium, and it didn’t disappoint! There is a huge “sun” light fixture directly over the atrium bar. Above that are multiple strands of large silver balls going all the way up to deck 9. I loved it! This was one of my favorite atrium decorations yet. Sunshine atrium Looking down into atrium Immediately upon entering the ship, we proceeded to the muster drill. Our particular muster station was outside on deck 4. It was VERY windy and VERY cold but also VERY simple. Basically, it went like this....we walked up to a crew member, she asked if we knew how to wear a life jacket, we said yes but that fortunately we had never had to use one yet...and just like that, muster was finished. We didn’t even watch a demonstration. I love e-muster! I was grateful that it was short, and we could get back out of the wind and cold asap. (Did I mention that it was cold?) By the time we completed the boarding process and checked into our muster stations it was about 11:45. Time for a Guy’s Burger! I really didn’t think I was hungry at first and planned to just get something to drink. I got a drink of water and sat down at our table inside the Lido dining room. It was too cold to stay out long. (Remember how it was cold?) Everyone else went and got whatever lunch they wanted and came back. Most opted for a Guy’s Burger. The lines weren’t very long, and the food looked pretty good. Maybe I was hungry after all! I went to Guy’s and got my burger, too. I might have seen Liz with an ice cream cone even before we sat down to eat but I could have been mistaken.....or not. Derrick announced his intention to eat it all. I’m not sure he managed to get the job done but he made a valiant effort anyway. Does this look like a face that just had ice cream!?!? Boarding finished.....check! Lunch consumed...check! Liz had ice cream....check! Time to explore! We headed to the top deck with Liz, Aaron, Derrick and Lucinda. It was cold and windy. Did I mention that already? We visited the sports deck and Serenity, checked out the ropes course and mini golf and gave it all the "once over". It was too cold to stay out long so we went down to decks 3, 4, and 5 to see what was available inside. Lido Deck Sports Deck/Water Slides/Ropes Course/Basketball Ropes course Deck 11 Aaron just before his haircut. See??? It was cold! Funnel and big screen Serenity Serenity Walkway over Atrium Casino Walkway to Ocean Plaza on Deck 5 Java Blue - check out those lemon meringue cupcakes if you can! Ocean Plaza (or trivia central) Alchemy Bar Red Frog Sports Bar Taking a break in the sports bar Liquid Lounge (also served as a muster station) Entrance to Liquid Lounge Dining Room Bonsai Sushi Carnival Sunshine used to be Carnival Destiny. It had a huge remodel in 2013 which included the installation of some of the newer (at that time) features like the water park, Guy's Burgers and Blue Iguana. Emory commented that it still felt like and old ship and he's absolutely right. It DOES still feel like and old ship. They've done a great job of remodeling and adding some newer features but no matter how much lipstick you put on it, it's still an old ship. I'm a real estate appraiser and I look at houses every single day. Many of these houses are old...some VERY old...and many of them have been beautifully remodeled. No matter what you do to it, it is still an old house. That's not necessarily a bad thing but simply a fact. There is a certain charm to an old house and, likewise, a certain charm to an old ship. This ship has a different layout that seems awkward at first, but actually worked well for us. In most of the ships, you go out the back of the Lido restaurant to an outside area, usually called Tides, and that's where you'll find the pizza place, the seafood place, a pool, some loungers, and the Tide's Bar. This is NOT how it works on Sunshine. The entire back part of the ship on the Lido deck is Cucina, Havana and Ji Ji's. Cucina and Ji Ji's are on either side with the Havana Bar in the middle and all three share a dining area. This would prove to be a great set-up for us. We tended to congregate there, and everyone could get food from whichever area they preferred. After completing our "walk about", it was nearly 1:30 and time for the cabins to be opened. We met Ketut. He told us to simply call him "K". That always made me think of Men in Black. He did a great job and was so personable! Our luggage was already there when we entered our cabin, and we immediately unpacked. One thing we quickly learned about the Sunshine crew was that they had their act together! Everything was ready and attended to quickly. There were zero problems. It was some of the best service we've experienced on a cruise. Our room - we almost always get an interior cabin because we are rarely there other than to sleep or shower and change. Bathroom We unpacked and rested in our cabins a bit. We had all activated the chat feature, which was very convenient. I had brought along a magnetic whiteboard hoping to put it up in the hall outside our room so we could write notes, if necessary, but the magnets weren't strong enough to make it work. The chat feature worked beautifully and was a much better option. Liz and I had made door signs for everyone else to help remind us who was in which cabin. The signs went up and we settled in. Time for sail away! Our door sign Door sign Door sign Door sign (We were docked beside this building which appears to have been burned at some point. From looking at past photos, it seems to have been there for a while. Does anyone know the story on this???) To be continued......

Love it! Thanks for following along!

That's great! I hope you have a wonderful cruise and thanks so much for reading along!

Yes!!! Can't leave on a trip without my Tudor's biscuit! My favorite Tudor's story was from my daughter-in-law's father. They're from Nashville. When Mark visited the kids the first time after they were married he went out to get some breakfast for everyone. The kids lived near a Tudor's so he stopped there. He order 2 biscuits for all four of them, having no idea the size of the biscuits. He said when he picked up the bag he nearly dropped it from the weight because they were so huge. LOL It's now his favorite biscuit, too! Thanks so much for reading along!!

Oh gosh, thanks so much! Lucinda and Derrick's kids are so awesome! We're already planning another group adventure and I'm pretty sure the kids are going with us. I look forward to trying to wear them out. LOL I feel sure the opposite will be true. I'd LOVE to know who your aunt and uncle might be. We're all from Maple View, if that's helpful. The "small world" theme keeps cropping up in the rest of my story and....it totally is! Thanks so much for reading along! I'm hoping to know YOUR real identity some day! LOL

Thank you so much and thanks for reading along! This was my first trip to Charleston but certainly won't be my last!

Thanks so much for reading along!!

Thank you so much for being here and for your support. In my mind, you are like "Cruise Critic royalty" and I'm honored to have you reading along! I always look for your reviews because they are always awesome!

Thank you! I knew I had read the name but I didn't write it down and, of course, forgot it. That makes perfect sense. I really enjoyed visited Charleston and hope to go back sometime to see more of it. It's beautiful! I hope you enjoy the Sunshine...we had a blast! Thanks for reading along!

Thanks so much for taking the time to join us!

Absolutely! It will take several days to get it all posted but I hope to have at least the first part of Cruise Day posted tomorrow evening. Thanks so much for reading along!