From Destiny to Sunshine: A Pictorial Retrospective And More!

[mouche]

Thanks for doing this, I love seeing the before and after pics, I have sailed the Destiny twice and can't wait to one day sail the Sunshine.:)

[hhalliv]

What a great idea! It just goes to show it's worth it to save all those old pictures

[DarthGrady]

The stairwell rails and their brass lion heads are holdovers from Destiny, as is most of the stairwell art, corrugated metal wall coverings and old-school LED digital clocks. It looks like only the carpet was changed out.

 

New

 

Old

 

The video arcade was expanded into what used to be the forward end of the promenade.

 

New

 

 

The old, small arcade

[DarthGrady]

All of the ship's existing cabins and suites got a total renovation, along with many new rooms being added.

 

One of the newly renovated balcony rooms

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

Our ocean view room from our first cruise on Destiny. It was in pretty rough shape, especially the bathroom. Our friends experienced several maintenance issues with their rooms, so the renovations were much needed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Froufie]

But I will say that after seeing the quality of her refurb, I would consider her for a short cruise. If they ever have her doing 3/4s or 4/5s again I may give her a shot.

 

 

I have sailed both the DESTINY and the sunshine I would say the quality of the refurbishment was not that good. Yes it looks pretty but we had buckets to catch the leaking water all down the hallways and dripping air conditioning vents along hot and cold issues all of the ship. I was not impressed!

 

 

I agree. Making the theater smaller is bad enough, but adding cabins is always a terrible idea. It's a nasty practice that a few of the major lines are getting into and I think it's just nasty old greed. If there is one thing these ships do not need it's more people on board.

 

I agree that taking away the permanent seating and tables was not a good idea. And god help you if you had one of the cabins one of the newly built cabins over the liquid lounge when it became a disco at night. Lots of loud thumping bass until the wee hours of the morning. Those cruisers were not happy campers!!!

[CAC104]

It looks like she got a new build plaque, I believe the original one said Carnival Destiny on it. I'm glad they just left the name off, putting Sunshine on there with the build year wouldn't have been correct.

 

 

The lobby and its bar have been totally remodeled. This is a good thing, as it is the first area most people see when boarding.

 

 

 

The old lobby bar

 

 

 

I am confused....Is the orange bar the new one, or the old one. In the photos that continue are you showing the remodeled photo first, or the old one first. I was never on the ship, so I don't know the difference.

[DarthGrady]

Moving upstairs, the pool deck got a lot of attention. A the main pool, the two hot tubs were moved forward. Two new pubs were added flanking the main pool, the Red Frog Rum Bar and the Blue Iguana Tequila Bar.

 

Most exciting though was the addition of Guy's Burger Joint. I'm not sure if it was allowed as part of my tour, but I had to stop by and try one after reading so many great reviews. I had "The Ringer" burger, and I can safely say that it was easily the best cruise ship hamburger I've ever had. Probably in my top ten hamburgers of all time. Excellent preparation and presentation.

 

The new main pool area

 

 

The two new bars

 

 

The old setup

 

 

[DarthGrady]

I have sailed both the DESTINY and the sunshine I would say the quality of the refurbishment was not that good. Yes it looks pretty but we had buckets to catch the leaking water all down the hallways and dripping air conditioning vents along hot and cold issues all of the ship. I was not impressed!

 

I agree that taking away the permanent seating and tables was not a good idea. And god help you if you had one of the cabins one of the newly built cabins over the liquid lounge when it became a disco at night. Lots of loud thumping bass until the wee hours of the morning. Those cruisers were not happy campers!!!

 

Sorry to hear that the technical issues persist. I assumed that such a sweeping renovation would have taken care of most of that.

 

But I suppose there is only so much that they can do with an an 18 year old ship. That's one of the reasons I was annoyed when Carnival's marketing department kept referring to her as a "new ship" instead of "newly renovated". (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1917417) I was lambasted by some for daring to question the company's motives. ;):D

 

 

I am confused....Is the orange bar the new one, or the old one. In the photos that continue are you showing the remodeled photo first, or the old one first. I was never on the ship, so I don't know the difference.

 

Yes, the orange bar is the new one. The three photos at the bottom are the original setup. In most of these posts I'm putting the old pics at the bottom.

Edited December 10, 2014 by DarthGrady

[CAC104]

Just my opinion, but I didn't like that orange bar. Thanks for taking the time to answer my question, and also for posting so many good photos.

[DarthGrady]

Just my opinion, but I didn't like that orange bar. Thanks for taking the time to answer my question, and also for posting so many good photos.

 

No problem! Glad you're enjoying them!

[DarthGrady]

Lots of modifications were done to the upper forward decks to accommodate the new Serenity adult-only area and spa cabins. The old water slide was removed along with its pool, as was the dome over the atrium. Totally new decking was installed, as was a new pool with a waterfall.

 

The new Serenity area is very nice, and it's great that it has a pool. A pool is the one thing that was lacking from Carnival's earlier efforts on the Fantasy and Conquest class ships. The only thing I question is the placement. The area is right above the main pool, so the noise from that area really bleeds into Serenity, making it not very serene IMO. I think it would have been better to place it aft, where the water park now sits.

 

The new Serenity

 

 

 

 

 

 

A long off shot, but the only one I have of the old water slide area

 

[DarthGrady]

Next I'll post up some pictures of the new buffet area. It has been totally redone, and there is little left of the original configuration. The area used to have an upper floor, but that has now been closed in much like what was done in the forward main dining room. The former upstairs of the buffet is now home to the kids areas, and teen clubs.

 

The main buffet area used to feature two long cafeteria style lines, which have now given way to several separate serving stations. This is the same method used on other cruise lines like Royal Caribbean, and it seems to work better for crowd control and the quelling of long lines.

 

First, the new Guy's Burger Joint, right outside of the buffet

 

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

The new main buffet area

 

 

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

The new buffet continued

 

The old buffet area

 

 

 

 

Taken from the old buffet area balcony. For perspective, the middle of this photo is about where that new fake tree sits.

 

 

The old buffet balcony, which no longer exists

 

[DarthGrady]

The old aft pool and its sliding glass dome were totally removed and a new deck was built above. Someone unfamiliar with this ship's past would never even know it had ever existed. In it's place is the new Havana Bar and Cucina del Capitano. Both are used as part of the buffet in the daytime. At night the Havana Bar becomes a Latin themed club, and the Cucina is a pay-extra Italian restaurant.

 

The new Havana Bar

 

 

 

 

The old aft pool area. The actual bar in the Havana Bar would be right about in the middle of the pool.

 

 

The old sliding dome

 

[DarthGrady]

The new Cucina del Capitano, also built into what was once the aft pool area

 

 

 

 

These automatic hand washing machines outside of the buffet are pretty neat. I now know what goes on in my dishwasher.

 

[DarthGrady]

That's it for tonight, I'll be back tomorrow with more!

[legion3]

Excellent stuff, top notch. A totally different then and now. Very much old school Carnival vs what is now a mini Breeze looking ship.

[Tapi]

Thanks Darth! Always great to read your reviews! :)

 

Now, if Carnival would redo and modernize the interior of some of it's older ships (knock, knock Sensation, Ecstasy, Fantasy, etc) like they did with the Sunshine, I think that it would make the experience much more enjoyable and they'd get more life out of these ships. I'm not asking for a full blown architectural rebuild, but at least the cosmetic aspect of it.

 

 

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[kybluecruiser]

Thanks Darth! Always great to read your reviews! :)

 

Now, if Carnival would redo and modernize the interior of some of it's older ships (knock, knock Sensation, Ecstasy, Fantasy, etc) like they did with the Sunshine, I think that it would make the experience much more enjoyable and they'd get more life out of these ships. I'm not asking for a full blown architectural rebuild, but at least the cosmetic aspect of it.

 

 

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Agree 100% ...... Maybe call it DeFarcusing lol

[amyjoy202697]

Loving this comparison! We are sailing on the Sunshine in one month. Only have been on the Glory and a Norweigen ship before.

Thank you for taking the time to put it together!

[DarthGrady]

Thanks Darth! Always great to read your reviews! :)

 

Now, if Carnival would redo and modernize the interior of some of it's older ships (knock, knock Sensation, Ecstasy, Fantasy, etc) like they did with the Sunshine, I think that it would make the experience much more enjoyable and they'd get more life out of these ships. I'm not asking for a full blown architectural rebuild, but at least the cosmetic aspect of it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

I agree totally! The Fantasy Class ships are my favorite, and by far my most frequently cruised in the Carnival fleet. It will be a sad day when they're all gone. Anything that keeps them around for a few more years will be most welcome.

 

Loving this comparison! We are sailing on the Sunshine in one month. Only have been on the Glory and a Norweigen ship before.

Thank you for taking the time to put it together!

 

No problem, enjoy your cruise!

 

Excellent stuff, top notch. A totally different then and now. Very much old school Carnival vs what is now a mini Breeze looking ship.

 

Thanks! And yes, it was definitely a purge of the old Carnival decor. It's a mixed bag for me. I know they need to modernize, but it also symbolizes CCL's transformation from the "old Carnival" which is sad to see.

Edited December 10, 2014 by DarthGrady

[DarthGrady]

Continuing on to the upper aft decks, I noticed many changes. As I noted earlier, the old glass dome over the aft pool was removed and a solid deck was built in its place. On top of that new deck is the new water park. It has several water slides of varying shapes and lengths, and also a large slash area around the slides.

 

 

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

Also on the upper aft decks is the new ropes course and other outdoors activities. It was formerly just and open sun deck, and it had a glass dome that allowed sunlight into the buffet. The dome was removed and new decking was added.

 

The new sports area

 

 

 

 

 

 

As it once was