Carnival Sunshine - fr Charleston - be prepared

[loubetti]

A recent date on the byline, but the same names and almost verbatim quotes from the Historical Preservation Society folks from two/three years ago when this started.

They are the only people complaining about the new terminal.

 

I agree; the same snobs. Chances are (just my guess) the new terminal will be built. Now, just a matter of when.

 

I'm surprised these folks allow any cars anywhere, or even an airport! :D

[saragabrielle]

Something happened on our floor 6th that they were very cautious about.Medic was called,lots of Carnival special fleet,looked like forensics one time and even closed off that end of floor for awhile.Sad and scary at same time.Also a lot of dope lingering in halls down that way.With so many kids on board wish they could stop that.

 

An elderly man passed away on 6 the morning of the last sea day. I was on 6 as well and was woken by all the commotion. I saw them walk his body to the atrium elevators. You would think they would have went down something more private. Also towards the front of 6 there was a heavy smell of pot on the first sea day. I completely understand people trying to have fun but take in consideration of the young children on the boat. I have never been on a cruise with so many medic calls but from what I was able to gather, a lot of injuries occurred. A lady had alcohol poisoning to the extent of needing her stomach pumped, another women broke her leg in a restroom & a man sliced his head open in his bathroom by tripping.

[ricearoni161]

I was unfortunately on the 5/21 departure out of Charleston. It was my 6th cruise and I became a gold member, but it will be my last. We got in the parking line to get onboard at 1230, sat in the line until 430, and got onboard by 515. Everything that could have gone wrong did, and Carnival's Guest Care has done nothing. No hot water in the room, a non-working phone, missing onboard credits (which never got resolved despite printout from their system showing it was owed). Poor overworked wait staff, and the same meals served at every buffet every day. Even debarkation went haywire when they decided midstream to change the bus method and ended up dropping everyone in our bus in the wrong area such that we had to drag our baggage long distance to where we parked. I could go on, but it just depresses me since I paid to take my mom on her first cruise and this was our experience. Thankful that Charleston was beautiful so we enjoyed our few days after the cruise. :)

[bobsfamily]

I was unfortunately on the 5/21 departure out of Charleston. It was my 6th cruise and I became a gold member, but it will be my last. We got in the parking line to get onboard at 1230, sat in the line until 430, and got onboard by 515. Everything that could have gone wrong did, and Carnival's Guest Care has done nothing. No hot water in the room, a non-working phone, missing onboard credits (which never got resolved despite printout from their system showing it was owed). Poor overworked wait staff, and the same meals served at every buffet every day. Even debarkation went haywire when they decided midstream to change the bus method and ended up dropping everyone in our bus in the wrong area such that we had to drag our baggage long distance to where we parked. I could go on, but it just depresses me since I paid to take my mom on her first cruise and this was our experience. Thankful that Charleston was beautiful so we enjoyed our few days after the cruise. :)

I am so sorry you had such a bad experience! I am glad you enjoyed Charleston though, it is a wonderful city.

 

The embarkation/disembarkation can be attributed both to Carnival AND the SC Ports Authority/City of Charleston equally.... Along with the Federal Government in the form of the Customs service. A real shame that after many years a few downtown people still continue to hold up the building of a new terminal that would solve most of it.

 

As for onboard we had a completely different experience, sometimes it's like that. We ate most days in the Havana Bar area, loved the different food, tried the Sushi one Day, ate in the Steakhouse, the Italian one night. Our room steward was wonderful (Thanks Paul!) and most everyone was polite and nice. Never had a problem with any plumbing, didn't even smell the dreaded sewage smell.

 

Again I am sorry for your experience and I do believe you, thankfully ours was completely different AFTER we boarded.. still had a lousy time getting onboard!

[bingo3]

We sailed out of Charleston on 5/26 and had no issues aside from the strange routing through the parking lot and then back out onto the street when we arrived. Other than that, embarking and debarking was very smooth and getting through the port was really easy!

 

We also sailed this same cruise. I just prepared myself in advance for the port and did not let it bother me. The fact is, the port terminal was never originally a cruise port and not designed for that. Until Charleston can get their act together and a new terminal is built, we just have to accept it the way it is. My husband thinks they send you back out and around and into the lot again to help keep lines from backing up.

 

As different as it is, I found it better than Port Canaveral when it seemed like 1000's of people trying to get dropped off or picked up at the same time and so confusing where to go. Despite the snaking and waiting in Charleston, you know where things are. Just be patient, you will get on the ship.

 

I just expect there will be delays, crowds, etc. at embarkations and debarkations and I don't let it bother me. Not worth the stress! And our debarkation on Monday in Charleston was the easiest and fastest I have ever experienced on any cruise. I did tip a porter $10.00 bucks to take my luggage (3 suitcases on a cart) and our family though customs quickly and straight to a bus (where taken to drop-off area). Whole process took less than 10 minutes. There are other porters there when you are dropped off the bus to assist if you need to get luggage a further distance than can carry. Another option would be for one person to go get the car and you take your luggage over out of the way of the drop-off tent and get picked up.

 

It was our understanding the reason for the even longer delays with the May 21 sailing was the ship had just come from drydock and there were custom inspections that held embarkation up and Carnival had no control over.

 

Since I am only 2 hours from Charleston, I do hope to see a better terminal and bigger ship based there in the future. :D It is unfortunate a small group is holding up progress. Many in Charleston would like to see improvements.

[bingo3]

An elderly man passed away on 6 the morning of the last sea day. I was on 6 as well and was woken by all the commotion. I saw them walk his body to the atrium elevators. You would think they would have went down something more private. Also towards the front of 6 there was a heavy smell of pot on the first sea day. I completely understand people trying to have fun but take in consideration of the young children on the boat. I have never been on a cruise with so many medic calls but from what I was able to gather, a lot of injuries occurred. A lady had alcohol poisoning to the extent of needing her stomach pumped, another women broke her leg in a restroom & a man sliced his head open in his bathroom by tripping.

 

Was this the May 21 or 26 cruise? If May 26, I missed it all I guess! But that is OK!

debbie

[bingo3]

I was unfortunately on the 5/21 departure out of Charleston. It was my 6th cruise and I became a gold member, but it will be my last. We got in the parking line to get onboard at 1230, sat in the line until 430, and got onboard by 515. Everything that could have gone wrong did, and Carnival's Guest Care has done nothing. No hot water in the room, a non-working phone, missing onboard credits (which never got resolved despite printout from their system showing it was owed). Poor overworked wait staff, and the same meals served at every buffet every day. Even debarkation went haywire when they decided midstream to change the bus method and ended up dropping everyone in our bus in the wrong area such that we had to drag our baggage long distance to where we parked. I could go on, but it just depresses me since I paid to take my mom on her first cruise and this was our experience. Thankful that Charleston was beautiful so we enjoyed our few days after the cruise. :)

 

Sorry for your experience, ours was quite different on May 26, no problems with either cabin we had, water hot and great pressure, never any smells, etc. While the buffet was typical buffet type food, it was different each day, except for breakfast of course. I felt there were plenty of food options available and if we had not had a 6 and 8 yr. old with us, we would have tried others! Sorry you did not enjoy it.

 

The embarkation/debarkation parking lot issues may have been because this was the first cruise out of Charleston on a bigger ship, with more people to contend with. Hopefully, they have learned from their mistakes.

 

The May 21 ship could not depart Charleston on time because of customs inspections and nothing/no one was allowed onto the ship until they completed them, a complete ship inspection I believe. Inspection teams....should be a better way!

[ricearoni161]

Sorry for your experience, ours was quite different on May 26, no problems with either cabin we had, water hot and great pressure, never any smells, etc. While the buffet was typical buffet type food, it was different each day, except for breakfast of course. I felt there were plenty of food options available and if we had not had a 6 and 8 yr. old with us, we would have tried others! Sorry you did not enjoy it.

 

The embarkation/debarkation parking lot issues may have been because this was the first cruise out of Charleston on a bigger ship, with more people to contend with. Hopefully, they have learned from their mistakes.

 

The May 21 ship could not depart Charleston on time because of customs inspections and nothing/no one was allowed onto the ship until they completed them, a complete ship inspection I believe. Inspection teams....should be a better way!

 

I have no doubt some of the issues we saw on the 5/21 are just kinks that will get worked out. I've had a smooth boarding process there before on the Fantasy. My real issue, and the reason I won't go again, is the way I was treated by customer service on the ship and again when I got off and contacted them. They said they'd open a case and provide me a number to track yet didn't despite waiting in line 3 days to discuss. I had documentation from THEIR system showing credits they owed me onboard, which I printed and brought with, only to have them tell me it was all in error and I wasn't owed that so they considered the matter closed. When I called customer service and vented, very calmly actually, that I was so frustrated I wasn't sure I wanted to hear from them again, without asking why or anything, they took my name and VIFP number and setup the system to not contact me again and said goodbye and hung up. I've been stunned quite frankly, as I've brought new people with me on 5 out of my 6 Carnival cruises to show them my love of cruising, and I've never had such a bad experience. I will say that the part that made it bare-able were the wonderful room steward and wait staff that was so overworked yet still tried so hard to make it the best they could. We tipped them all extra, which they earned! I won't give up cruising, but it'll be a long time before I step back on a Carnival ship. I'm not even sure a free cruise could win me over right now, haha.... never thought I'd say that! :eek:

[HillBilly Bob]

Hey all - if you are traveling Carnival out of Charleston- be prepared for craziness at the port.

 

Charleston is NOT my favorite port. The last time we were there the rumor was that the City of Charleston didn't want any cruise ships even coming there. City proper residents didn't like the "noise" the cruise ships caused on Sunday mornings.

[bobsfamily]

Charleston is NOT my favorite port. The last time we were there the rumor was that the City of Charleston didn't want any cruise ships even coming there. City proper residents didn't like the "noise" the cruise ships caused on Sunday mornings.

 

No, Just Carnival... the few causing all the problems would love to see Celebrity or Azamara... Maybe Holland. A real shame...

Edited June 2, 2016 by bobsfamily

[jewellbeans]

We boarded in Charleston on 5/30 for the 10 day. In St kitts today. We walked straight through, no lines. From parking to on the boat within 20 mins

Edited June 5, 2016 by jewellbeans

[lakemurraykid]

My DH and I were on the 5/21 sailing along with 14 of our friends. I think all 14 had issues with this sailing. We arrived at the parking area at 11:10 a.m. because our documents said embarkation would be at 12:30 p.m. We didn't move our car until 2:00 p.m. We were right across from the port a potty. We had handicapped parking and were directed to an open parking area quite far from the ship. We sat for 45 minutes waiting for a bus to pick us up. We all began raising cane because there were passengers who were in wheelchairs and scooters and several of them were quite elderly. That really hacked me off.

 

One of the couples were unable to use their toilet because it would not flush -- this went on for two days after they reported it three times. No one came to fix it. I tried using my personal hairdryer and it blew out the power in the cabin as well as the cabins on our side of the hallway. Our cabin steward had the nerve to tell me that personal hairdryers were not allowed on this particular ship and he was rather emphatic about it. Well, I used it again the next day and the same thing happened. Then the steward really fussed and I informed him that there were NO policies on Carnival's website stating they could not be used. So he informed me it was for this particular ship.

 

The Lido Marketplace was a joke. We went up there on embarkation day and they had only one of the kiosks open and there were oodles of people there trying to get food. We went there for dinner one evening about 9 p.m. and it was the same way. The other thing we noticed was the menu seemed to be very similar every day. Another thing I noticed was there was very little food that diabetics could eat and I think that is just wrong. I am pre-diabetic and most of the side dishes were loaded with carbs, plus there were no sugar-free desserts. And, I had notified Carnival that I was pre-diabetic.

 

We will never cruise Carnival again after what we experienced this time. I had wanted to cruise on the Vista, but I doubt that will happen. We will stick with Royal Caribbean and Princess.:)

[HillBilly Bob]

I tried using my personal hairdryer and it blew out the power in the cabin as well as the cabins on our side of the hallway. :)

 

Fires on a ship can be disastrous....so glad you didn't start an electrical fire.

[bobsfamily]

My DH and I were on the 5/21 sailing along with 14 of our friends. I think all 14 had issues with this sailing. We arrived at the parking area at 11:10 a.m. because our documents said embarkation would be at 12:30 p.m. We didn't move our car until 2:00 p.m. We were right across from the port a potty. We had handicapped parking and were directed to an open parking area quite far from the ship. We sat for 45 minutes waiting for a bus to pick us up. We all began raising cane because there were passengers who were in wheelchairs and scooters and several of them were quite elderly. That really hacked me off.

 

One of the couples were unable to use their toilet because it would not flush -- this went on for two days after they reported it three times. No one came to fix it. I tried using my personal hairdryer and it blew out the power in the cabin as well as the cabins on our side of the hallway. Our cabin steward had the nerve to tell me that personal hairdryers were not allowed on this particular ship and he was rather emphatic about it. Well, I used it again the next day and the same thing happened. Then the steward really fussed and I informed him that there were NO policies on Carnival's website stating they could not be used. So he informed me it was for this particular ship.

 

The Lido Marketplace was a joke. We went up there on embarkation day and they had only one of the kiosks open and there were oodles of people there trying to get food. We went there for dinner one evening about 9 p.m. and it was the same way. The other thing we noticed was the menu seemed to be very similar every day. Another thing I noticed was there was very little food that diabetics could eat and I think that is just wrong. I am pre-diabetic and most of the side dishes were loaded with carbs, plus there were no sugar-free desserts. And, I had notified Carnival that I was pre-diabetic.

 

We will never cruise Carnival again after what we experienced this time. I had wanted to cruise on the Vista, but I doubt that will happen. We will stick with Royal Caribbean and Princess.:)

Except for embarkation I think we must have been on a different ship... although we were on the same ship/same sailing. We found all kinds of different food on Lido - did you happen to go into the Havana Bar area? Every day there were sugar-free desserts, saw them on the top shelf with a helpful lady/man to get them for you. All kinds of great Asian food that would be perfect for your diet at lunchtime in the Havana bar area.... made fresh right in front of you, in the morning it was a omelet station/fresh eggs.

 

Our steward was one of the best in many cruises, loved the Sunshine!

 

The first time for the Sunshine out of Charleston... not pretty but the next 2 worked fine.