CelticSpirit89

My husband and I are so excited to be sailing on this lovely new ship. We were on Regal this past January and are looking forward to comparing the two.

We are also looking forward to hearing from others who will be sailing on Sun prior to our departure. It will be interesting to learn about other cruiser's experiences on this ship.

Do I have to take my carry-on up into the shuttle? I have an older Samantha Brown, wheeled carry-on and it's heavy for me to lift. Did you notice if the shuttle driver put anyone's carry-ons in the luggage bin up under the bus?

LHT28--very good advice! Thank you.

I appreciate the help lobsternight.  Our 2020 cruise that was cancelled was to Alaska. We hope to re-schedule at a later date. We've read rave reviews of cruises in that area.

I was in the lovely city of Vancouver back in the summer of 2008 to study the history of Canada and while there went up to Whistler. I adored the low humidity and lower temperatures in B.C. in comparison to the high humidity and heat I had left in SC. Also discovered Tim Horton and had coffee there each morning.

That was a hair raising experience on your last cruise. Very exciting!

It was mentioned, at one point by YouTubers, that excursions may be limited to the cruise line's pre-arranged ones and that cruisers may not be able to get one on their own. I guess only time will tell about that.

I'm thinking that I shouldn't dilly dally about paying for my excursions after getting the good advice from you and Shmoo. It's better to go on and know I have the excursions paid for than to have regret later and be sad on the cruise that I hesitated. With the "on again, off again" status of cruises, I've been a bit hesitant to pay in full for anything. I was lucky that my cruise was scheduled far enough in the distance so that I didn't have to re-book my cruise due to cancellations.

Wow, you've had 25 cruises. I wish I could say that for myself. We did land trips for many years first before discovering how much fun cruising is in comparison. Thank you for your answer to my question.

 I would appreciate advice on when you think I should pay for the excursions we want to take during our Carnival cruise in January? With ships sailing at capacity, I'm thinking that excursions will sell out much sooner than in years past.

Her wedding was at St. Luke's at MUSC and the reception was at Harborside East which is on the river. You turn after the Shrine Club to the right and go behind the tall condo building. Harborside has attorney offices upstairs and reception rooms on the left and right sides with a large porch on the back. You can see it from the Sunshine.

What perfect advice! We sailed on the Sunshine 9/28 and had a forward cabin, port side on Deck 7 (suite). We felt a lot of movement the entire trip but that was not a problem for us since we have taken other cruises on other ships where there was rolling and pitching. However, we are thinking about trying to get a cabin where you had yours next time and see if the movement might be a bit less.  We fell in love with the Havana Bar and then, of course, the back part of the ship is where all of the dining is located as well so we were taking long walks from the front of the ship to those rear, or middle, elevators.

As to staying in Mt. Pleasant, our daughter had her wedding reception last year at the foot of the Ravenel Bridge in a building off the road going to the Harbor Resort so staying anywhere near that area brings back fond memories. Vickery's is our favorite restaurant at Shem Creek. We used to stay at the Shem Creek Inn until it got too expensive.

Thank you so much for this suggestion! I did not realize that this hotel had a shuttle. We stayed there many years ago and it was a nice place with an excellent location.

Have you been on the Sunshine cruise yet?

16 hours ago, TruckerDave said:

Thats crazy money for a hotel that far away form downtown. (I saw your next post of what and where it is).  You can certainly stay closer and just grab an uber or taxi to the port. No need to have a hotel shuttle service.

I agree with the "crazy money" because wherever I called to check on a room, once it was found out that we were sailing, the nightly rate shot way up. This room at the Holiday Inn Express is normally $156 per night but ended up costing us $229 per night because we wanted to leave our car and use the shuttle.

We got spoiled sailing out of Port Everglades last October. We stayed in a Hampton Inn in Plantation, outside of Ft. Lauderdale, which was near shopping and restaurants and that hotel offered an included shuttle which picked us up at the airport and took us to the port. The rate there didn't jump up once they found out we were sailing. 

The advantage of the shuttle is that it's waiting for us at the port when we arrive and we won't have to wait in either hot sun or rain for whenever it can get there, or so I read somewhere, like having a taxi or Uber.

We sailed on the Ecstasy out of Charleston back in 2011 and used a taxi service which was great going to the port but when we called him to pick us up after disembarking, it took him over 30 minutes to come get us and we had to wait out on  a curb in the hot sun. 

However, I think your advice, and the others I'm getting about staying somewhere else, is most helpful and I'm now looking for somewhere else, like the Holiday Inn Express in Mt. Pleasant (where we have stayed several times), and will cancel the Ashley Phosphate reservation.

Holiday Inn Express,

7670 Northwoods Blvd.

North Charleston SC

1-843-553-1600 (front desk)

Our daughter used to live in Mt. Pleasant so we are a little familiar with the area. 

I've spent tons of time online trying to find an affordable hotel with shuttle service but the few which offer shuttle service in Mt. Pleasant and Daniel Island, are too expensive for us. I found reviews from three people (TripAdvisor) who had stayed at a hotel just off Ashley Phosphate and these people gave this particular hotel great reviews along with the shuttle service so we chose it. It's very far out and not near anything worth seeing but the price, $229 per night, was the cheapest we could find with shuttle service to and from the port.

Thank you all for your suggestions!

Which hotels in Charleston, SC offer free parking and shuttles to the port? I have seen several which offer parking but there is a charge.

Thank you so much for these two great suggestions!

I never would have thought about the CCVB and I was not aware of Cruise Critics' East Coast Departures Board.

Does anyone know of any hotels in the Charleston area which have shuttles to and from the port? My husband and I want to stay the night before the cruise and then the night after the cruise at a hotel but we prefer one with a shuttle service.

Thank you all for answering my question. I appreciate the time you took to get back with me and all of the answers have been very helpful!

Constant air movement might be a good thing since I'm always aware of when the AC cuts on and then off. Thank you for that thought about your wife needing air movement. I think I do too.

I always bring a small 5 inch desk fan...must have air flow with hot flashes! Otherwise, I wouldn't need a fan...the cabins get cool enough. Hot flashes happen whether it's 30 degrees or 100! Air blowing on your is the only cure!

I'm hot natured so a fan might be good for me since I feel like I'm having a constant hot flash:D

I totally understand what you are talking about.

On the modern ships we have never taken a fan or found a need for one.

I'm sailing on the Island Princess which was built in 2003. It just had a little refurbishment done but that probably wouldn't affect the cabins which weren't just added. Would you consider this ship modern or one of the older models?

Do I need to pack a fan for my cabin? I've noticed on several YouTube videos that people suggest fans or I have seen them in videos while people were showing all of their cabin areas.