Sunshine From Charleston 5 day?

[karinad]

We've been on CCL more than a few times and always no less than a 7 day cruise. We are going to a wedding in Charleston in November and I was looking to combine it with the 5 day cruise on the Sunshine. My question, is it a party ship because it's a shorter cruise? We are in our late 60's but young 60's. There's no roll call yet on our date. Thanks for any help you can offer!

[bguppies]

Anything shorter than 7 days tends to be a bit more "lively".

But more so when its a weekend cruise that people take a long weekend to blow off some steam.

 

We are getting older and prefer the "quieter" cruises also. (late 50's)

 

Living in the Charleston suburbs, this is a go to for us, when DW needs a quick break from work to tide us over to our next longer cruise from Florida. (Pride-Dec.-Tampa)

 

I'll say we have a less than ideal terminal like the Florida ports and the ship is older and shows her age.

 

Not sure how long its been since your last cruise, but the downgrade to the Carnival product from before the shuitdown and after the restart is a bigger concern to me than the port, the ship or partying onboard. (our two cruises last year were nowhere near as good as before, but decent)

 

If it is one of the weekday cruise, to fill in between weekend cruises I wouldn't worry at all.

If it is over a weekend, maybe slightly.

Edited March 23, 2023 by bguppies

[audcc77]

I’ve cruised out of Charleston 10+ times. I like a quiet cruise as well. 
 

So with the exception of spring break, I found that 5 day cruises from Charleston are decent. Especially in November.  If it’s during Thanksgiving break, there may be a lot of families. 

[mz-s]

In my experience, cruises from Charleston tend to be well-behaved. I have been on 10 or so cruises out of Charleston ranging from 4 days to 8 days, with most of mine being 5 day simply because that's what most cruises out of Charleston are. I would go on another next week.

 

Mind you I do not cruise during school vacations so I can't advise as to how the mix changes in July for example. I imagine it'll still be similar but with more families onboard.

[Bollycats]

I agree with what everyone else has said. I'm in my '50s and went during the week and it was not rowdy at all. Just make sure you go when the kids are in school and it should be fairly quiet.

[Drazil65]

We have have taken many cruises over the years from Charleston including a few 5 day.  We tend to gravitate towards the newer, larger ships but the Sunshine is one of our favs (love serenity and the ship is not too small).  The 5 day cruises we have sailed were great and did not find them to be much different than a 7 day (except shorter of course).  I do believe the Charleston location may lend itself to a more well behaved clientele base (maybe?) and it also is slightly more expensive due to port charges for Charleston. 

 

For us with Charleston being the closest port for us and we can drive the morning of the cruise if we want to, a 5 day is a nice little long weekend getaway for our family.  The 5 day cruises are just enough time to feel like you had some time away and relax.  If you are going to try a 5 day this is a great port city (love to explore and walk around Charleston) to do it from.  You dont have much more time to get a Charleston cruise in so you may want to give it a try sooner rather than later.  

[havanadaydreaming]

im no expert, but i'd think that time frame would be decent for a cruise from Charleston that fits your needs.  

 

it's not spring break, school is in session and even those younguns that want to do a party cruise it's much more economical to fly to Orlando than Charleston.  Granted, folks from the region can drive there on the cheap.  

 

We often sail in Oct, Nov, Dec and it might be my favorite time of the year to cruise.  

[Joebucks]

Honestly, the party thing on 5 days cruises is overblown. You might get a little of it here and there. Especially during spring break. They aren't giant frat parties. Otherwise, you will survive.

 

Also, better get on a Charleston cruise while you can. The future of it doesn't look so good.

[pcvtmom]

We love the Sunshine AND cruising from Charleston.  We've done the 5 day from there 3 times, and it's been great!

[karinad]

15 hours ago, bguppies said:

Anything shorter than 7 days tends to be a bit more "lively".

But more so when its a weekend cruise that people take a long weekend to blow off some steam.

 

We are getting older and prefer the "quieter" cruises also. (late 50's)

 

Living in the Charleston suburbs, this is a go to for us, when DW needs a quick break from work to tide us over to our next longer cruise from Florida. (Pride-Dec.-Tampa)

 

I'll say we have a less than ideal terminal like the Florida ports and the ship is older and shows her age.

 

Not sure how long its been since your last cruise, but the downgrade to the Carnival product from before the shuitdown and after the restart is a bigger concern to me than the port, the ship or partying onboard. (our two cruises last year were nowhere near as good as before, but decent)

 

If it is one of the weekday cruise, to fill in between weekend cruises I wouldn't worry at all.

If it is over a weekend, maybe slightly.

Thank you! The one we're looking at is a 5 day. I think it departs on a Sat. It's been a few years since we've been on Carnival. We've been sticking to our home port of NJ on the Oasis the past couple years and I think I had it with the dining crowds on the Oasis!

[karinad]

14 hours ago, audcc77 said:

I’ve cruised out of Charleston 10+ times. I like a quiet cruise as well. 
 

So with the exception of spring break, I found that 5 day cruises from Charleston are decent. Especially in November.  If it’s during Thanksgiving break, there may be a lot of families. 

I would never go over one of the breaks for the school kids! Thank you!

[karinad]

10 hours ago, Drazil65 said:

We have have taken many cruises over the years from Charleston including a few 5 day.  We tend to gravitate towards the newer, larger ships but the Sunshine is one of our favs (love serenity and the ship is not too small).  The 5 day cruises we have sailed were great and did not find them to be much different than a 7 day (except shorter of course).  I do believe the Charleston location may lend itself to a more well behaved clientele base (maybe?) and it also is slightly more expensive due to port charges for Charleston. 

 

For us with Charleston being the closest port for us and we can drive the morning of the cruise if we want to, a 5 day is a nice little long weekend getaway for our family.  The 5 day cruises are just enough time to feel like you had some time away and relax.  If you are going to try a 5 day this is a great port city (love to explore and walk around Charleston) to do it from.  You dont have much more time to get a Charleston cruise in so you may want to give it a try sooner rather than later.  

We will have a few days in Charleston before the cruise. I was there once and loved it but hot as hell! It was the summer! This will be in November so maybe we'll enjoy it more. Thank you!

[karinad]

10 hours ago, havanadaydreaming said:

im no expert, but i'd think that time frame would be decent for a cruise from Charleston that fits your needs.  

 

it's not spring break, school is in session and even those younguns that want to do a party cruise it's much more economical to fly to Orlando than Charleston.  Granted, folks from the region can drive there on the cheap.  

 

We often sail in Oct, Nov, Dec and it might be my favorite time of the year to cruise.  

We love going in October and early November. I would never go during the summer. I'm glad we don't need to travel in the summer! Thank you!

[ninjacat123]

If you like Asian food, you will love JiJi's!  You can make a reservation through your Cruise Manager.  Upcharge is totally worth it.  Cucina Del Capitano is great as well.  Bonsai Sushi is a nice alternative to MDR if MDR menu doesn't appeal to you.  I love Sunshine (Serenity area, I'm looking at you!) and I am taking my mom on a birthday cruise this May (5 day, starting on a Monday) along with my two DD's (20 & 22) for a girls cruise!  So looking forward to it!!🥰

[karinad]

On 3/24/2023 at 9:13 AM, ninjacat123 said:

If you like Asian food, you will love JiJi's!  You can make a reservation through your Cruise Manager.  Upcharge is totally worth it.  Cucina Del Capitano is great as well.  Bonsai Sushi is a nice alternative to MDR if MDR menu doesn't appeal to you.  I love Sunshine (Serenity area, I'm looking at you!) and I am taking my mom on a birthday cruise this May (5 day, starting on a Monday) along with my two DD's (20 & 22) for a girls cruise!  So looking forward to it!!🥰

Thank you for the suggestions! The last Carnival ship we were on was the Dream. I haven't heard of any of the restaurants you mentioned. If we get to go we will have to check them out!

[Guest BasicSailor]

On 3/23/2023 at 2:08 AM, karinad said:

Charleston in November and I was looking to combine it with the 5 day cruise on the Sunshine. My question, is it a party ship because it's a shorter cruise?

Yes and No, I have noticed what I consider a party ship theme as well as a laid-back cruise from Charleston.

[karinad]

On 3/25/2023 at 11:38 PM, BasicSailor said:

Yes and No, I have noticed what I consider a party ship theme as well as a laid-back cruise from Charleston.

I guess that the time of year depends on the type of crowd. Maybe I'll be safe since it's a couple weeks before Thanksgiving.

[dacsmom]

I have gone on the 4- and 5-day cruises. Charleston is my home port. I have not had a bad cruise on the Sunshine. I am a mega ship fan, but there are times when you need a quick getaway. I like the Sunshine and will be sad when they close the port.

[ninjacat123]

14 hours ago, dacsmom said:

I have gone on the 4- and 5-day cruises. Charleston is my home port. I have not had a bad cruise on the Sunshine. I am a mega ship fan, but there are times when you need a quick getaway. I like the Sunshine and will be sad when they close the port.

Me too!  Norfolk is the same distance for me as Jacksonville and I would rather drive to warmer weather than start off further North with cooler weather.  Bye Sunshine😞

[CTCruisers]

Sailing in November should make for a quiet scene on board.

 

We sailed on the Sunshine last week and there were no issues even though it was a full ship of passengers. We had a great time.

[ryanpatricksmom]

We live near Charleston and have done a Sunshine B2B for the 5 day.  It didn't really seem any different to us than when we've done a 10 day Journeys cruise from Charleston.   It's such a PITA to sail out of Charleston (park, shuttle, check-in, shuttle), that I don't think that it lends itself to a party atmosphere.  I would think that the party crowd would rather have a much more streamlined experience, LOL!  There's a silent sailaway and a silent debarkation because the neighbors object to being disturbed nor do they welcome the existence of cruise ships in Charleston, which is largely why Carnival won't be sailing from there when their contract is up. 

[Thenagers]

I sailed on Sunshine for the 1st time last summer. It was a nice trip. Sunshine has a great serenity area and it is the closest port to me to NC. Charleston port is pretty expensive compared to the Florida ports doing the Bahamas. I think it prices a lot of people out? I have a 4 day booked again this s summer. Want to take advantage of having such a close port as long as I can. Personally I did not find the ship rowdy.