2025 marked the end of an era for one of Carnival’s cruise ports on the East Coast, but it also brings a new year-round option for cruisers in the mid-Atlantic region.
If you aren’t familiar, Carnival Cruise Line stopped cruising out of Charleston, South Carolina at the end of 2024. To make a long story short, the City of Charleston declined to renew its agreement with Carnival, and the city is no longer an origination point for cruises.
However, Charleston can still be a port-of-call for cruises, and there are several sailings operated by Royal Caribbean and Virgin Voyages that have planned stops in Charleston in 2025 and beyond.
Related: Popular Carnival cruise port on East Coast shutting down
The Charleston Cruise Port was used by one ship – the Carnival Sunshine, which sailed mainly 4- and 5-day itineraries to the Bahamas, with an occasional longer Caribbean sailing. But the key point is the Sunshine had sailed from Charleston year-round since 2019.
Unlike some ships that have a more tropical port in the winter months and an Alaska or European port in the warmer months, Sunshine was only sailing out of Charleston.
This meant that after Carnival’s agreement with Charleston expired, the Sunshine needed a new home. And after a brief period of dry dock for some cosmetic refurbishment, including a much-needed fresh coat of paint, it is making its debut from its new home port in Norfolk, Virginia.
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Carnival’s ships are generally built for warm weather.
Image source: Carnival Cruise Line.
A fan favorite in Carnival’s fleet
Technically speaking, Carnival Sunshine is the oldest ship in the cruise line’s active fleet. It made its debut in 1996 and was initially known as Carnival Destiny. At the time of its debut, it was the largest passenger vessel in the world.
In 2013, the ship was so extensively renovated that Carnival decided to change the name to reflect just how different it was. This isn’t common.
While cruise ships are often renovated extensively after sailing for many years, it generally isn’t a near-rebuild that makes it feel like a completely new ship.
But having sailed on Sunshine several times in recent years, I can tell you firsthand that it feels like a modern Carnival cruise ship, complete with some of the line’s most current specialty restaurants, bars, and other amenities.
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New options from Norfolk
To be clear, Carnival has sailed out of Norfolk for many years (although it paused Norfolk sailings in 2024 to renovate its terminal). However, it has been a seasonal port for the cruise line. In 2023, for example,
Sunshine will sail mainly five-to-eight-night itineraries to the Bahamas and Caribbean. There are currently 27 different itineraries listed on Carnival’s website with dates ranging from Feb 2025 through April 2027.
Just to name a few, stops in the Bahamas include Bimini, Nassau, and Freeport, plus Carnival’s new Celebration Key private destination once it opens in Summer 2025. In the Caribbean, some of Sunshine’s ports of call will be Grand Turk, Amber Cove (Dominican Republic), San Juan, and St. Thomas.
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There are also several Bermuda itineraries, ranging from a four-night itinerary that spends a day at the island to a seven-night option that features a three-night stay on Bermuda. There are also several eight-night Canada and New England cruises available on Sunshine in Fall 2026.
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Carnival Sunshine arrived in Norfolk on Monday, Feb. 10 and is setting sail on its first cruise, a five-night Bahamas itinerary, the very next day. As you might expect, Norfolk is expecting quite a bit more cruise passenger traffic through its port than in previous years. Sunshine has capacity for nearly 3,000 guests on every sailing and is a 101,000-ton ship.
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