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Carnival Sunshine returns to service with inaugural Norfolk sailing
Carnival Sunshine is back on the ocean following a month-long drydock.
The 3,700-guest ship this week sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, on February 11 for a six-day cruise to the Bahamas, calling at Freeport and Bimini.
It was waved off after a ceremony attended by Carnival Cruise Line vice president of port operations David Candib, Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Alexander and Stephen Kirkland, executive director at Nauticus, a maritime discovery center located in Norfolk.
The departure marks the ship’s first from the port and the start of Carnival’s year-round cruising from Norfolk.
The deployment will see up to 150,000 guests sail from the port annually.
Carnival Sunshine’s drydock included technical maintenance, along with updates to public areas and staterooms. The ship features a three-level Serenity adult-only retreat as well as food and beverage options such as Guy’s Burger Joint, Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse, the RedFrog Pub, Havana Bar and the Alchemy Bar.
For the year-round deployment, Carnival Sunshine will visit destinations in the Bahamas, Bermuda and Eastern Caribbean.
From September 2025, it will sail to Celebration Key, Carnival’s new destination on Grand Bahama.
Candib said: “Carnival’s 23-year partnership with the City of Norfolk and Nauticus has been a great success, and we’re honored to build on our relationship by making Norfolk the newest year-round cruise port on the east coast.”
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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