Carnival Sunshine (ex Carnival Destiny) is the lead ship of the Destiny-class of cruise ships. Along with two of her four sisters, she is operated by Carnival Cruise Line. Built by Fincantieri at its Monfalcone shipyard in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, northern Italy, she was christened as Carnival Destiny in Venice, Italy, in November 1996 by Lin Arison, wife of Ted Arison, the founder of Carnival Cruise Line.

Upon entering service, Carnival Destiny was the first passenger ship ever built to be over 100,000 tons as measured by gross tonnage for a year. She became Carnival Sunshine on 5 May 2013, after receiving a major renovation featuring all Fun Ship 2.0 upgrades. At a ceremony in New Orleans on 17 November 2013, she was rechristened, with Lin Arison once again serving as her godmother.

History

Carnival Destiny went into dry dock in Trieste, Italy in 2013 to be refitted and renamed Carnival Sunshine. The refitting, which was completed in May 2013, had been delayed a month to allow for new back-up generator systems to be installed after Carnival announced the first part of its fleet-wide review. Two of Carnival Sunshine's European sailings were cancelled to allow time for the generators to be installed. The ship was renamed due to the size and scope of the renovation, which included almost every guest area on the ship.

Layout

The propulsion system consists of six thruster units, three forward and three aft, each with variable-pitch propellers and 1760-kW motors. The electricity for the motors is provided by diesel generators.

Given a multimillion-dollar refurbishment in 2005, Carnival Destiny featured three pools, a variety of dining options, lounges, nightclubs, a casino, duty-free shopping and a spa. Carnival Destiny received more upgrades in 2010, including a movie screen on the Lido deck and cabin renovations.

On 6 March 2012, Carnival announced that Destiny would undergo a US$155-million dollar refit, and re-christening of the ship as Carnival Sunshine, constituting the most major refit Carnival has ever attempted. The ship was re-launched on 5 May 2013. The refit included a racing themed waterpark with one of the biggest slides in Carnival's fleet.

Itinerary

As Carnival Destiny, the ship sailed 4- and 5-night Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises from Miami. Her sister ship, Carnival Victory, replaced it in San Juan. In February 2013 Carnival Destiny departed on an 18-day transatlantic cruise departing Miami and arriving in Venice. Once she arrived in Italy, Carnival Destiny underwent the drydock operation and became the Carnival Sunshine. She returned to New Orleans in November 2013 for a series of week-long round-trip Caribbean cruises. She subsequently relocated to Port Canaveral in April 2014 for 3- to 8-day Caribbean cruises. From 10–20 June 2016 and from 23 October – 5 November 2016 she offered a series of cruises from Norfolk, Virginia. From 21 May – 9 June 2016 and 6–13 November 2016 she offered a series of cruises from Charleston, South Carolina. From 18 June – 22 October 2016 she offered a series of cruises from New York, New York. It was announced on 7 December 2017 that she will replace Carnival Ecstasy; sailing year round 4/5 day cruises to Nassau, Bahamas & Half Moon Cay from Charleston, South Carolina. She currently sails to San Juan, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, and Grand Turk.