Carnival Sunshine launches despite unfinished work, frustrated passengers

Jason · May 7, 2013

Industry giant Carnival is facing more complaints today in the wake of a marred relaunch of one of its older ships.

The 3,006-passenger Carnival Sunshine, which set sail today for the first time since a two-and-a-half month, $155 million overhaul in dry dock, is experiencing problems with some cabins as well as the closure of elements of its top decks because of unfinished work, according to passengers on the vessel.

A spokeswoman for Carnival tells USA TODAY the ship's new WaterWorks water park and SportsSquare recreational area are "still undergoing final finishing work," and the ship's main Lido pool is closed due to "technical issues."

Still, Carnival's Jennifer de la Cruz says problems with the 17-year-old vessel are isolated. "The (adults-only) Serenity pool, waterfall and adjacent whirlpools are open," she says, and "all dining venues, bars, lounges, entertainment, spa, youth areas, casino and other public areas of the vessel are operating normally."

De la Cruz calls problems with cabins on the ship minor in the wake of the overhaul and typical of those found on new and refurbished ships.

"As is sometimes the case with both new ships and major refurbishments, some minor issues are being reported with guest staterooms and those are being addressed on an individual basis," de la Cruz says.

The overhaul of the Carnival Sunshine, formerly known as the Carnival Destiny, was one of the biggest ever for an older cruise ship and included the addition of a partial deck and the expansion of two other decks. The makeover brought the ship 182 new cabins as well as new eateries, lounges and deck-top amusements.

The Carnival Sunshine is a sister vessel to the Carnival Triumph, which was left adrift in the Gulf in Mexico in February following an engine room fire. The overhaul of the Carnival Sunshine was extended by several weeks after the incident so the company could make changes to its engine rooms and fire suppression systems.

Carnival Sunshine is on a 12-day Mediterranean cruise out of Venice, Italy, that concludes in Barcelona on May 17.

By Gene Sloan, USA Today

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Sarge6870 · May 7, 2013

I would think that Carnival, with all the bad press they have been getting, would have used common sense and waited until "Sunshine" was 100% ship-shape before relaunching. Excuses won't fix their image.

jacketwatch · May 8, 2013

Sarge I could not agree more.

Swath · May 8, 2013

I would think that Carnival, with all the bad press they have been getting, would have used common sense and waited until "Sunshine" was 100% ship-shape before relaunching. Excuses won't fix their image.

There is a REASON Some People Call Them Carnivore

They Seem to ROCKS For Brains

Jan115 · May 8, 2013

I would think that Carnival, with all the bad press they have been getting, would have used common sense and waited until "Sunshine" was 100% ship-shape before relaunching. Excuses won't fix their image.

I agree - if they're trying to fix their tarnished reputation, this kind for news isn't going to help. They seem to be rushing things in an effort to make themselves look good.

WeCruiseToo · May 8, 2013

We’ve been on several pre-inaugural and first-after-refurbishment cruises (one of the advantages of living in Florida – a lot of times the cruise lines will have a couple of one- or two-night cruises to nowhere to fill the days until the proper start date for their weekly itinerary). Here’s something they don’t tell you: the ships are almost never ready for those first sailings – they are always still working!

One Norwegian cruise we had no air conditioning in our cabin. They were finally able to move us to a different cabin after midnight.

One Celebrity cruise didn’t have any window treatments in the public areas and they were working on hanging the art on the walls.

One Royal Caribbean cruise had plumbing issues and they were still installing the carpet in the hallways. (That was pretty bad. I guess there was a lot of carpet fiber dust and it led to plenty of sneezing and itchy eyes.)

Those were all “first cruises” for the ships (or one of the first sailings). We’ve also been on more than one cruise where a swimming pool has been closed for a day or two for whatever reason.

I don’t want to defend Carnival here – the ship should have definitely been ready and perfect – they even had extra time! Every cruise line should have their new or refurbished ships ready for passengers. But I’m wondering if this isn’t another case of something that wouldn’t normally be news if it didn’t involve Carnival – they seem to be the media darling right now when it comes to hyping up negative stories.

dmoten · May 8, 2013

Anyone runs out of tissue on a Carnival cruise right now, it would make the headlines. Yes, the ship should have been ready for the trip. I agree with you WeCruiseToo, if this had happened pre-Triumph we might not have heard about it.

Sarge6870 · May 8, 2013

We’ve been on several pre-inaugural and first-after-refurbishment cruises (one of the advantages of living in Florida – a lot of times the cruise lines will have a couple of one- or two-night cruises to nowhere to fill the days until the proper start date for their weekly itinerary). Here’s something they don’t tell you: the ships are almost never ready for those first sailings – they are always still working!
One Norwegian cruise we had no air conditioning in our cabin. They were finally able to move us to a different cabin after midnight.

One Celebrity cruise didn’t have any window treatments in the public areas and they were working on hanging the art on the walls.

One Royal Caribbean cruise had plumbing issues and they were still installing the carpet in the hallways. (That was pretty bad. I guess there was a lot of carpet fiber dust and it led to plenty of sneezing and itchy eyes.)

Those were all “first cruises” for the ships (or one of the first sailings). We’ve also been on more than one cruise where a swimming pool has been closed for a day or two for whatever reason.

I don’t want to defend Carnival here – the ship should have definitely been ready and perfect – they even had extra time! Every cruise line should have their new or refurbished ships ready for passengers. But I’m wondering if this isn’t another case of something that wouldn’t normally be news if it didn’t involve Carnival – they seem to be the media darling right now when it comes to hyping up negative stories.

I agree with the fact that the story would not have made the media reports if it wasn't Carnival. I also agree that ALL the cruiselines should not release a ship for passenger transportation (new or refurbished) until it is 100% completed. They can do a trial run to their intended homeport. With between 900 and 1000+ crew onboard, I'm sure on the way to their homeport without passengers, they could tweak out the bugs to get it squared away for their first passenger cruise. I would rather wait 3 or 4 weeks longer for a fully functional vessel then to sail on a ship that was still under construction!!!

crazy4disney · May 9, 2013

Even if it is the norm for cruiselines to have paying customers on what is basically a "beta cruise", in light of their recent issues Carnival is the one cruiseline right now who should be doing everything possible to - hello- avoid even more bad press!! It just doesn't make sense to me... :huh2:

-gina-

Eph60 · May 11, 2013

One reason to never cruise on the first cruise after a refit. This is also another case of someone sitting in an office doing paperwork who has never worked on ships setting deadlines for fixing something they know nothing about.