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Carnival Sunshine Comes to New Homeport

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After a major renovation, Carnival Sunshine is welcomed in New OrleansBy: Chere Coen

The renewed Carnival Sunshine will homeport in New Orleans. // © 2013 Carnival Cruise Lines

The Details

It seemed appropriate that Carnival’s massive restoration project — the newly rebuilt Sunshine, transformed from the former Carnival Destiny — should have its renaming ceremony in New Orleans. Not only is Louisiana’s state song “You Are My Sunshine,” but winter in the Bayou State remains balmy for the most part, and Carnival Sunshine will host seven-night Caribbean cruises from New Orleans until the spring, while Carnival Elation continues to sail four- and five-night cruises.

The ship, which received an extensive $155 million makeover earlier this year, arrived in New Orleans following a 16-day transatlantic crossing. The 3,006-passenger Carnival Sunshine was renamed on Nov. 17 with a ceremony featuring Gerry Cahill, Carnival president and CEO, and Lin Arison, wife of the late Ted Arison, founder of Carnival Cruise Lines and godmother to the Sunshine.

“We did something in the cruise ship industry that no one has ever done before,” Cahill said of the renovation. “We rebuilt virtually every guestroom on the ship. This was more difficult than building a new ship.”

“It was an amazing thing to see what can be done on a ship,” said Arison, whose association with Carnival Cruise Lines dates back to the company’s inception in 1972 when she named Mardi Gras, the line’s first ship.

The naming ceremony included a performance by the Destrehan High School Band, chosen from the New Orleans area in a competition, and members of the National YoungArts Foundation. Along with her late husband, Arison founded the program as well as the New World Symphony in Miami Beach. Carnival donated $25,000 to each.

“Carnival has taken it further with these gifts for young artists,” Arison said, just before pulling the symbolic ribbon while the audience watched a video of a champagne bottle hitting the ship’s exterior.

Most of those in attendance were travel agents, media and corporate guests, all getting a first-hand look at the newly designed ship before it embarked the following day on a special six-day cruise. Carnival Sunshine remains in New Orleans until April 2014, when it heads to Port Canaveral, Fla., for year-round, five- to eight-day Caribbean departures.

“I am extremely picky, and I was very pleased,” said Terri Howell, owner of Dream Cruises, which has offices in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La.

Howell had already begun booking cruises for her clients on the Sunshine but she was even more “revved up and ready to sell” after the ceremony.

“I am 100 percent satisfied and am extremely happy to be selling the Sunshine, even though it’s only here for a few months,” she said.

Kathy Lavalla, owner of Vacation Makers Travel in New Orleans, was impressed by the ship’s varied restaurant choices and the hallways, which sport teak doorways, bright colors and beach photos on the walls.

“I love how many dining venues there are,” Lavalla said. “There are so many options.”

Having a ship docked in downtown New Orleans with a massive waterpark on the top deck makes it easy to sell. Lavalla added that children will see the ship and demand that their parents to take them on a cruise.

“Cruises in general are an easy sell in New Orleans,” Lavalla said. “The city is a great port location because visitors can stay a night in New Orleans and see quite a bit in town before sailing. If you come even one day early to New Orleans, you find so many things to do — for families as well as couples.”

The only drawback, both agents agreed, was that Carnival Sunshine would only stay in New Orleans for the winter.

“I wish it could stay longer,” Lavalla said.

In the mood for a melody? Hit the piano bar

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In the mood for a melody? Hit the piano bar

By Tom Stieghorst
*InsightBilly Joel made headlines recently with the news that he’s going to play a monthly concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden for the foreseeable future. Joel’s gig starts Jan. 27. The first four shows are sold out, and prices for a May concert range from $64.50 to $124.50.

The development got me thinking about all the great piano entertainers I’ve seen on cruise ships this year. To my surprise, the piano bar has become a must-visit venue as I check out a ship’s entertainment.

There’s a tendency to reduce cruise entertainment to the main theater offering, because that’s where the cruise lines put on their biggest show and spend the most money.

Last week Royal Caribbean International announced it would license the Broadway musical “Mamma Mia!” featuring the music of ’70s pop group ABBA, which will undoubtedly be popular. But there are a number of secondary venues at sea, and they can be overlooked, especially on bigger ships. The piano bar is one of them.*TomStieghorst

On ships this year, I’ve been thoroughly entertained by solo piano acts in Crooners, on the Royal Princess, in the Piano Bar on the Oosterdam and in Piano Bar 88 on the Carnival Sunshine.

These entertainers were every bit the equal of top players in Las Vegas or London, and in some cases they are one and the same. I’ve also seen a few performers that lacked the energy, the audience rapport or the spontaneity of the best acts, at least on the night I saw them.

One of the things that makes a piano bar such fun is the intimacy of the room and the chance to get to know some of your fellow passengers, with music providing the introductions. On a seven-night cruise with a good piano bar, once word gets out it can be tough to find a seat.

James Barr, a piano entertainer from New York I caught on a recent sailing on the Vision of the Seas, said the audience makes or breaks a piano bar, and the No. 1 job for a good piano entertainer is to cultivate interaction from the audience.

“The more you talk to them, the more they have the nerve to get involved,” Barr said.

London-born, Barr is a self-taught musician who has been playing piano since he was 7. Now 37, he has been playing on ships for 12 years and on Royal Caribbean for nearly a decade.

He honors plenty of requests for “Piano Man” but also likes to mix it up. “Playing things people wouldn’t necessarily expect, like Jay-Z, adds to the energy,” he said.

Many people, I suppose myself included, stereotype piano bars as a lounge for washed-up showbiz types. Agents should prod their clients, especially younger ones, to rethink that assumption. On at least some of the ships I’ve been on, there’s no better place to be entertained.

Carnival Sunshine begins New Orleans cruises

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Carnival Sunshine begins New Orleans cruises

By Jerry Limone
The Carnival Sunshine will embark on its first cruise from New Orleans on Monday afternoon, sailing to Cozumel and Grand Cayman on a six-day cruise.

Carnival Cruise Lines said the 3,006-passenger Sunshine is the largest Carnival ship to be based in New Orleans. The Sunshine will sail from New Orleans year-round.

Earlier this year, the Sunshine emerged from a $155 million makeover that transformed the former Carnival Destiny. The ship was lengthened and 151 staterooms were added. It also received dining and entertainment upgrades under the Carnival Fun Ship 2.0 program.