Carnival Sunshine Passengers Frightened By Sudden Listing After Departing Port Canaveral Sunday

By  //  October 29, 2018

items fell off shelves in staterooms, plates slid off tables

Passengers aboard the Carnival Sunshine had a scary few minutes when the ship listed shortly after their ship left Port Canaveral on Sunday. Carnival Sunshine, formerly Carnival Destiny, is currently homeported at Port Canaveral, Florida, and is the lead ship of the Destiny-class of cruise ships.

BREVARD COUNTY • PORT CANAVERAL, FLORIDA – Passengers aboard the Carnival Sunshine had a scary few minutes when the ship listed shortly after their ship left Port Canaveral on Sunday, according to cruiseradio.net.

Cruiseradio.net said that due to the unexpected tilting of the ship, items fell off shelves in staterooms, plates slid off tables to crash onto the floor and some passengers momentarily fearing the worst.

“At approximately 9:15 p.m. EDT Sunday, Carnival Sunshine experienced a technical issue that caused the ship to list slightly,” said a statement from a Carnival Cruise Line spokesperson.

“The issue was immediately corrected. All shipboard activities and systems are running and the ship will continue to sail as scheduled, arriving at Amber Cove on Tuesday. Carnival Sunshine departed Port Canaveral earlier this afternoon on a six-day Caribbean cruise.”

“Last night was a very scary experience on the Sunshine,” shared one passenger after the incident. “The starboard side literally felt like it lifted. I was in the dining room on Deck 3. All the tables slid and fell over, glass falling and breaking. People screaming. And all we get is, ‘It’s being investigated’.” (Pattie Nickerson/Facebook image)

And while that sounds simple enough, anyone who has ever experienced a ship tilting to one side or the other enough to cause things to slide off tables and shelves will tell you it can be a frightening experience.

And at least for some, the explanation given in the event’s aftermath was less than soothing.

“Last night was a very scary experience on the Sunshine,” shared one passenger after the incident.

“The starboard side literally felt like it lifted. I was in the dining room on Deck 3. All the tables slid and fell over, glass falling and breaking. People screaming. And all we get is, ‘It’s being investigated’.”

Carnival later issued this statement on its Twitter feed:

“The ship experienced a technical issue involving one of the breakers which caused it to list to one side. Our officers quickly intervened to correct the situation. The ship is operating smoothly and all normal activities have resumed.”

Second Consecutive Week Carnival Sunshine Experienced Mechanical Issues

According to cruisehive.com, guests onboard the Carnival Sunshine Sunday, October 21 sailing, were stranded in San Juan, Puerto Rico due to an unidentified mechanical/technical issue.

Due to the issues, the ship did not make a scheduled call in Grand Turk on Friday, October 26. Carnival Cruise Line Ambassador John Heald posted the issue had been fixed, but because of the late departure, there was no choice but to cancel Grand Turk.

The Carnival Sunshine only resumed service on October 21 after a major 2-week dry dock at the Grand Bahama Shipyard in Freeport, Bahamas. A new enhanced internet service was installed, along with some upgraded public areas. As usual, when it comes to a ship drydock maintenance was also completed.

Carnival Sunshine, formerly Carnival Destiny, is currently homeported at Port Canaveral, Florida, and is the lead ship of the Destiny-class of cruise ships. 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.

Upon entering service, Carnival Destiny was the first passenger ship ever built to be over 100,000 tons as measured by gross tonnage. She became Carnival Sunshine in May 2013 after receiving a major renovation.

– Wikipedia contributed to this report

Passengers aboard the Carnival Sunshine had a scary few minutes when the ship listed shortly after their ship left Port Canaveral on Sunday. (Pattie Nickerson/Facebook image)
Passengers aboard the Carnival Sunshine had a scary few minutes when the ship listed shortly after their ship left Port Canaveral on Sunday. (Pattie Nickerson/Facebook image)
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