Carnival Sunshine in Dry Dock, to Start Sailing from Norfolk Next Month

Now that Carnival Cruise Line’s contract with Charleston, South Carolina has expired, Carnival Sunshine is moving to a new U.S. homeport in Norfolk, Virginia.

But before the 3,000-passenger vessel begins offering year-round cruises out of Virginia, she will first complete a dry dock in France.  You can see Carnival’s complete dry dock schedule here.

Carnival Sunshine is currently undergoing routine maintenance in Marseille, France. Before returning to service, the ship is expected to receive upgrades similar to those recently added to other Carnival Cruise Line ships during their dry dock periods.

In 2021, the ship was repainted with the new blue Livery that the cruise line rolled out for every ship in its fleet, so not many visual changes on the exterior are expected.

The details of these upgrades have not been revealed, but after dry dock the ship is scheduled to start offering cruises out of Norfolk on February 11, 2025 for a 5-night sailing to The Bahamas.

After this debut sailing, the ship will offer cruises from 5 days long to 8 days in length that include visits to the Eastern Caribbean, Bahamas, Bermuda, and Canada and New England during the Fall.

Listed below is a breakdown of every sailing on Carnival Sunshine that is currently scheduled through April of 2027.

Carnival Sunshine Cruise Schedule

• Eastern Caribbean:
  • 8-Day Cruises:
    • Departures: February 16, 2025; March 08, 2025; March 22, 2025; April 05, 2025; April 13, 2025; April 27, 2025; May 11, 2025; May 25, 2025; June 08, 2025; June 22, 2025; July 20, 2025; August 03, 2025; August 17, 2025; August 31, 2025; September 14, 2025; September 28, 2025; October 12, 2025; November 09, 2025; November 29, 2025; December 07, 2025; December 27, 2025; January 04, 2026; February 01, 2026; March 01, 2026; March 15, 2026; April 12, 2026; April 26, 2026; May 10, 2026; May 24, 2026; June 07, 2026; November 08, 2026; November 22, 2026; December 06, 2026; January 17, 2027; January 31, 2027; February 14, 2027; February 28, 2027; March 14, 2027; March 28, 2027
  • 7-Day Cruises:
    • Departures: June 14, 2026; July 05, 2026; July 12, 2026; August 23, 2026; August 30, 2026
  • 9-Day Cruises:
    • Departures: June 23, 2026
• The Bahamas:
  • 5-Day Cruises:
    • Departures: December 30, 2024; July 23, 2026; July 27, 2026; August 01, 2026; August 06, 2026
  • 6-Day Cruises:
    • Departures: February 24, 2025; March 02, 2025; March 08, 2025; March 16, 2025; March 22, 2025; March 30, 2025; April 05, 2025; April 19, 2025; May 03, 2025; May 17, 2025; May 31, 2025; June 14, 2025; June 28, 2025; July 12, 2025; July 26, 2025; August 09, 2025; August 23, 2025; September 06, 2025; October 04, 2025; November 01, 2025; November 15, 2025; November 21, 2025; December 13, 2025; December 19, 2025; January 10, 2026; January 24, 2026; February 07, 2026; February 21, 2026; March 07, 2026; March 21, 2026; April 04, 2026; April 18, 2026; May 02, 2026; May 16, 2026; May 30, 2026; July 18, 2026; September 05, 2026; September 19, 2026; October 03, 2026; October 31, 2026; November 14, 2026; November 28, 2026; December 12, 2026; December 18, 2026; January 09, 2027; January 23, 2027; February 06, 2027; February 20, 2027; March 06, 2027; March 20, 2027; April 03, 2027
• Bermuda:
  • 4-Day Cruises:
    • Departures: July 27, 2026; August 10, 2026
  • 5-Day Cruises:
    • Departures: June 28, 2026; July 12, 2026
  • 6-Day Cruises:
    • Departures: July 12, 2025; July 26, 2025; August 09, 2025; August 23, 2025; September 06, 2025; October 18, 2025
  • 7-Day Cruises:
    • Departures: July 05, 2026; August 23, 2026; August 30, 2026
• Canada & New England:
  • 8-Day Cruises:
    • Departures: September 13, 2026; September 27, 2026; October 11, 2026; October 25, 2026

2025 Ports of Call

Throughout 2025, Carnival Sunshine will alternate between 6- and 8-day cruises out of Norfolk.   Because of its location further north on the U.S. East Coast, longer sailings are required to see more than one or two ports of call.

The 8-day sailings to the Eastern Caribbean will allow for 3 ports of call to be visited, while 6-day sailings to Bermuda offer one day in King’s Wharf.

Here is a breakdown for some of the itineraries in 2025:

Eastern Caribbean: 8-day sailings

• Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos
• Amber Cove, Dominican Republic
• San Juan, Puerto Rico

Bahamas: 6-day sailings

• Bimini
• Nassau
• Freeport

Bermuda: 6-day sailings

• King’s Wharf (with two days in port)

Celebration Key: Visited on 6-day sailings

• Bimini
• Nassau
• Celebration Key

Listed prices on Carnival Sunshine cruises currently range from $644 per person to $1,294.