Carnival Sunshine
Sunshine Class · Carnival Cruise Line
// ABOUT THE SHIP
About the Ship
Carnival Sunshine is a Sunshine-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line, originally launched in 1996 (30 years ago). She is one of 31 active ships in the Carnival fleet and sails alongside 2 sister ships in the Sunshine class. The ship underwent her most recent renovation in 2025, which included updates to onboard features and spaces.
Deck Plans – 13 Decks to explore
Carnival Sunshine spans 13 passenger-accessible decks with 1,497 staterooms and 61 onboard venues — including 31 activities, 11 bars & lounges, 15 dining, and 4 shopping. Explore every level from bow to stern using the interactive deck plans below.
PASSENGER DECKS
13
guest-accessible decks
STATEROOMS
1,497
cabins across all categories
VENUES ONBOARD
61venues
BY TYPE
Carnival Sunshine Cruises
Carnival Sunshine offers 4 sailings in June, ranging 5-9 nights, departing from Norfolk, Virginia, starting from $1162 / guest.
Cabins – 1,497 staterooms
Carnival Sunshine has a total of 1,497 cabins throughout its 13 passenger decks. Those are made up of 598 Interior, 314 Ocean View, 438 Balcony, 52 Suite and 95 Cloud 9 Spa cabins. The 32 stateroom categories that make up these 5 cabin types are found below, along with counts for each.
// SHIP CLASS
Sunshineclass
YEARS
1996–2000
AVG SIZE
102k GT
AVG LENGTH
893 ft
AVG CAPACITY
3,583
The Sunshine Class in Carnival’s fleet includes three, active ships.
Things to do
Carnival Sunshine features 55 venues across 13 decks, including 26 activity, 11 bar, 14 dining, 1 other and 3 shopping. Explore every onboard experience from dining and entertainment to pools, fitness and more.
// AGE & RENOVATIONS
Carnival Sunshine ship age vs the fleet
Built in 1996 and last renovated in 2025, Carnival Sunshine is 30 years old. The fleet average age is 16.8 years. She is newer than 0% of the 31-ship fleet, ranking #31 from newest to oldest.
THIS SHIP
Age at a glance
BUILT
1996
30 years old today
LAST RENOVATED
2025
1 yrs ago
FLEET AVERAGE
16.8 yrs
13.2 older
NEWER THAN
0%
of fleet
FLEET RANK
#31
of 31
FLEET RANKING
By age, newest to oldest
Out of 31 ships in the fleet, Carnival Sunshine ranks #31 when sorted from newest to oldest by build year.
AGE BENCHMARKS
Carnival Sunshine vs the fleet
SHIP RENOVATIONS
Last major refit
LAST RENOVATED
2025
1 years ago
As the oldest ship in the fleet (originally Carnival Destiny), the Sunshine received a technical and cosmetic life-extension in February 2025. The project focused on maintaining its high number of staterooms and refreshing the JiJi Asian Kitchen and Cucina del Capitano venues.
How big is Carnival Sunshine?
Compare the Carnival Sunshine ship size with the rest of the Carnival fleet below. Included, you'll find gross tonnage, length, and the relationship between the two graphed in the scatter plot.
Carnival Sunshine measures 102,853 GT and 893 ft in length. The average size of a Carnival ship is 121k gross tons and the average ship length is 992 ft. Carnival Sunshine is 15% smaller and 10% shorter than the average ship in the fleet.
// THIS SHIP
103k GT
CARNIVAL SUNSHINE
// AVERAGE
121k GT
FLEET AVERAGE
// LARGEST
184k GT
CARNIVAL CELEBRATION
// SMALLEST
72k GT
CARNIVAL ELATION
// PROPORTIONAL AREA · 31 SHIPS · TOTAL 3755K GT
EACH CIRCLE'S AREA IS PROPORTIONAL TO GROSS TONNAGE · HOVER FOR DETAILS
// CAPACITY
Passenger Capacity
The Carnival Sunshine carries up to 3,002 guests and operates at roughly 100% capacity, so you can expect that number will accurately reflect your fellow passenger count. These guests are looked after by a crew of 1,150 staff members, representing a guest-to-crew ratio of 2.6:1. On average, Carnival ships have 4,085 guests and 1,226 crew, which works out to a fleet-average ratio of 3.3:1.
// GUESTS
3,002
at full occupancy
// CREW
1,150
international staff
// RATIO// GUEST-TO-CREW
2.6:1
service ratio
// 4,152 PEOPLE ABOARD AT FULL CAPACITY
// CRUISE DIRECTOR
Your Cruise Director
Your Carnival Sunshine cruise director is the heartbeat of the ship... the person responsible for onboard entertainment, activities, and guest engagement from embarkation to farewell. Think emcee, social director, and morale officer rolled into one. Here's who's current cruise director for the Carnival Sunshine and the available schedule for past and future sailings.
CURRENT · ONBOARD NOW
Sofia Tosches
Cruise Director
Sofia Tosches is a Carnival Cruise Line cruise director known for her upbeat personality, warmth, and strong guest rapport.
VIEW FULL PROFILE// CAME ONBOARD
Apr 26, 2026
2 months ago
// ASSIGNED THROUGH
Jul 5, 2026
per current contract
// CRUISE DIRECTOR SCHEDULE
// 10 · FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions About the Carnival Sunshine
FAQs for the Carnival Sunshine. Here are the most popular questions asked by our community members regarding this Carnival ship.
// TOTAL QUESTIONS
10
Tap a question to expand its answer. Answers update automatically based on live cruise data.
Still have questions?
Our community has the answers. Ask fellow cruisers about this ship.
Ask the communityResearched and assembled by Gangwaze Cruise Editorial using daily-refreshed ship and fleet data.
LAST UPDATED · JUNE 3, 2026