In 2005, I went with family on a seven-night cruise out of New York to Canada on Carnival Triumph.
In October, I took my niece Chrissy and nephew Antonio on a seven-night cruise out of New York to Canada on Carnival Sunrise.
Two cruises 14 years apart on ships with two different names.
Different names, but the same ship. Except…it was not. Far from it.
No mystery to solve. Carnival Cruise Line simply did something truly remarkable. They took the old Carnival Triumph and totally reinvented it into the new and dramatically improved Carnival Sunrise.
A ship that is now sailing out of its new home port of Fort Lauderdale until May 2020.
When I learned that Carnival was going to do the largest makeover in cruise history on a ship I had taken in the past, I knew I not only had to check out the differences, but take the exact same cruise itinerary I first took on the Triumph in 2005 to make the best comparison.
How large was the makeover? In a word: Massive.
Carnival spent a reported $200 million not only revamping and improving every part of the ship, but completely gutting and rebuilding entire areas of the vessel.
Because I, my niece and my nephew were three different generations of MacKinnons, we truly got to experience every aspect of the new Sunrise tailored to please every age group. And in all honesty, no one was disappointed.
Actually, I take that back. Because our itinerary stopped in places like Boston, St. John, New Brunswick, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, we were disappointed only in the sense that we didn’t have the time we would have liked to enjoy everything the Sunrise had to offer.
My nephew and niece made the point several times that they would have to come back on Sunrise simply to savor the venues and activities they missed or did not spend enough time exploring.
Places such as the new Waterworks water park, a family-friendly aqua extravaganza which proved wildly popular for parents and children alike. The Waterworks park is complemented by Carnival’s signature SportSquare area as well as a new adults-only Serenity area outfitted with elegant padded lounge chairs, a full bar, and even a hot tub away from the kids.
For the foodies out there, Sunrise is filled with a number of new restaurants and beverage choices. Places such as their signature steakhouse, an Italian eatery, Bonsai sushi, a dedicated Chef’s Table, a BBQ smokehouse, a dedicated coffee bar, and oh, yes, the largest Red Frog pub in the Carnival fleet. This is in addition to the totally new and improved regular main dining rooms.
Everything from the main theater to the promenade has been transformed in an eye-pleasing manner.
As for the passenger cabins, those may be the best improvements of all. Not only does each have new beds, new décor, and new carpeting, but each has been updated with today’s tech-savvy travelers in mind. Each cabin now has USB ports, which the cruise line calls the fastest high-speed internet service on the high seas, and brand new large flat-screen televisions boasting a number of movies and television shows on demand.
With the total reinvention of Carnival Triumph into Carnival Sunrise, the cruise line is signaling an industry trend. With many new ships costing as much as $1 billion to build, more and more cruise lines could soon be following Carnival’s example and “reinvent” their own current ships.
As one who was on the old Triumph and the now new Sunrise, I can attest that they just set the gold standard for the industry to follow.
MacKinnon is a Florida-based writer and longtime cruise enthusiast.
