On December 30, 2024, Carnival Sunshine returned to the Charleston Cruise Port in South Carolina for the second to last time before switching to a new homeport.
While nothing unusual happened as the Captain and his team docked the Sunshine-class vessel, it was a foggy morning that required the use of the ship’s foghorn for safety purposes.
In low visibility conditions, foghorns essentially function as an “acoustic lighthouse” – warning other vessels of the cruise ship’s presence to prevent collisions and guiding ships away from other potential hazards.
But for one passenger who was onboard the sailing – which was a 4-night cruise to Nassau, Bahamas – the noise of the foghorn took away from her beauty sleep. She was angry enough to write to Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald on his Facebook page to demand compensation.
With safety always the top priority, Heald understandably could not provide any of the compensation she was looking for.
Instead, he wrote out how he imagined the rather laughable conversation might go in a fictional world where he called the ship’s captain to ask him to minimize the noise:
“Me: Hello Captain it’s John.
Captain: Who is?
Me: John Heald, Brand Ambassador.
Captain: Ahhh yes, why you call me on the bridge at 5 a.m.?
Me: Sorry to disturb you Captain but a lady has written to me. I know you have some thick fog this morning. You have the foghorn sounding as required by maritime and US Coast Guard law but this lady has asked me to tell you to “turn it off“ because it is disturbing their sleep.
Captain: “TURN IT OFF” ARE YOU STUNARD?!!!!!!!!! We have de bigamist John. We have a to sound de horn to warn other ships. It is for their safety.”
Heald ended the imagined conversation with the captain hanging up on his call.
Guest Receives Backlash for Foghorn Complaints
It should go without saying that the lives of the up to 3,002 passengers and 920 crew members onboard are more important than one guest’s sleep – although she might want to pack ear plugs for future cruises so she isn’t woken up again.
If Carnival didn’t use the foghorns to accommodate one annoyed guest – which have to be loud in order to be effective – people could be hurt or killed.
In the over 650 replies Heald’s post received, his followers expressed their shock at how unreasonable the complaining passenger was being.
“I am on the Sunshine now and my cabin on Deck 12 is apparently right under the horn. Yes, it has kept me up since 3am ish, but I prefer to be awake instead of living a real life muster drill! Thanks for keeping us safe Captain,” a guest of the same sailing wrote.
“This is outrageous!!! How dare Carnival follow the rules and use the necessary safety protocols to protect ship, passengers, crew, & anyone else that might be in proximity to danger. I mean what were they thinking keeping this poor lady awake just to maintain safety…. The Nerve of this, Captain!!!”, another follower quipped.
Read Also: What to Do Onboard a Cruise Ship in Bad Weather
But if it’s any consolation, this passenger can rest assured she will likely not have to experience another foggy morning in Charleston on a Carnival cruise ship again – or at least not in the near future – as the cruise line is ceasing operations at the East Coast port.
This change was not a surprise, as the South Carolina Ports Authority confirmed back in 2022 that it would not extend its homeport pact with Carnival beyond 2024 so that it could redevelop Charleston’s Union Pier Terminal.
After the frustrated guest and her fellow passengers disembarked, Carnival Sunshine carried out her final embarkation from the port on the afternoon of December 30, 2024, for a New Year’s voyage to the Bahamas – which will visit Nassau and RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay, the cruise line’s private destination.
After this voyage, the 2013-launched ship will temporarily leave service to visit dry dock from January 4 to February 15, 2025, before being redeployed in Norfolk, Virginia.
