Charleston, South Carolina: sites, activities, dining, breweries, Happy Hour

December 2019

Marion Square December 2019

Sites, transportation...

We visited several areas from the Homewood Suites; we walked everywhere, or took a no charge bus ride on the DASH. The bus stopped just north of our hotel on Spring Street, just south of the hotel at the Visitor Center, and at several other areas around town. You can find more information on the transportation website.

Time capsule stone by the monument in Washington Square

Charleston, South Carolina: Homewood Suites by Hilton Charleston Historic District

December 2019, Weekdays, 3 nights, 2-queen beds suite #302

We arrived back from our cruise on a Tuesday, and then stayed at Homewood Suites Historic District for three nights using points. The hotel is one-mile from the cruise port, and people had told us we could not walk to the hotel. We did walk to the hotel with our luggage, and it was not difficult. There were not many people out yet in the morning, and there were sidewalks the entire way.

Arrival, check-in, diamond perks

Since we arrived early in the morning, we were delighted to be able to get our room right away. The agent said she could not give us an upgrade, because the hotel was sold out. I had reserved a king studio, and there were no king studio rooms available when we arrived. We were able to check into a queen suite, so the guestroom was actually kind of an upgrade. It was not the bed type I had reserved; however, it was a suite with a bedroom door, rather than a studio guestroom. She also offered bottled water.

Sunset from guestroom 302 at Homewood Suites Charleston Historic District

I had not checked in online before we arrived, although I had looked at the floor diagram on the mobile app before we went on our cruise. Guestroom 528 looks like a great location, and I imagine that guestroom would have been a nice upgrade. I am sharing the guestroom diagram from the back of the door below.

Guestroom 302

The guestroom was comfortable and clean. It is located near the end of the hall, and we did not hear any noise from outside the guestroom. The room is kind of long and narrow. The photos on the hotel website match this guestroom type, except this guestroom does not have a window in the living room.

Photo taken from vanity area outside bathroom

Carnival Sunshine Cruise: 4-day Bahama Cruise from Charleston, South Carolina

November - December 2019 Spa cabin 11001

Next to Alchemy Bar in Ocean Plaza on Carnival Sunshine

Pre-cruise

We previously sailed on Carnival Sunshine from New Orleans shortly after it had been refurbished in 2014. We had a balcony cabin near the back of the ship for that cruise. We had some water problems in our cabin then, as did others. I was not very interested in another cruise after some of the things that happened on that cruise; however, my feelings have changed since then. Our initial travel plans this trip were to visit Charleston, and we decided to extend our trip a few more days on the cruise ship, because the price was good. 

You can find more details about the Carnival Sunshine in my previous blog post. I am providing information here that is new or different since then.

View of bridge between Charleston and Mount Pleasant from Carnival Sunshine

Arrival and VIP check-in ~ Charleston cruise port

This was our first experience cruising from Charleston. I had read that check-in begins sometime around 10:00 or 11:00 AM, so we submitted a request for an Uber ride from our airport hotel shortly after 10:00 AM. The information online says that the drop-off address is 32 Washington Street, which is the address I used. Our Uber driver arrived right away, and we arrived at the port just after 10:30 AM. We were told it would be about five minutes before we could enter. I inquired whether we could walk in so our driver would not have to wait. There was one other vehicle waiting, and our driver said he would wait with us. About five minutes later, our driver drove us into the cruise port area, and dropped us and our luggage off.

Directions to VIP check-in were clear, and security was a breeze. We arrived at the check-in desk right away. We then stood at the desk for over five minutes, because there was some kind of issue with our check-in. I do not know what the problem was, and the agent was apparently unable to correct it. She finally just checked us in again, and then had to take a photo of my husband. My passport photo showed up on the screen, and his did not. We had a similar experience last time we cruised, and I do not understand what the problem is. We renewed our passports together, we always check-in together with the same credit card on the account, and we always have the correct documents when we arrive.

After we checked in, there is a VIP waiting area near the shuttle boarding area. There is only one restroom at this end of the building, and the line was quite long. I walked back to the other end of the building to use the restroom. There was also a line there; however, it was not as long as the VIP line. Soon after, we boarded a shuttle bus for a short ride over to the ship and boarded. We were on board before noon. We were the first ones to arrive at Red Frog Pub; however, the bartender did not know anything about the first beverage being free for the first guests. I do not know if Carnival did away with this, or if the bartender was just uninformed.

Interior spa cabin 11001 on Carnival Sunshine

Spa interior cabin 11001 4S

Our cabin was ready when we boarded. This was our 19th cruise, and our first time in a spa cabin. We chose this cabin because it looked like it was located in a quiet hallway, and because it is located near Serenity deck. The rate when we booked was not much more than a basic interior room.

Interior spa cabin 11001 on Carnival Sunshine

Charleston, South Carolina: Crowne Plaza Charleston Airport - Convention Center

November 2019, Thanksgiving, 1-night, King guestroom 425

View from guestroom 425

Arrival, check-in, platinum perks

Our flight arrived before 11:00 AM, and we arrived at the hotel to check-in around noon. We had a bit of trouble getting the shuttle ride to the hotel, and the manager comped dinner for us that evening to make up for the excessive wait. We also received one of the larger king suite guestrooms, and the 600 platinum bonus points.

Tanger Outlet Mall across street from Crowne Plaza

King guestroom #425

This guestroom is on the 4th floor near the atrium. It faces southwest overlooking the hotel pool and Tanger Outlets across the street. We stayed on Thanksgiving, and the stores opened at 6:00 PM for the entire night with shopping specials. Traffic was non-stop across the street during our entire stay. The windows in the guestroom are very soundproof, and we did not hear any noise from traffic or the airport.

Crowne Plaza Charleston airport guestroom 425