We flew down to San Juan the day before our cruise and stayed at the Sheraton Old San Juan. My husband used his SPG points for a free room and we were pleasantly surprised to find out that they put us in a beautiful suite with a balcony that overlooked the cruise terminal. We would like to warn everyone to be careful as several guest at the Sheraton were robbed. We found out that someone entered several rooms and stole purses, jewelry, and other belongings, the thief even entered one room where 2 girls were taking a nap and walked off with a purse. If you stay at the Sheraton, make sure you close the door all the way. I don't know why, but the door doesn't lock unless you pull it really hard, and PLEASE take all your belongings with you if you leave the room.

Embarkation - We got to the terminal around noon, and waited in line for about 5 minutes to get our Sail and Sign card, and then went to the Duty Free Shop for some Mt. Gay Rum for my Husband ($8.95 a bottle). We were told by the folks at the Duty Free Shop that we could put it in our carry-on and take it on with no problem. They were right, no one cares as long as they don't see it. We then proceeded to a line where you wait for the Doors to open to go through security and board the ship. This is where we ran into a problem. We got right through security, but then had to wait almost 2 hours on a ramp outside the ship because the computer that accepts your sail and sign card was down. If this had not happened, we would have been on the ship by 12:45. When we finally got on the ship we went right to our cabin (Lido Deck ). Our cabin was great, plenty of room for storage, a nice balcony, clean bathroom with a very nice size shower and a very comfortable bed. If you like firm pillows bring your own, because the pillows are very soft. I also loved the location of our cabin and would recommend the Lido Deck to anyone. It is very convenient and quiet.

I have to say that I thought the ship was in great shape and very pretty. It was easy to get around, and we had no problem finding Dining Rooms, Bars and other places on the ship. With that said, I have to tell you that the Service was not up to par. My husband and I were so disappointed and frustrated with the service that by the end of the week we were calling it the "NO" Ship. Every time we asked for something the answer was a big fat "NO". Here are a couple of examples: We were supposed to be seated at Dinner with our Friends and had confirmed this several times before our trip. When we went to Dinner the first night we found out we were six tables away from them. When asked to be moved the answer was "NO". Even after confirming with the Maitre D that we were supposed to be together the answer was still "NO" until my Husband slipped him a $20 bill and we were all magically moved to a table that fit us all. When we went to dinner the next night it took us 1 hour and 15 mins to get our first bite of food. We asked the waiter what the problem was and his reply was I have 24 other people to serve and then proceeded to tell us how overwhelmed he was. We were not happy with his response and complained to the Maitre D and asked to be moved to a new table, and of course the reply was "NO" there wasn't anywhere else to move us. So again my husband and 2 of our other friends slipped him $20.00 each and he suddenly found us a new table and new waiter. When I asked our Cabin Steward for a pair of scissors, he brought me a butter knife and told me there were "NO" scissors on the whole ship. When we asked for a light beer at the pool the first day the answer was "NO" we are out of light beer, and this was the answer everyday because whoever orders beer for the ship messed up the order. My Husband found light beer on the ship, but only because he went from bar to bar hunting it down. Correct me if this sounds petty, but shouldn't that be their job to find you a beer. I mean we were there to relax, have a few drinks and be taken care of. The list of "No's went on and on, but I won't bore you with all the details. We thought the bad service issue was just being felt by us, but after talking to several guest including our Friends who had been on the Destiny 3 times, we knew it wasn't just us feeling this way. We also ran into a Travel Agent who told us he thought the Destiny was being used as a Training Ship, and he was really disappointed in the service along with his group. Read more