I have been on three Carnival Cruises and one Royal Caribbean prior to this trip. I'm in my mid twenties and was traveling with other people in their 20-30's plus our parents (in their 60's). After reading many negative reviews about the Destiny I was nervous about what this trip/boat would be like. We booked this trip mostly based on price. There were some first time cruisers who did not want to spend a bunch of money incase they didn't like it.

Embarkation: The embarkation was a little long, but nothing unexpected for a boat this size. When we got on our room was ready and we got our luggage fairly quickly. I read another review that someone thought the muster drill was long. It did not seem long to me, but we were some of the last to get there. Someone did pass out during the drill so that might have added to the length. I have found it is best to not get to these things early because then you are standing waiting on everyone else.

Ship: To be completely honest there was some rust on the outside of the boat. However, I never saw anything inside the boat that appeared unclean or dilapidated. We had people in our party in outside cabins, inside cabins, and balcony cabins. All rooms were fine. The air conditioner wasn't working all that well in 6258, and they never were able to get that fixed. We also had a little drain problem in our stateroom. I'm sure that could have been fixed if we had pressed the issue with the room steward. Overall, the boat seemed to be holding up well. The staterooms in our group had not been refurbished during dry dock, but they were still in good condition. Read more