This was my 8th cruise, 2nd with Carnival, 6 priors with Princess. I traveled with my sister and elderly mother. We boarded Destiny in Miami. I was shocked and thrilled with how organized and fast the embarkation was. We were on the ship and in line for lunch within 30 minutes from our arrival at the port. Everyone at the port was very kind and helpful. We were directed to the buffet where we found 2000 other people trying to get lunch which is not unusual on embarkation day. Lunch was good once we got through the line and found a table.
We were allowed into our cabins at 2:00 or 2:30 pm, and the hallway doors were closed prior to that so we dragged our carry on bags around the ship til then. Our balcony cabin was very nice, and was clean and bright We did have to get creative with our clothing storage, since space was a bit limited for 3 women. Our cabin steward (Ernesto) was perfectly awesome. I missed being able to use my own hairdryer, but clearly they say don't plug one in. We had 2 plugs which was good enough to recharge cameras & cell phones.
The ship decor was way too dark. Dark walls, dark carpet, dark curtains. The Rotunda was small, congested and again, very dark. Curtains in front of windows were heavy and usually closed.
We had dinner in the Universe dining room on our first and second evenings. It took us a while to find the dining room but it was worth the search. The service and the dinners were five star and some of the best meals I have ever had. The next day was our only sea day and we headed to the buffet for breakfast. The line was obnoxiously long and wrapped around halls and corners, sometimes even running into other lines. The grill and pizza bar lines were also extraordinarily long. The staff wasn't quick to clean tables and often the tables had crumbs and were still dirty even after being wiped. It seems the staff just can not accommodate the number of passengers they're expected to serve. I don't blame the staff. I think they're overworked and trying to serve more people than they are capable of serving in a reasonable time. Hence, long waits. After the first morning we ordered continental breakfast in our cabin and avoided the crowds and lines. We ate lunch at the buffet, trying to choose off times to avoid large crowds. I saw a bar server near the casino drop her tray full of cocktail napkins on the floor and promptly pick them all up, straighten them and stick them back in the glass on her tray, continuing to use them to serve drinks. Not impressive. I purchased a soda sticker immediately upon embarkation, which I've done on every cruise I've taken. On this cruise I always had to seek out someplace to get a soda and the areas to get a soda seemed fewer than what I am accustomed to and further away than they should have been. There should be a bar in the buffet area and by every pool where there is a high concentration of passengers eating or needing beverages. When I did get to a bar where I could get a soda I was most often in for a long wait, as there wasn't enough staff serving passengers at the bars. Needless to say, my food was cold by the time I got back to my table. Not one time did a server offer to bring me a soda. Maybe I shouldn't expect that, but it's something common on rival cruise lines. That soda sticker isn't cheap and gratuity is included but I always had to seek out the service I wanted. I was a little dismayed to notice the staff did not encourage hand cleansing prior to entering the buffet or upon re-entry to the ship Often the dispensers weren't even working but staff didn't seem to care. Yuck! It's flu season, people!
I was looking forward to the outdoor movie. It was nothing too special, since you just pull up a lounge chair and watch. No puffy cushions, no one serving drinks, popcorn, cookies & milk or offering blankets. The movie selections were marginal. A Nat King Cole concert just didn't make the cut for me! It didn't take long to see that the common areas were crowded and didn't accommodate the number of passengers very well. The photo display area was an example of human gridlock any time the photo station was open.
Overall I thought the cigarette smoke was very heavy. Passengers don't adhere to the signs for nonsmoking areas and continue to smoke in posted nonsmoking areas. There are plenty of places passenger can smoke freely but still the smoke was bad in nonsmoking areas. The shows were average and about what I expected. The Motown Review with Jerome was great but way way too short. The comedian was also good. We never had trouble finding a seat in the theater, which was nice. Disembarkation was equally efficient as embarkation and was a pleasant surprise. Nothing can ever really spoil a cruise for me. I love to cruise and I always have fun. But, overall, this cruise didn't meet my expectations and I'd rather pay a little more and cruise Princess.
Half Moon Cay was our first port. We all thought it was beautiful. The
beach was very nice and there were plenty of activities for everyone's
pleasure. We did a glass bottom boat tour to accommodate our elderly
mother. It was what we expected and it was nice. The tenders to and
from the ship were efficient and we waited very little. The tender
attendants were very accommodating to my elderly mother. They were very
kind. I will miss never going there again because overall Carnival just
isn't my flavor. Speaking of flavor, the buffet was pretty good and the
lines were refreshingly short but people weren't using the hand
sanitizer prior to entering the buffet.
