I cruised the Carnival Destiny for 5 days in April 2010 from Miami to Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay and Nassau, Bahamas.
Ship - The ship was obviously older but it is well kept. This was my first cruise so I have nothing to compare it to but maybe an older Vegas hotel. The decor wasn't anything to go crazy over. I saw other reviews mention the mysterious sewage smell that either you experienced or you didn't. I smelled it but it was pretty much only on the 3rd floor in the center of the ship near the elevators and pics. I spent a lot of time on the Lido deck which was nice with the big screen for the nightly movies.
Cabin - My cabin was in the aft...at the VERY end of the hallway. I was a bit worried when we booked it but overall I loved it. It was A LOT bigger than the other cabins and had a window. The only thing to be aware of is you will get a lot of noise in this cabin when docking and embarking. I didn't mind the 7 am wake up call. It became my alarm to help me get up and get ready. So my mom and I were usually the first people off the ship because of our early wake up call. I did most of my sleeping on the beach so it worked out well. Oh and I was an excited cruiser everytime I saw my nightly towel animal.
HUGE! In the aft. So get ready for some vibration during embarking and docking. You do feel the motion more than being in the center of ship...enjoy it and think of it as your granny rocking you to sleep.