Carnival Destiny Review

A Longish Short Carnival Destiny Review

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Carnival Destiny
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75nivek
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

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Additional details

Sail Date: Sep 2010
Cabin: Balcony

For those who don't like to read much, here is a summary: It was the best vacation ever! Now for a few details: Monday: Took the 11:00 shuttle from the Doubletree to the Port of Miami. Our Fun Pass Boarding Pass was complete, so we breezed through the boarding process and were on the Lido having lunch before noon. Way too excited to sit in one place for long we explored the ship. Our first impression was that none of the pictures we'd seen did justice to the decor. Everything looks much better in person than it does in ANY of the shots here or elsewhere. The public areas were virtually spotless and well maintained. Our port side balcony on deck 8 was ready at 1:30, and our luggage was outside our door about 1:45--much earlier than we'd anticipated. The size of the cabin was more than adequate for the time spent there. Two closets, three drawers and several cupboards were enough for us to completely unpack. Two bags were able to slide under the bed, and the floor of the closet was perfect for our carry-ons.We met Sugi, our room steward and introduced ourselves; he always greeted us by name with a smile after that. Sailaway was fun. We stayed on our balcony, but could hear the music from deck 9. We dressed casually for dinner and found our table on the main floor of the Universe Dining room. Our wait staff, Leslie and Monica, was first-rate, and since milk products don't like me very much, I had help ordering from the Assistant Dining Room Manager. She went over the selections for the next night as well, and I ordered a night early for the duration. The bedding was comfortable, the pillows just right, and the ocean rocked us to sleep. Tuesday: Fun Day at Sea. We scarfed down an early room service breakfast which was delivered on time and set up on our balcony, and then more exploration. We took pictures all over the ship from the forward decks on 6 and 7 to the stern on 9; from the mini-golf course on 11 to the Atrium bar on deck 3. Nowhere did we experience any unusual odors or see anything other than a clean, polished ship. The ice sculpture demonstration was amazing! We had lunch on the Lido deck (it's less crowded by the aft pool) and shopped on deck 5 for awhile. We dressed for formal night, and it appeared that most everybody else did as well. I didn't see one pair of shorts or flip-flops! I think we stopped at every photo-op on the way to the dining room (we purchased two pictures the next day.) The food was marvelous every evening, and the Universe staff and good table-mates make the MDR the place to be! The wait staff belted out a song. The show in the Palladium was entertaining and high-energy. The featured performers are very good, and the dancers leave it all on the stage. Musical numbers span the decades so there is something for everyone. Be prepared to do the Macarena! The Destiny Show Band is hot-hot-hot! When we got back to the room there was a heavy mist out on the balcony and occasional lightening off over the sea. We wrapped ourselves in our robes and enjoyed the show. Wednesday: Grand Turk. Sunrise pictures and some shots pulling up to the pier before a quick Lido Buffet breakfast and a brief wait in the Palladium before we were sent to deck 0 to exit for our island adventure. We started the day with the 4x4 Safari. There was only one other couple on this excursion, but I think people are missing out by passing on it. We zoomed around the island on and off road, and Grant, our guide, was entertaining and informative. We got to spend time at the lighthouse and at Governors Beach, and the tour was one of the best times we had. After the excursion we strolled the beach to Jack's Shack to meet up with some people from the ship. Dinner in the MDR where the waiters performed a Bollywood number. Someone who was not us won a solid gold plastic ship on a stick at the end of the TV Theme Trivia Contest in the main show lounge. After that came "Boat Brother" and I managed to fly under the radar to the final four, missing the ship on a stick but snagging a medal for being part of the foolishness. JD, who kept calling himself "Sexy Jeff" was the host and made the whole affair fun. Thursday: Half Moon Cay. This was a day of swimming and wandering along one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen. We also headed inland to explore the nature trails and the running/walking track. Blue-tailed geckos, chameleons and various birds were everywhere. The barbeque was well organized, and although it was food brought from the ship, it tasted different prepared on shore; more like a barbecue should. At dinner, someone at our table told our waiters that we were celebrating our anniversary, so we were the center of attention when a napkin was draped over our heads (to hide us as we were encouraged to kiss) and our waiters sang "Happy Anniversary to You." I vowed revenge. "Liar's Club" was an entertaining game during which members of the entertainment staff gave very different definitions for a series of suggestive terms, and the audience had to figure out which of the three definitions was real. Also, we were encouraged to heckle, which we did with gusto. The Comedy Club was crowded, so we sat in the Destiny Bar on deck 5 and listened to Jim as he played his guitar/MIDI Controller and sang mostly country songs. Friday: Nassau The last day of the cruise saw us in Nassau where we did a tour of the city which included Fort Fincastle, and a tour of several reefs on a half-submarine. We came back to the ship for lunch and last day shopping, and I took a spin on the water slide: it starts out slow and you end up flying around the curves until you splash into the small pool at the end. We'd signed up for Luggage Express, so our boarding passes and two sets of luggage tags were already in our rooms. One set of tags was for the ship, and the other for the airline. We did most of our packing before dinner.

At dinner the wait staff sang their goodbye song; there were definitely a few moist eyes around the room. Voila Paree was the show in the main lounge, and it was an even more elaborate production than the first one, but be warned: there was a clown. We wandered a bit, and sampled the music in various locations, and then we ended the evening on our balcony, trying to soak up the sights, sounds and feel of the open sea so that we might retain them over the coming Midwest winter. Saturday: Back in Miami. We had a final breakfast on the Lido deck. You know, a five day cruise is too short! It was a drizzly morning, so after breakfast we made our way down to the Palladium to wait for Luggage Express clearance. When it was announced we reluctantly debarked. The Customs line was long, but it moved fairly quickly. Our Carnival transfer got us to the Miami Airport painlessly. We discovered it was going to be chilly back home, so we had to purchase suitable attire. The Luggage Express Program worked like a charm. We'd put our bags out the night before, and they arrived at our home airport with us. That made the trip home very easy. So that was our trip. As I said at the beginning, it was the best vacation ever! Now we're home and all I can seem to think about is this: when can I go again?

Cabin Review

Balcony

Cabin 8D

Lots of storage space, a bit chilly even with the vent turned way down, balcony is fabulous, close to activities, quiet

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