This was our first cruise (so also the first review here on CC) so bear with me. We cruised the Western Caribbean on Destiny from 9 April through 14 April from Miami. We came by air to Fort Lauderdale the day before and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express on Route 84. The hotel is located across from a large shopping center with a Win-Dixie, a Subway, and a sports bar. We spent a quiet day by the pool and had a decent breakfast provided by the hotel on Saturday. We used SAS Transportation for $15 each person to the Miami CruisePort. SAS was right on time, very professional and very helpful and it was about a 30 minute trip to Miami. Embarkation was easy. SAS dropped us at the terminal, porters assisted us briefly with our luggage, and we cued through security, sign and sail verification, photos and across the gangway in maybe 20 minutes tops. Just have your paperwork ready and it goes totally smooth. Once on board, we headed up to Lido Deck 9 and had some lunch. We explored a bit, and then wandered towards our cabin, 7327 which was an aft balcony. Our steward, Agis, introduced himself and since our cabin was ready to go, we were able to get settled. Our checked luggage arrived about 3PM before sailing.Overall impression of the Destiny: Launched in 1996 and looks it. Color schemes are very neon-ish and dated. BUT, don't misinterpret as saying she's a bad ship. All of the public spaces for the most part were very clean and maintained and the staff was motivated, helpful and excellent. The ship just felt, well, old. The one thing we found reasonably annoying was that the elevators, especially in the forward parts of the ship, frequently were inoperative. We were glad that we chose Empress Deck 7 for our cabin, as it was a quick trot down 2 flights to the Promenade Deck (5) or 2 flights up to Lido Deck 9. Deck 7 was very quiet the entire cruise and we'd definitely stay on that level again. We didn't experience any of the mechanical problems that others have reported with Destiny. Even with over 2,500 guests on board, the ship didn't seem crowded, except at the buffet lines. We were always able to find a quiet spot and never had a problem getting a lounge chair (no real signs of chair hogs). I also knew there were kids on board, but frankly never saw many of them! The muster drill went quickly and was well organized, then we moved to the front of the ship for sail away. We used the "secret doors" that so many have discussed on here, which is accessible from the forward level of Deck 7 and Deck 6. There were less than 10 of us on the bow and it was a perfect place to be. In fact, we went up there quite a bit just for a quiet spot to linger in the evening or during the day. Never saw too many people that knew about it. DININGWe had "anytime" dining in the Galaxy Dining Room, deck 5. We met our Headwaiter, Teck, and his assistant Richard the first night and were seated with them each night. We had a table for 2 that was in close proximity to two other tables for 2. We had different, yet enjoyable, tablemates each night we ate in the dining room. My tip here would be if you enjoy watching the dancing waiters, try to be dining around 7:30PM as that's roughly when they dance for the early seating. We never made it later than that!Teck was great in recommending various dishes each night and was also great about bringing out additional dishes or switching something out, if you ask. The service was exceptional. The food was for the most part good. I only had one meal, that being the BBQ Ribs, that I did not enjoy. Everything else was very good.We had room service continental breakfast each morning in our cabin. This was a nice way to start the day, especially on port days. We usually had cold cereal, bagels/croissants, juices and fruit. You'll fill out a card that you'll hang on your door before retiring, and specify a time period you want delivery. It was always right on time. We did take advantage of a later breakfast in the buffet area a few mornings. This was fairly routine breakfast buffet fare, and yes the bacon police were out in full force! Lines for breakfast were not too bad, generally a 5 minute wait or less. Destiny is set up with two main buffet lines and there's really not a way to make it go faster, other than people should know before they get there what they want, grab it, and move on. Sadly, we did not take advantage of the dining rooms open breakfast option, so I can't comment on it. ?We did take advantage of the open dining room for lunch one day, and it was very good. Service was quick and excellent and there was a broad selection to pick from. We also used the pizza, grill, deli, sushi and oriental options on various days and times. You can expect lines here especially at busy times. It's best to bring a good deal of patience, and sadly, some of our fellow cruisers possessed very little of that. More on that later...We bought one "Bottomless Soda" sticker as I am a big soda drinker, and I think we got our money's worth out of it. If you are only a sporadic soda drinker, than I don't know if I'd go for it...you'd have to average 18 sodas on a 6 day cruise to break even. Sodas are served by the glass rather than by the can, even though the bartenders open and pour the soda from cans (rather than fountain). Alcohol is expensive, and tip I have here if you choose to drink would be choose imports if you are a beer drinker (Stella, Heinken, etc.) which is cheaper than domestics. You can buy "buckets of beer" which makes it a bit cheaper. My wife doesn't drink and I only had a few here and there.SHOWSNoonen, the cruise director and his entertainment staff Sarah and Shorty were very friendly and enjoyable. We took in the opening night show, some of the trivia events, and the Nightclub musical show on the final night. All very well done. We especially enjoyed the "Game of Love'! We never had a problem finding seats for any of the shows, so no worries if you do not come early. We enjoyed the "Punchliner" comedy club and went to both the family shows and the adult R rated shows. Adam Hunter we didn't find all that funny in either show, however Steve "Ain't" White was hilarious. The trick we found for good seats was to attend the last family show, and then move up front right away for the "adult" show. There was about a 40 minute intermission, but we grabbed a drink and chatted with other cruisers and the time went fast. The room was standing room only about 10 minutes before the start, so you do need to come early. If you are coming to the R rated show, it is just that, R rated...so if you don't like that stuff...simply don't go. We also hung out at the karaoke bar a bit as well as the Piano Bar with Seth...that was very enjoyable although we never got a seat by the piano itself. SPAThis was the one disappointment of our trip, and more a lack of research on my part as to price. We took a tour of the spa and opted for a couples massage. We found the 50 minute couples massage to be lacking, the staff fairly disinterested, and the price extremely expensive. We would not use the spa services again. Instead, we would probably opt for a couples massage before sailing locally where we stay, or before leaving home. My wife did use the exercise equipment daily on the cruise and found the gym to be relatively uncrowded and the equipment top of the line stuff. I thought about exercising once, but decided that ice cream would cure those thoughts (it did). CABINOur cabin was nice, if smaller than we thought. The aft balcony was nice. We had no problems with ash or anything as I've read in other places. We had two regular chairs plus a lounge chair and small table. I think we would do a balcony again, and likely an aft balcony at that. We did not have a sofa, just a small table and two small chairs in the cabin. The TV was an older TV that took up space on the desk. There was plenty of closet and drawer space however. Our room steward was just fantastic...he remembered our names each time and always had our room cleaned and straightened up...almost like magic. Empress Deck 7 was very quiet and also very close to either LIdo or Promenade Decks and we would stay on 7 again. There is some vibration but not tremendously noticeable. We had very good seas all cruise so I can't comment on cabin movement, other than to say it wasn't a big deal. We did have a minor (really minor) smell of sewage the first day in the aft end of the ship but it soon disappeared and we never smelled it again. EXCURSIONSWe did the Tranopy Tour in Ochos Rios, and booked through Moby Dick Tours in Grand Cayman for stingrays and snorkeling and had a great time on each. We also took the "Behind the Fun" tour and would definitely recommend it to everyone! This was one of my favorite parts of the vacation as I love knowing how things work logistically. We got an almost 3 hour tour of just about every part of the ship behind the scenes...from entertainment, to galley, to stores, to crew areas, to the bridge and a tour with the Captain. We got our picture taken with the Captain and returned to our cabin to find a gift from the Head Chef (chocolate covered strawberries, etc). Well worth the money and very informative. I did have to laugh though at one of the attendees who asked if the ship had ever been hijacked by pirates!Debarkation on the final day went pretty easy too. We were in Zone 11 and were off the ship by about 9:30. Customs was an easy process and we were taken back to Fort Lauderdale by SAS Transportation again. I do have to say the staff on Destiny was very friendly. What I found to be disturbing was the amount of people that berated the staff if everything wasn't too their liking, if they had to wait too long for something, or if everything wasn't just perfect. I think a lot of people seem to want to pay a one star price and get five star perks. That was frustrating. We will cruise Carnival again, I just think we will choose a newer ship. But for a quick getaway at a decent price, the Destiny should be your destination. Great experience for first time cruisers!