My husband and I were celebrating our 10 year anniversary, leaving the kids home this time around. We had low expectations since we cruised this spring on Disney Cruiselines knew that the Destiny probably wouldn't compare. We took a taxi ($24) from Miami to the port. Embarkation was smooth. We flew in the day of the cruise and were on the ship by 11:00. Although they said we couldn't get into our rooms, we asked our Steward and they allowed us to put them in our room so we could eat lunch. We weren't too impressed with the buffet. They were just OK. That was the last time I ate buffet the rest of the trip. Would rather have quality than quantity. We had burgers for lunch, then explored the ship. All the windows were dirty. The corners of steps and other areas were also dirty. We were starting to wish we were on the Royal Caribbean boat next to us. Our dinner was 8:15, so we had plenty of time to run around and check out the different areas, then we headed to our cabin and got dressed up like we were going out for a night on the town. I liked the fact that pretty much everyone on the ship did this as well. Dinner was ok. You couldn't just order a steak. You had to order something on the menu. Again, Disney spoiled us with allowing us to order anything and they encouraged you to order multiple items. Carnival did not do this. Our Server was awesome.

We loved Key West. Awesome port, but didn't have enough time to enjoy all the local bars. We shopped. You don't have to rent a taxi, just walk up a block to Duval street and have at it. You can bargain with the locals on purchases. We had to be back at the boat by 1:30. That was a bummer. We had a rough ride that evening on the way to Cozumel. I don't get sea sick, but I even felt a little sick. Luckily we played it safe and had motion sickness meds and that kicked it in the butt. We loved all the bars with live bands. We also loved Jorge the cruise director. He was a performance in himself. What a comedian. Hank the comedy show comedian was hysterical. We were in stitches. He was on two nights in a row and we made sure we didn't miss him. The weather throughout the trip was mediocre, so we didn't even get bikini time on the deck. It was downright windy and cold. We liked sitting out there and listening to the reggae music, but that was about it. Our cabin was 6135 and was a balcony room. Loved the balcony. We will always have one from here on out. The bathroom was a different story. The shower was spacious, yet when you took a shower, water came OUT of the drains in the main part of the bathroom and flooded the floors each time. One time it even went out of the bathroom into the cabin. You couldn't use your own blow dryer. Well the one in our bathroom was cracked, so it got so hot on my hands, that i had to use a towel to hold it. Then it just broke and I had to go to my sisters cabin and use hers. I told the Steward and he could have cared less about any of it. They also provided toothpaste, but we brought our own. Well we ran out so I asked him for a sample and he told me no. Said they were for the next cruise. Seriously, he couldn't have given me 1 travel size toothpastes. Needless to say, I was disgusted with his "i don't care attitude" and I expressed it in my tip. All the buffets shut down the night before we got back to Miami. That didn't make much sense either. It was like the cruise was over the night before.

Overall, you get what you pay for. We definitely won't be going on another carnival anytime soon. Our next trip will be Royal Caribbean.