Carnival Destiny Review

3.5 / 5.0
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Our Relaxing Destiny

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Carnival Destiny
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pbarr94413
2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Feb 2011
Cabin: Ocean Suite

This was our first time departing from Miami. We arrived three days ahead of time (which ended up being the best decision we made because of all the snow and ice delays up north). We stayed on South Beach at the Park Central Hotel directly on Ocean Drive. It was a lovely historic hotel, close to everything, especially the beach (right across the street). Outdoor dining at its finest, but also very expensive. We spent one day at the Bayside Market and enjoyed that very much, especially the Millionaire's Boat Tour.

Embarkation: We took a taxi from our hotel (approximately $20) and arrived at the port at approximately 11:30. Since we were staying in a suite we were graded VIP, which is a wonderful benefit since you get priority check-in. We were on the ship and sitting at the buffet for lunch by 12:15. Fabulous!

The Ship: The Destiny is a very nice ship but has fewer amenities than other ships we have been on. No specialty restaurants, and what appeared to be less "cubby holes" where you can escape the crowd. However, it is very tastefully decorated and very clean. Our room steward was excellent and made sure our room was cleaned twice a day. He even made sure we had ice in the ice bucket constantly, which is something I really appreciated. (Note: We were not able to find an ice machine anywhere in the Park Central Hotel). We ate in the Galaxy Dining Room only once during this four night cruise. The first night we went and found it to be very disappointing. We were scheduled for anytime dining and were seated in the upstairs of Galaxy Dining room. We requested a table for two and were able to get one immediately. So far so good. However, from the moment we sat down, I felt like we were on a marathon, basically rushed in and out. This is probably because of the anytime dining, but it was very disappointing. Since this was our anniversary cruise, I would have liked a more "romantic" and relaxed experience. Since there are no specialty dining rooms, you have no other choices for dinner except the buffet, which we chose to attend the other nights. The food was a bit disappointing, but we are not that picky. The buffet always had choices for us and we always managed to find things to satisfy. I do think Carnival is downgrading their food as a cost-cutting measure. If fine dining is your thing, you will be disappointed on this ship. We attended a couple of the shows and they were first rate. The dancers and singers are very, very good. We did not use or even visit the spa or the casino (other than passing through). We did use the Internet Cafe on our last day to get our airline boarding passes. No problems there at all.

Cabin Review

Ocean Suite

Cabin OS

We stayed in cabin 7182, an Ocean Suite. This was an absolutely beautiful, clean room. We did have some sewage smells from time to time, but this seems to be fairly common among Carnival ships. It was not awful and we did remember to bring some room spray with us to counter it. We did experience some cigar smoke on our balcony after visiting Cozumel. There's a big cigar store right across the street from the port. This really did not bother us, but if you are bothered by smoke, it could be annoying. I would definitely stay in this cabin again. Plus when you stay in the suites, you are automatically a VIP which gives you quick embarkation and disembarkation. Even though we stayed in a suite with Princess, we did not get any similar benefits.

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