Carnival Destiny Review; B2B 20th Anniversary Cruise

[Mikel1733]

Hey Paul -

 

Thanks for another great review. Your pictures and the story you write of your cruise is always so interesting. :)

[PaulMedik]

Oh, very nicely done!!!

 

A few weeks ago, I was on Carnival Inspiration with the same line-up of three CCL ships in Cozumel, and I wanted to get a cool shot of the three funnels, but since we were in the middle, it wasn't possible except from the shore, and that angle was nowhere as attractive as yours.

 

Holiday was my very first Carnival experience, and I was glad I got to take a few pictures in Coz, since it will be my final time to see that ship as well.

 

Carnival Destiny had not yet arrived (could see her in the distance) when I went ashore, so the only ropes to navigate under were our own. On the return to the ship later, I was definitely in Wow mode.

 

Don,

 

Thank you.

 

Even though we have never sailed Holiday we will miss knowing she's around. I hope to sail whichever ship is next to leave the fleet before she leaves. It's hard to describe, but I felt a sense of loss while looking at her in Cozumel. Knowing we'd never see her again, at least not with the same paint scheme, was an odd feeling.

 

 

Hey Paul -

 

Thanks for another great review. Your pictures and the story you write of your cruise is always so interesting.

 

Mikel1733,

 

Thank you.

 

Cruise Critic is giving me extra typing practice today because I keep getting 'Internal Error' messages. Time to copy each post before hitting Submit.

 

 

 

 

We were greeted by a StingRay upon our return to our cabin;

 

 

We also received a 'Preliminary Statement' along with our next days' Fun Day at Sea Capers. It was our first ever Preliminary Statement that I recall;

 

 

Our full day of sun and fun in Cozumel made for a good nights sleep.

 

We awoke for our 'Fun Day at Sea' and hoped the old sea saying 'Red Sky at Morning Sailors take warning' held true. None for us thanks! ;

 

 

The only waves were from Destiny gliding through the water;

 

 

We enjoyed another hearty breakfast up on deck;

 

 

It may look like a salute, but trust me she is just holding on to her hat;

 

[PaulMedik]

As we prepared to enjoy a leisurely day, Carnival Destiny's crew was hard at another day of work maintaining the ship;

 

 

On this day there were a few chair hogs out and about as well as a Carnival sanctioned chair hog gathering;

 

 

I took closer pics of the 'VIP Only' roped off section with signs stating 'Please do not ask for autographs,' but I will not share them to protect the guilty. For whatever reason they had several dozen chairs and a section roped off for no more than half a dozen people to come and go as they pleased. I don't know the people, but I would have gladly assisted in tossing them overboard. I am sure Carnival had a good reason for roping a section off for the people, but frankly I don't care to know what the reason is and hope to not see it again. The people I saw there were mostly standing around hoping to be seen moreso than actually using the chairs reserved for them. If any of the people who were in that group are offended by my comments, then I am happy to offend you because your prescense was offensive to me as well as others who I heard comment about the reserved area. I am all for extending VIP privileges to some areas of the ship, but will not participate in nor approve of segregated deck areas. Call it what you will, I call it sanctioned chair hogging and the result is the same; Chairs that could be used are not available for people who would use them.

 

The small group in the upper left of this pic is in the sanctioned chair hog area and this is basically what they did ALL DAY. They stood around and posed. Why reserve more chairs than they could possibly need for them to stand around to be seen? ;

 

 

 

Sorry for the chair hog soapbox rant. I'll get off of it now. We found an open chair on our own VIP suite balcony (If VIP, why didn't they use their own?) ;

 

 

 

A panorama shot from our balcony;

 

 

Chocolate buffet;

 

[PaulMedik]

The ice carving demo was well attended. You can even see the VIP chair hogs standing in their area posing as usual;

 

 

The camera makes the ice carving appear much smaller than it actually was;

 

 

The Fun Day at Sea provided a great opportunity for the blackjack tables to make a donation to our cruise fund. They actually donated even more this time too before I gave some back and left with these;

 

 

We don't normally watch movies while we are at sea, but Mark (Falkcor) got to see Star Trek on the plane before his cruise so I was pleased to get to see Star Trek while on our cruise;

 

 

We filled out our comment cards for the first cruise and deposited them in the comment card box outside of guest services;

 

 

Dinner time;

 

[PaulMedik]

Not the best of pics, but Warm Chocolate Melting Cake is a delicious subject;

 

 

The full moon makes for a great view, but a poor pic;

 

 

 

I balanced my camera on the railing and still couldn't get a pic that accurately depicted the view. Moving ships and night time shots don't go well together;

 

 

Unidentifed towel animal for the night;

 

 

Disembarkation instructions, safe reminder, and the famous #1 tags;

 

[junebug8]

Paul,

 

Another great review! Don't apologize for the "chair hog rant." I don't understand why Carnival would do that. Keep up the good writing!

[tamirpr]

I'm loving your review. Can't wait to hear about the second half.

 

So who were the people in the roped off section? Was it a celebrity or somebody that paid for that privilege? Weird.

[balcony bound]

Happy anniversary to you, and thank you for your review. I have enjoyed your previous reviews tremendously - and this one as well. You and your family make the most of your vacation time and I always appreciate your perspective. Happy cruising.

[Buffettfan 225]

Not the best of pics, but Warm Chocolate Melting Cake is a delicious subject;

 

 

The full moon makes for a great view, but a poor pic;

 

 

 

I balanced my camera on the railing and still couldn't get a pic that accurately depicted the view. Moving ships and night time shots don't go well together;

 

 

Unidentifed towel animal for the night;

 

 

Disembarkation instructions, safe reminder, and the famous #1 tags;

 

Well, I vote for a frog for the UTA (unidentiofied towel animal) and have had our share of "what is it?".

Your food photos-

1.)did you mostly eat at buffet for dinner too? IF yes, were the same entrees served?

2.)Did Cozumel have a late night Mexican food set up?

3.)Weren't you VIP for a suite? I heard Holland was reserving chairs as suite benefit. I have never seen reserved chairs on a Carnival ship. Perhaps John Heald can answer that one?

 

Thanks

[jerseygirl79]

Dinner time;

 

 

Having a little dinner with your chocolate? :)

 

I can't wait for WCMC in 15 days!!!!

[PaulMedik]

Paul,

 

Another great review! Don't apologize for the "chair hog rant." I don't understand why Carnival would do that. Keep up the good writing!

 

junebug8,

 

Thank you.

 

 

I'm loving your review. Can't wait to hear about the second half.

 

So who were the people in the roped off section? Was it a celebrity or somebody that paid for that privilege? Weird.

 

Thank you.

 

I have no clue who they were; if they were stars of some sort, they were stars of something I am not a fan of.

 

Happy anniversary to you, and thank you for your review. I have enjoyed your previous reviews tremendously - and this one as well. You and your family make the most of your vacation time and I always appreciate your perspective. Happy cruising.

 

 

balcony bound,

 

Thank you.

 

 

Well, I vote for a frog for the UTA (unidentiofied towel animal) and have had our share of "what is it?".

Your food photos-

1.)did you mostly eat at buffet for dinner too? IF yes, were the same entrees served?

2.)Did Cozumel have a late night Mexican food set up?

3.)Weren't you VIP for a suite? I heard Holland was reserving chairs as suite benefit. I have never seen reserved chairs on a Carnival ship. Perhaps John Heald can answer that one?

 

Thanks

 

buffetfan,

 

I think it was a frog too.

We ate at the buffet for three of the four nights.

Yes, there was a Mexican buffet after Cozumel; no pics of that because we were stuffed and didn't attend.

Yes we were VIP for the suite. I have read of other cruise line's policy in terms of suite passengers and loyalty perks in regards to deck chairs, but Carnival has no such policy and I would not like to see such a policy implemented. Carnival's motto is 'The Fun Ships,' and when on a Carnival cruise you are treated equal regardless of what room you are booked in. Other cruiselines should be left to segregate their passengers who are cruising simply to be in those surroundings as opposed to cruising for a Fun time......in my opinion.

 

 

Having a little dinner with your chocolate?

 

I can't wait for WCMC in 15 days!!!!

 

jerseygirl79,

 

My name is Paul and I am a chocolaholic. Please don't misread my statement and assuming I want help for my addiction; just feed me plenty of chocolate and I'll be fine!

 

 

Luggage lining the hallways is never a welcome sign while on a cruise;

 

 

On the last morning of our first cruise we gathered all of our suitcases up and prepared to change rooms;

 

 

While we waited we observed the work crews on our balcony giving them a complete sterilization;

 

 

Our steward Johnny arrived and made a brief call to our steward for the next cruise then loaded our belongings up and took them away for us;

 

 

When we made our way up to Lido we found that everything had closed or was closing when we arrived. The food on our table is the TOTAL amount of food that was available when we arrived;

 

 

After eating breakfast, or should I say after eating what was available for breakfast, we walked around Lido and enjoyed having the deck to ourselves;

 

[alreadypacked]

Please note the date displayed on these pics is inaccurate. I changed batteries and must have not noticed the date was wrong.

 

I had to time this picture just right and could not get the whole beach area for a PG rated picture;

 

 

The same thing happened to me on our recent cruise. I took quite a few pictures before I realized the date was wrong.:(

[PaulMedik]

When your cruise is over and especially when several crew members approach you and tell you that you are the last to leave and that it is past time for you to leave, FTLOG get off the bar stool and get off the ship! Two people demonstrated a sense of entitlement equal to all others in their disregard for their fellow humans' duties. They managed to entertain us with their single minded stupidity, but it would have been more relaxing to get through with the immigration visit and back on the ship. I admire the patience demonstrated by Carnival's crew in dealing with these two. Several times we had to assure Carnival crew members that we understood the delay and assured them their apologies were unwarranted for us. At any rate, if you are one of these two people and find yourself reading this review, please accept our sincere Thank you for the entertainment. You are naive, self centered, and lazy, but you did manage to entertain us. If I were working for Carnival the day you chose to sit at the bar, I would have tossed your luggage in the water and offered to allow you to join it.

 

 

 

At 9:50AM we overheard an ICE officer tell our guest services escort that Carnival Destiny set a new record for ship clearance time. We had already visited with ICE and were waiting to reboard when two more wayward female passengers were presented to ICE for inspection. They appeared to be in their early to mid twenties and appeared to have been dragged from their beds. I listened to their clueless explanations as to how and why they were not off the ship yet and why they had no birth certificates or photo IDs with them. They claimed to have packed them, but they had no luggage; apparently their luggage was being packed for them by Carnival. I would have enjoyed standing there and listening to their interrogation longer, but we were led back to the ship. As we passed over the waiting area, it was odd to see it nearly empty;

 

 

We found a Carnival photog and had them get a pic of us with our camera as we prepared to board;

 

 

After reboarding we had no S&S cards and the system was down so they could not print any. We were advised to enjoy the ship and any purchases would be on the house; only bars were open so we could have got wasted, but that's not a good way to begin a cruise so we opted to play cards instead. Karen played dealer and I played blackjack player. After an hour or so I was ten wins counting doubles ahead of the dealer;

 

 

 

Karen really enjoys boarding pics so after we got S&S cards made we went back out to the terminal for boarding pic by Carnival photog;

 

 

It may turn out to be a good thing that Karen collects boarding pics because according to Carnival Karen has now completed two cruises; both on Carnival Destiny. I emailed copies of her previous S&S cards as well as boarding photos from our previous cruises as evidence that she has sailed a few more times. I included pics of our Platinum cards and assurances that she is the same wife I always take with me. Computers are a wonderful thing and I am happy they have humans around to over rule simple computer errors. In a few days I hope to hear back that they have accepted the evidence presented on Karen's behalf that she has more than two cruises with Carnival.

 

The best thing about B2B is that the last day of the first cruise is just another day as is the embarkation day for the second cruise. We enjoyed the day watching new passengers get on board and get aquainted with the ship. During Sailaway we were on Deck 11 port side when the Carnival photog found us;

 

[PaulMedik]

Please note the date displayed on these pics is inaccurate. I changed batteries and must have not noticed the date was wrong.

 

I had to time this picture just right and could not get the whole beach area for a PG rated picture;

 

 

The same thing happened to me on our recent cruise. I took quite a few pictures before I realized the date was wrong.:(

 

 

alreadypacked,

 

On my camera it only resets if the previous battery is very low. I either need to change more often or I need to locate and change the internal battery. At any rate it sure is annoying especially when the date is displayed. I recall a program that will change display dates on pictures; I need to find that program and change those for sure.

[hill6]

great review

[jljlinda]

Paul: First I want to say that I really "love" your review of the Destiny. As I read through your almost minute-to-minute descriptions and view your great pics, I get the feeling that I am walking along side with you.

 

Now for my question(s): My wife and I are considering a B2B on the Destiny during March 2010 and are concerned about the "turn around" day. Will you please describe how your luggage gets from your cabin used on the first of the two cruises to the cabin that you will use for the second cruise? (I assume/hope that the luggage is not required to be taken off the ship and then back on again.) Does a Carnival staff person assist you with the process of getting off the ship to go through security again for the second sailing? THANKS!!!

[JRock59]

Really enjoying your review. Looking forward to the 2nd half of your B2B. :D We're you the only one's doing a B2B? We're done 2 with the 3rd being in February on the Destiny doing the two 5 days trips. It makes the airfare worth the expense. ;) Turn around day is one of my favorite days esp. if you haven't told any of the crew your staying on! Our 1st one we stayed in the same cabin the last one we had to change and on the Destiny we have an extened balcony aft on the side one of the "funny" shaped cabins for both trips. :) Lovin' all the photos too! Over the past few years we stopped taking so many photos but you've inspired me to start taking them again!

[lollylew]

We also received a 'Preliminary Statement' along with our next days' Fun Day at Sea Capers. It was our first ever Preliminary Statement that I recall;

 

 

I received this same "preliminary statement" on my last cruise on the Elation in September. My thinking is that this might be something Carnival is trying to do to avoid any long lines at the Guest Services desk the day of disembarkation from those guests that might have some problems with their S & S bill. I know that my mom noticed an error and we were able to get it taken care of the following day without any lines.

[PaulMedik]

great review

 

hill6,

 

Thank you.

 

 

Paul: First I want to say that I really "love" your review of the Destiny. As I read through your almost minute-to-minute descriptions and view your great pics, I get the feeling that I am walking along side with you.

 

Now for my question(s): My wife and I are considering a B2B on the Destiny during March 2010 and are concerned about the "turn around" day. Will you please describe how your luggage gets from your cabin used on the first of the two cruises to the cabin that you will use for the second cruise? (I assume/hope that the luggage is not required to be taken off the ship and then back on again.) Does a Carnival staff person assist you with the process of getting off the ship to go through security again for the second sailing? THANKS!!!

 

jljlinda,

 

Thank you.

 

The 'turn around' day is very simple and perhaps the most interesting day of all. It is very relaxing knowing you don't have to rush to get everything together the night before and then hustle all morning to get off the ship. You can sleep in, gather your stuff when you wake up if you are changing rooms or leave it as if you are not changing rooms. If you are changing rooms just let your steward know and he will arrange a time to pick up your luggage and take it to your new room for you. You receive a letter during the first cruise listing a time and location to meet to be escorted off to ICE for US immigration procedures and immediately after you are escorted back on the ship with new S&S cards.

 

Once you are back on the ship it will be a couple hours before early arriving guests are on board so you will have the ENTIRE ship to yourself for those hours.

 

I describe the process as simple, but it can become stressful if you allow minor inconveniences to bother you. For us it has always resulted in some odd occurance that makes it more memorable. My best suggestion is to pay close attention to all the activity you will witness during the procedure and if possible speak with the head of security at the ship's entrance and be sure he knows you are doing a B2B. The pursors or 'guest services' representative assigned to you will be able to answer any questions during the process, but the security rep will be able to make everything go very painlessly if he is aware of what's going on.

 

The only thing you need to present to ICE is your completed Customs Declaration form, your proof of citizenship, and photo ID. You will need your S&S to disembark and your new card to get back on. If something happens and you don't have your new card, the head of security is a good man to know to get you back on without issues.

 

 

 

 

Really enjoying your review. Looking forward to the 2nd half of your B2B. We're you the only one's doing a B2B? We're done 2 with the 3rd being in February on the Destiny doing the two 5 days trips. It makes the airfare worth the expense. Turn around day is one of my favorite days esp. if you haven't told any of the crew your staying on! Our 1st one we stayed in the same cabin the last one we had to change and on the Destiny we have an extened balcony aft on the side one of the "funny" shaped cabins for both trips. Lovin' all the photos too! Over the past few years we stopped taking so many photos but you've inspired me to start taking them again!

 

JRock59,

 

Thank you.

 

They said they had a total of 20 people doing B2B on our sailings.

 

We enjoyed sitting on Lido after eating our light breakfast and watching crew members direct stragglers to deck 3. Pip, one of the entertainment staff members approached us and advised us we needed to get to deck three immediately and get off the ship. I replied 'No.' He appeared to have been struck in the face at that point. He's like 'what do you mean by No?' I said 'we're not getting off yet. We liked it so well we decided to stay.' He then appeared to compose himself and asked why we thought we could lounge around all day. I told him we had a letter advising us to report at 1045 and that's when we intended to go to deck 3. He then realized we were doing B2B and that we were messing with him. He suggested we go down around '1030ish' because they always clear the ship early. We assured him we would.

 

While it would have been nice to keep our same cabin, it was also nice to get a chance to see how the cabin change worked first hand. We kept our same cabin on our last B2B last summer on Liberty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got a bit ahead of myself with the Sailaway pic so I'll try and catch back up to that point.

 

After we got S&S cards for the second leg we proceded up to check out our room. It was the first time we'd seen a converted Spa balcony in person and we were excited to see how it was going to be. When we first entered we discovered the Hotel Director had sent us a gift;

 

 

I am not sure why we received the gift. We had spoke with him one time about not getting an answer at room service and he had them call me several times, but I declined to order anything. I literally let the phone ring for thirty minutes and nobody answered on more than one occasion. He said they only had one line and it apparently was busy. I had forgotten all about it until the bottle of bubbly was there. The letter with it asked that I call room service and request ice and glasses when ready to drink it. I called them and they seemed a bit upset that I would call them with such a request and they said they would have my steward called in. When our steward arrived I showed him the letter and assured him I was just doing as instructed. I decided then to leave room service alone.

 

Perhaps the bubbly was for not having our cards ready? I don't know, but for whatever they thought it was for, it was not necessary; we were enjoying ourselves and minor inconveniences are not worthy of rewards in my opinion.

 

The first thing I was interested in checking out about our cabin was the balcony and the how the lack of an overhang might affect us. Here's our view up from the balcony;

 

 

My conclusion about the new balcony rooms is that they should upgrade all balcony cabins with SLIDING DOORS on their next dry dock. Sliding doors are so much better than the swinging type and the extra view afforded by having a wall of glass really makes a difference.

 

 

After checking out the new room we headed back down to deck three to be there when the excursion desk opened to book our cabana for Half Moon Cay. New passengers were beginning to board and I didn't want to loose out on a cabana. The desk was scheduled to open at 1130, but we were waiting in front at 1115. At 1134 we were booking cabana #15 and another couple was booking the Private Oasis. Three more people were already lined up behind us. This young lady did a great job of taking all our info and making sure we knew what to do when we arrived at Half Moon Cay;

 

 

After securing our cabana we headed back up to Spa deck then out on Lido as the first passengers were hitting the deck;

 

 

We hit the grill and specialty area for a taste of China;

 

[PaulMedik]

I received this same "preliminary statement" on my last cruise on the Elation in September. My thinking is that this might be something Carnival is trying to do to avoid any long lines at the Guest Services desk the day of disembarkation from those guests that might have some problems with their S & S bill. I know that my mom noticed an error and we were able to get it taken care of the following day without any lines.

 

 

lollylew,

 

I guess I am going to have to start looking at our bills too after reading about others finding errors. Nah, I'm not gonna do it. As long as the total is within reason then I won't bother.

 

 

 

 

We ran into a nice couple while at the aft area of the ship who agreed to snap a couple pics for us;

 

 

As it turned out we ended up spending quite a bit of time with the two of them too;

 

 

We were afforded a great view of the Serenity area on Imagination;

 

 

Love watching new passengers arrive;

 

 

Lido starts to resemble a bee hive with new people arriving;

 

 

Karen staked out a couple of chairs for us just about fifty feet or so from our room;

 

[PaulMedik]

To give you an idea of just how close our room was, this is a pic of the exit doors from the outer spa deck above Lido;

 

 

After exiting the open deck, we turned right and went through this door;

 

 

Then to our door which was the second cabin back through the first cabin door in this picture;

 

 

Quite a convenient and VERY quiet location. We could hear Lido from our balcony when it got real loud, but could hear NOTHING in our room.

 

If you are on Destiny and meet this Lido deck bar waiter, HIDE your drink glasses if you plan to keep them because he will take them from you. The drink of the day glasses are fine for keepsakes, but we like to also keep the shorter similar design glasses for use in our camper and this server would hear none of it. He insisted the glasses were not to be taken by guests and that we would have to return all of them. I assured him I had plenty already and intended to stock up on a few more. The glasses are routinely tossed in the recycle bin and we always do our part to help the environment by reusing as well as recycling. Reuse was a conept he would not accept.

 

 

I tried the slide out several times on the first leg of the cruise but didn't get any pics. I still have a burn mark on my left elbow that is almost healed now from not keeping my arms in tight enough;

 

 

[PaulMedik]

The Philipino starter girl at the top of the slide insisted that I remove my glasses and keep them in my hand for the ride down. I protested that I couldn't hold them if I did it that way. She said 'Safety First.' I agreed that safety first is a good plan, but my sunglasses were safety glasses that were also bullet proof and that I'd be wearing them. I was only half right by the time I came to a stop; They stayed on my head, but left my eyes exposed once I hit the end of the slide;

 

 

I never rode the slide again with my glasses.

 

Karen at the top of the slide;

 

 

Splash down;

 

 

Cold water on a hot day does feel great;

 

 

Sailaway pic of people above our balcony during sailaway;

 

 

Of all our sailings out of Miami, this was our first with a fire boat escort;

 

[PaulMedik]

Turning at the end of the channel affords a unique perspective on the other ships in port with us;

 

 

As we passed the boat with all the graffiti on the side, we noticed they were taking their lifeboat drill quite a bit more seriously than other cruise lines. I guess when a ship is in bad areas and people paint all over it, that it pays to be extra prepared;

 

 

I do wonder if they meant to lower a lifeboat.

 

Karen checking out the view of South Beach during sailaway;

 

 

Being served frozen drinks while in the pool is great;

 

 

Not wearing my sunglasses for pics is not too great;

 

 

Nap time;

 

[PaulMedik]

Enjoying the company of new friends;

 

 

We didn't find out until a few days later that we had met here on Cruise Critic via our sailing's roll call. We also didn't find out until we were at Half Moon Cay that we had booked adjacent cabanas. We all thought we first met when they took our picture when we first came up out on to Lido after lunch.

 

Excuse me sir, you are not allowed to drink alcoholic beverages in the pool. You are when they sell them to you while you are in the pool! Besides, I am not an alcoholic; I just play one when on vacation.

 

 

We had dinner in the main dining room;

 

 

Flat Iron Steak cooked medium rare was very tasty;

 

 

After dinner we returned to our room to find a towel elephant, the next day's capers for a Fun Day at Sea and a casino letter;

 

 

A beautiful red sunset looking back toward Miami as we steamed Eastward'

 

[PaulMedik]

I was still amazed by the lack of any waves at all and by the total lack of perceived motion on Destiny. This ship can't always be this smoothe;

 

 

Sunset behind the funnel as seen from our balcony. How many ships can offer this view?

 

 

The ocean was more reflective than this picture captured. It was like looking at a mirror;

 

 

The symbol of my political party;

 

 

We had a great embarkation day for our second cruise and turned in early. As I recall we visited the casino briefly but new folks were there and it was too full to get a seat. We turned in early and as usual we were fast asleep.

 

Our fun day at Sea Breakfast;

 

 

Karen's breakfast appears lighter than mine, but she uses enough sugar to make her diabetic in a day on her cereal so I'd venture to say calorie counts were close;