Carnival Destiny Review; B2B 20th Anniversary Cruise

[PaulMedik]

I just read all about the time leading up to your cruise. I don't understand your review. You didn't say anything about your cruise! Am I missing something here???

 

 

ABeeCDP,

 

Yeah I skipped typing anything about the cruise. Stay tuned and you'll read about our post cruise. :D

 

Keep reading ABeeCPD - Paul gives a VERY detailed reveiw and adds great pics. And welcome to CC.

 

Paul LOVE IT. Leaving in the am for the Destiny - your reveiw has me ready to go. Thank you.

 

rhorhorho,

 

Thank you.

 

I was reading Host Mach's cruise reveiw and someone mentioned that you also write great cruise reviews they were right! I am looking forward to the rest of the cruise. My wife and I are doing our second and third cruise ever as a B2B on the Carnival Freedom January 30th and were quite interested in the "debarkation and embarkation" of your cruise. I too was thinking it will be fun to watch the new cruisers coming on board. :)

 

Fredman,

 

Thank you, but Mach's words are in a different league than mine. He uses words that describes the way I feel and I only wish I could translate my feelings into English as well as he does.

 

 

Paul,still loving your review and the pictures are great.I am looking at buying a waterproof for our upcoming Dream cruise and havnt a clue.I am a novice,just need something to use while snorkleing? Any reasonable user friendly models come to mind? And I love the cabanas in HMC,is that just not the best beach day ever?Glad you had fun and thanks for sharing

 

gaylensgigi,

 

Thank you.

 

Yes, the cabanas in Half Moon Cay do make for the best beach day ever. I do have to confess that we, or at least I, enjoyed Half Moon Cay more on our previous trip because our boys were with us. They had such a good time there that it's hard to have as good a time when they aren't with us. :o

 

The Olympus 1050SW is user friendly or I'd not be able to operate it because I am most familiar with Kodak and Kodak's controls / functions. It didn't take too long to get up to speed with it. I just need to coordinate bringing the camera and snorkel mask in the water together instead of separately so I can see what I am taking pictures of. ;)

[kerrytens]

Paul, I have to tell you that I've been looking at your photos mostly through your main site that you are posting from (can't figure out why they are coming through hit or miss for me on CC right now...)

 

Anyway, looking over the HMC batch, I want to tell you to enter photo 259 into any sort of photo contest that Carnival does - it is fantastic!!! It looks B&W but then you look again and there is colour. What a fab shot of the Destiny.

 

HMC looks fun in the rain :D

 

Thoroughly enjoying your review (despite the above mentioned issue). You are getting me more and more excited about my trip!!!!

 

Miriam

[PaulMedik]

Paul, I have to tell you that I've been looking at your photos mostly through your main site that you are posting from (can't figure out why they are coming through hit or miss for me on CC right now...)

 

Anyway, looking over the HMC batch, I want to tell you to enter photo 259 into any sort of photo contest that Carnival does - it is fantastic!!! It looks B&W but then you look again and there is colour. What a fab shot of the Destiny.

 

HMC looks fun in the rain :D

 

Thoroughly enjoying your review (despite the above mentioned issue). You are getting me more and more excited about my trip!!!!

 

Miriam

 

 

Miriam,

 

Thank you.

 

Half Moon Cay is fun rain or shine!

 

I am having the same problem with CruiseCritic.com being hit or miss in terms of posting; Internal Error is eating too many posts and if I forget to copy the entire post before hitting submit button then it's gone. :o

 

In photo 259 the rain had passed through Half Moon Cay and was hammering Destiny pretty good. At one point the ship completely disappeared. :eek:

[mumofsons]

Paul - was on Destiny with you for the first part - the weather was perfect! We also had spa rooms - and when I first went out on the balcony was a little freaked out by the people looking down above us but that soon went away. I liked the spa balcony but truth be told I actually liked the floor to ceiling windows that we had on the Liberty better. Would I book the same room on the Destiny? Absolutely we were in 1015/1011 adjoining rooms and we liked the proximity to everything. In fact have booked the same rooms on the Freedom for our spring break cruise. Glad you had a great time - the first time away from the kids is hard but some time for just mum and dad is great too!

[Missmypomswhencruising]

we have the same two rooms next april...we were worried about people above, you say you had no problems, what about cigarette butts from people above....ALSO, can the dividers between the two rooms on the balcony be removed...ALSO, are the rooms pretty quiet.....Thanks!

[Missmypomswhencruising]

oops, i think i did the above post wrong...i was trying to address it to mumofsons from the previous post.

[mumofsons]

1) they would not open the divider so we took all four chairs and put them on one balcony - a little cozy but we didn't care.

2) I never noticed any ciggy butts at all

3) Quiet? well the night of the deck party we could hear stuff - and sometimes early in the morning people scraping chairs around above but not awlful. The hallway was extremely quiet.

The Chair hogs were in full force the one day at sea we had - was quite irritating actually but since we went out very early and took turns eating breakfast we had very good seats. We had almost front row seats for the hairy chest contest and went in pretty soon after that. Someone even had the balls to duct tape about 10 chairs together and had their family name on it - but I didn't see any Carnival staff take it down and the chairs were empty almost all morning.

I would not hesitate to get these rooms again - it was my sister's first cruise so they didnt' have anything to compare it with - it was great for the price. Hope this helps April

[Prairie_Gal]

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to post it.

[Oakman]

Hey Paul-

Looking forward to the rest of the review. I know that ou are probably busy back at work.

[jdawsonrn]

I am loving your trip report. I about spit out my coke when I read about you lying on your medical statement. I would have done the same thing :p The only thing that you left out is how careful you are to protect yourself when you are working (unlike me!)

 

That was so neat that you met the CEO.

Grand Turk looks beautiful!! Can't wait to hear more :D

[Naomi John]

Is Grad Turk just one big Beach Port as it appears in your pictures? Never been but looks like a fun place to just hang out?

 

What was the cost of the Flo-rider? Was there a cost for chairs on the beach? Could you really just float in the water next to the boat? WOW!!

 

Great reveiw. Waiting for more.

[PaulMedik]

Paul - was on Destiny with you for the first part - the weather was perfect! We also had spa rooms - and when I first went out on the balcony was a little freaked out by the people looking down above us but that soon went away. I liked the spa balcony but truth be told I actually liked the floor to ceiling windows that we had on the Liberty better. Would I book the same room on the Destiny? Absolutely we were in 1015/1011 adjoining rooms and we liked the proximity to everything. In fact have booked the same rooms on the Freedom for our spring break cruise. Glad you had a great time - the first time away from the kids is hard but some time for just mum and dad is great too!

 

 

mumofsons,

 

The first time with people looking down at you is a weird feeling for sure. I guess it's the same as Cat 11 on Fantasy Class except they are looking over or up.

 

It was definately hard sailing without the boys, but we had a great time. I'm not sure we could have made it without cell phones though.

 

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to post it.

 

Prairie_Gal,

 

Thank you.

 

I am loving your trip report. I about spit out my coke when I read about you lying on your medical statement. I would have done the same thing :p The only thing that you left out is how careful you are to protect yourself when you are working (unlike me!)

 

That was so neat that you met the CEO.

Grand Turk looks beautiful!! Can't wait to hear more :D

 

Jill,

 

Thank you and good to see you on here!

 

How would we explain what we do every day to a medical staff that likely only does it occasionally if at all? I breifly thought about answering truthfully, but it would have created confusion.

 

I guess I do tend to go by the book with the mask and cleaning. Having Mike's picture in registration by the copier made every time seem like it was needed.

 

Meeting Gerry Cahill was awesome! Very different from when I meet other CEOs. :eek: ;)

 

 

Is Grad Turk just one big Beach Port as it appears in your pictures? Never been but looks like a fun place to just hang out?

 

What was the cost of the Flo-rider? Was there a cost for chairs on the beach? Could you really just float in the water next to the boat? WOW!!

 

Great reveiw. Waiting for more.

 

Naomi John,

 

We consider Grand Turk to be a beach port similar to Costa Maya in that they have similar features and appearance. There is a lot more to do in Grand Turk, but being creatures of habit we tend to repeat things we enjoyed in the past.

 

I'm not sure of the cost of the Flow Rider. The pool and the beach chairs are both free. Floating next to the ship was also free!

 

I'll do my best to finish up ASAP. Cruise Critic was running slow and dropping posts when I last tried to continue the review then I had to work for eight days; Jill can vouch for the fact that when I am working I have no time at all to post. :o

 

 

Hey Paul-

Looking forward to the rest of the review. I know that ou are probably busy back at work.

 

Oakman,

 

Thank you. Yes, work got in the way.

[wanderlust402]

Congrats on 20 years and thank you for the wonderful TR!

 

Do you happen to still have any of the copies of the carnival capers that you could scan and share? DW and I are sailing 12/19 and were trying to get an idea of activities and events that are currently offered.

 

It looks like you were in suite 7167 on the first cruise. That room is across from the fore lifts. Did you experience much corridor noise? We are currently booked in a non-suite balcony cabin, 7112, and were considering an upgrade if the opportunity presents itself, but are a little leery of excess noise. I'm glad to hear you had a quite stay on the spa deck!

 

It looks like you have a ton of the official carnival photographs. Is it possible to purchase all of the photos on a CD and if so, what is the price? I know that there are other vacation experiences (like Disney World) where you are able to use the company's professional photographs in a bound book. Is that an available product?

[PaulMedik]

Congrats on 20 years and thank you for the wonderful TR!

 

Do you happen to still have any of the copies of the carnival capers that you could scan and share? DW and I are sailing 12/19 and were trying to get an idea of activities and events that are currently offered.

 

It looks like you were in suite 7167 on the first cruise. That room is across from the fore lifts. Did you experience much corridor noise? We are currently booked in a non-suite balcony cabin, 7112, and were considering an upgrade if the opportunity presents itself, but are a little leery of excess noise. I'm glad to hear you had a quite stay on the spa deck!

 

It looks like you have a ton of the official carnival photographs. Is it possible to purchase all of the photos on a CD and if so, what is the price? I know that there are other vacation experiences (like Disney World) where you are able to use the company's professional photographs in a bound book. Is that an available product?

 

 

wanderlust402,

 

Thank you.

 

We brought the capers home for our son's pediatrician and they've been delivered. Sorry.

 

The suite area seemed more noisy than others, but we normally stay aft wrap or Panorama deck where there's zero noise from hallways, so it may have been a normal amount of noise.

 

I recall the option to have the photos placed on a CD on previous ships, but I am not sure whether that option was available or not on Destiny. They did have the oil painting / mega sized canvass options with frames delivered to your home address. We didn't purchase any megasized pics or have any shipped home.

[PaulMedik]

Karen's hat on the table at Half Moon Cay;

 

 

Shortly after arriving at our Cabana we had visitors bearing snacks and drinks;

 

 

Much like busy little elves they stocked our buffet area and our table with tasty treats;

 

 

Soon they were dashing off to their metal steed to complete some other deed;

 

 

It looks like you can swim right out to the ship;

 

 

The empty shoreline looked like Paradise waiting for worshipers of the Caribbean sun;

 

[PaulMedik]

I tried out the lounge chair for a bit, but the snorkel gear was beckoning me to try it so I had to give in;

 

 

As you can see in the foot prints in the sand, I had tried the water out already;

 

 

See the water beads on the hair on my arm? That is from the water mister fan that keeps the cabana inhabitants cool in the blazing Caribbean sun;

 

 

There is actually a fine mist of cool water in the air above the chairs provided by the fan;

 

 

The fan didn't oscillate like it was supposed to. A Carnival rep came by to check everything out and make sure everything was working. She tried to fix the fan briefly then said she'd send someone to fix it. Less than five minutes later this gentleman arrived and fixed it by replacing it with a new one;

 

 

Karen making her own water mist;

 

[PaulMedik]

 

While walking down the beach we discovered some chairs swept away by high tide? No. Just kids that weren't well attended left them after they were done playing;

 

 

Snorkelers washed ashore;

 

 

Half Moon Cay is our favorite port of call for so many reasons;

 

 

As you walk along the shore it seems you have as far left to walk as you did when you started. The crescent shaped shoreline is deceptively long;

 

 

Another of Karen's hold the camera out and snap pics;

 

[PaulMedik]

Half Moon Cay is the kind of place that will make a normally reserved person take jumping fits;

 

 

And others take beach side $hits?

 

 

Nah, it wasn't mine. But whoever we were following really really had to go bad;

 

 

The sand indicated that a whole crowd of people had passed through;

 

 

To give you an idea of how far we'd came, there's nothing in sight behind us (actually it's all there, but far away) ;

 

 

Had we come to some kind of settlement? ;

 

[Nunu]

Those cabanas really are a great score, we loved ours. I wonder why they don't throw up a few more? At $225 per day each they'd pay for themselves in about 2 weeks...

[PaulMedik]

Welcome to the Half Moon Coral;

 

 

We met the fellow who fertilized the beach;

 

 

Buffet lunch on Half Moon Cay;

 

 

The wrangler had us pose by this plant (I forget the name of the plant) ;

 

 

If you are in Half Moon Cay and get a chance to walk down the beach to the Pegasus Ranch, be sure and make time to talk with this man. He shared his experiences working on the island since 2004 taking care of the horses and how the horse back excursion works and how it differs when HAL passengers are ashore.

 

 

Pegasus Ranch seaside horse boarding ramp;

 

[PaulMedik]

Those cabanas really are a great score, we loved ours. I wonder why they don't throw up a few more? At $225 per day each they'd pay for themselves in about 2 weeks...

 

 

Nunu,

 

There is plenty of room. My guess would be they don't want to make it feel crowded.

[Nunu]

Nunu,

 

There is plenty of room. My guess would be they don't want to make it feel crowded.

 

It's such a long beach though they could just stretch it out a bit. It just seems nonsensical to me, although not being able to pre-book them (like you can on HAL) also is frustrating...

[PaulMedik]

It's such a long beach though they could just stretch it out a bit. It just seems nonsensical to me, although not being able to pre-book them (like you can on HAL) also is frustrating...

 

 

 

Nunu,

 

I would like to see them add ten or maybe fifteen more, but that would take them quite a way down the beach.

 

If they allowed booking online, I would book the cabana first based on when we were sailing, and then choose a room on whatever ship was there that day. :cool:

[Nunu]

Nunu,

 

I would like to see them add ten or maybe fifteen more, but that would take them quite a way down the beach.

 

If they allowed booking online, I would book the cabana first based on when we were sailing, and then choose a room on whatever ship was there that day. :cool:

 

Sorry for the hijack dude, HMC really is a cool beach!:D

[mnsawyer]

Unbelievable photos of Half Moon Cay! Wow! How far can you walk on the beach? Did you feel the cabana was worth the $225 for the two of you? It looked like it includes drinks, snacks, etc? In addition, you mentioned you had priority debark off the ship?