Destiny Review 11/2-11/7/09

[jerseygirl79]

11/3 Cruise Elegant Night Caper continued

 

 

 

[jerseygirl79]

Finally we're in Grand Cayman! What a beautiful day! The weather couldn't have been better. It was hot, but not that oppressive, killer heat.

 

So the day started as usual with the family meeting on Lido for breakfast. Inside the main Lido seating area are two buffet lines with them meeting in the middle at the breakfast pastries/bread area. The food was fine and the bacon police were on duty. I LOVE bacon and it was pretty good, but greasy. I would just wring it out in a napkin and all was good, hahahah. I must say though, I see why they have the bacon policy. I walked by an abandoned table with a plate full of bacon waiting to be discarded. There was an omlet station at the Chinese food station in the morning. They make omelets somewhere else too, but I don't remember where....maybe outside by the pool.

 

There are also 2 buffet lines outside in the lido pool grill area. I was a bit upset as the muffins were only served at the outside buffet. I asked one of the inside pastry attendents for chocolate muffins and they got some for me from the kitchen :D.

 

BTW the aft pool area did not serve breakfast, but is a great place to eat....no people out there.

 

Alright....so Grand Cayman is a tender port. You exit the ship on deck 0 forward, and tender boats are constantly moving back and forth between the ship and the pier.

[jerseygirl79]

About to enter the Tender....it's about 9am and we walked right of the ship onto a tender. No line at this time in the morning. That's Freedom across the ocean.

 

 

The water was calm and so blue!

 

 

Nice shot of Destiny from the tender

 

 

Here's a pic of Freedom anchored nearby

 

 

 

 

[boaterette]

I am enjoying your review. I have been on the Triumph which is the same as this one. Those are wonderful pictures of you by the way. Looking forward to the rest of your review.

[jerseygirl79]

Today, I didn't want to spend a bunch of money and just wanted to hit a nice beach. After doing some research I decided on Royal Palms. I'm so glad we ended up there. OMG. Beautiful, quiet, and not at all crowded.

 

After we got off the tender we looked around the shops in the port to get sunglasses and hats for the kids. To our right were all the taxis. It was $4pp each way. Miss Gloria was our driver for the 10-15 min drive. She was very nice and asked what time did we want to be picked up. It was 10am so we asked her to come back at 1:30.

 

More shops right outside of the port area within walking distance:

 

 

[jerseygirl79]

I am enjoying your review. I have been on the Triumph which is the same as this one. Those are wonderful pictures of you by the way. Looking forward to the rest of your review.

 

Thanks so much! Glad you're enjoying the review. I'd like to sail Triumph!

[jerseygirl79]

Woo Hoo!!! We arrive at The Reef Grill at Royal Palms. This place is really nice! Very clean and safe. There's a small gift shop on site and nice showers to rinse off. The umbrella's were $10 and the chairs $7 (I think, if not these prices than maybe a dollar cheaper). There were 3 Carnival ships in port, but you'd never know it. I don't think the ship excursions come here! AWESOME!!!!

 

 

 

Imagination and Freedom

 

 

[moethecat]

Awesome review!! We are going on the Destiny on 11/21/09 and this review is just what we needed!@!!

[jerseygirl79]

My aunt, uncle, and DH decided to rent wave runners. $65 for 30 min. They had a blast!!!

 

 

ahhhh.....I wish I were back there now

 

 

DH and I snuck off to check out the bar/grill

 

 

Here's the lunch menu

 

And the drinks

[jerseygirl79]

Awesome review!! We are going on the Destiny on 11/21/09 and this review is just what we needed!@!!

 

you should be excited....it's going to be a great time.

[Payd]

Looking forward to more of your review!

[jerseygirl79]

There's an upstairs area to the bar, but I was too lazy to check it out. Anywho....I ordered a mudslide and DH a virgin Mango Colada. Sooooo good on a hot day!

 

 

It was nice and breezy at the bar. The guy next to me was on Freedom. We ended up at the same beach the next day in Jamaica.

 

 

After showering off the sand and drying off we headed back to the entrance to find Miss Gloria. There were several drivers waiting and they called Miss Gloria for us. She was busy, but she sent a friend for us within 10 minutes. The drivers were very laid back here. No pressure.

 

 

 

Before you know it, we are beat and headed back to the ship by about 2:30ish. Man....that Caribbean sun wears you out!!!

 

 

Once back on the ship, I had a Mocha Chocolate Getaway later before dinner.

 

[jerseygirl79]

Once we arrived back on the ship from Grand Cayman we showered, had lunch, walked the ship a bit and then DH and I slep about 3 hours until dinner. I really wanted to watch Confessions of a Shopaholic at 12 am, but I couldn't make it til then. Instead, I hit up the Cafe on the Way on my way to the slots after dinner.

 

Here are the capers for 11/4....Grand Cayman

 

 

 

 

[jerseygirl79]

11/4 capers continued

 

 

 

 

[jerseygirl79]

That's all for tonight. Tomorrow I will post Ochos Rios, Jamaica. I will tell you, this was a bit of a low point :( especially after Grand Cayman, but I'll tell you more about that tomorrow :p

 

Here are some dancing waiters and towel animals to hold you over, hahahah

 

 

 

[future1sttimecruiser]

I'm enjoying your review! I am hoping to sail Destiny this summer and I like to see the Capers, photos et all. :)

[jerseygirl79]

Today in Ochos Rios the plan is to get off the ship early, right after breakfast and walk to Island Village where there is a Margarittaville and beach. Last year, DH and I stayed at a couples only AI resort in Ochos Rios and took and excursion to Island Village. It was a great little shopping plaza with nice shops and entertainment. While there I noticed there was a beach, but didn't use it.

 

I've read many reviews and how people hate Ochos Rios. I thought the reveiws were unfair because I enjoyed my trip there. Now, however, after visiting on a ship I can say it was a different experience and I can understand why some don't want to get off the ship. While I wouldn't stay on the ship and skip this port, next time I'd definitely book a Carnival excursion to Dunn's River Falls (beautiful), Mystic Mountain, or a tour.

 

The street hustlers in OR are very aggressive. They don't touch you, but they walk along side you selling their wares.....oh and offering to sell you weed. We declined it all :) It doesn't bother me, I understand it's a poor country and when they see us they see dollar signs. I say "no thank you" and keep it moving. DH is a bit nicer and listens to them talk a bit more.

My aunt and mother were horrified. My aunt gets really irritated by this type of behavior and my mother had never been to OR.

 

The walk to Island Village was a short one, about 5-7 mins. There are people selling stuff most of the way. We passed little shacks and even a couple of wild goat. It wasn't pretty, but it was nice to have a brief look at authentic Jamaica. Once we arrived at Island Village, it was about 945am and the shops were still mostly closed. Also the stage in the middle courtyard wasn't set up yet. My family enjoyed the shops there while I staked our Margarittaville and the beach.

 

The pool at Margarittaville is free to use....after buying a couple of drinks. I checked it out and it was small so I passed. Next I walked down to the beach. It was small. And I could see more street vendors ready to pounce with their wooden necklaces. I knew my aunt wouldn't like being hounded on the beach so I started thinking about a plan B. Also, it was $3pp to use this beach.

 

Enough talk.....lets see some pics.

[jerseygirl79]

When I woke in the morning this was my view.

 

Not the prettiest sight, but still impressive.

 

 

 

This looked kinda neat

 

 

 

 

[jerseygirl79]

 

Freedom was there too!

 

 

Freedom docked at a pier with a better view, IMHO

 

 

 

 

[jerseygirl79]

So plan B was to find a better beach. We headed to the entrance of Island Village and found Veston an official taxi driver with JUTA tours. The official taxis have red license plates to indicate they are registered with the local tourism agency.

 

He offered to take us to Mahogany Beach for $4pp each way. He wouldn't collect the payment until our return trip. He dropped us off at 10:30ish and we aranged a pickup for 1:30.

 

This beach was really small. I'm guessing that unless you're in Negril, don't bother with the beaches in Jamaica.

 

 

The kids were afraid to go in the water because of all the algae....and they said it smelled. I didn't go in, but apparently, it was very rocky and hurt! :eek:

 

 

We rented chairs and that's where we sat for 2 hours.

 

 

This is the guy from Freedom and Royal Palms. He was not a happy camper this day.

 

 

Some locals

 

[jerseygirl79]

The water sports area. We passed.

 

 

 

The massage area

 

 

 

The showers

 

[jerseygirl79]

The food at this grill smelled really good, but we didn't partake.

 

 

A shopping area

 

 

The entertainment. She was actually a bit hit. It's not real, hahahah

 

 

 

After 2 hours we had one of the workers call for Veston. We had seen enough. This was a big let down after Grand Cayman the day before, but we made the best of it. Veston said Reggae Beach was nicer but they charged admission.

 

Ahhhhh.....back to the ship

 

[jerseygirl79]

It rained lightly off and on all day in OR and the sun never really came out. We had lunch on Lido and then chilled on deck. Plenty of seats.

 

 

I explored the ship some and found the "secret door" on deck 6 forward. I then climbed the stairs to deck 7 and took some pics.

 

 

 

 

[jerseygirl79]

To the right, you can see the road we walked to Island Village

 

 

We also passed this on our walk

 

 

 

 

 

[jerseygirl79]