Carnival Capers and Review Destiny 12-19-2009 Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman

[wanderlust402]

My wife and I sailed the Carnival Destiny to Ocho Rios, Jamaica and Grand Cayman on 12/19/2009.

 

I have scanned my Carnival Capers for our cruise. We didn't end up taking too many photos due to the rain, but I would be happy to answer any questions about the ship.

 

We were in balcony room 7112 and my parents had "inside" stateroom 7104. Their room was quite nice as it had a window to the forward deck. We were on that forward deck for the quiet while we sailed away from Miami. Later in the trip, there was a sign asking us to not use the forward deck due to the wind and the seas, but the door was never locked.

 

We took advantage of the "Behind the Fun" tour and enjoyed that very much. Evening entertainment was not consistent. The "Nightclub Express" show was quite enjoyable, while I disliked the "Formidable" show. We did not attend any of the other evening entertainments.

 

We had a couple's massage which was not quite as relaxing as others I have experienced due to basketball noise from the deck above. The spa initially misplaced our pre-booked appointment so there was also some confusion from that. My wife later had an up do for her hair in the spa salon and that was quite nice. I rented a tux in advance and everything was in order. When I returned the tux on the last day the crew members from Romania mentioned that they had seen me around the ship earlier in the day during our below deck tour.

 

The casino had some non-smoking slot machines near the Destiny's Way path, but we still didn't spend much time in the Casino due to the smoking. Also in spite of the fact that we had the second balcony room on our deck, we still experienced inconsiderate smokers in that one other room. They were also out when I was trying to watch the sunrise. As these experiences really impacted our enjoyment of the cruise, we are booking Celebrity for our next sailing.

 

We had late seating in the Galaxy dining room and our waiter Cyril and assistant Adi were wonderful. Cyril is from India and on the first day, we chatted about various Indian dishes. On the fifth day there was an Indian dish on the menu which we both ordered. Cyril surprised us by also bringing up some Chicken Curry from the crew galley, as well as extra rice and Indian bread (It wasn't Naan, and I didn't write down the name, but it was very good.) When we received the desert menu, I mentioned how disappointing it was to end a meal of good Indian food without rice pudding. We both ended up ordering the warm chocolate melting cake, but we had another surprise in store. Cyril had secured three servings of rice pudding with raisins from the crew galley!!!

 

I must say, that the members of the crew really help make this a wonderful experience. My wife mentioned that it seemed like a ship with a Wal-Mart clientele but a Harrods department store level of service. Other crew members worth of recognition include Katarina from Slovakia at the Flagship bar in the lobby. I gave my wife a book of Carnival bar drinks, and she was able to make us the "Mexican Runner" from the book even though it was no longer on the regular menu. In the Casino, Albert from Lithuania very patiently helped us figure out the slot machines and resetting our PIN. We are technically savvy people, but this was a complicated process. Yvette from The Netherlands was a wonderful and friendly stylist in the spa salon. My wife sleeps in during the mornings, but each day at breakfast in the Universe dining room, Renato was able to give me a "to go" box of milk, box of Frosted Flakes, box of Corn Flakes, a bowl and a napkin/silverware for her. Sanja the assistant maitre d' graciously seated me in Renato's section each day. The only negative from a crew perspective came from the bar staff at the Solar (or is it Stellar) bar on the aft Lido deck. They were a little slow to get around to you and much less cheerful.

 

In Grand Cayman we were to snorkel but that was canceled due to cloudy water conditions. It would have been nice if Carnival could have informed us of the cancelation ahead of time. AS it was we were waiting on the port and asking around to finally learn the news. We took a taxi to a beach and were still able to enjoy the water. In Jamaica, we did the Dunns River Falls and Sky Explorer. If you are going to do the falls keep these two things in mind. 1.) Purchase water shoes ahead of time on the internet. We both found nice shoes from Speedo. Otherwise you are purchasing or renting from the locals. 2.) Wear a swim suit and a shirt that is quick drying. During the Falls climb there were times when I was up to my neck in water. I hadn't realized that I would get this wet, but thankfully I was wearing performance shorts/shirt for clothing. If I had been in jean shorts or a cotton shirt I would have been miserable.

 

We took the advice of several other posters and flew in the day before (a great idea since we got stuck in Atlanta) and an afternoon return flight. On disembarkation day, we had a leisurely breakfast in the Universe dining room, and then went to the aft Lido area and sat on the lounge chairs and read books. When we heard the "last call" announcement we proceeded out and had no lines, immediately saw our luggage, and breezed through customs. Once we arrived at the Miami airport, we purchased a one-day pass for the Delta Sky Club ($50 each) so we were able to have a quiet relaxing place to wait with clean restrooms. While there we had some snacks and enjoyed the included beverages (including liquor).

 

Carnival Capers Destiny 12-19-2009 Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman

[tommyt37]

Thanks for review. We will be doing this cruise on Jan 2nd never been on a cruise before so have no idea what to expect. So The Celbrity is non smoking? That must be nice. We have booked no tours not sure what we are going to do on such short notice. Again nice write up...

[wanderlust402]

So The Celbrity is non smoking?

 

No. Celebrity's policy does not allow smoking in staterooms, balconies, the piano bar (big disappointment not being able to do the Apollo piano bar on Destiny) or the casino. There are still some smoking areas on the ship. Head over to the Celebrity boards for more info.

[wanderlust402]

(big disappointment not being able to do the Apollo piano bar on Destiny)

 

Looking at the Capers again, the first night Apollo piano bar was not listed as a smoking area. Perhaps if we had known that this was a one night only perk, we would have visited it then. That first night though I was taking advantage of the reduced minimums at the blackjack table. $3 per hand instead of $5.

[beccafries]

thanks for the reveiw!!...I printed out the capers to take a look at.

[wanderlust402]

thanks for the reveiw!!...I printed out the capers to take a look at.

 

You are most welcome. This was our first Carnival cruise and we enjoyed ourselves. I know that I am so intense with planning that I was scouring these boards for Capers myself before the cruise which is why I wanted to make sure to post upon my return.

 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

[beccafries]

You are most welcome. This was our first Carnival cruise and we enjoyed ourselves. I know that I am so intense with planning that I was scouring these boards for Capers myself before the cruise which is why I wanted to make sure to post upon my return.

 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

do they keep the same capers schedule for all destiny cruises? Im wondering if my cruise will be the exact schedule...I'm on the western

Carr...Cayman n Ochos...

[wanderlust402]

do they keep the same capers schedule for all destiny cruises? Im wondering if my cruise will be the exact schedule...I'm on the western

Carr...Cayman n Ochos...

 

I think it is possible that some things would change. I took the "Behind the fun" tour and they mentioned that it is fairly rare for them to change the evening entertainment shows. It just costs so much money for a new set, costume, etc that they usually keep the same shows for some time. Again, I liked Nightclub Express but did not care for Formidable. One interesting thing is that I went to the library to check out a book and the Carnival employee working there was the dance captain. I guess each member of the crew has "other duties as assigned" and she gets to staff the library for the few hours it is open to check out books.

 

I hope you have a great cruise!

[beccafries]

I think it is possible that some things would change. I took the "Behind the fun" tour and they mentioned that it is fairly rare for them to change the evening entertainment shows. It just costs so much money for a new set, costume, etc that they usually keep the same shows for some time. Again, I liked Nightclub Express but did not care for Formidable. One interesting thing is that I went to the library to check out a book and the Carnival employee working there was the dance captain. I guess each member of the crew has "other duties as assigned" and she gets to staff the library for the few hours it is open to check out books.

 

I hope you have a great cruise!

 

Thanks...I know I will...I'm so excited!!!