Back from Destiny, Wonderful Time!

[prpattycakes]

Got off Destiny yesterday, had a great 5 days. I was expecting the worst after all the negative feedback I have read, and even tried to change my plans to another ship, but this was the only one that would work for us, so I sucked it up and just went with it. All I can say is when we got off saturday morning the kids of course were very sad, and I was a bit saddened myself to leave, but like I told my kids I can't spend $4,000 every 5 days.

I will give a general review, if you have any questions feel free to ask. I will also address the things many people complained about.

 

I went with 2 kids my son 11 and daughter just turned 6 two days prior, this was our second carnival cruise.my mother in law, first time and my cousin with her 2 boys 2 and 6 first carnival.

Left LGA NYC on 7am flight got to MIA at 10:30, didnt check any bags, went downstairs got a cab as soon as I walked out the door.Cab ride was $24 . My cousind was on a 6am flight out of LGA to FLL and took SAS shuttle for $15pp and $10 per child. We actuall saw each other in the cab/shuttle at a red light right before POM so we all arrived at the same time. Was at POM by 11:15am.

Gave porters the bags, went inside the building, waited about 12 minutes to go through screening, got inside, checked myself in at the self serve kiosk, set up sail and sign at the kiosk, got my sail and sign card from a rep and was given a number waiting to embark. We sat the the children's area for about 6 mins, went to the restroom and then our zone was called.

Waited in line about 10 more minutes and was finally on board the ship around 11:45.

Visited the shore excursion desk, only 2 people in line ahead of me, was greeted by the camp carnival counselors and then headed upstairs to lido deck for lunch. We were told rooms would be ready by 1:30

So far no problems. Flew in same day, had no air delays, Was on board by 12 noon.

 

So, many people complained of long lines, yes there was a line at the buffet big deal. The food was good, large variations at the buffet, waited a whole 15 mins to get food, sit down and eat. So we hung out for about an hour took a look around lido deck and went to our rooms around 1 pm. We had 2 inside cabins, on 6th floor front of ship starboard side. Me and my daughter shared one, my mother in law and my son shared another not uncomfortable at all. My cousin had oceanview for her and 2 boys one king bed one twin on the second floor. Beautiful room.

 

My tequila, and son's soda card from the bon boyage dept was waiting in the cabin beautfilly wrapped.

 

We walked around the ship for a while, waiting for sail away, and then found some lounge chairs to hang out on. I had my first rum punch, I loved it. Ship finally sailed at 5pm. About 530 we went back to room to check for luggage delivery to get ready for dinner. Luggage had arrived, we got ready and went to dinner. We ate at universe early seating 4th floor table 502. Waiters Mahendra and Ida were so nice and attentive to us and the childrent. Food was great and satisfying. Great low sugar, low fat options for dessert.

 

The rest of the night we just walked around, got familiar with the ship, and relaxed for the next day at sea.

 

So for some the the complaints that many cc members mentioned:

 

The free lemonade was good, it just needed to be mixed with 1/4 cup water. The ice tea I did not like, I like sweetened ice tea mix, this one was more of a brewed unsweetened taste. So I was on lemonade and water all cruise. And the water was not horrible. I like tap water without ice, so it worked well for me.

I did not notice the broken glass that many have mentioned, I dont know if I didnt walk by it, but Im pretty sure I covered pretty much the whole ship.

The most I waited on a buffet line at any given time was appx 15mins, except for one breakfast morning it was about 30 mins.

The first day and only the first day when it was time for the muster drill, I did notice the smell of sewage around the fifth floor, but I never noticed it again.

Between the three cabins our group had, none of them had backup problems with the plumbing.

Camp carnival staff was very nice to my kids, my kids loved going there every chance it was open.

As far as the chair hogs, I cannot comment on because I never layed out on deck except for sail away and after dark, but I did hear some cruisers complain about it.

 

So pretty much that was day 1. No problems, no drama, no disappointments. I will write some more later tonight.

[lowbass]

Glad you had a good time on the Destiny. We are going to be on that same Destiny cruise with our 3 boys at the end of May. As for some of the complaints you were concerned about, the things you listed like the taste of the water, tea, and buffet lines I've seen complaints about these same things for "EVERY" Carnival ship. There were propulsion problems before the ship went into dry dock but that has been fixed. I've been checking this board and the Carnival web site forum for anything about the Destiny since we decided on this cruise 2 months ago. And I will say that since the dry dock at least 90% of the comments about the Destiny have been good, and I check both boards almost every day.

 

And for anyone else who is concerned about cruising on the Destiny, go to the search function on this forum and type in "Carnival Destiny". That will bring up all of the posts related to the Destiny. Start at the most recent post(the top post) and read them all the way back to when the ship went into dry dock. I'm sure you'll see that most of the posts from people who cruised on the Destiny are positive posts. Glad you had a nice trip.

[DGP1111]

Got off Destiny yesterday, had a great 5 days. I was expecting the worst after all the negative feedback I have read, and even tried to change my plans to another ship, but this was the only one that would work for us, so I sucked it up and just went with it.

 

:) Welcome back!! I'm very glad to read that you had an enjoyable cruise vacation on Carnival Destiny. Now that the propulsion issues seem to be totally 'past tense', it sounds like all the other details are falling into place.

 

I was on Carnival Sensation this past weekend, and was in Nassau the same time as you. I didn't go into Nassau at all this trip, chosing instead to just stay on the ship and relax, but . . . I did go down and enjoy the experience of standing on the pier between Destiny and Oasis of the Seas. In a word - Yowza!! :eek:

 

It was hard for me to believe on one side a ship that was the largest in the world in 1996. and then a few feet away another that's twice that size. Be very glad you all got into Nassau first. It was mind-boggling to see the hoards of people streaming off that behemoth. I did, however, chat with a few of their passengers and they advised (despite it breaking a world record for number of passengers on a ship) it still very manageable while onboard.

 

Again, welcome back, and Thanks for the positive words. I have several sailings in 2010 on Destiny, and I, too, had considered some being cancelled after reading about all the bad months.

[prpattycakes]

Thanks for reminding me, of course the propulsion problems are hopefully now a thing of the past.

 

Continuing on, as far as the casino goes, I always say there are those people who are always lucky and then there is me. lol. I have read that the slot machines are really tight. Well my cousin played on our second day there, Tuesday, and she won $1000 on the wheel of fortune $1 machine. She pressed her luck and played another machine and won another $600 just about 2 hours later, and she continued on into the evening and won yet another $500 on another $1 machine. Talk about luck. Anyway on the other hand, I lost about $400 - $500 on various slots throughout the week.

 

I will agree with many people who say there are not many activities on board. Well I guess it depends on who likes to do what, but not many things were of interest to me. I did not see any shows, I wouldve wanted to see the comedy show but I forgot about it and missed it. Then there was and old school hip hop night at the disco, and a break dancing show which was a bit entertaining. Karaoke was cool, latin night was ok, not too many people.

 

So day 2 was at sea formal night. We had sit down breakfast at the restaurant, lunch at lido deck and dinner at the restaurant.We did bingo, visited the shops, the casino, kids went to camp carnival, throughout the day, and they went in the pool for about an hour before dinner and visited a few of the ongoing activities througout the day.

About formal night, our group agreed beforehand that we were not going to participate in the formal dinner, however my cousin decided last minute that she wanted to go and we had not brought our formal wear. I really did not want to go since i was not prepared for it, but she kept pestering me to go , so we all found one of our nicest outfits and decided to go. I wore a short sleeve black jersey dress with leggings underneath, with high heal dressy sandals, a few accessories, hair and makeup and we were ready to go. Our table was upstairs on the 4th floor in a corner behind the drink station and not very visible by others or the main floor, so I didnt feel so bad about not having on the proper attire. On our way to dinner, many people did have on their formal attire as well as non formal, but a bit dressed up. Some people (including women) wore khaki or white pants with a cardigan twin set or a solid colored t shirt with low sandals, they did fix their hair and makeup and accessorize as well, but basically there were many different attires at formal night. I know many readers will bash me for my attire, but I will tell you that besides the people wearing formal wear, I was decently dressed compared to other things I saw including some really casual wear. My daughter wore a pretty sundress. My son wore white shorts passed his knees with a polo shirt and sandals.

Moving on to dinner attire in the MD on regular nights, once again people were wearing different things, I saw jean shorts, sun dresses, suits, long dresses, short dresses, pants, halter tops, tube tops, long sleeve, short sleeve and pretty much everything in between. It doesnt seem like there is a dress code of any sort, I guess its your preference.

 

At night on the outdoor screen on lido deck they showed various movies, I didnt see any of them, as I would always be busy doing other things, but some of the bits and pieces I did see were,Harry Potter, Julie and Julia, one with Jim Carrey, I couldnt remember the name of. It was nice to sit in the lounge chair and watch a movie. The first 2 nights were pretty breezy and chilly, many people were covered with sweaters, pool towels, bath robes and even comforters from the room. The rest of the nights were very pleasant fair temps, not breezy, nor too hot or humid.

[prpattycakes]

So, Wednesday was our first stop at Grand Turk, it was beautiful! Quiet relaxing short day at the beach. The ship docked pretty close to the beach which made a beautiful backdrop for pictures.

We didnt do any shore excursions, we just enjoyed the beach for a few hours and took a quick walk through Margaritaville and some of the shops. The water is beautiful, the weather was perfect it was hot but not humid that you want to run into the ac. We got there early enought and there was no problem getting a lounge chair for our group. some were under palm trees for shade and others were in the direct sun. we rented a clamshell for $20 but hardly used it. My son rented a floating mat for $5. The kids loved the water, as did I. We all played in there for a few hours, I layed out on the lounge chairs for some sun, and then we went back on board around 1. I had my daughters hair braided at the end of the beach, by the locals, but I honestly did not like how they did it. I have done better. But minor detail. On the way to and from the beach you walk through the duty free shop, we looked around, but didnt buy anything. The prices were pretty good in my opinion for cigarettes and liquor.

As we were walking back to Destiny a Princess cruise had come in and they were all headed to the beach we left at the perfect time.

Once on board we went to lido deck for lunch, once againg the line was about 15-20 minutes, which I dont consider to be so horrible. We sat upstairs and watched the ship sail away, then we went to our rooms for a nap and for quiet time. The kids went to camp carnival.

After napping, I picked up the kids and we all got dressed and showered for dinner. Once again a pleasant dinner experience. Our waiter Ida did a card trick for my son while he was waiting for food. Im not sure which day it was but I had prime rib which was really good, I had mahi mahi the first night, and another night I had chateau brian which were all good. For desserts I had diet orange cake which did not tast diet at all, we all shared a fruit platter. I had lime sorbet once and I had to try the melting chocolate cake which everyone boasts about and they are all right... it was amazing. some in my group had baked alaska and they said it was soooo good. one night they had a cappucino pie and tiramisu, i didnt try those. The dinner shows were good, my daughter really enjjoyed it, but the table where we were seated, we had to get up and go to the banister to see it. The rest of the night we cruised the casino and hopped to a few lounges to see what was going on. We sat in for a few minutes at each.

 

I know a few posters were disgusted with the ships decor, but I did not find it so horrific and outdatd as some have said. This is my second carnival cruise and I dont have anything to compare it to, but it was fairly decent in my opinion. I did not see any of maintenance or cleanliness issues. On the contrary I regularly saw the crew cleaning all areas of the ship. The lido deck was a bit messy with spilled drinks, but of recent spills, not something that was sitting around for days. the eating area had many personnel clearing the tables, the drink machines, and all the food areas.

[seguincruiser]

We're going in January and look forward to more info.

[ms-getaway]

Thanks for the review, we leave May17th and have been a little worried as this our first carnival cruise and some of the bad reviews we have read. I am looking forward to going and hearing more about your other ports of call:)

[prpattycakes]

Thursday was Half Moon Cay. A little hectic this day since it was a tendered port. The ship arrived at 9:30 am, and if you booked a shore excursion, you were able to get off first. For the rest of us we had to meet at the theatre, get a number and then sit down and wait until our number was called. The same number was given to a large group of people and that group was then able to go down to the tender.

We slept in a bit later, had breakfast in the MDR around 10:00 since we did not have a shore excursion. We took our time and then headed down to the theatre to get our number. We stood in line for about 15 minutes before a number was given to us. Once we received our number, we were seated in a specific section with more people with the same number as ours. Once a boat was available they called about 6 numbers or so about 2 minutes apart, then those numbers got on the tender together. We finally go to the beach about 11:30. Upon getting there it was so beautiful. There were 3 water trampolines in the middle of the water, and a playground which included water slides for the kids on the sand area. This was all to the left side once we got on the beach. Here is where the chair hog drama begins. So there were a whole bunch of beach chairs along the beach some with clamshell shade others in the sun, all the chairs were either occupied by people or by towels, flip flops, bags, etc. One person even put their number sticker on one chair. Well to be fair I looked around, and gave it some time, until I started to look for which chairs I would snag. My first victim was the one with just the sticker on it. Yes number 27 it was me! The chair had been empty for a while meaning 20-30 mins. Mind you there were 7 in our group and we did not have one chair. Now I did not need 7 chairs but maybe 2 or 3, that's fair right? So after a while I took someones towel off their chair and put it on one of the 5 other chairs in their group that was occupied by towels. And a few more minutes later I claimed my 3rd.

An hour later a couple came by and they were complaining about the same thing how the towels are all lounging around in nice comfy chairs getting a nice tan while us humans are sitting on the ground in the hot sand. So the guy went ahead and did the same thing and took a chair. The girl was telling me on the ship was the same issue, and an employee of carnival said there is a 30 minute rule if the chair is not used in 30 minutes anyone else has rights to it.

After that it was smooth sailing. The children loved the water, my son enjoyed hanging out on the trampoline, my daughter in the childrens playground and the water and me , sunbathing on land, swimming in the water, and I even got on the trampoline once.

 

So there is a bbq that is provided by carnival and it ends at 230. We walked down a path about 3 minutes and there were plenty of picnic tables under the shade. It was buffet style, burger hot dog or chicken with sides such as rice, coucous, some veggies and other stuff I don't remmber, plus fresh fruit and and assortment of cakes and cookies.

The lemonade, ice tea and water machines were also there, and there were a few bars where you could order drinks with you sail and sign card.

 

All in all it was a great day, the kids had fun, it was truly beautiful and around 3-4 many people started leaving. So now we have to wait for a tender to take us back to the ship. We waited on a long line about 45 minutes before we got on the tender and then were back on board within an hour of leaving the beach.

 

Once on board it was time to get ready for dinner and so forth. There was a show called showcase of the stars, where guests sign up to perform their talents on stage. I only got a quick glimpse of a few acts and they were all good. There were guitar players, singers,piano players etc.

[prpattycakes]

Yes Don, I too was awed by the size of that beast. I also spoke to a woman that was on that ship and she said although they had 6000 passengers on board, 2000+ being children, she was having a great trip.

[prpattycakes]

MS-getaway, you will have a great time. Especially if it is your first time, you really dont have much to compare it to. I know these posters have been on many cruises and there will always be some that are better than others in their own way. Try not to find all the negatives of what people say and you'll do well. We have to remeber that not everyone enjoys the same things, and some people are pickier than others, and everyone is entitled to their opinions, after all thats what these boards are for.

Good luck and enjoy!

[prpattycakes]

lowbass, you are right about the complaints being from all the ships not just Destiny. The only major one about Destiny was the propulsion issue and I would have to agree with all the others, that I would not have had a good time if I had to worry about the ship breaking down. All the other things just have to be dealt with. We should all be greatful that we have the chance and money to be able to cruise at all, and make the best of it.

[williluvcruisin]

So on your five day trip it sounds like a lot of time wasted in lineups.

 

Lineup to get off at every port. Line up to get a number to go ashore at HMC. Lineup to return to ship. Lineup for breakfast.

 

There must be any good things happening on board to compensate for the hours wasted in lines. For me I can't imagine I'll handle the lines well.

 

And then there's the chair hogs, and I do like lounging.

 

Thinking I may regret decision not to go to my favorite small AI resort.

[prpattycakes]

Friday was bittersweet because it was the last port of call and the next morning we would wake up in Miami and go home.

Ship arrived at Nassau at 7:30. This was the only port we booked an excursion for, it was the Atlantis Aquaventure. I must admit I thought it was a bit pricy for $150 pp and $120 for children, but I really wanted my children to experience Atlantis. I think I would be more upset if I went to Nassau and missed out on it.

So once we debarked we met our excursion that was leaving at 8:30 on the pier. We walked for about 3 minutes with the group and then waited in a 3 minute line to get on a bus to bring us to Atlantis. The bus driver was very informative and explained some of the government buildings, the price of gas (Over $4), showed us where to shop and eat if we were interested. Once we arrived we were greeted by our tourguide where she led us through hotel lobby, and out to the waterpark, we stopped at a few digs where we saw baby sharks, stingray and other fish. She explained the 3 different hotels, and how a room costs $25,000 per night and that Michael Jackson and Michael Jordan had been regulars there. She led us further in where she gave us a quick rundown of the water rides, took us to get our towels, and then we were on our own. We wer there rather early so we got chairs by the lazy river. My son and I went on the clear slide that goes through the shark tank, cool, but honestly expected a bit more. We visited the various pools, some with slides, some with waterfalls. My son went on his own to a few of the bigger slides. My daughter and I went on the lazy river. The lazy river is sooo cool because there are different areas where some are your typical lazy river and there are some that pushes out strong waves to make you go all over, and there are some shallow rapids. I really enjoyed it. There is also a kiddie playground with various slides with shallow waters where the little ones can run around in. The park was not overly crowded as I thought it would be, the pools only had a few people in it. I think the major attractions were the tall water slides which there were lines for but it really was not that bad. We had lunch coupons that were included in our excursion that gave us choices of salad, burger, chicken sandwich, fried fish, etc all with a soda and fries. I had the grilled chicken sandwich, my daughter had the burger and my son was too busy to eat, so I gave his coupon to someone else. I was curious about conch fritters, so I ordered one, there were about 6 in one order for $5.50. They were really good, but I was already full so didnt get to finish them. I wish I had them now.

For future reference, they do not accept cash in the waterpark it is only credit, debit or charged to your hotel room if you are staying there.

 

We spent most of the morning at the park and around 2:30 we decided to start leaving. We walked passed the grounds the same way we came back in and then through on of the towers hotel where we saw a ginormous wall to wall to wall aquarium in the downstairs lobby.

There were different fish, large and small, stingray , and at the time there was a class of scuba divers. Really cool to see.

 

As we continued our walk through the lobby to get back on the bus, many people were walking towards us coming in as we were walking out. I went into the Gucci store to see if the prices were as good as everyone says they are, but they were the same. I know you save taxes, but thats just not a good enough bargain for me. So continue on to the bus, theyre everywhere, we got on, but then had to wait for about 10 minutes or so for the bus to fill up to be on our way. We got back to the cruise center and my daughter got her hair braided, the right way this time. My mother in law went on the main street with my son to get some souvenirs. When we were ready to get back on the ship we went through the cruise center where there were local vendors selling handmade jewelry from conch shell, handbeaded, straw hats and purses, rum cake and a few other vendors. Then on our way back to the ship. By this time there was a Disney ship, and Royal Carribbean ship on either side of ours. I thought our ship was huge when I saw it alone but these other ones made it look like a private boat. lol

 

Anyway, back on board, the day is coming to an end, this will be our last dinner, our last night of fun. My son just remembered he was hungry so we went to lido deck to get him lunch and we got a light lunch since the chicken sandwich was not satisfying and it was not dinner time yet.

 

Kids went off to camp, and mother in law and I went to Bingo, of course we didnt win, and also purchased $40 in raffle tickets for a free cruise....again nothing. Then we had time to kill so we stood for the debarkation talk. Brent the cruise director is very entertaining.

 

Off to dinner and to enjoy our last evening on board.

The waiters were very nice to us the whole week, we said our goodbyes and we were off for some entertainment.

 

Oh by the way we never saw our Maitre D the whole cruise because we were seated upstairs and out of the general view of MD Thursday night at dinner he came to our table to introduce himself. and that was it.

 

Also I forgot to mention the past guest party I think it was Wednesday. They offered free drinks, I had 5 all different colors, rum punch, yellow bird something blue and a green drink then a blue one again. Hey they were free for once. They had some small bites to eat and then showed a short film about the different ships since Carnival first started.

 

I really went just for the drinks.

 

Back to my exciting night, I was nicely tanned and I got dressed really nice to enjoy my last night on board. Since I was ready to party all night at 8:00 I decided to take a nap so I would be ready. Low and behold I stayed in for the rest of the night. Yikes!! I was soo tired. My cousin called me about 9:30 and I told her I was sleeping and wasnt going anywhere. I picked up my daughter from Camp Carnival and my son begged me to stay longer and we argued back and forth that I was too tired to come back and get him and he rationed that it was his last night with his new friends and so I gave in . I told him 12am the latest.

I went to the room tired as can be but I knew I had to go back out to get him, so I packed everything and then went to pick him up.

Then I went to bed again.

My cousin is still telling everyone at home how I got all dolled up to go to sleep at 830 on the last night of my cruise.

[prpattycakes]

williluvcruisin, keep in mind that there are 3329 other people on board and many of them want to do the same thing you want to do. The only time I waited in line to get on and off port is at HMC, the other ones I just walked right on and off. Now if you try getting off first thing along with everyone else or getting back on last minute like everyone else, then you will encounter lines. I only did breakfast buffet once because we missed the dining room on HMC day. Other than that there is no line to be seated at the MDR. Ive been to AI resorts, and I too had to wait on line to go on an excursion and to eat at the buffet. Im just trying to give everyone a rundown of how things work, such as procedures. Its not as bad as it sounds, really.

[Sandpiper10]

thank you so much for your review! I'm really enjoying it! We sail on the Destiny May 3rd! Our 3rd CC and our daughters 1st cruise. they are 6 and 3. What were the kids in your group favorite activities to do at Camp Carnival? I'm thinking our 6 yo may want to try it out, and if she doesn't that is fine, we are leaving that decision up to her, but I've read some of the activities and she said she may want to try it out and see if she likes the camp.

Question about Grand Turk and Half Moon Cay. Did you notice that kids were bringing beach toys to play with? We are allowing each of our girls to bring a sand bucket and shovel. I was hoping maybe some other kids will bring some toys along and if all the kids share their toys, they will all have an assortment of toys to play with. I've heard about the "playground" at Half moon Cay. My 6yo daughter can swim, but not real well, are the toys in shallow water or deep water? Did you happen to see any tropical fish swimming around you while in the water at GT or Half Moon Cay? Did you hear or see anything about Sea Lice on the beaches or in the water? I read about it on another thread and was curious! Also, any word of the Norovirus on board at all. Since this will be our 3rd cruise, we know what to expect, however now crusing with the girls for the 1st time, there are so many more things to think about! Thanks again for your review. :)

[prpattycakes]

Finally its Saturday morning time to go home. Were all moving slowly because we are too saddened to leave. We did not put our bags out the night before for the porters, so we were free to leave at any time. We got up around 630 showered, dressed and packed everything else, left our bags in the room and went down to MDR for breakfast. by 7 am they announced that if you did not check in bags, you may disembark. We had not yet as we were going to breakfast. We ate, went back to our room got our stuff and headed to disembark around 830. There was no line to get out, we proceeded off the ship, into the main building , gave our passports and customs forms and were out withing 5 minutes.

I waited about half hour for ALAMO shuttle to pick us up. We rented a car, dropped my cousin off at FLL, headed back to MIAMI, hung out at Bayside Marketplace right byPOM where we could still see Destiny, so sad, went window shopping, grabbed lunch and headed to the airport around 230 returned the rental got on the shuttle and into the airport. checked myself in, went through security no lines and was at the gate at 3pm for a 500 flight.

 

Now about Camp carnival...they had great activities for the kids. They colored tshirts provided by carnival, they played games, danced, watched movies, had mini parties, scavenger hunt for the older ones, went to dinner, evening shows, played video games, made different crafts each time. There was only one session that you had to pay for (optional) which you make a stuffed animal and chose from various costumes such as a sailor or captain with carnival logos. This was a family event where a parent must be present with the child. Other than that my kids had a great time, my daughter enjoyed going during all open hours , and my son made a few friends and couldnt wait to go back each time..

 

The room steward was very nice, attentive and oh so friendly. He was great. As I mentioned the dinner staff was spectacular. The camp carnival staff were very nice to me and my children ,even more so after I tipped them a few bucks each day . I ordered room service a few times, didnt wait too long.

 

Brent, the cruise director very funny.

 

Dont know anything about the bar staff because I didnt order from there.

 

 

 

 

 

And that was my week. All in all, I have nothing to complain about I had a stress free vacation. Everything fell into place perfectly. Even had a great air trip both ways. No delays, no baggage or security problems and actually came in ahead of schedule both flights.

 

My kids want me to get a job on the ship so they can hang out with me on board since the answer was no, they are already planning their next cruise.

 

Hope you enjoyed the review and have given you a positive outlook on Destiny. If I left out anything please feel free to ask, and if I remember anything else I'll keep posting.

 

Happy Sailing!

[prpattycakes]

thank you so much for your review! I'm really enjoying it! We sail on the Destiny May 3rd! Our 3rd CC and our daughters 1st cruise. they are 6 and 3. What were the kids in your group favorite activities to do at Camp Carnival? I'm thinking our 6 yo may want to try it out, and if she doesn't that is fine, we are leaving that decision up to her, but I've read some of the activities and she said she may want to try it out and see if she likes the camp.

Question about Grand Turk and Half Moon Cay. Did you notice that kids were bringing beach toys to play with? We are allowing each of our girls to bring a sand bucket and shovel. I was hoping maybe some other kids will bring some toys along and if all the kids share their toys, they will all have an assortment of toys to play with. I've heard about the "playground" at Half moon Cay. My 6yo daughter can swim, but not real well, are the toys in shallow water or deep water? Did you happen to see any tropical fish swimming around you while in the water at GT or Half Moon Cay? Did you hear or see anything about Sea Lice on the beaches or in the water? I read about it on another thread and was curious! Also, any word of the Norovirus on board at all. Since this will be our 3rd cruise, we know what to expect, however now crusing with the girls for the 1st time, there are so many more things to think about! Thanks again for your review. :)

Sandpiper,

My daughter is an arts and craft person, so decorating her own tshirt was really cool for her. She also likes the dance parties they have.

I saw very few kids bring their own beach toys, but that is a good idea, you might want to mention it in your roll call so you will have the assortment of toys.

The playground is not in the water, it is in the sand there is water flowing through the slides but there is no pool of water in that area.

I did not see any fish swimming around. I did not hear anything about sea lice. and no norvirus on our cruise.

[Froufie]

So on your five day trip it sounds like a lot of time wasted in lineups.

 

Lineup to get off at every port. Line up to get a number to go ashore at HMC. Lineup to return to ship. Lineup for breakfast.

 

There must be any good things happening on board to compensate for the hours wasted in lines. For me I can't imagine I'll handle the lines well.

 

And then there's the chair hogs, and I do like lounging.

 

Thinking I may regret decision not to go to my favorite small AI resort.

 

 

Just to clarify the only time you really need to wait in lines at a port is if it is a tender port and you cannot simply walk off the ship. if you are worried about this issue it is very easy to find cruises where you would not require a tender to visit a specific port.

 

Lineups for breakfast not required - simply eat in the dining room or better yet just order room service! As for the chair hogs - depends on where you like to do your lounging. If you want to be by the pool then you may need to keep an eye out on those unoccupied chairs (for more than 30 mins) then help yourself! :D Otherwise there are usually lots of chairs available if you don't feel you need to be right by the pool. My favorite spots are usually back of decks 10 or 11 - beautiful view of the wake, and ocean, lovely breezes and usually empty loungers!

 

And the quietest spot if you don't want full sun is outside on deck 3 - little known 'lounging' area - very peaceful!

[marybeth200]

Here is where the chair hog drama begins. So there were a whole bunch of beach chairs along the beach some with clamshell shade others in the sun, all the chairs were either occupied by people or by towels, flip flops, bags, etc. One person even put their number sticker on one chair. Well to be fair I looked around, and gave it some time, until I started to look for which chairs I would snag. My first victim was the one with just the sticker on it. Yes number 27 it was me! The chair had been empty for a while meaning 20-30 mins. Mind you there were 7 in our group and we did not have one chair. Now I did not need 7 chairs but maybe 2 or 3, that's fair right? So after a while I took someones towel off their chair and put it on one of the 5 other chairs in their group that was occupied by towels. And a few more minutes later I claimed my 3rd.

An hour later a couple came by and they were complaining about the same thing how the towels are all lounging around in nice comfy chairs getting a nice tan while us humans are sitting on the ground in the hot sand. So the guy went ahead and did the same thing and took a chair. The girl was telling me on the ship was the same issue, and an employee of carnival said there is a 30 minute rule if the chair is not used in 30 minutes anyone else has rights to it.

quote]

 

I was just curious if anyone came back and was upset that you had "their" chair or mad that you moved their things. Thanks!

[keishashadow]

thanx op:) for the review

 

Q re ur day @ atlantis...we always book a room @ choice suites (cheaper;)), was mulling over what time we could stretch it out to catch transport back to ship. I notice u departed @ 2:30 pm, i was thinking more like 3:00 - 3:30 pmish for the 5 pm departure. Do u think that'd be cutting it too close? we'd be catching private transport back.

[ms-getaway]

MS-getaway, you will have a great time. Especially if it is your first time, you really dont have much to compare it to. I know these posters have been on many cruises and there will always be some that are better than others in their own way. Try not to find all the negatives of what people say and you'll do well. We have to remeber that not everyone enjoys the same things, and some people are pickier than others, and everyone is entitled to their opinions, after all thats what these boards are for.

Good luck and enjoy!

 

Not my first cruise but my first with carnival...I am sure we will have a great time.

[prpattycakes]

Here is where the chair hog drama begins. So there were a whole bunch of beach chairs along the beach some with clamshell shade others in the sun, all the chairs were either occupied by people or by towels, flip flops, bags, etc. One person even put their number sticker on one chair. Well to be fair I looked around, and gave it some time, until I started to look for which chairs I would snag. My first victim was the one with just the sticker on it. Yes number 27 it was me! The chair had been empty for a while meaning 20-30 mins. Mind you there were 7 in our group and we did not have one chair. Now I did not need 7 chairs but maybe 2 or 3, that's fair right? So after a while I took someones towel off their chair and put it on one of the 5 other chairs in their group that was occupied by towels. And a few more minutes later I claimed my 3rd.

An hour later a couple came by and they were complaining about the same thing how the towels are all lounging around in nice comfy chairs getting a nice tan while us humans are sitting on the ground in the hot sand. So the guy went ahead and did the same thing and took a chair. The girl was telling me on the ship was the same issue, and an employee of carnival said there is a 30 minute rule if the chair is not used in 30 minutes anyone else has rights to it.

quote]

 

I was just curious if anyone came back and was upset that you had "their" chair or mad that you moved their things. Thanks!

 

 

Noone said anything, how were they to know which chair was theirs? It couldve been any chair on the beach.

[prpattycakes]

thanx op:) for the review

 

Q re ur day @ atlantis...we always book a room @ choice suites (cheaper;)), was mulling over what time we could stretch it out to catch transport back to ship. I notice u departed @ 2:30 pm, i was thinking more like 3:00 - 3:30 pmish for the 5 pm departure. Do u think that'd be cutting it too close? we'd be catching private transport back.

 

Yes, i heard about the room at the suites, but when I tried to book it, it was a 2 night minimum stay and it was cheaper to book the shore excursion this time.

I left at 2:30 because I wanted to go back to the shops and have my daughter's hair braided, and we still had time to spare. You'll be fine around 3:30. Although when the ship says departure at 5:00 you must be on board by 4:30, but that will still give you enough time.

[prpattycakes]

Here is where the chair hog drama begins. So there were a whole bunch of beach chairs along the beach some with clamshell shade others in the sun, all the chairs were either occupied by people or by towels, flip flops, bags, etc. One person even put their number sticker on one chair. Well to be fair I looked around, and gave it some time, until I started to look for which chairs I would snag. My first victim was the one with just the sticker on it. Yes number 27 it was me! The chair had been empty for a while meaning 20-30 mins. Mind you there were 7 in our group and we did not have one chair. Now I did not need 7 chairs but maybe 2 or 3, that's fair right? So after a while I took someones towel off their chair and put it on one of the 5 other chairs in their group that was occupied by towels. And a few more minutes later I claimed my 3rd.

An hour later a couple came by and they were complaining about the same thing how the towels are all lounging around in nice comfy chairs getting a nice tan while us humans are sitting on the ground in the hot sand. So the guy went ahead and did the same thing and took a chair. The girl was telling me on the ship was the same issue, and an employee of carnival said there is a 30 minute rule if the chair is not used in 30 minutes anyone else has rights to it.

quote]

 

I was just curious if anyone came back and was upset that you had "their" chair or mad that you moved their things. Thanks!

 

Just to clarify, I would not move anyone's personal belongings such as their shoes, bags etc, the only thing I removed was their carnival towel.

[pmoniz]

Thank you for posting your review of the Destiny!! Always nice to read what others opinions are - especially since all the negatives were out there a few months ago!!

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise! Looking forward to our B2B on the Destiny in 3 weeks!!