Review of Destiny from a 1st time cruiser...

[lnz916]

First off let me just say that the Destiny is a beautiful ship. Didn't have any issues to speak of. We had a fabulous time and I have no complaints of the ship! I did hear that a guy got left in Nassau though. The food was great, never waited in line more than 15 minutes. I did smell "the smell" very early in the morning on Friday, but it was gone quickly. The service was great. The crew was great. Our room steward was amazing, and every detail was always taken care of and he was very attentive. Our hostess was awesome, she addressed my son by name and made him feel special. The weather was good, only had rain for like 5 minutes as we left Miami, other than that not a drop the entire trip. It was very hot and very humid. But that is no different from home so I have no complaint about that. The itenary was wonderful.. All 3 stops were great had a cabana at Grand Turk, just hung out at Margaritaville and the beach. I definitely wish I would have had snorkel gear there. Half Moon Cay was the most beautiful place I have ever seen. We had a cabana there as well and did a ton of snorkeling. Walked around Nassau and then did a driving tour around the island. Then it was on to getting a permanent souvenir - put some new ink on my foot! Had a blast made a lot of memories! I would cruise on Destiny again in a heartbeat!

[DGP1111]

Glad to read that you had a really good cruise vacation. :)

 

I, too, recently enjoyed my sailing on Carnival Destiny. Definitely surpassed my expectations -- and I'm back on that ship in September.

[proudpatriot07]

The Destiny was my first cruise too, same itinerary, and it was totally awesome :). I would go back on it in a second, and I'm glad you had a really fun time too!

[kerrytens]

So glad you liked the Destiny. We had a great time on her as well. The staff are really amazing on that ship. I'd sail her again in a heartbeat.

 

Are you going to give us more details in a review, by any chance?

[yogimax]

Good to hear of your positive experience!

[lnz916]

Glad you both enjoyed Destiny as well. Yes, I am going to write a more detailed review, I am beat and am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed. I will probably start working on it tomorrow.

[lowbass]

Good to hear you had a great time on Destiny. We've sailed her too and had a great time.

[fab4cruisers]

Can't wait for the rest of the review, we'll be on the Destiny in 3 weeks..........:p Have a couple of questions about Grand Turk, which beach were you at? & at what time would u go back to the ship to avoid the crowds? we also want to rent a cabana@ halfmoon cay. Did u have any problems renting one? Do they sell fast? we have a baby in our party so we must have one. Any tips appreciated.

[jerseygirl79]

Welcome to the addition that is cruising!!! What a great itinerary!

[lnz916]

Good morning to all... I would be happy to answer any questions you have... Here is my in depth review of my cruise.

 

Day 1 - We were on the road by 5:30 Monday morning and arrived in Miami around 10:30. There were 4 ships in port but IMO it wasn't any worse than being at the airport. We were on board by 11:30, embarkation was a breeze. Went straight to the excursion desk and reserved our cabana for HMC. We already had decided which one we wanted, but it was already rented and had to pick another. I think that there were 4 or 5 of them already reserved by the time we got there. Had some lunch and went to our room at 1:30 and had all our luggage by 2:00. Did some exploring of the ship, enjoyed our first frosty beverage on the Lido deck waiting for sailaway!! It was absolutely wonderful. Went to dinner sometime around six in the MDR, and it was great!

Day 2 - This was my first sunrise at sea and it was amazing. Then we had breakfast in the dining room which was fine and then it was on to swimming and enjoying the sun. Relaxed and did nothing which was fabulous! Got all dressed up for dinner and I was pleasantly surprised I didn't notice anyone that looked inappropriate. I did see 2 guys in jeans as we were leaving but everyone looked fabulous. Lots of gowns and plenty of guys in coat and tie.

Day 3 - Sunrise in Grand Turk was beautiful. We arrived in port around 7 am and we had a quick breakfast and my toes were in the sand not much after 9AM. We went to the beach to the left of the pier and it was fine. Lots of things to see under water, though later on I had heard that the beach to the right of the pier was much better and had lots of conch shells, but we never made it there. The cabana at Grand Turk was awesome, I think it was definitly worth the money just to have somewhere to put all of our stuff. The door locks and is air conditioned. We finally decided we had enough sun for the day and headed back to the ship. I don't remember what time this was but I am thinking like 1:00 or so. We had some lunch as soon as we got back on the ship and again not much of a line. Watched Grand Turk become a speck on the horizon and went to take a nap for a while.

Day 4 - Half Moon cay is the most beautiful place I have ever seen!!!! Breakfast was started a little early and we took advantage of that, we got on our way to the Palladium early (sorry can't remember what time) and we were on our way to our tender within 10 minutes. The tender process was fine I didn't have any problems. We arrived and got a ride to our cabana which was fabulous. Within a few minutes someone came by to drop off our drinks and food all of which was great. We were in the water in no time. I actually have a few pictures with not another soul in them - that's how early we got there! We left around 2... I didn't want to but we were absolutely exhausted. Tendering back was just as easy also and we were back on board and napping in no time!

Day 5 - Enjoyed another beautiful sunrise in Nassau, and we had another Carnival ship right behind us. Had breakfast in the dining room and enjoyed a relaxing morning we did not rush to get off. We went down around 8:30 and had no problems getting off again. We walked around for a little bit and decided the heat was just brutal. We went back towards the welcome center and decided to take one of the sight seeing tours. Our driver was great and we saw Potters Cay which was awesome, and got to spend a few minutes walking around the lobby of Atlantis (AMAZING) then it was off again... We saw all the touristy stuff and our driver was very entertaining. When we got back to the cruise center we had conch fritters and they were fabulous!!! My mom took my son back to the ship and then went to a tattoo parlor for my souvenir. There was a big line to get out of the building to the dock but it took maybe 15 minutes and we were back on board by about 4:15. After we sailed we got everything packed up and ready to be put out by the door.

Day 6 - We arrived back in Miami right on time. Had some breakfast and waited for our zone to be called. We had zone 19 scheduled to get off at 8:45 I think. We had all of our luggage and were back on the road home around 9:00.

[ibm_db2]

Thanks for the review, we are 3 days away, doing the KW and Cozumel, done the Nassau with two other cruises already. Nice to hear no problems with long lines etc.

[Froufie]

Thanks for the great review. Wondering about the cabanas! Was cost the same for GT and HMC? Did both of them come with the 'same' amenities? Which one did you like better? And which one did you finally end up getting at HMC (and GT)?

 

Thanks!

[lnz916]

The cabana at Grand Turk was definitely nicer. It was right on the pool (we were the closest one to the beach). It is air conditioned and has fan and it locks which was nice.

 

But I am so glad we had the cabana at HMC because it gives you a place out of the sand to put your stuff and it has a fridge and garbage can, is air conditioned and has fans. We had the peach cabana #7. You get water and sodas provided in a cooler and you get a fruit tray, a veggie tray, a bag of chips, and a tray of dips - guac, salsa, ranch, and sour cream. The cabana comes with 4 sets of snorkel gear and 4 water floats.

 

 

HMC cabanas are more expensive but definitely worth every penny!!! Don't forget for the HMC cabanas that you have to sign up first thing when you board. I hear that they sell out quickly.

[Froufie]

Thanks for the info - how much was the HMC cabana vs the GT one? And sounds like only the HMC one came with the 'goodies'? did you not have to sign up for the GT one upon boarding? What was the difference iin booking?

[lnz916]

GT cabana was like 125 and is available to book online. The HMC one is 200 and you can only book it on board the ship. There was no extra amenities provided at GT.

[chachi]

I'm glad you enjoyed your first cruise! I'm sure there will be many more!

[ChocolateGirlWonder]

I'm glad to hear you had such a great time!

 

I will be on Destiny in a week for the exact same itinerary. It'll be my first cruise too and the more about hear about it the more excited I get!:D

[lnz916]

I sure hope there will be many more also!!!!

 

chocolategirl - I hope that you have an awesome time on your cruise. I was so nervous the whole week before! We were so lucky to have calm seas and such an easy going week. I will say that I didn't dream at all that I was going to have an issue with the motion sickness, but I took bonine every day. I just couldn't get used to the movement. Make sure you bring plenty!!!!!