Unimpressed with Destiny 6-28-2010

[633]

My wife and I had balcony cabin 8216 on the Destiny for the 6/28/2010 cruise.

 

Now cruises are kinda like sex...even when they're bad, they're pretty good. So we still enjoyed it. But this ship fell far short of our other two cruises (RCCL Vision and Carnival Fantasy). Most of the problems would fall into areas controlled by the hotel director, and some into the lap of Brent, the annoying cruise director.

 

The plusses first: the food was good, the destinations were enjoyable, and the big-screen on the Lido deck is pretty cool. Most of the things you expect from a cruise were accomplished: relaxing time, plenty to eat, things to do, etc. But in the hospitality industry (I've had literally thousands of nights in hotels all over the world), little things separate great from good from mediocre, and Destiny's management struck me as mediocre.

 

First, the facilities seem inadequate to the ship. The fitness center was totally overrun during the at-sea days. It was the same size as the fitness center on the Fantasy, which holds 600 fewer people.

 

Then there were plenty of dining facilities, but they were open limited hours, which led to extremely long lines much of the time. And if the schedule said that Happy Valley (the Chinese restaurant – the best of the ship’s restaurants, IMO) was closing at 2:30, it closed at 2:30. It didn’t matter that there were 10 people still in line at Happy Valley and 100 people waiting at the Grand Buffet. There was no real customer service atmosphere…it’s like all the ship’s crew had suddenly joined SEIU. In fact, long lines everywhere is probably our biggest memory of the Destiny.

 

Both our headwaiter and our assistant waiter had very rough English. It was difficult understanding them, or making ourselves understood. While nearly every waiter we’ve had on previous cruises had English as a 2nd language, this was the first time we’ve had a combination of two waiters who we just couldn’t understand.

 

Our cabin steward was OK, but kept taking our beach towels and not leaving fresh ones, and the cleaning was spotty. Some days we got ice, others we didn’t. No major complaints, but just not the feeling of being impressed that we had with the stewards on our other cruises.

 

At the tender port of Half Moon Cay, we didn’t even get off the boat. The lines for tenders were so long, it just didn’t seem worth it. Friends who waited it out reported waiting 45 minutes to an hour just to get on a tender, plus the time it took to get to shore.

 

The first night adult comedy show was thoroughly overrun. People were being turned away 15 minutes before start time of the show. Then the entertainment we did see was mostly lame. We got the same Nightclub Expess show we’d had on Fantasy 18 months ago, and then a comedian – Eddie Capone – who said he’d been on every ship in the Carnival fleet. He was the worst comedian we’d ever heard…even the first-time cruisers at our dinner table, who had lower expectations, commented on how painful it was listening to his show. And the singer for the house band had me thinking of Simon Cowell saying, "it was like listening to some ghastly cruise ship performance." The nightly karaoke turned out to be more entertaining than the Carnival performers.

 

As far as the facilities, the cabin was OK, but I was unimpressed with the balconies on the ship. The way the did the privacy walls between cabins, we got very little airflow. I don’t remember exactly how our balcony on Vision was configured, but we had much more airflow and still had privacy. That may be more personal preference than anything. Overall, I was still glad I had booked the balcony.

 

Finally, they were repainting one of the storage lockers, and there was a strong chemical smell in the hallway on deck 8 for much of the cruise.

 

So overall, we still had a good time, but we both came away feeling like it was a subpar cruise. We certainly won't book Destiny again, and, although we enjoyed our family cruise 18 months ago on Fantasy, I think we're planning to go back to RCCL or try NCL on our next cruise. If we'd been really impressed on this cruise, we'd probably have stuck with Carnival for future cruises.

[SueG]

My wife and I had balcony cabin 8216 on the Destiny for the 6/28/2010 cruise.

 

Now cruises are kinda like sex...even when they're bad, they're pretty good. So we still enjoyed it. But this ship fell far short of our other two cruises (RCCL Vision and Carnival Fantasy). Most of the problems would fall into areas controlled by the hotel director, and some into the lap of Brent, the annoying cruise director.

 

The plusses first: the food was good, the destinations were enjoyable, and the big-screen on the Lido deck is pretty cool. Most of the things you expect from a cruise were accomplished: relaxing time, plenty to eat, things to do, etc. But in the hospitality industry (I've had literally thousands of nights in hotels all over the world), little things separate great from good from mediocre, and Destiny's management struck me as mediocre.

 

First, the facilities seem inadequate to the ship. The fitness center was totally overrun during the at-sea days. It was the same size as the fitness center on the Fantasy, which holds 600 fewer people.

 

Then there were plenty of dining facilities, but they were open limited hours, which led to extremely long lines much of the time. And if the schedule said that Happy Valley (the Chinese restaurant – the best of the ship’s restaurants, IMO) was closing at 2:30, it closed at 2:30. It didn’t matter that there were 10 people still in line at Happy Valley and 100 people waiting at the Grand Buffet. There was no real customer service atmosphere…it’s like all the ship’s crew had suddenly joined SEIU. In fact, long lines everywhere is probably our biggest memory of the Destiny.

 

Both our headwaiter and our assistant waiter had very rough English. It was difficult understanding them, or making ourselves understood. While nearly every waiter we’ve had on previous cruises had English as a 2nd language, this was the first time we’ve had a combination of two waiters who we just couldn’t understand.

 

Our cabin steward was OK, but kept taking our beach towels and not leaving fresh ones, and the cleaning was spotty. Some days we got ice, others we didn’t. No major complaints, but just not the feeling of being impressed that we had with the stewards on our other cruises.

 

At the tender port of Half Moon Cay, we didn’t even get off the boat. The lines for tenders were so long, it just didn’t seem worth it. Friends who waited it out reported waiting 45 minutes to an hour just to get on a tender, plus the time it took to get to shore.

 

The first night adult comedy show was thoroughly overrun. People were being turned away 15 minutes before start time of the show. Then the entertainment we did see was mostly lame. We got the same Nightclub Expess show we’d had on Fantasy 18 months ago, and then a comedian – Eddie Capone – who said he’d been on every ship in the Carnival fleet. He was the worst comedian we’d ever heard…even the first-time cruisers at our dinner table, who had lower expectations, commented on how painful it was listening to his show. And the singer for the house band had me thinking of Simon Cowell saying, "it was like listening to some ghastly cruise ship performance." The nightly karaoke turned out to be more entertaining than the Carnival performers.

 

As far as the facilities, the cabin was OK, but I was unimpressed with the balconies on the ship. The way the did the privacy walls between cabins, we got very little airflow. I don’t remember exactly how our balcony on Vision was configured, but we had much more airflow and still had privacy. That may be more personal preference than anything. Overall, I was still glad I had booked the balcony.

 

Finally, they were repainting one of the storage lockers, and there was a strong chemical smell in the hallway on deck 8 for much of the cruise.

 

So overall, we still had a good time, but we both came away feeling like it was a subpar cruise. We certainly won't book Destiny again, and, although we enjoyed our family cruise 18 months ago on Fantasy, I think we're planning to go back to RCCL or try NCL on our next cruise. If we'd been really impressed on this cruise, we'd probably have stuck with Carnival for future cruises.

 

Please keep in mind the location of the balcony. I usually have a balcony ( had that same cabin on the Destiny last October) near the front on the Veranda. There is hardly any air flow at all. My last cruise in May I was up on the Lido deck and could not believe all the wind. Seems the Bridge may block some of the wind. I was not use to all the wind this last time on the Lido Deck. Could be wrong... just saying... :)

 

Although I received excellent service on the Destiny, It is still my least favorite ship.

[poundcake09]

My wife and I had balcony cabin 8216 on the Destiny for the 6/28/2010 cruise.

 

Now cruises are kinda like sex...even when they're bad, they're pretty good. So we still enjoyed it. But this ship fell far short of our other two cruises (RCCL Vision and Carnival Fantasy). Most of the problems would fall into areas controlled by the hotel director, and some into the lap of Brent, the annoying cruise director.

 

The plusses first: the food was good, the destinations were enjoyable, and the big-screen on the Lido deck is pretty cool. Most of the things you expect from a cruise were accomplished: relaxing time, plenty to eat, things to do, etc. But in the hospitality industry (I've had literally thousands of nights in hotels all over the world), little things separate great from good from mediocre, and Destiny's management struck me as mediocre.

 

First, the facilities seem inadequate to the ship. The fitness center was totally overrun during the at-sea days. It was the same size as the fitness center on the Fantasy, which holds 600 fewer people.

 

Then there were plenty of dining facilities, but they were open limited hours, which led to extremely long lines much of the time. And if the schedule said that Happy Valley (the Chinese restaurant – the best of the ship’s restaurants, IMO) was closing at 2:30, it closed at 2:30. It didn’t matter that there were 10 people still in line at Happy Valley and 100 people waiting at the Grand Buffet. There was no real customer service atmosphere…it’s like all the ship’s crew had suddenly joined SEIU. In fact, long lines everywhere is probably our biggest memory of the Destiny.

 

Both our headwaiter and our assistant waiter had very rough English. It was difficult understanding them, or making ourselves understood. While nearly every waiter we’ve had on previous cruises had English as a 2nd language, this was the first time we’ve had a combination of two waiters who we just couldn’t understand.

 

Our cabin steward was OK, but kept taking our beach towels and not leaving fresh ones, and the cleaning was spotty. Some days we got ice, others we didn’t. No major complaints, but just not the feeling of being impressed that we had with the stewards on our other cruises.

 

At the tender port of Half Moon Cay, we didn’t even get off the boat. The lines for tenders were so long, it just didn’t seem worth it. Friends who waited it out reported waiting 45 minutes to an hour just to get on a tender, plus the time it took to get to shore.

 

The first night adult comedy show was thoroughly overrun. People were being turned away 15 minutes before start time of the show. Then the entertainment we did see was mostly lame. We got the same Nightclub Expess show we’d had on Fantasy 18 months ago, and then a comedian – Eddie Capone – who said he’d been on every ship in the Carnival fleet. He was the worst comedian we’d ever heard…even the first-time cruisers at our dinner table, who had lower expectations, commented on how painful it was listening to his show. And the singer for the house band had me thinking of Simon Cowell saying, "it was like listening to some ghastly cruise ship performance." The nightly karaoke turned out to be more entertaining than the Carnival performers.

 

As far as the facilities, the cabin was OK, but I was unimpressed with the balconies on the ship. The way the did the privacy walls between cabins, we got very little airflow. I don’t remember exactly how our balcony on Vision was configured, but we had much more airflow and still had privacy. That may be more personal preference than anything. Overall, I was still glad I had booked the balcony.

 

Finally, they were repainting one of the storage lockers, and there was a strong chemical smell in the hallway on deck 8 for much of the cruise.

 

So overall, we still had a good time, but we both came away feeling like it was a subpar cruise. We certainly won't book Destiny again, and, although we enjoyed our family cruise 18 months ago on Fantasy, I think we're planning to go back to RCCL or try NCL on our next cruise. If we'd been really impressed on this cruise, we'd probably have stuck with Carnival for future cruises.

Nice to see that almost the same comments that I had for my 5/31 cruise. The smell reminded me of a "Bad Perm"...:)

[caribbeanboy]

The Destiny is still my least favorite cruise ship. I almost swore never to set foot on a Carnival ship again, since that was my first Carnival experience. In the meantime I have been on 6 other Carnival ships.

[ScoobyGal]

Sorry to hear that you had a less than spectacular experience. It's so disappointing when you plan so long for a vacation and it falls short. We sail on Destiny in August on the same itinerary. We've seen reviews from excellent to poor and everything in between. We'll just plan on going with an open mind. As my Mom would say, plan for the worst, but hope for the best. Any cruise is better than a day at home, right? Hope your next cruise is a better experience.

[luvcarnival]

We were on the Destiny 6/28 too. This was our 3rd Carnival cruise (1st with our kids).I certainly agree with the lines at the buffet being way too long. There must be something they can do to adjust this. The food was ok-seems like the quality has decreased since our last Carnival cruise 3 years ago.

 

We did find have excellent service. Our dining room waiters were fantastic and so was our cabin steward.

 

Half Moon Cay was gorgeous and the kids loved the waterslides and floats. We only waited about 20-30 minutes for a tender. It was very organized. We went to the lounge and were given a sticker to wear that had a number. When they called your number you followed the cruise member to the tender. The trip takes 5 minutes.

 

We found the entertainment to be hit or miss. The final show Voila Paris was great. The passenger talent show had 4 acts-sort of embarassing.

 

Overall it was a good cruise but not the best we have been on. The kids, 9 & 5 had a blast so I guess that's what matters most!

[luvcarnival]

Almost forgot-the only time we smelled that bad "SMELL" that everyone mentions was during the muster drill. The lady next to me was talking to me about it. Didn't smell it anywhere else.

[luvluv2cruise]

So overall, we still had a good time, but we both came away feeling like it was a subpar cruise. We certainly won't book Destiny again, and, although we enjoyed our family cruise 18 months ago on Fantasy, I think we're planning to go back to RCCL or try NCL on our next cruise. If we'd been really impressed on this cruise, we'd probably have stuck with Carnival for future cruises.

 

We recently cruised on the Destiny, Memorial Day weekend, after swearing Carnival off for good and only cruising RCCL for the past 10 years. I have to say we were pleasantly surprised and we very much enjoyed Destiny! In fact, we felt like the Carnival cruise was much better than the RCCL cruises we have been on in the past few years. We found the food to be excellent, the ship was great, our cabin steward was wonderful, and everyone we interacted with was nothing short of gracious to us. We will definitely cruise on Carnival again!

[jtm22372]

our last cruise was on the destiny same itinerary . i have no complaints at all it was a great time . having only sailed rccl before this last cruise . i will sail ccl again no question . actually looking at the victory out of san juan for our next one . or the pride

[Nunu]

 

Now cruises are kinda like sex...even when they're bad, they're pretty good.

 

I've never wanted to chew my arm off waking up on a cruise ship...

[Carnival Platinum Cruiser]

The lines and setup of the lido deck buffet are horrible. Why can't they set up various small stations with food like RCL does and prepoured drinks? It seems so simple of a solution to an age old CCL nightmare.

[chickie_mite]

 

 

And if the schedule said that Happy Valley (the Chinese restaurant – the best of the ship’s restaurants, IMO) was closing at 2:30, it closed at 2:30. It didn’t matter that there were 10 people still in line at Happy Valley and 100 people waiting at the Grand Buffet.

 

 

I know people might not believe this, but on our cruise last month on the Dream, I got a box of cereal from the buffet, just as they were closing (putting the trays in front of the food). I kid you not---the buffet server guy made me put it back!! It's not like I reached behind a tray or anything to get it, he was at the other end beginning to set the trays in place.

 

I left :confused::confused::confused: on that one!

[bo_monroe]

I know people might not believe this, but on our cruise last month on the Dream, I got a box of cereal from the buffet, just as they were closing (putting the trays in front of the food). I kid you not---the buffet server guy made me put it back!! It's not like I reached behind a tray or anything to get it, he was at the other end beginning to set the trays in place.

 

I left :confused::confused::confused: on that one!

 

Made you put it back??? lol! I would of told him to kiss where the sun don't shine.lol! I hope you kept it. :D