Just Off Destiny 9/1/11

[JRomeo1979]

I have never done a review....I am going to try my best because I have read awesome reviews.

 

A little history, me 32, DH 39, DD 13, DS 14. Have sailed on the Destiny before on the same Itenarary.

 

Destiny-Western Carribbean 9/1/11

 

Day 1

 

Arrived at the Port of Miami at around 12:00pm. Embarkation was great. I had my luggage tags already on, arrived at the curb, my DH dropped me and the family and the luggage off and parked the car. We were on the ship at around 1pm.

 

The restaurant and Lido Deck were crowded as expected but we already knew that would be the case. The only thing I noticed immediately was the heat. It was super hot and stuffy, but I though oh its maybe because the ship in on port..........

 

Well the ship had a delay, dont ask me why because they never informed us why it was delayed and when it would be leaving. So we did not set sail until 6pm. The anxiousness of leaving was exhausting......so finally when we set sail it was time to get ready for dinner.

 

Dinner was nice, the waiters were very prompt, but not as friendly as I am used to. But I just said to myself lets give it some time............tipped 20.00 dollars.....

 

Room service was also a little slacking....had to request ice and the bottle water that they usually put in the room because it was not there......the beds were a little hard...cant remember the mattresses being so hard on the previous cruises......again the AC. Super hot, called for service numerous times and never saw the mechanic.......just stopped calling because I knew if I kept insisting my 4 days would be dedicated to that....so just ignored it and dealt with not sleeping with blankets.....

 

Day 2 Key West

 

Walked around and did some shopping....very nice place to just shop.....did not do any excursions......

 

Formal Night.....not many people into the Formal Wear which is a little bummer but oh well. Again the dining table service not at all as expected.....usually the service is superb without tipping, figured with after the tip it would be awesome....but no....had to wait a long time for food and when we would ask for 2nds it would kind of annoy the waiter......I dont know it was just not normal.

 

Day 3

 

Arrived at Cozumel 30 minutes late, again another let down because its unfortunate that we arrive there late in the afternoon anyways. The getting off the ship was caos......oh my God so many people, I though I was going to hyperventilate in between so many people. The day in mexico was good. We bought the AI in Mr. Sanchos.I have been there in the past and again the service waas not like before. We arrived and there were no available tables, we had to wait until they set up a table for us which took a trip to see the manager because the waiters saw us standing there but nobody offered to sit us down. Then when we finally get settled in we go to the bar for drinks and we now find out that they do not serve shots of liquor only mixed drinks which again was not like that last time we went. My DH does not drink mixed drinks, he only drinks on the rocks.......that was just a big let down. I wish they would disclose this information, before you purchase their package....to me AI is AI........the only exclusion they have is lobster.

 

Day 4

 

The day at sea was your typical. I think Carnival needs to liven up their sea days especially with bands playing on the Lido Deck. The day of Cozumel, when we were arriving an awesome Latin Band began to play but we could not enjoy it that much because we were about to get off the ship. They should have played on Sea Day which is when everyone is at the pool area enjoying the day in the sun.

 

I had a great time, a cruise is a cruise however in my opinion I feel Carnival is slacking........they need to bump up their service because there is alot of competition out there....

 

One last thing that happened.......right across from our cabin their was a strong odor of marihuana......someone must have called security because they came out and knocked on their cabin. The guests which was a group of young men, admitted to have smoked that illegal drug and security just told them not to do it anymore........we were shocked.......but then again you see on embarkation how they take away the liquor people bring on board and the irons....etc.....God but they sure do a poor job in searching for other things.......and then they get someone to confess and they let them slide......we were dissapointed how they handled this situation.

 

Overall we enjoyed our time....the food was good, the desserts were excellent.......the shows were ok.

 

I will consider going on another ship whenever I take a short cruise.....

 

Thanks......... :) for giving me the chance to share.

[JerseyshoreBruce]

Glad you had a good cruise. One thing i have to say is i have always had at least 2 big bottles of water in my cabin and the ice bucket was always full.....maybe you had a new room steward. I agree with the deck music....wish they played much more than they do!

[brilliantseas]

usually the service is superb without tipping, figured with after the tip it would be awesome....but no....had to wait a long time for food and when we would ask for 2nds it would kind of annoy the waiter......I dont know it was just not normal.

 

Read the book Cruise Confidential and you'll have a whole new appreciation for the dining room staff. There is a reason why they have you order your appetizers and entrees all at one time. It takes coordination and planning to get courses out at the right time, and if someone asks for something that takes another trip to the galley, it throws the whole system out of whack and causes a big delay in all of the other tables in the section getting their next course.

 

It can take 20 minutes for the assistant waiter to make one trip to and from the galley, which, on some ships, isn't even on the same deck as the dining room. Each two person team has about 20 passengers in their section. They can carry about 12 plates on a tray. Two trips per course, a minimum of three courses per meal. At 15-20 minutes per trip to the galley, that means that they are already at 90 minutes to two hours of service time, and they only have two and a half hours to complete service, clean their entire section, restock, and be ready for the next seating. Throw in an extra 20 minute trip to the galley for a 2nd round of lobster that you didn't order up front and they are really pushing their maximum turn time, not to mention delaying the dessert course for the other four tables around you, whom are anxious to make it out of the dining room in time to get good seats for the 8:30 show. Oh, and did I mention that they have already worked breakfast and lunch on the Lido deck and are doing it all on 5-6 hours of sleep and haven't had a day off in up to 8 months?

 

I understand that many people cruise just for the food, and I don't see a problem with ordering a salad and and appetizer, or even two lobster tails if you're really hungry, but do your servers a favor and order it up front so they don't have to make an extra 20 minute trek through the long lines in the galley to fetch your 2nd serving, all while delaying everyone else's dessert course.

[tntortiz8809]

Read the book Cruise Confidential and you'll have a whole new appreciation for the dining room staff. There is a reason why they have you order your appetizers and entrees all at one time. It takes coordination and planning to get courses out at the right time, and if someone asks for something that takes another trip to the galley, it throws the whole system out of whack and causes a big delay in all of the other tables in the section getting their next course.

 

It can take 20 minutes for the assistant waiter to make one trip to and from the galley, which, on some ships, isn't even on the same deck as the dining room. Each two person team has about 20 passengers in their section. They can carry about 12 plates on a tray. Two trips per course, a minimum of three courses per meal. At 15-20 minutes per trip to the galley, that means that they are already at 90 minutes to two hours of service time, and they only have two and a half hours to complete service, clean their entire section, restock, and be ready for the next seating. Throw in an extra 20 minute trip to the galley for a 2nd round of lobster that you didn't order up front and they are really pushing their maximum turn time, not to mention delaying the dessert course for the other four tables around you, whom are anxious to make it out of the dining room in time to get good seats for the 8:30 show. Oh, and did I mention that they have already worked breakfast and lunch on the Lido deck and are doing it all on 5-6 hours of sleep and haven't had a day off in up to 8 months?

 

I understand that many people cruise just for the food, and I don't see a problem with ordering a salad and and appetizer, or even two lobster tails if you're really hungry, but do your servers a favor and order it up front so they don't have to make an extra 20 minute trek through the long lines in the galley to fetch your 2nd serving, all while delaying everyone else's dessert course.

 

 

Wow this is a great bit of information. Thanks for the tip!

[re-re]

Read the book Cruise Confidential and you'll have a whole new appreciation for the dining room staff. There is a reason why they have you order your appetizers and entrees all at one time. It takes coordination and planning to get courses out at the right time, and if someone asks for something that takes another trip to the galley, it throws the whole system out of whack and causes a big delay in all of the other tables in the section getting their next course.

 

It can take 20 minutes for the assistant waiter to make one trip to and from the galley, which, on some ships, isn't even on the same deck as the dining room. Each two person team has about 20 passengers in their section. They can carry about 12 plates on a tray. Two trips per course, a minimum of three courses per meal. At 15-20 minutes per trip to the galley, that means that they are already at 90 minutes to two hours of service time, and they only have two and a half hours to complete service, clean their entire section, restock, and be ready for the next seating. Throw in an extra 20 minute trip to the galley for a 2nd round of lobster that you didn't order up front and they are really pushing their maximum turn time, not to mention delaying the dessert course for the other four tables around you, whom are anxious to make it out of the dining room in time to get good seats for the 8:30 show. Oh, and did I mention that they have already worked breakfast and lunch on the Lido deck and are doing it all on 5-6 hours of sleep and haven't had a day off in up to 8 months?

 

I understand that many people cruise just for the food, and I don't see a problem with ordering a salad and and appetizer, or even two lobster tails if you're really hungry, but do your servers a favor and order it up front so they don't have to make an extra 20 minute trek through the long lines in the galley to fetch your 2nd serving, all while delaying everyone else's dessert course.

 

I never knew that, thanks for the info.

[Chef P]

Thanks for the review..

[cam1998]

I was just back off the 5 day western on Destiny so this was the trip that left out at 4:00 on the 1st. Wonder why you guys left late because we got back to port really early that morning and I had a zone 26 get off tickets and lots of the rooms were already cleaned by the time we left. Sorry to hear that. We left all our ports on time minus a few people at each one but I say to that you are grown and know what time this ship is leaving. LOL

[HisWife1908]

Thanks for the review!