Carnival Destiny 11/22- 11/26/2012

[Herbaltees]

I am just off the Carnival Destiny and wanted to share some insight from our cruise.

 

The Ship: The ship's layout is a bit confusing. What I didn't like most were the two dining rooms and having to travel up and over to get from one part of the ship to another. The ship is showing some signs of wear: there were three floods (wet carpet, etc) on three different floors during our sailing. My room wasn't affected, but I'm sure it angered those who were affected.

The Dining Room: We were a large group (15) with varying ages from 2-62. If you are traveling with a group, definitely choose a dining time. We had to wait most nights for a table (btwn 20-30 mins). It wasn't a problem for us, but I just want others to be prepared, who may be traveling with a group. The food in the Dnrm was okay. I've sailed on a 7 night cruise and was saddened by the selection. Although, the menu was the same, I think, somehow, something was different or missing. I mean the food was good, but just not as elegant. Word of advice: for Thanksgiving dinner, skip the turkey entree. YUCK!

 

The Buffet: We tried to eat in the dnrm most days, because I prefer that experience. However, on the days when we ate in the buffet, I found the food to be good. There were lines, but that is to be expected in a buffet. Try walking all the way fwd, near the pizza station for faster service. I found that area to be deserted as most ppl congregated mid ship.

[Herbaltees]

Accommodations: Our room was 6375 (8M True Aft balcony) which was a beautiful room. Our room steward worked hard to ensure we had everything we needed. Everything worked in our room and we had an updated TV. I want to add, that my sons' room 6361 (4D Inside) and they had two twin beds. My cousin had a 4A (6127) on the same floor with a bunk bed and twin and her room was tiny, tiny, tiny. She paid a little more than my brother in his porthole (1A 1105) and had less space. I know she wanted to be on the same floor, but her room layout was a little awkward and was really tiny in comparison. One family member was in a triple (1123) which was the largest of the rooms, IMO. Everyone in our group enjoyed their accommodations and felt the room stewards worked overtime to help them.

Entertainment: Here is where I think Carnival really shined the most. The shows were good, but the live bands were the greatest. I loved the reggae band, the Latin band and the Filipino band (who played more American hits). Of the three, I think the Latin band rocked the ship. They were able to get everyone dancing and having a good time. The comedy shows were funny too, but the same two comedians gave 4 shows each. (One family, one adult).

[Herbaltees]

Camp Carnival: I was a little disappointed in the camp carnival. The activities for the teens in our group didn't hold their attention. They spent the entire sailing at the basketball court. My two year old did not do well in the camp, either. After a 1/2 hour, they were calling me to come pick him up. I think maybe this sailing just had many more kids than they were used to dealing with at one time, and had large group activities, rather than a smaller group activities like one would find in a day care setting. It wasn't a big problem, just something I thought I'd share.

 

and speaking of kids...

 

Clientele: For the most part, the kids on the sailing were well behaved. I did notice 1 or 2 rough looking boys and many more scantily clad young ladies. But parenting is an individual thing so who am I to judge. I can only say my children would never dress like that or behave like that. My only :eek: moment was when I saw a teenager smoking one of those electronic cigarettes. WTH!!!! Whose parent would spend money on those for their teens? Smh. I definitely think Carnival's low prices have attracted some less than desirable clients. There were undershirts and tank tops worn in the dnrm & ppl in their robes at the buffet. LOL!

[Herbaltees]

Excursions: Our sailing went to Key West and Cozumel.

We were in Key West until 1:00 in the afternoon so we didn't have a lot of time to explore. We went with the City View Trolley and purchased our tickets direct from them ($19 adult kids under 12 free). The trolley gave us a tour of the island and then we were able to hop on and off at the various stops to see what we wanted to see. It was a fun and informative tour for 1/2 the price of Carnival's excursion.

 

We arrived in Cozumel about noon and were there until 9:30pm. We took a taxi from the port to the Paradise beach club. The taxi was $28OW (7 ppl in a van) at first ppl were trying to cheat us, but we kept asking around until we got a price we thought was fair. The beach club was $2pp for use of the chair, bathrooms umbrella etc and $10 for the kids to use the water toys. We thought that was a fair price. They also have a pool for those who don't like the sand.

 

Weather: OMG, we had no idea how cold it would be in Florida and Mexico this time of year. I know ppl will say "Uhhh weather channel, much"LOL! But we just assumed it would be warm. It was cold, like sweater weather cold. If you are traveling in November pack a jacket an pants! During the day it was warm like 70's (still not hot) but at night it was low 60's. Although we did go to the beach in Mexico and got in the water, it was cold. By the time the sun set and we were headed back to the pier, we needed to use our newly purchased Mexican blankets as a wrap.

[Herbaltees]

All in all we had a great trip. Overall, we would give the Destiny a B, as in better than being at home. The staff worked hard and the trip was fun and safe.

 

That's all I have for now, if you have any questions, please fire them away!:D

[chipq]

Thanks for sharing. I too shake my head at some of the outfits (or lack thereof) some of these teen girls are allowed to leave the cabin wearing.

 

http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

[jen&samcantwait]

Thanks for the review, glad to hear you enjoyed!!! We're sailing Destiny this Sat :D. I do have a couple of questions for you, where are the live bands playing, not the Lido, right??? And, how did you like the Aft? We're in 7333.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review!

[Herbaltees]

Thanks for the review, glad to hear you enjoyed!!! We're sailing Destiny this Sat :D. I do have a couple of questions for you, where are the live bands playing, not the Lido, right??? And, how did you like the Aft? We're in 7333.

 

Yes, the was Latin band and Reggae band played on the Lido, it was listed in the Fun times as "Reggae party" and "Latin party" they also played in the lounges, and on a small stage in the casino. The Filipino band played in the lounge, near the comedy club one night and in the casino.

 

We loved the Aft for the view. It wasn't too hot and had a lounger and two chairs. The room itself was well appointed.

 

FYI: Bring an umbrella and a sweater.

[golfb4cruzing]

Glad to read about the flooding. ONLY because we were on the Destiny Oct 29th and our suite got flooded and people think I'm crazy. Definitely some problems going on.

[Herbaltees]

Glad to read about the flooding. ONLY because we were on the Destiny Oct 29th and our suite got flooded and people think I'm crazy. Definitely some problems going on.

 

Yes, there are certainly some problems with the Destiny. I think this flooding is a regular problem on the Destiny. There were carpet drying fans all along the hall after each of the three floods. I doubt it's common for each ship to carry that many fans on each ship. There was also some sort of faint smell: sometimes like something burning, other times like wet garbage maybe? I don't mean to scare anyone and it was only really noticeable in the hall. And like I said it was really faint, at least to me.

 

I do give the staff credit, though. They seem to keep their spirits up despite the issues. It can not be easy dealing with the same problems and same complaints week after week.

[iluvdoxies]

Excursions: Our sailing went to Key West and Cozumel.

We were in Key West until 1:00 in the afternoon so we didn't have a lot of time to explore. We went with the City View Trolley and purchased our tickets direct from them ($19 adult kids under 12 free). The trolley gave us a tour of the island and then we were able to hop on and off at the various stops to see what we wanted to see. It was a fun and informative tour for 1/2 the price of Carnival's excursion.

 

We arrived in Cozumel about noon and were there until 9:30pm. We took a taxi from the port to the Paradise beach club. The taxi was $28OW (7 ppl in a van) at first ppl were trying to cheat us, but we kept asking around until we got a price we thought was fair. The beach club was $2pp for use of the chair, bathrooms umbrella etc and $10 for the kids to use the water toys. We thought that was a fair price. They also have a pool for those who don't like the sand.

 

Weather: OMG, we had no idea how cold it would be in Florida and Mexico this time of year. I know ppl will say "Uhhh weather channel, much"LOL! But we just assumed it would be warm. It was cold, like sweater weather cold. If you are traveling in November pack a jacket an pants! During the day it was warm like 70's (still not hot) but at night it was low 60's. Although we did go to the beach in Mexico and got in the water, it was cold. By the time the sun set and we were headed back to the pier, we needed to use our newly purchased Mexican blankets as a wrap.

 

yes, it's been quite cool in Orlando, still is

[golfb4cruzing]

Our room steward saved the day because after 20 minutes of flooding and waiting for the plumber, I saw him down the hall and he came running. He jumped in the bathroom and did something to stop the water. Our corridor was soaked and had a fan as well.