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Destiny Review 9/3/06 - 9/10/06

Darcy03231

By Darcy03231,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Darcy03231

Darcy03231

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We just got back from our cruise on the Destiny (09-03-2006 to 09-10-2006). This was our fourth Carnival cruise. This time it was just my husband and I cruising (left the kids at home) and we booked our first balcony cabin. We found we used it much more than we thought we would. It’s going to be hard to go back to an interior cabin after this!

AIR: I booked the air on my own. While we live in NH and the Manchester, NH airport is close to our house I ended up booking a flight out of Logan in Boston. American Airlines had a great deal when I booked back in March 2006. I booked roundtrip air on a non-stop flight for $283.00/pp. I would encourage anyone who has several airports within driving distance to them to check flight information and price at each airport. As we booked our own air we did fly into San Juan a day early to avoid any potential problems with airline delays, especially since we were traveling during hurricane season.

HOTEL: I booked the San Juan Beach Hotel for $100 per night through Hotwire. While it was fine for one night, I wasn’t impressed. When I booked it was rated as a 3 star. In reality it was more of like a 2 star. While it was clean, there were holes in the bedspreads, the carpet was stained and the bathroom had chipped tiles and a cracked sink. There were plenty of restaurants within walking distance and it was right on the beach, so, for the price it wasn’t too bad. If you’re planning on staying in San Juan for more than one night, I would look at a different hotel.

BOARDING/DISEMBARKING: We arrived at the port at about 11:30 a.m.. We checked in and were on board and eating lunch by 1:00 p.m. Disembarking was fine, except our luggage tags were the last ones called. We didn’t get off the ship until about 12:30 p.m. As our flight out wasn’t until 3:00 p.m. we weren’t in any hurry. I was a really nice day so we just hung out up on the Lido deck until it was time to go. The first luggage colors weren’t called until about 9:00 a.m. so I would be careful of booking an early flight from San Juan. Once we got the airport check in was a breeze. There were only about 10 people ahead of us in line and no crowd at the airport at all.

ROOM: As I mentioned earlier in this review we booked our first balcony cabin. We were in cabin 8319 which was in the rear of the ship. I loved this location as we were just one deck under the Lido. Neither my husband nor I noticed any noise. Our room steward did an excellent job. No complaints here. I did read on other reviews that some people had issues with the air conditioning in their cabins. While our cabin was very comfortable throughout the cruise, I did notice that the halls could get very warm at times. Also, we did have breakfast with several couples who were also on our deck who did have issues with their rooms being very warm, so it appears this is still an issue in some cabins.

ENTERTAINMENT: My husband and I both agreed that the shows on the Destiny beat every other cruises hands down. The production shows were fantastic. The comedians, juggler and magician were also great. We both enjoyed seeing and hearing Duke Daniels (from the Platters). Overall, we couldn’t have been happier with the shows. We didn’t really hang out at the Lido deck pool so I can’t comment on the pool area entertainment other than to say that we saw it in the Capers and they are still doing the Hairy Chest contest, Fear Factor, Survivor, etc.

CAMP CARNIVAL: Can’t comment here as we didn’t travel with the kids this time. I really didn’t see many kids on board.

DINING ROOMS: We had the early seating (5:45 p.m) in the Universal dining room. While the service was great (as we expected from previous Carnival cruises) I must say that the food was a letdown. We both agreed that the quality just wasn’t there. Our impression was that the food in the dining room was on par with the food normally found at the buffet. The only exception to this was the prime rib, which was excellent. The desserts were very good and on par with other Carnival cruises. While we didn’t go hungry, we were disappointed with the quality.

Pizza, the NY Deli and the Grill (burgers, hot dogs and fries) were all good. The Asian place (can’t remember the name) was hit or miss. The buffet was ok. Some things were better than others, but again, the quality of the food was not was it’s been on other ships.

While it didn’t ruin our cruise and we didn’t go hungry, overall we were disappointed with the food quality on this ship.

SHIPS CONDITION: This is an older ship and I found it to be in good repair, clean and comfortable. Everyone I went there was someone cleaning something. I didn’t see any stained carpet or disrepair. I know some people have commented that they felt the ship wasn’t at its best but I have to disagree.

EXCURSIONS:

St. Thomas: We grabbed a taxi and went to Coki beach. Taxi was $9/pp each way. Beach chair rentals were $5/pp and an umbrella was $10. The beach is gorgeous and really wasn’t crowded. The snorkeling was great. We brought our own masks and snorkels and just rented the fins ($5/pp). There are restaurants and bars right along the beach and there is a restroom and fresh water showers. We had a great day there and would go back again.

Dominica: We booked the river tubing directly through Wacky Rollers. It was $60/pp and we had a blast. The river was moving pretty quickly and the water was about Class II. We had about 14 people in our group with 6 guides. I felt very safe doing this excursion. Everyone had to wear a life vest and we all had a paddle. After we were done we went back to the ship, got cleaned up, had lunch and still had time to shop at the pier. I found the people of Dominica to be very friendly. While people tried to get you to come into their stalls, they weren’t at all pushy about it. A simple no thank you was fine.

Barbados: We booked a 5 hour Catamaran trip through Heatwave. It was $60/pp and included lunch and open bar (they had a full bar). There were 10 of on the Catamaran (6 from the ship and 4 from a resort) and we all agreed that this was the best excursion we’ve ever taken. We went swimming and snorkeling with the sea turtles and snorkeling over two ship wrecks. We then went to the Boatyard where we had full use of all of their equipment. It was best day of the cruise!

Aruba: We had another beach day at Palm Beach. We went to Moomba Bay and relaxed for the day. It was $10/each way for the taxi and $5 for beach chairs. They had restaurants and bars there was well as restrooms and a fresh water shower. We stayed there until about 6 pm, went back to the ship, had dinner and then walked around downtown Aruba until 9:30 when we had to be back on board.

WEATHER/SEAS: Weather was great the entire week and seas were calm. While there was a shower in St. Thomas it blew over very quickly. We couldn’t have asked for better weather.

If there are any other questions or other information you would like to get about the ship or my experience, feel free to e-mail me at lowes1998@comcast.net. Put in the subject line Carnival Destiny so that I don't accidentally delete it.

We again had a great time on the Destiny. We both loved the itinerary and even with the food quality we would sail her again.

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Lisa0719

Lisa0719

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Thanks for the great review. We are booked for November 5 and February 11!!! I can't wait. Although I booked Silvermoon for the November cruise, I think I will try Heatwave in February. The only thing that has me concerned is the air conditioning. I was on the Destiny in August of 97 out of Miami for Western Caribbean and the room air was terrible ---- has kept me away from her for 10 years. I already plan to ask for a fan the moment I board the ship.

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typintotravel

typintotravel

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Thanks so much for your review. We are going on the Destiny 1/7/07 and after reading some reviews, was beginning to wonder if we made the right choice. I think we did. Have been on the Destiny twice before (1998 and 2000) and loved it, but began to question if we should have booked a newer ship. We are easy to please, just love the idea of being away, not complainers by any means! Our last 2 have been with Royal Caribbean Voyager class and we certainly enjoyed them, but Carnival has been drawing us back with their pricing plus we started our cruising with Carnival and never had a "bad" cruise. Thanks again for putting my mind at ease - I know we will all enjoy the Destiny!

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sunrise2

sunrise2

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Thank you for the great review. We sail on her 2/18/2007. Some of the reviews have been very negative and making us feel we didn't have much to look forward too. But now after reading your review, our spirits are high and we are anxious to board her. Thank You!

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luvdale

luvdale

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Do they have the 24 hour ice cream/yogurt? We sailed on the Glory in April, 2006 and we are thinking about booking the Destiny, May, 2007. We usually cruise NCL but are considering Carnival again. We were not too happy with Carnival. It was during Easter, alot of noisy drunks on the balcony at 1-3 in the morning, kids running up and down the halls all hours of the night. The very first night we had a drunk wandering down the hall, we NEVER experienced this with NCL or even Disney!!!! We said we would never cruise Carnival again, but never say never!!! Do they have a buffet set up if you do not want to go to the dining room? We had our first balcony and I really enjoyed it so much. After you get a balcony cabin, it is HARD to go back to a regular cabin, even a window!!!!!!!!!!! We are thinking of the upper deck, same deck as before. I have not read any positive reviews about the Destiny, but we sent on the NCL Norway before she blew up, and I read nothing but negative reviews and it was a wonderful cruise. I had almost decided to cancel, but went anyway and loved the older ship. The Glory was so big, I really like the smaller ships. Any additional information would be greatly appreciated!!! Thank you!!

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Darcy03231

Darcy03231

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luvdale: The ice cream and yogurt machines were out on the Lido deck. Every time I was up there they were open, but I don't know if they keep them open 24 hours.

 

jim: Heatwave meets you in the circle right outside the gates into the pier at the Diamonds International sign. They picked us up at about 10:45 am (excursion was 11-4).

 

wwakla: Wacky Rollers meets you right outside the pier. They had a sign with our name on it. If you do a google seach with their name their website will come up. They have all kinds of different tours, but the river tubing was a blast.

 

typintotravel: If you do a google search of Heatwave Catamaran Barbados their website will come up. I don't think we can post them here. If you can't find it that way just email me and I'll give it to you.

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deeolasingh

deeolasingh

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Thanks for a wonderful review I too was starting to worry after all the negative reviews I was reading.... but after reading your review I cant wait to get on Destiny....

 

How far was the hotel from the pier cause we are flying in a day early since it will be winter and you never know if a snow storm will pop up... we are not a picky bunch just need a place for the night:)

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Darcy03231

Darcy03231

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Dee Dee: I was only 10-15 min from the hotel to the pier. We're not real fussy either so the hotel was fine for one night. Depending on how early you get in the day before you can take a bus right outside the hotel to Old San Juan for .50/pp each way. We got in about 2 p.m. the day before so that's what we did. It's bus B1.

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sotadragon

sotadragon

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I'll be on the Destiny on 1/28/07. I was getting a little concerned about so many negative reviews. It's good to read something positive. I'm looking forward to having a great cruise.

We've had the same thing happen before ALL of our cruises! :) After my mother booked us on the Destiny for 6/97, she kept seeing all these negative reviews and started to wonder if she'd made a mistake with the choice of ship. Then we actually went on the cruise, had a blast, and became addicted to cruising! We've learned not to put TOO much stock in negative reviews and just go with a positive attitude that we're going to have fun. We haven't had a bad cruise yet, no matter what any review said.

 

Darcy - Thanks for a great review! :)

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