What is wrong with the Destiny?

[Fun~N~Sun]

 

There is a reason why I rant and rave on this board about Destiny. If I write a letter of complaint to Carnival only two people see that letter. The person in Customer Service who reads it and me. At best' date=' they will give me a credit for $100 or so on a future cruise and my issues are buried. However, if I post an honest review, start interesting threads or posts comments that tell the true nitty gritty, thousands of potential customers will see it. CC is the most popular of the cruise boards and many, many, many people read these threads that never sign up as members or post anything themselves.

 

Now tell me which is likely to get a rise out of Carnival? A letter or a CC thread/review/post being viewed by thousands of cruisers?:cool:

 

 

 

There is a method to my madness.

 

Also, I saw the look of extreme disappointment in the faces of several honeymooners when trying to enjoy their "first" cruise and being treated like second class citizens on the ship. It was not fair. That angers me more than anything.:mad: How dare Carnival. How could they?[/quote']

 

I agree with all you have posted in different threads on these boards. You seem to have read my mind and taken the words right out of my mouth. I did write my letter to Carnival when we returned from our Destiny cruise and I got a letter back stating they were sorry I wasn't happy with my experience and gave me a credit for a Bon Voyage gift on my next. I wasn't really expecting anything "free". I wanted them to

acknowledge the problem and tell me what they planned to do to fix it.

[Sianli]

Reading all of your recent experiences definately brings sorrow to my soul! We will of course board with a positive attitude but at this point would appreciate and advice to improve our experience next week!

[Guest CRUZIN' SUZIN]

Reading all of your recent experiences definately brings sorrow to my soul! We will of course board with a positive attitude but at this point would appreciate and advice to improve our experience next week!

 

Take a bit extra patience, any extra tip you have for your steward, give it to him/her upfront - it motivates them. If they are still awful, just take the tip off of the bill.

 

Take more patience and know that it is not you. Laugh about it and mentally word your review for CC. It helps a lot.

 

The ports are to die for so you will still have a blast. Don't miss Boatyard Beach on Barbados.

 

Oh, one more thing -- lots and lots and lots of foo-foo drinks.

[pholter]

Oh' date=' one more thing -- lots and lots and lots of foo-foo drinks.[/quote']

 

Now that brought a smile to my face today- thanks! :p

[Loves_Dogs]

Reading all of your recent experiences definately brings sorrow to my soul! We will of course board with a positive attitude but at this point would appreciate and advice to improve our experience next week!

 

 

Dont let this bring you down. As I posted on an earlier thread......I truly did have a great vacation...my main problem was the food and service in the dining room...Did we starve? Heck no...there was plenty of GREAt food. I just thought it was not quite as good as our previous cruises. We did not go hungry, trust me! This cruise has a lot of great ports and you will spend a lot of time off the ship, and sailing out of Puerto Rico is like getting another port. I am glad I had this cruise experience for the ports alone, but as I said earlier, I would not do it again.

 

Have a great cruise!

[Fun~N~Sun]

Take a bit extra patience' date=' any extra tip you have for your steward, give it to him/her upfront - it motivates them. If they are still awful, just take the tip off of the bill.

 

Take more patience and know that it is not you. Laugh about it and mentally word your review for CC. It helps a lot.

 

The ports are to die for so you will still have a blast. Don't miss Boatyard Beach on Barbados.

 

Oh, one more thing -- lots and lots and lots of foo-foo drinks.[/quote']

 

Girl! You and I have got to go on our next cruise together (I remember you saying you cruised alone)! I have agreed with everything you have posted here......the Boatyard was awesome! I loved it. They even played my kind of music and not that !@*~ music they played on the Destiny. The only think I haven't agree with is the "foo-foo" thing. I'll take a cold beer!

[Guest CRUZIN' SUZIN]

Girl! You and I have got to go on our next cruise together (I remember you saying you cruised alone)! I have agreed with everything you have posted here......the Boatyard was awesome! I loved it. They even played my kind of music and not that !@*~ music they played on the Destiny. The only think I haven't agree with is the "foo-foo" thing. I'll take a cold beer!

 

Drink your share of foo-foo drinks. Oh but the sacrifices I make for people. [burp!!!]:eek:

[Guest CRUZIN' SUZIN]

Duplicate -- my bad.

[ChrissyBTX]

Sweetie, I've been reading and participating in Destiny/Cruise Critic and other boards for years and the Destiny (as well as many other ships) reported A/C, Plumbing, Service, Food, Kids, and other problems well before I ever took my cruise. I have also posted that the same problems were reported just weeks before my cruise. WE EXPERIENCED NO PROBLEMS ON THE DESTINY, NOR DID ANYONE OF THE OTHER PASSENGERS WE ENCOUNTED THAT WEEK. :) :) It is also quite obvious that others cruising in the past 2 months are not experiencing the same issues that some posters are writing about either. I've been reading some awesome reviews and some not so awesome reviews. Personally, I can't wait to cruise the Destiny again with all my favorite Puerto Rican friends we met from the 1st time around. I'm betting it will be better than ever with St. Lucia and Antigua added to the mix. :) I'm very sorry that you didn't get what you expected from your cruise, but please stop beating those up that did and were on the same sailing as you. All opinions matter and I take them all into account....

 

Who was I beating up? I don't feel like I beat anybody up and would never intentionally do so (other than Carnival). And, who did I beat up that was on the same sailing that I was? Did you sail when I did? I guess I'm confused. When are you planning on cruising the Destiny again? I agree, St. Lucia and Antigua would be a great change. I absolutely love the southern caribbean and really want to go back. If Carnival could straighten out and improve the Destiny I would go again, but I'm considering taking a southern caribbean out of Florida next time.

 

But seriously, I wonder why CCL hasn't fixed the a/c problems? From what you said, they've had this problem for years now. You'd think they would fix it so they wouldn't get the complaints.

 

EMTRa, you are more than welcome to have my deck chair. :)

[Brneyznfl]

 

I agree with all you have posted in different threads on these boards. You seem to have read my mind and taken the words right out of my mouth. I did write my letter to Carnival when we returned from our Destiny cruise and I got a letter back stating they were sorry I wasn't happy with my experience and gave me a credit for a Bon Voyage gift on my next. I wasn't really expecting anything "free". I wanted them to

acknowledge the problem and tell me what they planned to do to fix it.

 

I'm glad that Carnival said they were sorry about your experience on the Destiny. How long did it take for them to reply to you? I've contacted Carnival twice since I returned last month No reply, no form letter, no apology nothing..period. Since I returned, I've also booked two more cruises..and they aren't on Carnival. I'm not going to say that I won't ever sail on Carnival again because never is a long time. But I'm also not eager to book with them anytime soon when they can't even respond to my emails.

[habby]

 

I'm glad that Carnival said they were sorry about your experience on the Destiny. How long did it take for them to reply to you? I've contacted Carnival twice since I returned last month No reply, no form letter, no apology nothing..period.

 

Just my personal experience ....

 

I sent a letter by U.S. Mail to Guest Relations. Received a response from Carnival through U. S. Mail five weeks later.

[pholter]

Who was I beating up? I don't feel like I beat anybody up and would never intentionally do so (other than Carnival). And, who did I beat up that was on the same sailing that I was? Did you sail when I did? I guess I'm confused. When are you planning on cruising the Destiny again? I agree, St. Lucia and Antigua would be a great change. I absolutely love the southern caribbean and really want to go back. If Carnival could straighten out and improve the Destiny I would go again, but I'm considering taking a southern caribbean out of Florida next time.

 

But seriously, I wonder why CCL hasn't fixed the a/c problems? From what you said, they've had this problem for years now. You'd think they would fix it so they wouldn't get the complaints.

 

EMTRa, you are more than welcome to have my deck chair. :)

 

Chrissy- All I'm saying is that your opinion counts, but there are others that were on your same sailing that are posting that didn't have any problems. I'm not discounting your experience, but you/me/anyone also cannot discount their's or mine regardless of when the sailings occurred. I am booking the Fall of 2007, probably October since that's our favorite time to cruise. I have 2 geriatric & sick children (dog and cat) that need my full attention before I can book another cruise though, so I don't have the dates yet. I do think that Carnival is fixing the A/C problems, however, they seem to rotate and it sounds like this is a much "stranger" problem than was even able to be fully rectified during Dry Dock. Maybe it's like a car- you hear a noise, but once you get it to the mechanic, it doesn't make the noise anymore. I dunno..... But, I do know that I'm looking forward to cruising again as I haven't had a vacation in 2 years already; not even a long weekend away :( OK, pity party over now :)

[sharecruises]

I find it really odd that people seem to want others to shut up about the a/c problem on this ship, and use posts that say "My air was fine, had a great time" etc..

 

What will you say to these future destiny cruisers if they come back on board and say their cabin was one of the unlucky ones?

 

The physical problems that this ONE ship has had on a regular basis set it apart from others in the fleet...and the ratio of staff to passengers. The fact is that this ONE ship has significantly less crew who are more overworked,

and possibly get tipped less due to the cut rate prices they offer the locals

 

I live in Florida, and trust me we do NOT sail for port fees only or anything near that cheap....another thing on this ONE cruise is that Carnival seems to offer lots of 3rd/4th person deals so that the ship is sailing very full, and this may also impact the crew/passenger ratio

 

The ports look great....and yes ultimately you can "make your own fun"

 

BUT to gloss over the problems is simply ridiculous

 

I have friends going on this in Nov....some tips are 1) ask for a fan right away if you have a problem...2) report a problem right away, try to get room moved if you have any air problems. 3) as someone else said, tip in advance...and if the service does not improve remove tips at the end

 

this might also work to your advantage in the dining room too....if you do not like your tablemates see the matre d right away to get changed, maybe tip waiter in advance also ? make sure you get english speaking tablemates and even see if you can seated in an area of like minded tablemates as I would hate like hell to be in the midst of family reunions, quiencerias, and huge party hearty groups of 20 somethings

 

The buffet sounds pretty bad on this cruise so either stand your ground or

maybe order room service or eat in the dining room..again I would insist to be seated with english speaking people

 

Another option ? Port intensive, so just eat lunch everyday on land at local places....conch fritters, grilled lobster, yum...maybe some of the island places have the steel bands and carribean music to enjoy if it is lacking on the ship

 

IF the service really sucks ...and there have been individual reports of this on this ship especially....you can remove the tips at the end of the week, although I wouldn't usually advise that or do that myself, in this case it might be a good statement....also comment cards

 

Music?? Again be proactive....request songs...ask where the music is, talk to the staff, and if all else fails hear the steel bands on the islands and remove the tips, leave comment cards and let them know you are coming back to this and other boards to complain

 

Before you accuse me of being a complainer, let me say I had wonderful serivce and people on Imagination and left the tips on and tipped more in cash at end of cruise....but I do think that sometimes you have to "vote with your tips". This ONE cruise may require it

 

Have a great time...but remember that on this ship the squeaky wheel gets the grease, onboard credit, cold air and decent service

[EMTRa]

I don't want a "future credit" because I will NOT sail on any Carnival ship again. I'm moving up to the better cruise lines. Carnival lies at the bottom and it's a well known fact. It always has and probably always will.

 

EMTRa, you are more than welcome to have my deck chair. :)

 

Thanks! Less than a month ago you were inquiring about planning another Carnival Cruise...and raving about your last one..now your ready to ditch all of Carnival because of the Destiny? A bit extreme don't you think?

IMHO, the a/c issue has been beat to death on several boards.

 

ANYWAY! Thank you! I will be happy to sit in the sun on any ship, foo-foo drink in hand with the others who don't mind sailing with Carnival! :rolleyes:

[pholter]

Hi Sharecruisers...... Your suggestions are really great to overcome possible obstacles!!

 

I wanted to try to address your staff to passenger ratio again though if I could. I don't work for the cruiseline, but I do work in the hospitality industry. The hospitality industry staffs according to work load and "covers." Covers are number of folks eating, etc. Due to this particular ship being significantly higher in port time, it would make sense to me as a business person in the industry that it would be staffed accordingly as well. If I'm not mistaken, you might have posted those numbers before- maybe each crew has .40 of a passenger more to serve than other vessels?? I cannot tell you where the cuts took place vs. the other ships, but I would do the same thing in a hotel/ restaurant/ resort, etc. if the business dictated as such. I might rotate the staff better if there were more areas lacking and others over staffed though. This cruise has 1-2 more port days than other 7 day ships, so .40 less crew per passenger seems more than adequate if used appropriately to me.

 

I would actually LOVE to hear someone from Carnival be able to come online here and explain some of the mechanical issues to us, but I'm sure that will never happen. No one is discounting anyone that did have A/C or other problems, but the same should hold true for those passengers that experienced no problems at all. I hope your friends have a great time that you've been researching these boards for! :)

[MrPete]

I am amazed by those people who defend the ship without having actually experienced it firsthand.

We were one of the lucky people with litlle or no AC. We had a balcony on the Riviera deck.

 

That too would be a little difficult. There are no balconies on the Riviera Deck. :rolleyes:

[ChrissyBTX]

Thanks! Less than a month ago you were inquiring about planning another Carnival Cruise...and raving about your last one..now your ready to ditch all of Carnival because of the Destiny? A bit extreme don't you think?

IMHO, the a/c issue has been beat to death on several boards.

 

ANYWAY! Thank you! I will be happy to sit in the sun on any ship, foo-foo drink in hand with the others who don't mind sailing with Carnival! :rolleyes:

 

Would you please show me the post I made that you're referring to? I don't recall that post.

 

Yes, my cruise on the Conquest was very nice (I'd give it 4 stars). And, it's my perogative if I don't want to sail on Carnival anymore. I think I have to right to do that and, no, I don't think it's extreme. It's the choice I've made. But, yes, you are correct, the a/c issue has been beaten to death on other boards. The new posters should take the time to read the other threads.

 

Enjoy the foo foos!:rolleyes:

[futaba951]

I find it really odd that people seem to want others to shut up about the a/c problem on this ship, and use posts that say "My air was fine, had a great time" etc..

 

 

Their air probably was fine and they probably had a great time. And there are others whose air didn't work and their cruise sucked. Why is it so impossible to think that both conditions existed on the same ship on the same cruise? You hold the naysayers up as god yet discount those who had a good experience. Are they liars? Who are we to believe? Is it possible that both parties experienced opposite situations, yet both are telling the truth? What I find odd ( and somewhat creepy) is why you are so obssessed with your bash Destiny crusade and yet you have never been on the ship to have a first hand experience of your own. What is your agenda?

[EMTRa]

I thought of something bad on our Destiny cruise (the first one ..and yes, I know it was two years ago..) but they were out of beer. Seriously...out of BEER!

DH and I boarded in Aruba. We went to the bar by the casino first stop and he wanted a Coors or Bud Light or Miller Lite..no such luck. The bartender looked at us and said "we're out". I thought he was kidding..but nope, sure wasn't. Not just one bar..EVERY bar! I did find one wonderful waiter who went to a "private stash" and found one bud light for me!Corona and Heineken were the only kinds left. This is one time when I bet all the people who smuggled beer with them were very happy. Probably could have made a lot of money too.. lol.

The truck in one of the ports (where they reload) didn't show up! This went on for a day or so until we docked again.. when they brought the full cases into the bars..everyone cheered!!!

[ChrissyBTX]

Hi Sharecruisers...... Your suggestions are really great to overcome possible obstacles!!

 

I wanted to try to address your staff to passenger ratio again though if I could. I don't work for the cruiseline, but I do work in the hospitality industry. The hospitality industry staffs according to work load and "covers." Covers are number of folks eating, etc. Due to this particular ship being significantly higher in port time, it would make sense to me as a business person in the industry that it would be staffed accordingly as well. If I'm not mistaken, you might have posted those numbers before- maybe each crew has .40 of a passenger more to serve than other vessels?? I cannot tell you where the cuts took place vs. the other ships, but I would do the same thing in a hotel/ restaurant/ resort, etc. if the business dictated as such. I might rotate the staff better if there were more areas lacking and others over staffed though. This cruise has 1-2 more port days than other 7 day ships, so .40 less crew per passenger seems more than adequate if used appropriately to me.

 

I would actually LOVE to hear someone from Carnival be able to come online here and explain some of the mechanical issues to us, but I'm sure that will never happen. No one is discounting anyone that did have A/C or other problems, but the same should hold true for those passengers that experienced no problems at all. I hope your friends have a great time that you've been researching these boards for! :)

 

One good thing I can say is, I didn't complain about lack of staff. I didn't think that was a problem. We had great service in the dining room and our cabin steward, Keith, was awesome. I don't recall seeing a complaint about staffing, did I miss it? They could have used some people at the public restrooms tho (the one by the Disco/Piano Bar), but other than that I always saw the staff out cleaning things.

[pholter]

One good thing I can say is, I didn't complain about lack of staff. I didn't think that was a problem. We had great service in the dining room and our cabin steward, Keith, was awesome. I don't recall seeing a complaint about staffing, did I miss it? They could have used some people at the public restrooms tho (the one by the Disco/Piano Bar), but other than that I always saw the staff out cleaning things.

 

I don't recall many folks that actually cruised on the Destiny complaining about the staff, but sharecruisers, who hasn't sailed on the Destiny has brought up the issue over and over again. They posted it on this thread an hour or so ago as well, so I just wanted to try to substantiate the staffing somewhat based on what I do know. I do not know the backend of the cruise industry though, just a similar one.

[EMTRa]

Would you please show me the post I made that you're referring to? I don't recall that post.

 

Yes, my cruise on the Conquest was very nice (I'd give it 4 stars). And, it's my perogative if I don't want to sail on Carnival anymore. I think I have to right to do that and, no, I don't think it's extreme. It's the choice I've made. But, yes, you are correct, the a/c issue has been beaten to death on other boards. The new posters should take the time to read the other threads.

 

Enjoy the foo foos!:rolleyes:

 

Here ya go..

 

Is anyone out there? I think our roll call died. Guess that happens after a cruise...:( I was just thinking about everyone today and all the fun times we had and thought I'd stop in and say hello!! Is anyone serious about doing it again next year? On another ship? We could start talking about it if anyone's interested ????

 

 

You are absolutely right..your perogative. Have fun! :rolleyes:

[Bran8778]

I got off the Destiny a few weeks ago and had a great time. The air was not a problem. sorry I just wanted to add that

[ChrissyBTX]

I thought of something bad on our Destiny cruise (the first one ..and yes, I know it was two years ago..) but they were out of beer. Seriously...out of BEER!

DH and I boarded in Aruba. We went to the bar by the casino first stop and he wanted a Coors or Bud Light or Miller Lite..no such luck. The bartender looked at us and said "we're out". I thought he was kidding..but nope, sure wasn't. Not just one bar..EVERY bar! I did find one wonderful waiter who went to a "private stash" and found one bud light for me!Corona and Heineken were the only kinds left. This is one time when I bet all the people who smuggled beer with them were very happy. Probably could have made a lot of money too.. lol.

The truck in one of the ports (where they reload) didn't show up! This went on for a day or so until we docked again.. when they brought the full cases into the bars..everyone cheered!!!

 

They should have had a "beer happy hour" for everyone for the rest of the cruise. I can't imagine that happeneing. :)

[Guest CRUZIN' SUZIN]

They should have had a "beer happy hour" for everyone for the rest of the cruise. I can't imagine that happeneing. :)

 

I can. If the locals drink, it is usually only beer you see them with. Beer is cheaper than the foo-foo drinks. No wonder the ship runs out.