My DESTINY adventure - LIVE

[2ndcruiser-destiny]

Pre-Cruise

We had an early flight out of NYC to San Juan. The flight left a little late but we arrived safely in San Juan on time. The first thing Inoticed was the weather. The weather man had predicted rain/showers all day. However, there was only a brief shower. The remainder of the day was filled with a warm, strong breeze. We ahd booked a room at the Holiday Inn Express near Condado Beach. Even though the check in time is 3pm we were able to get into our rooms early. We immediately dropped our bags and set out to explore the neighborhood. So far my only complaint is that even though the hotel is reasonable priced it is just too far from everything. We constantly found ourselves hoping into taxis.:(

 

I noticed that there were a lot of small shops but not a lot of people, which seemed odd to me considering it was the middle of the day on Saturday. We decided to have lunch at Orozco's for only 12 dollars we got a meal, drink and dessert. The food was good even though the service was extrememly slow. There were other restaurants nearby like Wendy's, Subway, and a chinese place. After eating we went caught a taxi to the playas del americas mall...this mall was huge and apparently this is where everyone was at. We did some last minute shopping then heded home to get a nap before going out for the evening.

 

We decided to again stay in the neighborhood for dinner (every time we got a taxi the cost was $15..we were tired of dishing out so much money so early in our vacation). we ate at this restaurant recommended by the hotel called the Oceanfront...THIS WAS A BARGAIN...the food was good, the service was good and the drinks were EXCELLENT and cheap :D after that we just walked along th ebeach before going back to the hotel. Tomorrow we are so excited because we will finally be on the destiny!!!!!!

 

to be continued...

[jimbug]

This is great...I can't wait to hear more!!!

[DGP1111]

I, too, will continue checking out this thread over the week. Looking forward to it.

[serene56]

Looking forward to hearing your review.

Happy Sails.

[2ndcruiser-destiny]

I was having so much fun that I was not able to post during the week.

 

Embarkation - was not as bad as I had thought it would be...i arrived at the pier around 1pm and was on the Lido deck by 2:30. Prior to boarding the ship, there was a liquor store that was encouraging people to buy liquor...I went in brought some liquor placed it in my carry-on (which was a rolling suitcase - thanks to a suggestion I got from the board:D ) and I was on my way. Of course, as soon as you get on the ship there is a placed where liquor is supposed to be confiscated (just don't look at her and go about your business - "Don't ask, Don't tell")

 

The ship - the ship looked fine - I wasn't searching for damaged areas. However, a friend of mine had a stateroom on the veranda deck that was in obvious need of repair. My stateroom on the riviera deck was fine...everyone in my group seemed to have rust stains in the shower area but we just decided to wear flip flops. I did notice that there were several "potholes" in the hallway on the riviera deck..that was annoying...the colors and things seemed outdated but nothing to really complain about

 

the staff - i met my room servant the very first day she introduced herself and i found her to be quite friendly the entire cruise. the first night the dining staff didn't seem that friendly but i didn't care because i was cruising - things got better as the cruise progressed even though our waiter never seemed to get our orders straight...the social directors were friendly and funny and they were everywhere...we built a good relationship with them...even most of the photographers were nice...late at night i would see some of the staff, dancers, photographers on the lido deck and often they would sit with us and talk...so no real complaints in this area

 

food - not that great - i just wasn't impressed...some of the meals were bland and it seemed like the dessert menu never changed...the lido deck was always crowded and seemed like a cafeteria...i usually had breakfast on the lido deck...lunch was good - there was definitely a variety and it was nice to see that they had different meals everyday...juice was always available on the lido deck...i preferred lunch in the dining room it was actually faster than waiting on the lines and the food was pretty good...the midnight buffet has turned into a midnight snack...after partying the only option available was the pizzeria and sometimes that was hit or miss - the calzones take 10-15 mins

 

the gym - yes i actually went to the gym:D it was okay the machines worked and you got a good few of the port or the sea

 

the clubs - the criterion lounge - strictly for latin music, the point after disco has a theme of all requests all the time but thats a lie...we requested several songs every night and yet it seemed that she played the same song over and over and over again all week and every night around 1am she would play reggaeton even if it wasn't requested...the destiny bar was okay had a guy playing the piano ans singing songs

 

activities - there was enough but i would have liked more - on the days at sea i was always trying to find something to do (of course drinking the drink special always helped)...it seemed like most of the activites were on the days that we were at ports...but i can't say that I was bored

[2ndcruiser-destiny]

ports of call - the weather reports said that it would rain every day and i was concerned but it would often shower and then the sun would return

St. Thomas - i didnt bnook any tours...i went shopping at the havensight mall right near the pier, then went to Diamonds international to start collecting my charms:) then a local taxi driver offered to take us around the island for only 20 per person so we did that and enjoyed some banana diaquiris as well...then we came back and did some more shopping....NOTE: the Kmart up the road has the cheapest price on liquor.

 

Dominica - the rainforest island - it was BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!! I had so much fun here...i booked a tour through Carnival for 39 it was sightseeing and then a visit to trafalgar falls...it was nice...but then i ran into my friends and they had worked out a deal with a local for only 12pp...and guess what - he took them to trafalgar falls and the sulfar springs...in fact we saw more stuff with the local than with Carnival - never again will i book through carnival for shoer excursions...i had mroe fun the second time

 

Barbados - wasn't feeling to well...did some sightseeing on my own and then some shopping

 

Aruba - they definitely saved the best for last...i didn't want to leave this island...got off the ship did some shopping and went top iguana joe's for lunch then it was off to the beach - took a cab to Eagle BEach 3pp and spent the rest of the days relaxing in the sun and jet sking...then caught a bus back to the ship (1.15pp) showered and changed and then it was off to Carlos and Charlies - we had a good time there - the DJ there was better than the one on the ship - it was hard to staggered back to the ship

[jimbug]

Thanks for your review. It is helping me to pass the next 7 months before I sail on the Destiny!

[2ndcruiser-destiny]

shows - the welcome aboard show was the best one...i also enjoyed Destiny Idol...i like dthe trivia games that they played in the palladium

 

the color challenge - not necessary to have people screaming for the red team or the blue team..especially since there was no prize to be won

 

deck chairs - didn't have a problem with seat saving

 

drinks - very good...i would suggest ordering the drink in the smaller size ( for a total of 4.31) it was just as good and you could have more drinks for that price

 

in conclusion, everything I read on the board was true...the good the bad and the ugly...in my review i chose to focus on my personal experience and since overall i enjoyed myself with my friends there was no need for me to go into details about the rude encounters i had with disrespectful passengers...i still believe that a trip is what you make it...that being said i would NEVER sail out of San Juan again...i just can't do it..i loved the ports of call but i think i will try another cruise line next time...because this time Carnival just didn't exceed my expectations

 

i hope you enjoyed my review and if you have any more questions feel free to ask

[serene56]

How was the air conditioning in the Lido Buffet? ( i wondered if they fixed it yet?)

[GoinCruisin]

Thanks for the review...

 

Just clarification... they are room stewards, not servants.

[2ndcruiser-destiny]

Thanks for the review...

 

Just clarification... they are room stewards, not servants.

 

yes I know but i just keep typing it wrong...its just the jet lag...talking

[2ndcruiser-destiny]

How was the air conditioning in the Lido Buffet? ( i wondered if they fixed it yet?)

 

i didn't notice a problem with the air conditioning..everything seemed to be working fine