Destiny Help?

[belder]

Hello Everyone....I really appreciate all the advice offered here on the boards..but I need some more please! My family and I are booked on the Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas out of Port Canaveral this Dec 22 for a Christmas Cruise but after rethinking the itenarary which is only St Thomas, St Marteen, and Coco Cays we are thinking 'too many at sea days', We are seriously thinking about switching to the Destiny out of San Juan which is very Port Intensive....I know in the end it boils down to whether or not we are "port people" or "ship people"...But never having cruised on Carnival before, let alone one of the older ships, WE DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO....We are a family of 5...ME,DH, daughter (who will turn 21 Christmas Day), Son 11 yrs, and Son 24.....Thanks in advance for any light you can shine on the subject......

[Kurbanfan]

Hello Everyone....I really appreciate all the advice offered here on the boards..but I need some more please! My family and I are booked on the Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas out of Port Canaveral this Dec 22 for a Christmas Cruise but after rethinking the itenarary which is only St Thomas, St Marteen, and Coco Cays we are thinking 'too many at sea days', We are seriously thinking about switching to the Destiny out of San Juan which is very Port Intensive....I know in the end it boils down to whether or not we are "port people" or "ship people"...But never having cruised on Carnival before, let alone one of the older ships, WE DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO....We are a family of 5...ME,DH, daughter (who will turn 21 Christmas Day), Son 11 yrs, and Son 24.....Thanks in advance for any light you can shine on the subject......

 

Have you checked out Princess out of San Juan? They leave on the 22nd and only have one sea day and it sails to St. Thomas, Aruba,Bonair, Grenada, and St. Kitts.

We couldn't decide either, but after tons of research chose Princess:)

Good luck.

But I have to say the Mariner is a great ship!

I also suggest reading the reviews on Destiny.

[nitenurs2]

We sailed on the Destiny last year (when it still went to Aruba) and we LOVED it! I didn't think the ship showed her age at all. Maybe. like a fine wine, she just improves with age.

 

The only problem we had was that the A/C was lacking in our cabin. Maintenance came several times and worked on it, but it was still warm (felt OK to me, but DH was warm). The temp was about 77 in our cabin, but it was not that big of a deal, because we were rarely in our room, plus we had a balcony door to open. They brought us a fan and gave us $202.00 in on-board credit because of it.

 

We loved that it was so port intensive.

 

That was our favorite cruise so far and I can't wait to do that one again.

[mjmiller]

Realize that this is all jmho...

 

We have sailed several lines, but not Royal Carib yet. DH and I both prefer Carnival to EVERY other line we have sailed with, and keep going back. We think the food is way better, and the ship has much more nighttime activity - Princess and HAL pretty much are deserted by 10pm. (and no, we're not party folks either!)

 

The ship will likely be more gaudy than you are used to, and yes, it is older than the Mariner. But Carnival takes care of its ships, as do other lines, because happy customers keep coming back and bringing friends too.

 

Another consideration is not just the number of ports, but the port activities. St Marteen is pretty much beaches and shopping. Coco Cay again is beaches. So the only culture you might get would be in St Thomas. So if you love beaches, the RCL itinerary is great. However, if you want to see lush tropical islands, do adventurous activities (ziplining, 4x4 driving), absorb some culture and/or history, the Carnival itinerary is great.

 

With the Carnival itinerary, if you want a sea day or two, you can just decide not to get off the ship at a port. With RCL itinerary, you cannot add ports. Plus the Destiny is overnight at La Romana, so you can experience the nightlife off the ship.

 

Obviously, I'm biased! lol