My experiences w/ Carnival Destiny.

[Wubba1108]

Hubbie & I returned a few weeks ago from our first cruise experience. We were on Carnival Destiny w/ a group of 13 people from March 9-16. Now that I've had some time to digest our adventure, here's my informal review of our trip.

 

Embarkation took about an hour. Yes, we stood in line. Yes, they gave out free liquor samples. No, we did not buy duty free and smuggle it onboard (we forgot, believe it or not). All in all, the entire process was painless. We were excited to be in a warmer climate (we're from Boston) & about to start our vacation so we didn't mind the process one bit.

 

Old San Juan is fantastic. Once we were on the ship that 1st day, we dropped off our bags, grabbed a bite to eat on Lido deck, then headed out to explore the island. The forts were beautiful. Tons of people out enjoying a lovely Sunday. Couldn't believe all the kites in the air on the grassy park areas near the forts! What a way to start a vacation!

 

The muster drill was painless. It was over in 20 minutes. No big deal.

 

We had a balcony room (along w/ the rest of our crew) on the Lido deck. Good sized shower (we've traveled thru Europe & know how small bathrooms can be). One door of the medicine cabinet wouldn't stay shut but honestly, it didn't bother me. I saw no evidence of mold. Nothing smelled bad. Plenty of storage space on the sink and medicine cabinet to hold our toiletries. Our room steward was fantastic.

 

Our bed was comfortable. We found enough storage in our room to hold all our belongings. We both LOVED the balcony. All our group's rooms were next to each other. For sailaways, we hung out on our balconys, had cocktails, laughed & joked. It was nice to read out there in the early evenings or mornings. The light fixture on our balcony didn't work. That was easily fixed by turning on the lights in our stateroom. So, once again, no biggie.

 

We had the later seating in the dining room (Universe). The food was agreeable. Was it the best I've ever had? No. But it was good. Service in the dining room was stellar. By the 2nd night our wait staff fully anticipated our needs (ex: the hubbie & I liked to have an espresso at the end of our meal. By day 2, I didn't even need to ask. Perfect.).

 

As for excursions, we did 2. Sea kayak/snorkeling on Dominica and Swim w/ Stingrays in Antigua. The kayaking/snorkeling was great. We were in a 2-person kayak so it really didn't take much effort. Our guide was fantastic. The kayaking portion truly was a tour of the island via water. When it was time to snorkel, he was in the water w/ us. He'd give us some info on a specific plant or fish or what have you, then he'd dive under and point it out to us. He spent ALOT of time in the water w/ us, educating us about the reefs. As for swimming w/ the stingrays, well, I didn't like that they were fenced in. They were also a bit larger than I expected and they seemed to swarm a bit once the guides started feeding them. However...HOWEVER...they were VERY gentle creatures. Incredibly graceful, soft as silk, amazingly curious. Our guide on the bus to/from the rays was fantastic. On the ride there she gave us all kinds of info about Antigua (my 2nd favorite island). On the way back, the driver played music and we all sang along. Everyone was laughing/joking around. It was a great crowd, great guides, and an incredibly fun day.

 

My hubbie & I are the adventurous types. So we LOVED waking up each morning to a new island (counting San Juan there were 7 in total). In St. Thomas we quickly found a driver willing to take our group of 13 to the ferry for St. John. He was fantastic. He made sure we knew what time to board the ferry for "home" (so we wouldn't miss our boat). He made sure we knew where to meet him once we were back in St. Thomas. He even arranged for another driver to be waiting at the St. John dock to transport us to the beach. He took care of everything. Cost us $20/person round trip. Honestly? Worth every penny. We enjoyed our day without the need to fret over details.

 

We went to Trunk Bay in St. John & honestly it was our favorite beach hands down. It was quiet. Great snorkeling. Very natural setting. A short walk to a snack bar. You could rent beach chairs and umbrellas across from the snack bar. Best beach of the trip.

 

2nd favorite beach excursion was The Boatyard in Barbados. Gotta keep in mind, we were a group of 13. Age range: 25 - 55. No kids in tow. We had one heck of a party at the Boatyard. The beach was spotless, as were the facilities. The water was gorgeous. We were rockstars! :D

 

Our least favorite island was St. Lucia. Hubbie & I honeymooned there. But I gotta say, our beach excursion was annoying & disappointing. We were quoted one price for transportation, then given another price once we were in the van. Our entire day was like that. Had a beach vendor tell my hubbie that the bar manager wouldn't take hubbie's $5 because it was an "old style bill". Kept saying to hubbie, "Give me that $20 instead...that's a new bill and we only take new ones." Yeah right, buddy. After awhile it just got to be a bit much so we headed back to the ship early that day.

 

Hubbie & I did not want to lug formal wear, but we still went to the dining room on those evenings. I wore a simple black sleeveless dress. Hubbie wore a button down & khaki's. We blended in fine, IMO.

 

Having no sea days, there's alot we didn't do on the ship. We didn't see any shows. We didn't participate in onboard activities. Did we have fun? Yes. Was it the right cruise for us? Yes. Personally, I think I would've gotten alittle stir crazy being out at sea for 2-3 days. We liked exploring the places of the Southern Carribbean. That was the reason we agreed to join our crew for this trip.

 

Last of the tidbits:

 

The Purser's Desk was my biggest annoyance. We called them twice for assistance, were kept on hold for 10 min both times & ultimately hung up. We also went down to the purser's desk for assistance twice. Stood in line for 20 min both times and ultimately gave up.

 

Duty free liquor on board was a good deal. I almost bought a couple bottles of my favorite scotch (McCallan). Couldn't beat the price. However, glad I didn't. You've gotta check liquids now @ the airport. 3 people in our group checked duty free liquor at the San Juan airport. We arrive in Boston to find the baggage claim at Logan Airport stunk like rum to high heaven (ALL the bottles broke).

 

The espresso at the coffee bar on Destiny was awful. Cappuchino/espresso in the dining rooms was MUCH better.

 

The layout of Destiny is confusing. We got lost 4 times trying to find our dining room the 1st nite. But honestly? It made for some serious comedy considering our group is a bit nuts. So, no biggie.

 

Would I cruise again? Yes. Would I do it in the next, ohhh, 2 years? Probably not. That's solely because we very much like to mix it up w/ our vacation adventures.

 

Only other thing I'll mention is motion sickness. I can very easily get motion sick but I decided to give this trip a shot. My doc told me it was doable as long as I used the transdermal scop patch. Which I did. And I was only sick one day when I got too carried away (sea kayaking, then a pontoon boat, then a powerboat, then the movement of the ship). Otherwise, I was fine.

 

However, my mistake 'cause I failed to read ALL the literature that came w/ the patches - or grill my doctor w/ even more questions. 'Cause apparantly, if you use the patch for more than 3 days, when you take it off you can experience withdrawl effects. Which I did. 24 hrs after removing I came down w/ headaches, nausea & vertigo. The nausea went away w/in 24 hrs. The headaches took 2 days to disappear. The vertigo remained for almost a week.

 

Would I go thru that again to be on a ship? Yup. Would I go thru that again in the next 6 months? Not unless its a 10-day cruise thru Europe! :p (which unfortunately is not going to happen anytime soon).

 

All in all, we had a blast. It wasn't perfect. But what is, really? We were convinced we'd have a great vacation and...we did.

[Kempa]

Nice review. I just came back from our 7-day and will write our review soon.

[TanIslandGirl]

Thanks for the review, sounds like it was a great trip & the ship is in nice shape.:)

[D&Asailtoday]

Wubba1108, Thanks for the tip on the espresso. We sail 4/27/08 I know that we will have a great time. Thanks again...

[trarecar]

I really want to do this one. I agree with you about the sea days.

[shargurl]

Great review, we sailed her the week after you. My best cruise so far!

[suzski]

Thanks for the great review and tips! We're sailing Destiny in July and looking forward to all those fantastic ports!