Destiny review june 8-15

[tomachop]

We just returned from the Destiny (June 8-15) to the Southern Caribbean. This was our 3rd cruise on the Destiny, first was in 1998 when the ship was new, then again in 2003. Reading some of the negative reviews before we left, there was a little concern on the state of the ship, but there was absolutely nothing to be concerned about. The Destiny is in great shape and this was probably the best cruise we have been on.

 

 

We arrived in San Juan around 5:30p on the day of sailing and had no problem getting to the pier with a taxi from the airport ($20.50). When we arrived at the pier there were no lines and we immediately obtained our sail and sign card (room key) and went aboard to check out our cabin (8116). The cabin was what we expected size-wise and was very clean. We were on the port side of the ship and were always on the side of the pier in every port. The shower was the best we’ve ever had on a cruise, with the temperature being perfect and the pressure awesome. After taking a quick tour around the ship, we found it clean and looking pretty good.

 

 

The food on the ship - we were in the Galaxy Dining Room (6:15p) and the courses they offered varied from really good to average, but is what we expected. Our waiter was very attentive and courteous. The buffet on the Lido deck was kinda like a cheap buffet in Vegas. We never ate at the buffet but did have a couple burgers from the grill during the week. Since we were on a different island every day, we never ate at the buffet anyway.

 

 

St. Thomas - we had been here several times in the past but never took an excursion to St. John, so we did this time. What a great island to go snorkeling! Trunk Bay is a beautiful area for snorkeling with an underwater map leading you to 15 locations under water. This tour is definitely RECCOMENDED. (if you can find an excursion yourself on the internet, aside from Carnival, you will save close to ½ the cost…not only for this tour but pretty much every tour with the exception on St. Kitts/Nevis)

 

 

Dominica - again, we had been here before and took a tour from a local taxi driver (lot cheaper than a Carnival excursion and more intimate due to less people). This is a beautiful island. This trip we did a snorkeling trip which was nice, but nothing exceptional.

 

 

Barbados - this was our 3rd time here and we decided to do a little partying here. We went on the Harbor Master Pirate cruise, which took you on a large boat (3 decks) with plenty of rum punch (free) and a bar for other liquors (not free) to a beach not far from the ship. This boat has a slide that takes you from the top deck directly into the sea…lots of fun !!! Once at the beach, you can just hang out or take a smaller boat to snorkel over a ship wreck not far from the beach. (pretty cool) RECOMMEND

 

 

St. Lucia - new island for us and we had no excursions planned, which was cool because it rained a good portion of the day. We ended up getting a taxi at the pier and took about a 2 hour tour of the island (another beautiful island). There are lots of different types of mango trees (sweet) and cashew trees too. We also were introduced to breadfruit, which tasted a lot like a sweet potato. Overall, this was a nice day even with the rain. We paid our taxi driver $60 for the both of us.

 

 

Antigua - 2nd time on this island for us, even tho we don’t remember the first time. We met another couple on the cruise and we all decided to get a taxi to a local beach. AMAZING beach (Jolly beach)!! We hung out, rented a wave runner and had a local buffet lunch of bbq chicken, jerk pork (HOT) and rice, for $8 per person. RECOMMEND

 

 

St. Kitts - new island for us and we had purchased the catamaran fantasea excursion to Nevis as well. The catamaran was pretty big and there were about 50-60 people on board and it was not cramped at all. We went about 45-60 mins before we stopped to snorkel. Snorkeling was average at this location. Then we took off for Nevis which was about 20 mins away. As we arrived we were told that lunch would be ready and it was. Chicken and rice hot dogs, pasta salad and bread. Decent lunch. TIP - there are no shops here, but if you eat fast you can go down the beach (15 min walk) to the Four Seasons Resort and they have a gift shop there. The wife gets a shot glass from everywhere we go so off we went. Only shot glasses they had were $24, because they say they are all hand painted (whatever, but we did buy one) and also we purchased 2 t-shirts for $24 each (not too bad). This excursion to Nevis was definetly worth going on. RECCOMENDED

 

 

Entertainment - we didn’t go to many shows but the comedian was decent for the “family” show but was lacking in his “adult” show a few nights later. The magician was pretty good as well.

 

 

Casino - might have lost a couple dollars, but still had a good time. They do have a non-smoking blackjack table, but 2 feet away at the next table everyone is smoking…..you get the picture.

 

 

Spa - we decided to get a full body Swedish massage which was good, but not excellent…probably wont do that again, a lot cheaper at home.

 

 

Gift shop on board - we usually buy something for the wife (sapphires or diamonds) and we usually do this in St. Thomas. The wife was looking for Tanzanite this time out and the Destiny shop had some very nice prices and a decent selection, although she found what she was looking for in Antigua. If you do not get liquor in St. Thomas, get it on the boat. The prices are lower than on the islands. We bought 6 bottles from AHRISE in St. Thomas and could have saved about $10 if we had purchased on the boat. When you purchase liquor, either on the islands or the boat, you will have them delivered to your cabin the night before you leave. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PACK THIS IN YOUR SUITCASE AND PAY MORE AT THE AIRPORT FOR OVERWEIGHT LUGGAGE!! If the liquor is still sealed in the box that was delivered to your cabin, once you get to the airport you can have that box sealed in plastic (for a fee, of course) and then carry your liquor on the plane.

 

 

Debarkation - we were going to do the self express check-out, where we could take our luggage ourselves and leave the boat between 7:15-7:45am. Unfortunately, the automated gangway was not working and we could not get off the boat until approx 9am. No problem though, Customs came on board and everything went pretty smoothly. We were able to get a taxi fairly easy and 15 minutes later we were at the airport.

 

 

Overall, this was an EXCELLENT cruise and we would DEFINTELY sail on the Destiny again. Looks like our next cruise will be to the Mexican Riviera.

[SouthernCaribbean]

 

Gift shop on board -We bought 6 bottles from AHRISE in St. Thomas and could have saved about $10 if we had purchased on the boat. When you purchase liquor, either on the islands or the boat, you will have them delivered to your cabin the night before you leave. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PACK THIS IN YOUR SUITCASE AND PAY MORE AT THE AIRPORT FOR OVERWEIGHT LUGGAGE!! If the liquor is still sealed in the box that was delivered to your cabin, once you get to the airport you can have that box sealed in plastic (for a fee, of course) and then carry your liquor on the plane.

 

Thanks for the review...

 

 

Just an FYI if you ever do a San Juan departure. There is a duty free store at the airport, they will box everything up for you and the prices are about the same as what you will find on the ship.

[rlyans]

Thanks for your review. It's good to hear that the Destiny is in good shape. We have booked this cruise in August for the ports and and have read good and bad about the Destiny. Now we feel alittle better about this ship....THANKS...rlyans

[AMommyof2]

Great review. Thanks.

[pungo3]

I'm so glad you had a great cruise on the Destiny. I'm one of the ones who had a bad experience (2004) but it looks like things have improved since then. Thanks for the report.

[bonniemari]

Glad to hear you had a good time. We were on the Destiny May 4 sailing and also had a great cruise.

 

We had booked the Fan-ta-Sea but by the time we got to St Kitts we were pretty beached out so i cancelled the excursion. Good to hear what I missed.

But I loved our "2 hr tour" excursion we took. St Kitts is a place I would love to go back to and spend a few days.

 

We had such a good time we are planning on doing this cruise again in the next few months when the new ship takes over this route.

[Creole Girl]

I am glad you had a great time. This is going to be my third time as well. Thank you for the info regarding purchasing liquor. The only reason I had not brought it home since the restrictions was worrying about putting it in my suitcase. That helps alot.

[conweb]

I see in the carnival Book that there are rooms around the noisey areas that are called Night Owl Cabins and go for a cheap rate. Anyone know anything about these cabins. I only see them offered on the Destiny.

thanks for any thing you can tell me.

Conweb:confused: