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Pick Another Ship! by
Cassie S. from Naples, FL Sailing date: Oct 2009Pros: Schedule Cons: Everything! Welllll....I had a great time on this ship, but it had nothing to do with the ship itself, staff, food, or activities on board and that's for sure! I have cruised with Carnival many times as a child and now as a young adult. I was so looking forward to sitting on the deck sipping mojitos with no care in the world. Well, believe you me that happened...but it had nothing to do with DESTINY! Staff was super rude (we couldn't get ice or a wine opener for hours...even after offering to go get it from them), we could never find someone to get us a drink (even at the bars), and activities were few and far between. We went on this cruise over Halloween weekend...you would think they'd be prepared for a wild time. Think again. BOOOO on Destiny. I will cruise with Carnival again, as I feel it's usually great, however I strongly advise people AGAINIST choosing Destiny. Make it short with a 3 day to the Bahamas or maybe a ship out of Tampa port. Take my advice. It's a good price for a reason. :( Dining/FoodBLAH! I mean, I may be a picky eater but could always find decent food on these cruise ships. This was a first. We went to the formal dinner on the first night and almost didn't go on the Captains Ball night just because we felt like it was a waste of time. The food was horrible! And I am pretty easy to please (even though it seems I am a complainer based on this review, i'm really not!). Stateroom QualityRoom was typical, we had a balcony on the back, top level of cabins on ship. Definitely recommend that location as the sunset is AMAZING. Ship Staff QualityStaff was unfriendly and it was almost impossible to get a drink! I have cruised on several other Carnival ships that made it almost impossible NOT to drink and here we were trying to hunt a cocktail server down! Entertainment & ActivitiesThere was never anything going on! I am used to cruising on ships where you have to choose from several options and this boat was BORING!  3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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  Magical Cruise by
Eric E. from Hickory, NC Sailing date: Oct 2009Pros: I friendly Staff From the time I entered the ship I was amazed. Everything about the Carnval Destiny was magical. The ship had anything an individual could want as far as activities, and attractions. The state room while I opted for a lesser expensive inside cabin, I would have to say that I haven't slept that good in a long time. This is a ship I would definately sail on again. Ship QualityEverything was top-notch Dining/FoodThe food was exceptional, and taking into consideration the number of guests on the ship I would say they did a fabulous job in preperation. Stateroom QualityBeing that you are really only in your state room to sleep I would have to say that it was a better than most hotels I have stayed in. For the price I couldn't have stayed in a great hotel for two nights let alone be on a 4 day cruise. Ship Staff QualityAside from one individual in the duty free shops, all the staff that I interacted with was exceptional. I would have to say that one person in this case did not spoil my impression of the rest of the staff. The wait staff in the formal dinning room were amazing. I wish I could get that kind of service our of a 5-star restaurant. Entertainment & ActivitiesShows were amazing. Not something I would normally jump at the opportunity to watch, but I loved every minute. Activites were varied, but when not taking direct part in them, they were fun to watch. 3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Great fun! by
A Traveler from Tulsa, OK Sailing date: Oct 2009Pros: I loved the experience with the stingrays on "Blackbeard's Cay" island, off of Nassau. It was a really neat experience to be able to really interact with them and feed them. They have removed the stingers, so it was perfectly safe. It was a really great time, and the beach was beautiful. Cons: I didn't care for the club being right beside our room, a bit noisy. It was very well organized and kept clean. I loved the service in our room, it was fantastic! The food was excellent, and there was such a variety. The beaches were great. My favorite was the beach off of Nassau. Everyone was really nice and helpful. A wonderful way to travel to see different islands, you get to keep your stuff in one room and not have to pack and unpack. Excellent service, all the way around! Ship QualityBeautiful ship!!! Dining/FoodExcellent food, great variety. Stateroom QualityEverything was very clean. The only thing was that the bed was really hard. Ship Staff QualityVery nice, very helpful staff. They kept the room spotless. Entertainment & ActivitiesIt was a really great time and they had quality in the dancing and singing entertainers. We didn't care for one of the comedians, he was not very funny. 7 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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6th cruise by
Al S from United States Sailing date: Oct 2009Pros: Dining room waitress and staff were great Cons: Ship layout The ship is ok needs to be refurbished considering the newer ships in the fleet and other cruise lines.The cabins were not fully accessible for a person with mobility issue. eg.mirrors and phones were to high in an accessible cabin. The point disco has stairs leading into it so therefore i could not enjoy that area of the ship.I could not partake in karaoke because stage inaccessible,Jogging track is too small. stateroom doors were 28" wide very small could not visit family during their stay.Cheers bar is too small for wheelchair access. food in dining room good but lido deck needs improvement. Onyx bar is useless feels like a morgue with the black decor. Ship Quality
Dining/Fooddining room food excellent Lido deck food average Stateroom Quality
Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & ActivitiesRevues were ok have seen better 3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Wonderful time by
Joshua S. from Fayetteville, NC Sailing date: Sep 2009Pros: Food and the Staff Cons: Picture people My wife and I had such a wonderful time. We stayed to ourselves, enjoyed the shows and our private balcony. The ship offered shore excursions that outstanding and gave you comfort that you knew what you were getting into and that you were not going to be kidnapped by locals for ransom. The ship was very clean. Hard to find where things were on your own but the staff was very helpful. The food quality and variety was amazing. The cruise was very affordable if you do not drink alcohol. Overall we had a great, relaxing, inexpensive, enjoyable 5 days. Ship Quality
Dining/FoodWe had such a great dining experience, the food was great and our waiter was amazingly friendly. Stateroom Quality
Ship Staff QualityEveryone was great and helpful just the picture people were a little pushy trying to sell photos and take photos. Entertainment & Activities
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Western Carribean Cruise by
Lou Maylock from Mechanicsburg, PA Sailing date: Sep 2009Pros: Flexible time on the ship to do whatever we liked Cons: Most evrything met our expectations, if anything, would have like to have seen more fresh fish Outside of the ship was a bit worn, but once inside, the accomodations where fantastic! I would definitly recommend an outside cabin with a blacony as the lower level smaller state rooms were very cramped. Staff was fantastic and wasn't a day we didn't have great room service! Ship Quality
Dining/FoodSlight variety change in breakfast menu would have been better, overall food was OK Stateroom Qualityoutside balcony is a must! Ship Staff QualityEveryone on staff was there to please Entertainment & ActivitiesWould have been nice to have a few more show options, but what was there was nice 1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Life is a Journey-enjoy the by
Mark B from Virginia Beach Sailing date: Sep 2009Pros: Great staff, organized, fun activities. Cons: Boat was rocky at times, some of the food was so-so (Dinners were great) Very limited selection for room service!! Ship was clean, some spots in the cabin were rusted out!!! maintanence service and room service was great, the food was often cold.. Ship Quality
Dining/FoodGreat Dinners! Stateroom Quality
Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & Activities
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Wonderful Time!!! by
A Traveler from Kansas City Sailing date: Sep 2009Pros: The staff was amazing, so friendly, knew our names, it was great! Cons: The ship was just redone, yet there were some tiles popping up & several lights were burnt out. Our waitress @ dinner, I think her name was marianne was AMAZING!!! She was great! Ship QualityIt was VERY Clean, however, the ships flow was rough, also there were lights burnt out & tiles popping up. Also, on the stairs the "safety strips" stuck up a few centimeters causing me to slip a few times, it was so bad one time i actually fell hard hurting my side, that is something i would rectify before the wrong person falls & makes a situation more than it really is. Dining/FoodFood was very good. I wish there was more public all the time dining because the lines were horrible. Stateroom QualityState room & comfort were excellent Ship Staff QualityEvery staff member did 110% job to make everyone happy. Had NO complaints on the friendliness of staff. Entertainment & ActivitiesI really enjoyed the entertainment. It was mostly family oriented, but I liked the adult only options. Very good balance 2 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Jump Ship Now by
Shunta M from Somewhere, AZ Sailing date: Sep 2009Pros: Our cabin steward was friendly. Cons: The staff was rude, the food was poor, the ship leaked and the ship broke down in the middle of the ocean. This wasn't Disney, but I still expected to see smiles, not frowns. Many of the workers walked around looking as if they were "mad with the world" and their attitudes matched their faces. I encountered many workers aboard the ship and out of the ones that I encountered only four seemed to truely understand the meaning of hospitable customer service. The majority of the workers I encountered gave off an air of "don't ask me because I don't feel like being bothered." Kris, at the front desk, was perhaps the most upsetting for me. While I had heard sarcastic remarks being made by other crew members, especially during the spa "fun facial" event, I hadn't been as annoyed as I was when Kris condesendingly spoke to me as if I were a two year old he had the right to talk down too. I have a low threshhold for condesending remarks and I informed him that the problem was still out on deck three and to send security to take care of it. My tone was not harsh, but I wasn't my usual "sweet voiced" self either. The interaction with the crew, for me, was like pulling teeth--difficult, exasperating and painful.
Working Order
Beyond the crew problems were the ship problems. Perhaps the later is more important than the former. Carnival Destiny is an older ship, built in 1996, and shee has probles to show for it. It rained our first full day at sea and leaks were noted in the spa (the aerobics room), also in the Deck 9 Sun and Sea resteraunt. When pointed out, a crew member in teh resteraunt simply said it was nothing at all and we could move to another table. We did move, as having water dripping into our food was not the ideal situation. There was another leak over where we moved to, but this leak was dripping onto the floor in the walk isle, so we were able to eat without the added health hazzard.
The ship had "technical" problems on the way to the second island causing it to slow and us to be late by an hour and a half. They were unable to fix the problem and we were all informed that techs would be flying in to the third island (Nassau) to try to repair the problem. Unfortuantely we all later found out the problem was not fixed when we received a late night letter under the cabin door informing us that we would be three and half hours late into our final port - Miami. Panic followed because people with early flights were told they would miss them and would need to reschedule. For guest who were booked on flights after 2:30 p.m. on Carnival's FLYAWEIGH program the letter noted that their flights would be re-scheduled. For all other guest with independent air arraangements on American, Delta, Northwest and Southwest airlines departing prior to 2:30 p.m. they were to take the letter to the ticket counter at the airport and try to re-schedule their flights. The one thing I have noticed is that people who want to get home, don't like upsetting news letting them know they're going to miss their flight and may have to 1. fly stand-by and 2. pay an intial fee to reschedule. The letter also mentioned that Carnival would reimburse any incurred fees for rebooking. The passenger simply had to send in the receipt upon their return home. For people who may have booked this cruise while still employed, only to lose their jobs and not be able to cancel the cruise, finding out you may incur a fee you can't pay in order to get home is not comforting.
Compounded on top of the ship leaks and propellar problems was how often the outer portions of deck three had to be closed. One closure was so they could wash down the lifeboats. I have crusied before and that type of maintenance was not done during a cruise. The other few times I went up the outdoor areas were closed, but I saw no explanation as to why. The final time they chose to do maintenance on the outer portion of deck three they didn't close it. They simply started painting over spots up between the next deck and the lifeboats. The pervasive smell of the paint was a sure sign that this is one Ship QualityLeaks that I saw in the spa area and the Sun and Sea eating areas. Dining/FoodNot a very good selection; breakfast on the Lido Deck seemed to have the same selection each morning. Dinner in the dining room needed a better variety of dining options. One positive is that there was a vegitarian option offered for the main course on each night. Stateroom QualitySheets had brown stain in them. Our cabin steward did his best to keep the room clean and he was very nice. Ship Staff QualityAll that I encountered, except for four people, were rude. Entertainment & ActivitiesThere was something offered on board even during the days when we were at the islands. This made it possible to have something to do even if you didn't go ashore. There didn't really seem to be anything spectacular about the entertainment options, however. 1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Great cruise by
Karen G from Arcadia, FL Sailing date: Aug 2009Pros: There was not excessive announcements over the loud speakers. Cons: No complaints As a first time Carnaval cruiser we didn't know what to expect. Everything was a supprise and good ones at that. Our room was clean, service was great. Activities were awsome. Ship QualityThe women's public facilities were so clean. Dining/Food
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Collapse List of Ports
Ocho Rios, JamaicaThe canopy zipline was absolutely awsome. The drive up to begin the adventure was just beautiful and our guide was tops! After our adventure the driver checked up back in and took us to a local restaurant for a wonderful jerk luch-cooked out right beyound our table. EXCELLENT
8 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
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