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Luke, it is your DESTINY! 01/21/10, Pictorial Review


DarthGrady

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Introduction:

This cruise was my thirteenth with Carnival, sixteenth overall. My wife and I were traveling with several other couples, most had cruised before. We booked the Carnival Destiny out of Miami for a 4 day cruise to Key West and Cozumel. Things got off to a rocky start before even leaving for Miami. The night before the cruise we got a call from Carnival letting us know that we would be skipping Key West due to technical difficulties with the ship. Of course I learned a few days earlier that she had an engine go down; from one of the other members of Cruise Critic that was on our Roll Call doing back to back cruises. Obviously we were not going to cancel with so many folks ready to go, so we opted to stick with the cruise and accept the $50 per person on board credit. The drive down to Miami from our home the morning of the cruise went smoothly, and we got to the terminal around 11 am.

Embarkation (All too easy):

As with our recent cruise on Carnival Liberty, embarkation at Miami is a pleasure. Once at the port, we quickly got through security thanks to the excellent idea of having a VIP line to get through the checkpoint. My wife and I are Platinum, so we got enjoy the VIP Lounge and were checked right in. We regrouped with the rest of our friends and got right onboard. The terminal at Miami is really nice, and much better than the old building they used to have. We were all on board before noon, and ready to start our cruise.

I'm in Miami trick

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On deck, still in port

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One of our lifeboats stayed in Miami, apparently getting serviced

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The Ship:

On the exterior, the Destiny looks almost identical to her larger Conquest Class fleet mates that we have been on (Carnival Glory, Carnival Liberty). The deck layouts are also nearly identical. There are several minor differences, most notably the lack of a Supper Club. The Lido Deck buffet is also smaller on the Destiny, and lacks the Fish and Chips station. On Destiny the aft pool bar wraps around the forward side of the pool. This causes the dome to be permanently 1/3 closed to keep the sun off of the bartenders. It can be plainly seen why the aft pool bar got moved to the port side of the area (underneath deck 10’s overhang) on the Conquest class ships.

 

Lido Buffet Area

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When it comes to interior décor, she certainly has more in common with her smaller and older Fantasy Class fleet mates than with the newer Spirit and Conquest class ships. There is neon and shiny metal aplenty, with dark walls and ceilings. It makes sense though since she was built around the same time as the Inspiration, a ship I have cruised on many times. This was in stark contrast to what I saw on the Liberty, and it really shows how Carnival is striving to ditch the stigma that its ships look more like old Vegas casinos than floating resorts.

Elevator lobby and staircase

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Wall lighting

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Faux skylights in public areas

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Corridor signage was reminiscent of the older Fantasy class

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Of course a ship’s décor has very little bearing on my enjoyment of a cruise. What I did find a little troubling was the amount of things that were broken or just plain run down looking around the ship. Aside from the aforementioned engine troubles, there were a couple of elevators that never seemed to be in service. In the elevator lobbies, there were a few decks where you would have to push the button on one side or the other since one was broken. Inside the elevators I noticed a lot of scratched in graffiti on the chrome doors, some of which were obscenities. Obviously this is not Carnival’s fault, but on Liberty they put colorful “wallpaper” over the doors to hide the scratches. I also noticed a sewer smell at several points around the ship. This is not unusual, and I have noticed it on almost every ship I have cruised on. I mention it here only because it seemed more prevalent on Destiny. The odors extended into non-cabin areas, which was unusual. Notable among the locales were a few elevator lobbies, and (oddly enough) the photo gallery.

Both of the aft sliding glass doors on the top level of the buffet were cracked, one shattered so badly it was roped off and out of service. The A/C in the buffet area also seemed to have trouble keeping up. The only time it ever got cool was at night; most other times it was very stuffy. The aft pool was also worn looking with large blotches on the bottom where I assume the paint was wearing off. After getting out of it, my feet and legs has blue paint on them from where the paint came off of the walls. On the Promenade there were several of the decorative metal pole covers on the bar stools and tables that were broken and loose.

 

One of the shattered doors leading to the lido buffet

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These elevator controls had seen better days, some of the elevators had theirs replaced with newer units

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Now that the negatives are out of the way, there were many positives aboard this former “largest passenger ship in the world”. Most of her public areas were kept extremely clean, despite the above mentioned maintenance issues. Her exterior looked great, and I saw a few workers painting sections of the exterior when we arrived at Miami. The carpeting in the hallways was clean, as was the case in the bars and lounges. The furniture was clean, and I observed no stains or tears. The marble and tiled floors throughout the ship were spotless, and crew members were constantly tidying up after passengers.

The Destiny’s Way Promenade on deck 5 has the ship’s rainbow themed Millionaires Club Casino, the Point After Disco, Apollo Piano Bar, and the Downbeat jazz bar. One deck below is the Onyx Room cigar lounge and the ship’s internet café. The upper levels of the two main dining rooms are also on deck 4. Forward of them is the atrium, which is flanked by the photography studio, library, sports bar and shopping areas.

 

Promenade

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Cafe on the Way coffee shop

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Cheers Wine Bar

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Deck 3 is home to the customer service desk and shore tours desk, both in the main lobby below the atrium. The Flagship Bar is located in the lobby as well. The lower levels of the main dining rooms are also on deck 3. Spanning decks 3, 4, and 5 at the front of the ship is the huge Palladium Lounge, the main theater. There was certainly an “homage to Carnival” feel to this ship. The door handles in public areas were shaped like the Carnival funnel, and the light fixtures in the cabin hallways had various Carnival ships painted on them. The Point After Disco is even a nod to the Point After Club on the Mardi Gras, Carnival’s first ship.

Carnival decorations

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The hallways lights had various Carnival ships on them

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Thanks for all of the great pictures and review. We will be on the Destiny for it's first regular itinerary after the "Drydock" next month. Well, hopefully!:D

 

Maybe while they are working on the propulsion problem they can take care of some of the other minor things you mentioned.

 

Again, thanks for your review. I look forward to the rest of it.

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Thanks for taking the time to do such a detailed, pictorial review of your cruise! We were planning to sail on the Destiny for our next cruise until all the propulsion issues surfaced again, and we became a bit hesitant. So now with the dry-dock, we're looking forward to an October Eastern Carib. cruise. Hurricane season...woo hoo! Looking forward to more of your review...

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