Help! Carnival Inspiration vs. Carnival Destiny?

[TMEF]

My DH and I are trying to plan a mini cruise (4 nights) in April. We have narrowed our choices between the Carnival Inspiration and the Carnival Destiny. We have cruised on the Destiny in 2006, but that was our first cruise and we barely remember it since we have been on many ships since then.

 

Difference: Inspiration is smaller, stops just in Cozumel. The Destiny stops in Key West and Cozumel. We have been to both ports before. Once I factor in airfare the price difference is about $300 (Oceanview on Inspiration and Balcony on Destiny).

 

 

Opinions, suggestions?

 

Anyone happen to have pictures of the pool areas on the Destiny? I have found a few for the main pool, but I am having difficulty finding pictures of the aft pool?

 

TIA!

[Thoth]

Two ports of call beats one port....that's the way I see things.

I've sailed both the Inspiration and Destiny and prefer the Destiny a bit....bigger ship...better ride...more space.

[TMEF]

Thanks for your response!

 

My husband would like to cruise the Destiny. I think I am leaning towards the Inspiration. I saw on another thread about the Destiny not being able to make ports and having problems. Does anyone know anything about this? Has the problem been fixed?

[bluetickcoonhound]

My family and I were on both last year. Inspiration in March and twice on Destiny, once in August and again for New Year's.

 

We liked Destiny a little bit more. More things to do, and as someone posted earlier one more port.

 

Don't get me wrong, Inspiration was great. It has the upgraded pool area with the slides which my kids really enjoyed. But if that does not appeal to you, I would go Destiny.

 

No matter which one you choose you can't go wrong. Have a great trip.

[FamilyDoc]

We just did a b2b on Destiny for Christmas and New Year's. It was, as always, a great cruise but of all the ships we've been on, definitely not my favorite. Obviously, it will depend on your particular servers but we felt like the room steward and the dinner staff were overworked. I don't know if they had more tables than normal but they just couldn't seem to give the level of service we normally get on Carnival. The food was excellent, the public areas all seemed clean and we had no mechanical trouble during our trip but the staff, for the most part, just seemed sad and stressed out. (Maybe just Holiday blues?) The room also seemed to have less storage than normal. No nightstand with cabinet and less drawer space than normal. No shelves on the bathroom mirrors like some of the other ships.

 

All that being said, we had a GREAT time! None of the above kept it from being a blast. I am a self-affirmed Carnival cheerleader and have already booked my next one but I have to say that I'll probably avoid the Destiny for a while.

[FLCRUISINGCPL]

Enjoyed the Inspiration, and did not enjoy the Destiny. Why?

1. Destiny pool area is very crowded and we got blue paint on us

2. Destiny lower level rear staircase carpets very worn

3. Destiny Lido Buffet was not cleaned well - crumbs on tables and lots of trays on tables

4. Destiny entertainment - singers, dancers, pool band not as good

5. Tampa port is easy, much smaller with less ships and traffic than Miami

 

On the positives Destiny:

1. Destiny had great food in MDR and the Dining Room Manager was outstanding

2. Large screen TV on pool deck on Destiny but not Inspiration

3. Ship is larger

4. Had a great Halloween Party

 

On the positives for Inspiration:

1. Same age ship, but was in better shape than Destiny since it has been refurbished

2. Liked the pool slides better on Inspiration

3. Sandwiches and Pizza were better than Destiny and crew was much friendlier

 

We felt the Destiny was an inferior Carnival product and wrote a letter to Gerry Cahill explaining that the ship needed improvement and better management.

[FLCRUISINGCPL]

Thanks for your response!

 

My husband would like to cruise the Destiny. I think I am leaning towards the Inspiration. I saw on another thread about the Destiny not being able to make ports and having problems. Does anyone know anything about this? Has the problem been fixed?

 

 

This was posted today about 5-10 threads down from yours:

 

I'm currently onboard Destiny. We left Miami late on Saturday (approx. 7:40 PM). They said they were loading potable water - room steward said they were waiting for passengers - then they had to take a passenger off for medical attention. Last night during late seating dinner they announced propulsion system problems and said we would not be going to Ocho Rios today. Said they would be making decisions at 2 AM and let us know. Had a note under the door this morning saying we would not be able to go to Grand Cayman either. Today is another day at sea and tomorrow we will be going to Nassau. Gave each person a $75 shipboard credit. Very disappointing

[TMEF]

You guys are awesome! Thanks for posting all your opinions! Now, if only I could make a decision!

[2PinaColadas]

I would go on the Destiny cruise, especially since you could get a balcony.

[TMEF]

Due to Destiny's problems today, we have decided to cruise on the Inspiration. Thanks for everyone's help!

[Thoth]

Due to Destiny's problems today, we have decided to cruise on the Inspiration. Thanks for everyone's help!

have a great cruise...which I'm sure you will.