Destiny or Imagination for quick cruise in Feb 2012?

[nytraveller53]

So, here's the scoop:

I just got the fantastic idea today that my whole extended family (probably 3 or 4 cabins in all) go on a quick cruise in Feb 2012 when the kids are off from school.

And when I say quick, I also mean cheap: It's going to be interior staterooms, very limited excursions, etc. This is not meant to be a huge vacation, and we'll be flying down to Miami from New York already.

 

Here are the choices:

Carnival Destiny 5-night Western Caribbean to Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Feb 20, $289.00 per person.

 

OR

 

Carnival Imagination 4-night Western Caribbean to Key West (never been) and Cozumel. Feb 20, $209.00 per person.

_______________________________________________

 

HERE IS WHAT I NEED:

 

• Thoughts on both
  
• Which would you pick?
  
• Links to particularly amazing photo reviews for both
  
• Tell me: Is the Destiny and/or Imagination comparable to the Valor? I know they're older, and get slightly worse reviews...
  
• Can 4 kids be in an interior room alone? They're very mature, and the rest of the cabins would be very close (as close as possible, as a matter of fact!)
  
• How would I go about booking a reservation with multiple cabins, yet still getting the Early Saver rate? Can I do this online?
  

 

Thanks in advance, guys! Here is where CC is so helpful!:D

[nascar20fan]

We have been on ships. Destiny is the larger of the two. I do however like the Fantasy Class of ships (Imagination). I just found this link this morning so I thought I'd share with you as it has lots of pics. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1281134&highlight=frig

 

Btw, I will be on Destiny on June 23 for my friend Barb's birthday cruise.

[firefly333]

Destiny is a forerunner of conquest class. it doesnt have sur mer, just empty space up there, only has one buffet area, not two like conquest class and no pay restaurant, which on conquest class is upstairs from one of the buffet areas.

 

Fantasy class is much smaller... which some like better, some dont. Only you know if you are a smaller ship fan.

[LibraByTheSea]

Hands down...Destiny

She is the first in the Conquest and set a standard in her day

Sailed her for New Years 1999 and this past April...great ship

 

Was on the Imagination for New Years eve last year and I just don't like the smaller ships. Since I have sailed the larger ships like the Valor and Liberty, I prefer the layout...feels much more open

 

Bon Voyage :cool:

[firefly333]

Here is the rules about where kids can stay. Depends on their age if they can stay close or far away from their parents. If parents are not onboard, then they have to stay with adults.

 

Passenger Age

Policy Details

18- 20 years of age

Can book a cabin anywhere on the ship as long as the parents, grandparents or legal guardians are on same sailing. Everyone in that minor age cabin needs to be 18-20 years of age.

13 – 17 years of age

Can have their own cabin as long as it is located within 3 staterooms (this is the maximum number of staterooms allowed) from their parents, grandparents or legal guardian.

12 years and under

Must be booked in parents’ cabin, no exceptions.

Note:

It is mandatory that all minor age bookings be cross referenced with the parents’, grandparents’ or legal guardian’s booking.

Carnival will document all bookings on their side as well.

[nytraveller53]

Here is the rules about where kids can stay. Depends on their age if they can stay close or far away from their parents. If parents are not onboard, then they have to stay with adults.

 

Passenger Age

Policy Details

18- 20 years of age

Can book a cabin anywhere on the ship as long as the parents, grandparents or legal guardians are on same sailing. Everyone in that minor age cabin needs to be 18-20 years of age.

13 – 17 years of age

Can have their own cabin as long as it is located within 3 staterooms (this is the maximum number of staterooms allowed) from their parents, grandparents or legal guardian.

12 years and under

Must be booked in parents’ cabin, no exceptions.

Note:

It is mandatory that all minor age bookings be cross referenced with the parents’, grandparents’ or legal guardian’s booking.

Carnival will document all bookings on their side as well.

Is it OK if there is a 14 year old, 13 year old, 12 year old, and 10 year old in the cabin together? Since the 14 and 13 year olds are allowed to have their own?

[firefly333]

Is it OK if there is a 14 year old, 13 year old, 12 year old, and 10 year old in the cabin together? Since the 14 and 13 year olds are allowed to have their own?

 

Take the rules for the youngest child.. and so no they cant be technically.

 

I bet if the cabin were directly across from the parents you could get by with it. I find most carnival reps dont know their own rules.

 

You will want to call to do the bookings, to link the cabins for eating. You cant do the linking so eventually have to call a booking rep anyway. If you have the credit card info to do the booking, yes you can do it all.

[ManyMore]

We have sailed both ships and enjoyed both but I would choose the Destiny over the Imagination. I was just on the Destiny in January and we had a great time and the crew was fantatic. Plus.... and extra day is always nice lol

[nytraveller53]

Take the rules for the youngest child.. and so no they cant be technically.

 

I bet if the cabin were directly across from the parents you could get by with it. I find most carnival reps dont know their own rules.

 

You will want to call to do the bookings, to link the cabins for eating. You cant do the linking so eventually have to call a booking rep anyway. If you have the credit card info to do the booking, yes you can do it all.

I was thinking we could do connecting cabins, with two adults and the two youngest kids in one, and the two older kids in the other.

 

Can I book Early Saver over the phone? Because I know some "super saver" rates at hotels, etc. can't be booked over the phone.

 

And the general consensus is Destiny would be better?

[firefly333]

Can I book Early Saver over the phone? Because I know some "super saver" rates at hotels, etc. can't be booked over the phone.

 

And the general consensus is Destiny would be better?

 

Better is in the eyes of the beholder. It is bigger, more pax, and therefore, probably more things to do.

 

If you are ok with no name changes (aunt mildred gets sick last minute, this is the only rate that you cant change to someone else for $50, you are stuck with a no show).

 

deposits are non refundable, the $50 change fee is only up until final payment. (some people have the wrong idea they can do changes after final payment and only lose $50) .. sure you can book Early Saver over the phone if you are ok with that rate.

 

Also remember that last minute rates are usually guarantees, so you cant price match to them .. so dont hold your breath on last minute price matching, I think Carnival does that on purpose.

[nytraveller53]

Better is in the eyes of the beholder. It is bigger, more pax, and therefore, probably more things to do.

 

If you are ok with no name changes (aunt mildred gets sick last minute, this is the only rate that you cant change to someone else for $50, you are stuck with a no show).

 

deposits are non refundable, the $50 change fee is only up until final payment. (some people have the wrong idea they can do changes after final payment and only lose $50) .. sure you can book Early Saver over the phone if you are ok with that rate.

 

Also remember that last minute rates are usually guarantees, so you cant price match to them .. so dont hold your breath on last minute price matching, I think Carnival does that on purpose.

Early Saver would be right for us. The prices are pretty good, and I love both ports.

 

Thanks everyone! I will speak with other family members in the coming weeks, and we'll probably make a decision relatively soon. It's probably a good idea to book pretty soon.

 

One last thing - is Destiny scheduled for a drydock anytime soon? My only concern is that Destiny has had some problems in the past...

 

Plus, it looks like there is at least one Porthole cabin left, so that's great!

[nytraveller53]

Also, will this be around winter break time? Do there tend to be a lot of rowdy crowds then?

[abitaturbodog]

I would also pick the Destiny. Key West can be windy and cool in February. We went there in March one year and all the passengers coming back on the ship were wearing Key West sweatshirts! I just think that the weather is more predictable (hot) sailing the Western Caribbean...and the extra day is a plus.

[nytraveller53]

Anybody else?

[DarthGrady]

While Destiny is larger, they are actually only a year apart in age so the decor is similar. They both have their pros and cons. The Destiny has three pools, and a sports bar. The Imagination has the Waterworks (but only one pool), and the Serenity adult area. Imagination has had all of her cabins fully renovated, whereas I found Destiny's to be pretty worn. That full renovation of the cabins gives Imagination a slight edge IMO. You can't go wrong with either though. I cruised on both last year, and my pictorial reviews are linked in my signature if you want to compare them.

[sharecruises]

IMAGINATION!!!!!!!

 

Destiny has the same size buffet/lido area...and 1000 more passengers

 

Check it out...there is a huge reason why there is ONLY one ship in the so called "Destiny" Class : Carnival realized it made a mistake...

 

the ships to follow (Conquest and so on) doubled the buffet space and added the upstairs fish/seafood station.

 

Destiny has long lines and hard to find a seat...due to the design flaws

 

Another design flaw : aft pool bar placed in a crazy area...they changed that problem in Conquest

 

Imagination underwent a HUGE renovation...the cabins are nicer than those on Destiny....new furnishings, replaced the whole bathroom...and added flat screen tv's

 

Destiny never had a total remodel and so right now has the "oldest" cabins on Carnival from what I can see. My cabin last fall had mildew in bathroom, cracked/missing tiles....and was TOO hot. The big clunky tube tv was plopped on the counter, obscuring the phone which meant we could not use it. Repeated request to fix the tv were finally met with the truth...they did not have more tv holder/brackets left.

 

Imagination has a great flat screen tv and really nice cabin/bath. You can adjust the temps on the ceiling (yes older design) or your steward can. The air cond works great on Imagination

 

the bathroom design on Destiny has NO shelves in the bathroom for instance : they added them on Conquest. Destiny is wayyyy overdue for a remodel

 

Read the history of the 2 ships....Imagination is a much loved fixture in South Florida....with consistent HIGH marks even now that she is older

Imagination has been pretty problem free for many years and while bit smaller offers a big cruise experience

 

Destiny on the other hand has moved around and had various problems...air conditioning problems and "smell" problems for many years...do a search

Also propulsion problems which they have had to fix and refix I think

 

I much much prefer Imagination. Food is good....less lines....like new cabins...great staff

[sharecruises]

Hands down...Destiny

She is the first in the Conquest and set a standard in her day

Sailed her for New Years 1999 and this past April...great ship

 

Was on the Imagination for New Years eve last year and I just don't like the smaller ships. Since I have sailed the larger ships like the Valor and Liberty, I prefer the layout...feels much more open

 

Bon Voyage :cool:

 

 

Umm....not true

 

Destiny is a class by herself....cause many mistakes and flaws in the design

Conquest is the first in the Conquest class

 

(it always helps to have accurate info right??)

[protocrone]

We've done both ships and I liked the Destiny better. Of course, Imagination was our first 'real cruise' so that was pretty special. Either one will be loads of fun with your family aboard!

[nytraveller53]

duplicate post

[nytraveller53]

Maybe Imagination is the way to go. It looks like the decor on Destiny is almost MORE gaudy than on Imagination, based on pics!

Plus, Imagination seems to get better reviews, and after I read that Destiny has some graffiti in places, I'm not thrilled with it anymore.

 

So, I think I've changed my mind to Imagination - but I'm not ready to book yet. Plus, Imagination has WaterWorks and a complete renovation. Sounds good!

[sweets2323]

Grady, HAs awesome pictures.. They are Flawless~~~

[DarthGrady]

Umm....not true

 

Destiny is a class by herself....cause many mistakes and flaws in the design

Conquest is the first in the Conquest class

 

(it always helps to have accurate info right??)

 

I'm not sure that it's a design flaw. She has exactly the same lido buffet design as the Triumph and the Victory. On the deck plans they are identical. In fact, the "Triumph Class" ships only really differ from Destiny by the addition of the Panorama deck (which also added about 100 passengers). CCL didn't enlarge the buffet until Conquest. So I would say that if any of them have a design flaw, it would be Triumph and Victory.

 

Regardless, Destiny still has the upstairs buffet seating just like the Triumph and Conquest Classes. I never had a problem finding a table up there if the lower level was full.

[DarthGrady]

Grady, HAs awesome pictures.. They are Flawless~~~

 

Thank you!

[Froufie]

Guess it depends on what your main driver is? Is it size? Is it cost? Depending on your response that might help make your decision.

 

Nothing wrong with the Destiny - just did a b2b on it past February and LOVED IT!!! (and I don't really cruise for the decor - and to be quite honest can't say any of the ships are my taste but that's beside the point)..... check out pics and review in link below near my signature :D

[nytraveller53]

Guess it depends on what your main driver is? Is it size? Is it cost? Depending on your response that might help make your decision.

 

Nothing wrong with the Destiny - just did a b2b on it past February and LOVED IT!!! (and I don't really cruise for the decor - and to be quite honest can't say any of the ships are my taste but that's beside the point)..... check out pics and review in link below near my signature :D

Size isn't a big factor for this cruise - we'll be going on the Oasis or Allure later that year anyway. I'm really not sure - but some of the reviews of Destiny scare me a little, while Imagination seems to get better reviews. Also, I've never tried a Fantasy-class before, and I'm guessing Destiny is similar to Valor (but older).