Carnival Destiny B2B Epic Review! Tons of Pics, Menus, Food, FunTimes, & Documents!!!

[AndrewD65]

I love this review and all the details, keep up the great work..

[dvdkndy]

I have a question, is ok to toss the food out the balcony? I have never had a balcony room yet, my first will be in the oasis.

 

I think it may be frowned upon but nobody ever said anything to us. Don't think that we are dumping trays of food overboard. LOL! Just a half-eaten bagel or sandwich crust.

 

We asked about the food and the officer of the ship tells us that food is kept in a large grinder and is disposed of at sea to the fish. The only regulation that they have is they must be 20 miles away from land. We were curious about that so we actually asked.

 

 

I zoomed in on your fun times....Noonan wasn't your cruise director??? Where's Noonan? We just cruised Destiny in August and he was there then!!! Noonan WHere Are You????

 

Noonan is learning to 2.0 program right now and will resume the cruise director on the Sunshine when she comes out of dry dock. Until January it is Tex.

 

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your review!! Thank you!

We are sailing on Destiny leaving Oct 1 and can't wait! This is our 1st cruise and it is the first time we are bringing our kids (9 and 10) to the Caribbean. Did you notice kids on the ship?? I'm sure there will be some but just curious if my kids will have "friends" they can hang out with on the ship??

 

I am sure there will be some kids on there with your family. I would suggest going to the youth programs and getting involved. If your kids want to me others, they will find a way.

 

Sorry everyone for being a little late with the review today. I had an all-day youth activity and it really put me behind. I will be posting as soon as possible! Good thing I keep myself ahead on the review.

[dvdkndy]

After lunch, we decided that we would go the art auction. Many people like going to the art auction because there is free champagne but I like going because I enjoy watching people throw money around. One of my favorite things to do is watch roulette, blackjack, or the machine where you try to knock quarters off the edge. It may sound silly but I thoroughly enjoy watching.

 

I was also intrigued by the claim of having sports memorabilia at the auction. I am a huge sports fan, especially baseball, so this was appealing to me. I do not have an eye for art but did see some pieces that were nice but their prices were way overpriced.

 

Here is the auction in process and let’s be honest, most are there for the free champagne.

 

 

They sell art like this. You register to get a bidder number and with your bidder number comes small pieces of a post-it note with your bidder number on it. If you are interested in any piece you just put your post-it on the art and they will run it in their auction. They start everything out with a very high reserve price and try to get a bid for about 15 seconds and if nobody bids, they pass it. If you will guarantee a bid, they will start it out with a lower price, albeit a tad lower. One example we saw was a piece had a starting bid of $915 however a passenger guaranteed a bid and the opening bid was $845 which he won uncontested. Most of the art were simply reprints and they hid that fact very well in their terminology. “Here we have a Peter Max which is printed in a way that it is the closest thing you can get to an original without having the original piece.” Want me to translate? This is a reprint that we have multiple copies of and so does somebody else.

 

They give you a bidder card with an enormous amount of fine print. My favorite line in the print is the fact about the “appraised value.” Park West and not a third party decides the appraised values of their prints and they clearly state that in the fine print. I think the picture my 3 year old drew me is worth thousands of dollars but do you? The reasoning and appraisals are flawed. I am not an expert in art but just someone who uses common sense. They are nice pieces and truly are works of art however; their prices are extremely inflated and appraised by a guy on their payroll. No conflict of interest there right? Still I thought it was entertaining to watch and I was curious to how much buyer’s remorse would be experienced in the art auction.

 

My bidder card along with a lot of fine print:

 

 

 

Because I registered at the art auction, I received this in my room later on during the week.

 

[dvdkndy]

After the auction we decided to head back to our room. Tonight was elegant evening so we went back to the room to enjoy our balcony and rest until it was time to head to dinner. We enjoyed the flexibility of YTD but we mostly were in the dining every night by 6:00pm to 6:15pm. There were a couple occasions where we came later but that is exactly why we like being in the YTD group.

 

When we came back to our room we found a surprise waiting on us!

 

As I said before, I am a pastor for a church near Cincinnati. Leading up to the cruise, I followed John Heald’s blog and tired to learn as much as I could from the questions he had been asked. I saw a question about religious services come up and he told a passenger that they did not have services because they do not have chaplains on board. I reached out to John Heald and Carnival through Facebook and told them that I would have no problem volunteering to lead a service for the passengers and a separate service for the crew while on board our B2B cruise. This was actually met with great appreciation from them and they were all for it. They needed me to send in my pastoral license and ordination credentials to verify that I was which I was glad to do. They thanked me for volunteering and told me I would just need to get with the CD once aboard to check and see what time they wanted to do it.

 

 

 

It was a kind and unnecessary gesture for him to send that to us as an expression of gratitude. I am just thankful they gave me the opportunity to be an encouragement to both passengers and crew. My wife however, was completely thrilled and willing to taste-test them!

[ginak82]

Very excited about this review! Thanks for taking the time to write it! Subscribing! :D

[cmptrwiz]

 

When we came back to our room we found a surprise waiting on us!

 

As I said before, I am a pastor for a church near Cincinnati. Leading up to the cruise, I followed John Heald’s blog and tired to learn as much as I could from the questions he had been asked. I saw a question about religious services come up and he told a passenger that they did not have services because they do not have chaplains on board. I reached out to John Heald and Carnival through Facebook and told them that I would have no problem volunteering to lead a service for the passengers and a separate service for the crew while on board our B2B cruise. This was actually met with great appreciation from them and they were all for it. They needed me to send in my pastoral license and ordination credentials to verify that I was which I was glad to do. They thanked me for volunteering and told me I would just need to get with the CD once aboard to check and see what time they wanted to do it.

 

It was a kind and unnecessary gesture for him to send that to us as an expression of gratitude. I am just thankful they gave me the opportunity to be an encouragement to both passengers and crew. My wife however, was completely thrilled and willing to taste-test them!

 

That is really neat that you would conduct the service. When we sailed on the Spirit awhile ago and someone conducted a service and we attended and it was really great. They even brought photocopies of hymns so we could all sing.

 

Wiz

[gapearl]

We woke up this morning and literally had to grab our camera because of the sight we were seeing. What do you think about it?

 

 

Went to bed with an empty port and woke up with 4 ships in port!

 

 

Someone please give props to my wife’s flower on her toe, it will make her feel special!

 

 

Sun coming up over South Beach

 

 

Norwegian Sky, Carnival Imagination, Carnival Destiny, and Majesty of the Seas (not pictured)

 

Awwwww that's so sweet! :) Tell her I love the pedicure.

 

That was really great for you to hold a service while on board. I'm loving your review!!!

[botacat]

Great post. Sailing on the Paradise in Oct and this is building the excitement.

[navybaby1113]

That is great that you conducted a service onboard the ship. I would love to be able to have the opportunity to attend one sometime.

[jacpan]

Please try to give all the little details about being B2B. We are going on a B2B in January on the Valor. Thanks in advance.

 

Wiz

 

We are, as well! We are doing it the weeks prior to yours.:)

 

This review is awesome!!! :D

[JAXCRUISER]

Really enjoying your review--Thanks!

[dvdkndy]

Please forgive me for the delay. We found out on Saturday night that we have had a death in the family and they asked me to handle the funeral services. I am honored to do so however we are in Cincy and the funeral is in Ft. Worth, TX. We left after our morning services Sunday and just arrived in Texas. I have one part of my review on my iPad with me but the rest in back home on my MacBook. I will repost just as soon as I can when I get home. Thanks so much for your patience!

 

 

That night we left for dinner and asked the hostess to sit us with a new server. She sat us with a gentleman named Francisco who was hands-down the best. Each night after, we requested to be seated with him and his assistant I Gusti. It was a pleasant night and the food was incredible. I am sorry for failing to get a photo of the dinner menu but for me the choice was not hard.

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Prime Rib time for me!

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Wife decided on the lobster

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After the main course, it was time to decide on dessert

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Wife had the melting cake and I had the Bitter N Blanc

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After dinner, we decided to go have our photo taken at the stations. We quickly realized we should have done this before we went to dinner, as it was a mad house.

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Knowing we would be around for the second week and would have another chance to get our photos taken, we opted to just head back to the room and enjoy our balcony. We hit the sack fairly early that night because we knew it would be an early arrival in Grand Turk in the morning. It was a good thing we did because we would need the rest for the exciting port days we had ahead of us!

[jen&samcantwait]

Can't wait for more. :D

[dvdkndy]

Tuesday Fun Times

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[navybaby1113]

I'm sorry for your loss.

[jen&samcantwait]

So sorry for your loss, my post was apparently bad timing. :(

[Buffettfan 225]

While flying to FLL, I took a slight nap because we were quite tired from staying up until 2:00am the night before packing everything. I am not sure why we wait so long to pack but we do. All flights on this trip were uneventful and on time. We applaud Delta and their great crew for providing us with a safe and reliable transport to and from our cruise.

 

When we were getting close to landing, I kept an eye on the window to see if I could see the ocean. I was greatly disappointed because this was the view outside of our window of the Everglades.

 

 

I do not know how many gators there are down there but I do not want to be the one guy counting them. As disappointed as I was to not see the ocean, I was intrigued by the Everglades. Plus, I was also soothed by the fact that I would be seeing plenty of ocean for the next 10 days.

 

It was crazy to see the blank canvas of the Everglades. I was even more in shock that this really nice neighborhood popped up in the middle of it. Turns out it is the town of Weston, Fl. Pretty nice place seeing as most houses had a pool AND a tennis/basketball court in their backyards.

 

 

We landed in FLL right at 6:00pm. After taxiing to the gate, we were welcomed to FLL.

 

 

The terminal Delta uses is not big so within just a few steps and an escalator ride, we had arrived at baggage claim and called our SAS driver.

 

 

We told him we were at claim 3 and he basically said “grab your bag and turn around”. We looked out the window and saw the van there waiting to take us away. We snatched our bags and then headed outside of the airport.

 

 

The driver was very nice to us and was kind enough to take us by a Publix so we could buy 4, 12 packs of soda and some grenadine. The whole ride took approximately 40 minutes from pickup to drop off including the stop at the store. SAS charged us $45, which we paid the driver in cash along with some extra money for tip.

 

I would highly recommend SAS to you for FLL transportation however they do not service MIA.

Thank you for the detailed review. I wrote one a few years ago and like you CC members deserve the payback for all they do.

Yours is the first to include transportation details and confidence to use SAS should I need them in future. Eagerly awaiting more photos and food info as sailing her for 5th time in October.

[txmom11]

David and his wife are good people. He took pictures of EVERYTHING on this trip. We were blessed to get to know everyone from our roll call.

[wrigley80]

So sorry for your loss but were glad to see more pictures from your cruise. Thanks again for such a detailed review

[Almost Packed]

Welcome to Texas...so sorry it's for a death in the family.

 

I'm loving your review, but please, take care of your family...we all can wait. Granted, we'll all be sitting here biting our nails, tapping them on the desk waiting for more, but we all understand.

 

Thank you again for sharing your cruise with us. Prayers out to you and family.

[smplyblessed619]

Prayers going up for you and your family as well as safe travels.

[thill79]

Prayers for you and your family! So sorry for your loss!

 

Loving the review!! Headed to Miami NOV 24th for cruise on the Destiny on the 26th! YAY

[dvdkndy]

OK everyone, I am back at home and ready to keep the review going. 2306 miles driven in 4 days with the love of my life and 2 kids under 4 years old who did great on the trip! Thanks to everyone for all the kind words toward my family. Death sucks but it is great that we have a promise from God that one day death will be over! Thank you very much for your patience and I hope you enjoy the rest of the review!

[dvdkndy]

We had an early morning arrival in Grand Turk so we wanted to get up early and be ready to be off the ship as soon as we could. When we have a sea day, we have no problem sleeping in and taking it easy. When we have a port day, we like to get off as soon as we can because our time there is so limited. It is not everyday that I can explore around Turks and Caicos so I want to make the most of my time there.

 

We got up and started stirring around. We ordered room service the previous night and had requested it to be delivered in between 6:30am and 6:45am. Well around 6:15am the food arrived and completely woke us up. Let’s just say we went to bed in un-presentable attire and had to really scramble to get decent so we could open the door. Thank God for the Carnival bathrobes! After eating our breakfast, my wife began to get ready and I walked out onto the secret deck at the front of deck 7. You could see Grand Turk coming in the distance.

 

 

I went back inside and got myself ready and we could see the ship beginning to slow down. I love the view from the front of the ship so I finished getting ready for the day and went to deck 7 again to see the sights.

 

 

Getting closer…

 

 

…and closer…

 

 

It was cool seeing the guys working to pier and getting everything ready for us to arrive there.

 

 

[dvdkndy]

After feeling the ship slow to a snails pace, literally, I went back in to the room to get my backpack and my wife. I stepped out on the balcony and saw the staff beginning to walk down the pier toward the ship.

 

 

While we had stopped, this establishment began their announcements over a sound system that could easily be heard by everyone on the port side of the ship and on the open lido decks. They were advertising everything from beer to Wi-Fi to excursions. If you think about it, it is a brilliant idea and is a great strategy for getting their product out there to the passengers.

 

 

For Grand Turk, we had read of people renting a golf cart from a gentleman named Nathan. We read everything we could about him and even emailed him and asked about rates. He rents golf carts and Jeeps for the day and they are each $80.00 for the whole day. I thought about getting the Jeep because it would cover more ground quicker than the golf cart. After researching, I discovered that the fine for speeding in Grand Turk is $35 for every mile over the limit. I have been known to have a heavy foot so this is just something that I did not want to chance! Plus, if I had received a ticket on the cruise my wife would have never forgiven me for it!

 

We emailed Nathan and he asked for our phone number so that he could call us and get our credit card info. I had not problems doing this because we are protected through our bank and because of all the good things that we had heard about Nathan’s business. It was funny when he called seeing an unknown number and “Turks and Caicos” under the number. It is not everyday that you get a call from there right?

 

He gave us the instructions on where to find him when we got to the terminal. As we were getting ready to leave our balcony, we saw the golf carts waiting off to the side of the road. If you look close, you can see them right in the middle of the picture.

 

 

We took the elevator down to deck 0 a few minutes after 7:00am and found it to be a ghost town with just a few staff members directing passengers. Not sure if it was too early for everyone or what but as you can see we did not have any crowd to fight to get off the ship. We walked off, took a photo for the photographer, and were on our way.

 

 

I love taking pictures of the ship and was impressed at how close we were to the ship when we got off. Even though she has a little bit of age and is going to a dry dock, she still is a thing of beauty and is something to marvel at in regard to design and size.