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

[MrSchwump]

I'm loving your uberdetailed review! We're from the Queen City as well and will be sailing on the Valor in March. We've never been on Carnival before so I'm learning a lot from your review!

 

Go Reds!

[dvdkndy]

As we started heading back to the ship, we could see the ship getting larger on the horizon. There was no way to get lost on the island. Anytime you think you’re lost, just look for the ship and start heading in that direction. It was like having our own compass with us.

 

 

As we began to pass the airport sign, we noticed the NASA capsule that we missed earlier that morning. I am a huge aviation buff so this intrigued me.

 

 

 

I am not sure if you can read this or not.

 

 

If you can’t read it clearly this is what it says:

 

During the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s and 1970s the USA and USSR were locked in a race to see who would be the first to break the many milestones that space offered. The Turks and Caicos Islands were to play a minor part in this race.

 

On 20th February, 1962 Grand Turk hit the international news with the arrival of Lieutenant Colonel John Glenn. Glenn had earlier been launched into space from Cape Canaveral and became the first American to orbit the earth, doing so three times in just under 5 hours. His craft, Friendship 7, was part of the Mercury programme and after re-entry, it splashed down in the Atlantic close to the Turks and Caicos Islands. Glenn was picked up by the USS Noa and transferred to the USS Randolph from where he was taken to Grand Turk. Here he underwent a medical and two days of debriefing before being flown back to America.

 

U.S. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, who had arrived on Island to take John Glenn back to the USA, and Island officials welcomed Glenn after the normal flight debriefing. The event focused world-wide attention on Grand Turk for the first time and Islanders lucky enough to shake the astronaut’s hand gleefully held up their own hands saying they had “touched space.”

 

That whole story is incredible and something that I will remember for the rest of my life. I stood there in awe reading it realizing that I was reading a major point in history of another country. It was a surreal moment for me.

[dvdkndy]

On the way back we stopped by Jack’s Shack to grab a bite of lunch. You can walk to it from the beach of the cruise center or you can drive to it. It is tucked away but there are signs directing you to it.

 

 

We sat down and ordered our food. We did a little people watching while sitting there and enjoyed the view that Jack’s offered.

 

 

The bar area

 

This next photo just makes me laugh. You know sometimes when men sit down they show their plumbers crack right? Well, I can honestly say I have seen plenty of plumber crack but never have I seen a plumbers pink thong! LOL. Now I know I have finally seen it all. I hope everyone sees the humor in this and if you don’t, just keep it to yourself.

 

 

Jack has a dog at his beach that has a funny habit. The dog digs in the sand for crabs non-stop. The whole time we were sitting there, the dog would dig, dig, and dig. It was comical to watch because the dog seemed to be having the time of his life.

 

 

[cmptrwiz]

Great review! If you get a chance could you give some directions to "your" private beach?

 

Wiz

[Jane2357]

I am laughing so hard at the pink thong, first that you noticed it and second that you had the guts to take the guy's picture!

 

Your review has been a delight! I'm leaving tomorrow for my cruise on Destiny that sails 10/1 so I'm going to be missing all of next week while I live the experience! I'll be jumping back on here for more when I return!!

[dvdkndy]

I ordered the jerk chicken at Jack’s and would highly recommend anyone to stop by and try it. Their jerk sauce is awesome and is making me hungry just thinking about it! I am sorry for not taking a photo of their menu and for forgetting to photograph what my wife ordered that day. In fact, I have no clue what she ate!

 

 

Even though we could see the ship from Jack’s and knew it wasn’t going anywhere soon, we decided it was time to head back to the ship.

 

 

We went back and turned the cart in to Nathan’s and they were more than happy to give us a ride back to the cruise center. It wasn’t a huge walk but after the busy day it was a welcomed gesture. While we were giving it back we were asking about the poor buildings, stray boats, and trashed lots. She told us everything we saw was the remnants of Hurricane Ike, which was a category 4 hurricane that made a direct hit on the island. Winds were 145mph when the storm struck. 95% of structures were severely damaged and the British government described the island as flattened. This hurt my heart to hear this as my whole family is from Waveland, MS and was ground zero for Hurricane Katrina. My family lost all their homes, belongings, and years of memories in the storm. Having been through that with my family, my heart went out to them.

[dvdkndy]

We stopped by the beach in the cruise center and took a couple of pictures from the water.

 

 

 

While standing in the water, Sam and Anna from our roll call walked up to us and we stood and talked for a while. We were standing there talking and Sam and I saw a huge stingray swim within 6 feet of the waters edge. We pointed it out and a guy who was swimming near literally walked on water to get out of it. It was funny because this guy was every bit of 6’3 and 270lbs. We didn’t mean to scare him but his day was done after that. Little did we know this would just be the beginning of running into Sam and Anna.

 

We had such a fun day and were sad to pass the sign and head back to the ship. We loved seeing the country and would come back in a heartbeat.

 

 

The line to get back on the ship was lengthy but moved at a very quick pace. We stood and chatted with Sam and Anna while we waited and before we knew it we were back on board.

 

 

After getting on board we changed clothes, showered and relaxed around the room until it was time for dinner. You do not realize it while you are running around, but when you finally stop you realize that it wears you out fairly quickly.

 

By the time we showered and dressed, we were leaving Grand Turk. I grabbed my iPad and went out on the balcony to read and enjoy the warmth of the sun. I cover my head because I realized very quickly that I burn on the top of my head. After this day, most every picture I have whether it be in water or in a cab, I have my hat on. It is not that I am partial to this particular hat, I just don’t wanna get burned! Let me tell you, I was reading at this moment because I saw her take the photo however I was asleep soon after while we cruised along the blue water. Best. Nap. Ever.

 

[dvdkndy]

We headed out for dinner and please forgive me but I have zero food pics to share from this night. I know I had the fried shrimp from the comfort food section and I am not sure what my wife had. However, I do know that she did end it with some melting cake!

 

 

 

We ended with a night in the comedy club and absolutely loved Carl! He was hilarious and was definitely something we wanted to revisit later in the week. Dillon was funny as well but Carl took first place. It was not that Dillon was bad and Carl was good but they were two totally different styles. Carl stayed more scripted with his material and you could tell it was his “set”, though he would do a little improve here and there. Dillon’s jokes were by talking to people in the crowd and making stuff up along the way. I did not mind it and thought it was funny with all that he did but it did create some moments of awkwardness. We only went to two shows that night because when it was time for the adult comedy show, the line was all the way to the casino. They clear the lounge out after before every adult show because people would not leave and people who missed the first show would be left out for the second show. We think this is fair and we had no problems with it. We were both tired so we promised each other we would come back on Friday for the adult shows.

 

We packed it up for the night and enjoyed a PB & Jelly on the balcony and tucked ourselves into bed. What an awesome day we had in Grand Turk. Saw some beautiful sights, great food, and met some incredible people along the way. We left Grand Turk promising to return to her one day. There were definitely sweet dreams to be had this night!

[cruisinsly]

What a great review!!

[Anthomaniac]

Is it safe to travel around a third world country like that? I was researching things to do in Nassau and Freeport, and it was recommended to not go off on you own to the more obscure areas and lesser known beaches. Apparently crime there has skyrocketed and the police mainly focus on the main touristy areas.

 

It seems like the golf cart thing (un-escorted) could allow you to get into some "off the beaten path" areas.

 

Just curious if you felt safe.

 

Not sure where you think they were, but GT is NOTHING like Nassau or Freeport...the entire island is off the beaten path...it's a whopping 7 miles long by 1.5 miles wide....

 

GT is NOT a third world country, it is an island that gets most of it's revenue from SCUBA diving tourists that come to visit one of the largest reefs in the world, and the crime rate against tourists is so low as to be nearly non-existent

[Anthomaniac]

Not sure where you think they were, but GT is NOTHING like Nassau or Freeport...the entire island is off the beaten path...it's a whopping 7 miles long by 1.5 miles wide....

 

GT is NOT a third world country, it is an island that gets most of it's revenue from SCUBA diving tourists that come to visit one of the largest reefs in the world, and the crime rate against tourists is so low as to be nearly non-existent

 

Heck the whole population is only about 4500!!! and the penalties for crime are pretty steep...hard to hide on an island that small...

Edited September 29, 2012 by Anthomaniac

[dvdkndy]

Fun Times for Wednesday

 

 

[dvdkndy]

After getting some rest, we woke up just before room service was delivered. We ate fairly light this morning because we knew snacks would be waiting for us at our cabana at Half Moon Cay.

 

I ran to deck 7 and snapped a photo of the island coming into view.

 

 

This was the one stop that we were really looking forward to as everyone had said great things about HMC. We did not really know what to expect, as we have never been to a private island. We just knew we had dropped over $200 on a cabana based solely on the recommendations of the Cruise Critic community. Would it be worth it? Is it a waste? We were about to find out.

 

We read on Cruise critic there were a lot of lines to contend with while getting off the ship. Luckily for us, having the cabana guaranteed us to be one of the first ones off the ship and on the island. All we had to do was be ready by the time the tenders were ready to go. We grabbed the tickets and made our way to deck 0 but instead were directed to deck number one by a Carnival staffer. The line was probably 60 people back when we got to deck 1. It was fun talking to people as they came down the hallway. The line got long fairly quickly due to the number of people waiting to get off the ship.

 

Here you can see the line of people lining up and down the hallway of deck 1.

 

 

 

I don't know about you but I would not want to be in one of those cabins on deck 1 because noise outside would be really loud on tendering ports.

 

When it was almost time to go to the gangway to board the tender, Carnival employees stopped by to make sure that everyone in line had a ticket or an excursion booked. Pretty soon we started moving and before long we were on our way down the deck 0.

 

[dvdkndy]

While we were down there, I noticed the medical center and decided to snap a couple photos. Some may find these helpful or interesting.

 

 

 

 

 

[dvdkndy]

We walked through security to scan our cards out and then we got on the tender.

 

 

 

Here you can see the other tenders lining up waiting to take everyone else on the island.

 

 

After filling up the tender, we began to head to the island. I don't know about you but I honestly don't mind the tendering process because of how close of a view you get of the ship. I love taking pictures of the front of the ship like it's coming at you and it's going to hit you. I think it's really awesome and I took a bunch of these.

 

 

 

[SMSACE6]

Im loving this review! Thankyou so much for taking the time to do such a detailed review with photos! Im sorry for your family loss. Thanks again for such a great review. Your review should have a CC award to go along with your Carnival Ship on a Stick! Looking forward to more.:)

[dreamer976]

This is one AMAZING review! Thanks so much for all your time composing and posting it. Love all the pictures and BTW, that sure was one crazy pre-cruise hotel room - kind of like the icing on the cake to a perfect cruise trip.

 

Can't wait for more.

[rajones007]

I am thoroughly enjoying your review....especially the pink top of the woman sitting in front of you. :D

 

[wrigley80]

I am thoroughly enjoying your review....especially the pink top of the woman sitting in front of you. :D

 

The Sandy Vagina is a drink at Jack's Shack in Grand Turk :D

[AndrewD65]

Your review is so awesome, I love the detail and your pictures..

[wl'sgma]

We were on the Destiny February 2012. This is a great way to relive the trip. Thanks for taking the time and my God bless your family!

[dvdkndy]

As we were making our way toward the island you can start seeing things on the island. You could see the bar, play toys, and most importantly you could see the cabanas waiting to be occupied!

 

 

 

 

We pulled into the harbor passing the grand cabana. As we were getting off the ship you could see the employees taking supplies to the island that we would need for the day. We were just happy to finally be at this incredible place we heard so much about

 

 

 

[dvdkndy]

All the signs, photographers, and information welcoming you to Half Moon Cay

 

[dvdkndy]

We walked into the courtyard and if you rented a cabana or had an excursion, you were directed over to the information desk.

 

 

 

We got to the information desk and we turned in our ticket.

 

 

After reading all the information from Cruise Critic we had read that it was more important to get a cabin cabana farther down the beach and away from the action. Again, we did not have our kids with us so the most important thing was a day of relaxation, quiet, and serenity with just my wife and me. There were previous posts on Cruise Critic where someone said that they emailed Carnival excursions and they requested a cabana number. I read this and then I emailed them and asked them for a cabana further down the beach. We received an email a day later and they assigned us cabana number 11. A little bit after we emailed them, they canceled that policy and now make you request a cabana onboard from this point on.

 

They told us our cabana was 11 and we turned around and saw the truck waiting to take us.

 

 

We went to the truck and waited maybe for five minutes to go toward the cabanas. The truck took three people with us to their cabanas as well so there were a couple of stops along the way. On the back road we were driving, we passed a couple crew spots.

 

[ncbrighteyes]

Thanks for posting your review, I am really enjoying it. If you are like me and like to take pictures of storms I wanted to share a tip with you that I discovered by accident. If you have video on your camera, take a video of the storm to catch the lightning strikes. If your pc has the snipping tool you can play the video back and save pictures of the lightning strikes. It is amazing what you don’t see with the naked eye. I do this when I go to the beach. I have not seen a storm yet on a cruise.

 

I can’t wait to see your picks of HMC. We were just there on the 19th and fell in love with the island! We can’t wait to go back.

 

Beverly