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

[donnaman43]

Awesome review. I am really enjoying it!

[Dutch Diver]

Hi David, thanks for posting this review. DW & I are going on the Destiny in November, doing the same B2B itinerary. We're following this thread with great interest and anticipation.

 

So much info already and you're not even halfway! :D Keep up the good work!

[saltybones]

Loving your review, keep it coming!!!

 

Hey, we will be sailing with you guys on the Dream 3-16-2013:D

 

Can't wait for that one!

[sewut]

Now you did it. You haven't even finished the first leg of your B2B, and you've made me book a cruise. I hope you're happy now. lol

We've never been to Grand Turk or Half Moon Cay and we've been looking for a cruise for December 2013 to do along with my DD and her family. We will be going to WDW first and that is their department. Finding a cruise is our department. Well, last night I was looking at this itinerary on the Victory and the price was unbelievable. I called DD after showing it to my DH and we were on the phone in a conference call with DD and Carnival until midnight. We booked two connecting OV rooms. Then I was "too excited to sleep" and was awake until 1:30 this morning, and we all have church. DH is a pastor also.

[wadethegringo]

Thank you for taking the time to write this. We are booked on the Destiny far a 18 day cruise in Feb 2013. Cant wait.

[dairy5]

These crazy animals absolutely did not give a flip about traffic! Where we come from you worry about deer running in front of you at night, here, you worry about a cow or donkey coming out. CRAZY!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have never seen a girl cow with horns. Anybody wanna educate me? Notice Destiny waving to us?

 

 

All dairy cattle male or female have horns unless they are born with the recessive gene for being polled. Some beef breeds are all polled (meaning hornless) You normally do not see females with horns in the U.S because we dehorn them at a young age for the safety of the cattle and those working with them.

 

I am loving your cruise and it makes me want to book another one! :eek:

[kimmyg726]

Absolutely wonderful review. We aren't even sailing on the same ship but I'm captivated by your review and the details.

[Kidsgoneletscruise]

Bah, I need more.... where did you go? :eek:

 

First off, We used SAS transportation also and loved these guys. Definitely would book with them again! Secondly, awesome looking room you guys had and the pic with your feet is adorable. :) And lastly, I love you gentle kindness as a human being. It shines through.

 

Anxiously waiting for the rest of your review.....

[All4fun&fun4all]

Loving the review! We have been to Grand Turk and HMC back in 2007 and are going again in December.

[dvdkndy]

We dropped some people off and then we finally arrived at cabana number 11.

 

 

We walked down the path to group of cabanas and number 11 was just a couple to the left.

 

 

 

 

We walked over and saw a hammock swinging in the trees and a completely empty beach waiting for us with the beautiful Carnival Destiny in the background. The sand was so soft, white, and powdery! We truly were in paradise!

 

 

Though the snacks are not there yet, waiting for us in the cabana were 2 loungers, a misting fan, table with chairs, air-conditioner, refrigerator, floating mats, and snorkel equipment for four people.

[dvdkndy]

For the next hour, we had this whole part of the beach to ourselves. We relaxed, floated on the mats, and were simply in awe at the beauty of the crystal-clear water at Half Moon Cay.

 

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!

 

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

I love that last set of pictures, so calm.

[matondo]

We LOVE HMC!! I think it is time to do some serious planning to return there.

[wrigley80]

Those last few pictures of HMC are getting me so excited to go there. We stop there in 2 months when we are on the Ecstasy

[dvdkndy]

You can see that even after some time there still were not many people down at this part of the beach.

 

 

 

[dvdkndy]

Not too much longer, they delivered snacks and everything that we would need for the day.

 

They brought us two bottles of water, 8 cans of pop, fruit, veggies, dips, salsa, chips and ice. Just the perfect elements needed for a perfect day!

 

 

 

 

You can see it all fit in the little fridge perfectly so it was kept cool all day long.

 

[girlscruise2011]

I am so loving this review. I was on the Destiny in May and did the same itinerary and I had cabana #11 too :)

 

I want to go back again because it was so beautiful and peaceful. Thank you for letting me relive my memories through yours.

[patrice1]

We had the same cabana on 2 of our Destiny cruises. Thanks for the memories! Have been reading your thread avidly, as it brings back memories of our last 4 cruises, all on Destiny!:D

[DeloreanGirl]

I just made that Half Moon Cay crystal clear water photo of yours my laptop screensaver. STUNNING!!!

 

Half Moon Cay seems to be more postcard-like than all of the islands we've currently been to so far. Wowza. :eek:

[golfb4cruzing]

One of the ships pulled off from HMC today because of choppy conditions. We are going at the end of October specifically for HMC. Hopefully we don't get turned back. We missed Princess Cay in April for the same reasons. Grrr.

[Kakboy]

Awesome review.

One question though: what was the restroom situation on HMC? Were there port-a-potties nearby or were there actual restrooms within walking distance to your cabana? Thanks!

[wrigley80]

Awesome review.

One question though: what was the restroom situation on HMC? Were there port-a-potties nearby or were there actual restrooms within walking distance to your cabana? Thanks!

 

There are bathrooms/changing rooms near Cabana #10 on the beach

[dvdkndy]

After laying around relaxing for a couple hours, we decided to walk up and get some lunch.

 

 

 

We tried the jerk chicken, burgers, and some of the sides. We got our plates and silverware then we walked back to our cabana to have lunch with each other. The rest of the day we relaxed in the water, napped, snorkeled, read, and just really had a relaxing day. I decided to walk down the beach and as I was walking down there I ran into Sam from our roll call. I invited him and his wife to come over to the cabana and hang out with us. They came over and for the next couple hours we sat around talking about life, sharing stories, and eating snacks. It was great getting to know them and little did we know that from this point on we would see more of each other than we ever knew.

[dvdkndy]

Before you knew it was time to leave Half Moon Cay. We really were not ready to leave and totally agree with the sign that says I wish I could stay here forever! Half Moon Cay was an absolute beauty!

 

 

Many people complain on Cruise Critic about the lines to get back on the ship. When we made our way back, you could see people were starting to clear out of the beach. By the time that we got in line to go back, we saw that there was a line waiting to get on the tender.

 

 

 

Once a tender was back and the line began moving, we were in the very first group getting on the tender. There were a good number of people on this tender as a lot of people are trying to get back to the ship. Little side note, sit on the top on the tender because the top portion of the tender gets unloaded first back at the ship! (SHHHHH! Don’t tell anyone else!!!)

 

 

 

 

We maybe stood in line for 10-15 minutes. I did not think it took much time at all and we were brought back to the ship in an extremely timely manner. People get upset at lines and waiting, but we were more upset that we were leaving a little piece of Heaven!

[dvdkndy]

 

Let me just stop and say this, if you are on the fence about getting a cabana, just take the leap and do it! The whole day, people kept moving their loungers more and more in the shade. We loved the shower, the food and the a/c unit! It was awesome and completely worth the money. If you want sun you can surely get it. If you want shade, you can get that too. Just be sure to get to the ship early and request a cabana as far down the beach as you can. This will guarantee you that the majority of the crowd will be away from you.

 

The one complaint that I have about HMC is that apart from the snorkeling excursion, the snorkeling there is not good. I saw maybe 5 fish the entire day and even then they looked just like each other. I was probably seeing the same fish over and over! Again, this is me trying to find something wrong with the place.