Destiny...Off today...Short review

[10XCRUISE]

Got off the Destiny today...Here's a quick redcap:

 

I read last week about the malfunctioning of the Sail & Sign card and found it hard to believe. Well it happened to us. The safe will deactivate the the S & S card and render it useless as a door key also. Along with 60 other guests we had to have a new card issued and had to use a credit card to open and close the safe. This was a first occurrence after 15 cruises.

 

Embarkation went quickly as we arrived on the pier around 1:00. $21.50 per taxi from the airport to the pier.

 

The Carnival staff was 'over the top' when it came to courtesy and friendless and none of them could have made our trip any better.

 

There were many people in the dining room on formal nights wearing jeans. I feel Carnival needs to publish a Capers in Spanish for those on board that don't know when the formal nights are. I felt sorry for the Spanish speaking guests as they also struggled with the dining room menu. Hey Carnival how about a Spanish menu for those folks?

 

Although the ship is 10 years old ( our 2nd Destiny trip ) we found it to be in great condition. Bravo to Carnival!!

 

This morning (Sunday the 14th ) at 5 AM the captain came over the public address with a wake up call advising us of a ' bomb threat'. Apparrently a passenger received a call from someone on shore around 2:30 am of this possibility and the captain waited to notify the rest of us until 5am. They did a cabin to cabin inspection while we were anchored in the San Juan harbor. Fortunately there was no bomb. This also delayed an RCI ship that was entering the harbor behind us. Unfortunately the disembarkation took longer than usual which caused some early flight people to miss there planes. The captain and staff handled this as well as could be expected under the circumstances.

 

The only day the ' chair hogs ' were out in force was on the 1 day at sea. The remainder of the cruise there were more than an adequate amount of pool chairs available.

 

The main theater production shows were excellent!!!

 

Balcony door in a Cat 7 ( #7255 ) room stayed open by itself...no bungee required. Plumbing and airconditioning worked very well. No refrigerator in the cabin but they would supply one if you requested.

 

Had a fabulous week and hope the rest of you will also.

[caribbeanchickie]

Welcome home!!! Great to read you had a fabulous time with the exception to the S&S card and the bomb threat. Glad to hear nothing was found though.

 

We are booked for Sept 16 and I can barely wait. With all the negative comments I have read here, what a sigh of relief to read POSITIVE things about the Destiny.

 

You mentioned NO FRIDGE? We are in the same area as you were and I was hoping they had fridges. Where did they put yours when you requested it? If you requested one that is.

 

Do you have pics to post? I would LOVE to see them.:D

What was the dining room food like?

What about the Lido food?Do they have a fish and chips place? Mmmmmmm :rolleyes:

What can you tell us about the port of calls? Excursions you took?

Hotel Pre-stay?

What nights were formal?

 

And my million dollar question is: How was the CD? I think her last name is Kneival?

 

Thanks in advance for your responses.

 

Again, WELCOME HOME. Even though I bet you wish to back on the ship. :p

 

Got off the Destiny today...Here's a quick redcap:

 

I read last week about the malfunctioning of the Sail & Sign card and found it hard to believe. Well it happened to us. The safe will deactivate the the S & S card and render it useless as a door key also. Along with 60 other guests we had to have a new card issued and had to use a credit card to open and close the safe. This was a first occurrence after 15 cruises.

 

Embarkation went quickly as we arrived on the pier around 1:00. $21.50 per taxi from the airport to the pier.

 

The Carnival staff was 'over the top' when it came to courtesy and friendless and none of them could have made our trip any better.

 

There were many people in the dining room on formal nights wearing jeans. I feel Carnival needs to publish a Capers in Spanish for those on board that don't know when the formal nights are. I felt sorry for the Spanish speaking guests as they also struggled with the dining room menu. Hey Carnival how about a Spanish menu for those folks?

 

Although the ship is 10 years old ( our 2nd Destiny trip ) we found it to be in great condition. Bravo to Carnival!!

 

This morning (Sunday the 14th ) at 5 AM the captain came over the public address with a wake up call advising us of a ' bomb threat'. Apparrently a passenger received a call from someone on shore around 2:30 am of this possibility and the captain waited to notify the rest of us until 5am. They did a cabin to cabin inspection while we were anchored in the San Juan harbor. Fortunately there was no bomb. This also delayed an RCI ship that was entering the harbor behind us. Unfortunately the disembarkation took longer than usual which caused some early flight people to miss there planes. The captain and staff handled this as well as could be expected under the circumstances.

 

The only day the ' chair hogs ' were out in force was on the 1 day at sea. The remainder of the cruise there were more than an adequate amount of pool chairs available.

 

The main theater production shows were excellent!!!

 

Balcony door in a Cat 7 ( #7255 ) room stayed open by itself...no bungee required. Plumbing and airconditioning worked very well. No refrigerator in the cabin but they would supply one if you requested.

 

Had a fabulous week and hope the rest of you will also.

[letscruisegd]

Thanks for the (positive) review. I'll be on the Destiny in a couple of weeks and I'm looking forward to having a great time.

[big_duck]

 

You mentioned NO FRIDGE? We are in the same area as you were and I was hoping they had fridges. Where did they put yours when you requested it? If you requested one that is.

 

There are no fridges in any cabins (well maybe suites).

[NCLSEA123]

I look forward to sailing her.

[ArizonaTracie]

How refreshing to read a positive review!!! We sail the Destiny in July and can't wait...I've had my reservations about this sailing, but couldn't pass up the port of calls and the price we got...so I decided I would just go with an open mind and positive attitude!! Your review makes this very easy to do now!!!

 

Can't wait to hear more about your excursions, the food, etc...

[bowana]

Just wondering when you get to the boat, we arrive there around 3:00 pm, and the ship leaves @ 10:00 pm

Can you go on the boat, and change, and go back off and walk around if you wish for a few hours, and shop ???

 

Thanks in advance

 

:)

[SouthernCaribbean]

Just wondering when you get to the boat, we arrive there around 3:00 pm, and the ship leaves @ 10:00 pm

Can you go on the boat, and change, and go back off and walk around if you wish for a few hours, and shop ???

 

Thanks in advance

 

:)

 

Yes, as soon as you check in and drop off your bags you can leave the ship to explore OSJ.

[cruisindoggie]

It is nice to hear that Carnival takes care of the older ships.

[10XCRUISE]

Pardon the delay, I had to go to work today to earn more $$ for our next cruise.

 

pur30; If you request a refrigerator they install it in the cabinet under the TV. The main dining food was served hot and although not a 5 star it was fine. A varied menu every night and the lobster tail they serve is huge!!

 

We found the buffet on the Lido deck to be underwhelming but the New York Deli is a home run. Sorry...no fish & chips. A little secret...go to the small grille all the way back on the Lido deck for breakfast, it's the same food as the main buffet but NO lines. Food is always subjective but I never heard of anyone leaving a cruise weighing less than when they got on.

 

We've been to just about all of the islands so we only choose random excursions since we do our own thing now. We weren't impressed with the mineral springs in St. Lucia but the rest of the island was gorgeous. Antigua's beaches are as beautiful as many other islands'. But if you feel comfortable enough you can save a boat load of $$$ by walking off the pier and hiring your own pesonal driver for the day most anywhere (our preferred means of touring ).

 

Formal night was in Dominica & Antigua. Since Antigua is a late day port (6:00pm) many people did not show up for the early dinner seating. And yes there were quite a few under dressed passengers in the main dining room...oh well.

 

Rich, the cruise director, was one of the best we encountered. Very funny and high spirited and he kept everyone's attention. His assistant did all of the spanish translations but it always went rather quickly.

 

Bowana; Leaving the ship after you embark to explore San Juan is recommendable. The muster drill is held that evening while docked there at 9:30pm with a 10pm sailaway.

[bowana]

Great to hear, never been on a cruise yet, so trying to figure everything out, everyone is sooo helpful here.

Can't wait till Feb 10, because I won't sleep that night :)

Is there good shopping in San Juan, my girlfriend is quite excited to shop. And iI will try to keep up to her....:eek:

Is there good shopping in Antigua and Barbados, she still wants to shop more !!!!!

Thanks

[bowana]

Great to hear, never been on a cruise yet, so trying to figure everything out, everyone is sooo helpful here.

Can't wait till Feb 10, because I won't sleep that night :)

Is there good shopping in San Juan, my girlfriend is quite excited to shop. And iI will try to keep up to her....:eek:

Is there good shopping in Antigua and Barbados, she still wants to shop more !!!!!

Thanks

[AllyCat81]

Bowana: If your girlfriend likes Coach, Dooney & Burke, etc. then yes, the shopping in Old San Juan is fantastic!! There are quite a few outlets, and also tons of little shops. We were there with the Legend in September... I bought two huge coach bags for under $200 :D

Try taking one of the mini bus tours there (as soon as you get off the ship, I'm sure someone will approach you). We did one, and let me tell you, it was well worth it (and cheap too!). We saw some beautiful sights.

 

We're looking into sailing on the Destiny in March. I'm hoping we get to go. San Juan was my favorite port!! :D

[mexicobob]

Thanks for the good mini-review. We go in June.

 

MexicoBob

[CruiseCentric]

Great to hear, never been on a cruise yet, so trying to figure everything out, everyone is sooo helpful here.

Can't wait till Feb 10, because I won't sleep that night :)

Is there good shopping in San Juan, my girlfriend is quite excited to shop. And iI will try to keep up to her....:eek:

Is there good shopping in Antigua and Barbados, she still wants to shop more !!!!!

 

 

Thanks

 

I would suggest waiting until St Thomas to do the bulk of your shopping, the prices are much better there.

[cruisinjerseygirl]

Your post makes me think twice about doing the Destiny...we were sooo against it after everyone told us it is a step down from what we have been on but I think that we may be able to handle it and if not we will chalk it up to experience. I think that next year this will be our cruise of choice. This year we are cruise happy and did one in Nov and now one in March and then again in August but then we are taking a break from them until next march maybe...we shall see but if we do one in March of 2008 I think this will be the one! My husband is Puerto Rican and we are doing the Liberty this year just so he can go there but he really wanted to do something more like the Destiny so we could have more time there so I think that after reading your post we will think twice before planning something other than this! Thank you!

[cruisinjerseygirl]

Matigari- I also agree that shopping in St Thomas is the best! We spent a week there last summer...not something I would recommend though lol! But they sell the same stuff at every port really so if you do go to St Thomas unless you are buying something REALLY symbolic of the place you are going just wait til St Thomas they have the best prices and you can haggle nicely there.

[cruisinjerseygirl]

Matigari- I also agree that shopping in St Thomas is the best! We spent a week there last summer...not something I would recommend though lol! But they sell the same stuff at every port really so if you do go to St Thomas unless you are buying something REALLY symbolic of the place you are going just wait til St Thomas they have the best prices and you can haggle nicely there.

[Tara&Jas]

But... most importantly - do they have a Coach Outlet store at St. Thomas?

 

TWO Huge Coach Bags for under $200!! :eek:

[OhioJeff]

But... most importantly - do they have a Coach Outlet store at St. Thomas?

 

TWO Huge Coach Bags for under $200!! :eek:

 

They used to have an outlet in St Thomas, I think the people selling knockoff on the island ran them out of business:p

 

There is a Dooney &Bourke and a few other outlets in Old San Juan.

150 Calle Cristo, Old San Juan, San Juan

[caribbeanchickie]

TY ladies for the St. Thomas shopping tips. I am budgeting ALOT of money for St. Thomas. :D Heck, I may end up going over budget. Do I care? Not really if I can get 2 huge COACH bags for under $200. :eek:

 

We too were skeptical about booking this but I decided we are going with an open mind and gonna have FUN anyways.

 

Only 7 mths, 29 days to go...heheheh:rolleyes:

[NY Eric]

We were on that cruise as well - Embarkation at 12:15pm went so smooth - We were on the Ship by 1.

 

The bomb threat was a headache - but could have been worse. Made for a pretty messy disembarkation.

 

Look for my full review soon!

[chrly]

Thanks so much for the quick mini review...we are just over a year before we get to go on the destiny...can't wait.