Destiny Review

[CruzinQs]

Just got off the Destiny yesterday. After hearing all the complaints I was a little nervous. Anyone booked - RELAX. Our room was freezing. Had to shut the AC down all the way and sometime had to open the balcony door to let in some heat! No loud people hanging out in the halls. Drinking age of 21 strictly enforced. My 17 yr old had a blast in the Ocean 2 Club for 15-17 yr olds. We arrived at the ship around 1pm (very crowded) - took about 1.5 hours to go through and board. We had lunch, found our room (no luggage yet), left the ship to walk around Old San Juan (around 4pm) and there were no people in the lines (looks like might be a good time to arrive). Lots of deck space and chairs on the sea day. Food was great, a nice variety.

[SouthernCaribbean]

Thanks for sharing! What did you do on the islands?

[CruzinQs]

Catamaran in St. Thomas. Walked around Dominica and spent the rest of the day on the ship (didn't feel safe walking around), Boatyard at Barbados, Land & Sea in St. Luica, Dickenson Beach in Antigua.

[RjayB]

Nice to hear some encouraging words about this poor ship :)

What cabin # were you in?

Dare I ask how you know the drinking age was strictly enforced?

[SouthernCaribbean]

Catamaran in St. Thomas. Walked around Dominica and spent the rest of the day on the ship (didn't feel safe walking around), Boatyard at Barbados, Land & Sea in St. Luica, Dickenson Beach in Antigua.

 

Thanks, I think you missed out on a treat in Dominica. You really need to do a tour on this island to see all the beauty of the "Nature Isle" I love the fact that its so rustic and doesnt look like a shopping mall.

[Ms. Fun Bunch]

:D :D :D Thanks for the review. My family and friends group sail on the Destiny 8/5. I'm so excited!!!! I can't wait.

[SouthernCaribbean]

Nice to hear some encouraging words about this poor ship :)

What cabin # were you in?

Dare I ask how you know the drinking age was strictly enforced?

Actually 90%+ of the reviews from the last 10 months or so have been very positive. It seem that the great reviews dont get many comments, yet if anyone says something negative about Destiny, people tend to jump on the bandwagon.

[JXR]

Catamaran in St. Thomas. Walked around Dominica and spent the rest of the day on the ship (didn't feel safe walking around), Boatyard at Barbados, Land & Sea in St. Luica, Dickenson Beach in Antigua.

 

How did you like the Boatyard, and Dickenson's Beach? Those are 2 of things that we are planning on doing.

 

Thanks,

 

Joanne

[CruzinQs]

We have a 20 year old that tried and was carded each time :)

 

We loved both the Boatyard and Dickenson beaches - calm waters and soft sand. They both have water toys for rent - barter for a better price. If you have small children, I saw some kids with blow up tubes (you may want to pick some up before you go).

 

Enjoy.

[tnsail]

I along with SC wish that you had booked an excursion on Dominica.... It is such a pristine island with so many natural things to see.... I can also understand your being a bit on edge about walking around the town.... The Destiny is the only ship that ports at Dominica for the next couple of months so I would imagine that the vendors are getting quite aggressive by now....:(

 

Joey

[jnlcowen]

Just got off the Destiny yesterday. After hearing all the complaints I was a little nervous. Anyone booked - RELAX. Our room was freezing. Had to shut the AC down all the way and sometime had to open the balcony door to let in some heat! No loud people hanging out in the halls. Drinking age of 21 strictly enforced. My 17 yr old had a blast in the Ocean 2 Club for 15-17 yr olds. We arrived at the ship around 1pm (very crowded) - took about 1.5 hours to go through and board. We had lunch, found our room (no luggage yet), left the ship to walk around Old San Juan (around 4pm) and there were no people in the lines (looks like might be a good time to arrive). Lots of deck space and chairs on the sea day. Food was great, a nice variety.

Did you leave the port at 10pm? If so what time do they allow you to board?

[tnsail]

Did you leave the port at 10pm? If so what time do they allow you to board?

 

I know that your question was asked to CQ but maybe I can help..... The Destiny will allow you to board about 20 min. after the cruisers from the previous sailing have left the ship.... This varies from sailing to sailing (customs, weather, number of passengers, etc).... Generally around 12:00 PM is a good guess (some earlier)....

 

San Juan can get real hot in a real short amount of time so I wouldn't advise getting there really early cause you'll end up standing in the sun at the end of the pier....

 

Joey

[luvdale]

Thanks, I think you missed out on a treat in Dominica. You really need to do a tour on this island to see all the beauty of the "Nature Isle" I love the fact that its so rustic and doesnt look like a shopping mall.

 

I agree. I did the Beno tour. I saw Emerald Pools and the water fall. I went to Mr Nice's Fruit Stand. I really enjoyed the tour with Beno. It was nice to see the real beauty of the island. I have been watching PirateMaster where it was filmed in Dominica. I saw things that I really did enjoy seeing. I loved St Lucia, I did the Cosol Tour. He was amazing. The tour and the island was beautiful. I am glad I did book private tours because they were so much better than the ship tours. They actually stopped and let you take pictures. I was a little nervous at first about booking a private tour, but they were wonderful. I loved the Destiny. Last year, we cruised our first Carnival cruise on the GLORY, and we said-Never again Carnival---but we gave Carnival another chance and booked a cruise on the Destiny. It was amazing. Carnival was great this time. My luggage was left by USAIR in Charlotte, NC. I told Carnival about my problem. The lady from Spain went with me to the information desk and stayed with me until I finished my report, then she went with me to get my sign and sail card in the dining room. The room steward watched out for my luggage. USAir told me they put it on the second flight. I finally got my luggage around 9:30 before we left San Juan around 10. Carnival even called and offered my sister and I formal wear for the formal nights, but we already had our suitcases. I was very happy with Carnival. It was a wonderful cruise. I would sail Carnival again. I really like the Destiny. I like the older ships, they are easier to navigate.

[kiraryker]

Hey thanks!!! We sail her in January 08 and yes I was getting nervous.

 

A few more questions: How formal was the dinners??? Did alot of people really dress up?? How was the food?? Was the muster drill bearable??

 

Glad you had a great time

[ShanteS]

Hey thanks!!! We sail her in January 08 and yes I was getting nervous.

 

A few more questions: How formal was the dinners??? Did alot of people really dress up?? How was the food?? Was the muster drill bearable??

 

Glad you had a great time

 

And to add to those questions, was there a Sailaway party on the Lido deck when you left SJ, PR and another when you left Barbados?

[caribbean dreams]

. Walked around Dominica and spent the rest of the day on the ship (didn't feel safe walking around), .

 

Glad you had a great trip, i had no problems on Destiny when we went either.

Dominica was one of my Favorite stops, we took a taxi up to the falls and spent most of the day, the to the Champagne Reef, Everyone was very friendly up there.

[dc-snoopy]

And the flip side. I was one of the ones that have had quite a lot of service related problems on the Destiny (three weeks ago). I have to say that the S Caribbean itinerary was wonderful and we loved all of our ports of call. We booked independently with LyboTours in Dominica and did Mr. Nice's fruit stand, Emerald Pool, Trafalgar Falls, Sulpher Spring, and the Champagne reef (a very full day and we only got back to the ship 25 min before sailing, but we made it!). It was fantastic and one of the best tours that we have been on. We did the Tiami Catamaran cruise in Barbados, but we had to book independently because the ship excursion was sold out. And it was hard because we couldn't say we were on the cruise since then we wouldn't be allowed on (they have an exclusion contract with Carnival). It too was great. We went zip-lining in Dennery on St Lucia and had a phenomenal time. And in Antigua, we booked an island tour from the taxi stand just off the ship and still had a great time. The S Caribbean islands are fantastic.

 

That said, the ship layout and crew were mostly disappointing. We were fortunate that we had great dinner waiters and cabin attendants, but most of the other staff on board were pretty lackluster. Very few seemed to be enjoying their jobs, very few really spared much time or a smile for the guests (I encountered more surly and rude service staff there than I have ever encountered in one place). If you want specifics, you can check out my review linked in my sig.

 

That said, due to the occasion (my whole family getting together for my parents 50th anniversary) and the itinerary helped make this a truly memorable and wonderful cruise. But, since we don't tend to do as much on-board, the less than stellar service didn't bother us as much. Had we been more ship-types than itinerary-types, then the service would probably have truly distracted me. Now, one good point. Our group was about half and half of first time cruisers and experienced cruisers. All of the first-time cruisers had the times of their lives and loved it. All of the experienced cruisers enjoyed the cruise, but agreed that the service was probably the worst we have all encountered. So, even with the problems, as they say, a day cruising is still better than a day at work! Your vacation is what you make of it and you can still enjoy yourself with all of the problems as long as you can find the good things and find a way to tolerate the bad. And I think that will go for any cruise on any line unless you are up into the six star categories.

[CruzinQs]

Sail Away party - yes on Lido deck.

Muster drill was at 9:35pm. Didn't last long.

Formal nights (two of them) first formal night (Captains) very formal (more so than the last few cruises we've been on). 2nd formal night (Friday) wasn't as formal - I'd say semi-formal.

Lots of different stations to have your portraits taken.