Destiny – Post D-D 9/27-10/2/08 Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman – Review & Capers

[falkcor]

(28) DESTINY CAPERS – 10/01/2008, LAST FUN DAY AT SEA

 

Alright, so I’ve fallen out of the groove here, and been a bit delayed in wrapping up this review. I’m going to redouble my efforts here, and work toward completing this… Believe it or not, I’m not done. Nonetheless, I’ll try to spare no (relevant) detail in proceeding… So who knows when I’ll be done :D

 

Anyhow, I also realize some of the people following this review/thread have… 1) already cruised… 2) are on the cruise (sorry wasii, I know you were the biggest caper fan), or 3) or are cruising… TOMORROW, Saturday 11/22… :eek:

 

So it’s for those cruising tomorrow, 2 members that have followed this from the onset – valancy1 and ready2sail76 (and again, wasii - and anyone else i missed - i'm only re-read to page 2), that I’ll post here the final night of capers, while I take my time to wrap everything else up ;)

 

Without any further ado… Wednesday, October 01 – Last ‘Fun Ship’ day at sea :o

 

 

 

CC just said I included 8 images (not true, 4)... but I'll split the 2nd part of the capers to the next post.

[falkcor]

(29) DESTINY CAPERS – 10/01/2008, LAST FUN DAY AT SEA

 

Here’s the rest…

 

 

By the way – for all of you on ship, or departing shortly – or those of you who already have… So, what’d you think? I look forward to hearing from you all / reading reviews…

Moving On…

[cruisedrew]

Oh Dear. this is the sad part... reading the end and DEBARK Info.

yuck!

The last night is sad.

 

We sail on the Destiny next Saturday!

:-)

Thanks for all the info!

[Sugaraynh]

UGH! It's like playing solitaire and realizing the deck is not complete!

 

Did I miss the end of have you not posted it yet!

 

Thanks so much! This is great! I cruise on Destiny on Jan 31!

[falkcor]

i want to add a link to this thread to this review... destiny in pictures...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=902972

title continued: post here. / and do. some great pics there.

to the last poster - you're right. i never finished it. no end, yet. mostly due to being displaced by an electrical fire in my home, and having to move, then the holidays. been incredibly busy.

i'll finish this, one of these days... though i'd like to say, i'm just about ready for another cruise :D

[Jeans*Fanatic]

Falkcor! Thanks so much for the extra link!!!!

[falkcor]

I just came across a few great pictures of Destiny in drydock on John Heald's blog today and decided to add them here to this review for posterity's sake.

 

 

 

 

Photo credit to Geo, Carnival Photographer. And here's the blog entry:

http://johnhealdsblog.com/2009/03/11/the-first-rule-of-comedy/

[Nunu]

Dude this was a great review and I want you to know it played a part in us deciding on sailing on the Destiny this August.

[falkcor]

Nunu - Thanks for your kind words. I'm really glad it was helpful in your selection of Destiny for your upcoming cruise - you'll have a blast!

 

So John's been posting some more great images of Destiny that I thought I'd also share here... Again, photo credits to Geo, Carnival photographer, and links below to John's blog pages.

 

Destiny in Dominica:

 

 

http://johnhealdsblog.com/2009/03/12/university-challenged/

 

And next, in Grand Turk:

 

http://johnhealdsblog.com/2009/03/07/why/

 

http://johnhealdsblog.com/2009/03/09/doppelganger/

[Steve-N-Steph]

falkor - What a great review! I love the pictures. We are doing the same itinerary on April 11th and although there are lots of reviews on the Destiny there aren't many on this itinerary. Love the info about Stingray City and especially the info and mention of Steve Erwin. My kids say they won't get off the boat because they are scared of them, and that's how Steve Erwin was killed. So, as soon as they are home from school I am making them read this. I am so excited about this excursion, I can't believe my 6'4" in 15 year old son is scared. Hopefully this will help! Thanks Again.

[jfaw]

We are sailing June 20th on the Destiny and going to ocho rios and grand cayman as well, we cannot wait! Also, after reading your review about the sting rays we are definitley booking through moby dick, a lot cheaper and more of a personal experience.

[tommy2811]

Falcor can you comment on the Piano Bar;)

[falkcor]

Falcor can you comment on the Piano Bar

 

hmmm... the piano bar... what to say about the piano bar... well, it was MY FAVORITE PLACE ON THE BOAT! :cool:

 

i wrote about my own experience at the piano bar, with piano man martin kaye back on page 2 / post 37. turns out he was only on a one month contract, though, so there have been at least one or two new piano players since then...

 

so more generally speaking about the piano bar (called the apollo bar) itself - it's located on the promenade deck aft, adjacent to the cheers wine bar and the point after disco. i'd say it's a medium sized lounge, with seating for about 100 people or so.

 

the best seats in the house are without question those right around the circular shaped bar around the piano, and they weren't always easy to come by! we had late seating dinner, so lots of people would get a head up on us in terms of snagging the prized seats - in which case, we'd grab a table and wait for people to leave. however, i'll note - this bar, and this piano man in particular, were so much fun and so popular that this didn't always happen too quickly, lots of people (including myself) would settle in and stay until close. we made quite a few friends in the piano bar, and we'd all meet up here every night. there are also, as noted, free-standing tables and chairs throughout, and along the walls they had built-in benches w/ table and additional chairs.

 

hours of operation were listed in the capers as 9.30 - LATE. i never made it by 9.30, but was always there until LATE :D

 

one thing to note is that this lounge does not have its own walk-up bar / bartender, so you have to rely on the bar waitresses to get drinks for you. well let's just say this place was packed every night, so sometimes there could be a wait until you could get her attention. so i always just planned ahead and ordered a few drinks at a time:

 

 

LOL - and no, i didn't always order 10 at a time) :)

 

now that brings me to my last point... know how the time is listed 9.30 - LATE? well, that's because after a certain time (i think about 1 AM), it's up to the piano player's discretion when they want to shut the place down. thankfully, our piano player, martin, was really enjoying himself - and so was everybody else, so he'd typically play until 2 AM or so. now as to why i ordered 10 drinks - while the piano player will stay until they want to, they suspend drink service via bar waitress by about 1 AM or so. just before i took the above pic, they told us it was last call (while the bar was still rockin'!), so i obliged, and ordered in advance. at other times, i'd just walk across the hall to the bar at the point after disco and bring drinks back when needed.

 

the decor of the piano bar is actually rather tasteful - the walls are covered with greco-roman inspired art via tile mosaic, as evidenced in the following pic:

 

 

that's a sun-burned me, my bro, and 2 lovely ladies that we'd hang out with every night at the piano bar.

 

now one thing you shouldn't miss - come with requests - the piano players typically have quite a lot of songs, common and more obscure that they're well acquainted with. that's how most of the night will go - requests from the audience, though our piano man also through in some of his own original work, too, which was good.

 

we also found out, though, one night while bribing, i mean, tipping, martin to play 'piano man' AGAIN (he really doesn't like that song) - that they can get the lyrics and learn / play just about any song you want - i had him learn a song for me, and he played it the next night.

 

and also, when you request a song, sometimes they'll let you sing along if you want to! my bro requested a song, got up to sing with martin, and he let rob run with it!

 

 

that martin - quite the character... as for some of the 'common' songs...

 

Some of the favorites were: Rocketman, Candle in the Wind, Hotel California, We are the Champions, Brown Eyed Girl, Layla, Sweet Caroline, Leaving on a Jet Plane, Nightengale, and Piano man (of course). Though I’ll note – this must be the most requested song, and if he’s already played it, he can be a little testy – I swear he doesn’t like the song.

 

alright, i think that's about all i can think to say about the piano bar

 

lemme know if you have any other questions.

[falkcor]

and by the way - since i wrote this review initially i figured out - well i didn't really figure it out, martin posted these videos to facebook - that the piano player has a youtube 'channel'

 

here's a few videos of him doing what he does best...

 

american pie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1lG2ygUzdE

 

mack the knife:

 

about you (an original composition):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1Un0iYhDeU

 

and... 'the encore':

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35Bo9ZoY6nM

 

if anyone ever has the chance to sail with martin - you must visit, he was fantastic and one of the highlights of the trip. can't say enough good things about that guy!

 

he's currently sailing with princess, he's on caribbean princess until 8/22/09, then on the island princess from 11/30/09-3/10/2010 - if anyone's sailing sister brand princess in the near future - i would honestly book a cruise with him on it, if all other things (vs. another cruise) were roughly equal. i'm serious, too. :D

 

here's his new web site:

http://www.martin-k.com/default.asp

[LilBit730]

if memory serves (and i think it does)...

 

from the port of miami - the gangway leads directly to deck 3, the lobby deck, and we boarded on the starboard (right) side of the ship - so you enter directly into the atrium. the shore excursions desk is directly across the atrium. i'm not sure they this location is pretty much toward the front of the boat, just above middle.

 

the shore excursion desk wasn't open when we boarded though. it was supposed to open (according to the capers) at 4PM - the same time we set sail. i'm not sure if it opens exactly at 4PM, or after the ship sails.

 

when we docked in ocho rios, jamaica, we debarked / embarked at deck zero (below the riviera deck), on the starboard side, toward the front. if you walked up the stairs here, you'd hit the atrium 3 decks up - so pretty much the same location (as far as front to back is concerned) as the initial embarkation.

 

when we anchored in grand cayman to tender, i THINK we got on and off at the same place as in ocho rios - but i'm least sure of this one.

 

there was no midnight gala buffet - from what i understand (someone correct me if i'm wrong), but i think that was cancelled fleet-wide.

 

 

 

You have done such great work with your review.

 

My question is when on the Carnival Destiny to the Western Caribbean. Whats the best part of the boat to have your cabin. Starboard or the Port side????

 

Right Now I am booked for the Port side on ther Verandah deck. :confused:

[falkcor]

You have done such great work with your review.

 

My question is when on the Carnival Destiny to the Western Caribbean. Whats the best part of the boat to have your cabin. Starboard or the Port side????

 

Right Now I am booked for the Port side on ther Verandah deck. :confused:

 

thanks, i appreciate it :cool:

 

and, well, i guess the answer to your question is kind of subjective - would you rather be looking at the island, or out toward the ocean?

 

also, the answer is rather variable - ships do not always dock the same way, and the biggest chance for variance occurs when other ships are in port. sometimes they come in normally (front first), sometimes they back in - which of course would reverse whatever side / view you prefer.

 

i can tell you from our experience, when docked in ocho rios (we were the only ship in port this day), destiny docked at the starboard side - which thereby had a view of the island. in some ways, this can be kind of fun, in that you get to watch all of the people getting back onboard - and sometimes RUNNING to not miss the ship. oops, too many drinks at margaritaville :)

 

i also kind of like looking out at the island, rather than out to sea - because i mean heck, your view is of the sea for 80% of the cruise while en route.

 

now grand cayman is a different matter altogether, because since it's a tender port, the ship doesn't dock. typically, the ships will pull up as close as they can get to the island, bow forward pointing toward the island - so, anybody with a cabin on the side of the ship will be either looking out toward the water, or another ship.

 

what you end up seeing in g.c. is entirely based on how many other ships are in port that, where they stop, who gets there first, and so on.

 

in fact – grand cayman is one of the most frequently missed ports, because rough seas can disrupt the tender services for safety purposes. sometimes, in rough seas, the ship will chose to ‘park’ at an alternate location, spotts bay, which is about 4.5 miles southeast as the crow flies from where the ships typically ‘park’, just west of georgetown.

 

here's a satellite image of the ships at georgetown:

 

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=19.2942942&lon=-81.3841438&z=15&l=0&m=a&v=2

 

and here’s a view of ships at spotts bay

 

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=19.261634&lon=-81.31946&z=15&l=0&m=a&v=2

 

as you’ll see – most frequently the ships are facing the island, though a little askew, and in spotts bay, one ship is at an almost 45 degree angle to the shore. one further thing to note, is that the ships themselves can constantly move around, even while anchored, though at spotts bay in particular, anchors are prohibited to protect the coral reef, and the ship must maintain it’s location with the engines.

 

what do you prefer? hope that helps, either way! :D

[tommy2811]

wow your great.... so much information;)

 

 

well lets hope myself and my wife Alyce get to hear,

 

Alice, alice who the f#ck is alice....... so many memories on our Victory cruise with that song. it was the one thing that NCL Dawn lacked. piano bar. so fun.....

 

 

NSFW...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eIS5f5qx9A

[falkcor]

wow your great.... so much information;)

 

well lets hope myself and my wife Alyce get to hear,

 

Alice, alice who the f#ck is alice....... so many memories on our Victory cruise with that song. it was the one thing that NCL Dawn lacked. piano bar. so fun.....

 

you're very welcome - i like to share when i know what i'm talking about :)

 

and lol, i've never even heard of that song before. if you'd like to hear it, i'd definitely recommend printing out the lyrics, and maybe even burning the song onto a cd.

 

i can't speak for all piano players, but i'd think that the good ones would be willing to learn the song for you, just like martin did for me. and i didn't even have lyrics or a cd!

 

i would say that it's definitely appropriate to tip for a 'custom' request like that - probably something to the tune of 10-20.00. i bribed, ahem, i mean, tipped martin 30.00 that night - but we got him to play piano man again (we missed it earlier) - and that's actually what it was for. he really doesn't like that song. but when it got that steep, i upped the ante and said i'd agree to that, only if he learned this song for me (i had asked earlier, he didn't know it). and for anyone thinking 'wow, that piano man is a shyster' - nah, it was all in good fun and we were definitely willing.

 

it's kinda nice to get your 'own' song. and actually - a little light bulb just went off over my head. here's what i'd recommend - do print the lyrics, bring the cd, and approach the piano player when your wife isn't around... set it up for him / her to play it for you the next night if they're willing, and surprise the f#ck out of alyce (lol, pun intended) :D

[Trplnckl]

I got to this thread from the link in another post you had made on "Questions about posting". With a 118-119 pages it takes some time to read it all in one setting.lol

I love reading reviews and I must say that most I have read are very good. However, this has been the most enjoyable of all I have read. Never a dull moment. Your enthusiasm for the review and your trip puts a giant star about your experience.

You are a very good writer and easy to read. You obviously do your research before putting words to paper (ok computer), put your thoughts together well and post the pictures and such in a timely manner.

Ya get a huge ATTA BOY. Good job.

[CMM]

Thanks for all the detailed information.

 

Do you regret booking the later Moby Dick excursion time? Was it too close to departure time? We will be in Grand Cayman 7-4 PM. Which time would you suggest.

Thanks!

[falkcor]

With a 118-119 pages it takes some time to read it all in one setting.lol

 

ain't it the truth! i know, i've read from start to finish - kinda re-living the experience (which is part of why i wrote it), and it takes more than an hour! :D

 

I love reading reviews and I must say that most I have read are very good. However, this has been the most enjoyable of all I have read. Never a dull moment. Your enthusiasm for the review and your trip puts a giant star about your experience.

You are a very good writer and easy to read. You obviously do your research before putting words to paper (ok computer), put your thoughts together well and post the pictures and such in a timely manner.

Ya get a huge ATTA BOY. Good job.

 

and thank you for your very detailed compliment :cool:

 

i learned so much from cc before this cruise, i wanted to pay it forward. i wrote it both for my own future reference (it's great to look back at), and from the perspective of the kind of review that i wish i would have found before this cruise.

 

that wasn't an option for me, because the only other people on the refurbished destiny / new itinerary / miami home port were on the boat before i boarded, being the 2nd cruise from miami - so i wanted to rectify that situation immediately :D

 

thanks again, glad you enjoyed it :)

[falkcor]

Thanks for all the detailed information.

 

Do you regret booking the later Moby Dick excursion time? Was it too close to departure time? We will be in Grand Cayman 7-4 PM. Which time would you suggest.

Thanks!

 

i absolutely do NOT regret booking the later excursion time - not for a second!

 

when i initially booked - there was only one excursion planned at that time, which by default would have been the early trip. maybe about a month before the cruise, maybe sooner, mark button e-mailed me saying that they had enough people booked to warrant adding a second tour.

 

he noted that often, the afternoon tours are less populated, and he was right! when we pulled up to the boat, the other tour was debarking, and was about 40 people or so. not pushing the capacity of the moby dick tour boat, they were still comfortable and there was more than enough room it looked - but our tour group was only 15-20 people or so.

 

personally, i really appreciated the smaller tour group - it gives you more room to spread out on the boat, and less people on the sand bar with the sting rays - which means more 1 on 1 time with the rays, and also a more personal experience in terms of snorkeling. it's not that much fun to be exploring a pristine coral reef and admiring the fish, only to happen across... other tourists! i swam out up to maybe about a 1/2 mile - 1 mile from the boat, and i felt that the reef was all mine, and i was exploring - not touring. that was a great experience.

 

i wholeheartedly would recommend the afternoon tour, if it's an option for your day in port.

 

the later time afforded us the opportunity to sleep in a little later than we would have otherwise, and after a night out enjoying the nightlife and closing down the piano bar, that was much appreciated!

 

also, we were able to avoid the big 'rush' and lines for the tenders since most people debarked for early tours. the only real wait was because of how quickly people can get on a tender. it's not like a dock where several people can all be walking off almost simultaneously, with a tender - everyone boards one at a time, and some need more time / help than others.

 

when we arrived in port, there weren't too many people there - benches, etc. were available, and we had time to walk around the port / shop at our leisure. we also stopped for some fruit smoothies, ice cream and jamaican beef patties as a pre-tour snack right in the port facility.

 

now mind you, i'm not much of a beach person. if i were and wanted to spend some time on the beach, i would have probably selected the earlier tour. it just makes more sense, i think, to go on the tour then lounge on the beach for an hour or two after. if you DO want to do that, you might opt for the earlier tour.

 

but us, we were there for the rays. for what it's worth, i think you might have more time in g.c. than we did - without looking back at the capers, i'm pretty sure we weren't there til 4.

 

i can't say enough good things about moby dick and totally recommend them. one final point about their booking process - communication from mark button was stellar via e-mail, less than 24 hr turnaround always. additionally, you don't pay for your tour in advance, you pay at the port when you meet up with them. i liked that, since there's always a chance you can miss g.c. due to the weather / seas conditions - i can't imagine pre-paying for a tour with an independent operator in g.c. for this reason.

 

hope that helps, let me know which you chose, and if you have any other questions about moby dick. :D

[LilBit730]

thanks, i appreciate it :cool:

 

and, well, i guess the answer to your question is kind of subjective - would you rather be looking at the island, or out toward the ocean?

 

also, the answer is rather variable - ships do not always dock the same way, and the biggest chance for variance occurs when other ships are in port. sometimes they come in normally (front first), sometimes they back in - which of course would reverse whatever side / view you prefer.

 

i can tell you from our experience, when docked in ocho rios (we were the only ship in port this day), destiny docked at the starboard side - which thereby had a view of the island. in some ways, this can be kind of fun, in that you get to watch all of the people getting back onboard - and sometimes RUNNING to not miss the ship. oops, too many drinks at margaritaville :)

 

i also kind of like looking out at the island, rather than out to sea - because i mean heck, your view is of the sea for 80% of the cruise while en route.

 

now grand cayman is a different matter altogether, because since it's a tender port, the ship doesn't dock. typically, the ships will pull up as close as they can get to the island, bow forward pointing toward the island - so, anybody with a cabin on the side of the ship will be either looking out toward the water, or another ship.

 

what you end up seeing in g.c. is entirely based on how many other ships are in port that, where they stop, who gets there first, and so on.

 

in fact – grand cayman is one of the most frequently missed ports, because rough seas can disrupt the tender services for safety purposes. sometimes, in rough seas, the ship will chose to ‘park’ at an alternate location, spotts bay, which is about 4.5 miles southeast as the crow flies from where the ships typically ‘park’, just west of georgetown.

 

here's a satellite image of the ships at georgetown:

 

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=19.2942942&lon=-81.3841438&z=15&l=0&m=a&v=2

 

and here’s a view of ships at spotts bay

 

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=19.261634&lon=-81.31946&z=15&l=0&m=a&v=2

 

as you’ll see – most frequently the ships are facing the island, though a little askew, and in spotts bay, one ship is at an almost 45 degree angle to the shore. one further thing to note, is that the ships themselves can constantly move around, even while anchored, though at spotts bay in particular, anchors are prohibited to protect the coral reef, and the ship must maintain it’s location with the engines.

 

what do you prefer? hope that helps, either way! :D

 

Once again thank you so much. I rather face the island. I love to take pictures. But right about now I am just happy to be going on my first cruise and there is no guarantee what side the boat will doc on. So I will just stay with my room.

Once again thanks a million you have the best review I have ever read. :o

[CMM]

Thanks again.

[Schasz]

Thanks very much to the OP. I have not had a chance to read the entire thread, as I just booked the Christmas Eve 4 day Destiny cruise for my family. We have been on a number of Carnival cruises and like you, we have had a cruise where we spent a great deal of time in the piano bar. That was with Damian and we all felt he was a very good entertainer. I would like to see the person who was on your cruise.

 

John & Shari