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Destiny 10/16-10/20...lots of pics!

summercruisin'

By summercruisin',
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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summercruisin'

summercruisin'

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Okay, I have to apologize in advance. I am a typical southern woman, and I can drag out a story better than any porch-rocking, sweet tea-sipping, little ol' lady. So please forgive me if/when I get long-winded. I'll have to take breaks every now and then as well.

 

Some background on us - I am a just-turned (on 10/13) 38 YO teacher from NC, and this was my 7th Carnival cruise. DH is 39, 6th cruise. DS is 7, 2nd cruise. DD is 18 months, 1st cruise. We usually rent a cabin in the NC mountains (DH's favorite vacation spot, and his dream residence location if I'd agree) for my birthday each year, but as I've missed cruising and found a pretty good deal on the Destiny, I insisted on doing what I wanted for MY birthday! Plus, DH and I separated early in June, and he wants to come home, so he is pretty willing to do whatever it takes to make me happy. The kids travel very well. DH, DS and I have been on the Destiny before, several years ago when she was doing the southern route. My dad took the whole family just after my mom passed away. We were looking forward to seeing the updates since the ship was recently in dry dock.

 

This was not a perfect cruise, nor was it the best cruise we've ever had. However, we are the type to enjoy ourselves under most circumstances. We were more focused on relaxing and enjoying some family time than we were on whether or not all aspects met our expectations. I won't be able to tell you about everything (sorry!). We didn't go to shows or the casino, for instance. However, I can tell you about the food, the ports (Key West and Cozumel), the service, and some other stuff. Plus, my kids are really cute (if I say so myself), and I'm pretty easy on the eyes I think, so if you get tired of reading, just skim through the pictures.

 

Okay, here goes...

I worked a half-day on Wednesday, October 15th. Thank goodness I scheduled a test for my students that day (mean teacher!) or there is no telling what I would have told them about Renaissance lit. I was so excited, I could not focus. DH picked up the kids and me, and we went to the tiny airport in our hometown for our flight to Charlotte. So you can get an idea how small we're talking about, here's a pic of my son in front of the plane...

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We had a great flight to Charlotte and a great flight to Miami. We arrived in Miami around 8. I had booked a room at the Best Western on the Bay Inn and Marina after checking reviews on tripadvisor. It was recommended especially b/c of the shuttles from the airport and to the port. We called for the shuttle and waited about 35 minutes for it to arrive. Checkin was easy. The room was old but clean. The pool was disgusting, but we didn't plan to use it anyway! One aggravating thing was that they did not have cribs, so my DD had to sleep with us. This would have been okay except the elevator, which was right behind our room, was very loud (it needed oil!). Everytime it moved, my DD jumped, somtimes banging her head on the headboard causing quite the ruckus! Lots of fun all night! Other than that, it was quiet and comfy.

 

We got up and spotted the ship when we walked out of our room. It was waaaayyyyy off in the distance....see if you can find it!

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We had breakfast at the hotel (included but nothing to write home about) and walked around a little bit waiting for the shuttle to the ship.

The hotel...

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The hotel staff told us the first port shuttle wouldn't leave until 12. We dragged all our stuff to the front of the hotel a little early, and since we were the only shuttle riders, the driver (who was the front desk manager)got us going a little early. We got to the port by 12:15 and pretty much walked right on. The embarkation process was a breeze. No long lines...no sitting around waiting for numbers to be called...no trouble (except for them taking DH's beer...before you start to flame, we only packed it b/c he had bought a 6-pack the night before at the hotel but fell asleep w/o drinking it. So, we packed it in our carryon just to see if he could get past the checks...silly us. They tossed it; we moved on!).

 

We dropped off our carryons in our room (despite the sign about the rooms being available after 1:30). We had room 2275, an oceanview on the Main deck. We had requested a crib through our TA but noticed there wasn't one. So, we went to the purser's desk to ask for one. They said "no problem. We'll take care of it." So, we went to the Lido deck for our first meal (from the deli) around 1. DS had a grilled cheese. DD had a turkey wrap. DH had something with 2 kinds of meat? And I had smoked salmon on a bagel (yum!) and a caesar salad from the pizza place. It was all good. Then, we went to our room for DD's first nap. There wasn't a crib, so we tracked down our steward (really nice guy!) and asked him for one. I'm not sure he understood what we were asking, and we didn't get one. At any rate, DD didn't mind sleeping on the soft, comfy bed!

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She was out in no time! Around sail time, 4 pm, we were called for our muster drill. Usually we wait around 'til the steward comes knocking b/c we hate being squeezed in the back, but we have a really anxious and neurotic DS, so that was a no-go this time. He took the drill very seriously (which is good!), and we had to be all ready to go when they called. Luckily, we got put at the very end of a row, so there wasn't much of a crowd at all. The kids liked the life jackets, even though DD was still half asleep.

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Muster drill was fairly quick and painless. Before we knew it, we were heading back to our room to get ready for dinner. This was the first time DH and I had early dinner on a cruise (we are usually night owls), and I think it ruined us for this cruise! It was rather depressing in some ways, since it made us feel old! After a great meal and a stroll around deck, we were ready to crash every night at ridiculously early times! But, I'm getting ahead of myself...

More to come

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summercruisin'

summercruisin'

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I forgot to mention that we had received our luggage before the muster drill, although they delivered our car seat bag to the wrong room (to 2257 instead of 2275). I happened to spot it down the hall, so we picked it up with no further trouble. I also forgot to mention the atrocious sewer smell in the halls during muster drill. Oh my, was it rough! We are used to stinky diapers, though, and the smell wasn't in our room, so no big deal! After the muster drill, I had hoped to go on one of the upper decks for sailaway, but found that we weren't moving yet. When dinner time got closer, we were getting ready in our room and the captain announced that our sailing had been delayed because of a minor maintainance problem. He assured us that it would be fixed within an hour and that it would not delay our arrival in Key West. We hoped the minor maint. problem was the sewer smell, and it may have been as we didn't smell it any more on our trip (of course, our senses may have been dulled by alcohol and exhaustion). We headed to the Universe dining room (good thing we left early...it's hard to find!), where we were assigned a table for 4 near other families. We had a great waiter (I can't spell his name) and a great assistant waiter (Emma from the Phillipines). They worked hard to take good care of us and the kids.

 

We tried a lot of different things in the dining room. I am not the type to take pics of my food (sorry!), so I'll have to try to remember what we had. I know I had prociutto and melon (a double serving!), marinated pork chop with mac n cheese and peas, and chocolate melting cake. DS had pizza, I think. DD had a fruit plate. She enjoyed it so much, they brought her one every night. She had a cheeseburger the first night as well. DH had stuffed mushrooms, beef and barley soup, and a dinner with fish as the main meal. DS had the chocolate melting cake for desert, but he didn't like it (what's wrong with the boy?). He doesn't eat a lot of junk food. He thought it was great looking, though!

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DD, like always, enjoyed anything we gave her.

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After dinner, we went up to the Lido deck and watched a little bit of the movie (I think it was Transformers) they were showing on the new big screen. Then we just walked around a bit. After a while, we went back to the room and were pleasantly surprised to find a towel animal already!

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DS's pullman was ready to go, and he thought that was cool...

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We STILL didn't have a crib for DD, so DH went out in the hall and found the first steward he could and asked for a crib. He's not a fan of sleeping with an 18 month old who jumps at every sound...don't know why! :rolleyes:

This time we got a crib within minutes. Everybody settled down, and we were off to sleep land, which is where I am heading now!

I'll try to continue tomorrow after work. Goodnight everyone!

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summercruisin'

summercruisin'

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Hi everybody! I'm back! To answer some questions, first...we are from a little town near Greenville, so we flew out of the Pitt/Greenville airport. It's always fun to confuse people who automatically assume I must mean Greenville, SC :p ! And, to kebhouse, we are indeed the family that was at PB. I have such a southern accent (and always say "peapie") that anyone with ears can tell where I am from as soon as I speak...except they think I'm from even deeper south than NC. I wish! I would love to move further south only because I love warm weather (and really hate cold - aka under 65 degress - weather!)! Anyway, I look a lot different when "cleaned up" so maybe you'll recognize us in pics later. Are you the ones with Mallory (sorry if I am misspelling)? We met three litle girls that day...but only one fellow teacher! :P

I am very jealous of those of you who are looking forward to sailing Destiny. If I could do it again tomorrow, I would without thinking twice! Despite minor irritations, it was wonderful and I was downright depressed coming back!

vplsh - I do have the capers somewhere. I still haven't unpacked. When I do, I'll try to post them.

Thanks to everybody for the kid compliments. They, of course, are my world and I think they are just adorable! And, most of my cruise pics include them, so you'll see them a lot! :D

Okay, back to the review...

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summercruisin'

summercruisin'

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On Friday morning, we got up fairly early (well, for us...early is like 7:30). We could hear the engines as the ship docked in Key West. We had a good view of the port out our window. We didn't have specific plans for this day, but as we did not want to have to tote a carseat around all day, we hoped to find something to do that didn't require one. Plus, this was a short stop, so we knew we could only hit the highlights.

 

So, we headed up to the Lido deck for buffet breakfast. I picked up pancakes and yogurt for my picky eater (DS) and made a plate with bacon, yummy potatoes, and pancakes for me, DH, and DD (who will eat anything) to share. I also grabbed a banana for DD...it's her favorite, and not only will she eat anything, she expects to eat a lot! DH waited in line for omelets for the two of us. He asked for one with no tomatoes and no mushrooms for me (I don't know why...I like everything...but, since he thought he was trying to get one the way he thought I wanted it, I let him think he was exactly right!), but the guy made it with ONLY tomatoes and mushrooms. DH claimed the cook didn't understand him, but who knows? DH and I shared both omelets (one was all-the-way), and they were very good!

 

One really cool thing about breakfast is that we sat by a window overlooking a tiny island near Key West. There were several houses on the island, and only a ferry for access. We envied those folks for a while. DS and DD stared out the window while DH finished his coffee.

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Then, some people near us saw dolphins and pointed them out to DS and DD. Very cool! That was fun for them.

 

We finished breakfast and walked right off the ship around 9 or so. I had to stop and take a few pics. Key West is so pretty!

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Here is the front of the Destiny in port...

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We walked around kind of lost...you know, "what do you want to do?" followed by "I don't know. What do YOU want to do?" We passed the maritime museum but decided not to do that this trip. We thought about climbing the step-thing that helps you see (I guess) the whole island. Then we saw it...the conch train tour. See, my DS is a train fanatic, so that was it. We paid our $72 (ouch - but could have been worse if booked through Carnival, I bet) and got on board the 10:20 train for our 1.5 hour, 14 (or was it 16?) mile tour.

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We got to see all the highlights of Key West...the Little White House, the southernmost point, the southernmost residence, the beaches, the lighthouse, the Hemingway House, the naval bases, and lots more. We got to learn some neat stuff about Key West, and the weather was just absolutely beauiful! It could NOT have been any better. 85 degrees, little humidity, lots of sunshine, great breeze in the shade. Ahhh......

Our tour guide was very knowledgeable (or faked it well), and he pointed out a lot of neat structural things on the buildings and told us a lot of history info. He was also funny!

 

A little more than 90 minutes later, we were back at the start. We took a pic of DS with some chickens...

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We then decided to walk to the southernmost point for a picture opportunity. I got a map so we could pass the Hemingway House on the way (gotta do that since I'm a lit teacher!). More to come...

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summercruisin'

summercruisin'

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Well, holy cow...I just typed up a whole page and then my battery died while I was yelling at my son for not studying for his history test tomorrow (who gives history tests to 2nd graders anyway?). So, I have to do this all over again...

On Friday morning, we woke up to the sound of the engines as the ship pulled up close to the dock. It was around 7:30 (I think) when we dragged ourselves out of bed knowing that our time in Key West, Florida was limited. We were supposed to be there only until 2, so we had to be back on board by 1:30. We didn't have anything in particular planned for Key West, so we thought we'd just walk around a bit and see what called out to us!

 

We went up to the Lido deck for breakfast buffet. I got a plate with pancakes and yogurt for DS (my picky eater). Then I fixed a plate with pancakes, yummy potatoes, and bacon for me, DH, and DD (who will eat anything) to share. I also grabbed a banana for DD, who expects to be fed well! DH waited in line for omelets for the two of us. He said he asked for one with no tomatoes and no mushrooms for me (I don't know why...I like everything...but since DH thought he was getting exactly what I wanted, I let him believe he was right!), but the cook gave him one with only tomatoes and mushrooms. Oh well. We shared both "my" omelet and his with everything on it. They were very good. In fact, all of breakfast was good!

 

We had a good view during breakfast of a tiny island near Key West that had several houses on it and the only access was a ferry. Must be nice! Our kids stared out the window while DH finished his coffee,

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and some nice folks near them spotted some dolphins. They pointed them out to the kids...very cool. That just made them more excited! Okay, okay, I'll admit it...I was pretty excited too!

 

We got off the ship around 9-ish, and I had to take a few pictures. I forgot how pretty Key West is...

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the front of Destiny in dock...

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We walked around for a few minutes doing the usual, "what do you want to do?" followed by, "I don't know. What do YOU want to do?" We considered going to the maritime museum when we passed it, but decided to do that another time (well, I decided. When DH heard about some of the treasures there, he was not happy with my decision). We thought about climbing that big wooden stair-filled structure to see more of the island, but when we got closer, we saw IT...

the conch train tour! Now, my DS is a train fanatic, so that was it. We had to do the train tour. We went to the ticket booth, gave up our $72 (ouch...but probably would have been worse if booked through Carnival), and got on board the 10:20 train for our 1.5 hour 14 (or was it 16?) mile tour of the island.

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Now, this was pretty good. The tour took us past lots of sights, including the southernmost point in the continental US, the southernmost residence, the Little White House, the lighthouse, the Hemingway House, the beaches, and more. Our guide was very knowledgeable (or faked it well), and he gave us lots of information about the history, the building structures, the flora, and more. He was funny, too! The best part was that the weather was wonderful! 85 degrees, not too humid, sunny...just perfect! Ahhh....

After our 90 or so minute ride, we returned to the "station" with a little time left. We got a pic of our son with some chickens (they're all over the place in Key West)

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and then we decided to walk to the southernmost point marker for a picture opportunity...

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summercruisin'

summercruisin'

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Before our walk, I got a phone call from my sister at home who told me my grandfather had died around 8:30 am. The family wanted to hold the funeral on Sunday, but I told them it would be impossible for me to get back, since we were to be in Mexico the next day and I don't have a passport for DD. So, she called my uncle and insisted on holding the funeral until I could return.

Now, before you go getting all sad about granddaddy's passing, please know that he is better off. About 8 years ago, my grandma, the love of his life (I mean I could tell you stories about them that would make The Notebook seem boring) died. He was depressed and stopped taking care of himself. (I have to tell you one story...granddaddy had never joined a church or been baptised despite grandma's unfailing faith. When she became very sick, he went to church and got baptized. He was 83 at the time. When asked 'why bother at this late point?', he told everybody that he was determined to ensure that he would end up wherever his wife was going, and he knew she was going to Heaven). Then he started suffering from Alzheimers about 5 years ago and had to be put in a nursing home. Finally, my mom got cancer and died 3.5 years ago. That just did him in. He was sad, lonely, miserable, unable to take care of himself, and unwilling to even try to think straight. I am thankful that he is reunited with his wife of over 60 years and his only daughter. He is healthy, lucid and happy where he is!

Okay, back to sunshine and happiness...while walking, I gave DD a box of Cheerios I had picked up from the buffet and brought along (smart mom!), so she had a handy little snack, thanks to Carnival! We grabbed a map and walked past the Hemingway House (gotta see that, since I teach literature)

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We walked past the lighthouse...

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and we walked through a block where some people were setting up for some type of festival.

We walked past a pretty tree...

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Finally! We got to the southernmost point marker and took our picture.

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Actually, some nice guy who is lucky enough to live in Key West took our pic for us. I wondered later if he was expecting a handout. Oh well. I was oblivious.

 

We headed back and got to the port around 1. Since we had a little time, we decided to sit outside a restaurant near the port and have margaritas and make phone calls to the family and my school. Around 1:25, we got in a very long line to get back on board. It moved quickly, so it wasn't so bad.

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One frustrating thing is that we waited in a long line, and then when we got close, a Carnival employee comes up and tells us we should get in the other line because the door we were going in did not have an elevator nearby (DD was in the stroller). We decided to wing it instead of getting out of line! We were back on board around 2:10 and headed to our room to rest a bit before formal night.

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donnaholder

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Summercruisin - After seeing that last pic, I sure am glad we got back on board early!! We went back to Destiny around 12:30 and got on within a couple of minutes. It sure was nice to not have a line!! Sadly, I only met a couple of people that were on our rollcall but still had a glorious cruise!!

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summercruisin'

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As I mentioned before, tonight was formal night, which meant there was also the captain's cocktail reception. For early diners, the reception was at 5:15. So, we got dressed and went to find the free drinks :D

We got to the Paladium lounge, where the capers said the reception was...no one was there. I asked a Carnival employee who worked in the shops where the reception was, and he told us "it's always held in the lounge." Okay, that's NOT what the capers said, but whatever. So, we were a little late. DH got blue margaritas for us from the bar (I'm a margarita fan, in case you haven't noticed yet! :p ). The waiters were very attentive, and we had all the appetizers we could want. They served meatballs, some kind of spread on onion bread squares, and chicken wantons (?). All of it was good. The kids LOVED the fruit punch being served. Everybody was happy! As usual, the captain and some of the crew were introduced. The band with the Oriental lead who sings Elvis songs played (how do they seem to get on every ship?) and people danced. My kids got on stage and danced. They love to dance!

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After the reception wrapped up, we headed to the dining room for lobster night! Let's see if I can remember what we had...I think this was the night I had cream of brocolli soup (had to fight DD off of it!) and some other appetizer. I don't remember what appetizer(s) DH ordered. We both had lobster for dinner, and it was really good this time! I am of the group who is often disappointed by Carnival's lobster. It always seems to be small and overcooked (rubbery). I almost always decide to order the prime rib afterwards. This time it was perfect! I turned around to tell our waiter that we were going to have to have another, and he was already uncovering the plate for us! Talk about service! DH and I shared the 2nd plate, as it was plenty combined with the shrimp they serve on the side (also delicious). DD had chicken tenders (the one thing she didn't seem to like) and a fruit plate. DS had a cheeseburger.

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For desert, I decided to try the bitter and blanc, but I wasn't sure I was going to like it, which I voiced out loud. I told the waiter if I didn't like it I was going to have orange sherbet/sorbet/whatever! He brought both! And, for the record, both were fantastic! I don't know what DH had for desert. DS had chocolate chip cookies and hot chocolate.

After dinner, we returned to the room to change clothes. The kids checked out towel animal #2 (a bunny!).

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DH and I had planned to have an adults evening together, and we had signed the kids up for the late night babysitting (the only way to get baby care for kids under 2 is to pay for babysitting during the limited hours they offer it). I forgot to mention that we had gone to the Camp Carnival orientation after the muster drill. None of us were very impressed, unfortunately. DS had a great time at CC last time he was on the Destiny, so we had thought he would enjoy it this time. Anyway, we had signed the kids up for babysitting, but we decided we were too tired to do anything but sleep...no need to pay someone to watch them while we slept. So, we called to cancel. To add to our not-so-great impression, the woman practically celebrated when I called to cancel. She kept saying that it was "fantastic" and "just perfect" that we weren't coming. I figured out our kids were the only ones signed up, and our cancelling allowed the CC folks to leave early, because when DS and I walked past there at 9:30 it was empty and dark.

DS and I went to hang out on the upper decks for a few minutes while DH tried to get the little one to go to sleep. We walked around and thought about going to the bow of the ship. We walked the halls looking for a way to the front of the ship. One steward stopped us and asked what we were looking for. He told us there was no way up there. Undaunted, we kept looking until we finally found a door that opens to decks on the front of the ship. It is on deck 7, for the record. There is a sign on the door that says they don't have lights up there for navigational safety, and boy was it dark! DS didn't make it even one step out there before he chickened out, so we vowed to try again in the morning and headed back to the room to crash for the night! I know, we are weenies when it comes to nightlife!

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