"We Made the Ship This Time!" Another cruisin USA "Long and Lengthy" review

Prelude

I remember when the seeds were planted in my mind for us taking this trip. Last year on the Destiny, during the “Behind the Scenes” tour, I had spotted a ship's calendar in a corridor. The calendar showed that the Destiny basically does 3 cruises over a 2 week period(A 5 day Jamaica-Grand Cayman, A 4 day Key West Cozumel, and 5 day Grand Turks-Half Moon Cay-Nassau). It was the Grand Turk trip that caught my attention. We had done that trip once before on the Imagination. That was a GREAT trip for us. That trip, we ended up in a Penthouse Suite(cat 12) for the price of a “guarateed suite”. What a BONUS that was!!! Along with that, Mary Ann had won the blackjack tournament for $500.00!!! We definitely had some GREAT memories from that trip(more later). Those of you who read my last review knew that we had missed the Destiny last year(only to have to join the ship in Jamaica)….sigh. Although we could have gone on any ship/cruise, there was just something about “getting back up on that horse that threw us” in the back of my mind. We usually cruise for Mary Ann’s birthday(Feb 27th). This year, we’re attending the bar owner’s convention in Las Vegas in early March, so we had to pick another time. We definitely wanted the same cabin as last time. Started looking last Sept(after I published the last review). Found that the right price and time was the cruise Feb 7th, the day after the Superbowl. Got our flight for $235.00 apiece!!(Super CHEAP for a winter flight to Miami from Detroit). The cabin at purchase time was $759 each, but after checking the prices daily, got it dropped to $669.00 each. Since the drop occurred before our final payment, we didn’t qualify for the early savers guarantee of “onboard credits”. Instead they just reduced the price of the cabin for the final payment. Ordered my tux and shoes, a bottle of Jagermeister, and 3 six packs of Corona from the Bon Voyage dept. I was kinda disappointed that they didn’t have the cabin “Bon Voyage” package decorations that we’ve had throughout our last 8 Carnival Cruises. We had also made reservations for the chef‘s table(more on that later)…..Anyway, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, all came and went. It’s been a terribly cold winter in Michigan this year. 5 days before our flight we had our worst snowstorm of the season. (We felt lucky it didn’t hit the day before our flight). We were CHOMPING at the bit to “get out of Dodge”. Superbowl Sunday!! The 1 day mark!! It was finally time…I downloaded our boarding passes online. Again, we had decided not to pre-cruise(as has been the case on all our cruises). I won’t lie when I tell you that after missing the plane last time(not our fault), that the possibility of it happening again was DEFINITELY on our minds this time. We got to the airport EXTRA early this time for our 7:30 flight. The check in we used last time wasn’t even open yet. We proceeded up the escalator(the same one that broke down on us last time) into the terminal, and got right into line. Didn’t have to wait 5 minutes to check our bags and head to security. Speaking of security…..This time EVERYONE had to go through the new body scanners. The problem is that they’ve still got the system set up for the “walk through metal detectors”. Soooo.. You’d put your bag on the same ol’ conveyor belt, and get into line for the body scanner, which moves much more slower than the old method. Bags were piling up on the end of the conveyor belt while we all waited to go through the scanner. To make matters worse, they want you to empty your pockets, no paper or anything, which means, if you carry your money/wallet/credit cards in your pockets like I do, you have to empty it to your carry on. Not something I like to do when anyone could just come up and pick up my bag(money and all) before I even get through the scan. For my money it should be, give them your bag to put through the conveyor as you go through the scanner, meeting it on the other side. We got through it, got our bags, put our shoes and belts on, and headed for our gate(after a quick stop for Egg McMuffins).There was practically no one at the gate!!(but the plane WAS there ..HURRAY!!) About 40 minutes before boarding they start boarding the Sky Priority peeps first. Still, hardly anyone at the gate!!! Not even 10 people waiting. After about 5 minutes, a airline person comes up to us, and asks if we’re going to Ft Lauderdale? We said yes, They said that we could board. We were in the 23rd row of a 40 row plane. Hardly anyone on it at all. Then they started coming. Wheelchair after wheelchair of “special needs” people. Did I say wheel chair-after- wheelchair…Sorry I meant to say wheelchair, after wheelchair after wheelchair, after wheel chair, after wheelchair, after wheelchair, after wheelchair, after wheelchair, I could go on.. Well over 30 wheelchairs. 7:35 came and went, and they’re still coming. At this point, I sure wished that the people overseeing this would have tried to get these folks here early enough. The captain came on with some excuse about filing paperwork, and having to get the plane de-iced, but it was evident what was holding us up. Finally we pulled out of the gate a little around 8. Another 10 minutes to go to the de-icing station and off we went. The captain announced that we had to fight a front coming up from Florida, so the flight would be a little over 3 hours. I nodded off a couple of times on the plane.(at this point I hadn’t slept since waking up Sunday). Mary Ann had found out all these special needs peeps were going on a cruise. She let me hang for a few seconds before telling me it wasn’t ours. It was a LONG 3 hours! We finally landed, and got our bags. Our TA had suggested this company, “QLS” for our transfers. She told me that she had used them before. That they stay in contact with you by your cell phone, and that it’s only $30 a person. Half the price of the Carnival transfer from Ft. Lauderdale. We were late. It was almost noon. I called the number they gave me. The lady said that we needed to leave baggage claim immediately, and find the red overhanging sign that said “Delta” and “Air Canada” Stepped out the door. There was the sign, and within five minutes the white van pulled up. The driver loaded up our stuff, and off we went to the Miami pier. Its about a half hour drive. The van was full, but we found out that no one else aboard was going on our cruise. We dropped some peeps off at the “Sky” and the next stop was ours. I tipped the driver a $10.00 and we took our bags to a porter to put aboard the ship. Next stop….The Cruise terminal!!!

WE MADE THE SHIP THIS TIME!!!!

Another Cruisin USA “Long and Lengthy” Destiny Review

Day 1

It was PURE bliss. Felt HEAVENLY compared to what we had left back in Detroit!!! This time we had 2 chaise lounges, along with the 2 chairs and table that are standard balcony issue. GREAT!!! Just stood there for quite awhile soaking up the heat and beautiful scenery.

Made our way to the Sun and Sea Buffet. The food there was always good. Got a salad from the salad bar, and then got in the main line. Sage potatoes, mixed steamed vegetables and carved roast beef with REAL horseradish….YUM The room was crowded, and we didn’t see any open seats. We’d been here before, and decided to head upstairs where it’s rarely crowded.

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After our second Corona we went back to the cabin. 2 out of the 3 bags were there already. Mary Ann’s suitcase, and the notorious 3rd back we carry with all the misc items. We both started unpacking. I unzipped my suitcase. The red bull 8 pack had been opened! (There was no note from TSA or Carnival) At least they didn’t take my Zune(ipod) dock. I pulled out the red bull(for Jagerbombs), the Zune dock(for our music),

the "over the door" shoe holder for bathrooms items, our “Surrender the Booty” beach towel(it’s been on 4 cruises with us),

our Corona cooler and the rest of the pop and vitamin water we take. Mary Ann checked out the door, and sure enough, my bag had arrived. I unpacked while Mary Ann hung out on the balcony. I opened my other bag, and there was a note from Carnival explaining how they had to search this bag, but everything was ok. Uh-Oh, I reached in the zippered pocket down at the bottom. The limes were still there!!!

After unpacking, I headed down to the buffet to fill the cooler with ice for the Jager and beers. We were sooo tired. We layed down for a little while to regroup. Around 3:30, the announcement came that in about 10 minutes they’d be starting the Muster drill, and that when the horn sounded that we should all proceed to our muster station.

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At this time I’d like to point out one thing…See this layout of our deck?

See the stairways that are right by our cabin?(lower right…6373)

Just for your info….But I would leave the stairway out of the deck plan I was showing people wanting to buy the room to avoid any confusion. Anyway, we hear the horn, and yes this is the one time we can go through the door, We make our way down the stairs to our station(G). I’m sure glad we don’t have to wear the live vests there anymore!! Anyway, I’m pretty sure that Carnival didn’t read my last review. Again, they’re lining people up on the wall and working their way out to the life rafts. Again, I think it would be a better idea to start lining people up at the front by the life rafts, and then work their way back to the wall. I guess they have their reasons. We just stand there, silent, for quite awhile. Then the announcement comes on instructing on procedures, and the proper way to use a life jacket. It doesn’t take too long. Finally the horn sounds. We try to go back to our cabin the EASY way we came. No Dice, We have to exit into the Onyx bar and work our way through with 1000 otherpeople……sigh. We ended back up on the balcony with our first Jager bomb of the trip. While we were enjoying the view, we noticed that the ship was starting to move. It was about 4:15. The last time we didn’t leave till 6pm! We were heading to the back of the canal to do the turn around manuever. The Imagination was still sitting there. As we’re pulling back to make the manuver we see it’s ropes coming up. The Imagination is heading out too. We get to our position to make the turn around. The Imagination uses those fancy side thrusters to position themselves, and they’re on their way. (Pretty sneaky way to beat us out…hehe).

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They make it almost all the way out of the canal, and we start the turn around.

The aft wrap is the best place to be when leaving port!

Miami starts getting smaller as we head out to open sea. Eventually it fades from view. The sun starts to set. When the sun reaches the horizon point we can see the shadows of the buildings of Miami on the sun, making it look like a big red igloo.(the buildings being the door).

Wish the camera could have picked it up. The sun sets. We can feel the boat rocking gently beneath us. We decided it would be good to lie down and get some rest before getting ready for our 8:15 dinner time. Got some well deserved rest….What a lot to go through just to get here!!! Grabbed a quick HOT shower, and got ready for dinner. I checked out the FunTimes(the ships daily paper) “Welcome Aboard” edition. I scanned the paper while Mary Ann finished getting ready. Like the improvements in the terminal, I see Carnival as an ever-evolving company, constantly trying to improve the “fun“ business(lucky us!). Although I liked “Carnival Capers”(the previous daily paper), The FunTimes seems more organized. The Top 10 list. The Music, The Casino Activities. The Show of the Night, Planning Ahead, Kids Activities, Restaurant, Shops, Casino Opening times. All laid out neatly and easy to find….I thought we might go to the Welcome Aboard party. It’ always a fun show, and the comedians usually come out with their best stuff, so you’ll come see their show. It started at 10:00. We’d have to see how we felt after dinner. We finished getting ready, and headed for the Universe dining room.

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I have to admit, I got us a bit lost. It had been almost a year since we’d been on the ship. We ended up at the Galaxy dining room. Not too far off. We just went through the Onyx cigar bar, and there we were. We still were early(goes back to us getting stuck across from each other on our first cruise cause we were last to the table). See, back in the old days you were stuck in the same dining room seat throughout the cruise(to help the waiters with names, and preferences…just a guess). We were directed to our table #438. Lower floor, 2 tables away from the captains table and the matre d’s podium. A round table of 8. 2 people were sitting there already. We introduced ourselves. Diane and Alan were from “DC” Diane was a lawyer and Alan an internal medicine doctor. Very nice couple. Soon, this lady and gentleman come and join us. She looks at me. “Gary?” she says. She catches me be surprise. “It’s me Froufie, from the CruiseCritic boards”.

Man, do I LOVE dinner in the dining rooms on a ship!! Started with some Cheddar Broccoli soup.(piping hot and delicious), Shrimp cocktail, Lettuce wedge salad with Thousand Island, and Pork chops cooked to utter perfection with a small ceramic ramekin of homemade mac and cheese, with peas in a cream sauce on the side….YUM YUM. Topped it off with…you guessed it….Warm Chocolate Melting Cake……and Cappucino.

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Synthetic...Thank you for your kind comment. I'll keep writing, if you guys keep reading.

AndyP7, crewsweeper, and Mysschevus, glad you enjoyed the last review(DEFINITELY other than the missing the boat part!).

{{{{{Froufie}}}}}} Well...."Our" cruise is over.....sob...sob. I know you have your next cruise in Dec. I'm not sure when we're going next. I'll think about it more after Las Vegas(that trip starts a week from Sunday) We came out of the cruise terminal into a pouring cold wet rain!!! I sure wouldn't have wanted to been on the cruise after us!!! We're sure looking forward to your review!! How cool...2 CC reviews of the same cruise. I know that you had 4 days on the ship before we even got there. Your review has to be epic!!

Taking Mary Ann out for dinner tonight. I'll come post Day 2 sometime tonight.

Gary aka cruisin USA

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Day 2

Started to feel like we were finally thawing out.(our blood had to be pretty thick from not seeing anything over 25 for over a month). We had our coffee, juice and danish while we got ready to head out. First stop? Out to the Lido Deck for breakfast. It was crowded out there. The sun chairs on the “steps“ were pretty full, as well as all the tables on the deck. We got in line, got our food, and as luck would have it somebody was just leaving their table right on the glass, next to the coffee and juice station. We grabbed the table and enjoyed a terrific breakfast overlooking the water.

Music was being provided by “Sound Machine“ (2 man band). Basically Reggae, and fun vacation music. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. After breakfast(I don't know what they do to the bacon, but it should be illegal), we headed to the Formalities shop to pick up my tuxedo. We decided to head back and get some sun on our balcony. Got back to the room, and turned on our music dock. It was really nice to play some “background” music while we layed there on our chaise lounges. The room had been done while we were out, and the steward had filled our cooler with ice, as well as the stainless steel ice bucket provided. The sun was hot, and beaming down on our balcony. I started to get TOO hot after a little while. I went into the cabin, and layed on the bed to cool off. I fell asleep. Next thing I know, it’s 3:00. (Shoot, we missed the “Hairy Chest Contest”….always a highlight…hehe). I must have been tired! Mary Ann was still on the balcony(in the shade). We had agreed to meet our role call peeps at the Cheers wine bar. We got there, saw Ray and Froufie, and a few others. We wanted to get a cocktail at the bar before we settled down with everyone.

We headed back to Cheers to find Ray, Froufie, and 1 other gal from roll call. We sat and chatted for awhile. Froufie had placed in the finals of the slot tournament. Our roll call had been almost 20 people, and here we were, just the 4 of us. Soon it was time for Froufie to go for the finals. We came for moral support. Picture a row of machines, each being pounded by people trying to beat the clock. Pretty intense. 1 gal just kept screaming anytime she got any score. Kinda funny. I like the way they run the finals. They cover your reader with a card so that you can’t see your score. Then they make a big deal of it at the end, uncovering the readers one by one. The director held up a big Fosters “Oil can”, saying this is the prize for the worst score. We were rooting for Froufie to take it all, but alas…….We played at the casino for awhile. Nobody was at the craps table, but we settled in on a table.(glad to see that Carnival still pays 3-2 on blackjacks vs Vegas mostly paying 6-5 these days) We didn’t do too bad, and pretty soon it was time to go get ready for dinner. It was elegant night tonight. We wanted to get some pics(since we were dressing up).We got ready. Mary Ann looked FABULOUS!!!(Heck, I didn’t look too bad myself..hehe). We made our way down to the promenade deck, and stopped at a few of the photo stations for pictures(I'll show the ones we bought later).We got to the dining room a little early. The entranceway was filled with peeps ready to enter as soon as they gave them the word. The word came, and we all preceded in. We got to the table, This time we were last. Everyone liked my tuxedo. The waiter passed out the menus as we all recapped the days events. Diane and Alan had dogs, as do we. We talked about how we missed them, and how we wished they could be there with us. Diane told us they spent most of the day in the hot tub(she dubbed it the "warm" tub). They have a hot tub at home, and said they prefered it at 103. 103!?!? I told her that I feel like your making soup of me at that temperature.(We have a hot tub at home, and have never had it above 101..which was pretty scalding). Froufie chimed in that all you'd have to do is add some onions and carrots, and we'd be all set....hehe

Tonight’s dinner? Minestrone Soup, Prosciutto Ham and Melon, Shrimp Cocktail, and Prime Rib, medium. Some at the table took Lobster tail. I know you could make an excellent surf and turf, but that much food would have put me away for the night The food as it was, was PERFECT. Just LOVED it. I’ve told people that if you’re going on a cruise, one of the BEST things is the dining room. Had you had any kind of dinner like this at home, you’d be paying $50 to $100. Can’t say enough good things about the dining rooms aboard Carnival!! During dinner, the asst Matre D’ brought the head chef over to our table. He was dressed in his Kitchen Whites, with a TALL white paper chefs hat.

Tonights dessert?…..Cherries Jubilee…..Hmmmmmm 6 cherries in warm sauce poured on each side of a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Would have like a few more cherries to make it more jubulous…and of course my nightly cappacino. I hear the matre d whisper “showtime, showtime” in the microphone. The waiters all lined up on one side of both levels of the dining room. The music started, and I recognize the familiar tune of “That’s Amore” Last cruise, the Captain actually dined in the dining room with us one night. I could tell from afar that he enjoyed the waiters belting it out. Today we were closer. The waiters were basically just standing there with only a few actually singing. I was a little disillusioned realizing it was ALL just a recording….sigh They sure didn’t look like they were enjoying themselves. Sorry, I just call ‘em, as I see ‘em. We all parted ways. We headed back to the cabin for after dinner cocktails out on the balcony. Found the next days FunTimes, our invitation to the past guest party, and this ULTRA CUTE (albeit a slightly "phallic" towel animal

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The sky was clear. The stars were sparkling!!! The moon was smiling down on us like the Cheshire cat. Think I’m kidding?

The stars literally twinkled above us. We did spend some time stargazing. We saw the Big Dipper(upside down), and I could see the constellation Orion(could tell by the belt). I can see that one from home!! What a great place to be!! Below us the water was churning as the ship plodded on. On the aft wrap the wind is amazingly calm. We turned on some tunes and just enjoyed being there for awhile. The show that night was NightClub express. Again, we’d seen it before. A good show, but we decided to get out of our elegant clothes, and make like a baby and "head out"...hehe We got off the elevator at Promende level. Made our way over to the Appollo piano bar. Linda was there, playing to a crowd of about 10 people. She was playing “Bohemian Rhapsody”

She did a pretty good job. After she finished I heard her murmur something about “6 pages” The young man next to us requested “Love Shack” She said he’d have to do the male part. He agreed. Only problem was he didn’t know the words. She ended up having to do both parts. It was HILARIOUS, especially when he finally chimed in on the parts he knew….Cruises can be SO entertaining….hehe After awhile we made our way down to the casino. Alex was playing again….I wanted to say “Crank it Alex!!(told you…he never did). We stopped in the casino. I went over to the Roulette table, Mary Ann played some slots. I cashed out $150 ahead!!!! GREAT night at the casino. We headed back for the cabin to turn in. Another fun day at sea, with our first stop tomorrow.

Turned on the TV. Over half the channels available had this on the screen for most of the rest of the trip.

So, we were left with Espn(sometimes in Spanish), 3 Muzak channels,The cartoon network, CBS and Fox Miami (a departure from the Denver stations from the last few cruises). Funny thing, the TV's in the sports bar came in good throughout the trip. The ships channels were working(of course), One channel showed our position, track, lat and long. time, wind speed, etc. We went to bed, knowing that when we awoke, we’d be in Grand Cayman!

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Greeting to ALL,

DEBNGAB...You will LOVE that room!!! The Balcony is HUGE. (I have peeked over the rail to check it out). Bout the same size as our Penthouse Balcony on the Imagination. The room is larger than most too. I truly loved the location(like I said earlier, not much foot traffic back there)....If you check out the deck diagram, it shows the aft elevators/stairs(which were the closest to us). 1 Floor down, and you're on the promenade, so it's not hard to take the stairs if the elevator is taking a lot of time.Take the elevators up to floor 9 and you end up right between the adult pool/bar/pizza station, and the Sun and Sea restaurant. Go forward through the "Sun and Sea" and you're out on deck. Another cool thing about this room, is that your room and our room shared a "doored" alcove. We shut it when we wanted to turn up the tunes a bit. It's mostly kept open though

Definitely take a peek, and check out the aft wrap. Have a great time, and don't forget to come back and tell us all about it

Soulsistah007.....Glad you like the review(and my sense of humor)

GA Pearl and Eeyoregon...Glad to you liked the last review too. Even more glad you came back for more....

LBumb "One of the Best Review Ever"...You are too kind(and will always be my pal.....hehe

KirkNC Glad you like it!! Thanx!!

goose30 "Such detail, I feel like I am there with you"....That, my new pal is the ULTIMATE complement. Thank you soooooooo much!!!

{{{{{Froufie}}}}}....Last nights dinner? I had queen size(14 oz)NY strip with steamed veggies....Mary Ann had coconut encrusted tilapia with pineapple cream sauce. Best meal we've had since the ship. Was hoping the waiters might do a dance conidering the dinner was almost $70.00 after including tip!!

Gotta go....I'll be back in a couple hours....Going to try to post all of day 3 by midnight...

Gary aka cruisin USA

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Day 3

When we woke up, we were docked at Grand Turk. We were on the opposite side overlooking the ocean. What beautiful turquoise blue water!! The Carnival Miracle came in, and parked next to us at the pier.

I got some shots of their aft wraps for future reference.

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It was sunny….ahhhh. Quite different from the snow covered tundra we’d left. I saw on the TV that our area was being hit by an artic cold spell(4 degrees for he high). I felt bad for all our folks back home….(for about 10 seconds), but the weather here(and now) was FANTASTIC!!!

We got ready, and headed for Lido deck for breakfast. Most people were already off the ship. No trouble at all finding a seat. They were playing “Name that Toon” out on the deck. (They would play a short amount of a cartoon theme song, and you’d have to guess it). There were 20 toons(we got there when they were on about 7). I guessed quite a few. Sure “The Jetsons”, “Underdog”, “The Simpsons” weren’t hard, but “Johnny Quest” and “Secret Squirrel”? That’s reaching. Someone got 18 out of 20!!(Too much time on their hands…hehe) After breakfast, we made our way off the ship and onto the pier.

The last time we were here, we did the dune buggy excursion. Someone in our roll call mentioned that was what they were going to do. Didn’t have the heart to tell them. I remember seeing an article in Currents(what ever happened to Currents by the way?) about the dune buggy excursion on Grand Turk as touting it as being a combination of 4 wheeling and NASCAR…That we’d be traveling in the dune buggies they use on some South American desert. What a misleading(joke) article that was. Although we went around most of the island, seeing the key points(the lighthouse, the lookout point, the John Glenn capsule), it was basically 6 go-carts single file tour. Once we got to put the pedal to the medal, and that was only for about 30 seconds. Most of the time, we were hand signaling to the buggy behind us. Not worth $99.00 a peson in my opinon…..Anyway…..Today was going to be a totally different(more laid back) day.

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