Godd , so-so and "Horrible" Halloween Destiny Oct 28 2010

[sharecruises]

Ok...I will try this review again

 

The cruise started great....down to POM by 10:45...no lines, check in at kiosk was a breeze.

I had a busload of 23 people and another 9 on a van...all easy , all great

Kudos to Jazzy Limos and Dignatary Limo Service

(I would never..ever...ever use the rip off Jewel Limos like I did last april , they "held me up"

for more money at port, changed price, etc..ugh)

 

We were given zone one....we watched the brides board as they called "Special Functions,

Disabled and VIP"....then they called our Zone 1...we were ON board at 11:20 !!

All in my group were amazed, easiest boarding ever

 

Cabin : 8301 Balcony...great location but some problems : the huge old fashion tv is perched

on the dresser...it is right under the phone so almost impossible to dial the phone.

However, since nothing much works on these phones it is not such a big deal. Room service

and cabin to cabin function did not work at all. You could twist your arm up there and dial 7777

and get the front desk but you had to listen to many "press 1,2, etc" recording and then the front

desk was never helpful even if you reached them

 

I asked..and asked...for them to remove the down comforters as I am allergic....they only removed

one, which does me no good. It was a lot of wasted effort to finally have a rather surly room steward get up there and repleace both with acrylic blankets. Accc- Hooo !!

 

Water in shower only got lukewarm first night, rather chilly actually....this was reported

and "fixed" however, lies seemed to work on this ship....I was told that it was fine I only had to let it

run for 2 to 3 minutes ....LOL....actually it ran a LOT more than that the first night without heating up...so I do think they fixed it, they just lied

 

Group services on this ship are horrible. I sat at the lido for some of the afternoon, greeting members, giving out our lanyards, wristbands. I was there at the Downbeat Lounge for our first

event, a 1hour open bar. Tanya, group coordinator was late....she finally set up our table and mic,

which didn't work very well.

 

Despite having group wristbands and lanyards the bartenders served a few crashers to the party...Tanya was zero help

 

Every other single's cruise I have been on we had a number of larger tables in one area...we sit at assigned seats first night and then

we can move around in our area.."mix and mingle"

 

This time we were in the lower right side of the Galaxy....a few steps down...long narrow area..

with about 5 or 6 8 tops (long/rectangles)...some random booths...and long banquette...4 tops

2 tops...this is horrible for a single's cruise

 

But then again...as you will see Carnival and at least the Destiny apparently care nothing about single's cruises or groups in general

 

We tried to make the best of it. One of our other "perks" is that we get 2 bottles of wine per cabin,

to be served at dinner. On smaller group cruises we just share the wine, but with over 100 my travel agent and I decided to just have it given to the people, let them take it with them or save it for their dinners

 

This has never been a problem but then again we never had a wine steward like "Ana"...whose personality would have been better running some Gulag in Eastern Europe

 

Ana had to bother each diner, squeezing past the waiters..she doled out the cheap house wine bottles like they were gold...argued with people etc. Some members had a single cabin, and they were supposed to get 2 bottles.....she argued about that a lot. Two members who had booked last minute were planed in an uncomfortable table for 2 and she had "no wine for them"...it reminded me of the old "No soup for you" guy ha ha

 

The wait staff we had on Destiny was horrible....period. Apparently NO assistants any more?? Our waiter was pleasant the first night but would not do anything extra and by the end of the cruise I could not stand him either. Dinners took over 2 hours....food was cold....I only got bread 2 out of 4 nights...only had coffee and dessert one night....many many mistakes...just the worst

 

First night dinner was the best I had,,,,pork chop was good, I had the caesar salad, very good...and that night I actually got dessert and coffee..warm chocolate melting cake was yummy

 

 

. We then went to the Downbeat Lounge and heard Music Network...wow..they were fantastic ! They played classic rock and some Motown....so talented. They are a Filipino cover band and just fantastic. They "nailed" MY Sharona and even played some Temptations songs for me...wow! Tempts Forever !

 

 

 

 

[sharecruises]

Day 2 Friday Key West

 

We met up at the back of the lido dining area ...this is where I always have my friends/groups meet if they want to find each other. Breakfast was good , lines were long. That is the problem of

the Destiny....it was the prototype for Conquest but Conquest improved it's flaws...adding another buffet line and seatfood area upstairs. Destiny has a really crowded buffet but the food is good, actually better than in the dinirng room I felt (for a change)

 

We were at Outer Mole but the short/free trolley ride in was fun and everything went very smooth

 

Key West was fun, lots of crazy pics of body painted women then we saw some ...eeek LOL

also saw some amazing outfits and drag queens even in the morning. We went to some cheap stores.."everything $5"....and then to Irish Kevins which was a blast! Jeff Harris has a great voice, and is good at guitar but so funny....pretty racy humor it is Key West..the bartender plays off of him well...really fun time. Bought a slice of key lime to share and then got the trolley back at about 12:30 with NO lines/no wait, however those who waited just a bit longer got caught up in huge huge lines and were pretty frazzeled when they got back on the ship

 

Afternoon was nice, aft pool and hot tubs...then get ready for dinner and our 2nd "shared" group cocktail party in the Point After Disco.

 

and this is where my own Halloween Horror Story really kicks in

 

Short version... a guy who was NOT a member of our group cruise was allowed to "crash" our groups only cocktail party...was permitted to crash our group dining seating...and intimidated and trolled myself and others he was targeting (his ex girlfriend, the woman who runs the social group in tampa where they are from, he did not book with our agent)

he did this with the permission of the Hotel director on the 2nd day....cause he is a "milestone" carnival cruiser

 

and yes, I have a LOT of complaints/reports and report numbers in with carnival and have been contacted and apologized to....and I am not sure where this is going but I am very very disgusted with Carnival

 

I feel they compromised our safety, sanity and our group integrity...

I feel they caused some of us a lot of unneeded tension and worry and this was NOT fun

 

what is the point of booking a group with Carnival if a hotel director can override the group?? Is a milestone member allowed to crash weddings??

Bar Mitzvahs? Company conventions?? what next??

 

and FYI : for those who took this lightly...Carnival is not taking it lightly...I have already had several apologies on this and we will see where it goes

 

I am really angry about this ...it was simply unacceptable

I spent a lot of my time doing damage control and standing around making reports

 

this cruise was the first I did not enjoy

 

~~~~~~~~~

Some pics of Key West

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sharecruises]

As many have said, time in Key West is really too short..especially when shuttle over from Outer Mole..

I wisely had my little gang go back a bit early...we missed the lines again

those who waited were stuck in lines to board shuttles to return to the ship and were in long lines to reboard...yuck

 

I preferred docking at Mallory as we did on Labor Day cruise 2009, much easier

 

Key West was fun this time however, the streets were blocked to traffic and had many little booths set up for the Fantasy Fest, even though it was morning we saw some of the painted bodies haha..and saw some body painters at work, saw some floats and saw a lot of crazy stuff haha

 

 

 

 

 

[firefly333]

Hi sharecruises.. it does sound like a shame that a non group pax was allowed to crash your party. I think Iv only had one Carnival cruise, mostly I didnt sleep for being upset and ruined that cruise because Carnival just wasnt up to par on problems. .. it happens. I hope you can get things resolved enough to keep booking with them.

 

Must be a dissapointment if you were group leader and felt things were not under control. frustrating at best. sorry to hear of your issues.

[pnjkeith]

How was the cigar bar?

 

Did you have lots of smoke on the balconies?

[sharecruises]

Besides having crashers in our dining area, my dinner was horrible

 

surly (overworked?) waiter was so slow

 

The lobster tail was a joke..smallest I have ever seen

 

I asked for lemon and never got it...the melted butter was cold

 

the lobster tail was the size of a shrimp

 

my tablemates and I asked for another lobster tail, waiter made a face and didn't seem happy

 

he slowly returned (still no lemon which I asked for again)....

 

he put down tiny lobster tail plates in front of the other diners and then ONE plate between me and the gal sitting across from me...

 

"Thats it, you two can share">> I was in shock

 

what a jerk

and yes...flame away...I removed the tips from the dining part , and put 10 extra on the buffet dining

 

I was slowly served the yummy bitter and blanc...but no sauce..and never got coffee

 

asked for sauce, asked for sauce...finally a nameless "assistant" looked around and brought over a little pitcher from ANOTHER TABLE and poured a dollop of sauce on my now cold bitter and blanc

 

I was flabbergasted ....I think this was the leftover from another diner's good dessert...unreal...I was not about to eat this, I don't know where that little bit of cold sauce came from..recycled??

 

the dining staff and the maitre d on this ship were the worst I have ever ever had...unless you were there you don't know

 

as for "report them">> we were so late for shows, dinner was slow..who to "report" to>> >?? Lines were huge at front desk...a lot of problems on this ship

 

Worst dinner ever

[SE NC]

Haven't you posted a couple of times before about the not invited party crasher. Not sure if you were the same person.

[sharecruises]

How was the cigar bar?

 

Did you have lots of smoke on the balconies?

 

I was lucky....no smokers near my balcony :)

 

Cigar bar was stinky but I did hang out there a bit the 2nd night to hear Music Network

 

I don't have a problem with cigar bars...there should be a place for smokers to gather IMHO

 

the piano bar however was a stench pool...I can't stand the small small piano bar and the haze and smell of it.....at least the cigar bar is larger

 

Music Network was fantastic

[sharecruises]

Haven't you posted a couple of times before about the not invited party crasher. Not sure if you were the same person.

 

As I said..I am trying to post this review again

 

the crasher was a big part of the problem...and while some may make light of it, it does affect a cruise

 

what is the point of having a group if any milestone or platinum member can crash it?? I am sure the various CC group cruises would not want me to crash their private cocktail hour would they???

 

it is even more sensitive matter with a singles cruise IMHO

 

Beyond the crasher factor..there were some good and various bad parts of this particular ship and cruise

 

the crasher had nothing to do with the horrible tv set up in the cabin, the lousy lousy waiter service and the long lines I encountered on Destiny

*(btw..my least favorite Carnival ship and I would never sail on it again)

[Bo Didly]

Haven't you posted a couple of times before about the not invited party crasher. Not sure if you were the same person.

 

 

I believe it was a CC stalker, :rolleyes:.

 

It got the can ,but it really was quite an interesting review.

[sharecruises]

Hi sharecruises.. it does sound like a shame that a non group pax was allowed to crash your party. I think Iv only had one Carnival cruise, mostly I didnt sleep for being upset and ruined that cruise because Carnival just wasnt up to par on problems. .. it happens. I hope you can get things resolved enough to keep booking with them.

 

Must be a dissapointment if you were group leader and felt things were not under control. frustrating at best. sorry to hear of your issues.

 

 

Thanks....I like Carnival a lot and there were some good aspects to this cruise, especially the band Music Network. The Lido food was very very good also, especially the Deli.

 

I have some real problems however with the way Carnival is treating singles and groups. I think they want people on their ships 2x2 like Noah's ark....LOL

 

the price they want for us now is double plus in a solo cabin :eek:

 

group cruises for singles have been a good answer but now Carnival seems to not care about group integrity not to mention the crazy "30 day" booking window and restrictions on booking "solo" cabins

[sharecruises]

That 2md night we saw Nightclub Express....it was fun and the singers were good especially the guy singer. Dancers were good

 

 

We went to Onyx Lounge to see Music Network again, it did smell *cigars/cigs.. but not as bad as the piano bar. Music Network were again fantastic. I really enjoyed them

 

 

I stuck my head in the haze of the piano bar and bailed out so I have no idea if the piano player was good or not. Most of my friends are non smokers and they also could NOT stand the piano bar. Fun in theory but stinky smelly in person

 

We saw the r rated show in Punchliner, it was crowded but not standing room and it was fun. (Criterian Lounge)

[klmorg]

I'm having a deja vu. I've heard this before. :eek:

[sharecruises]

Day 3 Cozumel....we planned breakfast in dining room

 

Here again we were met by Gulag workers....who just refused to give me a couple of large tables

for my group. I have been on many singles cruises and this is never a problem but with these

hostesses on Destiny you would think the KGB was in charge

 

After much arguement, "speak with my supervisor" we finally got our tables which we quickly filled

 

Food was good but service was horrible and unfriendly.

 

after breakfast we all split up, relaxed, I took at dip in hot tub in back area.

It seems ONLY CC has the considerate smokers....the others come on my cruises

 

I was laying there near the bar , reading a book when I smelled smoke in my face..ugh

The back area is non smoking, adult...and here was a jerk getting a bunch of drinks with a lit cig in his paw, holding it back near my face (maybe so barteder would not see it?)

 

I nicely told him that the area back there is nonsmoking and he said "well it will be when I am done with this">>> I then got up and asked the bartender..>"isn't this nonsmoking? why is this guy smoking"?? there are signs all over the bar...duhh

 

the bartender was one of the "weak" type Carnival employees...."oh he say he gonna put it out"

 

Carnival seems to have an odd mix of Gulag workers (eastern Europe) and "servile" workers (Phillipines, Indonesia)....and frankly by the end of this cruise I could care less about most of them. I really don't care how hard they work blah blah...most on this ship were lousy, inefficiant, some were arrogant, some were just surly..and IF I had a John Deere keychain to give out I would not give it to them LOL

Maybe it is the poor management from the Hotel Director on down?

Liberty had much nicer employees *(and even tho my waiter was kind of jerky on Liberty I loved that cruise)

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Cozumel....wonderful

I got fed up with bad service and mistakes from Beachtours and Mister Sanchos and took a chance on a new place "Ocean Resort" thru Cozumel watersports. We all put $10 down on Paypal

and paid $27 at the resort.....(price now $40, not $37...Quin the owner honored the lower price for my group. )

 

We shared cabs/vans there..it is right beside Carlos and Charlies, San Fran, and Paradise Beach is a short stroll

 

This place was heaven...they were expecting us..."are u Esty?" ..they had rows of loungers and umbrellas blocked off for the 23 of us, they only take 50 per day

 

The loungers were brand new, umbrellas brand new....bathrooms brand new

Lovely clean pool, landscaping..a nice shaded area with chairs and tables...and super fun bar with swings for stools !

 

They also had cheap massages, a nice open air massage area, and a small store/stand

 

You could walk down the beach to Carlos and Charlies, Paradise Beach etc for more shopping and of course there were some vendors but not too busy a nice "no thanks" was sufficient.

 

The drinks just kept coming..never a wait. Ordered the first at the bar and then the lovely waiters just kept bringing them to you and were happy to add anything you wanted. Some of my cruisers were delighted to have an "extra topping" of rum, vodka, or tequilla etc added to their driinks haha

My own drinks were plenty strong...Pina coladas and then rum and diet cokes with a slice of lime

 

There was a small indoor buffet table with server inside....they kept replenishing the food which was fresh and tasty. Homemade veggie and chicken quesedillas...fantastic guac, pico de gallo,chipsbeef and chicken fajitas, rice and beans, all included, as much as you wanted

 

This day was heaven..thanks Quin

 

entry to Ocean Resort

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sharecruises]

More Ocean Resort..Highlight of my trip :)

 

 

another view of entry...and area where cabs/vans drop off/pickup..they were waiting for us at closing time

 

 

 

 

 

[sharecruises]

 

Great clean pool

 

 

 

[Unknotted]

I'm having a deja vu. I've heard this before. :eek:

 

LOL, me too. Plus she hijacked someone else's "good" review of this ship to add her own negative review to their thread.

 

The unwanted guest would creep me out, for sure. But I'm not so sure I can sympathize with some of the other stuff. A lot of it is a matter of perspective, ie; people who like super hot showers would notice it more when the water is just warm, more so than someone who likes warm showers. That is totally understandable. But it doesn't mean the water is unsuitable for everyone.

[sharecruises]

LOL, me too. Plus she hijacked someone else's "good" review of this ship to add her own negative review to their thread.

 

The unwanted guest would creep me out, for sure. But I'm not so sure I can sympathize with some of the other stuff. A lot of it is a matter of perspective, ie; people who like super hot showers would notice it more when the water is just warm, more so than someone who likes warm showers. That is totally understandable. But it doesn't mean the water is unsuitable for everyone.

 

 

since you wish to "hijack" my review...give me your opinion of a waiter finding a "used" pitcher and pouring that on my (cold) bitter and blanc??

 

care to "review" my lobster tail disappointment??

 

I have to laugh when people say "please give me some positive reviews'>> what happens happens....it is not all positive

 

this is what happened to me....since you want to dispute it dispute it all

 

tell me how you would like a used pitcher poured on your dessert??

[sharecruises]

After a great day in Cozumel I was sad to return to the Destiny ...

 

and my lousy waiter, our overcrowded insane seating...banquets, booths, tables for 2 just do not work for a singles group this was just a mess

 

oh...and FYI>> >before the cruise my travel agent and I were given a seating chart...we had 9 tables of 8 and 3 tables of 10..which would have been great for my group which was a total of 103

 

but to sit us at 5 tables of 8 and the rest booths, banquets was ridiculous

 

and FYI : my travel agent and I had both sent letters and called carnival before hand..they had all the "411" on the potential crasher, his name, everything...they were told over and over we would have lanyards, wristbands and ONLY our group was to be served

 

and FYI : we were to have 2 bottles wine per cabin....and sit at assigned seat the first night then mix and mingle

 

I had both the maitre d and the group coordinator complain to me that "your people are not in their right seats">> hello...that is what we do..we sit at our tables and we mix and mingle

 

we again had crasher problems...and I was so tired I just ignored it and tried to enjoy my crummy dinner

 

I ordered the steak, medium rare, asked for worchester sauce with it

 

it came out tough, medium and cold...NO sauce....

 

asked again and again.....then told waiter forget it, bring me the jerk pork

 

he said "You have the steak">> and I said..yeah and I want the pork

 

he made a face and brought it and slapped it down

 

it was spicy but pretty good

 

the waiters did their little dance and time was moving on...no time for me to have dessert or coffee that night....they cleared the tables and we had to rush out of there, last to leave

 

once again I had no rolls before dinner...no lemon in my water, waiter didn't seem to want to give me a different entree ...and I had no dessert or coffee

[sharecruises]

That night was the Deck Party...no showtime...Carnival seems to really cut the corners now LOL

 

Deck Party was ok, best part was Music Network played up on the deck they were great

 

They put out the buffet and I did get some dessert there since I had none at dinner ..it was pretty good and a nice display...they had the line dances and it was fun, Electric Slide, YMCA, Cupid Shuffle etc

[sharecruises]

Day at Sea....long story short..even I was shocked that our crasher escalated into a stalker, pressing up against me 3x at the buffet, trying to sit with us,

bothering my group members and friends...

escalating into a horrible hoax phone call to his ex girlfriend scaring her so badly ....regarding her sickly daughter who is in "remission"

(from his "new" girlfriend who was with him...pretended to be calling from a hospital in Tampa!)

 

I wasted a lovely afternoon standing in line at desk making a formal complaint...then spoke with security, hotel director, and then the security guy felt this was so severe he got the head of security *(who was off duty) to come up and hear my tale of "horrors"

 

Bottom line...the hotel director overstepped and allowed this stalker to crash our parties cause he insisted and cause he is "milestone"

 

Hotel director even apologized, too little, too late..saying "I didn't think it would matter"...well hello...we had documented requests to keep this problem person away from us, his ex, and others

 

not to mention...we are a group cruise...we all booked with an agent on a singles cruise...even if this guy was not a problem to us, we don't want outsiders at our events or seated with us

 

this is just so wrong of the Destiny

 

I fault the hotel director, the group coordinator and the maitre d

 

and for those of you who want to pooh pooh this......this is not a small matter and trust me Carnival themselves are not taking this lightly

 

is this a "personal" matter...not really...this is a serious matter for anyone contemplating a group event or cruise on Carnival IMHO

[firefly333]

I have some real problems however with the way Carnival is treating singles and groups. I think they want people on their ships 2x2 like Noah's ark....LOL

 

the price they want for us now is double plus in a solo cabin :eek:

 

Im wondering if the solo cruisers who want the 150% back can find a way to protest as a group and get Carnival's attention?? Im up for any ideas.

[sharecruises]

After wasting all that time in lines and "meetings" I put on my costume and went off to the promenade ...many people dressed up :)

 

Thanks to CC I had alerted my group to the "Fun Farewell">> very sneaky of Carnival to not say this was free drinks

 

we had this in the Criterion Lounge and it was great....we were all in costume...I think we had about 90 plus from our group and maybe? 30 or 40 other 'regular" cruisers

 

we had tons of drinks...they made us "fancy" drinks ...martinis..mango swirl, miami vice...plus all the regular "party" drinks...

 

lots of people don't know about this free party and miss it I guess..we really enjoyed it....had a ball in our costumes taking pictures etc

 

Last dinner

 

That night at dinner was the first night that we were not bothered by these interlopers.

Maitre d told me that Security did have a talk with crasher, that he had been escorted to a dining table upstairs, away from us, and been warned to let us alone. That night he did...and I noticed security guard at the back end of our dining area on and off and security walked through....one came up to me and asked me if everything was ok :)

 

THIS IS WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE THE FIRST NIGHT

CARNIVAL WAS TOLD ABOUT A "CRASHER"/STALKER/PROBLEM

in writing and by phone

Group coordinator WAS TOLD AT THE FIRST PARTY

Maitre d was told the first night

Security was alerted and escorted him out..BUT the hotel director overruled this...saying that the crasher was "his guest" and a "milestone" member

 

I had a fairly uneventful last night thank heavens....

dinner however was again NOT great

 

we did get coffee and dessert but the "halloween" chocolate walnut dessert looked crappy and tasted like cardboard

 

a little square of dry cake with a "halloween" pumpkin candy that had fallen off it and was laying on the plate...yuck

 

That night I had some pizza and some brownies from the lido buffet..it was better than the dining room

 

we saw the last show about Paris, not my "genre" but the show was entertaining and singers and dancers did a great job

 

we also saw another comedy show and again had no problem finding seats

that was fun..I like the comedy show deal, good idea

 

Heard a little more of Music Network...best part of the cruise for me

 

As for the "sewer smell"....that is one problem I didn't have

 

other problems>>>> put out breakfast room service tag, room service never came (but that could have been the stalker)

 

my whiteboard on my door was erased every day....my decorations stolen....we had a number of hang ups on our useless hard to reach phone (up behind the huge tube tv)....spooky

 

no just poor management by Carnival who failed us in so many respects

[sharecruises]

Im wondering if the solo cruisers who want the 150% back can find a way to protest as a group and get Carnival's attention?? Im up for any ideas.

 

I am not sure if Carnival cares....they just don't want solos

 

we had about 20 solo cabin cruisers out of 103 cruisers...

 

this was booked last year ....if we were to book next years Halloween cruise on Carnival my travel agent would only have 30 days to get the group together....impossible

 

and even worse...they will now only allow 10 solo cabins per group cruise....any more and they want to charge all cruisers in a solo cabin a $40 a day surcharge to make up for the "missing revenues" ...unreal

 

2x2...2x2...like Noah's ark

 

years ago the cruiselines did roommate matching for singles and had some singles cabins...now?? they want them like Noahs ark

 

great for the happy couples..but with the divorce rate in this country not all will be coupled forever

 

just sailing with a friend is ok...but I prefer groups...I like having a bunch of people to "hang" with, people to go to shows with...going as a group on private excursions

 

We are looking into NCL...their "solo" cabin deal on Epic is really interesting...my agent has some cruisers on that at the end of the month and we will see...they have a singles lounge "The Living Room">> attached to the solo cabins....they have whiteboards/signup sheets where singles can say "hey let's meet at 7 for the Italian Restaurant" or "Anyone want to snorkel in Cozumel" etc etc whatever...they also have a singles hostess in the lounge and a nightly get together

 

no surcharge on the solo cabins

 

NCL also allows groups to hold space on their regular cruises for 4 to 6 months and seem to be very generous with the amenity points

 

for groups of 20 and more they will give assigned seating in one of the "free" dining rooms and even make a reservation in a paid one or give one night in a paid dining area as a group "perk"

 

so as much as I like Carnival after our 2 booked cruises (and I become Platinum) I maybe on NCL, and or others

 

I feel sad that Carnival so devalues us singles and our business

[babies12]

Why are you reposting this all over again? I think most everybody got it, you had a lousy time.