Mountainbreeze's B2B Destiny review - long w/ pics

[mountainbreeze]

MAY 6 - NASSAU, BAHAMAS CONTINUED:

 

We walked through the hotel, and found a door that looked like it led to the beach. Once back outside, we tried to get to the sand, but there was a lady who stopped us. We couldn't go to the beach without paying for a day-pass. Nevermind.

 

Here I am on the balcony of the hotel casino. I'm oh-so-close to that sand and I can't get to it!

 

But I'm in PARADISE, so I think I'll pose for a picture!

 

 

 

Back into the hotel, we took a few pictures,

 

 

 

 

 

We looked around a little, (what a beautiful hotel!) and then we headed back to the water taxi.

 

We had to wait for the next taxi to come for us, so I had a strawberry-bananna daquiri while we waited. It was made with fresh fruit, and it was YUMMY!

 

Here I am waiting for my daquiri:

 

 

Our guide for our water-taxi ride back to Nassau wasn't as good as Wade was, and he didn't get nearly as many tips as Wade did. Wade had REALLY worked his crowd and I missed him on our ride back!

 

 

Back in Nassau, Tim and I spotted a beach a little further down from the dock area where we were dropped off. In search of sand, we walked toward it. We got as far as Senior Frogs, and we asked the doorman about the beach. He said that beach was a private beach, but there was a public beach down even further. Nevermind.

 

We didn't think we had enough time to get to the public beach and still make it back ion the ship.

 

We walked back to the port area sandless. Bummer.

 

Back in our cabin (home-sweet-home) we changed our clothes and went up to the top aft deck to watch sailaway.

 

 

Tim and I had brought our bottle of champaigne with us on the ship, this was the bottle that the Intercontinental hotel had given us on our wedding night.

 

Our idea was to open it with our 4 friends while we were on the ship, and we would all have a toast. We never had time to crack open the bottle, and also none of us really liked champaigne (except Hameed) and now the ship was due to dock in Miami the next morning!

 

 

Tim grabbed the bottle from our cabin, and we took it with us to give to Hameed. He would have to enjoy it by himself.

 

 

We found Norma, Brian, Sandra and Hameed and the 6 of us found a spot by the rail at the back of the ship.

 

The 6 of us took pictures, and talked, and laughed while we waited for the ship to leave the port. This would be our last day with Sandra and Hameed, as they had to get off the ship the next morning. We posed for a picture, the best pic of the 6 of us we had taken so far.

 

 

I also got a chance to shoot a good picture of the hospital where Anna Nicole had her baby girl. It's the pink building in the top center of the picture. Much smaller than I imagined.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was taking a long time for sailaway, and at some point, our 4 friends went off to do other things. I think Brian and Norma were going to the past guest party, and Sandra and Hameed went off somewhere too.

 

Tim and I stood at the rail and took pictures of Nassau while we waited.

 

 

We saw pier runners!! It was a whole family, and everyone on the ship heckled them and cheered for them to "keep running!!" Those poor people, running as fast as they could down the LONG pier. It was great fun watching them though!

 

 

At some point, the crew untied the ropes, and we were off. No, now we were pulling back into port. The crew retied the ropes. We watched and wondered what was going on. Soon the captain came over the loudspeaker and told us we had to pull back into port for a medical emergency, and we would be leaving soon.

 

We heard sirens, and soon this ambulance drove up to our ship.

 

 

 

 

We couldn't see anything that was going on, and Tim and I hung around until 5:55 waiting for sailaway.

 

 

We never heard another word about the medical emergency while we were on the ship. After we got home, we found out what had happened. There was a fatal jet-ski accident that afternoon. How sad! We heard that 2 girls on a jet-ski had hit a boat. One girl had died at the hospital, and the other was in critical condition. This news was terrible to hear, and Tim and I felt bad that we had been enjoying our day while this happened. Very sad. We wish the best to the surviving girl, and we send love and hugs to the family of the girl that didn't make it.

 

 

But at the time all this was happening, we were clueless.

 

Tired of waiting for sailaway, Tim and I went down to the MDR for our 6:00 dining time. We were happy to see our server, Achmed!

During dinner, we noticed we had sailed away from Nassau.

 

 

[mountainbreeze]

MAY 6 - NASSAU, BAHAMAS CONTINUED:

 

Dinner that night was great! Tim ate salmon, and I had some kind of chicken. We loved the MDR!! We loved Achmed, who greeted us by name everytime he saw us, and spoiled us rotten. They always had a coffee cup at our table for Tim's coffee, and we were always offered rolls and butter as soon as we sat down. Service in the MDR was always fast. I miss my little booth by the wall!!

 

Tonight was really the first night I had the opportunity to try the chocolate melting cake. I had been wanting to try this, I LOVE CHOCOLATE!! It was time!!!

 

 

I hate to say it, but I didn't like my melting cake. (I'm sorry! I know a lot of people love this, and I really wanted to love it!!)

It was dark chocolate, and kind of bitter. I'm a milk chocolate girl.

 

That night, the waiters sang and danced because it was everyone's last night on the ship. Tim and I watched from over the railing and we were surprised and happy to see Achmed down there on the podium dancing and singing his heart out! He gyrated, and skipped, and jumped on one foot, spun around.....all on a tiny little podium thing. It was so fun to watch!

 

Later when I saw Achmed, I gave him a high-five (Achmed liked to high-five) and I said "Achmed! I had no idea you were so crazy!!"

 

Tim and I went back to our cabin and found the bed turned down, our FUN TIMES for the next day, our chocolates, and a seal towel animal! Love it!!

 

 

 

 

Tim and I watched the sunset from our balcony, and we saw a sailboat. We could see some bahamas islands in the distance.

 

 

 

 

I had an idea! I wanted to go up to the lido deck and get in a hot tub. Tim wasn't as thrilled as I was but he agreed to go with me. We changed into swimsuits, and headed to deck 9. We went back to the adults only serenity deck. They have 2 hot tubs and a pool. Also, the ice cream machine was back there!

 

 

The hot tubs and pool were empty!! Everyone must be packing their stuff to go home, or watching shows, or gambling.......

 

This was perfect, and Tim and I stayed in the hot tub for 30-40 minutes. I stayed in a little longer than Tim did.

 

 

 

 

 

I also got in the pool, just so I could say I swam in a pool on a ship. Then back in the hot tub to warm back up. The pool wasn't cold, it was nice, but the hot tub was very nice!

 

 

 

 

I got my ice cream cone, and Tim and I walked up the stairs to the top deck. There weren't many people about and we walked around and explored the jogging track, the mini-golf course, and the outdoor stage area where the band played during the daytime.

 

 

The waterslide was closed. I wanted to try it, but after reading the sign, we saw that it closed when it got dark at night. Must be too dangerous to keep it open after dark. I made a mental note to be sure to try the waterslide at least once before we got off the ship.

 

 

Back to our cabin, we saw Y in the hallway. He greeted us by name (with a giant smile) and opened our door for us with his passkey. He did this frequently, and we always saw him in the hallways when we were coming and going. Y was just awesome! We talked to him for a few minutes. We asked if we would need to attend the next day's muster drill, since we had attended the previous one. He said he would ask, but he thought we would have to attend.

 

 

We also asked him about his work, and his time off. He told us he works 7 days a week for 6 to 7 months at a time. His workday consisted of cleaning rooms, hallways and general steward duties in the morning until 1:30. Then he had a break until 4:30, when he went back to turn our rooms down and do more steward duties. He ended his workday at 10:30 PM. He said on embarkment days (when the ship docks in Miami to load new passengers), he doesn't get anytime off at all those days. He said embarkment days were the hardest workdays. My goodness! 7 days a week!! I wondered how much he got paid??!! I didn't dare ask him though.

 

 

We went in our cabin, and found an envelope on the bed with a letter telling us that Carnival was happy to have us for another cruise, and we were to meet in the Paladium Theatre at 9:40 the next morning for our turnaround.

 

 

We showered, and got ready for bed. It was about 9:30 PM and we watched TV and I downloaded our pics from the day.

 

We especially liked the Carnival TV channel that showed the map of where the ship was positioned. It told the depth of the ocean where we were at the time, and how fast we were traveling. We had this channel on several times a day. At one point during the beginning of the cruise, the ocean was almost 3 miles deep! It was a little creepy thinking about huge whales, sharks, giant squid, eels, and submarines down there.

 

We also watched the other Carnval channels, the ones that replayed some of the shows and talks that were done throughout the week.

 

 

There was a lot of noise and banging going on this night. I peeked out our cabin door and saw that everyone was packing and putting their luggage out in the hallway for the crew to pick up.

 

 

 

Oh darn, we were staying another 5 days! How awful for the people that had to go home.

Back in bed, in our cozy little cabin, we were again rocked to sleep like babies in a cradle. Tomorrow we could sleep in!

 

_______________________

 

I hate to say this , but I have to take a break from writing this review for a few days. I know, my timing is bad, but I had no idea it would take this long to post my whole review.

 

I have a good excuse for needing a few days break: I'm flying to Tennessee tomorrow to meet my brothers for the first time in our lives! We were all adopted when we were babies, we all have the same mother and the same father. I have been searching for them for almost my entire adult life (I'm 45). I finally found them in January, and now it's time for us to meet!!! I'll be back from Tennessee on Sunday night.

 

Again, I'm sorry my timing is bad........please come back and read the second half of our awesome Back-2-back cruise..........I'll come back monday night (5/23) and continue on with the review!

 

 

[hannibal54]

Have a great trip to catch up your newly re-found family. I will be on the Destiny in Oct. so it is nice to read about the ports and the ship. The Oct. cruise will take me to Grand Turk, HMC and back to Nassau. If nobody has gotten you any sand from Nassau by then, let me know I could grab some for you.

[abisha]

Your love story is very neat too, especially for me right now. I am just re-acquanting with my first "love" after not being in touch for 36 years (Facebook makes you a detective...lol)

It was surreal talking to him for hours last week...like it had only been days since we last spoke. We are both divorced but live on opposite ends of the country But long distance is a nice start....

 

I found my first true love after 25 years of being apart..we lived on opposite sides of the country as well. He relocated to be with me and we are now married (celebrating our third year anniverdsary on the Destiny this August). So, you never know what your conversations may lead to. If it was meant to be, then distance will not stand in the way.

 

Anyways, I'm happy for the OP!! Great review.

[mountainbreeze]

Have a great trip to catch up your newly re-found family. I will be on the Destiny in Oct. so it is nice to read about the ports and the ship. The Oct. cruise will take me to Grand Turk, HMC and back to Nassau. If nobody has gotten you any sand from Nassau by then, let me know I could grab some for you.

 

 

I'm getting quite nervous to go meet them, but I'm sure I'll be fine once I get there.

 

I'm so jealous that you get to go to Grand Turk and HMC in October! What do you have planned to do at those ports?

 

Thanks for the offer for Nassau sand! I'll let you know before you leave!:)

[cowgirlamy]

Great review! Thank you! I will be on the Destiny in July- same itinerary!

[abisha]

I'm lovin your review! Great pics and details! I always have to have a magnet for the fridge wherever I go and I like your "keychain turned magnet". How lucky to have the adults only pool all to yourself. I'll have to check it out myself some evening. I'm glad you posted review and pics of Jack's Shack. We are headed there ourselves. Looks like a good place to hang out while away from the heavy crowds at Margaritaville.

 

I'm looking forward to the rest of your review.

[mrsgomez2011]

Traffic was fine until we got to Miami, and then it got a little hairy, even though it was a sunday. We hit Miami around 4 PM and headed toward the airport to return the Mustang.

 

 

LOL Welcome to Miami!! I don't know any time of day you can't find at least a little bit of traffic.

[re-re]

Congrats on the wedding and finding your family,Enjoy your weekend and i expect to be reading more of this review on monday,considering you got me geeked:D:D:D

[mrsgomez2011]

Thanks so much for your review! Enjoyed reading all your wedding planning posts and your review!!

 

Congrats again and enjoy your new life together!

[cruiserNC]

Great Review...Congrats on finding your family!

[Sonobride]

AWWWW! Congrats! What a great story! :O) Love it!

[Lipz]

This is one of those GREAT reviews with details, commentary and beautiful pics. I swear I feel like I am right there with you!

Thanks for sharing.

[Jeninfla708]

MAY 6 - NASSAU, BAHAMAS CONTINUED:

 

Dinner that night was great! Tim ate salmon, and I had some kind of chicken. We loved the MDR!! We loved Achmed, who greeted us by name everytime he saw us, and spoiled us rotten. They always had a coffee cup at our table for Tim's coffee, and we were always offered rolls and butter as soon as we sat down. Service in the MDR was always fast. I miss my little booth by the wall!!

 

Tonight was really the first night I had the opportunity to try the chocolate melting cake. I had been wanting to try this, I LOVE CHOCOLATE!! It was time!!!

 

 

I hate to say it, but I didn't like my melting cake. (I'm sorry! I know a lot of people love this, and I really wanted to love it!!)

It was dark chocolate, and kind of bitter. I'm a milk chocolate girl.

 

That night, the waiters sang and danced because it was everyone's last night on the ship. Tim and I watched from over the railing and we were surprised and happy to see Achmed down there on the podium dancing and singing his heart out! He gyrated, and skipped, and jumped on one foot, spun around.....all on a tiny little podium thing. It was so fun to watch!

 

Later when I saw Achmed, I gave him a high-five (Achmed liked to high-five) and I said "Achmed! I had no idea you were so crazy!!"

 

Tim and I went back to our cabin and found the bed turned down, our FUN TIMES for the next day, our chocolates, and a seal towel animal! Love it!!

 

 

 

 

Tim and I watched the sunset from our balcony, and we saw a sailboat. We could see some bahamas islands in the distance.

 

 

 

 

I had an idea! I wanted to go up to the lido deck and get in a hot tub. Tim wasn't as thrilled as I was but he agreed to go with me. We changed into swimsuits, and headed to deck 9. We went back to the adults only serenity deck. They have 2 hot tubs and a pool. Also, the ice cream machine was back there!

 

 

The hot tubs and pool were empty!! Everyone must be packing their stuff to go home, or watching shows, or gambling.......

 

This was perfect, and Tim and I stayed in the hot tub for 30-40 minutes. I stayed in a little longer than Tim did.

 

 

 

 

 

I also got in the pool, just so I could say I swam in a pool on a ship. Then back in the hot tub to warm back up. The pool wasn't cold, it was nice, but the hot tub was very nice!

 

 

 

 

I got my ice cream cone, and Tim and I walked up the stairs to the top deck. There weren't many people about and we walked around and explored the jogging track, the mini-golf course, and the outdoor stage area where the band played during the daytime.

 

 

The waterslide was closed. I wanted to try it, but after reading the sign, we saw that it closed when it got dark at night. Must be too dangerous to keep it open after dark. I made a mental note to be sure to try the waterslide at least once before we got off the ship.

 

 

Back to our cabin, we saw Y in the hallway. He greeted us by name (with a giant smile) and opened our door for us with his passkey. He did this frequently, and we always saw him in the hallways when we were coming and going. Y was just awesome! We talked to him for a few minutes. We asked if we would need to attend the next day's muster drill, since we had attended the previous one. He said he would ask, but he thought we would have to attend.

 

 

We also asked him about his work, and his time off. He told us he works 7 days a week for 6 to 7 months at a time. His workday consisted of cleaning rooms, hallways and general steward duties in the morning until 1:30. Then he had a break until 4:30, when he went back to turn our rooms down and do more steward duties. He ended his workday at 10:30 PM. He said on embarkment days (when the ship docks in Miami to load new passengers), he doesn't get anytime off at all those days. He said embarkment days were the hardest workdays. My goodness! 7 days a week!! I wondered how much he got paid??!! I didn't dare ask him though.

 

 

We went in our cabin, and found an envelope on the bed with a letter telling us that Carnival was happy to have us for another cruise, and we were to meet in the Paladium Theatre at 9:40 the next morning for our turnaround.

 

 

We showered, and got ready for bed. It was about 9:30 PM and we watched TV and I downloaded our pics from the day.

 

We especially liked the Carnival TV channel that showed the map of where the ship was positioned. It told the depth of the ocean where we were at the time, and how fast we were traveling. We had this channel on several times a day. At one point during the beginning of the cruise, the ocean was almost 3 miles deep! It was a little creepy thinking about huge whales, sharks, giant squid, eels, and submarines down there.

 

We also watched the other Carnval channels, the ones that replayed some of the shows and talks that were done throughout the week.

 

 

There was a lot of noise and banging going on this night. I peeked out our cabin door and saw that everyone was packing and putting their luggage out in the hallway for the crew to pick up.

 

 

 

Oh darn, we were staying another 5 days! How awful for the people that had to go home.

Back in bed, in our cozy little cabin, we were again rocked to sleep like babies in a cradle. Tomorrow we could sleep in!

 

_______________________

 

I hate to say this , but I have to take a break from writing this review for a few days. I know, my timing is bad, but I had no idea it would take this long to post my whole review.

 

I have a good excuse for needing a few days break: I'm flying to Tennessee tomorrow to meet my brothers for the first time in our lives! We were all adopted when we were babies, we all have the same mother and the same father. I have been searching for them for almost my entire adult life (I'm 45). I finally found them in January, and now it's time for us to meet!!! I'll be back from Tennessee on Sunday night.

 

Again, I'm sorry my timing is bad........please come back and read the second half of our awesome Back-2-back cruise..........I'll come back monday night (5/23) and continue on with the review!

 

 

WOW meeting with your brothers you have never met! That is AMAZING!! I am so happy to read this review as I am leaving on the Destiny on 7/7/11. You're doing a great review! Enjoy the time you have with your family!:)

[Denise2000]

Excellent review and congratulations on your wedding!

 

Enjoy your vacation and time with your family and I look forward to reading the other half of your review.

 

Thank you so much for taking us along on this journey with you, I feel as though I was there, LOL.

[mrsgomez2011]

You need to let us know how meeting your brothers went!!! I'm so excited for you!

[LBumb]

excellent job. i really enjoyed and am really looking forward to the next phase.

[kjeanne2001]

Enjoying your review!!! Congratulations on the wedding! Thanks for letting us share in your day and your cruise. I hope things went well for you this weekend meeting your family.

Thanks for posting the picture of the Fantasy. We were in Nassau on the 6th on the Fantasy. Here are some pics of the Destiny as she was leaving Nassau on May 6th. I thought you might enjoy them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LBumb]

ready for more

[cruisinJenF]

Is it time for more yet :D I have been trying to be patient and it is not my strong suit! LOVING this review!

[mountainbreeze]

Hi everyone! Thanks for all of your sweet comments, and thanks for coming back to my review!

 

I had a great time in Tennessee meeting my brothers for the first time! They are very sweet, and am so happy I finally found them after 45 years!

 

My brothers are twins, and I was born 2 years later. We thought it was amazing how much the oldest twin and I look alike! We were asked many times if we are sure we aren't triplets. (we aren't).

 

The resembelance between Scott and I is really very cool! I'll post a picture of us standing together so you can all see. I also share many of the same personality traits and mannerisms with Scott and Kevin. (Kevin and I are both leftys, how odd)

 

Ok, I realize this post has nothing to do with my review, but I had so many kind comments from you that I thought I would at least let you know how it went.

 

Here are a few pics of me and my brothers.

 

Scott, Me, and Kevin

 

 

 

Scott and me:

 

Look at our necks, chins, mouths, cheeks, noses and eyes. We also have the same very thin graying hair (mine's dyed). AMAZING!!!

 

 

 

 

 

OK, now that that is out of the way............BACK TO THE REVIEW!!!!!

[mountainbreeze]

MAY 7 - TURNAROUND DAY - MIAMI

 

 

Tim and I were up at 6:30. We just couldn't sleep in, we tried! The first thing I did was grab my cell phone and turn it on. Next I went out on the balcony to see where we were. We had already pulled into the port of Miami. There was one ship already in port, and the Liberty pulled in just after we woke up.

 

 

We took pictures of the sunrise in Miami, and we checked our email. It was too early to call anyone.

 

GOOD MORNING MIAMI!!

 

 

 

By 7:45 we were both showered and dressed, and we went up to the Lido deck to the breakfast buffet. We took our trays back to our cabin, and ate breakfast on our balcony.

 

 

We said goodbye to our neighbors when they came out on their balcony, and exchanged email addresses with them.

 

 

I went back inside the cabin and got our documents ready to take with us to the Paladium Theatre.

 

 

Tim called his mom. I texted 2 of my sons, but they were sleeping and didn't answer. I called my sister, she always wakes up early.

 

 

At 9:30 we took our documents (passports, boarding pass, customs forms, S & S cards, drivers licenses...) and went down to thePaladium Theatre. I was surprised to find that Norma and Brian were the only ones there. I thought more people would be doing a back-to-back.

 

 

Norma, Brian and Tim waiting in the Paladium:

 

 

 

There were a few other people in there, some extra crew members who needed customs clearance for the next cruise, and some of the crew's families.

 

 

Norma helped me fill out my customs form. We waited about 15-20 minutes, and one of the Officer's came told us she would escourt us off the ship, thru customs, and back on again.

It went very fast and within 15-20 minutes, we were back on the ship. Only one thing, they handed us our new sail & sign cards, and Tim's card and my card were blue. I asked if we could have gold cards, and the officer said we should go to the guest services desk anytime after 12 noon. No problem!

 

Tim and I walked around the empty ship and took pictures. It was nice, just us and some crew who were all busy cleaning. We had the ship to ourselves for almost 2 hours.

 

For the most part, I liked the ships decor. I loved the marble floors:

 

 

 

 

Here is the Lido deck which was empty except for a few crewmembers who were cleaning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bar on the lido deck:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mountainbreeze]

MAY 7 - TURNAROUND DAY - MIAMI CONTINUED:

 

The tables and chairs in the shade on the lido deck.

 

 

 

 

The Lido deck lunch buffet was being set up:

 

 

 

 

 

Looking down on the Adults Only- Serenity deck from the top deck.

 

 

 

 

 

And the bar area on the Adults only - Serenity deck.

 

 

 

 

I took a few pics of our room since it was very clean that day:

 

 

 

 

[mountainbreeze]

MAY 7 - TURNAROUND DAY - MIAMI CONTINUED:

 

 

 

 

Our bathroom:

 

 

 

And our shower

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we noticed a few people beginning to make their way to the Lido deck, Tim and I went to the deli and ordered sandwiches.

 

 

 

 

Turkey on a country roll, YUM!!

 

 

 

 

We made our way to the Guest Services desk and changed our blue cards to gold ones, and we grabbed a FUN TIMES for the day. We hadn't gotten one for today on our bed last night.

 

 

All the people boarding were finding their way around, and the ship was getting crowded in the public areas. They wouldn’t allow anyone in their rooms until 1:30, but Tim and I wanted to go back to our cabin. We used the stairs because the elevators were set to only go from the lobby deck to the lido deck until 1:30. We found one of the hallway doors that led to our rooms was unlocked, and we quickly walked back to our cabin. There was no one in the hallways, all the stewards must have been cleaning cabins. Back in our cabin, we spent some time texting and talking to all of our family and friends.

 

 

At 1:30 we could hear noise in the hallway as people were finally allowed to go to their rooms. I was happy for them, I remembered how happy I was the day we boarded and got to go look for our cabin for the first time.

 

 

We wondered who our new neighbors were going to be. ( We only saw our new neighbors on the right one time in the hallway later that first day. We never saw them again the entire cruise. The neighbors on the left side, we never saw.)

 

 

Around 2:00 there was a knock at our cabin door, and it was a crewmember delivering a bottle of wine and a basket of fruit! The card said this was a gift from the Carnival hotel director! When I checked with Norma later, she said they got the same thing delivered to their cabin. It must be a B-2-B gift. How nice!!

 

 

 

 

 

We did see Y that afternoon, and he regretfully told us we would need to go to the muster drill at 3:30 even though we had gone last week. No big deal, we remembered how painless that last one was.

 

 

At 3:30 we went down 2 flights of stairs and out to the outer deck for our muster drill. It was the same as the one 5 days ago, and it only lasted 15-20 minutes tops. Back to our cabin, Tim and I wanted to watch sailaway from our balcony this time. Last Miami sailaway we were on the back top deck with our new friends. This made us think of Sandra and Hameed, who had gotten off the ship that morning. We missed them already!

 

 

The Liberty left before we did, and as they pulled past us, we had a horn blowing contest with them. I loved it, and everyone on both ships were cheering and waving!

 

See all the people on the top decks? There were also many people on their balconies:

 

 

 

 

 

 

About 5:00-5:15 we followed Liberty out of port, and when we got out to open sea again, Tim and I got ready to eat in the MDR.

 

 

At 6:00, we walked into the dining room, and we were greeted by the hostess who took us to Achmed at our same little perfect booth for two by the side wall! YAY! We got to keep our table! We got to keep Achmed! We had asked Achmed if he could get us this table again for the second cruise, and he did! Perfect! He took such good care of us, with quick service. He always took the time to stop and chat with us several times during our meal, and he checked on us often while we ate.

 

 

Tonight, he already had Tim's coffee cup full, and we were munching on fresh hot rolls and butter before we knew it.

 

 

For dinner I ate pork chops, and Tim had Chicken and & Pasta. We skipped dessert. We were full and happy!

 

 

After dinner we went to the gift shop, and bought 3 cartons of cigarettes for me. Marlboro Reds - 3 cartons were $80.75 (WHAT A DEAL!) We would have bought more but we were told we could only take one carton per person off the ship.

 

 

Back in our cabin, we were surprised to meet Amung, (pronounced Ah-moon ) who came in to tell us that Y had been moved up to the 8th floor, and that he, Amung, would be our cabin steward for the week. What??!! We were devastated! What would we do without Y?? He had been taking such good care of us, fresh towels, bed turned down, our little cooler filled with ice twice daily. OH NO!!

 

 

We didn't let Amung know how sad we were to lose Y. We didn't want to hurt his feelings, but over the next 5 days Amung would prove to be just as good, if not better, than Y.

 

 

I can’t say enough about how well we were treated by all of the carnival crewmembers. We were greeted with a smile or a "hello" by EVERY SINGLE crewmember or staff member or officer we passed in the hallways, or anywhere on the ship (It must wear them out to greet every passenger they see all day long!) We were treated very well by every Carnival employee we came in contact with. We thought Carnival gave us superior treatment and service the whole time we were on the ship and in their care.

 

 

I was really impressed by Carnival, as was Tim. We would miss Y, but we were going to give Amung a fair chance.

 

 

Amung gave us our FUN TIMES for tomorrow, which would be a sea day.

It was this night when I finally read the little piece of paper that I had picked up in the internet cafe a few days earlier. I realized I could access Carnival's free website and forum for free FROM MY CABIN on my own laptop, and I wouldn't need to make the nightly trip to the Internet cafe anymore. Nice! Too bad I hadn't discovered this sooner! It became very convenient to message Christina after that.

 

 

That night, Tim and I wanted to see the WELCOME ABOARD show in the Paladium Theatre. It didn't start until 10:30, so we had a little time to kill before the show. I was excited to go to this show, I had seen the previous weeks show played on the TV all last cruise, and I was sorry I missed it.

 

 

We went up to the Lido deck to look for some dessert, and then we went to the Paladuim a little early to find seats for the WELCOME ABOARD show.

 

 

I loved the show! It was appropriately cheesy, it was entertaining and it was also funny! There was singing and dancing, a silly game played with a few of the passengers, and 2 comedians. (Sit in the balcony if you don’t want to get picked on! Anyone down in the lower level was fair game to get picked on)

 

 

Steve White, one of the comedians, was SO FUNNY, that Tim and I made a point to find out when his adult only show was that week.

 

 

We FINALLY got to see more of Noonan, our cruise director! We had seen him on TV a lot on the Carnival channels, and we had seen him once at the beginning of the last cruise at the FUN ABOARD & FUN ASHORE talk. Noonan did most of tonights show, and I enjoyed his humor. He was very funny.

 

 

My one complaint from tonights show, was the people who walked in to the show late, and took their sweet time trying to find seats. Several times, my view of the show was blocked because of latecomers, and I thought it was rude of them.

 

 

After the show, Tim and I went up to the Lido deck so I could get an ice cream cone, and we were back in our cabin by 11:30. My goodness, such a late night for us!!

 

 

I downloaded pictures from the day, we watched TV, and we were both asleep by 12:30. We could try to sleep in again tomorrow, it was a sea day!

[cruisenanny]

Just want to tell you that this is an AWESOME review, very well done!

 

Most of all congrats on your marriage & finding your brothers!!

 

Your pics are great to see, the Destiny holds a special place in my heart. I met my hubby when I was a single mom of 2 & we were married in jan of 2000. The Destiny was our family honeymoon & the kids first cruise, very special times....:)