**Destiny Unknown** HMC, Grand Turk, Nassau 9/5-9/10/2011

[Froufie]

Here's the one-pager Room Service Menu. Look for it in your "pile o' papers" left in your cabin on embarkation day. If I hadnt looked at all of the papers I would have missed it, as hfweather mentioned below. It just said "good to know" on one side.

 

Froufie-NO binder in the room at all! I searched high and low.

 

Thanks for the 'room service' menu in its 'new format'? Guess the binder has gone the way of the shrimp cocktail? Wonder why? (guess I can figure out the phone wake up call option on my own? :) )...

 

As for the alligator fritters rumor has it that Carnival has not yet received their supply of 'gator and the fritters are actually calamari fritters (in disguise?). Seems unless you ask they won't tell!

[DEBnGAB]

Thanks for the 'room service' menu in its 'new format'? Guess the binder has gone the way of the shrimp cocktail? Wonder why? (guess I can figure out the phone wake up call option on my own? :) )...

 

As for the alligator fritters rumor has it that Carnival has not yet received their supply of 'gator and the fritters are actually calamari fritters (in disguise?). Seems unless you ask they won't tell!

 

 

Oh really? Well that wouldnt surprise me about the calamari then! :rolleyes: Because it was terribly chewy and in no way like the gator nuggets I had in FLL. Good to know!!!!!

 

But yikes, what if someone has an allergy? Probably be a good idea to let folks know what is really in the food :o

 

I was afraid I might toss the menu along with all the other papers they give...i liked the binder.

[DEBnGAB]

Cruise Critic Roll Call Party-

 

I mentioned earlier that we had an awesome Roll Call!

We all did a Meet n Greet at 3:00pm on Sailway Day at the Aft bar and had a great turnout!

Lee (Aussiegirl) arranged our 1-hour cocktail party held on Day 2-Sea Day in the Piano Bar. It was $11.44/pp and no shortage of drinks at all! Thanks Lee!!

We also arranged a gift exchange. Each person brought something from their region, we drew numbers to grab gifts, stealing allowed, etc. It truly was a blast! I brought Blue Diamond Almonds, as the growers and packing plant are headquartered here in Sacramento. Gabby brought "Space Noodles" which was pasta in the shape of the Space Needle.

I will say that most nights were spend hanging with my CC friends either in the Casino, Piano Bar or Martini Bar. We had tons of those "had to be there moments", so many that a few of us were hoarse from laughter by the end of the cruise. I wont mention who's hubby it was, but someone there was someone we nicknamed "Mr Busy Hands" :eek::D Hilarious!

Here is a link to our Destiny Unknown Album..but I will post some of the pics here too.

http://photobucket.com/Destiny_Unknown_CC_Group

 

 

Lee made us all name tags...Check out the date...Guess someone started with the DOD's a few days early!

 

Group Picture:

 

Drinks!

 

 

Lee handing out the numbers for the gifts:

[sk8rpatty]

Loving the recap of our cruise!:):):)

 

That's right, you were on this cruise too! It is a small world. Looks like you guys had a blast. I'm so jealous! I can't wait to see the HMC photos. The one cruise I was supposed to go had it cancelled due to weather. We got Freeport instead. :mad:

[jdvmd]

It was an 8A category but apparently it would have been an additional upgrade of $40/pp/pday, but was a free upgrade during a past guest special.

 

 

Thanks! It looks like a great cabin!

[DEBnGAB]

Don (DGP111) with his cable car bottle opener..we wont tell anyone that he almost ended up with Bath n Body works stuff. lol! EDIT: Don Your picture wont rotate in Photbucket! Sorry buddy....you'll have to just be sideways. lol!

 

 

I got a Pepperoni Roll!

 

 

Summer got my gift of Almonds and a Sacramento Cookie:

 

 

MMM...Goo Goo clusters!

 

**Sorry for the sideways pics! They are correct in Photobucket :(

[Cruise_Q]

wow good job with the review and pics...and good idea with the gift exchange...

could you tell me more about the party that was arranged? I would have loved to have something like that for my past two cruises :(

[DEBnGAB]

wow good job with the review and pics...and good idea with the gift exchange...

could you tell me more about the party that was arranged? I would have loved to have something like that for my past two cruises :(

 

Hi and thank you!

 

More to come...writing about the ports tonight. I believe Lee contacted Group Services at Carnival about it a few months ahead of time. We said it was for a Birthday Party, as we heard they frown upon Cruise Critic groups ( not sure why). You'd need at least 20 people and its $11.44 for open bar for 1 hour in a private room. They charged Lee's S&S card and we all paid her in advance. It was a lot of fun and I know I had more than $11.44's worth!

[Anung Un Rama]

Deb, loving the review so far. Can't wait for the HMC pictures. We'll be there in just 15 days :D

[DEBnGAB]

Deb, loving the review so far. Can't wait for the HMC pictures. We'll be there in just 15 days :D

 

 

Just finished dinner and working on those next...:D

[cmorie]

Thanks for your review. Loving it!

[DEBnGAB]

Although our first stop was Grand Turk, I am going to roll right into the Half Moon Cay pictures first!!

Day 3-Half Moon Cay

We grabbed Cabana 11 and 12, reserved them online in April and May I believe. Lee and Sherrie from our Roll Call got 7 and 10, so it was nice having a few in a row to do some Cabana hopping! As the day wore on, the sea of people around Cabanas 1-5 grew quite a bit. We walked down there and then walked back. No Cabana squatters…yay! Except Sherrie in #7 had folks arranging chairs to block her walkway and had their backpack on her deck while she was over talking to me and Lee. She went over and took care of that.

The night before, the ship dropped from 19 knots to 10 knots very quickly. Not sure what happened, didn’t hear any codes…but we were running about 30 minutes late to HMC the next morning. We all met up in the Lobby around 9:00am and we were still about 20-30 minutes out.

Tendering Process: If you have a cabana, they instructed us to go right to Deck 1. If you were Platinum, go right up to the Concierge line and they will escort you down to Deck 0. If you have neither, you go to the Palladium Show Lounge for a tender ticket. Due to our Cabanas and then I also took a few with me through Platinum, we were on the 2nd tender. From what I was told, the tender tickets were out almost 2 hours.I didn’t have a watch on, but from start to finish, we were in our Cabana’s by 10:15am.

Basically the Cabanas were our day….2 other people in our party had Horseback Riding planned, but the rest of us just wanted to relax.

The weather was amazing! Hot, yes but clear skies!

Welcome to paradise!!!

 

Cabana 11....restrooms located behind.

 

Cabana 12

 

View from the Left towards Cabanas 1-5 and the Ship Bar:

 

 

View to the slight right and in front of our Cabana :)

 

[DEBnGAB]

On the Approach.....

 

Pulling in.... and Kids Area.

 

Walking down towards the Cabanas..

 

 

The Shipwreck Bar:

[Crazy4Koko]

Hi Deb!

 

I don't know if you remember, but we're leaving on the Destiny..well...soon!!

 

 

Your friend Sherri didn't leave anything in the cabin, did she? :D

 

 

And...um.... love the pics of your cabin..and really want to see 6363? Yes, I know its just like yours....but no couch... :(

 

 

at least with one lounger, I can sleep out there if hubby's snoring keeps me up!! :)

 

You're getting me way too excited for next week!

[DEBnGAB]

Watersports Rental Area...next to the Ship Bar:

 

 

 

Lee on her floatie!

 

Don's Cabana for 1!

 

[Anung Un Rama]

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the HMC pics. Not helping this 11 day wait go by any faster. I think we're going to go for somewhere in the 11-12 range, the higher the better.

[DEBnGAB]

Hi Deb!

 

I don't know if you remember, but we're leaving on the Destiny..well...soon!!

 

 

Your friend Sherri didn't leave anything in the cabin, did she? :D

 

 

And...um.... love the pics of your cabin..and really want to see 6363? Yes, I know its just like yours....but no couch... :(

 

 

at least with one lounger, I can sleep out there if hubby's snoring keeps me up!! :)

 

You're getting me way too excited for next week!

 

Yes Hi Lisa! I couldnt remember if you had 6336 or 6363. I'll ask Sherrie if she took any of 6363..i thought I did but I dont see the pics. Guess I didnt :(

 

Well, you could have had a new Mastercard if you had 6371..lol! I left a credit card in the room.

 

The lounger out on the balcony is GREAT for naps!! I hope you guys have a great time!. Also, I posted on your thread about the bugs in HMC.

[DEBnGAB]

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the HMC pics. Not helping this 11 day wait go by any faster. I think we're going to go for somewhere in the 11-12 range, the higher the better.

 

Hi Chris..Thanks! Youve been there before right? I cant recall...

 

I've got some HMC food pics coming right up!

[IslandToIsland]

Pre-Cruise Fort Lauderdale: We flew in on Sat Sept 3 for some pre-cruise fun. SAS Transportation came through and they are awesome! We all stayed at the Marriott Beach Place in Fort Lauderdale, on the beach. I booked 3 condos there...each 1200sq. ft, 2 bedroom/2 bath, balconies,etc. It was incredible! By splitting the cost with everyone, it was very affordable. The location was great as we had restaurants and bars right below us on the same block...LuLu's Bait Shack, Fat Tuesday, Sopranos Piano Bar...ok yea, all touristy but so much fun! Couldnt have asked for a better start to the vacation! Here are a few pics:

 

190 Octanes (??) from Fat Tuesday. Me and Erman

 

 

Ok....that shirt is the best! lol I love it.

[patrice1]

Weird coincidences - had cabin 6371 last October & cabana 11! Loved both! On Destiny again this December and reading your review is like a reminder of our first on Destiny. 4 day in April we had aft-wrap 8333 and loved it, but couldn't refuse early saver deal for suite in December. Had aft-wrap booked, but OS was less by $100 after 4 months, so we made the move!:D Thanks for the review & pics! Ahhhhh....memories & the chance to go again!

[DEBnGAB]

Ok....that shirt is the best! lol I love it.

 

..and if you knew this guy, it fits his personality so well!!! :p:p Its a great shirt!

[DEBnGAB]

Weird coincidences - had cabin 6371 last October & cabana 11! Loved both! On Destiny again this December and reading your review is like a reminder of our first on Destiny. 4 day in April we had aft-wrap 8333 and loved it, but couldn't refuse early saver deal for suite in December. Had aft-wrap booked, but OS was less by $100 after 4 months, so we made the move!:D Thanks for the review & pics! Ahhhhh....memories & the chance to go again!

 

 

I love it!! I guess we both have good tastes in cabins AND cabanas ;)

 

Wow enjoy your suite in Dec!!!

[DGP1111]

Enjoying the review you've posted. You have a way with words that makes me feel like I was actually there. :D :D :D

.

.

[DEBnGAB]

Ok, time for lunch!!!

 

The BBQ was delicious! They had shaded picnic areas around but we loaded up our plates and brought the food back to the cabana.

 

See the Menu and BBQ/Food Pavilion below:

 

 

 

Menu...the Jerk Chicken is great!

 

 

Salad and Side dish area:

 

 

Lunch in the Cabana:

 

Snack spread included with the cabana. Tostitos, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, veggies/ranch and sliced fruit. We didnt finish the snacks! :o

We got a cooler w/ice and drinks as well as a smaller bucket of ice.

 

[DEBnGAB]

Enjoying the review you've posted. You have a way with words that makes me feel like I was actually there. :D :D :D

.

.

 

Thanks Don!!

 

Well, I hope you feel like you were actually there ;);)

 

More to come!!