It was our Destiny to enjoy the Sunshine. Journeys Cruise Review

[NWACruiser]

3 hours ago, mvaughn11 said:

Wonderful review! What kind of camera were you using?

 

I use a Canon T5i camera with an 18-135 mm lens and a 70-250 mm lens for dry photography and a Nikon Coolpix AW-130 camera for my wet photography.  

Edited February 21, 2019 by NWACruiser

[NWACruiser]

Amber Cove

 

 

We had a good night cruising at nearly 24 knots through 10 foot waves.  The ship had a slow steady rock throughout the evening and night.  It actually helped me get to sleep.  We were originally scheduled to arrive at 7:30 and depart at 3:30.  The situation from yesterday evening put a delay on the events. 

 

We had lunch in the MDR today.  When  we made it to the Lido deck, the towel animals had raided the place.

 

 

We made it to Amber Cove  about two hours late.  We docked about 9:45 in the morning.  We were then scheduled to leave at 5:00.  The entire day had to be rescheduled.  The Entertainment Director had to do a lot of work to change the events for the day.

 

 

 

As we rolled into Amber Cove, the Nieuw Statendam was in port.   They were docked on the west side, and we docked on the east side.   (This is important information for later.) 

 

 

The surf was up.   

 

It may have looked calm inside the bay...

 

But it was not.

 

The dock is a long way out from shore.  It seemed like we walked forever to get there...

 

Amber Cove is a beautiful spot.  It is mountainous and green.  Carnival Corporation essentially built a port in a narrow bay.  The room to maneuver is not wide like other ports.   

 

 

Some cabanas were out in the water.

 

 

 

The zip line was short.

 

It looked like fun though.

 

Cabanas were available for rent.  (They sell out quickly.)

 

There was no beach available, but there was a pool.

 

 

Amber Cove got its name for the high concentration of amber present.

 

 

 

 

They had a place to shop, also.

 

The entrance to the port.

 

Trying to swim?

 

 

A good view of the port.

 

 

Back on ship, our day was nearing the end.  We grabbed a bite on the Lido deck for lunch.  I took some time to once again search for the proverbial coin.   I still had no luck.

 

There was a time in the evening I wished I had the camera.  We were getting ready for dinner.  I was ready.  I did not take my camera to the forward deck to watch us depart.  I was not sure who was going first, and I was not planning on taking the camera to dinner.

 

The Holland America ship had the first shot at getting out.  It was interesting to say the least.   There was a strong east wind and rough seas, so there was a big current in the bay.  The closest thing I would say is rip tides.

 

The Nieuw Statendam started to leave the port.  It was obviously struggling to stay inside the narrow channel.  The pilot boat was trying to keep it inside the marker, but was failing.  The captain even pointed the ship eastward and gunned it, but went through a channel marker on the port side.  

 

The pilot boat was on the port side pushing as hard as it could to keep the ship from hitting the reef.  I was sure they hit the reef.  They made it out.  It was time to head to dinner, but I was not sure if we were going to be cleared to leave, given the other ship's issues.

 

What was said by a passenger on the Nieuw Statendam.

 

We left during dinner, and it was obvious we struggled to get out.  

 

Once we made it out, the seas were rough and we were trying to make up lost time at 23 knots.  The evening activities included the usual Promenade deck stuff.  The good thing about the ship rocking was you could use the excuse it was the ship that made me stagger.  We closed the ship again.

 

[NWACruiser]

Sea Day 5

It was our last day at sea.  The cruise was ending tomorrow.  That means today is packing day!   We woke up to very rough seas, and it looked like it could start pouring any moment.  Today was also Sea Day Brunch.  We sat down for brunch, and it started to storm something crazy.  It was not going to be a nice day to go onto the open decks.  

 

We started to pack early and completed quite a bit yesterday, but we had a lot to pack today.   After brunch, we started to pack.  We did have an early VIP meet and greet with the participants of the VIP show and the cast.  We stopped packing to go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While we were in the meet and greet, the Captain made the decision to go past the Bahamas into the open Atlantic Ocean instead of going up the coastal area.  It was a great decision.  The skies cleared, and the water was calm.  It was a smooth ride back to Port Canaveral.

 

 

 

 

I made one last search for the coin and had no luck in the process. While heading back to the cabin, I saw people preparing balloons for the drop later.  Before you blow one up, you slip your name and cabin number in the balloon.  There was going to be a prize giveaway.  I had to do a few for us.

 

 

 

 

Looking down the Atrium from the Lido Deck

 

The Atrium

 

 

Atrium Bar

 

 

 

Warehouse Arcade

 

 

 

Red Frog Rum Bar

 

 

 

Ocean Plaza 

 

Alchemy Bar

 

Nicky Bingo Pixie

 

Sunrise Dining Room

 

Our Table is the second one from the front.

 

Our table when we were on the Destiny.

 

Limelight Lounge

 

View from the side.

 

 

 

 

 

We discovered that the ship’s coin was at Serenity but is not easy to find.  We searched all over but still could not find it.  I walked right passed it, looked down, and there it was. 

 

The Coin

 

Dinner tonight was really good.  The crew had ironed out the issues they had in the beginning and everything went smooth.    After dinner, we made our way to the Atrium to watch the balloon drop.

 

 

 

 

 

Mikey was pumping up the crowd.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the balloon drop, we headed to the Back to the 50's Show.

 

 

[NWACruiser]

The Back to the 50's Show involved the cast, other crew members, and passengers.  We found a spot to watch the show that gave us better access for photography.  The cast did the opening number.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Elvis impersonators were crew members.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Passengers made up the Glee Club.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Passengers also performed with the cast members for the dance routines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the show was over, we completed packing and placed our luggage in the hall.  As we were placing them in the hall, the porters came down the hall and retrieved them.

 

Now it was time to enjoy our last night on the ship.  I headed to the Ocean Plaza to catch RB and the Sunshine Band.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did not close the ship tonight.  We needed to get up early to get ready to debark the Carnival Sunshine.

 

We woke up about 7:00 AM and, even though we were cruising 23 – 24 knots, we were still at sea.  We could see the entrance to Port Canaveral.  We entered the port about 7:15. We went to the Lido deck to grab a bite before heading to our debarkation spot.  While eating, we watched the ship get into the port.  There seemed to be issues while trying to dock.  It was after 8:00 before we were tethered to the dock.  In the meantime, we headed to the Limelight Lounge to wait. 

 

It was in the 50’s outside and we were not prepared for the colder weather.  It was cold in the lounge also.  After a while we went to the library where it was a little warmer.  About 9:30, we were cleared to debark the Sunshine.  It took some time to get off the ship, clear customs, locate our luggage, and get out of the terminal to get onto a bus to head to the airport.  We left Port Canaveral around 11:00. 

 

We arrived at Orlando International Airport about 12:00.  Our flights were intentionally booked for after 2:00 and we were not going to have any problems making them.  Our flights were smooth, and we had no issues getting home.  We arrived at XNA to see it had snowed.  It was reality telling us “Welcome home!”

 

[NWACruiser]

We were in cabin 7160.  It is an inside cabin. 

 

 

 

We had a great set of stewards that worked together to manage the cabins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Several crew members were a lot of fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall the Sunshine is a better ship than the Destiny.  There were parts of the ship that are not easy to navigate.  The cabins in the new Serenity decks are poorly aligned.  The Sunrise will have a better configuration.

 

The Lido deck is much better and open with the changes.

 

The Limelight Lounge needs to be rearranged to remove the stage out in the middle of the floor to a corner so everyone can see.

 

The floor of the Liquid Lounge does not have permanent seating.  This is interesting because each show can have the floor arranged to make it more interactive with the audience.  The drawback to the design is a lack of tables on the floor.

 

The Ocean Plaza does not have a bar.  You must go to the Alchemy bar or the Red Frog Rum Bar to get a drink.  Service was spotty in the lounge.  

 

If the Limelight Lounge was in use, one cannot traverse the Mezzanine (deck 4) from front to back.  If they redesign the lounge, they need to take that into consideration.

 

The Havana Bar was well designed.  Adding JiJi's and Cucina del Capitano to the area was great.  

 

Serenity is very nice.  They could make deck 14 have the old rules back when we were on the Destiny.  

 

They are getting refrigerators into the cabins.  Our cabin had one, even though the ship's details said it did not.

 

The additional passengers that the Destiny dd not have did not make any difference.  I thought the ship was not that crowded.  

 

 

 

 

Edited February 25, 2019 by NWACruiser

[schazzy]

Thank you so much more the review of the ship and the ports! Only 61 days to go for us!

[NWACruiser]

Here are a few pictures of the Old Destiny

 

Lido Deck had a pavilion with live music, and other stuff.  Image looking forward.

 

Lido deck looking forward.

 

Lido deck looking aft.  The tail deck was adults only.  It was sans-top.

 

Multiple hot tubs were by the pool.

 

Looking down the side of the pavilion.

 

Swim up bar in the pool.  

 

Lounge where music and comedians went on stage.  Aft section of the Promenade deck.  This area is now cabins.

 

Atrium bar was rectangular and had an area for a band to play.

 

Aft dining room.

 

 

Edited February 28, 2019 by NWACruiser

[NWACruiser]

As  part of the Journeys cruise they had the old Carnival Capers.

Carnival Capers.pdf

Edited March 4, 2019 by NWACruiser

[BALCONETTE]

Really enjoyed your review!! Loved seeing the old pics on Destiny!

[NWACruiser]

On 3/14/2019 at 4:30 PM, BALCONETTE said:

Really enjoyed your review!! Loved seeing the old pics on Destiny!

Thanks