Opinions wanted

[uscgjoker]

I am looking at three different cruises,

 

Carnival Destiny- Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman

Carnival Sensation- Freeport and Nassau

Carnival Glory- Nassau, St Thomas, and St Marteen

 

Would you please provide inside on each of these cruises as far as,

 

Your experiences

What the port is like

Is it worth it

Which one should I choose

 

This is kinda like you get to choose my cruise for me!

[sunlover5]

Glory--have not been on her, but out of the ports like those the best! Love St. Martin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[phinfan63]

I am looking at three different cruises,

 

Carnival Destiny- Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman

Carnival Sensation- Freeport and Nassau

Carnival Glory- Nassau, St Thomas, and St Marteen

 

Would you please provide inside on each of these cruises as far as,

 

Your experiences

What the port is like

Is it worth it

Which one should I choose

 

This is kinda like you get to choose my cruise for me!

 

Have not been on any of those particular ships but I prefer the Jamaica/Grand Cayman itinerary. St Thomas is great but I would be fine if I never went back to the Bahamas.

[uscgjoker]

Thank you!

[mrsfuzzmo]

Skip the Sensation itinerary.

 

The other two, well it really depends on what you want to do in port.

 

Shopping, sightseeing, beach: St. Thomas/Maarten

 

Party, adventure, watersports: Cayman and Ocho.

[uscgjoker]

For me its all about discovering scuba (unless I can get my open water) and probably shopping for my wife!

[sjcruiser]

I was on the Glory in August and loved the ship. I had a balcony cabin mid-ship on the Empress DEck. It was the perfect location to get around the ship. I did the Ochos Rios/Caymans Itinerary on the Imagination in 2006. It was my first cruise and was a great trip. I'm also looking at the Glory again for the Nassau, St. Thomas/Maarten Itinerary for August 09, along with RC (Liberty of Seas) and Carnival (Miracle and Freedom). On the Glory this past August Freeport was a total waste of time. A lot of people got off the ship and went to the vendors at the pier. We were trying to decide whether to pay to go into town or not and several couples told us to save our money, do our shopping from the pier and enjoy an empty ship. Several families and couple who went into town, were disappointed when they came back. If there was another port along with Freeport and Nassau, I would go if the price was right, just to get to Atlantis. The day the ship would be in Freeport would be a lazy day hitting the gym, empty whirlpools, laying on deck in the sun and hitting the buffet.

[yearnin4cruisin]

I would choose in the reverse order of what you have listed. I've been to all of those ports except Freeport and with the exception of Ocho Rios, loved them. You can't go wrong in the Bahamas, St. Thomas, or St Maartin if you love clear blue water on sandy beaches and shopping. In Nassau the shopping starts right off the pier, same with St. Thomas, though the main drag is a short hike or quick taxi away. You have to tender in for St. Maartin. If you like shore excursions, all three of those have some great choices, but you can always take a cab to the beach or just wander around. Grand Cayman is also beautiful port.

[valancy1]

I am looking at three different cruises,

 

Carnival Destiny- Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman

Carnival Sensation- Freeport and Nassau

Carnival Glory- Nassau, St Thomas, and St Marteen

 

Would you please provide inside on each of these cruises as far as,

 

Your experiences

What the port is like

Is it worth it

Which one should I choose

 

This is kinda like you get to choose my cruise for me!

 

We just returned from Grand Cayman and Jamaica. Grand Cayman has great shopping and snorkeling--check out the roll call boards.

 

Jamaica has the falls and tubing and other things to do as well as some shopping but not as great as Grand Cayman. You'll hear negatives about Jamaica, but it's what you make of it and if you go on a tour, you won't have any problems. We had a great time there.

 

 

I've not been on the Destiny yet, but in about 6 weeks we will be.

 

That's my .02 cents. :)

[viciouslysh]

The Caymans are nice but given a choice I'd pick the Glory's itinerary. The ports are beautiful. St. Thomas & St. Maarten are the best. Nassau wasn't even so bad. We stayed on board once and went to Atlantis once. Beach was very nice.

[MiddleEarth]

I have sailed on Destiny and honestly, I wouldn't sail on Destiny again. I was very disappointed.

 

It was not the same itinerary as you note (it was eastern Caribbean.) I was very very disappointed. Meals in the main dining room were satisfactory, and dining room staff were very nice but the general impression I had of the crew outside teh dining room was that they were more concerned with chatting among themselves rather than doing what they should have been doing. I was disgusted at how dirty dishes and empty beer can and bottles I saw left beside the main elevators at at 8:00 AM were still there when I passed by there later - at 1:45 PM.

 

Food in the casual dining areas would have been perfectly acceptable at Shoney's but far below my expectations.

 

In all honesty, if the Destiny is indicative or representative of the Carnival line, I will pass. I will stick with Celebrity and some of the other higher quality line.

[tag319]

I just got off the Destiny Monday (yesterday) morning. I would not recommend this ship to anyone. It was a huge let down in every area and I am not that hard to please. I will post an in depth review later this week as soon as I get caught up at work. Please do yourself a favor and book another ship.

[pba20493]

Ive been on the Glory 3 times. 1 Western and 2 times to St Thomas, St Martin, Nassau. Honestly, I could do without Nassau, but the other ports are to die for. Great snorkling/diving. Great shopping. The ship is awesome, crew is even better. That would be my choice again.

 

Hope this helps ya out.

 

Tim

[falkcor]

I just got off the Destiny Monday (yesterday) morning. I would not recommend this ship to anyone. It was a huge let down in every area and I am not that hard to please. I will post an in depth review later this week as soon as I get caught up at work. Please do yourself a favor and book another ship.

 

in response to the above comment, and similar ones therein, i don't understand, still, the negative comments regarding destiny.

 

i was on destiny 9/27/08-10/02/08, to ocho rios and grand cayman, and had an absolute blast.

 

dunns river falls and then the sky explorer to mystic mountain, followed by stingray city tour and scuba diving via moby dick tours in grand cayman. all were excellent.

 

and destiny is a fine ship, service was exceptional, and i couldn't take cause with anything, truly. i like to think i'm a rational and logical individual. and when i read some of these comments (as i did previous to the cruise, which i found totally unfounded), i only wonder... who are you people?

[jaycee200]

I'm with the people who say to "skip the sensation" unless you have your heart set on going to Atlantis... Grand Cayman is my favorite port (Sting Rays with Captn Bryan :) ), so that one definitely is getting my vote!

[Payd]

I'd pick the Glory - St Maarten is awesome!

[pandaruth27]

I would pick the Glory as that is my favorite ship at this time. Been on it three times one Western to Cozumel, and Grand Caymen I think it was nice. The eastern route is better it seems more laid back and it is very pictureous (sorry about my spelling). St. Thomas is nice as it has a great shopping center and it has a zoo called Coral World which has Helmet Diving which was great. So far St. Martin is my favorite port of call. They have this chocolate shop in Phillipsburg called THE CHOCOLATE BOX on old street with excellent chocolate. The snorkling is great here too. I can do without the Bahamas stops but i know the ships have to restock so i normally just go to senor frogs and eat then get back on board. Well I hope I helped you. also it is easy to get around the ship, always clean, crewmembers are excellent with guest and keeping the place nice.

 

Pam

[Irie]

if you're wanting to dive, cayman is still a good place to dive.

i've never dove jamaica, but i know people that like it.

i like jamaica and cayman, anyway!

 

good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

the worst cruise beats a good day at work!!

[Irie]

if you're wanting to dive, cayman is still a good place to dive.

i've never dove jamaica, but i know people that like it.

i like jamaica and cayman, anyway!

 

good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

the worst cruise beats a good day at work!!

[Kurbanfan]

if you're wanting to dive, cayman is still a good place to dive.

i've never dove jamaica, but i know people that like it.

i like jamaica and cayman, anyway!

 

good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

the worst cruise beats a good day at work!!

 

I agree! Op Cayman is the best for diving. We have friends that fly down a few times a year just to dive.........

[uscgjoker]

Thank you everyone for your posts. My wife mentioned she would love to dive an see shipwrecks which St. Maarten's discover scuba offers. I have now narrowed it down to the Triumph and Glory both going to St. Thomas and St. Maarten's, the only real difference is the first port is either Nassau or San Juan.

[hopfme]

I went to San Juan last year and loved it!