First Cruise Review-Destiny Oct 20-25

[posingcarrot]

This isn't going to be one of the long wonderful reviews that I have seen on this board, but I did want to give a short review with the high lights and low lights of our trip. Maybe some of my information can help someone else out.

 

Like I said this was our first cruise and will definitely not be our last! We loved being on the ship and being able to visit three different places in one vacation.

 

The Ship

We don't really have anything to compare the Destiny to like some of the others might but we were impressed with the ship especially after reading some of the awful reviews that were posted before we left. I felt like the ship was clean at all times and the crew was wonderful. The big screen that they just put up on the Lido deck could be used in a more pratical way we thought. I wondered why they didn't set up a camera on the band playing and display it on the big screen. Instead the live band would play and they would play random videos on the screen without the music that went along with them. It was nice to be able to sit out at night and watch videos or movies. Our room was larger than I expected with plenty of room to unpack all of our belongings and really be comfortable. We had a room on the Riveria Deck with a window (next time we will get a balcony) and our room had a full size couch and a nice sized vanity area for getting ready.

 

The Food

I know a lot of people that have been on cruises and they say the best part are the buffet and the other food. Everyone comments on the elaborate buffets with fancy decorations and beautiful food displays, so I guess that my expectations were just in the wrong place. The buffet line was just like any other buffet that I have ever been too and was nothing spectacular and the food seemed to be a little blan. We ate in the dining room twice and none of the 4 of us felt that it was anything spectacular. On the first night my husband and I ordered red wine to go with our meal since we were ordering steaks. We drink red wine often so we knew what to order. The second night we went my husband wanted to eat fish which you normally drink white wine with, so he asked the waiter to suggest a good wine to go with his meal. The waiter had no idea how to answer so he sent over the bar service who also had no idea, he ended up drinking water. I think that that should be an easy enough question to answer and if we eat anywhere locally they are able to answer. We ate on the Lido Deck most afternoons and the food was hot and good, but we did get tired of burgers. I had a grilled panini twice and they were good and the pizza was ok. It was always hot, just seemed to lack a whole lot of flavor.

 

Stops

Nassau - The weather was windy and we did not enjoy this stop at all. We had booked the swimming with the sting rays excursion and were very disappointed that the water was so choppy and there was so much kelp in the water we couldn't even see the sting rays. I do realize that this is not Carnival's fault and am in no way holding them responsible for the weather or our excursion. The excursion would have been fun if the water was less choppy, but it was a little scary having very large sting rays bump into you since you couldn't see them until they were already at you. It caught everyone off guard and made the experience less than enjoyable. After the excursion we were on our own on the little island for a bit and it was nice to sit and relax although the water was still too rough to enjoy. The shopping wasn't fun, as we had many vendors who were wanting us to buy from them and got a little angry when we didn't. I can see why a lot of people have said that they stay on the ship during this stop.

 

Half Moon Cay- AMAZING! This was the best day by far on our cruise. We rented one of the 15 cabanas available and enjoyed our day sunning and relaxing. We ended up with cabana #15 and were thankful that we were away from most of the guests and enjoyed our little private beach area. We were standing in line at the excursion desk before they even opened and got one of the last two cabanas available. Apparently a big group had rented out 8 of them, I'm not sure how since you have to rent them on the ship but that is what we were told, then there were already people in front of us waiting for one. If you want one get there early and stand in line, they are worth it! The sand is so soft and white and the water the most beautiful blue that I have ever seen. We were not ready to leave when it was time, I could've spent a week doing nothing but laying on the beach.

 

Grand Turk- This was a fun stop for us. We were able to get to the "conch graveyard" and found some very nice shells to bring home with us. They have planted a lot of new palm trees on the beach but you could still see some of the devastation that Ike caused. I enjoyed all of the shops and felt like there was a great range of souvenirs to buy. Margarita Ville was a blast and I was sad that we didn't have more time to spend there. We didn't get in the pool but everyone in there was having fun and it was fun just watching them.

 

Debarkation

We chose the self assist debarkation and it was fast and painless. We were more than impressed at how fast they were getting everyone off the ship and on there way.

 

We flew into Ft. Lauderdale and spent the night there with Silver Fox Van Services taking care of all of our transportation needs. They were wonderful, on time and were a great price! I would highly recommend them if you need transporation to and from Ft. Lauderdale.

 

Hopefully this will help someone else out and if you have any questions I would be happy to answer them.

[johnlcruise]

Nice review. Glad you had a good time.

Thanks for posting.

[honestokiechic]

Thank you for the review!!!

We are wanting to go to the Bahamas next!!!

[Hap]

Thanks for the review. We are on the Destiny on Nov. 17. What time does the excursion desk open on the day you get to the ship? I would like to get a cabana right away. We will be getting to the ship about 11am on debarkation day. Thanks.

[rebeljohn]

You did a GREAT job on your first review. Thanks for posting..........

[posingcarrot]

Thanks for the review. We are on the Destiny on Nov. 17. What time does the excursion desk open on the day you get to the ship? I would like to get a cabana right away. We will be getting to the ship about 11am on debarkation day. Thanks.

 

I think that it opened at 12:00 or 12:30. It was worth it to stand in line!

[amber2]

Thanks for the review. We are on the Destiny on Nov. 17. What time does the excursion desk open on the day you get to the ship? I would like to get a cabana right away. We will be getting to the ship about 11am on debarkation day. Thanks.

 

 

Hal,

 

Please join the roll call.

[Hap]

Amber2, I have posted a few times on the roll call. Hope to see you there.