Carnival
Destiny
Southern Caribbean

Frank Pizzaro
Age: 30
Occupation: Union Representative
Number of Cruises: 3
Date of Cruise: November 26th, 2006



I have just arrived from my cruise experience and since I have read the many reviews that have been posted about this particular ship and itinerary I almost feel a responsibility to clear several issues that have been written about on this web site about the Destiny. Mostly negative. As I write this review I will point out those issues and tell you my experience about it. Hopefully it will help someone.

Embarkation was pretty easy. Our biggest problem was the traffic outside the terminal which was pretty rough with so many people trying to get to the terminal and some trying to get out of it. Once inside it was very easy. I read many horror stories about waiting for hours on end and problems galore but the truth is that while the line was long it moved very fast. We checked our bags in the 1st floor then went upstairs to check in. The whole thing couldn't have taken more than 20 minutes. We got to the terminal at 2:45pm, by 3:20 we were inside the ship, no fuzz, no drama. Some of our bags were already in front of our room by then but not all. Keep in mind that thousands of people are trying to get in with you and you will be fine. I don't know if the Fun Pass really speeds things up because by now almost everyone has one so the Fun Pass line is as long as the other line. Fun Pass or not, Check in was very fast.

Once inside, my wife and I proceeded to look around and familiarize ourselves with the ship. Here I disproved another myth about the ship: The Destiny is in great shape! I read about how the ship was so deteriorated and filthy and got scared to the point were I thought about canceling but it couldn't be further from the truth. While pristine is not a word I could use here (the ship is 10 years old after all) it is certainly in excellent condition. Not only that, I saw the staff during the entire cruise cleaning, fixing and fidgeting with every single detail: Floors, carpets, lamps, small creases on the roof... They are always cleaning something. The decoration is not "high-class" but more "relax-party-hang around" kind of thing. More like Vegas.

Our cabin was wonderful, clean and in good shape. It was also bigger than other cabins I have been on other cruises. The bathroom is downright spacious compared to other cruises. The only problem is the positioning of the toilet, which is diagonal to the shower wall and if you want to sit on it.  One thing that has been constantly mentioned about the cabins and I have to repeat it here is temperature control. This is an issue Carnival has to address on the Destiny. The temperature in the cabins is more on the warm side of the air conditioned spectrum and there is no temp control. You can only adjust the amount of air coming into the cabin and it is not enough. If you move around too much in the cabin you will get warm. Usually I went to sleep with no covers on me, wait till the temp dropped and then it would be pleasant enough. This sounds like a lot of trouble but it really wasn't. However I did hear several people complain that they had no air conditioning so its a ship-wide problem and it's repeated constantly on the reviews so Carnival should handle it. It was a minor inconvenience for me but for example my wife thought the temp was perfect so its more a matter of personal preference but again, temperature control would solve it. I was on Empress Deck cabin 6285.

The location of our cabin  was perfect. It was right by the elevators in the middle of the ship. One flight of stairs down and we were right on Destiny's Way behind the Casino Bar. A walk to the back elevators and to floors down we were right at the entrance of the Universe Dining (our assigned seating. Take the mid elevators to Lido Deck and we were right in the Sun and Sea Restaurant where we pretty much ate every breakfast and lunch. It was a very central position close to everything (you might want to keep that in mind when booking).

We never tried the pools, the slide or the whirlpools on the top floor. I read on Expedia.com that the whirlpools in the Spa Deck were almost always unused and had more privacy so that's were we went and fell in love with the place. Every time we wanted to soak for a bit, that's were we went. We also used the sauna and steam room and even did some exercise (like that would help), So we ended up never using the pool. If you want to use the whirlpool without a bunch of people crowding GO TO THE SPA DECK!

The food... what can I say but WOW! Food at the Universe Dining Room was always superb and desserts were always the highlight for us. Chateaubriand, Beef Wellington, Prime Rib, Lobster tails, Shrimps in delicious sauce, ceviche, Salmon... Everything was DELICIOUS! The desserts were decadent: Crème Brule, Melting Cake, Tiramisu, Raspberry Cake, Cappuccino Ice Cream Cake. I found nothing I didn't like. AWESOME! Our wait staff was headed by Arcan, whom I thank for the incredible service and all the extra desserts.

Arcan pretty much sums up the entire staff of the Destiny: Friendly and eager to please, always with a smile on his face. Our room was tended to twice a day and every night we found our bed turned down, chocolates and a different towel animal. My wife loved those. Every day the room staff would ask us if we needed anything and made sure we got our itinerary for the day. Everyone involved with us remembered our names and those who didn't speak Spanish were very considerate of my wife who doesn't speak English. The Cruise Director, Steve, was very funny and helpful. He's got his job down pat and everyone in the cruise seemed to love him. The people working here are what makes this cruise so great they deserve a lot of praise and have my gratitude.

The shows were varied and fun. They had comedians and magicians but the highlight are the "Vegas" shows witch my wife absolutely loved. I was not as excited about them but they are not my particular cup of tea. But they were well performed and are very good. The fact that all those dancers can perform by itself is incredible. Add a moving, unpredictable ship and it becomes downright remarkable. The ship was full of other activities as well. Everything from trivia contests to hairy chest competitions. There was always something to do or see. I took part in the movie trivia game and had a lot of fun (probably because I killed in it'll) If you want Karaoke, Jazz, Classical, Disco, Dance or Latin some part of the ship has you covered somewhere. the Criterion Lounge is the biggest club and that's were you went to dance salsa and meringue. Karaoke is a ton of fun once people lose the initial fear. By the end of the week everyone is a star (in their own right) There are also several spots were you can go and have a quiet drink like Cheers or the Onyx Bar and of course, for the "island-tropical feeling" all you have to do is go to Lido Deck outside where they play calypso every night and you dance in the sea breeze. They have a party here where everyone wears the cabin bath robes. Very fun.

The ship has a big number of guests from Puerto Rico so a lot of steps have been taken to please them. Everything is said in English and Spanish. Some of the talks are actually done in both languages at different times. If you speak Spanish, this is a good ship to go to. However, it is here where a lot of negative comments have been made. People saying that the big Latino number of guests is bad thing. Some comments bordering on racist. I resent these comments being from Puerto Rico myself but also because during my entire cruise I saw not one negative thing concerning a person from Puerto Rico or any other Latino decent. All I saw were people willing to have fun and meet new people even with the language barrier. The fact that they say things on the ship in both languages IS NOT A BAD THING. Carnival knows that people from Puerto Rico make the bulk of guests on this cruise so they take some steps to accommodate them yet people complain that there is "too many Latino people on board". The cruise leaves from San Juan, what did you expect? I have never heard anyone from Puerto Rico go to Disney World and say "There's too many Americans here, I don't like it." But that is exactly the comment of some people posting here. I waited until I took the cruise to make sure of what I was going to write. After all, you never know. But my experience here was very pleasant with people from all over. I even made friends with people next to my table who were from France! I don't speak French, they didn't speak English or Spanish but that didn't stop us from having fun. I should point out that Carnival went out of their way to make sure these people had a French-speaking waiter during their meals. Another sign of their commitment to service.

So folks, take this cruise if you want to have some fun and do a little bit of everything. The stops are great (beautiful islands but that would be another review) The Ship is awesome and the staff incredible. You cannot beat this for the money. Despite negative comments about the ship and its guests I recommend this cruise to anyone.










 

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