M & A McDonald

Age: 37
Occupation: Stock Trader
Number of Cruises: 2
Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: Destiny
Sailing Date: April 18th, 2004
Itinerary: Southern Caribbean

We had a great time on this cruise. We absolutely loved the itinerary. We had a balcony room, and I would recommend it to anyone, it is great to be able to walk out and see where we are, what the weather is like and hear the waves. One morning I woke up and walked out and saw schools of flying fish everywhere. We actually slept with our door open every night, and the sound of the waves put us to sleep immediately. It was very nice.

Boarding the ship was a breeze, there were no lines and we walked right on. I suggest pre-registering on the internet, it saves alot of time. We left San Juan and cruised to St Thomas/St John. St Thomas has lots of shopping, the weather wasn't that great while we were there. We did the 5 star snorkeling excursion to Trunk Bay, which I was told was terrific. Well, I'm sure if the weather would have been better, it would have been great snorkeling, but the swells were so high and the water was so rough, we could not even swim. But the crew on our boat were great and opened the bar for everyone on the way back to make up for it. So everyone was VERY HAPPY by the time we returned to the ship. I would recommend this excursion anyway. I heard some other people talking about Koki Beach at St John, very good snorkeling there, someone actually had a small shark come up to her. We then went to Dominica, I had my hair braided there. Not much to do, we just looked around at the port and got back on the ship and hung out at the pool all day. From there, to Barbados. Very nice beaches, clear water, weather was much better. We didn't do any excursions from the ship. We just got a van into town for $2 each, and shopped in Bridgetown. Had a blast, we then walked to Boatyard Beach, it is a major "Party Beach", lots of fun and sun. We stayed there for several hours, then caught a cab back to the ship for $3 each. Pretty cheap day, and it was great. Next day, was a day at sea. I suggest getting to the pool early if you want a chair. Even though people are told not to save chairs they do anyway, and aren't very nice about it. Next stop, Aruba, this was my favorite, the Golf excursion to Tierra Del Sol is fantastic, for the golfers out there. And also, the Sail and Snorkel excursion with the BBQ lunch at Palm Beach is wonderful. The water there is so clear that even 200 yards out you can see the bottom of the ocean, it is unbelievable. For the party goers, you need to check out Carlos and Charlies, which is right outside the dock with easy access to and from. We went there that night until about 10pm, it was a blast, lots of music and drinks and dancing. Be prepared to see just about anything there. Next day at sea, which was nice to be able to get everything done for disembarking the next day. On Sunday, getting off the ship is never a fun thing, but actually is went fairly smoothly, we had an early flight, so we got to leave first, but it made for a very long day.

The crew and staff on this ship are fantastic, the band that plays on the Lido deck everyday is great. The only thing we had a complaint about is the last night we were there, it seems that all the staff and room stewards seem to get very lazy about accomodating your requests. Our waiters in the universe dining room were always excellent.

Overall, this cruise was outstanding, I would highly recommend it, this was our 2nd cruise, the first 15 years ago, so lots of things have changed and obviously for the better. The sail and sign card works great, so that you don't have to carry cash around all the time. We met some very nice people on board and we still are keeping in touch. Have fun!!

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