Cruising on the Carnival Destiny

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

We had a wonderful cruise. The ship itself was nothing to write home about unless you like copper and like most Carnival ships the lay out is a little confusing. Getting from one end to the other is tricky when you want to get to the dining room. Main dining is on decks 3 and 4 so you can't just walk from Aft to Forward on those decks. You need to go up to five go forward and then down.

We had an Aft balcony cabin with an extended balcony. I truly believe it was the smallest cabin we have ever been in. It had plenty of closets space but only 3 drawers. No sofa but a small table and 2 chairs. I wlould have preferred a sofa. Our cabin did not have flat screen TV. And to make matters worse the big bulky TV that was in there was on the desk so I only had about 2 feet of usable counter space. It made television watching difficult but we didn't really watch TV anyway.

What can I say about the bathroom, the shower was nice, plenty of room. Big draw back, there was no bathroom storage at all. No shelves no drawers nothing. It made for a very crowded counter top. Other than that the bathroom was fine.

The balcony was very nice. We had 2 chairs a table and a lounger I spent a lot of time out there.

Our cabin steward was very good, there are no refrigerators in the cabins not even in the form of a mini bar, so I asked Agus to bring me a bucket like they put the beer in at the bar. twice a day he put fresh ice in it for me so I always had cold soda and water. He got an extra $20 dollar tip.

For the most part dinner was good. Your usual cruise fare. There was only one night I had trouble finding something on the menu.

Our first stop was Nassau the Bahamas. This was our third time there so we opted to stay on board. We slept late had brunch, played mini golf and people watched from our balcony. It was a very good day.

Second stop was Half Moon Cay their private island. You are tendered there but it is a short trip. This is one of the most beautiful islands I have ever seen. They served a barbecue lunch. Burgers, hot dogs and jerk chicken. Also several salads fresh fruit and desserts. We all had burgers. they were burnt to the consistency of charcoal completely inedible.  The salads and fresh fruit were very good.

Third Stop was Grand Turk another beautiful island but the beach was not as nice. Courser sand and a rockier beach.  We went to Margaritaville and sat out by the pool drinking rum. It is a short walk from the pier and a lovely way to spend the day. We also went into the restaurant and ate.

The last day was a sea day hung out on our balcony most of the day. We did go to the dining room for lunch, I ordered a burger. It was just as burned as the one on Half Moon Cay. I don't think they know how to grill a burger. :argh:

We arrived in port at 7 and the ship was cleared by immigration by 8. We were off the ship and on the way home by 9.

All in all it was a very nice cruise with no real drama as far as the cruise itself went. Our friends we traveled with, well that's another story.

[Rhonda (aka Roz) 7]

Thanks for the review!  Pretty consistent with what other people say about Carnival.  It's a cruise, so you have to have a good time!  But, most reviews are are pretty mediocre--as far as the ship, food, etc. go.

I should have given you this hint before you left -- I bought one of those over-the-door things with lots of pockets in it.  It's clear, so you can see what's in the pockets.  I hang it over the bathroom door, and it holds everything!  Anything that would normally sit on the counter--toiletries, books, glasses, lotions, combs/brushes, toothbrush/paste, and anything else!  So, next cruise, get one of those!  :popo:

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

I actually have one and never needed it. This was the first time in 10 cruises that I had a bathroom with no storage. Even the Carnival Sensation which is older than dirt had shelves in the bathroom. The biggest disappointment was the way the cabin was set up, it was tiny and the only way to see the TV is if you lay backwards on the bed. The aft balcony made up for it though.

And Half Moon Cay is beautiful, I think it is even nicer than Castaway Cay, powder sand and no rocks or shells in the water.