Carnival
Destiny
Southern Caribbean

Maria
Age: 30
Occupation: Teacher
Number of Cruises: 10
Date of Cruise: August 13th, 2006


I have sailed once on Carnival before ( Carnival Legend – 8 night from NYC - June 2005 ) and it was so - so, not that bad, after this cruise, NEVER AGAIN. Unless you have to, do not sail with Carnival and especially on the Destiny ….

My Mom and I booked a balcony cabin as we always do. Balconies are the best and once you do it, you can’t go back to an inside cabin.

This will be a long review but if you are considering the Destiny or even another Carnival ship : PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU BOOK YOUR CRUISE.

Take it from me , give your money to a cruise line that’s worth it . Royal Caribbean or Celebrity . Princess if you are 50 + . NCL is great if you like freestyle cruising. I highly recommend them. Sadly Carnival will never see me on any of their ships again even if they offered me the penthouse suite for free …………….The beginning of the worst cruise ever …… please bear with me ……


Carnival Customer Service : It’s the worst . After booking our cruise we called Carnival to ask some questions . 1 – 800 – Carnival.

1 – What time is boarding ? Their answers ranged from 10:30 am to 3:30 p.m.

2 - We were told they have a Harry’s Supper Club on the Destiny for an extra fee of course . WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


At the Pier : In San Juan : 12 noon : There are no Carnival Reps where the taxis drop off passengers. If you are a first time cruiser, you don’t know what to do. There are locals that offer to help with your baggage ( porters ) . Be prepared to run after them if you feel safer knowing who and where your luggage is at all times . He took our luggage to the security belt and told us to go up the escalator to check in. We were the third party 1n line but upon receiving our keys/cruise ids, we were told to wait until our zone is called . One of the Carnival Reps told us we can also wait outside since all THREE chairs were occupied . We asked approx. what time and were told anywhere between 12:30 and 2:30p.m. At 1:30 p.m. I strolled over to take a look at the ship and saw people boarding .
There were no announcements made outside to let us know boarding started but the best was that once upstairs again, there were now 100 people on line . NO One was calling zone numbers or even checking the zone cards. WHAT'S THE POINT ?


Onboard : We get to our cabin at 2:20 p.m. and it’s not ready . When you are getting off the ship they announce that all cabins must be empty by 9:30 am . Does it really take more than 5 hours to clean the cabins? We came back an hour later to find NO AIR CONDITIONING .

Some people are up for 20 plus hours prior to arrival on the ship. Between getting to the airport, security ,check in, the flight, check in for the cruise, security , etc……. you just want a shower. Maybe a nap. We phoned about the air conditioning . A technician came to our cabin within 15 minutes. He tried to clean the vent and motor but nothing helped . We phoned and asked for a fan and received one TWO days later after making approx. 20 requests . You cannot leave the balcony door open in port or even at sea all night . There is the heat of course that comes in but so do the bugs. At night there are mosquitoes . During the day and especially at port there are seagulls everywhere. Try sitting on your balcony when your neighbor starts feeding the birds . You feel as if you are in the Hitchcock movie .

We had no bathrobes. We had no beach towels for the first 3 Ports of Call . No ashtrays and the best . No cold water in the bathroom sink .My mother and I lived in a sauna for the 4 days out of seven . Even after they reportedly got the air conditioning to work we still needed a fan to make the air flow .

Carnival boasts about the 10 MILLION dollar renovation they underwent on the Destiny. I wanted to know where it was .One of the crew members advised us we were not the first to complain . She advised us the renovation was to the engine room only .Why don’t they advertise that on their website ?

We left to go to dinner . Walking through the hallways we became aware of the filth all around us . The whole ship is dirty . There are stains on the carpets of every deck of the ship . People throw garbage in every corner and it just stays there throughout the cruise.

In our room there is at least 2 inches of dust on the TV stand . The toilet seats are chipped and stained . There are markings all over the shower tiles . Forget about the pink shower curtain . It looked unsanitary . Our balcony was never cleaned or swept . The glass was never cleaned by our cabin attendant or maintenance on days we were docked . There is plastic tape on the seat cushions in the Onyx bar . The most disgusting things are the plastic cups for beverages on Deck 9 . They smell . They leak . They are all cracked .Good luck finding a straw . Good luck finding a tray . Everyone walks with plates and cups in their hands trying to maneuver through the crowds . They spill drinks on the tiles so it turns into slip and slide . If you get to your table without losing your food or pulling your back out , it’s a major accomplishment .


Formal night : People in the dining room with shorts , jeans , barely what you can call a tank top, and my favorite BAREFOOT . Where is the maitre ‘d to see these people walk in ? The food was neither horrible nor was it the best . The filth everywhere else made me freak out over eating the food . Can you blame me ? I mean if it’s so dirty in the public areas I can just imagine the filth we don’t have access to see .


I know I sound like a disturbed person but this really was a horrible experience . Carnival does not care about repeat business . We asked to speak to the Customer Relations supervisor and were denied .We have written letters with no response whatsoever .

People walk around the whole ship barefoot. The kids are like animals and I am a teacher and not in my golden years . No one stops these kids that are running and screaming all over the ship unattended . They should be stopped by security and have their guardians paged . The kids literally take over the pool , which is not so bad , UNTIL they start to splash everyone else and SPIT constantly into the pool . No one enforces the NO DIVING rule all day even though the staff are there walking around . These parents really don’t care but they should .There is a free camp during the day for the kids . Also it’s not healthy for them to sit in a hot tub for four hours . You should not be in the hot tub as an adult for more than 25 minutes let alone a child . Hot tubs are also the number one cause of yeast infections . Affecting your lungs and other body parts .

I am sorry to disappoint anyone looking forward to this ship . The shows really suck .Worse than a toddlers ballet recital .At least little kids are cute . I love kids and I love cruising .When people see such filthy accommodations they are not going to respect their surroundings and the situation gets worse . Carnival needs to retire this ship . It is a disgrace . I cannot find one good thing to say about the ship or the company .

On a last note . The toilets in the balcony cabins are crooked .They have also placed a plastic partition for the shower in front of the toilet . Have fun trying to find a way to sit comfortably .

Like I said . If you have the time and the money to cruise , book another cruise line .Don’t waste your money and your priceless vacation time on them . Royal Caribbean or Celebrity have a great selection of ships to choose from . You don’t have to go on a mega ship to enjoy these cruise lines .Royal Caribbean for example actually does refurbish their ships . It’s not just in the engine room it’s everywhere you look . So , keep cruising and having fun , but stay off Carnival ….



 

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