Carnival
Destiny
Southern Caribbean

Baillie
Age: 21
Occupation: Health Advisor
Number of Cruises: 2
Date of Cruise: October 1st, 2006



My husband and I went on this cruise for our honeymoon and overall had a marvelous time. We booked our airfare with Carnival which we will definitely do again. We arrived at the San Juan airport on schedule and found the Carnival transportation to the pier. The line was long but moved very fast. They put our luggage on a bus and the next time we saw it was outside our cabin. We got to the pier around 2:30pm and were on the ship before 3pm. We were originally booked in a basic balcony room, but they upgraded us to the next balcony level. The balcony had four chairs on it and was our favorite place on the ship. Plus they cleaned it twice which really surprised us. We were amazed at how large the room was. Cruising with a balcony is the only way to travel. After we checked out the room we headed for the buffet. There weren’t many people on the boat yet, so we had lots of fun exploring. We decided to stay on the boat because San Juan did not look very safe on the bus ride to the pier! The afternoon and evening went by quickly, and soon it was time for the muster drill. The staff was very efficient, and the drill was over before we knew it. The boat soon left San Juan, and music erupted from the deck. We stayed on top for awhile, but soon waiters were everywhere serving alcohol (we are not big drinkers), so we retreated to our balcony for a private and gorgeous view of the lights of San Juan.

St. Thomas was a beautiful island. Having a balcony was wonderful again because we were able to watch the sunrise and watch the boat dock without having to be on the crowded deck. It was really hard to find our shore excursion, but once we found it we had a great time. We went to Coral World and Magen’s Bay Beach. We had an hour to spend at Coal World which was just enough time. It was an interesting place, but I would call it a tourist trap. The views were gorgeous though. Magen’s Bay Beach is rated one of the top ten beaches by National Geographic and for good reason. The beach was virtually empty, and we really enjoyed ourselves. Shopping was great in St. Thomas as well. All the stores are right off the pier which made it convenient. The only bad thing about St. Thomas was people were constantly asking if you wanted a taxi or tour guide. After our excursion and shopping we went to the Lido deck for some great food. Our travel agent suggested we book the 8:30 dinner, because there are not many kids. Dinner was spectacular, and so was the service. We were sitting at a booth by ourselves and enjoyed the quietness.

Next was Dominica. Dominica was breath taking, but I did not feel safe at all. People were really in your face asking you all kind of questions. I especially did not feel safe when we were walking through the shops that the citizens set up. Our shore excursion was amazing though. We went kayaking and snorkeling at Champagne. The drive to the beach was terrifying. The roads are so narrow, and we were careening fast up and down steep mountain roads. The kayaking instructor was very friendly and helpful. My husband and I had never been kayaking before, but we caught on quick. We saw one flying fish and lots of coral. The guides pointed out where parts of Pirates of the Caribbean were filmed. We kayaked to a boat where we were given snorkeling equipment and instructions. The guide would tell us what he was going to point out and then would dive down and point it out. Champagne was a fun place to snorkel because of all the bubbles, plus we saw beautiful fish and coral. On the van ride back to the ship we met another couple. They ended up sitting with us at dinner for the rest of the cruise after we asked the Maitre'd. It was awesome to pick our dinner company.

Wednesday was Barbados. Barbados was my favorite island. The people were really nice and not pushy at all. A shuttle took us to the terminal where there were tons of stores and all of the shore excursions were waiting. Barbados was definitely was most organized in terms of finding your excursion. We went off-roading and swimming at Paradise Beach. Off-roading was a blast! One of the reasons I liked this island the most is they realize how important tourism is to their economy, but they really focus on preserving their culture and old ways of life such as growing sugar. My husband and I got the two back seats. We got great pictures and video since the whole back is open. Other people had a hard time taking pictures. We stopped at a little café for rum cake which was amazing! We also got to take pictures of the wonderful views. Our driver stopped a few times for everyone to take pictures. We drove for what seemed like hours through beautiful countryside and woods. Paradise Beach was almost empty, and it was basically only the twenty people on the tour swimming. Our guide told us to leave our bags by him, so he could protect them. He said “bad people” sometimes try to rob tourists. While that was a little unnerving we quickly forgot about it and enjoyed the crystal clear waters. The ride back to the boat went by way to quick. We really enjoyed our time in Barbados! During our shopping trip my husband got a fantastic deal on a Citizen watch.

Thursday was a day at sea. We kept eating because we were really bored. We took a long nap and spent some time out on the balcony. The pools were filled with annoying and loud little kids, and the decks were really loud with live bands. While some may enjoy this atmosphere, we are really laid back quiet people. We gambled some in the casino and went to a Family Feud game which was pretty funny. Some of the men were really drunk (even though the show was at 2pm) and made very inappropriate comments. There was a scavenger hunt, ice carving, and hairy chest contest, but we thought those were pretty cheesy activities.

Our last island was Aruba. Aruba was my husband’s favorite island. It was definitely the most civilized. I had never heard that Aruba was windy, but my hair was in solid knots! Our tour guide told us that trade winds ensure that there are always huge waves and that the winds never stop. He also told us to seek shelter in the heat of the day since we were so close to the equator. We took a catamaran boat to Palm Beach. The ride there was fun thanks to our humorous guide. He made a huge deal about how he doesn’t stop the boat when things fall of unless it has a pulse. Somehow his shoe fell off, so of course he made the boat turn around and everyone was trying to spot it. He dove in and fetched it out to the cheers of everyone on the boat. He probably does it every tour, but it made the ride there more interesting. They served free alcohol and pop in the boat too. We were excited about the pop because it was just over $2 a can on the ship. Palm Beach was really crowded and extremely hot! We found some beach chairs in the shade, but a hotel employee told us we had to move because they were reserved for hotel guests only. We swam for awhile, but we felt like we were baking. We went for a long walk on a boardwalk that goes in front of all the really nice hotels. Thankfully there were some air conditioned stores along the way. The free bus that was supposed to take us back to the ship wasn’t coming for a couple hours. We were definitely ready to go back because of the heat! I think everyone got sunburned. We applied 60spf sun screen twice and still got burned! The bus ride back was fun because we got to see the desert side of the island and the not tourist part. After a nap, we got off the ship again and walked around downtown. We felt really safe and enjoyed the shopping and architecture of the city. It was also the only time we got to see the outside of the ship at night.

Saturday was the last day of the cruise and also a “fun” day at sea. Again we did lots of eating to pass the time. We packed up our luggage and got everything ready to go the next morning. We got priority luggage tags which turned out to be really helpful. We went on a galley tour of the kitchen. Before the tour one of the Maitre'd gave interesting facts about the kitchen and all the food that is served throughout the duration of the cruise.

Sunday morning we ate a huge breakfast and walked around the ship one last time. Since we had priority tags we could get off the ship whenever we wanted. There wasn’t really anything to do on the ship, and everyone was in the public areas since the cabins were being cleaned. Going through customs was amazingly fast, and finding the luggage was easy. They have it really organized. Busses were lined up to take people back to the airport. We had a four hour wait at the airport for our flight, because Carnival doesn’t book airfare before 2pm. It felt great to be home though. We were never so happy to see the Columbus skyline!

Overall the cruise was perfect! Our room steward was amazing. Our room was always clean! The dining service was great. Our food came so fast. We normally ordered two entrees and one or two desserts. There were a few negative things though. The breakfast buffet line was always long. We ate in the dining room one morning, but they made us sit at a table with all these older people who we had nothing in common with. We ate really fast and said never again! At least we could sit where we wanted at the buffet. Lunch lines were normally not bad especially on the days when the boat was docked. The grill and pizza place were really good. My husband loved the deli. Our travel agent did not tell us there is a large Latino population on this cruise since it leaves from San Juan. We now know what it feels like to be a minority. It was frustrating having to hear everything in Spanish as well as English; plus the ship seemed to play lots of Latino music. The boat always felt like it was rocking. I never noticed it on the other cruise I went on, but this time around I always had trouble walking. The dance shows were incredible, but I would not take young children. The girls wore skimpy outfits and left nothing to the imagination. There was also a juggler who was funny but juggling really didn’t do that much for us. The magic show was terrible. There were two comedy shows which kept us laughing. They did late night shows for adults only, but we didn’t go because they said they were pretty raunchy. Starting in 2007 the Destiny is going to Antique and St. Lucia instead of Aruba. We think this is a good idea because it eliminates a day at sea.

I have been on a cruise with Carnival before, and we will definitely cruise with Carnival again. Our honeymoon was a blast!







 

Ask a Question About Carnival Cruise Lines