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Carnival Cruise Line

MS Carnival Destiny

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: Laura W.
# previous cruises: 3
Date of Trip: January 25, 2004
Itinerary: Caribbean - Southern

I had heard that Carnival cruises were "cheesy". Well, my husband and I were taking 4 children, so we chose Carnival because of price. I (we) were pleasantly surprised. The Triumph was clean, updated, easy to navigate, and classy. We loved the Carnival atmosphere so much that just 6 months later, we booked a cruise on The Destiny (sister ship of the Triumph) and were equally pleased. The entertainment was really fantastic (I urge you to take the time to go), the mood was festive and, contrary to some reviews, the food was very, very good. I am a 36 year old female professional and, I think, pretty picky. While we did not get the "white glove" treatment that one of the other lines may have provided, we thought the ships and crew were fantastic!!

Clean, open, festive, comfortable. These two ships (Triumph and Destiny) were well planned. The pool deck was huge and well laid out. The restaurants were large and convenient. The nightclub was large and well-ventilated. The casino was HUGE and open. The Lobby Bar was impressive with the baby grand piano and violin players behind the bar that reached several stories. For those of you who like to work out--the gym and spa were first rate. There were plenty of state-of-the-art machines. The gym and locker room were clean, spacious, and well air conditioned!!

The multi cultural crew was amazing. Everyone was so friendly and helpful and truly seemed to love their job. Everyone we spoke with was generous with information about the country that they were from. The food was great. I don't understand the negative comments. The only thing I didn't care for were the scrambled eggs. But there were 50 other choices to choose from! There is such a variety, there was something there for everyone. My husband and I are pretty health conscious and were not disappointed with our options. The 24 hour room service is great!! We had a balcony room so we had breakfast brought to our room most days so we could enjoy it on the balcony.

Cabin was huge!! 9151 Lido Deck balcony room. Plenty of storage and large shower. (two people could fit!) Again--room was very clean. Bed linens were a little worn, but not too badly.

I was truly amazed at the entertainment. I believe the vegas type shows were performed by a group called Express?. The numerous singers, dancers and costumes were first-rate. The comedian was very funny. The magician was incredible. I had no idea of the talent on a cruise ship. I would usually rather spend the time in the club dancing, or at the casino gambling but I found my self checking my watch to make sure I didn't miss one of the evening shows.

We Itinerary was also fantastic. San Juan--St. Thomas--Dominica--Barbados--Aruba--San Juan. We were a little bummed that Martinique was taken off the itinerary and replaced with Dominica (where?), but what a beautiful place!! The people were so friendly and not in the least pushy. I recommend you disembark and find a tour that includes the falls. Should last about 2 hours and cost about $20 per person. St. Thomas--don't miss Megans Bay!! Barbados, if you like to snorkel, we went on an excursion on a Tiamiani(?) catamaran thru Carnival. About $60 per person and WELL WORTH IT!! Aruba? I was a little disappointed. The island is a desert complete with cactus. Pretty, but not much to do away from the port and beach area.

All age crowd. Fun, festive atmosphere. Middle America. A few goof balls (like any crowd) but fun. The Lido deck at midnight was a great place to dance and people watch. Everyone was comfortably numb, thanks to the bar, and dancing and singing with the live band. I've heard that some of the "better" cruises have an older, wheel chair crowd and no night life to speak of.