Inexpensive way to see great ports

Item: Carnival Destiny (RETIRED) 28
Rating: 4
Author: BrianL5

Carnival Destiny (RETIRED) 28 Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

BrianL5

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 91

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Southern Caribbean (San Juan Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 19, 2006

Ship: Carnival Destiny (RETIRED) 28

Cabin type: Inside

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 18 years ago

Review summary

The Southern Caribbean is definitely the place to go on a cruise and Carnival is definitely the value Cruise line to take you there. We had to fly to San Juan in order to hit ports like Aruba and Barbados, but the cruise was so inexpensive, that the $200/person flights didn't really matter. This ship was nicer and larger than other Carnival Ships we had enjoyed in the past. It was also harder to get around because of its size. Carnival has better low cost cabins than other lines. We had been on Royal Caribbean and Norweigan Cruise lines and if you aren't travelling in suites or balcony rooms, Carnival has the nicest of the low cost rooms. Their beds are extremely comfortable and the layout of the room is nice. There were no real extras on board when it came to rock climbing walls, golf courses, etc. In comparison to other lines, you can't order the dining room meals via room service, there are no made to order restaurants (like a sushi bar or Johny Rockets), and no fine dining alternatives. We just remind ourselves that we only paid $400 on and had a great time.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Cruise food is basically banquet style food. We really liked the service and the ambiance. We loved the fact that they had a low carb menu and low carb bread. We hated the quality of the food on the Lido deck and wished it had alternative restaurants like other ships. The dining times were fine because we left ports so early.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

We felt like there wasn't a lot to do on board. They didn't have a wine tasting class or a towel folding class. We would look at the schedule and say "hmm, what are we going to do today" and the answer always seemed to be a combination of pool, drink, and casino.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

This was the best staff of any ship we had traveled on. Everyone was nice and did their job well.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

The ship was beautiful and well kept. It was clean and seemed to be painted daily. It was large and the decor was not loud. The Casino was very big. The only problem was that we kept on getting lost because certain floors didn't go all the way through. This was because of the 2 story dining rooms, 3 story lounges, etc. We blame our problems on the location of our room (away from center at the bottom of the ship), and the fact we didn't have a map. We just got back from the Fantasy and didn't have any problems navigating.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

The best part of the state room was the bed. The new carnival bed is very comfortable. The layout was much nicer than our previous cruise on Royal Caribbean.

Ports of call

Roseau, Dominica

3 out of 5

This is one of those ports that if you don't have an excursion, there is nothing to do. We did here that they have the best prices on Duty Free Liquor.

Thumbs Up 0

Don't Miss: Duty Free Liquor

Bridgetown, Barbados

3 out of 5

Don't need an excursion here. Just hop a taxi to a private beach and you'll be set.

Thumbs Up 0

Don't Miss: Beach

Oranjestad, Aruba

5 out of 5

We picked the cruise because it went to Aruba. We had spent a week in Aruba before and absolutely loved the place, food, and people. There are nice beaches, casinos, etc.

Thumbs Up 0

Don't Miss: Beach, Sunset Tours, Aloe Factory Tour, Flyish Fish Restaurant

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

5 out of 5

To us, this was our shopping port. We got some great deals on jewelry and watches. We also walked up the hill from downtown to see the oldest Jewish temple in the Caribbean.

Thumbs Up 0

Don't Miss: Shopping

Pros: Friendliness of the staff, ports of call, low carb menu and bread, carnival beds, dining room waiter

Cons: layout of the ship, quality of entertainment, late departure, amount of time available in port

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