I cruised on the Carnival Destiny over Christmas and I was very disappointed!  The ship was so old fashioned!  They claimed that they renovated it, but they didn't do much to it.  The Lido restaurant clashes so badly.  I felt dirty eating in there.  The food in that restaurant wasn't that great either!  My first cruise was with Royal Caribbean and let me tell you, we got SPOILED on that cruise.  I have never had such great food and service.  This cruise was far below par.  They had the same thing for breakfast every day and the eggs looked and tasted fake.  We wanted to skip a night at the formal dining room because we were tired, but we ended up having to go because the food in Lido looked so unappetizing!  The ship is dark and uninviting.  The carpet and decor is old and clashes.  Our hallway smelled like sewage the whole time.  It was disgusting.  We only heard from the captain ONE time the entire trip, and it was only briefly.  On Royal Caribbean, we heard from the captain twice a day.  The Maitre'd on Royal Caribbean came to our table every night and asked us how our day was and on this cruise, we only saw the Maitre'd twice!  And all he said was "hello"!  Obviously all of the cruise wasn't bad, there were a lot of good things about it as well, but I just want to express my disappointment. 

If you don't mind my asking, what room/deck did you stay on?  We are booked on this ship for October 2008 and are reading all of the posts/gathering information.

Thanks!

My family and I stayed on the Upper Deck (deck 6).  Have you been on a cruise before?

 My wife and I have been on seven cruises in all and cruised on the Destiny in February 2006.  We were with three other couples all of whom thought the Destiny was outstanding.  As for the comment made about the food, Royal Caribbean regular dining room menu cannot hold a candle to Carnival menu or quality.  As for hearing from the captain you  must not have been listening too well as on all of our Carnival cruises(5 others) we heard an announcement from the bridge(Captain) everyday.  We personally talked to him for 10 minutes while sitting at a bar in the casino as he stopped while passing through.We have never been on a bad Carnival cruise before and have already booked two more (April 2008 & February 2009).  The 2009 is for 14 days around the tip of South America from Buenos Aires to Santiago).

The ship was renovated only 2-3 years ago and your standards must be pretty high.  The ship is anything but dark and uninviting. 

 We have had outside cabin and were really happy with the size.  We have found Carnival to have some of the largest cabins on the seas.  Royal Caribbean is good but their cabins are quite small.  The service is impecable on Carnival.  We have been on the Destiny,Triumph,Victory,Inspiration,Miracle and will be on the Liberty in April and on the new Splendor next February.  We have never been disappointed and I think you'll find the food selection and quality top notch.

yellosponge:

My family and I stayed on the Upper Deck (deck 6).  Have you been on a cruise before?

Yes, we've been on about 7 Carnival cruises and 3 Royal Caribbean cruises.  We just haven't sailed on the Destiny before, but I LOVE the itinerary for the 5 day cruise in October - Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, and Nassau.  Sounds like such a relaxing cruise.  We've booked a balcony (1st time for that) in one of the extended balcony staterooms.

We don't normally look for negative things - we just go to have a good time so I think we'll be fine. 

Yes, after my first cruise being on Royal Caribbean, I do have to admit that my standards are a little high.  It was a pretty new ship, but then even the older ships in the Royal Caribbean line are outstanding.  I'm not trying to say that every single thing on this cruise was bad, I mean, it's a message board, so I'm just giving my opinion on the things that disappointed me.  The itinerary was awesome and the activities were great.  The bars were beautiful.

The ship is 12 years old now, so obviously it's a matter of time before it starts looking run down.  I've never been on it, but i have a cruise planned with my friends this April on the Destiny.  I don't expect it to be perfect.  There really isn't a such thing as a perfect ship.  The main reason I'm going on the cruise is the ports of call.  You have to admit 6 ports of call is unheard of for a one week cruise.  My group and I will be way too busy on the islands to even think about how the ship looks.  To us, it's just a place to sleep, shower and keep our luggage.  Hey, as long as they have a bar and a dance club, I'm happy! lol

If you think the Destiny is old-fashioned, then you might not want to fly in a commercial airplane.  The average age of most commercial airline fleets is in the 20's.

Think about that the next time you're on a plane.  :-)

Some people like to be spoiled on their vacation.  We all do!   Nothing wrong with that.  But unless you're bill gates, don't expect to be treated like royalty.  Or sail in a star trek sized cruise ship.  If I have fun, visit all these beautiful locations, and get to share it with the people I care about, what more could I possibly ask for?

I was on the cruise critic site, and you get all kinds of mixed reviews. Everyone is different. One critic had gone on Destiny, quite derogatory...then he mentioned he had sailed on the Queen E or Queen Mary. Last I checked those were luxury liners, not cruise ships. I myself cruise on Destiny in May with my sister and can't wait. wooohoooooo. I have cruised on Victory 2 years ago..loved it, even though the first few hours aboard I hurt my shin. After the muster routine, walking back through one of the rooms, can't recall the name, with soooo many people, I didn't see the brass post sticking shin high in the middle of the floor, and banged right into it. My leg was a bit swollen, but I still had a great time. It's all in how you look at it. Hey, you are on VACATION. As for the maitred', the less people I have walking around and asking me how things are the better. I certainly don't like it when approached in stores by sales clerk, and I don't like it anywhere else. Looking forward to cruising in 98 DAYS. The countdown continues. Looking forward to more new experiences.

Linda