On Fri, 5 May 2006 07:13:56 -0400, "Tom K"
wrote:
>
>> So again, I ask, How many Carnival
>> Cruised have you been on?
>
>How many times does a person have to have a root canal done on a tooth to
>realize that they don't like having root canals done?
>
>--Tom
>
For anyone else curious, here is Tom K's original post on his one and
only experience with Carnival - a 4 night cruise on the Destiny nearly
six years ago A few days after his family returned from the cruise,
his daughter came down with 'walking pneumonia', and Tom & Linda
blamed Carnival..
How anyone can judge a cruise line on a 4 night 'booze cruise' out of
NYC is anyone's guess.
At the time, Tom was not NEAR as hardened and bitter about Carnival as
he is today. He certainly didn't equate his experience to a root
canal, and he himself said that he would sail Carnival again on a
newer ship if it was going where he wanted to go, with no better
choices available.
From: Tom & Linda - view profile
Date: Mon, Jul 3 2000 3:00 am
Email: Tom & Linda
Groups: rec.travel.cruises
Here is my full review of our Destiny cruise on June 22.
I tried something a bit different at the end, just to be different and
for a few laughs.
--Tom
Our End of School 2000 cruise on the Carnival Destiny was our twelfth
cruise, but first with Carnival. We have also been on the Celebrity
Century, Galaxy and Zenith; Royal Majesty; Norwegian Wind and Leeward;
RCCL Nordic Empress (three times) and Grandeur of the Seas; and the
Ocean Princess. Our itinerary was the 4-night to Canada, with our only
stop at Halifax, NS. We had 2 days at sea. We were a party of four,
my
wife Linda and I, and our two children Jonathan and Lara, ages 13 and
10.
We decided to book the cruise on very short notice. Our kids were
finished with school on Wed. June 21. They didn't begin camp until
Wed.
June 28. This presented an opportunity for an inexpensive weekend get
away. So I began making phone inquiries for short cruises. Out of
New
York, Carnival was the only option that worked. Out of Miami, the
Majesty of the Seas had no outside cabins available, and airfare would
have been expensive on short notice. Sovereign of the Seas had cabins
available, but the long ride from Orlando to Port Canaveral wasn't
appealing. And, going out of New York on the Destiny did not require
any airfare, since we live about 45 minutes away from the City. So,
after putting a hold on a cabin (good for only 24 hours), having
family
discussions, taking a vote, we decided to go for it and paid our final
payment. It was within the 60 day window before sailing, so payment
in
full had to be made - that meant no deposit period and no opportunity
to
change our minds. It would be our first Carnival Cruise.
Without a lot of time to decide, all the questions came afterward.
There was only 1 balcony cabin left that would sleep 4 (and we needed
a
rollaway at that). But after a closer look, it was over the corner of
the disco. It wasn't one of the night-owl cabins, but it wasn't that
far either. I checked a few times to see if there were any
cancellations, but there never were. We had our cabin, number 6270 on
Upper Deck - which isn't really an upper deck, it's just one deck
above
the life boat deck. It's really Deck 6. Decks 7, 8, 9 and 10 are all
above it.
Next question. What would we do in Halifax? We searched the net for
whale watching and posted and inquiry at r.t.c. (rec.travel.cruises).
Most replies said that the whales were in the Bay of Fundy, but not in
the ocean where we would be. The ship had no whale watching
excursions. And none were shown under any Halifax web sites. What
about Peggy's Cove? A 45-minute car/bus ride didn't sound too
appealing
with the kids. We ruled that out. In the end, we just decided to
'wing
it' till we got there.
Another question. What to pack? Naomi at r.t.c. had gone on the ship
a
few weeks earlier. She suggested taking take sweatshirts. So we did.
Good move.
Still another question. How do we get to the pier? Since we live
only
45 minutes from the city, and since we just didn't know about
availability of parking near the pier (there were after all 3000+
people) we opted to take the commuter train.
Before we sailed, I also did an Internet search for British Admiralty
Navigation Charts of the region we were sailing to. On our recent
Ocean
Princess cruise, I purchased a Chart of the Caribbean in a little map
shop in Antigua. I found a map store in Philadelphia that had BA
Charts. They had one that covered from NYC to Halifax to the north
and
down to Bermuda to the south. Perfect. $36, same price as the
Caribbean Chart. I ordered it. Now I could even tell where we were
going. Just for fun of course.
THURSDAY, EMBARKATION DAY
We decided to take a 10:35 train into the city. In the morning we
dropped Penny our golden retriever off at the vets. She had company.
On one side of her crate was a Bernese Mountain Dog, and on the other
side was a Standard Poodle. And across from her was a young golden.
After piling the luggage into my Mountaineer, we headed to the
station,
but with a catch. There is no parking available at the station,
except
for people who have monthly tickets. So I dropped off Linda, the kids
and the luggage, drove back to my mom's, and caught a ride from her
back
to the train station. When I got back to the station, the kids were
excited because they had gotten a few of the new 'gold' color dollar
coins from the ticket machine.
The train arrived right on time. We pulled our luggage on board, only
to discover that there were no seats. At 10:35? Come on! I could
see
there being no seats on the 7:00 am train. But 10:35. Still there
were
no seats. So we stood in the vestibule with our luggage. Fortunately
it was only 45 minutes into the city.
When we got into the city, we dragged our luggage up stairs (the
elevator was broken) and escalators and out to the street on 8th
Avenue. There was a line cueing for taxis. It had about 40 people in
it. Not great, not bad. It was maybe a 15-20 minute wait for a taxi.
Not too bad. So with horns blasting, sirens wailing, busses smoking,
trucks (doing whatever they do)… but you get the idea. New York is
New
York! We were off to the pier.
When we arrived there were 2 ships at the piers: the Carnival Destiny
and the Big Red Boat II. Wow, is the BRB II an UGLY color red. And
is
the Destiny BIG!
Embarkation was very easy. When we got our cruise docs, it said that
boarding time was 1:00. From reading all the reports on the best time
for boarding Bermuda ships (thanks Warren) we got there around 11:30,
hoping to not have to wait too long to board. Luckily they were
already
checking people in. There was almost no one in the terminal. We
asked
an agent, who said that they always begin boarding at 11:30. So I
don't
know why they say 1:00. But we were on the ship in less than 10
minutes.
After our 'obligatory' embarkation photo, we proceeded to board the
vessel. We have a full collection of embarkation photos, which now
cover almost half of our bedroom mirror. We boarded the Destiny near
the front (they have 2 ramps to the ship, one for people in the front
and one for people in the back. We entered the ship in the atrium,
and
were met by attendants who pointed the way to our cabin. We were not
escorted to our cabin, but there were a few attendants around the ship
to point the way.
We booked one of the balcony cabins on the ship. It was roughly
midship. And actually it was in a very good location, since we had
easy
access a set of elevators and stairs. In the cabin was a copy of
Carnival Capers, the daily paper, detailing all the daily activities.
The cabin was very large, very nicely appointed, had a HUGE bathroom.
AND… we had a balcony. The cabin had two twin beds, one sofa, and one
Pullman bed that dropped down mechanically from the ceiling. We were
supposed to get a rollaway, but when we saw the sofa, we didn't need
it. Lara fit on the sofa perfectly once you took out the arm rests.
The balcony was quite small, but it was still wonderful. Storage
space
in the cabin was actually excessive. In the closet were 2 fluffy
cotton
robes. There was a hair drier in the cabin. The Pullman bed was in
the
lowered position when we arrived, which limited the ability to sit in
the sofa, since the Pullman was directly over the sofa. Instead of a
thermostat to adjust the cabin temperature, there is a damper in the
ceiling that can be adjusted to increase or decrease the amount of air
coming in. [Maybe thermostats don't work well around neon.]
Our Cabin steward, Wade, was fair, at best, though his timing was very
good. We told him that we wouldn't need a rollaway, and to please
just
make up the sofa as a bed.
The bathroom in the cabin was the largest than we've had on all our
ships, except for the time we were upgraded to a suite on the Grandeur
of the Seas. The shower itself was larger than most bathrooms on
ships. There was always hot and cold running water. In the bathroom
was the little 59-cent basket with soap, shampoo and other goodies.
I picked a good spot in the cabin, next to the bathroom door to tape
up
my British Admiralty Chart. And I had my GPS with me for getting
latitude/longitude waypoints along the way.
After we quickly settled into our cabin, we went to lunch in the
pizzeria. It was great pizza. They have about 6 different kinds.
My
favorite was mushroom and green pepper, though the pepperoni was very
good too. We got lemonades and iced tea at the buffet restaurant to
go
along with our pizza.
After lunch, we went to check out the ship. We stopped off at the
Library. It was just opening. It is a beautifully decorated place.
Probably my favorite decorated place on the ship, with dark wood
paneling and leather chairs. But it was very small. And we have more
books in our rec. room. Linda picked out a book but that was about
it.
Nothing of interest to either Jonathan or me.
As you walk around the ship, the predominant wall finishing is this
absolutely horrible corrugated metal that reminds me of those horrible
metal garage doors that you see in junky buildings in New York. It
was
the most ugly pinkish tinted copper color. And it's everywhere.
Up on deck the ship is finished in gorgeous teakwood. And there are
beautiful wooden had railings all over, but unfortunately they are
already well worn. On the Ocean Princess back in April, the ship was
only a few weeks old, and they were already sanding and re-varnishing
wooden hand railings. Not on the Destiny. Wood was already dry
rotting
near metal ends. The ship isn't getting the best of care.
Negotiating your way through the ship is terrible. Almost none of the
public decks allow you to walk from front to back on the ship. There
is
always something in your way (like a closed dining room). To get from
the front to the back, you have to walk either up or down to a cabin
deck, and then take that to where you want to go. Then take steps to
the deck you want.
One note about elevators. There seem to be dozens of them. But
forget
it. People on all floors press the buttons, get disgusted and end up
walking instead. And even if you get one, it will then stop at ALL
floors. Skip the elevators, just walk. Actually, this ship is
probably
a very good candidate for escalators. Lots of space and lots of
people.
Before dinner the first day, we had the obligatory lifeboat drill.
Almost 3,500 people were jammed in the small area that you board the
lifeboats from (one deck above the promenade deck). Members of the
crew
were dressed in regular clothes, not in their uniforms. Not very
professional. After lifeboat drill it was nearly time for dinner.
Actually we had about a half-hour, but spend the time tied at the
dock.
Instead of sailing at 5:00, we sailed at 6:00. We would miss being up
on deck while sailing out of New York Harbor. Bummer. We saw the NY
Skyline from the dining room (we had early seating), but it would have
been so much better to be out on deck.
For dinner, we were assigned to the Universe Dining Room. It is the
one
at the back of the ship. We were on the upper deck. Assigned to a
booth for 4. Booths sound like a nice idea, but on a ship, someone
is
always leaning over you to get serve the inner person in the booth
(did
you use your Arrid today?). Thumbs down for booths. Tables are MUCH
better.
Dinners were good. Our assistant waiter, Dana, from the Czech
Republic
(my grandparents were from Czechoslovakia and I still know a few
words)
was wonderful. Ketut, from the Philippines was fair. Dana made up
for
him though. Not only did we see her every evening, but usually at
breakfast in the Sun and Sea lido café as well. Our head waiter
checked on us daily. He seemed to be sincerely interested that we
were
having a good time.
One of the specialties that Carnival offers is a pasta dish that can
be
ordered as a small portion for an appetizer. That seemed the best way
to go. I went for the pasta specialty each evening. I would always
ask
for recommendations, but I wasn't always happy. For example I'd ask
which salad was better. Ketut's recommendation was always the Caesar.
Later I tried the mixed salad and found it was much fresher. I
eventually found out why Ketut's recommendations weren't always the
best. Years earlier we learned on a Celebrity ship that the
crewmembers
are fed the same meals as the passengers, albeit not on fine china
with
the fancy presentations. But they do get the same food (or they can
even opt for 'local' type Indonesian or Filipino foods that the chefs
make). But not on Carnival. Dana said that in port she always goes
for
a meal when she can, because she doesn't really like the food they are
given. But they are definitely NOT given the same food the
passengers
get, like on Celebrity. Given that, they waiters don't really know
which items are the best.
On Thursday, Linda and I both had a very nicely prepared chicken.
Soups
were very good. Especially the chilled soups. We tried the famous
pumpkin soup. It had an unusual taste that I would describe as the
wonderful aftertaste of stuffing and gravy. Desserts were rather poor
though. NCL overall still has the best desserts (crème brule and
tiramisu on Celebrity and Princess not withstanding). The only
dessert
that was really good was the Grand Marnier soufflé.
As I said, our waiter seemed fair. He just didn't seem to have his
act
together. He was ALWAYS busy, but on two occasions, either forgot my
salad, or bought it with another course and said 'here, I'll put it on
the side for you'. I think he was just SO BUSY taking care of too
many
tables. There was just no 'finesse'. He was always rushing and could
never take any time with you.
After dinner, Linda checked the Carnival Capers paper for the evening
show, but there was no show until 10:30. There was no way that we
could
last that long. We visited the gift shop and the photo gallery. The
photos on the Destiny are tagged with little anti-theft thingeez. And
all sides of the photo gallery have those things at the exits of
department stores that buzz if you try to steal something. Guess I
know what Carnival thinks of the passengers that they attract.
Shortly
Linda and the kids went back to the cabin, while I went up on deck for
a
while. While looking around, I noticed a 'LINE' in the water. As soon
as the ship passed the line, the temperature changed from about 90
degrees to 65 degrees in a split second. I ran down and got my
sweatshirt (which incidentally said 'Caribbean - Princess Cruises').
As I walked around the deck at night, it was littered with empty beer
cans, empty pizza plates, apple cores. I grabbed a lounge chair to
watch the ship's wake but was interrupted by the nighttime cleaning
crew. They wanted to put all the lounge chairs away, and begin the
nightly cleaning of the ship - no small task.
Just before going to bed, I got a GPS fix. We were about halfway
along
the south coast of Long Island. My last reading at 10:30 that night
was
[N 40'44 W068'23 (hddd'mm format)].
By the next morning the ship would again be clean… but it just never
lasted clean for very long.
I got back to the cabin around 10:45 or so. We couldn't hear any
noise
from the Disco beneath us. No problem there.
FRIDAY - DAY AT SEA, SAILING TO HALIFAX
I awoke Friday, and wondered where we were. It felt like we were
docked. Looking out the window, sure enough we were at sea. The ship
was very stable at sea. After sailing on the Ocean Princess, which
had
the ocean going stability of an empty Coke can, the Destiny had the
ocean going characteristics of a small continent. It was so stable
in
the water. You could detect almost no motion. It just seemed to
glide
through the water.
I dressed before anyone else woke up, and went up on deck to look
around. It was still cool, in the 60's. I got a GPS fix on our
location [N 0'29, W069'08 - off Nantucket Shoals, well past Long
Island]. The ocean depth out over Nantucket Shoals is only 6 meters
in
some places. So we sailed around it on our way to Halifax.
After getting my fill of fresh (and cool) air, I went to the Sun and
Sea
lido café to bring back some pre-breakfast munchies for Linda and the
kids. I picked up a plate, but the selection of rolls and buns was
very
limited. I picked a few items and brought them back to the cabin.
They
weren't a big hit though. Not after they're used to the great
selection
on Celebrity and Princess ships, where you can get chocolate
croissants,
muffins, fresh baked rolls, croissants, etc.
We all got dressed for breakfast, and headed up to the lido café.
There
are no trays. You pick up your own 'wet' plate from the pile of
plates. Linen and knives and forks are placed on the tables. No one
hands anything to you. The lines were actually very short. There are
a
number of stations, 2 inside, 2 outside, 1 on the side, where you can
get breakfast items. Plus, the lines moved quickly because of the
lack
of selection. Fruits were limited. There was nothing like smoked
salmon. After the Princess and Celebrity buffets, I'd rate the
Carnival
buffet a 3-4 on a 1-10 scale. They did have fresh made omelets at the
end of the line though. They were very good. Without the omelets, I
don't think I'd rate the buffet much higher than a 1-2. The bacon was
undercooked. There were sausages that I was afraid to try after
looking
at them. Orange slices were available at another station, but they
were
as bitter as g.fruit. The juice glasses were very large though.
You
didn't have to go back for 7 refills like on other ships. I also
found
that I didn't need to drink as much liquid, probably because of the
cooler climate. In addition to the juice station, there are 'space
age'
looking coffee and hot chocolate machines. In the lido café we met
Dana, our assistant waiter. She hovered close by in case we needed
anything. She was very helpful and very personable. We all really
liked her.
After breakfast, we spent the day scooping out most of the ship. We
saw
Wade, our cabin steward on our way back to the cabin. I asked him if
he
would raise the Pullman bed. I couldn't find the little latch, which
most ships have. He mumbled something about how it took too much time
to do it. He came into the cabin with a key, put the key into a
little
slot, and the bed mechanically rose toward the ceiling. All you had
to
do was hold the key. No pushing or anything. But it seemed to be WAY
too much work for him.
After wandering the ship for a while, Lara wanted to go down the big
water slide. It was actually open, but the water was SO COLD. No one
was in the pools, although the hot tubs were always full. After a
quiet
(as quiet as it can be around 3427 people) morning we went to lunch.
The kids and I had pizza again, but Linda wanted the buffet.
After lunch we again just bummed around. Linda went to the shore
excursion talk by John Heald, while the kids and I 'vegged' in the
cabin. I was out on the balcony just relaxing. After a while Linda
came back to the cabin with a new friend that she had just made. Liz
was on her first cruise. It was a mother's day present. She was
there
with her son. But she was having a horrible time. She was in an
inside
cabin, felt claustrophobic. And there were SO many people on the ship
that even going around was no help. She lived in Vermont, and liked
it
quiet. Linda showed her our balcony, in the chance that maybe they
could upgrade to a nicer cabin even if they had to pay more for it.
We
also showed her the promenade deck where you could get away from the
crowds. She went to check at the Purser's Desk to see if there were
better cabins available. We left Liz, went for ice cream. The ship
has
ice cream stations open all day and night. Good job there.
After we wandered around a bit longer we went to the comedy show in
the
Criterion Lounge. The comedian was obnoxious. I think that he
attended
the first semester of Andrew Dice Clay's comedy school. But he forgot
to attend the second session where you learn to be funny. Basically
he
was just insulting. With an assortment of 'Fart' jokes. Pretty
classy! Not.
After the comedy show, it was time for the Captain's Cocktail Party.
They announced that 'if' the Captain could break himself away from the
Bridge, that he would be in the Criterion Lounge. But that FREE BOOZE
would be available all over the ship. That seemed to be the perceived
attraction - free booze. But it's not high on our agenda. So we
decided that we wouldn't break ourselves away from the cabin. It was
the only time we've missed the Captain's Cocktail Party, which we
usually enjoy very much. We like to meet the Captain. We like to
hear
about new ships coming. We like to see the introduction of the
officers. But just free booze? Not for us.
So we just went back to the cabin to dress for formal night dinner.
Jonathan and I packed our formal shirts with bow ties. I add a black
suit, and Jonathan adds a navy blazer and we're set. Linda and Lara
opted for cocktail dresses. On the Destiny 4 night itinerary, one
night
is formal night. All other nights are casual.
Dinner featured Lobster and Prime Rib. Linda chose the lobster and
said
it was OK. After too many occurrences of 'mushy' lobster that later
made me sick to my stomach on RCCL and NCL ships, I didn't even
consider
taking a chance on lobster or shrimp on the Destiny. I will only
order
seafood on Princess and Celebrity ships. So I went for the Prime Rib,
along with the pasta specialty for an appetizer. The Prime Rib was
OK. Not great, not bad. On the tough side. Veggies were nice and
crisp though. Dessert was cherries jubilee. The waiters sang for us.
After dinner, we went up on deck for a while. I got a GPS fix and
wrote
down the lat/long. But soon the kids wanted to go back to the cabin.
When we returned to the cabin, Wade had surprised us with one of the
famous Carnival towel animals. It was a rabbit. Cool. There were
again chocolates on our pillows. The kids were exhausted. I stayed
with them for a while and Linda went to the show. I may have fallen
asleep. Not sure. When she came back to the cabin, I asked how the
show was, and she said 'really good… go catch the end'. So I did. I
saw about the last 10 minutes. After the show, I walked around the
deck
for a while, but it was now even colder. My GPS now said that we were
due south of Liverpool, NS - getting close. I visited the gift shop,
bought myself a Carnival Destiny T-shirt. I got one last GPS fix for
the day. It was [N 43'04, W064'51].
SATURDAY, HALIFAX, NS
When we awoke on Saturday, we were already docked in Halifax. It was
8:00 am. We got a great night's sleep. I looked out the balcony door
and saw a long train off in the distance. There were 2 diesel
locomotives painted with smiley faces. We were docked in an
industrial
area. There was no sight of the downtown wharf area of Halifax. I
went
up on deck and got a GPS fix. Our location was [N 43'38, W064'34].
After our usual buffet breakfast (we rarely go to the dining room with
the kids), we went back to the cabin, put on sunscreen (it was sunny
and
about 70-75 deg.) before heading off the ship. This time, when we
got
back to the cabin Lara asked Wade to raise the Pullman Bed. Only
instead of coming himself, he just gave her the key. He followed up a
few minutes later, helped her out, and then ran off with the key.
As we got off the ship, we went through a large terminal building that
was full of people selling all kids of touristy things. We made our
way
through and came outside. We were greeted by a number of college
kids.
They have a small cottage industry there. They load you into
rickshaws
and jog you into town. It's about a 5-minute jog, or a 10-minute
walk.
One guy offered to take all 4 of us in 1 rickshaw. The cost was $8
per
person. He gave us a narrative along the way. There was a gorgeous
yacht in harbor. He said the rumor was that it belonged to Madonna.
But, that someone else was using it. It supposedly cost $27 million.
He dropped us off by the Maritime Museum. We went to check out the
museum first. Jonathan was in Heaven. There were tons of large
models
of ships. Many 5-6 ft. long. Beautifully detailed. There were also
some actual sailboats in the museum. Plus, a large motor vessel, the
Acadia outside tied up at dock. Inside the museum they have the only
deck chair from the Titanic. Halifax was the nearest port to where
the
Titanic had sunk that fateful night, 88 years ago. Many of the people
who died were buried in Halifax. The deck chair is behind glass. I
got
the chills when I looked at the White Star Emblem carved into the back
of the chair. The visit to the museum includes a 3-D movie of one of
the dives to view the Titanic where she rests.
There are a number of other Titanic artifacts there as well. Thanks
Ray
at r.t.c. for insightfully insisting that we visit the museum.
After the museum, we walked around for a while and decided to have
lunch
at a restaurant on the waterfront. Linda and I had Fish n Chips. I
sampled a local raspberry flavored beer. The kids had chicken
fingers.
Dessert was shared cheesecake, apple crisp and carrot cake, with
everyone getting a fork.
After lunch, we stopped at a souvenir shop and bought a few trinkets.
Jonathan got a small wooden ship model. Lara got a piece of jewelry.
Inside the souvenir shop you can also buy tickets to sail the harbor
in
a sail boat, or go on a boat for whale watching. The sign in the shop
said they saw 'MANY' whales that day. Next time in Halifax (maybe
next
year) we'll probably go either on the harbor sailing or the whale
watching boat.
After getting our souvenirs Linda and the kids hailed a Rickshaw.
They
wanted to ride back to the ship. I decided to walk. I just felt like
a
nice walk. The guy walked with them instead of jogging, so I was able
to keep up.
When we got back to the dock area, we scooped out the souvenirs at the
terminal building and soon made our way back on the ship. We really
liked Halifax. We would definitely like to go back again. We could
see
making it a regular itinerary for us. We quietly spent the rest of
the
afternoon on the ship. We dressed for dinner just as the ship was
pulling out of harbor. Again, we spent sail away in the dining room.
Late seating is the way to go on the Destiny. At least on this
itinerary.
Dinner that evening was 'dance night' by the waiters. Linda and I
each
had chateaubriand. It was OK. A bit tough. And dry. Dessert was
Baked Alaska as I recall. Not very good though. Before dessert the
waiters dance the Macarana. There were a few good laughs.
After dinner, it was the night of the magic show. We got to the
Palladium Lounge early to get good seats. The kids wanted to sit in
the
balcony. Only problem is that in the balcony you can't get drinks.
The
kids love getting fancy drinks, without the alcohol, of course.
The magician was very good. Actually he was more of an illusionist.
Much better than the magician doing card tricks on the Ocean Princess.
Although the illusionist on the Galaxy was better. And, consistent
with
the comedian the day before, he sprinkled in some 'Fart' jokes.
After the show, the kids went back to the cabin to sleep while Linda
read out on the balcony. Linda said that they guy in the cabin next
door was out on his balcony, smoking and spitting in the ocean.
[classy] The towel animal for the night was a walrus. I got a couple
of
location fixes up on deck. I stopped for a hot chocolate in the lido
café. The chocolate machine on the side of the lido café where we
usually went wasn't working, so I went to the machine at the
juice/coffee station on the other side of the café. There was a
prevalent odor around the station. Somebody wasn't doing a good job
of
cleaning. And the odor lasted the entire weekend there. Back up on
deck for one last GPS reading. Our last location for the night before
I
went to bed was [N 40'31, W071'57]. We were due south of Lunenberg.
On
the way back to the cabin, I noticed several empty beer cans in the
hallways, gifts from someone.
SUNDAY, DAY AT SEA, ON OUR WAY HOME
Sunday I awoke to the ship again motionless at sea. But we were doing
a
good 18+ knots. The sea was as smooth as a sheet of glass. And this
wasn't the Caribbean. This was the North Atlantic. And not even a
ripple. Eerily similar to how it must have been 88 years ago, when it
was so calm that you couldn't see icebergs at night because there were
no waves crashing against them.
A quick look at my GPS had us off Georges Bank, another shallow bank,
to
the north east of Nantucket Shoals.
We dressed for breakfast, and again saw our friend Dana in the Sun and
Surf lido café. After breakfast, Linda went to hear John Heald give
his
debarkation talk. He suggested we carry our own luggage off the ship
if
we could. It would speed the overall process. If we did, we would be
the first off the ship. Plus it would reduce the number of bags that
the shore workers had to take off the ship, again speeding the
process.
John was into his comedy routine, with everyone in the crowd in
stitches. He even continued with the 'Fart' jokes that seemed to be
big
in the ship.
At lunch, we met Linda's friend Liz and her son. They were unable to
get a better cabin, but by now Liz had found some quiet places on the
ship where she could read. Since Linda had told her we had gone on
other cruises, she asked us for some recommendations. While talking
with her, a whale surfaced off the port side of the ship. Luckily we
had a table against the windows. The whale, which was black in color,
flipped it's tail in the air a few times and splashed around until we
sailed past. It was a special treat.
We chatted a while longer, exchanged E-mail addresses, and then went
to
the 'Win, Lose, or Draw' and 'Family Feud' contests in the Downbeat
Lounge. We participated on several teams that won and came away with
a
few of the 'Year 2000 Carnival Destiny' medals and a gold Carnival
Destiny trophy in the shape of the ship.
After the contest, we went back to the cabin to begin packing. Our
cabin steward had delivered our tip envelopes. Only this time they
asked for your name and cabin number on the tip envelopes. I guess
they
feel it is necessary to know whether you gave tips out or not.
We got a good start at the packing before getting dressed for dinner.
Linda asked me to drop off her book at the library. It was only open
for 1 hour.
I also went up on deck to get a GPS fix. I ran into Liz who was out,
overlooking the wake at the back of the ship. After she left, I
glanced
to the starboard side of the ship, only to notice a quickly moving
gray
object about 200 yards to the right of the ship. It was a US Military
jet. Either an F14, F15 or F18. It went so quickly that I couldn't
tell. It was almost silent as it passed. But in about 2 seconds it
went into a steep climb (surely to put on a show for us) and did a few
spins. It was literally deafening when it began the climb. It spun
off
to the right and disappeared into the clouds. What a sight.
Dinner the last night was again 'singing waiter' night. This time
though, they made the waiters sing 'God Bless America, my Home, Sweet
Home'. We did not think that this was appropriate at all. The
waiters'
homes are NOT in America. They come from 53 nations, but America is
NOT
their home. We didn't think it was appropriate at all. And said so
very clearly on our comments cards.
After dinner, we went to the show in the lounge. This time we got
seats
on the bottom level so that the kids could get fancy drinks. We made
it
through about half the show till the kids were tired. Then it was
back
to the cabin, the kids to bed and Linda out to the balcony for some
quiet reading. Since it was the last night of the cruise, the
bathrobes
and the 59-cent basket were gone. The shampoo and soap were still
there. But the 59-cent basket was gone.
I wandered around for a while, got a GPS fix - we were now south of
the
tip of Montauk on Long Island. We were three quarters of the way
home.
At 11:00 p.m. we were at [N 40'31, W071'57].
When I went to bed, I left the balcony curtains partly open - I was
hoping that the sun might wake me up early so I could watch us sail
into
NY Harbor.
MONDAY, RETURN TO NEW YORK AND LADY LIBERTY
My plan worked. I awoke at 5:30. I quietly dressed and took my GPS
and
camera with me and ran up on deck. The ship was about 30 minutes away
from the Narrows Bridge. The sun was already up from the horizon.
Quite a few people had gathered on deck to watch us sail into NY
Harbor. We were doing about 16-17 knots. I tried to get a good photo
of the sun as we passed under the bridge. I tried to capture the sun
between the two sides of the Brooklyn side tower. The roll of film is
still in the camera, so I don't know how it came out yet. Hopefully
it's a keeper. I also took a quick snapshot of the tall smokestack as
we sailed under the bridge. It sure didn't look like much clearance.
But we made it.
Another hour or so, and we had negotiated through the harbor, past
Lady
Liberty and Ellis Island, and were nearing pier 90. What a sight the
Statue of Liberty is when you sail into the Harbor. As we approached
the pier, I noticed that the Big Red Boat II had sailed. We were
alone
at the pier.
After we docked, I went back to the cabin. The gang was already up.
We
dressed for breakfast. We couldn't get a table downstairs in the lido
café, so we took the stairs to the upper deck of the café. It was
there that we noticed a guy with a 'Suck This' T-shirt. Just another
in
a long list of classy performances on the ship. Not! On our way out
of
the restaurant, we saw Dana. The kids gave her big goodbye hugs.
After breakfast, Jonathan and I went on our special little excursion
that we always do. We go to check out the suites, after the people
have
left them. Those on the Destiny were OK, but not nearly as opulent as
those on the Century and Galaxy, and not as impressive as the one we
saw
on the Grandeur of the Seas that had a white baby grand piano.
After about a half-hour, Linda suggested that we try to make our way
down to the lower decks with our luggage, before everyone else tries.
As
soon as we got there, we saw that they were letting people off the
ship. We were off in 2 minutes with our luggage in hand, and made our
way to the Taxi Line. We got a taxi ticket (our number was about 40
from the number that was being called). It was about an hour wait.
Finally we got a taxi. As our driver was trying to merge into
traffic,
he honked the horn. A guy who obviously sailed with us ran out to us
and yelled 'Go ahead, honk your horn again. Honk it again. One more
time. One more time for ME!' Yes, we were back home.
The taxi dropped us off at Penn Station, where there was a train
departing in about 7 minutes. We dragged our luggage down the stairs
and got onto the train. This time we got seats. 45 Minutes later we
were in our hometown. We called my mom, who came to the station for
me. She drove me home, where I got my SUV and went back for Linda,
the
kids and the luggage. On our way home we picked up Penny at the Vets.
Actually we got yelled at for yelling out Penny's name. We had riled
all the dogs up. In a few minutes Penny came out running, and after
greeting us, quickly made a beeline for the truck. She wanted to get
HOME!
Another 3 minutes and we were in the house, our 'end of school
extravaganza' now complete.
Would we go again? Definitely, but we would like a newer ship. While
Destiny is only 4 years old, it has taken a beating from the
passengers. But, given the option of a Destiny Class ship, or a RCCL
Vision Class ship if one was available, we'd have to go with the
Vision
Class ship. Too bad RCCL doesn't recognize the potential of the NY
market for short cruises in the summer. And next time we would like
to
visit Saint John, NB as well.
IN CONCLUSION
A few last observations, and a little fun, taking a cue from some of
the
Cruise books.
5 Reasons to Book this Ship and Cruise (so there's not 5… sue me):
------------------------------------------------------------------
-For a nice weekend get away from NYC.
-To See 3427 other passengers packed on a huge ship.
-To buy your own Carnival Destiny T-shirt.
-To get a balcony cabin at a cheap price for 4 (around $1600 for 4
nights).
-To sail out of NY Harbor past Lady Liberty and Ellis Island - a very
special treat.
-To see a whale at sea (only if you're lucky - we were).
-To visit the beautiful port of Halifax, NS.
5 Reasons to NOT Book this Ship and Cruise:
------------------------------------------
-Because there are 3427 other passengers packed on a huge ship.
-To avoid seeing beer cans and bottles left in the hallway outside
your
cabin door.
-The Lido Deck food.
-The interior decorating (specifically the horrible corrugated metal
wall covering all over the ship)
-The wear and tear on the ship
Who's On Board:
--------------
-At the price point that they charge, you even get the tattooed,
sleeveless T-shirt, no shoes on, drinking beer out in the hallway
crowd.
-The guy at debarkation who, when our taxi driver honked his horn,
came
to the cab and yelled 'Go ahead, honk your horn again. Honk it again.
One more time. One more time for ME!'
-John Heald, the cruise director.
-Apryl, the assistant cruise director, hostess or whatever here title
is, but she's CUTE!
-More kids than in the entire New York City school system
Who should Go:
-------------
-Anyone that wants a nice get away from NYC and doesn't mind the 5
reasons to NOT book the ship.
-Anyone who loves Carnival because then never tried another line.
-Anyone who loves LOTS of people.
-Anyone who loves smoking and spitting in the ocean from your own
private balcony.
-Anyone how wants to visit the Titanic Exhibit at the Halifax Maritime
Museum.
-Anyone who wants a rickshaw ride.
Who should NOT Go:
-----------------
-Anyone who doesn't like being around the guy yelling at the taxi
driver. Because there are hundreds of him on board.
-Those who demand great food and great service… or a clean ship for
that
matter.
-Anyone who can't stand being around 3400+ other people in cramped
surroundings.
-Anyone who doesn't like 'Fart' jokes.
5 Things you will see on Carnival but probably not on other ships:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-Uniformed security guards patrolling the ship in the evening and at
night.
-Anti-theft 'thingeez' on the photos, and scanners at all exits from
the
photo gallery.
-Passengers with 'Suck This' T-shirts.
-The crew out of uniform (shorts/T-shirts) supervising the muster
station drill.
-Crew that almost never say hello to you (they always do on Princess),
but quickly glance at you and then look down as you pass by.
-Tip envelopes requesting name, cabin #, and table #
-A lady passenger in sweat pants with holes attending a classical
musical presentation.
-Guys who are barefoot, in sleeveless T-shirts, cut offs, walking down
the hallway, drinking a bottle of beer.
-Cabin attendants who won't raise your bed if you ask, and instead
give
you the key.
-Dining room staff who are 'forced' to sing 'God Bless America, my
home
sweet home' with their hands on their hearts, when probably none of
them
have homes in America.
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