Tara

Help! My husband and I can't decide between the Destiny and RCL Adventure of the Seas for a 7 day S. Caribbean cruise. We have a coupon for Carnival which makes it $550 cheaper. Is the bigger boat (RCL) worth the extra money? The differences in ports are that Carnival goes to Martinque and Barbados and RCL goes to Curaco and St. Maartin. Help!<BR><BR>Also.... been pricing hotels for the Sat. night before we leave. The avg. price is $250 for Westin Old San Juan and Marriot. Does this seem right?

G.

Hi,<BR>Having sailed on the Destiny last year and we were not pleased at all. In fact we were disgusted by the Destiny and will NEVER EVER sail on CCL again...it was a nightmare straight from HELL. Please do yourself a favor and go on the ADVENTURE...RCCL is a much better line and their ships are better and staff is better as well. Trust me you will hate CCL. The lines are ridiculous and the ship is usually over run by kids. Also since the Destiny is a cheap cruise from San Juan you get alot of PR's who don't care how they act on board and are usually unruly and extremely loud. Go For the Adventure.

Peter

No question - spend the $550 and take the Adventure. We were on the Explorer and it was the best ship we've ever been on - a 10 out of 10. I have seen a lot of negative posts about the Destiny on other boards. You just can't go wrong with the Adventure.<BR><BR>We are staying at the Marriott in November for $199.

[email protected]

Funny how so many can have different opinions.<BR><BR>I have cruised on HAL, RCCL, NCL and Carnival. The Destiny was one of my favorite cruises. I loved the ports of call. The lower price is just the icing on the cake.

Bob

Tara:<BR><BR>(Brief Destiny review plus hotel tip)<BR><BR>I cruised the Destiny in January--loved our balcony and the jazz combo was wonderful. There were a few hiccups, but probably to be expected. On the southern Caribbean route, Antigua & Aruba were great; really enjoyed the waterfall in Guadaloupe (a definite highlight). Was not impressed by St. Thomas.<BR><BR>Overall, it was a very nice experience and we were sorry to have to leave the ship.<BR><BR>While you will probably have a great time on the Destiny, and I can't speak to the Adventure from personal experience, all of the real experts out there recommend it over Carnival and the Destiny is no longer new, so if you can afford it...<BR><BR>Tip on a Puerto Rico hotel. We stayed at the Radisson Ambassador in the Condado district. It was a prime week (Jan 5) and the standard rates were $225 for a regular room. However, they gave us a suite for half price with the Entertainment.com card--$140 a night. <BR><BR>This is the card you get with the coupon book that local charities often sell. Most hotels don't take it (or they do but their rack rates are so high it doesn't save any money), but I've had good luck with it--I'm saving $80 on two nights this weekend, in fact. The book (with the card) only costs $20-$30, and the 5 nights in PR saved us hundreds. If you're willing to remember to clip coupons, you can also save locally on restaurants, hair cuts--stuff like that. Not sure that the effort is really worth it for that.<BR><BR>As to the hotel: I'd give it a B or a B+. The suite was very nice (included a kitchenette). Rooftop pool was nice too. There's also a casino and a tiny bar with live music every night (usually two people with key boards singing in Spanish--nice, but didn't hold my attention for very long...). <BR><BR>Nearby beach was unimpressive (especially after Antigua & Aruba!) and it's about a block, block and a half away--not very far to walk. Otherwise the hotel locale is good--you can walk to restaurants, etc.<BR><BR>If you're spending a couple of days, after Old San Juan I'd recommend the caves on the other side of the island. Rain forest wasn't overly impressive.<BR><BR>Good luck! <BR><BR>

Tara

Thanks everyone for the great advice. We've decided on Hotel Milano because of it's price ($115) and it's location so close to the piers and attractions in Old San Juan. We're also leaning towards the Destiny.... even though I know most people said the other ship was better... because I can't see it being $500 better and because the Destiny goes to Barbados. Any input on best rooms on the Destiny or the Hotel Milano is much appreciated. Cheers!

Paul Therault

Hi Tara,<BR><BR>I sailed the Destiny last year and found nothing at all wrong with the cruise. It was delightful. As I read into the posts concerning the Destiny I find everyone mentions the Puerto Ricans. All I can say is if one wishes to cruise out of San Juan you will find a majority of Puerto Ricans. I might add ..... they are wonderful people and would put many of us Americans to shame. They are not rabble-rousers. They are well-dressed. Their childen are well behaved. Most are astute businessmen.<BR><BR>Enjoy your cruise.<BR><BR>Paul

deedles

I sailed the Destiny last year and loved it and would highly recommend it. It's a huge ship with plenty of activities and a great itinerary. I'm glad to see it doesn't call at St. Lucia any longer. That was the pitts!

Peter

I really don't want to see you make a mistake and ruin your vacation - here is what a recent poster on CruiseCritic said about her cruise on the Destiny:<BR><BR>"My husband won the cruise (aboard Destiny, one of their newer ships) so we decided to upgrade to a full suite and take our 9 year old son with us. <BR><BR>From the moment we got on the ship we discovered next door were two 25ish year old men who smoked pot and listened to a ghetto blaster on their balcony the entire trip. We complained several times. But we were told that once we were in international waters there was nothing they could do to stop them.<BR><BR>There were 800 kids on the boat the week we sailed. Parents would just leave them whereever they felt like it (including leaving very little ones alone in their cabins - which resulted in large fights amongst themselves, crying events in the hallway, and one time one knocking on our door for assistance.) I wanted to cry myself. I never saw so many adults that just didn't have good parental morals. <BR><BR>I also never saw so many people get drunk in one place before."<BR>

deedles

Ok, what time of the year did this lady go Peter? A)this could happen on any ship B)I'm sure during certain times of the year there are more children on board than other and C)don't listen to Peter, he has something against Carnival. You can get all sorts of people on any ship you go on.

pc

P

PhiloT

Go Destiny - $550 buys me and my mum a lot of gin. Pay less to cruise, so I have more to buy booze.<BR><BR>And as far as Puerto Ricans go, they are a nice people. On my last trip there, I met a nice PR woman - too bad my mum was with me - I couldn't take her back to my room - Mum gets too jealous<BR><BR>save the money, carnival is best

Cathy

Hi Tara!<BR><BR>I have sailed on both the Destiny and the Voyager, which is the identical "triplet" of the Adventure. Which ship you ultimately choose depends on your priortiy.<BR><BR>I thought the Voyager was a much prettier ship than the Destiny and there were more things to do on the ship. I love the Ship Shape program on the RCCL ships and I enjoyed the rock climbing wall, Johnny Rockets, etc.<BR><BR>I did choose to sail the Destiny due to the ports of call. Since I was a teacher, it was the first ship to go to Aruba in the summer time, which is the only time I cruise. On the Destiny, I just relaxed and enjoyed the ports of call.<BR><BR>The one short comming of Carnival is that it does not seem to have a good children's program. On both the Destiny and the Pride, which I just got off a week ago, children were running around and complaining that they were bored. I always find places to hide from the kids, so I had a great time anyway.<BR><BR>As far as the ports of call, what are you looking to do? St. Maarten has good shopping, Curacao has good beaches and snorkeling, Barbados is fantastic. I has been to Martinique twice, and other than a very nice botanical garden and good French shopping, I was not impressed. Language can be a problem since most people speak French. Fewer people on Martinique speak English than in Paris ( that was my experience).<BR><BR>So if you are not really into the ship board activities and just want to relax on deck and visit the islands, go with the Destiny. But if you want lots of activities, go with Adventure. I would pick Adventure between the two.

Paul Therault

We get a good thread going with positive comments concerning Carnival and Peter the Carnival hater finds one on another forum that he can "copy."<BR><BR>If there were 800 children on the Destiny that means every upper berth and single convertible sofa had a child in it ..... fallacy.<BR><BR>Those that bring boom-boxes on any ship will not be allowed to play them to disturb others. International waters or no International waters.... fallacy.<BR><BR>I am always up and around at all hours of the night and found one male and sometimes one female that were drunk on the Destiny. And that was after 2 AM.<BR><BR>As for Peter's RCCL. I was on the Voyager and saw one evening on the upper pool deck where a group of 9 or ten 20 somethings were passing around a bottle. Possibly 3 were very inebriated at 4 AM. There was one male that was fairly drunk all week. I was on the Explorer and found no drunks.<BR><BR>So, as I stated before, every ship will have a few drunks but as far as the statement that one never saw so many drunk in one place ..... pure fallacy.<BR><BR>As far as unruly children. It is the fault of the parents. There are as many unruly children on any mass-market cruise line as Carnival.<BR>One has to put up with this if they wish to pay family prices. Fact.<BR><BR>Fact. Most passengers that win a free cruise sail with a negative feeling in advance. They know that the cruise is a value cruise and that's what they expect to experience.<BR><BR>Carnival was voted as having the best children's program. I found that this is not true and is voted on by the masses. Any cruise lines children's program is good to excellent.<BR><BR>Paul<BR><BR><BR>

Tara

Cathy - thanks so much for the comparison. I can still book the ship that I want and although I was leaning towards RCCL, I'm not sure. We don't get into the fitness program too much on board, but, we do love the ports of call, viewing the ocean from our balcony, having a drink on the deck before dinner, and hiding from the kids during the day while at the pool. I thought Adv of the seas would give us more to do/look at when at see and taking strolls around the ship and more choices for eating lunch, having a late night coffee, etc. I like the Destiny itenary better because it goes to Barbados. I would enjoy St. Martin as well, but feel that Martinque and Curaco (sp?) cross themselves out. We're used to staying at nicer resorts when we travel which is another reason why we liked RCCL. <BR><BR>Now... after this long spill.... my question for you is..... is the Adv. that much nicer than the Destiny (which I've been on before on a W. Carr cruise) so that when I get on it I will think it was worth the extra $$?

Peter

Tara - I know you asked Cathy, but let me give you the number one reason I would sail the Adventure - the Promonade. In the middle of this giant ship, they have carved out and area about 100 yards long and probably five decks high thats called the Promonade. Its designed to look like a typical small town main street that actually has a bricked street, street lamps, many different stores from sports bars to bakery shops to drug stores to a Tommy Hilfiger store. Above the stores on each side are the windows of the Atrium Cabins that are made to look like windows of apartment buildings looking up from the streets. They have three or four entertainers who "hang out" in the Promonade each night and entertain as clowns, mimes, etc. There's an ice cream stand with free product 24/7. They have two major "Mardi Gras" parades down this main street on your cruise with very colorful costumes and festive music. You'll find nothing like it on any other cruise line - a great place people watch. One evening they had a couple of country western singers perform there (you can sit in the outside eating tables and chairs of the various pubs and eateries on the street) and another night they had the "Blues Brothers".<BR><BR>Is it worth $550 - definite "yes" regardless of what Paul says. Yes, I'm an anti-Carnival person. Haven't ever sailed them but personally know dozens of friends and acquaintances who swear they'll never sail Carnival again.

Walter

I believe the key to Peter's post is the fact that he has never sailed Carnival. How much of an expert does that make him?

Paul Therault

I never compared the Adventure to the Destiny. I just explained the Destiny.<BR><BR>Of course the Voyager Class ships are a better as far as things to see and do on the ship. They are engineering marvels. Hang the ports.<BR><BR>After I sailed the Voyager I could not wait to sail the Explorer. I am not about to sail the Adventure when I can get the same itinerary on Carnival for less money. I sailed the Destiny three times and experienced three different itineraries.<BR><BR>If I were Tara, I would take advantage of the $550 coupon and sail the Destiny this year and when the popularity of the RCCL Voyager Class ships wear off the price will reduce. Sail then.<BR><BR>Paul

another

I have sailed on the Destiny, as well as the Voyager and Explorer. MY preference is the Voyager class ships. I sell both CCL and RCCL, and more of my clients repeat with RCCL.<BR><BR>On my particular sailings, I found the food much better on RCCL. The ships are totally different. The main problem that I had with the Destiny, is the lack of deck space. People were fighting over the chairs. I mean LITERALLY fighting. One person would get up to go to the bathroom, someone would walk over and remove their stuff from their chair and take it. Happened everyday.<BR><BR>I prefer the look of RCCL ships also. They are very elegant, the dining rooms on the Voyager class ships are amazing, 3 stories. I felt somewhat cramped with lower ceilings on the Destiny. The Promenade (as mentioned)on the Voy. class is unbeatable, reminds me of New Orleans. There are shows 2 times a week in the evenings there, looks like Mardi Gras party. The spa is also second to none. If you do go with the Adventure, try the RAZUL. It is designed for couples and is very romantic. (about $70 per couple)<BR><BR>I was in a balcony on the Destiny and also on the Explorer and I had an atrium view on the Voyager. I like the layout of category D6 on RCCL. Balconies are more private than on the Destiny.<BR><BR>Don't misunderstand me, the Destiny was in no way horrible. I just prefer RCCL.

Peter

For those who are valuing Paul's great advice on this thread, here is a reply from a passenger named John on another thread on this board about his Carnival experience (yes, I know I have no personal experience with Carnival so what do I know):<BR><BR>"Last year we asked this board for their opinion of Carnival. We were nervous because of all the bad press and we had never sailed before. Paul assured me that the line was great and we would have a good time. He lied. Never again. We did have a good time despite the ship because of the ports and just being together. Our fellow passengers were awful. Lots of obese people who never left the mediocre (at best) buffet. Lots of passed out people in the dirty, crowded pool area. Hot tubs overrun by young kids. You get the picture. Carnival gets a lot of good reviews from people who have only sailed Carnival. They like to label anyone who is not satified with Carnival as a 'snob'. Keep in mind that these people consider hairy chest contests amusing. I doubt many of them have been exposed to the finer things in life and thus do not know the difference. This year Celebrity!"<BR>