Is the Carnival destiny bad?

so im going on the carnival destiny for 4 nights to cozumel and key west from miami Ive heard some prettty bad comments about it. Im going with my family me 13, my brother 17, my sister 14, and my parents. What type of things are there to do like daily activities on the little newspaper thing. Is the food good. Are there a bunch of kids running the halls late at night. Does it smell like smoke or sewerage, are there propulsion problems, are the staff rude, is the pool small, are the lines for the buffet long, I have so many questions because this is our first cruise am I gonna have fun. Any tips or hints are greatly appreciated!!!






Answer :
Okay, i will do my best to answer your question.

I was on the Destiny in SEPT, when the motor went out, it happened late at night on our way back to Miami. There was no issue as we had a few extra hours on the ship, lol we arrived back into Miami about 4 hrs late. Carnival had already called the airlines and fixed everyone's flight, so no big deal. Now on to your other questions...

There are lots of things to do on the ship during the day. My fav's were playing in the casino and spending time in the pools and water slide. They have a teens club that you and your brother and sister could join in on to make friends and hang out in the club area. There is also an Arcade that you may like that the teens usually hang around at. Also up on top deck there is a basketball court that you or your brother may enjoy.

The food was fine to me. I have been on 4 Cruises and 3 of them have been on Carnival, 1 on Norwegian Cruise Line. Norwegian had the worst food. The pizza is very tasty and the meals in the dinning room were very good. The buffets were your avg buffet fare. My fav spots for lunch were the Asian section where they serve up made to order Asian food and also the NY Deli section, very good food at these places. The lines can be long at the start of the lunch buffet's, the best time to get in line would be about an hour after it starts :)

The only area that i notice the smoke smell was in the Casino of course. I am not a smoker and do not like the smell of it, at times it was bad and other times not so bad. I never smelled the sewer.

As far as the size of the pool, well there are a 3 pools. They are not huge pools, they are decent size for a cruise ship. My fav pool to cool off in was the one by the slide as it did not seem to be as crowded as the main pool area. It was probably 15 feet long by 12 feet wide and about 3.5 feet deep. And i never ran into a rude staff member.

It is okay to have so many questions, trust me i did too when i first started cruising and still do when i book a new cruise, its a bug, its addictive and its fun to learn as much as you can b4 you go :)

Just go and expect to have a good time. Don't let the little thing bother you and you will have a good time!

-David






Answer :
Since I don't have time to answer all of the questions let me just tell you this:

Don't go into a vacation expecting 5 star service (unless your staying at a five star resort/ship).
Carnival is meant to be a fun, cheap vacation which is what you are paying for. Their ships are fine and the people that give it bad reviews generally went into the vacation expecting too much. If you have a good attitude you'll have a great time.






Answer :
Don't worry about because there's nothing you can do about it. Remember you're just 13 and you're not the one paying for it.






Answer :
It's one of Carnival's older ships, so it will likely show some wear-and-tear. A short cruise is often a "party-hearty" type cruise, so there may well be some drunken louts and kids running in the halls [parents don't always supervise their children adequately].

Parts of the ship will smell like smoke, particularly the casino and the bars. Smoking will be restricted in the dining room and Lido, etc.

The pools will be small, as on all cruise ships. You can't do laps! And it may well be very crowded, especially on sea days.

Lines at the buffet may well be long, especially if you go at the busiest times. Go a little off-prime time and you'll be fine. Or eat at one of the other venues, e.g. the burger grill.

Carnival staff has a fairly good level of service, generally. Just remember that "what goes around comes around" - they are not servants. They work very hard for the little pay they get and depend on the tips from passengers to make a living, so don't "stiff" them.

Since this is your first cruise, you will have fun. You have nothing to compare it with.

If you want to read lots of reviews, you could go to CruiseCritic.com. Click on "Boards", then "Member Reviews" and find your ship. You might also be interested in the boards for "Ports of Call" [Coz and KW are both very easy and safe to do on your own, providing you make sure you get back to the ship on time], "First Time Cruisers", the Carnival board, etc.

Have fun!