A Cruise on Destiny

On day 1, we arrived at port via Carnival's transport service. A lovely driver named Roberto drove us and told lots of jokes.Boarding the ship I didn't know what to expect. I did, however know it would be fantastic. We went through security which was similar but more lax than airport security. That said, I still had to show my boarding pass and passport about 4 times AFTER security before getting on the boat.

The Carnival Destiny is nothing short of amazing when you walk in! I suppose I never thought about a ship having multiple floors and elevators but lo and behold there they both were! The Destiny boasts 10 levels you can access via elevator and two others that are accessible by using the lido deck on the top floor and climbing stairs.

For those worried about being bored on a boat for five days, this is a non issue. The boat has a casino, internet cafe, many bars and clubs, mini golf course, multiple decks for sunbathing, several pools and hot tubs and more!

Tuesday night was the captains dinner where everyone dresses up. There was show at dinner but unfortunately where we were sitting we could not see it. Our concern at that point was when the lobster and steak was coming not the show so no biggie.

The night life on the ship has something for everyone. There is a dance club, jazz bar, sing-a-long piano bar, comedy shows, and even karaoke under the stars to name a few.

I know you're thinking, McLovin, how could it be this awesome and you haven't even gotten to a port of call yet? Well, my dear readers, (both of you) you are in luck! It's day 3 and we are in Grand Turk. First off when I woke up this morning there was Grand Turk outside my window. We all loaded out of the ship and into Grand Turk. This is the capital of the Turk islands, however not the biggest or most populated. The island is about 7 miles long and a mile and a half wide. Approximately 4,000 people live here including the Governor of these islands. Only 9 of the 30 Turks Islands are inhabited by people. The island is actually a british colony, but their currency is the American dollar. They produce nothing in the island so everything must be imported. Their main industries are fishing and tourism.

During this shore leave me and some fellow cruisers went on a clear kayaking trip. It was my first time kayaking, but I had canoed before so it wasn't too far off from that. We went on a guided tour of this creek area that feeds into the ocean with our guides Andre, Louie, and the Captain. The water was beautiful! They showed us a number of creatures native to the area such as jack fish, needle fish, and konch which we got to experience eating raw. Konch is the only meat that you can eat raw right on the beach where you found it. These creatures are found in protective shells and the natives - called belongers (because they belong there - I'm not making this stuff up y'all) as well as the other residents know how to cut a one inch hole in just the right spot in the shell to free the creature for cleaning and eating. All he needed was a special hammer and a knife and five minutes later we all enjoyed some konch- so did the fish since only half of what is pulled out is normally eaten by humans.

Thursday we went to Half Moon Cay. This is a Carnival owned island in the Bahamas about 90 miles away from Nassau. The water and beaches were beautiful and the group had a great time swimming in the clear blue water.

On Friday we stopped in Nassau. I hate to say it but this was my least favorite of all our stops. However it was mostly a good day so I can't complain. First we tried to rent scooters but that didn't work out because of lack of cash and the credit card machine being down. Then we tried eating lunch and again another business' machine was down. Oh well lesson learned....always carry enough cash. We took a taxi and come to find out it may have been a blessing in disguise about the scooters. Those people drive all kinda crazy, and I might have kilt myself (yes I said kilt not killed).

The day ended up being lots of fun. We spent the day on a beautiful beach and got to play in the huge waves! After a while at the beach and a reenactment of a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (those birds are crazy, hungry, and have a problem hounding you for even the tiniest morsel of food), we made our way back to the shops to get a few souvenirs and then board our boat.

Tips for fellow travelers the liquor store on board is CHEAP! Not the pre mixed drinks they walk around selling - those are avg bar prices. But when I say cheap I mean they had big bottles of rum like the one I paid $23 for on land for $8.99. Did I mention it's tax and duty free people!? They had all kinds of liquor avail all at great prices. The catch is you get it when you disembark the sip at the end of the trip, so get that idea of drinking it onboard out ya head. You also may want to bring an extra bag since anything you saved on the liquor could easily be a fraction of the overweight bag fee to get it home.

A far as the gift shop they were hit or miss on prices. Some things were ridiculously expensive and others were pretty cheap. For example, I saw a cotton hoodie for $70 But T-shirts were $10 each.

The coolest thing about the ship is it is a multicultural melting pot. While most people spoke English many were not American. I heard so many languages throughout that week both on and off the boat.

This was a wonderful vacation and for the money it seems one of the best vacations you could go on. I’ve honestly been looking for my food buffet at all my meals for the last week!