CaribbeanJen

10 hours ago, ilovesparky13 said:

I guess so! 😂 I would not be happy with this design. Looks very dated, especially the chairs and carpeting. 

I don't disagree- it's dated for sure.  It's just what I've grown to expect so you can understand my surprise and confusion when I encountered the verrrrry colorful one.  We were only in there once and it was during the day.  I imagine it feels very different in the evening with lots of people inside.  

39 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Here's a pic of the piano bar on MG.  I still see those "piano keys" design for the table surrounding the piano.  I thought the chandelier above the piano was very pretty. We had a great time.

WOW- that's really cool!  

21 hours ago, ilovesparky13 said:

What are you talking about? The one in the picture looks gorgeous 

It all comes down to personal taste.  
This is what I expected. 😂😂😂

On 3/2/2022 at 10:04 PM, herdfans4 said:

Oh no looks like we are in the room right beside this one in 7446.  Our cruise is near end of this month.  I will report back our experience too.   I will be really disappointed if there is no lounger.  

Glad to hear there were parts you enjoyed as well.  

I saw your balcony.   It’s exactly like the one we had. There’s no lounger.  We asked a few times. You won’t get one unless you get it yourself.  😂 
 

if you could switch to a standard balcony you might get a better one.  I suspect they could be in better shape because they are not open to the elements quite so much.  I could be wrong. 

14 hours ago, Indytraveler83 said:

I'm gonna jump back in here and thank OP for a fair and truthful review of the ship.  Unlike some posts on here, the OP acknowledged the good parts of the cruise, while also pointing out the bad and not exaggerating what that is.

 

Carnival runs a lot of the older ships at bargain basement prices while skimping on some of the cosmetic stuff.  For most of us, this is the accepted trade off.

 

However, premium rooms/balconies on these ships can be problematic, as you expect to get an upgraded experience and are disappointed when the "better" rooms really aren't.

 

I think the biggest take from me is this: The old ships will be a little ugly.  Sail them on a budget, but don't spend extra on premium features as they may not be as good as you hoped.

I agree with you.  If we did another short- budget one we would get a standard balcony.  

On 2/26/2022 at 10:30 PM, WhaleTailFlCruiser said:

If you went on Carnival expecting a Princess experience then that is where you went wrong. 

Yeah…that’s exactly what I said.  
 

Thanks 🙄

2 hours ago, herdfans4 said:

thanks for your honest review.  do you care to share your stateroom #?  we are booked in aft balcony on conquest later this month and now I have concerns since I did book this balcony type based on the multiple pics showing loungers on the deck and plans to enjoy the view out of non clouded over glass balcony.  I will be very disappointed to find what you had.  thanks

Our room was 7447.  
Adding to this problem was the door to the deck.  So you can’t really see the ocean from inside the room.  Two dirty/damaged glass panels. 
 

You won’t get a lounger unless you figure out how to get it there yourself.  They were firm.  
 

in spite of the nasty comments that a few people have made here- we did enjoy the cruise.  We were disappointed in the balcony but we went to other areas and enjoyed ourselves. The food was good.  Our cabin was very clean and comfortable. 

On 2/27/2022 at 11:52 AM, Crismess669 said:

It’s weird how much I see of this. It’s as if you’re supposed to have ZERO expectations when it comes to Carnival. She wanted loungers on her balcony and apparently that’s just too much to ask lol

THANK YOU!  I bristled at that comment and didn't plan to respond.  I went on this cruise with low expectations and an open mind.  I didn't hate it.  We enjoyed a lot of it.  But I was pretty disappointed that balcony was not as expected.  

2 minutes ago, kelkel2 said:

What style cabin did you stay in? I’ve stayed in aft facing balconies and an L shaped balcony on the Liberty and both of those had loungers, but that was pre-covid. So maybe something changed? 
as far as the rust goes, I usually take an eh whatever approach, but that glass looks awful. I would say most people book balconies for the view and that’s pretty disappointing. I’m so sorry that was your experience. I’d say a dry dock is definitely in order. 

It was called an extended Aft balcony and not L shaped. 
 

This ship is 20 yrs old.  It was refurbed 10 years ago. Honestly- I think they won’t do it again. It feels like they just gave up.  

3 hours ago, travelplus said:

Call Carnival Post Cruise customer care and let them know what happened, show them photos of the shoddy  balcony with no loungers. Also emphasize you were sailing on the 2nd anniversary of loosing your son.

 

Furthermore also reach out to John Heald via his FB page.

 

I am sure you can get Future Cruise Credits or a partial refund or both. I think asking for a 30-40 percent refund back to your credit card is reasonable.

 

I am so sorry for your loss and poor experience 

Thank you for this suggestion.  We are going to do this.  My husband paid extra for the balcony and it. Definitely wasn’t as advertised. Honestly- for us this is the highlight of every cruise. 

I really appreciate this idea.  

17 hours ago, dallasdan said:

This is what we were told.  No loungers on the AFT balconies or L shape balcony on the side that my friends were in.  They were told the same thing when they requested a lounger.

That’s so strange. We were on an NCL cruise in January. It was an Aft balcony and identical in size.  We had two loungers on it.   We’ve also been on Princess cruises with loungers on an aft.  

17 hours ago, CruiserLucas said:

Sad to hear your first Carnival cruise was not up to higher standards 😞 That's a bummer, especially when meant to be a nice surprise gift from your husband. Conquest was my first cruise in 2017, and she was starting to show age then, but still serviceable and enjoyable. I'm guessing you're right in that they're just sucking every last penny they can and not focusing on restoring/maintaining her after the pandemic. 

In regards to the Piano Bar, I didn't go in when on Conquest, but walked by a couple times, and it seemed comparable to the one we went into on Horizon, which was sort of classy but a bit eclectic, based on memories of it. Maybe they changed something to it? What made you think it was not classy if you don't mind us asking, and we could help you know if other Carnival ships will be similar?

I’m usually a Princess or Norwegian cruiser.  I was expecting something similar to the piano bar on one of those ships.  They usually feature dark, rich wood and have almost the feel of an elegant library.  Hard to describe.  
 

This one looked like a preschool.  

1 minute ago, csm5986142 said:

 

First, I want to say I'm very sorry for your loss.

 

In regard to your description of your aft balcony space - It is so funny you say this, because we saw this ship sitting in port (I think it was late last year) and it had some areas on the back boarded up (and like you said, looked like an abandoned hotel).  I commented at the time, wondering how much they would put into improving it.  

Most of the Carnival ships are not like that (as with everything the pandemic really took a toll on some of them) and I hope you will give Carnival another chance - many of the ships are very nice.

Thank you.  

I truly believe there are much better Carnival ships and I won't write off the whole line based on this experience. I do feel they should not be charging a lot more for these damaged old balconies.  I'm curious about whether the side balconies might be in better shape.  They are smaller but if they won't place the loungers on them then it makes no difference to us.  

45 minutes ago, dallasdan said:

On our Dream cruise in December, we had an aft balcony cabin.  The lounger was missing.  Our cabin steward tried to get us one, but was told they no longer put them on the Aft balcony because of safety reasons.

 Safety reasons?  I'm sorry but they are lying.  The suite next to us had loungers.  Also- we have had MANY Aft balconies including a 9 day cruise this past December.  Always had loungers on them.  

I already submitted a review and I'm waiting for it to be published.  We have been on more than 10 cruises but never on carnival and never for just a weekend.  Our cruise "style" is to spend a lot of time on our balcony, enjoy some good food, and find quiet spots on the deck to read.  

The good: 

• Our bed was comfortable 
• The cabin was very clean 
• Our room steward was a sweetheart 

The Hmmmm.....

• Food was just ok.  Not great
• Service in the dining room was hit or miss
• We went to a comedian and he was simply not funny. This is obviously subjective but black comedians making jokes about racism don't land with me. It's not funny. 

The bad:

• This ship is old and it shows
• So...much...rust
• I'd like a word with the person who designed the Piano Bar.  Was it an acid trip?  Piano bars are usually classy- no?  

The biggest disappointment: 

My husband booked this as a surprise and it was a very sweet idea. (Don't want to talk much about this but we were getting away because 2/22 is the two year anniversary of losing our son.)   He paid extra for the AFT balcony because we love those.  We spend a LOT of time on our balcony eating, drinking wine/coffee, sunning, playing games, etc.  

The balcony on this cruise was simply awful   It was worn, rusty, damaged.  The glass panels on the railing appear dirty but they are actually damaged.  You can barely see through them.  The room is pictured on the website with two loungers.  There's plenty of room to have them.  We asked for them and were told they wouldn't fit.  That is simply not true.  

At the same time, the space feels like an abandoned hotel.  It wasn't that pleasant and we might not have bothered using loungers anyway.  

We made the best of it and enjoyed being together.  Carnival appears to be getting every nickel they can out of this ship before they retire it.  Seeing how old and unkempt it was felt a little depressing.  

3 minutes ago, mailbroad said:

There are still some on some sailings and I am so tempted to book one!

Do it!   We’ve never been disappointed.  The view is unmatched and it is protected from wind. We love this type of cabin!!!

We sail 2/18 for a weekend cruise and I am also wondering about the menu- etc.  Hopefully we can get some answers!

Hi

We are long time cruisers. My husband surprised me by booking a 3 night cruise on the Conquest.  I'm looking forward to a few days away.  We leave 2/18.  He booked an AFT balcony so I'm pretty happy about that.  

Questions:

• Any idea on capacity for the ship? 
• What will the menu be like in the MDR?  
• I am not hearing anything great about Nassau.  We have not been there.  Opinions?  
• Any "don't miss" things about this ship?  

Looking forward to your feedback.  THANK YOU

On 1/17/2022 at 6:36 PM, Chief93 said:

 

Bang for the buck.  I can afford to drink that (very, very occasionally) because I choose to spend less on the cruise.  I enjoy Carnival, and see no need to "step up" to a more expensive line.  It's the same ocean....

I am only responding to compliment you on your response.  I thought the comment made to you was rather rude.  Well done.  

16 hours ago, jmk22 said:

I am curious about your comment that "you won an upgrade to a Mini Suite with a large Balcony".  Was this upgrade given to you at no extra cost?  I have have received invitations to bid on upgrades but there is usually a starting minimum that you can bid on.  It can be anywhere from $50 pp to $500 pp or more depending on the level you are bidding on. I really don't consider these anything to win since they are only offered because the ships are sailing at a low capacity and they are trying to get people to pay for upgrades.  If you meant that you won your bid, then I can understand what you mean.  

Yes- I was referring to the bidding process.  We had bids on 8 different rooms and in the end we "won" an upgrade from a balcony to a Club Suite with a large balcony.  We paid $300 and it was well worth it.  However, due to a problem with the room we ended up with an AFT balcony which we loved.  

1 hour ago, GoldenGirl327 said:

Thank you!

I'm  not big on the "big" shows but I know my son was looking forward to Six. Glad the comedians were performing. 

 

What do you mean dining on the waterfront? You mean by the pool? That's interesting. How does that work with what you order? They bring it to you up there? 

The waterfront is an outdoor area at some of the specialty restaurants. Same great service. Lovely view.

20 hours ago, GoldenGirl327 said:

Hi! We are going on the Breakaway 1/23. Curious about checking bags at the pier vs bringing them with us. I don’t anticipate testing positive (have appointments set up in NOLA for pre-travel) but I’m that neurotic “what if” person. Did you see a lot of ppl bringing their own bags to get covid testing at the pier? 

Also how was the entertainment?

thanks!!

I would check your bags.  While check in is smooth you will find you are going from line to line and moving around a bit.  I would not want luggage with me for this part.  

We saw the comedians and there was a comedy magic show.  We enjoyed them but nothing super special.  We are not people who generally go to many shows.  We are happy to enjoy the ocean.  We also really enjoyed dining on the waterfront.  Tip:  You can stop at any of the restaurants at 5:30 and request to eat at the waterfront.  It worked for us twice.   

On 1/9/2022 at 2:59 AM, kayjay76 said:

What did you do in Aruba and in the DR? The Dominican is throwing me off, not sure what to do t

 In Aruba we jumped in a cab and said "Take us to the best beach!"  It was cheap and I LOVED the beach.  We ended up here https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g147249-d7333795-Reviews-Coco_Loco_Beach_Bar_Restaurant_Aruba-Palm_Eagle_Beach_Aruba.html

In the DR we were stumped too because we have vacationed there twice.  The beaches are not great on this side of the island.  We ended doing the Buggies and Beach excursion and we LOVED it.  We road a dune buggy through trails and some mud and ended at a beach for about 30 minutes.  

35 minutes ago, katiecat said:

Thanks for your review of your experience very much appreciated.

Going to board the Getaway on the 28th and very nervous I must say. There isn't a person in my community that would go on a cruise right now maybe not even in Canadian. lol 

Trying to figure out the best way to avoid that mess after the cruise are flight isn't until six so in no hurry for sure and only have carry ons. Any suggestions I'm thinking stay on the ship at spice until 10 it might be a cleared below.

 

My husband had reserved a rental car and I wish we had picked it up.  That's my suggestion.  You can get one for the day fairly cheap.  

1 hour ago, mking8288 said:

 

 

How was your air travel & ground experience ?  Not that we need to deal with it, waiting until the ship make her way up the coast to NY, then when our turn is up - it's a quick ride direct to the pier.  

 Travel was very frustrating.  Found out our flight was cancelled the morning we were flying into Miami.  Scrambled to get another on a different airline.  That was delayed several times but we finally made it.  

Our return flight didn't leave until 4:40.  I had not been to the Miami airport in years and I assumed it was like other airports with sit down restaurants and shops.  NOPE.  What a terrible airport!  We were stuck there for hours and had to walk forever to find one small restaurant.  Worse yet, it was FREEZING because the AC was set far too high.  I'm from BUFFALO and I was cold.  Our layover in Baltimore was much better.