Conquest – Western Itinerary Review – Sept. 13-20, 2009

[TXNS CRUISIN4FUN]

Bare with us. This is our first review but not our first cruises. This was my DW’s (Melissa) 3rd cruise and my 5th. This was also our 2nd cruise on the Conquest. All but one of our cruises have been on Carnival. Our last cruise was on RCI two years ago and after that cruise we thought we preferred RCI but after this cruise we’ve decided the experience is the same if not better on Carnival and definitely more affordable.

Before escaping from reality for a week we decided to check in with our 3 kids in Austin and Houston so we left McKinney, Tx. at the crack of dawn on Saturday in a drizzle that followed us for the next 2 days. We got to Austin in time to take one daughter to lunch, then headed to Houston to see another daughter’s new home, then had dinner with our 2 daughters and In-laws in Houston. We finished the evening by assembling an IKEA desk for one daughter at midnight before crashing in her apartment.

After breakfast Sunday morning we were finally on the road to Galveston. There was the familiar thrill the 1st time we were able to see the “whale tail” as we crossed the causeway. We used EZCruise parking and got there about 10:30. We had prepaid on-line so it was only $50. This was the 1st time that we had used EZCruise and I would recommend them to anyone. They loaded our bags on a bus and we were on our way to the pier within 15 minutes. The shuttle driver was hilarious and gave everyone tips on which slot machines on the ship were hot and which weren’t. After tipping the shuttle driver and the porter (glad we brought about $100 in dollar bills) we were inside the terminal by 11:00.

Check-in was very smooth and seemed to go fast because we were constantly moving. We did find out that Carnival is very serious about limiting coolers to a size of 12x12x12. We watched as a couple had to unload and leave a rolling cooler that was not much bigger than this. It did not appear that they had any beverages in there and were just using it as a carry on bag but they were having to transfer the contents to other bags and we noticed that it was left at the xray machines. We brought a cooler that did meet the size requirements but the security guard at the machine seemed to be disappointed to find that we just had a 6 pack of cokes in our cooler. I think he was hoping to be able to throw out some beers. The rest of the check-in went very quickly and we were on the ship around 11:35.

I think we had our first “funship” drinks in hand at the lobby bar within 2 minutes of boarding. We enjoyed sitting in the lobby area for a few minutes watching the “newbies” gawk as they stepped aboard. After refreshing our drinks we headed to the lido to check out the buffet for lunch. We actually ended up going upstairs to the Sur Mar seafood area for fish and chips. I’m guessing a lot of people don’t even know it’s there.

 

YES!! We made it!! DW enjoying her 1st DOD.

 

 

YES!! The funships taste just like I remember.

 

We were able to get to our cabin on the Upper deck around 1:30. We had opted for an inside cabin. We’ve had a balcony before but find that we actually prefer the inside cabins because they are so dark that it’s very easy to sleep in late. Around 3pm we were off to our cruise critic meet and greet at the sky pool bar at the aft of the ship. There were about 20 of us there and we had agreed to wear Mardigras beads so we could identify each other. We made plans to all meet the next day in the casino for a slot pull.

 

We headed back to the cabin to get our jackets for the muster drill and found that all of our luggage had arrived safely (including the rum runners). After the muster drill we went back to the sky bar to watch the sail away from the aft of the ship

 

 

Departing shots of Galveston

 

Then it was off to the Formalities shop to purchase our wine package for our dinners. They have 2 packages to choose from. The one we chose was a little over $100 for 5 coupons. Each coupon had about 8 different wines to choose from. You just mark your choice on the coupon and give it to the waiter when you sit down for dinner. This was actually something that we enjoyed on RCI and we were happy to see that Carnival was now offering this option.

 

We had opted for the early seating at 6pm and were assigned to a table for 4 on the lower level of the Monet dining room with a very nice couple from Forney, Tx. I believe we both had the flat iron steak and chocolate melting cake this night. We noticed later that both of these items as well as a chicken and fish item were available every night on the menu. After dinner we wandered the ship and looked at our embarkation picture in the photo gallery. This became an almost nightly ritual and a contest to see who could spot our photos 1st. Since we had been up so late the evening before we decided not to see the Welcome Aboard show in the Toulous Latutrec Theatre. While we didn’t watch the show we did listen to it. If we had done a little more research when we booked our cabin we would have noticed that cabin 6233 is directly over the Toulous Latutrec Theatre and were able to enjoy the show music every night without fighting the crowds. (How’s that for finding a silver lining?)

[boaterette]

Nice silver lining. Nothing like making lemonade out of lemons. Nice review, thank you for writing it. Looking forward to the rest.

[sixgun8]

OMG you mean that the sounds from the shows didn't ruin your life and you demand a complete and toltally free cruise because of it??? WOW. You are a rennessaince man!!! LOL

 

 

We were in 6349 the next week and we could here most everything from the lobby going on, but once in our room it wasn't too bad.

[DeDe63]

Great start!!

 

Can't wait to hear more!!!