Conquest Review 3/27-4/3 Part 4 (Long)

[Micktooth]

Thursday, Day 5:

 

Even though we were late leaving Jamaica, we arrived at GC on time. This was the port I was most excited about, but unfortunately it ended up being my least favorite one. First of all, the Conquest is joined by 6 other mega ships. All of the ships need to tender. I found it interesting that Holland American and Princess were using their own lifeboats as tenders. I actually think this is more efficient. If you had an excursion with Carnival, you were to meet in the lounge at a designated time and they would assign you an early tender. If you did not have a Carnival excursion, you had to go to the lounge and get a tender number. We booked the stingray and snorkel tour with Native Way so we got up early and headed to the lounge to get a number. They said to allow 45+ min. to tender. We were assigned to tender #4. The tenders hold a lot of people so it wasn’t too long before our number was called. I think Carnival has a deal with all of the ports because in each port, the Carnival ships were always in the prime locations either at the piers or closest when tendering. The tender ride took a whole 5 minutes! You are then dropped off by a kiosk to fend for yourself.

 

This is where it started to get interesting. We had purposely booked a 9am excursion with nativeway(NW) to avoid the large cruise excursions at stingray city. We had a group of 20 and were told no problem. Well, NW was very disorganized. We and others were told to meet at a fountain near the square. 9,9:30,10 we are still waiting. The owner was yelling on his cell phone to other drivers including his wife. People were being led to the wrong excursions, well you get the point. Finally, we boarded a van and headed to what we thought would be the dock. Nope, had to stop and yell at another van driver which happened to be the owner’s wife Cheryl. After waiting and yelling for another 5-10 min we were off again. My heart really goes out to the people of this island. The hurricane destruction is everywhere. Coming from New Orleans, we are very aware of the damage that hurricanes can bring. I cannot imagine what my city would look like today if Ivan would have hit here.

 

Finally we arrived at the dock about 2 hours after we had wanted to. We boarded the boat and then were told we had to wait for the other van to arrive. Where could they possibly be? Guess what, on the way to the dock, Cheryl one of the owners decided to stop at the drive thru at a Burger King. I kid you not! The people on that van were reasonably upset when they arrived. Finally everyone scheduled for our trip was on board the boat and we went to the stingray sandbar. Obviously, we were not one of the first boats to arrive even though we had scheduled the 9am trip. We pulled up to a very crowded sandbar. The boat guides were great however. We all got to play and feed and yes, even kiss the stingrays. These animals are graceful and beautiful. If you do go to stingray city, do not be afraid. The rays look like stealth bombers in the water but they love people. After a while at the sandbar, we boarded the boat to go to the Coral Gardens to snorkel. The water was pretty rough and we only stayed for about 15 min. It was hard to snorkel in such water. On the way back, a few of the passengers including my wife felt a little seasick.

 

We made it back to the dock. NW next group was ready to get on board. So we went to get on our vans and guess what? There were none! The NW boat left and our group which included a 3 year old and a 70 year old were left stranded in a gravel parking lot in 90 degree heat! One van eventually showed up but it was not big enough to carry our entire boat load of people. After some of the kids that were in our part got on the van, we realized that we could not all get on. The driver closed the door and was going to drive off with our kids in the van without us! I told him to “wait a second” and he nastily responded “I’m too busy to wait, I’m behind schedule.” I couldn’t believe this was happening. I finally persuaded the driver to let our kids off of van. So there we were, stranded again in the parking lot. About 15min later Cheryl showed up and after some strong persuasion, allowed us to get on another van.

 

The trip back to the main shopping area took a long time due to bumper to bumper traffic. Remember, this island cannot handle the large number of cruise passengers dumped on it. We finally got back and had to decide whether to eat or shop. We had not eaten all day. Because the ship would be leaving so early, we decided to shop as we would be able to eat on the ship. We did some shopping in the extremely crowded shopping district. Then it was time to head back to the tender “holding pen”. The line for the Conquest was already very long. After about 1/2hour wait, we finally boarded a tender.

 

When we got back to the ship we were starving. But what should we do? This night was scheduled to be the second formal night at dinner. I don’t think after a hot day in the sun and a tender ride back to the ship many people feel like getting all dressed for dinner. We and many others decided to blow off formal night and eat when we got back onboard.

 

It’s too bad we had this poor experience here. The people are so nice and have been struck by such a terrible calamity. The island is rebuilding and the water is unbelievable. I think next time I might just fly to GC and explore it when there aren’t so many ships in port. Consider yourselves forewarned!

 

After our leisure dinner, we discovered our favorite area of the ship. The piano bar. What a blast! The bar is a circle surrounding the piano. There are fake piano keys in front of you. You must get there early to get one of the prime seats. “Cam” the piano player was wonderful. We stayed out singing and having a great time until 1:30! I highly recommend the piano bar.

 

 

Friday:Cozumel

 

Well some of our group was “beached out” but not me. I just thought, in a few weeks I’d love to go to a beach in Cozumel. Our party split up. Some went shopping and others including myself went to Paradise Beach. It was a $12 cab ride each way.

 

PB is everything you have read. We met PB Tom from the cc boards. My son and I went out on a wave runner. I think it was his favorite part of the entire cruise. The beach was nice and so was the food and drinks. We had a great time and I would highly recommend this beach to all of you.

 

We got back to the ship and relaxed while the others arrived later after doing some damage while shopping. Remember, if you get back to the ship close to the departure time; be prepared to wait in a line. Plan ahead if you have an early seating and tip my wife and others forgot!

 

We had another great dinner consisting of several entrees. That evening it was back to the piano bar. I only wish we had found it earlier on our trip.

 

 

Saturday: Sea Sick Day

 

Welcome back to the Gulf of Mexico. While the Caribbean was as smooth as a lake, the Gulf was producing 8-12 foot waves! Needless to say, a lot of the passengers and even some of the staff were sick. I did ok, but my wife was in bed the whole day. Many of the upper decks were closed off for safety reasons. Eventually the waves subsided some and we were all able to enjoy dinner together.

 

 

Sunday: Debarkation Hell

 

Carnival is now using the “easy debarkation” which means feel free to leave the ship whenever you want but only after we tell you that the lines to exit are moving! This was no problem for us and it really was a good idea. We were off the ship by 10.

 

Then the nightmare started. Welcome back to New Orleans. It was a complete zoo. The congestion and traffic were horrific. It took my ride 90 min. to go through the line of traffic to reach us. We were still waiting while the next group of travelers was starting to arrive. My advice, don’t get to the pier too early on your embarkation day our you will be stuck in a hellish traffic jam with many depressed people who just got off the ship! I can’t wait until the new terminal is built. I hope it will ease this terrible mess.

 

When we arrived home it was time to reflect on our wonderful trip and wonder where our last piece of luggage was. That’s right; we left a suitcase at the pier! We called Carnival and they said this happens a lot. They said don’t come down to the pier to get it. They will find it and ship it to us as soon as possible. As of today, Wednesday, it has not made the 10 mile journey to our house.

 

Looking back, this trip was simply incredible. The ship and especially the staff are wonderful. I would recommend this cruise to any and everyone.

 

Feel free to ask any questions. I will try to answer them as soon and as best I can.

 

 

Happy sailing,

 

Dave

 

 

 

[jckvpa0]

Great review, thank-you!!! When you mention getting to the Piano Bar early, just what time are talking about? I have read so many good reviews about the Piano Bar & cannot wait to go. Our seating is at 6:15, would we feel more comfortable in getting out of our formal clothes into something that is more relaxing,( but in good taste),? Thanks again for the time you put into your review!

[Micktooth]

The piano bar doesn't get started till about 9:30. So just relax and take your time. If you get there around 9:15 you should be fine. Have a great time it's a blast.

[Biggdogg89]

did you make it to the Point?

Thanks for all the info, we leave in 3 days!!!!!!!!!

[twostacys]

Thanks micktooth - great review! We were starting to look at NW tour for GC too. Maybe we will stick with the cruise ship excursion for this one. Did you hear any feedback from anyone who took the cruise ship excursion compared to NW. Thanks!

[mrsfitz28]

Thanks for a terrific review. One question how far along is the new terminal and parking garage?? We're cruising on Feb. 19th anf hope at least the garage will be finished.

 

Donna

[Micktooth]

Dog-we did not make it to the Point. However, we really enjoyed the food in the main dining room.

Stacy-some friends of ours took the Carnival excursion to the stingray sandbar and loved it. Believe it or not, they were one of the first boats out there! They really got moving fast and early.

Mrsfitz-the terminal still has a very long way to go.You can check out the port of new orleans website and you can read about it and see a live webcam picture.I hope the terminal will be finished by next feb, but remember, they're working on New Orleans time, very slowly!

[mrsfitz28]

thanks so much for answering my question so quickly.

Donna

[mrs.tzdeerhunter]

twostaceys

 

I have done the stingray tour 3x. Twice with Capt. Marvins and this last month with Nativeway. Both trips were similar in price and tour but Capt. Marvin's has definitaly got the upper hand in organization. There was no waiting around for vans or other groups to arrive, like we experienced with NW. It is an easy walk to their shop. It is cheaper than the ship tour and has smaller groups the same as the NW tour. They also had the dvd for sale afterwards which Nativeway did not.

[twostacys]

twostaceys

 

I have done the stingray tour 3x. Twice with Capt. Marvins and this last month with Nativeway. Both trips were similar in price and tour but Capt. Marvin's has definitaly got the upper hand in organization. There was no waiting around for vans or other groups to arrive, like we experienced with NW. It is an easy walk to their shop. It is cheaper than the ship tour and has smaller groups the same as the NW tour. They also had the dvd for sale afterwards which Nativeway did not.

 

Thankyou! Does Capt. Marvins have a website? Did you book in advance? How much is the ship tour? Carnival website doesn't show exact pricing yet on this excursion as my trip is so far away.

[LostFan#1]

Do you remember how much it cost to rent the waverunner at Paradise Beach? Thanks,

Debbie

[Micktooth]

The waverunner was either $50 or $55 I don't remember exactly. It was well worth it. The waves were great and the water was beautiful.

 

Capt. Marvin's website is: http://www.captainmarvins.com/

[hlsess]

Thanks- just booked with Nativeway today but can cancel- I read many good reviews on them- I've checked the website about how many ships in port the same day and it is no more than 3 from what i remember.

 

On debarkation -with the new system- can you get VIP if you have an early flight? I hope it won't be a big problem!!

 

We are getting so excited -only 3 more months!!! We are booked for our excursions- Jamaica-horseback riding, GC-Nativeway-rays,reefs and Rum Point, Cozumel-sea lion swim at Chankanab and taking my 10 year old to the putt-putt. Overall I've read great things about this ship!!

[Micktooth]

hlsess-I wish I was going with you. You can get VIP debarkation with appropriate airline tix. Just take them to the purser's desk before your last day. I too read great things about Nativeway, and that only added to my disappointment. Hopefully we were just there on an off day.

[MICHSUNLOVER]

Hey Micktooth - nice review. We were on the Conquest on 4/3 as well. its interesting to hear how different people see the "same" things differently :p

 

I never really noticed a problem with the rough seas! Yes we could feel the boat rocking a bit more on some days, but I never heard anyone complain about being sick and on Saturday, we spent a couple of hours up on deck 12 no problem. I will admit to being able to STILL feel the boat rocking as I sit here typing this....it is the weirdest feeling and I'm hoping it goes away soon (I really don't think its the alcohol withdrawal!)

That's too bad about your experience in GC. We booked a tour with Captain Marvins and it was great. We ended up on a smaller boat with only about 20 people on board and the sandbar was crowded, but everyone seems to stay in their own little area and the ray's seem to know when a new boat pulls in and senses "LUNCH". They are gentle creatures and really weird to feel them rubbing up against your legs like little kitty cats!

As far debarkation, we just waited on the boat until about 10am too and walked off, called our limo company and they were there in about 20 minutes. You are right though, if you are embarking....give all those people time to clear out, there were still lines trying to get shuttles to parking areas when we left.

Can't wait to get on another cruise

[Micktooth]

Michsunlover, we were on the ship the week before you. We disembarked on 4/3! The previous week was really rough. I guess as a U of M grad, I should have explained it more clearly for all of you MSU folks. (Just kidding!)