2.0 tell me all about it!

[scgamecock]

Want to book the Conquest in November to experience the 2.0 upgrades. What will be different from a "normal" Carnival cruise besides the Guy burgers, Blue Iguana etc?

 

They put crack in the Guy Fieri burgers and fries! You will want to eat them every day!

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I love a good burger, and will give the new one a try (pics of the fries look much improved). Is the new burger place in the same spot out on Lido deck (Liberty)?

 

I know they still won't cook it rare, so it won't be as good as it could be - though I'll factor that in!!

 

Since they essentially did away with the old burger set-up, do they still offer chicken tenders out there (w/honey mustard)?? I sure hope those survived the "upgrades"!!

 

How are the $3.33 wings??? I've been spoiled with the FREE Buffalo Wings on NCL, and the FREE room service Asian wings on Celebrity!

 

Tom

[scgamecock]

I love a good burger, and will give the new one a try (pics of the fries look much improved). Is the new burger place in the same spot out on Lido deck (Liberty)?

 

I know they still won't cook it rare, so it won't be as good as it could be - though I'll factor that in!!

 

Since they essentially did away with the old burger set-up, do they still offer chicken tenders out there (w/honey mustard)?? I sure hope those survived the "upgrades"!!

 

How are the $3.33 wings??? I've been spoiled with the FREE Buffalo Wings on NCL, and the FREE room service Asian wings on Celebrity!

 

Tom

 

The Guys Burger Joint is on the lido midship, just aft of the main pool. Rare burgers? Yuck! No chicken tenders. No wings either, not even for an extra charge.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

The Guys Burger Joint is on the lido midship, just aft of the main pool. Rare burgers? Yuck! No chicken tenders. No wings either, not even for an extra charge.

 

I guess those wings are limited to the Magic?

 

Tom

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

So they've ditched the Chicken Tenders... sounds about right. They were tasty (when they were from the right supplier). I must have sampled 4-5 distinct versions, and I am sure that cost was the BOTTOM LINE...

 

Tom

[jjtimes6]

I love a good burger, and will give the new one a try (pics of the fries look much improved). Is the new burger place in the same spot out on Lido deck (Liberty)?

 

I know they still won't cook it rare, so it won't be as good as it could be - though I'll factor that in!!

 

Since they essentially did away with the old burger set-up, do they still offer chicken tenders out there (w/honey mustard)?? I sure hope those survived the "upgrades"!!

 

How are the $3.33 wings??? I've been spoiled with the FREE Buffalo Wings on NCL, and the FREE room service Asian wings on Celebrity!

 

Tom

 

We just got off a B2B. Personally, I thought the 2.0 upgrades were really awesome. Burgers were delicious, and the fries were too. I don't understand people saying they were too spicy, but I am a spice-a-holic. I thought they were a little spicy, but barely! The condiment bar had mushrooms and onions to add to the burgers too.

 

(Tom, I also would prefer mine med rare, but they are so thin that it really wouldn't matter anyway. They squish the meat way down; you can watch them cooking. The meat is fresh, in a big ball, and they squish it with a spatula. They are not frozen patties, already formed.)

 

The two lido bars added a really nice "vibe" to the deck. People were kicking back and relaxing there all the time. Their new drink menus were great too: lots of new choices! The Red Frog made a "Ting" Mojito that was to die for! (Ting is a Jamaican grapefruit soda)

 

In addition, there were two soloists who played the bar areas most afternoons: TJ and Chris. TJ did mostly rock music at the Red Frog, and Chris did mostly country at Blue Iguana. I really enjoyed both of them, and we would go up and hang out just to hear them play. We even caught Chris playing the lobby bar one night, and we thought he was MUCH better than the duo there.

 

A down side to the live lido music is that when there was an announcement it just interrupted the song, by cutting off the microphone and amplifier! The first time it happened I thought, well, that's rude! I heard it happen three times over two weeks, and if I were a musician (I'm not), I would be very frustrated by this.

 

Alchemy is every bit as great as has been reported. The two bartenders there, Ioana and Adri, and their assistant, Daniel, are all super friendly and the drinks are STRONG!!! Ioana is going home in six weeks, so I don't know who will be replacing her. They also serve a tray of bar snacks at night: cheese, olives and nuts, which is a perfect before-dinner treat.

 

The back grill is just empty. The nice thing about this is that it helps with making the aft part of Lido even quieter than it was before. I feel like I saw breakfast being served there, but I could be wrong about that.

 

Someone else commented on the food stations being less crowded, and I would agree that they are for sure less crowded.

 

The biggest benefit (to me at least) of Blue Iguana Burrito bar is the extra breakfast choices (which also help with less crowding at Lido), and the salsa bar. They have (three or four?) fresh salsas available all day long, plus the rack full of jars of hot sauce.

 

One thing that has always been annoying to me on Carnival is the lack of salsa with eggs for breakfast, as I love hot sauce or salsa on my eggs, and the salsa bar solved that problem for me.

 

No chicken tenders that I saw (but I didn't look for them), and we did not frequent the EA sports bar (they were not showing games we wanted to watch the two times we strolled through), but my understanding is that the wings have not made it past the Magic yet.

 

I think the 2.0 additions are welcome additions, and have improved the ship. That's just my opinion on the subject!

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

We just got off a B2B. Personally, I thought the 2.0 upgrades were really awesome. Burgers were delicious, and the fries were too. I don't understand people saying they were too spicy, but I am a spice-a-holic. I thought they were a little spicy, but barely! The condiment bar had mushrooms and onions to add to the burgers too.

 

(Tom, I also would prefer mine med rare, but they are so thin that it really wouldn't matter anyway. They squish the meat way down; you can watch them cooking. The meat is fresh, in a big ball, and they squish it with a spatula. They are not frozen patties, already formed.)

 

The two lido bars added a really nice "vibe" to the deck. People were kicking back and relaxing there all the time. Their new drink menus were great too: lots of new choices! The Red Frog made a "Ting" Mojito that was to die for! (Ting is a Jamaican grapefruit soda)

 

In addition, there were two soloists who played the bar areas most afternoons: TJ and Chris. TJ did mostly rock music at the Red Frog, and Chris did mostly country at Blue Iguana. I really enjoyed both of them, and we would go up and hang out just to hear them play. We even caught Chris playing the lobby bar one night, and we thought he was MUCH better than the duo there.

 

A down side to the live lido music is that when there was an announcement it just interrupted the song, by cutting off the microphone and amplifier! The first time it happened I thought, well, that's rude! I heard it happen three times over two weeks, and if I were a musician (I'm not), I would be very frustrated by this.

 

Alchemy is every bit as great as has been reported. The two bartenders there, Ioana and Adri, and their assistant, Daniel, are all super friendly and the drinks are STRONG!!! Ioana is going home in six weeks, so I don't know who will be replacing her. They also serve a tray of bar snacks at night: cheese, olives and nuts, which is a perfect before-dinner treat.

 

The back grill is just empty. The nice thing about this is that it helps with making the aft part of Lido even quieter than it was before. I feel like I saw breakfast being served there, but I could be wrong about that.

 

Someone else commented on the food stations being less crowded, and I would agree that they are for sure less crowded.

 

The biggest benefit (to me at least) of Blue Iguana Burrito bar is the extra breakfast choices (which also help with less crowding at Lido), and the salsa bar. They have (three or four?) fresh salsas available all day long, plus the rack full of jars of hot sauce.

 

One thing that has always been annoying to me on Carnival is the lack of salsa with eggs for breakfast, as I love hot sauce or salsa on my eggs, and the salsa bar solved that problem for me.

 

No chicken tenders that I saw (but I didn't look for them), and we did not frequent the EA sports bar (they were not showing games we wanted to watch the two times we strolled through), but my understanding is that the wings have not made it past the Magic yet.

 

I think the 2.0 additions are welcome additions, and have improved the ship. That's just my opinion on the subject!

 

Thanks for the mini-review, much appreciated!

 

Looking forward to our trip -- even if it's only for a week!!

 

Tom

[jjtimes6]

Thanks for the mini-review, much appreciated!

 

Looking forward to our trip -- even if it's only for a week!!

 

Tom

 

I'm still working on typing up a full review in Word. I'm on page six and I've only gotten to Puerto Rico! That would be day five for us. Looong way to go! Plus I have almost 2000 pictures to pick through.

 

Paulmedic was with us on the second cruise, and he is working on a review too, and his reviews are always great.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I'm still working on typing up a full review in Word. I'm on page six and I've only gotten to Puerto Rico! That would be day five for us. Looong way to go! Plus I have almost 2000 pictures to pick through.

 

Paulmedic was with us on the second cruise, and he is working on a review too, and his reviews are always great.

 

SWEET!!

 

Tom

[MMastell]

I sailed on Liberty in June of 2011 and then again, after 2.0 upgrade, in March of 2012.

 

I would say that 2.0 is an upgrade but I would call it 1.5. The Guy's Burgers were better than the old burgers. That had a lot to do with the toppings. The Blue Iguana Burritos were ok but I sure wish we could have got something that wasn't just "luke warm".

 

The bars are better looking but not much else has changed. The Alchemy Bar has different upscale drinks but I never saw many people there.

 

The Comedy Club definitely had better acts but the adult comedy was even more adult than previously. This could be the comedian. Also: I am not easily offended by adult humor.

 

It's better but not something NEW and DIFFERENT. If you had not cruised before you wouldn't think twice about it.

 

Take care,

Mike