Conquest 8-night repositioning cruise 11/16-11/24 w/pics

[wrigley80]

I love your photos of Dominica...we have been to Dominica once on the Carnival Destiny on a Southern Caribbean itinerary. We loved it there....of all the places that we have stopped that is my dad's favorite port

[ToAdam12]

Looks great so far I can't wait to read the rest and I can't wait to be on the conquest in just 15 days!!!!!!!

[NCTribeFan]

Tuesday, 11/19/13, St Martin – Surprisingly, given that this was my 20th cruise, I’d never been to St. Martin. When I’d checked the port schedules and saw that we would be in port with NCL’s Epic, I was very excited. You see, my DD’s maid-of-honor had been working on Epic for about a year-and-a-half, in the entertainment department (costumes), and I thought it was be pretty cool to meet up with a friend in a foreign port from another ship. And then she told me she was flying home the week before. Oh well. So I did some research. For new ports, I like to do some type of island tour to get a feel for the island, see what I like most, and where I think I’d like to return next time. I booked Tour #2 with Bernard’s.

 

Epic was docked on one side and Disney Fantasy on the other. Now, I would never, ever sail Disney (for many reasons), but I think their ships are beautiful! I don’t care for Carnival’s “floating shoebox” designs, but at least they aren’t as ugly as Epic. That big square box thing on the top front of the ship is just hideous. Anyway, for St. Martin, having “only” three ships in port is considered a light day.

 

I had another omelette from the same station, gathered my things, and headed out. Found the long check-in line for Bernard’s and gathered with the group for our particular van. In a few minutes, we were off to meet our driver, the infamous Mailman. I started out in the front seat (again, no door) but ended up asking a solo guy from Epic to switch with me, since the climbing over stuff was still bothering my back. He designated the man behind the seat with the two coolers to be the bartender and described his home-made, very potent rum punch. He also had many Carib beers in there as well as a cooler with water and local soft drinks. I decided it was be a very large mistake for me to drink the rum punch, especially since the tour was going to last 4-5 hours and we’d be out in the hot sun a lot of the time.

 

I just cannot do it. I can’t drink volumes of alcohol during the day and certainly cannot do it in the hot sun. It gives me a headache and I just want to sleep. That’s not my idea of an entertaining day. I rarely drink hard liquor any more as it tends to give me migraines, so I just don’t think it’s worth it. It seems a lot of people think that the only way to enjoy your cruise is to drink non-stop, but I don’t want to be stupid and make myself waste any of my valuable cruise time sleeping it off, or, worse yet, ruining the next day by being hungover or having a migraine. And, trust me, I do like to consume alcohol!

 

I believe that's St Bart's in the distance, where the people with "real" money vacation.

 

So we stopped for a photo op, then headed straight to Orient Beach. Having spent a week in Nice on the French Riviera a couple of decades ago, I was pretty sure I knew what it would be like. Why people get all worked up about a nude/topless beach is beyond me. We all have bodies, folks. The external parts vary, but we all have them, so what is the big deal? Anyway, the solo Epic guy and I decided to share an umbrella, since they were renting them 2 chairs & umbrella for $10 that included 2 drink tickets. I’m afraid I didn’t make a note of the name of the beach bar/restaurant. The sand and water were gorgeous. But I seriously cannot imagine what it’s like during high season and if there are 9 ships in port!

 

Orient Beach

 

We spent about 1-1/2 hours there, then we headed on in to Marigot. I was looking forward to this, since I love everything French and wanted to wander around the town. Unfortunately, we were only given about 30 minutes, and, of course, there was a long line for the public ladies’ room. By the time I was out of there, and headed down to Sarafina’s, I was running out of time. And there was a line of about 40 people at the counter. I saw Epic guy eating a very yummy-looking pastry. He said if I could get a spoon, he’d be happy to share. So I walked up to the cash registers and when the woman in front of me ordered just a pastry (without standing in the very long line), I figured I’d give it a shot. So, yes, I line jumped. It was nice to be able to walk up and say “un pain au chocolat, s’il vous plait!” And it was very good.

 

Headed back to the bus. Luckily, I’d looked around before I’d wandered off and had a good idea of where we were parked. But considering that I’d probably had 3 or 4 beers by then, the buses all looked alike. No, I did see some that said Bernard’s on the side, but I knew ours didn’t. Eventually, I found it, but I wasn’t the only person missing. We sat there and waiting another 15 minutes for Epic guy to return. Mailman talked to a couple of other drivers and decided we needed to leave if we were going to make it to Maho beach in time to see some planes land. Just as we were driving off, Epic guy shows up. He was lost. And he was the ONLY person on the bus who hadn’t been drinking! So, there’s a lesson to be learned here, folks. Either consume lots of alcohol or actually look around you when you’re in a strange place to get your bearings before heading off to explore.

 

Harbor in Marigot

 

We could see the KLM 747 landing as we were on our way to Maho, and Mailman said it would probably take off before we arrived. But it hadn’t. We quickly unloaded and headed over to the beach and bar area. I was absolutely NOT going to go up to the fence and stand behind a 747 revving those engines for takeoff. Not me! Saw some other Roll Call people who were on Da Party Bus (and who were very, very drunk by then), and others who were on another Bernard’s bus. Took a couple of videos of American Airlines and US Airways jets landing as well as a couple of much smaller planes. The USAirways was a scary thing. All the others had come in straight from the water, very smoothly. This thing was coming in with the wings tilted at about 20 degrees. It straighted up and tilted again just before touchdown. I can assure you now that should I ever fly to St. Martin, it will not be on USAirways from Charlotte (which would probably be the easier flight for me)!

 

Note: I don't know how to add the video but it's in my Flickr set for St Martin. I'll post the link to my Flickr page at the end.

 

Funny thing. During the day, with all the beer consumed (I think I had 6 or 7 between 10 am and about 2:30 pm with nothing to eat except the small pastry), my back and leg pain was greatly reduced. Nothing like self-medicating, right?

 

 

 

It was at this stop when I heard a Roll Call member tell a guy (who had a couple of sons with him) that he'd had a great time in Buffalo. So I opened my mouth and said something along the lines of "Buffalo!! I've never, ever heard anyone mention Buffalo and "great time" in the same sentence! Buffalo's The Armpit of America!!!" Ha ha ha. I'm so funny when I've been drinking beer all day, right? You should've seen the look on this guy's face. So I then say, "Hey, I'm from Cleveland!! It's the OTHER armpit!!" Man just herds kids back on bus. Roll Call guy says, "you really pissed him off!" Yeah, we'll, I guess I did, but it's true! OK, so I haven't been to Buffalo in about 40 years, but the times I was there, it really was the worst place I've ever been. I hope it has changed and not for the worse, like Cleveland's changed. So, my attempt at humor simply ended up insulting someone. Whoops!

 

 

Back to the port and back to the ship and, I’m guessing I headed right to Guy’s Burgers again. In the cabin was part of my casino gift – the two giant bottles of water and a note that I’d receive a $10 photo credit on my S&S account. For dinner, I had my “usual” from this menu of the smoked duck, chilled peach soup, the turkey & bow-tie pasta, with bitter-n-blanc for dessert. Listened to the salsa band for a while after dinner, saw the other casino hostess (young woman from South Africa; I neglected to get her name), who told me it had all been delivered to the wrong cabin.

[Anthaeus]

..6 or 7 beers beers between 10 am and 2:30 pm with nothing to eat :rolleyes::cool: thats my kind of girl !!! :D:D

[NCTribeFan]

Ha. Yeah, I don't normally drink like that. And Carib beer is not weak stuff. Thing is, I never really even felt a buzz. I just was feeling a lot less pain than I had been! :D

 

Sorry I haven't continued the review. I'm just now finishing the last of my laundry. I've been really, really sick since Wednesday night and had so many things to get caught up with.

 

I'll resume writing and posting tomorrow night. I hope. The rest of the days were beach or sea days so not nearly as much to write about.

[navybaby1113]

Enjoying your review so far! Thinking about booking Bernards while we're St. Martin.

[Gingee]

I think it is funny that the Coach store pulled you in. I love Coach also. It would pull me in also.

[HawkIVette]

I got your KLM right here. I was on the same cruise with you. Reading your review is like cruising twice. Great write up.

 

[NCTribeFan]

HawkIVette - thanks for those pics. I wish we had been there to see her land.

 

Gingee - I don't buy designer anything, usually, but I love my Coach bags. I got sucked into buying them when I lived in a town with an outlet right there. I never, ever even pay the "regular" sales price. So what if they aren't the latest style! I love my bags.

 

In the casino on the last night, I had my little bag sitting next to the slot machine and, at separate times, each of the lovely young casino hostesses came over and said, "what a cute bag!" so I had to tell them what a great deal I'd gotten in San Juan. :D

[Gingee]

I don't buy full price either for Coach. Against my religion:)

[Mrs.C05]

This is a great review. I haven't seen any repositioning reviews before. Can't wait for more.

[michelle1836]

Friday, 11/15/13, Old San Juan – continued...

 

 

 

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I went out to walk along the waterfront after it stopped raining and saw a double rainbow. Just hung out for a few more hours, tried my luck again in the casino (and had none), watched it pour rain some more, and during a break in the downpour, quickly walked the two blocks to Punto de Vista. Got a little table just out of the rain and ordered a mojito (they have 2-for-1 all the time) and a shrimp mofongo. It was all delicious, but it was very, very loud under the awnings. Definitely a lively place! And it was a Friday night, after all. Sipped on my 2nd mojito, waiting out more rain, then back to the hotel and one more try in the casino. Again, no luck. I was tired so went to bed fairly early.

 

 

 

.

 

we loved this place! Love your review so far!!

[NCTribeFan]

I'm back!!!

 

Wednesday, 11/20/13, Antigua – As with St Kitts and Dominica, I’d been to Antigua on my Victory cruise and did an island tour. I thought about doing the same one but I had the feeling that after two days walking around OSJ, then three straight port days with tours, that I’d be ready for a beach day. Now, I’m not really a beach person (despite trying to get to Half Moon Cay as often as I can), but I knew Antigua was known for the beaches. We’d stopped at Long Bay Beach the first time, and it was absolutely gorgeous. So, I started doing my research and saw a thread about Coconut Beach Club. Some Roll Call members said they were going there, also. A day pass was $45 (I believe it’s going up at the beginning of the year, if it hasn’t already). Includes beach loungers, pool, open bar, and buffet lunch.

 

Our Super Organizer on the Roll Call contacted them to see if they would arrange a van we could share to avoid everyone arriving separately and paying more for a taxi. This is not a huge resort – just a relatively small hotel, so they only sell a limited number of passes per day. We were told to arrive after 10 so had arranged to meet our drive at 10.

 

This morning, I decided to try a different omelette line. I won’t go into the details, because I hope it was simply that my perception of the omelette-marker’s attitude toward some passengers was just off. Anyway, I went around to the main buffet line and had one made there, and it was quite delicious. Gulped down my two cups of tea, stopped in the cabin to brush my teeth and grab my tote bag, and I was off the ship.

 

Of course, I was there early. We waited until 10, but when 4 of the folks hadn’t shown by then, we headed out. We arrived, checked in (I paid using a credit card because I was low on cash). We were directed toward the pool and bar area and the beach and told that lunch would be served at 12:30. It was overcast, and the water was rougher than it had been when we were at Long Bay Beach. Still, most the loungers were occupied or “hogged” with various items. I went down to the end of the loungers and found a chair, spread out my towel, and got my book. Beware the sand burrs! I put my tote bag on the little dune and had them stuck all over it. And I managed to step on a couple. Ouch! I read for a little while, then walked down the beach away from the resort, then decided it was time for a drink! I again decided to stick with beer for the before-mentioned reasons.

 

The view from my beach lounger

 

Time for a dip in the pool. Other than the stairs, it is 5 feet. It was quite cool, but, of course, once you’re in and wet, it’s fine. Not being a swimmer, I just floated around on my back, and paddled my way from one end to the other and back and few times.

 

Standing behind the pool looking out at the sea

 

Went back down to my chair and book, had another beer or two, and it was time for lunch. There were tables in the bar area and others up by the buffet line that had linens. The girls up there were serving wine. The buffet had breads, a couple of different salads, black beans and rice, fish, jerk chicken, and pasta. There were at least two desserts. It was quite good. I “only” had one plate full and no dessert.

 

 

Bar and seating area

 

Standing next to the pool looking toward the buffet area

 

We all just hung out and drank and swam and read and relaxed until it was time to head back at 3 pm. I decided to have a margarita before I left. It was tequila, triple sec, lime juice, lemon juice and tossed in the blender with ice. Salted the rim of a white wine glass. I was thinking, “gee, that’s a small drink!” But it was very strong! And very tasty! Just as we were boarding the van, it started pouring! Our timing was perfect! We were almost back to the port, driving through the little shopping area, when I looked up and saw a shop I’d visited last time. STOP THE VAN! STOP THE VAN! LET ME OFF!!!

 

I ran in and there was Noreen Phillips, sitting behind her sewing machine. This woman designs and makes absolutely gorgeous clothes. Now, I’m not much of a shopper, but I’d seen things in there last time that I loved and really regretted not buying anything. So, know how to get me in designer-clothes shopping mode? Give me lots of drinks all day! I told her that I’d been there in 2009 and had looked forward to returning all these years. There was a woman in there from the Summit who said she comes to see Noreen every time she’s in port. Well, I immediately spotted a top I liked and it was on sale! Woot! Yes, I bought it.

 

Back on the ship, I decided to try a blue margarita from the Blue Iguana Tequila bar. It was very good. Then I stood in line at the deli for a while to get a hot dog. I absolutely LOVE Carnival’s hot dogs. And guess what was in my cabin! My casino gift basket! Guess what brand of wine? Yes, that horrible stuff! But it wasn’t the Chardonnay. I think it was Sauvignon Blanc, which I don’t normally drink, but it was marginally better than the other. I only poured out about ¼ of the bottle at the end of the cruise.

 

Neighbors

 

I headed up to the casino after we sailed to tell the hostess I’d received the gift. Honestly, I’d rather have had some casino cash. The wine was awful, I didn’t need a basket full of fruit (I could get it at the buffet any time). I did eat the cheese and brought home the two little bags of almonds. Anyway, I sat down at a $1 machine and almost immediately won $200. So I go up, cashed out $100, took it up to the cabin, locked it in the safe, and Voila! I just recovered the cost of my designer clothing!

 

After dinner, I went back to the casino but didn’t have any luck. I met up with a couple of my tablemates who had gone to the comedy show and we went to the disco. I had too much wine. Again. But we were setting our clocks back and had a sea day the next day, so whatever!

[NCTribeFan]

Thursday, 11/21/13, At Sea – I slept until almost 9 (unheard of for me; well at least for the last 30 years or so). Except it was only 8! I’d forgotten about the time change! Yay! After my omelette, I went up to Deck 10 to my favorite area and got all settled with my book and my cup of tea. And then realized that I was suddenly being rained on by ash from the funnel. I even had to get rid of my tea. I could feel chunks of ash in my hair. Obviously, I had to move. No problem; got a lounger at the end of a row that was just next to an overhang, so I could move in or out of the sun.

 

I had my Fish and Chips with Tuna and Watermelon appetizer, changed into some real clothes, and headed to our Meet and Greet at 1:30. We had nearly 100 people signed up, so they put us in the Degas Lounge. We checked in, were given a wristband to show we’d paid ($20 for 2 hours of open bar), and were given our name tags showing our Cruise Critic name, real name (if we wanted), and several of us participated in the Three Facts game. We listed three things about ourselves, only one was a lie, and people had to guess which was the lie. Despite my screen name being NCTribeFan (yes, I grew up in Cleveland), I had several people guess that “I love baseball” was the lie. Um, no. I do love baseball. And the Cleveland Indians, especially. We also had several people who participated in the gift exchange. We were supposed to bring something from home, but I forgot and figured I wouldn’t find much relating to North Carolina while in San Juan, so I didn’t participate. It was one of those where you could “steal” a gift from someone else if you wanted.

 

The drinks were a little slow at first and several people just went to the bar to order whatever they wanted. Since I knew I’d be going to the Past Guest party later, I decided I’d better stick with the rum punch. I did some mingling. I wanted to find the couple from New Zealand, as I’d told them I was a big Rugby fan, specifically an All Blacks fan, but I couldn’t find them. I did find the Aussies, though, and apologized to them that I wasn’t a Wallabies fan. I met several people with whom I’d talked in our huge Roll Call thread. I do believe that several people consumed a whole lot of alcohol in a rather short period of time. It was pretty crazy.

 

 

 

 

I don't know how many pics I tried to take of the salsa band, but they were always too dark. I must admit I had a pretty big crush on the singer. He sounded like Victor Manuelle

 

We went straight from that party to our Slot Pull. I’d never been involved in one before. We had about 75 people for that. We drew numbers, and had three $1 machines that had a max $2 spin, so we waited our turn and each got 10 spins. It didn’t look like we were doing so great, so I went over and started talking to the young German couple who had been on the same excursion vans in St Kitts and Dominica. We were chatting away and I realized that everyone was gone! I had no idea how the pull had turned out, what our winnings were, or how to collect!

 

Time for the Past Guest party and more drinks! It was in the main show lounge and was pretty full. Yes, I could see and hear several of our M&G revelers enjoying themselves and consuming more quantities of alcohol. I did not go up on stage to dance. Instead, I headed to the cabin to get ready for our second elegant night. I decided to wear my new designer top over my black slacks and, since I had received the $10 photo credit, headed down to pose for several glam shots before dinner.

 

DD and I used to get many photos taken. Those who have seen Napoleon Dynamite will understand when I refer to these as our Uncle Rico poses. We always tried to ham it up as much as possible. I only ever bought one of those, but it was always entertaining to find them and laugh at ourselves. So, I’d gotten a few, and stepped up at another station for some more, when a man walks up, puts his arm around my waist and says he’d like to have a photo taken with me. Yeah, ok. Whatever, guy! I get a few more (solo), and start to leave but he stops me and asks if I want to go have a drink. Now, he was pretty good looking, but only came up to about my shoulder. He then says, “I love tall women!” Uh, that’s nice, but no, I don’t want to go have a drink. Thanks, though! It was pretty funny. I ended up buying one of those pics. It’s like the more extreme I try to be in the pose, the better it turns out. I really just wanted a good photo of my lovely designer top! LOL.

 

Dinner was just OK. I just do not know why I continue to try the beef dishes. The chateaubriand was rare enough, but it was stringy. My two tablemates and I went to the Latin Nights show. It was ok; not really what I was expecting. I bet the actual Latin Americans in the audience were not very impressed. The salsa band was playing in the lobby, so we stopped and listened to them for a little while, male tablemate went to bed, so female tablemate and I headed to the disco to dance again. I was in bed around midnight.

[qshari]

I am really enjoying your review. I desperately wanted to go on this cruise but the timing wouldn't work. Thanks for making me feel like I was there.

[TrqoisWtrs]

Great review. Can you post a pic of your new top? :)

[NCTribeFan]

Hopefully, I'll finish this thing. Eventually! And, hopefully, I'll remember to bring in my Official Carnival Uncle Rico Glamour Shot Fun Memories Photograph to scan and add to my Flickr album (link to same will be posted if/when I finally get busy and write up the rest!!).

 

:D

[sharecruises]

Great review

 

I too loved Coconut Beach Club in Antiqua (I did the island tour the time before and thought once was enough of that LOL)

 

Did you try the Piano Bar?

 

any other good music on board?? Did you see the Diva show?

 

any "motown" music?? I really miss the Filipino Cover bands

 

did you have flat screen tv in cabin? thanks

[NCTribeFan]

sharecruises - if I ever get to the end of my day-by-day review, I'll post my summary thoughts on the entertainment, food, staff, etc.

 

Yes, cabin TV is a flat screen. I miss the Filipino cover bands, too.

Edited December 4, 2013 by NCTribeFan

[NCTribeFan]

Friday, 11/22/13, Grand Turk – Last port day. Already!?!? I think this was my 6th time at GT. The first four times, I did Carnival’s Horseback Ride & Swim, which is up at the north tip of the island, by the lighthouse. You get a good island tour just riding there and back. The part where you ride the horse in the water on just a bareback pad is really pretty awesome. The last time I was there was on Leg 2 of my Fantasy B2B in October 2012, just days after Hurricane Sandy slammed through the Bahamas on her way to New Jersey. That time, I discovered that there was beach area on the opposite side of the port area away from Margaritaville which was rather less crowded and less noisy.

 

I was up fairly early, had my omelette and two cups of tea, grabbed my beach bag and headed off to find my isolated lounger as far from the noise and activity as I could get. I slathered on the sunscreen, spread out my towels (I brought both from the cabin; one to put on my chair and one to dry off with when I went in the water). I sat down, got out my book, read for about five minutes, and the beach bar down the way started blasting a live version of Margaritaville. Now, let me say this. I detest Jimmy Buffet. Sorry, but I think he’s just crap. Oh, and there was a steel band playing in the central area once you exit the Duty Free building through which we all must traverse coming and going, and they were miked, so I could hear them, too. Then it started pouring. Seriously? Was this really happening? I grabbed everything, threw a towel over my head and ran to the NASA exhibit to stand under some slight protection.

 

 

So it rained and rained and rained some more. Then it started to clear up, but, no! Not done yet! I had at least moved from one display area to another, so I could read all that info! I thought Glory wasn’t due in port until noon, but I was wrong. I’ve only ever been in GT when there was one ship, and that was usually a Fantasy class ship, so I wasn’t really looking forward to being in a crowd of that size. I found the drink shop that obviously had free WiFi. Obvious because the place was surrounded by crew members and others on their laptops, tablets and cell phones. So I squeezed in, connected, and updated my FB page. It finally (nearly) stopped raining, so I wandered around some of the shops. But I was obviously not going to be doing any sunbathing any time soon, so I just went back to the ship at about 10:45.

 

Twins

 

I decided that a deli sandwich was in order, so I had a turkey & swiss on a roll and asked for pastrami to be added. It was quite good. I sat on Deck 10 out of the rain and read for a while. The sun finally came out at about 12:45 and I thought about going back out, but decided I was just too lazy. I moved out into the sun and sat there, reading. At about 3, I decided it was time for a Thirsty Frog beer and some Fish and Chips. After eating, I took my beer down to Deck 3 and sat out there. This is such a nice place to sit and is very under-utilized. If you’re looking for somewhere out of the sun, that’s reasonably quiet (hard to find these days), I highly recommend it. Unfortunately, the maintenance guys came around and were painting, so the fumes chased me back to the upper decks.

 

 

Close enough to talk to people on Glory without shouting!

 

Yummy

 

Looking back toward Jack's Shack

 

Not sure what I did the rest of the day. Not much, apparently. For dinner, I stupidly had another beer dish (filet and something). You’d think I’d learn. Right? No. Not me! Made my nightly contribution in the casino and was in bed by midnight.

[NCTribeFan]

Some obligatory sunset pics just after we left Grand Turk.

 

 

 

These two were taken using my phone (yes, I was very careful to not get too close to the railing - for those that wonder what I'm talking about, my phone went overboard on my last Fascination cruise).

 

 

 

I don't like the fake color that my camera applied when I used it on "sunset" mode. There's probably a way to correct the tint, but I'm not very good with photo editing.

[soccersharon]

Wonderful review!

 

We were on the Epic when the Conquest was in St. Maarten. Hope you don't mind, but here are a few pics I took from our balcony:

 

 

 

 

We had a pretty large roll call, and met quite a few solo cruisers on the Epic. Wonder if we knew your Epic Solo Guy...lol! We met so many wonderful people on the Epic...

 

Also, loved the horn war prior to the Conquest pulling out of St. Maarten. Too bad I didn't get it video.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review. Thanks for posting.

[NCTribeFan]

Thanks for adding your pics.

 

I was going to mention the "horn wars" later. I just love it. Should've heard Conquest vs Glory when we were leaving GT!

 

And the last line in the GT post above should've said "BEEF" dish, not "beer" dish! If it had been a beer dish, I probably would've enjoyed it a lot more. :p

[pirate4me2]

Thank you for doing this review. It makes me want to sail on the Conquest, and the ports look fantastic.

[NCTribeFan]

The ports ARE fantastic. Which is just part of the reason why I'm so ticked off that Carnival cancelled the two Pride repositioning cruises next year. I was all set to come home and book San Juan to Tampa. It wasn't going to be as wonderful (Grand Turk, St. Thomas, St. Kitts, St. Maarten; no Dominica or Antigua)), but it was going to be good.

 

Carnival doesn't go to Dominica at all any more. I'm pretty sure RCI (and probably X) stop there on their San Juan sailings. The Southern ports are really a nice change from the usual Eastern/Western sailings.

 

Don't get me wrong - I'll happily sail to St Thomas or Cozumel or Belize, but pretty much the only way to get some of these others is to do an 8-nighter from south FL or a 7-night round-trip from San Juan.

 

I'm going to have to look at some other cruiselines. I love some of HAL's 10/11 nighters, but I'd definitely have to have a travelmate to be able to afford it. :(