Conquest CD and Entertainment Staff

[vacruisin]

DW, myself and another couple will be boarding the Conquest in 47 days :eek::p and I would appreciate it if anyone who has recently been on the Conquest can give me their opinion on the CD and Entertainment Staff currently onboard.

 

After a total of 6 cruises (5 with Carnival) I've come to appreciate just how much the CD and Entertainment staff can add to your cruising enjoyment! A bad CD and staff don't necessarily take away from my enjoyment but a great, fun crew can definitely enhance it!

 

What are your opinions on the group on the Conquest right now? All responses are greatly appreciated!

Edited May 13, 2014 by vacruisin
Corrected spelling of "give"

[Kim_KS]

We were on the Conquest last May and will be again in 12 days! We loved Gary the CD and all of the staff. I am hoping it's the same group when we board on 5/25! Enjoy your cruise!

[vacruisin]

Thanks Kim. Enjoy your cruise as well and be sure to leave some booze for us (we'll only 6 weeks behind ya)! :D:cool::eek:

[nchikk]

First off, I don't remember the entertainment staff other than to say i thought they were fine.

 

Abour Gary Brierley the CD we had, we didn't like him. Every time he spoke it came off as more than fake and scripted. Also, we felt he was not approachable at all, unlike other CDs we've had.

 

Just my 2 cents worth...

[tncap]

Gary is a good CD if not a total ham (requirement of the job, really). He had a much better rapport with Squishy as the ACD than with Matt.

[ladybugcruiser]

Just returned from Conquest may4-11. Sorry but I gotta say the entertainment was lacking. The lounge at the back on 5 starboard is where we usually find a great guitarists or band but not on this ship! Went to 2 deck parties and as soon as the entertainment staff finished and turned it over to the DJ, everyone left in droves because it was a mix of Latin and rap. No one could figure out how to dance to that. Then we went looking for something else but didn't find it. The duo with the female singer- she just ran thru the songs with no emotion. Bosco and the five amigos was beyond cheesy. Margo Burr was the comedy club host and sometimes at the pool deck. She was annoying and needs to get off her high horse (or should I say 7 in heels) Lol. Been on 9 cruises with Carnival. Everyone was crowded into the casino and shops to spend their money because there was little else to do! Production shows were only a few nights and not well attended. Never saw Gary the CD. Missed Roatan due to high winds. Minimal hot water in room. And we still made a good time of it! Service and food good. Went ziplining and ATVing in Belize. Nachi-cocom beach day in Cozimel. Staff seemed a little tired of it all. Or maybe that's just me. Seems like they could disburse the crowds a little if they offered more music venues at night.

[vacruisin]

Thanks to all who have posted so far. We're going to go with an open mind and we'll enjoy the cruise regardless but some of these comments remind me of my Breeze cruise last year. That was not my best!

 

How about the piano bar? Is it lively! Last year on the Breeze I have to say that every time we walked by the piano bar they were having a blast and went we finally spent time back there on the last night, the bartenders were pouring those drinks very, very strongly and everyone were having the time of their lives.

[Destinyinspirationdream]

Had Mat as CD back in late march/early April. Was very good but we were his last cruise as CD. Classy Cassie, the ACD was amazing and very funny. Margot Burr an entertainment staff person did EA SPORTS bar trivia and we loved her. She also do comedy club as the host. Very good entertainment staff

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[RedneckRedhead]

Just returned from Conquest may4-11. Sorry but I gotta say the entertainment was lacking. The lounge at the back on 5 starboard is where we usually find a great guitarists or band but not on this ship! Went to 2 deck parties and as soon as the entertainment staff finished and turned it over to the DJ, everyone left in droves because it was a mix of Latin and rap. No one could figure out how to dance to that. Then we went looking for something else but didn't find it. The duo with the female singer- she just ran thru the songs with no emotion. Bosco and the five amigos was beyond cheesy. Margo Burr was the comedy club host and sometimes at the pool deck. She was annoying and needs to get off her high horse (or should I say 7 in heels) Lol. Been on 9 cruises with Carnival. Everyone was crowded into the casino and shops to spend their money because there was little else to do! Production shows were only a few nights and not well attended. Never saw Gary the CD. Missed Roatan due to high winds. Minimal hot water in room. And we still made a good time of it! Service and food good. Went ziplining and ATVing in Belize. Nachi-cocom beach day in Cozimel. Staff seemed a little tired of it all. Or maybe that's just me. Seems like they could disburse the crowds a little if they offered more music venues at night.

 

We got off this ship the day you got on - and felt the exact same sentiments! My husband has been on quite a number of cruises, myself not as many, and the other couple we traveled with was on their first cruise.

 

I never understood how people could place so much interest/emphasis on the entertainment staff & CD until we experienced this group.

 

Gary (CD) was only visible on the television. We finally saw him while debarking on the last day. Other than that he wasn't anywhere we were.

 

Cassy (Asst CD) was very dry/stale. She would try to say something funny and you'd hear crickets.

 

Beyond that we saw the entertainment crew about as much as you did. The shows were by far the least attended my husband or I had seen. The comedians were hysterical but I agree with Margo Burr being more annoying and borderline rude.

 

We noted throughout the trip how empty the nightclub and other traditional entertainment areas were. And again the deck parties were never full as there were always chairs available which we had also never seen.

 

We figured out pretty quickly that we would have to make our own entertainment - which worked out fine as well!

 

Good luck and happy travels!

[missholly24]

First off dont worry, any cruise is a good cruise! However, just returned today and I never saw Gary. Music aboard was AWFUL. The poolside d.j. was dreadful. They showed MASH episodes on the Seaside theatre. Lol. Everyone jammed in to casino area at night to hear that band instead of lido/pool area. Carnival really drops the ball on main poolside area ambiance. Overall we enjoyed ouselves as we always do on a cruise. Just wasnt our favorite (out of 10 cruises so far)

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Forums mobile app

[Jana60]

DW, myself and another couple will be boarding the Conquest in 47 days :eek::p and I would appreciate it if anyone who has recently been on the Conquest can give me their opinion on the CD and Entertainment Staff currently onboard.

 

After a total of 6 cruises (5 with Carnival) I've come to appreciate just how much the CD and Entertainment staff can add to your cruising enjoyment! A bad CD and staff don't necessarily take away from my enjoyment but a great, fun crew can definitely enhance it!

 

What are your opinions on the group on the Conquest right now? All responses are greatly appreciated!

 

As some others have said, the entertainment was greatly lacking on the conquest. My cruise May 4th was my 16th Carnival cruise and had the least shows and entertainment of any I have taken. There were only three production shows the whole week. Otherwise all they had was 2 episodes of Hasbro the game show (very lame!!!) and one passenger talent show. Normally I would enjoy the passenger talent show but unfortunately on this trip the passengers were remarkably lacking in talent. People were walking out in the middle of the show and one baby was crying in response to how off key the people were singing. They had the comedy club but even that was closed one day because we were unable to dock in Roatan so they couldn't pick up the comedians. Most seven day cruises I have taken have also had at least two evenings in which they offered super star karaoke which is karaoke with a live band. I love going to that and singing with a live band but it was only offered once during this cruise. Kevin the karaoke DJ had a poor collection of karaoke discs and would not allow people to use their own discs. As an example of their selection, they had only one song by Whitney Houston in their book! These things being said, I did meet some lovely people and had a great time despite the entertainment.

So far my favorite cruise for entertainment has been on the triumph. Last time I cruised on hers they had 5 production shows not counting the passenger talent show and it was only a five day cruise. I need to find out if there's any way to find out what shows will be played on a cruise.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app

[luv2kroooz]

I am afraid this is the standard main show lounge lineup for the 7-8 day cruises: you will get a welcome aboard show, 2 or 3 production (term used loosely) shows that will rotate throughout the week, 2 deck parties, a love and marriage show, and Hasbro the game show.

 

With the exception of the piano bar, there is very little live music being played in lounges. Most of the live music is now played in public areas (atrium lobby and casino bar).

[vacruisin]

I am afraid this is the standard main show lounge lineup for the 7-8 day cruises: you will get a welcome aboard show, 2 or 3 production (term used loosely) shows that will rotate throughout the week, 2 deck parties, a love and marriage show, and Hasbro the game show.

 

With the exception of the piano bar, there is very little live music being played in lounges. Most of the live music is now played in public areas (atrium lobby and casino bar).

 

Thanks everyone for the responses/feedback. I guess I'll go on knowing that we will probably have to create most of our onboard entertainment. The Alchemy Bar should go a long way in taking up a lot of that dead time. :D:eek::p

 

I will say that I noticed on our last cruise just how much the live entertainment was lacking as opposed to my previous cruises. The live lounge bands that I use to enjoy were non-existent on that cruise and some of the live performers were downright horrible. :rolleyes:

 

Of course that won't stop use from having a ball. Happy sailing all!