Conquest Review: May 18-25

[Ric-Flair]

My wife and I, along with another couple, sailed out of Miami on May 18th starting a 7-day adventure. This was our forth cruise on Carnival, and our first cruise since the big economic disaster a few years ago. We were anxious to see how Carnival had changed during this time. This cruise had four ports-of-call: Cozumel, Belize, Honduras, and Grand Cayman.

 

After parking my truck at an off-site parking garage, we boarded the Conquest just after 12PM Noon. The whole process was quick and painless. We immediately went to check out our room (6301) and was greeted by a much larger space than we expected. If fact, our interior room was very large and we never felt cramped. Our friends had adjoining rooms with ours, and they were very pleased with their room as well. Then we went and explored the ship for awhile.

 

The interior of the ship was modern and up-to date. The pool area was busy...but not crowded the entire trip. (If fact, the giant pool slide was not used very much either.) Remember, this is college graduation time, so the ship was full of young people (not small kids) and I found their energy very refreshing...not to mention the poolside activity was always entertaining if you know what I mean. The casino was very good, and the EA Sports Bar was pretty cool too. I spent a lot of cruise time at the gym, and spent some time in the steam room and sauna. No complaints on the service either. Everything was great as far as I was concerned.

 

Our cruise director was Kevin Noonan....and I thought he was great. I always greeted him with : "HELLO NOONAN"...like the Newman character in the Seinfeld TV Show. He knew exactly what I was talking about too. Nothing but good things to say about this guy. The Comedy Club manager was MARGO BURR...and her personality was fantastic....(be sure to check out her 7" high heels if you ever have Margo on board with you.) In fact, the entire staff was very cordial, and very professional.

 

Entertainment: Good for the most part. The 8 Carnival Dancers and singers were very good. They performed three different shows...and all three shows were entertaining. Karaoke was held in front of the casino throughout the entire cruise....not a big production...but still held nevertheless. Bingo was also offered, along with some game shows, art auctions and area singers throughout the cruise. The comedy club actually had four different comedians perform at the George Lopez Comedy Club during the week. Each comedian performed a "family friendly" show, and an "adults only" show each day. It was pretty good...and kept us laughing during the evening. Due to the thinning Carnival entertainment, the comedy shows were packed with people. The Giant Movie Screen played throughout the day...and showed some decent movies in the evening. The Miami Heat basketball game played one evening as well.

 

Food: This is my favorite subject when cruising. We had a 6PM dining room sitting...which was perfect for us. Our servers (Peter and Leonardo) could not have been better. Just cool guys. If fact, they greeted me each day with the special "Bro" handshake I introduced them to on the first night. The food was good...different than it was before...but still good. The great selections were not available anymore...but there was still plenty to choose from. Each dish was still cooked and presented well...but the portions were a little smaller. However, you could still ask for multi-dishes if you wanted. The high-end steaks and seafood are no longer offered, but Lobster Tails were offered on the first night. I am not a desert eater, but my wife loves the chocolate melting cake...and it was offered each night along with about 5 other choices. Again, the dining room experience was very good.

 

Food 2: The buffets for breakfast, lunch, and dinner were offered as well. Plenty of salads of choice, and the hot items were pretty darn good if you ask me. Guys Burgers were the bomb for lunch, and Fish and Chips along with a Mexican bar were all good. My wife says the deli sandwiches were tasty. I put a real hurt on the self-serve ice cream.

 

Food 3: The STEAK HOUSE: Quite simply the best food I have ever eaten anywhere in my fifty plus years. TOP quality prime steaks and side items served in the 7 course meal. I chose the 18oz Boneless Ribeye, and it was cooked perfectly. The Prime graded aged meat was fantastic (I used to be a meat-cutter) and so tender and flavorful. Just do yourself a favor and spend the damn $35 and pamper yourself. You will not be sorry. :)

 

I am not going to say too much about the excursions on this posting. However, I will talk about the "Behind the Fun" excursion offered on the last sea day. I had always been curious about the engine room, the crew quarters, and bridge. I always wondered about the kitchen area, food storage, and laundry facilities. The ship excursion was well worth the $95 fee to me. Lots of extras and it answered a lot of questions. We were all (six of us) very happy at the end.

 

What I Miss on Carnival 2.0

1. I miss the numerous Carnival Dancers and Orchestra.

2. I miss the Karaoke bar.

3. I miss the Island Music band playing at poolside.

4. I miss the "Final Night" Karaoke Entertainment

5. I miss the Poolside BBQ

6. I miss the ice carvings on display

7. I miss the fruit carvings on display before eating

 

To wrap things up, I thoroughly enjoyed the cruise. I know things have gotten a little thin (in certain areas) with Carnival...and they certainly are trying to make money with every little thing on and off the ship...but my experience was still very good. I think people who complain about the service and food would complain about everything no matter what was happening. Just chill out and enjoy yourself. You are on vacation.

 

Next year will be ALASKA.;)

[sportzmom]

Thanks for taking the time to review. We will be on the Conquest the end of August. Karaoke is one of my favorites. Not to participate but to listen. Either the singer is really good (and you enjoy their singing) or they are terrible (and that's fun, too). It's a win-win for me!

[iheartmarshall]

I was on this cruise with you! Completely different cruising experience than yours, but DH and I had a wonderful time as well. I keep meaning to do a photo review but I just haven't gotten around to it.

 

Thanks for sharing!

[golfadj]

Thanks for the review, we will also be on the end of August cruise.

 

Does Carnival have playlist or the older and much better production shows?

[firemanbobswife]

Thanks for the review, we will also be on the end of August cruise.

 

 

 

Does Carnival have playlist or the older and much better production shows?

 

 

Conquest has the new Playlist crap :(

[golfadj]

Conquest has the new Playlist crap :(

 

yuck hope they have good piano player, comedians and rock band than

[firemanbobswife]

yuck hope they have good piano player, comedians and rock band than

 

 

The comedians were good in January when we went, but if course that has changed by now. The rock band was "Government Shutdown" and they were decent. No idea if they're still there or not. Never went to the piano bar.

[golfadj]

The comedians were good in January when we went, but if course that has changed by now. The rock band was "Government Shutdown" and they were decent. No idea if they're still there or not. Never went to the piano bar.

 

Oh for the good old days when they had mostly Phillipino cover bands who were extremely good.

 

BTW did they cheapen entertainment by having love and marriage as one evenings entertainment?

 

JH keeps saying the entertainment is going to improve but so far all the have done is added pay concerts.

[firemanbobswife]

Oh for the good old days when they had mostly Phillipino cover bands who were extremely good.

 

 

 

BTW did they cheapen entertainment by having love and marriage as one evenings entertainment?

 

 

 

JH keeps saying the entertainment is going to improve but so far all the have done is added pay concerts.

 

 

I don't remember as I didn't go to any of the shows since I had all I could take on the Glory before then. But I can check my Fun Times.

[DSSoccerMom]

Thanks for the review. Sailed Conquest last June and it is how I got hooked on cruising.

 

Sailing Dream in 41 days (no, I'm not counting) and will miss not having Guy's Burgers- my fav on the Conquest

[Sparky2]

Thanks for the review, Ric-Flair. We'll be on Conquest next January. We were supposed to be on Freedom but got switched to Conquest.

 

This will be my first experience with Playlist Productions, but I plan to go with an open mind.

 

We were on Liberty this past January and really, really enjoyed the production shows & 10-pc band. I was really surprised because since they have the 2.0 upgrades, I thought that they'd also switched to Playlist.

[funinthesun1964]

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm interested in Conquest reviews because I will be sailing in October! :)