Review of Conquest and booking guarantee room, the good, bad & ugly

[Mary Louise]

Before dinner we did go to the tasting bar. This was new to us and I loved it!!!

I have a picture posted of one of the tastings. The tasting bar is not open every evening so check the schedule. It was a nice compliment to the martini that we had at the Alchemy Bar.

 

I either do my time dining or early seating, but this time I did late seating so I could eat with my friends. If you have cruised Carnival before, you are quite famliar with the menu, as it has not changed over the years. I have read that the Conquest is getting the American Table sometime this week. I do like tablecloths on the table and hopefully they keep them when they switch to the American Table.

 

I have never had a problem with the food in the main dining room. It is consistent with what I have experienced before. There were two nights that I ordered off of the everyday menu, and for the first time i went to the steakhouse.

I will review the steakhouse in another posting.

 

My husband always enjoys the chateaubriand and the chocolate melting cake. He has actually made the melting cake at home. I am not much of a dessert person, so I cannot really comment on the dessert. I did have the fruit platter and ice cream a couple of times.

 

I always had a couple of starters soup/salad and a main course. I do find the food good and there was no difference this time around. However the dining service was not as good as in the past. In fact I found that the assistant waiter was far better than the waiter. The assistant did receive extra $$$ for his outstanding service.

 

The maitre'd never came to our table, and I am ok with that. The photographers did come around, which I do find annoying. I am tired of the pirate pictures and stopping in the middle of a conversation to take a picture. For guests who this may be their first cruise, they may like the photo op.

 

ML

[Mary Louise]

We're going on the Conquest in June so, I'm looking forward to your review.

 

 

Thank you Enjoy the Conquest.

[Mary Louise]

Will be on the Conquest in January in an interior on deck 7. Looking forward to reading the rest of your review!!

 

 

Thank you enjoy your cruise.

[Mary Louise]

Those towel animals are a work of art! Bahahahahahahahahahaha!!! (I apologize if this is not the response you were looking for but they really made me LOL)

 

 

No problem, here are a couple of more towel animals and a heart.

[Brighton Line]

Before dinner we did go to the tasting bar. This was new to us and I loved it!!!

 

Have to agree on Tasting Bar. On 8 day it was open 5. Each night different sample from one of the "restaurants" funny with only the Stake house but it took on the theme of what the buffet was serving I believe.

 

Great for us with late seating Monet (Aft) we'd go early to the 7:30 PG Comedy stop by the Tasting bar for a snack since we weren't going to eat for another 45 minutes!!

 

Try it out, days and menu on the sign on the bar.

[Crusin Karen]

We had Jace as our CD on our May Pride cruise. Never gave much thought to CD's and I could really care less, but he and I bumped into each other constantly the lst few days of the cruise and we struck up a great friendship. We were on a B2B so saw him a lot! i was sorry that he was going to the Conquest. Wonder what your opinion of him is. Had hoped he would stay on the Pride at least thru next March! :p Enjoying your review even tho we have never been on Conquest and probably never will!

[Elaine515]

Mary Louise... Please come back with more... Cruising on the Conquest in January and enjoying your posts so far..

[Mary Louise]

We had Jace as our CD on our May Pride cruise. Never gave much thought to CD's and I could really care less, but he and I bumped into each other constantly the lst few days of the cruise and we struck up a great friendship. We were on a B2B so saw him a lot! i was sorry that he was going to the Conquest. Wonder what your opinion of him is. Had hoped he would stay on the Pride at least thru next March! :p Enjoying your review even tho we have never been on Conquest and probably never will!

 

Jace was not the CD, Stephanie was. Our crusie was the last cruise for her. I believe she was moving to the Pride out of Australia.

[momonthego17]

Waiting to hear how your friends' reacted when you surprised them! Thanks for writing the review, we will be on Conquest over Thanksgiving!

[Mary Louise]

The only time I have gone to a speciality restaurant dinner was on the Norway "The Bistro" which back then was $5.00 per person. I have also done a Chef's Table on the Vision of the Seas. We were celebrating on this cruise and so decided to go to the Steakhouse.

 

First, there is a bar at the Steakhouse. If the Steakhouse is not busy, you can go there for a drink without having reservations at the Steakhouse. It is very quiet up there and would recommend this for anyone who wanted to have a pre-dinner cocktail in a quiet setting. The beverage service was good up in the steakhouse.

 

The service was excellent. Ordering our wine, made it very easy by just presenting the coupon that you get when you order the wine package. my friend ordered the traditional Ceasars salad, which they prepare at the table, and put anchovies on top of the salad.

 

The menu had starters, salad and main course. I had french onion soup, delicious, a salad and surf and turf. I really wanted to try the crab cakes and asked if my husband and I could split one order. The server pulled a face, like it was not really ok, but did it anyways. I stopped eating bread in the main dining room a long time ago, but in the Steakhouse i did have bread with our meal. There were brioche rolls and focaccia bread. Let me tell you, I could have made a meal out of eating these rolls and bread. It took a lot of self control to say no to the second time they came around with the bread.

 

There is a difference between prime and choice beef. It is unclear to me if the beef they serve is really prime or if it is choice. In any event the meal was fabulous. The lobster was great especially when you dip it in drawn butter. The steakhouse was not busy the night that we went, so it was a really nice dinner atmosphere.

 

The chef does prepare something extra for you, and I really did not know what it was, but very good. i had dessert, but only ate two of the four. Again, not a big dessert eater but what I had was yummy.

 

I have attached some pictures of our meal.

 

in the end, I am not sure if the $70 was worth the extra money. If you want a more quiet dinner romantic experience go for it. I am happy with the food in the dining room, and will continue to eat in the dining room.

[Mary Louise]

Waiting to hear how your friends' reacted when you surprised them! Thanks for writing the review, we will be on Conquest over Thanksgiving!

 

The surprise went off without a glitch. My husband called our friend's cabin from a public phone and and disguised his voice to make sure that they were in their cabin. He said he had a special delivery and would be right down. We had bought a big bag from the dollar store, so when my husband knocked on their cabin door at first they did not see him, as he held the bag in front of his face. It was not until he lowered it and I yelled surprise that they knew we were the delivery. It was perfect lots of screaming tears and hugs. It was so much fun.

 

Thank you for asking.

[Mary Louise]

Stephanie was the CD on this sailing.She would be leaving to go to Australia after our cruise. I went to the comedy show one night and it was quite funny. My friends went to the illusionist show twice and enjoyed it very very.

 

I did not hang out at the main pool area, so I cannot comment on the Lido band. I did enjoy Shiplash which played every evening in the Lobby. It appears that they had a following as the same people were there most evenings and dancing to their music.

 

As I walked past the casino there was a nice band playing, but did not stay as it was too smokey. I do like the piano bar, but this was smokey as well as the disco. For those who smoke or can tolerate the smoke there is some good music to listen to.

 

I enjoy trivia, and did not think there was enough, especially when I did not come home with a Ship on a Stick to add to my collection. :(

 

Sunday was a big football day and the sportsbar was not large enough for the amount of guests who wanted to watch the games.

 

There were evening deck and disco parties, but I could not stay up late. I am an early riser.

 

The Love and Marriage show was funny as usual.

 

What surprised me the most was the first evening and the line for the free alcohol tasting. In all of my cruises, I never had to wait in line for the alcohol tasting and this time I did not wait in line. I left. It wrapped around the entire deck . Typically you can walk up to the table and they staff are handing out tastings, not this time. my suggestion if you want the free tasting, line up early, as the line moved very slowly.

[Mary Louise]

Our first stop was St. Marteen. Love this port. I took the ferry to downtown and rented a chair and umbrella at the beach. if you need to stay connected bring your phone or tablet, as the beach where we rented the chairs from had free wifi.

 

I have been to Orient and Maho beaches before, so going to one of the beaches downtown was fine with me. The water was warm and sandy. Beware as the sand does drop off in the water.

 

I did head to Front Street for some retail therapy. I do have a few jewlery stores that I like and have always done well with my purchases. I did purchase some very nice earrings. Love that they give you, beer, water or soda with your purchases.

 

We did get asked to leave the beach, as the person who rented out chairs informed us that he was closing for the day 4:00 PM. So we got on the ferry and went to Guys with most of the Carnival Cruisers.

[Mary Louise]

Originally we were scheduled to go to St. Kitts, San Juan, St. Marteen, Turks and Caicos. Hurricaine Joaquin did not allow us to go to Turks and Caicos. We were each refunded around $15.00 for missing this port.

 

St. Kitts - I was excited about going to this port as I have never been there. I typically review the CC forums on private tours and select a company that get great reviews. There is always the debate ship vs private tour. i have never had a problem booking a private tour, I find them less money, less crowded and more personalized. I was very interested in the snorkel tour that did St. Kitts and Nevis. I had contacted several companies and they all had room for 2 and the companies were $30 less per person than the ship tour. By the time I went to book the tour, all of the companies were sold out even Carnival. I later learned about the 110% tour guarantee from Carnival. Lesson learned, book early, more research and if the tour is the same that Carnival offers send them the info so they can match that price.

 

Took a taxi to Frigate Bay instead. The beach itself is very nice, but it is not a very populated area. Maybe because it was off season. The structures were shabby looking, there were lounge chairs with cushions but they looked dirty. I opted for a non cushioned chair. The view from the beach was nice and as I said the beach was beautiful. Staff were friendly and arranged for a taxi back to the ship.

 

Another great beach day. When we left the port, that is when the captain informed us that we would stay longer in San Juan and miss Turks and Caicos. Some passengers were upset, but I completely understood why.

 

Unfortunately I am getting an error message with my photos so I can not upload them. Sorry about that.

[momof3cruisers]

 

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The maitre'd never came to our table, and I am ok with that. The photographers did come around, which I do find annoying. I am tired of the pirate pictures and stopping in the middle of a conversation to take a picture. For guests who this may be their first cruise, they may like the photo op.

 

ML

 

I am so sick of having the photographers come around at meal time. I have often considered getting a stand up sign that says, "NO pictures wanted!" in order to keep them away, but then I figure they are just doing their job so we tolerate it. All of us end up with a "yeah, whatever, let's get this over with" look on our faces for the costume ones.

[Cruisermom2nick]

All but one day, we had breakfast at the Lido buffet. Good variety of food. I did notice more omelet stations, and did not have to wait very long for my eggs over easy. Loved the banana bread. Coffee was quite strong so I did not have it.

 

Breakfast in the dining room was good. The OJ seemed to be better than the lido deck. Service was just ok.

 

Lunch. The only food I had at the lido buffet was the salad bar. Loved the salad bar, had a good variety of veggies to put in the salad.

 

Loved Guys burgers. I could have had one everyday, but only ate there twice. Loved their fries.

 

I am glad they kept the deli, had a Reuben and again here very good. Blue Laguana was also very good.

 

My husband did miss the Mongolian station. It was always a hit with him.

 

Pizza was good and loved the fresh Cesar salad that they offer there. From 11:00 PM - 1:00 AM they offer lasagna and meatball subs. I did not try any of it, but did see guests order it and it did look good. It is too bad that they did not offer that during lunch time.

 

I did not go to the Fish and Chips place, but my friends did and enjoyed the food.

 

I never really had to stand in line for a long time to wait for food. Only once did I wait at Guys but it was a port day, and everyone had the same idea when they came back to the ship was to go to Guys.

 

 

Is the Mongolian Wok gone? :eek:

[Mary Louise]

Is the Mongolian Wok gone? :eek:

 

Yes it is gone. :(

[Mary Louise]

Originally we were to be in port until 2PM. As previously mentioned, Hurricaine Joaquin changed our itinerary. We stayed until 10:00 PM. I have been to San Juan before, but never to a beach. We went to La Isla Verde Beach. It was one of the nicest beaches that I have gone too. Warm water, very sandy, however there were big waves and a strong under tow, most likely due to Hurricaine Joaquin.

 

Chairs were a bargain to rent at $4.00. It was pricey to take a cab there at $21.00, no matter how small your group is. The person who rented us the beach chairs also ended his day at 4:00PM. Plenty of cabs waiting to take you back to the ship.

 

Staying in port longer allowed us to go shopping after the beach. Did buy a drink on the ship while in port, and had to pay taxes on the drink. Beware the tax in Puerto Rico is 11.5%. Quite steep.

[Mary Louise]

Here is a review of the platinum perks that we took advantage off

 

1. Priority embarkation was the best. No long lines and embarkation staff very

friendly.

2. Room ready when you board. This did not happen for us as they downgraded

our room two days before sailing. Disappointed in this and the lack of

communication regarding our room change.

3. Complimentary beverage at breakfast, brunch, or lunch. This is a $9.00 value.

I really do not know why they would limit you during these times, it is only one

drink, so they really should allow you to get the drink when you want.

We just went to the dining room during brunch ordered our drink and took it to

the pool. My husband ordered a $9.25 drink we were charged the .25 cents

and a whooping .04 cents extra for gratuity.

4. Complimentary liter bottle of water, we got this and and do like this perk.

5. VIFP Platinum/Diamond party. They had a contest which was fun, guess the

ships, how much candy in this big etc. i cannot remember the prizes. The

appetizers that they served were horrible, but the free drinks and I ordered a

grey goose cosmo or two certainly made up for it. You do not have to take the

drinks they offer, you can get what you want.

6. Unique ship pin, i got a 2015 Conquest pin, my husband got a 2014 Conquest

pin. No big deal to me, but if you are a pin collector, you might have been

upset.

7. Priority Speciality reservations, we made reservations and had to wait three

days in order to go to the steakhouse. I am not sure what priority means.

8. Dedicated Guest Services number, worked great as well as no waiting at the

Guest Services desk.

9. Chocolate Delight Did not get it until I asked for it. they told me that it would

be delivered. When I did not get it that day I inquired again and they informed

me that it would be delivered after dinner. Not acceptable!!!! I finish dinner at

10:00 PM After going back and forth, they said they would deliver it at 7:00

PM, showed up at 7:30 PM. There were other platinum and diamond members

also complaining that they did not get it either. If Carnival tells you this is a

perk that I would expect that they would deliver what they say they would.

10. Loved the free wash and fold service. Used it for 6 days.

11. Logo gift, it was the notebook and pen. I had read on CC so some members

changed it out to Tervis cups. We were successful in returning the notebook

and getting the Tervis cups.

12. Priority disembarkation We were given number 1 and had no problem

disembarking. Stephanie kept telling people to wait because of long lines, I

did not think the lines were any longer than what I have experienced before.

On the whole it was not difficult disembarking.

[Mary Louise]

Staff are all very friendly.

 

The ship is showing it's age. Some of the furniture is tattered. The adult pool area has rust around it.

 

They do not enforce the bathing load for the pool. More people in the pool that what should be in it.

 

Pool towels were in pretty bad shape.

 

Do not really like the decor, I like the newer ships which has more earth tones.

 

If you order drinks you now have to ask for a receipt. they no longer give it to you.

 

Service was not there this time for us.

 

Food was good, no matter where we ate.

 

Captain kept us informed about the hurricane. Stephanie the CD was very visible.

 

You can not beat the value of this cruise.

 

Elevators worked fine, with the exception of the last day. The doors closed too quickly. There was not enough time to allow guests to leave the elevator and for new guests to go in. The doors did not have sensors in them to reopen when people tried to block the doors from closing.

 

If anyone has any specific questions I would be more than happy to answer them.

 

Happy Cruising.

[Corl4]

Mary Louise,

Thanks for the great review! We'll be sailing the Conquest in a few months. You mentioned the Alchemy Bar, which is one of our favorite spots on the ship. Do you happen to remember the names of the mixologists working there?

 

Thanks,

Beth

[Mary Louise]

Mary Louise,

Thanks for the great review! We'll be sailing the Conquest in a few months. You mentioned the Alchemy Bar, which is one of our favorite spots on the ship. Do you happen to remember the names of the mixologists working there?

 

Thanks,

Beth

 

Thank you I believe one of the mixologists was named Maja. There were three, two females and one male.

 

ML