Fresh Conquest Musings....

[El@C]

Hi Gang,

 

Just off of the 8-day October 17 sailing on the Conquest. 2nd time aboard her, 3rd on a Conquest class ship.

 

Had a great time as always. Do not read anything below as a negative complaint, I am simply noting my observations

for the shared benefit. :) In general, I am on vacay and am not a big complainer.

 

Ship

-I always have liked this class of ship. Still do. She shows her age, but that is OK with me.

-The Promenade alongside the casino is unfortunate due to the smoke, but it is what it is. Walk fast and hold your breath…:D or better yet, traverse the length on Lido deck.

 

Room

-Aft balcony, deck 7, port side.

-No issues with A/C. Was cold enough for me, without freezing out my wife.

-One quiet neighbor and one noisy neighbor, but it was not a problem. They were not late nighters.

 

Food

-Guy’s Burgers is great.

-Iguana Cantina is great. Never anyone in line at Iguana for breakfast. They do custom breakfast burritos and semi-custom

breakfast taco’s.

-All others are as expected, just ok. I think the deli looked good too, but I did not eat there.

-We had the first sailing with the American Table menu. It was clear that everything was a bit chaotic during the menu

transition. Not just the menu changed, but recipes changed according to our staff. Example : you will still see pumpkin pie, but the recipe has changed and the flavor profile is different. I was not too impressed by the new menu, but also have no major complaints. There was a night or two where there was nothing appealing to us on the main course menu.

-Only real food complaint was the classic Chocolate Melting Cake came to us repeatedly overcooked, with no more melt…. After a few nights out staff was able to locate some “rare” cakes for us each night. But this is a Carnival flagship dessert….should be better on a regular basis.

-Water and bread are now just put on your table for self-service (no biggie, just noting it).

-No more tablecloths (no biggie, just noting it).

-Dining room dress code is….. ummmm….. almost non-existent. Again, not a biggie I guess. I dress appropriately(IMO) and stay in

my little bubble. Too many t-shirts, ball caps (not removed for dinner), etc. for my preference. But I understand that I am not the

only guy on the ship and that the Carnival target clientele will drive the code. No biggie.

-The Maître d was not exactly a shining example of looking good (looked sloppy), but his staff look great.

-I really liked our table #425 in the aft dining room. Nice view out of the wall of windows at the back of the ship. Quite a bit of vibration in the aft, but didn’t bother me.

 

Staff

-Great as always. Smiling, friendly, hard working. Felt bad for the 2 person wait staff team. One night, they had a 3rd person helping…it was her first day on a cruise ship…. Most nights not. This would be the first thing I would change if I was king. Service has observably declined over the years, but not for lack of effort from the staff.

 

Entertainment

-Shows were just ok. The female singers were all screamers. But, this is not Vegas. Still enjoyed some, but skipped some.

-Went to one comedy show which was good.

-The hypnotist show was freaking amazing! A don’t miss….!

-Dive-In movies is a good feature IMO. We watched one and parts of some others. Makes for a peaceful nighttime deck atmosphere on those nights.

 

Until next time…

[hoss23]

Hi: We also were on this cruise with EL, and in my opinion he is spot on with his observations. A cast of 7, 3 being female sure didnt cut it. We thought the playlist shows were the worse we have ever seen on 17 Carnival cruises. We were not alone in our thoughts as the late shows were always less then 25% full. We kept going hoping they would get better. Wrong. EL was being kind in his assessment of the dining room lack of dress code. I dont consider myself a stuffed shirt, but, wrinkled dirty shorts on grown men also in baseball caps do not belong in the dining room at dinner. But, times are changing. YTD was chaotic which I guess is too be expected when rolling out a totally new menu. We went to dinner every night about 7:30 - 7:45 which appeared to be prime time, and we had a wait of about 20 minutes every night. I apologize if I stole this thread, just wanted to confirm we had the same thoughts as EL. Mike

[TerReuv]

We were on that sailing too! This was our second time on the Conquest, also. We had a balcony on the Lido this time.

 

Loved the balcony on Lido. Not sure I would do again as no price drops (but I was happy with our cost). Also, we tended to use the elevator more than when we had a balcony on a lower deck. Sometimes 6 flights seemed a lot to walk, where as 3 or 4 would have been better.

 

Our A/C was fine, hubby tried to freeze me out several times but I survived! :)

Neighbors were quiet, but they did tend to leave their balcony light on rather late without being out there. We like to leave our curtains partially open.

 

Food was good. We had anytime dining. We kept the same 3person wait team all but one night. Interesting that our first and preferred wait team had no issues and didn't seem rushed or confused, but when we sat in another section one night, that wait team was a hot mess. The American Table menu was not as posted here on CC (sorry I didn't take pictures). I was really looking forward to more flatbreads for appetizers and there were only 2 flatbreads the entire 8 nights. I didn't order the WMC, however my Dad did and his was not overcooked. Interesting.

 

I have to say I honestly didn't notice what others were or were not wearing. I do people watch, but if there was anyone in our dining room with caps on I didn't notice. I did notice, however, that more people seemed to dress up on other nights in the Renior dining room. Go figure!

 

I actually preferred having the water on our table to serve ourselves. I didn't have to wait if my glass was empty. However I should note that many times our wait staff was right on the ball filling up glasses before we could do it ourselves. Didn't miss the tablecloths as the bare tables are really nice. For those that were really worried about the condensation from glasses, it was never an issue. The water carafe was in a dish and with the glasses having stems, there was practically no condensation on the bare table.

 

We did have the deli and the pizza and both were really good. You can still get a Caesar salad from the pizzeria. The deli also has great all beef hotdogs. DH said they were really good (also could have toppings).

 

My only complaint about dining was the one night we decided not to eat in the MDR. Some of our group wanted Guys Burgers and some wanted the buffet. Well, Guys closes at 6, but the buffet doesn't open until 6:30. They need to at least keep Guys open until 6:30 or open the buffet at 6. Part of the group sat and watched the others eat and then visa versa. (I did note that in my survey).

 

We only saw the Epic Rock show and I loved it. DH didn't like it as much, but he is more of a country fan. I love all the flashing lights, smoke, etc. We didn't make it to any of the comedy shows. We also hit the Dive In theater. Enjoyed sitting outside to watch a movie. Popcorn needed salt. Have to say that it was nice, the sound was loud enough to drown out anyone sitting at the bar talking and not watching the movie but not too loud.

 

Wee Jimmy was our CD and he was fantastic! Really loved him and saw him all over the ship. Much different from our last CD on the Conquest (cannot even remember his name).

 

Guest Services was great. Went to apply my gift cards to our account and one of the paper ones that I had partially used only had $8.46 on it. The system would not let them apply a card for less than $10. The person made a copy of the sheet with the number on it and worked on it. I later received a note that the amount had been applied to my card. Very nice!

 

My biggest complaint was not a Carnival issue, but a port issue. We had FTTF so we had Zone 1 for debark. We were not called to leave until about 8:15. We found our luggage quickly and a porter to assist. The bog down came at customs. They only had 3 people at customs! Others from our FB group did not get off the ship until well after 1:00. We heard that the ship did not leave for the next cruise until after 6:30. Felt sorry for those folks sailing that cruise.

 

Overall, we loved everything about this cruise. We also are very easy going on vacation and it takes a lot to bother us. I'm thinking we need to start planning another one right away!

[El@C]

We also hit the Dive In theater. Enjoyed sitting outside to watch a movie. Popcorn needed salt.

 

I agree :) The movie is a clever way to share space. Deck party one night, movie the next. The party crowd disappears quickly on movie nights. Very peaceful on deck, especially the 2nd showing time slot.

[wantocruisemore]

One quick question on cantina menu for breakfast. On liberty the cantina had huevos rancheros and Arepas. Those were our favorite. The line was separate from burrito line on other side of cantina. Does the Conquest not have those too? They're our favorite.

[El@C]

One quick question on cantina menu for breakfast. On liberty the cantina had huevos rancheros and Arepas. Those were our favorite. The line was separate from burrito line on other side of cantina. Does the Conquest not have those too? They're our favorite.

 

Yes, 2 separate lines. A burrito line and a "huevos" line (small round tortilla, with grilled/chopped chicken, pico de gallo, and melted cheese, ready for an egg topping of your choice. Not sure what the Arepas is...?? I am not an onion guy, so one morning they made me a fresh one with no pico. :D

[El@C]

Quick pic's ... one just in case you recognize us :) and the second is such a great setting on St. Kitts after we were done swimming with the dolphins. Atlantic on the left, Caribbean on the right !! :eek:

[zebramatie1]

Thanks for the reviews. We look forward to our cruise in a couple of days. We enjoy cruising! Some changes have taken place and it seems like the dining room experience is a little different. Hopefully the staff will be a little more trained by the time we get on. We have anytime dining as well. I have never written a review over the years, but I most likely will on this one. I can't wait!!!

[wantocruisemore]

Yes, 2 separate lines. A burrito line and a "huevos" line (small round tortilla, with grilled/chopped chicken, pico de gallo, and melted cheese, ready for an egg topping of your choice. Not sure what the Arepas is...?? I am not an onion guy, so one morning they made me a fresh one with no pico. :D

 

Thanks. The Arepas were bread with thick cheese filings that were toasted/melted. They had them on the hueveros side. Extremely good. But a lot of food. My DH and I usually split the serving.

[El@C]

Thanks. The Arepas were bread with thick cheese filings that were toasted/melted. They had them on the hueveros side. Extremely good. But a lot of food. My DH and I usually split the serving.

 

Yes! They had to also, I just forgot. Had one once...good but very heavy.

[El@C]

[jrgreiner]

What time does the drive in movie start? If you have early dining do you have time to make the early show? Thanks for all the info and review.

[TerReuv]

What time does the drive in movie start? If you have early dining do you have time to make the early show? Thanks for all the info and review.

 

Most nights there was a 7:30 movie and then a different movie at 10. A couple of nights there was only a 7:30 one. None of the movies were repeated another night.

[2xsin12mths]

Food was good. We had anytime dining. We kept the same 3person wait team all but one night. Interesting that our first and preferred wait team had no issues and didn't seem rushed or confused, but when we sat in another section one night, that wait team was a hot mess.

 

Do you remember who your YTD servers were that you liked. We are on Conquest in 2 weeks and we REALLY like to be in/out quickly. I ate dragging out dinner. We have things to do, shows to see. Someone on another thread said Olga was good at YTD.

[Skywench]

We were on this cruise as well. This was my 16th cruise with Carnival. Had a great time. We always do anytime dining. I always ask for a table for two, as I hate sitting at a big table with strangers. We ate in the MDR the first three nights. Had no problems with the food or service. Only thing I didn't care for was that the tables for two are so close together that you feel like you're at a table for four. I have always enjoyed the Mexican midnight buffet and was looking forward to that, but was a bit disappointed that there wasn't one. I really liked the Blue Iguana. Had lunch and breakfast there a few times. Went in the MDR for the 3 sea day brunches and one other morning. Didn't eat at Guy's. I'm sure they tasted good, but sure didn't look good to me lol. Loved Wee Jimmy. Have sailed with him before a few years ago on the Legend. I prefer the aft wraparound cabins and we had one on deck 6. Was very happy with it.

 

As far as the entertainment goes, I thought the hypnotist was a joke. We were sitting quite close to the stage and it was kind of obvious how fake it was with the people on stage. The juggler's show was better. I liked the Epic Rock show and the Brits was ok as well. We always go to the Punchliner for the comedy shows. I didn't care too much for the first set of comedians on board, but the two that came on at the end were pretty good. We had a great time and I'd most certainly sail on the Conquest again.

[TerReuv]

Food was good. We had anytime dining. We kept the same 3person wait team all but one night. Interesting that our first and preferred wait team had no issues and didn't seem rushed or confused, but when we sat in another section one night, that wait team was a hot mess.

 

Do you remember who your YTD servers were that you liked. We are on Conquest in 2 weeks and we REALLY like to be in/out quickly. I ate dragging out dinner. We have things to do, shows to see. Someone on another thread said Olga was good at YTD.

 

Yes, we had Miguel, Tuty and Gene as our wait staff. Miguel is the head waiter. He was efficient and friendly. I can honestly say we were in and out several times within 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours. Depending on if we had dessert or not.

[TerReuv]

Quick pic's ... one just in case you recognize us :) and the second is such a great setting on St. Kitts after we were done swimming with the dolphins. Atlantic on the left, Caribbean on the right !! :eek:

 

Not sure if you are the wife or husband, but wife looks familiar. Here's one of the four of us (me, DH, Mom & Dad) on St. Maarten.

 

The other one is one of my favorite pictures. I has the sunrise below and a bright planet still showing in the night sky above.

[crusinpsychRN]

I thought the Blue Iguana breakfast looked just awful but it tasted very good. (Really looked like someone had an accident, sorry.)

 

Thanks for the review.

Edited October 28, 2015 by crusinpsychRN

[Luvoceans]

How did you like the Piano Bar Entertainer ?

We will be on the Conquest in 10 days and we enjoyed the Piano Bar on our last Cruise !

[tmg698]

We were on Conquest 10/4-10/12 We enjoyed Jonthan in the Piano Bar I am usually not a fan of the Piano Bar but I really enjoyed him. We also loved Wee Jimmy best CD. Debark was a nightmare took forever.

[silvercrikhix]

Thanks, OP, for starting a great thread.

Really nice getting several viewpoints all together on a quickie thread.

Love it!

[BTromboneFrack]

This is a very good review. Thanks for the info. Anybody know where we can get a look at the new menus for an 8 day cruise? Do any of you remember what it was like?

[soccersharon]

Really appreciate all the reviews! We're on the Conquest in December, and looking forward to it :)

[LilMermaid75]

We were also on this cruise. We had a balcony on the Veranda (8). Overall this ranks up with one of our favorite cruises. We went to dinner every night around 6 (ATD) and never had a wait. We found our fantastic wait team on night 3 (led by Yaco) and stayed with them the rest of the week. Once we figured out this was the first cruise with the new menu, we cut them all some slack. They were working their tails off. I have mixed feelings on the new menu and agree with the one individual that said there were a couple of nights that nothing stood out to us.

 

We didn't go to any of the music shows. We went to the welcome aboard show and were extremely disappointed. What was up with the cartoon towel Ana,it's? I think they need to re-think that campaign. Overall we enjoyed all of the live music - especially the group Ship Wreck. They were outstanding. Enjoyed the hypnotist (although agree it was kind of hokey) and the juggler was great. Never had any trouble finding a seat at any of the shows, including the comedy shows.

 

Agree with all the good comments on guys and Blue Iguana.

 

This is one of our favorite class of ships. We never felt like the lines were outrageous and actually found them non-existent in most cases. We enjoyed several dive-in movies. We traveled with our 12year old and found the number of kids to be extremely low (it seemed like an older crowd to us). Seemed strange to us with a lot of schools on fall break, so he did not attend many of the Circle C events.

[y7anks3]

Any chance you have the menus would love to see what my future cruise food choice look like