Carnival Conquest Review 2/28-3/5/16

[Trish Traveler]

Carnival Conquest Review 2/28-3/5/2016 - 6 night cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Key West, Grand Cayman & Cozumel

 

Last year we took an 8 night Carnival Breeze Eastern Caribbean cruise, so some of this review will be in comparison to that one. Overall, we had a great time and were happy with the somewhat older Conquest. We booked this as a last minute (5 weeks out) winter getaway based on the price. I researched the ship here on CC, so I knew what the main differences would be compared to the Breeze. We have been to all of these ports in the past, but it’s been a while for a western Caribbean itinerary for us. We are budget travelers, so we tend to tour on our own and not do any upcharge services on the ship. This review might seem long as it also serves as my personal journal of the trip. Although, I take a lot of pictures, I don’t have the capability for posting them here – sorry about that.

 

Embarkation

This was our 14th cruise total, with 4 on Carnival and the rest on NCL, Royal Caribbean and Princess. We decided to keep costs down this year and fly out the day of the cruise and avoid the expensive high season prices of the FLL hotels. We always purchase trip insurance on our own. We also took the Carnival transfers one way to the port this time, even though they are more expensive than a cab, in case we had a flight delay, we knew there would be a Carnival rep at the airport to speak with. Carnival was in the baggage claim area to greet you and we only had to wait about 15 minutes for them to gather more Conquest passengers at about 10:30am and lead us and our luggage to the bus. Of course, you have to wait for the driver to load all the luggage on the bus and they stopped at one more terminal for more passengers, but then it was off to the pier. We had a very nice Jamaican bus driver who immediately put us in the cruise mode. At the port, he unloaded our luggage and we just had to identify it and he loaded it on the carts with some of the port employees and we just tipped the bus driver. Check in was fairly quick at about 11:30am and we were called to board about 12:30pm. Since we wouldn’t be able to purchase our wine in FLL this trip, we packed it securely in bubble wrap from home in our checked luggage and then transferred it to our carry-on to check in at the ship. We really like that Carnival still allows you to carry on one bottle of wine per person for use in the cabin.

 

Hello Conquest!! The ship layout is somewhat similar to the Breeze and we entered via the Lobby area which is nice. Now, in regards to the themed décor of this ship… I knew in advance that it has an “artsy” theme, but overall, it’s just not to my taste compared to the more modern Breeze. It’s very clean and pleasant enough, but I found some of it on the gaudy side for my taste. The murals are just too busy. Anyway, enough about that. Much of the stairway art is quite pleasant and we used it for backdrops for photos.

 

As we reached the Lido deck, I heard the melodic sounds of the steel drum/calypso music beckoning me to the pool area. Ahh…just love that Carnival brought back the live calypso music. Really enjoyed the Blulypso duo from Trinidad all week. My DH made a beeline to the Guy’s burger line for his first of many burgers. I really love the fresh cut fries. Since I was very hungry, I figured this would be a good time to try the fish and chips which is upstairs in the Lido buffet area. It was quite delicious and a nice quiet spot to eat as most people had not discovered this area yet. I was glad to see that the mid-ship pool area had the same bars/restaurants as on the Breeze as we really liked them and the fun Caribbean ambiance they bring to that deck.

 

As we still had our carry-ons, we decided to check out our cabin by 1:30pm and it was ready for us! We had booked the least expensive inside cabin guarantee and were in cabin 8444 which is aft. We loved this location as it was almost identical to the one we had last year on the Breeze – one deck below Lido, for quick coffee and food runs or to check out the weather since we had an inside cabin. The cabin was very clean and in good condition with plenty of storage space. We asked the cabin steward to empty the mini fridge and for ice, and he kept our ice bucket full all week. We had two robes for our use in our closet. Service was great, as always, and still is 2 times/day; with towel animals every evening!

 

While unpacking, they kept making numerous announcements about the muster drill which was scheduled for 3:30pm but did not take place until 4:20pm. I knew from reading here that it was held on deck (but there is an overhang so we were not in the sun) rather than inside like we had last year on the Breeze. Most passengers in our station arrived on time and were well behaved while we stood obediently in lines (we did not have to bring our life jackets which were in our cabin closet). The actual PA instructions are difficult to hear/understand, but we get the gist. It ended at 4:45pm. We sailed shortly after even though we were supposed to sail at 4PM. It was slightly cool, but still lovely as we headed up on deck for our first official cruise drink to watch sailaway and a beautiful Ft. Lauderdale sunset. After more exploring and unpacking, it was time to freshen up for the evening.

 

It was the night of the Academy Awards, so we headed to the Degas Lounge where they had a red carpet entrance and were surprised that they were serving a glass of complimentary champagne for the showing on a big screen. Soon it was time for our late seating dinner at 8:15pm in the Monet dining room, which was very lovely. We were seated in a booth with a very nice couple who were new to cruising, so we enjoyed sharing our tips with them and introduced them to Cruise Critic! This evening I had the Mahi-Mahi and DH had the flat iron steak, both were very good. The restaurant staff were great all week and comparable to the Breeze. Ditto for the food. Many delicious choices all week. And many times we had multiple appetizers or double entrees when we couldn’t make up our minds. We didn’t do any of the shows this evening as we were exhausted from our 3am wake up and busy travel day.

 

Monday, Key West & Elegant Night

We set our clock (that we brought from home) to wake early and get breakfast in the buffet before heading out shortly after 8am for a full day of exploring Key West on foot. We had been to Key West once before and did the trolley, so we were familiar enough to have a plan for exploring today. I like to enjoy some themed reading prior to vacations, so I had read the book “Key West History of an Island of Dreams” by Maureen Ogle which was fascinating – I highly recommend it if you enjoy history. The weather was great and it was nice and empty in the port area (docked near the Westin) to get some pictures, and over at the red bricked Customs House where the lifelike statues are located. We headed down Whitehead past Hemingway House (we toured this previously), the Lighthouse and on to the end of Highway 1, before continuing to the Southernmost Point for a picture. We also walked over to tiny South Beach, past the Southernmost House and back up to the Butterfly House (helpful hint: the gift shop here has a public bathroom) We also did a bit of geocaching in Key West; which is a treasure hunt using a GPS device and is found worldwide. It is a great activity and you can learn more about it at geocachingdotcom.

 

We then felt ourselves drawn to Kermit’s for a frozen chocolate covered key lime pie on a stick. Delicious and decadent! Next stop was the interesting Key West Cemetery, which has some really unusual and old headstones, including one that says “I told you I was sick”! We continued on using the historic walking tour map to see some of the highlights listed including the free tour of the Oldest House and gardens. Really enjoyed all the beautiful homes, architectural styles, tropical gardens and pastel colors. Back on Duval, we toured some of the numerous bars enjoying the live music, and stopped for a beer at Sloppy Joe’s where I had been enjoying their web cam leading up to the cruise. Refreshed we were ready to continue on to the beautiful historic marina area called The Bight. It is a boardwalk along the harbor where all the yachts are moored, past many lovely shops and restaurants. This is a really beautiful area if Duval Street gets a little too hectic for you. There is also another Kermit’s near here with the “baker” who will pose for pictures. Time to head back to Mallory Square for some shopping before boarding the ship.

 

We were really hungry by now, so we made a dash for the buffet and were delighted to see that the theme was Caribbean and they had the delicious spicy beef stew and jerk chicken we had remembered from the Breeze. Afterwards, we enjoyed the aft hot tub and sailaway. Before dinner, we caught the PG show of Anthony Acosta in the Degas theatre and thought it was very funny (we didn’t see any of the R rated comedy all week, as we learned last year on the Breeze, that it is offensive to us as 4 letter words don’t make it funny – however they were quite popular with others.)

 

This was actually the Elegant Night, even though I thought I had read here that others had it on the Sea Day. We are thrilled that Carnival still includes a lobster tail with no upcharge. I enjoyed two of those with shrimp, while my DH did surf and turf with the prime rib. I believe this was the night I had the wonderful Crème Brule.

After dinner we watched the best show of the cruise: Epic Rock, in the gaudy Toulouse Lautrec Theatre. We really enjoyed that with the music of our youth and the cool computerized backdrops on the big screen. We were then ready to be lulled to sleep by the gentle rocking of the ship after a wonderfully full day in Key West.

 

Tuesday, Sea Day

Started the day in the aft hot tub at 8am when it opened. Delightful. Ready for a relaxing sea day. Next, we dressed for breakfast and headed to the Monet dining room for the Sea Day Brunch. DH had steak and eggs while I tried Huevos Rancheros for the first time and really enjoyed them. Time for more exploring of the ship. Back up on Lido deck we saw that all the chaise lounges on decks 9 and 10 were taken either with people or items holding them. There really are a lot of chaise lounges on these decks, it’s just that many people want to be outside on sunny sea days. And although you might not be near the pool, they do have several showers for cooling off. It was mostly sunny, but quite windy this day. We just chilled out at a table in the shade for a while enjoying the music. We finally found an open spot up on deck 10 aft and enjoyed the sun for a short while as we didn’t want to burn.

 

One thing we really missed on this ship was the Serenity Deck that the Breeze has with comfy loungers and hammocks, as they definitely have the room for it. In addition, the Breeze has some comfy couches and chairs on the aft deck above the pool, which we missed on the Conquest. We were quite surprised to find some nice tables, chairs and umbrellas on deck 10, starboard side, but quickly realized they were in the smoking section and quite well used by the smokers. Now, I don’t want to turn this into a smoking debate. That’s fine that they have a designated area. All, I would like to see is the identical comfy chairs and umbrellas on the port/non-smoking side…but alas, there was none. There are many of us that don’t spend all day in the sun on loungers and would like a comfortable shady spot to sit and read, etc.

 

On that same vein, we really enjoy ships that have a traditional promenade deck with an overhang for partial shade that encircles the entire ship for strolling and enjoying some peaceful time watching the ocean (especially sunrises and sunsets) or reading. On the Conquest, there is very limited outdoor promenade deck space, which you can access from the Deck 3 lobby. Again, one side was smoking. Both sides were roped off, so you have very limited access to just the mid-ship area. And just a very small amount of deck chairs like 5 or 6? So your option is to just pace back and forth or just stand there. But, I get it from a profit standpoint … there is nothing for sale out there, so Carnival probably really doesn’t want you hanging out there : ) There is however a nice walking/jogging path on deck 11 (but in full sun).

 

For lunch, I enjoyed sampling a few offerings from the buffet and some of the many salads. I also had a delicious mozzarella, pepper & arugula sandwich from the Deli – I had been craving this, as I remembered it from the Breeze. The only thing we missed in the Lido, was the Mongolian Wok that the Breeze has. Later, we enjoyed a game of trivia in the lobby, before returning to the cabin. Not sure what we had for dinner in the MDR because I didn’t take pictures of the menu or food and I didn’t write it down (might have been the grilled tenderloin). But whatever we had, it was good as we didn’t have anything in the MDR all week that we didn’t like. We knew we weren’t interested in the Love & Marriage Show for entertainment (as this to me is a one and done once in a lifetime on any cruiseline). We enjoyed listening to Tommy G in the Piano Bar for a while. He seemed pretty good and had the people pretty engaged. We would always stroll over to the lobby area also to enjoy whatever musical offerings were there. This sailing had The Fanny Pax, the all gal string classics with Dolce Trio (my DH enjoyed their rendition of the theme from Game of Thrones), BrassFX, and Solo Guitar with Jack, which were all quite good. There were a couple of others that I don’t believe we heard. Our sailing had an amazing karaoke singer who was a passenger and sounded like Frank Sinatra!

 

Something that I find odd is that they offer some of the musical entertainment in the smoky casino. As a non-smoker, I personally would never sit in the casino to listen to music. I know in the not too distant past, it was common for performers to have to perform in smoky venues, but in this day and age, I think they should get hazard pay for having to perform in there. Once again, please do not turn this into a debate about smoking. I also accidentally found out that Henri’s nightclub is a smoking allowed venue, when we wondered in there and had to make an about face. I missed reading that in the FunTimes. So the smokers do have a musical venue to enjoy.

 

Wednesday, Grand Cayman

Our main plan here was to snorkel with our own equipment that we bring from home. After researching here, we decided to try Cemetery Beach on the north end of Seven Mile Beach. So once again, up early for a buffet breakfast. No problem getting on a fairly early tender boat to shore. The weather was nice and partly cloudy. We took a few pictures in the port area while it was nice and empty before heading over to the bus station about 2 blocks away. The public bus/van is $2.50 US per person one way. It only took about 20 minutes to get there. There were no people on the beach when we arrived, but a few chickens and lizards were there to greet us. It is quite beautiful with several shades of aquamarine water. Nice sand beach with several trees for shade. Just so you are prepared there are no facilities here at all. We brought plenty of bottled water and bagged trail mix from home as a snack. And as the name implies it is located right behind a beautiful cemetery. I would think that is a delightful final resting place! It is an easy walk in entrance for snorkeling, but the reefs with the most fish are quite a distance out. The sea conditions were very good and the visibility was clear and amazing. Quite quickly we spotted a sting ray. I was amazed at how large many of the fish were here. I have done a lot of snorkeling, and it’s always different, but I am used to smaller fish. So this was a delightful, new experience for us. Some of the fish we saw were: sargeant majors, trunk fish, puffer, parrot, blue tangs and rainbow fish.

 

After enjoying that for a while, we relaxed on the beach under a tree while drying some of our gear. Even though it is about 5 miles from GeorgeTown, you can see the cruise ships anchored in the bay there. After a while we noticed some dark clouds in that direction and what looked like a deluge of rain in that area. We decided to pack up as it looked like it was heading our way. Back at the bus stop, we only had to wait about 10 minutes for the return bus into town. We ran into some drizzle, but the heavy rain missed us. We did see large puddles when we returned to town. Next, we browsed the Craft Market, but there weren’t too many vendors there, but there was a public bathroom.

 

Since the weather looked ok, we decided to head across the street to the Paradise Grill that has access to more snorkeling via their marine park steps near Eden Rock. My DH decided to chill out and enjoy some local Caybrew beer while I once again snorkeled. They feed the large tarpon fish here, so those big boys are swimming right where you enter the water. It is an amazing experience to see their glimmering silver scales up close while swimming peacefully next to them. They didn’t bother me at all. Heading further out I saw a nice variety of fish once again including some cuttlefish. Finally, I decided it was Caybrew time for me also and exited. Naturally the steps and railings are a bit slimy with algae, so it is a little difficult to exit. Even if you don’t want to snorkel here, you can view the tarpon from the platform.

 

After that we strolled the main drag to see some of the shops and went as far as the Fish Market where the locals were cleaning the fish caught that day. That was neat to see. And there is a very tiny beach there where I found a small handful of sea glass, so that was a nice surprise. Back to the tender pier as we were worn out from all the snorkeling and very hungry. The line was not too bad at about 2:30pm and only took about 10 minutes to board a tender for the scenic trip back. Had a late lunch and enjoyed Sailaway.

 

Before dinner, we once again enjoyed a PG comedy show, this time by Ronnie Bullard in the Degas theatre, which was hilarious. Another delicious dinner in the MDR. The shows needed to be switched on this night for “operational” reasons, so The Brits was substituted with Latin Nights, which we had seen last year, so we skipped that one. Strolled the ship enjoying various bars and music.

 

Thursday, Cozumel

As we were approaching Cozumel, it seemed the logical morning for breakfast at the Blue Iguana Cantina. Had a tasty breakfast burrito and tried for the first time, the fluffy little arepa pillows of deliciousness – a south American corn cake with melted cheese inside. Always enjoy a side of fresh fruit from the buffet inside. They offer cut up melon or slices that you can cut the rind of yourself – but why would you want to do that if they have already done that for you : ) The skies were cloudy, but we had no idea what the weather forecast was as we weren’t on the internet plan, none of the TV channels will give you local Caribbean weather and the station on TV that gives ship info always said weather N/A (not available) which was not helpful at all. When we asked locals once in port, they answered, maybe a passing shower, but they don’t last. I’ve come to the conclusion, that they don’t want you to know the weather, because they don’t want you to cancel your plans for the day.

 

Arrival in Cozumel was at 10AM, so naturally the crowds in the stairway to get off the ship were a bit heavier today, but moved fairly quickly and we were off in about 10-15 minutes. We reached another bottleneck outside when you need to go thru Mexican Dept. of Agriculture? check of bags to make sure no one is bringing off any fresh fruits or veggies that could potentially bring insect pests to their island. Even though you are warned repeatedly on the ship, they still had a pile of confiscated produce. We were docked at the Puerta Maya terminal which was new for us and quite lovely. Really big, with many shops, restaurants and scenic areas. We took a few pictures as we pondered what to do about the possibility of rain.

 

We decided to stick with our original plan to take a cab to Chankanaab. The taxi prices are all clearly listed and ours would be $12 one way 1-4 persons. Chankanaab $21 basic admission includes use of the beach area, lounge chairs with palapa, and the sea lion show. This park also has many extra charge activities such as dolphin and manatee swims, kayaks, zip-line, tequila tasting, snuba and spa. We had been here previously and really like the clean, safe, manicured, lovely grounds. Our main plan was to snorkel here and we brought our own equipment. They rent snorkel gear for $15 and have lockers available for rent also. It seemed fairly empty, probably due to the cloudy weather. We picked a perfect palapa spot near the snorkeling area. The area is a beautiful sandy beach, but the water edge is all coral, so they have several step entrances to the water. Not many people were in the water at this point so the snorkeling was wonderful and visibility was good. We immediately saw a large sting ray with a pretty bluish border, even better than the one we saw in GC. We saw many other beautiful large fish, including butterfly, parrot, rainbow, needle nose, puffer, blue tangs, sargeant majors and a very large school of fish (which is called a bait ball and is a defense mechanism by which they appear to be one large fish). There are also underwater statues of Mary, Jesus and a Mayan chacmol. One of the highlights was the very large spiny lobster we spotted walking on the bottom. Another diver dove down next to him for a picture and for perspective we could see that the lobster was about as long as his arm! Very cool.

 

It started to rain while we were in the water, which is a cool sensation, until we heard thunder. We decided to exit even though we never saw any lightening. While it lightly rained, we chilled out under our palapa drinking $3 Sol beers. Our nice waiter let us know that if we wanted to purchase 6 beers for $18 we would get free chips and salsa. We didn’t take that deal as we were unsure of how long we would be there. The skies were really dark in the distance, but it didn’t seem to be moving very fast. Although still cloudy, the rain had stopped so we decided to walk the beautiful grounds here including botanical gardens, a crocodile exhibit, Mayan archeological replicas, and around the beautifully clear lagoon. Very scenic and tropical. We didn’t see the Sea Lion Show because the timing just didn’t work for us. We also saw that one area does have a little walk-in sandy beach, which would be good for small children. There are also a couple of pretty restaurants on the grounds.

 

Back to our palapa and more people were now snorkeling, so I decided to go back in for one more round. After a while this ended again with rain, so it was time to back up and leave. For once, we were able to use all the supplies that I pack including large plastic bags, rain ponchos and umbrella. Those nice Carnival ship beach towels sure are heavy when they are wet, so I think I will pack my own cheap thin beach towels from home next time. Hauling the snorkel gear is heavy enough without added weight. Into the cab for a rainy ride back to Puerta Maya. The cabbie said it has been raining a lot lately. Aha!! We were still happy that we got to enjoy several hours there and had some great snorkeling.

 

Back at the port, it was really pouring. I tried to shop a little, but it was difficult being so wet and now cold, so we boarded the ship and it was quite difficult to get all that wet stuff everyone had through the security machines. We hightailed it back to our cabin to get rid of all the wet gear. Then we headed up for some warm food and coffee. After that, we thoroughly enjoyed the aft hot tub as the retractable roof was closed – perfect time for that feature.

 

We treated ourselves to Alchemy Martinis before dinner. We enjoyed the Antioxidant and the Martini Seduction. I just love the light up menus they have there. All dark bars should have them – I didn’t even need my reading glasses! Had the delicious and tender Dual of Filet Mignon & Short Ribs for dinner. I also really liked the GIFFT Red Blend wine in the dining room. After dinner, we watched the Divas show which was okay, but not as good as the Epic Rock.

 

Friday, Last Sea Day

Beautiful morning for our last sea day. The seas were so calm this day, that the ocean looked more like a lake to me. We have never seen it this calm. We began again in the aft hot tub with our coffee in thermal mugs from home. We actually like their coffee and find no need to purchase the specialty coffees on board. We again enjoyed a lovely view near the aft windows in the Monet Dining Room for another sea day brunch. This time, I ordered my favorite Eggs Benedict (which you can also get on the buffet). Although, I don’t mind the buffet for breakfast, it is always lovely to have your food served hot to you if you have the time. We had a very leisurely day on board enjoying more calypso music, reading, people watching, and packing every now and then. I even popped inside to catch a little of the towel animal theatre, as I am a kid at heart. Bought a Groove for St. Jude t-shirt for the fundraiser on board. Lunch was a very enjoyable burrito from Blue Iguana. A nice man offered us his chaise lounges as he was leaving, so we spent a little time there in the sun near the pool. It was quite hot, so it was time to try a frozen drink. I don’t generally drink these and it was not my favorite at all. I had the Miami Vice and it was too sweet and slurpee-like, with not much alcohol. My husband really liked the Carnival brewed Thirsty Frog Red beer which I agree is very good and thirst quenching. It is actually a good deal, as it is a 19 oz (compared to 16 oz) glass of tap beer.

 

We decided it would be a good idea to check in for our flights and print our boarding passes, so we headed to deck 5 to the internet café. We never get an internet package, but learned we could just pay the $5 fee for 24 hours to access Southwest Airlines. The connection is slow, but we were able to get through and then just had to wait as the printer was out of paper. Glad that we now have this affordable option. Less hassle than at the airport. Sadly, it was time to finish most of our packing before dinner. The debarkation info plays nonstop on one tv station on this last day. You can check your Carnival folio statement either by logging in at the kiosk in the lobby or by using the menu on the TV and bringing it up on the screen, which is what I did. I checked it for accuracy and took pictures, although, we did get a final paper copy under our door the last morning. We got our luggage tags with our assigned debarkation group and info. We were scheduled for between 10:40-10:50 which we were a little surprised was rather late, but figured we should be fine since our flight is not until 2PM, as long as there are no snafus.

 

We once again visited the Alchemy Bar for martinis, tasting the Spicy Chipotle Pineapple and the Cucumber Sunrise which were both very good, although more pricey at $11.44 with tip, than we would normally pay at home. The last dinner for me was the amazing salmon, which you can order any night. Enjoyed the farewell song from our waiters and said goodbye to our new friends who were our dinner companions all week. After their first cruise, they have decided they really like cruising and will cruise again! Off to see The Brits show which we enjoyed hearing more of the music we grew up with. Finally time to close those suitcases and put them outside the cabin door.

 

Saturday, Debarkation Day

I was in a deep sleep when I was awakened by cruise director Josh’s voice on the PA saying that the ship had been cleared and that self-assist passengers could begin debarking. I was disoriented and thought we had overslept, but realized it was only 6:30am! We relaxed and headed up for our last buffet breakfast onboard. Last chance for a delicious omelet, fresh fruit and the little lite cinnamon and apple sweet rolls that we especially liked. We gathered our carry-ons and vacated our cabin about 8:15am and headed up to the Lido Deck to wait for our zone to be called. We relaxed in the aft pool area enjoying the nice weather. The first groups got called early, but then there was a customs delay due to the crowds. Soon it was time for one last soft serve cone to help pass the time.

 

We decided to head to the mid pool area, but it smelled of strong paint fumes as they had drained the main pool and were painting the metal areas around the top of the pool. That must be some really quick drying paint, as I assume they would probably have it refilled by afternoon for the next passengers boarding. Anyway, the fumes were annoying and were also drifting into the inside buffet area so we decided to head down to deck 3 to wait our turn. By about 10:30am we heard our last BING as our cards swiped us off the ship. We found our luggage quickly in the warehouse and waited about 45 minutes to get through customs. Outside, we headed over to the taxi line and only waited about 5 minutes for our turn. The taxi was only about $14 plus tip. We checked our luggage in with Southwest and thought we were heading down to a fairly short security line only to find it stretched out of sight all the way to the parking garage. Luckily, we had time to spare, but it took almost an hour to get through that line. Southwest employees did periodically come thru the line calling out flights and taking passengers thru security quicker, so that’s good to know. I like FLL airport but that Southwest terminal is so small and crowded. There always seems to be people sitting all over the floor and lines for the bathroom. Of course, thousands of people are going to and from cruise ships at the same time. The only redeeming features are the delicious empanadas and plantains at Sergio’s Cuban restaurant located there! Goodbye Sunny!

 

Summary

I don’t remember which nights we had some of this food, but this is a list of some more of our favorites that I can remember: Mojito Chicken, Jerk Pork Loin, fried chicken, vegetable spring rolls, Vietnamese roll, grand Marnier soufflé, cream of mushroom soup, the cold mango cream and strawberry soups, the flatbread appetizers, ratatouille, stuffed mushrooms, and frog legs. My husband enjoyed most of the pies ala mode and would sometimes order the banana split off of the kids menu. We also loved the Reuben sandwich from the deli and various pizzas throughout the week. We have never ordered room service as we have an inside cabin and wish to get out and SEE the SEA! We were disappointed that this ship didn’t have a forward web cam that we could view on the TV, the only cam was of a small section of the Lido deck.

 

I forgot to mention that we really liked the cruise director, Josh Waitzman. His manner was very down to earth while being naturally fun. He also said that he is a history buff and gave a few lectures during the week on various subjects. They sounded interesting, but we didn’t get to any as we wanted to enjoy the outside weather as much as possible. I also saw that there was a gathering to honor military vets one day, which I thought was a very nice idea.

 

We love cruising and we had a great time cruising aboard the Conquest. The service, quality of food, cleanliness of the ship, and entertainment were all great and equal to what we experienced on the Breeze last year. I think cruise ship employees are some of the hardest workers out there. As I stated earlier, some of the décor was not my cup of tea, but that’s personal preference. The Conquest is older and does need some sprucing up on the outside decks. That is where you tend to see some rust. But it is an ocean vessel constantly exposed to salt water and rain, so corrosion does take place. Ship happens ;)

 

We also found the passenger mix to be a nice balance of all ages. There didn’t seem to be too many kids on this cruise, so it must not have fallen in any major spring break weeks. We were a little worried about the possibility of college spring break students with this being a 6 night cruise, but that was not a problem. The few groups we saw, were well behaved and enjoying themselves (of course, we wouldn’t know what goes on after about 11:30pm as we are back in our cabin) And we were happy with our cabin location – it was quiet and convenient for the areas we frequented. As usual, we enjoyed meeting many nice people throughout the week and always enjoy sharing cruising adventures and recommending Cruise Critic for researching all things cruising. Our CC roll call for this cruise wasn’t real active, so we didn’t really meet up with them this time.

 

We still think cruising is the best vacation value and have enjoyed returning to Carnival for our last two most recent cruises. Don’t know for sure where we will go next. As always, I want to thank all of you on Cruise Critic for sharing your wealth of information to make every cruise more memorable. Hopefully, some of my review is helpful for you also.

[pcvtmom]

Thanks so much for taking the time to post your trip report! Very enjoyable!

[Keith1010]

Outstanding review. Very well written.

 

Keith

[funinthesun1964]

We were on the 8-day on the Conquest and got off the day you got on. We enjoyed ourselves as well. Did you have rough seas, or was that something mostly associated with southern Caribbean?

[GMRPHRN]

Thanks for the review. Very helpful.

[Florings]

Thank you for the review. Sailed the Conquest last September - enjoyed it very much. You brought back some pleasant memories!

[Jimmy Geegitz]

No serenity area on Conquest is kind of a deal breaker for us.

[Cruise, J.D.]

Thanks for the review. I will be hitting GC and Coz soon, doing those same things :).

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your report.

[GApharmcruiser]

Awesome review! We are looking forward to our cruise on the Conquest in 17 short days! Can't wait!

[Trish Traveler]

We were on the 8-day on the Conquest and got off the day you got on. We enjoyed ourselves as well. Did you have rough seas, or was that something mostly associated with southern Caribbean?

 

No we didn't experience rough seas. The first sea day that was really windy was slightly rocky, but nothing bothersome at all. I always bring along some Bonine for motion sickness and have occasionally taken it on other cruises, but had no need this time. And as I said, the last sea day, the ocean was as smooth as a calm lake. I've also done eastern and southern Caribbean itineraries finding no specific place that consistently has rough seas. I'm not a meteorologist, but I would imagine it's based mostly on the weather at any given time.

[funinthesun1964]

No we didn't experience rough seas. The first sea day that was really windy was slightly rocky, but nothing bothersome at all. I always bring along some Bonine for motion sickness and have occasionally taken it on other cruises, but had no need this time. And as I said, the last sea day, the ocean was as smooth as a calm lake. I've also done eastern and southern Caribbean itineraries finding no specific place that consistently has rough seas. I'm not a meteorologist, but I would imagine it's based mostly on the weather at any given time.

 

There were several reports of the rough seas from the passengers who had taken the same itinerary as we did from the previous couple of months.

[bankofdad]

Fantastic review! looks like you did your research before going and had a great vacation. I plan to steal some of your idea for activities onboard and ashore!

[Raysgirl]

Thank you for the review. We are going to be on the Conquest in Sept and have the same cabin you had 8444. I have never had an interior cabin before, we usually do balconies and last cruise on the Fascination we had an ocean view. We are trying to save a couple pennies as this is our second cruise this year. Can you tell me how the stateroom was? Are the interior rooms roomy? Looking for to some fun in the sun.

[Clarea]

Well written review, thanks!

[mrpayroll]

Enjoyed reading. Sounds like you had a great time.

[JaneAustenite]

Great Review! We'll be on the Conquest in June. Thanks for the tip about printing boarding passes. That is really convenient and I didn't know it was available.

[Keys2Heaven]

So, you only had one formal night?

[Trish Traveler]

So, you only had one formal night?

 

No, there were two formal nights. I forgot to identify the 2nd one in my review. It was on the evening that we went to Cozumel. The night I had the delicious dual filet mignon and short ribs for dinner. So that would be the 5th night of the 6 night cruise.

[Trish Traveler]

Thank you for the review. We are going to be on the Conquest in Sept and have the same cabin you had 8444. I have never had an interior cabin before, we usually do balconies and last cruise on the Fascination we had an ocean view. We are trying to save a couple pennies as this is our second cruise this year. Can you tell me how the stateroom was? Are the interior rooms roomy? Looking for to some fun in the sun.

 

As I have never had a balcony cabin, it is hard for me to compare. We also take them to save money, and I would never be opposed to a balcony if the price were right. But, I always seem to look at the savings and say that what we save can pay for something else on the cruise.

 

Our inside cabin was fine, with plenty of storage space, and comparable to other insides we've had on other ships in recent years. I wouldn't exactly call them roomy, but you have an open area at the foot of the bed where the vanity and chair are that you can move around in comfortably. We don't spend much time in the cabin, so they are fine for us.

 

Just remember that once the lights are off they are really dark. Which can be a good thing for a good nights sleep or even a nap. But a flashlight can be helpful if you get up at night. Anywhere you can save to get you on a second cruise in a year is a good idea to me:)

[Trish Traveler]

I am glad that many of you are enjoying the review. Glad I could be of help, as all of you are when I am researching my cruises :)

[FloridaGram]

Thanks for the positive review! I just booked this ship only 4 weeks out! I like the French Impressionist decor so I will enjoy that more than the more garish design of some CCL ships.

[Maahvelous]

What sailing date in September?

[Raysgirl]

If you were asking me Maahvelous, what date in Sept, we are on the 9/3 sailing. Can 't wait!!

[suzyques]

thanks for the review. So glad to hear they have the cold mango and strawberry soups. I LOVE them.