Rare bluejay555 Posted June 11, 2017 #1 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Any time I go on a cruise, I love to research. It's part of the fun! I try and look at as many reviews as I can find. That's one reason I like writing reviews. The other reason is because it's a great way to keep a travel journal for myself! But anyway, I will be posting lots of pictures and giving lots of information that hopefully is helpful! A little background info....I used to cruise with my husband but he never loved it like I did, and eventually he put his foot down and said he was done. IWhat??? I can't even imagine!) So now I cruise with my mom and two daughters (age 10 and 12). We have an annual "Girls' Cruise". We usually drive to New Orleans, because it's the closest port to Missouri (not to mention we love cruising down the Mississippi) but this year decided to do something different. We drove to Fort Lauderdale, which took TWO DAYS of driving one way. I'm a teacher, so I have the extra time during the summer, but wow that was a lot of driving! We stayed night number one in Valdosta, Ga at a Drury Inn, and that was nice, but night two was at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66. Now THAT was a hotel! It is right by the water, has an amazing pool, and we could see the cruise ship from our balcony. I highly, highly recommend staying there!!! Here we are! Finally made it to Florida!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riclop Posted June 11, 2017 #2 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Thanks for the review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare bluejay555 Posted June 11, 2017 Author #3 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare bluejay555 Posted June 11, 2017 Author #4 Share Posted June 11, 2017 The kids were cracking up that there was a phone in the bathroom! I said it was in case you ran out of toilet paper lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare bluejay555 Posted June 11, 2017 Author #5 Share Posted June 11, 2017 The Hyatt had the most amazing pool! It closes at sunset though, so we didn't have too long to swim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare bluejay555 Posted June 11, 2017 Author #6 Share Posted June 11, 2017 The view was spectacular! We sat out on the balcony and ate our room service food. The bar restaurant closed early and the hotel restaurant seemed a little fancy for us, so we just ordered in. It was great! Woke up to this view! It's cruise time!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare bluejay555 Posted June 11, 2017 Author #7 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Thanks for the review. You are welcome! Thanks for following along! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimAOk1945 Posted June 11, 2017 #8 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Great review and pictures. I hope there will be more about the ship and your activities. We enjoyed cruising on the Conquest twice. Beautiful ship, fantastic crew, and wonderful itineraries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare bajae Posted June 11, 2017 #9 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Leaving on the Conquest in August. Thanks for review. Can't wait to read more. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare bluejay555 Posted June 11, 2017 Author #10 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Now, Port Everglades has staggered check in, and our time was 11am. We were only minutes from the port, so it was a long wait at the hotel!!! We found Port Everglades to be super confusing. We followed the signs to the parking garage, but once in, we had no idea where to go. In New Orleans, you take an elevator down from the parking garage and it opens up inside the terminal. Here, we just walked outside the garage and it was a zoo of people leaving the ship. There were ZERO signs telling us where to go. We had to walk across traffic to the main building and figured out where to enter...finally. When we got inside, we saw the huge line for FTTF people and thought, haha! We'll be on the ship before them! Well, no we weren't lol They were let on first, and rightly so. We had to actually wait quite a while for our "number" to be called. We walked on about 12:30, which was perfect because we could go eat and then our room would be ready. Too bad it was pouring down rain. The girls luckily had a game in their bag to pass the time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare bluejay555 Posted June 11, 2017 Author #11 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Great review and pictures. I hope there will be more about the ship and your activities. We enjoyed cruising on the Conquest twice. Beautiful ship, fantastic crew, and wonderful itineraries. Thanks! Yeah, I plan on sharing lots of details about the entire cruise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare bluejay555 Posted June 11, 2017 Author #12 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Leaving on the Conquest in August. Thanks for review. Can't wait to read more. Sent from my iPad using Forums Awesome! It really is a great ship. Thanks for following along! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare bluejay555 Posted June 11, 2017 Author #13 Share Posted June 11, 2017 It was pouring rain, and we carried on all our luggage, but the first place we went was the lido deck for some lunch. This was my first time having Guy's Burgers. Great food! Loved how they had a condiment bar with all the fixins available. The only issue was the ketchup dispenser would get stuck and keep shooting out ketchup after released. There was a huuuuge mound of ketchup that quickly spread all over everything and it was like that the entire cruise! Gross. Our first towel animal :) We had an awesome room steward. His name was Putu. He came and introduced himself first thing and asked if we wanted service twice daily. I declined and asked for evening service only. I don't see why we can't pick up after ourselves in the morning! The only reason I would have needed him is because we ordered room service every single morning and then had a tray to set in the hallway. I always hate doing that, but actually a room steward saw me hesitating with my tray and told me that setting it on the floor was perfectly acceptable and there would be someone around collecting dishes soon. Ha! I've gone years with wondering if that was a faux pas and now I know!!! We were docked next to Royal Carribean. It was fun watching them sail away. Beautiful ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CourtNicole620 Posted June 11, 2017 #14 Share Posted June 11, 2017 We are doing the same itinerary and ship June 17-22 can't wait to read the rest of your review ! Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easyboy Posted June 11, 2017 #15 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Thank you for your review and the very nice photos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfiore333 Posted June 11, 2017 #16 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Thanks for doing this review ! We leave in August and it's our first Carnival Cruise , excited to see and hear more about your trip ! Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Jamman54 Posted June 11, 2017 #17 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Great start to your review! We'll be on the Conquest for the first time next year, so we'll be following along! :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare rrraydon Posted June 11, 2017 #18 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Nice start, keep it coming! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jajone Posted June 11, 2017 #19 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Following along, we are doing this cruise next March. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sailingthrulife Posted June 11, 2017 #20 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Subscribing! Great review so far... :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare bluejay555 Posted June 11, 2017 Author #21 Share Posted June 11, 2017 We are doing the same itinerary and ship June 17-22 can't wait to read the rest of your review ! Sent from my iPhone using Forums Awesome! I will be reviewing the ports but I'll say right now that HMC is amazing!!! Stay tuned :) Thank you for your review and the very nice photos! Thanks for following along! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare bluejay555 Posted June 11, 2017 Author #22 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Thanks for doing this review ! We leave in August and it's our first Carnival Cruise , excited to see and hear more about your trip ! Sent from my iPhone using Forums Yay! You are gonna love Carnival! Great start to your review! We'll be on the Conquest for the first time next year, so we'll be following along! :cool: It's a great ship! Not nearly as crowded-feeling as the Dream class. The decor theme is Impressionist Painters and I'm an elementary school art teacher so it was right up my alley! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare bluejay555 Posted June 11, 2017 Author #23 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Nice start, keep it coming! :D Thank you! Following along, we are doing this cruise next March. Awesome! It's a great ship and great itinerary! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare bluejay555 Posted June 11, 2017 Author #24 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Subscribing! Great review so far... :cool: Thank you!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare bluejay555 Posted June 11, 2017 Author #25 Share Posted June 11, 2017 The Coast Guard really put on a show as we sailed away. They were zooming back and forth and going in circles, and there were tons of people whooping and hollering and waving off their balconies. I've never seen that kind of send-off before! It was rainy, so the pictures are not great, but here we are leaving Port Everglades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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