Conquest November 20 Sailing...Final Installment

[texas greeneyes]

This is the final segment of my very lengthy review of the November 20, 2005 sailing of the Conquest. First, dining options:

Room Service:

We had pre-breakfast and late night coffee several times from room service. Only once was it really piping hot, the other times it was hot enough as long as you drank it right away, but they could have bumped the temperature up a bit. Remember to order any sugar, cream, etc specifically when you get coffee from room service, it is not included otherwise.

I sampled the BLT’s and the turkey sandwiches and found both to be very good. Again, if you want condiments such as mustard or mayonnaise, you have to ask. Sister one reports that the open-faced shrimp sandwich and the tuna were both really yummy, and sister five enjoyed the roast beef on baguette. The room service fruit portions are small, so keep that in mind when deciding how many to order. Sister two wanted toast with peanut butter one morning, and seeing PB&J’s on the menu, decided to order it from room service. What she got was toast with a cup of peanut butter & jelly mixed together on the side. Apparently, peanut butter solo is not available.

In our cabin, the wait for room service was never more than about twenty minutes and often less, with only one exception. It was late at night, and we were told when we ordered that it would be a forty-five minute wait, but the food still arrived in about thirty minutes. Sisters one and four report, however, that they waited forty-five minutes to an hour for room service more than once when they ordered at breakfast time.

Lido Buffet:

My cabin mates and I had breakfast at the buffet six out of the seven days. Most of the food ranged from okay to extremely good. I thought the omelets were delicious, especially after the first day when I knew to ask the omelet chef to use as little oil as possible. They were made to order and perfectly cooked.

The bacon was hit or miss, though more often a hit. Several mornings it was wonderfully crisp and not greasy; a couple of times it appeared more greasy and had a rubbery “been sitting there too long” texture. I was underwhelmed by the croissant, Danish and muffin selections; they appeared to be frozen products thawed before serving, rather than freshly baked. Same with the hash browns. Adequate but nothing to write home about.

Carnival has their grits down, though, creamy and smooth with no lumps every time. Delicious! They offered two types of ham, one looked and tasted like processed ham and the other appeared freshly sliced off the bone (much better!). I did not try the French toast or the pancakes, but sister two said they were “Okay.”

We only had lunch at the buffet once or twice. I loved the sliced roast beef with gravy, and the tomato soup. Sister one sampled the buffet for lunch the day they offered Indian cuisine, but she did not enjoy it.

We ate dinner every night in the Renoir dining room, therefore I cannot comment about dinner offerings on the buffet line. We did not make it to either the chocolate buffet or the midnight buffet, so again, no opinions there.

Dining Room:

We had breakfast only once in the dining room. I did not find the food quality to be any better than the buffet; the pastries and hash browns offered were the same, for example. Only a very few items, such as Eggs Benedict and corned beef hash, were available in the dining room for breakfast and not on the buffet.

We did not eat lunch in the dining room at all.

Dinner: I am not very adventurous when it comes to salads, so on the first night I told the lovely Claudia how I like my salad, and every evening afterward she brought me “my salad” without being asked. Claudia, you are a doll! :)

The menu selections at dinner were for the most part delicious. Among my personal favorites were the filet mignon, which was cooked to perfection, the rock cornish game hen, the chateaubriand (sooo tender!), and the French onion soup with the puff pastry crust. My very favorite item turned out to be a soup they called ”Vine Ripened Cream of Tomato with a Touch of Gin”. It was fresh, creamy, and perfectly seasoned and textured. (I want that recipe! Unfortunately, it was not in either of the cookbooks Carnival had for sale on my sailing.)

A big disappointment for me, however, was the turkey entree offered on Thanksgiving. It was processed, like a turkey roll you would get in a cafeteria. :eek: Very substandard compared with the other entrees I had enjoyed, especially for a holiday meal. In my opinion, if logistics prevent roasting and freshly carving turkeys for the Thanksgiving meal, Carnival shouldn’t serve turkey at all.

Since I don’t have a big sweet tooth, I skipped dessert most nights. I had heard that Carnival’s diet chocolate cake was to die for, though, so I did stay and order that the night it appeared on the menu. Very disappointing. It was moist, but completely devoid of chocolate flavor. It was just plain-tasting.

The staff singing and dancing in the dining room neither annoyed nor particularly entertained me. My little niece and her six year old cousin thought it was a blast, though!

The Grill:

Food quality at the grill was inconsistent. On embarkation day I tried a burger that turned out to be served on a cold bun. The meat was dry and barely warm. I did not finish it, even though I was quite hungry. A couple of days later, I sampled another burger, this time requesting that the bun be grilled. The grilled bun helped, and the meat was fresher tasting and moister this time, making for an adequate but not memorable burger. Their hot dogs at the grill were large, juicy, and satisfying. The grilled chicken breast, which I ordered sans bun, was tasty and a good choice for a low fat, high protein snack. French fries were always yummy.

Su Mer:

I did not eat at Su Mer, though I really wanted to sample their fish & chips. I just never got around to it. A couple of sisters did make it to Su Mer and reported the bouillabaisse to be very good, as other CC’ers have mentioned.

Pizzeria:

Several in our group raved about the pizza; I thought it was all right. I am not a big pizza fan to begin with, so the fact that it didn’t impress me as being better than average should be taken only for what it is worth. Others in our group also enjoyed the Caesar salad and the calzones from the pizzeria.

Paul’s Deli:

I never made it to the deli, though some in our group did. Their Reubens got raves, and their roast beef sandwiches were reported to be quite tasty as well.

Miscellaneous:

If you really like salsa and/or jalapenos with your food, bring your own jars aboard. These items were not available on the Conquest, at least not on our sailing. The same with plain peanut butter (as opposed to mixed with jelly).

Overall, I found the food preparation and selection ranging from good to very good the majority of the time. A few items stood out as memorably delicious (oh, give me that tomato soup recipe!) and one or two items were very disappointing. I’ll give Carnival a B+ in the dining department.

Service throughout the ship:

Never once did I experience negative or unpleasant treatment from a crew member. The staff was unfailingly polite and professional, and some were exceptional in their service and friendliness. A+ in the service department, Carnival!

Entertainment:

We never did make it to any of the shows other than the Guest Talent Show, which was entertaining. The staff did the old standard “If I Were Not Upon The Sea” skit at the end, which was cute.

The live bands were great. We especially have a fondness for the one that accompanied sister five to “Blue Bayou” not once, but three times during the week! I am embarrassed to say that I cannot recall their name. :o

Disembarkation:

Sunday morning, we waited in our room as long as we were permitted. From our balcony, we saw four people, each at different times, being led away in handcuffs, flanked by police officers.:eek: I knew that this would cause a delay in deboarding, so we all opened up our jars of patience and each took out a big helping. Dave finally arrived to shoo us out of the cabin at around 9:45, at which time we gave him his thank you card and expressed our gratitude for the fine service he provided throughout the week.

After saying our goodbyes, we headed up to the Lido, where we were pleasantly surprised to see a hot breakfast still available. Of course we took advantage of that! I was delighted that the omelet station was still open, and got to enjoy one last delicious ham and cheddar omelet with a side of those yummy grits and some crisp bacon.

Our color was finally called at about 10:45, and we made our way down and exited the ship into the Galveston terminal. Our luggage was easily spotted, and we gathered it in little time before being directed to one of the Customs lines. (Note: My luggage had obviously been searched, but there was no notification of the search provided, as I thought was required.) We waited a few minutes in the Customs line, and were outside the terminal ready to walk over to EZ Cruise by 11:15.

Overall Summary and Opinion:

My seven days aboard the Conquest turned out to be one of the most enjoyable vacations I have ever had. Yes, there were a few negatives, but overall the food was good, the service exceptional, the atmosphere terrific. We got to meet Carnival staff from all over the world, and we were able to experience three different ports during the week. Couple all that with having all my sisters along, and I was one happy camper…er, cruiser!

The diagnosis is in. It is official. I am addicted to cruising, and I will be booking my next fix soon! :D

[txwildflower2002]

Will be sailing on the Conquest in August and I enjoyed every day of your trip! Sounds like you and your sisters had a great time! I know it takes alot of time and effort to write a review and just wanted you to know that I appreciated it! Thank you, Greeneyes!

[texas greeneyes]

You are most welcome! ;) I hope you have a marvelous time on your cruise!

 

Patty in Texas

[TxStacey]

You are most welcome! ;) I hope you have a marvelous time on your cruise!

 

Patty in Texas

 

Patty,

This was one of the best reviews I have read in a long time!! It was excellent and it sounds like you and your family had a great time! Thanks for taking the time to write it! I felt like I was back on the COnquest with you, in fact I wish I were:) . I will be on the Elation with my family in March and none of them have cruised before so I am really excited about it!

Thanks again!