PARADISE found, plus our CONQUEST of two more ships (with pics) - 4/14/2018

[tarheelmjfan]

We ate there a 2 or 3 years ago, it was good but very crowded. We recommended it for some family that live outside of Fort Lauderdale.

 

Thanks

[Jamman54]

I've been watching out for "part II" and now I've found it. Glad to see you're back!

 

Thanks again for reading. I will be posting a little bit tonight. :cool:

 

I've been enjoying your review. You've finally made it to my backyard. I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys did in this area. We've never been to the Rustic Inn Crab House, because we're afraid it's yet another tourist trap. Would you recommend it for locals?

 

Thanks for following along! To tell you the truth, I thought there were more "locals" there than tourists. I would highly recommend it! :cool:

[Jamman54]

I just got off the Serenade of the Seas this week! I did a 7 night Norway cruise out of Copenhagen, Denmark from May 6th-13th. You must have saw her in Florida before she did her Transatlantic crossing to Europe. :):):)

 

There was a large group that stayed at the Springhill Suites that was doing the Serenade transatlantic cruise.:cool:

 

Jeff, thank you for taking so much time to put this, and all your reviews together. I really enjoyed the first part and I'm looking forward to the rest of the review since I haven't ever cruised out of Fort Lauderdale and would like to see it from your perspective. I can't wait to read the rest!

 

Thanks for coming long for the ride. I will be posting some more pages tonight. :cool:

[Jamman54]

Hi Jeff,

You have some of the best cruise reviews I have ever read! Thank you (and Patti) for taking so much time documenting and taking all of the photos. I have written down so many pointers from your trips! You, Mitsugirly, and GaPearl have made so many of my vacations easier and more enjoyable. The insider tips are priceless. Some people don't understand my obsession with cruising, but here on cruisecritic its normal :D

 

Thank you so much for following along again, and for your kind words. If we were able to help in any way then we are doing our job. It is a labor of love. :D

[Jamman54]

We were going to hop on a water taxi and just cruise around, but once we got to Bokamper’s, which was the northernmost water taxi stop, we decided to just have lunch……

 

Patti and I at Bokamper’s…..

 

The water taxis stopped here…..

 

 

One of the bars at Bokamper’s…..

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

This is the seating area closest to the water…..

 

I had the chicken mac and cheese……

 

Patti had the spinach and artichoke dip and the chicken tenders…..

 

After lunch Patti just wanted to go down to the strip and do some shopping, while I found a seat at one of the many bars and had a few beers. Here are a couple of Fort Lauderdale beach views…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Here are some more Fort Lauderdale views…..

 

 

You can rent a bicycle very easily here…..

 

 

We were back at the hotel around 5pm. Patti wanted to check out the mall across the street. She came back a few hours later with our dinner from Mickey D’s. We spent the rest of the night at the hotel relaxing.

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

The next day we were up at 8am to a partly cloudy day. I hung out in the cabin working on our pictures, while Patti went downstairs for some breakfast. Around Noon we made our way over to the Casino at Dania Beach to catch the Jai-Alai matinee……

 

 

Here are some views of inside the Casino at Dania Beach…..

 

 

To be continued…….

[Jamman54]

The entrance to the Jai-Alai Fronton…..

Back in the day this building was all about Jai-Alai. There were thousands of seats and huge betting lounges and concessions. Now it’s down to 5 rows of seating and a handful of automatic betting machines…….

 

 

The rest of the building was converted to a casino in order to remain open and viable. The same thing has happened to the dog tracks. Here is the tote board showing the odds of the various bets…..

 

 

Today’s program and our bets for the first game…..

 

 

To be continued…..

 

[Jamman54]

At the start of the matinee the players lined up for the National Anthem…..

 

Here are two of the three officials who monitor the game…..

 

Before each game the players march onto the court and salute the fans….

 

 

 

Here is some game action…..

 

 

We stayed for eight games and then we left. We only won money on one game. We went back to the hotel to relax for a while.

We decided to go to a nearby Dave and Buster’s for dinner. Afterwards, we went to the Mardi Gras Casino to watch the dog races. This place was a dump. The place used to be known as the Hollywood Kennel Club, and it looked exactly as I remembered it from nearly forty years ago. Even the tote board was still the same. We left after a half a dozen races, without winning one.

I think we were back at the hotel by 9pm. Knowing that there were a lot of cruisers staying at the hotel, we decided to pack up our van tonight to avoid the chaos in the morning.

 

Coming up next: We board the Carnival Conquest!!!

[rentayenta]

Great update! Love the beaches at Fort Lauderdale. Your report is making me want to spend a few days there before we board. We have friends though that live in Coconut Grove, near Miami, so that'll be the plan but those white sandy beaches are gorgeous.

[tarheelmjfan]

Thanks again for reading. I will be posting a little bit tonight. :cool:

 

 

 

Thanks for following along! To tell you the truth, I thought there were more "locals" there than tourists. I would highly recommend it! :cool:

 

Thanks. We'll have to give it a try.

[grandmarnnurse]

I have never been to Ft Lauderdale Beach all the times I’ve stayed there. I usually fly in one day prior and stay right across the port on 17th St at the Renaissance Hotel. My cruise for 2020 is out of Ft Lauderdale, so I will have to rethink where I may stay.

[Jamman54]

Great update! Love the beaches at Fort Lauderdale. Your report is making me want to spend a few days there before we board. We have friends though that live in Coconut Grove, near Miami, so that'll be the plan but those white sandy beaches are gorgeous.

 

I have never been to Ft Lauderdale Beach all the times I’ve stayed there. I usually fly in one day prior and stay right across the port on 17th St at the Renaissance Hotel. My cruise for 2020 is out of Ft Lauderdale, so I will have to rethink where I may stay.

 

I would highly recommend spending a day or to there pre or post cruise. Plenty to do and see there. :cool:

[nycruiser2006]

Jeff and Patti - can not thank you enough for all of your reviews. Every time I get ready to cruise somewhere, or am going to a new port I search for your reviews to see if you have been there! Our last cruise we drove down from NY for a last-minute GREAT deal on the Pride. Would love that last-minute deal again :cool::cool:

This 2nd part has brought tears to my eyes. I was born and raised in North Miami Florida, and I LOVED going to Jai Alai!!! I moved to Upstate NY when I met my husband and at times miss South Florida terribly. So Thank You, for bringing such great memories back.

Subscribing......

[Jamman54]

Jeff and Patti - can not thank you enough for all of your reviews. Every time I get ready to cruise somewhere, or am going to a new port I search for your reviews to see if you have been there! Our last cruise we drove down from NY for a last-minute GREAT deal on the Pride. Would love that last-minute deal again :cool::cool:

This 2nd part has brought tears to my eyes. I was born and raised in North Miami Florida, and I LOVED going to Jai Alai!!! I moved to Upstate NY when I met my husband and at times miss South Florida terribly. So Thank You, for bringing such great memories back.

Subscribing......

 

Hey Mary! Thank you for coming along for the ride again, and for your kind words. We are glad that we were able to bring back some fond memories for you. :D

[Jamman54]

Day # 1 - We board the Carnival Conquest!!!

We were up at 7am to a partly cloudy day. Patti went downstairs and brought us back some donuts and coffee. Since we tagged our bags and loaded the van last night, all we needed to do was pack our carry-ons. We left the room a little after 9am to check out, which surprisingly was quick and easy. We left for Port Everglades around 9:20am and we were there in no time…..

 

 

These were our first views of the Carnival Conquest berthed at Terminal 4…..

 

 

We were directed to drop off our luggage by this nice man…..

 

We were then directed to the parking lot, and because of my handicap placard we were able to park right across the street from the terminal entrance.

 

We found the Priority line, where we had to wait for about ten minutes for the doors to open……

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Once inside, the check in process was super quick and easy. This is one of the ports where your Sail & Sign card will be in your cabin’s mailbox once you can access your cabin. You can use your boarding pass for purchases until you get your Sail & Sign card.

 

Once your check in is complete, you are directed to your appropriate chairs to wait. General boarding and the Faster to the Fun seating areas are on the same level. If you are Platinum or Diamond, you will be directed up the escalator to the next level. There are separate seating areas for Platinums and Diamonds…..

 

A little after 11am boarding began, and they did it by the book. First the wedding parties, then the Diamonds, then the Platinums , then Faster to the Fun, and then General Boarding. Great job Port Everglades!!! We are now aboard the Carnival Conquest…..

Now that we are aboard, here are today’s Fun Times…..

 

 

 

 

You board the ship into the Artists Lobby on Deck 3. Our first stop once we were on board was the Shore Excursion Desk, which is also on Deck 3, as we wanted to get our first choice of cabanas at Half Moon Cay…..

 

To be continued…..

 

[Jamman54]

While I waited for the Shore Excursion Desk to open, Patti popped into the nearby Toulouse-Lautrec Showroom and took a few pictures…..

 

 

 

I only had to wait a few minutes for the Shore Excursion Desk to open. Here I am taking care of business…..

 

 

We picked cabana # 9, which is a perfect location for us. I’ll show you why when we get to Half Moon Cay. We also picked up our cabana tickets for Amber Cove and Grand Turk. Yes, we have cabanas at all three places! Lol.

 

They have programmed all of The Studio Atrium elevators to go directly to the Lido Deck…….

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

As Diamond members we have immediate access to our cabins, so we took the regular elevators up to Deck 6. Here is the generic sign that all ships are using now…..

 

We are in cabin # 6450 which is all the way aft on the port side of the ship. It is the bowling alley balcony cabin right next to the aft wrap. Our Sail & Sign cards were waiting for us in our mailbox…..

 

This is our bed. The door on the far wall is for the bathroom….

 

 

Another view of our bed and desk area…..

 

 

On the desk were some papers. Here is the information for the internet and Fun Hub…..

 

 

 

To be continued……

 

[Jamman54]

Also on the desk were our drink coupons…..

 

On my Carnival Paradise review I showed you the new Room Service menu but forgot to include the Room Service breakfast door hanger. Well, here it is…..

 

 

These are our closets with plenty of closet space. The suitcases go under the bed…..

 

 

 

 

This time we have a swipe type safe…..

 

 

To be continued…..

 

[Jamman54]

Our mini fridge is under the desk…..

This is our typical Carnival bathroom…..

 

The best thing about this cabin is that the bed faces out towards the two windows. It’s great to wake up to ocean views…..

 

 

To be continued…..

 

[Jamman54]

This is our bowling alley balcony…..

 

 

Looking down we can see an endless line of arriving supplies…..

 

These are the gangways to and from the ship…..

 

This is the luggage drop off area and a load of luggage ready to come on board…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

We were starting to feel a little hungry so we took the elevator up to Lido

Deck 9.....

 

This is the aft Sky Pool and hot tubs. They can close the sliding glass dome in case of inclement weather……

 

 

 

 

There is seating back by the aft windows…..

 

There are ice cream machines nearby on the starboard side…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[peteandpris]

I love this review and one day I want to go on the Conquest. I can't wait for the next page. Thank you to you and Pattie for all the great pictures. :p