Conquest 2/4 Review

[Super27]

I just got off the Conquest 3-day sailing, and thought I'd share a few thoughts on the experience. For background, this was my 6th cruise (all Carnival), but first solo cruise and first "short" cruise. I booked the cruise last-minute on a casino offer, which included the balcony cabin and Drinks on Us in the casino, but unfortunately no OBC or Fun Play this time. 

 

One thing I'll mention about this cruise to give some context to my other comments - the ship was EMPTY. I believe the capacity of the Conquest is around 3,100 passengers, and we had somewhere in the ballpark of 750 people onboard this cruise. I've never seen anything like this - there were no lines for anything, bars/restaurants were never crowded, deck seating was never an issue, etc.

 

Embarkation

My arrival appointment was 11:30-12:00. I got to Port Miami at about 11:40, and was sitting at the Atrium Bar by 11:50. The terminal was basically empty, and it was by far the smoothest embarkation process I've ever been through. They check the COVID documents as soon as you walk in the terminal, then security, then upstairs to "check-in" and embark. I had the permitted one bottle of wine in my carry-on, and they did not inspect it any closer as I've seen them do on previous cruises. Not sure if that's not a thing anymore or what. 

 

Ship/Cabin Condition

Overall I was happy with the Conquest. The ship definitely shows its age in some spots, but for the most part everything seemed well kept-up and very clean. I didn't notice anything that was not working or any amenities that weren't available. My cabin was a balcony on Deck 8 (8292). It was a great location, very close to the forward elevators/stairs and a quick walk upstairs to the Lido pool and other public areas. The cabin was a standard balcony layout, and everything inside was clean and in good working order. While I didn't have any major noise issues, it seemed to me that I could hear people in the hallway a lot more than I have on previous cruises - I'm not sure if the walls/door are thinner or less soundproofed, or if it was just the proximity to the elevators. Either way though, it never was bad enough to keep me awake.  

 

Food

My last cruise (Magic, September 2021) I was slightly disappointed with the food, so I was very curious to see how things were this time around. I will say that I was not disappointed on the Conquest - I felt that for the most part the food quality was back to what I've come to know and expect from Carnival in the pre-COVID days. I only ate in the MDR once, and it was excellent. I had the cured salmon appetizer, the strawberry soup, the beef brisket, and of course the melting cake. All courses were delicious, but the brisket in particular really stood out as one of the better entrees I've had on Carnival in quite some time. Other venues, in no particular order:

 

Guy's Burgers - Excellent as always. Enough said.

 

Blue Iguana - I actually enjoyed the burritos more than I have in the past. Still not my favorite meal on the ship, but everything tasted very fresh and flavorful.

 

Seafood Shack - I did the raw oysters on the half shell, and they were excellent. I will say these are very large oysters, so I'd recommend going with no more than a half-dozen. I felt that they were a bit overpriced at just over $4/piece, but then again it's vacation.

 

Room Service Breakfast - As usual I ordered coffee, pastries, and yogurt each morning. The food was delivered right on time, and the coffee was hot. The pastries were fresh and tasty.

 

Deli - Unfortunately the deli was the one area of disappointment when it came to food. I ordered the buffalo chicken sandwich, which was excellent last time on Magic. This time, it was mediocre at best. The guy had supposedly just fried the chicken, which I had to wait for, but the breading still wasn't crispy at all, and the whole thing just tasted bland.

 

Lido Buffet - Ok, I know the buffet gets a bad rap, but overall I thought it was pretty good. For the record this was my first time ever doing dinner in the buffet. The highlight for me was the prime rib - it's not quite up to the level of the MDR prime rib, but it was still very good. Soups and salads were excellent and on par with the MDR. Pastas and other entrees/sides were good - not great, but definitely good. There was nothing that I found repulsive or inedible. 

 

Entertainment

I was extremely impressed with the entertainment on this cruise. Dr. E is a great cruise director with high energy and a fun personality. I found him to be entertaining without being overbearing or annoying. The stage shows that I saw were the Welcome Aboard Show, the rock show, and the 80s pop show. The Playlist Productions cast was probably the most talented I've seen on a cruise - these guys and girls were REALLY good. I didn't love the 80s show, but that in no way detracts from the talent of the performers, the show itself just wasn't my cup of tea. Other performers throughout the ship were great as well - I think I spent more time enjoying the music on this cruise than I ever have before. Mike Paramore, the comedian, was also amazing, although fair warning his adult shows are VERY adult. Comedy clubs aren't even really my thing, but I made a point to go back the second night because he was that funny. The only missing entertainment option was the piano bar - it was never open. Not sure if that's a COVID social distance thing or due to the lack of passengers onboard.

 

Crew / Service

As usual, the service did not disappoint and I can't say enough good things about the Conquest crew. Every crewmember that I encountered was friendly and went way out of their way to be helpful. With so few people onboard, a waiter was never far away when a drink was needed, and I was greeted by name consistently by the waiters on deck and in the casino. The only disappointing aspect of the service was the room stewardess. While my room was cleaned just fine, she was not nearly as friendly or outgoing as I'm used to with Carnival. The first day, I was literally just told "I'm cleaning between 8:30 and 1, here's my card." That's it - no choice of morning or evening service, no asking if I needed extra towels, robes, ice, etc., nothing. This was also the first time that I was never addressed by name by the room stewardess. Incidentally, it was also the first time ever that I didn't feel the need to give extra cash gratuity. Again, it's not like she did a poor job cleaning, and if it were a regular hotel I probably would have been thrilled with her service, but the fact is that Carnival's housekeeping staff is usually so good, they just have me conditioned to expect better.

 

COVID Protocols/Masks

I did not find the COVID protocols to be overly bothersome. Masks were required indoors except when eating or drinking, and the signage very clearly reflected that. Most bars did not require "sip and cover," with the exception of the casino bar. Interestingly enough in the casino itself, "sip and cover" was definitely not enforced, just at the bar. They had crewmembers at the entrances to dining areas and the Lido buffet offering masks to guests who did not have one. The only inconsistency in the policy that I noticed was on Lido in the covered areas, such as near Blue Iguana or Guy's. Several times crewmembers were asking guests to put masks on while walking in those areas, and sometimes not. Technically it's still outdoors, but I can definitely see how that could be seen as a "grey area." 

 

Debarkation

With so few people onboard, again the process was extremely smooth. I did self-assist, and was off the ship by about 8:30am. There were only 2 or 3 people in line ahead of me at customs, and although I got some odd questions from the customs agent for being a solo traveler that booked last minute, I was still out of the terminal within about 5 minutes of getting in the customs line.

 

All in all, it was a great cruise, and if you're at all on the fence about cruising right now, my answer is GO FOR IT!!!

Edited February 10, 2022 by Super27

[Bgcruising]

Thanks for the review!

[ninjacat123]

Great review!  We have cruised on Conquest at least 3 times and each time has been great.  I find the room steward review interesting, I would have expected more as well.  We were just on Sunshine and our steward knew our names and was on top of anything we needed.

We found the MDR food on Magic in Sept 21 (interesting you were there as well) lacking.  I also found the MDR food on Mardi Gras not up to snuff in Oct 21.  Glad to hear MDR cuisine is coming back!

Thanks again for taking the time to write it all down👍

[grima625]

Thanks for the review!  I’m getting ready to do a quick 4 day cruise on the Liberty. It will be my first time being solo. 

[CruizCuz]

Thank you SO much for the awesome review!  Very thorough!  I leave on the Conquest in March and am so excited.  I have sailed Conquest ships but never the actual Conquest.  (I was on the Magic in September and also found the MDR food lacking.  The service also wasn't what I expected from Carnival.)  I am getting more excited than ever to try the Conquest, thanks to your review!

[chicail16]

Thanks for your review!

[Pellaz]

Thanks for the review!   We liked Conquest so much that we actually sailed her two cruises in a row.  

 

"Between 8:30 to 1, here's my card."    Uh-uh.  At that point I'd have stopped my room steward (saying "stewardess" makes me think of perky airline stews 🙂 ) and said, "No, I prefer evening service."   Which I do, and should not be a problem for them.  

 

[dsfitz]

I am doing the same thing!  I got an offer for a 4 day cruise on Conquest for $50 (plus tax) in a balcony cabin so I am doing the solo thing for the first time.  I don't normally do these short cruises but I am in Florida for business the previous week so I figured why not.

 

I am signed up for the COVID test at the pier.  I have not seen any posts about this so I am not sure if they have started doing it yet.  But I got an email about it so I signed up.

[Virga]

Any chance you have the menus from your sailing?  Having a hard time deciding on a steakhouse reservation - don't want to miss any of our favorites!

[Super27]

1 hour ago, Virga said:

Any chance you have the menus from your sailing?  Having a hard time deciding on a steakhouse reservation - don't want to miss any of our favorites!

 

I meant to save the menus but completely forgot. Personally though I would do the steakhouse on the first night for the wine deal. If you're on the 3-day sailing elegant night will be night 2, so if any of your favorites are typically on that menu (highlights of that menu this sailing are prime rib and the pasta carbonara) you may want to plan accordingly. 

[CruizCuz]

2 hours ago, Super27 said:

 

I meant to save the menus but completely forgot. Personally though I would do the steakhouse on the first night for the wine deal. If you're on the 3-day sailing elegant night will be night 2, so if any of your favorites are typically on that menu (highlights of that menu this sailing are prime rib and the pasta carbonara) you may want to plan accordingly. 

Any guess which night is formal night on a 4 day  cruise?  I will have CHEERS so the free bottle of wine isn't a deal maker/breaker.  I just don't want to go to the Steakhouse on formal night.  

 

[Oldsweets]

Great review and lots of good info.  We just got off the conquest 2 weeks ago and found the ship just as you describe.  I didn’t think that I could “EVER” say anything good about COVID and it’s impact on life but in the case Of embarkation and debarkation they really improved and I do mean improved here.  We spent a significant amount of time in the Casino and found the staff from the dealers, to the pit bosses , to servers, to the cleaners, to cage and the host were simply outstanding.  Lastly, we found the food in Lido Buffet to be often troublesome.  We often found it to be a moving target of what the problem was as an example one day the meats & cheeses set out so long as to have sweated/dried/curled and another day the PRE-cooked breads (toasted) were out so long as to be simply un-eatable.  We found Guys to mostly cooking to far ahead and was always cold but still good even cold and I had the Buffalo Chicken and I was surprised how good it was.  Clearly just moving targets of opportunity to get it right.  Lastly, we couldn’t agree more with your statements about the crew.  THEY WERE AMAZING!  So much so we have already rebooked this ship for April. Great Job…..

[ninjacat123]

16 hours ago, CruizCuz said:

Any guess which night is formal night on a 4 day  cruise?  I will have CHEERS so the free bottle of wine isn't a deal maker/breaker.  I just don't want to go to the Steakhouse on formal night.  

 

On our 4 night Sunshine cruise, elegant night was the second night.  No lobster, FYI.