Review - Carnival Conquest 9/3-9/10

[TGSplano]

INTRO

My best friend (caucasian female upper 30's) and I (caucasian male mid 30's) cruised on Carnival Conquest the week of 9/3 to 9/10. I researched our trip quite a bit so I'm going to give the options we considered since I believe all to be viable and it might save someone else the time it took for me to get the information together. This was the first cruise for each of us so take that into account, but I feel I have quite a bit of good information to share.

 

BOOKING

We chose Carnival because of the ships departing from Galveston, (Princess, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian) it had a modest priced balcony and because she wanted to see Jamaica. We booked about 2 months before the trip with the balcony guaranteed rate. Itt cost us about 760 each for the room and taxes & fees of $72: $1590 total. There is also a $70 per passenger tip charge that can be added when you book or at the end of the cruise. Carnival is not cheaper on any other sites than what it is on their website. The only perks I saw by using a travel agent is a coupon book you can use onboard and there wasn't much in it that looked worth the trouble. The thing I wish I had known is the entertainment book has a $100 off coupon for a 7 day cruise and a $50 off coupon for shorter cruises. If you live in any metroplex, you know someone with the book: http://www.entertainment.com. You'll get a "Wecome Aboard" packet about 3 weeks before the cruise. The packet will have your room number and some papers you need to fill out before you board the ship. Also sign into the Carnival site to fill out and print your FunPass to make boarding easier. Noteworthy: the cost for 2 passengers is what you usually see advertized, but if you add 2 other occupants to the same room the price per occupant goes down even less.

 

PACKING

They do provide shampoo with conditioner (dove); body wash (lever 1000); toothpaste; body lotion; his and hers razors; and facial bars. They will leave you towells to use at the pools and on your excursions. I'll recommend a few things that were extremely handy.

 

1. Small bills and cash or traveller's checks - Cab drivers never have change and I did not feel comfortable using my credit card in Jamaica.

2. A big 64 oz insulated mug from 7-11 - It was under $4 and came in very handy if you wanted to carry a day's worth of mixed drink around or even if you wanted to have some juice in your room. You will attract attention from the other passengers who are dying of thirst during the muster drill while you are sipping your icy drink. Stand to the back of the group so the staff doesn't "hold" it for you until after the drill.

3. Pen and paper - If you want to send post cards, mark things to do on the daily ship "newspaper," or leave your cabin mate a note, be sure to bring this and maybe post its. It was hard to believe these weren't in the room.

4. Sunscreen - Need I explain?

5. Reef Shoes - Not necessary, but they do come in handy if you like to snorkel.

6. Waterproof camera - I have an underwater kit for my camera, but underwater disposeable cameras are pretty cheap and there is plenty of water everywhere you go.

7. Cheap waterproof watch - Same as # 6, why risk a good watch.

8. Snorkel equipment - My pet peeve; I don't like a snorkel in my mouth when I don't know where it's been. Plus I have a mustache so a regular mask leaks. You can put vaseline in your mustache or go to a sports equipment store and buy a mask that goes across the bridge of your nose.

9. Travel alarm clock - The staterooms have no clocks. You can have call and set up a wake up call, but it's handy to know what time you need to be at dinner or to a show, etc.

10. Ziplock bags - You will be around the ocean and pools. If you are trying to save money, get a sandwich the night before and ziplock it in the fridge for lunch when you go on your excursions from the ship. If you have freezer bags, you can fill one with ice and your day-bag will be an instant cooler.

11. Short extension cord - You get 1 outlet and you will wish you had this.

 

GETTING TO THE SHIP

We are from the Dallas area so our options were to drive a car to Galveston and park it for a week or fly into Houston Hobby and get a ride to and from the ports. The cheapest place we found to park for a week was 81st Dolphin parking http://www.galvestonparking.net/. If you book online there is a coupon so it ends up $50 for a week. Other parking sites I've read about were EZ Cruise ($50) and Light House Parking ($55). Southwest ran a special shortly after we booked for $44 each way to and from Houston so that made our decision. We needed to get to and from the airport to the ship. The shuttle was $66 per person each way so we looked at other options. Originally we were going to use Extreme Elegance Limos http://www.extremeelegance.com/GALVESTONCRUISELIMOUSINE.html for $90 ($45 per person) each way for a towncar (there is a $20 tip that does not display on the site). They do seem to get decent reviews most of the time, but when trying to book the service I didn't get a "professional" feeling from the call. Rather than risk it, we chose to rent an intermediate size car through Enterprise one way from the airport to Galveston, and the opposite direction at the end of the cruise. The rates change depending on how many cars are available so you want to book early for the best rate. Our rate was $73 for the one way rental from Hobby to Galveston ($64 quoted on phone but there are fees they don't tell you about.) The return trip was $38 quoted and about $45 is what we paid. One thing we weren't advised is that the Galveston location closes at 2 PM on Sunday. You can drop the car off later, but you will have to call a cab to get to port if you are late -- I believe it was about $15. Both cars were the dirtiest cars I've ever rented from Enterprise, but we didn't really care...we were looking for cheap and we were excited about the cruise. By the way, there are Enterprise coupons in the Entertainment book to which was referred previously.

 

PACKING ALCOHOL

If you plan on taking alcohol on board you need to consider this: The one thing I have not seen in posts (and it completely slipped my mind) is you can not buy liquor on Sundays and Conquest sets sail on a Sunday. Due to the plane restrictions, we chose not to pack liquor in our checked luggage and were going to stop and pick it up on the trip to the airport. Luckily we did pack one liter in bubblewrap (to keep it from breaking) and 2 gallon freezer bags (in case it did break). We stopped by Kroger and picked up 4 bottles of wine and 2 - six packs of soda. Carnival allows you to bring wine and soda onboard. I heard on no one who had their liquor confiscated from their luggage on our trip and plenty of others admitted to packing it. This was enough to get us to Jamaica where rum is cheap.

 

BOARDING

This and the muster drill were by far the worst experiences we had during the entire trip. We arrived to the dock about 2:45 PM. Carnival will suggest not to arrive early, but the people we talked to that arrived early missed all the lines and did not have to wait to board. We left our luggage with the porters and the suggested $1 to $2 tip per bag (be sure to attach the luggage tags that come with the Welcome Aboard packet.) The line took over an hour to get through and although not unbearable it was humid and hot while we waited. At the end of the first line each guest will get a card for the stateroom that is tied to a credit card that is used to charge for any 'extras' on the ship. The card has dinner seating assignment on it as well. There is a second line for photos boarding the ship but there was no wait for that. Carnival should consider taking the photo before making guests sweat in line for over an hour.

Maps of the ship can be found in the Lobby at the Purser's desk (deck 3).

I read one should request a table for two, etc. as soon as one boards the ship. We did not attempt this. We headed to the back of the ship on deck 9 (Lido) and ate at the buffet. You'll be offered plenty of drinks in a souvenier glass the first evening. The glass costs extra so if you want to save money, go to a bar and order in a regular glass. Also, many people do not realize they bought the glass, so you can get plenty for free since they'll be laying around the ship if you want to get some cheap souveniers for your inlaws or something. It's a good idea to get plenty to drink (or fill the 64 oz mug) because the muster drill is a hot, sweaty affair. The lifejackets are in the stateroom's closet and the back of the entry door shows where to meet. When the drill is over we experienced something that was slightly annoying for the rest of the trip. Although there are 9 elevators toward the front of the ship, 4 in center, and 4 at back; we were always waiting on one to stop. They passed our floor plenty of times before one stoped. Also if a red circle is lit next to the elevator, staff is using that elevator so it is unavailable. It was quicker to get on one going the wrong direction and ride it up and back down or vice versa than to wait for another to stop. This is no exageration; by the end of the cruise most passengers were getting on whichever one opened first. Tip: Look up when you are in different parts of the ship. There is quite a bit to see up there.

 

STATE ROOM

After the drill our luggage was in front of our stateroom. We were on the Lido deck near the entrance to the pool area so it was quite handy. Others on board noted that the rooms were larger than other ships. We had a balcony and it seemed plenty roomy with ample storage. I believe we only had 8 hangers though. The closets configured to have shelves or set up for hangers etc. Suitcases fit under the beds which the room steward will separate or push together into one bed. Tip: Leave the room stewards tips daily rather than one big tip at the end of the cruise. We felt the rewards were well worth it. The refrigerator/bar was locked when we first boarded. The steward unlocked it and let us move the contents to the closet so we could store drinks we brought with us. There is a safe in the room. It locks and unlocks with a credit card and it is free to use. A bungee will hold the balcony door open at night. Also, the lights on the balconies were locked off the entire trip. The captain has the option to override the lights as he deams fit.

 

THE SHIP

We did not feel the boat leave dock. If it weren't for the clock we brought, we would had missed the party at the Lido deck pool area --Don't miss it. Our jugs of drinks mixed in our room were in hand while we waved at the guys on the oil derricks. When leaving Galveston is the only time dolphins were spotted off the side of the ship. Be sure to look for them and flying fish darting away from the ship. The fish can be seen quite often, but dolphins are harder to catch a glimpse of.

We unpacked our luggage before dinner.

There are two formal dining areas. Although the Monet had the better view, we were in the Renoir restaurant. There are 2 early dining times and 2 late dining times. When booking, we chose the latest (8:30 PM) since there would be fewer kids there. If you do the 8:00, you will be assigned to the Monet; 8:30 is in the Renior. The earlier dining is split the same way but I don't remember the times that went with which room.

Monday night is the Captain's party and the first of 2 formal dining nights - and lobster is on the menu (the second formal night is on Thursday). There are free drinks for the Captain's party. There is a separate party for the early and late dining groups...if it's your thing, go to both. Most people dressed for the party although we saw 2 or 3 who weren't. Most people were in suits, tuxedos and formal dresses on the formal nights. Some were in slacks but not many. On the other nights, most were in slacks and dresses or pantsuits. I believe the dress code is collared shirts and no denim nor shorts but there were some in denim and t-shirts, but not many and no one wore shorts in the formal rooms for dinner. There is open seating breakfast and lunch in the Monet dining room. The times were posted in the paper we received in our room each night and the times changed when in port and no lunch in the formal dining room when the ship was in port. The other dining options were the Lido Deck dining stations (Cezanne - buffet cafeteria food, Sur Mer - seafood, Paul's Deli - sandwiches, Sky's Grill - burgers & hotdogs, Pizzeria, P.C.'s Wok - Chinese). We tried each of these and I think most were as expected. I prefered dining in the formal dining rooms, and I thought we had one of the best waitresses on board. If you see Alinas, tell her she has a couple of fans in Texas. We did order room service a couple of nights. Others advised portions are small and to order multiple orders. I felt the portions were fine, but you may want to over order the first time just in case. We never received our food from room service in under an hour nor over 2 hours. We tipped $2 each time.

Note: All staff wear name tags that display where they are originally from.

One thing that concerned me from other reviews were kids out of control. Since school had just started, there were very few kids running about on our cruise. We were told there were 400 on board but we only saw at most 6 at any one time on or off the ship.

Entertainment on the ship ranged from comedians, Las Vegas & Broadway style shows, a piano bar, karaoke, bingo, hairy chest man contest, magician, disco lounge, art auctions, ventriloquist, newlywed game, survivor game, dance lessons, live music of all kinds, and the casino. There is free champagne if you attend the art auctions. This is a ship, not Las Vegas nor Broadway. Things will not be perfect, dancers may stumble and fall. You might know how she did that trick. With that in mind, if you think you will like something you probably will. If you don't, try it anyway--you might be surprised. Note: The later shows may offend. Also, the dancers are wearing g-strings; this includes the male dancers during one of the shows.

The pools are saltwater, the hot tubs are not. Some hot tubs are hot, some are not. The slide shuts down early and the pool hours are in the ships daily newspaper. The gym was too small. All the equipment was taken each time I went in it. You have to pass through separate men's and women's locker rooms to get to the gym. There are free sauna's (wet & dry) off the locker rooms. The entrance is in the Spa area on either side of the front desk.

You can mail postcards from the ship from only the Grand Cayman port. Stamps are 25 cents. We had trouble figuring out how to mail them from anywhere else so you may want to plan getting post cards ready before leaving that port.

 

TOURS

You can do Carnival Tours (expensive) or you can book them yourself. Carnival tours ensure the boat will not leave you if you are late on your way back. I may be wrong, but our boat waited almost an hour to let a passenger that was arrested for drugs to get on the boat so I believe if you called the emergency number in the Welcome Aboard packet that the ship would wait.

 

MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA

Out of the excursions, I highly suggest a plan in Jamaica. Everyone we met that left the ship and toured Jamaica on their own came back with stories of disappointment. The good thing here is the boat docks so you don't have to tender. If you take a cab, be sure to choose one with red license plates and the initials MAXI, JTA or JCAL. Expect to have a price quoted to you before you get in the taxi. Expect to have drugs offered to you at least twice. Expect to have a woman try to braid your hair. Expect to have someone offer you a bracelet for free only to ask you to buy it later. If the jewelry stores get a bracelet on your wrist, they will only take the bracelet off after they have a second bracelet on your wrist...so you can't leave. These are the stories we heard, and some people were outright scared.

We considered a tour through Barrett Adventures http://www.barrettadventures.com/ or A-Z Jamaica Planners http://www.a-zjamaicaplanners.com/. Those seem to be the most recommended tour planners in Montego Bay. Another popular destination is Sunset Beach resort http://www.sunsetbeachresort.com/. A taxi can take you there and back. The resort was $40 per person when we called to check prices. We chose the Mayfield Falls and Margaritaville excursion through A-Z Planners for $40 per person. We wanted to see more of the local culture than we felt Sunset Beach would offer. It is an hour ride on a very twisty, narrow road. I was never scared, but I thought I might get motion sick from the ride. Luckily I didn't. This ended up being quite a bit of fun and we saw the shacks in the woods where people lived and a naked lady bathing in the river. At the falls you walk up stream quite a bit. If you can't walk up 5 flights of stairs, you may find this a little daunting. Otherwise, there was only 2 of us and a guide so it was a very personal experience. Afterward we went to eat at a local joint, but we were hastled by the locals again. We asked to go to a shop for souveniers where we picked up 3 bottles of rum for $30. We passed Margarhitaville on the way to the shop, and we didn't like the looks of all the locals pestering the tourists so we asked to go to the ship instead. We put the rum into our day bag and put it on the scanner machine with everyone else's bags. The guy who scanned the luggage told us to go to the custom's table with the liquor, but he was not watching what anyone did after he advised what to do and the custom's table had no way of knowing who had liquor and who did not. We walked toward the customs table but kept walking and took the next elevator without anyone questioning us. If they did, I planned to apologize for my bad hearing and not knowing the protocol, but honestly I didn't get the feeling that anyone really cared. Above I mentioned that a passenger was arrested for trying to carry drugs onto the ship. We only know that because the ship waited for the passenger but it sounds like passengers are arrested for this on almost every trip. Watch your teens. Do not leave them unsupervised in Jamaica. Enough said.

 

GEORGETOWN, GRAND CAYMAN

Georgetown is just opposite of Jamaica. It's new and shiny and rich - notice all the banks. I've heard rumors that it's due to all the money laundering??? I was told lunch here would be a $60 per person meal. I do not know if that is accurate or not, but we did not risk it. We went to Paul's Deli to get sandwiches the night before and stored them wrapped in the fridge in our room. The morning in port, we filled freezer bags with ice and converted our day bag into a cooler. We took tenders from the ship to port. Since we didn't book through the ship we had to get a number and wait for it to be called. However, we went to the deck where the tenders were being loaded and they let us get on. We originally scheduled a tour with Ebanks Watersports http://www.ebankswatersports.com/. It was $40 per person for 2 snorkel stops and 1 stop to swim with the stingrays. The other company we considered was Captain Marvin's Watersports http://www.captainmarvins.com/mainpage.htm. You must do the stingray trip. It is really quite a bit of fun. It's not as scary as it sounds after you are there for a few minutes. I suggest the 2 snorkel stops because the 2nd snorkel stop is much better than the first one. We chose Ebanks over Captain Marvins because it sounded like it would have fewer passengers on the boat. We don't know if this is accurate because Ebanks showed up and told us that their boat had mechanical issues so they drove us over to Captain Marvins to take the tour with them. I understand things happen, and I am grateful Ebanks made other arrangements for us. But we didn't get much of an apology from the person who drove us to Captain Marvins, nor via email when we were back home. I do not hesitate to recommend Captain Marvins. We had a great time although the boat was packed. Also, you won't want to use the facility on the boat. That was nothing less than nasty. But otherwise it was a great trip.

The other thing we heard good things about was 7 Mile Beach and a trip to Hell/Turtle Farm. We didn't do either, but it sounded like fun.

 

COZUMEL

Again, you have to catch tenders to the port. Again, we didn't follow the rules and were allowed to get on the tenders without our number being called. I think Cozumel is a great place to go without a guide. We wanted to snorkel and shop here. We checked out Eagle Ray Divers www.eagleraydivers.com, Adventuras Naturales http://www.aventurasnaturalascozumel.com/, and some others. When you get off the tender there are companies lined up to take you on tours. There is good information on http://cozumelmycozumel. And they were correct; we went to Dzul Ha by taxi ($10 each way) and the snorkel tours were next to us and we priced them about $50 each person. The other club we really considered was Corona Beach Club, but it looked like it was starting to rain that direction so we went back into town to shop. There wasn't much in the way of reefs when we went snorkeling. There were plenty of fish, but not much else. We had a couple of beers ($2.50 each) and shared some quesadillas that were really good ($7 I think). It was very laid back and nice. Back in town we went down one of the backstreets and saw a special for cruise ship passengers for fajitas and a beer for $5. We walked over to the town square and shopped a bit and went back to the boat. It's very easy to find English speaking locals so don't fear getting out on your own here.

DEBARKATION

This was a pretty easy process. The thing I was unhappy about was the Purser's desk the last night onboard. We planned to settle our bill the last night after everyone had gone to bed to miss the line and the night person was unable to help at all. She was nice but she was unable to help with anything we asked. There was no reason to have the purser open at night since everything had to be done during the day. The next morning the line was so long we chose not to get in line. We really wanted to give our waitress an extra tip, but that was one long line. We chose to carry our luggage off the ship, ie. self-assist. We woke up early to eat breakfast. Levels were called from the top of the ship downward for people self-assisting. The customs form was in our room and we packed the night before so it was very quick and simple. We were off the boat by 9 AM. The Enterprise counter was the first thing we saw after leaving customs so we were in a car by 9:15 AM. Since we booked our flight in the afternoon, we drove to the Galveston beach and spent the morning hanging out there. Overall, this was a great experience

[T.N.T.]

Great review! So detailed and informative. Thanks for sharing.

 

Terri

[BrendaB1]

Great review. It will be our turn soon.

 

Did they have the Mardi Gras parade or horseracing on your cruise?

 

We have a bunch of DFW cruise people that get together every 3 or 4 months. Hope you will visit us over in Floataway Lounge section of the board & join us sometime for a drink with lots of nice people.

[aggieastrosfan]

Excellent review! Thanks for taking the time to point that out to us.

 

You made a good point about buying liquor on Sundays. I think a lot of people don't realize you can't buy liquor on Sundays, and beer and wine can only be bought after noon on Sundays.

[232271]

We leave Thanksgiving week! Great review! Cant wait!

 

One question:

 

We are fretting over what hubby should wear on formal night? Please let me know if you saw many tuxes?

Or we have a black very nice suit with tie?

 

thanks so much!!!:p

[EggDropErin]

Thank for you for the excellent, detailed review! :)

[pacerzfan]

Thanks for all the info and the review.

[nanuak]

Thanks for the review, we leave at the end of October, and it will be our first cruise too. On which day is the second formal? Did you eat at the Point?

[LHP]

Thanks for the details pre-cruise. Galveston is one of the ports we have not sailed out of yet. I really don't know that much about it. First hand info comes in handy~

[okiemom]

Thanks for the review! We can't wait until our turn!:)

[Blndiebby25]

Thanks for the reveiw! We will be sailing on her in 30 days!

[TGSplano]

We did not go to the point. We did go up there when it was not open just to see what it looked like, but I can't really give any first hand information on the food. The food in the regular restaurant was very upscale and we had very nice dinner mates so we didn't see a reason to try it out.

 

The formal nights are on Monday and Thursday. All the men at our table wore grey or black suits. There were some people that were really dressed up - tuxedos and very nice dresses, but I think there were more in just regular business suits. And if you don't have a suit, some slacks with a pressed shirt and tie really won't be out of place. There were quite a few without coats on.

 

There was horseracing on the ship, but we didn't go to it. We didn't really understand what was going on when they announced it and there was something else we had planned to do. I didn't hear about Mardis Gras parties while we were there but there were plenty of parties on different parts of the ship.

[cruisechic3]

Thanks so much for all the information. My family and I are leaving in a couple of months and you answered a lot of questions for us. My mother-in-law will be so happy to read your review. She has never been on a cruise before so she has a lot of questions. It was nice of you to take the time to do this!

[nanuak]

I am so EXCITED that Thursday is the second formal, as it is our Anniversary.

 

I was planning on going to the Point for dinner on our Anniversary, but now really dont see a reason, unless we just want to try the "atmosphere" on one of the other evenings.