May 10 cruise on Carnival Conquest

[happy cruzer]

 

I am sorry to insult anybody, but my overall assessment was that they stopped by the trashiest K-Mart in Texas, picked up all of the people there named Bubba, Betty Sue and Gomer dressed in their stinky yard-work clothes, drove them down to Galveston and placed them all on the Carnival Cruise. We met some really sweet people with morals on the cruise and some awesome elderly couples, but most of the people fit my description. It is not what we expected for $1800. Next time I will pay $4K to go on a Celebrity Cruise.

 

However - I want to add, I went on this cruise with my husband and 2 couples from church. My husband and I had a wonderful time with one another and fell in love all over again. For that reason, this vacation was priceless. It was not anything Carnival did, but what we chose to make of it. I would not trade that for ANYTHING on this earth.

 

You seem to be a very judgemental church goer. Just struck me as very funny.

 

Glad you and hubby were happy.

[spleenstomper]

I do agree there is not much alcohol in the alcoholic drinks!

[dommer573]

You seem to be a very judgemental church goer. Just struck me as very funny.

 

Glad you and hubby were happy.

 

Misses Lovejoy and I don't find that funny at all. :D

[dommer573]

Cabin:

The cabins were small, the bathrooms were tiny, the beds were uncomfortable, the hallways were very noisy and the smell in the bathroom was pretty yuck at times. There is A LOT of closet space, space under the bed and 4 drawers for storing your items. The room also has a safe for your valuables. We had an inside stateroom. It was about half the size of an inside stateroom on Disney.

 

Didn't you pay three times as much for the cabin on the Disney ship and I believe it not that much larger (210 sf vs. 185 sf for Carnival):confused:

[pearlandmom]

Entertainment:

The entertainment was terrible. The only thing good we saw was the motown singer. That was a lot of fun. The stage shows were very risque, especially for showing them at 8 PM. The showgirls are nothing I would want my kids to see. I would have been mortified had my daughter been in there and looked up to see so much booty and skin revealed. There was no warning - I saw parents walking out with their kids. Putting that aside, the shows were not that great in quality. The vocals were so-so, the content was silly and the whole purpose in the show was for the showgirls to show their bottoms. haha!

 

 

I am sorry to insult anybody, but my overall assessment was that they stopped by the trashiest K-Mart in Texas, picked up all of the people there named Bubba, Betty Sue and Gomer dressed in their stinky yard-work clothes, drove them down to Galveston and placed them all on the Carnival Cruise. We met some really sweet people with morals on the cruise and some awesome elderly couples, but most of the people fit my description. It is not what we expected for $1800. Next time I will pay $4K to go on a Celebrity Cruise.

 

However - I want to add, I went on this cruise with my husband and 2 couples from church.

 

In response to your comment about "no warning", this is taken directly from the Carnival Capers on the nights of the shows when the dancers performed:

 

"Although not required, due to costuming and some suggestive choreography, parental discretion is advised!"

 

As to your comment about "not wanting to insult anybody" and then proceeding to do so, I don't know what church you go to but in my church your comments wouldn't be considered very Christian and very insulting.

[firefly333]

From our perspective, in the dining room - our disappointment in the food was that it was always luke warm (except the chocolate melting cake which was very very warm - alsmost hot), the options were not that great, items listed as spicy were sweet actually and the meats were generally tough. I found the portions to be perfect.

 

I noticed a general lack of spices myself. The hot and spicy chicken, was fatty and bland. Not a bit hot or spicy. I think they forgot the spices. I asked a couple of ladies behind me if they tasted any spices and they were like nope.

 

the pulled jamaican pork needs a lot more spices too.

 

I would like less bland food too, not that I ever went hungry, but I like spicy food.

[*Mach*]

So Laura S is the ultimate authority on cruise food? Thanks for letting us know. We won't bother to form our own opinion now.:rolleyes:

 

 

Ummm, no. However, Laura is a fan of RCCL. So in light of that her opinion bears some additional weight.

I'm sorry that you were so offended by my post. I'll try to be more generic in the future. I invite you to form your own opinion of anything you want including benign posts.

Thanks for your contribution to this intelligent discussion!!!

:)

[*Mach*]

Mach....I think it is the Conquest that has a food problem. I read reviews on here forever and could never understand folks fussing about food until my most recent trip on the Conquest - my 8th Carnival cruise. I never went hungry because you can always rely on pizza/salads/sandwiches/omelettes etc. but overall I was not pleased with the food on this trip. I hate wasting food and will not order something as a replacement if I don't like something but I had a few dishes that I could not stomach this time around. I just filled up the difference with chocolate melting cake or beer :) On the Celebration, Ecstasy and first Conquest trip I was MORE than happy....

 

 

Perhaps that's the case and I'm going to be thrilled to evaluate the food myself in the near future.

Having said that, a number of my friends have sailed on the Conquest in the past three weeks and none as has a negative thing to say about the food, the service, the ship and so on with the exception of some of the other guests.

:)

[cks]

I noticed a general lack of spices myself. The hot and spicy chicken, was fatty and bland. Not a bit hot or spicy. I think they forgot the spices. I asked a couple of ladies behind me if they tasted any spices and they were like nope.

 

the pulled jamaican pork needs a lot more spices too.

 

I would like less bland food too, not that I ever went hungry, but I like spicy food.

 

I noticed it wasn't very spicy either, but still pretty good. I just figured they didn't want to burn the tongues off people like my mom, who has to chase a salsa-dipped chip with an entire margarita. :D

[2PinaColadas]

Looks like some people just need to stay away from Carnival. Personally, I love all of the Carnival ships I have been on and will continue to book cruises through them. I enjoy the food, the staff, the drinks, the ports, the laid-back atmosphere, the cabins, the entertainment, the everything. Sorry some of you don't, but there are plenty of other cruise lines out there for ya!

[Bandman]

I think what we have here is an OP who has discovered that Carnival is not for him. And a later poster who was looking for a cruise on the Good Ship Lollipop.

 

Both seem to want to be around people more like themselves, and that's ok.

[firefly333]

I noticed it wasn't very spicy either, but still pretty good. I just figured they didn't want to burn the tongues off people like my mom, who has to chase a salsa-dipped chip with an entire margarita. :D

 

Well, Im not so sure that is a bad thing. I love margaritas on the rocks. My favorite drink. Turn on those spices.

[cks]

Well, Im not so sure that is a bad thing. I love margaritas on the rocks. My favorite drink. Turn on those spices.

 

Yeah, sometimes I think that's just her excuse to pound a marg. No seriously, though, the tears don't lie. Some people just can't do spices. I don't get it. I love me some spicy food.

[firefly333]

Yeah, sometimes I think that's just her excuse to pound a marg. No seriously, though, the tears don't lie. Some people just can't do spices. I don't get it. I love me some spicy food.

 

When I make hot wings, now they are HOT. I pour on the sauce several times to cake it up. Who tastes the chicken?? I love hot too.

 

I had figured thats why Carnival makes their food bland, you can add seasoning but cant take it away if its too spicy for folks. I deal with it, but would prefer it more spicy. I used to live in S. Fl, and seriously I never had pulled pork like that on Carnival which was like slices without spice.

[gtouch]

Hate to hear that anyone paid good money and didn't enjoy their vacation. My wife and I had our first 2 cruises on RCCL love it and they got us hooked. Our third was on Carnival the Ecstacy it wan't nearly as good as our first 2, service etc. young high school kids running loose. We were convinced that RCCL was better and we probably wouldn't do Carnival again. But on our next cruise we were taking our children and for the price difference ect. we decided to use Carnival again "for the children we would suffer" and guess what it was great. Then we took the Conquest and not only took our kids but other family members and it was the best cruise we had been on. Even our worse cruise was a great vacation. Go on whatever line you want it is your money just keep an open mind in the future. And hopefully your next cruise with whoever you choose meets your expectations.

[dznymom]

This thread is so very interesting! We were looking at the Conquest for a cruise after we drop my New England born and raised son off with the 'rednecks & hillbillies' ;) for 4 years of college. The reason we didn't end up booking is because it turned out to be cheaper to fly to San Juan than to pay the exorbitant rental car drop off fees combined with expensive transfers from one of the Houston airports to to the Port of Galveston! It's crazy I tell ya, but we will be sailing the Victory instead because it was actually more cost effective :eek:

 

That said, I have now visited Texas twice in my long life (both in the past 6 months) and one of the things that most impressed us about his school and the surrounding area were the wonderful down to earth friendly folks we met there. I would gladly cruise on a ship filled with Texans after the cruise I took out of Boston filled with the locals from up here :p

[frankief]

Well, God bless ya darhlin'! May others be so kind with their words to us Texuns down heah!..... (sailing in November '09......would wait out by the Kmart for free parking, unfortunately, THERE ARE NONE in the GREATER HOUSTON AREA!!!!! )

[gtouch]

Well, God bless ya darhlin'! May others be so kind with their words to us Texuns down heah!..... (sailing in November '09......would wait out by the Kmart for free parking, unfortunately, THERE ARE NONE in the GREATER HOUSTON AREA!!!!! )

 

Frankief isn't self serve gasoline in Pasadena when you actually work at the refinery?

[ksatte03]

Drunk Texans running in the hallways?

Passed out in chairs?

Partying at all hours?

 

Count me IN!!

Can't wait!:p

That's what vaca is all about

[kkorman]

My SO and I traveled with friends on the May 10 sailing of the Carnival Conquest out of Galveston. One of our 3 ports (Cozumel) was cancelled due to the Swine flu threat. Although we were disappointed that we would not be stopping in Mexico we were all looking forward to a relaxing and entertaining cruise. I had not travelled on Carnival before (previous cruises were with Royal Carribean and Regent) and wasn't really sure what to expect. I have to say I was very disappointed with the cruise in general. I certainly was not expecting the Carnival experience to compete with what we got on Regent, but I thought it would be comparable to what we experienced with RC.

In a word, the food in the buffet and in the dining room was BAD. It was of poor quality and lacked variety from day to day. Additionally, the service staff in the dining rooms and at the buffet were surprisingly, quite unfriendly. On at least 4 occasions the staff was downright rude (not just with us - we observed them being rude to other guests as well). I am willing to conceede that they appeared to be understaffed and overworked but that is not the fault of the passengers on the ship. They definitely had problems keeping the buffet dining area and the tables by the pools bussed and clean. Very unappetizing.

The bright spots: the staff in the alternative dining area (The Point) were very friendly and attentive. The food there was also of very high quality (for a $30 charge) and we felt both our trips there were well worth it. Also, the cabin steward and his assistant were quite friendly and did a very good job.

A note about the passengers: I certainly had heard that the clientele on Carnival had the reputation of being "partiers" but I had not really expected what I observed on this cruise. Honestly, many passengers were exceedingly drunk not only at night, but during the day as well (probably one explanation for the rudeness of the staff)! As you can imagine, this lead to alot of people cursing loudly, stumbling around and apparently passed out on deck chairs. There was alot of noise in the hallway and adjoining rooms until well after 1-2am. This is definitely a younger party crowd. If you are considering a Carnival cruise with children, you might want to reconsider (especially if you don't want your children exposed to alot of rowdy drunk people acting in a pretty raunchy manner). If you are traveling as a couple and want to party - this is your cruise line. For me personally, it will be my one and only Carnival cruise.

 

This is why Carnival is not our line of choice. Food is subjective (I personally like RCI better than Carnival, though others do not agree with me)... however the cruise experience is not. I just do not rank any of my Carnival cruises as near my top 10. That is why we have choices.

[nrdsb4]

I've got to have a conversation with my parents...I MUST BE ADOPTED!

 

I have no cowboy boots, have never had cowboy boots, and don't listen to country music, although I did for a short time during high school while dating a cowboy...30 years ago.

 

...and I've sailed both Carnival and Royal Caribbean.

 

I've sailed Carnival 13 times since 1996, and have only had one cruise that was inundated with drunks and bad behavior. That was a 4 nighter over a Memorial Day holiday and I've chosen not to book over holiday weekends since. Problem solved!

 

Sorry the OP had a bad trip.

 

My daughter was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. She never had a pair of cowboy boots until she went out of state to college and then she began playing up the whole Texas thing. I thought that was kind of amusing.

[nrdsb4]

I am sorry to insult anybody, but my overall assessment was that they stopped by the trashiest K-Mart in Texas, picked up all of the people there named Bubba, Betty Sue and Gomer dressed in their stinky yard-work clothes, drove them down to Galveston and placed them all on the Carnival Cruise. We met some really sweet people with morals on the cruise and some awesome elderly couples, but most of the people fit my description. It is not what we expected for $1800. Next time I will pay $4K to go on a Celebrity Cruise.

 

However - I want to add, I went on this cruise with my husband and 2 couples from church. My husband and I had a wonderful time with one another and fell in love all over again. For that reason, this vacation was priceless. It was not anything Carnival did, but what we chose to make of it. I would not trade that for ANYTHING on this earth.

 

 

Ok, I understand that opinions are subjective and that one person's gourmet food wouldn't be good enough for another person's dog, etc. but just exactly how are you able to judge the morals of thousands of strangers on a cruise ship? Let's just say that all the stinky Bubbas and smelly Betty Sues were in fact the majority on your cruise. What does that have to do with morals and just exactly who made you the judge? :rolleyes:

[Anjanu]

As you can see in my signature, I have only cruised with Carnival. I absolutely love Carnival! I love the good things about Carnival and the not-so-good things about Carnival. I enjoy the fun ship atmosphere very much and I love going to the nightclub and dancing til the wee hours in the morning.

I love that I feel safe returning to my cabin at 2 or 3 in the morning alone because DH is already in bed by 9:00 pm.

I am never bored on Carnival and I get bored very easily. I enjoy the food very much and I enjoy that when I get something that I don't like, I can get something else.

My last 2 cruises, I have had really poor service in the dining room. But when you're given lemons...make lemonade. My tablemates (a few friends from our CC roll call), DH and I entertained each other at the table and had such a great time, that the poor service didn't bother us too much. We just made sure we got what we wanted or needed from the waiters and then continued to entertain each other. Our tablemates did however, end up removing the tips. DH and I did not remove the tips but the waiters didn't get the extra tip from us at the end of the cruise. I'll tell you something else, they really are aware of who removes the tips because the waiters was extra nice to DH and I and continued to not greet or befriend our tablemates.

I enjoyed telling the waiters that I really wished they had behaved like this at the beginning of our dining experience.

 

P.S. I didn't request being seated at another table because we had done so previously so that we could be seated with our CC roll call friends.

 

I forgot to mention that I am no spring chicken, I am 52 years young and loves to party when I'm on the ship!

[YayGirlsTrip]

I'm sailing on the Conquest on May 31st, with my DD and DH, and I CAN'T WAIT!!! We'll certainly be enjoying ourselves, and if I pass out on a deck chair it will be from pure exhaustion. I hope no one will assume I am a crazy drunk!

 

You can't please everyone. And for the bargain we're getting, I won't be expecting 5 star dining, but I bet I'll enjoy it regardless!

 

Proud Texan! :eek:

[YayGirlsTrip]

Drunk Texans running in the hallways?

Passed out in chairs?

Partying at all hours?

 

Count me IN!!

Can't wait!:p

That's what vaca is all about

 

 

LMAO!! You're too funny! Isn't that why all those deck chairs are all over the place?? You're never more than a drunken stumble away from one! :D