Conquest doc dance, questions, must sees & dos!

[SxyEbnyFem]

Hello, hello, hello!! We received our docs for our upcoming first cruise ever! I am so psyched!! Yes, bf & I did the doc dance. It was fun! Now I understand why people wait with such anticipation. It's a great feeling to have them finally in hand. :D

We are booked to cruise with 8-10 other couple friends. Our TA was able to give me our individual booking number about a week & a half ago. I went ahead & filled out our FunPasses online at that time. I was able to print them both out without any problems.

Last night, I noticed while going over our Welcome Aboard booklets, the FunPass is included & it says 'complete'. Question: do I just trash the ones I printed out from their webpage & just take this one along instead or should I take both?

Another question: if we plan on putting down a cash deposit, how do we fill out the S&S page? Should we write in CASH where it asks for the CC # or leave it blank?

(Yes, I did use the search feature for my questions...:cool: )

All you past Conquest cruisers, tell me, what are the definite must sees & must dos on our cruise? I want to be sure not to miss a thing!!

Thanks in advance for any & all input!

Side note: This board has been a wonderful source for valuable information & I have used it to my advantage!! Special thanks to all those who work very hard to make sure we have this kind of outlet. Thanks also to all of you who make our boards what they are....FABULOUS!!

Happy sailing,

T.

[kristy]

Woohoo..... How exciting! I know that you are so psyched, you've been waiting forever. I am positive that you will have a great time:) Are you guys going to Nola for a few days prior? All packed?:)

 

 

the FunPass is included & it says 'complete'. Question: do I just trash the ones I printed out from their webpage & just take this one along instead or should I take both?

They look the same, right? I wouldn't think it would matter. I've had ours done since this past March and our cruise isn't till Feb. I'm guessing if you get it done before the docs are mailed, they will show as completed.

Another question: if we plan on putting down a cash deposit, how do we fill out the S&S page? Should we write in CASH where it asks for the CC # or leave it blank?

You can leave it blank. You will have to go to the pursers desk once onboard and put down your deposit.

[pacoloveschocolate]

Cool Cruiser,

You will have such a great time on the Conquest. Hope you can spend some time in New Orleans first. What a great city! The best excursion my family loved was in the Grand Caymans. We went to Stingray City on a beautiful boat and snorkeled and walked on a shallow sandbar in the middle of the ocean and held gigantic stingrays in our arms. What an amazing experience. Don't miss it and remember to bring your camera!

 

Paco

[SxyEbnyFem]

Kristy - Hey girl!! We are driving to NOLA, leaving late Thurs night or early Fri morning. I have some special things planned for my honey since it is his bday wkend. (His actual bday is the day we set sail.) I haven't been to NOLA in years & he has never been, so needless to say, we are very much looking forward to our time there pre-cruise. No, not packed yet. I need to get on it, eh? Thanks for answering my questions! I hope you & Eddie have a great holiday season!! :D

 

Paco - Stringray excursion does sound very interesting; however, I cannot swim :rolleyes: so we won't be doing that this time around! We plan to do excursions on our own, though. Thanks for the advice!

 

Happy sailing,

T.

[RWolver672]

Stringray excursion does sound very interesting; however, I cannot swim :rolleyes: so we won't be doing that this time around!

 

You don't have to swim to be with the stingrays. You are in water about waist high on a sandbar and they give you lifevests to wear. Please give it a try. I'm not a swimmer and I loved it. It's an experience of a lifetime. When we went snorkeling afterward, I just stayed in the boat and watched the others having a ball. We went with Captain Marvin and the crew was right in the water with us the whole time. There are only about eighteen on one of their excursions compared to over a hundred on the Carnival one and both boats were at the same spot. Go with a private company and you get to enjoy it a lot more. http://community.webshots.com/photo/64463044/64463439PJyRTR

 

If you drink, a place to visit in Cozumel is Carlos-n-Charlie's. You'll have a blast. Lots of beautiful beaches on that island too. Just grab a cab and have them take you to one.

 

Most people don't have a lot to say about Montego Bay, including me. There's rafting on a river, Margarittaville, and a few other places but be careful to not wander off on your own.

[cruisinqt]

We were on the Conquest last month and it was our overall favorite cruise so far. Part of the reason we had such a good cruise was because of all of the valuable info. we received on these boards. Thanks guys!:)

 

The best shows on the Conquest were Deja ( a fantastic magician), Phat Kat (a great comedian), and the hilarious talent show. Be sure to check out all of the extra little eating places like Paul's deli, The Wok, and Mer Sur.

 

The best place to go in Montego Bay is Sunset Beach Resort for the $20 per person all inclusive. It includes all alcohol, sodas, food, beach toys like kayaks and paddleboats, and beach towels too. Sunset can be seen from the ship and the cab ride for all four of us was only $5. We had a blast there and the drinks were very strong.;)

 

In Cozumel, the best beach IMHO is Paradise beach which is very pretty and free to use. They have clean bathrooms, freshwater showers, and a beachside restaurant.

 

In Grand Cayman if you don't go see the stingrays, you're missing out on a chance of a lifetime. It was our all time favorite excursion. The stingrays are as gentle as kittens and even my 5 and 7 year old girls played with them. They even wanted to take a baby stingray home and put him in the bathtub as a pet.:eek: If my little girls can swim with the stingrays safely, I'm sure you can. Soto's only charged us $24 per person and that included a stop at the coral garden's to see live black coral. Don't miss this excursion, those creatures are so soft and gentle, I miss them already!:(

[SxyEbnyFem]

RWolver - Now see, I hadn't a clue that a non-swimmer would be able to do the Stingray excurision. Interesting. Might be something we look into. Thanks! We do plan on making a stop at C&C's!! I don't mind visiting Jamaica at all. I have been there several times on land vacations. I do prefer Negril overall, though. I don't understand why so many dislike Jamaica; however, to each their own.

Cruisinqt - Thanks for sharing your info! We are doing both Paradise & Sunset. I cannot wait! I also plan on hitting those hidden dining spots on the ship. Yum!! BTW, cute gals in the newsletter pic!

Happy sailing,

T.

[RWolver672]

Please do consider trying the stingrays. It's something you will remember for the rest of your life. Like mentioned above, they are just like great big rubber kittens that love rubbing up against you. I even had a back rub from the captain of our boat with one. You bend over and he takes one and rubs your back with it. You hold a squid in your hand and they come right up to you and suck it out of your hand. It feels like a vacuum cleaner with sand paper around the edges of the hose when they do it. And their eyes are something else. They look at you real funny...can't describe that one, only that their eyes are something else. Trust us, you will really enjoy it, especially if you go with an outside firm that gives all of you a chance to get right in there with them.

 

 

On our excursion, half of the people that were on the Carnival boat next to ours never even got a chance to get in the water. All eighteen of us on our boat got right in and the captain showed us what to do and how to walk so that we wouldn't hurt them. (You don't walk, you shuffle your feet so that you don't step on them.)

[my2dogs]

Things not to miss:

 

The Point (Surf N Turf and creme brulee')

 

Sunset Beach in Jamaica (Take a taxi w/ red lisc. plate) after that spend some time at Margaritaville

 

The pumpkin soup and broiled shrimp

 

snorkeling in Grand Cayman

We did the Reef and Wreck Snorkeling tour. I don't know how to swim and am scared of deep water, but I actually snorkelled! (I'm still in shock that I did.) The captain of our catamaran got into the water with a white life raft for me. I hung onto it, and he talked me through my fears. It was a fantastic experience.

 

The quiet deck on Deck 3 (push your chair to the end of the deck where it is less windy.

 

Take pictures on the formal nights. Also, have your family dress casual or in beach wear. There is a beach scene back drop that makes a cute picture.

 

Cozumel -- take a taxi to downtown where there's lots of shopping. Also, Senor Frogs 1/2 has a beach with chairs and hammocks. There is a $7.00 charge for snorkeling equipment. It is walking distance to the pier.

 

Well, can't think of anything else. Have a great cruise!

[SxyEbnyFem]

my2dogs - Plan on taking bf to The Point for dinner during the week as a bday present. We also plan on doing Sunset Beach, too. Anxious to try the pumpkin soup I hear everyone rave about. Interesting to read that even though you cannot swim, you went snorkeling. FABULOUS!!! I just might try it!

 

Thanks for the heads up & the good info. I appreciate it much! :D

 

Happy sailing,

T.

[mojo2rusty]

Just got off the Conquest yesterday morning. We were among the first to board and were on the ship within about 45 min to an hour after arriving at the pier. WE would have pretty much walked right on except that the Coast Guard had the ship held up for inspection.

 

I must agree with all that was mentioned above. WE did Lethe Village tour thru Carnival in MoBay, and it was ok. The people that drove us to this bananna plantation were really great. After we returned they told us they would take us anywhere we wanted to go and drop us off then pick us back up. It was $10 extra. There were 6 of us on a tour bus aftereveryone else got off. THey took us to Margariettaville then returned to get us in time to return to the ship. JCAL tours was the name of the company. They were great. Our friends went to SunSet Beach and said it was a must do.

 

Margaritaville is a must see. We didnt have a lot of time so just ate lunch and of couse had a Margarita.

 

In Grand Caymen, we did the Stingray tour with Native Way. They met us at the pier and had a small group. This is one tour that you should do thru a privet comapny. All the companies listed above I have heard nothing but good things about. Swimmer or non, you must do see the stingrays. They are amazing creatures. Make sure you get a back rub! Some of our group went to SeaGreaps beach which is on 7 mile beach. They said it was beautiful. A lot of the beaches are still closed along 7 mile beach.

 

In Coz, we went to Paradise Beach. The food was great the drinks were great and the Free Price was great also. We walked to the connecting beach and did the parasailing which I highly recommend. My friends all got massages on the breach. This is a clean beach with clean facilities, plenty of shade if you want shade and plenty of sun. There were plenty of people there but it was not crowded. It was $17 by cab for 5 of us.

 

Take advantage of the picture taking around the ship in the evenings. Take all you want, you don't have to buy them unless you want.

 

Oh ya. If you are in the Monet dining room and have Anna for a watriss you are in for a treat. She is a doll and you are sure to fall in love with her. We wanted to take her with us but she Carnival wouldn't let her go. LOL!!! Tell her Hi from, Mona, Joann, Sharon, Helen, Carol and Dodie. Also if you see Zeek and Boris on the Lido deck serving drinks, Tell them we said Howdy too.

 

Have a blast, WE did!!

[Runner Girl]

This is great stuff! We just made our final payment on our 2/27 cruise last night! Even that got me psyched! We won't have our docs for about 6 weeks. We got about 8 inches of snow yesterday and I'm already looking forward to getting away from that! I can't wait to visit New Orleans!

[SxyEbnyFem]

mojo2rusty - Welcome back! Thanks for your helpful hints. I'll make a note and be sure to tell those you listed hello for you! Did you happen to try karaoke at all? Or any of the nightclubs? How were they?

 

Runner Girl - Making the final payment is exciting, eh? Wait until you get your docs! LMAO! I can't believe we are so close to leaving! Oh yeah!!!

Happy sailing,

T.

[L2J]

T- Didn't you hear....they cancelled that one :D

[Micktooth]

Thanks for all of the info. I cannot wait till it's my turn. Please continue to post the must sees and must dos.

Dave

[SxyEbnyFem]

I cannot believe the time has almost come for us!! I need to be slapped like they do on the soap operas! LOL I am so excited, nervous & even scared. :confused: My stomach is in knots. I doubt I will get much sleep between now & the time we set foot on our ship. OH MY GOSH!!! Conquest, here we come!!!! :D

Happy sailing,

T.

[SxyEbnyFem]

T- Didn't you hear....they cancelled that one :D

HA, I didn't see this until now.

Liv, there you go smokin' crack again! :rolleyes: :p

Happy sailing,

T.

[powriel]

Runner Girl:

 

We are also on the 2/27 cruise. Just booked it last week, so unlike me - the last 3 cruises we've went on I've book many months in advance. I was just messing around last week and saw too awesome of a rate to pass up for guarantee balcony. I'm in Iowa and we have almost a foot of snow, daughter hasn't been in school only part of one day this week so far!

 

We are really excited, didn't plan at all to be cruising this February. The Conquest was our 1st cruise and we absolutely fell in love with cruising!

[INCHARGE]

T girl, I've been thinking about you all. I hope you and your sweetie have so much fun that you will be thinking about this cruise all the way up until our VV cruise. :D. Enjoy each and every minute, and take lots of pictures so that you can post them. Let us know about the layout of the ship, since it is a sister ship to the Valor. You have to give us the 411 on the birthday plans for your BF (at least the ones that can be printed here) ;) Get your party on, girl. I know your friends and you all are going to have a ball. Have some dances for IC, ok? :D

[SxyEbnyFem]

T girl, I've been thinking about you all. I hope you and your sweetie have so much fun that you will be thinking about this cruise all the way up until our VV cruise. :D. Enjoy each and every minute, and take lots of pictures so that you can post them. Let us know about the layout of the ship, since it is a sister ship to the Valor. You have to give us the 411 on the birthday plans for your BF (at least the ones that can be printed here) ;) Get your party on, girl. I know your friends and you all are going to have a ball. Have some dances for IC, ok? :D

Hey Ms IC -

Thanks for the well wishes for they are appreciated much! I will take plenty of pics! I already told GC I would! Will do a gig for ya, too!! Looking forward to meeting you and the other VVs come Oct!!!!! :D

Happy sailing,

T.