Just off Carnival Conquest b2b. Any questions?

6 day- Half Moon Cay, Grand turk, Amber Cove

8 day- Grand Turk, La Romana, Curacao, Aruba

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6 day- Half Moon Cay, Grand turk, Amber Cove

8 day- Grand Turk, La Romana, Curacao, Aruba

 

 

 

 

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How was the back to back process? Painless? I'm doing my first B2B in January on the Sunshine. You just meet in the lobby or something and go through customs and then right back on the ship? Do they take your old S&S card? I keep all my S&S cards so hopefully not! :)

It was very simple. The night before, they left us a letter with instructions. We just had to meet by guest services at the designated time, they took our cards temporarily to deactivate and get us new ones, but we got the old ones back right away. A staff member escorted us to customs where they checked our passports and then we got right back on by around 11:30. They took a group back to back passenger photo, gave us a free drink (soda or mimosa), and that was that! They left us a bottle of champagne in the cabin and on the last night we got a print of the group photo delivered to the cabin (free).

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Is taking a B2B better than taking a 14 day cruise?

Hopefully, one day I could do that or a 14 day cruise.

Also, was the conquest nicely updated?

Please explain your thoughts on each island?

Also, if you did any excursions, what did you do?

Thank you :-)

I am planning a trip as well.

I haven't taken a 14 day cruise yet so I can't really compare, but I think it depends a lot on the itineraries. Last year we did a b2b with the same itinerary, so both weeks were identical as far as activities, with the exception of the comedians. On Conquest, both itineraries were different and the 8 day had better entertainment at night, so maybe a 14 day would also.

The ship seemed to be nicely updated, the pool area was in better shape than Liberty last year. No complaints there.

We took one Carnival excursion which was in La Romana. We did the Catalina Island beach day which was nice. We were picked up at the dock near the ship and took a tender ride to the island. The water was very clear with gentle to moderate waves. The beach was clean and nice. The port area leaves much to be desired and there doesn't appear to be much to do around there.

Half moon cay, and Grand Turk were great, no cost, easy beach days.

We loved Curacao and Aruba. In Curacao we went to Mambo beach which was a lot of fun, cheap, and had great snorkeling. We took the public bus in Aruba to Palm Beach which that day, was very empty and we were pretty much alone in the area we rented beach chairs, near the Ritz Carlton. Can you tell we are beach people? Lol

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I'd like to hear more about the Conquest, as that is the next Carnival ship I am looking at, going to the 8 day itinerary you went on. I'd love to do a b2b, though!! In recent years, I've only been booking on newer ships, on RCCL and NCL, and haven't cruised Carnival in several years, so I'm a little nervous about cruising an older Carnival ship. Would live to hear more about it.

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I'd like to hear more about the Conquest, as that is the next Carnival ship I am looking at, going to the 8 day itinerary you went on. I'd love to do a b2b, though!! In recent years, I've only been booking on newer ships, on RCCL and NCL, and haven't cruised Carnival in several years, so I'm a little nervous about cruising an older Carnival ship. Would live to hear more about it.

 

 

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I did a B2B on the Conquest in Oct 2014. The 1st week was supposed to be and eastern itinerary, but due to a hurricane hitting St Thomas, we got switched to a western and I wound up doing the western again on the 2nd leg too. Didn't bother me much as I tried different activities from week to week.

The big difference in my mind, between a B2B and a 14 day cruise is that you do not have to return to the home port on a 14 day sailing. You might get another sea day, or another port in a different isle. 14 day cruises can also go deeper into a southern itinerary than a 7 day from Florida.

A B2B, despite my experience on the Conquest, can usually give you alternate itineraries. Hard to choose between the two!

What I really enjoyed though, was the B2B Journey cruises, 1st leg MIA to SJU, 10 days, then SJU to MIA 11 days. That was the best Caribbean cruise experience I've ever had!

As far as the Conquest goes, it was the prototype of its class, and Freedom, Valor, Liberty and Glory followed the same blueprint.

I'd like to hear more about the Conquest, as that is the next Carnival ship I am looking at, going to the 8 day itinerary you went on. I'd love to do a b2b, though!! In recent years, I've only been booking on newer ships, on RCCL and NCL, and haven't cruised Carnival in several years, so I'm a little nervous about cruising an older Carnival ship. Would live to hear more about it.

 

 

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It may be a slightly older ship, but it doesn't really show its age very much. The public areas were nice and appeared to be well maintained. We were on Liberty last year and Conquest was pretty much exactly the same, minus the names of some of the public areas. I guess it depends on what you are looking for, but I didn't notice any issues due to the age. If anything, the decor in the staterooms is outdated but it was the same as any other Carnival ship I've been on.

The Cruise Director, Hayley, was very lively and active. She made a habit of trying to meet as many guests as possible. Young and full of energy.

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I'd like to hear more about the Conquest, as that is the next Carnival ship I am looking at, going to the 8 day itinerary you went on. I'd love to do a b2b, though!! In recent years, I've only been booking on newer ships, on RCCL and NCL, and haven't cruised Carnival in several years, so I'm a little nervous about cruising an older Carnival ship. Would live to hear more about it.

 

 

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I'll also add that the 8 day portion of our trip had better entertainment than the shorter one. There were 4 different comedians that week, a mentalist and a juggler/comedy show that was really good. Food in the MDR was really good and we had a great server, Nino. He seems to be a favorite as many people kept requesting him day after day. The menu variety was slightly different than I have seen before as well. One night they had Beef Wellington which I had never seen before.

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I'll also add that the 8 day portion of our trip had better entertainment than the shorter one. There were 4 different comedians that week, a mentalist and a juggler/comedy show that was really good. Food in the MDR was really good and we had a great server, Nino. He seems to be a favorite as many people kept requesting him day after day. The menu variety was slightly different than I have seen before as well. One night they had Beef Wellington which I had never seen before.

 

 

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Did you have have anytime dining? or early or late seating?

Did you have have anytime dining? or early or late seating?

I had anytime dining, we always go to dinner at 5:45 with the exception of the late day in Curacao, when we went to the beach for a few hours, went back to the ship to change and eat dinner, then went back out to walk around the downtown area for a bit

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Thanks for posting! We enjoyed the Conquest last December, and we're looking at the same B2B for next November.

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Thanks for posting! We enjoyed the Conquest last December, and we're looking at the same B2B for next November.

 

 

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Happy to help :)

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In Aruba, how far was the public bus station from the port?

Jumping in - the bus station in Aruba is only about 2 blocks from the port gate. Depending on where ship is along pier, walk to gate could also be that long or even a little more.

One other 14 day vs. 7+7 B2B difference, for shareholders, is a $250 credit vs. two credits of $100 each. We have enjoyed both types.

In Aruba, how far was the public bus station from the port?

As previously stated it is very close. At the bus terminal you can purchase a round trip ticket at the window for $5. Otherwise it is around $2.60 one way if you pay on the bus. A bonus is that the round trip ticket was on a plastic card, a neat little souvenir if you like things like that :)

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I haven't taken a 14 day cruise yet so I can't really compare, but I think it depends a lot on the itineraries. Last year we did a b2b with the same itinerary, so both weeks were identical as far as activities, with the exception of the comedians. On Conquest, both itineraries were different and the 8 day had better entertainment at night, so maybe a 14 day would also.

 

The ship seemed to be nicely updated, the pool area was in better shape than Liberty last year. No complaints there.

 

We took one Carnival excursion which was in La Romana. We did the Catalina Island beach day which was nice. We were picked up at the dock near the ship and took a tender ride to the island. The water was very clear with gentle to moderate waves. The beach was clean and nice. The port area leaves much to be desired and there doesn't appear to be much to do around there.

 

Half moon cay, and Grand Turk were great, no cost, easy beach days.

 

We loved Curacao and Aruba. In Curacao we went to Mambo beach which was a lot of fun, cheap, and had great snorkeling. We took the public bus in Aruba to Palm Beach which that day, was very empty and we were pretty much alone in the area we rented beach chairs, near the Ritz Carlton. Can you tell we are beach people? Lol

 

 

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in Curacao how did you get to the Mambo beach?

in Curacao how did you get to the Mambo beach?

We took a taxi. The published rate was $20 per taxi one way, but we just waited a few minutes for a few others to split it. Ended up paying $5 per person each way.

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Jumping in - the bus station in Aruba is only about 2 blocks from the port gate. Depending on where ship is along pier, walk to gate could also be that long or even a little more.

As previously stated it is very close. At the bus terminal you can purchase a round trip ticket at the window for $5. Otherwise it is around $2.60 one way if you pay on the bus. A bonus is that the round trip ticket was on a plastic card, a neat little souvenir if you like things like that :)

Thanks for the info. Yes, we do keep those cards and route maps from bus stations

Glad it was a nice cruise. We are doing this exact same B2B over Thanksgiving. It will be the third time we have done a B2B. Glad it went smooth. We had one that was a mess and one that went smoothly.

6 day- Half Moon Cay, Grand turk, Amber Cove

8 day- Grand Turk, La Romana, Curacao, Aruba

How was Amber Cove? Any must sees. We will be on the Conquest in December and looking for something to do other than beach.

Thanks

6 day- Half Moon Cay, Grand turk, Amber Cove

 

8 day- Grand Turk, La Romana, Curacao, Aruba

 

 

 

How was Amber Cove? Any must sees. We will be on the Conquest in December and looking for something to do other than beach.

 

Thanks

Amber cove was okay. Our day was cut short due to heavy rain that day, but in the morning we just stayed in the port area and used the free pool. If we have a chance to go back there in the future, I would elect to take an excursion. There are quite a few Carnival excursions that are actually reasonably priced there. Taxi rates are quite high, and the prices are listed on the Amber Cove website for reference.

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Was this out of Port Everglades? If so, how was check in? Did you have a check in time? Easy debarkation?

Was this out of Port Everglades? If so, how was check in? Did you have a check in time? Easy debarkation?

Yes, it was our first time at Port Everglades. We had a check in time of 11-11:30 but no one seemed to be checking. We went in at 10:45 because there was no line and no one said anything. I believe it was one of the first weeks they were doing the assigned times, so that may be why. We got on the ship around noon.

Debarkation went smoothly but the line for customs took a little while. By taking our time with breakfast in the MDR, we still got to the airport by 9 (ship docked at 7).

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Yes, it was our first time at Port Everglades. We had a check in time of 11-11:30 but no one seemed to be checking. We went in at 10:45 because there was no line and no one said anything. I believe it was one of the first weeks they were doing the assigned times, so that may be why. We got on the ship around noon.

 

Debarkation went smoothly but the line for customs took a little while. By taking our time with breakfast in the MDR, we still got to the airport by 9 (ship docked at 7).

 

 

 

 

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Thank you!!