Decisions decisions- Conquest or Breeze

Hoping the wise Cruise Critic members can help with this. Deciding between 2 summer cruises. It will be me and my 12 year old son. I am platinum and he's cruised at least 6 or 7 times already. Cant decide between these two itineraries- any input about the ports or ships would be appreciated. As some extra info we havent cruised either ship but have done Conquest class ships 2 or 3x's and enjoyed them. We have been to Grand Turk twice and love it (like that Conquest is there till 4:00). We live in Tampa so not much difference in getting to either port. The Conquest date is a couple days earlier in the time frame I need and is slightly better for me in terms of work but either can be done. Please let me know your thoughts for those who've been to the other 3 islands. Is the extra time in Curacao a plus for the Conquest or the day in Dominican Republic on the Breeze? We arent super early birds so the Grand Turk day wins for the Conquest. We've ported next to the Breeze and it certainly does look great. Thanks for any info in helping me to decide.

Conquest

8 night Ft. Lauderdale

Grand Turk 8-4

Curacao 9-11

Aruba 8-4

or

Breeze

8 night Miami

Grand Turk 7-2

Dom. Republic 9-4

Curacao 1-10

Aruba 8-4

What is the price for both ships? I think the Breeze is a better ship for kids since it has the Waterworks and Sports Square. Out of those ports I have only been to Aruba and Grand Turk. I loved Grand Turk but I didn't care so much for Aruba. The ship arrived at 1:00PM and departed at 11:00PM. The port itself is nice. We went to Moomba Beach (on Palm Beach), the beach itself was nice but the water was nasty. Lots of rocks and the water was not clear. We went to Mojito's restaurant for dinner (we were told it was a good place). It is close to the port area. The food and drinks were awful. Aruba itself was a beautiful island but we are beach people so Aruba didn't appeal to us. Some people did the Sunset Cocktail cruise and enjoyed it. I think we will do that if we go back to Aruba.

I have only been on the Conquest but I would not choose it again with my kids. They were 9 and 11 at the time we cruised last year, and while we still had a good time I don't think I would choose a ship without waterworks again. The aft pool was adult only which only left the water slide and the lido pool. You can only do the water slide so many times, and the lido pool was always super crowded with the lido activities and the drinking crowd so they never felt comfortable spending much time in it. They did enjoy the club activities and golf, but just comparing the ships online I would definitely choose the Breeze over the Conquest.

The Conquest is about $150 cheaper per person.

We traveled on the Conquest last year, so this year we (well, I) picked the Breeze. I've read so many great things about the Breeze, I'm sure it's going to become our new favorite.

Just came off the Conquest(first time on it). Been on the other Conquest class ships, & the Breeze 2X.

This one is the oldest of the bunch, and we were disapointed that the Serenity decks were not put in on it, also no Mongolian Wok.

Felt the buffet lunch, guys burger, etc. hrs were very short on port days-only open 12-2pm,all the other ones we've been on, are open 12-3:30 .

At that time, they did open a hot dog/bratwurst small buffet instead-not the same-many were upset.

But as with all -Excellent food & service.

Luv the Breeze though-has much more & newer, has barbeque & italian places no extra cost at lunch, & a wonderful cruise director MATT!!

Okay, I haven't sailed the Breeze yet (we booked her for January's Eastern itinerary. I have sailed Conquest doing the same itinerary that you're looking at the Breeze for (Grand Turk, Dominican Republic, Aruba, Curacao).

About the Conquest: There is no Serenity area, which for us isn't make or break, but perhaps would have been nice. I see you have also sailed Sunshine, and have sailed other ships on Carnival since then. We have only sailed Conquest after having sailed Sunshine. I was a bit disappointed by food choices on Conquest after having sailed Sunshine. There is an empty food station at the aft of the ship which may or may not be used only for the late night snacks--otherwise it's wasted space--no Mongolian Wok, no Tandoor, no Italian...there are so many things that they could have put here but didn't. Yes, there's still Fish N chips, pizza, the deli, Guy's, Blue Iguana, and the buffet, but I would have liked another offering.

So, if the show down is all about ships, I'd do the Breeze over the Conquest.

For ports, even before the cruise, I knew that I wanted Dominican Republic on my itinerary. Sometimes you'll see that DR will surface on countries to be careful in, but I would say don't let that deter you as the area you will be in as probably just as safe as any other Caribbean island (things can happen, you just need to be aware and smart). At first glance, there didn't seem to be any excursions that were really eye catching. La Romana doesn't have much for "must see" stops actually in the city. We did a drive through of the city at the end of our excursion, and it just seemed to be like any other small town in the Caribbean--meaning not as rich as American cities and a little run down--still, I would have enjoyed being able to stroll and explore it. (edit: when I google La Romana, it is apparently slightly larger than my home city: 130,000 inhabitants, and DR's third largest city). We went to Altos de Chavon on a tour, and we really loved it. It's not typical DR--it's a manufactured town made to look European and in/near the resort area of DR.

I probably would have enjoyed more time in Curacao to explore the downtown area a little more (we did a tour that went to the Curacao distillery and the caves). However, the fact that there is still more to do there just gives me an excuse to want to go back to Curacao again in the future. :)

So, DR was a stop I was looking for, if nothing more than to say I was there. As a result, we had fun there, and I'm glad that we went and wouldn't have given it up.

I've only sailed the breeze and so long as I can help it I will only ever sail the breeze. [emoji4]

I just sailed the Conquest two weeks ago, my first time sailing Carnival, and the ship is not in good shape. We had a flood in the bathroom that soaked the rug. Took two days with a strong fan to dry it out. The staff told me it has old pipes of different sizes and things like this happen all the time. the casino is impossible to win in if that is important to you.

Every staff member told me to try the Breeze next time.

Sue

We are doing this item. on the Breeze. :cool::D:cool:

Have sailed Conquest, and am sailing Breeze in a few weeks. Liked Conquest, but looking foward to the newest ship next time.

SECOND the vote for the DR, though. The Sayona Special was my wife and boys' (11 and 14) favorite tour ever. Seavis Tours was fantastic!

Hoping the wise Cruise Critic members can help with this. Deciding between 2 summer cruises. It will be me and my 12 year old son. I am platinum and he's cruised at least 6 or 7 times already. Cant decide between these two itineraries- any input about the ports or ships would be appreciated. As some extra info we havent cruised either ship but have done Conquest class ships 2 or 3x's and enjoyed them. We have been to Grand Turk twice and love it (like that Conquest is there till 4:00). We live in Tampa so not much difference in getting to either port. The Conquest date is a couple days earlier in the time frame I need and is slightly better for me in terms of work but either can be done. Please let me know your thoughts for those who've been to the other 3 islands. Is the extra time in Curacao a plus for the Conquest or the day in Dominican Republic on the Breeze? We arent super early birds so the Grand Turk day wins for the Conquest. We've ported next to the Breeze and it certainly does look great. Thanks for any info in helping me to decide.

 

Conquest

8 night Ft. Lauderdale

Grand Turk 8-4

Curacao 9-11

Aruba 8-4

 

or

 

Breeze

8 night Miami

Grand Turk 7-2

Dom. Republic 9-4

Curacao 1-10

Aruba 8-4

Having sailed both ships, my opinion is that Breeze far exceeds Conquest in amenities. She is also in much better condition that Conquest.

Breeze has the Red Frog Pub, not to be confused with the Red Frog Rum Bar on Lido. The Pub has live music nightly and is a fun place to spend evenings. Conquest has an adult only pool but no Serenity. Breeze has Serenity but no adult only pool.

We sailed Breeze's itinerary on Conquest back in February. We LOVED Dominican Republic. The other three ports were also wonderful.

Have sailed Conquest, and am sailing Breeze in a few weeks. Liked Conquest, but looking forward to the newest ship next time.

 

SECOND the vote for the DR, though. The Sayona Special was my wife and boys' (11 and 14) favorite tour ever. Seavis Tours was fantastic!

We took the ''Pro Saona for Cruisers'' excursion, booked through Pro Excursions. One of the best tours we have ever taken! We were bused to a catamaran, went snorkeling at an old pier that was destroyed by a hurricane, went to the beach where we had a delicious lunch, went to see starfish and drank rum while frolicking in the ocean. I wouldn't hesitate to book this excursion again.

Thanks everyone. Sounds like Breeze is a winner. Just wish it was the date of Conquest's sailing. Less convenient for missing work on Breeze's dates than Conquest.

Thanks everyone. Sounds like Breeze is a winner. Just wish it was the date of Conquest's sailing. Less convenient for missing work on Breeze's dates than Conquest.

The Breeze recently got a rave review/rating from industry. I can't specifically recall where I read about it, but it was not this board.

I'm getting a little nervous - I've been on the Breeze 3 times (once a B2B) - obviously I loved it & am very sad that Florida will lose her when she moves to Texas. However - got great pack & play rates, most of them on the Conquest & Sunshine if I want to stay with Florida port (living in Central Florida this is a must).

So, I've booked an 8 day Southern on the Conquest in July & will probably book another in a few days for October on either the Conquest or the Sunshine. I've seen good & bad reviews on the Sunshine & mostly pretty good on Conquest. I hear Sunshine has a great Serenity area while Conquest doesn't have one - BUT - I don't really care as long as it has the adult only pool.

Having said all that - should I book Conquest or Sunshine for the October cruise.

When is the Breeze being moved to Texas? We are booked on the Breeze for next April out of Miami but haven't heard anything about it relocating to another port.....

BREEZE ! :cool:

that is all. ;)

When is the Breeze being moved to Texas? We are booked on the Breeze for next April out of Miami but haven't heard anything about it relocating to another port.....

I don't think it's moving to Texas until late in the year 2016 (November?) following a Journeys cruise.

Of course, Carnival can at any time cancel cruises or move the ship earlier and replace it with another ship. Our second Conquest cruise was actually originally booked on Freedom, but they changed ships after we booked from Freedom to Conquest.

I'm getting a little nervous -

Having said all that - should I book Conquest or Sunshine for the October cruise.

Personally, I would book the Sunshine simply because I loved Sunshine...

I think the Conquest is a step down after the Sunshine, but everyone is going to have their own opinion. And my opinion is only really pertaining to a (perceived) lack of variety in regards to the food. That being said, it's still a Conquest class ship, and I would book on Conquest again if it was doing an itinerary that we wanted, and we would still have a lot of fun on the cruise.

When is the Breeze being moved to Texas? We are booked on the Breeze for next April out of Miami but haven't heard anything about it relocating to another port.....

I saw she was moving December of 2016

I have also cruised on both the Breeze and Conquest and I am going against the grain in that I loved the Conquest much more than the Breeze. Then again, it was just DW and I so the waterworks and all the other "kid friendly" amenities on the Breeze didn't appeal to us at all.

Also, we loved the Adults only Aft pool and Hottub on the Conquest. On the Breeze sailing there were kids all over the Aft pool and hot tub.

Also, don't get me started on those slippery floors on the Breeze Aft Lido Place area.

Personally, the Breeze was my least favorite ship I've sailed on but again, we didn't have kids with us. It's definitely more kid-friendly than the Conquest so that would probably be the better choice for you.

Either way, enjoy your trip.

Thanks for all the feedback. What about the difference in the shows on Conquest vs. Breeze? I thought I remembered reading on here Breeze's shows werent so great or they didnt have any many big productions? We do enjoy going to them.

Breeze in certainly a beautiful ship and has so much to do especially for your son. I would pick Breeze just because there is so much more to do but Conquest is cheaper. So if money is not an issue I would definitely go with Breeze.