MITSUGIRLY decides to CONQUEST new ports-complete pictorial review

It looks like I have some anxious followers that are waiting on another review. So, I decided to get started in between my very hectic life at the moment.

But first...the "formalities" to get out of the way.

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ABOUT MY FAMILY AND WHO CRUISED THIS TIME:

This cruise was just for myself, my husband and Sakari (pronounced just like it's spelled Sa-Kar-ee, our now 9 year old daughter. This time, my 3 other adult children would remain home (Kenny-30, Kendra-28 and Kolin-22). Kendra tried (as she always does) to go, but her fiance talked her into a Vegas trip instead and she had a blast (but was wishing she was with us instead for the first few days).

So...what does this mean for us? It means we had a "peaceful" cruise that wasn't too stressful with a hyper/hard too control/off the hook grandson and a slow moving family (Kendra) that lives her life on "island time".

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My Cruising Experience:

As you can tell from my signature line, we mainly cruise with NCL and I have been trying to cruise the entire fleet. I have yet to be on the Gem or Escape.

I decided to try Carnival, back in 2013, and I'm so glad I did and we have a wonderful time on Carnival. So far, this will be our 5th cruise with Carnival and not our last for sure.

In the 80's and 90's I also sailed with NCL and Royal Caribbean.

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ORGANIZATION FOR THE REVIEWS:

People always ask how I organize for my reviews and it takes A LOT to put together a review like this. Once I decided to post how I personally organize for my reviews and if you are interested, it can be found HERE-1ST HALF and the 2ND HALF HERE.

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CAMERAS:

I am constantly questioned about what type of camera's I use for my reviews.

Several years ago I decided to purchase my first Olympus point-and-shoot camera (not by choice, but because I had one of my many "bloopers" with my Canon cameras). I have loved the Olympus since that purchase that we actually have quite a few of them.

This entire review was shot with my Olympus Tough TG2. I take my model 620 & 830 along with me for back up because you never know what might happen and I would be devastated if I was without a camera. For Christmas, we also purchased Sakari her own camera (I think we got her the 620 model).

I'm a photography FREAK! Always have been. I do have a DSLR with tons of equipment, lens, and so on, but I find that I just don't want to lug it around with me on a cruise...and of course it's not waterproof.

When I process my photo's, I do take it in to PS (I have to get my watermark on there somehow) and I have an "action" that resizes the picture for a more appropriate posting size, and sharpens for web and I put my stamp on it. Every once in awhile I'll get a really crappy picture that just needs something (like white balance) done to it and I really want to share it and I might white balance it. For the most part, I don't do much of anything...no one has time for all that with the thousands of pictures I take!

I take thousands of pictures on vacation and I do a lot of walking and snapping. Yes, I may get some outstanding photos and quality, but for every good picture I get, there may be 3 bad ones. You win some, you lose some. I've been known to stand in a spot and take 3-5 pictures of the same thing, using different settings on the camera, just to get what I'm looking for to share. That's just me.

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ABOUT MY REVIEWS:

I am a very open and honest person. Everyone has a different expectation and experience, but I report how I feel during mine. You may or may not agree with my thoughts or views, but that's the beauty of it...everyone is different and all thoughts and comments are welcome.

We are a fun loving and outgoing family that, for the most part, don't get upset about much and roll with the punches. We've had a lot of "bloopers" (especially when the kids come along=Kendra lol), but it is what it is and I have learned over the years that getting mad or upset doesn't solve the problem and only takes away from the fun, so I try not to dwell on bad things (although I will always report them...not to be a Debbie-Downer, but to show this is the experience I had and how it contributed to what was going on at the time) and I move on.

We are BEACH people. So, if you are the touristy type of person that like historical stuff, seeing the sites, or likes to do the land tours, this review might not benefit you too much as far as the ports. If there's a beach, we will be there! I have to drag Sakari the Mermaid out of the water every place we go. So, to the beach it is for us. Sakari decided last year that she wanted to "be a scuba diver" and took classes and is now a certified PADI Seal. She is waiting to turn 10 years old to get her open water certificate...but we will see. So, you will find us doing some scuba diving in reviews as well.

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LAST BUT NOT LEAST: WHY I DO THE REVIEWS

My reviews are meant to be helpful to others looking for information. I'm a "picture" kinda girl and if I'm looking for information, give me a picture to help me understand and it will go 10x further in helping me with a decision. So many of you wonderful cruisers have helped me decide places to try out, shared your experiences with me, and even cruised with me....and this is my way of thanking you and continuing to help others the way they have helped me.

I'm keeping this "opening" a little shorter than normal. Most people around here know me and I hate to constantly repeat things...so if you want a more detailed "opening" statement, you are welcome to click on one of my other reviews (in my signature line) and it will give you more info on us. :)

With that said...I hope you enjoy the review. :cool:

yay!!

I sail the Conquest next year. This is the review I have been waiting for. LETS GO! :D

Yay! Your reviews are like going on a mini cruise- plus I have a son (will be 8 by our cruise time in Aug) and daughter (9), so seeing Sakari makes me happy as well. She seems like such a sweet girl. And boy can she swim- my poor son can't even float, but we have swimming lessons lined up. She LITERALLY is a mermaid!

Mitsugirly you are a cruise rock star!! So excited!

I love the COnquest

Woohoo!! Following along for the ride (again ;p)

Yay! I was just thinking last week that you had this cruise coming up!

Can't wait to see what you have!!! I'll be living through every review until our cruise in 2019!!!

It's finally here! Another awesome MITSUGIRLY review :D:D:D

So excited for the review we sail in August on the Conquest and is our first time on Carnival ! It's our 8yr old and 4 yr olds first cruise !

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Can't wait to read about the Conquest and places you visited.

following

I am definitely looking forward to following along on your review, as always! Thank you again for taking the time.

Looking forward to this as well!!!

Following! I love your reviews, they have helped me make excursion decisions. We did LFK in January based off of your review and it was fantastic, so thanks! :D

Yes! The southern route is one of my favorites.

Welcome home and thanks in advance for all the time you will be putting in to this review. We board the Magic in 17 days, so this will give me something to look forward to before and after we get home (since knowing how detailed you are - I know this won't be done before I leave!). :)

woohoo!! love your reviews. can't wait to read the rest

Looking forward to reading your review

WOO HOO.. I'm so excited to read this. I love all your reviews but the Carnival ones are my favorite as I can relate more. Thanks for all you do!

Yay! Love your reviews, and we'll be on the Conquest Halloween cruise. :)

Looking forward to your review and your photos, especially of your Scuba experiences. :)

I too enjoy your Carnival reviews since that is the line we cruise the most often. My hubby and I were on Conquest then Glory. Basically same ship but we liked the Conquest better. It's weird how you can go on the same style ship back to back but like the layout and feel of the one over the other?

Also, I bought my 7 yr old granddaughter a "swim tail" for xmas (after seeing how adorbs it is in your posts) and she is SO excited to try it out on our OBX family trip in June!

LOL...love the swim tail but as I have a boy it was not going to work out for us! We will be at the OBX in June as well (wk of June 10th (I think it is the 10th) so I will be looking for swim tails at the beach :D!

Cant wait for this review, love Mitsugirly reviews, its been a while!

Another member of the Mitsugirly fan club following this latest adventure! I am actually re reading one of your previous reviews to get some excursion ideas for ports of call for our January, 2018 cruise.