cruzinlisa

It sounds like there are varying opinions. Has anyone been on both celebrity and Carnival (recently) and if so, is the food better on Celebrity. My first two cruises with Carnival, the MDR food was very good. Last two cruises (2012 and 2013) food has MOSTLY been between good and pretty good. (As an aside, I can say that Carnival's non MDR options have improved significantly with the 2.0 upgrades and Carnival's food is not bad). But we are paying more for this cruise than Carnival, so the food hopefully is better.

We will be dining at Blu for dinner, so hopefully the food suits us okay. DH likes his food pretty simple (he is a meat and potato type of guy). I like things a little more complex with sauces and spices, but I am not into more "exotic" things (like goat cheese, liver). :eek:

DH and I are taking a "kid free" cruise next year that stops in Key West and I am looking for some ideas of fun things to do. Something fun and low key, maybe a little bar/grill or somewhere fun to hang out for a while. I do not necessarily want to do a pub crawl (we will have the drink package on the ship and I am not that big of a drinker anyway), but somewhere to have a decent meal and a couple of drinks inexpensively would be good. Or if there is something that is a must do event, that would be okay as well. I have kind of hesitated to book cruises with a Key West stop, because it is kind of "just Florida" for me, but since we are not taking DD, it will be nice to have a stop where I can use my cell phone. This is a cruise we are not really doing for the ports (been to Coz a million times), but who knows, maybe I will change my mind about KW with some great ideas.

We haven't booked yet but I think Dh is convinced. We are looking at a promo with the classic drink package. DH likes domestic beers like Bud light and blue moon. It sounds like classic is fine for him. I love frozen blended drinks like strawberry daiquiris. As far as mixed drinks I like amaretto sour; malibu and pineapple or vodka sour. I don't really drink martinis and am not that fond if wine (usually just sparkling.) But I could deal with just frozen drinks all week. Would the classic package work for me?

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It's so interesting to see my cruise from a different perspective, and to see some of the same pictures I took from a different perspective. Plus I'm playing Where's Waldo? trying to see if I see myself or my husband in your shots lol. Great review as always! Can't wait to see more!

Ha, I thought I was the only one who did that. I did not see us in any thankfully- hehe. I still can't believe the cruise is over. :(

Thanks Sarge for doing a review. We did not take many photos.

Wow. I am jealous of all of you that have this as an option. We have an amtrack station within walking distance of my work. But its like $750.00 rt for the three of us, leaving on Friday and arrive in NOLA in the middle of the night Sunday morning (like 2 a.m.). So we would still have to pay for a hotel but be there just a couple of hours. Perhaps if DD were older (she is two :eek:), but right now just seems like a nightmare. I will keep it in the back of my mind though. I did not check out AAA or cruise discounts, maybe that would have made a difference. For the time being, we will just drive to NOLA. Or DH will anyway. :D

I believe it has small portions of different things from speciality restaurants, basically a taste. There are lots of pictures in this thread. Start around post 95 I believe.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1760811

I think some are changing now and it's all good.. :D

Glad to hear that. :D Thanks.

Probably. 8 Day menus are usually 7 day menus plus menu 15 stuffed in the middle somewhere. I think they are about to change the menus, anyway.

 

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HMM? Why do you think that? Any idea on when they might change them? WOnder if it will be a good change or a negative change. :( I have been happy with many of the changes so hopefully good.

Several of the ships have this program called Cheers. There are probably a lot of threads on the first couple of pages about it, but if I recall correctly its just under $50 per person, per day and everyone (over 21?) in the cabin must purchases. I have also heard that there is a 15 drink maximum (per day) on it. Anyway, if you look for threads talking about Cheers, you should find a lot of information. Its not available on all ships, but it is on many of them.

Thank you.

 

Deck 5 next to the casino and Cherry on Top. In the atrium.

 

https://www.goccl.com/irman/bookccl/the_fleet/interactive_map/Conquest/interactivemap.html

Was the old bar there too? I am wondering how in the world I missed it. We were on deck 6 aft, so we walked deck 5 fairly often. Especially to get to the front of the ship (for dinner), as walking through our deck made me sea sick (too many cabins and too winding).

Great review! Where is the EA sports bar located on Conquest? I know that DH would like it, but I can't seem to find it on the deck plans. We looked for the sports bar( the old one) on Conquest last cruise and we saw it once, but cannot remember where we found it. We are going in late April so it is mainly just baseball and NBA (we are not allowed to cruise during football season :eek:), but even if he can just check out the scores and see a little ESPN, he will be happy.

You need to also factor in the consumption of any other adults traveling with you in the same cabin, as they would also be required to purchase the package.

That is what makes it not worth it for us. DH could drink that much, I could not. Even if he drank more to make up for me, we still would most likely just break even. And that would be us drinking for the sake of getting our money's worth. Most days he might have 5-6 beers and I might have 2 cocktails.

Your photos are amazing. I will have to go back and read your Dream review. I read the chef's table one and it was like I was there with you.

My cruise isn't until April so bear with the crazy posts from me :) The only non Disney vacation I've done is an all inclusive and that was before kids. We loved them! We priced it out with the kids and well the cruise was definitely cheaper. Plus my kids are dying to go on a cruise! So we booked it for our ten year anniversary. Now I'm curious. Has anyone done both cruising and all inclusive? Which one do you like better? Pros and cons of both?

I have done both and I like both. But they are different types of vacations for me. When it was DH and I only, I loved the All inclusive. Being able to lay by the pool all day long with a frozen drink and do absolutely nothing was very appealing (although I probably would want to do an excursion or go into town). But now that I have DD, cruise is better for us. DD will be two on our cruise and very few AIs have kids clubs for children that age. But Carnival does. Plus, with her there, I could not lay by the pool all day and drink, because I have to be a responsible adult (or pretend to be :rolleyes:). Finally, I feel safe enough with her in port, but I am not keen about taking a week long trip with her to Mexico. I worry about illness. Plus, the taxi ride from the airport to the resort (which is long), tends to be on the scary side for me and I don't want my kiddo there.

Now, if I were traveling without my DD :eek:, I might go for an AI, assuming comparable pricing, since drinks are included. But then again I like cruises because I like the option of doing things (not that much of a sit around all day person) and with cruises you have ports to explore.

Thanks everyone for the info. I didn't think it was available yet on my ship, but I wanted to double check and make sure I was checking for it in the correct place on the website so I would know where to go when it is available.

 

thank you again for the great info!

If and when you find out it is available for Conquest, will you please let us know. :D I am booked for April and traveling with a 2 year old so FTTF would be a life saver for me.

The machine that the OP is referring to is called the Coca-Cola Freestyle Machine. It lets you choose any product from the Coke family, including sodas, non carbonated waters, carbonated waters, etc and add or inject them with different flavors from flavor cartridges. There are over 100 flavor combinations available. You can have Raspberry Coke Zero, Cherry Vanilla Coke, Vanilla Sprite, Fanta Fruit Punch etc. They are currently available on a few of the RCI ships and also available in various fast food restaurants. In the greater Philly area, they are in some Burger Kings, Wendy's and Moe's Mexican Restaurants. Edit....I see William added a picture above of what the machine looks like.

Sounds like the machine they have at Firehouse subs out here. I love going there, even though I usually get Cherry Diet Coke, Cherry Coke Zero, or Cherry Diet Dr. Pepper, which I could buy in a can or two liter (sometimes). Its the fun of it. I could see where people would take forever with it though.

Just paint them on your feet with a marker...why buy any? Also, for real class, paint each toenail a different color.

That is what I was thinking. But if you must, then canary yellow would be nice.

$15. Not sure about children. I hesitate to call it a real HoHo bus. All they provide is transportation - there isn't a tour narration like you find on most.

Actually that depends. When we first got on, there was a lady that I guess was like a tour guide. She told us all kinds of things and pointed things out. That was on the way to Rose Hall. The next ones had nothing of the sort.

We used it on our last cruise. You pay for it with your S&S card, at the terminal. They do not take cash. Then you get a bracelet to wear. You can get on and off at whatever stops and it loops around. It is my understanding that it does not actually stop at the pork pit (although our driver did stop there for some people who asked), but it apparently is not too far of a walk from the craft market. It does stop at Rose Hall shopping area, Dr's Cave, Margaritaville, and the craft market. I felt very safe and you do get to see the Island a little. I would do it again.

We are going to be in Cozumel in a couple of weeks with our 15 month old daughter. I kind of want to make this a beach stop. I originally thought about AI at Mr. Sanchos but I don't know that its worth it because I do not see myself really drinking because of my daughter and watching her. DH would drink but I think it would probably be cheaper just to buy him drinks. I do like the idea of a pool and beach but not enough to pay extra for an AI.

Any suggestions on where to go? Thought about paradise beach, it seems nice. What is the cost of admisssion and what about chairs, umbrella's etc? Is that a good place to go with a small child? Or is a beach a bad idea with a baby?

Also, assuming we have to take a taxi or something to get there (not walk) right? Is it worth bringing her carseat off the ship. She is small and still fits in the infant seat. If there is no way to even install it into a cab, I don't want to lug it around. But I would really hate to get off the ship, go to a cab and be refused service because of not having carseat and have to go back to the ship to get it.

About the life jackets, we are cruising with our DD who will be 15 months. Do they have a life jacket for an infant in the room or do you have to ask for one specifically.

This will be my third cruise and I cannot really even remember where the life jackets are, even though I know I have gotten them out on my other two cruises.

This is exactly what we are looking for, but its booked when we leave- stupid Jazzfest:mad:. Back to looking I guess.

I stayed in one of these rooms on Valor. I think it was 7202. I liked it, the window was nice and we could still look out and see the ocean, it just was not an absolute view (there were some things in the way). What I did not like about it was that I could feel the motion more (I get sea sick easily) and that it was a super long walk to EVERYTHING, especially since we were in the aft dining room and these rooms are all the way forward. But we survived the walking and I did not get so sea sick that I could not stand it. It was more of a matter of if I was in the room, I preferred to sit or lay on the bed, especially at night-Which is kind of the point anyway, so no big deal. Last time we paid for a 4A and got in on a deal where they give you the highest in the same category, so we got upgraded to this room for free. I would do it again if I could get a similar deal. This time, its about the same price for OV midship as the 4J, so we went with OV, to be midship.

I have only been out of Miami so by default it wins. I like that there are so many cruise choices out of Miami that it can't be beat. And honestly from the Midwest it seems that airfare to Miami is as cheap or cheaper than anywhere else (including Fort Lauderdale which is usually only a $10-20 pp difference if that). This cruise we are going out of NOLA and we are driving. So that might become my favorite. I was excited to see the Conquest go (back) to NOLA, because I don't want to do that long of a drive for any less than a 7 day trip and I like the newer(ish) ships so it was the perfect chance to try to road trip it to port. I love a good road trip and driving along the mississippi (well kind of) sounds like an easy drive. I have been as far as Mississippi and thats an easy drive so how bad can it be right. However, we will have our dd who will be 15 months so I may come back with no hair, but we will see.:eek:

We stayed at the Deauville in 2006 and it was decent. The lobby and everything was really nice, the beach is great. The rooms themselves were fine. Basic, clean, decent. Not fancy but no bugs or anything like that. Pretty much holiday inn or days inn sort of place. If you are looking for fancy rooms with marble and brass you will be disappointed. But if you want a decent clean room with a great beach, its your sort of place. The location was nice too. Walgreens was literally across the street. We walked there every day. Rooms had not been renovated when we were there though. May be even nicer now.