PurdueChefAmber

How available is Pellegrino in the MDR?

Thanks guys! All what I was thinking. I am going to stick with burrito bowls at lunch, high protein at breakfast and healthier options at dinner. I am not a big dessert person. Avoiding sugary alcohol drinks will be the biggest challenge!

Hey guys! As of today, I have lost 50 lbs in the last year thanks to weight watchers. I leave on April 24 and do not want to gain the 10-15 lbs I gained on my January cruise. What are some healthy eating hacks you would recommend on board?

Get the iwalk2.0!

Great start! Thank you for taking the time to review!

We have had the cheers package. We don't tip per drink, if we have had a great bartender we will tip them at the end of our cruise.

I do this.

Did you go on this VIP experience? If so' date=' what exactly did it include? And, do you know in what way it differs from the other one?[/quote']

 

 

Yes. I did it in January and am doing in again in April. They treat you like queens and kings and it literally is the best day ever. Unlimited drinks, great food, oysters, paradise, great customer service. No excursion will ever compare to it.

 

 

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Do VIP, it ROCKS!!!

They sell Bare Minerals, too

The first night, I was shocked at how much you could hear chairs scraping overhead! It happened from around midnight to two AM. I turned my white noise app on my phone and the sound never bothered us again. This would be something I took note of if staying in an aft cabin.

I always had bad luck with CHOGS on my cruises and this would be NO exception. I went out around 7 AM and all the front row AFT pool chairs were reserved. With not a person in sight, this upset me. The AFT pool stays covered until 8 AM.

Shortly after they opened the roof, the skies also opened and all the CHOGs stuff got wet. Oops! hehehe

We thought that with the passing shower, it would be a good time to try out the sea day brunch! We sat with a big group of people that were not super friendly. Bummer.

Matt got Steak and Eggs and enjoyed it. I got the Huevos Racheros. I loved the flavor but didn't enjoy the chicken quesadilla. I got mac and cheese and it was awesome. I also got my Mocha Chocolate Getaway with my drink coupon but didn't take a picture. I also kept forgetting to take a picture before we ate. Oops! Sorry!

Bread Basket, yum.

Steak and eggs cooked medium

Huevos

Mac and Cheese

Sadly, the chair hogs were worse when we got back from Breakfast! No poolside for us! The weather remained to be iffy until just after noon. This would be the last questionable weather for the whole cruise besides night time!

Matt decided to try the french onion soup and really enjoyed the flavor but thought it had too much cheese. Is that possible?

Instead of salad, we both wanted another appetizer so I got the Grilled Portobello and he got the Beef Carpaccio.

The portobello was, in my opinion, lacking in flavor and overdressed. I think it was just an off night, I have enjoyed this same dish in the past. Matt liked his beef.

Next, it was main dish time!! Woo hoo! Too bad I was already stuffed! I got the surf and turf and Matt got the Spice Rubbed Ribeye. We both LOVED our main dishes. They steaks we cooks to a perfect medium rare and my lobster was so good that there was no way I could order one the next night at formal night. It just would not compare!

Oooo I see the yummy bread butter and toppings. They are all good but Carnival's butter is just the best.

The MDR always had the menu posted outside so you could go see what was for dinner. I really enjoyed American Table and was sad to miss the offerings of night 1 but I will get to try them in April.

We went to the Steakhouse for our 6:30 reservation and it was very slow in there. I was surprised since the first night is always busy because of the wine promo. Service was great and we chose to get 50% off of any bottle of wine since DH is not a big wine drinker. Her suggestion was awesome.

It, of course, was not the best pairing with the meal but if my DH will drink it, I am happy. I was excited to try the lobster bisque as I have never had it and it was AMAZING. I wish you could order it at anytime on the cruise but I am sure your hips wouldn't be happy if you did! :)

I AM SO SORRY!!!! hahaha Work has been INSANE with some staffing changes and both kids got sick. I am back at it!

After our fun time at Alchemy, we went to the taste bar and that was always yummy and offered on random nights.

After enjoying our taste bar, we decided to go check out the menu for the MDR. We were going to the Steakhouse for the wine promo and I wanted to make sure you all saw the menu!

Keep the Fun Times coming!! Thanks!!

I just converted them from pdf to jpeg and they will be coming very soon!

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Ok, well, I have all the fun times as PDFs that are too big to insert so I will figure that out. Moving on....

The muster drill bell went off right around 3:45pm and lasted an hour. I was sad because all the other ships left when we were in the drill so we couldn't see them take off. Oh well. Right after drill we went to Alchemy for the Martini Tasting class which I LOVED! You pick 3 different ones you want to try and they will make up another one that they think you will like. You them try to put them in the right order and if you do, you get a cute glass charm!

We chose the correct order and each had one more drink. I did a Sazerac and Matt had the Cucumber Sunrise. The Cucumber Sunrise was not my cup of tea but seemed like one of the more popular drinks that they served. Alchemy will make you just about anything you desire. It was one of our favorite hang out spots. I love whisky and they could do the most creative drinks with it!

It says my other ones are too big!

How do I upload the Fun Times since I scanned them as pdfs?

sail fun times 3rd.pdf

Side note, Matt really enjoyed the Thirsty Frog Beer and was disappointed that you could not get it in the MDR. Hopefully since the Vista will be brewing it on board, they will have it available everywhere.

After our treats, we headed back to the room to meet our Steward. Our Stewards were Suri and Ari. They were AWESOME! I left them $20 and note asking for ice and for our mini fridge to be emptied. They did this when we were at dinner and chilled our wine for us. They were some of the best stewards I ever had but this is also the first time I tipped my stewards in the beginning of the cruise. (Thanks CC)

We had our waters, shore excursion tickets, my Sea Day brunch drink ticket and other documents laid out for us on our counter.

Sorry about the delay! Work has been insane and photobucket has been evil and rerouting through foreign IP addresses which blocks photobucket on my work laptop, yay!

Anyways...

After dropping off our bags we went off to explore the lido deck. This is my first sailing with 2.0 upgrades so I was so excited to see all the differences! We knew we wanted a Guy's Burger to start and a drink from the Red Frog Rum Bar! I found that I liked the drinks here and at Blue Iguana with floaters so that they were not so sweet.

We enjoyed our burgers but I think I am in the minority of CC. I did not think this was a great burger. The burger itself was "eh" but the toppings were awesome. This would be my only Guy's Burger on the trip. Matt enjoyed these a lot more and tried one more on the day we were in Amber Cove. I loooooooved the Shrimp Tacos but I would not know that until the first sea day.

After our Burger treats I knew I wanted something fresh, so, we headed up to the Fish and Chips and I got a ceviche treat!

The ceviche was as good as I remember it and love sailing on ships that have a fish and chips. It was also always less crowded up there and serene.

Ahhh I see. Get well soon, and thanks again for the great review so far!

Thanks, friend!

Haha...I can relate! :D

Hehehe

We'll be sailing on the Ecstasy next month (eeeee!) but I love how cheerful, upbeat, informative, and detailed your review is! I love reading all these wonderful CC reviews you all take the time and dedication to post to help us get the best out of our cruise experience!

 

Thank you for taking the time, y'all look like you had an absolute blast!

 

Will be following and reading all throughout this thread! Cheers!

Thank you! We did have a blast!!! :)

I may have missed the location of this Embassy Suites in your post, so can you please tell me what location?

 

Embassy Suites is my choice hotel when I fly in for a pre-cruise stay.

 

 

Your pics are awesome and I'm looking forward to reading more :) We are sailing the Conquest on April 24th for my Birthday and I'm so looking forward to just relaxing on this cruise.

 

Thanks for sharing Amber!!

I was at Embassy Suites Ft Lauderdale on 17th!

Anxiously Waiting For Moreeeee 😬🍹🍹😜

I'm back! Crazy 2 days at work! Sorry!

Hey Amber just a quick question when you have a chance can you tell me which dining room you had and if you had a set time or your time dining thanks.

I did YTD which put me in Renoir but I ate in both because of Sea Day Brunch. I will do set dining from now on but more on that later!

Excited to follow along with your review. We have 3 cruises scheduled on the Conquest this year. Please share any tips that you may have. Definitely subscribing if I can get the thread tools to work!

I am on the Conquest again in April! :)

Hey Amber! Love your review thus far. DH and I are the same exact age so I'm interested in your perspective on the Conquest. We sailed her back in April 2011 before she had the 2.0 upgrades. Looks great so far!

Great!! I will try to finish up by next Tuesday! I loved it!