iheartmarshall

Thoroughly enjoying your review! Can't wait to read more.

We used cash for our onboard account on our first cruise. I budgeted $150 and already had $60 OBC prior to cruising (total of $210). On the first day, I went to guest services to add the cash and that was good or us the whole week. I even received money back at the end of the cruise.

That said, it really depends on how much you're planning to spend. DH doesn't drink and I may have 3-4 drinks during the whole week so alcohol isn't a big cost for us. We did purchase a few items in the Fun Shops though (the high-end makeup is my weakness... ahhh!) which accounted for most of our onboard purchases.

For your son's friend, definitely make sure she has enough to cover her gratuities (you should be able to find out this amount by looking under your My Cruise Manager account or by calling Carnival directly). Then I would say anywhere from $50 - $100 extra, just to make sure she has enough for souvenirs. Whatever she doesn't spend, she can cash out on the last day.

you can go online and type in the number on the card, just like a credit card, to pay off your balance.

 

and you can bring them on board (go to pursers desk) to put on your account

 

win, win anyway you use them

Thank you! Purchasing now :)

YES! I've been waiting to purchase a couple. Stupid question though as I've never used these before -- you CAN use them to pay off your remaining balance, correct? Or are they like Cruise Cash where you can only use them on board the ship? I just want to make sure before I buy them.

Here's some photos from 2014, just in case anyone is curious.

Has anyone done the florida everglades shore excursion tour with a transfer to either FLL or MIA when leaving the ship? If so, how was it? What do you do with your luggage? Put it out the night before, take it with you?

DH and I did this in May 2014 and LOVED IT! It was so much fun. We got normal excursion tickets (just like at the other ports) and were told to meet in the lounge at a certain time WITH our luggage. So, that's what we did and then we were escorted off the ship with our excursion group and our luggage was loaded onto the tour bus (a charter bus). It stayed there until they dropped us at the airport. We had a 3:15pm flight on Delta and I believe we were dropped off around 12:30/12:45pm so we had plenty of time.

As for the actual excursion, we loved it. However, we were not allowed to use the bathroom on the bus and the ride out there is 30-45 minutes so if you need to pee, do so at the POM before you leave (ahem). Also, try to get near the front of the boat for the best photos. If you'd like to see some pics, let me know and I'll be happy to share!

Magic Nov 25 - St. Maarten, St. Kitts, San Juan, Grand Turk

 

My parents are looking to book a balcony, which side offers the best view of the ports for this cruise? Anyone know?

 

Thanks!

We did this itinerary in December on the Conquest and had a port-side OV. When docking each morning, from our window we had a wonderful view of the islands. I can't say for certain that the Magic will dock at the same piers or in the same direction, but when sailing in, we were always facing the port. Hope that helps!

If you send me your email, I will email you scanned fun times from the 5 day cruise that she does. It does not go to Cozumel, but will give you an idea of what they do.

 

I am going on her in a little under 2 weeks for the cozumel trip if you want to wait.

 

Thanks

"Hijacking" this thread to say hi to a fellow Jaycee :) I so wish I was going on the Paradise cruise with everyone, but alas, work takes precedence. Enjoy!

In 2013 when we booked our first cruise, we chose Carnival based on recommendations from friends who had been on the line and had personal experience. I did do research though and looked at Carnival, NCL, and Royal and ultimately chose Carnival based on personal reviews and what I call the "Cruise Trifecta." Three years later, DH and I have been on two Carnival cruises and are booked on the Vista for 2017. We've had wonderful experiences with Carnival and have no desire to switch lines at the moment. Would we? Sure, if there was a significant difference in price/itinerary/time and another line won out. But so far, Carnival has met or exceeded our expectations and we are happy.

That said.... when booking a cruise, we look at the following, in order. When all three come together, it is my Cruise Trifecta!

1. Time of Year

2. Itinerary

3. Price

Time of Year: Due to my job, there are only three times a year that I can cruise. Those are late May/early June, the beginning of August, and in December (I work for an afterschool/summer camp program so I'm on a school schedule). DH's availability is much more flexible so when we begin our cruise search, we usually start with mine.

Itinerary: We've realized we mostly cruise for the ports and the ship is secondary. We view cruising as an affordable means to travel, so our focus is usually on the ports and excursions offered. And I say usually because our upcoming Vista cruise is 50/50 on both the port and the ship -- we can't wait!

Price: The last item in the Cruise Trifecta is price. Cruising is affordable, but not necessarily cheap. So, I always make sure that we can comfortably afford the cruise and don't get in over our heads. Part of doing this is booking a year or more out so that we can make monthly payments to where the cost isn't so much at once. I also budget everything (cruise, excursions, travel, etc.) to make sure we can afford everything without straining our finances.

.....and when we have the perfect Cruise Trifecta, we book!

I also posted on your other thread encouraging you to check out Southwest for cheap flights from BWI. We are doing this same itinerary in November of this year. I plan on writing a review so you can get ideas on excursions and what's happening on the ship.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Thank you for the reminder! I've been pricing flights for the same weekend this year, just to have a ballpark figure of what to budget for. I know that doesn't mean the price will be the same next year, but still... I need to know what I'm dealing with lol. Any time we've flown south out of Charleston, it's been $1,000 - $1,100 RT for "good" flights (i.e., times that work with our schedule). I've seen that Pittsburgh is fairly consistent year-round at $500 RT and am looking into Southwest and BWI now. Even if we end up getting a hotel one night, it'll still be cheaper than Charleston.... hopefully.

Along my journey moving to a vegan diet, I fell in love with pigs. Not surprising because I have a 35 pound pug at home, who is basically also a pig. But I never really liked farm animals much until I started to volunteer at an animal sanctuary and the pigs just stole my heart. I also fell in love with a pretty famous pig - Esther. If you haven't heard of Esther the Wonder Pig, you should check her out! Her story is amazing, as her dads adopted her thinking she would be a mini pig and then she continued to grow to over 600 pounds. Long story short, what was meant to be a small pet turned their lives upside down and they now opened an animal sanctuary and care for many more animals. They are actually doing a group cruise next March to help raise money for their new sanctuary - and yes, we are going!

 

Ok Jen, shut up about the pigs...well I share this because I started to collect pigs and we found the cutest stuffed pig in the gift shop. Our room steward did a great job of adding little Curly to her towel animal creations.

 

What? You don't name your stuffed animals as a grown adult?

 

Just as I am a pig fanatic, my husband is a turtle lover. We have had pet turtles and tortoises and one day hope to have a tortoise sanctuary. We looked high and low for a cool turtle souvenir but only came up with a small keychain. Once this purchase made it into our room, she added that as well.

 

 

 

I love this! I have a stuffed dog named "Bobby Dog" about the size of your Curly. I take him on ALL overnight trips, no matter if it's for one night or an 8-day cruise. He's more of a placeholder to me, as I like to wrap him up in my arms and without him there, it doesn't feel right. Bobby Dog is actually the second stuffed dog named Bobby that I've had in my 29 years. "Original Bobby" (aka "The OG") I got in 4th grade when my friend (Bobby - obviously) moved away. My mom knew I was sad, got me a stuffed dog to cheer me up, and I named him after my friend (we separated over the years and somehow he lost all his stuffing and is rather odd looking now but still in existence at my mom's house). Fast forward to 2009 when I had surgery and again, to cheer me up, my mom went to the gift shop and bought me an exact replica (albeit smaller) of The OG. And for the past 6.5 years, he's slept with me every night since.

Anyway, the point of me sharing Bobby Dog with you is that I've had stewards do the same thing with him -- position him up nicely on the pillows, or sit him up properly beside the towel animal. I love it!

Well, well, well! I remember your post considering either the Pride or the Vista, and if I remember correctly, I practically begged you to choose the Vista (Just looking out for a fellow West Virginian:))

 

Personally I think you made a great choice. You may get negative comments about Jamaica, but its a beautiful country, and a lot of stuff to choose from. Yes, it's super touristy, but I would suggest the Dunn River Falls. I am so glad DH and I climbed up them before his knees gave out. River Tubing on the White River is also loads of fun. Cozumel is a great port as well. With lots of different activities to choose from you are sure to find something to float your boat.

 

As far as the Vista is concerned, of course none of us have actually sailed on her yet, but with all the things on board what is not to love. AND in May 2017 she will still be considered a new ship!

Oh that post... I am so indecisive! I had pro/con lists, financial comparisons.... it was bad, lol. I really did take into account each response and even though we initially booked the Pride, it didn't feel "right," you know? DH and I talked this past weekend and decided if we were going to spend the money, to just go for it and choose the Vista. So, we did. And we will either make the long drive to Miami or fly out of Pittsburgh, as it's way cheaper than Charleston. And you know what? I am way more excited about the Vista!

We've been looking at excursions at each port trying to figure out what we want to do. Although nothing is online for our specific cruise yet, there's several that appeal to us in Ochos Rios and Cozumel so we will be just fine (that River Tubing is on my list!). We've already talked about staying on the ship in Grand Cayman too and giving ourselves an extra day to experience what she has to offer. We're definitely early on the planning but it gives us something to look forward to.

Just took the plunge and booked a 4J on the Vista for May 2017. It's her 6-day Western cruise with ports in Ochos Rios, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. Ochos Rios will be a new port for us and we have been wanting to revisit Cozumel so this is perfect. Originally we were booked the same week on the Pride and I even posted a thread regarding the pros and cons of her and the Vista. This choice is more expensive once all costs are considered... but ya know, cruise logic. :rolleyes:

Can't wait until 2017!

Thank you for the quick responses! We haven't booked yet so I wanted to make sure what we are interested in doing would be offered. This eases my mind!

For those of you who have cruised to Cozumel with a port time of Noon - 10:00pm, do you recall what excursions were offered? Are they mostly the same as the 8:00 - 5:00pm itineraries? We are thinking of booking the Victory to Key West and Cozumel and there are so many excursions we'd like to do in Cozumel but I'm afraid they may not be offered due to the port time. We're interested in things like the underground river, Tulum, ATV tours, etc.

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks :)

It's been a while since I booked a Gty cabin. Lots sales recently with this option. Picked one for April a still no assignment at day 56. What is your recent experience?

 

Sent from my KFTHWI using Forums mobile app

We upgraded from an OV to a Balcony GTY on our first cruise back in 2014 on the Conquest. We made the switch about a month out, got our assignment 3 weeks out, and the result was decent. We were in a balcony above the nightclub so we had that dulled noise until late in the night which wasn't ideal. However, I brought a travel fan and always have earplugs on me just in case so it didn't bother me much. I'm not sure I'd chance it again, but it gave us about $100 in OBC so I thought it was a good deal.

Thanks for your review! I'm on the Pride next year and can't wait. We're booked in a 4K as well which honestly, is part of the reason we chose this ship (I wanted to try one).

thanks for the great review! i think you will love the pride! the adult only serenity area on that ship really is the best! you have to go early though to get a chair which stinks. who knows... maybe we will be sailing with u next yr! haha the pride will most likely be our cruise for 2017 as well and we like going in april or may :)

Maybe so! Since the Conquest doesn't have a Serenity area, we usually hung out up on the top aft deck where the jogging track was. I liked the location because it was near the aft pool but it wasn't very crowded. I've heard people say that the Pride has an excellent space-to-passenger ratio and it never feels crowded either so I'm looking forward to that.

Thank you for following along :)

DISEMBARKATION

….and that, ladies and gentlemen, is basically the end! The morning of disembarkation, we ate a final breakfast on Lido then made our way off the ship with the other self-assist passengers around 8:30am. This was earlier than I expected and our airport shuttle wasn’t scheduled to arrive until 10:00am, so we had to wait for a bit outside near the shuttle drop-off. Luckily it was a pretty morning so it wasn’t an issue and before we knew it, we were at FLL by 11:00am.

Now, the airport – OH. MY. GOODNESS. Maybe it’s because we were flying the Sunday before Christmas, but I have never seen an airport so crowded in my entire life (that, or because I’m from West Virginia and Charley West isn’t exactly a bustling airport). Our flight wasn’t until 1:00pm so we had enough time but it was an absolute mess. We managed though and once we got through security, our flights home were safe and incident-free. After two layovers in Charlotte and DC, we made it back to West Virginia around 10:00pm and our vacation had officially come to an end.

Some final thoughts:

In my first post, I mentioned that I wanted to do this review to show bring some positivity to the Conquest as many recent reviews are negative, complaining that she is showing her age rather badly. Although I didn’t focus much on the ship and instead highlighted our excursions, I will say that yes – she needs a paint job. And yes – some of the loungers need cleaned. And sure, her décor is a bit much at times. If you go looking for things to complain about, you will always find them. And although I did notice a few items that could benefit from an update, overall I think she is just fine and I would have no problem cruising on her again at some point.

That said, the Conquest is the only ship we have ever been on and we are ready to experience a different one. We’re cruising on the Pride out of Baltimore in May 2017 and are incredibly excited! We also have the Vista on our radar and would like to try one of the Fantasy-class ships in the future. We fell in love with Carnival on our first cruise in 2014 and are looking forward to making cruising her a regular activity in the future.

Thank you so much to everyone who read this review and commented. I’ve enjoyed sharing our trip with you and hope that if you’ll be on the Conquest soon, that you have a wonderful time as well!

FINAL SEA DAY

After four port days in a row, we were tired so we slept in a bit on our final sea day before going to get a last Sea Day Brunch. I haven’t talked much about the brunch, but I think Carnival’s Eggs Benedict is my favorite of life. Jon loved their steak and eggs too, so we were both happy with the brunch offerings. We never did brunch on our first cruise and always ate on Lido so I was happy to try it this time.

After brunch, we went up to one of the top aft decks to once again lay out, relax, read, listen to music, and just be. Unfortunately this was short-lived as the weather turned on us around 12:30pm and it was stormy the rest of our way home. However before that happened, we did enjoy a little bit of sun. I even think I got a small tan (er, darker shade of pale) on this cruise! Keep in mind that was with applying 70 SPF multiple times a day, but still. Progress.

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing a bit of packing, participating in a couple of games of trivia, getting some last-minute purchases at the Fun Shops, and so on. I typically don’t purchase many souvenirs as I like to take pictures (I have many more than what I’ve posted here) but I do like the occasional t-shirt. Instead of buying one in the Fun Shops, I paid $10 and bought the Groove for St. Jude one which I plan to tie-dye at some point (I don’t like white t-shirts because within 10 minutes of wearing them, I'll spill something -- it never fails). I was actually looking forward to participating in the Groove for St. Jude Deck Party but because of the weather, it was cancelled. At some point we ended up back in the room while I sat in the window and read and Jon packed and did whatever it is that Jon does.

Fun fact: my book was Tim Gunn's Golden Rules, which I found in the Conquest's library (I love Project Runway and Tim Gunn!). I actually loved the library space on the Conquest -- it has plush purple couches and although it was right in the atrium, it was quiet in there and I never saw anyone else. I picked up this book on our second or third day and finished it this afternoon.

You know, after typing what we did on our last sea day, I will admit that to some people, we probably sound like the most boring cruisers ever, especially for being in our (late) 20s. But keep in mind that this was our vacation and we chose to relax, be lazy, and just disconnect. It was truly what we needed after a busy few months at work (and school on top of that for me), and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

GRAND TURK: PART THREE

Our excursion was only three hours, so we were back at the cruise center around 1:00pm. We wanted some beach time (once I reapplied sunscreen, of course) so we walked down toward Jack’s Shack for some lunch and loungers. We tried the conch fritters and they were delish! Also, the beach is much nicer in this area – the beach at the ship had a lot of seaweed, so we much preferred where we were.

Unfortunately, by the time we arrived here, the weather was mostly overcast and rain was drizzling on and off. We still enjoyed or time in the water though and I definitely understand why many people say the water in Grand Turk is some of the best out there – it’s so clear and warm! We stayed on the beach for a couple of hours then ventured back to the ship and the other side of the beach area around 3:30 – 4:00pm. I was drained from being in the sun and it was also the second formal night so we wanted to take showers and be halfway decent for that. I won’t post any pictures of us this night because we wore the same thing we did on the previous formal night (well, Jon wore a different shirt but my dress was the same). Anyone else do that or are we just weird (and “ew”)?

Oh my, the hat is gone! How will anyone know who we are?

GRAND TURK: PART TWO

Eventually we kayaked our way to a beach where another guide had a kayak set up with all sorts of sea life. He identified each creature, allowed us to hold them, and we even got to eat fresh conch which tasted like lobster – I wasn’t expecting that but it was great! We then walked a little along the beach, got to catch a glimpse of the lighthouse, and then paddled our way back to base camp before making our way back to the port.

(Ignore whatever my bangs are doing in the photo below. I cannot control them.)

Let me say right now that although Grand Turk is largely known for their cruise center and free beach (at least, that’s usually what I hear about on these forums), I HIGHLY encourage you to take an excursion to another part of the island and experience it! We LOVED the kayaking excursion and it was definitely the highlight of our cruise. The water was so beautiful and we learned quite a bit about the island’s culture and history as well. I’m not saying that staying at the cruise center is bad and that you’re missing out because you’re not – it’s your vacation and you do what you want to do. But if you do ever have the desire to venture away, I definitely recommend that you do! We’re visiting Grand Turk again in 2017 on the Pride and will likely do one of their ATV excursions for a change of pace. The beach is nice, but we want to see more of the island (plus we'll be at HMC on that cruise and will get to soak up the sun all day there).

We're on our last port! Almost done :(

GRAND TURK: PART ONE

Because we were late leaving San Juan, we would be arriving an hour late in Grand Turk, putting us there from 10:00am – 6:00pm instead of our originally scheduled 9:00am – 5:00pm (I think this is correct – it may have been 8:00am, but still – general time frame). Jon and I booked the Clear Kayaking & Eco Safari excursion through Carnival and chose the 10:00am time slot so we were some of the first people off the ship (they wanted early excursions to go first, since we were arriving later than expected). Once we gathered our group, we boarded an open-air bus and made the 6-mile or so trek across the island toward the lighthouse. The ride alone was a ton of fun and we got to see wild donkeys and horses.

When we arrived at our destination, our guides gave us a brief lesson on kayaking which was needed as some people in our group had never kayaked before. Then we got in and paddled through the inlet area for about 60 minutes. Every so often, our guide would stop and have us huddle around and show us different sea life, explain the ecosystem, and provide us with interesting tidbits about the island.

SAN JUAN: PART THREE

After exploring the grounds, we decided to head back toward the ship. We wanted to visit San Cristobal if time allowed but we spent so long wandering around at el Morro that we didn’t want to be rushed and chance it. Plus, although my temporary shoe fix helped, it wasn’t foolproof and I really needed to put on flip-flops that did not rub my ankles (or perhaps, wear normal people shoes in the beginning).

On the way back to the ship, we stopped in a couple of shops and of course I had to check out the CVS to see if they carried any makeup lines vastly different than what I can get at home (I love checking out drugstores elsewhere for their variety but sadly they didn't.). We made it back on board around 1:15pm, just before we were due to be back at 1:30pm. We grabbed a quick lunch, I changed into some more comfortable shoes, and we went to the front deck on Deck 6 and waited for sail away. And waited. And waited. Eventually an announcement was made informing us that we were waiting on a final passenger and we ended up not leaving until right at 3:00pm or a little after. Because of this, we would be one hour late arriving in Grand Turk the next day but we would also be staying an hour later so it worked out. I don’t remember much of what we did the rest of the day once back on board, but I’m fairly certain a nap was in our future. Don’t judge – it’s our vacation!

Looking back, although I enjoyed visiting el Morro and experiencing some of the city, if we ever find ourselves in San Juan again, I would probably book the zip lining excursion or a tour to the rainforest. The main reason we didn’t do the former is because we’ve been zip lining before in West Virginia and I figured, “why pay for it there when it’s not really any different than what we can do at home?” However this is the one port in which I wish we had done an excursion. I’m not saying we didn’t enjoy our time in San Juan, just that I wish we would’ve seen the rainforest or ventured inland. Oh well, next time!

Here's some more pics from San Juan (and Jon’s camo hat, our identifier on this cruise that says “we’re tourists!”):

Bonus pic: we had a Yoda Towel Animal this night!

SAN JUAN: PART TWO

After about 45 minutes of roaming through the (hilly) streets, we made it to el Morro and made the long trek across the front lawn to the entrance. By the time we made it there, I was HOT. I had completely underestimated how humid it was going to be and I was very much what you may call “ew." My shoes were also rubbing the backs of my ankles something fierce, which made it hard to walk (note: don’t be me; wear legit walking shoes). Luckily I purchased some band-aids in the gift shop at el Morro and my life was back on track, for the most part.

In all seriousness though, el Morro is a massive fort and we enjoyed touring her and learning about her history. The views were gorgeous and I loved seeing the Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery, which is nuzzled in with el Morro. We should’ve ventured down and actually went on the grounds, but the architecture was still visible from above.