iheartmarshall

TRAVEL DAY AND PRE-CRUISE HOTEL

I don’t have any pictures of the travel portion, but I will say that we had a mostly uneventful trip down from CRW to FLL, with a layover in Charlotte. We flew American Airlines which was a first and although the flights were fine, in the months leading up to it, dealing with AA was a headache. I won’t go into detail but I’d rather fly Delta or even Allegiant than fly AA again. Will we? Probably, if it’s our only option (and our options are limited here). But they definitely won’t be my first choice!

We landed in FLL around 4:30pm and after getting our luggage, we called for our hotel shuttle to take us to the Rodeway Inn & Suites FLL. We waited nearly 30 minutes for it to arrive but once en route, we arrived at the hotel by 6:00pm and were basically settled for the night. I would never have picked this hotel based on previous horrid experiences at Rodeway Inns, but after reading lovetocruise’s review of it last year I figured it was a safe bet and it was! The hotel was no frills but we enjoyed it. It was clean, had that Floridian charm, and it had a decent (albeit crowded) free breakfast. For dinner, we ate at the attached restaurant (Marina 84, I think?) and it was so-so. Not the best, but it was convenient, the prices were right, and the food was decent.

 

Overall, the hotel was an affordable clean place to spend the night and we had no issues. What blew me away about it though is how organized they were in the morning. This is definitely a hotel that caters to cruisers! There were SO many people heading to Port Everglades and they had at least 4 shuttles running and were organizing us by ships. If my memory serves me correctly, we were on the 10:30am shuttle (it’s free if you do this time; earlier or later costs extra) and were at the port by 11:00am. Easy peasy!

 

 

(Did I just say that?)

Hi everyone and welcome to my (better late than never) review of the Carnival Conquest! In this section of the internet, I’ll detail my experience aboard the Conquest for her December 12, 2015 cruise to St. Martin, St. Kitts, San Juan, and Grand Turk. I hadn’t planned on doing a review but since there seems to be some negative feedback regarding her recently, I thought I’d throw out some positive vibes. The Conquest has a special place in my heart as she’s the only ship I’ve ever been on – twice, actually. I don’t have anything to compare her to yet but my opinion of her is good and I’d thought it’d be nice to show her some love on the boards.

Before we dive in, here’s some things you might want to know:

My name is Sara (28) and I went on this cruise with my DH Jon (29). We’re both from West Virginia (as in the state, not the western part of Virginia) and have traveled our state extensively, but we are still fairly new to traveling beyond US soil. I work full-time as a coordinator of an afterschool program and Jon is in management at a local grocery store. I’m also a full-time grad student at Marshall (hence my name on here… Go Herd!) and am working on my second master’s degree. Because I’m paying out of pocket for school, we don’t have a ton of disposable income to spend on vacations which is one reason why cruising appeals to us – we book at least a year out and are able to make monthly payments and save for spending money. Hopefully once I’m out of school this situation will change, but we’re happy with where we are and that’s all that matters :)

This was our second time cruising and our second time on the Conquest (we didn’t plan it – it just happened to work out that way when looking at itineraries). As for our cruising style, we’re fairly low key and laid-back so the party scene on Carnival isn't our thing. However we still enjoy cruising Carnival as they offer something for everyone. I love that even though you’re on a ship with nearly 3,000 people, every person is having a completely different experience – it makes it interesting and I love that thought of cruising.

THE PORTS:

We’re quickly realizing that we cruise for the ports, not the ship, so all these ports were new to us. We enjoyed our time in each and tried to make the most of our visit by booking excursions:

St. Martin: “Fun Day” Tour with Jo Junie’s

St. Kitts: Carnival’s St. Kitts Highlights & Brimstone Hill Fortress

San Juan: DIY City Tour & visit to el Morro

Grand Turk: Carnival’s Clear Kayaking & Eco Safari

Other items to note:

 

• I don’t have any food pictures, as there’s plenty floating around. I can say that overall we enjoyed the dining options on the Conquest and never once went hungry. We only ate in the MDR four of our eight nights and ate on Lido the other nights, but every night the food was just fine. The only thing that did make me sad was the iced tea – I had one drink of it during lunch the first day and NOPE. The rest of the time it was water and lemonade, which worked fine.
  
• Similarly, I don’t have many pictures of the ship as, once again, there’s plenty floating around. The first time we were on the Conquest in 2014 I took several pictures but since it was our second time on her, I didn’t go snap happy.
  
• I don’t have the Funtimes but I believe that some of the more recent Conquest reviews on here have them.
  

For those of you who don’t like long reviews and just want the basics, my thoughts are pretty simple: we had a blast and loved our cruise! We had minimal complaints, thought the ship was overall in good condition, and the staff was fantastic. We were two happy cruisers!

Now for those who DO like picture reviews – here we go!

Oh hey, look – there’s us! (And Jon in his camo hat. Totally fits in the Caribbean, amiright?)

Excited to read the rest of your review! I'm going to the Pride next year and can't wait.

I am speaking here, one West Virginian to another. I would never steer a neighbor wrong, so trust me when I say "DO NOT TAKE THE PRIDE" go with the Vista. I work in Maryland, and many of my co-workers have sailed the Pride because they either didn't want to pay for airfare, or hate flying. Based on their comments I personally would not choose the Pride.

 

Drive to BWI and take Southwest to FLL and the shuttle to MIA. Long term parking isn't that expensive at BWI, and the shuttle bus to the terminal is free & easy. Southwest doesn't book seats ahead of time, it's open seating, BUT they will not make your kids sit alone. At least one parent can sit with the kids. Southwest also doesn't charge for the first checked bad, nor for 1-carryone each. I have found airfare R/T from BWI to FLL for as little as $145 pp.

 

You said you like the ports better on the Vista and they are way better (And this is coming from someone that actually likes Nassau). The Pride trip is longer, because you need more sea days to get to Florida and the Bahamas. It can be cooler those first few days out and back.

 

I understand about being concerned about the cost, and that is a valid concern, but would you rather pay a lot of money for a nice vacation, or pay a little extra and have a great vacation?

 

Thank you for your thoughts, especially from a fellow West Virginian! We already booked the Pride earlier today and so I updated this thread as others mentioned they wanted to know which one we ended up choosing. Choosing the Pride over the Vista was not something we took lightly and we budgeted everything out -- cost of driving to Baltimore versus driving to Miami, flying out of Columbus/Pittsburgh/Cincy/Charlotte (we're in southern WV so about 7 hours from Baltimore), hotel costs, parking at the port, etc. In the end, we decided the Pride was the best choice for us at this time. A lot of that decision has to do with money as I'm in graduate school and am paying for it myself, so spending an extra $1,000 - $1,500 on vacation can impact us. We still want to go on the Vista and will probably save up for that in 2018 once I graduate and we have some extra disposable income to spend.

 

This was SUCH a hard decision to make, though! It was definitely a battle of the heart vs. the mind. I do know that we will enjoy the Pride though and I am excited to see what excursions are offered -- we can always find something to do! And hey, we'll be on a cruise so what's not to love? :)

I love the pride and would do that one but if you want to try the vista have you thought about driving a little further to a different airport? Not sure where you live but could you drive to a hub airport that would make the flight cheaper?

 

We looked into that and even considered taking two days and driving to Miami. We've done the drive to St. Augustine before (12 hours) but after weighing all our options and the cost/time involved, we decided the Pride is the best decision for us at this time. The Vista is still on our list (as is a cruise to Alaska) but we'll wait 2 or 3 years for those. I'm sure they'll be worth it!

 

In the meantime, we're excited to cruise on the Pride and are happy with our decision. :)

Some of you asked for an update when I first posted this thread, so I thought I'd let you know we ended up booking the Pride today! YAY! (also, yay for 50% deposits)

 

Again, thank you everyone for your feedback. We're excited to cruise on the Pride and actually drive to port for once, but know that we'll be on the Vista in the future as well. Maybe I'll see y'all on board :)

I've never been on the Freedom but our first cruise on the Conquest, I was basically a ship hermit haha. We didn't participate in the shows or bar activities but DH and I still had a wonderful relaxing time. I read on my balcony or in public spaces during the sea days and evenings and ended up finishing 4 books during the week (I'm a grad student so it was nice to read what I* wanted to and not what was required for a change). I also enjoyed playing trivia and even though I didn't win a single game, it was fun to test my knowledge and see what random things I knew.

 

In addition to reading and trivia, DH and I played mini golf, attended some of the seminars/specialty talks, got exercise by walking around the ship and exploring, and hung out outside with our ipods and enjoyed the atmosphere. For some, it may sound boring but it was a really chill cruise which is a welcome change of pace for us.

 

I have no doubt that your DH will find something he enjoys and I wish you all the best cruise!

 

PS - I fell in love with the library on the Conquest. It has oversized plush purple couches and plenty of nooks where you can go and basically disappear into whatever book you're reading. I often saw people in there playing card and board games too, which looked like fun.

I am sorry you experienced some "ehh" spots but am also glad you had a good time on your cruise. We just went on the Conquest a second time in December and had a wonderful time. It's the only ship we've been on so at this point we're ready for a change, but she'll always have a soft spot with me.

I'm proud of you. You have made a very responsible choice!!!! There is always tomorrow and you might not get that chance on the Pride in the near future. The Spirit class ships are ones you don't want to miss. Being on a budget all of my life I understand your position. Not going over your head ($) will save lots of frustration when you return and have a bigger debt than you feel comfortable with.

I think you will LOVE Half Moon Cay.....EVERYBODY does and sounds like you have fun planed for Freeport. Personally I LOVED Grand Turk swimming with the beautiful fish that would swim by, but then I'm a beach person. They also have a beautiful pool area and Margarittaville.

I just wish we had a drivable port to cruise out of. I hate

wasting fours days on the road.

Be sure to write a review when you come back w/pictures and let us know what a WONDERFUL time you had!!!!!

 

I agree with everything you said! We did the $3,500ish route this past December so I know that we could do it, just realistically not in the next couple of years. Part of it is because this semester, I started taking grad classes at night while working on a second masters so that is a ton of money out of pocket at the same time. I think the Vista would be such an amazing cruise but maybe in 3 or 4 years when we have more disposable income and the hype dies down a bit. I feel very much like an adult right now, haha!

 

On a side note, we were in Grand Turk in December and did a kayaking and ecotour excursion then spent a couple of hours down near Jack's Shack (thanks CC!). It was absolutely beautiful and we enjoyed ourselves but when we go back I think we'll do one of the ATV tours or perhaps the zip lining and challenge course at the lighthouse. We've zip lined here in WV and had so much fun so I think doing it with the Caribbean in the background would add to it. So far we've been able to find something to do in every port so even if it is just a beach day like at HMC, I will bathe myself in 100+ SPF every hour and enjoy the scenery :)

How about a drive to an airport with better options? Southwest usually has some pretty good prices into FLL, especially if you manage to catch a good seat sale. $99.00 or lower per person each way is not uncommon, but can almost always pick up one for under 200.00 pp each way with their Wanna Get Away fares.

 

We could try that. Pittsburgh is 4 hours away, Columbus and Cincinnati are 3 and 4, respectively. Aside from Spirit which does summer routes, CRW only has Delta, United, and American Airlines to choose from. We've flown all three previously and prefer Delta but we hate the times/layovers on the connecting flights in ATL or CLT for AA. It doesn't keep us from flying but I think that driving somewhere sounds better and better haha. The next closest airport to us is HTS where Allegiant flies direct to Florida throughout the summer but they only fly certain days so I'm not sure if it'd match up. We do like Allegiant though and would much rather do a 2-hour direct flight to Florida than an 8-hour airport ordeal with connections.

 

It's waaayyyy too early to look at airfare though so if we did book the Vista, it'd be a gamble no matter what route or airport we did. Decisions.

Thank you for the replies, everyone! It's too much to do individual replies so here's my collective thoughts:

 

1. My bad on saying the Pride is an 8-day when it's really a 7-day. I swear I thought it was an 8-day while browsing the website earlier today. Maybe I just looked at too many options! Still though, the price is cheaper and it's one extra day.

 

2. We prefer adventure excursions over beach time which is why the Vista ports appeal to us a wee bit more -- more options in that category (i.e., cenote swim, river tubing, etc.). Plus we'd like to try out the new ship features, especially that thing you ride around the top deck (what is it called?!). On the other hand, the Pride has more beach ports which would cost less. Strangely, Freeport actually excites me as they have a kayaking excursion that looks fun. I'd love to go to HMC too; it looks so beautiful in pictures.

 

3. We've been to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Grand Turk so Vista would provide us one new port and Pride would give us two.

 

4. The reality is, as much as we want to go on the Vista, it's just too much money. In the past, we've booked and then made equal monthly payments until the due date. Going by that, it'd still be a stretch for Vista. Time to be a responsible adult, I guess.

 

5. Also, I'm happy to see a lot of love for the Pride! I must admit, I'm intrigued by her layout because it's unlike any of the other Carnival ships I've researched. We've been on the Conquest twice and I am ready for something completely different.

 

I guess that although the Vista is something we want to do, we'll probably go with the Pride for 2017 and save up for the Vista later. We've really loved cruising so far so I know whatever we pick, we'll enjoy. Thank you all SO much for your responses! I appreciate it :)

I'd lean toward the Pride here. Not only is it far cheaper, it is also longer. Let's put it this way: It's about $287 a day versus $583 a day for your party. So are you going to like the Vista twice as much as the Pride?

 

Good point! And like a PP said, the Vista isn't going anywhere so if not this year, then the future.

Can you make the drive to Miami? maybe just another day off to get down there. Or what about a compromise and grab something out of Charleston (drivable), Jax (drivable) or PC (3 hours closer than Miami and lots of choices for good ports (Magic there later this year and several other ships including Sunshine and Valor which is getting upgraded next month I think).

 

I personally would not pop for flights (and all the luggage restrictions etc) and the $1300 difference. We would drive to one of the drivable ports and get a balcony and still come out less :rolleyes:, you will eventually get to the Vista but remember a cruise is over in 7 or 8 days and then the common sense will really kick in. Good Luck!

 

We could drive to Miami, but it would take two days and DH has limited annual leave to take (I have oodles). Jacksonville is 12 hours away from us so it's the farthest we will go to drive (been there before, but not for a cruise). I've looked at cruises at other ports and this is what we've narrowed it down to.... the Pride because we've had friends who have sailed on it with good experiences and we'd like one of the 4K cabins (silly reason, but there it is). And of course the Vista because of the ship and itinerary. For whatever reason, nothing else appeals to us right now. Who knows why?

 

I'm just worried about the cost. Every time we've flown to Florida it costs around $1,000 - $,1200 for round trip tickets so although I don't know what it would really be, that's what I'm basing my estimate on (smaller airport, less options). My brain says go for the Pride but my irrational side says spend all the money and go on the Vista. They're at war :)

I need someone to talk some sense into me.

 

Currently planning a cruise in May 2017 and we've narrowed it down between the Pride out of Baltimore or the Vista out of Miami. While technically the Vista is cheaper for the cabin, once we factor in flights, hotel, excursions, etc., we're looking at $1,300ish more than the Pride. Seems like the Pride would be the clear winner, right? But that's not how life works. Both DH and I would love to cruise on the Vista and the ports of call are way more interesting to us (better excursions in our opinion). But we are on a budget and can only afford so much, which is part of the reason we book way in advance and make payments. We'd be happy with either and want to try the Pride but the Vista is so tempting. What to do, what to do?!

 

Pride out of Baltimore

Cost: $2,300 (cruise fare + hotel + parking + excursions)

Ports: Grand Turk, HMC, Freeport (8 days; 3 sea days, 3 port days)

Pros: Less expensive, drive-able port, can get a 4K (we want to try one!)

Cons: Not as excited about the ports/excursion options (we're not the best beach people).

 

Vista out of Miami

Cost: $3,500 (cruise fare + flights + hotel + excursions)

Ports: Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios (6 days; 2 sea days, 3 port days)

Pros: IT'S THE VISTA, better excursion options

Cons: Expensive, poor flight offerings (always happens when flying out of our airport, ugh).... that's it. The cost is the big factor.

 

 

So again... someone please talk some sense into me and tell me I should book the Pride over the Vista, before I actually book the Vista.

I've been looking at Pride sailings for May/June 2017 (I know, I know -- I'm a bit early) and it's around $2,100 for two people for the room/date combo we want. I thought that was incredibly overpriced considering our almost-Christmas cruise on the Conquest only cost $1,200 but when I consider what we paid to fly down and what not.... the Pride is the same, if not a couple hundred cheaper (we live in WV so Baltimore is our closest port at 6 hours away).

 

I guess that's just what we have to deal with as the demand increases. It also makes me justify booking so early in advance, as it gives us longer to make payments. In the end it'll work out for us when comparing travel costs to other ports but the Pride did give me sticker shock when I first looked. :eek:

I did the 8-day Eastern sailing on her earlier this month and had a wonderful experience! Granted, she's the only ship I've ever been on (my first cruise was also on her in 2014) so I don't have anything to compare her to, but I had no issues. I thought the amount of on-board amenities (Guy's, Blue Iguana, etc.) was good and there was always something to do or somewhere to go. The staff was also incredibly nice and there when you needed something.

 

The only downsides I could potentially see is that she doesn't have a Serenity area (but we never had a problem finding lounge chairs) and she does show her age if you look for it (we don't; everything was clean and in tact so I was fine). Also, because of her layout, you cannot walk from one end of the ship to the other on decks 3 and 4 so you either have to go up to 5 or down to 2 (not a big deal at all). Some may also say her decor is over the top and while it is a bit out there, it was festive and I was fine with it. Taste is subjective, after all.

 

Overall, I've enjoyed cruising on her and would do so again if I wasn't so eager to try new ships. I hope you enjoy her!

After reading all the responses, it seems like the OP will just use the BC and any associated documents. But, I still wanted to add that you can pay an extra fee to get a passport expedited. I did this in 2011, as I needed one in 3 weeks. I paid an extra $60 or so and received it in 2 weeks. The cost was just over $200 for everything but worth it at the time. And of course, now I have my passport so I cruise with that. Unfortunately though, it has my maiden name on it and I don't want to pay to get a new one so I cruise in my maiden name. It all works out in the end :)

Thanks for the review! i loved reading it all. DH and I are looking to cruise on the Pride in June 2017 (we have some time, lol) and I always enjoy reading reviews. It's a bit pricier to cruise on her than our previous ships, but it's only 6 hours away from our house so it'd be nice to drive and not have to fly. That right there outweighs the higher price for me!

This was a good question, as I was wondering what other people did.:) It looks like it is from one - two months, to almost 2 years.

 

I have a question in regard to booking a long time out, or just a couple months out.

 

Do you think you get a better deal, price wise (not room/deck) by booking it many months out?

 

We've only been on two cruises, both booked a year out, and the deals were 50/50. On our first cruise, we got a GREAT deal and through price drops, went from an inside cabin to a balcony for the same cost plus OBC. However on our most recent cruise earlier this month, we booked and the price just kept going up and up and up.

 

As I mentioned in my previous post, for us we almost have to book early to afford it. DH and I need a year or so to be able to make payments, purchase flights, purchase excursions, etc. We love cruising and it is a fairly low-cost option once you consider the alternatives, but we still need that time to pay on it. So, it's not so much about the deals but what is best for our budget.

We book about a year out, as it works best for our budget. Cruising is a fairly affordable vacation but we still need time to make those payments :)

More, more!

I just went through this today after noticing that my tour is booked in local time, not ship time. I sent an email to the tour company and went on and on about how if our tour is 9:30am local time, that's really 8:30am ship time and we won't be docked yet and can we change it to 10:30am local time (9:30am ship time) and on and on and on. They replied and told me to pay attention to ship time; if we dock at 9:00am ship time, our tour will start at 9:30am. So, I guess they have it figured out with the ships. We leave from FLL and I was wondering if maybe we will be setting our clocks forward an hour to where it matches up with local time? I honestly don't know, but the tour company told me not to fret and to just meet with them at 9:30am, once the ship docks.

 

Reading that will probably just confuse someone, but I'm going to do what they said and hope that all goes well haha

Enjoying your review! I'm cruising next month and really enjoyed your excursion review in Grand Turk. We're getting outside the port area too and it's nice to see what the rest of the island looks like.

On another note, how was your experience flying AA out of CRW? We're flying out of Charleston too, only to Fort Lauderdale. I haven't flown AA yet and keep hearing negative things. I'm a Delta girl at heart so I'm iffy. But, if AA will get me to my cruise and back, then I can't really complain!

Very excited for your review! I'll be on the Conquest in December and can't wait. Already sailed her once and I'm looking forward to sailing on her a second time.

Enjoying your review so far! DH and I were booked on the Fascination back in September, but changed it a few months back for a Christmas cruise on the Conquest. I'd really like to sail out of the Jacksonville port though -- it's 12 hours away, but we love the area so it's one port I don't mind driving to.