Review: Conquest Western Caribbean May 22-29, 2011

[kittyness]

My husband and I sailed on the Conquest this past week out of Galveston. It was our first time cruising and we're hooked! In fact, we've already put a deposit down on our next one!

 

I started reading CruiseCritic in January just after booking the cruise and I've learned so much. I'm so glad I found this site!

 

I'm going to write a review here and I hope you enjoy it. I took over 400 pictures so it may take me a while to sort through them all and finish this review. Let's get started!

 

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Embarkation: Sunday, May 22

We live in Houston so we planned to drive into Galveston this morning. We woke up about 6:30 AM and got ready to leave. There are always some last minute toiletries that have to be packed and I had to confirm everything on my packing list. (Thanks to everyone who posted packing lists!) We pulled out of the driveway at 7:55 AM. My husband and I love to eat and like to find new places to try whenever we travel so we decided to eat breakfast at Jimmy's Egg on Bay Area Boulevard near NASA. It was pretty good but very similar to other places like Egg & I, Le Peep, etc.

 

We arrived at our reserved parking space at exactly 10:00 AM. We used Galveston Park N Cruise on Harborside. I highly recommend it. It's literally across the street from the terminal. We got an inside parking spot for $62, which I thought was very reasonable. We were ushered into a parking spot inside a warehouse building. It was extremely secure with a large metal door and a tall fence. A worker brought a golf cart around and picked us up along with our luggage. He took us as close to the terminal as he could. This was the edge of the street (golf carts aren't street legal). We did have to cross the street with our luggage but we had no issues. I will definitely use them again.

 

We dropped off our luggage and entered the terminal at 10:17 AM. We were through security at 10:50 AM. By 11:00 AM, we were checked in with Sail & Sign cards in hand! That was a breeze! And then we waited...and waited...and waited. The scheduled start time for boarding was 11:30 AM. At 11:45, a Carnival rep made an announcement that there was a problem with one of the weddings. The groom hadn't showed up yet. I don't know if that is the real reason but it's the only one that was given. They did hand out free bottles of water during the wait and I thought that was nice.

 

We finally started boarding around 12:45 PM. At 1:12 PM, I had a steaming bowl of delicious Mongolian stir fry on my table on the Lido deck so I was happy!

 

We were told that our room would be ready at 1:30 PM. At 1:40, we decided to check out the room. Nothing was roped off so we assumed it was OK to go in. It appeared that everything was in order and our bags were there so we started unpacking. About half way through the second bag, the room steward came in and told us the room wasn't ready. Oops. He told us as long as we were happy with it, it was OK. I apologized profusely and explained that it was our first cruise so we didn't realize we weren't supposed to go to the room yet. He was very understanding.

 

Since it was our first time cruising and we didn't know if we would like it, we opted for the cheap route and reserved an IS room. We ended up in 2204, which is as far forward as you can possibly get. Hahahaha It was small but sufficient.We had more than enough storage with 2 full closets and 1 closet of shelves. I surprised my husband by ordering the Happy Anniversary decorations from Bon Voyage. We both loved them.

 

View when opening the door:

 

Decorations:

 

Shower & toilet:

 

Sink & counter:

 

More to come...

[tok3]

Great pics! We will be taking this cruise in Aug :D so excited to hear the rest of your review!

[KenMo]

Now that you know you like cruising, did you spring for a balcony on the next one? lol

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review!!

[boaterette]

Very nice. Keep it coming.

[kittyness]

(continuation of Embarkation Day)

 

Safety Muster was at 3:40 PM. I really didn't enjoy this. We tried to be one of the last people there so we could be in the front and leave first but we were so very wrong. We were one of the first! We were put in a small indentation that I referred to as "the closet". Then 2 very tall men were situated in front of us so we couldn't see or hear anything. We were released about 35 minutes later.

 

We sailed away at 4:30 PM while we ate pizza and enjoyed the DOD. We walked around the ship to get used to the layout and explore. We had Anytime Dining so we were in no rush.

 

We got hungry around 7:00 PM and decided to eat in the MDR. I had cream of tomato soup, mahi mahi with grilled veggies, and warm chocolate melting cake. The mahi was surprisingly bland and dry but everything else I had was delicious. My husband had a salad, flat iron steak with macaroni and cheese and peas, and creme brulee. All of his dishes were delicious.

 

At 10:00, we watched the Welcome Aboard show and enjoyed it. It really set the tone for the cruise. Our CD was Paul Stanley and he had a ton of energy. Hubby wanted to take advantage of the 24-hour pizza so we had another piece before returning to our room around 11:30 PM.

 

Look who was waiting for us:

 

More to come...

[kittyness]

Sea Day 1, May 23

We woke up around 7:15 AM and got dressed. I realized I left my eyelash curler at home so I was a little bummed about that. I'm a true Texan girl and wear a fair amount of make-up everyday.I felt kind of naked without it but hey, what are you going to do? It wasn't going to stop my vacation from being GREAT!

 

We ate breakfast (read: gorged ourselves) from the buffet on the Lido. There were no Bacon Police sightings this morning. We spent the morning exploring and peeking in on various activities.

 

 

 

At 11:45 AM, we decided to eat lunch in the MDR. I ordered the Caribbean Pepper Pot and Baguette with Shrimp. Both were delicious but nothing like I expected. The Pepper Pot was a soup. It was almost a potato soup-type base with okra and sweet peppers mixed in. It wasn't spicy at all. I really enjoyed it. The baguette was a sandwich. Period. It was a yummy sandwich but a sandwich nonetheless. Hubby ordered the sushi appetizer and spaghetti dish. We both love sushi and knew what to expect. Our tablemates apparently did not. One woman ordered it but refused to eat it when it arrived. Her husband ate one piece and gagged and looked like he was having to work really hard not to puke on the table. To each his own...

 

As I mentioned earlier, my husband made it crystal clear that he intended on eating as much as he could on this cruise. I think the free unlimited food bullet point is what sold him on cruising. I didn't care as long as I got to go on a cruise. Ha! Anyway, we hit up the Lido buffet at 12:30 PM. Yes, that's only 45 minutes after sitting down in the MDR for lunch. I could only manage to eat some pumpkin cake while he filled a plate with all sorts of food.

 

At 1:30 PM, we found a nice spot on the Promenade deck near the windows and read our books. I bought an iced mocha from the Cafe Fans coffee shop. It wasn't the best one I've ever had but it was decent. I think the girl was new so that probably explains it.

 

By 2:30, I needed a nap. All that eating will do that to you. I didn't mean to sleep until 4:00 but I did. We got dressed for elegant night and hit up the MDR around 6:00 PM. We had to wait about 10 minutes for a table. This was the only time we had to wait for a table for any meal. I had pumpkin soup and lobster & shrimp. Both were delicious. (I should find another word for delicious; I'll be using it a lot.) Hubby had stuffed mushrooms and the lobster & shrimp. You guessed it, delicious.

 

Around 8:00, we took some pictures. We then changed clothes and headed to the sports bar (Gaugin's) to watch the Mavs game. The hubs is a big fan. The game went into overtime so we didn't get out of there until about 11:15. Then it was time for pizza. And a burger and a hot dog.

 

This was our friend for the evening:

 

More to come...

[kittyness]

Now that you know you like cruising, did you spring for a balcony on the next one? lol

 

Yep! hahahaha We sure did!

[kittyness]

Sea Day 2, May 24

I got up around 8:00 AM and went to the gym. It was pretty busy. I got on one of the elliptical machines. It was a lot more sophisticated than the one I have at home. I somehow got it set for a program that was pretty challenging. I was between two people that were pedaling along just fine so I tried to play it off like I knew exactly what I was doing. It helped that I avoided eye contact with anyone. The view is amazing from up there. I could really get motivated to work out more if I had that at home.

 

I went back to the room and poked my husband awake. We got into our bathing suits and headed to the Lido for breakfast at around 9:30. Still no Bacon Police sightings. We laid out on the 10th deck in the lounger chairs. We listened to our MP3 players and read our books. It was a nice, relaxing morning.

 

We got hungry at 12:30 PM and headed over to Fish & Chips (aka Sur Mer). I had bouillabaisse and fried oysters. Yummy. Hubby had fried fish. Equally yummy. We also ate a few bites from the buffet, including an out of this world banana dessert.

 

We changed into some real clothes and found a spot in the Lobby for Name That Tune at 2:30 PM. Maria ran the game and she is brutal! She must not have been very fun to play with as a child. There is absolutely no gray area with her. So much as one letter off on the song title or artist name and you got NO POINTS! She went so fast, you didn't have time to write down your answer before she played the next song snippet. It was fun, I guess. If she had been a little more relaxed, it would have been really fun. She also berated us for not knowing some song and artist from the Philippines. She was only joking, though. I probably won't play that again if she's hosting it. She's nice and all but I think she forgot we're on vacation.

 

At 5:00 PM we waltzed by the sushi counter for a snack. I was disappointed by the sushi. There were only 3 kinds to choose from and none were the traditional and popular nigiri style (rice block with a slice of fish on top). The roll with salmon and cream cheese was good both the other two weren't. One had tuna ground with some kind of spice and sesame seeds and it had no taste. The other was a roll with an unidentified cooked fish in it. It wasn't bad per se but not very good either. We didn't go back. If you've never tried sushi, please don't base your opinion of it on this. Rather, go to a good Japanese restaurant.

 

We had 6:30 PM reservations at The Pointe so we got dressed and headed up there. I had lobster bisque, Chef's special ribeye steak, mashed potatoes with horseradish, and cheesecake. The lobster bisque was one of the best things I've ever eaten. Lobster bisque is one of my favorite dishes of all time and this one was top-notch. I could have skipped the steak and eaten a vat of the bisque and been equally as happy. My husband had tuna tartare, surf & turf, creamed spinach, and the chocolate sampler. His steak was cooked and seasoned perfectly and practically melted on the plate. I've heard mixed reviews of The Pointe and don't understand why. We loved it.

 

At 9:45 PM, we ventured over to the Punchliner for a comedy show. We saw Cowboy Bill Martin. He was hilarious! We watched 2 other comedians later in the cruise and he was the funniest of all. We were pretty pooped after this so we went to sleep.

 

I only took photos of the water and ship today so I'll just post our towel animal:

 

More to come... (tomorrow)

[TheGirlNextDoor]

We were on the Conquest last September and ate at the Pointe. I absolutely loved it. It was the most delicious steak ever and it literally melted in my mouth. Your review makes me want to take a cruise on Conquest just for that again. LOL!

[douglinc@msn.com]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise, now we are enjoying your pictures.

[dapaddo]

We will be on this same cruise in Oct. Lovin' your reveiw! We just got off the Glory her sister ship.

[smwc71alum]

We will be on this same cruise in Oct. Lovin' your reveiw! We just got off the Glory her sister ship.

 

On the Conquest last November..so enjoyed The Point..sailing again this coming October have reservations for the Chefs Table, can't wait to have this experience.

[kittyness]

Montego Bay, Jamaica, May 25

We woke up about 7:15 AM and got dressed and packed. We headed to the Lido for breakfast around 8:00 and discovered that everyone else on the ship had decided to do the exact same thing. The lines were really long. The Bacon Police were on patrol this morning and I can see why.

 

We had reservations for the Chukka Canopy Tour through Carnival. The tickets said the tour started at 9:30 AM. At 9:00, we made our way to deck 0 to get in line. Holy congestion, Batman! The "line" filled deck 0, the stairs all the way up to deck 5, and all the hallways in between. I was getting really worried that we were NOT going to get off the ship in time for the excursion. As we stood waiting, several rude cruisers pushed passed saying they had an excursion. Hello, so did we. Apparently they are more important than we are. *Insert sarcastic eye roll here.* The line suddenly opened up and we were off the ship at 9:25 AM. Once inside the terminal, there were clearly marked signs for each excursion so it was very easy to figure out where we needed to go.

 

Once everyone with reservations was present, we got onto an air conditioned bus. Rodney was our driver and he was a great tour guide. We drove out of Montego Bay and into the hills for about 25 minutes. We drove through some poor areas to get to the tour.

 

 

 

 

We turned off the paved road onto a dirt road that cut through a citrus grove.

 

 

More to come... (only 6 pictures per post)

[kittyness]

(Montego Bay continued)

 

 

We finally arrived at the tour and got suited up.

 

 

 

First, you hike. Then you hike some more. Then you get on a "bus". I use that term loosely. I thought I might bounce out. Then we hiked some more. We ended up in the trees, literally.

 

 

 

 

 

More to come...

[kittyness]

(Montego Bay continued)

 

 

The first line is pretty short and slow to get you used to the equipment and feeling. I'm petrified of heights but I really wanted to do this. The guides were very patient with me. I hesitated at almost every line because I was really scared. hahahaha That being said, I always felt very safe. You are always hooked to a safety line (except for when hiking). If you were to lose your balance on the platform, you would not fall off. If your equipment failed during the zipline, you would not fall off. This was very reassuring to me.

 

 

 

 

Video #1

 

Video #2

 

Video #3

 

Video #4

 

 

When it was all over, we took a group photo.

 

 

More to come...

[kittyness]

(Montego Bay continued)

 

 

I got some jerk chicken and festival bread from the on-site jerk shack. I also got some Wata water. All this was $9.

 

 

 

There was also a gift shop. There are photographers that take pictures throughout the excursion. You can buy digital photos on CD. There are several packages. We chose 7 pictures for $25.

 

More to come...

[firefly333]

I am really enjoying your review .. no one likes the safety briefing!!! hahahaha. I used to feel just as naked without my eyelash curler. Loving your pictures.

[kittyness]

(Montego Bay, continued)

 

Rodney came to pick us up and take us back to the port at 1:30 PM. In my research of excursions and the sailing in general, I thought we would need to be back on the ship at 2:30 PM. It turned out that we didn't have to be back on the ship until 5:30 PM, meaning we had 4 hours to kill. Rodney said he could take us to downtown Montego Bay (tourist area) for $5 per person. Several of us decided to do that.

 

Rodney recommended the Pork Pit for food. For $8, Hubby got jerk chicken, bean & rice, and a Coke. The sauce was fabulous. It was a sweet red sauce with flavors of ginger, cloves, and allspice. It was a better deal and flavor than the jerk shack at the excursion.

 

 

 

 

More to come...

[kittyness]

After the Pork Pit, we walked toward Margaritaville.

 

 

 

 

The beaches are beautiful. We didn't bring our suits so we didn't enter the beach area. I took a few shots from the street.

 

 

The tourist shops begin at Margaritaville and stretch for a half mile or so. We checked out a few. The first ones were three times as expensive as the shops just 3 or 4 shops down. That being said, I did not feel comfortable walking down the street! Every shop has someone trying to get you to come in. Some literally pull your arm. Some don't take a polite "no" for an answer. My husband was offered marijuana four times, including one time from a moving vehicle! People followed us as we walked trying to sell us their homemade jewelry or hair braiding services. I felt really uncomfortable. We decided to go back to the ship early.

 

Overall, I loved the zipline excursion but didn't like downtown Montego Bay. I would certainly go back to Jamaica but would stay on an excursion and shop only at the secure port area.

 

More to come...

[douglinc@msn.com]

I am not too fond of Jamacia either. People are much too pushy.

 

Doug

[KenMo]

...That being said, I did not feel comfortable walking down the street! Every shop has someone trying to get you to come in. Some literally pull your arm. Some don't take a polite "no" for an answer. My husband was offered marijuana four times, including one time from a moving vehicle! People followed us as we walked trying to sell us their homemade jewelry or hair braiding services. I felt really uncomfortable. We decided to go back to the ship early.

 

Welcome to Jamaica!!!

[firefly333]

I am not too fond of Jamacia either. People are much too pushy.

 

Doug

 

maybe because I dont go to the tourist area they leave me pretty much alone. Iv had people trying to sell me junks, never offered weed, maybe I look too old? I never have had a problem in Jamaica and walked into town in Montego Bay twice by myself.. but hang out in the local areas, the local eateries and the local drug store and get online etc.

[Echo Queen]

Loving your review, will be living it soon.:)

[kittyness]

(Montego Bay continued)

 

Back on board, we watched a band play and admired the scenery.

 

 

 

We also hit up the pizza station. Surprising, I know.

 

We changed clothes for dinner in the MDR at 6:00 PM. I had tom ka gai (chicken, coconut, and lemongrass soup), seafood Newberg, and bitter and blanc. The bitter and blanc was probably my favorite dessert. My apologies to the warm chocolate melting cake fans. Hubby had the same main course with potato soup and tiramisu. Both were great.

 

At 7:00 PM, we watched the magic show by Lady Hellevi. That was the best show of the cruise. It started a little slow with tricks like interconnected metal rings but quickly got into amazing feats like climbing into a box on stage and showing up in the balcony.

 

 

We were pretty tired from the day's activities so we went to sleep pretty early. This was the towel animal that greeted us.

 

[Meyer2]

Wonderful review & Pictures so far! Hubby & I love the Conquest. :) We took our 1st cruise on Her back in October, same iten. & had a blast. I'm loving that you both did the zip line. We've been talking about it for our cruise on the Magic in December since we will be celebrating our 15th Anniversary. (We honeymooned in Jamaica, so kind of want to do something big & exciting.) I'm nervous too for heights, so glad to hear that were understanding & you felt safe with it. I see your next cruise is on the Magic, exotic iten. Hope to see a review from you on that one too. We are doing that same iten. next summer (Aug 2012) with the kids for their 1st cruise.

 

I look forward to the remainder of your review. Thanks for sharing.