Short Review of Conquest 9/9/12- 9/16/12

[kyrisong1]

Hi everyone. Just back from NOLA for our Conquest cruise. Just doing a short review, and trying to make it very fair and balanced.

Precruise: We stayed at The W on Poydras, really did NOT like this hotel. The rooms were clean and staff fine, but the rooms (for the price) were put together cheap and weird. Shower pipes shook around because they were not anchored to wall, when you plugged in anything the sockets were not anchored to wall and you had that loose, shaky sockets.

Water was NEVER cold and it was hard to find cool enough water to shower. We suggest NOT staying at The W!!!!

A big Pro to this hotel is that Mothers was right across the street, this place ROCKED, food was delicious, best Po' boy ever, shrimp was hot, crispy and delicious!!! Breakfast here was also outstanding, ohhhhhhhhh those pancakes!!!

Too far from most things as hot as it was, it was a chore to walk 6 or 8 long blocks to the quarter, if it was a different time of year it would have been fine, just too hot and humid for us Nebraska folks!!

 

Embarkation: The street to the port is chaotic and crazy, there is no real order on coming and going, it's just one big mish mash of cars trying to get there and trying to leave, not sure what the designer was thinking when they put this together.

Once in the port building the embarkation was smooth and painless. I really liked that they had the Sign and Sail cards right there at the counter, all of the other places we cruised from you would have to check in, then go to a different area to get the cards. This was efficient and flowed very nicely. The area they sent you to for your zone was nice and clean and didn't feel overcrowded. We liked this port!!!

Once on board the rooms were ready at 1230 instead of 130 which was really nice, this is recurrent with the service staff on this ship. Friendly, efficient and very good at what they do, we loved this crew!!!

We stayed in 6473 which is an odd shaped balcony room. The bed faced two windows with the balcony door off to the side, with an over sized balcony (about twice normal length) no couch in this room but two chairs and a smallish table worked just great for us. We loved this room!!! Only down side was that the bathroom door was really close to the bed and you had to be on the opening side of the door to enter, it wasn't a big deal to us. The windows along with the balcony door made us feel like we were in a "special" room.

Ok now for my rant!! The stinkin' mattresses!!! What are they thinking??? They took my beloved comfort mattresses and traded them for jail house, thin, hard mattresses!!! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR it just bugs me!! I took "guest services" advice and brought my own egg crate but it was a pain in the rear!!!

Also the room was too warm and there was no hot water on arrival, so we called the guest service desk and they sent someone up, he measured the room air with his thermometer and said it's 75 and that is acceptable.

WHAT??? Acceptable to who???? The cruise line??? But aren't I your customer???? Isn't what I say is acceptable for me the correct way to approach this???? Just wow!!! He did something to the shower and we had hot water, but only hot water, no cold!!!

We've sailed on lots of Carnival ships and are well versed on how to control the hot water, but this was not a typical water control, this was a "jury rigged" water control!! We called him back and he showed us that if you forced the temperature control knob all the way around, you can control the cool/warm water, we found our happy place and didn't touch it again, it worked for us, but I thought it was rather shoddy and should have been fixed properly.

The room alternated between too warm (not sweating hot) and acceptable, we dressed lighter and left covers off and survived without too much ado, but still I don't like the lack of customer service from the desk and maintenance staff.

 

Another issue I had with malfunctioning equipment was when I went to do the dreaded laundry (we spent 3 days precruise and needed a load done)

I drug my laundry wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy down the hall, loaded the machines and put my money in the soap machine, nothing came out, so I did the same in the OTHER machine they had there, still nothing.

Called the desk from the laundry room and they said "It's not working, come down the desk and we will give you soap" What???? You know it's not working and there is no sign saying so????? So I trotted down the desk, waited in line 20 minutes (had just waited in line 25 minutes for the change) and finally had my soap. I asked when someone had not put a sign saying it wasn't working and they looked at me like I was nuts (rolls eyes) We DID NOT like this service desk!!!!

What we lacked for in service from "guest services" our room steward made up for, we had Randall from Costa Rica, he was just wonderful, kept our soft sided cooler iced, worked with me on the egg crate ( I admit I'm a princess when it comes to my bed, double pillow top all the way)

Randall was a peach!!! (he was tipped accordingly too)

The ship is pretty!!! The prettiest one of those I've cruised on!!! Loved the MDR, pretty lights (our last one had the dreaded grapes)

The ship is difficult to get around, very choppy and not good flow!! Pretty but difficult to navigate.

The YTD staff was awesome. We found Camila the first night, he was WONDERFUL, requested his table every night and only one night did we not get him. He was funny, sweet, entertaining, brought the food hot and quickly!!! Had no bad food in the MDR, it was good all the way around (but I've never ordered meatloaf or veggie tacos) The beef (Prime rib) was tender but not really tasty, kinda bland, like it had been sitting in water or something. Odd but as a Nebraskan we noticed!!!

The bar staff were very good, friendly and responsive!!

We didn't attend any shows so no comment on that.

 

Steakhouse was good, no complaints there, I got my beloved Chilean Sea Bass which was the fresh fish of the day.....delicious. Everyone else had steak and there were no complaints and full tummies all the way around!!!

Chefs Table was disappointing for us because we had experienced it on Miracle and the original menu which was outstanding, as was the staff.

This ship had a Chef that did not interact well with others, he seemed to have his staff shaking in their shoes, it was rather uncomfortable.

The food was ok, some hits, some misses ( the soup, ick)

Our friends liked it just fine, but this was their first experience with it, I think it's ok if you didn't know what you were missing, the first CT was so over the top wonderful it was a hard act to follow.

Fish and Chips was good, I only did the buffet once and it was not bad.

Did the MDR for breakfast on sea days and it was good, although I found the food saltier than other ships in the past, not sure if that was me or if the bacon and ham were different.

Again people, if you order the eggs benedict ask for the sauce on the side, it won't be congealed under the heat lamps!!!

 

Jamaica: We did a ship tour because it was our first time in Jamaica and heard so many bad things.

We did the Rafting down the Martha Brae, it was outstanding!!! We were on a handmade bamboo raft with our guide, he stopped and showed different plants, herbs, and flowers of their river and trees, just a beautiful time!!!! We loved it!!! Jamaica is beautiful and we look forward to going back!!! Never felt at all threatened or bullied, however we only went to where our guide took us, the shops were awesome!!! Gotta go back just for the Banana Cream Rum!!! YUM.

 

Grand Cayman: We have been there several times and always did the Reef, Rays and Rum point tour. This time we wanted to see the island.

Did a ship tour 4x4 adventure with lunch. My suggestion?? Skip this one, it was not great. We got into jeeps, when through a mangrove swamp to a pretty beach, were there 15 minutes for pictures, back through the mangroves (about 30 minutes each way) then on to the "good neighborhood" looking at homes which was kinda boring, then on to Hell, which was kinda cool to see ONCE!!!

Then back to Tiki beach, food was hamburgers and salads and HOT jerk chicken, it was really not very good.

The water was beautiful except you had to walk about 1/2 mile down the beach to swim because of the reef, it was awkward and inconvenient, we didn't want to stay so we had to take a taxi back, no offers of skipping the beach and being dropped back at port. I wanted to SHOP!!!

It was just ok, but now that I've seen the island I will snorkel from now on, the water is so beautiful there!!!

 

Cozumel: Nachi Cocum!!! What a beautiful resort!!!! The pool with the swim up bar is awesome, the beach clean and beautiful, service over the top and it wasn't overcrowded!!!

Great time had by all, drinks were not the best I've had but they were ok, everything else here was outstanding!!!

Debarkation, was typical, no difficulty.

 

Stayed one more night at the Hyatt French Quarter, it is a brand new hotel, balcony and the whole 9 yards, lovely room, high ceilings, wish we would have stayed her pre cruise. Nice hotel!!!

Ate at Red Fish (at the Hyatt) the last night. The flash fried oysters with the crystal hot sauce was delicious. Shrimp and grits outstanding!!! Loved this place.

So for a few bumps in the road with Carnvals bad customer service ( sadly the norm lately) we had a wonderful time, loved the ship, loved the ports, loved the service and food.

 

Carnival in it's normal "take away all perks" mode, has decided not to do the Future Cruise Certificates anymore, so we bought up a couple. It's a good deal and we love OBC. So I suppose we are in it for two more cruises!!!

Oh the VIFP party was good, the drinks were good and strong and service was good!!!!

Happy Cruising, Carole

[susie8862]

Thank you Carole for your wonderful review. Sounds like you had one of the "premium L shaped" cabins. (we have one for the first time on our next cruise) and so glad to know you liked it....(other than the water/air conditioning problem).

 

I am glad you did not have any problems in Jamaica, as we really do not care for it....

 

Thank you again for your great review.:o

[kyrisong1]

Thank you Carole for your wonderful review. Sounds like you had one of the "premium L shaped" cabins. (we have one for the first time on our next cruise) and so glad to know you liked it....(other than the water/air conditioning problem).

 

I am glad you did not have any problems in Jamaica, as we really do not care for it....

 

Thank you again for your great review.:o

Susie if you go back to Jamacia try the Rafting down the Martha Brae, and ask for Derek as your guide, it was truly wonderful!!!

You're going to love the room!!! It was really nice to wake up to looking out at the ocean, beautiful!!!!

[susie8862]

I have read great reviews about it and sorry that we did not do it when we were there last year. If Jamaica is on any future itineraries, we will try it. (rather than staying on the ship like we do in Nassau)..:o:o:o

 

Oh....and cannot wait for this cabin....that was the selling point...facing two windows over the ocean

[kyrisong1]

There were plenty of seats by the pool too!! The CHOG patrol was on duty and people were able to enjoy pool side seats!!!!:D WTG Carnival!!!

[Splatt]

Hi Carole! I enjoyed your review! We have an L-shaped cabin booked on the Conquest in November and can't wait. I have a few questions for you so thanks in advance for your input!

Do you think that the heat in the room is due to the two large windows? I love the idea of these windows with the bed facing them but I hate being warm in my room.

Do you know if they will allow us to walk on with a small electrical fan? What kind of furniture was on your balcony and do you know if the divider between the other L-shaped room next door can be opened (our friends have the other adjoining room) I can't wait to see how big our balcony will be!!

Did you hear a lot of noise from the club one floor above you?

 

THANKS!!!

[Honeybear]

Ok now for my rant!! The stinkin' mattresses!!! What are they thinking??? They took my beloved comfort mattresses and traded them for jail house, thin, hard mattresses!!! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR it just bugs me!! I took "guest services" advice and brought my own egg crate but it was a pain in the rear!!!

 

We (Myself, SIL, DD, and Niece) are going on the Conquest in April. My SIL ask about the bedding first thing. I told her it was awesome! I sure didn't know they took out the most comfotable bedding I've ever slept on and put the hard stuff in the rooms! :( Oh my, now what? This was a very important feature for us! Ok, we're old, with old bones! LOL! But I do appreciate the warning, thank you. No kidding, I really do appreciate the warning.

[kyrisong1]

Hi Carole! I enjoyed your review! We have an L-shaped cabin booked on the Conquest in November and can't wait. I have a few questions for you so thanks in advance for your input!

Do you think that the heat in the room is due to the two large windows? I love the idea of these windows with the bed facing them but I hate being warm in my room.

Do you know if they will allow us to walk on with a small electrical fan? What kind of furniture was on your balcony and do you know if the divider between the other L-shaped room next door can be opened (our friends have the other adjoining room) I can't wait to see how big our balcony will be!!

Did you hear a lot of noise from the club one floor above you?

 

THANKS!!!

We heard a little noise from the nightclub, but nothing too bad, we still slept well and most of the noise was done by midnight, but if you are sensitive to noise I'd take some earplugs. The club was below us on 5 we were on 6. We kept the curtains drawn in the hottest hours and when we were not in the room and that seemed to help, although I think the time of year was also a factor, cruising in September is darn hot!! We're going back to October, it's nicer!!!

The electric appliances aren't allowed but I'm thinking of a small battery operated one if I can find one for next time!!!

Our friends were in the room next door, 6469 a normal sized room and balcony and we did open the divider, it was awesome. We had just 4 normal chairs and two tables, they had two chairs and a table. We wished we would have all been able to move down a room, another friend had the aft wrap, it would have been such a sweet balcony if we could have opened all of them darn it!!!!

It was fun and we loved the room, even with the heat. Our friends in 6469 had a HOT room btw, ours was much cooler than theirs. but they had the older, softer mattress, grrrrrrrrrrr :D

[kyrisong1]

We (Myself, SIL, DD, and Niece) are going on the Conquest in April. My SIL ask about the bedding first thing. I told her it was awesome! I sure didn't know they took out the most comfotable bedding I've ever slept on and put the hard stuff in the rooms! :( Oh my, now what? This was a very important feature for us! Ok, we're old, with old bones! LOL! But I do appreciate the warning, thank you. No kidding, I really do appreciate the warning.

Deena, we took an eggcrate (ok I'll admit it, I took TWO eggcrates and used them BOTH) and put them in space bags, they shrink down to very thin size and had no problem putting them in suitcases, but we normally only take three, this time we ended up with 4, but I take my pillow too <rolls eyes> my husband asked if I thought I'd feel a pea if he put it under the mattress:rolleyes: It was a pain in the butt to drag them along, but at least I was comfortable.

From what I am hearing it's hit and miss on the mattresses. The sheets and covers are still comfort bedding, it's the mattresses they are trading out for hard ones.

Anyway if you hate a hard bed, I'd take an eggcrate (or two) in spacebags. You may get lucky and not have to use them, but comfort insurance!!!!

Have a great cruise!!! The Conquest is lovely!!

[Kim_KS]

Thanks for the review! We will be on the Conquest in May and looking forward to Nachi Cocom too! :)

[NCTribeFan]

Oh, I love an extra firm bed! :D

 

And I really hope my cabin is warmer than some I've been in. I'm always cold. I get so tired of going on cruises to the hot Caribbean and having to walk around the ship and eat dinner bundled up because they think the A/C has to be absolutely blasting at all times. Yeah, feels good for about 3 minutes after you come in from the hot sun! After that, when you're dressed in minimal clothing, it really doesn't need to be 62 degrees in the public areas!

 

But I do like it cold at night when I'm sleeping (in my nice, dark interior cabin).

 

Thanks for the review. I do love reading reviews about my upcoming ships. But I have to wait 13+ months before I sail her. :(

[Mxlady]

We are in this room in Dec and was wondering if you have any pics of the room? I don't mind a hard bed but am taking a fan. 75 :eek: oh no I cant do that my house is never warmer than 68 year round and yes I pay but that is my extra and I supply throws if you are cold. I called and being that my fan is brand new I can take it. I will fight to the end for it. The dry dock is right before our cruise so maybe the pipe and water deal will get fixed. If not well I guess we will just deal. We have been on the Conquest before so the layout of the ship while strange is not a problem, it is one of my favorite ships so far. The noise will never be as bad as hearing the chairs on the lido slide back and forth all day and night.

[vivavegas]

Welcome Back! Thanks for taking the time to write a review and share your experiences with us!:)

[kyrisong1]

NC this should be perfect for you then, it's warmer than usual!!! And you'll have the new 2.0 features!!!

Mx I have to get the pictures dl'ed but I'll post them when I have them, sorry I'm trying to catch up on work and bills. And we both caught a whopping cold as soon as we got home!!! Ugh reality bites when you've been in paradise!!!

Carole

[BettyPC]

Great review - thanks for sharing your thoughts!

 

Betty

[CruisingKare]

Thank you for your review. It won't help me out any because I do not think I will be on the Conquest again. My boyfriend and I sailed on the Conquest last January. It was my fourth cruise and my boyfriend's first. I was very disappointed with this cruise and was somewhat embarrassed that it was my boyfriend's 1st experience with Carnival.

 

Carnival was the only CL that I've ever sailed on. After my cruise on the Conquest, I was debating going to another CL. But I had purchased the future cruise special (that apparently they are now discontinuing) and that was the only reason I'll be sailing with Carnival again this February. I'm really hoping that our cruise on the Valor in February will be a lot better than last year's cruise. If not, I doubt I will be cruising with Carnival again.

 

As far as the Conquest goes, the customer service was terrible. At around 10 o'clock at night, we had a paper slid under our door stating that our excursion for the following morning was cancelled. I understand that the excursions are based on the quantity of people planning on going but I feel like they waited too long to inform us of the cancellation. So I had to try to figure out what we were going to do in Grand Cayman the night before. When I went to the desk to inquire about them cancelling the excursion and booking another. The girls were completely rude. They seemed like they didn't care whatsoever to help me in trying to get another excursion lined up. They refused to even tell me what excursions were still available for Grand Cayman. I ended up booking the last two tickets for the all-inclusive beach. I have been to all-inclusive resorts before and this excursion was not up to par. You are correct in saying that the water is beautiful....and I also agree that the reef makes it hard to swim/snorkel. I didn't have a huge problem because I was tiny enough to just skim over the top of the reef. However, my boyfriend was not so lucky. He ended up just laying on a chair on the beach because he couldn't make it over the reef to enjoy the water. If we ever get to Grand Cayman again, I will be sure to do some kind of snorkeling excursion off the coast.

 

We had a few other negative encounters on the Conquest as well, but I feel like my rant was enough for now.

 

On a positive note, our service for food and drinks was very good and pleasant. But so far on all the cruises I've been on, it has been that way. I just hope the Conquest can turn the customer service around so others don't walk away from this ship feeling the same way I did.

[kyrisong1]

I'm dreading the new mattresses. I can't sleep on a firm mattress and have always loved the beds on Carnival ships. I'll have to take a wait and see attitude, I guess. Thanks for your review!

Take an eggcrate mattress in a space bag, shrinks down nicely and pretty light so it doesn't effect the luggage weight much. I left mine with friends that drove and so I had lots of room for all the things I always end up buying!!!

[kyrisong1]

Thank you for your review. It won't help me out any because I do not think I will be on the Conquest again. My boyfriend and I sailed on the Conquest last January. It was my fourth cruise and my boyfriend's first. I was very disappointed with this cruise and was somewhat embarrassed that it was my boyfriend's 1st experience with Carnival.

 

Carnival was the only CL that I've ever sailed on. After my cruise on the Conquest, I was debating going to another CL. But I had purchased the future cruise special (that apparently they are now discontinuing) and that was the only reason I'll be sailing with Carnival again this February. I'm really hoping that our cruise on the Valor in February will be a lot better than last year's cruise. If not, I doubt I will be cruising with Carnival again.

 

As far as the Conquest goes, the customer service was terrible. At around 10 o'clock at night, we had a paper slid under our door stating that our excursion for the following morning was cancelled. I understand that the excursions are based on the quantity of people planning on going but I feel like they waited too long to inform us of the cancellation. So I had to try to figure out what we were going to do in Grand Cayman the night before. When I went to the desk to inquire about them cancelling the excursion and booking another. The girls were completely rude. They seemed like they didn't care whatsoever to help me in trying to get another excursion lined up. They refused to even tell me what excursions were still available for Grand Cayman. I ended up booking the last two tickets for the all-inclusive beach. I have been to all-inclusive resorts before and this excursion was not up to par. You are correct in saying that the water is beautiful....and I also agree that the reef makes it hard to swim/snorkel. I didn't have a huge problem because I was tiny enough to just skim over the top of the reef. However, my boyfriend was not so lucky. He ended up just laying on a chair on the beach because he couldn't make it over the reef to enjoy the water. If we ever get to Grand Cayman again, I will be sure to do some kind of snorkeling excursion off the coast.

 

We had a few other negative encounters on the Conquest as well, but I feel like my rant was enough for now.

 

On a positive note, our service for food and drinks was very good and pleasant. But so far on all the cruises I've been on, it has been that way. I just hope the Conquest can turn the customer service around so others don't walk away from this ship feeling the same way I did.

Sorry your experience was so bad, I still liked the ship, I'm learning to adapt to the less than perfect comfort but bringing my own, now they have the little tide pods for soap, I'll bring my own!!!

Still can't beat Carnival for value.

We hardly ever use the cruiseline for excursions, we have better luck with private excursions. Should have signed on, bet Nativeway would have taken you on, they have a awesome snorkle, rays excursion, and it's reasonable.

Carole

[kyrisong1]

Oh I forgot to mention the people next door to our friends. Our friends were right next to us and we had our balconies opened so we could enjoy each others company. We were out on our balcony a lot and the people next to them were always out there smoking pot.

Was kinda fun to mess with them, our friends husband is a big joker and they had other friends (3 women, in a different room) He talked loudly on the balcony about his wives and how hard it was to keep them all happy, when the girls came to visit the pot head couldn't help but peek over into our balcony, it was really funny.

BTW we did NOT turn them in for the funny weed, to each his own, it didnt' hurt us at all, so why be mean???

Carole

[CruisingKare]

Sorry your experience was so bad, I still liked the ship, I'm learning to adapt to the less than perfect comfort but bringing my own, now they have the little tide pods for soap, I'll bring my own!!!

Still can't beat Carnival for value.

We hardly ever use the cruiseline for excursions, we have better luck with private excursions. Should have signed on, bet Nativeway would have taken you on, they have a awesome snorkle, rays excursion, and it's reasonable.

Carole

 

 

Thanks for the input. I was always a little paranoid about doing private excursions because I didn't know if I would be able to trust the locals. But now that I'm a part of this message board, I've been reading different recommendations for excursions outside the cruise lines. I will definitely be trying the ones that are recommended. I think this time around, we're going to try to get day passes at the available resorts....that way we can just relax in the pool or on the beach. Now I'll just be checking my watch all day so we don't miss the ship leaving! lol

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the info ...

[Honeybear]

Carol, thank you so much for your review! I am upset about the "new" beds though. :( But I bet I'll get over it! I just know we will have an awesome cruise!