Carnival Conquest, Feb 24 - Mar 3, 2012 - Review

[KCinBAMA]

WARNING AND DISCLAIMER

 

As a non-drinker (not for any moral reason, but because I don’t like the taste and I’m afraid to acquire it due to the cost) there won’t be any comments or pictures of pretty drinks available. Also, I’m not picky about my food and will eat almost anything, therefore, it takes a lot to impress me (and having 4 soft serve ice cream stations that never ran out of chocolate IMPRESSED me), therefore, there won’t be any food pictures and very few comments about it. I’m also an early to bed, early to rise person, so, if it happened after 10pm, I didn’t do it and I didn’t witness it. I actually take sleeping pills at night, otherwise, I’m up at 3am. The pills make it possible for me to sleep in, all the way to 6am. I used to tell people it was because I’ve been in the Army all my life. My father was a retired First Sergeant and I joined at 17 and subsequently retired. Now, since I’ve celebrated the tenth anniversary of my 40th birthday last August, I just tell people “I’m old - it’s the law”, and leave it at that.

 

I’ll post a few pictures taken with my Canon PowerShot SD1000, some using flash and some without, which is another way of saying my pictures are usually too dark or washed out. Flash is really the only setting I know (just because I know what flash does doesn’t mean I know how to use it correctly). The underwater pics were taken with a $15 box camera from WalMart. I admit this is cheap equipment, but, it is more technical than my abilities as a picture taker (I won’t say photographer). All of the pictures were ‘enhanced’ using iPhoto on my Mac - I only know this because it has a button that says ‘enhance’ on it. I also used the Visine button, you know, the one that gets the red out of your eyes. And I had to straighten a bunch of photos since I can’t seem to hold the camera level. Some of the pics are provided simply to show you what pics you can take. Also, this review will probably seem like a long short story with a juvenile attempt at humor, so don’t forget, you have a back button in your browser, don’t be afraid to use it.

 

 

 

 

Well, now that almost everyone left and there is only the two of us here, it’s a lot less crowded isn’t it? I’m not a big fan of crowds and attempt to avoid them when I can. Well, let’s get started.

 

PRE-CRUISE MONTHS

 

In anticipation of my 7th cruise, I was constantly checking out websites. I monitored the 10 day weather forecasts for the ports of this itinerary. I primarily did this because I do not book any excursions before boarding ship. We did it the first year we cruised only to learn that many excursions continue “rain or shine” and it was actually possible to rain during my vacation. While I enjoyed the excursions during my first cruise, I would have been miserable if I was required to do them in the rain. So, ever since that first sailing, I have always waited until we boarded ship to book our excursions. This allowed me one last check of the forecast for each of our ports before going into the black hole of “no phone/no internet” for a week.

 

I also checked out the information and travel warnings provided by the US Department of State for each of our ports.

 

And, of course, I always monitored the Cruise Critics Member Reviews of the Conquest. I’m embarrassed to say I’ve been reading these top level reviews for years before venturing into the forums to see the better reviews offered here. I also checked Google Maps - Photos for the ports we would visit. I used street view to virtually drive our hotel area and walk the French Quarter and used the satellite view for the foreign ports.

 

I even have an itinerary map printed and hung up at work.

 

PRE-CRUISE DAY

 

You can check out my review of the Park and Cruise Package at Quality Inn & Suites in Gretna (New Orleans) in the ports forum. I’ll wait until you get back.

[SIENA6334]

I was on the cruise with you!! I too am a early to bed-early to rise person. Would love to know what your feelings were with the punchliner brunch - meaning no dining room breakfast on sea days. Myself, I'm not too happy simply because, being an early riser I like breakfast not brunch.

But, all in all, I loved the ship and the people we met on her and had a great time.:p

[daijayx2]

I sailed the Conquest the week before you and also stayed at the Quality inn. Hope you had a great cruise and I'm looking forward to your review.

[JOHN 57]

Yes, I hope to see more of your review, could you tell me, who the piano player was.

thank you,

John

[firefly333]

I too was on this cruise with you lol.

 

I too was at the Quality Inn (where I will be tomorrow night again).

 

Very slow check in, and they raised the price to $139 now. I had been paying $129

[daijayx2]

Yes, I hope to see more of your review, could you tell me, who the piano player was.

thank you,

John

 

When I sailed the week before the piano player was named Mike. Not sure what his last name was. I only made it in there once but I loved him!

[daijayx2]

I wasn't happy with my stay at the Quality inn. The room was not clean. The elevator we took to the third floor was shaky and made a loud boom when we reached the third floor.

 

We used the stairs after that. We didn't try breakfast. The shuttles to the port were over an hour and a half behind. We didn't board the ship till almost 3. They were already taking down the backdrops for the embarkation photos.

 

I wouldn't suggest this hotel to anyone nor would I stay there again.

[firefly333]

I wasn't happy with my stay at the Quality inn. The room was not clean. The elevator we took to the third floor was shaky and made a loud boom when we reached the third floor.

 

We used the stairs after that. We didn't try breakfast. The shuttles to the port were over an hour and a half behind. We didn't board the ship till almost 3. They were already taking down the backdrops for the embarkation photos.

 

I wouldn't suggest this hotel to anyone nor would I stay there again.

 

The last time it took 50 minutes to check in and I said, ok, I got here at 5 pm its my fault.

 

This time I arrived later and it took about 40 minutes standing in line and I got up there and the guy said my credit card was declined.. so I had to get on my stupid tracfone and finally got hold of my credit card who said nope, they put thru a charge for $25, and it went right thru. Not on our end. Meanwhile I had put up another credit card and then had to wait for the manager to fix it back on the correct card that they had put thru the charge of $25.

 

So now its 7 pm and the wings are from 5 to 7 pm and I said I hoped to get to happy hour before the wings are gone.. he said dont worry its all night... nope.. 5 minutes too late, but she said ok.. so I ordered 8 and so did someone else at the bar .. charged for 16. we got half a dozen each (they are only 35 cents but still it indicative of the problems of understaffing they have to me).

 

next morning at breakfast I did get a little breakfast but they were out of coffee. So I took OJ to drink back to my room and never got back to get coffee because I stood in line to check out and make sure there were no more problems with the bill.

 

I had a 10:30 shuttle and he got tied up because of a train at the port and didnt get there until around 11, glad I had the early shuttle.

 

Im staying there again, mostly because its hard to find a hotel with parking and a shuttle both ways. But I agree they have issues to say the least.

 

My room was clean at least and the internet worked. I do the happy hour wings because I think the neighborhood isnt the best and I dont want to go back out after I did it the first time I stayed there.

[daijayx2]

The last time it took 50 minutes to check in and I said, ok, I got here at 5 pm its my fault.

 

This time I arrived later and it took about 40 minutes standing in line and I got up there and the guy said my credit card was declined.. so I had to get on my stupid tracfone and finally got hold of my credit card who said nope, they put thru a charge for $25, and it went right thru. Not on our end. Meanwhile I had put up another credit card and then had to wait for the manager to fix it back on the correct card that they had put thru the charge of $25.

 

So now its 7 pm and the wings are from 5 to 7 pm and I said I hoped to get to happy hour before the wings are gone.. he said dont worry its all night... nope.. 5 minutes too late, but she said ok.. so I ordered 8 and so did someone else at the bar .. charged for 16. we got half a dozen each (they are only 35 cents but still it indicative of the problems of understaffing they have to me).

 

next morning at breakfast I did get a little breakfast but they were out of coffee. So I took OJ to drink back to my room and never got back to get coffee because I stood in line to check out and make sure there were no more problems with the bill.

 

I had a 10:30 shuttle and he got tied up because of a train at the port and didnt get there until around 11, glad I had the early shuttle.

 

Im staying there again, mostly because its hard to find a hotel with parking and a shuttle both ways. But I agree they have issues to say the least.

 

My room was clean at least and the internet worked. I do the happy hour wings because I think the neighborhood isnt the best and I dont want to go back out after I did it the first time I stayed there.

 

We arrived VERY late. Like 1:00 am late. I knew nothing about the happy hour. I also had problems with my card. My reservation had one price and I was charged another. Had to get that straightened out.

 

We were scheduled for the 1:00pm shuttle. I agree it is very hard to find a hotel in Nola with parking and a shuttle both ways. I am sailing out of Nola in October again on the Conquest and probably flying in this time so I think I will use carnivals transportation to and from the port and an airport hotel.

 

With parking included the rate wasn't bad at all. I just wish they would get it together up there and put a little more work into the establishment and find a better way to run the shuttles. Maybe a list you sign up on or something.

[firefly333]

There is a shuttle list you sign up for. Its first come first served.

 

I am leaving in the morning earlier this time as I barely got the last slot on the 10:30 am shuttle last time or Id have had to wait until the afternoon shuttle times, all the rest filled.

 

Its about a 10 hour drive from here, so even if I leave by 6:30 am its hard to make it much before 5 pm and get a good shuttle time.

 

Navigator leaves on a Saturday, not a Sunday like Conquest did, so maybe it wouldnt be as bad?? One can hope as Im there tomorrow night again at a higher price.

 

Its not worth it to me to fly in. I want to bring back cigarettes and some other stuff.

[daijayx2]

There is a shuttle list you sign up for. Its first come first served.

 

I am leaving in the morning earlier this time as I barely got the last slot on the 10:30 am shuttle last time or Id have had to wait until the afternoon shuttle times, all the rest filled.

 

Its about a 10 hour drive from here, so even if I leave by 6:30 am its hard to make it much before 5 pm and get a good shuttle time.

 

Navigator leaves on a Saturday, not a Sunday like Conquest did, so maybe it wouldnt be as bad?? One can hope as Im there tomorrow night again at a higher price.

 

Its not worth it to me to fly in. I want to bring back cigarettes and some other stuff.

 

I mean in the morning, when it's time to board the shuttles. Since the drivers were running late people who were scheduled for the 12 noon shuttle were getting on when the 11:30 shuttle came although it was way past noon but it wasn't their turn. I knew when we arrived we would have a late shuttle to the ship because of our arrival time but I didn't expect the huge delay In getting to the port.

 

Have a safe trip!

[firefly333]

I mean in the morning, when it's time to board the shuttles. Since the drivers were running late people who were scheduled for the 12 noon shuttle were getting on when the 11:30 shuttle came although it was way past noon but it wasn't their turn. I knew when we arrived we would have a late shuttle to the ship because of our arrival time but I didn't expect the huge delay In getting to the port.

 

Have a safe trip!

 

In their defense, there was a train on the tracks at the port and they couldnt get out of the port until the train moved that morning.

 

The shuttles have run on time the other two times I have been there.

[SIENA6334]

At least you had a room. We stayed at Staybridge Inn pre-cruise and had paid for 4 night post-cruise. When we got off the ship and to the hotel we were told there was a computer glitch and we had no rooms!! 25 people were being told the same thing. I later found they had refunded my money the day after we sailed and had called but of course no cell service. Seems a big conference needed more rooms so they sold ours and wanted to put us 35 miles in in Slidel in a motel 8!:(

[sjn911]

WARNING AND DISCLAIMER

 

As a non-drinker (not for any moral reason, but because I don’t like the taste and I’m afraid to acquire it due to the cost) there won’t be any comments or pictures of pretty drinks available. Also, I’m not picky about my food and will eat almost anything, therefore, it takes a lot to impress me (and having 4 soft serve ice cream stations that never ran out of chocolate IMPRESSED me), therefore, there won’t be any food pictures and very few comments about it. I’m also an early to bed, early to rise person, so, if it happened after 10pm, I didn’t do it and I didn’t witness it. I actually take sleeping pills at night, otherwise, I’m up at 3am. The pills make it possible for me to sleep in, all the way to 6am. I used to tell people it was because I’ve been in the Army all my life. My father was a retired First Sergeant and I joined at 17 and subsequently retired. Now, since I’ve celebrated the tenth anniversary of my 40th birthday last August, I just tell people “I’m old - it’s the law”, and leave it at that.

 

I’ll post a few pictures taken with my Canon PowerShot SD1000, some using flash and some without, which is another way of saying my pictures are usually too dark or washed out. Flash is really the only setting I know (just because I know what flash does doesn’t mean I know how to use it correctly). The underwater pics were taken with a $15 box camera from WalMart. I admit this is cheap equipment, but, it is more technical than my abilities as a picture taker (I won’t say photographer). All of the pictures were ‘enhanced’ using iPhoto on my Mac - I only know this because it has a button that says ‘enhance’ on it. I also used the Visine button, you know, the one that gets the red out of your eyes. And I had to straighten a bunch of photos since I can’t seem to hold the camera level. Some of the pics are provided simply to show you what pics you can take. Also, this review will probably seem like a long short story with a juvenile attempt at humor, so don’t forget, you have a back button in your browser, don’t be afraid to use it.

 

 

 

 

Well, now that almost everyone left and there is only the two of us here, it’s a lot less crowded isn’t it? I’m not a big fan of crowds and attempt to avoid them when I can. Well, let’s get started.

 

PRE-CRUISE MONTHS

 

In anticipation of my 7th cruise, I was constantly checking out websites. I monitored the 10 day weather forecasts for the ports of this itinerary. I primarily did this because I do not book any excursions before boarding ship. We did it the first year we cruised only to learn that many excursions continue “rain or shine” and it was actually possible to rain during my vacation. While I enjoyed the excursions during my first cruise, I would have been miserable if I was required to do them in the rain. So, ever since that first sailing, I have always waited until we boarded ship to book our excursions. This allowed me one last check of the forecast for each of our ports before going into the black hole of “no phone/no internet” for a week.

 

I also checked out the information and travel warnings provided by the US Department of State for each of our ports.

 

And, of course, I always monitored the Cruise Critics Member Reviews of the Conquest. I’m embarrassed to say I’ve been reading these top level reviews for years before venturing into the forums to see the better reviews offered here. I also checked Google Maps - Photos for the ports we would visit. I used street view to virtually drive our hotel area and walk the French Quarter and used the satellite view for the foreign ports.

 

I even have an itinerary map printed and hung up at work.

 

PRE-CRUISE DAY

 

You can check out my review of the Park and Cruise Package at Quality Inn & Suites in Gretna (New Orleans) in the ports forum. I’ll wait until you get back.

 

 

 

Looking forward to hearing about your trip...thank you...Sarah

[KCinBAMA]

I was on the cruise with you!! I too am a early to bed-early to rise person. Would love to know what your feelings were with the punchliner brunch - meaning no dining room breakfast on sea days. Myself, I'm not too happy simply because, being an early riser I like breakfast not brunch.

But, all in all, I loved the ship and the people we met on her and had a great time.:p

 

We enjoyed the Punchliner Brunch, but, I hadn't thought about it taking away from the early morning diners. I always wake up hungry, so, we always ordered room service the night before so I could have my 'first' breakfast delivered around 6:00. I would just order a banana, milk and juice - just enough to tide me over until the real breakfast at the buffet or brunch. Once we just went to the buffet around 9ish, then ended up at the brunch around 11 or 12 for a third breakfast (or first lunch). :)

[KCinBAMA]

diajayx2

Sorry to hear about your experience at the hotel. Hopefully it didn't taint the rest of your vacation.

 

John57

Sorry, I didn't even know there was a piano player aboard. That's just not something I pay attention to.

 

firefly333

You got a better deal than I did at the hotel. But, then again, you've been on this board more than 6 years and no doubt know much more about finding the better deals than I do. I hope to get some of that knowledge before my next sailings.

 

Credit Card Problems

I, too, had credit card problems upon sign in at the hotel. My card was declined, twice. I thought to myself "oh no, here we go again - last year in Tampa my card number was used fraudulently and I needed to get a replacement card - now I'll have to go through that again." I handed the clerk a different card - DECLINED. Oh great, now my thoughts turn to "somebody has stolen my identity" and "do I have enough cash to pay for this room". Enter manager, stage right. After a few key presses and another swipe of my first card, I was approved and issued my room keycard.

 

My guess is that I had booked this room with my credit card before my Tampa experience. Once I got my replacement card, with a different account number, it no longer matched the number on file in the computer system at the hotel. Of course, my second card wouldn't match the number either. I think the manager simply told the computer I was not using the original card and not to try to match it. I was relieved and didn't think about it much more after that - after all, I was on VACATION :)

[KCinBAMA]

EMBARKATION DAY

 

Upon arriving at the terminal, we were quickly moved through the various lines for security, check in, and photos. From arrival at the terminal around 11:30, we were onboard at 12:20 and in our cabin at 12:40.

 

CABIN REVIEW

 

We have always cruised with an inside or outside porthole/window cabin. This is the first time we booked a balcony. We travelled with close family on this cruise. We lived in cabin 6335 for the 7 days of our vacation. My mom and wife’s mother-in-law took the top bunk. My wife’s son and my mother’s grandson took the sofa bed, and I shared the big bed with my wife, my mother’s daughter-in-law, and my son’s mother. But, it wasn’t as crowded as you might think. We get along well together and have shared many vacations. However, this will be the first time we shared a space as small as 185 square feet plus a balcony. The balcony actually served as a second room and we were thankful to have it. We brought four check on bags and three carry on bags which fit comfortably in the space provided. Somehow, my adult son, he’s 26, managed to pack a weeks’ worth of clothes into what looked like nothing more than a carry on gym bag. Anyways, two of the three closets were to hang clothes and the third was shelving. We were happily surprised to discover the two drawers under the sofa bed and my son’s gym bag full of belongings all fit there. The wall unit had two mirrors with 5 drawers, a mini refrigerator, a hotel safe and a flat screen TV. The balcony had 2 chairs and a small table. Here are a few cabin pictures.

 

 

[KCinBAMA]

And a couple pictures of the balcony with me photobombing my own shot.

 

 

 

If you get adjoining cabins, you can have the partition between the balconies moved to create a large balcony. The TV had one channel showing the pool on Lido but was missing the channel showing the map, the forward looking camera, and the time/temperature/wind speed/ship speed information. As this is the channel I usually watched on all my past cruises, I missed it.

 

In our room we found our Carnival Times and also a list of main entertainment schedule for the rest of the cruise. I thought this was an excellent resource as we could plan our activities ahead of time.

 

 

 

EXPLORING THE SHIP

 

We enjoyed a Guy’s burger for lunch. If I knew then what I know now, I would have opted for the Blue Iguana instead since the BI is only open for breakfast and lunch while Guy’s is open from lunch until 6:00pm. We had plenty of opportunities to eat at Guy’s after arriving back on ship after our port days, but the BI closed at 2:30 or 3:30, depending upon the day. Guy’s is great and I ate there 3 or 4 times during our trip, but, it was the 5th day of our cruise before I actually got to try out the Blue Iguana - which I also enjoyed. In an effort to ‘eat right’, I had Guy’s diet plate (that’s a burger without fries) as much as possible. OK, actually just once, and that was only because I was going to the main dining room in about an hour anyway for my second dinner.

 

On lido deck at the aft end, there are two large hot tubs and a swimming pool. While sitting there enjoying the view of the French Quarter, we heard an annoying high pitched whine and wondered what that was about. After it seemed to go on forever, we realized they were closing the roof over the pool and hot tubs. This was great since it had just started drizzling.

 

The mandatory lifeboat drill is conducted at 3:15 on the outside deck. On some earlier cruises, we met at an inside staging area and were led outside to our lifeboat stations. On the Conquest, you go directly to your lifeboat station on deck four. Dress appropriately for the weather conditions and if you don’t like being in the back of a herd of people, wait until the drill is announced to make your way to your lifeboat station. This way you will end up in the front of the pack when the lifevest instructions are given. Leave your life jackets in your cabin, they are not needed for the drill.

 

DINNER IN THE MDR

 

Our first dinner was located in the Renoir Main Dining Room on deck three because we chose the Your Time Dining option. If you chose an assigned time dining experience, you were served in the Renoir on deck 4 or in the Monet.

 

Unfortunately, things didn’t go as well as we had hoped here. The dining room opened at 5:45 and we made it through the doors at around 5:50. The wait staff took their time to get us a menu and in the meantime, someone from the bar staff stopped by to get our drink orders. She was followed by someone offering us bottled water, which we declined. Finally, one of our wait staff brought us regular water. Later, our head waiter introduced himself. He then introduced the team waiter and the assistant team waiter. All three of these people’s names are listed on a card placed on our table. After our orders were taken, the appetizers arrived. I ordered the fruit cocktail and was surprised it was simply fruit on a plate. I guess I had assumed I would receive fruit in a bowl of syrup similar to what I get out of a can at home, silly me. Our main dishes arrived and both servings, the appetizers and entrees, seemed to be slow on delivery. I assume it was because lots of people filled the dining room pretty quickly, so, it was not a big deal.

 

Unfortunately, once our dinner plates were cleared away, we waited quite a while for a dessert menu. We had waited so long, that all of the tables around us had already been served their desserts and had left their tables, even the people that arrived before us. When the head waiter realized we were the only ones left in our section of the dining room, with no plates in front of us, he asked if we had ordered dessert yet. We hadn’t, he apologized and promptly took care of us. I ordered the chocolate molten cake with chocolate ice cream and it was wonderful. I will say that our wait staff was extremely friendly, they simply forgot about us for some reason. It was 7:35 before we got out of there, and my son had someplace to be at 7:30. We are not the kind of people that like to be late for anything, we would rather be 30 minutes early than 1 minute late. Since dinner took almost an hour and a half, we had to decide if we were going to go back again or not depending on what after dinner activity we wanted to attend.

[KCinBAMA]

DAYS AT SEA

 

This was the first cruise we booked with 2 back to back sea days and I was wondering if we would notice the difference. I’m glad to say there were plenty of activities going on, so it was a non-issue.

 

We checked out the Men vs Women contest and found it kinda lame. However, arriving early we were able to check out the Ballroom Dancing and everyone that participated seemed to be having a very good time.

 

The Fun on Board/Fun Ashore Talk told us what we expected to hear about Jamaica (do the excursions, be careful what you buy, and be ready to say “no, no, no, no, no, no” everywhere you go. We signed up for Horseback Ride and Swim in Jamaica, The Turtles, Turtles, Turtles Deluxe in the Caymans and the Playa Mia Deluxe Beach Break in Cozumel. We also signed up for the Behind the Fun Tour for our last sea morning (reviews of each to follow)

 

We also attended the Shopping Talk and the speaker thought we ported out of Tampa and our first stop was the next day at the Cayman Islands (we actually ported out of New Orleans and our first stop was in two days in Jamaica.) After getting to the Diamonds International and Tanzenite pitches for jewelry, we decided to leave.

 

We ended up going to the Punchliners Brunch around 12:30 where a comedian does a short 10 minute bit at the top of each hour. I had tomato soup, eggs benedict and chocolate ice cream, heard the comic and I laughed out loud. Excellent service, waited on every few minutes - extremely different from day before. Oh, and let me say this. As a group of 4, we were always seated at a 4 person table, or two two-person tables set up together. However, if you are a 2 person party and want to stay that way, be warned, you could be seated at your 2 person table approximately 4 inches away from another couple at their 2 person table. The tables are so close together that if you drop your orange and it rolls toward the next table, it will not hit the floor. If you are looking for private conversation, you probably won’t get it. You may be sitting closer to the cruiser at the next table than your dinner partner at your table.

 

We toured the lido deck and it was extremely windy. I like the tiered decks which looked great for the sun worshippers.

 

 

 

 

 

The Hasbro Shows were great. I had a lot of fun laughing with other people at other people - I highly recommend it. Throughout the cruise we attended all three Hasbro games and enjoyed them all. However, every show had some kind of technical glitch. It didn’t spoil the fun, I simply mention it because it happened during every show.

 

Although I am a eat-right-now-buffet kinda person, Mom likes to have her food served to her, so, we went the the Renoir again for dinner. We were seated on the other side of the room from the day before with a different wait staff. Everything, including the service was great and we were finished in about an hour.

 

After dinner, we sat in on family edition of the Punchliner club at night and had a great time before attending The Brits. I found that I enjoyed the comedian entertainment most of all on the ship. The comedians performed five evening shows on the first and second sea days, two family shows followed by three adult shows. Some were repeats and others were new material. The two comedians left the ship midweek and were replaced by another who performed 3 adult shows his first night and said they were all different. I made it to the first one and wish I could have stayed awake long enough to catch all of the shows, but, unfortunately, it was past my bedtime.

 

On the first sea day we attended the production show The Brits and were entertained. However, we arrived later than we wanted, but still before they started, and sat high on the 5th deck looking down at the stage on the 3rd deck at a 45 degree angle. It would have been fine, except most of the show involves some digital board displays which need to be viewed as straight on as possible.

 

Next stop, Horseback Ride and Swim in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

[tncap]

The TV had one channel showing the pool on Lido but was missing the channel showing the map, the forward looking camera, and the time/temperature/wind speed/ship speed information. As this is the channel I usually watched on all my past cruises, I missed it.

 

I missed that too!

[KCinBAMA]

Horseback Ride and Swim in Montego Bay, Jamaica posted in the port section.

[daijayx2]

Come back.. I want to hear more of your review.

 

 

Melissa

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[KCinBAMA]

After our horseback excursion, we did some shopping at the terminal. Once we finished there, we hopped the shuttle to our terminal and boarded ship and ordered room service since we didn’t eat a lunch. After a while, we heard music outside and discovered, from our balcony on the starboard side of the ship, there was a marching band giving us a send off. I would guess these were students from the local school and enjoyed watching them play.

 

 

One of the songs they played was the

( you know, the one that goes “From the Halls of Mont e zu u ma, To the Shores of Trip o li;...”) and I got misty eyed. As an Army retiree, I connect with the lyrics and what those hymns represent, and the fact that kids of a foreign nation were playing it made it more special. Heck, just recalling it now is making me emotional. It’s either that or the fact that I really enjoyed Gomer Pyle USMC as a kid. Well, I gotta find something to get the moisture off my keyboard, so you can check out my review of our next stop - Grand Cayman.

[KCinBAMA]

After the day in Grand Cayman, we were back on board at 4:00. Dinner in the Renoir was very good again and we made it to the Diva’s in plenty of time. This show was enjoyable with a surprise ending.

 

 

[KCinBAMA]

COZUMEL

 

March 1, 2013. It was so windy when we arrived in Cozumel that the Magic had to leave after a few unsuccessful attempts to dock. Our excursion, Playa Mia Beach Break, was available, but only in a limited capacity. Due to the high winds and because the water activities would not be available, we were offered a refund. We were able to cancel the reservation on the pier - the Playa Mia representative explained our choices and if you chose to continue with the excursion, you needed to sign the ticket indicating you were told about the limited activities - otherwise, you could get a full refund w/no penalty - just seek out a Carnival shore excursions staff member who just took our ticket and put it in his pocket - we met at 11, and by 12:15 it was credited to our account

 

Since our excursion was cancelled, we wandered around the port shopping area, and my tolerance for shopping has a 2 hour maximum. However, after about 45 minutes, I gave my wife a 30 minute warning which simply meant that I was heading back to ship in 30 minutes with or without her. This is not a threat, she was welcome to stay as long as she wanted and continue to enjoy the port with my mother, just that I wouldn’t be good company as I get grumpy after a while. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind walking if there is a purpose in mind. I’ve actually walked 5 miles home from work once last year - unfortunately, I live 6 miles away, but I digress.

 

Anyways, during my last 30 minutes hanging around, I meandered over to a finger painting artist and was truly amazed at his talent. After seeing my interest, the salesman invited me over to watch the artist for a couple minutes. Literally, within 2 minutes, this elderly gentleman had finger painted the below example for me as a gift. Other than the two birds added with a very fine brush, the rest of the sample was all done with only his index finger.

 

 

The salesman would offer me a great deal if I found one of his paintings I wanted, unfortunately, I didn’t see anything that I really liked. Although, I could appreciated the effort it took to create the art, I just didn’t see something for me. Even my wife didn’t see something that she just had to have. The salesman said we could just tell him what we wanted and he would paint it while we waited, while I believed him, I was just unable to tell him what I wanted, nor did I want to wait for the paint to dry. I had purchased a finger painting last year for less than half the price he was asking anyways - I thought he was overpriced.