Conquest Review 7/14/2013 Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel

[Cruise, J.D.]

I just got back from sailing the Conquest on the 7/14 sailing and I thought I would put together a review. I’ll also answer any questions. Our itinerary was Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel. My family and I had a great time! This was our eighth cruise and second on the Conquest, but our first since 2011. I did notice some cut backs, but nothing that materially affected our experience. The additions of Guy’s Burgers and the Blue Iguana Cantina were great ideas. The new comedy shows were also great.

 

New Orleans

We stayed at the J.W. Marriott on Canal the night before our cruise. Make sure you tell your driver which Marriott because there are two on Canal and we got dropped off at the wrong one! The hotel was okay. The bathroom was small and there was some street noise, but it was acceptable. We ate at the Royal Oyster House and we thought it was pretty good. We did some walking around and went to Café Dumond the morning of the cruise. We used Machu Picchu Tours for our parking and shuttling. Everything went smooth.

 

Conquest

Embarkation didn’t take too long. We got to the terminal around 11:15 and were on the ship by 12:30. Our cabin was 7367, a balcony cabin on the Verandah deck. There were no problems with our cabin or cabin steward. My three small bottles of alcohol made it through just fine.

 

Our first meal was lunch at Fish-n-Chips. There was nobody there. I’m willing to bet we were the first ones to order there that day. After awhile a few people found it, but it was mostly empty our entire lunch. We went back there later in the week and it was still pretty empty. This place is a hidden gem.

 

We dined a lot in the main dining room. I thought the food was as good as it had been in the past. We had Your Time Dining and were assigned the Renoir dining room. Each night when we showed up at 5:40 there was already a long line. However, it moved fast and wasn’t a problem.

 

One thing to watch out for – if you request a table for two and want a private dining experience make sure you get a booth or a table that seats four. One night our son didn’t dine with us and we requested a table for two. Our table was sandwiched between two other tables for two. For all practical purposes we were sitting at a table for six. We did not like this and I’ve never seen tables for two so closely situated.

 

The Punchliner’s Brunch had some new choices that I thought were good. My son and I loved Guy’s Burgers. The burgers were so much better than the old burgers served by Carnival on the Lido deck. My wife liked the Blue Iguana Cantina. Overall, we were very pleased with the food on the Conquest.

 

We also thought the entertainment was pretty good. I did notice the shows were not as big a production as in the past, but it didn’t matter much to us. The Hasboro Game Show was okay, but I think it is more entertaining for kids. There was also a lot of live music, but I did miss the Asian cover band. Larry in the Piano Bar was not that good. His voice was a little off and he seemed to be put out by requests. The comedy shows were great. Each show was packed. I think Carnival has really hit on a great idea with the comedy.

 

The Past Guest Party was much better than in the past. The drinks were better and the servers were very generous about coming around with more. The free drink coupon for past guests was silly. You have to use it in the main dining room at breakfast, lunch, or brunch. We went to use it (intending to only order something small and leave) and were met at the door by a drink waiter who asked if we just wanted a drink to go. Why yes, thank you! He must have noticed the coupons in my hand. Obviously the staff is aware that people just want their drink.

 

I don’t know how long the Conquest has had the Blackjack Pro machine, but it was new to me. I liked playing on it because it had a drink meter. When it filled up, you got a free drink. I was betting $5-$10 per hand and it filled up in about thirty minutes. Except for an old promotion not done anymore, this was the first time I’ve ever got free drinks in a Carnival casino.

 

Our son is six and he went to Camp Carnival quite a bit. The Camp Carnival staff was very good. They were friendly and engaged with the children. Our son has not always liked Camp Carnival, but he liked this one and wanted to stay when we picked him up.

 

Roatan

We booked a private tour with Victor Bodden for Roatan. You have to meet your guide outside the terminal if on a non-ship excursion. The exit is to the left and we had to ask directions to find it. Our guide was “Sam”. He was very nice and took us all over the island and answered questions for us. We also did the monkey tour at Victor’s and it was fun. For the beach Sam dropped us off at Mayan Princess Beach Resort on West Bay Beach. This was a little disappointing. We paid $10 per person for essentially a lounge chair. This area of the beach was also packed with people. The beach and water were beautiful, but I suggest getting dropped off somewhere else.

 

Belize

For Belize, we booked cave tubing with cavetubing.bz. Our guides were right outside Terminal 2 and waiting for us. When we got to the bus they gave everyone bottled water. On the ride to our destination they told us about the country. There were some people who were doing zip lining in addition to cave tubing and they allowed those of us only doing cave tubing to go directly to the caves and do an extra cave. Please make sure you bring bug spray. The mosquitoes were pretty bad on the hike through the jungle. Our guide carried the tubes for the ladies and our son. His name was Leonel and he was very knowledgeable and nice. We often stopped so that he could tell us about a plant or tree. On the float he stayed near our son, and we felt very comfortable with his skill and experience.

 

After cave tubing we went back to operator’s office and had a nice included lunch of chicken, rice and beans, and coleslaw. They also provide one free soft drink and as much rum punch as you like. This tour takes you quite far away from the cruise terminal. We got back to the terminal at about 3:40 ship time, which was 20 minutes before last tender. If you are paranoid about missing the ship, let the guides know upfront your concerns so that they can hurry things along. The tender line was so long when we got back that it was well past 4 before the actual last tender.

 

Cozumel

After Roatan and Belize, we decided to take it easy in Cozumel. We slept late and took our time getting off the ship. We did a lot of shopping and ate at Pancho’s Backyard in the terminal area. There is seating right on the water here with great views of the ship. The food is okay, but the margaritas and service are great. The guys playing music let our son and another little boy “help” them play music.

 

I’m not sure why, but I couldn’t find beer to go at the Puerta Maya terminal. Every shop I looked in did not have beer. If you exit the terminal, cross the street, turn left, and walk along the street a bit there is a little shop that sells beer for $1.50 or $2 per beer, depending on what you get. That was the best deal I could find near the terminal.

 

Conclusion

Overall, this was a great cruise. Carnival is still providing a solid cruise experience. There have been some cut backs, but there have been some additions too. I expect to be taking another Carnival cruise in the future.

[Sargent_Schultz]

Love the Conquest and that is one of our favorite itineraries. We do it about once a year.

[hayesktrm]

Yay!! We are leaving in 6 days and will have the same itinerary as you. We are actually also doing Victor Bodden and Cavetubing dot bz.

 

Do you know the customary tip for both of these things? I've been asking around and I haven't found a great answer.

 

Sargent_Schultz, maybe you could answer my question, too.

 

Thanks for the positive review--I know we will have a great time and it's nice to hear that you were pleased.

[Sargent_Schultz]

We've got on a Bodden tour before, but I have no idea what I tipped. It was a while ago.

[Cruise, J.D.]

Yay!! We are leaving in 6 days and will have the same itinerary as you. We are actually also doing Victor Bodden and Cavetubing dot bz.

 

Do you know the customary tip for both of these things? I've been asking around and I haven't found a great answer.

 

Sargent_Schultz, maybe you could answer my question, too.

 

Thanks for the positive review--I know we will have a great time and it's nice to hear that you were pleased.

 

You will have so much fun on those tours! The cave tubing was one of the best excursions we've done.

 

To me, tipping is a personal decision. I think 10-15% of the tour cost is fine. That was the guideline I used.

 

Have a great cruise!

[Orpheo]

Thanks for your review.

Sailing the Conquest in December, can't wait. ;)

[Anak]

Sailing on the Conquest on Sept. 22, 2013. Tour with Victor too. Thanks for the review.

[CRP2012TX]

We are going on this cruise in 3 weeks... And those are our exact excursions as well! What all did you do in Roatan? Any suggestions on must go places!

I saw to avoid the beach so I will try to look up another one in the area!

Thanks for the review

[11michal11]

Thanks for posting the review. We will be there Sept 22!!

 

 

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[cjknox]

Nice review. Enjoyed it.

[hayesktrm]

You will have so much fun on those tours! The cave tubing was one of the best excursions we've done.

 

To me, tipping is a personal decision. I think 10-15% of the tour cost is fine. That was the guideline I used.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Thank you!!!

 

 

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[Jisten]

We are going on this cruise in 3 weeks... And those are our exact excursions as well! What all did you do in Roatan? Any suggestions on must go places!

I saw to avoid the beach so I will try to look up another one in the area!

Thanks for the review

 

Look into Maya Key in Honduras.. We did this on our cruise via Celebrity, and absolutely loved spending the entire day on this private island. We are doing the same via Conquest in three weeks.

[Cruise, J.D.]

We are going on this cruise in 3 weeks... And those are our exact excursions as well! What all did you do in Roatan? Any suggestions on must go places!

I saw to avoid the beach so I will try to look up another one in the area!

Thanks for the review

 

We told our driver we wanted to see all of the island, take lots of pictures, shop, and eat local food. He drove us all over and made several stops at interesting spots so that we could take pictures. When we went to Victor's to pay, he knocked down some mangoes from a tree for us to try. If you want a local lunch, you will have to wait a bit because the island is one hour behind ship time.

 

I didn't mean that you should avoid West Bay beach. I just meant avoid where we got dropped off. The beach is fairly long and there should be good places to be dropped off.

[dminear60]

Thanks for the review. We are sailing on August 11 on the Conquest and we are so excited!

[JimAOk1945]

I enjoyed reading your review. We were on the Conquest twice. It's a great ship.

We had a wonderful time visiting Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel. They are very nice ports.

[tm32561]

I really enjoyed your review too! Thank you for sharing. This itinerary is one I have been looking a for two years now! Lol I think I'll book it for next fall now that I've read your TR :)

 

 

3013 Sept Carnival Ecstacy

2011 Dec Carnival Fascination

2010 Sept Carnival Elation

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[CRP2012TX]

May I ask how the 3 bottles made it In? Any tricks you can fill me in on?

 

Where is the fish and chips located?

[Have2Cruise]

Thank you for your review and glad you had a great cruise. You have given some great information to help others plan. :)

[Cruise, J.D.]

May I ask how the 3 bottles made it In? Any tricks you can fill me in on?

 

Where is the fish and chips located?

 

I packed three small half-pint bottles in my checked luggage in their original container. I've done this a lot and never had a problem.

 

The Fish-n-Chips is on Deck 10. Just go up the stairs in the Lido buffet that are by the dessert station.

 

Have fun!