Carnival Conquest July 28th - Best Carnival Cruise Ever?

[Rocknsoul]

I too am disappointed that Conquest is leaving NOLA. Now that we've been spoiled by driving to a port so close, it might be a long time before we ever fly to take a cruise again.

 

The good news is that Dream is coming, but since my first Carnival cruise I've wanted to sail on Conquest.

 

disneynut, your stories of your fellow travelers are quite amazing! I think it's cool that you had all these encounters with troublesome folks & still had your best Carnival cruise ever.

[hayesktrm]

Omg! That is awful. You might have said and perhaps I missed it, but how old of a kid is this Trevor? I mean, are we talking about a little kid (under 10 yrs), a tween (11-13 ish), or a teenager?

 

Anyway, really enjoying your review. Thanks!

 

I think Trevor was around 7. I blame the parents.

 

 

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[alreadypacked]

Day 6 – Cozumel

 

We got up and went to the buffet for our regular breakfast, which consisted of oatmeal, hash browns and a little bacon. I would ask for just a piece and they would pile it on my plate. I really liked their oatmeal.

 

I told my DS that if they didn’t want to go with us to the beach, that was fine. He said he was a little beached out (what, you were at the beach for about 2.5 hours a few days ago...whatever). I think he was a little tired of his family and wanted some time with his GF. That was fine, I wanted them to have fun, too. Besides, it would save us about $100 so I was fine with it. We had reserved Mr. Sancho’s for $5 each and then we would pay $40 when we got there ($30 for DD). We got into a taxi with 2 other couples and off we went. One group was going to a beach I can’t remember the name of and the other couple was going to Carlos and Charlies (I think). The taxi driver tried to talk them out of it since they would have to pay $90 and they would be kicked out after 3 hours. He said Mr. Sancho’s was better. Well, since we had already paid a deposit for the other 2 kids, I offered the two spots to them. That way they would only have to pay $40/each. They thought that was great and I hope they had a nice time. We paid the balance when we got there and went our separate ways. Taxi was $20 including tip for the 3 of us.

 

After paying they assigned a waiter to us. His name was Edgar, but also went by Elvis. Edgar was wonderful and so attentive. He told us that we could order any drinks we wanted and either get food from the buffet (that’s what we did) or order off the menu. All was included. Also included was kayaking and snorkeling. We didn’t pay the extra $10 to use the water toys. We had a table with a grass umbrella over it and in front of that our beach chairs. We immediately ordered some drinks (mango smoothie for DD, a margarita for DH and a pina colada for me). All the drinks there are yummy and I especially recommend the Dirty Monkey. The food was really good, too.

 

 

 

 

After getting some food and drinks, DH decided that he would like to hang out at the pool (swim up bar) and we wanted to stay at the beach. We ended up going kayaking ($5 deposit) and then snorkeling ($5 deposit). There was a really strong current, so we didn’t stay in long. I didn’t see a lot of fish, but there was something that they sunk in the water and there were some pretty fish around it.

 

We then went into the pool for a while and told DH that we were ready to go back to the ship. DH wanted a little more food so we said we would wait for him. We sat ourselves on a lounger by the pool and waited. Well, then things got a little exciting. A couple was sitting in the loungers next to us and a very drunk 18 year old said, “hey, those are our chairs.” The gentleman in the lounger said “no, we’ve been here since 9:00 am.” This went back and forth for a little while and then the 18 year old also accused him of taking his Royal Caribbean towels. The gentleman in the lounger said they were his and counted them. Well, all of a sudden the 18 year old’s dad came like a whale coming out of the water and landed on the gentleman and started wailing on him. I grabbed DD to get out of the way. The guy was saying that his son was only 18 years old and to leave him alone. HELLO…the 18 year old was the one harassing the other guy. Anyway, whale guy had a bunch of friends and there was a lot yelling going on. Luckily, a bunch of waiters came running and eventually pulled whale guy off. It took a long time because the guy was so big. Now, I don’t call this man whale guy because of his size, I call him that because of the way he jumped in the air and landed on the guy. Wow, it will be something that I will remember forever. I’ve had nightmares about it. I cannot believe that the other gentleman didn’t end up in the hospital. He never got a punch in and really took a beating. I hope they cut all those people off from alcohol because that was just ridiculous.

 

We went back to our original table and told DH that it was time to go. We tipped Edgar $30, which I thought was fair. Well, Edgar started gushing and calling me beautiful and wonderful, etc. He wanted to know if he could get me anything else, etc. So, I think he must have appreciated the tip. He really deserved it.

 

We got a taxi right away, did some shopping (I bought earrings and vanilla) and went back to the ship. We had dinner and went to the family friendly comedy show (I think).

 

Wow! You guys certainly had a fare share of excitement on your cruise!

 

Can't wait for the rest of the review!:)

[hayesktrm]

I too am disappointed that Conquest is leaving NOLA. Now that we've been spoiled by driving to a port so close, it might be a long time before we ever fly to take a cruise again.

 

The good news is that Dream is coming, but since my first Carnival cruise I've wanted to sail on Conquest.

 

disneynut, your stories of your fellow travelers are quite amazing! I think it's cool that you had all these encounters with troublesome folks & still had your best Carnival cruise ever.

 

Yes, they made it entertaining. We also met so many nice people...those stories just weren't as interesting :-).

 

 

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[firefly333]

I ran into two teen aged girls who were riding the glass elevators most all day. I asked them about it and they said it was more fun than the teen club and they were enjoying talking to people getting in and out of the elevators (and watching boys lol, I saw them watching some boys and interacting). I figured hey they were not hurting anyone.

[klgreen803]

Our last four cruises have been out of NOLA, the last one was on the Conquest. Like you we drove to NOLA, unlike you we liked bourbon street. We didn't have kids with us though, and if we did our daughter is 23 so prolly would have liked it to. Same as firefly we stayed at Quality Inn in Gretna. Conquest was one of our favorite ships. The first night in the MDR the service was pretty bad, after a talk with the maitre'd the other nights were better. No other complaints about the cruise or ship.

 

 

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We are booked at the Quality Inn in Gretna next week before our cruise. Can you give me your opinion of the Inn?

[firefly333]

We are booked at the Quality Inn in Gretna next week before our cruise. Can you give me your opinion of the Inn?

 

Im not the person you asked, but I have issues every time Ive stayed her. I stayed here before this cruise. The shuttle guys are fabulous and nice. Its the front desk folks who can be snippy. During the winter when both Carnival and NCL have ships on Sunday morning about 5 pm the line can take over 30 minutes to check in. I have no idea why it takes them so long to check people in. I waited like 20 minutes this time while they checked in two rooms for 2 nights, (Elation, not for conquest, so they were leaving Monday) and they were paying cash for both rooms and doing them and then saying, well lets pay for tomorrow and each time he would have to print out another receipt. Ive never seen a hotel that took this long to check people in.

 

The only issue this time was our bathtub was stopped up and full of water and a constant drip drip drip. I pulled the door shut.. it was LOCKED. I didnt know the button was turned to lock the door until about 3 am when I woke up to pee. I had to go clear to the public bathroom and dress and by then I was awake and that was it for sleep.

 

For some reason I only had ONE towel. I was by myself, but still you would expect at least two towels.

 

My last issue was I have a tablet that I need to charge. They used to have lamps with plug ins but replaced them this time. I hunted all over for outlets. One of my two bedside lamps was not even plugged in so you know they had the same issue I did. The other went behind a arm chair to plug in. My tablet cord wasnt long and it would have meant sitting on the bed. I finally shoved that really heavy dresser with the large tv on it and managed to get behind it to plug in there. There was also a plug in by the refrigerator that I used but no where to sit with that one.

 

If you just want a cheap hotel with free cruise parking, this is it.. dont expect much. Each time I have things that to me are not great. Like a huge dead fly greeting me on the tv menu, rooms not cleaned, garbage under dressers and desk not thrown away.

 

I thought the beds were hard as a rock. But I like soft beds. I could hardly sleep.

[nitro2448]

We are booked at the Quality Inn in Gretna next week before our cruise. Can you give me your opinion of the Inn?

 

Firefly has always had issues at that hotel, but I haven't had any issues. It's no 5 star hotel but for the price and ease of staying there, it's worth it. The hot breakfast is nice to have in the morn. They have always been polite, shuttles drivers are friendly. I'll stay there again next time I'm there, prolly next year.

 

 

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[firefly333]

Firefly has always had issues at that hotel, but I haven't had any issues. It's no 5 star hotel but for the price and ease of staying there, it's worth it. The hot breakfast is nice to have in the morn. They have always been polite, shuttles drivers are friendly. I'll stay there again next time I'm there, prolly next year.

 

 

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I know, only I could get locked out of my bathroom in my room :eek: This is like the 3rd time in a row though with something going wrong. Last time it was my credit card, turned out the problem was on their end.

 

Just unlucky here. The price is right though and I too like the shuttle drivers a lot. Nice and friendly and good service.

[MrFunInTheSun]

Great review and pictures. Thanks for sharing!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk. Please excuse any typographical errors.

[CheapieD]

Where's the Trevor story? Don't keep us hanging.

[nitro2448]

I know, only I could get locked out of my bathroom in my room :eek: This is like the 3rd time in a row though with something going wrong. Last time it was my credit card, turned out the problem was on their end.

 

Just unlucky here. The price is right though and I too like the shuttle drivers a lot. Nice and friendly and good service.

 

You do have bad luck there for some reason, not sure why. Hopefully it will get better for you next time.

 

 

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[klgreen803]

Thank you for your review. We are officially doing our single digit dance this morning. Conquest here we come!!!

[hayesktrm]

I ran into two teen aged girls who were riding the glass elevators most all day. I asked them about it and they said it was more fun than the teen club and they were enjoying talking to people getting in and out of the elevators (and watching boys lol, I saw them watching some boys and interacting). I figured hey they were not hurting anyone.

 

We ran into some boys doing this. They were very polite and pushed our floors for us.

[hayesktrm]

Thank you for your review. We are officially doing our single digit dance this morning. Conquest here we come!!!

 

Jealous! I know you'll have a great time!

[hayesktrm]

Last day at Sea

 

Since this was our last day on the cruise, we felt like we needed to do all of the things that we always say we are going to do, but never end up doing. We got to most of them.

 

We woke up around 8:00 am and went to have breakfast in the MDR (Punchliner). We got lucky and missed the comedians again. The kids had gone earlier in the week and said it was painful to listen to and mostly they just advertised their nighttime shows. Anyway, the service was terrible and slow this time. We wanted to use our free drink coupons (used them on cappuccinos) and I think everyone else on the cruise had the same idea. We didn’t get our drinks until the end of breakfast. When we left, the line was to the elevator. So, in their defense, I think they weren’t expecting so many people.

 

After breakfast, we went to the towel folding class. I had always wanted to do this, but never made it. It was quite fun and entertaining. Don’t ask me what some of these animals are…we didn’t do a very good job, but it was fun. To me, they all looked like turkeys. I think one was an elephant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pros

 

 

[hayesktrm]

Next we played mini-golf. This year I won—I got a hole in one on the first hole!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[hayesktrm]

After this we went back to our cabin to change to go down the slide. My DH has never been down the slide and he promised me this year he would do it. I told him to cross his arms and legs. Boy, did we go fast! It was much longer and faster than I remembered. It’s really fun until you get to the end and all that salt water splashes all over your face. Oh, and bring your flip flops…the deck is REALLY hot!

 

We took showers and headed to the sauna and steam rooms. I can’t believe I didn’t do this all week. It’s one of my favorite things to do. The view is wonderful and the steam is so relaxing.

 

I return to the cabin and DH tells me the ongoing tale of Trevor. It seems that he had gotten a hold of a Sharpie marker and was going around marking up the walls in the hall :eek::eek::eek:! He did it on one of the columns and on one of the doors. I’m not sure how security handled it. The cleaning crew was able to remove the pen from the columns (although I saw where they missed a bit), but the door was a bit harder to clean because the cleaning product they used was starting to ruin the door. DH hoped that they made them buy a new door. Can you imagine having that cost added to your Sail and Sign card? DH heard them talking about that bad kid. Luckily, besides the nasty looks his dad gave my DH, we really didn’t see them the rest of the cruise. My DS said his dad looked miserable that last day and the day of disembarkation. I bet he did. That whole thing made me so grateful for my kids. I was happy that my kids realized that it really wasn’t Trevor’s fault (or his awful siblings), it was his parents’ fault for not setting boundaries and disciplining them.

 

Next we had lunch at the buffet. I really wish I had gone to the Blue Iguana some that week, but I never made it.

[hayesktrm]

Next up was Harry Potter trivia. Our entire group attended this, but really DSGF was the only one that needed to go. She’s a HUGE HP geek and was really looking forward to this. One of my favorite parts of the cruise was when she questioned Cruise Director Cory on one of the questions. She said, “Excuse me, but 6 months ago J.K. Rowlings came out in an interview and …” Because of the interview the answer to the question had changed. Someone behind us said, “She’s right.” Another person said, “Thanks for ruining my childhood.” I still laugh when I think of her doing that. Anyway, she wasn’t the biggest HP geek on the cruise it turns out. She got 23 out of 25 questions right. She had fun playing, though.

 

 

It's hard to believe that this beautiful young woman is such a geek--I love that about her! Oh, and one more thing about those two...they made a trip to Diamonds International in Roatan (I'm sure to look at rings) and told us we could go back to the ship and not wait for them. Thankfully, I think everything was still too expensive and they came back empty handed. He did buy her a nice watch on the last sea day, though. Oh, to be young and in love!

 

 

The happy couple

 

 

[4hunters]

Great review! Looking forward to the rest. :)

[cl00686]

We were also on this cruise, and i agree great cruise!

 

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[hayesktrm]

We went back to the cabin and got dressed for our last dinner. We were all so sad that we would have to start having to cooking and cleaning again. I was surprised when DSGF said she wanted to give Asep a hug goodbye. She’s usually not a huggy person. Then DS says, I want to give him a hug and then everyone was giving him a hug. I told him that he had been the best waiter in years and gave him a little extra tip for being so wonderful. We enjoyed their last show and I got a little teary eyed.

 

By this time, DH wasn’t feeling very good. He stayed in the cabin and I went to the casino. I had only been there once and decided to put an extra $15 on my card and play (I know, big spender). I actually played for over an hour. I was down to $4, and then won $10 so I was done. I think that’s pretty good for being entertained for that long.

 

I went back to the cabin and DH was really sick. I think he may have gotten some kind of food poisoning. He was up all night (and so I was up all night). He hadn’t packed yet and DD had left without packing, so I had to pack up 3 people. DD got in around midnight.

 

The next morning, DD and I went to the buffet and then I brought DH back some toast. We were zone number one, but the kids didn’t put their luggage out so they could do self-disembarkation. We decided to split the difference in time and made our way to the exit (since DH wasn’t doing very well). We walked right off the ship. Quickest exit ever. Customs took a quick look at our paperwork and passports and we were on our way. I sat DH and 2 kids in the pick-up area and DD and I ran back to the hotel to get the car. We really weren’t gone that long. We had decided that we would drive straight today since we were all anxious to get home and we needed to get DH home. He took lots of medication so we didn’t have to stop too many times. I felt bad for him. Also, he is usually our main driver, so now the rest of us had to step up. It was a long 12 hours, but we got home safe and sound.

 

I think that’s about it. Oh, I forgot, I went to the Love and Marriage show and really enjoyed it. I had never been before and the couples were so cute and funny. DS and DSGF went to the ballroom dancing class and had a blast. We spied on them from the balcony and they were so cute. DD is still in touch with the kids she met on the cruise. I think that’s great.

 

Like I said, we had a great time. I’m a bit sad now because we don’t have any cruises planned. DS and DSGF already have a vacation planned for next summer and DD doesn’t want to be the only child on our cruise. I think this may be it until DD goes off to college (well, then we’ll have to pay for college so who knows when we can go). I’m glad our last family vacation was so much fun.

 

Thanks for reading!

[jamona2311]

Hey we had Edgar ( Elvis) too when we were there in February! :D I agree that he was wonderful and very attentive.

 

When snorkling I found alot of fish over by the vollyball net base in the water. also there are alot more things in the water over there. I was having a blast and didnt want to get out of the water.:)

 

My girls and I along with my sister and her daugher are actually doing this cruise on the Sunshine in January so I am loving your review. Thanks so much for taking the time! Its a pain but also kindof fun doing a review I think;)

[hayesktrm]

Hey we had Edgar ( Elvis) too when we were there in February! :D I agree that he was wonderful and very attentive.

 

When snorkling I found alot of fish over by the vollyball net base in the water. also there are alot more things in the water over there. I was having a blast and didnt want to get out of the water.:)

 

My girls and I along with my sister and her daugher are actually doing this cruise on the Sunshine in January so I am loving your review. Thanks so much for taking the time! Its a pain but also kindof fun doing a review I think;)

 

It was fun reliving the cruise. That's fun that you also had Edgar. I hope you have a great cruise on the Sunshine!

[okgirl]

I'm wondering if Trevor might have had Autism or some other behavioral diagnosis that would make impulse control an issue? It must be very challenging for parents who have these children and realize they are being seen as just not good parents.

 

I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise and I enjoyed the pictures of the Conquest. She was my favorite ship for a long time and I've sailed on her 9 times.