Conquest 12/1/2013 review

[aliendad]

This is the first review I have ever attempted. I really enjoy reading the reviews so I thought I would try one.

 

Up until this cruise my wife and I had only ever cruised on Royal Caribbean and have always loved them but this cruise on the Conquest fit our schedule well and we really liked the 4 ports so we booked it.

 

Overall I would have to say that Carnival and Royal have a lot more in common than I would have thought and that if you like one and are open minded you will enjoy the other cruise line as well, of course that is just my opinion.

 

We left early on Black Friday to spend time in South Beach before the cruise. We stayed at the Clay Hotel on Washington Ave. The reviews of the Clay were kind of all over the place some people really loved it while others refused to even stay the night, so we were not certain what we would be getting.

 

We liked the Clay Hotel, its location is perfect...a very close walk to shopping, places to eat, nightlife and the beach! For the price (around a hundred a night) I couldn't complain we even were surprised to get a room with a balcony overlooking Espanola Way.

 

On the Saturday before the cruise while in South Beach we took The Duck Tour, it was an interesting way to see the Sights of South Beach and Biscane Bay. This is a tour I would recommend highly the tour guides were funny and informative.

 

 

On Sunday we got to the port of Miami around 10 am for we had FTTF. We found the line for priority and FTTF but the line wasn't moving at all it took maybe 30 minutes to get inside and go through security for the computers were down. After that everyone still had to wait to board, still given that the computers were down and they were checking people in by hand the process went well.

 

We had an inside room 8226. It was great the room was big enough for my wife and me and the bathroom seemed larger than any of the others on our previous cruises.

 

We had 4 ports of call, Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, and Grand Cayman. In Cozumel we took off on our own and toured a chocolate factory were we learned the history of the Mayan culture's use of chocolate as well as how to make chocolate. I am not a big chocolate lover but it was very interesting. Plus it wasn't in a touristy area so we got to see some of the lesser seen parts of Cozumel.

 

Belize was our next stop, this is a port I have always wanted to go to. The tender into Belize was fun it was longer than Cayman's but the sea was calm and the trip wasn't rough. We scheduled the Xunantunich Mayan Ruins tour through Carnival. It was amazing, the ruins were accessible you could walk to the top of the temple unlike at some sites like Tulum were everything is roped off.

 

In Roatan we did a private tour, which took us all over the island and had stops at a iguana farm and a small zoo that had monkeys and parrots that we were allowed to handle and feed. Roatan is a beautiful island but the roads there are really rough.

 

The last stop is our favorite port of all Grand Cayman. This was our third time to Cayman and here we did Stingray City and Rum Point Beach. We really enjoyed Stingray city, we would have like it a little more if the water wasn't so rough that day. I am not the strongest swimmer and spent most of my time just trying to stay upright in the water and not enough time playing with the rays. Rum Point Beach was a wonderful stop we didn't get enough time there so we well have to go back next time.

 

The food on the Conquest overall was good, I didn't care much for the Buffet but the food in the Dining Room was very good. We had any time Dining and really enjoyed it, we found a waitress, Assaddee that was excellent and requested to be in her section the rest of the trip.

 

On the last day we did the Behind the Fun Tour. I would highly recommend this tour. It was well worth the price. You get to meet the Captain and get your picture with him, you get to see the bridge, the engine control room and a lot of interesting places.

 

I really enjoyed the cruise and will not hesitate to cruise on Carnival again, I found it to be just as nice as our cruises on Royal Caribbean.

 

If you have any questions I will try to answer them and will be posting pictures soon.

[slybear]

Glad you enjoyed the Conquest. Its my favorite ship & we are sad she has left New Orleans.

[aliendad]

[lovestocruise19]

This is the first review I have ever attempted. I really enjoy reading the reviews so I thought I would try one.

 

Up until this cruise my wife and I had only ever cruised on Royal Caribbean and have always loved them but this cruise on the Conquest fit our schedule well and we really liked the 4 ports so we booked it.

 

Overall I would have to say that Carnival and Royal have a lot more in common than I would have thought and that if you like one and are open minded you will enjoy the other cruise line as well, of course that is just my opinion.

 

We left early on Black Friday to spend time in South Beach before the cruise. We stayed at the Clay Hotel on Washington Ave. The reviews of the Clay were kind of all over the place some people really loved it while others refused to even stay the night, so we were not certain what we would be getting.

 

We liked the Clay Hotel, its location is perfect...a very close walk to shopping, places to eat, nightlife and the beach! For the price (around a hundred a night) I couldn't complain we even were surprised to get a room with a balcony overlooking Espanola Way.

 

On the Saturday before the cruise while in South Beach we took The Duck Tour, it was an interesting way to see the Sights of South Beach and Biscane Bay. This is a tour I would recommend highly the tour guides were funny and informative.

 

 

On Sunday we got to the port of Miami around 10 am for we had FTTF. We found the line for priority and FTTF but the line wasn't moving at all it took maybe 30 minutes to get inside and go through security for the computers were down. After that everyone still had to wait to board, still given that the computers were down and they were checking people in by hand the process went well.

 

We had an inside room 8226. It was great the room was big enough for my wife and me and the bathroom seemed larger than any of the others on our previous cruises.

 

We had 4 ports of call, Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, and Grand Cayman. In Cozumel we took off on our own and toured a chocolate factory were we learned the history of the Mayan culture's use of chocolate as well as how to make chocolate. I am not a big chocolate lover but it was very interesting. Plus it wasn't in a touristy area so we got to see some of the lesser seen parts of Cozumel.

 

Belize was our next stop, this is a port I have always wanted to go to. The tender into Belize was fun it was longer than Cayman's but the sea was calm and the trip wasn't rough. We scheduled the Xunantunich Mayan Ruins tour through Carnival. It was amazing, the ruins were accessible you could walk to the top of the temple unlike at some sites like Tulum were everything is roped off.

 

In Roatan we did a private tour, which took us all over the island and had stops at a iguana farm and a small zoo that had monkeys and parrots that we were allowed to handle and feed. Roatan is a beautiful island but the roads there are really rough.

 

The last stop is our favorite port of all Grand Cayman. This was our third time to Cayman and here we did Stingray City and Rum Point Beach. We really enjoyed Stingray city, we would have like it a little more if the water wasn't so rough that day. I am not the strongest swimmer and spent most of my time just trying to stay upright in the water and not enough time playing with the rays. Rum Point Beach was a wonderful stop we didn't get enough time there so we well have to go back next time.

 

The food on the Conquest overall was good, I didn't care much for the Buffet but the food in the Dining Room was very good. We had any time Dining and really enjoyed it, we found a waitress, Assaddee that was excellent and requested to be in her section the rest of the trip.

 

On the last day we did the Behind the Fun Tour. I would highly recommend this tour. It was well worth the price. You get to meet the Captain and get your picture with him, you get to see the bridge, the engine control room and a lot of interesting places.

 

I really enjoyed the cruise and will not hesitate to cruise on Carnival again, I found it to be just as nice as our cruises on Royal Caribbean.

 

If you have any questions I will try to answer them and will be posting pictures soon.

 

Sounds like you had fun! I have a few questions as I'm on the Conquest on Jan. 12!

 

Do you know if there was towel animal theater in the main show lounge on the last sea day? Along the same vein, was there the "invasion of the towel animals" on the Lido deck on the last day at sea?

 

Was the weather okay? Rough seas or anything?

 

I'm so glad we decided to book the Xunantunich Mayan ruins! We took forever trying to decide between ruins, but it seems like we made the right choice! I really wanted to be able to climb them and it sounds like you were able to do that. Was the bus ride bearable? (I've heard it's two hours each way). Also, was there a bathroom on the bus or one at Xunantunich? I know, silly question, but I swear I have a small bladder! :rolleyes:

[lovestocruise19]

 

By the way, I love this pic! Love the angle of it! :)

[aliendad]

The seas were really calm our entire trip, only on the last night did we notice any rocking at all it is was very little. The entire trip we had wonderful weather, from what we heard the cruises before us had a lot of rain.

 

The trip to Xunantunich was long but don't worry there is a restroom on the bus and one at the entrance to the park. The ride was long but the guide kept us interested with stories and history on the way to the ruins, there is also a lot of interesting scenery along the route. Bring water bottles with you, you can buy them there cheaply but just make sure you stay hydrated I didn't do a good job at that.

 

As for the towel animals there were always one in the room each night and several on the lido deck each day but I am not aware of anything other than that.

 

You will love the Conquest I know my wife and I really did.

Edited December 13, 2013 by aliendad

[lovestocruise19]

The seas were really calm our entire trip, only on the last night did we notice any rocking at all it is was very little. The entire trip we had wonderful weather, from what we heard the cruises before us had a lot of rain.

 

The trip to Xunantunich was long but don't worry there is a restroom on the bus and one at the entrance to the park. The ride was long but the guide kept us interested with stories and history on the way to the ruins, there is also a lot of interesting scenery along the route. Bring water bottles with you, you can buy them there cheaply but just make sure you stay hydrated I didn't do a good job at that.

 

As for the towel animals there were always one in the room each night and several on the lido deck each day but I am not aware of anything other than that.

 

You will love the Conquest I know my wife and I really did.

 

You don't know how happy I am to hear that the bus has a bathroom! :) LOL! I've been severely dehydrated once and it was no fun! So now I can drink without having to worrying about the bathroom! One more question, did you notice many bugs in Belize? I'm trying to decide whether or not to buy bug spray.

Edited December 13, 2013 by lovestocruise19

[kcwingwalker]

Thanks for sharing your great review..................Happy Holidays:)

[NHNEV2003]

We were also on the Conquest last week and evidently were on the same boat to Stingray City and Rum Point Beach.

 

You're right---the waves were pretty rough that day! But it was still worth it--we love getting in the water with the stingrays--it's a great excursion.

 

We also felt that this was a very smooth sailing---very little rocking for the most part.

 

Nice job with your review.

[aliendad]

I would definitely bring bug spray with you for the Belize excursion

[aliendad]

Edited December 15, 2013 by aliendad

[aliendad]

[aliendad]

[aliendad]

Our Room on the Conquest 8226

[aliendad]

Conquest in Cozumel

[aliendad]

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[aliendad]

In Roatan we did a private excursion called on the wild side I would highly recommend this tour to anyone who loves animals

 

[aliendad]

[aliendad]