Conquest Western Caribbean January 18,2015-Chef's Table, Pier Running, and More

[onegroundcafe]

Hello again, welcome to my Conquest review. DH, DD, and I sailed the Western Caribbean itinerary of the Conquest while she moved from Miami to Fort Lauderdale.

We originally received a free cruise offer from the Carnival Casino on our Sunshine sailing in September, we looked when DD would be out of school and booked this cruise.

The cruise was a bit different than others we had been on, it would be sailing at 9:00 pm on Sunday. For the first time in our Carnival cruising history we got the telephone call telling us not to arrive until 4:00 pm as the ship would be coming from Miami.

We took our time going down to Florida, we are from NC. We stopped Saturday in St. Augustine and did a whole day there, I will review that later since it has nothing to do with Carnival.

We left St. Augustine and drove to Fort Lauderdale on Sunday morning. We arrived at 3:15 pm and parked our car at Park N Go for 8.99 a day. The shuttle was waiting for us and we had to park valet.

The porter/valet loaded our myriad of bags onto the bus and we were on our way.

We arrived at the port around 3:30 pm and saw a bunch of people hanging outside, the driver told us that priority boarding was inside.

We walked around the building and straight through security and up to the check-in desk. We had to fill out the Ebola paperwork but they did not take our pictures as they normally do (we found out later it was due to a computer malfunction) and we went up the escalator to the priority area.

WOW it was packed! There were not even seats available to sit in and there was water available to drink.

Word was being passed along that we could board early around 4:00, not the 4:30 they had said in the beginning. Holy moly it was crazy! We got in line to board and no one was taking pictures with the picture people, we were the first. We took our picture and then went up the ramp to get on the ship.

Most ramps zigzag to get on the ship but this one was a huge vertical incline, I felt bad for those in wheelchairs.

We finally got on board at 4:07 pm and they took our sign and sail pictures as we crossed the ship threshold.

Welcome to our home for the next six days, the Conquest!

A picture of the lobby, you board on deck three.

[chsalas]

thank you for your post, please post any further information you can. Our first sailing with Carnival is on the Conquest on May 31. We've sailed before on Princess but this cruise is with family members who are previous Carnival travelers. Thank you once again.

[onegroundcafe]

We took the elevator to our room and dropped off our carry on bag.

 

After we dropped off our luggage we decided to have a light snack for lunch. We went up the stairs to the lido deck.

The decor of this ship is very dark wood and there is an art theme. Of the older design of ship the Valor is my favorite but the Conquest is a close second.

On the lido deck they have Guy's Burgers and Blue Iguana for lunch.

 

 

Other 2.0 ships have Guy's Burger's open from 12-6 and Blue Iguana open from 12-2 so we decided to forgo Guy's as we could get those later in the week. At Blue Iguana I was not even sure they were open and had to ask DH because no one was on the ship.

We went to the Cezzane restaurant (Lido dining area) and ate some Italian snacks while DD went to Fish and Chips for her plain french fries and DH got his watermelon ceviche dish.

 

After we ate we noticed people were still not on board. We found out later the gangplank had broke and people could not board until around 8:00 pm...yikes!

[onegroundcafe]

When we got back to our room our luggage was already there, the fastest we have ever gotten it.

Hint-wear bathing suits or put bathing suits in your carry on because on embarkation day the pools are empty!

We got into our bathing attire and headed back upstairs to the Lido to get in a hot tub.

We settled into the hot tub and began to watch the NFC championship game.

We watched the game and held out to overtime, what a fun way to watch football. We grabbed our towels and headed back to the room to get dinner.

Since this sailing was different there was open seating for dinner (like when you sail from Puerto Rico). We had anytime dining so it did not matter anyway. ATD eats in the Renoir Restaurant.

 

Camp Carnival is not open on embarkation day/night so DD ate with us. She ate chicken nuggets and french fries. DH and I got the heart of iceberg lettuce with bleu cheese, shrimp cocktail (DH), and sweet and sour shrimp (me) and Salmon (DH) from the everyday menu.

I wish I had not waited until this cruise to eat the sweet and sour shrimp it was AMAZING!!!! DH liked his salmon very much. For dessert DD got WCMC and I got a banana split with no strawberry ice cream (?), DH got coffee.

 

(Inside of the dining room)

 

As we were eating they were calling staff to report to muster stations so we had to hurry along to finish up.

We went back to the room and waiting for our turn to be called.

Our room steward was "Big O" and he was the best steward we have ever had, he always talked to us in the hallways, kept the ice stocked, made towel animals and generally was very nice.

 

I felt for the New England/Colt fans as muster drill was during the game, it was a blow out anyway (deflategate had not been found out yet). After muster drill we had planned to go to the sail away party and DD wanted to go to the Welcome Aboard show.

The Cruise Director, Mike Pack, got on the intercom and stated the party would be delayed due to a medical emergency. We headed to the Welcome Aboard show instead. The show was held in the Toulouse Lautrec Lounge, which after just getting off the Sunshine was HUGE!

 

I had not read my fun times well enough to know that Latin nights was a part of the Welcome Aboard show so we stayed through that (we don't go to shows on the ship, we prefer the comedy club). It was okay.

 

As a tradition we headed back to the Lido area to the aft part and got pizza and hot chocolate before bedtime.

DH went to the casino as it was now open and DD and I went to sleep! There was a late night comedy show but it was 18+ and we had DD and no Camp Carnival so we did not go.

 

There were things we did not do on embarkation day that we wanted to it was just so much to do in so little time, things we wanted to do: Spa raffle, Liquor tasting, Sail Away party, Piano Bar with Gustavo (no Camp Carnival), Martini Tasting.....good thing we had a few more days to experience the fun!

[onegroundcafe]

Day Two-The Best of Key West

 

I am in the midst of training for a half marathon (Rock'N Roll DC March 14) and my body must be trained to wake up early because at 5:20 am I was up and at 'em! I headed up to the jogging track and since we did not dock in Key West until 10:00 am I decided to do my long run of nine miles this morning.

It was very cool and it felt very good to run. I had hair ties on my wrist to keep track of laps, 10 laps = 1 mile.

 

I had decided I would break it up and do three miles on the track, three miles on the dreadmill, and three miles on the track, this worked out well, although they turned on the jumbotron at 6:00 am and it scared me to death!

 

After my run I headed back to the room to see if my family was ready for breakfast...eventually they were.

I love Blue Iguana breakfast burritos so I parked myself there and got yummy tummy breakfast, DD got her chocolate muffins she loves so much, and DH got his usual assortment of Lido goods.

There are a number of omelette stations on the ship, one near the front of the Lido, one opposite the deli and one in the back of the Lido.

We ate and watched Key West get closer.

[onegroundcafe]

After breakfast I read in the fun times that Good Morning Trivia would be held at 9:15 am, I don't get to do trivia very often on cruises because it is held at times we are doing other things. It was mega hard, I only got 13 out of 20, but I learned some new things. The trivia was held in the atrium so after it was over we headed outside to see the ship dock.

It was neat seeing the ship parallel park. We were docked at Pier B, which is by the Westin. We headed up to our room to grab our stuff to get off the ship.

By reading CruiseCritic I found out that City View Trolley had a deal for a hop on/hop off trolley all day for 18.00 a person, children were free. We headed around the Westin and hopped on the trolley.

The guide was very funny and we stayed on until stop six which was the Hemingway House. To enter the Hemingway house was 13.00 a person and it was a beautiful house. DD really wanted to go see the six toed cats.

According to the keeper of the cats there are 52 cats on the premises. The cats were really approachable and friendly. My favorite part of the house was the pool.

We hopped back on the trolley and rode around to stop two. We got off and went to Sloppy Joe's and DH got a Sloppy Joe and we had a drink and listened to the piano player. We then walked to Kermit's and got the famous key lime pie and it is as good as everyone says it is. We hopped on the trolley and rode around again, and took a picture of the southernmost point. We also went and toured around the local shopping area, we saw this cool sign which is our motto.

 

We also took some pictures with the statues around Mallory square and hung out by the Pirate musuem and looked at the overpriced market area.

 

It was then time to head back to the ship.

[SMSACE6]

I am enjoying your review. I have always wanted to sail on this ship. Look forward to the rest of your review.:)

[onegroundcafe]

Once back on the ship I wanted a Guy's Burger....but it was CLOSED!!!!! They had changed the times of Guy's Burger from 12-2 and 6-9:30, and now Blue Iguana was 12-6 pm.

DD was ready to go to Camp Carnival so we headed up there to drop her off.

DD is now nine years old and has the option of signing in and signing out, we did not give her this option. DH and and I were planning on a late dinner since we wanted to watch the comedy show at 7:30. So we headed to one of my favorite places on the ship the Alchemy Bar.

The bartender was a bit standoffish and I ordered a new drink to me, the Remedy. We also asked for the cheese and olive plate and devoured it (it comes with swiss cheese, walnuts, and black and green olives) you have to ask for it but it is yummy!

We then headed back to the room to get dressed for dinner. We headed to the Punchliner comedy club to see the family friendly double header of Alex Ortiz and John DiCrosta. There was no wait for the show but in the end there was standing room only.

The show was very funny. After the show we headed to dinner. I got the cheese plate and the prosciutto ruffles, DH got the study in sushi, for entrees I got the chicken sicilian style and DH got the short ribs. We did not get dessert.

 

After dinner we headed to the piano bar to see Gustavo.

He was by far our favorite piano bar entertainer, we went back every night that he played. He had an amazing personality, great crowd interaction, just a very funny guy.

We had signed DD up for Night Owls and we were planning on going to the Love and Marriage show but as we checked in at Camp Carnival they stated Night Owls was cancelled due to low sign-ups. We picked up DD and I took her to get hot chocolate and DH went to the casino.

[onegroundcafe]

Day Three-A Fun Day at Sea!

I woke up early again and went for a run, it was fun to watch the sunrise. After I came back my family was ready for breakfast and DH did not want to miss out on the sea day brunch that I always brag about. We grabbed our free drink coupons (who knew they would be an endangered species at that point) and headed to the Monet dining room.

Once seated I got the fiery tomato soup that I had read so much about on Cruise Critic, it lived up to they hype! I used my coupon to get a Mimosa, DH got a Cruiser, and DD got a Root Beer. For our meals DH and I got steak and eggs and DD got regular french toast. It was all so very yummy. After our tummies were full DD went to Camp Carnival, DH went to the casino (and got the drinks on us coupon), and I grabbed my book and headed to the Lido deck. That morning they had decorated the Lido deck with the towel animals.

The Conquest has no serenity deck but it was easy to find a chair. It was a great place to watch the Red Frog Rum Bar vs. Blue Iguana Tequila Bar challenge (Master Mixologist)

The judges were really funny and one was pretty harsh in his judging, he referred to one of the drinks as looking and tasting like the blue stuff you clean toilets with. After the Master Mixologist contest was the hairy chest contest. They had a huge group that participated and soon it was down to the final two- a guy that was wearing his wife's bikini bottom and a guy pretending to be Santa Claus. The guy wearing the bikini won, it was very comical.

After I was done watching/laying out and reading I went to get DD from Camp Carnival but she did not want to leave. I then went off the casino and watched DH play some craps.

After he got to a stopping point we went to the Lido deck and got some Blue Iguana since all other options were closed at the point, plus it was great!

We then went up to the Steakhouse to confirm our Chef's Table reservations and found out that it would be held on Cozumel night (so that means less margaritas and tacos for us). We then went to get DD at Camp Carnival since it was closed for beary cuddly.

DD went and had a chicken taco and we went back to the room to get dressed to go hang out in the hot tubs/ride the slides.

I tried to get DD to do miniature golf with me but she said she had no interest in that.

DD went back to Camp Carnival to eat dinner with her friends, she also wanted to go to the kid's celebration and we got dressed for cruise elegant night.

[onegroundcafe]

For Cruise elegant night we were placed at a two top that was a glorified four top. The other couple with us was very friendly and from Boston, they were miffed they missed the AFC championship game for muster. They were great at conversation and the meal flew by.

For an appetizer I got the spaghetti carboanara and DH got the ceasar salad. We got surf and turf for our entree, lobster and prime rib. Before we got our food someone on staff approached our table and inquired as to whether we were going to Chef's table, we said yes and then he went away. We were so confused and thought maybe we had missed it. We were curious for the rest of the meal.

Finally we got our answer, the Chef de Cuisine came to our table and confirmed if we had food allergies. We stated no. After dinner (no dessert again) we explored around the ship. They kept calling for this woman over the intercom and asking her to contact guest services. This went on for a few hours, we never found out what happened ?

We headed to the piano bar to see Gustavo again...seriously he is great! After that we got DD from Camp Carnival did our nightly routine and got ready for Cozumel the next day.

[onegroundcafe]

Fun Times Embarkation Day

 

 

 

 

 

[taylortess]

Keep it coming. We'll be on the conquest in March.

[onegroundcafe]

Key West Fun Times

 

 

 

 

 

[onegroundcafe]

Fun Times-First Sea Day

 

 

 

 

 

[onegroundcafe]

Day Four-Cozumel, Chef's Table Pier Running and More

 

I woke up early for my run and headed up to the jogging track. After I was done I gathered up my family and we ate breakfast before leaving the ship for Cozumel.

We hadn't really planned anything for Cozumel, we just like to go downtown and hang out, we have a specific restaurant that we love to go to. When you get off the ship you are funneled through the shopping area and the shops.

 

 

We found a cab to take us downtown for 8.00 for our family. We were dropped near the International Pier (we docked at Puerta Maya) and proceeded to walk around the shops, we tried some free tequila shots and found some souvenirs to take home and decided we would hit the shop on our way back to the ship.

 

We walked by the plaza which is being completely re-done and found our favorite restaurant Mariscoz. We sat outside and our server called over a band and they serenaded us.

 

They have margaritas-two for one and really great nachos and guacamole, we sat there for about an hour or so and then went window shopping. I found a place that did massages for 20.00 and DH and DD waited while I got that done.

We walked around some more and found a place that did fish pedicures. DD and I were game and dove right in so to speak.

 

DH was a little more hesitant but after seeing that we survived he decided he could do it as well.

 

As DH was getting his done I looked at the phone and saw that it was 2:30, I told DH when he was done we needed to head back to the ship, we like to be on the ship about two hours before sailing and we were cutting it close.

We hailed a cab and told him to go to Puerta Maya, DH asked if I wanted to get the souvenirs before we boarded but I was worried about the time so I told him no.

 

We got to the pier and went to the check in gate and showed our sign and sail passes to the lady, she frantically yells to the guy behind her that we were on the Conquest and he comes running forward and makes us go through the crew entrance to get to the boat instead of having us go through the shopping mall.

 

We didn't think much of it and stopped on the pier to take this picture

and we also took a picture for some people on the Ecstasy.

 

As we boarded the gangplank a crew member dressed in white starts yelling at us asking "What excursion were you on?!!!!" We looked at each other confused and then he yells "DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS??!!!" and my DH pulls out the phone and says 3:07. The staff member starts talking about ships time versus Cozumel time and it suddenly dawns on us that it is in fact 4:07 and the ship was supposed to leave at 4:00.

 

We ding our cards into the machine as we hear our names being called over the loud speaker and telling us to contact guest services. We had no idea how close we had cut it, I was so glad we did not stop to get the souvenirs.

 

We dropped our stuff off at our room and we were pretty embarrassed. Very shortly after we boarded the ship took off. We took a little siesta.

 

Around 6:00 we dropped DD at Camp Carnival and headed to the room to get ready for the Chef's table.

[onegroundcafe]

We were told to meet at the Atrium bar at 6:30, we were greeted by the Captain and handed glasses of champagne. We followed the chef to the galley and stopped near the appetizer station. We began the first course which was:

Magno Sphere, Rosemary Biscuit-it exploded like an egg yolk inside your mouth.

The second course was: Salmon Tartar Cornets, Sesame Seeds

yummy!

 

The third course was: Beef Carpaccio on Air Pillow, Chocolate Bacon, and Apple Ribbons, the flavors were excellent.

 

The third and final galley kitchen course was: Double Cooked Lamb, Tapioca

 

Throughout the meal our champagne glasses were refilled constantly. We then moved to the dessert station and learned how to make warm chocolate melting cake.

 

Then it was time to move to our dining area.

[onegroundcafe]

We ate right across from the art room in front of the Renoir Restaurant. We started off with white wine and the first course of the dinner portion which was:

Beet Blanket, Spiced Grape Tea

This was probably the only time in my life I will eat beets, they were edible.

 

The second course was: Crab Stack

super duper yummy!

 

Then we were served red wine and the next course which was: Duck Textures

 

The fourth course was: Bisque our way, which was two different tomato soups and was very yummy!

 

It was at this point in time the magician came in and did some tricks and we had some down time to get to know each other. We talked about the missing woman, no one knew what happened to her and then we found out that a Carnival excursion had been late that afternoon and they held the boat for that excursion, if not for that, we might still have been in Cozumel at this point! It was fun getting to know the other guests.

[onegroundcafe]

It was now time for the main courses, the first one being: Sea Bass

 

Then it was the Wagyu, which was very tender.

 

Last but not least was the dessert course

 

A photographer came in and took a group picture and dinner was over, we were so sad to leave!

 

A copy of the menu:

 

We went to the piano bar to see Gustavo, picked up DD from Camp Carnival, and I fell asleep in a food coma, DH went to the casino.

 

Tomorrow would bring Grand Cayman.

[nybumpkin]

 

 

 

As DH was getting his done I looked at the phone and saw that it was 2:30, I told DH when he was done we needed to head back to the ship, we like to be on the ship about two hours before sailing and we were cutting it close.

We hailed a cab and told him to go to Puerta Maya, DH asked if I wanted to get the souvenirs before we boarded but I was worried about the time so I told him no.

 

We got to the pier and went to the check in gate and showed our sign and sail passes to the lady, she frantically yells to the guy behind her that we were on the Conquest and he comes running forward and makes us go through the crew entrance to get to the boat instead of having us go through the shopping mall.

 

We didn't think much of it and stopped on the pier to take this picture

and we also took a picture for some people on the Ecstasy.

 

As we boarded the gangplank a crew member dressed in white starts yelling at us asking "What excursion were you on?!!!!" We looked at each other confused and then he yells "DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS??!!!" and my DH pulls out the phone and says 3:07. The staff member starts talking about ships time versus Cozumel time and it suddenly dawns on us that it is in fact 4:07 and the ship was supposed to leave at 4:00.

 

We ding our cards into the machine as we hear our names being called over the loud speaker and telling us to contact guest services. We had no idea how close we had cut it, I was so glad we did not stop to get the souvenirs.

 

We dropped our stuff off at our room and we were pretty embarrassed. Very shortly after we boarded the ship took off. We took a little siesta.

 

Around 6:00 we dropped DD at Camp Carnival and headed to the room to get ready for the Chef's table.

LOL - Our oldest son had the cell phone time experience in Cozumel some years ago. He was an hour late to dinner that night.:p I just read that Quintana Roo (Cozumel's state) is changing to Eastern time - maybe a few too many missed ships due to cell phones.:)

 

I'm enjoying your review. We've sailed Conquest twice and love her.

[onegroundcafe]

Fun Times-Cozumel

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 1, 2015 by onegroundcafe

[kteachcruiser52]

Day Four-Cozumel, Chef's Table Pier Running and More

 

I woke up early for my run and headed up to the jogging track. After I was done I gathered up my family and we ate breakfast before leaving the ship for Cozumel.

We hadn't really planned anything for Cozumel, we just like to go downtown and hang out, we have a specific restaurant that we love to go to. When you get off the ship you are funneled through the shopping area and the shops.

 

 

We found a cab to take us downtown for 8.00 for our family. We were dropped near the International Pier (we docked at Puerta Maya) and proceeded to walk around the shops, we tried some free tequila shots and found some souvenirs to take home and decided we would hit the shop on our way back to the ship.

 

We walked by the plaza which is being completely re-done and found our favorite restaurant Mariscoz. We sat outside and our server called over a band and they serenaded us.

 

They have margaritas-two for one and really great nachos and guacamole, we sat there for about an hour or so and then went window shopping. I found a place that did massages for 20.00 and DH and DD waited while I got that done.

We walked around some more and found a place that did fish pedicures. DD and I were game and dove right in so to speak.

 

DH was a little more hesitant but after seeing that we survived he decided he could do it as well.

 

As DH was getting his done I looked at the phone and saw that it was 2:30, I told DH when he was done we needed to head back to the ship, we like to be on the ship about two hours before sailing and we were cutting it close.

We hailed a cab and told him to go to Puerta Maya, DH asked if I wanted to get the souvenirs before we boarded but I was worried about the time so I told him no.

 

We got to the pier and went to the check in gate and showed our sign and sail passes to the lady, she frantically yells to the guy behind her that we were on the Conquest and he comes running forward and makes us go through the crew entrance to get to the boat instead of having us go through the shopping mall.

 

We didn't think much of it and stopped on the pier to take this picture

and we also took a picture for some people on the Ecstasy.

 

As we boarded the gangplank a crew member dressed in white starts yelling at us asking "What excursion were you on?!!!!" We looked at each other confused and then he yells "DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS??!!!" and my DH pulls out the phone and says 3:07. The staff member starts talking about ships time versus Cozumel time and it suddenly dawns on us that it is in fact 4:07 and the ship was supposed to leave at 4:00.

 

We ding our cards into the machine as we hear our names being called over the loud speaker and telling us to contact guest services. We had no idea how close we had cut it, I was so glad we did not stop to get the souvenirs.

 

We dropped our stuff off at our room and we were pretty embarrassed. Very shortly after we boarded the ship took off. We took a little siesta.

 

Around 6:00 we dropped DD at Camp Carnival and headed to the room to get ready for the Chef's table.

 

My DH always wears a watch that is set to ship time as cell phones will change according to towers. We were on a Carnival Excursion to the Tulum Ruins that day and it was running late. MY DH's was getting very nervous, but our guide said Carnival actually owned (not jus sponsored) that excursion and there was no was Carnival would leave without our 2 buses (93) of people.A Carnival employee was there to meet us as we got off. We were cautioned to go directly to the ship and not to stop for anything or we would be left. We boarded the Conquest a little before 4 so our excursion running late probably helped you!

[kteachcruiser52]

Hello again, welcome to my Conquest review. DH, DD, and I sailed the Western Caribbean itinerary of the Conquest while she moved from Miami to Fort Lauderdale.

We originally received a free cruise offer from the Carnival Casino on our Sunshine sailing in September, we looked when DD would be out of school and booked this cruise.

The cruise was a bit different than others we had been on, it would be sailing at 9:00 pm on Sunday. For the first time in our Carnival cruising history we got the telephone call telling us not to arrive until 4:00 pm as the ship would be coming from Miami.

We took our time going down to Florida, we are from NC. We stopped Saturday in St. Augustine and did a whole day there, I will review that later since it has nothing to do with Carnival.

We left St. Augustine and drove to Fort Lauderdale on Sunday morning. We arrived at 3:15 pm and parked our car at Park N Go for 8.99 a day. The shuttle was waiting for us and we had to park valet.

The porter/valet loaded our myriad of bags onto the bus and we were on our way.

We arrived at the port around 3:30 pm and saw a bunch of people hanging outside, the driver told us that priority boarding was inside.

We walked around the building and straight through security and up to the check-in desk. We had to fill out the Ebola paperwork but they did not take our pictures as they normally do (we found out later it was due to a computer malfunction) and we went up the escalator to the priority area.

WOW it was packed! There were not even seats available to sit in and there was water available to drink.

Word was being passed along that we could board early around 4:00, not the 4:30 they had said in the beginning. Holy moly it was crazy! We got in line to board and no one was taking pictures with the picture people, we were the first. We took our picture and then went up the ramp to get on the ship.

Most ramps zigzag to get on the ship but this one was a huge vertical incline, I felt bad for those in wheelchairs.

We finally got on board at 4:07 pm and they took our sign and sail pictures as we crossed the ship threshold.

Welcome to our home for the next six days, the Conquest!

A picture of the lobby, you board on deck three.

 

We were on that cruise. We got off the Freedom that morning and Carnival arranged for our luggage to be sent to Carnival and ParkNGo took us from the Freedom Terminal to the Conquest terminal. We got there about 10:30 am. The doors opened at 1:00 and we were first in the Priority line. The computers were not working then and they gave us visitor passes to get on the ship and escorted us to the Priority Lounge. There were cookies, lemonade, and water. When we began boarding around 2:30, there were a lot of empty seats in the lounge when boarding started.

 

The port employees arrived all together at 12:40. They bused them up from Miami since the Freedom was still doing one more cruise out of Port Everglades. Conquest was at terminal 4 because Freedom was still using terminal 19 for one more cruise before it repositioned.

Edited February 1, 2015 by kteachcruiser52

[MsSWhite]

Any pros or cons regarding your room and/or location? My kids are booked in the room next door to you on our upcoming cruise!

[onegroundcafe]

I loved the location of our room. If you went to the elevator bay next to us it brought you up to the Lido deck right in between the two hot tubs and in front of the Jumbotron screen facing Guy's and Blue Iguana. It was also good for us because straight up was Camp Carnival. We like the fact that we can walk up one flight of stairs and be where the action is. Also we had ATD (anytime dining) and the Renoir Dining Room is directly down the elevator.

Our cabin steward, Big O, was the best steward we have ever had. He greeted us as we boarded, always talked to us in the halls, my DH asked for ice in the beginning and it never went empty the rest of the cruise, we always had towel animals.

[onegroundcafe]

Day Five-Grand Cayman-No Beehives!

 

Grand Cayman was a late arrival day but I still woke up early and did my morning run. We had a regular breakfast (no burrito for me) and DD could not find her chocolate muffin, she found one on a roaming cart and asked the staff member for it, and the staff member came back with four more for DD, talk about a fan for life!

Tendering was to start at 10:00 and I hate tendering, I do not do well in large crowds of people so for that part I am glad for the priority tendering perk of being platinum. Last time we tendered we were on the Glory and it was Half Moon Cay and it was a very smooth process, so I was not worried about this experience.

WRONG!!!! The tendering on this ship was a HOT mess, but it wasn't necessarily Carnival's fault, I think it was the passenger's fault. We got into Grand Cayman about a half hour late. Passenger's were told to report to Degas Lounge on Deck 5 when their entire party was ready to depart and get a sticker.

When we were on the Sunshine they told us to go to Guest Services and there would be a leader that would lead Platinum guests down to deck zero. We followed suit for the Conquest but there were people everywhere!!! The line for guest services was non-existent as there were just gobs of people everywhere.

A lady from Carnival was trying to organize the Platinum people and take groups of 20 at a time to Deck zero, but the guests would not listen and she would take a group of 20 down and at least 20 more would follow even though she told them to wait.

A guest was in line for priority Guest Services yelling at them telling them that she did not feel that she was a priority to them based on how tendering was going.

It was pretty embarrassing to be mixed up in that mess and my family and I choose to wait until the lady came back to go down....we were the only ones.

We got on the tender excited to hit the beach. From Cruisecritic we learned about the public bus station next to the library. We found a #1 bus and paid the 2.50 per person and asked them to take us to Public Beach.

After taking public buses in St. Thomas, the Grand Cayman bus seemed like child's play. We were dropped off at Public Beach and DH and I sat at a covered picnic table at Calico Jack's and DD went in the ocean and swam and built castles.

DH played on the free wifi, and I read, we got yummy frozen drinks for the astronomical price of 11.00 a pop. I was craving a burger and I was going to split it with DH but then DD said she was ready to go back to the ship.

We got showered off and headed back to catch a public bus-there is also a playground at this beach in cooler months for those with little ones.

We took the bus to the tender, tendered, and then boarded the ship extra early, we had learned our lesson.

Still hungry and craving a burger I headed to Guys....it was closed, I read later that this is part of a new experiment with changing Guys' hours....I liked the 12-6 hours much better.

I went to the deli and got a turkey/ham/swiss melt and got lettuce off the Blue Iguana cart. The deli worker recognized me from chef's table, it was fun. DD got a hot dog and DH got Blue Iguana tacos.

DD went up to Camp Carnival, I grabbed my book and headed for a chair to read, and DH took a nap.

Later we went to dinner and after the Chef's table nothing could compare. It was still good though :) For a starter I got the Maryland Corn Chowder and DH got the Seafood Platter. We also got a free bottle of wine from the casino! For entrees I got the spring chicken and DH got the Chateaubriand. We did not get desserts.

Night life this night was pretty non-existent, it was the piano player's day off, there were no comedians, we don't really go to shows. We instead watched the Devil Wears Prada in the room. It was an early night.

 

**No Beehives-last time I was in Grand Cayman I was leaving the ocean and walking back to DH I stepped on a bee in the sand and got a huge sting and it was swollen for a few days making walking difficult. So now when I think of Grand Cayman I think of bees, no bees this time.

Edited February 1, 2015 by onegroundcafe