Conquest review 2-7-15---2-15-15...St. Maarten, St. Kitts, San Juan and Grand Turk

[mrpayroll]

Thanks for taking the time to write the review. Will be on Conquest later this year for the first time. :)

[TerReuv]

TerReuv....I do have the fun times from this cruise and will try and scan them.

Is there a certain section that you are interested in?

Not sure which terminal number we sailed out of, I wasn't paying attention to that!

 

No particular section, but all of them if you can. There are a few of us that have been looking for them for that sailing and it seems that each time someone sails the same ports, they don't have the Funtimes! :) Thank you very much.

[Jenny in TX]

Thanks for sharing your review! We sailed the Conquest twice when its home port was in Galveston. Very nice ship!

[Twintowngirl]

 

Our Minnesota group decided to go on the Catamaran Fan-ta-sea excursion offered through Carnival. We booked this probably 2 months in advance of going on the cruise and the price per person was $125.00. This was a 6 hour excursion and started shortly after the boat was docked in St Kitts. We met together at the end of the pier and found the person who checked everyone in. Once everyone arrived we took a short walk to board the catamaran. I am not sure of how many passengers can ride at any one time but it was a full boat. The staff was helpful and courteous at all times.

 

On board the catamaran and pulling away from shore.

 

The ride to Nevis took a fair amount of time and the water was choppy at times. I had brought Meclizine along and was glad to have packed it. My sister and I sat in the rear of the boat while the rest of the group sat up front. They did get splashed a bit due to the high waves but had left all of their belongings like cameras, towels with us. There was one 20-30 minute stop for snorkeling which about half of the passengers participated in. After that stop it was time for lunch...chicken, rice, salad, and cake. Beverages such as beer, rum punch, soda such as Ting were provided at no extra charge.

 

Setting up the lunch:

 

The view along the coast of St Kitts is beautiful. Soon we could see Nevis in the foreground and we would be arriving on the beach there and spending about an hour there.

 

The beach at Nevis was very quiet compared to St Maarten and other beaches we had been at on previous trips to St Kitts. Since we were only there for a short time we did not rent chairs which were available. We were content to have our blankets on the sand and be in the water.

 

The ride back to St Kitts was a bit smoother then the ride to Nevis. The crew even let people "drive the catamaran" if they wanted. This is one of my friends sailing the boat!

 

Our group really enjoyed this excursion. We thought it was a good value for such a long event not to mention the food and beverages that were provided. I wouldn't recommend it for someone with limited mobility. When you board the vessel it is easy to go from the dock unto the boat and down a few stairs. Once onboard it was difficult to navigate due to the rockiness of the water. Getting off at the beach also required going up the stairs but walking along the narrow walkway to the front of the bot. From there you went down more stair directly into the water and onto the beach. It might not be a good choice for someone who isn't very stable on their feet for whatever reason. That is the nurse in me bossing people around despite the fact that I am retired!

[tea4ular]

I was lucky enough to have TSA prescreen on my boarding pass so breezed through the line....my poor sister ended up in a longer line.

 

For future reference - anyone traveling with you is eligible to get in the prescient line with you -:)

[momonthego17]

Great review!! My DH, 2 DDs, my mom and myself are going to be cruising on the Conquest next Thanksgiving so this is fun seeing the ship through your photos and your review. Glad you had a wonderful cruise with your sister!

[Twintowngirl]

Ok, this is part 2 of my St Kitts photos but the third try at writing a reply. Not sure what I am doing wrong but I wanted to post the rest of the photos from this port ...ready to tear my hair out at this point.

 

Let me try again..hmm hmm. Ok, so once we walked back to the port area we did a little shopping and grabbed a couple of beers. It was really hot on St Kitts that day and the wind and water wore me out. It felt good to be on stable ground again and wet my whistle. The rest of our group went in search of a bar with WiFi and found one close to the ship...I forgot the name of it but you had to go upstairs to go into the bar. We finished our shopping and headed back to the ship. We were on board before the 4:30pm boarding time. My sister headed to the Lido and I went to our cabin. At some point I kept hearing overhead pages for one passenger. By 5pm they were still paging him and we hadn't started moving yet. I had a prefect view of the dock from our balcony so snapped these photos of the staff waiting for the straggler to show up. He eventually arrived but strolled along like he was in no big hurry. Meanwhile, all the other passengers were yelling and taunting him. The big dope deserved it. Not sure of what his excuse was but that is my worst nightmare, getting left behind. Yikes.

 

Even the officers on the bridge were watching for this guy!

 

We eventually took off and made our way to San Juan.

Good bye St Kitts

 

 

This was the one night that we skipped going to dinner in the main dining room because we wanted to catch the showing of Epic Rock in the main theater and it began at 8:15pm. The Conquest theater screen is used for tons of special effects that you have to see to believe. It was a great show and I mentioned earlier how much we enjoyed this guitar player from Argentina...He was kind enough to pose for a photo with my friend Rick.

[Soleil's Mom]

Great review Twintowngirl!

 

I'll be on the Conquest in October doing this same itinerary with about 20 other people in our crew. 3 new ports for most of us! Keep up the good work! I know they aren't easy.

 

You wouldn't happen to know what day(s) the Chef's Table was offered on, would you?

Edited March 28, 2015 by Soleil's Mom

[Twintowngirl]

We really like the size and layout of this ship. I never felt like things were crowded or difficult to navigate because of a crowd. The only time I noticed anything like that would be regarding the beach chairs on the Lido and Panorama decks. There seemed to be a steady stream of people looking for deck chairs at peak times.

These are some of my favorite people and places on the Conquest:

 

Our cabin steward Francis. He has been with Carnival 22 years, which seems like it should be a record. Francis always had a smile on his face and remembered my sister and I by our first names. Loved this guy! By the way, I hope you are not noticing too much of a change in picture sizing as I go through my review. I am playing with settings on photobucket for the perfect size.

 

Some of Francis's fancy creations:

 

 

Maitre d Kostyantyn ...Monet Dining Room

[dseres]

Love your review so far! Great pictures too!! we are on the Conquest in April, different itinerary but looking forward to it. Only negative I think will be no serenity deck. We have come to love that.

[Twintowngirl]

We arrived in San Juan at 7am and were there until 2:00 so it felt like a rather short day. The only other time I had been to this port was in 2009 and we arrived later in the day and stayed until about 10-11pm. I much prefer being here during the daytime hours. A part of our group decided that they wanted to go zip lining and arranged for the excursion. My sister had been to the Bacardi distillery years ago and was willing to go again. I believe that we had a light, room service breakfast that morning and were off the ship at about 8:00 or so. We walked to the water taxi area which is just a few blocks away from the port area. You just go to the left when you get out near the street. We bought round trip tickets...I believe that they were $1.00 for the ride to the distillery. Once you get on the other side of the bay area cabs are available to drive you to the Bacardi grounds. Cab fare to the factory wasn't too bad...$5.00/PP.

My sister and I chose the basic tour for $12.00. This tour was actually just of the grounds and a visitor center but the cost included one rum drink in a commemorative cup. Another tour cost $23.00 and included rum tasting. We did get to do a little rum tasting at the end of tour, once we arrived in the gift shop.

 

San Juan...view from ship

 

Water taxi terminal

 

The taxi:

 

 

This can't be good...note number of passengers and available life jackets!

 

More pictures to follow of the Bacardi grounds and distillery.

[Twintowngirl]

The Bacardi grounds are beautiful and right on the water's edge. Arrived at the "bat shaped" center and bought our tickets for the basic tour. We were given a pager and after a very short wait, our tour guide was ready for us. There is a little tram that takes you to the visitor center where the tour is conducted. A lot of history of the family and how Bacardi rum began being made in Puerto Rico was provided. You do not actually go into any of the distillery areas on the tour.

 

Main gate area:

 

This is where the tour begins and where you receive your drink when you are done:

 

Me, enjoying my fruity rum drink...wish I had another one right about now!

 

My sister enjoying her beverage!

 

Bacardi bat, symbol is everywhere. I never even noticed it on the bottle before. I think I need to drink more rum.

 

I bought one of these pour spouts plus a box of rum balls to enjoy at home. So I was careful with the rum balls because they had chocolate in them and I didn't want them to get ruined etc. When I got home I opened up the box to discover that most of them were missing. I wrote a letter to the manufacturer but haven't heard anything back. Next time I will buy the rum and make my own darn balls!

[Twintowngirl]

We boarded the water taxi for the return trip to San Juan and were back in a short time. The rest of the time in town was spent window shopping and walking up and down the blue cobblestone streets. We also stopped at a couple of different places and had Pina Coladas...yum. I thought about grabbing lunch here but we decided that we wanted a Guys Burger when we got back on the ship.

 

Some of my favorite shots of San Juan:

 

 

 

 

 

Loved the rich history of San Juan...I would love to go back sometime when I have more time to really explore this beautiful island.

[JAXCRUISER]

I'm enjoying your review--looking forward to more. Thanks!!

[Twintowngirl]

The Conquest arrived in Grand Turk along side the Carnival Sunshine. We were there from 9:00-5:00pm that particular Friday. I love the Grand Turk beach and so does my sister so that is all that we had planned on doing. This was our second stop on the island and I always find that the beach is probably the best thing to do there. Part of our group had gotten certified in scuba diving prior to the cruise and had planned on doing that in Grand Turk but due to poor visibility in the water the excursion was cancelled. They arranged for a snorkeling excursion instead once they arrived on the Island and loved it. Another couple did a tour of the island just for the photo opportunities it offered and thought it was ok, it is such a small island after all. I might do that little trip when I go there next February on the Sunshine. Another big group that we met via Facebook and CC decided on going to Jack's Shack which offers great drinks and good food along with beach chairs etc and a dog named Topher who loves digging in the sand on the beach.

 

 

 

Although the Sunshine arrived just before us and it appeared that there was a mass exodus coming off of both ships, there were plenty of beach chairs to be had. Margaritaville was plenty busy though but part of our group found places there for the day. The chairs at both places are free but we noticed some interesting entrepreneurs on the beach who had snorkeling gear and beachy stuff for rent and they also had their own supply of beach chairs available...for a fee. So when people would be wandering the beach looking for a spot to land these guys were right there to offer them chairs.

 

This beach is a good place for snorkeling right near the beach. The visibility is clear. There are a few rocks here and there and I recommend wearing water sandals. I almost wished I hadn't gotten off of the boat right away that morning as someone on board made an announcement that there were humpback whales hanging out near the aft of the Conquest and that could be easily seen. We could see their tales from the beach but I wasn't close enough for a photo. I guess that they are a fairly common sight during February.

 

I walked down both sections of the beach as far as I could go..just past Jack's Shack and then to the other end known as the conch graveyard. Several people sitting near us on the beach had gone down and brought back nice conch shells. My luggage always weighs too much and I couldn't see lugging them home. I have a couple tucked away somewhere in the deep junk section of my basement anyhow.

 

 

My favorite little shop on the island...great beachy clothing and jewelry:

 

We stayed at the beach most of the day and had our lunch there. Several small food shacks offer chicken, beer, some seafood. Margaritaville also has food available and fun drinks. I might just try out the food there when I cruise in February.

[campdaan]

 

Taste Bar fellows...Loved these guys! They were so entertaining. I would always ask, "what are you serving tonight?" and in unison they would say whatever it was they were serving in a sing-song way following by "yeh hah"

 

 

 

Great review !

I was on the Conquest last month.

The Taste Bar guys were awesome !

Edited March 28, 2015 by campdaan

[Twintowngirl]

For future reference - anyone traveling with you is eligible to get in the prescient line with you -:)

 

 

Thanks for the heads up tea4ular!

[Twintowngirl]

You wouldn't happen to know what day(s) the Chef's Table was offered on, would you?

 

I am not sure what night they offered it. A few members of our FB group went and raved about it.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Deb

[seacat66]

did your cabin have a mini frig?

[Twintowngirl]

did your cabin have a mini frig?

 

Yes it did. It never got very cold though but we took all of the mini bar items out and put them in a suitcase ( we told our steward about it so we didn't get charged) and used the fridge for wine/water etc.

 

Deb

[seacat66]

Yes it did. It never got very cold though but we took all of the mini bar items out and put them in a suitcase ( we told our steward about it so we didn't get charged) and used the fridge for wine/water etc.

 

Deb

 

thank you. i just booked, and haven't seen it listed it anywhere, but thought it should be in that little cupboard, under the counter.

[kwm1021]

love your review!!

[DeanDeeDee]

Thanks for the great review and pictures. We are sailing on the Conquest in December - same itinerary!

[SMSACE6]

I am loving your review! Great photos. Thank you so much for taking the time to a review:)

[kteachcruiser52]

For future reference - anyone traveling with you is eligible to get in the prescient line with you -:)

 

On our last flight we flew different airlines each way. On the first, we both got pre check tickets. On the second, only I had pre check on my ticket. We asked and they said he could not get in the pre-check line with me, but I could get in line with him and not take my shoes off, ect.