Review: Caribbean on Conquest - 1/17/16 - family cruise with 2 toddlers

[eyzwdeshut]

My DH and I have cruise on NCL prior to this cruise, but the price was right and we wanted to take our twin boys on a true vacation. So, we are not 'new' to cruising, just to CCL.

 

Like the good cruisers we are, we flew in the day before and stayed at the Aqua Hotel. Ft Lauderdale is very pricey during the "snowbird" season, and this hotel was no different. It suited our needs for the night and was very close to the beach.

 

We purchased FTTF b/c, let's face it, twin toddlers are unpredictable. We needed to know we had somewhere to go if they had meltdowns. Turns out, we wouldn't use that aspect of it b/c that morning one of our boys woke with a fever and other issues and we were in the ER until 2pm. Now, I have to point out that we asked someone in the terminal which line to get in & they directed us to a non-FTTF line. We were so happy just to make it to the ship that we paid no attention to it... but when we got to the counter, we were told that we'd gone through the wrong line. Grrrrrr. And, signage is not the best in there.

 

No biggie though... we got what we needed done & got on the ship straightaway. We went right to our cabins and it was ready (b/c at that time, they all are!). Our luggage arrived very shortly after that, so one of the FTTF perks came into play.

 

The cabin itself was fine and we were excited to have a balcony. Previous cruises we saved money and got an inside cabin and we were just fine with that then. We were on the 11th deck - Spa deck - and the room, for the most part, was quiet. The only time we heard anything was when our neighbors were out on their balcony. The boys slept on the sofa since they are still small enough to share without fighting. Next time that won't be the case!

 

we never had much of an issue getting anywhere, even though we weren't on one of the 'main' decks. Camp Ocean was one deck up and Lido was just 2 flights down. Those were the places we went most of the time.

 

We went to check out Camp Ocean, but they were "closed" b/c it was time for the Muster. When we arrived in the grouping for our section, one of the staff pulled out all the people with kids or disabilities and took us to one of the restaurants to sit down. That was awesome! Otherwise we would have been standing there holding 2 kids for that whole length of time.

 

After muster we went back to the cabin and met the steward, Agus, who knew our names already. He introduced himself to the boys as well and they were fast friends after that. Agus was an awesome steward & he kept our cabin spotless - with these kids, that's hard! He was always in the hall to greet us and by the end of the cruise the boys were running up to hug him.

 

For dining, we tried Guy's Burgers, the buffets, the deli, the Steakhouse and the dining room... Since we have toddlers, they don't really have the palate or the attention span for long stays in the dining room or the Steakhouse, but they went to both at least once. We found the service in the dining room to be lacking in speed and attentiveness. And while the food wasn't terrible, it wasn't anything special. In the Steakhouse, the dinners were excellent and the service was great as well. We even had our desserts packed up to take with us.

 

We loved Guy's burgers and were always b/c there was never a huge wait to get something there. Even the boys ate from there.

 

For the most part, we had our meals from the buffets that were open. That gave us a variety for our temperamental eaters (not usually so, but this trip they were for sure!). We didn't really mind, but I was happy we mixed int to restaurants among the options. There's only so much self-serve a girl can take! I don't have any complaints expect for the one night when only one of the sides of the buffet was opened... WOW. The line that night...

 

For our excursions:

Key West - we didn't do anything planned. Just put the kids in their strollers and walted to the Southernmost Point of the US and back, stopping in shops along the way. Of course, we'd been to Key West before and just wanted to do something easy.

 

Grand Cayman - we did the Turtle Farm tour. I think it was great for the boys. One of them touched a baby turtle and loved it. We also went to the lagoon after that, though the water was nippy! I was ok, but DH wasn't into it. After we were dropped off at the terminal area, we got something to eat and walked around for a bit before getting on the ship.

 

Cozumel - We did the pasion island via catamaran trip. Now, it's not their fault, but on the way to island, it poured rain. I mean - buckets of rain! By the time we all were able to get off, it had stopped and didn't start raining again until we were on the boat heading back to the dock. The sun didn't come out that day & the water was also chilly. The boys played in the kids' area, but it was a long 3-hours with no water play. After getting dropped off by the ship, we walked around and checked out shops here as well.

 

Entertainment:

Casino - I didn't go to the casino (can't take the smoke), but DH did & he won $1000. Needless to say, he was happy.

 

Shows - We both saw the Epic Rock show and thought it was good, though I have to agree with other reviews that it was very loud!

 

Dive in movie - I saw "San Andreas" one night and thought it was a great evening. The weather was just right and the atmosphere was nice for a movie outside under the stars.

Camp Ocean - Our boys are 2 now, they can go Camp Ocean. When we went there the first day to check things out & make sure they were registered, the boys loved it. They went one night - fine. Then they went another night, a little fussy, but we snuck out. Every time after that, we had no luck leaving them. They didn't want to stay and the 'counselors/teachers' didn't do much to make them feel welcome. I was disappointed with that. Two is a hard age. They like to play, but they also aren't secure in new areas. I must note that my kids do go to daycare, so they know the concept. I also thought the hours they were open were all over the map. They had under 2 play in the middle of the day, so my kids couldn't go then even though it was a perfect "after nap" time. One night after dinner, but before the "night owls", they were all watching a movie. My kids don't sit still long enough for movies, so that didn't work for them. I hope it's better when they are older.

 

Information dissemination:

As i noted before, we are not new to cruising, just to CCL. We expected things to be different and they were. The biggest issue we found was the lack of answers to easy questions. For example, I did read in forums, etc what was included in FTTF, but no where in the information we received did it give additional details/remidners as to what was available. That would have been helpful instead of me having to ask someone about it.

 

Being a graphic designer, I thought the Fun Times were hard to read with a lot of little things crammed in a small space, but that's just my personal opinion on design.

 

Overall, the cruise was good and weren't disappointed with Carnival. However, for us personally, having twin toddlers increased the work factor and decreased the fun factor.

[LaCal]

Thanks for your review. Can't wait to be on the Conquest in March

[eyzwdeshut]

I should also talk about debarkation b/c it was rough... We left to get off the ship around 8:30 and there were lines, lines and more lines. It took 2 1/2 hours to get off the ship, getting luggage and through customs. That was the longest it has ever taken us to get off a ship. Made for a long morning for sure! Good thing we didn't have an early flight (of course, we know not to do that, but even a noon flight would have made me squirm waiting in that line).

[asdjl]

How did they let you on the ship after you filled out the health firm? Did they ask about the fever?

 

 

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[Keith1010]

Enjoyed your review.

Keith

[eyzwdeshut]

How did they let you on the ship after you filled out the health firm? Did they ask about the fever?

 

Oddly, they didn't collect our health forms...

However, the fever was a one-time event and he didn't even have one when we were in the ER. His problem stemmed from respiratory issues he's had off and on since he was a preemie.

 

The only reason we went to the ER was to make sure it wasn't something worse before we got on the ship. Since it wasn't, we were good to board.