My (better late than never) Conquest Review! 12/12/15 - Eastern Carib.

[swalton85]

love the tree video! the tree is so pretty too. maybe one day we will sail over the holidays! :) don't feel lame about going to bed at 11... my dh and i are the same way lol. i can't manage to stay up past midnight when cruising! maybe it's all the food and sun? :p

[SKosto]

I was on this cruise as well. Its nice to see a late review, it helps me relive it. It was really a great cruise. I loved the ports, and I'm not one of those people who obsess over the CD, but Eric was amazing.

Edited February 24, 2016 by SKosto

[Florings]

Thank you for taking the time to review, will be following. Went on Conquest in September - one of my favorite ships!

[Jenny in TX]

Looking forward to your review as we will be doing the same itinerary in November. We have sailed on the Conquest twice before when she sailed out of Galveston since we only live about 30 minutes from that port.

 

Glad to hear you had a good time!

[iheartmarshall]

Loving your review. How do you get to the secret deck? I tried to find it while on the Glory (same layout) but ended up in some crew area.

 

Thanks

 

Thank you! On the Conquest class ships, there are "secret decks" on Decks 6, 7, 9, and maybe 10 and they are essentially just viewing decks that are all the way forward. The reason they're "secret" is because not everyone knows they exist as they are not well marked. To get to them, just walk all the way forward on the decks mentioned above once and you make it to the front where the rooms start to square off, you'll see a door on either side with a porthole on it. These doors are the entrance to the decks. Be aware though, that once you go through this door, to close it fully before opening the second door that leads out to the decks. The wind can be intense if you have both doors open at once so just be mindful of that and be careful when you do go out. We only went out there when the ship was docked as it can be VERY windy out there when in motion.

 

Another thing to note, there are rooms that overlook the walkway, known as "Interior with Walkway View" rooms or 4Js. I don't think you can see in their windows, but they can see out..... just keep that in mind.

 

CC won't let me post a link, but just google "Carnival Secret Decks" and you'll find some more info about what ships they're on.

Edited February 25, 2016 by iheartmarshall

[iheartmarshall]

Looking forward to your review as we will be doing the same itinerary in November. We have sailed on the Conquest twice before when she sailed out of Galveston since we only live about 30 minutes from that port.

 

Glad to hear you had a good time!

 

Thank you! I'll be posting more this afternoon/tonight once I'm home. I can't catch a long enough break at work to write about our first port stop haha

[iheartmarshall]

I was on this cruise as well. Its nice to see a late review, it helps me relive it. It was really a great cruise. I loved the ports, and I'm not one of those people who obsess over the CD, but Eric was amazing.

 

We liked CD Eric too! I haven't really paid attention before but I do remember liking him and thinking that he did a good job. Kept us informed but didn't cross over into annoying.

[iheartmarshall]

love the tree video! the tree is so pretty too. maybe one day we will sail over the holidays! :) don't feel lame about going to bed at 11... my dh and i are the same way lol. i can't manage to stay up past midnight when cruising! maybe it's all the food and sun? :p

 

I'm glad we're not alone in going to bed early :) Now we can both stay up late when we want to and I am not beyond singing karaoke until 3:00am at home, but for whatever reason, we sleep early on a ship. Maybe it's the light rocking that knocks us out? Who knows.

[iheartmarshall]

Love this picture!

 

 

Great review so far.

 

Thank you!

 

And thank you to everyone following along. I'll pick up with St. Martin later this afternoon/evening.

[cherbear4000]

I am doing this same itinerary on the Valor in July so I am looking forward to your port reviews.

[reerun25]

Really enjoying your review so far! Thanks for sharing...

[iheartmarshall]

I'm off work and ready to share a couple of ports with you this evening!

ST. MARTIN, PART ONE

We woke up early for our arrival in St. Martin and got room service in the cabin, which was our usual for early port days. Our typical room service breakfast included bagels, yogurt, juice, coffee, and a citrus plate for me. While we did enjoy the brunch and eating breakfast on Lido, on a normal day back home I usually just eat a bagel and yogurt so the room service menu was definitely my style.

 

Once we were ready, we went out to take some pictures and watch us dock.

 

 

Me, off the ship and ready for our island tour!

 

In St. Martin, we booked the Fun Day Tour with Jo Junie’s. There’s a lot of talk on the forums about Jo Junie’s or Bernard’s and while I’m sure Bernard’s is just fine, we decided to go with Jo Junie’s because I liked the tour itinerary slightly better. I think the cost was $40 each and lasted from 9:30am – 3:00pm(ish). Along the tour, we drove through several parts of the island and stopped at Orient Beach, had lunch in Marigot, watched planes land at Maho Beach, and finally took in the scenery in Phillipsburg. Jon and I enjoy doing tours when we visit a new place as it gives us a good lay of the land and we get to see the different areas on the island. My favorite excursion to date is Xunantunich in Belize (some of the Mayan Ruins), largely because we got to see how people lived and got an introduction into their culture. I’m still fascinated and would love to revisit Belize again soon! (I think I'm in the minority on that one....)

Okay, back to St. Martin. Here’s a few pictures of the tour’s highlights (I have more pics, so if there’s anything you’d like to see more of just let me know).

Sailboats in Oyster Bay

Orient Bay Beach and all the seaweed. We arrived here kind of early (10:30am), so we didn’t go swimming nor were we ready for lunch. Instead we just walked the beach, hung out at the beach club at which we were dropped, and had a couple of drinks (yes, as in alcoholic! I drink sometimes, just not often or a lot at once). I’d heard so many things about Orient Beach being breathtaking and while it was definitely a small bit of paradise.... it just didn’t do it for me. Maybe it was because it was overcast and there was so much seaweed, but it wasn’t what I imagined. Now don’t get me wrong – it was pretty and I’d definitely stay here for a land vacation, but still. It just didn’t meet the hype I'd read on here.

 

[iheartmarshall]

ST. MARTIN PART TWO

 

After we left Orient Beach, we continued driving and ended up in Marigot, capital of the French side. Here we had about 45 minutes to spend and there were several shops to visit, both outside and in. Shortly after we arrived though, it poured the rain so we didn’t get to experience Marigot fully. We did grab something to eat really quick but unfortunately I don’t remember the place’s name – just that I had yummy grilled shrimp and it was a small café in the middle of town.

After Marigot, we continued toward the infamous Maho Beach, where the planes fly really low while landing at Princess Juliana Airport (SXM). I have to say, I was looking forward to Maho even though it’s super touristy – it’s an iconic destination and I was excited to experience it! We didn’t get to see any of the huge planes land but we did get to see the big blue KLM take off which was neat. Jon got several videos but I only got photos, so I’ll post a few here. If you’d like to see more pictures from Maho, just let me know!

 

 

[iheartmarshall]

ST. MARTIN: PART THREE

After nearly an hour, we made our way back to the tour van and had to leave Maho. Honestly, this stop was my favorite in St. Martin even though it was incredibly packed and hard to move due to all the people. What I liked about it though is that the beach was gorgeous even with a partial overcast and the atmosphere was lively and fun. I’m glad we went there and it's one thing I can mark off my bucket list.

Once back in Phillipsburg, our driver dropped us off near the town instead of back at the port (this was our option). Phillipsburg has a nice boardwalk area with plenty of restaurants and shops and it's entirely possible to stay here all day without doing an excursion. We walked along the beach and went in some of the shops until I could feel myself burning despite being slathered in sunscreen all day. At that point, I knew it was a sign that we needed some shade. We took the water taxi to the ship (minimal cost), went in some of the shops once there (to get an extra bottle of sunscreen because obviously), and then went back on the ship to cool off, change, and watch sail away. We also got to see the sunset, which was beautiful. Unfortunately, we were the last ship in port to leave so it was dark by the time we were leaving, but we skipped the MDR and watched sail away anyway from the “secret” deck in front. All in all, it was a good but tiring day and I was ready for St. Kitts!

 

 

Here are some pictures from Phillipsburg and sail away:

 

 

We were docked beside the Eclipse yacht.

 

 

I believe the ship in these next two photos is a MSC one with a Royal Caribbean one in the distance.

 

 

 

 

 

The Eclipse yacht, which was docked next to us.

 

 

Edited February 25, 2016 by iheartmarshall

[iheartmarshall]

ST. KITTS: PART ONE

The next day, we were once again up early for St. Kitts. This was the port I was looking forward to the most, as we had an island tour booked through Carnival that included a visit to Brimstone Hill Fortress. St. Kitts is one of those places where we had a hard time deciding what to do, as so many excursions appealed to us. Neither Jon nor I are “lay-all-day-on-the-beach” people (mostly because I burn so dang easily) so we like to do island tours and adventure excursions. St. Kitts had several tours fitting within those interests but we decided to go with this one mainly because of the historical component of the Fortress.

 

 

Once we were docked and herded away with our excursion team, we got in a van and set off toward Brimstone. On the way, we stopped at a couple of scenic overviews, went through numerous little towns, and also took a trip up to Caribelle Batik, which I unexpectedly fell in love with. Not only did I enjoy learning about the history of the land (it is an old sugar cane plantation) but it was fascinating seeing how the fabric is made. Plus, the grounds were just beautiful. I did purchase a decorative pillow case here and have it on a pillow in our living room -- it adds such a fun pop!

 

A view from one of our scenic stops:

 

 

 

The prints on the wall detailed the step-by-step print process.

Edited February 25, 2016 by iheartmarshall

[iheartmarshall]

ST. KITTS: PART TWO

 

More photos from Caribelle Batik.

 

 

 

 

The old bell tower from the times when this land was a plantation:

 

[iheartmarshall]

ST. KITTS: PART THREE

After we left Caribelle Batik, we continued West (I think) and drove the narrow road up to Brimstone Hill Fortress. And when I say narrow, trust me – it’s basically a windy one-lane road. Jon and I live in WV so we’re used to curvy mountain roads with kiss-your-butt turns but if you’re not, you’re in for a treat. Our bus driver was loving it too and was definitely driving for the thrill – we didn’t realize this excursion had a four-wheeling component in it!

As I mentioned earlier, I was most excited to visit the Fortress as every picture I’d seen of it was breathtaking – the ocean on one side, mountains on the other. And trust me when I say that it did not disappoint! I believe we had about 30-45 minutes here so not as long as I’d have preferred, but it was still long enough to realize just how beautiful St. Kitts is and that I need to win the lottery and move there.

 

 

At the top of the road, there's a parking area. Then you have to walk up here to get to the main area:

 

 

 

View from the top! And you can see some of the curvy road down below.

 

 

 

 

[iheartmarshall]

ST. KITTS: MORE BRIMSTONE HILL FORTRESS

 

 

 

 

 

....and one picture of us!

 

[iheartmarshall]

ST. KITTS: PART THREE

After we made our way back down the hill from the Fortress, it was time to cross over the island and head to the scenic Timothy Hill, a narrow stretch of land where you see the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Caribbean Sea on the other. While the views were pretty, what interested me the most about this final trek was how different this side of the island is compared to where we were previously in the day. Near Timothy Hill, the homes are larger, the resorts are bigger, and the roads are better. I believe our tour guide said that in one of the housing developments, you can’t even build unless you make a minimum investment of $400,000. So unless we win that lottery, we’ll probably be over near the Fortress (which was still just fine to me).

 

 

Timothy Hill:

 

Timothy Hill was our last stop and so after that, we went back to port and made it there around 1:00pm. We didn’t set sail until 5:00pm so, we caught a shuttle and went over to the main Port Zante area (we docked at the cargo pier) to check out the shops and grab a bite to eat. We could’ve walked it and I think it would’ve taken 20 minutes but the sidewalks were nonexistent and honestly it didn’t look like that safe of a road to be walking along with cars speeding past. So, the shuttle it was!

When it was close to 3:00pm, we headed back to the ship, changed, and went swimming for a bit before getting ready for dinner in the MDR. After dinner, I am 90% positive that we went to see the Brits show (honestly, all the nights run together but we did see it at one point). This was the first live show we’d seen on Carnival and thought it was an enjoyable way to spend an hour. I probably wouldn’t see the same show on a future cruise, but…. It was a good first experience. After the show, we watched part of another Dive In Movie, I read a little, and then once again we went to bed around 10:30 – 11:00pm because we’re oldies at heart.

PS – I told you the roads were narrow at the Fortress.

[swalton85]

Beautiful pictures!!

 

Sent from my LGL41C using Tapatalk

[iheartmarshall]

Okay, let's finish this up tonight! Or at least try.....

 

SAN JUAN: PART ONE

Our arrival in Puerto Rico was an early one, with us being in port from 7:00am – 2:00pm. To save some money, Jon and I decided to do a self-guided city tour and go visit at least one, if not both, of the forts. Our plan was simple: get off the ship around 8:30am, turn left, and keep walking until we found Castillo San Felipe del Morro (or, the big fort on the corner of the island you pass while coming in to dock). Essentially, our plan went just fine although without having a map to guide us, we ended up seeing more of the city than we intended but it wasn’t a big deal. I actually enjoyed being partially lost and roaming around as the city reminded me of St. Augustine, which is where Jon and I got married. Simply charming. Roaming around also allowed us to see the San Juan City Gate and for Jon to make friends with one of the many stray cats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[iheartmarshall]

SAN JUAN: PART TWO

 

After about 45 minutes of roaming through the (hilly) streets, we made it to el Morro and made the long trek across the front lawn to the entrance. By the time we made it there, I was HOT. I had completely underestimated how humid it was going to be and I was very much what you may call “ew." My shoes were also rubbing the backs of my ankles something fierce, which made it hard to walk (note: don’t be me; wear legit walking shoes). Luckily I purchased some band-aids in the gift shop at el Morro and my life was back on track, for the most part.

In all seriousness though, el Morro is a massive fort and we enjoyed touring her and learning about her history. The views were gorgeous and I loved seeing the Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery, which is nuzzled in with el Morro. We should’ve ventured down and actually went on the grounds, but the architecture was still visible from above.

 

 

 

 

 

[iheartmarshall]

SAN JUAN: PART THREE

 

After exploring the grounds, we decided to head back toward the ship. We wanted to visit San Cristobal if time allowed but we spent so long wandering around at el Morro that we didn’t want to be rushed and chance it. Plus, although my temporary shoe fix helped, it wasn’t foolproof and I really needed to put on flip-flops that did not rub my ankles (or perhaps, wear normal people shoes in the beginning).

On the way back to the ship, we stopped in a couple of shops and of course I had to check out the CVS to see if they carried any makeup lines vastly different than what I can get at home (I love checking out drugstores elsewhere for their variety but sadly they didn't.). We made it back on board around 1:15pm, just before we were due to be back at 1:30pm. We grabbed a quick lunch, I changed into some more comfortable shoes, and we went to the front deck on Deck 6 and waited for sail away. And waited. And waited. Eventually an announcement was made informing us that we were waiting on a final passenger and we ended up not leaving until right at 3:00pm or a little after. Because of this, we would be one hour late arriving in Grand Turk the next day but we would also be staying an hour later so it worked out. I don’t remember much of what we did the rest of the day once back on board, but I’m fairly certain a nap was in our future. Don’t judge – it’s our vacation!

Looking back, although I enjoyed visiting el Morro and experiencing some of the city, if we ever find ourselves in San Juan again, I would probably book the zip lining excursion or a tour to the rainforest. The main reason we didn’t do the former is because we’ve been zip lining before in West Virginia and I figured, “why pay for it there when it’s not really any different than what we can do at home?” However this is the one port in which I wish we had done an excursion. I’m not saying we didn’t enjoy our time in San Juan, just that I wish we would’ve seen the rainforest or ventured inland. Oh well, next time!

Here's some more pics from San Juan (and Jon’s camo hat, our identifier on this cruise that says “we’re tourists!”):

 

 

 

 

 

Bonus pic: we had a Yoda Towel Animal this night!

 

[iheartmarshall]

We're on our last port! Almost done :(

GRAND TURK: PART ONE

Because we were late leaving San Juan, we would be arriving an hour late in Grand Turk, putting us there from 10:00am – 6:00pm instead of our originally scheduled 9:00am – 5:00pm (I think this is correct – it may have been 8:00am, but still – general time frame). Jon and I booked the Clear Kayaking & Eco Safari excursion through Carnival and chose the 10:00am time slot so we were some of the first people off the ship (they wanted early excursions to go first, since we were arriving later than expected). Once we gathered our group, we boarded an open-air bus and made the 6-mile or so trek across the island toward the lighthouse. The ride alone was a ton of fun and we got to see wild donkeys and horses.

 

 

When we arrived at our destination, our guides gave us a brief lesson on kayaking which was needed as some people in our group had never kayaked before. Then we got in and paddled through the inlet area for about 60 minutes. Every so often, our guide would stop and have us huddle around and show us different sea life, explain the ecosystem, and provide us with interesting tidbits about the island.

 

 

 

 

[iheartmarshall]

GRAND TURK: PART TWO

Eventually we kayaked our way to a beach where another guide had a kayak set up with all sorts of sea life. He identified each creature, allowed us to hold them, and we even got to eat fresh conch which tasted like lobster – I wasn’t expecting that but it was great! We then walked a little along the beach, got to catch a glimpse of the lighthouse, and then paddled our way back to base camp before making our way back to the port.

 

 

 

 

(Ignore whatever my bangs are doing in the photo below. I cannot control them.)

 

 

 

Let me say right now that although Grand Turk is largely known for their cruise center and free beach (at least, that’s usually what I hear about on these forums), I HIGHLY encourage you to take an excursion to another part of the island and experience it! We LOVED the kayaking excursion and it was definitely the highlight of our cruise. The water was so beautiful and we learned quite a bit about the island’s culture and history as well. I’m not saying that staying at the cruise center is bad and that you’re missing out because you’re not – it’s your vacation and you do what you want to do. But if you do ever have the desire to venture away, I definitely recommend that you do! We’re visiting Grand Turk again in 2017 on the Pride and will likely do one of their ATV excursions for a change of pace. The beach is nice, but we want to see more of the island (plus we'll be at HMC on that cruise and will get to soak up the sun all day there).