Chillin’ on the Conquest: April 2nd, 8 night Eastern

[CruzinScotty]

CruzinScotty,

 

Can't wait for the rest of your review. Do you have the FunTimes and/or Entertainment schedule and if so can you please post.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

I'm glad you're enjoying the review. It's a lot of work; but fun to re-live the trip.

 

Somehow, I missed the new sheet you get at the beginning that has the entire Entertainment schedule. I thought I saved all of the Fun Times, but somehow I missed Friday.

 

I've had a lot of problems in the past posting photos; so I'm not going to be able to scan and post the Fun Times. Are you on the 8 night cruise?

 

The Playlist shows were Epic Rock, The Brits, Divas and Latin Nights. Edge, a juggler, comedian and Marcus Anthony, who did a Motown show, were the extra entertainers. Those might change with your cruise, though.

 

I can try to answer any specific questions you might have.

[l2f]

I've had a lot of problems in the past posting photos; so I'm not going to be able to scan and post the Fun Times. Are you on the 8 night cruise?

 

We are doing this same itinerary, on the Conquest out of FLL later this year. So far no luck with the FunTimes or Entertainment schedule.

 

I believe this itinerary on the Conquest out of FLL just started recently. So haven't had any luck thus far. No Problems.

 

It isn't as much as what is happening as when. So hard to ask specific questions.

 

Thanks. Can't wait to finish reading your review.

[coasterjan]

I'm glad you're enjoying the review. It's a lot of work; but fun to re-live the trip.

 

Somehow, I missed the new sheet you get at the beginning that has the entire Entertainment schedule. I thought I saved all of the Fun Times, but somehow I missed Friday.

 

I've had a lot of problems in the past posting photos; so I'm not going to be able to scan and post the Fun Times. Are you on the 8 night cruise?

 

The Playlist shows were Epic Rock, The Brits, Divas and Latin Nights. Edge, a juggler, comedian and Marcus Anthony, who did a Motown show, were the extra entertainers. Those might change with your cruise, though.

 

I can try to answer any specific questions you might have.

 

I've got that entertainment sheet plus all the FunTimes, but sadly, I am so computer illiterate that I have no idea how to actually share them besides merely re-typing all the information....

Janis

[coasterjan]

Thanks, I appreciate the feedback. It was such a great cruise, wasn't it?

 

I didn't think about the wasted bread, nor the ackwardness if you were at a table with people you didn't know.

 

It's interesting that out of our group of 9, two of us also came home with the crud. That would be me and DW...

 

Feel free to keep commenting along the way; I wonder if we crossed paths? Stay tuned.

 

If you went to either of the Titanic lectures, or the one about D-Day, I was the dork down front taking notes. (I have memory issues, so if I don't write it down, it didn't happen!)

Janis

[CruzinScotty]

If you went to either of the Titanic lectures, or the one about D-Day, I was the dork down front taking notes. (I have memory issues, so if I don't write it down, it didn't happen!)

Janis

 

Aha! Our paths did cross. :)

[CruzinScotty]

Though we are chillin’ this trip, one thing we like to do in our cabin is sleep with the curtains open. We like to let the natural light wake us up. I was up early and did a walking tour of the ship. That includes the pics I posted earlier, as well as a few I’ll post on the 2nd Sea Day.

 

After my walk, I checked on the Lido Deck. Our group’s morning ritual was to get up when you want and enjoy breakfast at your leisure. We would relax and visit, usually seeing everyone eventually as the morning went on.

 

For breakfast today, I made one of many trek’s to the Blue Iguana Cantina. Today, I’ll mention the Areeeeeeeeeeeeepas! (Arepas). This is a wonderful, cheese filled cornbread piece of delight! Make sure it’s hot when you get it and eat it before it gets cold. They are available on the Taco side; but I’m sure you could ask for one in the Burrito line as well. I also enjoyed some fresh cantaloupe and chocolate milk. I ate early and light for a reason. ;)

 

This morning’s table discussion involved our towel animal. You see, we have four cabins and it’s the first time we’ve had three in a row. We all had the same room steward and had the same unknown fowl. We had many guesses, but no one knew for sure.

 

DW and I went to the jogging track to walk for a bit. Boy, it is windy this morning. When we headed back to our room, we met our Room Steward, Chrisanto. He was great; but we were a bit perplexed. Then I remember our cruise on the Sunshine last September. This is the 2nd time in a row where we met the assistant steward the first day. But, he did not introduce himself as the assistant. His name was Gede. I’m not sure I like having the split room stewards; it seems two people now have more rooms than they separately had in the past.

 

Anyway, we asked Chrisanto about our elusive towel animal.

 

It was a PENGUIN.

 

I was the only one in the family that had guessed it correctly. You do believe me, don’t you? But, I did, I really did get is right. :D The little flappy thing towards the top is supposed to be it’s beak.

 

Since we had adjoining cabins, we asked Chrisanto if we could have the balcony divider opened between our room and the one next door with one of my brothers. He said I had to call Guest Services. I did and they came later in the day to open it. More on that later.

 

It was time to head to the Sea Day Brunch. We enjoy this meal, which is not usually crowded. We sat with a waiter named Rondel. He was great and one of the funniest wait staff we have ever had; it really enhanced the meal.

 

There were many selections at our table from omelette’s to pancakes. I chose the Steak and Eggs with cheese grits and the caramel cheesecake for dessert.

 

**Helpful Hints**

 

1. Everything is on one menu; it’s best to order everything, including your dessert all at once.

 

2. The Main Dining Room has pineapple juice you can’t get up on the Lido.

 

In true chillin’ mode, now it’s time to head to the adult pool and hot tub. We spent quite awhile here, and then on our newly expanded balcony.

 

Well, I have to head back to work tomorrow, so new info will be a little slower for a few days.

 

But, coming soon: The word “Titanic” is not forbidden on a cruise ship. :)

[yukongold]

Enjoying the review...too bad about your photo problems.:(

[l2f]

I've got that entertainment sheet plus all the FunTimes, but sadly, I am so computer illiterate that I have no idea how to actually share them besides merely re-typing all the information....

Janis

 

I'm really can't help with that. I usually scan mine, and when someone needs them I PM to the person.

 

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but I'm guessing you would scan them and them post them like a photo.

[CruzinScotty]

Enjoying the review...too bad about your photo problems.:(

 

Thanks for following along.

 

I'm really can't help with that. I usually scan mine, and when someone needs them I PM to the person.

 

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but I'm guessing you would scan them and them post them like a photo.

 

In the past, I have scanned them in and posted like a photo. Unfortunately, I've had problems in the past. I use Photobucket, which has limited space on their free site. This is the only place I post pictures, so am too cheap to pay the monthly fee to be able to post more photos. Sorry.

[l2f]

In the past, I have scanned them in and posted like a photo. Unfortunately, I've had problems in the past. I use Photobucket, which has limited space on their free site. This is the only place I post pictures, so am too cheap to pay the monthly fee to be able to post more photos. Sorry.

 

CruzinScotty. I was replying to Coasterjan, to offer a little help. Also sorry for hijacking your thread.

[Njcruiser60]

Thank you for the review. We are sailing the Conquest in February and reading your review is wonderful. I'm really looking forward to reading more. Thanks again.

[Yellowbird75]

While I understand that style is very personal, from what I can see, the French theme is actually quite tame. They could have made it way more flamboyant!

 

Thank you for writing this! I am loving this so far. It helps to ease the anxiousness of single digits! :D:D:D:D

Edited April 20, 2016 by Yellowbird75

[CruzinScotty]

Thank you for the review. We are sailing the Conquest in February and reading your review is wonderful. I'm really looking forward to reading more. Thanks again.

 

I really appreciate the feedback! I'm glad you are enjoying, lots more to come. Dang work gets in the way and slow things down sometimes. ;)

 

While I understand that style is very personal, from what I can see, the French theme is actually quite tame. They could have made it way more flamboyant!

 

Thank you for writing this! I am loving this so far. It helps to ease the anxiousness of single digits! :D:D:D:D

 

I agree about the French theme. I have a few more pictures to post on Sea Day #2 that shows some of the collage of artwork in the Lobby.

I LOVE the single digit dance. :D Enjoy your cruise.

[CruzinScotty]

CruzinScotty. I was replying to Coasterjan, to offer a little help. Also sorry for hijacking your thread.

 

No worries! It's all good, and I hope someone will be able to post the Fun Time soon for all to see.

[originalgeek]

I hope we get a penguin! My wife loves penguins. Plus, now that I know what they look like, I can astound her with my magnificent knowledge of towel animal anatomy.

 

An option for frustrated Photobucket users is tinypic.com. No membership required (although you can if you want). You can upload from your computer or from a picture on another website by entering the url to the actual image file.

 

You can resize right there in the tinypic page (i generally use "message board - 640x480 but if you're talking about a picture of a menu or newsletter you might want to leave it default so people can read it better) and it gives you the url to copy and paste into CC's "add image" dialog box.

[coasterjan]

 

An option for frustrated Photobucket users is tinypic.com. No membership required (although you can if you want). You can upload from your computer or from a picture on another website by entering the url to the actual image file.

 

You can resize right there in the tinypic page (i generally use "message board - 640x480 but if you're talking about a picture of a menu or newsletter you might want to leave it default so people can read it better) and it gives you the url to copy and paste into CC's "add image" dialog box.

 

Thank you for this tidbit. I've never actually tried to add any pictures to any of my posts here, but I think I might be able to do this.

Janis

[GMRPHRN]

Enjoying your review. Sailing on this ship in June. I actually watched the sail away on webcam and wondered why it was so late when it left.

[originalgeek]

Thank you for this tidbit. I've never actually tried to add any pictures to any of my posts here, but I think I might be able to do this.

Janis

 

You're very welcome! Please feel free to PM me if you have any trouble with it. I don't work for them or anything but I use it almost daily lol.

[CruzinScotty]

I hope we get a penguin! My wife loves penguins. Plus, now that I know what they look like, I can astound her with my magnificent knowledge of towel animal anatomy.

 

I love this. :D If you don't get one immediately, try to catch your room steward in private and ask for one.

 

Enjoying your review. Sailing on this ship in June. I actually watched the sail away on webcam and wondered why it was so late when it left.

 

Thanks for reading. We ended up being the last ship, but left after the next to last one. Someone has to be last; but with the announcement, it seemed clear we normally would have been closer to the front of the pack.

[cruisingbajan]

Enjoying your review. Keep it coming.:)

[Shutterlady]

I will be doing this cruise in the beginning of January. I haven't been on the Conquest, enjoying your pictures. I didn't know it didn't have a Serenity Deck though. Not that I'm against people cruising with their children. But I do enjoy the comfy lounge chairs they have. Bummer.

[CruzinScotty]

Enjoying your review. Keep it coming.:)

 

Thanks for reading. More coming up in a few minutes.

 

I will be doing this cruise in the beginning of January. I haven't been on the Conquest, enjoying your pictures. I didn't know it didn't have a Serenity Deck though. Not that I'm against people cruising with their children. But I do enjoy the comfy lounge chairs they have. Bummer.

 

The good news is there shouldn't be many kids on the ship in January (unless it's the New Year's cruise). And, though not in a major sunning area, they have added some cushioned chairs up on Deck 10 in the rear. On both sides, for smokers and non-smokers.

Edited April 20, 2016 by CruzinScotty

[CruzinScotty]

I think it’s time to meet our Cruise Director: Josh/Big Sexy.

 

Our family thought he did a great job. His overhead announcements were only once or twice a day; and not overly long. He’s quite funny and involved in a lot of activites – he seemed to be everywhere.

 

Something unusual to Josh is that he is a history buff. His passions are military and maritime history. On his ships, he schedules time to do lectures on WWII and the Titanic. This is not something you see on a typical Carnival cruise. We found it refreshing and quite enjoyable. We are on an 8 night cruise; Josh did 5 different lectures. I attended all or part of each one.

 

This afternoon his first lecture is: R.M.S. Titanic & Safety of Life at Sea.

 

I don’t want to give too much away; but here are a few things I learned:

 

1. R.M.S. stands for Royal Mail Service. The mailmen on the ship tried to pack the mail in the hopes it could get onto the lifeboats. Alas, it did not, and all the mailmen perished.

2. An obvious result from the Titanic is making sure there are enough lifeboats on the ship; plus 5%.

3. Contrary to the movie; there were no fences keeping the 3rd class passengers from getting to the life boats. The reason more 3rd class passengers perished is because there was no lifeboat drill (it was canceled by the captain), and most were immigrants who didn’t speak English. They didn’t realize the seriousness of what was going on and didn’t attempt to get on the lifeboats until it was too late.

 

 

Before we move on, I want to go back to the MDR menu’s for a moment. I found a recent link to most of the American Menu on Zydecos’ website. It also has some pictures!

 

This is from the Blogger’s cruise out of Galveston earlier this year. It is 7 nights, so one night is missing; plus the Port of Call items are a little different, or in a different order. And some items are a little different.

 

I have a correction to my report from looking at the menu. The first night, I had fried calamari; the fried oysters were on a different night.

 

I hope this helps give you a little idea what to expect if you haven’t had the new menu yet.

 

I’ll post the link in the next section with dinner.Then, if it helps, I’ll post it with each night’s dinner to give some perspective and you don’t have to keep going back to it again.

 

Coming soon: dinner and our evening at sea.

[CruzinScotty]

Here is the menu for the American Menu. The first night is pretty close to what we had and the 2nd night closely matches our First Formal night tonight.

 

http://www.zydecocruiser.net/CarnivalFreedomBC9/menu/mdr_menu.html

 

From the first night, I will mention it was a bean quesadilla instead of chicken. It was still good. Also from the dessert menu, the Nutella Tiramisu was also excellent.

 

Back to this evening.

 

So, it’s time to get ready for our Formal Night Dinner. This is always the busiest night in the Dining Room. YTD opens at 5:45; but opened early this evening. We didn’t realize this and it was 5:45 before our entire group arrived. We were seated at the same table as last night; something we try to do when possible.

 

Tonight, many of us brought glasses of wine to dinner with us. We enjoyed our meal immensely. Tonight, I DID have the fried oysters. Plus the spinach salad was great; and I got lucky with the lobster. Sometimes, it is rubbery; this is the best lobster I’ve had on a ship in a long time.

 

One thing I really like about the new menus is they have moved Crème Brulee to Formal Night. I also had a taste of the new Chocolate Hazelnut cake; and of course, WCMC is always ordered by many at our table.

 

We then made it to the 8:30 Family Friendly Comedy show. After being on the Sunshine last year; what a pleasure it was to be in a room that fit the crowd!

 

Next up for us was the 80’s Trivia Party with Josh. This was a lot of fun to watch. It’s part Trivia, plus karaoke, dancing and lots and LOTS of laughing. There were some VERY happy people there that added to the “show”. ;)

Don’t Stop Believin’…….

 

I’ve yet to see an entire movie at the Dive-In movies; but have caught a part of many. Tonight, DW wanted to watch part of Pitch Perfect 2, so that’s what we did. :D Lastly, we then headed to the cabin to get a good night’s sleep.

 

Do you think we’re chillin’ enough yet?

 

Coming soon: Sea Day #2

Edited April 20, 2016 by CruzinScotty

[christinacruisin]

Following along, as my husband and I will be on the Conquest for the first time in August. :)

 

Great review so far!