Conquest 10/9-10/16 Review

[twostacys]

OK, I think I made you guys wait long enough:p I didn't keep the capers, so forgive me if I don't remember what happened on what day. I will just list all the shows that we did go to and let you know what we thought of them. Also, I found myself comparing this cruise to my Princess crusie a year ago, so I will try to give a comparison to the two.

 

Saturday 10/8 - we drove to Galveston a day early and stayed at the Holiday Inn on the Beach. We paid $155.00 plus tax for a king/ocean view room with breakfast. It was like $174 w/ tax. It included free cruise parking & transport. I would not stay here again. It was just an average to below average Holiday Inn. We arrived about 1:30PM (check in was at 4:00PM) they had a room available on the 7th floor. They gave us the "we have upgraded you to the executive level" speech. So instead of on the 5th floor we were on the 7th floor:rolleyes: After we check in they asked if we were going to use the hotel shuttle for the cruise transp. They told us we need to sign up for a time and the earliest they could take us was 12:30PM on Sunday. We were disappointed, as we wanted to go earlier. We decided that we would just take a taxi and go when we wanted. We called the taxi company (Yellow Taxi) and they said it would be around $10.00. Well later that evening we met up with some CC friends Georgette and Fred for dinner. We went to Tortuga's Mexican Rest. So glad we met up with them, we enjoyed their company. They told us that they got on the 10:30 shuttle from the hotel. We were told the first shuttle left at 11:30. Well, we had a nice meal and we all went to the front desk to try to get on the same 10:30 shuttle. There was a manager at the desk, and he said "no problem". I think next time, I will stay at a cheaper hotel and pay to park at EZE-Parking or just drive in the morning of. It's only a 5 hour drive for us.

 

Sunday 10/9 - It had finally arrived. We ate our buffet breakfast and met down in the lobby around 10:15AM. We arrived at the pier around 10:50AM. Georgette, Fred, DH and I went and stood in line. Even though this turned out to be a long wait, we had so much fun with Georgette and Fred. Security opened up around 12:30PM. We got through security and went to the Skippers Club. We debated on weather or not to just get in the regular line as it was not that long. We went to the skippers lounge where there were 3 other families ahead of us and this one really slow Carnival worker. Finally, another guy showed up and checked 3 families in, including us before the the guy checked in the one family. We got out of the Skippers line at the same time Fred and Georgette got out of the normal check in line. We did get to go sit on the floor at the front of the line, while Fred and Geogette went and sat in chairs in the normal waiting area. Special treatment for Skippers club right? We were on the ship around 1:40PM. I might sound like I was upset about embarkation, but I wasn't. I was expecting the worst, but hoping for the best. I just went with the flow and was determined to not let the little things upset me. We got on the ship and went straight to our room. We had a cat 11, room 7325. It was a very nice room with plenty of storage. So much storage we didn't use all of it. We went and explored the ship. The ship was more beautiful than I had imagined. I thought the Golden Princess was beautiful and elegant, but the Conquest won here. We went to the Welcome Aboard show, which was good. It was a small taste of what was to come as for a entertainment. The comedian was Phat Kat and was extremely funny. He had an Adult comedy show which we went to later, but we did not think he was as funny then. We had late sitting in the Monet at 8:00. We went to dinner, we had a table for four. Our tablemates were from Alaska and on their honeymoon. This would be the only night they showed up. I thought the food was just OK the first night, but did get better as the cruise went on.

 

Monday - First day at sea. We went and had breakfast in the dinning room. It was pretty good. We lounged by the pool most of the day. Went to our CC meet and greet. Chair saving was pretty bad. In fact we left our things like everyone else, went to the CC meeting (didn't stay long) and came right back to find our stuff was moved. I was a little aggrivated, but we were gone for 30minutes. We stood around for about 10minutes and finally found someone getting up. We seen some towels on chairs for hours with no one ever coming by. That's why I was a little aggrivated. The gentleman did end up coming over to apologize. We went to the casino and decided we would donate $20 each. I put in $10 and won $250.00. I'm not much of a gambler, so I took my money and ran. This was formal night. We got all dressed up and had dinner for two. This was lobster night. My first one was tough, the second one was better. Yes, we ordered 2 each.:eek: :D

 

Tuesday - Second day at sea. This was almost a duplicate of the first day at sea. Lounged by the pool and tried to see how many buckets of beer we could put down. We stayed by the pool from 9-4 that day. We had a lot of fun. Met some people from Texas and met up with some more CC friends, Barb and Leonard. We ate at the Point this night for dinner. This was the only night we did not eat in the dinning room. Everyone we talked to loved the the Point. Our experience was not the same. The steaks were good quality steaks, but we thought they were bland. We were told to prepare to be there for 2 1/2 hours. Our reservations were at 8:30 and we were out by 9:30. We felt they were rushing us a little. Dessert was real good.

 

Wed. - Mo-bay. We did the Canopy tour with Carnival. We enjoyed it. It was cool. There were 6 zip lines. The last one was the best. I've gotten more bang for my buck, but we enjoyed it. The people running it were fantastic. They made the tour. They were very entertaining.

 

Thurs - Grand Cayman - We took the singray excursion with Soto's. I was disappointed with Soto's. I emailed them before I booked and asked "what is the max. number of people you take on your excurstion?" They responed "20 people." We met in a parking lot close to the pier at 8:30 as requested. We were actually there early. The first van that seated about 14 showed up around 8:40AM. There were 40 of us waiting to take the tour. That van left and about 8 min. later the other 14 pass. van showed up and left. There were about 13 of us left and extremely aggrivated. They blamed the traffic. But they knew how many people that had booked for this tour and should have made better arrangements. The first van showed up around 9:00AM and took the rest of us. We still left on time. The first stop was Coral Gardens. It was too rough for most to snorkle. I don't blame them for the weather. Then off to the stingrays. If you have never done this, it was fun. From South LA., we try to stay away from them. It was cool to have them swimming around, feeding them, and holding them. I don't think our captain said 2 words and from the pictures we took, you could tell he seemed put out by being there. We got back and they chartered a taxi van so no one would get left behind again. They should have done this to begin with. To let you know how rude the captain was - when we got back to the dock and went to get in the vans, another couple and us asked which van will leave first so we knew which one to get in. He responded "it doesn't matter". We got in on van and he went and cranked the other one while we sat in the hot van waiting for someone to show up. After we got back to the pier, we did a little shopping. It is very expensive here. We purchased some liquor from Tortuga's. The deliver to the ship only. We received ours fine on the last sea day. We purchased some Jamacian Rum, because we forgot to in Mo-bay and we purchased some Tortuga rum. The Appleton Jamaican Rum is very good. We've been drinking it since we got home. The Tortuga was good too. We got the Rortuga Barrel rum. Overall it was a good day in Grand Cayman.

 

Friday - Cozumel. Fantastic day in Cozumel. Took a taxi to Zool-Ha (That's not how you spell it, but that's how you pernounce it). It was $7.00 to here. We rented the snorkle gear,a life jacket for me, and a locker. It was $24.00 to rent everything. The Sol (beer) were $2.50/each and the chicken nachos were around $6.00. The beer and nachos were very good. The snorkling was great. We originally planned to snorkle a little then go to Palm or Mr. Sanchos. We enjoyed it so much we stayed until it was time to shop. We went in the water 3 times to snorkle. The last time, we saved some nacho chips and fed the fish. The came from everywhere. In fact our underwater pictures didn't come out to good because there were so many fish. We took a taxi to Los Cinco Soles and Panchos Backyard. It was a $6.00 cab here. We did most of our shopping at Los Cinco Soles. Purchased more liquor and items for the kids. Took a taxi back to the pier for $6.00.

 

Sat - Last sea day. Seas were rough. The TV said it was 7.5-12ft seas. You could feel it rocking. There were a few people that didn't look to good. We did OK. We mostly relaxed and hung out by the pool.

 

Sun - debarkation. As most of you have already read, it was a breeze. Off the boat by 6:20AM. Called the Holiday Inn, who was very surprised that we were off so early. The picked us up around 7:00, I think. We were on the road back home at 7:40ish.

 

Summay: Overall had a great time. We would sail the Conquest again and any other Carnival ship.

 

Show we saw: Phat Kat - his Adult comedy was funny, but I've seen better comedians. Dave Miller (I think that was his name) - another adult comedian, he started out very funny, but kind of fizzled at the end. Deja magic show - I'm not much on magic shows, but she was great. The hypnotist - he was OK, I think most everyone faked it. In fact, later we spoke with a lady who went up there and she said she faked it as with most everyone else. She didn't think anyone got hypnotised. We missed the broadway shows. We tried to watch mosted of the shows. Sometime were were just so tired.

 

OK I will try to compare the Golden Princess to the Conquest:

Food - Conquest overall was good, but not great. Princess wins here

Service - Both had very good service.

Shows - Conquest wins here by a big margain.

Ship - Conquest was more beautiful, but we thought the Conquest was very loud. The bacony doors slaming were very annoying. We tried to take naps, but couldn't because of the balcony doors. I think we just had real loud neighbors. The balcony door will pretty much shut gently on it's own. If it doesn't, you can take your index finger and pull it shut. But our neighbors insisted on the "slam" method.

Spa - Was OK. I got the aroma spa package with my $250.00 that I won in the casino. It was a seaweed wrap and full body massage. I was so sore the next day. I knew they would try to sell me something afterwards, but I didn't think they would be so pushy about. I was a little disappointed with the spa. The spa treatment I had on Princess was better. They were not pushy at all. They simply told me the products that they used and they were available for purchase if I chose to.

 

I will be happy to answer any questions. I may have sounded negative about some things, but we didn't let the little things bother us and we had a great time. I would sail both cruise lines again. We are already looking to book our next cruise on Carnival with the kids. Oh, one more thing to add. We had the best weather one could imagine. We were very fortunate.

[pacerzfan]

Thanks for your review, I really enjoyed reading it.

[greatful]

Great Review Thanks !

[HDBadKitty]

Thanks for the info. on the Conquest. We'll be sailing on the 10/30/05 providing Wilma keeps her cool. One question. Do you remember the times that you can make reservations at the spa and at the "Point" the steak restaurant? We'd like to do that ASAP. Thanks

[wannacruisemore]

Nice review.....it is always nice to hear others experiences. We were on the Conquest end of April, we had a great time as well:)

[NavyCruiser]

Great review.

Question:

We've made reservations w/ Soto's in GC too. Any problem getting the first tender off the ship to make it to the pier by 8:30? & how long is the van ride from pier to the snorkel boat? Nice ride? Good scenic tour of town?

 

We also have reservation at ezcruiseparking, but is considering a Saturday night stay at holiday inn. But we're concerned about the prompness of the shuttle van to the ship. How long is the ride from hotel to ship pier?T

 

Thanks,

[jaydubya]

Thanks for the review, very informative. Hopefully they'll have all the kinks worked out of the embarkation process by January. Just out of curiosity, were you able to take the liquor you bought in Cozumel to your stateroom or did the crew take it and return it the last day at sea?

[DH30]

Thanks for the review. I'll be on the Conquest in 19 days and your review has helped me. One question.....I know you were not overly impressed with the Point, but in your opinion, is it worth the extra money?

[twostacys]

Thanks for the info. on the Conquest. We'll be sailing on the 10/30/05 providing Wilma keeps her cool. One question. Do you remember the times that you can make reservations at the spa and at the "Point" the steak restaurant? We'd like to do that ASAP. Thanks

 

As soon as you board you can make your reservations. In fact for the Point, there were people stationed throughout the ship taking reservations. We went to the buffet for lunch after we boarded and there was a lady in there taking reservations for the Point. That's where we made ours.

[Sablerose]

Thanks for the info. on the Conquest. We'll be sailing on the 10/30/05 providing Wilma keeps her cool. One question. Do you remember the times that you can make reservations at the spa and at the "Point" the steak restaurant? We'd like to do that ASAP. Thanks

 

HDBadKitty, please join us on the ROLL CALL thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=187385&page=8

 

Come say hi, tell us about yourself - there's a bunch of us on your sailing of the Conquest in two weeks!

[twostacys]

Great review.

Question:

We've made reservations w/ Soto's in GC too. Any problem getting the first tender off the ship to make it to the pier by 8:30? & how long is the van ride from pier to the snorkel boat? Nice ride? Good scenic tour of town?

 

We also have reservation at ezcruiseparking, but is considering a Saturday night stay at holiday inn. But we're concerned about the prompness of the shuttle van to the ship. How long is the ride from hotel to ship pier?T

 

Thanks,

 

We went down stairs at 7am and got tender ticket number 2. We were on shore and at the parking lot at 7:30. The van ride is about 5 min. and there was nothing scenic about it really.

 

The Holiday Inn shuttle was very prompt and it's about a 10min. van ride to the pier. I can't complain about the shuttle, only the hotel itself. It was very loud. The bar has a band every Sat night. We were on the 7th floor and the band kept us up until 1:30AM. We called and complained around 12:30, but they said they would shut the music off around 2AM.

[twostacys]

Thanks for the review, very informative. Hopefully they'll have all the kinks worked out of the embarkation process by January. Just out of curiosity, were you able to take the liquor you bought in Cozumel to your stateroom or did the crew take it and return it the last day at sea?

 

Yes, on Cozumel we could take our liquor back on the ship. Only Grand Cayman, we could not. The cream taquilla is very good.

[twostacys]

Thanks for the review. I'll be on the Conquest in 19 days and your review has helped me. One question.....I know you were not overly impressed with the Point, but in your opinion, is it worth the extra money?

 

IMO it was not. We had a fillet in the dinning room a couple days later that was better than the one I had at the Point. But keep in mind this was just our experience. Everyone else we talked to loved it. We would not go again.

[aprilivy]

Good review - I was on this sailing, also. Tried to hook up with everyone at the Pizza place on Monday, but somehow missed (or could not identify) everyone.

This was our second time on the Conquest. We had a balcony at the back (aft) of the ship that was in the starboard corner and so the balcony wrapped from the back to the starboard side where we had 4 deck chairs, 2 lounge chairs and 3 tables. We were very happy with our stateroom.

 

Service - not as good as it was on the previous sailing (although dining room service got better after the first night fiasco that barely got us out before the late seating...and the waiters were SO NICE)

Food on the buffet - not as good as on previous sailing...in fact everything was cold.

Food in dining room - wasn't crazy about some of the offerings, but always was able to either order another entree or go to the grill to get another choice.

Sur Mer - still my favorite place (and the deli)

DH still loved having frozen yogurt anytime he wanted it.

Room steward was attentive, but didn't keep the ice bucket filled like the one last time.

Overall, probably not as excited on this sailing as the previous - but still had a really great time. (Besides, my DH won $500 in the casino on Sunday and then won the $500 slot tournament on Monday - so, I got a tanzanite ring).

Didn't you think the bedding was wonderful!? Much nicer than previous cruise...

We are part of the group that believes in tipping everyone on the cruise if they are doing a great job....all-in-all that was everyone except 1 or 2.

 

Still think cruising is about the best vacation value we've found!

[Jabee]

Good review - I was on this sailing, also. Tried to hook up with everyone at the Pizza place on Monday, but somehow missed (or could not identify) everyone.

 

I had made a nice big banner for the meet and greet, but did not do a good job of packing so it is still here on my printer. We did make up the name tags and about 10 of us met. Somehow, the group got confused on what pizza is, and met by the Grill. Three of us met by the Pizzarea, and were getting ready to leave when we saw the rest of the group by the grill.

 

It was nice to have a friendly fact to bump into every so often on the ship. Oh...and Glenda and her husband from Waco were so cute dancing to the big band music!!

 

I used Printshop to make the labels, and if anybody is interested, let me know and I will e-mail them to you so you can use them on your cruise.

 

JB

[slefler]

My family and I are going on our first cruise. I have two sons (14 & 12) my son is afriad of being bored. We are currently booked on the 5 day to Cozmul and Calica De Playa but today I found a new 7 day out of Gal. TX and think that cruise would be a better choice. Any information or thoughts you can provide me and my family on choosing the better cruise.

 

Thank you.

 

Susan:rolleyes:

[Mysticks1]

My family and I are going on our first cruise. I have two sons (14 & 12) my son is afriad of being bored. We are currently booked on the 5 day to Cozmul and Calica De Playa but today I found a new 7 day out of Gal. TX and think that cruise would be a better choice. Any information or thoughts you can provide me and my family on choosing the better cruise.

 

Thank you.

 

Susan:rolleyes:

 

We are booked on the Conquest Halloween cruise next week. I had emailed Carnival and asked for an example of activities for the 12-15 age group. Below is what they sent me. Maybe that will help you to decide. :)

 

Sample of daily activities on board a 7-day cruise

Camp Carnival - Teen Cruisers: ages 12 - 15

 

DAY ONE - Embarkation Day

07:30 PM Orientation meeting

--------------------------------------------------------------

DAY TWO - Day at sea

10:00 - 10:30 AM Breakfast and get-to-know-you games

10:30 - 12:00 PM Volleyball and swimming

02:00 - 03:30 PM Photo hunt

05:00 - 06:00 PM Welcome Aboard Party Join us for drinks, fun and dancing!

09:00 - 10:00 PM Teen singles party

10:00 - 10:15 PM Meet for the show

10:15 - 11:30 PM Get seated for show time

-------------------------------------------------------------------

DAY THREE - Day in port

03:00 - 04:00 PM Win, Lose or Draw

04:00 - 05:00 PM Swim, slide and fun

08:00 - 09:30 PM Big screen movie time

09:30 - 11:00 PM Late night volleyball

11:00 - late... Join the deck party for food, fun and games

------------------------------------------------------------------

DAY FOUR - Day at sea

10:00 - 11:00 AM Hair, skin and beauty demonstration

11:00 - 12:00 PM Soccer and Dodge ball

02:00 - 02:45 PM Talent show sign-up and practice

02:45 - 03:30 PM Truth or Dare and other games

03:30 - 03:45 PM Meet for the galley tour

03:45 - 04:00 PM Galley tour

08:00 - 08:45 PM Pillow fighting

08:45 - 09:30 PM Swim under the stars!

09:30 - 10:00 PM Pizza pig-out

10:15 - 10:30 PM Meet for the show

10:30 - 11:30 PM Magic, fun and laughter show

11:30 - 12:00 AM Photos with Corey's birds

--------------------------------------------------------------

DAY FIVE - Day in port

03:00 - 04:00 PM Track and deck events

04:00 - 05:00 PM Ping Pong tournament

09:00 - 10:00 PM Mystery activity

10:00 - 10:15 PM Meet for the show

10:15 - 11:15 PM Guest talent show

11:15 - 12:15 AM Open disco for all guests

12:15 - 12:30 AM Meet for the buffet

12:30 - 01:30 AM Late night buffet

---------------------------------------------------------------

DAY SIX - Day in port

03:00 - 04:00 PM Prize bingo

04:00 - 05:00 PM Art contest

06:00 - 07:00 PM Open sitting gala dinner at Lido Bar and Grill

08:30 - 09:00 PM Mock Black Jack

09:00 - 10:00 PM Teen disco

10:00 - 10:15 PM Meet for the show

10:15 - 11:30 PM Get seated for show time

11:30 - 12:00 AM Open disco for all guests

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DAY SEVEN - Day at sea

09:30 - 10:00 AM Farewell breakfast

10:00 - 11:00 AM Talent show rehearsal

11:00 - 12:00 PM Trivia games and Name That Tune

01:30 - 02:00 PM Dance class with a ship dancer

02:00 - 03:00 PM Camp Carnival Talent Show. All parents are invited.

03:00 - 03:30 PM Shuffleboard tournament

08:30 - 09:00 PM Last pizza pig-out

09:00 - 10:00 PM Farewell party

10:00 - 12:00 AM Last chance to dance

[georgette923]

Hey twostacys Great Review!! We enjoyed your company too! Hope we can do it again some day soon.. :D