Conquest Anniversary Cruise 4/24 -4/30

[Banks822]

At 6:00 we went to the dinning room to eat. I tried the salmon cakes tonight just on a whim, and was surprised by how good they were! After dinner we went to the 8:15 show, The Britts. I did not enjoy this show. I'm a very laid back, look on the bright side, make the best of it kind of person, but seriously it wasn't good. The music was so loud you couldn't hear the singers very well and in all honesty this ship didn't have great singers compared to others I've heard.

After the show we went to the aft hot tub again for a little while. I snapped a few pictures of the aft pool and hot tub. They were good about not allowing kids in either. Then I went to the spa to sit in the sauna and take a shower. I like the bigger spa showers. We ended the night with room service and the basketball playoffs.

[RecoveryDude]

We do not drink alcohol, so we may seem boring to some. Lol We don't have a problem with people drinking, but if you have read my Breeze review you'll know my husband has battled alcoholism and has been sober for over 2 years now. It's actually not that bad to cruise without drinking because we save a lot of money and that means more cruises. Lol

.

 

Me and my best friend/cruise buddy ALSO don't drink and we are both in recovery from Alcohol! It's an adventure to cruise with all the alcohol they push on you but I've got almost 8 years sober and my buddy has 4 so we're good ... this is the first I have seen someone else mention that on here. Perhaps sometime we can team up and go on a cruise together? Are you guys on Facebook? How can I contact you?

 

Cheers!

 

Jeff aka Recovery Dude

[Banks822]

Me and my best friend/cruise buddy ALSO don't drink and we are both in recovery from Alcohol! It's an adventure to cruise with all the alcohol they push on you but I've got almost 8 years sober and my buddy has 4 so we're good ... this is the first I have seen someone else mention that on here. Perhaps sometime we can team up and go on a cruise together? Are you guys on Facebook? How can I contact you?

 

Cheers!

 

Jeff aka Recovery Dude

 

Congratulations on 8 years! That's awesome! I don't have FB, but I have twitter and Instagram. My name is banks822 for them all.

We are actually in the process of planning a group cruise right now. Looking into the end of April to 1st of May. We're taking some cruise newbies to show them how much fun it is!

[Keys2Heaven]

The area was nice and all the staff was pleasant. There were plenty of beds, hammocks, chairs and pillows to go around even though there were a lot of people. The beach area wasn't huge, but it was big enough. One thing we noticed was that the canopy and chairs at the nicest part of the beach had bags, books, and flip flops in them already. Around lunch time people who were staying in the resort came to the beach. They had saved the area they wanted the night before. We met several other families who were also staying at the resort. When I think of Serenity, I think of not crowded, not loud, and peace. I'm sure I'm in the minority because most people seemed to love this excursion, but for me it wasn't on my list of favorites.

 

Not sure how I feel about this. I inquired with Carnival about this excursion as my wife and I booked this months ago, but another CC'er saw this excursion drop off the list of excursions available for Amber Cove. I was informed by Carnival that this excursion was on hold. In fact, other cruisers who recently sailed here and had the Serenity excursion were actually redirected to another resort altogether.

 

We cancelled and just made this a port day, but Carnival sure didn't have their act together on if this was still valid for our sailing.

[RecoveryDude]

Congratulations on 8 years! That's awesome! I don't have FB, but I have twitter and Instagram. My name is banks822 for them all.

We are actually in the process of planning a group cruise right now. Looking into the end of April to 1st of May. We're taking some cruise newbies to show them how much fun it is!

 

 

I just followed you on Instagram ... My email is Vegasman777@Gmail.com [emoji3] what's your email?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Banks822]

Not sure how I feel about this. I inquired with Carnival about this excursion as my wife and I booked this months ago, but another CC'er saw this excursion drop off the list of excursions available for Amber Cove. I was informed by Carnival that this excursion was on hold. In fact, other cruisers who recently sailed here and had the Serenity excursion were actually redirected to another resort altogether.

 

We cancelled and just made this a port day, but Carnival sure didn't have their act together on if this was still valid for our sailing.

 

I saw the same post about the excursion being cancelled or redirected. We were also told it was on hold when I called. On day one I asked the Shore Excursion desk about it and was told they would know by 7pm on day 2 if it was still on. We went ahead and looked for another excursion just in case. Monday night we were told around 6 that everything was okay.

My husband asked our tour guide about it and he said that in March some of the timeshare holders were unhappy with them allowing cruisers in, but they were finally able to come to an agreement and start the excursion back up.

[Banks822]

I just followed you on Instagram ... My email is Vegasman777@Gmail.com [emoji3] what's your email?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Cmacon217@gmail.com

[Banks822]

Day 5: Sea Day

At night we would leave the curtains open and the sun coming up in the morning helped us to wake up early. This day I was up by 7am again. I went out to see if I could get the same chairs we had the 1st sea day and they were unoccupied. By time I got back to the room our coffee was there and we got ready for the day. We went out to deck 10 and people watched from our chairs until it was time for my 8:00 pedicure. Since I had a gift certificate I decided I mine as well use it. Brad just lounged around and waited on me to get back. The 2 sisters from Georgia had come out and talked with Brad so he wasn't bored at least. My pedicure was nice and they didn't pressure me to badly to buy products. I hate when they do that, but I know it's part of their job. I was finished at 9, and went back out to lay in the sun with Brad.

So far there was no drama on this sea day and I was glad. We laid out and talked with the sisters until 11. Then we gave up our chairs and changed for brunch.

We got to brunch at 11:30 and once again had a really nice meal. This time I tried the tomato soup, the pasta, and the brownie. Brad stuck with the steak and eggs.

Our server, Andy, was from Peru. I was in Peru in September for a mission trip. We talked about it for quite a while. He was very familiar with the villages I was in and told me of some other villages that he knew also needed clean water filters. I really enjoyed our conversation.

[Banks822]

We finished eating and were on the Lido deck right in time for the Hairy Chest competition. The men in the contest were pretty funny so we stayed and watched. Most of the men are usually older, bald, and bigger so I was surprised to see a young, thin guy in the competition. He was a "duck dynasty" look alike, lol and had on a white robe. He was last in line and you could tell he was up to something. All of a sudden he laid down in a chair and was lifted up in the air. His friends carried him down the few steps and set him down. Then he stood up and 2 girls took off his robe. He definitely stood out from the other men. Of course he won.

[Keys2Heaven]

I saw the same post about the excursion being cancelled or redirected. We were also told it was on hold when I called. On day one I asked the Shore Excursion desk about it and was told they would know by 7pm on day 2 if it was still on. We went ahead and looked for another excursion just in case. Monday night we were told around 6 that everything was okay.

My husband asked our tour guide about it and he said that in March some of the timeshare holders were unhappy with them allowing cruisers in, but they were finally able to come to an agreement and start the excursion back up.

 

Well this sucks as we would have liked to have done this. Carnival sure dropped the ball communicating about this excursion.

[Banks822]

After the Hairy Chest contest we went back to the room and decided to nap. I took full advantage of the fact that we were kid free, didn't have to run to ballgames or meetings, and our phones were on airplane mode! The world keeps us so busy and I didn't realize just how exhausted I really was until I stopped running for a few days.

I woke up at 3 and started getting ready for the afternoon. Tonight was the 2nd elegant night. After we were dressed and ready we looked around the shops and listened to the singers in the lobby until dinner time.

Dinner was good and I actually liked tonight's menu better than the 1st elegant night menu.

[Banks822]

After dinner we went out to the Lido and watched the Avengers at the Dive-In Movies. There were a lot people out watching this movie too.

After the movie we went to the 9:30 comedy show with AL Romero. He was really funny! Then we went to the Toulouse Theater and watched DIVAS.

After a full afternoon we were ready for ice cream and bed.

[Banks822]

It has rained, like poured down, thunder, lightening, and all since we got home Saturday. My husband says he's got the cruise blues! Lol At least I'm getting to relive my vacation through this review. I actually have to work a few hours today, but I'll try to get to Half Moon Cay tonight. What a beautiful island!!

I'll also post random pictures I took around the ship at the end. If anyone has questions feel free to ask. I did keep all the fun times and I took pics of the room service menus if anyone is interested.

[tawaik]

Very nice review.

 

Me and hubby were on this sailing with you. Looks like you both had a great time:D. I enjoyed our cruise minus time spend to board the ship.

[Banks822]

Very nice review.

 

Me and hubby were on this sailing with you. Looks like you both had a great time:D. I enjoyed our cruise minus time spend to board the ship.

 

Thanks! We did have a nice time. Hope you and your hubby enjoyed your cruise!

[golfb4cruzing]

We watched the Hairy Chest Contest as well and the Yeti from Oregon was definitely in the Zone. We left after the first round. How can you beat a lawn chair entrance? It was a lock after that.

[Banks822]

We watched the Hairy Chest Contest as well and the Yeti from Oregon was definitely in the Zone. We left after the first round. How can you beat a lawn chair entrance? It was a lock after that.

 

It was original! Lol

[Banks822]

Day 6: Half Moon Cay

Brad and I were up at 6:30, just in time to see the sunrise. Room service was delivered at 6:45 and Brad had his coffee and cereal on the balcony while I finished getting ready. This was our 10 year anniversary and we were excited to spend it at HMC. We were told to be on deck 3 in the theater by 7:50 for priority tendering because we were FTTF and we had a cabana. When we got there they told us there was no line and to just head to the boat. We were on quickly, but had to wait a while for it fill up on top and bottom. Finally we were off and headed to the beach!

It was a quick ride and we were off the boat in no time. I had watched several YouTube videos about the island and the cabanas when trying to decide if we wanted to spend the extra money, so I knew about the walking path behind the cabanas. It was much easier walking that way then through the sand.

[Banks822]

Of course we stopped to take a picture at the entrance sign and I snapped a picture of the pirate ship bar before it filled up.

[Banks822]

After a couple quick pictures we went to find cabana 11. It was actually my 2nd choice, but I'm so glad that was the one we got. It was perfect! There were trees on both sides which gave us shade and space between the cabanas on each side. We also had hammocks on each side which was great to.

[Banks822]

One of the hammocks had a hole in it, but it still served it's purpose. Lol

[Banks822]

Inside the cabana there were 5 floats (I'm not sure why they gave us 5), snorkel gear, 2 towels, 8 sodas, 4 bottles of water, 4 oranges, a fruit tray, a veggie tray, a bag of tortilla chips, and 4 dips. Also there was a small table with 4 chairs, 2 lounge chairs, and a misting fan.

[Banks822]

I'll finish up tomorrow morning. Goodnight everyone :)

[osubuckeye5]

Thanks for sharing! We live in NC as well; we're going on the Conquest in December for our 10th anniversary (although a couple weeks early and a different itinerary). [emoji16]

[Pellaz]

Thanks for the great review! We were on Conquest last October and I'll be on her again this coming October. Really curious about Amber Cove since we're stopping there, too. Grand Turk and I are 4-time compadres and I've been to HMC twice, out of four tries. We even had Cabana #11 on our first successful visit to HMC. Loved it!

 

 

I take it you didn't use the ship's WiFi while you were onboard, right? I was wondering if it was still as good as it was last October. They had the new 3-tiered "improved" WiFi and the middle level was amazingly responsive...my friend John even voice-called back to his wife in KY using FB Messenger and it worked like a charm! :eek: :D