Conquest Anniversary Cruise 4/24 -4/30

[Banks822]

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

 

I hope you have a great time in October!

I did not use the WiFi, but a lot of people did that we met and none of them complained about it. I saw people on tablets on Facebook a lot during sea days. I purposely didn't get it so I could vacation from emails and social media to. Lol

[Banks822]

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]

 

I hope you have a great time and happy anniversary!

[storm1507]

Thanks for the review.

 

Did you find the 2nd elegant night more casual than the first?

[Banks822]

Thanks for the review.

 

Did you find the 2nd elegant night more casual than the first?

 

Yes, I did. This time there were more sun dresses and men in jeans or khakis and polo shirts. Even my husband stuck with a black polo instead of button up shirt and tie. They still enforced the no shorts and flip flop rule though.

[Banks822]

I'm sorry for the delay. 4 teenagers, work, and nonstop rain has gotten me behind!

So back to where I left off.... We really enjoyed our cabana. When we go back to HMC with our children in the future we'll probably get one again. If it's just us 2 we probably won't because we spent a lot of time in the water floating around. The water is so beautiful there that I couldn't help but get in! I will say that the water was kinda cold, but eventually I got use to it. Also there was an abundance of chairs on the beach and down near us there was plenty of shade.

[Banks822]

We did snorkel for a little while but didn't see much. Apparently we didn't go to the right spot because some people on the tender going back were telling us about all the good stuff they saw snorkeling.

At 11:30 we went to the BBQ. We weren't real hungry because we had plenty to snack on in the cabana, but we each got a plate and took it back to our little spot to eat. That's one time I was glad to have our own space and a our own little table.

[Banks822]

I snapped a picture of the menu too.

[Banks822]

There was a little bird that kept resting on our porch railing. We came in from swimming and caught it eating our fruit. Lol It broke through the plastic wrap! We didn't mind though because we were finished with it.

[grima625]

You review is getting my DW and I excited. We're doing the same cruise in July, and we have a cabana rented at HMC too. Cabana 11 looks great, but which ones would you recommend if it's not available? I will be doing other research on them, but just wondering what you thought.

[DebOinKC]

I'm sorry for the delay. 4 teenagers, work, and nonstop rain has gotten me behind!

So back to where I left off.... We really enjoyed our cabana. When we go back to HMC with our children in the future we'll probably get one again. If it's just us 2 we probably won't because we spent a lot of time in the water floating around. The water is so beautiful there that I couldn't help but get in! I will say that the water was kinda cold, but eventually I got use to it. Also there was an abundance of chairs on the beach and down near us there was plenty of shade.

 

We had cabana 11 last month too. Loved it :) It was in the perfect spot. But when we go to HMC next October, we won't be getting a cabana for just the 2 of us, just because we spent more time in the water than in the cabana.

[FloridaGram]

Well sometime before lunch a big argument got started between some women over chairs. One woman was holding 5 chairs on our row and I had not seen her the whole morning or any of the other people that she was holding chairs for. A group of ladies came up and got chairs at the end. They needed 2 more chairs and asked the sisters from Georgia and the people behind us if anyone was using those chairs. Once they all said nobody at been in the chairs all morning, they moved the towels over and took 2 chairs for themselves. Of course those chairs had been empty for 2 hours, but as soon as someone sat in one here comes a lady yelling for them to get out of her chairs. Then they were all yelling at each other and one woman got security. It was to much drama for me, seriously it's chairs. After that incident the deck crew started putting stickers out on chairs and I watched them remove several people's things on sea days. We decided we had seen enough action for 1 day and gave up our chairs around 11. I went to the room and got cleaned up for Sea Day Brunch. Don't miss this! I can't believe this is the 1st cruise I've actually gone to brunch. Brad ordered salad with jerk bacon, steak and eggs, cheddar grits, and caramel cheesecake. I wanted to try the funny french toast, and it was okay. Then I got macaroni with fried chicken and banana cream pie. It was so so good!

 

Just curious if the 2 people gave up your chairs or if the lady that came up "won"? We were on this cruise also and were at the aft pool. There were so many chairs with towels and no people. One lady was saving 6 or 7 and I was about to take 2 but found the last 2 empty on the other side. So the next seaday I got up at 6:30 to get out there. One of us always stayed with the chairs and I went into the buffet to get breakfast. We usually go to the dining room but having the chairs I wanted at the aft pool was more important than that!

 

I love your picture of the Bon Voyage in the sand. The people as you sail out of Ft Lauderdale were a lot of fun. Can you imagine living in those houses?

[Banks822]

You review is getting my DW and I excited. We're doing the same cruise in July, and we have a cabana rented at HMC too. Cabana 11 looks great, but which ones would you recommend if it's not available? I will be doing other research on them, but just wondering what you thought.

 

It depends on what kind of atmosphere you want to be in. The 1st several are near the bar. The music is louder there and there's more of a crowd. 9 through 12 were far enough down where you could hear the music from the water, but not inside the cabana. Also you're close enough to the bathrooms and BBQ behind you, but the beach area isn't crowded. 13 through 15 is where you want to go if you want to be alone and quite.

My advice is to watch YouTube videos to get a better idea and make sure that as soon as you get on the boat you go to the Shore Excursion desk on deck 3 and pick your cabana out! I hope you have a wonderful time!

[Banks822]

Just curious if the 2 people gave up your chairs or if the lady that came up "won"? We were on this cruise also and were at the aft pool. There were so many chairs with towels and no people. One lady was saving 6 or 7 and I was about to take 2 but found the last 2 empty on the other side. So the next seaday I got up at 6:30 to get out there. One of us always stayed with the chairs and I went into the buffet to get breakfast. We usually go to the dining room but having the chairs I wanted at the aft pool was more important than that!

 

I love your picture of the Bon Voyage in the sand. The people as you sail out of Ft Lauderdale were a lot of fun. Can you imagine living in those houses?

 

We gave up our 2 chairs just because I didn't want to be in the midst of all that drama. Lol None of those women wanted to back down from each other, so security ended up taking care of it.

The port at FLL was so unorganized, but I loved the sail away! The people were great!

[Banks822]

We really did enjoy our day at HMC. The only downfalls were that the gift shop wasn't open (we asked why and were told that Carnival is in charge of all that and they didn't know why, but they didn't tell them to open it that day). A few people were out there selling things, but we always get a magnet everywhere we go and couldn't get one this time. Also, I would of liked to of had more time. The last tender was suppose to be at 2:45 and by 1:00 the line to go back was crazy! We lined up at 1:30 and were back onboard at 2:15.

We would like to go back again, so I'm hoping to find a cruise with a later back on board time. So far no luck. By time it was warming up good outside we had to leave and that was my least favorite part.

[Banks822]

This day was our 10 year anniversary and we were joking because on our wedding day we had Taco Bell for lunch. Lol I knew that was my last chance for Blue Iguana and I had not eaten it since day 1. Brad wanted me to get my 2 chicken tacos and it closes at 2:30 everyday. When we were back onboard he ran up to the Lido deck and got us our tacos. I thought it was sweet and they were good! I've always gotten the shrimp burrito and now I realized I've been missing out. We found a table, ate quickly, and headed to the room for showers and sail away.

The last tender was suppose to be 2:45 and sail away at 3:30. We were on the balcony watching the last tender come up at 3:30 and we sailed away around 4.

[Banks822]

After we sailed away and got ready we went to the shops. Tonight was the 2 for 20 shirt sale. We got 2 and then we ordered a Dive-In Movie blanket because our youngest daughter really wanted one. My husband buys a watch every cruise. Last June on the Breeze they had Michael Kors buy one get one half off, and I actually got a watch. He usually gets Invicta for himself. This cruise didn't have the best sales though, so he didn't get a new watch. Trust me, he didn't need one! Lol After checking out the stores one last time we went to Guest Services to get envelopes and we got our extra tips together for our room steward and wait staff. They deserved extra because they made our vacation so pleasant. Then it was time to eat and say our goodbyes to Francis, Andy, and Soner. The dinning room was very busy tonight so service was a little slower, but we didn't mind. After we ate we went up to our room to find Rudy. I wanted to make sure we told him goodbye and all because I knew the next morning would be busy for him and us. Goodbyes were said, packing was mostly done, so we decided to walk around the ship, go get a coffee, and just enjoy our last night of vacation.

[Banks822]

The movies tonight were 7:30 Inside Out and 9:30 Hotel Transylvania 2. Good for little ones, but not us. The show was Latin Nights. I've seen it 3 times on 3 different boats. It's one of my favorites and I like when they dance with the water splashing. But, seriously the singers on this cruise were really not that good. I hate to say that, but I'm being honest. So we skipped the show. I've read some other reviews where people are saying the music was overpowering the singers, and I'm pretty sure it was on purpose. I'm so not trying to be mean, but I know music and really this cruise had my least favorite entertainment of all our past cruises.

At 11 we called it a night and the next morning we went through the crazy process of getting off the ship. But, we made it to the airport on time and we were home by 3:00. Just in time for our oldest son's 15th birthday!

[Banks822]

Oh, I almost forgot something! I've noticed several people complaining about us disembarking late. I'm not sure if this had anything to do with it or not, but Brad and I watched 2 different men be brought off the boat in handcuffs at separate times. The 1st guy looked to be late 30's to mid 40's. They put him the back of a car and that was that. Then a younger guy came out with about 6 officers around him. After they got the younger guy in the car they put a package behind the dumpster, and let a dog out of a different car. He went straight to the package and sat down.

[Banks822]

Overall we had a great time together and enjoyed the ports. All the staff were professional and polite. The ship was clean and we never had a problem with the air conditioner in our cabin, which after reading on CC I was worried about. We managed to have plenty of fun with out drinking and were never bothered with the people around us having a good time while drinking. Lol It's your vacation and I say you should enjoy it however you want to, just respect the people around you.

The only drama we encountered were women arguing over chairs, and that was an easy issue to resolve...we moved away from them. I was glad to see them enforcing rules on the ship in the dinning room, with the hot tubs, and with chair hogs. Why have rules if you don't make people follow them?

The food in the dinning room was always good and we had great service. Guys, Blue Iguana, the Deli, and Pizza Pirate were always good, no complaints there. I never ate from the buffet at lunch or Fish and Chips, so I don't know about that. Sea Day Brunch is excellent, don't miss out on that!

I liked the Stings Trio, the steel drums, and SixAppeal for entertainment. The shows...not so much and I never even saw the piano bar.

We would cruise on the Conquest again, but probably not out off FLL again.

Grand Turk we loved, HMC we loved, Amber Cove we liked. If anyone has questions please ask. I'm sure I'll find pictures I forgot to post and something I left out!

[GMRPHRN]

Thanks so much for your review. I am sailing the Conquest in June with a different itinerary. I went to Grand Turk last Oct and was disappointed but now I know about the golf carts for next time. Our ship skipped HMC last October and I was so looking forward to it. I like your attitude. So much about enjoying yourself is deciding that you are not going to sweat the small stuff and let it ruin your vacation.

[Ms. Fun Bunch]

Thanks for the review. Enjoyed it!

[Banks822]

Thanks so much for your review. I am sailing the Conquest in June with a different itinerary. I went to Grand Turk last Oct and was disappointed but now I know about the golf carts for next time. Our ship skipped HMC last October and I was so looking forward to it. I like your attitude. So much about enjoying yourself is deciding that you are not going to sweat the small stuff and let it ruin your vacation.

 

Thank you! I hope you have a great time in June! :)

[Banks822]

Thanks for the review. Enjoyed it!

 

Thank you! :)

[Yayamama77]

You sound like such a sweetheart Banks822. And God bless your hubby for his sobriety. Your review is wonderful. It will be my first time sailing in June and on the Conquest to boot. May the good Lord bless you with many more enjoyable cruises in the future.

 

 

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[Banks822]

You sound like such a sweetheart Banks822. And God bless your hubby for his sobriety. Your review is wonderful. It will be my first time sailing in June and on the Conquest to boot. May the good Lord bless you with many more enjoyable cruises in the future.

 

 

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Thank you! I hope you have a wonderful cruise in June!