Just off the Conquest!

[seashell64]

When I was on these boards I didn't seem to be able to find too many threads on the Conquest so I vowed to write one when I got back, and I see there are several here already from our sailing; cool!.

 

We are in our mid 50's and this was our sixth cruise (all on Carnival). It was our first on the Conquest, but knew the layout because we sailed on The Liberty last year and loved it; part of why we chose the Conquest. We also chose it for the ports (amazing) and wanted to go out of and see FLL. We live in Florida and usually sail out of Port Canaveral.

 

We went down to FLL early to spend 1 1/2 days therey; hit horrible traffic on Friday afternoon, which made the 3 1/2 hour drive a 4 1/2 hour drive, but we got in and got settled and did a water taxi all day Saturday which was fun.

 

Sunday morning came and we had FTTF so I was excited to get to the port and crossed my fingers for early boarding... NO WAY. I had heard the horror stories of this port and how unorganized it is and it lived up to it's bad reviews. We didn't board until almost 12:30 after a "coast guard drill" delay, but I overheard someone else say there were 4 or 5 weddings aboard that they were trying to get through so who knows. It got crowded and people got grumpy - I was in vacation mode and it wasn't going to help to get anxious so we just went with it.

 

On board and room was ready so we dumped our stuff and went straight to Guys. Walked around the ship; I personally think it's in fine shape and didn't think it was poorly decorated - different strokes for different folks... Muster drill was a pain - too long with people getting sick or claustrophobic - bring back the days of putting on the life jacket and sitting in the lounge :).

 

We ate in the dining room that night and thought the food was good; got a table for two and no one was seated next to us so it was a quiet night for dinner. We had anytime dining. Hit the sack early. We had room 9294 which is the first balcony room off the lido deck - we had a similar room on the opposite side last year on the liberty and loved it -this room seemed to be a big louder - it turns out that the "closet" where all the cleaning stuff is kept for the lido deck is in here so we heard a lot of clanging around in the early hours as they prepped the deck - not horrible but annoying sometimes.

 

more soon....

[seashell64]

ENTERTAINMENT: I can't say enough about our cruise director Josh Big Sexy- he was so great; personable, funny and just really seemed genuine and loves his job. The shows were good - went to the Epic Rock which we loved, The Brits which was OK, the Divas which we loved. The only negative is that the production music seemed at times to be too loud and overpowered the singers. We went to one Adult Comedy show that was very good and we did 3 of the trivia nights in the lounge which were a blast! We spent our fair share of time and money in the casino (tight slots) and visited the Alchemy bar (amazing chocolate Martini) -we didn't make it to the night club or the piano bar. They did have a group on board that played violins to modern music which was fantastic. We missed the Hasbro show.

 

FOOD: We only made it to the dining room on two nights; the other days we were on a weird schedule of eating lunch around 2 or 3 and didn't feel like getting dressed up for dinner so we would snack in the evening at the buffet, deli or pizza. The dining room nights were great with quick service and good food, we also enjoyed all the food at the other venues; buffet food was varied each night, Guy's burgers was a go to almost every day, the blue Iguana was a go too almost every morning with their breakfast burritos, the pizza line was always long but you could get a full pizza in 10-15 minutes. My husband ate from the deli twice and was satisfied there as well. We didn't ever order room service and never saw a room service menu.

 

POOL: This seemed to be full cruise, but not a lot of kids, which is why we try and cruise around the last week of April, first week of May. Quite a few chair hogs with their stuff out early but they weren't. No enforcement of it with the exception of one day that I saw one of the "towel hut" girls putting stickers on the chairs directly behind her, but no where else. The hot tubs WERE NOT HOT (although warmer than the pools); what was a bit irritating were the adults who allowed their kids to treat the hot tubs as a pool- I don't have a problem with kids in the hot tub - but I did have a problem with them jumping in and splashing around like it was a kiddie pool. Yes I could have gone to the back to the adult area, but I do like to participate in the Lido deck fun during the day so I just kept to the hot tubs early when the kids weren't there yet. The adult pool in the back seems to be in need of a bit of an overhaul/cleaning - seemed to be a lot of wear and tear on this one. The lido deck activities were always fun.

 

ROOM STEWARD: only saw him once when he asked what time we were going to be going to dinner each night. Our rooms were serviced 2x per day (morning and PM turn down service). The room was clean and we LOVED having a balcony room. All the service from everyone was spot on. The weather was fabulous and the seas were calm the whole cruise.

 

Reviews of ports next....

[SBNDers]

My wife and I will be on the Conquest in June and our cabin will be in nearly the same location as yours. We also were on a different ship and loved the location.

I have a question about MTD. Were any of your servers worthy of us to request to be seated in their section? Also, is the dining room the Renoir on deck 3 closest to mid ship?

 

Thanks!

 

Steve

[seashell64]

My wife and I will be on the Conquest in June and our cabin will be in nearly the same location as yours. We also were on a different ship and loved the location.

I have a question about MTD. Were any of your servers worthy of us to request to be seated in their section? Also, is the dining room the Renoir on deck 3 closest to mid ship?

 

Thanks!

 

Steve

 

We had table 186 both times and while I didn't get the names of the servers, they were very attentive. The tables are close together and the first night we didn't have anyone next to us, but the second night we did and met some great people to talk to through dinner - it was a bit slower that night so it was nice to sit next to people and chat through the dinner hour. We were assigned the Renoir deck three and it is mid ship - the lobby is just outside of the MDR. Let me know if you have any more questions; I keep thinking that just a short week ago I was on board, I wishing I still was!

[seashell64]

Monday was a sea day

 

Tuesday was Grand Turk - a new port for us; we booked an excursion through Carnival to go on the Hummers. Grand Turk was a beautiful port with turquoise waters and a clean port of shopping and Margaritaville. Since we had never been here before we wanted to see the island. The hummer tour was a good way to see everything; but with that being said there isn't a lot to see. The tour guide Romeo was fantastic; very informative about the island and the old salt trade that once made the island money, but now it is a worn down poor area. The Hummers were great to drive and we made many stops to hear the different areas/parts of history that once made the island great. I'm glad we took the tour, but our next visit to Grand Turk will probably be a beach day.

 

Wednesday was Amber Cove and our favorite Island ever. The port itself is new. It was very clean and quiet. It has a sky bar above everything that you must go to just for the views. We took an ATV tour through Carnival again and it was a BLAST. There was a 25 minute ride through the city; I would NOT feel safe walking or driving through without being on a tour - we saw a guy just standing on the street with an assault rifle on his back! The tour however was fabulous. It had rained the night before so it was good and muddy - a quick ride around the block to make sure we were all settled an off we rode for over an hour through the hills of this gorgeous countryside. After we settled in to an area for a meal they prepared, drinks and some shopping for items made by the local craftsmen. We would do this same excursion again it was so much fun.

 

Thursday was a sea day and lots of fun on the lido deck with the hairy chest contest, groove for Saint Jude and music.

 

Friday was Half Moon Cay and another port new to us; the water was the clearest, most blue water we had ever seen (and we live in Florida). We just opted for the clamshell rental at 25.00 for the day and a float rental for 15.00 for the day and spent the day soaking up the sun. They had an island BBQ prepared which was delicious but the lines were long - I think just about everyone got off the ship at this port. They tell you that all you need is your S & S card but there are booths set up of locals selling stuff that you would need cash for.

 

Sadly Saturday was time to disembark and another unorganized fiasco. Platinum, diamond and FTF were told to report to the dining room so they could escort us off once we received clearance BUT they starting letting off the self assist passengers first, then they stopped letting anyone off at all because it had gotten so congested in the terminal, then they let us off. We were through the customs line and on our transport back to our hotel at 10:00; making some anxious folks who were scheduled for 11:30 flights. Good thing the airport is so close.

 

It was a fabulous cruise; we booked another one while on this one for the 100.00 OBC perk. I don't think we would chose to sail out of FFL again, but I would book another cruise that had Josh on it for sure!

 

Post your questions if you have any; I'm happy to answer if I can. I'm off to scope out what I can about our next cruise on the Magic!!

[balcony bound]

I don't think we would chose to sail out of FFL again, but I would book another cruise that had Josh on it for sure!

 

LOL I agree! We were on this cruise with you - embark/debark was a hot mess and Port Canaveral has it all over Port Everglades.

It was a great cruise, glad you enjoyed the ports - it's a wonderful itinerary.

[bakersdozen12]

Platinum, diamond and FTF were told to report to the dining room so they could escort us off once we received clearance BUT they starting letting off the self assist passengers first, then they stopped letting anyone off at all because it had gotten so congested in the terminal, then they let us off.

 

Self assist is supposed to be let off first before Diamonds/Platinums/FTTF's with checked baggage. I'm not sure why they told you that you would be before the self assist people.

[CruiseHealing]

We really like the Conquest class

[delberto]

My wife and I will be on the Conquest in June and our cabin will be in nearly the same location as yours. We also were on a different ship and loved the location.

I have a question about MTD. Were any of your servers worthy of us to request to be seated in their section? Also, is the dining room the Renoir on deck 3 closest to mid ship?

 

Thanks!

 

Steve

 

We went out of our way to request Yuco at dinner each night. He's a fabulous server!!

[Sparky2]

I don't think we would chose to sail out of FFL again, but I would book another cruise that had Josh on it for sure!

 

Post your questions if you have any; I'm happy to answer if I can. I'm off to scope out what I can about our next cruise on the Magic!!

 

Knock on wood, we've never had any problems sailing out of FLL. Hopefully, our luck will continue this next January when we cruise Conquest again.

[delberto]

actually I think he spells it Yaco

[foflocruiser]

Port Everglades has nothing to do with 'Coast Guard Drills'

Security and staff inside is hired by the cruiseline.

The operational calls are made by the cruiseline.

[jomoin]

This may be a silly question, but what would "weddings" have to do about getting on board the ship? Is this due to people getting off the ship from the previous cruise or wedding groups boarding? Either way, why would that delay the process?

Edited May 8, 2016 by jomoin

[vacruisin]

Thanks for the review. We will be on the Conquest for the 2nd time this July. It's our 2nd favorite ship next to the Freedom! We love all the Conquest class ships! How was the Alchemy bar atmosphere?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Herbaltees]

This may be a silly question, but what would "weddings" have to do about getting on board the ship? Is this due to people getting off the ship from the previous cruise or wedding groups boarding? Either way, why would that delay the process?

 

 

The weddings board first before any diamond platinum or FTTF. There can be up to 3 weddings on embarkation day.

[simplelife]

I would NOT feel safe walking or driving through without being on a tour - we saw a guy just standing on the street with an assault rifle on his back!!

 

 

With all the new open carry laws, we may see this on any street in the US [emoji45]

[luv2trvlnow]

Self assist is supposed to be let off first before Diamonds/Platinums/FTTF's with checked baggage. I'm not sure why they told you that you would be before the self assist people.

On my cruises Diamonds/Platinums/FTTFs that are doing self assist meet at a designated place and are escorted off first. The Diamonds/Platinums/FTTs with checked luggage get low numbered luggage tags (1 or 2 usually) and leave when those numbers are called and are not escorted off and are after the self assist.