Pre-Trip Blog and Review: Carnival Conquest 5/22/16 – Eastern Caribbean

[UTVolsFan4Life]

 

 

 

 

 

[UTVolsFan4Life]

 

 

 

 

 

[UTVolsFan4Life]

 

 

 

 

 

[UTVolsFan4Life]

Here is a video that I made of some of the sail away with my GoPro.

 

 

Also, I did a Facebook live video.

 

 

We relaxed for a bit as we headed out to sea. Then we realized that Julie’s phone was in the room charging and we needed to get it on airplane mode before we got further out to sea. I was nice enough to make a run back to the room to grab her phone. On the way, I caught a glance at the deck party going on.

 

Here is a short clip that I took with my iPhone.

 

 

I made it back to the ladies and we took care of Julie’s phone and rested a bit longer. About 6:15 PM we made it back to the room and found that our turn down service was already completed.

 



 



 

Side Note: There was no paper for me to fill out regarding service. When I met Tamrin he told me that he would be providing the service twice per day without me even asking.

 

We got ready for dinner and we headed over to the Renoir Restaurant on Deck 3. This is the dining room for Any Time Dining. There was a small line where we waited for about 5 minutes or less. We were brought to table 223. The first thing I noticed was that they no longer put the names of the wait staff on the table only the number. The service was slow and not really up to par with Carnival standards.

 



 



 



 

Gluten Bread Basket for Julie. Julie loved the bread basket, maybe a little too much.

 



 

[UTVolsFan4Life]

We missed the picture of the Gluten Free Bread.

 

For Appetizers, Cynthia had a quesadilla that was modified to be gluten free and without meat. She thought it was just OK, nothing that just blew her away.

 



 

Julie and I tried Corn Chowder Maryland. I was very under seasoned. I don’t like much pepper and I hardly add salt to my food and it needed a little pepper and a bunch of salt.

 



 

Also, I ventured out and tried the Rare Find of the day, Cured Salmon, Candied Tomato. This was excellent. I wished I would have ordered a second one.

 



 

For our main meal, Julie had some grilled chicken with potatoes and broccoli. She said that it was really good and that the chicken had a lot of flavor.

 



 

Cynthia and I ordered the Vegetable Lasagna. However, when the food came out it was more like Vegetable Spaghetti. We found out that the chef did not have a way to make the lasagna noodles gluten free. I wish that there would have been a bit more communication with us a head of time so that we at least had a heads up that our order had changed. It was really good and a great substitution.

 



 

For desert, it was Chocolate Melting Cakes all the way around. Here is the famous Gluten version.

 



 

[UTVolsFan4Life]

The just as good gluten free version for Cynthia and I.

 



 

I had requested a side of Peanut Butter and it never came with the desert. This is some of the little attention to details that was lacking along with the slow service.

 

We made it back to our room around 9:00 PM. I rested for a minute, put my shorts and tee shirt back on and then headed to our informal meet and greet that was held in the Pirate Pizza area. Julie was so stuffed from dinner that she made herself sick and was not feeling well so, Cynthia decided to stay in the room with her. I was really tired and I did not plan to stay but about 30 minutes. For some reason they had the roof closed over the adult pool and it was flat hot in there. We had a good turnout of about 15 people and great conversations. The next thing I knew it was between 11:00 PM - 11:30 PM. It was time for me to head to bed as we had an early morning for Half Moon Cay.

 

That's all for tonight, I'll start working on Half Moon Cay tomorrow and post it as soon as it's ready.

[tropicaledrink]

We completely lost track of time and missed the first meet n greet :(

 

I kept trying to see if we could spot ourselves in your sailaway videos, since we were not far from you - but alas, no luck.

 

It was nice to meet you!

[nychad10]

I have only read a the beginning of embarkation Day... But I couldn't wait to ask.. What are the Cabanas?

[UTVolsFan4Life]

We completely lost track of time and missed the first meet n greet :(

 

I kept trying to see if we could spot ourselves in your sailaway videos, since we were not far from you - but alas, no luck.

 

It was nice to meet you!

Oh no, I hate that you missed the meet and greet. We had to good time even thought it was rather warm. It was nice meeting you as well!

I have only read a the beginning of embarkation Day... But I couldn't wait to ask.. What are the Cabanas?

I'll show you more when I post the Half Moon Cay (HMC) day. The cabanas are an excursion on HMC. There are only 15 of the smaller ones and they sell out very quickly. When you purchase one, that just reserves you one for the day. They get assigned first come, first serve at the excursion desk for those that have purchased one. It's important to get there early to make sure you get the cabana of your choice. Also, they go ahead and get your soft drink selections and your shoe sizes for the snorkel fins that are included in the rental.

[bcberri]

Seriously loving the review so far! Our next cruise will be on the Conquest. You're details are great.

[crazychuckie]

First off....Go Vols!

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review. been a few days since last update starting to get worried about it. We are thinking about doing this itinerary in October.

 

Thanks and look forward to seeing the rest!

[larsch]

Loving it! Keep it coming!

 

Larry

[ScrapbookJ]

This is so much fun to read, can't wait to see more...

[Missywantstotravel]

I wanted to say thanks for a couple of thing. 1) for showing me I'm not the only one who starts planning things out a year in advance. My cruise is on June 3,2017. 2) introducing me to the Hilton hotel. I was able to get two rooms facing the marina so I can watch the ships come in. And 3) for writing a review I am very much enjoying reading.

 

 

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[CruiserJul]

Really enjoying your trip report! We too stayed at the Ft. Lauderdale Marina Hilton 2 nights before our cruise (Enchantment of the Seas out of Miami). I loved our balcony overlooking the water taxis. We were directly across from that military looking yacht and I remember our water taxi guide telling us the story behind it. It was fun to see all of the super fancy houses and yachts!

[jakzak10]

We are sailing in October and your review helps bridge the time.

[bakersdozen12]

Can't wait to read the rest! Exactly 3 weeks from today until I'm on the Conquest! [emoji3]

 

 

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[Conway733]

I'm loving this! Thanks so much for posting!

[UTVolsFan4Life]

Thanks Everyone! I just wanted to pop by and let you know that I have not forgotten about you. Work life has been on overdrive since I've been back from the cruise. I think it's time for another cruise! :eek: I'm slowly writing the next installment and hopeful that I will have more time this week to devote on moving this review forward.

 

See you soon!

[crazychuckie]

Just checking in...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ivy1908]

Thanks so much for writing this very detailed review! My sis and I are on this same cruise in October 2016 and can't wait! :D

[khewston]

Thank you for this review!!! It is excellent and I'm really enjoying it. We are going on the the Conquest in April. I have a few questions and would appreciate your answers.

 

1. We are booking the same hotel and would like to know how to book the room with a view like yours?

 

2. What kind of camera did you use? Your photos are wonderful!

 

Thank you!!!

[kite5280]

HI, Hope you come back and finish your review. We are going on Congest in Dec and would love to see your pictures, we got a go pro but haven't used it yet and will on cruise.

[9d1225]

Really appreciate the Gluten Free info, my wife is Gluten and Dairy Free so having some options will be good for her when we are on the Conquest in October.

Edited July 25, 2016 by 9d1225