CONQUEST, Sailed on 4/30, mini-review and thoughts...

[tattoos]

Sailing with me on this 8 day cruise stopping in Grand Turk, LaRomana, Curacao and Aruba, was my grandson (25 yrs. old), daughter, and son-in-law. My grandson and I are both Platinum on Carnival and on my next cruise I will be Diamond, WOO HOO!!

 

We booked this cruise because of the itinerary and the close proximity of the Port to our home (20 minutes by car). We were dropped off at the Port so I cannot speak to any parking issues. Port Everglades is not set up yet for assigned boarding times. We arrived around 10:45 a.m., checked our luggage with the Porters (don't forget to tip) and proceeded quickly to the VIFP check-in. Security pulled my grandson over to inspect his carry-on where I had packed flameless, battery operated candles and she was perplexed as to what they were and was about to confiscate them. After discussions with another Security person, we were allowed to keep the candles (I use them in my stateroom as a night light so I don't trip at night over the medley of wires snaking from the only outlet in the room to my grandson's laptop and other strange electronic devices).

 

We were escorted to the escalator which took us to the holding area on the second floor. Fort Lauderdale does not have a nice lounge for VIP guests, it is a large open area with everyone jumbled together, Diamond, Platinum, special needs guests, and FTTF. The only thing we had that general boarding guests did not have was lemonade. There was a delay in getting everyone off the ship and the doors were not opened for boarding until almost 12:30 p.m. As soon as the doors opened, everyone stood up and charged the door, a man was pushed into a Carnival sign which toppled over with him on it and crashed into the vending machine. I think the Carnival staff present should have been better prepared for the stampede and organized the passengers so they could board in a timely, safe, manner.

 

The gangway was set up at a very steep incline and some of the guests were stopping intermittently just to take a breath.

 

We finally heard the first ding of our Sail & Sign card around 12:45 p.m. My daughter and son-in-law had Zone 5 in the general boarding area and were only 15 minutes behind us.

 

I had booked a Scenic Ocean View room (loved it) so we dropped off all our luggage before heading to the Lido for lunch and a drink. My grandson headed to Guy's for a burger and I had my first of many turkey on a club roll from the Deli. These sandwiches were consistently good all week and I also tried the hot dog with sauerkraut and the hot dog was very mild and tasty. I guess I should comment now about the hot food in the buffet. This is my experience only and I'm sure yours will be different. We were very disappointed in the quality of the food on this cruise being served at the buffet for lunch. The meat, poultry and fish dishes seemed to all be cooked in some kind of goopy sauce, sometimes very bland and sometimes very salty. The desserts were deceiving, the looked very pretty but that did not carry through to the taste, yuck.

 

Breakfast at the buffet was pretty standard fare, the scrambled eggs are horrible unless you drown them in ketchup or cover them in cheese but I had 4 eggs over easy every morning from the omelette station. It was just a challenge getting everything you wanted and making it back to your table while the food was still hot.

 

My grandson loved Guy's burgers but I thought they were too dry and needed tons of fixins to make them edible, the french fries were greasy. I thought they were over-rated and over-hyped. My score: C, my grandson's score: A

 

The deli was consistently good all week, both my grandson and I rated the Deli an A+

 

Pizza - we only had pizza once, it was o.k., nothing great, Score C+.

 

Fish & Chips - much too greasy for my sensitive stomach, Score D. The only good thing about that area was that it was never crowded.

 

Blue Iguana - LOVED the Arepas in the morning and my grandson declared the Tacos and Burritos an A+.

 

Main Dining Room - We had 6:00 p.m. assigned dining and our wait staff was very efficient and friendly. The food was another matter, it was very inconsistent. They offered prime rib on two nights and the first night, it was very tender and tasty, the second night, I could barely cut it. The chocolate melting cake was runny one night and too firm the next; baked potatos were hot and fluffy one night and the next, cold and hard. My lobster was cold and rubbery, my grandson's was hot and delicious. On some nights, I just ordered the cheese plate, an appetizer and mashed potatos. We never went hungry and always found something to mix and match but I found the food quality and quantity to be lacking on this cruise. This was our experience in the MDR and not reflective of anyone elses.

 

We went to the Sea Day Brunch so we could take advantage of our complimentary drink coupon. The pasta dish was very good and the hot popovers were fantastic.

 

We did not go to the disco, sports bar, Alchemy bar, or piano bar. We did go to the Comedy Club twice and walked out because we did not think the two comedians were funny at all, just boring and infused a lot of F bombs into their jokes for shock value only.

 

The casino was just reeking of smoke and crowds of people would gather at the end of the casino bar near the slot machines just to smoke. They didn't buy a drink, they didn't even talk, just stood there huddled together in a large group chain smoking. The only time it was bearable to go in the casino was early in the morning. The smoke was so bad from the casino that it drifted into the atrium area.

 

We have seen all the shows many times before and only made it to the Divas and The Brits and we never played Bingo. We watched Nacho Libre on the Dive-In Movie screen one night.

 

Grand Turk: have been here a few times so we disembarked the ship by 9:00 a.m. and parked our butts in loungers at the Margaritaville pool. Drinks and food cost a pretty penny here so we brought some pre-packaged snacks with us and I brought my S'well bottle from home and filled it with lemonade before we left the ship. We had to be back on board by 1:30 p.m. so we packed up around Noon and headed back to the ship for lunch.

 

LaRomana: If you don't book a shore excursion here (very $$$$) or exit the compound and go off on your own (which I would never do), there is absolutely nothing to do at this port. There is one building you can shop in that sells mostly alcohol. The employees were not welcoming or friendly, looked bored and totally ignored you. The security guards standing on the bluffs overlooking the pier were a little daunting. Don't like this port at all. We spent about 30 minutes on land and quickly got back on the ship, had a nice lunch (turkey on a club roll, please) and found some nice loungers on deck 10 aft where we spent the rest of the afternoon.

 

Curacao: We investigated a few beaches before our cruise where we could snorkel and decided on Blue Bay Beach. We made our way to the taxi stand and shared a van with four other people. It was a 15 minute ride to Blue Bay and the cost was $8/person. The beach was beautiful and clean and we rented loungers under a palm tree for $8/each. There was a nice bar on the beach and restrooms available. There were some rocks in the water and some people were wearing water shoes. The snorkeling was great to the left by the seawall. I would definitely go here again on my next visit to Curacao. We headed back to the ship around 5:00 p.m. to change and walked over to the RIF Fort, purchased some souvenirs and had an ice cream cone. The stores all close at 6:00 p.m. with the exception of that souvenir store in the Fort which stayed open until 7:00 p.m. We ate at the Cheesery in the Fort. The Conquest was all lit up as we headed back, what a great day.

 

Aruba: We decided on a beach day and after investigating different beaches in Aruba, we chose Eagle Beach. We walked out to the taxi stand and rode in a shared van for the 10 minute ride to the beach. I believe, again, that it was $8/person. We asked to be dropped off in front of the Amsterdam Hotel. This beach will take your breath away. We rented two loungers (a little pricey at $15/each) but we were under a huge palapa. There was a nice restaurant/bar on the beach, changing rooms, restrooms and an outdoor shower. There were jet ski rentals available and other watersports. The water was crystal clear, sand was fine and clean, LOVED this beach, we had a great day. We had no problem hailing a taxi back to the ship.

 

The last two days of our cruise were sea days which we loved. There were the usual chair hogs but mostly around the pools. However, if you looked for a chair away from the pool area, they were plentiful even in the middle of the day. We always found empty loungers on Deck 10, port or starboard.

 

The Conquest does not have a Serenity area but on Deck 10, port and starboard side, there are groupings of very comfortable chairs and sofas around mid-ship. There were a lot of people stretched out on the soft cushions taking a nap in the shade.

 

As far as condition of the Conquest, we did notice some wear and tear on the carpets and nicks and scratches here and there but nothing that affected the enjoyment of our cruise. The Carnival staff everywhere on the ship always greeted us, our Room Steward was great, wait staff friendly and efficient.

 

Upon debarkation, we sorted through the rows of luggage for ours, hailed a porter and loaded them on his trolley. It took a good 45 minutes creepy crawling through the serpentine lines to get through Customs.

 

We have already booked the Conquest for next April and look forward to sailing on her again. Don't let anyone dissuade you from sailing on the Conquest, we had a great time. Food is subjective so you may not have the same experience we did. If you ever have an opportunity to book one of the Scenic Ocean View rooms, grab it. I don't know how many hours I sat in front of the floor to ceiling windows staring out at the ocean. This vantage was especially nice when approaching a port or for sailaway.

 

Rose

[harleygirl4rb]

Thank you for your review. We will be sailing the same itinerary on Conquest in October. First time on this ship and looking forward to it!

[KroozFoolz]

Thanks for the report. We are doing a b2b on Conquest next April.

[tattoos]

harleygirl4rb: hope you enjoy your cruise as much as we did.

 

KroozFoolz: I'm so jealous of your B2B, I'd love to do that.

 

I forgot to mention that our Room Steward never asked us to choose when we would like our stateroom serviced; morning, evening or both. My daughter's Room Steward never asked them either. Our Room Steward serviced our room twice a day and was always smiling, greeted us by name, efficient and very accommodating.

[Clarea]

Thanks for the report.

[harleygirl4rb]

harleygirl4rb: hope you enjoy your cruise as much as we did.

 

 

 

KroozFoolz: I'm so jealous of your B2B, I'd love to do that.

 

 

 

I forgot to mention that our Room Steward never asked us to choose when we would like our stateroom serviced; morning, evening or both. My daughter's Room Steward never asked them either. Our Room Steward serviced our room twice a day and was always smiling, greeted us by name, efficient and very accommodating.

 

 

We have sailed 7 sailings with Carnival and our room stewards have never asked either, they have always just serviced twice a day. We have always had great room stewards! They know your names by the next day and have accommodated any request we have asked.

 

Do you happen to have your Funtimes for posting?

Edited May 28, 2016 by harleygirl4rb

[JimAOk1945]

You said

 

We were escorted to the escalator which took us to the holding area on the second floor.

 

Why were you escorted?

[Buckeyes22]

We have sailed 7 sailings with Carnival and our room stewards have never asked either, they have always just serviced twice a day. We have always had great room stewards! They know your names by the next day and have accommodated any request we have asked.

 

Do you happen to have your Funtimes for posting?

 

I was on this cruise also and posted the Fun Times into a DropBox folder: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/76dt717lmqjucoz/AAD3mFhleoOZYGNkwZnhCikda?dl=0

 

They aren't scans unfortunately, as my scanner is being fickle at the moment, but everything is still readable!! :)

Edited May 28, 2016 by Buckeyes22

[tattoos]

Our escort (Carnival employee) just happened to be going up the escalator to station herself at the entrance doors and motioned for us to follow her. Maybe I looked like I was lost, ha!

[JimAOk1945]

Our escort (Carnival employee) just happened to be going up the escalator to station herself at the entrance doors and motioned for us to follow her. Maybe I looked like I was lost, ha!

 

Thanks for answering my question.

[riclop]

Thanks for the mini review.

[ChipFire]

thanks for the review we are booked for aug.20 going to the same places trying to decide on our excursions this might answer a few of our questions

were there any photo packages on board ? my last trip on the pride pics. were about $15 each which will dig deep in your pockets quick thanks

[tattoos]

ChipFire: I can't really answer your question about photo packages, maybe someone reading this will respond.

 

We sailed this same itinerary last year on the Conquest and booked shore excursions through Carnival.

 

In Aruba, we booked the Kukoo Kunuku bus with a stop at Moomba Beach. We had so much fun on the bus but did not like the beach. The water had a lot of seagrass and the bottom was very mucky.

 

In Curacao, we took a shared taxi ($5/person one way) to Mambo Beach (Seaquarium Beach) where the Blvd. Shops are. This beach was very nice and close to the cruise port. There were a lot of shops and restaurants and nice seating areas and, very important, restrooms. They charged $3.50/person to access the beach and $3/person for a lounge chair. There was a Tiki bar right on the beach. This was a very inexpensive way to spend time at a nice beach. When we were ready to leave, there were lots of taxis available to take you back to the ship. We had plenty of time in the evening to stroll around the RIF Fort and walk over the floating bridge.

[PARTYCOUPLE21]

Can anyone confirm the boarding times are not in effect yet at Port Everglades to this day? I just checked in and my boarding time is 1:30!!!! We're usually on the boat for a few hours by then!!!

[golfb4cruzing]

Sorry about your trip but we were on the Conquest the week before and it was terrible also. I reported on here and all the cheerleaders get bent out of shape. You boarded late because we never got into port before 730, a first for us. The ship is poorly run, staff is rude (probably because the ship is poorly run) and the food was very hit and miss. We had been away from Carnival for 4 years and should have save our money and went on something else. Let's see how the lemmings react to your report.

[ChicoCA]

Sorry about your trip but we were on the Conquest the week before and it was terrible also. I reported on here and all the cheerleaders get bent out of shape. You boarded late because we never got into port before 730, a first for us. The ship is poorly run, staff is rude (probably because the ship is poorly run) and the food was very hit and miss. We had been away from Carnival for 4 years and should have save our money and went on something else. Let's see how the lemmings react to your report.

*** :confused:

[nednrom]

Sorry about your trip but we were on the Conquest the week before and it was terrible also. I reported on here and all the cheerleaders get bent out of shape. You boarded late because we never got into port before 730, a first for us. The ship is poorly run, staff is rude (probably because the ship is poorly run) and the food was very hit and miss. We had been away from Carnival for 4 years and should have save our money and went on something else. Let's see how the lemmings react to your report.

 

Conquest was our second Carnival cruise since 2002 for a southern caribbean NYE this year. We went on the conquest due to the price and itinerary, we didnt stop at DR.

 

Our experience was a bit different and I certainly am not a "cheerleader". The service and staff was awesome, something I had been missing for a while. I will agree with you on the food. The shows seemed to be cheesy. We were on time to all ports except for disembarkation -- we didnt dock at FLL until 8:00 am. This " lemming" enjoyed the cruise very much, didnt starve, loved the calypso band by the pool, the piano bar at night, watched movie with popcorn under the stars, and spent time in the adult pool area where no one under 18 rule was actually enforced.

[cincicruisers]

Thanks for posting your review.

[golfb4cruzing]

Conquest was our second Carnival cruise since 2002 for a southern caribbean NYE this year. We went on the conquest due to the price and itinerary, we didnt stop at DR.

 

Our experience was a bit different and I certainly am not a "cheerleader". The service and staff was awesome, something I had been missing for a while. I will agree with you on the food. The shows seemed to be cheesy. We were on time to all ports except for disembarkation -- we didnt dock at FLL until 8:00 am. This " lemming" enjoyed the cruise very much, didnt starve, loved the calypso band by the pool, the piano bar at night, watched movie with popcorn under the stars, and spent time in the adult pool area where no one under 18 rule was actually enforced.

 

Clearly you have low expectations.

[travelbug67]

Thanks for the review. I am taking my parents on the Conquest in October and we manged to book a Scenic view room up on Lido deck. Glad you enjoyed yours as we are looking forward to it.

[nednrom]

Clearly you have low expectations.

 

No, i am positive person and get the same response back-- I don't go in looking for things to criticise -- food was something to be desired especially at the Lido buffet but we knew that going in. We knew that the shows are not Broadway quality but we are not much of a show people -- it's not LOW expectations which has a negative connotation but one that is not aligned with yours. We didn't encounter one crew member who was rude or didn't smile and greet us, I had every request from 2 ice buckets every night in our cabin to having my usual drink at the dinner table every night. If I didn't like something, I right away was offered and got something else. The party on NYE was wonderful.

Happy sailing whichever cruise line you choose next. Personally we cruise different lines and will consider Carnival along with others for our next one.