Conquest 10/1-10/9 Thoughts....

[SraLiz]

6 of us just returned from a wonderful 8 day trip on the Conquest. We range in age of 58-48 (I am the baby of the group :) )We were in suite 7317, our friends occupied regular balcony rooms on the 7th and the 6th floor (this room was above some sort of music venue. They could hear music clearly till about 1:00am every night. I would encourage you to investigate before booking on the 6th floor. This was a guaranteed assignment). These are our collective thoughts. I am happy to answer any questions you have. I am sorry I don't post pictures and do not have any of the Fun Times.

 

Embarkation: Smooth! We arrived at the port at 11:30 am and hit the lobby bar at 12:19. Our friends arrived at the bar at 12:45 pm, we had their drinks ready!

 

Weather: Our Captain and his crew did an excellent job not only of keeping us safe from Matthew but keeping us in calm seas and sunny weather. We did miss the Port of La Romana but had 7 days of outstanding weather. One day was overcast, but we have zero complaints!

 

Staterooms: Suite 7317 and the balcony rooms were nice. The beds were actually the most comfortable we have had on a cruise in a long time. Our steward Alaina was outstanding! Every need met with a smile. Ice bucket always fresh and full. Our friends reported their stewards were also outstanding. Our closet door was really hard to open, not sure if it was off the track or just needed a little WD-40. LOL

 

Food: All the fresh options (Guys, Deli, Pizza and the Taco/Burrito bar) were EXCELLENT.

MDR: We found it equal to Applebees. You could always find something to eat and no one left hungry. We had early dining (a first for us) and felt the nights the singing/dancing occurred our service was rushed. We would LOVE to see this dropped from the evenings. We did enjoy the string trio. What a wonderful group of talented young men. Ratu and his staff took excellent care of us and always had our drinks ready for us. Dinner was about 90 minutes and we were happy with the service. We also had breakfast here several times and it was delicious.

Buffet: If you like Golden Corral you will be happy here. I did not eat here but 2 of our party had breakfast here once.

Seafood Shack: I had the lobster roll and it was delicious! Well worth the $12 fee.

Steakhouse: WOW the highlight of the trip! Our dinner was excellent and the service can't be beat. We all really enjoyed our steaks and seafood. The bar here held top shelf bourbon so my husband was happy!

Chefs Table: This was our third on Carnival and a disappointment. I really think the selling of 3 Chefs Table during the week has diminished the whole experience. The Chef did not join us, nor greet us. The photo was a 5x7 and of poor quality. The sous chef was our host for the evening. Food was good, interesting appetizers, delicious but really not what we have experienced in the past. The steakhouse experience really was the shining star of this trip.

Pool side: waiters were wonderful. Kept us in their constant rotation and we were well hydrated!

 

Entertainment: Cruise Director Hailey Mac is AMAZING! One of the best I have ever met. I have only cruised 8 times on 4 lines, but she is the BEST I have had. Always positive, out and about the ship. Truly a delight.

Bingo: disappointed in several aspects. Basically it's $10 a game and it's all automated. No balls bouncing around, just a large computer screen and an I-Pad. The ladies played once.

Casino: busy and fun. We played and had a good time. No big winners in our group but enough to keep us playing. Smoke did not bother any of us. It is nice it is next to the Sports Bar so you could step into the Casino to smoke during a game.

Piano Bar: The singer was really bad. Great piano player, poor singer.

Kudos String: This trio is the best entertainment on the ship. AMAZING young men. Very talented. We enjoyed them during dinner and around the ship.

Comedy Club: Great spot every night. We enjoyed all the comedians, but Azeem was outstanding. Standing room only his second night!

DJ- Miguel and Desire were great. Always keeping the pool deck crowd involved and played all requested songs.

Lobby Band- Did a nice job each night. 80's party was tons of fun!

 

Pictures: I don't care for the constant picture taking at dinner. Please, a pirate with a painted on beard during dinner? It's too much. Prices were fine, quality is fine. I hope Carnival will move to facial recognition or use our sign and sail cards so we can preview on a computer or stateroom screen. I really don't care to hunt for my picture and I am sure I would purchase more if I didn't have to look for them.

 

Shops: not much selection but I am guessing it met the basic needs of clients. I saw people shopping.

 

Disembarkation: Not really sure what can be done to encourage better behavior. We were early self disembark, received a letter asking us to report to the theater at 7:15 am. Perfect. It was packed at 7:10 and people were not very polite. Once they cleared the ship and made the announcement, people went crazy. I heard people yelling "we have an early flight" to which others would respond "so does everyone else in here". I just don't care for the "I'm more important than you attitude". I will say it was quick. We arrived in the theater at 7:10 am and were loaded in our transportation by 8:15 am.

 

Again, these are our thoughts and all of us will sail with Carnival again. Please feel free to ask any questions.

[mduffy1834]

Thanks for the review. We leave on the 29th - can't wait.

 

Did you have the drink package? If so, were you happy with your decision?

 

What day was the chef's table? We have it booked also - have been once before and loved it. What made it a disappointment, other than the chef not being there. What was the menu?

 

Was the pool crowded early? We tend to get there around 9am but there are always towels on lots of the loungers already. Did you ever have a problem?

 

Are they still fairly lax on dress code at dinner. Hubby just wants to bring a dress shirt for formal night - no jacket or tie. Think he should be ok?

 

Glad you had fun

[mrpayroll]

Thanks for you input. Will be on Conquest November 6th. ( second time ).

[Organized Chaos]

We were on Conqest in June, deck 6, above the entrance to the casino, not far from where the bands always set up. We didn't hear a single thing coming from the casino. No music, no slots, not a peep. I was really worried about it leading up to the cruise because if there's noise, I can't sleep. I was quite impressed with the quietness of our cabin. And when it was over, we came to the conclusion that we really liked deck 6 because it was fairly centralized. When the elevators were slow or full, it wasn't all that bad to use the stairs up to Lido or down to Promenade or the Lobby.

 

Are they still fairly lax on dress code at dinner. Hubby just wants to bring a dress shirt for formal night - no jacket or tie. Think he should be ok?

We were aboard Conquest in June. We didn't eat in the MDR on formal night, but as we wandered around that night, I saw a lot of men with dress shirts w/ ties, no jackets. Fewer wearing just dress shirts without ties, but there were some of those too. I assume they were dining in the MDR.

 

According to Carnival FAQ's:

Cruise Elegant Dress Code - Men: dress slacks, dress shirts, and we also suggest a sport coat; men may also wish to wear a suit and tie or tuxedo

 

So it looks like they want a minimum of dress shirt and slacks.

[easyboy]

Thanks for the review.

[Clarea]

Appreciate the report.

[SraLiz]

One of us had the soda package and she was happy with that. None of us had the drink package and all of our bar bills ranged from $500-$750. So for us the drink package would have been more $$. We drank a lot and really found the "double shot" for $3 more the best deal. (bourbon on ice was $8 add a double shot for $3 = perfect drink). We found the prices on land to be more so really Carnivals drink prices are not over the top. Two of our guys drank the buckets of beer all day long... lol.

The Chefs Table just was not as intimate as in the past. No chit chat, no conversations, just dinner. We were told we were the third session of the week, this may have been a factor. Our day was Wednesday I believe or maybe Thursday. Menu was: Beet Blanket w/ Spiced Grape Tea, Crab Stack, Duck Textures, Bisque our Way, Sea Bass, Wagyu and Pastry Chef. Food was fine, beautiful presentation, not over the top in flavor.

Never had issues finding chairs. we went up to deck 10 just above the pool so my cousin could smoke and always had the same 6 chairs. No problems at all.

2 formal nights all others were cruise casual. My husband wore a coat and tie both elegant night, one guy wore a shirt and tie (no jacket) and the other a shirt no tie. We saw everything from formal to slacks and golf shirts. Cruise is really laid back compared to others. We are of the mind that whatever works for you if fine with us, others dont make or ruin our vacation.

Have a great time! Let me know if you need anything else!

[Florings]

Thanks for the review. Loved the Conquest when we sailed last fall. Glad you enjoyed your cruise!!

[JaniceB]

Sounds like a wonderful cruise, thanks for sharing your thoughts.