Conquest April 1-8 review

[Cruiser Joe]

My family just returned from the Carnival Conquest on the April 1-8 cruise – it was a fantastic time! Here is my review:

 

My wife and I have four daughters, ages 16, 12, 8, and 6. DW and I have been on one previous cruise, also on the Conquest, and we intentionally booked the same cruise this time to take our children.

 

SATURDAY: We flew into Houston IAH and stayed at the Sheraton North. A phone call to the hotel and the hotel’s airport shuttle bus arrived about 10 minutes later and delivered us to the hotel. Two nice rooms for $38/night through Priceline. I was very happy with the Hotel and staff there.

 

SUNDAY: I arranged for a limo from Houston to the port with Karr Limousine. The price was cheaper than paying for 6 Carnival bus transfers, and almost the same for a shuttle bus. The driver arrived at 9:30 in a nice black stretch limo, loaded the bags, treated my family kindly and professionally, and we were off to Galveston! The ride took about an hour and 20 minutes, and I was unloaded at the pier at 11:00 a.m. The limo driver found a porter, and the driver and porter transferred the bags from the limo to the porter’s cart.

 

I had 10 bags and tipped the porter 10 bucks to push the bags over to the ship. The porter carefully counted my tip, and seemed offended that I didn’t give him more. Sheesh! Maybe my bags won’t show up on the ship after all.

 

We then went inside the terminal at about 11:00 a.m. and stood in line behind about 100 people, which appeared to be the very first of the line to board the ship. I was given a piece of paper saying that although Carnival doesn’t technically allow boarding until 1:00 p.m., they are happy to board me early and give me lunch while I wait for my room to be ready by 2:00 p.m. Cool.

 

The embarkation personnel were very friendly and happy, hugging my wife, talking about what a great time we will have, etc. They did a great job. We waited in line for about 30 minutes before security even opened the line to start processing the passengers. I saw a few teenagers holding 12-packs of soda – no one cared a bit about them bringing it on board.

 

We made it past the metal detectors and went to the check-in counter, where I gave them my passport and 5 birth certificates for the other family members. I applied for passports for them 8 weeks before the cruise, but they didn’t come on time. (they still aren’t here) The guy at the counter didn’t even look at the birth certificates. He just counted them, asked if they were for the 5 other family members without passports, and took my credit card for the Sail and Sign cards. Gold Sail and Sign cards for DW and I as repeat passengers, and blue cards for the children. We were directed to sit in chairs while the ship finished getting ready for us. At 12:30, we were told we could board and go eat lunch up on the Lido Deck. Our cruise had started!

 

We went on board, ate a great lunch, and was reminded how the food on the buffet was very good, and very nicely presented. I also stopped by Sur Mer for some seafood, as it tends to get more crowded as the week goes on. It’s above the Cezanne restaurant and a little out of the way, so people take some time to see it is there.

 

After lunch, we checked out Camp Carnival with the kids. Lots of games, Playstations, craft items, and a fun schedule planned. Got some more ice cream (12-year old is on her 3rd ice cream cone) and went to check out the rooms: a balcony for DW, 6-year old (on the convertible couch), and me; an interior room across the hall for the 16, 12, and 8 year olds. My kids liked how the third bed pulls down out of the ceiling. I like how my balcony (first time) makes the room bright and open with a fresh breeze. Our rooms were on the Upper Deck 6, midship, port side. I loved the location, except for the mild smokers on one side and the late night partiers on the other. More on our neighbors later.

 

More ship exploring, and then we found that all the bags had arrived by 4:30. I guess the porter didn’t throw them in the water after all. The room steward comes by to introduce himself and find out our dinner time so he can clean our rooms while we are at dinner. We picked the 5:45 dinner this time because of the children. That time was fine, but I want to try out late seating next time.

 

The Muster Drill was at about 4:00, and we stood in the big crowd of people for about 20 minutes. It was difficult to hear much of the instructions as there were lots of people talking all around me. Hope the ship doesn’t sink.

 

Dinner was in the Monet Restaurant in the aft of the ship. Our table was on the upper deck, near the doors, so our table was next to the busy “road” of incoming diners and waiters bringing food in. I was worried this might be a big problem, but it wasn’t for two reasons. First, our waiter was so good, I didn’t want to move to another location. Second, we were sitting at a table for 9, and there were only six in my family. There was a family of 3 also assigned to our table, but they never showed up for a single dinner in the dining room. So we took the seats away from the “road” and it was fine.

 

My children (especially my 6-year old) LOVED having a waiter put the fancy-folded napkin on her lap and push her chair in each night. The 6-year old also loved eating off of the adult menu and not having to split her adult-sized meals with a sister or parent. The waiter encouraged the younger children to try the regular menu items all week, and if they didn’t like the food, it was fine. They liked most of it anyway. Warm melting chocolate cake for dessert became a big hit for my family, and became the choice for about 75-percent of the desserts at my table.

 

Went to the Camp Carnival orientations that evening, filled out the necessary paperwork We skipped the Welcome Aboard Show and mostly hung out up top and on the balcony that night, eating ice cream cones, pizza, and room service cookies.

 

I later learned that the ship had over 1,300 children on board (imagine parents bringing so many kids on board! Oh, wait, I brought 4 of my own), and it seemed like about a third of the guests were Spanish speaking. Time to brush up on my Spanish.

 

Day 2 coming soon.

[Riley's Mom]

WOW!! Excellent review so far.. I can't wait to read more...

And I Can't wait to hear about your neighbors..Did you have Problems??

Keep more coming...

Carla

[mr.p]

Thanks for taking the time to give a review. DW and I are discussing the Conquest for our anniversary this October. I look forward to hearing more of what your family experienced.

 

p.

[Cruiser Joe]

MONDAY AND TUESDAY (SEA DAYS)

 

These two days kind of blur together, so I will break them down by category

 

Weather and Lido Deck: The first day (Sunday), the weather was borderline chilly with the cooler temparatures and sun. On Monday and Tuesday, the weather was nice. Mostly sunny with clouds here and there. The lido deck was packed with people enjoying the sun and games. Plenty of chairs in the other areas, and plenty of chair hogs everywhere. It was VERY windy in the exposed areas, but most people didn't seem to mind.

 

Breakfast: Monday was breakfast on the Lido Deck. Good, basic breakfast foods. Scrambled eggs (very good), an omlet station (mine was just so-so), great potatos, sausage, bacon. Lots of cereal choices (my kids liked the coco krispies), fruit choices and melons. Orange juice was good, apple juice was fine, passion/guava juice was great.

 

Tuesday morning breakfast was in the Monet dining room. Great eggs benedict and the food seemed warmer and fresher than in the buffet.

 

Lunches: Buffet both days. We ate LOTS, and enjoyed most of it. I would compare it as better than Golden Corral, not as good as the Las Vegas Paris buffet (best buffet I ever had).

 

Monet Restaurant for Dinner on Monday: Fantastic waiters, great food. Every meal came with the appetizer, such as crème brulet (sp?), shrimp, escargot, pasta, etc. Then the salad (ceaser is an option every night, along with another basic salad choice). Then the main course. Monday was formal night - lobster and filet mingon - yummy. Carnival also has an alternative section with the same food available each day, including steak. More warm chocolate melting cake for dessert.

 

Tuesday evening DW and I went to The Pointe Supper Club. $30 each, and we chose to leave a tip. Great food, great service, great atmosphere. I think we had three servers just for the two of us. Also the chef came by to introduce himself and he went out of his way to thank us for coming as we left. Will I do it again? Probably on the next cruise. Twice on the same cruise? Probably not. The kids fended for themselves with room service.

 

Camp Carnival: The 6 and 8-year old went to a couple of activities each day, when they saw something that looked fun, such as pirate face painting, crafts, Harry Potter trivia games/costumes. The 12-year old started hanging out every night at the teen disco to talk to her friends and dance with her new friends (not dancing with boys - the girls just stand around and dance/talk together). She spent more and more time with her couple of new friends each day, and stayed up later and later at night, although we talked her into being back by 10-12 each night. The 16-year old went the first night to her group, but didn't go back. As she explaned it, there was a lot of foul language and the "bump and grind" dancing which made her feel unconfortable. She's kind of an independent girl anyway and was very happy finding quiet spots around the ship to hang out and read her books.

 

Dancers: The whole family went to the "Formidable" show. Cool costumes, good dancers but not really a standout performer. Some of the costumes and dances were revealing/provocative, but seemed mostly fine for my children. I might think differently if I had 4 boys instead of 4 girls - who knows.

 

Cruise Director: Mark Price was back as the cruise director. He did a fine job and is a funny guy.

 

Smoker neighbors: I had a fear that I would get a chain smoker next to my balcony which would fill my balcony with non-stop smoke. I don't care if other people smoke, but I didn't want it ruining my air on my balcony. Yes, our neighbors smoked, but it only bothered me once all week enough to leave the balcony and go inside. One other time I smelled the smoke inside the room when the balcony door was open, but not enough to cause me to close the door. I spent A LOT of time on the balcony, and the balcony door was kept open each time during the day I was in my room - the light and fresh air were GREAT! They were good neighbors.

 

Party neighbors: We left our balcony room door open on Sunday night. At 4:30 IN THE MORNING (YES, 4:30 A.M.), I wake up thinking someone was talking and laughing right in my room! After a moment of panic (did I leave the cabin door open???), I realized that our party neighbors had just come in and were talking on their balcony. Yes it's vacation, but who has the stamina to stay up until 4:30 a.m.? :) Boy, I must be getting old.

 

They weren't loud or obnoxious, they were just night owls. I still chose to leave the balcony door open each night because of the air and the sounds of the waves. Each night when they would come in (2:30 to 4:30 each night), I would get up, shut the balcony door, and turn on a small fan I brought with me. I would be back to sleep within a few minutes.

 

I brought a bungy cord to keep the balcony door open, but I didn't need it. The door stayed open all by itself, and just needed a firm push to start closing it. I'm not sure every balcony door worked this way, as I heard some other doors slamming. Did I mention how much I enjoyed the balcony?

 

I worried a bit about my children bothering the party neighbors with noise at 9:30 a.m. My kids aren't unusually loud, but would yell "Land Ho!" or talk loud and excited on our balcony or in our room. If there was a problem with the noise, I never heard about it. My 8-year old actually had a meltdown on Tuesday when she refused to take a shower and mom picked her up and forced her to do so. You could hear the 8-year old screaming in protest down the hall. Security never showed up, so I guess no one called to complain!

 

We actually wanted to keep a decent sleep schedule with our children, as I wanted them up reasonably early for Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel without being too hammered to enjoy those places.

 

To be continued....

[ShoMeChiefsFan]

Sunday- April 1, 2007 ( Embarkation)

 

This was very uneventful, we arrived at 10 am there was only a dozen or so people in the terminal at this time, i will throw out a very good key for future cruisers, as you are standing facing the security screeners, line up on the right side of the pole near the bath rooms, this is where they will start the line and you will be the first one to go thru, besides the VIP'S, and special needs guest.

The Galveston personnel made this so uneventful it was a breeze, here is a second key to getting on board faster....after you get your Sign and Sail cards, make sure you get to the back of the room in the chairs (2nd Waiting Area) they start loading the ship, from the back to the front, everyone always trys to get the front row of seats....

Today was a excerise day, due to the recent storm, somehow the gangway became damaged, so after taking a boarding pics witht eh Carnival Photographer, we mazed our way thru the terminal, back down to the bottom floor, were they bring the luggage off the ship for customs...anyway, we loaded the ship via the deck 0 (pier Level), was on the ship by 1145am I think!!! it was close to noon, they had instructed everyone that the rooms would not be ready till 2pm, never has stop me before! LOL went straight to my room, and to my surprise, the room was available....dropped off all items in the closet, and went straight to the Sur Mer grill ( Seafood Grill)...NO WAITING!!! I really wasnt impressed with this grill, it was ok, but after everybody had talked up this restuarant....i guess i was looking for more of a variety...the menu is the same thruout the whole cruise, it doesnt change. Spent the rest of the day touring the ship, and takeing photos, before all the 35oo passengers boarded the ship.

We had been assigned dining room time in the Monet Dining room - Lower level Table 320 at 5:45 pm, we had orginally had requested 6:15 pm, but we notified the Matr' D that we would like to have had the 6:15 pm no problems, but we would need to keep the dining room time for the first night....

After meeting our table mates we had decided that we would stay at this table, and keep the same assigned dining room time...

 

I was assigned to cabin Lido # 9240, after we in the Gulf, i had already called the pursers desk to complain about the 90 degree cabin, and no one from the maintence guys showed up, so i went on to the Welcome Aboard Show, figured they would repair the A/C while i was at the show. After the show was over, that had not been the case.....Went to check on the status of the room, and to my surprise no one had been there to correct the sitauation, so i then went to the Pursers desk. After speaking with Miranda...who then kindly informed me that she had already sent the maintence staff to the room and since no one was there, it had not been repaired, i kindly informed her after sitting in the 90 degree room for over a hour awaiting the maintence guy, i went on to the show due to the hot room, and figured they would have entered the cabin, and took car of the problem. She then kindly informed me that she was not, going to send a maintenace guy back to my room, at this time, i had to raise the bar....made sure everyone could hear the conversation that was taking place....I then requested to speak with the Chief Purser, who conviently was not availalble....after standing there for 5-10 minutes arguing about the cabin temperture, she followed me up to the room, and i showed her were i had taken a water bowl, and pried back the vent to get air flow to come out of the vent, so we could get some a/c, after i removed the water bottle, and the vent was placed back in the orginal position, she agreed there was no air flow coming from the vent, or seemed liked it was blocked, but when the a/c guy got there he stated the cabin temperture was fine, i told her the only reason the cabin was cooler was becuase of me prying back the vent and sticking a water bowl in the vent to get air flow into the cabin.....I guess since i had done that enough time had elasped from the time i left the cabin for the show, and till they came to the room it cooled off to within limits of the a.c guys thermometer, but it was still hot as hell in the room, this went on back on forth for about 20 minutes, they told me that they couldnt do anything about the a/c, i finally told them if they could adjust the flow up inside of the vent, which i have seen done on previous cruises, but for some reason, the a/c guy was not budging...so i said fine...you guys do what you have to do and i will do what i have to do to make this room cooler, I kindly informed them they will be missing a vent when and if they returned, Miranda (purser) told the a/c guy he is serious about removing the vent....is there anything you can do....after standing in the room for over 20 min. telling me there is no other solution, i watched his hand, remove the vent, adjust the vent flow restictions somehow....wwwwwoooowww.....rush of COLD AIR!!! It was amazing....I told Miranda i would still like to meet with the Chief Purser about this sitauation, sometime the next day.

 

Day 1 ( Sea Day) - Monday April 2, 2007

 

 

After i had made several calls to the Pursers Desk, was trying to do a follow up with the Chief Purser and to find out why she had not contacted me as of yet, each time i got she was not available....Finally i was able to reach her, and scheduled a meeting with her, concerning what had transpired, she informed me that she was very sorry, and stated that this sitauation should have been handled in a differnt manner than what had taken place....then she went on to say that when the a/c guy was in the cabin, his thermometer was within acceptable limits.....i had to go into the whole spill again for the reason the cabin was that cool....the water bottle, in the vent, which was allowing air flow into the cabin....

 

I had also organized a party for the second sea day.....and wanted to make sure we had adequate bar tenders for the size of our party. I also informed her if she could contact the Mtr'D and make sure that our dining room time would stay the same, instead of changing times to the 6:15 pm she stated no problem, it was early enough to get it changed...

 

Went to dinner and sat at our table, and the host walked up and informed me and my family, that we were sitting at the wrong table, i kindly showed her the sign/sail cards with our table number, she then informed me that we would have to move, i then informed her that i wasnt moving, and she needed to contact the Chief Purser, if she had any questions, "this was the Formal Night", she then returned and stated that i would have to move, i then informed her that i would take this up with her after dinner, so it woould not disrupt the entire dinner atmosphere for our table mates, and the surrounding guest, including my family.

Dinner was very good! After dinner i was extremely mad that i was looking for the Matr'D to find out why my request had not been handled, i was informed that Matr'D was no where to be found....luckly i went up stairs were the Captains party was going on....and talked with the Chief Purser, who stated that she had talked with the Matr'D had she didnt know why i had to be removed.....i was very upset....so the Captain of the ship had just came out and i requested if i could speak with him, he stated certainly, i explained to him the problems i was having....and so on....he got it rectified immediately....Thanks to him! Dining time was not moved.

 

 

Day 2 - Tuesday- April 3, 2007 ( Sea Day)

 

This was the cruise critic party that i had set up....it was well worth the $12 per person we spent for the hour....it went so well that people within the group wanted to do it everyday.....i kid you not....it went so well....it worked out for our past guest cruisers as well, we went form our cruise critic party to the past guest party....and kept on drinking...luckly we had the same waiters/bar tenders..VIP treatment...unlimited drinks...they really took care of us....

I introduced the drink to everyone called: " Kiss on the Lips" it was extreme hit with everyone, and when we were at the past guest party.....we had trays of the drink tha ti began passing them around to other past guests....who really thinked me for hooking them on the Kissing on the lips.....several people had walked up to me during the remaining days of the cruise....and thanked me for getting them hooked on the Kiss on the Lips, they stated that they would have 3-4 of them each day....

They are that good!!!!

 

Wednesday- April 4, 2007-- Montego Bay, Jamiacia

 

We boarded a bus and took a trip to Doctor Cave, it cost $4 per person, then once we arrived at Doc's Cave it was $5 Adult and $2.50 Child (11 and under). Loved this beach...very nice, highly recommend!

 

Thursday- April 5, 2007-- Grand Caymen

 

very nice as well.....but it was very hot...and humid...since i got sun burnt so bad in Jamicia we didnt do any snorkeling like we had planned....we just did the shopping....very nice. would love to come back and check this place out more!

 

Friday-April 6, 2007-- Cozumel, Mexico

 

Was very impressed on the new pier that had been built, liked the location, no more taxis needed to take you downtown, you are in the downtown area....also it appears the island has had some face lift upgrades since i was last there 2 years ago, i was really impressed with the progress that i saw, the only eventful thing we saw was a cab driver and a tourist get into a fist fight in the middle of the crosswalk with 2 Mexico police officers standing by watching the mele it was kinda the first experience i have ever witnessed any type of assault or anything to that nature ever take place. the Cab driver got his ass knocked down on the ground and then came back for more...it was hysterical, the only thing i was wondering why the Mexico cops had not intervened, they were laughing and watching the fight as well.....this went on for several minutes....then finally a group broke up the fight and they went there merry ways before the Police back up arrived......no arrests made!

after boarding the ship there were 5 people left in this port. 1 was a Carnival Gift shop employee, and the other 2 were couples from the Rivera decks...unkknown were they were, but they never boarded the ship.....and we left them at Cozumel.

 

Saturday- April 7, 2007 (Sea Day)

 

nothing to report other than still nursing the blisters from the sun burns...weather turned chillier in the day, and then clouds moved in and light rain the remaining day

 

Sunday - April 8, 2007 (DisEmabarkation)

 

Seemed liked things were moving slower than expected, thats what they kept announcing over the pa system..also had heard the Customs officals were training to new agents, so this why there was another delay.....we finally got fed up with the wait and left the ship when they called our deck for self assist passengers, but we had placed our lugggage out the night before....very easy to do....was back on the road by 113o am.

 

 

My impression of the overall cruise experience, it was ok, i would rate it around a 7 out of a scale of 10 ( 10 being the best). There was 4 bars that never had any entertainment in them what so ever during the cruise and were not opened during the even for some reasons. also I feel the Camp Carnival program could have used one of the smaller bars to hold the kids program in and this would have allowed the adults to have the disco area all night....the crowds never formed in this area....

 

As the cruise progressed, the kids were getting rowdy each and every passing day, there seemed to be a large group of Mexicans, and Itailans on the ship, so it was there kids that were creating havoic for everyone else....

 

The nightly Vegas shows were not anything to brag about....I have seen better shows on others ships...just didnt feel like the Conquest ship staff held up to other past cruises as far as entertainment.

 

The ship was pleasantly clean thru the ship, seemed like the staff kept the ship on top of things.

 

Casino-- Seem liked the slots were very tight!!! The only people who were winning were the people who were playing the 5 cents slots...they were the only winners i noticed...

The Texas Hold-Em tables are electronic,and they have a minimum $40 buy-in, and as the cruise progressed thru each day it was always full, and line to get on the table to play.

Food-Average

 

Supper Club-- my recommendation its ok, but our serviced was not worth the $30 per person we had paid for and you cannot adjust the gratitutity for this..also they do not tell you that this is a formal attire dining experience, NO BLUE JEANS!!! If i had to do this over again, I will not eat in the supper club, it was romantic setting, but the food was good, but the service took away from the experience.

[Cruiser Joe]

Hey KCFAN, I was walking around the ship taking pictures and saw your CruiseCritic sign on the door. Too bad about the problem with your room. My room was almost too cold the entire week, but I didn't touch the thermostat as I liked it that way.

 

I didn't see any lines at the poker table when I was there. It was either empty or there were a few chairs open. I was often at the blackjack table practicing my Spanish with the Mexicans on board.

[ShoMeChiefsFan]

Hey KCFAN, I was walking around the ship taking pictures and saw your CruiseCritic sign on the door. Too bad about the problem with your room. My room was almost too cold the entire week, but I didn't touch the thermostat as I liked it that way.

 

I didn't see any lines at the poker table when I was there. It was either empty or there were a few chairs open. I was often at the blackjack table practicing my Spanish with the Mexicans on board.

 

 

Good thing you pointed that out, i forgot to add that to the review....

 

For those of you who wish to display the Cruise Critic Poster with your screen name, its against Carnivals Rules to display anything like that, so was i informed, and they removed my sign!

 

How did you like the Neon Duct Tape Easy to locate my cabin????

[Cruiser Joe]

How did you like the Neon Duct Tape Easy to locate my cabin????

It looked good! I actually took a picture of it as I was walking by with my camera taking photos of everything else. I'll send you a copy.

[GayleR]

Cruiser Joe,

 

Did you have any noise from the Promenade deck while in your cabin? Can you tell me what cabins you had? We are booked on the Upper deck for our upcoming Conquest cruise in August.

 

Thanks!

[Cruiser Joe]

Cruiser Joe,

 

Did you have any noise from the Promenade deck while in your cabin? Can you tell me what cabins you had? We are booked on the Upper deck for our upcoming Conquest cruise in August.

 

Thanks!

 

I was in Room 6336 on the Upper Deck. A couple of nights at about 10:30 or so, I heard some kind of announcement which was (I guess) coming from the casino. Then it went away. Other than that brief noise a couple of nights, our room was very quiet.

 

As I was walking forward toward my cabin from the aft elevators late one night, I heard some loud music apparently coming from a bar below. It would probably have bothered me if I was in that spot.

[GayleR]

As I was walking forward toward my cabin from the aft elevators late one night, I heard some loud music apparently coming from a bar below. It would probably have bothered me if I was in that spot.

 

You said aft, so I'm assuming that you mean all the way aft, not the ones closest to your cabin, I hope. :rolleyes:

[Cruiser Joe]

You said aft, so I'm assuming that you mean all the way aft, not the ones closest to your cabin, I hope. :rolleyes:

I really can't remember where I heard the loud music. If I were to guess now, I would guess somewhere about half-way between the rear-most elevators and my room. I only heard it for about 10 feet or so, so i think it would only affect a couple of rooms.

[oldvato]

The reason there were so many Mexicans aboard, I'm assuming, is that you cruised during Holy Week. Mexico pretty much shuts down during that week and vacationers head to Texas. I imagine most of those spanish speakers were Mexicans.

[1gramma]

My family just returned from the Carnival Conquest on the April 1-8 cruise – it was a fantastic time! Here is my review:

 

My wife and I have four daughters, ages 16, 12, 8, and 6. DW and I have been on one previous cruise, also on the Conquest, and we intentionally booked the same cruise this time to take our children.

 

SATURDAY: We flew into Houston IAH and stayed at the Sheraton North. A phone call to the hotel and the hotel’s airport shuttle bus arrived about 10 minutes later and delivered us to the hotel. Two nice rooms for $38/night through Priceline. I was very happy with the Hotel and staff there.

 

SUNDAY: I arranged for a limo from Houston to the port with Karr Limousine. The price was cheaper than paying for 6 Carnival bus transfers, and almost the same for a shuttle bus. The driver arrived at 9:30 in a nice black stretch limo, loaded the bags, treated my family kindly and professionally, and we were off to Galveston! The ride took about an hour and 20 minutes, and I was unloaded at the pier at 11:00 a.m. The limo driver found a porter, and the driver and porter transferred the bags from the limo to the porter’s cart.

 

I had 10 bags and tipped the porter 10 bucks to push the bags over to the ship. The porter carefully counted my tip, and seemed offended that I didn’t give him more. Sheesh! Maybe my bags won’t show up on the ship after all.

 

We then went inside the terminal at about 11:00 a.m. and stood in line behind about 100 people, which appeared to be the very first of the line to board the ship. I was given a piece of paper saying that although Carnival doesn’t technically allow boarding until 1:00 p.m., they are happy to board me early and give me lunch while I wait for my room to be ready by 2:00 p.m. Cool.

 

The embarkation personnel were very friendly and happy, hugging my wife, talking about what a great time we will have, etc. They did a great job. We waited in line for about 30 minutes before security even opened the line to start processing the passengers. I saw a few teenagers holding 12-packs of soda – no one cared a bit about them bringing it on board.

 

We made it past the metal detectors and went to the check-in counter, where I gave them my passport and 5 birth certificates for the other family members. I applied for passports for them 8 weeks before the cruise, but they didn’t come on time. (they still aren’t here) The guy at the counter didn’t even look at the birth certificates. He just counted them, asked if they were for the 5 other family members without passports, and took my credit card for the Sail and Sign cards. Gold Sail and Sign cards for DW and I as repeat passengers, and blue cards for the children. We were directed to sit in chairs while the ship finished getting ready for us. At 12:30, we were told we could board and go eat lunch up on the Lido Deck. Our cruise had started!

 

We went on board, ate a great lunch, and was reminded how the food on the buffet was very good, and very nicely presented. I also stopped by Sur Mer for some seafood, as it tends to get more crowded as the week goes on. It’s above the Cezanne restaurant and a little out of the way, so people take some time to see it is there.

 

After lunch, we checked out Camp Carnival with the kids. Lots of games, Playstations, craft items, and a fun schedule planned. Got some more ice cream (12-year old is on her 3rd ice cream cone) and went to check out the rooms: a balcony for DW, 6-year old (on the convertible couch), and me; an interior room across the hall for the 16, 12, and 8 year olds. My kids liked how the third bed pulls down out of the ceiling. I like how my balcony (first time) makes the room bright and open with a fresh breeze. Our rooms were on the Upper Deck 6, midship, port side. I loved the location, except for the mild smokers on one side and the late night partiers on the other. More on our neighbors later.

 

More ship exploring, and then we found that all the bags had arrived by 4:30. I guess the porter didn’t throw them in the water after all. The room steward comes by to introduce himself and find out our dinner time so he can clean our rooms while we are at dinner. We picked the 5:45 dinner this time because of the children. That time was fine, but I want to try out late seating next time.

 

The Muster Drill was at about 4:00, and we stood in the big crowd of people for about 20 minutes. It was difficult to hear much of the instructions as there were lots of people talking all around me. Hope the ship doesn’t sink.

 

Dinner was in the Monet Restaurant in the aft of the ship. Our table was on the upper deck, near the doors, so our table was next to the busy “road” of incoming diners and waiters bringing food in. I was worried this might be a big problem, but it wasn’t for two reasons. First, our waiter was so good, I didn’t want to move to another location. Second, we were sitting at a table for 9, and there were only six in my family. There was a family of 3 also assigned to our table, but they never showed up for a single dinner in the dining room. So we took the seats away from the “road” and it was fine.

 

My children (especially my 6-year old) LOVED having a waiter put the fancy-folded napkin on her lap and push her chair in each night. The 6-year old also loved eating off of the adult menu and not having to split her adult-sized meals with a sister or parent. The waiter encouraged the younger children to try the regular menu items all week, and if they didn’t like the food, it was fine. They liked most of it anyway. Warm melting chocolate cake for dessert became a big hit for my family, and became the choice for about 75-percent of the desserts at my table.

 

Went to the Camp Carnival orientations that evening, filled out the necessary paperwork We skipped the Welcome Aboard Show and mostly hung out up top and on the balcony that night, eating ice cream cones, pizza, and room service cookies.

 

I later learned that the ship had over 1,300 children on board (imagine parents bringing so many kids on board! Oh, wait, I brought 4 of my own), and it seemed like about a third of the guests were Spanish speaking. Time to brush up on my Spanish.

 

Day 2 coming soon.

 

Very soon I hope!! We are leaving on the 5/20 sailing and staying on the same deck #6441 and 6455. Your review is wonderful but it is making the anticipation even harder.:) It is our first cruise with me DH, DD23 DD16 DD15 and DS11. Please let us know how Camp Carnival was for all who used them. Thanks again!!

[jckvpa0]

Thanks for the review,( or should I say reviews since yours go hijacked !).

 

I think you really didn't mean what you said in the following quote,

 

"We actually wanted to keep a decent sleep schedule with our children, as I wanted them up reasonably early for Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel without being too hammered to enjoy those places".

 

You were not really worried about your young children being hammered were you, :eek: ;) :p !!!

[gocruise]

Any of the recent past cruisers have a review of the Piano Bar on the Conquest?

[billsrobb]

I sailed on the Conquest last Sept. I had a cruise critic sign on my door and no one ever removed it.

I saw lots of other cruise critic signs too.

Robb

[GayleR]

I sailed on the Conquest last Sept. I had a cruise critic sign on my door and no one ever removed it.

 

I saw lots of other cruise critic signs too.

 

Robb

 

That's because yours didn't have a picture of Tony Stewart on it! :p

[Luanne21]

Why is there two reviews here? I was enjoying the first, and without notice, we get another. Are we trying to save space now?:confused:

[thoneycu]

The OP's thread was hijacked, unfortunately. And I love how the Nascar fan had to point out that there were several "mexicans and italians" on the cruise and how it was their kids that were causing the trouble.....hmmmm

I see no point in that or how that is useful information:confused: .

I would love for the OP to continue, his review was enjoyable. :)

[ginag]

Thanks for the review(s). We can't wait for our turn on the Conquest!!:)

[viciouslysh]

Thank you! Wonderful reviews!!!!! Can't wait for mine in June!!

 

 

www.myspace.com/viciouslysh

[cuestic66]

1GRAMMA, did you book with a TA or direct with carnival. My fiance and I are on the same cruise and still dont know what cabin we will be in.

[ConquestCruiser]

We want more information!!!!! Did you go to the piano bar? Any capers to upload?

 

Thanks CruiserJoe!!

[southbayer]

And KC, what about the smuggling of drinks ? Can you please put this issue to rest once and for all for everyone, thanks!

p.s. Was Jamaica hot and humid also ?