mariner vs conquest

[jdoo]

first time cruiser-family of four with boys 12 and 15

looking at conquest out of galveston vs. mariner out of pt. canaveral

will drive to either, about same money for cruise itself

 

conquest, western ports, can stay with family night before, no hotel or parking fees, so saves a little

 

mariner-eastern itinerary, must pay for hotel and parking, ships gets better reviews from teens

 

can't do western carribean on mariner because of the week we must go on this vacation

 

realize there's rhapsody out of galveston, but older boat, so...?

 

Having said all that, hubby would somewhat prefer 5 nights (less money)

then that becomes choice of Ecstasy vs Enchanment

 

my main goal-giving kids a WOW vacation (but new ships-Freedom and Liberty way too wow! for my budget)

 

Help, anyone?

[2K2 R/T]

The Mariner is the way to go. Of course I am biased, its the only cruise I have been on and had the greatest time in my life!! You will not be disappointed!!

[Cruising89143]

You want wow then pick the Mariner. Hands down the Voyager and Freedom class ships are in a "class" all by themselves. Carnival has nothing that comes close.:)

[bigsky]

The Mariner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great ship for the teens. Going again in 8 weeks with the kids. Went the first time on her without them. Kept saying how much they would have enjoyed it. Worth every penny.

 

There's hotels too that allow you to park your car there for the week free of charge.

[jdoo]

thanks

what about eastern ports?

 

What to do at st thomas and st marteen with kiddos?

[insulationbabe]

Hey there Mariner wins hands down - we've cruised 4 times - 3 on the Mariner and once on the Jewel - going on the Mariner again for Thanksgiving - its a wonderful trip but we go Western this time. Go onto the Royal Carribean website and check the tours - lots for kids to do - and loads of shopping if they like to shop. You won't regret going on the Mariner believe me

[brn2crz]

Absolutely the Mariner...But ...If you wanted a little cheaper,and took the Conquest..It would still be an OK choice...But to me,nothing beats the mariner...I would really stay away from the Ecstasy...Enchantment is a great little ship...Rhapsody to met the better of those 3 but still a 7 nighter..

 

The Eastern Itin is great.

St Thomas has tons of things to do...try the sky tram and a trip up to Paradise Point...and shopping...Megans Bay..for a beautiful beach..

 

St Martins...We did a great snorkel...To turtle cove I think???\

But it was on a great snorkel boat,after the snorkle,took down the railings on the the top deck and let us dive off...Kids loved that..

There are so many wonderful excursions in St Martin and St Thomas...You will have a hard time deciding...whats the third stop on that route now...Not Nassau any more I don't think..Maybe Labadee??

 

Just to reiterate....The Mariner is AWESOME..!!

[jdoo]

thanks, that's the info I needed-don't want ok, want wow!

first stop is actually cococays-

[brn2crz]

Duh...CocoCay...Labadee is Haiti...:o

 

You will love Mariner..When are you looking to sail?

[bigsky]

thanks

what about eastern ports?

 

What to do at st thomas and st marteen with kiddos?

 

Not sure if your boys like to sail, but we did the America's Cup sailing in St. Maarten. Lots of fun!!

There's a beach, (forgot the name) that you can watch planes land and they're so close to the ground as they're coming in for a landing. They might get a kick out of this. Lots to do.

 

You'll have a great time!!

[Cruiseman2003]

Let me help you out. I have been on the Conquest and a ship similar to the mariner. Both ships are great. Yes, Mariner has alot of great things but if you are on a budget go for the Conquest.

 

Food-I give to Carnival.

Activities- Both ships have great activities but if you don't want to do the scheduled activities you always have ice skating, putt putt golf and the rock climbing wall.

Size of Room- Carnival has the most spacious.

Ports-Western Caribbean is very adventrous.

Eastern Caribbean is more laid back.

Jamaica-ATV Ride, Dunns River Falls, Zip line

Grand Cayman-Sting Ray Tour and beach

Mexico-Ruins, Xcaret (eco park with activities), Playa mia beach has water activities

 

CoCo Cay-never been there but has activities that you can pay to do

St. Thomas-beach day, shopping, I heard also there is a aquarim on the island

St. Marteen- have never been there yet but I heard it is great.

 

Look at activiteis on the islands. Carnival will be cheaper than Mariner. Have fun though with your family and cherish the time spent where ever you go.

[time4u2go]

Obviously you should post this question on the Carnival board too if you haven't already done so!

[jdoo]

yes, I have

having fun comparing

[jdoo]

july 8, time is close, window for vacation just opened a couple weeks ago, furiously researching and need to decide soon!

[joetrizeo]

i've been on both, the mariner and the victory and costa magica which are very very similar to conquest class.

 

in my review of the mariner in my signature i compare the two

 

in my mind both ships are great. the conquest takes more time to learn how to navigate but its not a big deal.

 

what you should be asking is carnival vs royal caribbean. and to that i say RC all the way.

[jdoo]

I agree if same itin, but isn't it also eastern vs western-seems like western is more suited to 12 and 15 year old boys

[Aquahound]

Let's put everything else aside for a minute. You mentioned several times you wanted "WOW." If this is the case, there is no debate. Carnival does not have anything comparable to RCI's Voyager and Freedom Class ships.

 

My first Voyager ship was Adventure Of The Seas. I got on the elevator on deck 4. As it went up and I saw the Promenade for the first time, the only word my wife and I could say was "Wow!"

[packandgo]

If you want that WOW factor then by all means cruise on the Mariner! I have been on both the voyager class ships and also the Conquest. You will find the Conquest a little harder to navigate, plus for me the decor was too dark and depressing, and the crew on RCCL is more friendly. As for the cabins, on the newer RCCL ships the size of the cabins are comparable to the cabins on Carnival, plus the layout and storage space is better on RCCL cabins.

[bigsky]

Forgot to post that I've been on the Mariner and the Liberty...same class as the Conquest. Worst ship to me was the Conquest class. So hard to get around....too many people in small places. NO good flow to it. For us, we'll never go on that class again.

 

There's no comparison to the two IMO. Carnival does have some nice ships with much better flow to them. But if you want that wow factor for the kids, there's no beating the Voyager class with Royal.

[elleluv]

We Love Mariner! :D We've actually sailed on her twice... I can't compare her to Conquest for you, we haven't ever sailed Carnival.

 

How's this for a WOW excursion on St. Thomas...

 

 

It was the BOB excursion through the ship in St Thomas and it was a blast! :D

[piercetc4]

we have been on conquest and mariner- mariner 3rd time coming up oct 07 - if you want wow go on the mariner- conquest was great and our kids had a great time- we like mariner way better because of the great kids areas, royal promenade, ice rink, rock wall, in line skating, mini golf, and larger size ship- mariner is 138,000 tons roughly while conquest is 110,000 tons- cabins size not a noticeable difference to us comparing a cat 8 on conquest to cats e and d on mariner-

either way you will have a wonderful time-

[jdoo]

yes, defininately a wow! Do you have to be certified divers to do that?

 

thanks for all the input

 

think everyone confirmed what I already had figured out from my reading of reviews, Mariner has it from the ship factor, western itin is probably more to my liking

 

But overall leaning toward Mariner, will have that western itin to look forward to for another year, right?

 

Do people go to the shows? Any insight there as to which line has better shows?

 

Obviously, no way to have a bad time on either cruise unless you are just a big old grouch to begin with!

[elleluv]

yes, defininately a wow! Do you have to be certified divers to do that?

 

nope, no certification necessary... you don't even need to be a really strong swimmer... as long as you aren't afraid to put your head under the water for about 5 seconds. They have someone there to help you every step of the way.

 

I think everyone confirmed what I already had figured out from my reading of reviews, Mariner has it from the ship factor, western itin is probably more to my liking

 

But overall leaning toward Mariner, will have that western itin to look forward to for another year, right?

 

Right... :) You may be surprised though... we thought we would prefer Western, but once we did them both we found we prefered Eastern.

 

Do people go to the shows? Any insight there as to which line has better shows?

 

We haven't been on Carnival, but I have a hard time believing they'd have anything that could even begin to compete with the ice show.

 

Obviously, no way to have a bad time on either cruise unless you are just a big old grouch to begin with!

 

Yep, it's all what you make of it... :)

[Aquahound]

 

Do people go to the shows? Any insight there as to which line has better shows?

 

 

I'm sure you know this from Voyager. Do not miss the Ice Show.

[bigsky]

yes, defininately a wow! Do you have to be certified divers to do that?

 

thanks for all the input

 

think everyone confirmed what I already had figured out from my reading of reviews, Mariner has it from the ship factor, western itin is probably more to my liking

 

But overall leaning toward Mariner, will have that western itin to look forward to for another year, right?

 

Do people go to the shows? Any insight there as to which line has better shows?

 

You won't regret the Mariner!!

As far as the shows, IMO I like the shows better on Carnival. That being said, I agree, the ice show is great. Carnival has more of the Vegas like shows. They do a great job. My kids personally would rather hang out with other kids or do other stuff than the Vegas shows. So the ice show is a must. Make sure you get your tickets when they hand them out. Don't be late or you may not get the seating that you like. (which will coordinate with your dining time)

The Mariner will have two parades in the promenade.

You will love the adult only solarium area on the Mariner as well. Can't say enough about this ship. I like there cabins so much more as well....esp. those showers!

Obviously, no way to have a bad time on either cruise unless you are just a big old grouch to begin with!

 

Bingo! We did have soooooo much more of a good time on the Mariner than the Conquest class. ;)

 

Some people will find anything to complain about. No cruise will be perfect, but some are just more enjoyable than others. The ship itself to me is the most important thing. I don't really care about the food or entertainment. So many things to do if I don't like a show anyways.

IF you go on the Mariner and get two cabins, you can put the boys across or next to you in a Promenade room. Those are nice to people watch from....u can watch the parades as well from there. Those are so much better than inside cabins. Nothing beats a balcony though. Won't go back to anything else. But if money is an issue, this is a wonderful option.

 

Plus, going out of PC, you can stay an extra day or so and go to WDW or Kennedy Space Center, Universal Studios, Sea World.

I'm partial to P.Canaveral. Love to cruise out of that port. So much to do before or after if you want to extend your vacation.

 

Mariner, Mariner, Mariner! :D