Just back from Conquest this morning

[lovesublime]

My notes and observations will be posted here later. It's not all good and it's not all bad. I have to unpack and take of the dogs....later:)

[Honeybear1974]

Cannot wait to hear about your vacation on the Conquest.....waiting with anticipation! :D

[baseball921]

tease. I got all excited and then there was nothing :( My very first cruise ever is a month away on the Conquest with DH and my folks.

[honestokiechic]

Awww, It seems like we were just on the ship. I hope the only bad was having to leave!!!!

Anxiously awaiting to hear about your cruise....

[bilx0424]

My notes and observations will be posted here later. It's not all good and it's not all bad. I have to unpack and take of the dogs....later:)

 

Can't wait! I sail the Conquest 12-14-08. Please post soon:D

[lovesublime]

I can post a few things now. I did earlier type up something and it disappeared. I don't think I was logged in. Anyway, just for reference, this was our 4th cruise and second on Carnival. We really don't have any complaints about the ship or Carnival in general. Mostly, our complaints are about fellow pax. Just some unfortunate observations:

 

Line jumpers. This was prevalent, but mostly in the Lido buffet. The first time it happened, I thought the guy just wanted to grab one item, which I absolutely don't have a problem with. Instead, he just stayed in line after jumping ahead of 7 or 8 people who were in line for the same food. The lady standing behind him called him on it and he apologized, but still he didn't go to the back of the line. This happened a lot and we just kind of got used to it.

 

Another bad thing. This is disgusting. People who eat while still standing in line for food. One day a lady in front of me began dipping carrot pieces in dressing and shoving them in her mouth while waiting to get her entree. Yuk!

 

Even worse was the woman at the pool grill popping fries in her mouth while waiting for onion rings. She then proceeded to lick all her fingers before picking up the onion ring tongs:eek: I was repulsed. Needless to say, we walked on with our hamburgers and didn't partake of fries, rings or any of the other self serve items. What's wrong with people?!

 

I know this is a dead horse, but I have to beat it, I can't help it. We had a balcony cabin on deck 8 and yep, you guessed it....chain smokers on either side of us. Well, I'm glad that they all got to enjoy their balconies 'cause we didn't. If that wasn't bad enought, the couple to the left of us had a knock down drag out just as we were departing Cozumel. For a good 30 minutes they screamed obscenities at the top of their lungs to each other. There was sobbing and crying. The balcony door slammed over and over. We heard the guy say "can you ever forgive me"? I don't know exactlly what he 'did' because most of their screaming and yelling was incoherent due to inebriation. Just as we were about to call the desk, it quieted down.

 

The very first night of the cruise, a drunk lady yelled at a staff member at the entrance to the Monet dining room. She said she had been sent to the downstairs section 6 times and sent back up 6 times (which I find hard to believe) She was extremely rude and could hardly stand up. I'm betting she was so drunk she didn't know where she was. Chances are, she wasn't really going to eat anything anyway-just continue with her drinking.

 

Oh, don't let me forget the numerous wacky weed smokers onboard. Many times as we walked the hallways we detected the scent seeping from cabins. I'm just speechless. What were they thinking. Oh, apparently they weren't.

 

I'm sure a lot of pax didn't miss the beligerant drunk guy covered in blood on the dock in Cozumel. A Carnival security officer politely tried to hold him up and walk him back to the ship. After about 15 minutes (yes, we loitered around to watch) the guy bolted and ran back through security. We went ahead and boarded and are happy to say that we saw the man later being escorted down the dock by several security officers and was reunited with his extremely upset girlfriend. She put her arm around him and they boarded the ship as the security officers waved to them. We had thought he would be in a lot of trouble, but it seems not. I'm just glad he didn't end up in a Mexican jail.

 

We absolutely had no problems with the beautiful Carnival Conquest or the service. The ship is kept very clean and the service was the best we've had on any ship. Very nice. Well, actually I do have one minor complaint which I'll get to in a sec. As far as dining, the food was very good on this ship especially in the dining room. BTW, our assignment was Monet, second seating. It worked out perfect for us. We only missed the dining room two nights, one because we were exhausted from our excursion and the other because we ate at the Supper Club. We've dined at the Supper Club before (different ship) and knew we wouldn't be disappointed. It was so good we almost did it again.

 

This brings me to my only complaint which isn't a biggie. I'm glad we were assigned to the Monet. While walking around, we did notice that smell in the Renoir dining room and outside the entrance. I think someone here has memtioned it before. I don't know what the odor is, but it kind of smells like rancid grease. It's not overwhelming, but it's definitely there. Hopefully, they can fix that when she goes into drydock next month. Other things:

 

Jamaica-we did the Appleton Rum Estate tour and loved it. It took all day. The drive there took about 3 hours and it was very fascinating. The tour at the distillery was fun-they gave us lunch and all the rum we could drink. The drive back was a different route and only took about 1 1/2 hours. Great fun and would do it again. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff we saw.

 

Grand Cayman-our stingray excursion was cancelled and we ended up at Rum Point Beach for the rest of the day. It was overcast and drizzled on and off. I was freezing and didn't even go in the water. Rum Point is very pretty, but, I thought also very touristy. The food and drink prices were high IMO and we felt like a captured audience. We would love to return to Grand Cayman. I wish we would have had more time there because the weather got better and better as the afternoon wore on.

 

Cozumel-we didn the ATV and beach excursion (all excursions were booked in advance with Carnival) which was insane. I had never driven an ATV before and it was so much fun. We rode over really bumpy paths in a jungle (it's not a real tropical jungle) for about two hours-we had a blast! Later they dropped us at the beach where we had lunch and laid out. We love Cozumel and we had a great day there.

 

So, yes, we throughly enjoyed Carnival Conquest and have no real complaints about the cruise or ship. We would definitely sail on her again:) Now, if the ill mannered pax would just learn how to behave-we would all be better off. I'm open to questions.

[inotdown]

Thanks for the review. It looks like you were lucky to book a cruise with a bunch of clowns. The mental image that you gave with the people eating and the person licking her chops is pretty gross...but hella funny. I bet that lady with the fries and the onion rings was the wacky weed smoker and her buddies were the ones line jumping the buffet. The crying and sobbing and the "can you forgive me"--he probably smoked the rest of the bud.

 

In all seriousness though, I'm going on Carnival for the first time really soon...I am beginning to wonder if some of the things you described are the norm. Its 2008. Don't people have some sort of manners, tactfulness, and overall general cleanliness anymore?

[ItsAMiracle]

thanks for the review. It looks like you were lucky to book a cruise with a bunch of clowns. The mental image that you gave with the people eating and the person licking her chops is pretty gross...but hella funny. I bet that lady with the fries and the onion rings was the wacky weed smoker and her buddies were the ones line jumping the buffet. The crying and sobbing and the "can you forgive me"--he probably smoked the rest of the bud.

 

In all seriousness though, i'm going on carnival for the first time really soon...i am beginning to wonder if some of the things you described are the norm. Its 2008. Don't people have some sort of manners, tactfulness, and overall general cleanliness anymore?

 

 

lol!

[Payd]

Too bad about the other passengers. Some have more manners and smarts than others.

[Carolyn1950]

Too bad about the other passengers. Some have more manners and smarts than others.

 

On my last cruise, I was in the buffet line behind a very well dressed lady. When we got to the fried chicken, she proceeded to pick up pieces with her hands, look them over, then put them back in the serving pan..Finally she found one she liked.. I left and got in the other buffet line.:p.

[232271]

"Grand Cayman-our stingray excursion was cancelled and we ended up at Rum Point Beach for the rest of the day. It was overcast and drizzled on and off. I was freezing and didn't even go in the water. Rum Point is very pretty, but, I thought also very touristy. The food and drink prices were high IMO and we felt like a captured audience. We would love to return to Grand Cayman. I wish we would have had more time there because the weather got better and better as the afternoon wore on."

 

regarding above quote: Do they close Stingray city due to the rough waters?

In years past I never remember hearing this now, in the past month I think this is the 3rd or 4th time I have heard this news?:confused:

[Nuttycruisegirl]

"Grand Cayman-our stingray excursion was cancelled and we ended up at Rum Point Beach for the rest of the day. It was overcast and drizzled on and off. I was freezing and didn't even go in the water. Rum Point is very pretty, but, I thought also very touristy. The food and drink prices were high IMO and we felt like a captured audience. We would love to return to Grand Cayman. I wish we would have had more time there because the weather got better and better as the afternoon wore on."

 

regarding above quote: Do they close Stingray city due to the rough waters?

In years past I never remember hearing this now, in the past month I think this is the 3rd or 4th time I have heard this news?:confused:

 

They do close Stingray city due to rough waters....Happens from time to time. I don't think it is a new practice. Kind of a roll of the dice...Much like being able to stop in GC at all due to the tendering....I am sure certain times of the year are better than others?

[Texas_firefighter]

Wow,glad you still had fun with ALL of that going on. You must be a magnet,as I've never experienced any of that.It's all been positive.

[Mikel1733]

Unfortunately the line jumpers are a fact of life. It does pay to watch the line in front of you to see what is going on. I had a lady with small children in line in front of me on one trip. One of the boys ran his tongue from one end of the buffet to the other. Then the mother piled on some food onto her plate and then took her finger to get all of the food off the spoon and licked her finger. At that point I had to leave the line.

[okgirl]

On my last cruise, I was in the buffet line behind a very well dressed lady. When we got to the fried chicken, she proceeded to pick up pieces with her hands, look them over, then put them back in the serving pan..Finally she found one she liked.. I left and got in the other buffet line.:p.

 

Ewwww, that's gross.......I think the workers behind the buffet should monitor that kind of behavior.........I comment to people who do stuff like that.......I think it's becoming all to frequent which is why I rarely eat in the buffet

[tbjl24]

Ewwww, that's gross.......I think the workers behind the buffet should monitor that kind of behavior.........I comment to people who do stuff like that.......I think it's becoming all to frequent which is why I rarely eat in the buffet

 

 

I agree and wouldn't you believe, they are the first ones to come on a site like this and say that Carnival gave them Norwalk!!!! :cool:

 

Don't worry, natural selection has its ways of taking care of these folks.

[lovesublime]

regarding above quote: Do they close Stingray city due to the rough waters?

In years past I never remember hearing this now, in the past month I think this is the 3rd or 4th time I have heard this news?:confused:

 

 

Yes, they said the water was too rough. I understand this to be a new thing as well.

[srobins]

The last time I was on the Conquest they had that fried chicken that I love so much! I had to jump ahead of several people because I was afraid that they would run out of chicken. I sampled a little of the potato salad from the spoon to see if it was any good, and decided to have some of it as well. When I got to the chicken, I couldn't tell which was the dark meat, so I had to eat off some of the crunchy skin part to see the meat. I don't like the white meat, so I put that back for the others in line. The crunchy skin is the best part! It really helps to have a chicken leg to munch on while you are waiting for the servers to put out more food! I love the Lido buffet!

 

:)

 

Sherryl

[kyrisong1]

yukkkkkkkkkkkk, I usually stick to the deli and pizza for lunchs but once in awhile venture to the buffett, the line jumpers are annoying but I figure if they are that hungry I'm not gonna waste my rum high getting ticked off, let em go on ahead, I've never seen them run out of food :rolleyes:, but the licking of fingers and stuff ewwwwwwwwww I think maybe the dining room sounds better now.

Grand Cayman can be a crapshoot as to whether you even get to tender, because it can be really rough and not able to tender, beautiful snorkling if you can tender though, so sorry you couldn't :0( and although the drinks can be expensive on Rum Point, omg they are potent!!!!!!!!!

[Havinsnest]

The last time I was on the Conquest they had that fried chicken that I love so much! I had to jump ahead of several people because I was afraid that they would run out of chicken. I sampled a little of the potato salad from the spoon to see if it was any good, and decided to have some of it as well. When I got to the chicken, I couldn't tell which was the dark meat, so I had to eat off some of the crunchy skin part to see the meat. I don't like the white meat, so I put that back for the others in line. The crunchy skin is the best part! It really helps to have a chicken leg to munch on while you are waiting for the servers to put out more food! I love the Lido buffet!

 

:)

 

Sherryl

:):):):)

 

I was thinking of y'all this weekend. Have fun on the Christmas Cruise. I hate that we're not cruising with y'all again but we'll be a couple of week behind you.

[srobins]

Hi Kathy - wish you were all on our cruise again! I am trying to organize a Fish Tales dinner, but not much success! But we are all going on the RRR tour with Nativeways again. We had such a great time last year getting to meet all of the people on our roll call!

And our cabin crawl was a great success!

 

Sherryl

[billsrobb]

The last time I was on the Conquest they had that fried chicken that I love so much! I had to jump ahead of several people because I was afraid that they would run out of chicken. I sampled a little of the potato salad from the spoon to see if it was any good, and decided to have some of it as well. When I got to the chicken, I couldn't tell which was the dark meat, so I had to eat off some of the crunchy skin part to see the meat. I don't like the white meat, so I put that back for the others in line. The crunchy skin is the best part! It really helps to have a chicken leg to munch on while you are waiting for the servers to put out more food! I love the Lido buffet!

 

:)

 

Sherryl

I don't know if your story is true or not. I rather doubt it but thanks for posting this. You made me laugh.

Hi Janey

Robb

Poster-In-Chief

[232271]

The last time I was on the Conquest they had that fried chicken that I love so much! I had to jump ahead of several people because I was afraid that they would run out of chicken. I sampled a little of the potato salad from the spoon to see if it was any good, and decided to have some of it as well. When I got to the chicken, I couldn't tell which was the dark meat, so I had to eat off some of the crunchy skin part to see the meat. I don't like the white meat, so I put that back for the others in line. The crunchy skin is the best part! It really helps to have a chicken leg to munch on while you are waiting for the servers to put out more food! I love the Lido buffet!

 

:)

 

Sherryl

 

I sure hope you licked your fingers clean before grabbing more chicken?:D

[vakayaker]

The last time I was on the Conquest they had that fried chicken that I love so much! I had to jump ahead of several people because I was afraid that they would run out of chicken. I sampled a little of the potato salad from the spoon to see if it was any good, and decided to have some of it as well. When I got to the chicken, I couldn't tell which was the dark meat, so I had to eat off some of the crunchy skin part to see the meat. I don't like the white meat, so I put that back for the others in line. The crunchy skin is the best part! It really helps to have a chicken leg to munch on while you are waiting for the servers to put out more food! I love the Lido buffet!

 

:)

 

Sherryl

 

 

I certainly hope your joking!

[cowetamom]

The last time I was on the Conquest they had that fried chicken that I love so much! I had to jump ahead of several people because I was afraid that they would run out of chicken. I sampled a little of the potato salad from the spoon to see if it was any good, and decided to have some of it as well. When I got to the chicken, I couldn't tell which was the dark meat, so I had to eat off some of the crunchy skin part to see the meat. I don't like the white meat, so I put that back for the others in line. The crunchy skin is the best part! It really helps to have a chicken leg to munch on while you are waiting for the servers to put out more food! I love the Lido buffet!

 

:)

 

Sherryl

 

 

 

Im just glad your on the cruise after us!:p I bet it was finger lickin good!!!