My Carnival Conquest Review ( 10/31/04 - 11/7/04 )

[cruisinqt]

I've tried to organize my thoughts here as best as I can. I hope this info. helps some of you.

 

Pre-Cruise

In New Orleans we stayed at the Hilton for $99 with free parking. You are walking distance to the pier, right next to the mall, and there's lots of nice restaurants nearby. Go to Mother's and order a Poor boy, they are the best I've ever eaten!

 

Embarkation:

We left at noon to drop our bags off at the pier. It took an hour to go a few blocks and drop off our bags.:eek: My advice, go much earlier or much later to avoid the traffic nightmare. After dropping our bags off we took our car back to the the Hilton. It was 2:00 pm when we walked thru the mall to the ship and there weren't that many people around. From the pier to the inside of the ship it only took us 35 minutes. This is a good time of day to get on the ship.

 

Conquest restaurants and food:

Paul's deli had great sandwiches and some of the best Reuben sandwiches I've ever eaten. The "Wok" oriental place had the best peking duck ever! The grill by the pool was great with hot dogs and cheeseburgers cooked fresh. They even had sauteed mushrooms and onions. The Lido buffet at Cezannes wasn't very good. Every time we tried their food we took a few bites, put it down, and went elsewhere. The pizza place was good, the calzones are fantastic! The formal dining room had excellent food and service.

 

Halloween on the Conquest:

The Conquest crew went all out for halloween. There was a haunted house to go to and halloween decor throughout the ship. Lots of people dressed up for halloween. I spent halloween with my kids. Camp carnival put on a really nice party for them. They got goody bags and played games. We got a plastic ship on a stick for winning first place in the "wrap your child up like a mummy" contest. :D

 

Conquest Shows:

Monday's show was "Formidable." It's all dancing and music. They put a lot into it with tons of costumes and intricate dance moves. The show was okay, though I was left wishing it had more to it than just music and dancing. Tuesday's show was Dean Gaines who was a great comedian that did some really good impressions along with a great singer named Ronn Joseph. Wednesday was Deja who was an amazing magician. The show is more than just good magic, it has dancers, and great music too. This was our favorite show! Thursday was "Point and Click" which reminded me a lot of "Formidable." It was all dancing and music. Friday there was a hilarious talent show. Some men dressed in cheerleading costumes with wigs,makeup, and pompoms. Their routine had been rehearsed extensively and was quite good. Their cheerleading outfits said "Trojans" and their routine was more like synchronized swimming. We laughed our butts off! The cruise director does something after the show that involves audience participation that's quite funny. Saturday was the comedy of Phat Kat who is hilarious along with a juggler who was the best I've ever seen.

 

Ports of call:

In Montego Bay, Jamaica we took a $5 taxi ride (total price for all) to Sunset Beach Resort. It's $20 for adults and $10 for kids for this all inclusive resort. Things included were all food, sodas, alcohol, use of 3 pools, volley ball, ping pong, a pool table, kayaks, paddleboats, snorkel gear, and 3 beaches. There is no need for a reservation.There are changing rooms with showers. They keep your cruise ID card at the front desk to keep it from getting lost on the beach or in the ocean. Ask the front desk for a towel card to use at the towel hut for a beach towel. The beach is beautiful and there are no vendors around. The grilll offers cheeseburgers, hot dogs, grilled cheese sandwiches, jerk chicken, and french fries. They are made to order. The restaurant was also free but you couldn't go in with a swimsuit on so we didn't try it. The beach to the left is a little rocky, so go to the right. There are showers along the beach to clean off. The hummingbird tastes much like a banana milkshake with a kick, I loved it! I loved this resort and will definitely be back.

We went to the "hip strip" from there and were shocked at the $4 per person cab fare. Sunset is a cheap ride because it is nearby and can be seen from the ship. The city of Mo' Bay is further out and more expensive. The round trip cab fare for our family of 4 was $32, or $16 each way. We asked around and the locals said this was the normal fare. And yes, we did use the gov't approved JUTA taxi's. The shopping on the "hip strip" was no better than the shops near the pier and we wished we had just went back to the pier. The city of Mo' Bay is large and very modern. It is also a very pretty island. The people weren't as pushy as we expected them to be. When we politely said no they backed off. Our experience in Mo' Bay was much better than expected and we will probably return, especially for Sunset Beach.

 

Grand Cayman:

Grand Cayman brought on mixed emotions. We were thrilled to be there but felt sorry for what the Caymanians have been through. The island was a mishmash of picturesque beauty and devastation. One area would be breathtaking and another would look like a tornado had just hit it. The islands tourist areas have been restored remarkably fast. There's plenty of shopping there, most of the restaurants are open, and there's a number of excursions to choose from.

We did the stingray excursion with Soto's and met them at 8:30 am and were back at the pier by 12:00 pm. First, we snorkeled at the Coral Gardens. The black coral was beautiful and the water was crystal clear. Next we snorkeled at the reefs where our guide took us to see his "buddies" he feeds daily, a moray eel and a squid. We got some awesome photos of the creatures and then checked out the reefs. Next, we did the highlight of the whole cruise, swimming with the stingrays. There were tons of stingrays and they were friendly as kittens and super soft. Even my 5 and 7 year old kids got out there and swam with them. We had to talk them out of bringing one home as a pet. Swimming with these creatures was one of the most amazing things I've ever done. I'll never forget those soft, gentle stingrays. Soto's does have a small bathroom on board to change in. The shopping and restaurants around the pier was great. We shopped and ate lunch around the pier and then went back to the ship.

 

Cozumel:

We took a $12 cab ride (total cost for all 4) to Paradise beach and had a blast. The beach is beautiful and there are plenty of free lounge chairs and umbrellas. The cost to enter is free, but for $5 you can use all of the beach toys. There is a water trampoline, kayaks, a floating iceberg, and snorkel gear. The food is fantastic. The fajitas had about a pound of meat on them and the nachos were equally great. You can go into town to a fancy restaurant but you won't find better food or a better price. We ate upstairs in the second floor restaurant with a panoramic view of the beach and ocean. There are freshwater showers and clean bathrooms. Try the Tidal Wave, it's the best drink in the house! After an afternoon in Paradise, we went back to the pier and shopped around there. We docked at Puerta Maya which has a nice shopping area built up around the pier area. We enjoyed the shopping there and found a few bargains.

 

Camp Carnival on the Conquest:

The counselors were attentive and friendly and the security was top notch. My kids looked forward to going to the kids area every day and they were sad when they had to say good bye. They got their faces painted, they made edible necklaces, did sand art, made puppets, put on a puppet show, decorated their own cakes, and had ice cream eating contests.

They will also take your kids to dinner for you if you want them to. It's hard to believe all of this is free of charge. There is group style babysitting after 10:00 pm and you are charged $6 per hour for the first child and $4 per hour for each additional child. Overall, I would give camp carnival a big thumbs up.:)

 

General Conquest Info:

The day before each port of call the Conquest had a time change to match that port of calls time. It made the whole time thing much easier. Our luggage arrived in our room before we did. Our 12 pack of sodas in each bag and 2 water bottles with vodka in them made it just fine.

Some of the fun scheduled activities we liked other than the regulars like the hairy chest contest and the horse races were:

"Who wants to be a millionaire"- just like the tv show.

"Win, lose, or draw" - we won this contest and got the ship on a stick.

"TV theme trivia" - just guess the tv show's theme songs.

"Survivor" - like the TV show and pretty funny.

 

Debarkation:

Getting off of the ship was easy. We were off of the ship in about 40 minutes total from ship to pier. Waiting while my hubby retrieved the car was a nightmare.:eek: We had too much luggage to walk back to the hotel. We just waited with our luggage while he went back to the Hilton and got the car to pick us up. Again, the pier traffic was outrageous. It took my husband a good hour to get the car from the hilton garage to the pier.

 

Overall, the Conquest ship and crew were excellent. The crew kept the ship spotless and were always cheerful. The people on board were very nice and friendly. The service was excellent and our cabin steward did a fantastic job. The food was quite good and I was impressed. I would definitely sail on the Conquest again.:D

[vermonter16]

DH and I were on the Pride almost two years ago and had a blast with the games...ie., Who wants to be a Millionaire and Survivor....when we were on the Miracle they had Survivor scheduled and then said that it was wrong, they won't do Survivor anymore because it is past its prime...and same thing with Millionaire....we were dissapointed but Fear Factor was fun to watch though not many could play so they put names in the hat and drew them out....DH didn't get picked....and they did the Weakest Link...DH answered 9 questions in a row correctly and then got voted off by a family trio who was left....it was still a good time...

 

How was the Conquest for space and people??? Did you feel crowded?

[CruiseCATnMACK]

Thanks for the review. We will be on the Conquest next month and can't wait.

[MinniIndi]

I am curious, did you pre book with Soto's in GC? I want to swim with the stingrays and am a little nervous because I've never snorkeled before. I'm envious of your kids. The day we're in Grand Caymen will be my 40th B-Day and I'm going to go snorkeling. Help me! O.K, now for a dumb question, What's the difference between a stingray and manatae? Manatae's are big, like a hippo almost, aren't they? And stingrays are big around and flat, like one woman said, It was as big as my dining room table!!

Thanks for the info and great review. We leave 1-16-04 on Conquest.

[SxyEbnyFem]

Thanks for the great review, cruisinqt. It was straight to the point and not all drawn out like many tend to be on this board. I am glad you & yours had a good time! I am looking forward to our first cruise aboard the Conquest in Jan.

 

Oh, was it very chilly on the ship? I am cold natured and was wondering if I needed to bring a few sweaters to cover up at the shows and maybe in the night clubs.

 

Happy sailing,

T.

[MizzouMary]

Great review, Cruisinqt!! Thanks for taking the time to post it.

 

We are planning to go to Sunset Beach Resort in MoBay. It sounds like a great time. Do they provide beach chairs?

[cruisinqt]

Vermonter16, there was plenty of space on the Conquest, she's a massive ship. And the pursers desk had a sign up that said the cruise was sold out and there were no rooms available. Even tho she was sold out we had lots of elbow room and never wanted for space. The only time we felt crowded was when were in line to get back on the ship. Once we were on the ship we had lots of breathing room.:)

 

Caribbean cruizer, we prebooked with Soto's a few months ago and absolutely loved them. It was a small, cozy group where we got lots of individualized attention for a great price. Even tho my kids and I have never snorkeled before, we had a blast.:D If you're afraid of snorkeling, don't do it. Just do the stingray thing, you don't need a snorkel for that, none of us wore a snorkel when we were with the stingrays. You can stand in the water there and just play with them. A stingray is more like a smooth almost flat disk with a tail and a manatee is huge, and much larger than a sea lion. Go to www.sotoscruises.com and look at the pictures they have there. They have a gallery of pictures of people swimming with the stingrays.

 

SxyEbnyFem, it was chilly at times on the ship. I brought one light weight wrap around shawl for the cruise and it worked perfect. The only places that were cold were in the theatres. I'm glad you liked my review. I made an outline ahead of time so I could stick to the key points and and make the review as informative as possible. I didn't want to go on about stuff that would be useless info. for you. I hate it when someone strays from the main point and goes on about something you could care less about.

 

Mfinn, Sunset beach resort has tons of really nice lounge chairs that either lay completely flat or sit straight up. My husband is 6'6" with a stocky build and he found the lounge chairs quite comfortable. There are also shade trees and umbrelllas in abundance too.

 

For any of you who might be driving to New Orleans, there's a restaurant called Mulate's on I-10 just outside of Layfayette that's fantastic. The food is true authentic cajun food, there's live cajun music, tons of celebrities have been there, and the prices are pretty decent too. I can't recommend this place enough, we really enjoyed taking a break there. It was quite refreshing after being on the road all day. Just take exit 109 off of I-10 just outside of Lafayette and follow the signs.:)

[MinniIndi]

Vermonter16, there was plenty of space on the Conquest, she's a massive ship. And the pursers desk had a sign up that said the cruise was sold out and there were no rooms available. Even tho she was sold out we had lots of elbow room and never wanted for space. The only time we felt crowded was when were in line to get back on the ship. Once we were on the ship we had lots of breathing room.:)

 

Caribbean cruizer, we prebooked with Soto's a few months ago and absolutely loved them. It was a small, cozy group where we got lots of individualized attention for a great price. Even tho my kids and I have never snorkeled before, we had a blast.:D If you're afraid of snorkeling, don't do it. Just do the stingray thing, you don't need a snorkel for that, none of us wore a snorkel when we were with the stingrays. You can stand in the water there and just play with them. A stingray is more like a smooth almost flat disk with a tail and a manatee is huge, and much larger than a sea lion. Go to www.sotoscruises.com and look at the pictures they have there. They have a gallery of pictures of people swimming with the stingrays.

 

SxyEbnyFem, it was chilly at times on the ship. I brought one light weight wrap around shawl for the cruise and it worked perfect. The only places that were cold were in the theatres. I'm glad you liked my review. I made an outline ahead of time so I could stick to the key points and and make the review as informative as possible. I didn't want to go on about stuff that would be useless info. for you. I hate it when someone strays from the main point and goes on about something you could care less about.

 

Mfinn, Sunset beach resort has tons of really nice lounge chairs that either lay completely flat or sit straight up. My husband is 6'6" with a stocky build and he found the lounge chairs quite comfortable. There are also shade trees and umbrelllas in abundance too.

 

For any of you who might be driving to New Orleans, there's a restaurant called Mulate's on I-10 just outside of Layfayette that's fantastic. The food is true authentic cajun food, there's live cajun music, tons of celebrities have been there, and the prices are pretty decent too. I can't recommend this place enough, we really enjoyed taking a break there. It was quite refreshing after being on the road all day. Just take exit 109 off of I-10 just outside of Lafayette and follow the signs.:)

Thanks so much for the info. Thought you had to snorkel, we'll see, still might do it, somewhere.

I'm also cold in nature, and have always taken shawls, long sleeve shirt's, light jacket. Or just buy something new while in port.

Have fun all.

[hurstcajun]

QT, where did yall end up spending Friday night??? I think we may have passed you on the ship as we saw only a few parents with two girls. We pretty much enjoyed the ship portion on the cruise and the excursions that we took were great too!(Carolyn Barrett and Nativeway to Stingray City). We, however, were greatly dissappointed with the behavior of "certain" beaded guests and will never cruise with a group of this nature again!!!

[sgriff17]

QT - how was the smoke on the ship? I have yet to be on a ship with smoking having been on the paradise twice....was it noticable in most places? Im just scared of eating my meals or laying by the pools and not being able to breathe b/c some inconsiderate person just HAS to light up right next to me. Im paranoid about this, yes, but I really hope It's not as bad as i think it is.

[cruisinqt]

Hurstcajun, after spending the day at Paradise beach and then shopping, we headed back to the cabin to rest. That night we went to the talent show which was hilarious-those cheerleading guys were soooo funny! :D We didn't spend much time around the pool that day as the weather was turning bad. We spent most of the time going to shows or scheduled activities like "win, lose, or draw' or "who wants to be a millionaire." We're hard to miss as my husband is 6'6" with a sturdy, stocky build and blond hair. I wore a dark outfit that night if I remember correctly, I have red hair, and one of my girls has blond hair and the other has brown hair. They are ages 5 and 7. I don't remember "certain beaded guests" maybe you could give a little more info. on that. Are you referring to the Jamaicans? Sorry, but I'm a little confused on this one.:confused:

 

Sgriff17, the only place I noticed smoke was around the casino area and some of the lounges when there was drinking and dancing.:( Many of my family members has asthma and are allergic to smoke. Even tho I don't have asthma, smoke does bother me quite a bit. Sometimes it actually makes me sick to my stomach. But I never once smelled smoke on the deck around the pools. I never smelled smoke in any of the eating areas either. When I went to the shows in the Toulouse Lautrec lounge, I was never bothered by smoke there either. The main places to avoid would be the casino, and any lounge where there's drinking and dancing going on. It seems to build up in these areas because it's so crowded. The lounges that didn't have any music or dancing going on seemed to be just fine as it wasn't crowded with people. The ship is well ventilated and smelling smoke wasn't an issue for me on this cruise. Don't worry, I don't think it will be as bad as you think it will be. As the Jamaicans would say, don't worry, be happy mon!:)

[hurstcajun]

I was referring to the gay and lesbian travel group that was on board. Some of their members were rude and nasty.

[pnjkeith]

Get over it scgriff17. You will enjoy the cigar lounges on board. Wonder why people spend so much time on these boards complaining about smoking. Get over it.....................

[fishinguspo]

Your review was well organized and well written, I am happy for you that your cruise was such as well spent vacation.

[hurstcajun]

QT, I meant Friday before last on your trip down from Cleburne. Did yall make it to Shreveport?

[cruisinqt]

Hurstcajun, it's funny how 2 different families can go on the same cruise and have such different experiences. I noticed the group you are referring to but never experienced the rudeness. It may be because we didn't spend much time in the dance clubs or lounges. We didn't go to any of the really late shows either because our kids got out of camp carnival at 10 pm and we wanted to spend some time with them and then put them to bed. So the rudeness may have been happening when they were partying and drinking late at night when we weren't around. I'm sorry they were rude to you and hope it didn't ruin your cruise.:(

 

Personally, I can understand anyones concern about smoke on ships. Many people worry because smoke makes them ill. I know this is something that many smokers don't understand, but it's true. Smoke can and does make some people quite ill.:( I think that's why some people get a little worried about the smoking issue on the ships. They are afraid it will make them ill. My brother has asthma and would immediately have an asthma attack if a smoker sat down beside him and lit up a cigarette. I have been known to turn green and lose the contents of my stomach when getting exposed to too much cigarette smoke. My doctor says it is a common occurence and I should just avoid smoky areas.

 

I also believe smokers have rights too and should be allowed to smoke if they wish. It's a free country. The problem for non-smokers is how to avoid the smoke. It does make some people ill. I think Scgriff17 was just looking for some reassurance that there would be some smoke free areas available, and there are. The smokers and non-smokers both seemed to get along on our cruise.:)

[cruisinqt]

Hurstcajun, sorry about the confusion, I thought you were talking about the Friday of our cruise. I assumed you were on our cruise. :(

 

Yes, we did make it to Shreveport Friday night. We stayed at the Jameson Inn off of Pines Rd. exit. We liked the area because it was pretty new with some nice restaurants and a Wal-Mart nearby. We gave our kids the option of what to do and they chose to go to the kids center at the Isle of Capri casino. That kids center is like a Chuck E. Cheeses inside with tons of games to play. They collected the tickets just like at Chuck E. Cheeses and redeemed them for prizes. While they were there, we checked out some of the casinos in the area. I can't for the life of me remember where we ate dinner.:confused:

[hurstcajun]

We were on your cruise. I think we saw your family Sunday morning when were in the cezanne rest. aft waiting to disembark. The description fits to a tee. Glad yall had a great time.

[Hamp 6.5]

I enjoyed your review.

 

Could you tell me about the dress code for dinner?

 

thanks,

[GoinCruisin]

Hamp, here ya go...

 

Is there a dress code for the dining room?Depending on the length of the cruise, either formal dress or casual resort wear is required in the Dining Room. The dress requirement for children is the same. For those not wanting to dress up, the Lido restaurants are open nightly (with the exception of the last evening of the cruise), and have a casual dress code. Formal Wear: tuxedo (optional); suit and tie; sport coat, tie and slacks; evening gown; cocktail dress; pantsuit Casual Resort Wear: sport shirts and slacks; dresses; skirts; pantsuit NOTE: Shorts, t-shirts and bathing attire are not permitted in the Dining Room during dinner.

[sgriff17]

pnjkeith - sounds like you are one of those obnoxious inconsiderate smokers that dont care about other people around them.

 

Get over it? This is a chat board buddy, I'll say what I want like everyone else. Gheez...some people are so freakin rude.

[DFD1]

Thanks, Cruisin....Great reveiw. Honest and well written. We're sailing on the Conquest end of January. Glad you like Mulate"s. We love the place.

[cruisinqt]

Hamp, in the formal dining area everyone I noticed dressed pretty nice. You would occasionally see someone wearing shorts since the dress code isn't really enforced, but for the most part, everyone dressed pretty nice. The couple of times I saw people in shorts and a t-shirt, they got rude looks and stuck out like a sore thumb.:eek: My husband usually wore cotton dockers and a nice collared shirt, not a t-shirt. I wore nice pant suits and my girls had blouses and skorts. Skorts look just like nice skirts on the outside but are made like shorts underneath which is perfect since they headed straight for camp carnival after dinner.:)

[CaribbeanCrazy]

I can't believe that the Sunset beach resort was only 20.00 per adult...and that included food, alcohol and water toys!!! What a deal!!! I wish we were going to Mo Bay on our western intinerary! Usually these all inclusive hotels want at least 45.00 to 50.00pp for day passes.

Thanks for all the info.

CaribbeanCrazy

[Hamp 6.5]

Thanks or the previous reply.

 

Does anyone know the nights for formal night? and

 

Can you walk over form the Hilton to the pier? or is it extremely crowded?

 

 

thanks,

Hamp 6.5