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

[jleq]

Does anyone know the nights for formal night?

 

Monday and Thursday. Monday is a "sea day"....whereas you'll be in Grand Cayman on Thursday.

[KandMGIn]

Ok! Great review! We go in January and I am soooo excited. OP, you are doing everything we are except for cozumel. We are doing Chankanaab. You mentioned that you ate in NOLA at Mothers and had a fantastic PoorBoy. Was it crowded when you went? What time did you go at? My parents are coming along on this cruise and they ate at Mothers 32 years ago on their honeymoon! They are hoping to do it again. Glad to hear it is still good. Thanks for the review!

[cruisinqt]

KandMGin, that's funny that you're doing Chankanab this time. We did Chankanab last time and didn't really like it, so we did Paradise this time and loved it. There's nothing wrong with Chankanab, it's just that you have to go down steps to get into the water there. It's really more geared towards snorkelilng. There's just one small beach area set aside where you can actually walk into the water without having to use steps. The snorkeling is good, but it pales in comparison to the snorkeling you'll do at Grand Cayman on the stingray tour. What we were really looking for in Cozumel was just a very pretty normal beach where you can walk right into the water. We found that at Paradise. That was the best beach we've ever been to in Cozumel.:D

 

Mothers had a waiting line when we went, but it was dinner time. Though the food was well worth the wait!:) Mother's is walking distance from the Hilton and the food is some of the best I've ever had, you really need to go there.;)

[KandMGIn]

Thanks for the Info! My parents and husband really want to do a helmet dive, my parents friends want to just lay on the beach, and with the little kids, I figured that it is easiest if we have 6 adults to care for them. So we can all go to this place together and, maybe my DH and I can actually do something together while my parents watch the kids. Sneaky huh! I am hoping that this beach will be good for this reason. Paradise beach did sound nice though! Is it an all inclusive like sunset?

[cruisinqt]

No, Paradise isn't an all inclusive, but it's the prettiest beach in the area IMHO. The only beach that I've heard of that's prettier is at Passion Island, and it's pretty expensive. Access to the beach is free, if you want to play with their water toys, it's only $5 per person to use everything on the beach. That includes climbing the huge floating iceberg and sliding off into the water afterwards, the water trampoline (which is a blast), the kayaks, snorkel gear, and floating mats. It saves a lot of time and money. Chankanab charges $12 per person to get in and everything else costs extra including the snorkel gear. We figured not only would we be able to forgo bringing our own snorkel gear or paying the extra fee to rent one, we would also be saving lots of extra $$$$ by not paying the pricey entrance fee. With a family of four, some of the extras these beaches charge can get a little expensive. Plus, there's lots more sandy beach area for our kids to build sandcastles at in Paradise. At Chankanab, none of the sand was wet enough to build a decent sandcastle except at the small normal beach area, and it was pretty crowded. :(

 

Don't get me wrong, Chankanab is a nice beach, it's just more geared towards snorkeling which we weren't really looking for because we did plenty of that at Grand Cayman and Jamaica. And it does have a nice garden path that's very pretty with a nice replica of the Mayan ruins. We got some nice pictures there, plus we saw some cool iquanas along the garden path. Chankanab is pretty, but with a family of four on a budget, we balked at the entrance fee and the cost of using all of the extras. Plus we were just looking for a normal beach to relax at, so Paradise beach fit our needs to a tee. We will definitely be going there again.:D

 

Oh, by the way, right next door to Paradise is a really nice guy that offers a variety of stuff. He's got a pretty nice boat and was offering some good deals on parasailing. I saw several people do it but I was too chicken. He also had some nice water crafts to rent like seadoos. He offered several types of water sports at good prices. PB Tom on the Cozumel board might be able to tell you what else he offers. I don't think he offers the helmet dive though.:(

 

Hey, if I could leave the kids with my parents while my husband and I spent some quality time together, I would do it in a heartbeat! Go for it and enjoy!:D

[monana]

CONQUEST 1/16/05

I will be on

the same cruise you are and I have already been on this cruise once. We should meet on the boat or something. I am going to be traveling with my husband and my sister and her husband and his brother. Write me back if your interested.

[Runner Girl]

Finally! Something on this board about the Conquest! Thanks for the great review! Can't wait to sail her!

[cruisecrazypat]

I am also one of the 'soon to cruise the Conquest.' Great to the point review!!!

 

Can't wait!!

[my2dogs]

Thanks for the review. We leave this Sunday! We were on the Conquest in February and didn't get to go to Jamaica or Grand Cayman. What's it like on those two mornings? Is it jammed packed with everyone trying to get off all at once? I heard that for Grand Cayman you have to get a number. Is it those who book an excursion through Carnival or does everyone get a number? How long does it take to actually get onto Grand Cayman? Thanks for any info.