Conquest April 12-19, 2009 Review

[sailincajunns]

Background Information

We are 50+, and this was our 12th/ 13th cruise, and our 9th/ 8th on Carnival. Conquest is the largest ship we have cruised, and one of the newest. We are very much ‘take the weather with you’ folks who try not to let any single situation or event ‘rain on our parade’. We see cruises as an opportunity to relax and put aside the stresses of everyday life…..

Travel to port of Embarkation

We drove in the Saturday prior to our departure from S.E. Louisiana. There was construction on I-45 so we took the suggestion of a buddy on the Cruise Critic boards and used the Texas Hwy 146 route, GREAT CALL.

Hotel Info

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort in Galveston, TX the night before our departure, since we live approximately 7 hours from Galveston (near Thibodaux, LA). The hotel is a very nice facility, and shares adjacent space with a Rainforest Café (where we enjoyed our pre-cruise dinner). The hotel offers a complementary parking/shuttle service. Rate was about $200.00 including the traditional ‘stick it to the visitor’ taxes and fees. The shuttle service to the dock was very efficient and it was very nice to not have to deal with the traffic and the parking.

Stateroom

Our cabin (8459) was an aft balcony room on Verandah. We LOVE aft cabins, and this one was no exception. There was no issue with noise from above or below, and the extended balcony was quite nice, thank you. I was a little surprised that Carnival did not replace the TV’s with the flatscreens as they have been doing in more ‘upgrades’ recently. Our TV actually had a section that was always “green”, no matter what was on. The light on our balcony would not function, but that was not a problem for us.

Ship Info

As stated, this is the largest ship we have sailed (the only newer was when we sailed the Celebrity Horizon on her second voyage many years ago) We have found that the larger Carnival ships are well designed to handle the larger number of passengers, and this ship was no different. There were very few times you would ever have guessed she was sailing full with over 3,000 guests. The ship was recently in dry dock for a ‘facelift’ that included the “Theater under the Stars” screen and replacement of the bedding. Considering Conquest is nearly 7 years in service, she is in really nice condition, overall.

Dining

We were in Renoir, table 232 (table for 2), late seating (as requested). Our waiter (Gideon) and his assistant (Agus) were the best dining room team we have ever encountered on any of our cruises. They were efficient, friendly, attentive and very much added to the experience. Food quality was good, but we have seen a trend to smaller portions over the years (not always a bad thing). The menus posted on the stateroom TV did not always match the actual menu in the dining room, which can create issues with making plans. We did ever dinner and several lunches in the dining room, and use the Lido deck restaurant for breakfast and some lunches. We did have our first supper club experience, which we thought was simply wonderful. The only negative is that no one on board would tell us what the main dining room menu was ‘in advance’ so we could plan which day to reserve for the supper club. The food and atmosphere in the Point was top notch. I’ve seen conflicting information on boards about whether or not the $30.00 per person ‘fee’ includes the gratuity, so I do with someone (Carnival) could make that 100% clear.

Activities

We enjoy the more ‘laid back’ aspects of cruising, so we are not the biggest fans of the on-board activities. We did take part in the Tuesday evening “Mardi Gras” deck party, which was a blast, and Judy did play one game of Bingo (for tradition’s sake) For those who enjoy structured activities, there seemed to be many to pick from at any given point in time.

Children’s Clubs

We did not sail with kids on this trip, but we have in the past. I think the Camp Carnival staff should be at the top of the pay structure. They do an amazing job. And when you are sailing without kids, having all those kids ‘tended to’ and to some degree ‘taken care of’ makes for a much nicer and more quiet experience, as well.

Service

As is often stated, our Cabin Steward (Glenn) did an amazing job and was the most fluent and conversational Cabin Steward we have ever encountered. To his credit, he was virtually ‘invisible’ the first couple days of the cruise, but once we showed a willingness to interact and converse, he we amazingly engaging. We noted on our comment card that Glenn would be a real asset on the ‘Social’ team on board (I hope he considers that a good thing) We were real pleased to see the Where Next kiosk on this ship, and worked with Hai to book a July 20, 2009 sailing on Fascination, and also put a deposit down on another non-specific future sailing. Awesome service from Hai. The only negative service experience we encountered is probably an opportunity for Carnival to shine. We met a wonderful couple on our Dunn’s River Falls climb. The gentleman was VERY helpful in getting Judy up some of the larger, more difficult points in the climb. We made it a point to get their cabin number, and had decided to ‘give them’ a bar credit in appreciation. Seemed like something that would be simple to do, right? Not. The purser’s desk said they had no such service, but it would be available via the Formalities shop. The young lady staffing Formalities had no clue what were asking, much less any clue how to make it happen. She directed us to a bar, where again, the person tending bar had no clue. We eventually just purchased their photo from that excursion and a frame, and were lucky enough to have their cabin steward place it in their cabin for us. Surely, when there are friends and families travelling together, there should be a way to send a ‘note’ and a ‘gift’ from one guest to another???

Entertainment

If there was a ‘weak link’ in the package, I would have to say entertainment would have been it. We did enjoy that the evening entertainment for ‘late dining’ guests was BEFORE dinner, as opposed to after dinner as has been the case on most all our other cruises.

Sunday evening, the welcome aboard show with the Carnival dancers/singers was quite nice.

Monday evening, the ‘Point and Click’ production number seemed more ‘pointless’.

Tuesday evening, Ron Joseph “Motown” was very entertaining.

Wednesday evening, Lady Hellevi…….let’s just say it may have gotten better as it progressed, but we did not stay around long enough to find out.

Thursday evening, Formidable was a French-themed production……did nothing for me. That evening, we really enjoyed the R-rated comedy show by Marc Rubben.

Friday evening, Juggling by Manuel Zuniga, I must say it started pretty ‘rocky’, but he did a great job of interacting with the audience, and interjecting comedy…….and some of the juggling (can you say pool balls) was really amazing. I mean, we were on a moving vessel. Hats off to Mr. Zuniga.

Saturday evening, we did not attend the “Legends” show. Sorry, I don’t know that I consider ‘guest talent’ to be a real treat……….. at least not worthy to compete with a last, quiet evening enjoying the balcony and our cabin.

Shore excursions

Montego Bay…….. we selected the Dunn’s River Falls climb. We both managed to get our 50+ bodies up the falls, and it was an amazing experience that I strongly suggest to anyone who thinks they MIGHT want to do such a thing. The cost was well worth the experience. It’s the first time we’ve ever purchased a ‘souvenir’ DVD, and I have to say it was worth the $45.00 price. We needed evidence to prove we actually made the climb as no one that knows us would ever believe it otherwise. HOWEVER, the gauntlet of ‘vendors’ you are made to run after the climb was the low-point of the cruise. This was our first visit to Jamaica, and I have no desire to return. The ‘vendors’ were aggressive to the point of being threatening. The ‘game’ was to ‘give’ you something (beads) and then demand a ‘donation’……and tell you the amount of the donation expected. Sorry, BIG problem, Man.

Grand Cayman……….we have been to G.C. several times, so took the opportunity to simply walk the downtown area and so some shopping. We visited the Hard Rock Café store and picked up some T-shirts and other souvenirs. G.C. is always beautiful, and the people are as friendly here as the Jamaicans were aggressive.

Cozumel………again, this is such a repeat port, we had considered simply staying on board, but decided instead to book the Cozumel Highlights and Shopping” tour. Our guide Alex was outstanding, and the visit to the 1,000 year old Mayan temple was amazing, as were the views on the East side of the island, which we had never before visited. We enjoyed the stop at the Tequila ‘museum’ for the tasting, and picked up a few small “sample size” bottles for friends and family. They end the tour at the Forum Stores, and allow you 1.5 hours to shop (or have lunch), and then take you back to the pier. We had a great time, and enjoyed a side of Cozumel we had not seen.

Disembarkation

Galveston seems to be famous (or notorious) for late arrivals, and ours was delayed due to the port being closed Saturday night due to a sever squall that came through the area. We did not arrive at the dock until 10 A.M., rather than the 7 A.M. scheduled arrival. As you might guess, that resulted in the arrivals and departures all attempting to make use of the same space/terminal/parking shuttles at the same time. We were at the shuttle pick up site at 1:00 PM, and called the Holiday Inn at that time…..to be told the shuttle was ‘in traffic’ but on the way. At 2:00 PM, we had not yet seen a single shuttle from the Holiday Inn, but the driver from the La Quinta was gracious enough to pick us up and deliver us safely back to our vehicle.

Summary

There are no bad cruises. The worst cruise we have ever taken was still a great vacation experience, and when you have the luxury of having multiple ports of departure within a one-day drive, you cannot beat the value equation. Conquest has become our favorite (so far) Carnival ship. Overall, she had one of the best teams of crew we have encountered. The vessel is lovely and the Impressionist theme is well carried out throughout the ship. The only area I think Carnival needs to work on is main Theater entertainment, and the issue of Purser desk staffing not always being able to find the right answer.

[jimbo5544]

Thanks for the detailed review. You are correct, there is no such thing as a bad cruise. Glad you enjoyed yours so much.

[kwbound]

Thanks for the review. Glad you had a good time. We are going to be on the Conquest in 4 weeks.

 

Were you able to bring your sample sizes of tequila back to your stateroom when you reboarded the ship?

[sailincajunns]

They 'checked' the sample size Tequila at the gangway, and it was hand-delivered to us on the Saturday evening at the end of the cruise. If you like creme liquors, the 'creme tequila' has a wonderful and unique flavor. :)

[kwbound]

We are going to Cozumel for 5 days on a land vacation in July. We're planning on doing the tequila museum. I'll definitely have to try the creme tequila.

 

I asked about bringing it back on the ship because we are going back to Coz next summer on a cruise.

[Carguylee]

Thanks for the review!

[Cajunguy]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. As you mentioned in my review of the same trip on the conquest, we stayed a couple of rooms down from you, also an aft balcony.

 

Out room attendant happened to be in the hall when we first entered our room on Sunday and gave us a short intro. He told us that it was captains orders that all balcony lights be disabled after dusk. He did explain it but I was only half listening due the jaw dropping view upon entering our balcony for the first time lol.

[Cruise Cat]

Thanks for the review!!!

[RAVI360]

thanks for the review