Belated Cruise Review-Conquest

[hillorama]

Our cruise history has been varied. My first cruise, my husband and I had bunk beds and a porthole, on a cruise to Jamaica 37 years ago, then there was a HAL to the Mexican Riviera in 1977, where we had our children with us and interior cabins; then a family reunion on Carnival on the Mexican Riviera in 1987 and our room did have windows. After that, we started going to Europe regularly and were extremely self-sufficient travelers. Then we booked a cruise about ten years ago with a group of people that we have much in common with for fall colors on the Seven Seas Navigator, and we were ruined people. It was like our hotel just followed us all over and we were hooked.

Since then we've done England and the Mexican Riviera on Crystal, and on Regent we've done the Baltics, Greece, Italy, maybe eight cruises in all but can't remember them all.

We decided we would take our eight younger grandchildren on us one at a time (except for the twins) each year, the eldest first, on a cruise. But we felt they would hate Regent/Crystal as they are more staid.

So we booked Carnival for our trip with Sheridan. It was out of Galveston to the W. Carib.

We flew Southwest to Hobby and the Holiday Inn came and picked us up and we got several hours of sleep before it was time to go to the airport for our Carnival transfer. We met a lovely couple, Ron and Marla, at breakfast that morning and they were going on the cruise also. The Holiday Inn took us back to the airport to pick up our transfer.

Carnival's transfer was a mistake. They were very, very late. When we got to the terminal, it must have been 3 pm and there were hordes of people everywhere. Fortunately, we had VIP boarding (because we had a suite)

and we got on quickly.

It was with some trepidation that we booked Carnival. I lurked on these boards a lot beforehand, and I worried about the smoking and the drunken party people. Turns out, most of my fears were not justified.

We got onto the ship, and it was a madhouse in the atrium, and it was giving my husband the heebie jeebies, so I suggested that we go to our room. We had booked a category 11 suite, but then the upgrade fairy called and we paid for an upgrade to a 12, (but not much, however I note on my credit card bill that they billed me $100 more than we agreed upon! so I will be calling them tomorrow.)

The suite was really nice. A very long balcony and an extremely luxurious bathroom with lots of samples, and a whirlpool tub which I enjoyed a lot and my granddaughter enjoyed a lot. Sheridan had sailed on RCCL in a mini suite a few months before and she said our suite blew that suite away. She was impressed.

I'll be back after I harvest my virtual crops.

Love, Elena

[hillorama]

Virtual crops are not in yet; so on with the review. You may think we are nuts for getting a suite, but believe me, the price seemed so reasonable to us, (compared to the cost on Regent or Crystal) that three of us traveled for a week in a category 12 for less than it would have cost 1 1/4 of us to do on the other ships.

One thing I feel really bad about is that someone was going to have Mardi Gras beads at their door, and we were going to have a CC meet and greet but we got on the ship so late that it was immediately muster drill, and we watched the sail away as we were putting our life jackets away. That is, we put our life jackets away, realized that we were pulling out, and ran to the balcony to watch us depart. It was interesting to see Galveston, looks like they've recovered from Ike pretty well.

We were starving, went out on deck, and the only place serving food (that we could find) was by the pool at the Lido (Sheridan, otherwise known as Doodle, was already in the pool by the grill). It was an enormous line; now I know why. People were waiting for the french fries. Those french fries were amazing!!! We all got a burger (good) and french fries (to die for), managed to find a table, and ate. I felt so relaxed that I had a sail-away drink (I hardly ever drink). It's whatever they sell in the Carnival glass (plastic) on the first day. The bartender thought I was nuts because I asked him to put a little more juice in it, as it was too strong for me. Goes to show they don't hold back on the liquor, or water down their drinks. Once it had more juice, it was delicious, and it was even more delicious when I put some of the self-serve soft ice cream in it. About that ice cream: whenever I saw a dark haired elevenish girl walking around with a cone, I just assumed it was Sheridan. She and her grandpa (my husband) must have eaten Carnival into non-profit status just on the ice cream alone, but they smiled a lot!

Got to make dinner. Will be back. Hope I'm not boring you.

[firefly333]

Im sorry you were overcharged on your upsell by $100, could it be they said $100 and it was $100 pp or something misunderstood?

 

I hope you enjoyed your suite :D do you have pictures of the cat 12 on Conquest?

 

Im doing the B2B in sept on conquest, so cant wait to read the rest of your review. I prefer voyager out of Galveston, but that doesnt mean I dont like to cruise on whatever ship is available.

[flynnsport]

glad u told us about the transfer!

[hillorama]

Im sorry you were overcharged on your upsell by $100, could it be they said $100 and it was $100 pp or something misunderstood?

 

I hope you enjoyed your suite :D do you have pictures of the cat 12 on Conquest?

 

Im doing the B2B in sept on conquest, so cant wait to read the rest of your review. I prefer voyager out of Galveston, but that doesnt mean I dont like to cruise on whatever ship is available.

 

What they show as a category 11 on the website, is, as far as I can tell, a category 12. Na, it wasn't per day on the money, it was a flat rate. I'll call, I think they'll give me a credit.

 

I don't think we took any pix of the suite.

 

Would love to do a b2b someday! Enjoy it!

 

Love, Elena:)

[hillorama]

glad u told us about the transfer!

 

Do consider not using Carnival out of Galveston--it was a bummer.

Love, Elena:)

[WAcruisers]

Waiting for more!

[hillorama]

We went to dinner later that night, and I felt a little let down. The people were nice, but not friendly. All that changed on the second night when we were assigned to Elpedio's table--he and Antonio and M (well, it's an M name Matthew or Martin--didn't see him a lot) were so nice--called us by name, were all smiles, etc. We had open dining and we asked for Elpedio every time we ate in the dining room (which was every night).

This is as good a place as any to talk about the dining room food. The first night, I had tilapia which wasn't great--but it may just have been that plate. My husband had prime rib and he loved it, and Doodle had pasta, which she said was great. She tried the chocolate melting cake and didn't like it, even though I told her to order it with ice cream. To be honest, I wasn't nuts about it, either. I think I had creme brulee, and it was good. My husband, as always, had ice cream. Some of the things I loved in the dining room: the lamb, the shrimp appetizers, the caesar salads (really good), the Grand Marnier souffle was great, the bitter 'n blanc was to die for, I even loved their apple pie. Not much disappointed me except the lobster on the elegant evening, it was just sooooo salty. I thought the food was very, very good. As good as Regent or Crystal? Definitely not, but Carnival's food quality is remarkable considering the number of people they serve daily. Surely the six pounds I gained testifies to that. In other venues, the Reubens from the deli were very, very good. I had the fish and chips and thought they were good from Sur Mer, and I highly recommend the omelet man on the Lido--he would either do an omelet for me, or eggs over easy, which I love. The french toast at the Lido buffet was good and the passoguava juice was great.

The second morning of the cruise, we had been going to meet the lovely couple from the Holiday Inn breakfast for lunch in the Monet, but we slept until noon. They called, but there was no way we could get ready in time (three showers, etc.) It was very relaxing to sleep in. We did manage breakfast one morning in the Monet and I had the eggs benedict. I had read on this board to order the hollandaise on the side, and some lemons, so I did. When it came, the eggs were perfect, but the sauce was very bland, so I squeezed lemon juice into it, and they were great. Thought the Monet dining room was better looking than the Renoir. Of course, the downstairs in the Renoir looks better than the upstairs, too.

I describe the decor of the ship as "over the top". But I found that I enjoyed it, and as I have spent a lot of time in the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, I love French impressionists, and saw renderings of many of my favorites on the ship.

The third morning, we pulled into Jamaica. I booked our trip with Carnival, as I wanted to go to Ocho Rios and climb Dunn's River Falls (had been there 37 years ago! and loved it.) Had read on this board that the Jamaicans were unfriendly, and had experienced dislike of Americans 37 years ago, so just thought, all things being equal, to book through Carnival. The hike up the falls was amazing. My daughter says Doodle has talked and talked about it. Afterwards, we went to a beach break where they massaged your feet--oh, heavenly, and you had a private cabana. We had to make ours for two work for three, but Doodle hit the water, and only got out to have lunch. Lunch was a bar-b-que, hamburgers and cheeseburgers, and not really all that good. It's the one thing I think Carnival should try to have them improve on on this particular tour. The beach itself was okay, but not gorgeous. The water was very nice.

Our decision to go with Carnival was wise, because there was an accident and traffic barely moved on the way back. I would have been jumping out of my skin, if we had booked privately. However, when we got back, the ship wasn't moving and I was on the balcony watching people come back. The loading area was quiet for quite awhile, and here comes this couple, everyone applauds them, the gangplank gets taken back, and the ship left! Guess they must have called the ship, and the ship must have waited for them. Just two, so they must have been on their own. Our late arrival, and our own stupidity in not taking credit cards or enough cash with us, meant that my husband had to give up getting a tacky mug from Jamaica.

The next day, we were in Grand Cayman bright and early, but we had a later stingray and snorkel thing that I booked with International Marketing, I think. We had to leave the dock area, and find Captain Bryan's. I've been with Pacific stingrays before in Bora Bora, but these were huge! (the females, anyway). Then we snorkeled two different places. I have heard about gin clear water before, but this exemplifies it. Amazing water. Hated to leave the water. We sailed back to Georgetown. I bought some Cuban cigars for our sons. Sheridan and I had an ice cream in an ice cream parlor.

My husband went off in search of a tacky mug for his collection. He said he would meet us in the dock area, but good grief, the lines were so long, we never would have been able to find him. She and I got on the ship, and it was a long time before he came along, but he was so glad we didn't wait for him!

The next morning, we landed in Cozumel, on time, but a little later. I had booked Nachi Cocom, with a snorkel, for us. Originally the snorkel was to be at eleven, but I got nervous about it and rescheduled for one in the afternoon. We left the ship, got a cab, (it takes forever to get out of the dock area) and $15 + tip later, we were there and could have made the eleven snorkel! The food and drink there were great. My husband likes beer, and they just kept them coming. I think the waiter thought I was nuts because I ordered only one drink with alcohol, and then couldn't drink it, but their virgin pina coladas were great, and Doodle had been wanting one but since they were a fortune on the ship, I wouldn't let her have them. I think she wanted two appetizers, and they brought her two, no question or comment. The guacamole and the nachos were yummy! Going back to the ship, we had a little time to shop, and I got some Mexican vanilla, which is great, and Doodle got a set of bongo drums.

Then we had another at sea day. Doodle did the slide a lot, but my dh and I were sunburned, so we went out by the guest relations desk (used to be the purser) and there were great lounge chairs in the shade, it was quiet, and we read. Then I went to the art auction preview, and the art auction. Much to my surprise, I bought a painting, not too expensive. But I found they were selling more art (Park West, that is) on Crystal than I ever saw them sell on Crystal or Regent, they didn't sell their Leonardos, but a lot of very expensive paintings. It was freezing in there, I went back to our stateroom to get a shawl. A lot of people had their towels over them to keep warm. Maybe it was to keep people awake. My only complaint, is that the auction and the preview were too long.

After the auction, dh and I went to tea again, (we did the first sea day, too, but couldn't find Sheridan), and this time Sheridan joined us. She said it was the fanciest tea she had ever been to. Actually, I have been to fancier on other ships, but it thrilled me that she enjoyed it so much. She was sorry we didn't go all three sea days.

I had pre-registered her for Camp Carnival, but we missed the first meeting because the transfer got us there so late that we had missed lunch and were starving. I thought, being pre-registered, that she would get her own Capers for her age group from CC, but that didn't happen, and she only went one morning. Ten minutes after we left her there, she was in our room, looking for things for a scavenger hunt, which she loved doing. But she could never find anyone in her age group's room, and never knew what was going on, so didn't go but that one time.

I think she went on the second sea day. That evening, we had dinner at the Point, which is their $30 extra per person dining room-special venue, or whatever. We did enjoy it. I had read that service is spectacular there--we had better service from Elpedio at our dining room table. Doodle ordered escargots to start, so I ordered some kind of goat cheese in a soup thing, in case she didn't like the escargots, and my husband had a shrimp cocktail. Turns out Doodle loves escargots. My goat cheese thingy was great. Sheridan had the big filet mignon for her main course, my husband had the surf 'n turf, and I had the lobster. I thought the lobster was a little disappointing, my husband wished he had ordered the bigger steak and not the lobster part, and Sheridan scarfed down the steak. For dessert, Sheridan had the four little chocolate thingies (can't remember what it is called), dh had his usual ice cream, and I had the tarte tatin. When I ordered the tarte tatin, I was thinking like the ones you get in Paris, but this had no relationship to those, and I was a little disappointed. We definitely would go to the Point again, but only order the beef, rethink the desserts. I can say that if money is an object, don't regret not being able to go. Carnival's dining room is a great experience.

Things we loved: we had perfect weather and the seas were very calm. I loved the ship and how it was possible to find a quiet spot on deck to read. My smoking fears were unfounded. The first day, someone smoked on the balcony next to ours, and I thought "oh no!" but it never happened again. The waiters really hang around the deck chairs looking for orders, very convenient. We had prepaid our tips, had tipped our excellent cabin steward extra early on, but even on the last night in the dining room when I thought everyone would be looking for tips, nobody was. We did have extra tips prepared for Elpedio and his crew. We loved that there were a lot of girls on board Sheridan's age, so she was never lonely for friends. We loved our cabin, and the VIP embarkation and disembarkation.

Things that were not so great: room service, except for the hangers you put out for morning coffee, is nonexistent. No matter at what hour I called, or how often I called, there was just no way to get through, the line was always busy. It was very hard to get off the ship on port days, the lines were horrific. I think they could open another door and have other areas so everyone doesn't try to go the same way. The gangways were supposed to be listed in the Capers, but I never could find the listings. The thing that bothered me most, is that our cabin steward brought in the towel book and gave it to Sheridan, told her it was a gift. Four hours later, they gave her a bill for it (her, not us.) She said she didn't have enough towels to make the designs, so took it back. They took the robes out of our room on the last night, and we were going to sleep in them! Never had this happen on another ship before. I hated that they were ALWAYS trying to sell you something. There were a lot of drunk passengers coming from Margarita Jones when were getting back on the ship at Cozumel--my fears about drunks all over the place were unfounded, except there. One kind of accosted Sheridan. Sheridan went in swimming and left her sail and sign card wrapped in her towel. Someone stole it. She told a waiter, the waiter called security, they came and took her to the guest services, canceled the old card, issued her a new card; I was proud of her for knowing what to do.

Is this Regent or Carnival? No, it is a different experience; less culture, a lot of fun.

My dh and I loved their seaside theatre and watched two movies on different evenings out there. Sheridan always wanted to go to the shows, and she loved them. I saw no evidence of dental floss thongs on the girls. For them it is sell, sell, sell. On the other ships, you have already paid for everything before you get there and can't find much to pay for.

Btw, we had VIP disembarkation, thank heavens, or we would have had to do self assist, which I think is just another way to say "do it yourself" and we were among the first on the bus. On the way to the ship, that bus was so crowded, we were sitting on top of each other. NEVER EVER do a Carnival transfer.

We are going on the Paul Gaugin, which is owned by Regent just until the end of the year, and I booked another Regent cruise with the group we love to travel with today, so I have not given up luxury cruises.

But we have another grandchild cruise coming up next summer. I think Regent will be too staid for him. I think maybe he would enjoy the new Carnival Dream and the Eastern Caribbean--what do you think?

[firefly333]

I think the Dream would be a great choice, the only drawback is you fly into Orlando and have a long transfer like you did to Galveston. Nice quiet port to go out of.

 

I bet the kids love the Dream or they would love the new Oasis, if you dont mind a little more $$$, not as bad as Regent, but Oasis is kinda high, but will have lots of things for kids to do, even a zipline onboard.

[douglinc@msn.com]

Thanks for the review, we are back on the Conquest 8-30.

 

Doug

[hillorama]

I think the Dream would be a great choice, the only drawback is you fly into Orlando and have a long transfer like you did to Galveston. Nice quiet port to go out of.

 

I bet the kids love the Dream or they would love the new Oasis, if you dont mind a little more $$$, not as bad as Regent, but Oasis is kinda high, but will have lots of things for kids to do, even a zipline onboard.

 

Who owns the Oasis?

Elena;)

[hillorama]

Im sorry you were overcharged on your upsell by $100, could it be they said $100 and it was $100 pp or something misunderstood?

 

I hope you enjoyed your suite :D do you have pictures of the cat 12 on Conquest?

 

Im doing the B2B in sept on conquest, so cant wait to read the rest of your review. I prefer voyager out of Galveston, but that doesnt mean I dont like to cruise on whatever ship is available.

 

Either, I misread the charge, or Carnival corrected it on their own, because when I went online today, it was the amount we agreed on! I could be having a senior moment!

Elena :D

[flynnsport]

Who owns the Oasis?

Elena;)

Royal Caribbean...it's their brand new, state of the art monster...it even has an aqua theatre on the aft end of the ship!

[Ms. Fun Bunch]

Great honest review. I enjoyed it. I agree take your grandson on the Dream and I bet he will love it.

[boaterette]

Nice review. Since you asked what we think I think you should adopt me and take me on Regent.lol

[hillorama]

Nice review. Since you asked what we think I think you should adopt me and take me on Regent.lol

Always looking for more grandchildren!

Elena :D