CONQUEST - Things you wish you knew before boarding

[Cinderellie]

Hello! My New Jersey family of 4 -- we're in our mid 40's, with two sports-loving kids -- a boy 14 and a tomboy girl 10 -- just made reservations on the Conquest out of New Orleans on August 29th.

What things surprised YOU -- or you wish you had known before you stepped foot on the Conquest?

Or, little-known tips for making the cruise more enjoyable -- that would be helpful as I plan.

I am busily reading up other reviews for tips, but wanted to post this.

Thanks in advance! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Cinderellie

[sea_u_onboard]

Since you have sports minded Kids I think this will be your best tip -

Have them bring their own Basketball. The basketball court isn't big - but the kids had fun WHEN they could get a ball. It was a real hassle. At the time we went the kids had to check the ball out at the pursers deck and have it returned by a certain time. Nothing special about the ball but if it comes up missing they expect you to pay for it. If they like to shoot hoops it will be worth it to bring their own.

The second tip would be to bring pants with elastic waist bands - you will have PLENTY of food choices.

Enjoy your cruise.

-- Cheryl

****Proud member of O.A.T.C.****
Check out my Homepage in my profile for Conquest info

10/99 Fantasy
12/01 Inspiration
03/02 Inspiration
03/03 Conquest

Short one on the Celebration
http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=000080&cdt=2004;7;31;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0600
JULY 31, 2004

[Brneyznfl]

The ship is so huge, I wish I had studied the deck plan more. I think I missed some areas to see only because I didn't take the time to figure out where they were. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

http://www.bigotis.com/Glory/Atom.gif (BrneyznFL@aol.com)

Next Cruise! Miracle 2/13/05

Triumph, Inspiration, Holiday, Explorer of the Seas, Granduer of the Seas, Glory Hounds I, Conquestadors

[rcsort]

Get to the port early. We arrived around 10:30 and were onboard eating lunch at 12:00.

Like getting an extra day!

Enjoy your cruise!!!

Pete & Lisa

Carnival Conquest 3/04

Days til Miracle Partae Pirates Cruise from Tampa
http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2005;02;13;16;0;00&timezone=GMT-0600
http://hometown.aol.com/build17/myhomepage/partaepiratessmallsmall.gif?mtbrand=AOL_US

[cruise50]

http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gifWe enjoyed this cruise last yr. Spring BRK with our sons ages 18 and 17 . Really a fun time. The area where the bars and shows are is quite chilly esp. in the evening Take some sort of wrap for women. Maybe men take a jacket. Otherwise it si a beautiful adn huge ship but very navigable. Have FUN. They have a teen only disco area which is really nice. Cant say enough good about it .
Fantasy 1999
Norwegian Sea 00
Celebration 01
Enchantment of the Seas 2001
Inspiration 02
Conquest 03
Elation 04(July)

[JohnnyO]

Ahh Yea....because I didn't study all of the deck plans....not all decks go from "fore-to-aft"...meaning that only a few decks actually have a place to walk from the front of the ship to the back(dining rooms,casinos,lounges are in the way)...I found that besides the lower decks that are all cabins, Deck 5 will allow you to walk from fore to aft....

This was important to me at the time but if I would have known this before I boarded...I probably would have never found the internet lounge.

JohnnyO

[bencruzN]

Get there as early as they will let you. NO needs to work in embarking, take a light jacket. If you have been to Jamaica before, skip it and stay on the ship. That was my lest favorite place. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif Otherwise enjoy!!

[CruisinTXGal]

OMG I can't wait. We haven't even booked yet, but I am looking so forward to seeing the Conquest! Thank you for starting this thread! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif DH and I plan on going next March.

http://img48.photobucket.com/albums/v148/unfettered_001/sig%20pics/cruiselydiaA.gif

Elation, here we come again! 10/17/04
http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;10;17;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0600

Elation 3/28/04

[Megandie]

Make sure as soon as you get on board that you find the maitre di and make sure you get the table and seating time that you want.

AFTER you do that, explore the ship..take time to get to know it before you set sail...it's fun too!

After the luggage is delivered and all the stewards and stewardesses are on their floors make sure you meet yours and make nice with him/her...they will be your best friend for the cruise...along with your waiter and busboy!

Remember that being on a ship is like being in a strange city. There are strangers on the ship and if you have children you want them to be safe. (Once when I first started sailing years and years ago, I was roaming around the ship and ended up waaaayyyyy down below somewhere in the bowels of the ship...thank God someone led me out...or I'd still be there!) http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif

Most important of all....hang loose, lay back and enjoy being pampered and waited on for your vacation....you deserve it! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

[RWolver672]

If your cabin has a refridgerator which most of them do, your cabin steward will have to unlock it's door. Have him remove the articles in it so that you can use it. Beware; the stuff in it is very expensive if you take it.

Dick
"To Sea or Not To Sea"
~~^~~Sea Ya!~~^~~
Destiny 02-28-99
Victory 02-24-01
Conquest 02-09-03

[footballmom]

You guys are great! Cruising on the Conquest in November and already keeping a file of the great tips from this board! Some people at my house say I'm being too organized!

11/14 Conquest cruiser
http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=FFA000&cdt=2004;11;14;18;00;00&timezone=GMT-0600

[Fran Velardi]

Now you people have me excited! (not that I wasnt already!) I am going on the Conquest in June, and I am so excited I could burst! I will be watching these threads now to see what other useful info I can come up with, Thanks so much, one thing, are there hair dryers in the rooms? oh and is there a laundry facility I can throw in a load in case I run out of undies or something? thanks again!

Triumph 2002
Legend 2003
Conquest 2004

[CRUIZIN SUZAN]

yes and yes- hairdryers in the room though I have read many a post that they are low-power. If you have room, bring your own. Yes there is self serve laundry for "undies"!

[CruiseSlacker]

There is a disco for teens and there are a lot of video games for kids in there. Bring quaters.


Aegina/Poros/Hydra 9/00
Miriam(on the Nile) 10/00
Celebration of Birthday 10/01
Holiday in S. Caribbean 1/19/02
Divine Inspiration 6/9/02
New Conquest 12/1/02
Golden Princess Trans Atlantic (FLL-BCN) 4/26/03

[MrCruzeaddict]

Thanks for all the great info. We are sailing on the Conquest on Halloween '04. Halloween & New Orleans...What a combo.


Joe<---Sailing with a group of around 100!!

Conquest (Sleazy III)10/31/04 My 25th !

[footballmom]

I was in New Orleans a few years ago for Halloween!! I drank a couple of Hurricanes at Pat O'Brien's in the flaming fountain courtyard with Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley! It was a blast!! Enjoy.........

11/14 Conquest cruiser
http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=FFA000&cdt=2004;11;14;18;00;00&timezone=GMT-0600

[shj]

Our kids were 11 and 7 when we went in February. We brought lanyards and plastic sleeves to hold the kids' sail-n-sign cards and soda cards. We also brought rolls of quarters for the arcade - just from the random change collected during the year prior (I ended up using some of them for laundry). It took us until halfway through the trip to figure out that you could purchase tokens in the arcade on your sail-n-sign card for a discount, something like $6 worth for $5 charge. We also brought along two-way radios so we could find each other (kids-to-parents and vice-versa) when separated.

For the actual embarkation, we should have remembered some smaller bills to tip the luggage guys (ended up giving a big tip, but the bags showed up!). And we got hungry in the yellow chairs and bought nachos junk from the concession stand. Should have had a small snack beforehand to stave us off for the big lunch on board! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif

And finally, be sure you have a cell phone and relevant phone numbers -- local tour agencies for excursions booked outside the cruise line, rental car agencies, travel agent. Carnival cancelled excursions in Grand Cayman, but Cap'n Marvin's didn't, so we were able to confirm before going over there. We were diverted to a different port on return and were able to call and book a rental car to get us back to N.O. and avoid the buses (don't ask, too much said on this board already), and so on. The phone and phone list came in handy.

[Cyt4SoreEyes]

I agree with everyone else about the conquest..but just wanted to add for all of you soon to be Conquest Cruisers...your gonna love the Conquest..she is gorgeous!! Make sure you check out both dining rooms!! Happy Cruising!!

Cyt

Atlantic
Oceanic
Norway
Enchantment of the Seas
Destiny
Voyager of the Seas
Conquest March 30th 2003
Glory May 29th 2004

[Kevin T Brown]

Conquest is a gorgeous ship and it IS huge! You definitely need a "plan" the first day of where to go and what to do. As someone else has suggested, get to the port early, 10:30 is perfect, even though they authorities there will grouse about you being "too early". Do expect chaos at the port though. Both in getting on and off the ship. They don't quite have a "system" down yet. LOL! Taxis are at a premium, be prepared to be rather forceful in grabbing one when you disembark.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/images/baseball/mlb/logos/cubs_45.gif http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/images/smilies/greenlanthal.gif http://www.comixtreme.com/forums/images/smilies/flash.gif

http://skins.hotbar.com/skins/mailskins/em/030203/030203usf_prv.gif

05/24/03 Celebration -- Our first cruise!

12/07/03 Conquest

11/01/04 -- Fascination!
http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=008080&cdt=2004;11;1;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500

[almitra]

The spa tour takes place at 2 p.m. the first day, so be there at least 10 mins before that to 'volunteer' for free spa treatements (as a model)....you can get hundreds of $$$ worth of spa treatments for nuttin'. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif


Militant Breastfeeding & Homebirth Proponent-Sandra Carmichael

Mardi Gras 6/79
Mardi Gras 6/79
(back to back cruises)
Celebration 8/02
Splendour of the Seas 3/03
Jubilee 7/03
Conquest 1/04
Celebration 1/04
Elation 2/04
Elation *coming again* 1/05

[piggs]

I'd like to add that I used the hair dryer in the room and had no problems with it, but I did not use it for major styling, just drying.
Lori


Conquest 8/03

Second Cruise~ Conquest here we come again!
http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=000080&cdt=2004;6;27;18;0;00&timezone=GMT-0600
<a href="http://www.escati.com/counter98/free_time_codes.htm">
http://escati.linkopp.net/logos/time98.gif

[NikkiFer]

Take a lot of pictures!!! Once again, I am upset that I didn't take enough pictures of the ship.

Karaoke is a BLAST!!!

Make sure that you get your reservations for the supper club early.

Take some smaller bills to tip.

Jamaica was wonderful IMHO, check out the port of call board and you will find lots of neat ideas on what to do. We did hear from someone onboard who did a ship tour where they were in the rainforest and did some sort of gliding or something cool. Lots of fun stuff to do!

Have a great time!

Nikki
(O.A.T.C. & Proud of it!)

<marquee direction=right width=45%>Mariner of the Seas 09-19-04!</marquee>
http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=006400&cdt=2004;9;17;13;00;00&timezone=GMT-0800
Carnival Miracle 02-13-05!
http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=191970&cdt=2005;2;11;11;00;00&timezone=GMT-0800

http://www.bigotis.com/royalsmallwide.gif

Triumph 09/08/01, Holiday 04/17/02, Inspiration 01/19/03, Triumph 05/10/03, Ecstacy 09/15/03, Conquest CONQUESTADORS!! 01/11/04

http://www.animationlibrary.com/Animation11/Words/New/new_14.gif Check out my pictures!
http://community.webshots.com/user/nikkifer

[oceantravel]

If you haven't yet...read my review below. Lot's of information. The thing that helped the most was the deck plans card that I made. It's in my review. Love the padded lounge chairs outside the door by the information deck (deck 3).

Patti

My Conquest Review (http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=969097554&m=571102001)

http://images.animfactory.com/animations/animals/dolphins/dolphins_jump_md_wht.gif

http://www.gifs.net/animate/aadog.gif