Tuckers Mom

Hello! My husband and I are considering booking one of the Havana Aft View Extended Balcony rooms on deck 7 or 8 on the Horizon.  If there is anyone who has cruised in one of these rooms, would you let me know how you like it?  Specifically, we are wondering about the balcony and whether any of it is covered or not.  Looking at the deck plans, it appears that the ones on deck 6 are not, but that the ones on deck 7 or 8 might be.  Thank you in advance for any feedback you can provide. 

Thank you all for your help. After some discussion, my husband and I decided not to book one of these rooms.  We looked at other cruises available during the time we wish to go and ended up booking an ocean view midship on Deck 2 on the Radiance. Now we just have to be patient until April, 2021!

Hi there.  My husband and I are thinking about booking a cruise on the Breeze during the current Cyber Sale.  I tried a mock booking for an ocean view room. Carnival offered me a room on deck two (which is fine) at the very back of the ship...one of the rooms that run across the back of the ship.  Has any one ever stayed in one of these rooms?  I am wondering about size (they look a bit smaller on the deck plan), noise and how much motion you feel, etc.  We have stayed near the back of a ship before but never right in the back. 

Any advice or opinions would be welcome...thank you in advance.

I was trying to browse the excursions yesterday and it was doing all sorts of funny things...couldn't look at anything.

What a beauty!  Can't wait to sail on her next May.  Thank you very much for posting those pictures...especially the third from last.  It gave me a great look at where our balcony room is!

Hit another milestone today...under 200 days.

So...199 days until we sail on Conquest in May, 2019.  Seems like a long time but considering the countdown began at 405 days, maybe its not so bad!😀

We stayed there last year and went to Mcdonald's for breakfast. When you exit the front door of the hotel, turn left then left again at the light (it will be a quick left). The Mcdonald's was a block or two up. We had plenty of time after breakfast so we went over to Bayside for a quick wander around and I don't remember seeing any of the restaurants open for breakfast, although it is entirely possible that I missed one if it was open.

We were on the Glory in April, 2017 and our muster drill was awful too. Stood outside for about 45 minutes, after the drill started a half hour late. It was very frustrating. Someone would broadcast a message that we all needed to be quiet, as the drill would be starting soon...so everyone was quiet...minutes passed and the drill did not start...everyone started talking again...then someone would broadcast a message that we all needed to be quiet...and around and around we went! We were supposed to sail at 4, but didn't get underway until after 5 which bothered me a bit as it was my husband's first cruise and I wanted to be able to stay on deck for sail away and longer but we had to get ready for dinner...guess we should have opted for the buffet. Turned out to be a fantastic cruise...we are now eagerly waiting for our May, 2019 cruise on the Conquest.

Holy wow! Yesterday must have been upsell day at Carnival. We got an offer too...for our May 18, 2019 sailing on Conquest. From a balcony room (7411) on deck 7 (which we got through a previous upsell offer) to a balcony room on deck 10 (1066). We took a look at the deck plans and other than 1066 being a little more mid-ship than our current room, we couldn't see how it would be much better. The price was $56.00...but we're in Canada so with the current exchange rate (ouch), it would have been closer to $75.00 for us...we turned it down.

So that is two offers we have received from them on a cruise that is almost a year away...seems odd but I'm not complaining...this is only our 2nd Carnival cruise.

Get there when it starts or everybody else will pick it clean. It's one of those things that I usually forget about until it's almost over. Probably best anyway....sure don't need to add to the sugar and calorie count!

What? There are calories on a cruise?!? Everything I know is wrong!!! ;)

I would love it if Carnival would put an actual pool in the Serenity area, not just hot tubs.

And if I might sneak in a second item: get rid of the shower curtains and put in shower doors like the RCCL ships (at least the ones I have been on). No matter how I fiddled with the curtain, I flooded the bathroom every time I took a shower when we were on Glory last year. And I realize that this would be a huge, costly thing to do for ships now in service but for new ships just in the planning stages...please!

We booked in early April to sail on the Conquest on May 18, 2019. We got an upgrade offer (Oceanview on Deck 2 to Balcony on Deck 7 for $118...took it) on May 24...so almost a year in advance of our sailing. We wondered if a group was perhaps trying to book rooms together and we were in the way. It just seemed like a very good deal to be receiving that far ahead of the sail date...but definitely not complaining. :D

Thanks for the review and pictures, especially the one of Honeymoon Beach. We were on an Eastern sailing on Glory last April. Our excursion took us to Honeymoon Beach as well and we loved it. It was quiet, not too crowded, the sand was nice and clean, the water clear and warm. We had a great time there. I am very glad to see that the hurricane didn't completely wipe it out.

The evening departure is probably because Conquest will be docking in Fort Lauderdale in the morning, disembarking all passengers and then heading to Miami for your cruise. Looks like you are on her first sailing out of Miami...the evening departure should be lovely. We will be on board on May 18, 2019.

Hi Jeff. Thank you to both you and Patti for the wonderful review and awesome pictures. My husband Scott and I are sailing on Conquest next May and very much enjoyed seeing some pictures of the ship. Your description and photos of Mr. Sancho's made the decision to go there for us! I have already made reservations. I will finally be able to cross something off my bucket list...I have always wanted to be able to swim up to the bar for a drink. I plan on doing so several times at Mr. Sancho's. We also enjoyed the pictures of your day at Half Moon Cay. We visited last year when we cruised on Glory and had such a great day...it is just lovely there. Looking forward to future reviews...happy cruising!

Which Conquest cabin? We were on her two weeks ago in cabin 7418 and we loved the location. Our only con for the room placement was we had any time dining. Our dining room was on 3, but we actually had to go past it, almost to the front of the ship and then down to get to it due to the galley, etc. Not worth not booking the same room again though.

Our new room will be cabin 7411. We have early seating dining and I am not completely sure which dining room that will be. We like to drop into the Skybox bar for a drink before dinner so I am thinking we may also end up with a nice pre-dinner stroll.

Hello! My husband and I are cruising on the Conquest, leaving out of Miami next May 18...a year away. I got an email today for an upgrade from our ocean view room on deck 2 to a balcony on deck 7 for $118.00. I did a quick check and the difference between an ocean view and a balcony for our cruise on the website was $340.00. So we decided to take it. It is a bit more towards the back of the ship than we are used to but we have staterooms above and below us, as well as being close to the elevators and stairs, which we like. I was surprised to get this offer so early...now looking forward to an upgrade offer to a suite! ;)

She (Conquest) is moving to Miami, although I do not know when. We are sailing on her in May, 2019 and leaving out of Miami. I hope for you that she moves after February. :)

We just booked a cruise on Monday (yup, I am doing the happy dance!) and it was the first time we booked directly with Carnival instead of through a travel agent. Before I booked, I called to make sure I understood the cancellation policy. We booked Early Saver so if we cancel prior to the final payment date, we will get a future cruise credit for the amount of our deposit, less $50.00 per person. We wanted to use the Easy Pay option so I asked about payments that were made that way. If we cancel before the final payment date, they will refund the payments to us through the credit card we made them on.

We just booked a cruise on Monday (yup, I am doing the happy dance!) and it was the first time we booked directly with Carnival instead of through a travel agent. Before I booked, I called to make sure I understood the cancellation policy. We booked Early Saver so if we cancel prior to the final payment date, we will get a future cruise credit for the amount of our deposit, less $50.00 per person. We wanted to use the Easy Pay option so I asked about payments that were made that way. If we cancel before the final payment date, they will refund the payments to us through the credit card we made them on.

Thank you all for sharing your experiences with me. I think I will probably call, but have the website open at the same time.

I also wanted to clarify my friend/travel agent's situation, as someone mentioned that if we book through Carnival, she will lose the commission on our booking. She has been away from work for several months, caring for her mother who is quite ill. Unfortunately, we have no idea when she will be back. If we knew she would be back within a few weeks we would wait because we know how tough it is to make a living these days. However, it looks as though that will not be the case which is why we are considering booking directly with Carnival. As soon as she is back, we will be working with her again.

Thanks again...hope you all have a great weekend.

I was just wondering if any of you have booked directly through Carnival and if you have found any advantages or disadvantages doing so, given the difference in countries. We usually book through a friend who is a travel agent but she is away tending a sick relative. So I was wondering if I should just go ahead and book our cruise myself through either Carnival's website or by calling them.

Thank you in advance for your advice.😀

I am sorry that I have not been able to get more posted. Work really does get in the way of everything. I will get the review done, but it will be on a slow but sure basis. Hopefully another installment or two this week.

Here is part two. Hopefully admin won't feel the need to remove it for a third time for inappropriate language. Sorry that it is now out of order.

Here we go with Part Two!

The Colors bar area was super busy and noisy with everyone boarding and trying to figure out where to go, so we headed for the stairs and zipped up to Deck 5. Scott was particularly excited to get his first look at the Skybox Sports Bar. He is a sports nut and that is putting it mildly. He was a sports reporter at a local paper for 16 years…if it’s a sport, he knows everything about it. This knowledge would come in handy later in the cruise!

We didn’t purchase Faster to the Fun so we knew our room wouldn’t be ready for a while. And since it was lunch time…you guessed it, we were starving! We made our way up to the Lido deck (later rechristened the Eato deck by a fellow passenger!) for a look around. One of the first things we spotted was the line to purchase the Bubbles package, a definite must for us. We each bought one of the insulated Carnival tumblers (with lid) that were available also. They worked out fantastically well for us. Because they are double walled, they don’t sweat in the hot weather, so none of those annoying drips all over your clothes when you take a drink and we have a great reminder of our cruise now that we are home. I use mine all the time.

We decided to brave the line and get a Guy’s burger for lunch. Although it was long, the line moved quite quickly and we soon had our burgers in hand and were checking out the amazing selection of toppings. We were able to find a table in the Red Sail and sat down to try the burgers that we had read so much great stuff about on these boards. Well, let me say that they did not disappoint…they were fantastic. And we were both given a generous portion of fries…also excellent! They were the first, but not the last, Guy’s burgers that we enjoyed on our trip.

After lunch, we wandered around a bit more and explored the Azure pool area, checked out Deck 10 and got some great shots of Miami. By now, we figured the room should be ready and we headed way down to Deck 2 (Main) to check out outside state room 2280, our home for the next week.

When we opened the door we were very surprised to see four sets of mobile style Carnival decorations hanging from the ceiling around the bed, a lovely Carnival beach towel spread out on the bed, a Carnival picture frame set up on the dresser and 4 individually packaged giant, gorgeous chocolate chip cookies on a plate. I had no idea what was going on as I had not ordered anything like this. Then we found a little note tucked under the cookie plate, telling us that these little treats (and some cruise cash) had been sent by my brother and sister-in-law to help make our cruise extra special. I found myself doing something I had hoped not to do on our trip…crying! What a wonderful gesture from an incredibly loving and caring couple.

We knew when we booked on Glory that she is considered an older ship and we had read some reviews that said despite her recent drydock, she was really showing the wear and tear that comes with age. We hadn’t noticed this so far in the public areas but what about our room? I am happy to say that other than a lamp shade that had seen much better days and a few marks and scuffs on the headboard, our room was terrific. Yes, the colour scheme is dated but we didn’t care. There was plenty of room for the two of us with loads of storage for clothes and accessories…so much that we didn’t use it all! The bathroom was quite large, clean and had plenty of storage. The only thing I would add is a little shelf in the shower for shampoo, conditioner, soap, etc. but overall, we had no complaints. Something I do want to mention and this may be something that is completely unique to me, because Scott didn’t have this problem. Every time I took a shower, I caused a mini flood in the bathroom. No matter how I fiddled with the shower curtain, made sure the water flow was directed into the shower and not out or how speedily I managed to get in and out, I ended up with lots of water on the floor. I am sure our wonderful room steward (Carole) was glad to see the last of us and our sopping wet towels at the end of the week!

Our Fun Times told us that the muster drill was at 3:30, so at 3:25 like good little sailors we head up to Deck 4 for the drill. When we opened our door, we nearly tripped over the gentleman that was delivering our luggage. Holy cow! Luggage delivery before 3:30! I think that is amazingly quick. We tossed our suitcases into the room and continued upstairs.

The muster drill is the only thing we took issue with during our cruise. It was a total mess. We arrived at 3:30 and went out onto Deck 4, where a Carnival staff member told us we had to wait inside until told to proceed out to the muster station. So we went back in and stood at the atrium railing watching the goings on at Colors bar and the neat ceiling that changes color every few seconds. We waited there until 4:00, then came the announcement to go to the muster station. Out we went, where we stood…and stood…and stood. A staffer came by and scanned our Sail and Sign cards. They made 2 announcements politely asking for quiet so the crew could work on the count. Finally, just after 4:30 they started the drill and we listened to what to do in case of an emergency. At least, we tried to listen. By this time, people were so tired of waiting that they started chatting away and didn’t bother stopping for the drill announcement. We were released at 4:45. I know that the muster drill is extremely important, so I was surprised at how disorganized it seemed. After all, do they not do it every week?

Oh well…at least it was now over…woohoo! Scott and I scurried up to Deck 10 for sail away. I LOVE sail away. For me, there is nothing like hearing the ship’s horn sound over the loud, happy vacation music being pumped out and that sudden small but unmistakable shift that tells you…we’re moving! It is one of my favorite cruise moments and I was so excited to share it with Scott, hoping that he would find it as thrilling as me…and he did! And then we’re off, sailing past beautiful homes that back onto the water, folks waving from their cars and honking the horn and floating by Miami condo towers that we know we’ve seen on House Hunters.

We checked the time and it was 5:40. Although I was reluctant to leave our spot at the rail, we decided to pop downstairs for a quick freshen up before dinner in the Platinum dining room at 6:00. Then we began the walk down the endless hallway to the back of the ship. Although our room was officially classed as mid-ship, I think it was the last one before they drew the line and said “OK everything from this point on is forward.” Making that long walk gives you a very good idea of just how large Glory really is. Once at the dining room, we were shown to table 416, an interior booth for 4. Scott and I slid into one side of the both, both of us a bit concerned about who Carnival had decided to seat with us. If you are seated at a large table and don’t “click” with one of the other couples, there would be other folks you could chat with. At a booth for 4 however, if you don’t find common interests to discuss it can make for one long, drawn out meal, sitting across from one another with nothing to say…awkward! We needn’t have worried though…our dining companions did not make an appearance until the next evening and they were a truly lovely couple. We got along right away and conversation flowed well for the entire meal.

But how was the food, you ask? It was excellent. We started with warm bread and buns with butter and we both had the Caesar salad…we were given a choice of romaine lettuce or kale and we went with the romaine. For our main course, Scott chose the flatiron steak which he said was excellent, baked potato and broccoli. I had…well, I can’t remember the name exactly, but it was strips of tender, flavorful beef with a lovely sauce served over root vegetables, corn pudding and broccoli. It was delicious, except for the corn pudding…there was nothing wrong with it, I just don’t think corn pudding is my thing. For dessert, Scott kept it simple with some butter pecan ice cream. I had to have the Carnival chocolate melting cake, since I had heard so many good things about it. It was lovely, super chocolatey without being overly rich and the vanilla ice cream added just the right touch of creaminess.

So overall, our first dining room meal was a big win.

I will continue later with our first evening on board and the next day at Half Moon Key, which was another big win!

I also want to mention that if anyone is interested in reading Scott's unique take on our vacation, he is blogging about it and you can read it here: (and he has pictures!)

themindofscott.wordpress.com