criseaver

We just returned from our second cruise. Our first had assigned dining. This one was anytime. The differences (for us) was that our waiters seemed completely uninterested in us and twice we were seated in corners alone, staring at a wall. The food was still DELICIOUS; but our service was not so wonderful. We did see a few lively waiters around; but we never had the pleasure of having them as ours. In contrast, our first cruise (assigned dining) offered excellent waitstaff service and the ablility to feel included in the dining experience. (We sailed on Carnival Triumph)

I'm sure many will disagree, but I feel like I need to post our experience for any other families who may be like ours. First, let me say our Carnival Conquest staff were excellent. This is just from our point of view -- our perspective.

After cruising for a week on the Conquest, we realized, for our family, we'll prefer flying to an island and staying there in a resort or condo next time. Our favorite parts of the cruise were the stops at the islands. But, we felt rushed (with two boys) to squeeze in everything we wanted to see/do. Also, we were surprised that much of the cruise activities are catered to adults, unless your children participate in the kids' clubs. We, however, wanted to stay together for much of the time. The shows at night were not kid-friendly (due to the attire of the dancers -- which Carnival makes very clear in the daily itineraries so no one's surprised) and the family comedians were not quite as conservative with their jokes as we'd have preferred. It seemed like every time we turned around, we were being offered liqour. Also, we were unable to enjoy one another's company on the decks due to the loud music.

I totally realize this is absolutely appealing to many people & different people enjoy different vacations. There are no complaints on our end with any of it because we were never told it would be a conservative, family-friendly environment. Again, this is the opinion of one family.