Carnival Conquest vs Freedom OTS

Hi everyone!

For our next cruise in March we are stuck between these two ships. They're both six night itineraries. Considering the circumstances, which would you pick:

Pros for Freedom: the ship is larger, and I like how there's so much to do. Entertainment seems to be great, and we just like Royal, aft cabin

Cons: only okay ports (Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Grand Cayman). $3900 with no OBC.

Pros for Conquest: has the new-ish Carnival renovations, cheaper ($3500), some new ports for us (Nassau, Grand Turk, Amber Cove, and Half Moon Cay), we found Carnival's food better.

Cons: not a fan of Carnival's ship design/decor (to be fair, the only other Carnival ship we have been on is an older one), better room on Royal, I heard the entertainment is not as good, and less to do on the ship.

Which would y'all choose? I'm currently leaving towards Freedom, but the cheaper price and ports of Carnival are attractive.

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Honestly the Freedom is my favorite ship in the world, but I would probably lean towards Conquest if I had to choose between the two. I sailed conquest in January and while the ship was fine I LOVED Grand Turk and Amber Cove.

That being said, I do have two cruises booked on the Freedom, and I would probably not ever sail the Conquest again, although I do have two Carnival cruises booked as well. In this instance I would go with the better ports, but you really can't go wrong with either.

I've been on the Conquest 2 times and will never go back. The lay out of the ship is HORRIBLE...on some decks you have to go up to go down because of bad design. The dining room is in the middle of the ship and the walk ways don't go through in a straight line like the FOS... To walk to other parts of the ship, you have to walk through the casino which is smokey do to bad ventilation.

If you are a person that likes to shop while on board, the Conquest is not for you. Two shops, that's all...there is no promenade area...

Compare the on board entertainment:

FOS-rock climbing, flowrider, QUEST, mini golf,Solarium, sports deck, water slides.

Conquest-IDK if it has waterslides now or not...

Go with the FOS!!!!!

Angela Ramsey

Are the cabin categories the same on both ships?

Are the cabin categories the same on both ships?

Two different cruise lines, different categories.

Two different cruise lines, different categories.

I meant balcony vs interior vs OV....sorry for the confusion

I meant balcony vs interior vs OV....sorry for the confusion

Same categories.

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Can anyone shine some light on the "little" differences between Royal and Carnival? We haven't been on for a while and I know some things have changed--only once daily cabin service, new (downgraded?) menus and entertainment, and no tablecloths. We really enjoyed the food on Carnival and if that has changed since 2012 we'd be disappointed.

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Considering better food, lower price and better ports I'd go with Carnival Conquest.

The only irritating thing I noticed about no table cloth was that the ice water container they left on the table would sweat and make a puddle. I've always had my room made up twice a day on Carnival. I did read that on some ships they were trying to migrate towards just once a day, not sure if Conquest is one of them. I don't use the rock wall or flowrider so not missed when I sail Carnival. I rarely go to shows on any ship except for comedians and Carnival always has the best ones.

I've been on the Conquest 2 times and will never go back. The lay out of the ship is HORRIBLE...on some decks you have to go up to go down because of bad design. The dining room is in the middle of the ship and the walk ways don't go through in a straight line like the FOS... To walk to other parts of the ship, you have to walk through the casino which is smokey do to bad ventilation.

If you are a person that likes to shop while on board, the Conquest is not for you. Two shops, that's all...there is no promenade area...

Compare the on board entertainment:

FOS-rock climbing, flowrider, QUEST, mini golf,Solarium, sports deck, water slides.

Conquest-IDK if it has waterslides now or not...

Go with the FOS!!!!!

Angela Ramsey

You just have to learn to navigate it. Once you do, its not that hard. You do not have to walk through the casino at all. If you choose to go through on deck 5, then you go through an area which is next to the casino. You are not actually walking through the casino. And the smoking areas are on the other side of the casino. Granted its indoors so the smoke is still captured, but I never noticed it smokey other than in the middle of the casino closer to the smoking areas. We have sat in the chairs in the area outside of the casino with our child and never noticed it being smoky. And we are sensitive to it.

There are other decks that go from end to end besides 5. If we were in an aft cabin and needed to go from our room to somewhere forward, we would walk through the hallways on our floor toward the front. Very easy once you get the hang of it.

I don't think they do have waterslides. The last time I was there I am pretty sure it did not.

OP- Disclaimer- I have never sailed Royal, but have been on Conquest 2x.

Conquest is a nice ship. The décor may not be your style, but it does not have an old ship feel like some of the fantasy class. It has the 2.0 upgrades, which means some more bar and dining options not on all ships. Entertainment is basic stuff, shows, trivia, bingo, comedy shows (which are awesome). Food is pretty good too, even with the buffet because there are different options with the 2.0 upgrades.

But it won't have a flow rider, rock climbing wall, etc.

Which you choose depends on what you are looking for. If you are cruising for the ports, go with Conquest because it has better ports. You will have good food, good service and stuff to do when you are not in port.

If you are cruising for the ship itself, Freedom probably is better (disclaimer, never been on it).

FWIW- This year I was choosing between

Carnival Freedom (a sister ship of Conquest) or Breeze (2nd newest in Carnival's fleet)

and

Royal Liberty of the Seas

Price was within $100-300 difference so not really a factor

I choose Liberty because:

1. Had not been on Royal and have wanted to try it out

2. Flowrider, Rock Climbing and stuff (for my family because I won't do that)

3. Royal had Costa Maya on their itinerary (never been) vs. Belize (been and did not care for)

Good luck in deciding

You just have to learn to navigate it. Once you do, its not that hard. You do not have to walk through the casino at all. If you choose to go through on deck 5, then you go through an area which is next to the casino. You are not actually walking through the casino. And the smoking areas are on the other side of the casino. Granted its indoors so the smoke is still captured, but I never noticed it smokey other than in the middle of the casino closer to the smoking areas. We have sat in the chairs in the area outside of the casino with our child and never noticed it being smoky. And we are sensitive to it.

There are other decks that go from end to end besides 5. If we were in an aft cabin and needed to go from our room to somewhere forward, we would walk through the hallways on our floor toward the front. Very easy once you get the hang of it.

 

It took us a little bit but we got the hang of it...plus its never a bad thing to swing by the Alchemy Bar!

 

I don't think they do have waterslides. The last time I was there I am pretty sure it did not.

 

They do have waterslides now...I was on in January, seemed to be popular.

 

OP- Disclaimer- I have never sailed Royal, but have been on Conquest 2x.

 

Conquest is a nice ship. The décor may not be your style, but it does not have an old ship feel like some of the fantasy class. It has the 2.0 upgrades, which means some more bar and dining options not on all ships. Entertainment is basic stuff, shows, trivia, bingo, comedy shows (which are awesome). Food is pretty good too, even with the buffet because there are different options with the 2.0 upgrades.

But it won't have a flow rider, rock climbing wall, etc.

 

Which you choose depends on what you are looking for. If you are cruising for the ports, go with Conquest because it has better ports. You will have good food, good service and stuff to do when you are not in port.

If you are cruising for the ship itself, Freedom probably is better (disclaimer, never been on it).

 

This is exactly right. Freedom is the better ship for on-board stuff (shopping, activities, shows, etc.) but the ports for the Conquest are great and you can always find something to do, even if its not ice skating, surfing or rock climbing.

 

FWIW- This year I was choosing between

Carnival Freedom (a sister ship of Conquest) or Breeze (2nd newest in Carnival's fleet)

and

Royal Liberty of the Seas

 

Price was within $100-300 difference so not really a factor

I choose Liberty because:

1. Had not been on Royal and have wanted to try it out

2. Flowrider, Rock Climbing and stuff (for my family because I won't do that)

3. Royal had Costa Maya on their itinerary (never been) vs. Belize (been and did not care for)

 

Good luck in deciding

Again, Freedom is my favorite ship but the only reason I am sailing her twice in the next year is because she is doing the Mediterranean this summer and the Southern Caribbean next summer.

I've never been on the Conquest, but I have sailed on Carnival a few times. I have been on Freedom twice and it is my favorite ship, even after going on the Harmony! I would sail on Freedom again in a heartbeat. The entertainment will be much better, the activities on board will be much better, the service will be better and the overall experience will be better.

With all that being said, I absolutely love the Grand Turk island, but there isn't a whole lot to do there.

I know it is a little more expensive, but Freedom would be my choice for sure. I don't think I would do another Carnival cruise unless it was one of the new ships, like Vista, but then again we sailed the Carnival Dream when it was relatively new and the largest for Carnival and it was a disaster!

We are Platinum on Carnival and sailing Freedom of the Seas in a week. My choice for you would depend on what's more important to you:

Food - choose Conquest to save $ (food quality is not better on one line versus the other to me, just some different food choices)

Evening Entertainment - choose Freedom (I'm not a fan of Playlist Productions).

Ports - Conquest for Half Moon Cay alone...absolutely AMAZING!

Like to just relax during the day on board - Conquest to save $

Get bored easily - Freedom for the extra options like rock climbing wall, ice skating, flow rider, shopping.

If it were me. I would choose Conquest because of saving money and better ports (to me). Good luck in whatever you choose.

I had the same choice for a December 2017 cruise. I have sailed on the Conquest and I am Platinum which gives we some nice perks. I also hold Carnival stock and I would get 50.00 OBC. I booked the Freedom because of the ports and I paid more.