Conquest & Voyager Fogged-In in Galveston!

[dustyblue424]

First, so glad ya'll have such a positive attitude . Next, can you tell me what kind of GPS you have? (brand name, etc) We are sailing on the Conquest again this year, and I think my Dad woulds really enjoy tracking our progress,as you are.

Enjoy your vacation.

[devinc]

Id have gotten off after I had dinner on the ship and come on home and used the 100% voucher for another cruise.

 

Ditto.

[habby]

Bobstack,

 

Just wanted to tell you that I appreciate the updates you've been giving. I've been watching the sailaway every week for the past 6-7 weeks in anticipation. We'll be on the Conquest in 5-1/2 weeks, and if we run into fog issues I'll certainly have your posts in the back of my mind to use as words of encouragement.

 

Hope the rest of your voyage is safe and enjoyable.

 

Thanks again!!

[bobstack]

Fellow cruisers:

 

It's 2 pm Central time. We'll dock at Nassau at 8 pm tonight. We'll cab over to the Atlantis to see just how creative our architects can be! Then after enjoying some local beverages, we'll cab back to the pier. Tomorrow morning, we'll go to the Breezes Resort for our partial day at Cable Beach. It's all on board by 2 pm, so we'll get to the resort early!

 

We are taking the long approach to Nassau, going past Andros Island and Great Stirrup Cay. Then we'll head south I presume to New Providence Island, Nassau. We probably could have cruised to her earlier, but, I'll bet this was the arrangements they make at the pier for overnight ships. No problem -- we go with the ship!

 

In all our almost 9 years of cruising, I have never seen such smooth ocean waters! You look out, and see the clouds reflected in the beautiful mirrored blue surface of the water. Wow. A beautiful picture to remember.

 

On the way north this morning, we were close enough to the FL Keys (35 miles) for a short while, so I could retrieve voice mails on Sprint. And then, 10 minutes later, we were out of range. Gone. The surprises (good ones) keep coming, even if you think you've been on a few cruises.

 

Regarding GPS, I only bought Microsoft Streets and Maps software, which has a GPS receiver that plugs into my Dell Laptop. Since it has maps around the world, I can easily chart our location, speed, and heading at sea. The temperature is a guess for me, but we are certainly somewhere in the 80s, sunny, YEAH, sunny!

 

Keep making your plans, and pack some patience, because you've got to let nature and human nature take its course.

 

Smooth waters to you, and more later.

 

Bob and Donna from Dallas / Ft. Worth

Carnival Conquest, 100 miles NW of Nassau

[Jabee]

Fellow cruisers:

 

It's 2 pm Central time. We'll dock at Nassau at 8 pm tonight. We'll cab over to the Atlantis to see just how creative our architects can be! Then after enjoying some local beverages, we'll cab back to the pier. Tomorrow morning, we'll go to the Breezes Resort for our partial day at Cable Beach. It's all on board by 2 pm, so we'll get to the resort early!

 

Bob and Donna from Dallas / Ft. Worth

Carnival Conquest, 100 miles NW of Nassau

 

Hay Bob...

 

Pick up a couple of bottle of Nassau Royal...that is the smmmoooothest

Rum you will ever taste!! and only available in Nassau.

 

JB

[KITKAT0229]

Kitkat:

 

Are you talking about Jay, the KJ? He was our KJ this week in December, last year, on Conquest, and was a lot of fun. Hope you enjoy Megan, new to Carnival and our KJ, when you cruise.

 

Bob and Donna from Dallas / Ft. Worth

Carnival Conquest, in the FLA Straits!

 

I'm sure we'll enjoy Megan too! I'm getting really excited for our next cruise in 11 days and can't wait! The Conquest is soo much fun and has great nightlife!

[aprilivy]

Yep - that's about how it looked from the Voyager as we were left sitting in the dock! Except a little more blurry as I was looking through tears as well!

[DpTxQt31]

In all our almost 9 years of cruising, I have never seen such smooth ocean waters! You look out, and see the clouds reflected in the beautiful mirrored blue surface of the water. Wow. A beautiful picture to remember.

 

 

Bob and Donna from Dallas / Ft. Worth

Carnival Conquest, 100 miles NW of Nassau

 

On our last cruise that my hubby and I took the waters were like that too. We were even able to look down and see schools of jelly fishes swiming or floating or what ever they do going by. It was really neat and made for some beautiful sun set pictures. :)

[DFW Airwolf]

Fellow cruisers:

 

Regarding GPS, I only bought Microsoft Streets and Maps software, which has a GPS receiver that plugs into my Dell Laptop. Since it has maps around the world, I can easily chart our location, speed, and heading at sea. The temperature is a guess for me, but we are certainly somewhere in the 80s, sunny, YEAH, sunny!

 

I used this same setup back in May on the Conquest when we did the Western Caribean. Couple of things you should note;

 

1. Get a USB Extension cable so you can tape it to your balcony or such. I ty-wrapped it to the Table we had & ran the cable inside to my laptop. Plotted our entire trip from Sail-Away till we got home. Was always cool to tell people you knew where we were & how fast we were going.

 

2. Your balcony door will remain ajar, but it is no big deal. I like the Night Sounds anyway. I would get up early & close the drapes is all so I could sleep in later. Usually around 5:00 when we had our Early-Early Breakfast deliverd or was that the Late-Late Snack. Cant remember Ate too much anyway.

 

3. Streets & Trips is a GREAT DEAL & does a whole lot. We take it in the car with us when we travel or rent in a distant city. Used it a couple of weeks ago to find a Relatives house late at night, in the country with nothing but moonlight & rain. (NOTE:Not much moonlight) Got there without missing a turn or anything. They were surprised.

[bobstack]

Fellow Cruise Lovers:

 

I want you to see tonight's sunset. Copy attached. This is the reason you and your family work so hard to spent a few days in a beautiful place of the world: to see God's creation at it's best! Those with sharp eyes might even recognize Majesty OTS as it sails into the sunset.

 

So keep planning, and working. You will love a few days off soon. Please tell us what you remember the most about your cruises, especially to the Bahamas (this is our first trip).

 

More results soon after we explore Nassau at night!

 

Bob and Donna from Dallas / Ft. Worth'

Carnival Conquest, 55 miles NW of Nassau

Heading ESE, making 21 knots!

ETA Nassau, in 3 hours at 8 PM, CST

[dustyblue424]

What a beautiful sunset. I think that is my favorite part of the cruise is all the glorious sunrises & sunsets. Except for the Saturday night sunset. Then I get all sad thinking thats the last sunset at sea.

[barbmac]

I love the sunsets from our balcony. I think my favorite view, is waking up the first morning, stepping outside and seeing nothing but blue ocean as far as you can see. Breathtaking.:)

[bobstack]

Fellow cruisers:

 

It's Thursday late afternoon, around 5:15 pm, here on Conquest. We appreciate all of your comments, and can offer some responses when this beautiful cruise comes to an end. Here's the scoop for Thursday:

 

Our first port of call for Conquest came last night when we ported in Nassau at 8 pm. The first order of business was to take a cab over to Atlantis ($4/person, minium 6 in the cab). It’s probably only 10 minutes away, and quickly our driver drove us.

 

Atlantis has spent a lot of money to create the wow factor, and it doesn’t disappoint. The shops are very exclusive, meaning, beyond my pay grade – but a lot a fun to look at. We finally started getting the lay of the land when a hotel clerk handed us a map of the complex. The casino (largest in the Atlantic/Caribbean) was very large and beautiful, but missing a little warmth. I’m still not used to hearing the missing sound of coins hitting the hopper.

 

The highlight of our visit, which was at 9 pm, was to go downstairs to see the dozen or so free aquarium windows of the fish. And I’m not talking dime store, 4 week lives, gold fish! No, they are large enough to fee everyone at Thanksgiving. We did not see the large whale shark, since the glass/tanks we were looking at were somewhat removed from the main aquarium.

 

To celebrate the day, our new friends (Sharri and Rud) and we enjoyed some beverages in the casino bar. I can tell you that this place heats up around 12 midnight, because that’s when it got a little noisy. But well worth the memorable visit. I kept saying to myself: I hope they financed this place with a lot of equity!!! The cost must have been incredible.

 

Thursday morning, we stuck with our plans to go to the Breezes all inclusive on Cable Beach, about 4 miles west of downtown Nassau. We disembarked the ship at 9 am, and walked to the east and north, to Bay and George Streets (NWC) to catch the number 10 jitney bus ($1.25/person). It was a 15-20 minute ride to the Breezes Resort. There we found a palapa to protect us from the sun. The temperature was in the mid 70s, and the wind almost calm, and just a few light sun showers near 1 pm. The resort is older and still under constant maintenance – but the beach was well maintained. The all inclusive aspect made it easy to enjoy as much or as little as we wanted. Then it was time to walk back down to Bay Street, to catch the eastbound #10 jitney back to the ship.

 

We were back on the ship in 20 minutes, and still enjoying our first day (and night) in the Bahamas). As a fellow cruiser posted, we had to stop at the duty free shop to pick up some Old Nassau Gold rum. We might have to report on that later?!

 

The sun has now set behind some clouds, around 4:30 pm. Venus, the evening star, is becoming the brightest light in the western sky.

 

I have attached a picture of our neighbor ships as we sailed out of Nassau. From L to R, they are Carnival Paradise, Celebrity Mercury, and Bahamas Celebration. The sail-away was picture perfect, and very exciting.

 

One word about temperature: it’s a little cooler at night with Conquest going mostly east to the Bahamas (vs. cruising her south to MX, GC and Jamaica). Just be prepared for the different temps for a winter time sailing. We remember it being a little warmer after sunset on the Western Caribbean cruises (but viva la difference!).

 

Tonight is our second formal dinner, so we must start getting ready.

 

Now we’re off to Key West, and more exploring! Reporting back soon, we are

 

Bob and Donna from Dallas / Ft. Worth

Carnival Conquest, 45 miles NNW of Nassau, 5:15 pm on Thursday,

Heading NW (around and above Andros Island), and making 22 knots!

[VegasCrossfire]

Bob & Donna - You guys are incredible!

Thanks so much for the daily information.

I'm enjoying every minute of every word.

I can hardly wait to start our vacation but I have a little while to go!

[kwbound]

Bob - Just want to say how much I am enjoying your reports. Key West is one of our favorite places and I hope you have a wonderful day tomorrow. I can't wait to read about it. Do you have anything planned?

 

Enjoy your formal night!

[pam7553]

Enjoying your report, thanks for taking the time to keep us updated. You said the Carnival ship was the Paradise in Nassau, but it sails out of Los Angeles.

[Luluwa]

Kitkat:

 

Are you talking about Jay, the KJ? He was our KJ this week in December, last year, on Conquest, and was a lot of fun. Hope you enjoy Megan, new to Carnival and our KJ, when you cruise.

 

Bob and Donna from Dallas / Ft. Worth

Carnival Conquest, in the FLA Straits!

 

Jay is on the Ecstasy now.... "Absolutely Brilliant!":rolleyes:

[bobstack]

Tonight’s events on Conquest: excellent dinner in the Monet dining room. Don’t hesitate to order the steak, if you like beef. Good cuts and well prepared. We told the matre’d our servers were prompt and cordial.

 

We then listened to some karaoke, and then it’s off to see the lady magician from Venezuela. Beautiful, with perfect execution (how DOES she do it?).

 

After the magician, we listened and danced a bit in Henri’s disco, for the 10 pm tribute to Michael Jackson. MJ Lovers turned out to listen to some of this hits that we loved the most.

 

At the end, as usual, we enjoyed adult karaoke, including my rendition of Jimmy Buffet’s FINS (fins to the left, fins to the right!). Everyone was mighty accommodating, and it was a good tribute to Mr. Island music. I also had a chance to be a PIP with Ms. Roberta, singing Gladys Knight’s Midnight Train to Georgia. Yes, she brought the house down with her singing!

 

We are now on an aft balcony enjoying the lights of Miami some 35 miles off the starboard side. Tomorrow, with our revised itinerary, our second and final port of call is Key West, FL. Originally we were scheduled to port at 10 am. Now we are now 35 miles east of Miami. More later.

 

Bob and Donna from Dallas / Ft. Worth

Carnival Conquest, off to Key West!

[OKLandShark]

bobstack: I have really enjoyed the updates and this whole thread. It brings back all of the great memories from our Conquest cruise back in 2007. It makes me want to get back on board as soon as our baby girl is a little older (8 months right now). Keep having a great time and keep the updates coming.

[KITKAT0229]

Jay is on the Ecstasy now.... "Absolutely Brilliant!":rolleyes:

 

Oh really?!? Yippie! I hope to go on the Ecstasy sometime next summer so that'll be a real treat :-)

[bobstack]

Hello Fellow Cruisers and Parrot Heads:

 

Today Conquest made port in Margaritaville, also known as KEY WEST, FL! The weather was a little testy. We had rain as we disembarked Conquest, and had to seek the pier at the Navy Base Pier (Celebrity Century (our first cruise) was already at the Mallory Square Pier by the Westin Hotel). Nevertheless, we were in Key West, so no problems! We donned our panchos, and became Parrot Heads in the city of Margaritaville. Since we made port at the Naval pier, we had to take the free shuttle to Mallory Square. From Mallory Square we took off for the Conch Train, because we worried the weather could get more severe as the day went on.

 

We entered the 11 am Conch Train (ship's time!) and started a 90 minute tour with Ms. Peggy to refresh our memories from a cruise a few years ago. The island was just as pretty, and the places to enjoy beverages were no fewer. We wanted to get a lay of the land so we could plan some on-land visits to KW, including B and Bs, that would make for a great long weekend. KW, again, did not disappoint. The Curry Masion looked just great, as did several others. So plans we will make to return to the Fun Island.

 

Be advised that we did get lots of rain on the Conch Train Tour. However, Evelyn did hand out ponchos to all passengers, so everyone could manage the elements. And the day unfolded for the city and tour we had been waiting for: Old Town Key West, and everything that's right and mellow about the FLA Keys. We don't control the weather, but we do control how we respond. Our $5 Walgreen ponchos preserved a long anticipated visit to KW for us. We were lucky, and we accomplished everything we wanted.

 

After the Conch Train Tour, we went to the Mel Fisher Museum to learn about this eternal optimist, who made a $400 million treasure trove find from the sunken Spanish Ship, the Attocha (1632). We learned what was found, and a little how to be a part of the organization going forward. What a neat idea: we can be a part of the future exploration. Peggy in the gift shop shared with us the gold piece that was found a few days ago, and delivered this morning to the museum. We think preserving the past is a great idea, and will look forward to being a part of this organization.

 

One surprise: Duval Street took a lot of water during today's rain, and so we navigated one block to the south (Whitehead Street) where we were high and dry back to Mallory Square and the shuttle back to the naval pier.

 

But, not before we bought 12 Key West coffee mugs. Why? One KW coffee mug for every month of the year. Once at home, we will have an annual reminder each month to accept the invitation to return to this tropical paradise. And so do you.

 

One tip: we bought our Conch Train tickets and Mel Fisher Museum tickets online and saved a few bucks, vs. buying through Carnival (who has been very good to us).

 

Also, be aware as when we cruised into KW, we had fog, and then some clearing as we made the port. As we disembarked the ship, the rain came down. So please consider panchos, as we did, so you do not worry about the weather. Then you can concern yourself with the gift of several hours in this tropical paradise.

 

I suspect tonight I will sing of my KW happiness at karaoke tonight by sharing some of Jimmy Buffett's songs. I hope you will be flexible when the weather appears funny, and then let it change. Today's visit beat the best day we have had at work in DFW!

 

We'll share more soon. Keep dreaming about Conquest and your next cruise. Yes, it will be just this good!

 

Bob and Donna from Dallas / Ft. Worth

Carnival Conquest, now 10 miles S of KW, making 10 knots and more!

[bobstack]

I almost forgot our photo from our arrival into Key West. You are seeing Celebrity Century from the Naval Pier at Key West. Enjoy!

 

Bob and Donna from Dallas / Ft. Worth

[aggieastrosfan]

Jay is on the Ecstasy now.... "Absolutely Brilliant!":rolleyes:

 

They've moved his show to the Starlight Lounge from Chinatown, there's actually a lot of people that like him. Couldn't stomach him in April, but tried again this week to do it. No way. :rolleyes:

[ronrythm]

Hello Fellow Cruisers and Parrot Heads:

 

Today Conquest made port in Margaritaville, also known as KEY WEST, FL!

Jimmy Buffett don't live in Key West anymore!

 

Now, Jimmy’s moved to Malibu with all those other stars.

He’s not down Duval Street, hangin’ out in bars.

All them god-d****d tourist got to be a bore.

Jimmy Buffett doesn’t live in Key West any more.

 

So, don’t tell me I sound like Jimmy Buffett,

Just because I've got that islan' beat.

Jimmy might have grown up on the ocean.

Me, I kinda grown up on the street.

Music’s just a way of life, me, I’m livin' free.

So, don’t lay all that Key West, Jimmy Buffett s**t on me

 

:D:D:D

Enjoy

Ron

[bobstack]

Fellow cruisers:

 

We finally have a day of beautiful sun! Yes, we had sun on Wednesday and Thursday, in Nassau, and now again in the Gulf. The seas are up with at least 6 foot waves finding us. But no problem, Conquest is solid, and we sail on.

 

We enjoyed late night music with the Casino band, and the evening show, with Ron Joseph, an entertainer from NOLA, who sure knows how much we love the Temptations. He invited couples and then men up to the Toulouse Lautrec Lounge Stage, and some of them know how to ham it up! He brought back a number of those Motown sounds with all of those great feelings.

 

Today’s agenda includes the embarkation talk. We’ve heard it before, but we come mostly to hear all of the dumb passenger questions (the hits keep on com’n!).

 

Said to say it’s our last day of the cruise, but no worries: we’re planning the next ones! Hope you are also planning yours, too, and sharing them on the boards. I can’t wait until I collect all of our cruise experiences this time to share with y’all.

 

OK, I think I can smell those made-to-order omelettes up on the Lido Deck. Gotta run!

 

Bob and Donna from Dallas / Ft. Worth

Carnival Conquest, in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico,

Heading WNW, making 19 knots,

Galveston here we come!