Short review/opinion of our frist cruise on the Conquest 7-25 through 8-1

[divingmedic]

Just back yesterday from our first cruise. We sailed on the Conquest out of Galveston as this was just a short drive from where we live. Embarkation took about two hours. Line cutters started here and never ended, even when people started calling out the cutters the staff just looked the other way. Since it was past 1330 when we finally got on board we went and dropped our carry on in the room and went to explore. Lines for the buffet was long so we opted for a cheese burger. They were just a few shorts steps from charcoal briquettes. Asked for one less burned and was told that is the only way they serve them. Ate in the Monet most of the time, while service at dinner was great service the rest of the time was slow. Tried the buffet for breakfast and lunch once. It brought back horrid memories of high school lunch line and food quality. In 1980 I had better C-Rations than what was served in the buffet. The food in the main dining room was good, not great, more along the lines of Golden Corral or Black Eyed Pea.

 

Service at the bars was always good and our Steward kept the room in excellent shape, once or twice they forgot to empty the ash tray I kept on balcony but a quick call and they came and cleaned it. The shows at night were from OK to downright ridiculous ( and not the comedy shows). The only show I saw from start to finish was Lady Hellevi. Her illusions were good, but the choreography was down right horrible. After dinner we would stop in the show lounge for a few minutes and watch the shows. Most of the productions are on par with most middle school shows.

 

Won close the $300 playing poker a few nights and afternoons. Only one low cost tournament the others were for a buy on the Destiny next year. Cost was $150 and the payout was not worth the cost. They did have another poorly schedule tournament right before dinner on elegant night. Why did they schedule it for that time???? Only two signed up, it was canceled. CD Chris Jefferson. WOW if they would put his shows on in Pakistan and Afghanistan we could close this war quickly. Most annoying person I ever saw. Our 11 year old daughter did not do any Camp Carnival. She looked at the activities and thought they were a little to young for her. Carnival really needs make more activities for the "tweeners". My wife who is teacher even thought most of the activities were to young for most 10 and 11 year olds.

 

Debarkation, took over three hours. We were group 19, time 0945 to 1000 hours to exit. Called at 1010 hours. About 15 minutes to get of the ship, over and hour and half to get our luggage. Carnival people yelling to move and get luggage before you can even get to your section. We were sent to line three for Customs. Seems it was the slowest line there. We were watching group 25 and up go through. Our agent kept leaving his cubicle area and walking into another room or just walk away. The agent next to us would come and get someone from our line, process them and then her own line. This agent was great. After we went through I saw a supervisor go and talk to the agent in our line, he again just walked away. The cruise was nice, it was relaxing, it was crowded. 3,066 on our cruise and over 180 in Camp Carnival for the 9-11 year old kids. Wife and daughter enjoyed it, I enjoyed it. They need to add another poker table, add more tournaments, find a less annoying CD and up the quality of the shows.

[*Mach*]

Wow... are you sure you were on the Conquest?? I've never had a bad experience on that ship nor have my hundreds of friends.

I'm sorry your first cruise went poorly. Perhaps you might want to try another line or ship before abandoning cruising as a vacation option.

:)

[Razorbackfan2010]

My two experiences on the Conquest have been great. Sorry you had problems, I hope you enjoyed you cruise anyway. A cruise is what you make it, if you expect perfection you will be disappointed.

[Upandadam]

Service at the bars was always good and our Steward kept the room in excellent shape, once or twice they forgot to empty the ash tray I kept on balcony but a quick call and they came and cleaned it.

 

You ARE joking right?

[papanh]

I hope he is wow

Papanh

[divingmedic]

You ARE joking right?

Why would I joke about that? I did not smoke in the room, only on the balcony. Twice they did not empty it.

[tootsiebit]

once or twice they forgot to empty the ash tray I kept on balcony but a quick call and they came and cleaned it.

 

You ARE joking right?

 

 

 

OMG...I too am hoping this is a joke....I mean c'mon he couldn't empty his own itty bitty ashtray....I would have strangled my hubby for calling a room steward for something that takes maybe five steps inside and a minute or so to take care of himself!!!!!:o:rolleyes:

Gotta keep reading and hoping this person was making a funny!!!

[Tree Hugger]

I didn't notice the OP say anything about abandoning cruising.

 

He did say he enjoyed it, just posted some of the negative aspects, even though the ashtray thing was kind of funny.

[McDebbie]

Most smokers would not empty their ashtray inside the room, it will smell up the cabin. And yes, almost always the steward has emptied the ashtray on the balcony AND wiped down the table. I do expect them to clean the balcony also, if you left your coffee cup or room service tray out there wouldn't you expect them to take it?

[divingmedic]

Wow... are you sure you were on the Conquest?? I've never had a bad experience on that ship nor have my hundreds of friends.

 

I'm sorry your first cruise went poorly. Perhaps you might want to try another line or ship before abandoning cruising as a vacation option.

 

:)

I was not a bad experience, was not a great experience either. I love British accents, just Chris Jefferson's accent grates like fingernails on a chalkboard and at one single volume,loud. Camp Carnival needs to rethink the activities for the "tweeners" and seriously upgrade their food in the buffet. And we are planning another cruise as soon as we can find an itinerary to our liking. Seems most itineraries close to us either go to Mexico or the Bahama's. Been to the Bahama's several times, we go to Cozumel every two years anyway. We are now adding Roatan to our mix for our dive vacations. Sorry I did not give glowing and rah rah Carnival review and opinion. Not everyone thinks that cruising is the end all be all vacation and their every thought to crusing. It is a nice change of pace, it just not what some people make it to be. Sorry if that upsets your world.

[divingmedic]

OMG...I too am hoping this is a joke....I mean c'mon he couldn't empty his own itty bitty ashtray....I would have strangled my hubby for calling a room steward for something that takes maybe five steps inside and a minute or so to take care of himself!!!!!:o:rolleyes:

 

Gotta keep reading and hoping this person was making a funny!!!

Because I did not want to stink up the room, ever thought about that? Maybe you wanted me to flush em down the toilet like they say you are not supposed to do?:eek:

[tootsiebit]

Because I did not want to stink up the room, ever thought about that? Maybe you wanted me to flush em down the toilet like they say you are not supposed to do?:eek:

 

 

 

No we don't flush them, but we do take the time to empty them into maybe a empty soda bottle,close it back up and drop in the trash, or do like we do in hotels...we take sandwich baggies and drop them in the trash, to which the steward would empty one of the many times he straightens the cabin during the day...and ya know I am not the type of person that leaves my home, (where I do things for myself), expecting my room steward is expected to take care of my every whim on a moments notice..I totally appreciate the fact that they are there to keep my cabin clean and if I see them during the day I even tell them so...because I was raised to appreciate what is done for you, even if the person is getting paid to do it....so NO I don't expect my steward to be perfect and if they forget to do the clean the balcony table, or I leave a cup or my ashtray out there, then I am also capable of picking the cup up and bringing inside so they will get it next time around, and I have never been so pompous that I can't wipe down my own table or whatever....To each his own, but some things that people expect when they are on vacation is very unreasonable and sometimes considered rude..... Flame on...I am goingto go wash my own dishes and empty out my deck ashtray...:rolleyes:

[jks336]

hey medic, good that the majority of your cruise was good. as i tell ppl, expect ponderosa, golden corral for the buffets. to each their own for taste :). it was decent in my book. and as to the camp carnival, some good and some bad reviews with age group activities. i think alot also depends on the child and also their mentality as far as are they "older" than their age which can effect the level of activity to keep them occupied.

if you cruise again, on which ever cruise line, hope you have a great cruise as the "bang" for the buck really is pretty good verses land vacations :) but sometimes you got to try something different :)

[divingmedic]

No we don't flush them, but we do take the time to empty them into maybe a empty soda bottle,close it back up and drop in the trash, or do like we do in hotels...we take sandwich baggies and drop them in the trash, to which the steward would empty one of the many times he straightens the cabin during the day...and ya know I am not the type of person that leaves my home, (where I do things for myself), expecting my room steward is expected to take care of my every whim on a moments notice..I totally appreciate the fact that they are there to keep my cabin clean and if I see them during the day I even tell them so...because I was raised to appreciate what is done for you, even if the person is getting paid to do it....so NO I don't expect my steward to be perfect and if they forget to do the clean the balcony table, or I leave a cup or my ashtray out there, then I am also capable of picking the cup up and bringing inside so they will get it next time around, and I have never been so pompous that I can't wipe down my own table or whatever....To each his own, but some things that people expect when they are on vacation is very unreasonable and sometimes considered rude..... Flame on...I am goingto go wash my own dishes and empty out my deck ashtray...:rolleyes:

Where are you going to find a empty soda bottle in the middle of a cruise? They do note even give you the whole can of soda, they pour it into a glass. But thanks for the idea of bringing baggies next time. First cruise did not think that. Was not slamming my steward, was actually complementing him for above and beyond and he was rewarded for doing so.

[T2C]

I wasn't going to post about this cruise because I know SOME CCers will attack at the least negative thing said (no matter the board).

 

I was on this cruise also, AFT balcony 7447, loved the cabin, the view of the wake is just so relaxing.

We had a great time, mostly thanks to being with our friend and his family we hadn't seen in over 20 years. Also thanks to out Monet servers WaWas and Alex. My friends 22 month old learned to say WaWas on the night before our final dinner and it was a nice surprise to hear him say "Hi WaWas" when she came to the table and she danced with him that night. Alex was from the Philippines and it was nice reliving our 3 years there with him.

Also our room stewart made it nice, always had ice in the room and for the 1st time we had a towel animal waiting for us every night, oh, and chocolates. We really talked our last night when I gave him some extra tip money. He let us know that he gets to go home for his break in November and for the 1st time in years he'll be able to spend Christmas with his family and he's hoping he'll be able to spend it with his father who's in the later stages of Parkinsons disease. John said he didn't want to say anything for fear it would look like he was just trying to get better tips. I understand what he meant but it's still a shame it's like that.

 

Now some negatives. The 1st people weren't let on till 12:10 and that was the 2 wedding parties, this was the latest we've ever had embaktion to the ship and the excuse was some people had gone back to their cabins after eating and fell asleep.

I do have to say that a wonderful black woman, really wish I had gotten her name (CCL employee), kept us entertained while waiting to board. She was great!

 

The employees on the ship, except the room stewards while cleaning rooms and the waiters in the dining room but, in every public part of the ship, seemed to think the passengers should give way to them in any situation, never encountered that before. I will say it was not every single time but a good majority of the time.

 

Other passengers would walk 3 to 4 abreast and then seem to expect you to actually step aside so they could walk through instead of one of them moving so you would have one small passing lane and I'm talking about coming at one another.

The design of the ship didn't help either, the main floor for people was deck 5 and this is where the casino,shops, bars, sushi bar, sweets and coffee shop and future cruises desk is and there is a hallway on only one side which always caused a major traffic jam every night and it really doesn't help because this is the same hallway where most of the backdrop photographs are done also, so most nights you had lines for those blocking the hallway also.

 

I was really disappointed when entering the ship. The pictures of the atrium gave me the impression it was a lot larger, this is a really small area, the smallest of any ship we've been on.

 

I agree with DivingMedic, the buffet food was regrettable and yes, I've had better MRE's during my service time also. The Mongolian grill though and the pizza was wonderful. The Monet food was not good to good, I really thought the selections were poor on some nights and some of the selections were bland. I had the WCMC for the 1st time and it was OK but not great, I loved the Bitter and Blanc so I guess I'm on that side of the debate (wish that was on the CCL Classics instead of the WCMC).

 

Now the buffet breakfast had some good things, I liked the pancakes and french toast, everything else was hit or miss depending on the day except the scrambled eggs, which were always horrible (I tried a little each morning hoping but they were always bad).

 

Sorry to you wonderful Texans because I know you are out there aplenty but this cruise had more rude people on it then any other cruise we've been on, I say Texans because 99% or more were Texans. So many times I had people step on my flip flops or shoes at the buffet line and push their trays into my fingers. I even told one person that doing that was not going to get them to the food any quicker. If I ever cruise out of Texas again it will be to soon. Again, no offense meant to all of Texas or Texans because I've spent time there, in fact I spent about a year and a half of my life in Texas (the longest being a year straight) and have friends who are Texans so I know it's not all or even the majority.

 

This may have just been a bad cruise for CCL and the passengers but it did happen and I sadly I was an eyewitness to it but, I still enjoyed the week because while I may have been upset for the minute or two when things were happening I quickly let it go and went about with my vacation.

[divingmedic]

hey medic, good that the majority of your cruise was good. as i tell ppl, expect ponderosa, golden corral for the buffets. to each their own for taste :). it was decent in my book. and as to the camp carnival, some good and some bad reviews with age group activities. i think alot also depends on the child and also their mentality as far as are they "older" than their age which can effect the level of activity to keep them occupied.

if you cruise again, on which ever cruise line, hope you have a great cruise as the "bang" for the buck really is pretty good verses land vacations :) but sometimes you got to try something different :)

We will cruise again, and probably Carnival since they are cheapeast. I believe my daughter will enjoy Circle C better than Camp Carnival. The food while edible was not what some people made it out to be. But as far as the bang for the buck, only if you book months in advance which I do not have that luxury do to the nature of my work and time off policy. 60 day maximum and 14 days the shortest can I request time off. I have done all inclusives cheaper.

[T2C]

Where are you going to find a empty soda bottle in the middle of a cruise? They do note even give you the whole can of soda, they pour it into a glass. But thanks for the idea of bringing baggies next time. First cruise did not think that. Was not slamming my steward, was actually complementing him for above and beyond and he was rewarded for doing so.

Hey Medic, sorry I missed the get together, forgot in reveling with my old troop. Saw something in the paper about a get together in one of the bars on the 5th floor, I know that was wrong, stopped by anyways and only say some strays there (2 people).

 

Hey, this cruise was unlike any other I've been on so don't think it was a typical cruise experience.

[divingmedic]

Hey Medic, sorry I missed the get together, forgot in reveling with my old troop. Saw something in the paper about a get together in one of the bars on the 5th floor, I know that was wrong, stopped by anyways and only say some strays there (2 people).

 

Hey, this cruise was unlike any other I've been on so don't think it was a typical cruise experience.

No problem. Yes it was only me, my wife, my daughter and one other person for the meet and greet. but you enjoyed time with your friends, which is the most important. I agree, so many rude people on this ship. Line cutting was horrible, worse than most very large amusement parks. Sorry we missed each other, maybe another time, another place.

[pbxtech]

What did you do in Jamaica?

[tootsiebit]

Where are you going to find a empty soda bottle in the middle of a cruise? They do note even give you the whole can of soda, they pour it into a glass. But thanks for the idea of bringing baggies next time. First cruise did not think that. Was not slamming my steward, was actually complementing him for above and beyond and he was rewarded for doing so.

 

 

Glad that the baggie idea was a good one for you...and the soda bottles come from where we take my Diet DP's onboard and I am the worlds worse about not finishing the whole thing so hence there is always a bottle in the room and the steward doesn't remove it I guess because they are not sure if we are finished with it;)

[divingmedic]

What did you do in Jamaica?

Sunset Beach. The beach was nice, my daughter loved the two slides at the pool. The food was ok. We left early due to the weather. It started raining about noon and never quit. We booked with the transportation. I would not recommend that. When we tried to leave they told us we would not leave till 1530 (this was at 1400) so we had to spend more money on a taxi to take us back (ten dollars.) We used Native Way in Grand Cayman and they went out of their way to ensure we had a good time, very personalized service I highly recommend them. I Cozumel we did Nachi Cocum. Loved this place. Will go back there even when we go down there to dive.

[pbxtech]

Sunset Beach. The beach was nice, my daughter loved the two slides at the pool. The food was ok. We left early due to the weather. It started raining about noon and never quit. We booked with the transportation. I would not recommend that. When we tried to leave they told us we would not leave till 1530 (this was at 1400) so we had to spend more money on a taxi to take us back (ten dollars.) We used Native Way in Grand Cayman and they went out of their way to ensure we had a good time, very personalized service I highly recommend them. I Cozumel we did Nachi Cocum. Loved this place. Will go back there even when we go down there to dive.

 

Thanks, We are on in 4 weeks and didnt know if we would like sunset beach

[TEXASMUNK]

#1 Thanks for not putting the butts into the waste system! Those that found the OP's action horrible, lighten up!

#2 Food, we have found the food on Conquest less than acceptable, so we choose to dine in the Steak house. No complaints to Carnival, they are cutting back with this lousy economy. Roll with the punches.

#3. Pax: So often we blame the cruise line when, in reality, we have become a nation of rude, crude, ill-mannered folks....Blame the fellow passenger, not Carnival...We have run into obnoxious folks on HAL, RCI, Princess and NCL. Remmeber: If they ain't got no manners at home, they ain't gonna have any on a ship!!

#4 Line cutters at check-in....check-in is a pain in the Butt. Period. The folks that work the terminal are part-time staff. They have an obligation to maintain order. If they do not, do not tolerate it...Just let them know, you write letters and you have memorized their name.

 

Thanks for your review....Appreciate your taking the time to write and post.

[nybumpkin]

Sorry to you wonderful Texans because I know you are out there aplenty but this cruise had more rude people on it then any other cruise we've been on, I say Texans because 99% or more were Texans. So many times I had people step on my flip flops or shoes at the buffet line and push their trays into my fingers. I even told one person that doing that was not going to get them to the food any quicker. If I ever cruise out of Texas again it will be to soon. Again, no offense meant to all of Texas or Texans because I've spent time there, in fact I spent about a year and a half of my life in Texas (the longest being a year straight) and have friends who are Texans so I know it's not all or even the majority.

I think I'd like to save this quote for the next time I read a review of a NY cruise complaining about pushy NYers.:p You're right, it's not Texans, or NYers, or anyplace else - it's just plain rude behavior.

[douglinc@msn.com]

We will be taking our 5th. cruise on the Conquest in November. Not every minute of every cruise was perfect but we've not had the problems you are talking about. We have been on several cruises on different cruise lines and different ships & bar none, Carnival has the best service and food we have had on any of our cruises.

I guess cruising just isn't for some folks, maybe you should just stick with the all inclusives, maybe someone will teach you how to empty your own ashtrays.

 

Doug