5/13-5/20 Carnival Conquest to Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel Review w/ Pics

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It was time to board the boat. Here is our captain for the day and our assistant:

 

 

 

 

We actually forgot the food for stingray city, so we had to turn around. It was pretty funny. I loved the captain and his helper. They were different than any excursion that I had ever done. Mostly because they weren’t super fake and energetic. I realize these people are supposed to encourage us to have a good time, but I find a lot of the tour guides go over the top. These two were great. They allowed us to have a good time without going overboard with it. I can’t sing their praises high enough. Maybe it was just because they knew they work a great excursion and they didn’t have to work hard to make sure people had a good time? All I know is I loved every second.

 

Weather update – It still wasn’t sunny… but it wasn’t raining either! While I really wish it would have been a bright sunny day, it just wasn’t going to work out. However, it didn’t ruin our day. It only sprinkled a couple of times and it kept the temperature low so we weren’t burning up.

 

 

On this excursion you travel in the boat for a long ways both to stingray city, then to rum point beach. The ride to stingray city was about 30 minutes, then another 20 to rum point. On the way back to the marina from rum point it was a good 45 minutes. This was great fun too though. The captain allows you to hang your feet over the sides of the boat and it was so peaceful.

 

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We can finally see stingray city and it gets closer and closer:

 

 

 

Then we backed into our spot. There are a ton of people out there!

 

 

Saw our first stingray swimming in the water:

 

 

We were a little scared, but finally in the water:

 

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They just swim around, but it really isn’t scary. Promise!

 

 

They let you hold them:

 

 

Then you have to kiss them for seven years good luck (our driver told us you could kiss them twice for an extra year of good luck, but if you kiss them three times you’re flirting!):

 

 

They give you a stingray back massage:

 

 

Then a stingray sandwich (I was dying!! I had no idea what they were doing. It was fun though!):

 

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It was finally time to leave stingray city, but we had SO SO SO much fun. I loved every second of it. After we left stingray city, we took the boat ride over to rum point beach. It was honestly one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen and I liked it a lot more than Passion Island in Cozumel. I just wish the weather would have been better so we could have seen how beautiful it is then!

 

 

 

 

 

We rented a water tricycle. It was $20 for an hour, but we only rode it for about 20 minutes since we wanted to swim, eat, and shop a little while we were there. It was fun!

 

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MamallamaAndDaddy -- That's the itinerary we're doing next year! We heard such good things about it. Everyone we talked to went on and on about Roatan and how beautiful it was and how great the snorkeling was.

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At the restaurant I ordered the jerk pork (it was SUPER spicy and I could barely eat it. I’m from Louisiana and love hot food, so I can’t imagine there are a lot of people who can handle the spicyness) and my husband ordered the El Cubano sandwhich (this was good). Here is the menu as meals are not included with this excursion (note: prices are in Cayman dollars so it is actually more – ours was $30 with tip):

 

 

Our view for lunch:

 

 

I was too hungry and I forgot to take pictures of the food. Sorry about that! We swam for awhile, then did a little shopping in the souvenir store. After, we decided to go explore.

 

 

 

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Then it was time to head back to shore. You could see the whale tale from the other side of the island as we returned:

 

 

When we got back to the marina, they were iguanas everywhere sunbathing.

 

 

 

 

Then, we drove back to the ship. A word of warning to people who venture out on their own – there was a bad accident on the main road so getting back to the boat from seven mile beach was a nightmare. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time for things like that as we left several people behind in Grand Cayman!

 

Gas prices are super expensive – this is in Cayman dollars so it was really around $8 a gallon!!!

 

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We did a very quick run about a mile down the road, because my husband HAD to have a shirt from Guy Harvey that said Grand Cayman on it. It was about a 10 minute walk each way. We got back to the port and had about 45 minutes until the last tender. The line was SO long! It wrapped around the port area.

 

 

It took us about 25 minutes to make it through the line. It wasn’t a bad wait and the line moved quickly. Plus, there is a great candy/ice cream shop right near the end of the line. Treat yourself while you wait! Also, because I wasn’t aware of this… we bought a pint of rum and a Cuban cigar and they let us keep them. I don’t know if it was because it was a small amount of liquor or not, but I thought I would pass that on.

 

The night after Cayman was our second elegant night. People were not dressed up at all. I couldn’t tell that it was even a formal night! So, when preparing to pack don’t worry about getting nearly as dressed up the second night as for the first.

 

 

This was the best drink I had all cruise and I was sorry I didn’t discover them until Thursday. It was called the “cruiser” (how appropriate!):

 

 

 

After dinner, we spent a little time in the casino and then to a comedy show. We were exhausted as we were out and about ALL day on this excursion. It was honestly one of my favorite days of my entire life. I can’t rave about the excursion or the operator any more than I already have. If you want a full day in Grand Cayman that lets you really enjoy yourself, then this is the one!

 

This night in the comedy club we had Ronnie Bullard and Mutzie. We went to the “family” versions of these shows, and we didn’t love Ronnie Bullard. We heard his adult show was SUPER dirty, so he probably would have been a lot more entertaining if we saw that show. Mutzie was hilarious! He was actually on our last cruise and we loved him. His act is really interactive and he doesn’t curse so I think his show would really be the same whether it was “family” or not.

 

 

That night, the stage production show in the theater was Point & Click. The shows were at 8:45 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. We were way too worn out from the day to make it!

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FRIDAY, MAY 18, 2012 – Cozumel, Mexico

As we woke up and looked out of our balcony we saw the pilot ship coming:

 

 

 

 

Since we weren’t set to arrive in Cozumel until 10:00 a.m. we were able to sleep in a little then go the MDR again for breakfast. We got basically the same thing again, and it was wonderful again! This time we were seated with other people and we really enjoyed sharing a meal. Since we had ATD, we rarely got to really converse with people over a meal.

 

This day we chose to do the Jeep Caverns and Beach excursion. It was a long excursion that lasted the entire day we were in port. Our arrival to Cozumel was at 10:00 a.m. and our excursion was set to begin at 10:00 a.m. so we had to meet in the lounge at 9:30 so we would be the first people off the ship. It was roped off and as soon as we were cleared we were able to quickly leave the ship before everyone else (benefit of booking with Carnival!).

 

We walked down the pier, where a guide was waiting and then instructed us to walk immediately to the water taxi (the big boat to the left of this picture):

 

 

The weather wasn’t great that morning, but it cleared up quickly and it was a beautiful day!

 

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Okay, now we had to take a water taxi from Cozumel to Playa Del Carmen (mainland) which takes about 35 minutes. This boat holds 500 people and many excursions (especially if you’re going to a Mayan ruin) have to take this taxi. The way there wasn’t terrible, but on the way back the water was very rough. They passed out paper bags each way in case people got sick. I NEVER get sick on water and I’ve grown up riding on boats, but I felt a little queasy from the ride home. Word of advice, take something the day before if you have to take the water taxi. I will never do it again if I can help it.

 

 

We finally arrived to Playa Del Carmen and it was beautiful!!

 

 

 

We met with our groups, then we headed straight to the jeeps which were parked close. At that point you have to pair off with another couple. Four people ride in a jeep. We found a great couple our age to pair off with and then the adventure started! Note: you have to have a valid driver’s license to drive! The couple we rode with lost their driver’s licenses in Jamaica at Dunn’s River Falls and they were not supposed to drive. The guide checks for licenses before you leave from Playa Del Carmen (but that was the only time).

 

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After a short twenty minute ride, you reach the cave.

 

 

 

You have to pay for your snorkel, light, and locker on this excursion and it was $18 per couple. This was not advertised on the Carnival website as an added expense, so be aware!

 

After you get your stuff (even if you didn’t rent the snorkel or light you still have to pick up a life jacket and a hard hat for walking through the cave), you take off through the jungle for a five minute walk. It is a little hilly, but I think most people would be able to make the walk.

 

 

 

Then the guide gives you a little history lesson:

 

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Finally it is time to enter the cave!

 

 

 

Duck down low!

 

 

It gets pretty dark

 

 

Then, you finally come to light. It was breathtakingly beautiful. We were using a waterproof digital camera, but we had issue with perspiration in the lens. This picture doesn’t do it justice:

 

 

Then, you put on your life jacket and your equipment and it’s time to jump in. There is an option to walk in on the steps, but it is FREEZING cold crystal clear water. I tried to walk in and there was no way it was going to happen. I had to jump in to make myself do it. Your body quickly adjusts to the water temperature though.

 

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We swam around the caves for a while and got to see the different parts of the cave. Our experience was actually cut short due to high water. We couldn’t go into a certain part of the cave.

 

 

 

 

The guide will pass around some minerals from the floor of the cave to exfoliate your face with.

 

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Underwater shots (there were baby catfish swimming around!):

 

 

 

After about 45 minutes at the caves, it was time to ride to our next destination. We were brought on a 30 minute ride (down some down roads, so we got the jeep a little muddy!) to a beach with a restaurant. Again, the food wasn’t included and this was about $40 for both of us. We each got fajitas and guacamole with chips for an appetizer.

 

 

Our view from lunch:

 

 

It was so pretty. After we ate, we swam and layed out for about thirty minutes. The beach bar was neat:

 

 

Then, we headed back to where we parked the jeeps and had a 45 minute ride back to where the water taxi was waiting. We had to wait about an hour for a late tour group. So we had plenty of time to take pictures:

 

 

Overall, this excursion brought us to some beautiful places. I don't know that I'd do it again since there was so much time wasted on transportation (taking the water taxi each way, driving to the caves, then driving to the beach, then driving back). I'm glad I got to experience something like this though!

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We were so tired, and waiting for the late group was torture. We thought we were going to have enough time to run into one or two shops, but that time was taken waiting for the group. We were supposed to be back on the boat by 4:30. However, we didn’t make it back onto the boat until 5:30. All the shops were closed in Cozumel and the boat was blowing it’s horn at us to hurry.

 

 

We were literally running back to the boat:

 

 

We spent a long time on our balcony watching the sun set that day. It was one of my best memories of the trip:

 

 

We went to dinner and then went straight to bed. We laugh about how lame we were this night, because we planned on really going out! After the long day in Cayman and the long day in Cozumel we were ready for a good night of rest.

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SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012 – Day at Sea

 

Since we went to bed so early, we woke up early and went to breakfast and then found a chair on the lido. We laid out all day and I burned (figures it would happen the last day of vacation!). We got great advice from CC about chair clips. The decks can get kind of windy and these were really awesome. They were $5 for two from bath and body works.

 

 

We rode the slide a lot and played in the pools and hot tubs. This was the most beautiful sunny day of our cruise and we enjoyed it as much as possible!

 

 

That afternoon, we decided we would treat ourselves to the café on the promenade deck. You must do this at least once! We accidentally each order a dessert, plus by husband ordered a shake. This was enough for twenty people!!! This was the biggest piece of cheesecake I had ever seen (way bigger and taster way better than the steakhouse). The white chocolate cake didn’t taste as good as it looked, but it was still great. The ice cream shake had at least 10 scoops of ice cream and a little milk. I can’t wait to have another piece of that cheesecake (but I’ll make sure I split it with about three other people next time).

 

 

 

We ended the day, hanging on our balcony watching the beautiful views:

 

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We went to dinner that night and I ordered one of my favorite meals I had the whole cruise, the fried shrimp. I was almost too full from that afternoon to enjoy them though!

 

 

My husband ordered the eggplant parmesan and he liked it.

 

 

And we split the Bacon Mac N’ Cheese since we hadn’t had it before:

 

 

 

That night we went to the Carnival Legends show and it was so funny! I was so impressed with the talent of our fellow passengers. Of course the cruise director and the assistant cruise directors were also pretty funny! Before the show we were suckered into playing the bingo game with the $1000 jackpot ($20 for three cards). I couldn’t believe how calm the person who won was. I would have been so excited! Sadly, we had to pack our bags and put them outside. I always feel like it’s really over when this happens.

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SUNDAY, MAY 20, 2012 – Debarkation Day

 

We were zone three so we decided against self-embarkation since we would be one of the first people off. We got up and went to breakfast in the main dining room. After a leisurely breakfast, we headed to the theater to wait for debarkation. They were running a few minutes later than the posted schedule in the fun times. The theater is a good place to wait, since it is right next to where you will walk off the ship so when they call your zone you’re the first people off. There weren’t many people waiting there. I think there weren’t many people since this wasn’t a published waiting place. The only reason we knew we could wait there was due to our waiter telling us after breakfast. The only problem was you couldn’t really hear so you had to wait for the workers in the room with walkie talkies to make an announcement.

 

We thought this was a breeze. The lines weren’t long for customs and they didn’t even look at our declarations, nor were we searched. We walked straight out and into a waiting cab (although you do have to cross incoming traffic to get to where the cabs are waiting). Debarkation may have been easy for us since we were one of the first zones off, but I can’t imagine it got much worse. Also, they really did not have any other zones luggage out when we were there. The people we tried to sneak off early were escorted into a crammed waiting area without seating (so just wait until your turn!). After a five minute taxi ride ($15 with tip which is cheaper than paying $14 for the shuttle plus tip), we were back at the hotel. We were on the interstate on the way home by 9:45.

 

Overall, it was a GREAT trip. I only had two real complaints (the emptying of the comedy club and the temperature of our room). If that’s the only thing you have to complain about, then I think it was a pretty successful trip. If you have any questions about our excursions or the ship then let me know! I really loved our trip and I hope everyone else has as good of a time as we did on the Conquest!:D

[daijayx2]

Loved Loved Loved the review and all the pictures!! I will be on the Conquest in Feb for my first 7 day cruise. :) same itin as you.

Glad to see you had a great time!

 

 

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[slm0285]

We did this same excursion in Cozumel last year and the meal was included and the lockers were only $5! We had bought our snorkel gear from the guest services on the ship, which were $5 each. I didn't like that it lasted all day either. It was a pretty cool experience but not really what I was expecting. Definitely want to spend more time in the shops in Cozumel next time. I have heard that is the best place to shop...

[cricket_7]

Awesome review! Thanks so much for posting this. We leave on the Conquest in 18 days...can't wait!!

[ripjerry95]

Thank you so much for your great review. All the pictures get me in the spirit. I am setting sail on the Ecstasy June 14th.

[me-shel]

Great review. Thanks for taking the time to post all the pictures - they make all the difference!

 

Sorry to hear about the comedy club seating. Having not experienced it, it *seems* like a practical idea to make sure everyone gets a chance to see a show. Too bad it sounds like it didn't really work that well when put into practice.

[cruisinsly]

Great review. Thanks for posting. Loved the pictures.

[Joe2sgirl]

thank you so much for taking the time to make such a detailed review. It's one of the most informative I've ever read. I'm going on the Conquest w/same itinerary , with my DH and two boys, and 18 friends & family in ten days. I'm even more excited now!:D