Quick Conquest Southern Caribbean Review

[rtap23]

Just wanted to post a quick review of our family cruise aboard the Conquest.

 

Arrived at Port Everglades at 10:45. We had FTTF so we bypassed the line and went straight to security and then went to get our sail & sign cards. Once we finished we noticed that the waiting area was packed but there were people already boarding so we asked and they told us FTTF had already been called so we walked directly in at 11:15.

 

We stayed on deck 10 Panorama balcony room. It was very quiet and very convenient to the Lido and atrium elevators.

 

Cruise Director was Jase (Byeeee) He was not our favorite but not the worst either.

 

We had anytime dining and usually went around 6-6:30. We never had to wait and we were usually out in about 45 minutes to an hour. The food in the dining room was probably the best we had in a long time.

 

Grand Turk: Rented a golf cart from Carib and explored the entire island first and then we found an amazing secluded beach. The best beach I have ever seen and we were the only ones there. We stayed there most of the day and then decided to go check out Governors Beach. Only about 6 people and the beach was also beautiful. Went back to turn in the golf cart and back on the ship.

 

La Romana: Rented a car from Avis directly at the port. It is located after you pass the small shops and the new bar. Drove to Bayahibe beach but we found it to be too busy so we ended up in Dominicus Beach. Spent a few hours there and then headed towards downtown La Romana. Wow what an experience. There are no stop signs in the intersections and its pretty much no rules. I had a blast driving in that craziness.

 

Curacao: We had reserved a car there also from Avis and drove all the way to the west point. We stopped by the wind mills which was pretty neat and then drove to every single beach on the west side of the Island. We ended up staying at Big Kinip which was amazing. We were also the only ones there for the 4 hours we were there. Drove back to the port and dropped of the car. Went back on the ship to shower and have dinner and then went back off to walk to see the bridge at night.

 

Aruba: Decided to take a last minute excursion for an island tour and beach escape to Palm Beach but was not very impressed by the beach that they took us to. It was way too crowded for us. Once we got back to the port area we decided to do some shopping and ran into Mojitos Cuban Restaurant. Since we are Cuban we were immediately drawn to this place but we were very disappointed in the food.

 

Disembarkation was also very smooth. They called FTTF at 7:30 and we were done with customs before 8.

 

We have sailed NCL 3 times, RCCL 3 times and Carnival 5 times and this has been our favorite cruise so far. Great job by the Carnival Conquest crew....

 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

[Banks822]

Thanks for the review! I'm looking forward to sailing on the Conquest in April.

[nydney1]

Thanks for the review. We sail in less than 85 days

[rtap23]

Thanks for the review. We sail in less than 85 days

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the review! I'm looking forward to sailing on the Conquest in April.

 

Hopefully you will enjoy it as much as we did.

[babys mom]

Glad you had a good time !! Was the beach in Bayhide calm water ? Was it the Atlantic Ocean ?We went to Punta Cana last year to Dreams all inclusive water was not nice on Atlantic side. Can you eat in both dining rooms if you are on anytime dining? We will be on Conquest in Sept and these islands.. Thanks again :)

[golfb4cruzing]

Thanks for the review! I'm looking forward to sailing on the Conquest in April.

 

 

We are on the same trip. Coming back to Carnival after a couple of years break. A little sad no Serenity Area.

[Poppy42]

Interested in the beaches on Grand Turk - can you give me any more info on "amazing secluded beach." We like to find beaches where we can go ":Dau natural.;)"

[rtap23]

Glad you had a good time !! Was the beach in Bayhide calm water ? Was it the Atlantic Ocean ?We went to Punta Cana last year to Dreams all inclusive water was not nice on Atlantic side. Can you eat in both dining rooms if you are on anytime dining? We will be on Conquest in Sept and these islands.. Thanks again :)

 

La Romana is on the south side of the island and the beaches of Bayahibe and Dominicus are not rough at all and are pretty clear.

 

As for anytime dining we were only allowed to eat in the Renoir dining room

[rtap23]

Interested in the beaches on Grand Turk - can you give me any more info on "amazing secluded beach." We like to find beaches where we can go ":Dau natural.;)"

 

Poppy42 on our way back from the lighthouse there are a few dirt roads to the right side. I believe it was the second one. The road was about 1/4 mile long. Since we were on a golf cart we did not ride it all the way to the beach. We stopped about 30 yards from the beach and walked the rest of the way in fear we would get stuck in the sand.

[babys mom]

Thank you about anytime dining .We are actually on assigned dining I thought maybe anytime you could do both dining rooms. Do you know what dining room is for assigned on Conquest? Thank you

[rtap23]

Thank you about anytime dining .We are actually on assigned dining I thought maybe anytime you could do both dining rooms. Do you know what dining room is for assigned on Conquest? Thank you

 

The top floor of the Renoir is for assigned and the lower level is for anytime dinning and I'm not sure how the Monet dining room works.

[rocketship]

Just wanted to post a quick review of our family cruise aboard the Conquest.

 

Arrived at Port Everglades at 10:45. We had FTTF so we bypassed the line and went straight to security and then went to get our sail & sign cards. Once we finished we noticed that the waiting area was packed but there were people already boarding so we asked and they told us FTTF had already been called so we walked directly in at 11:15.

 

Disembarkation was also very smooth. They called FTTF at 7:30 and we were done with customs before 8.

 

We have sailed NCL 3 times, RCCL 3 times and Carnival 5 times and this has been our favorite cruise so far. Great job by the Carnival Conquest crew....

 

 

Man, what a difference FTTF makes... We had the complete opposite experience with Embarkation and Debarkation. By far the WORST of all my 13 cruises. Embarkation line was ridiculously long, I would guess 3x-4x longer than any line I have ever encountered... Debarkation couldnt get worst right? It did.. They called our zone (zone 8) and by the time we could get down from Lido deck, to deck 3, they were already calling the next zone. Luckily we beat those guys, but were still in for an over hour wait to get out of customs. FOUR customs agents working. I was flabbergasted. And the way they had the lines/ropes setup, I get the feeling they experience that often.

 

Like I told Carnival in the reviews, everything starting with the first step on the actual boat, to the last step off the actual boat was absolutely perfect. It was the before and after that was a terrible experience.

Edited July 22, 2015 by rocketship

[momonthego17]

Thanks for writing the review! We will be on Conquest this Thanksgiving. On GT, how much did a golf cart run? Were there bathrooms and drinks accessible at the beaches you drove to?

Wow, you got to the port at 10:45 and on ship by 11:15? Nice! We have FTTF as well and it sounds like getting there before 10:45 is a good idea:D

Thanks in advance for your answers!

[rtap23]

Man, what a difference FTTF makes... We had the complete opposite experience with Embarkation and Debarkation. By far the WORST of all my 13 cruises. Embarkation line was ridiculously long, I would guess 3x-4x longer than any line I have ever encountered... Debarkation couldnt get worst right? It did.. They called our zone (zone 8) and by the time we could get down from Lido deck, to deck 3, they were already calling the next zone. Luckily we beat those guys, but were still in for an over hour wait to get out of customs. FOUR customs agents working. I was flabbergasted. And the way they had the lines/ropes setup, I get the feeling they experience that often.

 

Like I told Carnival in the reviews, everything starting with the first step on the actual boat, to the last step off the actual boat was absolutely perfect. It was the before and after that was a terrible experience.

 

Yeah I noticed the line getting considerably longer after us and we were zone 1. I know some people believe that FTTF is a waste of money but we love it.

[rtap23]

Thanks for writing the review! We will be on Conquest this Thanksgiving. On GT, how much did a golf cart run? Were there bathrooms and drinks accessible at the beaches you drove to?

Wow, you got to the port at 10:45 and on ship by 11:15? Nice! We have FTTF as well and it sounds like getting there before 10:45 is a good idea:D

Thanks in advance for your answers!

 

The golf cart from Karib is $100 and it is has a capacity for 4 people. They have a facebook page so you can reserve ahead of time. They now ask for a $50 deposit paid via PayPal to hold one for you and the other 50 when you pick it up.

 

The beaches we went to did not have any facilities except for Governors beach which had bathrooms. They looked a little run downed but they worked.

[rocketship]

Yeah I noticed the line getting considerably longer after us and we were zone 1. I know some people believe that FTTF is a waste of money but we love it.

 

I absolutely love FTTF... We have previously purchased it 3 or 4 times.. On this particular cruise, we had no tender ports. We were also arriving day of on an airplane and wouldn't be to the port until around 12:00 and then on debarking, our flight wasn't until 7pm that night... So we didn't see a real need for FTTF on this cruise. I wish I could go back and pay the money to skip that line. haha.

 

I hit platinum on my cruise in October, so I no longer have to worry about it!!! Yay!!

[rooster1961]

We did same route on Conquest in May.Nice review. Make sure you stop at Jack's Shack in Grand Turk for some great Jerk Chicken and when in Aruba,try the Kooku Kunuku city tour,we had a blast.

Edited July 23, 2015 by rooster1961
spell error

[TerReuv]

We will be sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale in October on the Conquest. Can you tell me what terminal you sailed out of? Just wondering as the Port Everglades site does not say what terminal Conquest is out of. Thanks!

[rtap23]

We will be sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale in October on the Conquest. Can you tell me what terminal you sailed out of? Just wondering as the Port Everglades site does not say what terminal Conquest is out of. Thanks!

 

To be honest I did not even notice what terminal it was. It is the one directly on the intercostal waterway not the one in the basin.

[Poppy42]

We will be sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale in October on the Conquest. Can you tell me what terminal you sailed out of? Just wondering as the Port Everglades site does not say what terminal Conquest is out of. Thanks!

Every time we've cruised out of Port Everglades there has been signs telling you which terminal the ship is docked at. They don't always leave from the same pier.

[TerReuv]

Thank you to both rtap & Poppy. I am such a list maker and like to have all details set. I even print out google maps for directions to the port from the hotel just in case. The terminals all have different addresses so I thought it would help my Dad (who usually is the one driving).

 

Guess, I will have to try and curb this problem. :D

[rtap23]

Thank you to both rtap & Poppy. I am such a list maker and like to have all details set. I even print out google maps for directions to the port from the hotel just in case. The terminals all have different addresses so I thought it would help my Dad (who usually is the one driving).

 

Guess, I will have to try and curb this problem. :D

 

Don't worry about it. Once you pull up to port you will see her immediately and know exactly where to go.

[momonthego17]

Was there live steel drum music on the lido deck? Thanks!

[Greg in GA]

rtap23....Thanks for the review. I'll be on that same itinerary in September. I was wondering if you remember which days were the Formal dinners? I am trying to make Steakhouse reservations but I want to avoid Formal nights there.

Thank you again for the information!

[rtap23]

Was there live steel drum music on the lido deck? Thanks!

 

There was no steel drum music on board. The lido deck was pretty much just the DJ