Stacey's Semi-Solo Caribbean Conquest!!!

[sunbird21]

Hi all!

 

 

 

 

Welcome to my semi-solo Conquest review! I've written a few reviews, mostly on NCL, so I'm happy to acquire as many new readers as possible!

 

 

For those who haven't read any of my prior reviews, here is a little about me. I'm a 30-something single nurse in NYC who loves to travel and write, so I combine both here. Due to my single status, I have done a lot of solo travel, both domestically and internationally, as well as cruising. However, I do occasionally have company, either my mom, my niece or friends.

 

 

 

A little about my review style-I know there are various styles on here, ranging from the brief, categorical Cliff's Notes to detailed pictorials. I fall somewhere in the middle, opting for the VERY wordy, day by day story telling with pictures to enhance, but do not have high quality photography at this point-so if the pictorials are more your style, I can certainly offer recommendations but my photos are for illustration purpose only.

 

 

 

Though people initially may describe me as the quiet and sweet type, once you get to know me, my dry,sarcastic,snarky humor comes to play, and I incorporate those qualities in my reviews. My observations and comments are MY opinion only, not those of my traveling companions(unless specifically stated) or fellow passengers that I have met.

 

 

I'm not the type to complain about faded carpet, nor am I the type to say everything's perfect. Everyone's experience on a ship/itinerary is different, and people can argue their perspectives until the cows come home-that's all right, but in my review, I'm going to clearly state my opinions and experience. I welcome all feedback and comments, but if you take offense to my style or opinion, then please hit the back button and resist the urge to start an argument.

 

 

 

Finally, I try to post as quickly as possible, but sometimes work takes a LOT of time, so there may be delays. I am starting this one later than I had planned due to some forseen and unforseen circumstances. I'm going to try to post as much as I can this weekend. If there is a delay,please be patient-I WILL finish it. My goal is always to have it completed in 3 weeks-I've met this goal a few times and not a few times. :)

 

 

 

 

OK, still with me? Then let's explore the Conquest's 8 day Southern Caribbean itinerary, one that has woefully few reviews that I hope to correct!

 

 

 

*************************************************************************************

 

 

 

A little background on this particular cruise:

 

 

 

I am pretty evenly split between NCL and Carnival for cruising, platinum on neither:) I had requested vacation time for two weeks at the end of April/beginning of May in a long shot hope of trying to join the Vista on one of her inaugural voyages, with a repeat NCL Epic Med cruise as a backup plan.

 

 

 

However, I recently upgraded to the holy grail in NYC-a larger apartment with an elevator and laundry room. (You'd be surprised how much each little thing jacks up the rent here). Thus, funding would not allow for a European cruise at this time.

 

 

 

 

So, I researched both lines, with the Breeze being my next choice, but alas, she had no availability during my dates. After much consideration, the Conquest's 8 day itinerary seemed to fit the bill. Though it's an older ship, it would be my first with Guy's Burger/Blue Iguana/Alchemy Bar. Also, Aruba and Curacao were amongst the few islands I had yet to hit. The only issue was that it was pricier than most Caribbean cruises, and as a solo, an inside was really my only choice.

 

 

 

Now don't get me wrong-I have cruised many insides, but after going balcony on my last three cruises, it was definitely a mental adjustment.

 

 

 

 

Around the same time that I booked my cruise, one of my friends, C (who was on my NCL Breakaway cruise in October) was also looking into a cruise with her fiancé and two children. This would be her second cruise( yay me for getting her hooked now LOL). She was pretty dead set on doing a rerun on the Breakaway, as she LOVED Bermuda, even though I tried to convince her that there were other islands out there to explore. We talked about doing a "separate but together" cruise (pretty self explanatory) and she was interested in the itinerary of my cruise, but hesitant on four airfares to Florida.

 

 

 

 

 

Well, the travel gods were on our side that week, and RT airfare from NYC-FLL was as low as $130pp. Granted, these fares included at least one flight on the El Cheapo of all airlines, Spirit, but even JetBlue was only about $160.

 

 

 

Also, an inside cabin for her family of four was about $1000 cheaper than either of NCL's New York based ships. So, once she calculated that even WITH 4 airline tickets that the Conquest was a cheaper vacation, C set out to convince her fiancé,P to come along. Fast forward a few days of discussion and vacation requests, and their family was a go for the cruise!

 

 

 

But wait, we're not done yet! It just so happens that another member of our girls cruise, V, LIVES in Ft Lauderdale, and had time open. So, with another few days of her asking her boyfriend to come along, and more vacation requests, they were also booked!

 

 

 

We had one last member of our foursome, L, who had just started a new position a few months prior. Although we tried to convince her to at least inquire about the time off, it was not to be, so sadly she remained in New York, but supporting us all the way.

 

 

 

And that is how I found myself on a semi-solo cruise! I still had my own cabin, and knew that we wouldn't all be together all of the time, but also knew that we would have plenty of adventures over the course of the week. Because both V and I wanted to get the CHEERS package, and her boyfriend didn't, she booked herself in my room on paper. Of course, a few days prior to the cruise, he decided to go for it, so it was a wash, but did give her a bit of a headache with switching room keys.

 

 

 

 

Sidetracking a bit- this cruise was bookended with some personal good news/bad news that I want to mention. Prior to the cruise, I was offered a position as a nurse educator, which has been a career goal of mine, so I was very excited to have some time off before I switched jobs. I just wrapped up a long course of being a full time home health nurse in Manhattan, which is quite stressful at times, and also led me into very much needing a vacation only 3 months after my previous one.

 

 

 

 

As for the bad news, shortly after my return home, one of my cats, Sydney, whom had been ill with lymphoma for about a year, became further ill, and I had to put him to sleep three days after I got home. He was an extremely sweet cat, and I miss him very much. So, although this may make no sense to fellow cruisers, I am especially writing this review in his memory.

 

 

 

OK, I'm really ready to start the review now:)

 

 

Stacey

[JimAOk1945]

I enjoyed reading your review. Happy cruising in the future wherever you go!

[sunbird21]

Day 1-Pre Cruise Travel Day and some more pre cruise info ( I told you that this was a wordy review, did I not)?

 

 

 

 

I have one more bit of background info that colors some of the cruise. As many people know, the CC roll calls are great for lending itself to meeting other cruisers prior to the sailing, and setting up informal meet and greets, slot pulls, cabin crawls,etc. I myself did not discover this until my 5th cruise, and am happy to have done so, as I have accumulated friends from all over from this initial platform. Of course, with social media being what it is, most of the time now the roll calls spill onto private cruise pages on the Big Blue Site(being careful in case of mods looking for the F word lol).

 

 

 

 

This was absolutely the case on this roll call, and it was VERY active. I chatted with a lot of people, and it seemed like it was going to be a fun crowd for the occasional interactions and events. I even volunteered to host a "pub crawl" on one of the sea days.

 

 

 

 

About a couple of weeks before the cruise, however, some controversy broke out.

 

 

It seems as though there were a number of people on the Big Blue page who were part of a subsect of passengers traveling on an "Elite" cruise. From what I gather, these were frequent casino patrons who received this cruise (whether free or heavily discounted, I don't know) along with a handful of private events throughout the week.OK, no problem, although there were a lot of posts regarding those specific events on the Big Blue page.

 

 

 

Again, no big deal, but one evening there were a slew of angry posts. It seemed as though some people were getting confused as to what events were private and what ones were public suggestions, i.e., "hey, we are renting a boat in Grand Turk, who wants to join at $60pp?"

 

 

So, the Big Blue organizer politely posted a request for the cruisers who were in the Elite itinerary to post their private activities on a different page, as to not promote confusion on the main page.

 

 

 

Well, you would have thought that she had asked for their firstborn children's heads to be chopped off by the reaction that it generated. Suddenly, a handful of people in that group began angrily accusing her of "banishing" them from the page, and it all went to hell from there.

 

 

 

 

Some people(myself included) tried to reply and explain the intent diplomatically, and some responded appropriately, but others began to resort to name calling,posting nasty comments and memes,arguing, etc. One member even decided to turn the tables and refer to people with the Cheers package as "a bunch of drunks" and declared that s/he did not want to be "associated with that type of person."

 

 

 

Needless to say, this put a dark color on the pre cruise buildup, and unfortunately did lead to several members leaving the page, but thankfully died down after several days. Luckily, by the time I left, everyone was pretty much focused on cruise preparations,last minute packing, and countdowns!

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday, April 28:

 

 

 

 

So I did go for one of the ultra cheap fares, which included a ride on El Cheapo on the way down to FLL. I was well informed of the gargantuous baggage charges, but somehow stupidly thought that I could pack all of my items for 11 days into one suitcase, and paid the early fare for a checked bag.

 

 

 

The night before,sanity intervened, and I was forced to fork out the cost of a carryon as well. Oh well, at least it would be free on my return ride.

 

 

 

My flight was 11am, but I'm very neurotic and an anxious( ok, petrified) flyer, so I ordered a Carmel car to take me to LGA at 8am that morning.Luckily the ride was quick, and the bag drop line was a s well. However, security was,well….

 

 

 

 

 

I was pretty glad for the extra time.It took about 40 minutes from entry to cramming my feet back into my sandals.

 

 

 

Now, the thing I like about LGA is that it's the closest airport to my apt. The thing I hate is…everything else. Including the fact that at 9:30, the only options for food were a couple of pastry stands and one sit down "restaurant" with few offerings.

 

 

I settled for a couple of pastries and a Coke to wash my Xanax down.

 

 

 

(For a detailed rundown on my flight fear, please read my Dream blog).

 

 

 

Though I wanted a celebratory mimosa, I learned my lesson from THAT trip on mixing alcohol with meds(although it was inadvertent).

 

 

 

 

So after chowing down and a few phone calls, I headed to explore the terminal. Once again, this consisted of two Hudson news stores. I then wandered to the gate,which was already packed. I found a place near the wall and spied my ride:

 

 

 

 

 

I tried not to focus on the fact that there seemed to be A HUGE DENT in the tail. I tried to identify it on other aircraft tails, but when I was unable to do so, I decided it was time to increase my dosage a little.

 

 

 

 

Thankfully,it started to really kick in by boarding time(20 minutes late) and I settled into my aisle seat, noticing several empty seats around me, though I had a couple next to me. Since I was starting to feel woozy, I decided to stay put. I checked out the offerings that El Cheapo was selling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fireball on board! If I hadn't had my Xanax…

 

 

 

We took off shortly and I fell asleep for a chunk of the flight. I woke up about an hour before landing and just read my kindle on iPad for a bit. Turbulence was at a minimum for this flight!

 

 

 

 

 

We landed just about on time, and you could feel the warm air as you exited the plane. NYC had been having some schizophrenic weather the previous couple of weeks, with it being 70 one day and 30 the next, so I was happy to feel unconditional sunshine for awhile.

 

 

 

 

V had offered to pick me up and go out to lunch, and she was there pretty much as soon as I retrieved my luggage. My pre cruise hotel, the Hilton Ft Lauderdale Marina, was only about 15 minutes from the airport.

 

 

 

 

I had booked this one through Priceline express deals, which, using booking buddy as a supplement, allows you to pretty closely narrow down their "express" hotels. The Hilton and the Hyatt Pier 66 were the only 4* choices in that locale, and based on the wording, I was pretty certain that this would be the hotel when I booked. Sure enough, it was mine for $124/night, which was a great deal for a weekend-hotel's full price is over $200.

Edited June 6, 2016 by sunbird21

[pirate4me2]

Looking forward to your review!

I have a MAJOR fear of flying, and am trying to figure out a way to be able to fly to NYC for a cruise out of there. Does Xanax really work for you? Do you have any other tricks you can recommend? The thought alone of stepping foot on a plane makes my heart race and I start to hyperventilate.

[SenatorsFan]

I'm looking forward to following your review, Stacey. And I'm sorry to hear about your cat; as a fellow cat person, it makes perfect sense to me that you'd dedicate your review to him. Congrats on the new job, too. How exciting to reach a career goal. :)

Heather

[rexy69]

I'm loving your trip report...you sound similar to myself. Can't wait to read more!

[LizaMM]

Enjoying your review! My last cruise in January was the same 8 day Conquest sailing so I am looking forward to memories as well as your opinion:)

 

BTW....I am an RN as well and currently working as an RN Clinical Supervisor in Home Health Care in CT. I am in lower fairfield county which is tri-state area and I can only imagine what its like to be a visiting RN in the city!

 

I am sailing again next week on the Splendor.... I absolutely LOVE what I do but vacays are much needed in this line of work :)

[sunbird21]

 

 

The hotel was very close to port, and had a beautiful lobby.I was able to check in quickly,and they had a room ready. I did opt to upgrade to a tower room for only $20 more total.

 

 

 

I quickly took my bags up to my room, which was pretty nice and had an amazing view of the port!

 

 

 

 

 

I didn't waste a lot of time, as V was waiting, so I went back downstairs and we went to Ft Lauderdale Beach for lunch. It is a pretty nice looking beach, with a boardwalk full of restaurants, bars,souvenir shops,etc.

 

 

 

 

We ended up at one called the Drunken Taco, which had a 2 for 1 giant margarita special. For some reason, I get a nacho craving on tropical vacations at times, and its the one food that is almost never on the ship(regardless of line). So, I indulged and we had our margaritas and chatted excitedly about our upcoming cruise.

 

 

 

 

I'm a compulsive trip planner (my friends call me the Human Google of traveling) and I had made our own private Big Blue page where I listed what there was to do (in depth) at each island, as well as on the ship. As a group, we had only made definitive plans for one island (Aruba), and everything else was up in the air. I didn't expect that we would be as a group on every outing, but it was good to have a general idea of what we wanted to do.

 

 

 

After consuming out carbs and alcohol, we walked down on the beach a bit so that I could take the obligatory "I'm on vacation" picture to post on Big Blue.

 

 

 

V then dropped me back at my hotel, as she had a lot to do to get ready for the trip and for C's family, who was staying at her house when they arrived the next day.

 

 

 

 

Once back at the hotel, I changed and headed to the area that had enticed me to this hotel in the first place…the pool.

 

 

 

For once, pictures didn't lie…this area was absolutely gorgeous. It immediately immersed you in a tropical atmosphere, with a couple of hammocks strung between the many palm trees, a large, sparkling blue pool, and a tiki bar off to the side. They even had padded loungers in one section and sun beds, much like on the Serenity deck on Carnival (which was NOT one of Conquest's amenities, but lets not dwell on that).

 

 

 

The hammocks were in use, so I settled on a padded lounger, and accepted a beverage from one of the bar servers who made frequent rounds around the area.

 

 

 

I stayed here for a few hours, alternating between reading, talking to people, and just relaxing.

 

 

 

 

After the sun started to fade, I walked around the inside of the hotel a bit. I noted where the business section was, to print out my luggage tags.

 

 

I went up to my room, unpacked a bit, and began to get tired. Although I had thought about trying to make it to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner that night, the day was catching up with me. So, I perused the room service menu and believe it or not, ended up getting the nachos again.

 

 

 

 

 

By the time it arrived, one of my favorite shows was on TV, so my evening was pretty set. I fell asleep not long afterwards.

[sunbird21]

Here are some photos of my hotel room/balcony...I had thought that I had taken more of the lobby and grounds. If I come across them,I will post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[chamelean75]

Those nachos look delicious!!!

[sunbird21]

DAY 2-Friday April 29

 

 

I woke up early, which, to anyone who has read my other reviews, is par for the course for me. I don't know what it is, many years of being conditioned to wake early for work, or rebelling against the years that I was on night shift, but my body refuses to sleep much past 7 and rarely ever past 8. Likewise, I struggle to stay awake past midnight. I'm horribly programmed for vacation, I know, and probably even for NYC…but that's me. I still manage to have a good time.

 

 

I saw a Royal ship in port from my balcony.

 

 

 

 

I went downstairs in search of breakfast, and found the "restaurant" that served either a buffet of continental items for $14.95 or omelets/eggs and hot items for $24.95. Although I went for it, it was a complete ripoff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After stuffing myself some more-yes, I acknowledge that I'm a pig, but who cares? There would be chunkier women than I in smaller bikinis than mine, so just deal with it- I headed over to the Walgreens down the street to pick up some toiletries that I didn't pack due to El Cheapo's weight guidelines. For those staying at this hotel, or the Renaissance, it's only a 5-10 minute walk down the street, at the first light.

 

 

 

 

Once this was done, my Great Debate for the day began…

 

 

Pool or Beach?

 

 

 

I opted to take the water taxi to the beach for a few hours, then return to the pool. It was $26 for an all day pass, which I purchased form the concierge in the lobby. BTW, they sell various day tours, bus rides, amusement park tickets and such, do if you are here for a day or two and haven't made any plans to explore the surrounding areas, check them out.

 

 

 

 

I found the water taxi stand out the front of the hotel and to the left of the parking lot, in a little gazebo. I think they come by every 30 minutes, but luckily I only had to wait about 10. It was a 25 minute ride (2 stops) to the main stop for Ft Lauderdale beach.

 

 

[mykindaparty]

Saving my place.......

[sunbird21]

Along the way, the tour guide gave a little commentary on the various yachts that we passed.

 

 

Now, on of the reviewers that I frequent are Gambee's(which if you haven't read him, please run over there, after reading mine of course) and he often talks about ogling yachts. I never saw the appeal, figured it was a personal thing, but after seeing some of these contraptions up close, I totally get it now. I can't imagine living in south Florida and not having yacht envy. These were like luxury cars parked beside some waterfront homes that were not too run down.

 

 

 

The guide pointed out former mayor Bloombergs yacht, and the yacht that Johnny Depp sold to J.K. Rowling.

 

 

 

Yacht watching(or drooling) definitely occupied the time during the ride, and before I knew it,we were at the beach stop. I got off, and walked about 5minutes and found myself at the boardwalk where I had been the day before.

 

 

 

I walked for a few minutes, finding some beach chairs and an umbrella, and of course they wanted $15 for them. Since I expected to be shelling out money for these on the islands, I chose to forgo it here, and instead settled on the sand.

 

 

 

 

Well, I thought I was on the sand, but it felt more like lava. Be careful what you wish for Stacey! The sun was scalding hot, and it was only 11:30.

 

 

I tried to read, sun-nap, and even went into the water a few times, but my poor Northeastern skin was already crying out, and I knew I had 8 days of sun ahead of me, so I gave up after what felt like a few hours.

 

 

It turns out, I only lasted 90 minutes. Sucker!!

 

 

 

I strolled back to the water taxi stop, panting like a dog in the desert. I waited about 15 minutes before the same water taxi returned. This time, I tuned out the identical commentary, until we approached THIS creature….

 

 

 

 

Wall Street mogul, you might ask? Nope. This was a SIXTEENTH BIRTHDAY PRESENT to some spoiled rich girl.

 

 

 

I have to ask, once you receive a YACHT for a birthday present, where do you go from there, gift wise? I mean, this chick still has to graduate high school, college(presumably) rise through a career(ok, even I'm laughing now) possibly get married, have kids, not to mention every other birthday and holiday. How do you commemorate those occasions?

 

 

I digress.

 

 

 

Upon my return, I happily scampered to my beautiful hotel pool(after applying more sunscreen, which I quickly realized would need to be purchased again) where I found that they moved the padded loungers from yesterday and were setting up tables and a buffet stand, a la wedding reception.

 

 

 

I worried for a second that the pool area would be closing soon, but I was reassured that no, it would remain open until 11 that night.

 

 

 

So, I chose a regular lounger by the pool on a shady side, and accepted yet another beverage (or 3) as I relaxed the day away.

 

 

 

At one point, one of the hammocks became free, and I pounced.

 

 

Once I began to wind down, and get a little hungry, I headed to the bar, where I had some chicken fingers and a pina colada.

 

 

 

 

 

I chatted with a guy sitting next to me who was relocating to Florida for a bit, until I received a call from C. They had just landed and been picked up by V, and were heading over to the hotel, where I was giving C my old iPhone 4s. She needed a new smartphone(long story) and mine was just sitting there, so I had refreshed it the day before and it was ready to go. This may seem like a minute detail, but trust me, it will come into play...

[sunbird21]

They arrived a few minutes later, and I gave them a quick tour of the pool and my room. We took some pictures on the balcony before heading out to grab some food. I wasn't hungry but tagged along anyway.

 

 

 

Three guesses where we ended up. Yes, the Drunken Taco was happy to see us again, too.

 

 

 

 

No, I didn't get the nachos again. I actually don't recall what I ate, which leads me to believe I just participated in the 2 for 1 margarita with V again.

 

 

 

We had one minor incident where we thought C's 2 years old, O, was choking, and our 1st aid skills were about to kick in, but it turned out he just didn't like the salsa. Crisis averted, but it was a preview for our week with a 2 year old LOL.

 

 

 

 

 

Afterwards, the kids were getting a bit nasty, so I offered to take a walk with O in his stroller along the beach. C's 9 year old, L tagged along.

 

 

 

At one point, L was playing in the sand, so I let O out of his stroller to play with his brother. All was well, until I had to put O back in the stroller. To all of those on the beach that evening, please know that O is alive and well,even though I manhandled him into the stroller and he screamed like I was drowning him.

 

 

 

In my defense, I had taken O to the park a few days earlier while we were out getting mani pedis for the trip, and though C warned me about him resisting being "restrained," he was a perfect angel. I had stupidly expected a repeat, but then again,I had forgotten about the mood swings of toddlerhood.

 

 

 

C had a good laugh as we walked back to the restaurant, with O shrieking. Yes, yes, you told me so.

 

 

 

 

After we finished, they all returned me to the hotel, and we bid adieu until the next day. I had no illusions about us coordinating a time to go to port together-they are all late risers, and had a lot more to get ready, so I knew I wouldn't see them until we were on the Conquest.

 

 

 

 

I bought some pop in the lobby store/cafe and noticed that the computers in the business center area were turned off. I inquired at the front desk and found out that they were out of commission.

 

 

 

OK,no working printers at a hotel by a cruise port??

 

 

 

 

Luckily, the guy at the front desk was super sweet and offered to let me behind the desk to print my tags and boarding pass. he even let me take a stapler upstairs to attach them to my bags.

 

 

 

I returned to my room and settled in again for the night. It was only a few hours until cruise time!!!

[Ms. Fun Bunch]

Great start to your review, following!

[sunbird21]

I think this is a good place to stop for the night and catch up on some replies (YAY,people are reading!!!)

 

JimAok1945-thanks for reading, and Happy Cruising to you as well!!

 

 

Pirate4me2 ABSOLUTELY Xanax is the way to go (Disclaimer-assuming you have no allergies or other contraindications to benzodiazepines-check with your MD) Most primary MD's are hesitant to prescribe if they don't know you, but if you have a long term relationship with yours, and you go in and explain your flight anxiety, they usually wont have a problem prescribing you a few pills. Depending on the med and dosage(may take a few tries to find your perfect dose) you take it about 30-45 minutes before the flight, and it'll relax you to the point that you don't care about takeoff/turbulence/what have you.

 

I have tried alcohol, and it can work, but for me, the whole bathroom factor can be a pain,especially if you have to go during the seatbelt sign on time. So, for me, pills work better. It's worth checking into, as most cruises leave from Florida/California/Texas/etc.

 

 

 

SenatorsFan Thank you for your condolences and congratulations. it has been a busy few weeks since I've been back, but now that the dust has settled I am hoping to be able to concentrate on finishing this review! I'm happy to have you along for the ride!

 

 

 

 

Rexy69 Thank you!!! I'm glad you are enjoying, let me know if I still sound like you at the end LOL!!!

 

 

LizaMM Thank you, and hope this brings back good memories (or covers up any negative ones)!!!

 

So you are a CS in Fairfield...I'm sure I have heard of your company LOL. I lived in CT for three years prior to NYC and worked as a HH nurse for two different companies there (including the one that was closed by DOH, but don't fault me for that one LOL). It is extremely busy here, and burn out is real. I got so far behind in my last review b/c of charting, but at least my agency was pretty laid back about letting me take vacation whenever I requested it. With this position, my evenings are much freer, but I still feel weird not having my "homework" to do!! I agree,vacations ARE much needed, especially in your position!! Enjoy the Splendor!!!

 

 

 

 

Chamelean75 The nachos WERE delicious!!! Worth every overpriced penny, as was the molten chocolate cake that I didn't post LOL!!

 

 

 

Mykindaparty Thank you for subscribing!! I love the name!!!!

 

 

MsFunBunch Thank you for the compliment!!! I hope to keep the entertainment up!!!

 

 

I have the next two days written, and photos uploaded to Photobucket....I'm tempted to post part of the next day but don't want to leave off in the middle. It should be easy enough to get those days up tomorrow night:)

 

Thanks again for reading, and have a good night!!!

 

 

Stacey

[bakersdozen12]

Looking forward to your review!

I have a MAJOR fear of flying, and am trying to figure out a way to be able to fly to NYC for a cruise out of there. Does Xanax really work for you? Do you have any other tricks you can recommend? The thought alone of stepping foot on a plane makes my heart race and I start to hyperventilate.

 

 

I have a major fear of flying...er, crashing (because let's face facts, it's crashing that we are really afraid of)...and I also used to take Xanax whenever I would fly. It worked wonders. I say "used to" because last year I found out I have a heart condition and I can no longer take Xanax. So now I have to just tough it out when I fly.

 

Now I play a mind game with myself where I tell myself I will only allow myself to have a panic attack when the plane is actually crashing. Which never actually happens, obviously. Anyway, believe it or not, this really worked for me. No panic attacks unless there's a real reason to have one. In which case I will then allow myself to as big of an attack as I want. But since it never gets to that point, I don't have a panic attack. It's just mind over matter.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Edited June 6, 2016 by bakersdozen12

[vwrestler171]

Glad to see a review for this ship/itinerary. I have it booked for November 2017.

[dayday]

We will be doing this cruise next October and I was so happy to see you writing this review. You are correct to few reviews of the 8 day Southern carribean. Cant wait to read more.

[meatloafsfan]

Great start to your review! It looks like you were having a blast.

 

Sorry to hear about your cat. The loss of a good pet is difficult. My condolences.

[pghsteelerfan]

Stacey,

 

Yea...another review!!! I have really enjoyed your reviews and am really looking forward to this one. I've just gotten to your first post but do hope you ended up enjoying Conquest. We haven't been on Conquest, yet, but four of our seven cruises have been on Conquest class ships (Glory, Valor, and Liberty X2) and they now feel like "home" to me.

 

I normally wait to comment, but when I saw that you recently lost your cat, my heart broke for you. They are family members and losing them is devastating. We currently have four (long story on the younger two, both 2 years old), but we've also lost two over the years. One was 14 and lost to kidney failure; the other was not quite 6 months old (litter mate to our two 7 year old cats) and we lost him under the anesthesia while they were being neutered. That was a shock. So I know all about the empty hole that is left when they are gone. I am so, so sorry for your loss. :(

 

I'm really looking forward to following along and I think you get great pictures. :)

[JimAOk1945]

Looking forward to more of your review. We cruised on the Conquest twice when she used to sail round trip out of Galveston, TX. She was our first cruise so she is special to us.

Edited June 6, 2016 by JimAOk1945

[DanishJourney]

Yay another Stacey review 😊👍🏼

[gagirl2006]

I can't wait to read more!

Edited June 6, 2016 by gagirl2006

[KPfromCT]

Loving your review!!!!:D:D

We are leaving on Oasis Saturday, so we are just excited to ready ANY picture reviews.

We did this itinerary on the Breeze two years ago, and fell in LOVE with Aruba!

 

Love your style or writing and cannot wait to read more!!!:D:D