Conquest 9/29/18-10/7/18

[Mntbiker2008]

Day 6: San Juan, PR

I woke up just as we pulled in to port. There were a lot of clouds in the sky and it looked like it was going to be a rainy day for us.  No problem.  We brought our rain jackets and dry bags just for this reason.  Today was our shopping day.  We love Old San Juan for the beautiful buildings and colors.

After eating and getting off the ship, we were immediately swarmed by taxi drivers wanting to give us rides up to the town square (only about a 10 minute walk from pier to square).  After politely declining, we made it past them and were then hit with all of the passengers getting off of Oasis of the Seas.  There were SOOOOO MANY people! We got across all of that and went up to start at the square.  Our daughter asked what the huge rock building was off to the right.  I told her it was the fort that helped defend the island a long time ago.  She was very interested in that. We didn’t have enough time to go see the forts but had done them on our last trip.  Maybe we will take her the next time we stop in PR!

Old San Juan appeared to be relatively untouched by the hurricane last year.  There were a few buildings that were damaged and under repair, but nothing crazy. 

My wife’s mother loves the 3 Kings figurines and we had gotten her one from here last year.  They come in all kinds of fun and different colors so we would set out to look for another one for her since she was watching our dogs for us.  We found 2 different ones and I got a hat as well.  After wandering around town for a few hours, we were ready to get back on the boat to just relax.  My wife took our daughter to Camp Ocean and we found a spot on the Serenity deck in one of the clamshells.  AH…. peace and….nope….. It started raining like crazy! We got inside unscathed and began strolling around for the next few hours. 

We went down to Lido to see where/if they would be doing the stein hoisting.  Marty, dressed in his short shorts, Polander Beer shirt, suspenders, and socks pulled up to his kneecaps came running across the pool deck.  I’m not sure his karate moves and Irish jig with his feet were doing a whole lot of good keeping the rain off of him.  He went straight for the Blue Iguana Tequila Bar and announced that the stein hoisting would not happen today for obvious reasons and that it would be done tomorrow instead.

Let me just tell you something…. The waves this evening…. They were so bad and the ship was rocking violently! The emergency lights were all turned on throughout the hallways which was kind of interesting. The main pool was shut down as water was splashing out of it.  At some points, you could see the bottom of the pool because the water sloshed all over to the other side. 

Of course, you get that "one guy" that's been at the bar too long! 

Later this evening, we went to the Punchliner after dropping our daughter off at Camp Ocean and saw John Wessling. He was absolutely hilarious! 

Edited October 17, 2018 by Mntbiker2008

[Mntbiker2008]

Day 7: Grand Turk

AH…Grand Turk… the only island we have not been to on this trip.  I woke up extra early and went up to the Serenity deck as we were cruising along the Western side of the island.  It was beautiful and such a different change of pace from last night.  The ocean was like glass. Not a single wave in sight.  We got in to port around 7:00AM so I went to go wake my wife and daughter…. Walked into the room and….they were gone! Only one place they could be! BUFFET!  I went back up to Lido and people were already lined up to get off the ship! They had a bunch of towel animals made all over the ship which my daughter that was hilarious and really cool. 

After finding my wife and daughter, we at and got off the ship, went over and got 2 chairs and an umbrella in the very back of the row of the free Grand Turk Cruise Center loungers.  There were a few guys wanting money for a seat directly up front.  I respectfully declined and said “no thanks, we are good”. Another group behind me just said “nope”. The men started mocking them sounding like the seagulls from Finding Nemo following the group and saying “Nope! Nope! Nope!”  Kind of rude if you ask.

We went and swam for a bit and realized there were a ton of fish here! We grabbed out snorkeling gear and saw so many neat things in that little tiny area they have in front of the ship. I wish I had brought my underwater case for my camera. We saw a few Parrot fish, Wrasse, Sergeant Major, several Tang, and a bunch of Jack fish! Once we swam closer to where the drop off was, we found a large anchor that was sunk there as well as a long cannon! We didn’t bother going to Margaritaville because of how crowded it was.

After leaving the beach, we went and did some shopping.  Again, I got a hat!  It was almost time to board so we got on the ship.  My wife and daughter took a nap and I was told to be back at the cabin by 5.  I went up and found a spot to watch the stein hoisting.  This time, the last 2 contestants would move on to the final round tomorrow due to yesterday’s competition being cancelled. This one went on for an astonishing 7 minutes and 30 seconds! Those guys were shaking around so bad!

It was elegant night tonight so I went back to the room woke the ladies up, got a shower and started getting ready.  We went up to the main deck and got a few obligatory pictures (which we did not buy because I feel $18 for a single picture is just way too much). 

Edited October 17, 2018 by Mntbiker2008

[Mntbiker2008]

Day 8: Sea Day

We took our daughter to Camp Ocean this morning while we packed up our room and got everything ready to go for debarkation tomorrow morning.  Afterwards, we checked out a few of the activities on the ship.  Saw the Lights, Camera, Inter-Action show which was quite funny! It was time for lunch so we picked our daughter up and went to eat.  She seriously LOVED that place and would come back with at least 1-2 crafts each time we took her.

There was a hairy chest competition where they had ladies pick a hairy guy from off the Lido deck and they had them doing all kinds of goofy stuff. At first, I was not sure I wanted to see a bunch of hairy dudes dancing all over the place but it actually turned out to be quite funny. The winner was a guy who we referred to as "Frank Sinatra".  He was in karaoke one  evening and sang Frank Sinatra (really well I might add). 

There were several things going on this afternoon so we kept our daughter and went to check out a bunch of stuff. She also got to do the arcade area for a little bit.  After dinner, they had the 80’s music trivia in the atrium room and just after that was the 80’s dance party.  This was fun and there were a ton of people crammed in there as well as on all of the other levels looking over the railing.  At 9:00, they did a balloon drop.  There was a large net spanning across the atrium on the Lido deck where people were putting the names on their balloons and putting them in the net.  They dropped this net (deck 9) and the balloons dropped to the main deck (deck 3).  They picked a balloon off the floor and whoever’s name it was got a prize.

 

[Mntbiker2008]

Debarkation Day:

I guess all good things must come to an end.  I got up around 6 this morning and watched through our window as we came in to port followed by 3 other cruise liners.  We got our stuff gathered since we decided to take our luggage off ourselves and joined the group of people getting off early.  We were off the ship and through customs by 7:15!  It was so easy! We went out and crossed the road to wait for our Uber to arrive. This experience definitely wasn’t as nice as the first.  The driver was only about 5 minutes from us but could tell she was not watching her GPS.  She took about 20 minutes to get there and was turning around a bunch of times and stopping.  I messaged her the terminal number and ship name when I made the order.  Turns out, it was an older lady so I will cut her some slack.  We got to FLL and got through security by 8:30. We had a nonstop flight to CVG departing at 11:15 so we just hung out for a while and had some breakfast.  The flight home was uneventful.

 

I hope you enjoyed reading this! Feel free to ask any questions!

[Mntbiker2008]

A few notes about our room that I don't think I mentioned:

Room 1327- We were on the first deck and I really wish we weren't because at about 6:30 every morning and throughout the whole day until around 10, there was this sounds that sounded like a snowplow directly under us.  It was so loud and would wake you out of a dead sleep.  It also would send vibrations through the bed. I still have no idea what it could have been. 

Our steward's name was I Ketut. He was great! He made sure we always had ice in our room and he loved interacting with our daughter.  Whenever we would pass him in the halls (I don't think this guy ever took a break) without our daughter, he would ask where she was. He and his assistant knew our names and would ask how we were every day. 

Mat and Marty were excellent and made the cruise very lively.  There was another lady that would help them out who I didn't really care for and I will explain why in a minute.  Mat has a very good attitude and was around from basically sunup to sun down.  He had this laugh that was contagious.  Marty (pronounced like Mawty) was hilarious as well.  This guy sweat like a pig! He even made a joke one day that his shirt was like one of those Del Sol shirts and that it changed color when it was hot out! The lady I didn't care for too much was good overall but every time she would talk or make an announcement, she would talk in to the microphone so loud and with the speakers as loud as they are, it was almost ear piercing.  Now, my hearing is terrible to begin with but when we were in the Punchliner club waiting for karaoke to start and she started talking, I had to cover my ears and many other passengers got up and left covering their ears as well.  Don't even get me started on how it sounded when she joined in on the singing..... that's when we left. 

Overall, I thought the cruise was great.  I do wish there was a little more to do on the ship that was kid friendly.  Looking at the Sunshine when it was parked across from us, they had the slides (my daughter LOVED the little slide they had on our ship), the ropes course, and all the other goodies. I liked that she wanted to go to the kids club so often but I also wish there was more to do so we could have had some more family time.  

Food-wise, the burgers were awesome and the MDR was hit or miss.  We could always count on the Lido buffet to have something good.  The Blue Iguana taco bar was pretty good.  I only had it once because I felt it was a little bland (wish the meats had some seasoning to them).  The Guy's BBQ joint was ok. It was in a weird spot and kind of difficult to get to so I only had that once as well. The sweet and spicy sauce was delicious though! As always, the pizza was great and the guy that worked there didn't gripe at me when I asked for the whole pizza. 

 

I hope you enjoyed reading this! Feel free to ask any questions!

[riclop]

Thanks for sharing.

[iriecruiser]

Great review! Thanks for sharing! 

[hurricane0226]

Great review, cannot wait, will be on her Nov 10, Southern Caribbean. once again, thanks for the review, 

[fozzy1975]

On 10/17/2018 at 11:37 AM, Mntbiker2008 said:

Day 5: St. Kitts

We absolutely loved St. Kitts when we went last year the same would hold true to this trip as well! My wife even ventured to say she would like to move their when we retire (and I had no argument with that!). This was the only island we booked a shore excursion on because it was cheap! We paid less than $150 for the 3 of us to go to Cockleshell Beach.  We woke up this morning to note stating they would be changing our carpet in our room and would need to be there from 9am until 3. Kind of annoying because we had to move our luggage and everything into the bathroom. While we were eating breakfast, the Sunshine was coming in to port. 

We were watching it come in when Mat, our CD came over and said that if anyone wanted/ needed to be off the boat in the next 2-3 hours, they needed to get off now.  This was a bit frustrating because it was only 7:30 and we didn’t have to be at the end of the pier until 11:45. We also planned on snorkeling at the beach so I had all of our snorkeling gear to haul around.  We finished up breakfast and began to make our way down to the gangway to get off.  After getting off, we went and strolled around the shops looking for something to keep our impatient 5 yr. old daughter entertained.  We soon realized why they wanted us off for a few hours.  The amount of congestion on the pier from the sunshine docked right next to us was crazy!

Once it was finally time to meet with our group for the shore excursion, we got in line and got on our bus to go over.  Our driver’s name was Agatha.  She was extremely nice and informative.  We stopped at the Timothy Hill Overlook.  We had been here on the last trip so we jumped out and grabbed a couple quick pictures then jumped back on the bus.  It was a beautiful drive out to the beach.  It is amazing how well kept this island is and how well their roads are maintained.

After arriving at Spice Mill, we were greeted with nonalcoholic fruit punch which was very good and told to be back at the bus by 3.  We went to the beach and grabbed 2 lounge chairs under an umbrella, set our stuff down and went straight for the beautiful water.  It was so calm and relaxing! We could see Nevis just across the Narrows.  We stayed in the water for a little bit and relaxed, then got our snorkeling gear and cruised around the area.  Our daughter did amazing for her first time snorkeling and was pointing all over the place when she would see different fish.  The unfortunate part about snorkeling here was there was a lot of trash at the bottom.  I saw at least 20 sunken cans of beer, solo cups, plastic wrappers, etc. Another thing to be aware of is the sea urchins! There were TONS of them!

Once we got tired of snorkeling, we got out of the water and hung out on the lounge chairs, ate some lunch, and relaxed….that is…. Until our daughter got bored and wanted to go back in the water…in reality… we relaxed for maybe 10 minutes. LOL! My wife took her down to the water and swam with her again while I did some more people watching and took a short nap.

2:30 came around and it was almost time to get back on the bus.  Most of the people had already started clearing the area so we packed up headed for the bus.  Surprisingly, we were almost the last people to get on! Agatha took us back to port and wished us farewell.  We headed for the ship and got on as our board time was 4:30. 

We got to our room and opened the door to find the new carpet.  It was quite different as we had the old orange kind of carpet.

Since we didn’t eat a huge lunch and all of the swimming and snorkeling took a lot of energy, we got a quick snack, took our daughter to Camp Ocean again, and waited for the stein hoisting competition.  This time, it took about 5 minutes for the last person to drop!

 

 Was the St Kitts beach excursion book through carnival?? If so do you know what it was called? 

[Mntbiker2008]

2 hours ago, fozzy1975 said:

 Was the St Kitts beach excursion book through carnival?? If so do you know what it was called? 

Yes, it was called the Beach Extravaganza. I believe it was $42 a person. 

[berniez]

On 10/17/2018 at 5:11 PM, Mntbiker2008 said:

A few notes about our room that I don't think I mentioned:

Room 1327- We were on the first deck and I really wish we weren't because at about 6:30 every morning and throughout the whole day until around 10, there was this sounds that sounded like a snowplow directly under us.  It was so loud and would wake you out of a dead sleep.  It also would send vibrations through the bed. I still have no idea what it could have been. 

Our steward's name was I Ketut. He was great! He made sure we always had ice in our room and he loved interacting with our daughter.  Whenever we would pass him in the halls (I don't think this guy ever took a break) without our daughter, he would ask where she was. He and his assistant knew our names and would ask how we were every day. 

Mat and Marty were excellent and made the cruise very lively.  There was another lady that would help them out who I didn't really care for and I will explain why in a minute.  Mat has a very good attitude and was around from basically sunup to sun down.  He had this laugh that was contagious.  Marty (pronounced like Mawty) was hilarious as well.  This guy sweat like a pig! He even made a joke one day that his shirt was like one of those Del Sol shirts and that it changed color when it was hot out! The lady I didn't care for too much was good overall but every time she would talk or make an announcement, she would talk in to the microphone so loud and with the speakers as loud as they are, it was almost ear piercing.  Now, my hearing is terrible to begin with but when we were in the Punchliner club waiting for karaoke to start and she started talking, I had to cover my ears and many other passengers got up and left covering their ears as well.  Don't even get me started on how it sounded when she joined in on the singing..... that's when we left. 

Overall, I thought the cruise was great.  I do wish there was a little more to do on the ship that was kid friendly.  Looking at the Sunshine when it was parked across from us, they had the slides (my daughter LOVED the little slide they had on our ship), the ropes course, and all the other goodies. I liked that she wanted to go to the kids club so often but I also wish there was more to do so we could have had some more family time.  

Food-wise, the burgers were awesome and the MDR was hit or miss.  We could always count on the Lido buffet to have something good.  The Blue Iguana taco bar was pretty good.  I only had it once because I felt it was a little bland (wish the meats had some seasoning to them).  The Guy's BBQ joint was ok. It was in a weird spot and kind of difficult to get to so I only had that once as well. The sweet and spicy sauce was delicious though! As always, the pizza was great and the guy that worked there didn't gripe at me when I asked for the whole pizza. 

 

I hope you enjoyed reading this! Feel free to ask any questions!

Where exactly was the BBQ joint location

[Mo Jito]

Thanks so much for taking the time to post your review. I’m sailing on the Conquest in December - my first time on a Carnival ship! I love singing karaoke when I cruise, and since you mentioned hearing “Frank Sinatra” sing, could you share your thoughts on the Conquest karaoke scene? Was it offered most nights and did there seem to be a good variety of songs?

 

thanks,

Mo

[Mntbiker2008]

2 hours ago, berniez said:

Where exactly was the BBQ joint location

It was back above rear buffet area. Kind of an awkward place. 

 

32 minutes ago, Mo Jito said:

Thanks so much for taking the time to post your review. I’m sailing on the Conquest in December - my first time on a Carnival ship! I love singing karaoke when I cruise, and since you mentioned hearing “Frank Sinatra” sing, could you share your thoughts on the Conquest karaoke scene? Was it offered most nights and did there seem to be a good variety of songs?

 

thanks,

Mo

They have it most days and they have a male and females karaoke competition towards the end. Most took place in the comedy club. 

[berniez]

I was on the Splendor last year which had a Guys bbq. It was only open on sea days. Is the bbq only open on sea days on the Conquest. The reason we ask is we are going on Glory which is the same as Conquest and they have the same bbq on that ship as the Conquest.

[Mntbiker2008]

Just now, berniez said:

I was on the Splendor last year which had a Guys bbq. It was only open on sea days. Is the bbq only open on sea days on the Conquest. The reason we ask is we are going on Glory which is the same as Conquest and they have the same bbq on that ship as the Conquest.

It is open for lunch every day. Can't remember the exact times but it was similar hours as Guy's burgers. 

[Quilcruisers]

We sailed conquest before but looking at this itinerary perhaps for our summer cruise. My husband wants to sail from San Juan again and take the port intensive cruise that we took several years ago.  This one from Florida is more feasible. 

[Mntbiker2008]

7 hours ago, Quilcruisers said:

We sailed conquest before but looking at this itinerary perhaps for our summer cruise. My husband wants to sail from San Juan again and take the port intensive cruise that we took several years ago.  This one from Florida is more feasible. 

We did the San Juan cruise last year on the Fascination. That was fun but definitely not as fun as the Conquest. It also cost a lot more to get there. We also like our sea days so having 2  right off the bat and 1 on the way back was fun. 

[evandbob]

Best to go to the BBQ on the 1st day as 90% of the guests just head to the buffet, Blue Iguana or Guy's.  Most aren't even aware it exists.  As word gets out, it gets more customers each day.  We've often sat alone in the BBQ on embarkation day.

 

2 easy ways to access:  1)  Go to the very rear of the buffet and the dessert table, there are 2 sets of stairs that lead up to the BBQ.  2) If stairs are too rough to do, use the very rear elevator bank and go to deck 10, enter the ship and you are there.

[Mntbiker2008]

2 minutes ago, evandbob said:

Best to go to the BBQ on the 1st day as 90% of the guests just head to the buffet, Blue Iguana or Guy's.  Most aren't even aware it exists.  As word gets out, it gets more customers each day.  We've often sat alone in the BBQ on embarkation day.

 

2 easy ways to access:  1)  Go to the very rear of the buffet and the dessert table, there are 2 sets of stairs that lead up to the BBQ.  2) If stairs are too rough to do, use the very rear elevator bank and go to deck 10, enter the ship and you are there.

This! We were among the crowd at the buffet on embarkation day. It was packed! 

[evandbob]

Another tip for any Conquest class ship (Conquest, Glory, Valor, Freedom or Liberty):  on elegant nights, when the 5th deck avenue gets crowded with photo takers and you want to go from the aft MDR to the forward casino or theater, use the 4th deck walk through.  

 

Go through the 4th deck lounge opposite the MDR, bear right and enter the hallway.  The 1st set of stairs you come to will bring you up the where the Taste Bar used to be.  The 2nd set of stairs a bit further down, will get you near the casino bar.  No jostling or waiting behind the photo lines this way.  There's even empty bathrooms along the way.

 

If you like to get your picture taken, or like to watch others in that process, by all means try to find a spot on deck 5.  If you don't maybe this tip will help get you around the ship.  Works in reverse too, say going from the theater or casino to the comedy club.

 

Thanks to the OP for his review!

Edited October 20, 2018 by evandbob

[IntrepidFromDC]

Great review and timely as we board Conquest three weeks from today.  Those waves in the pool! 😲

[Mntbiker2008]

1 hour ago, evandbob said:

Another tip for any Conquest class ship (Conquest, Glory, Valor, Freedom or Liberty):  on elegant nights, when the 5th deck avenue gets crowded with photo takers and you want to go from the aft MDR to the forward casino or theater, use the 4th deck walk through.  

 

Go through the 4th deck lounge opposite the MDR, bear right and enter the hallway.  The 1st set of stairs you come to will bring you up the where the Taste Bar used to be.  The 2nd set of stairs a bit further down, will get you near the casino bar.  No jostling or waiting behind the photo lines this way.  There's even empty bathrooms along the way.

 

If you like to get your picture taken, or like to watch others in that process, by all means try to find a spot on deck 5.  If you don't maybe this tip will help get you around the ship.  Works in reverse too, say going from the theater or casino to the comedy club.

 

Thanks to the OP for his review!

We utilized this hallway as well! 

2 minutes ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

Great review and timely as we board Conquest three weeks from today.  Those waves in the pool! 😲

Have a great trip! 

It was kind of funny. That was the only pool that did that. The other 2 barely moved.