Hey....how y'all doin?

[mandyleighflies]

SO...I was an OG Carnival cruiser in the 90's and early 00's and went over to RCCL. My son is turning 16 in a few weeks and I found an awesome deal on Carnival Conquest...basically a balcony cabin on Carnival for the same price as interior on RCCL and similar routes. 

 

I have questions.

 

One, I usually purchase the kids and myself the refreshment drink package on RCCL which includes soda, coffee's, mocktails, bottled water. I do not drink but I do love a mocktail and bottled water. I noticed CCL has the Bubbles package for soda and juice, I can deal with that (and omg what a deal) but if I bring my own thermos, are there places onboard to fill it up with water for overnight/in our stateroom.

 

Two, onboard dining options, we are looking at Conquest and I know she is an older ship...does CCL offer dining packages or is it first come first serve?

 

Three...Thanks for possibly having us back. It's a surprise last minute trip, literally not telling him and just taking him to the airport that morning. I cannot wait. I have come to the Carnival boards to get the updated info and to see what advice anyone has for a gal who hasn't sailed with CCL since 2010. 

 

THANK'S Y'ALL!! 

Edited January 3, 2023 by mandyleighflies

[mz-s]

There are drink stations on Lido deck available 24/7

 

There are few extra charge restaurants on Conquest - basically just seafood shack and the steakhouse, so there are no packages offered.

[Theosprey247]

1. On the Lido deck they have orange cocktail, fruit (usually passion/orange) cocktail, water, coffee, and hot chocolate during breakfast hours.  Lemonade and ice tea replace the cocktails at other times. They are very sweet.

 

2.  Guys Burgers and blue iguana (especially their breakfast burritos) are a can’t miss. The sea foos shack can be hit or miss.  The steakhouse is good.  You don’t need reservations (but recommended for the steakhouse.). As they are walk ups. 
 

3. Have FUN

[cruisinqt]

For water you can order a 12 pack of bottled water for $9.95 ahead of time. It will be in your cabin when you arrive. But yes there are places to fill up with water. What I do is keep the empty water bottles and fill them with lemonade at the lido and juice at breakfast time and put them in the cabin fridge. I also collect a few extra mini chocolate milks at breakfast and store them in the fridge too. I like to have something to drink on hand in my cabin when I first wake up or when I’m chilling in my room trying to wind down enough to go to sleep.  There are other things you’ll enjoy like free soft serve ice cream machines in the lido, Guy Fieri’s burgers, and the Punchliner Comedy Club (the late night adult comedy is especially good). 

[spleenstomper]

I ordered water, sodas and beer to the room. You can only get 8 beers total though. 

[staceyglow]

2 hours ago, Theosprey247 said:

1.   Lemonade and ice tea replace the cocktails at other times. They are very sweet.

 

 

I am pretty sure the ice tea is unsweetened.

[Pellaz]

On embark day, the Lido Buffet will be overrun for lunch.  Go up the stairs to Ol' Fashioned Barbecue on Deck 10.   Most cruisers won't discover it until the second or third day.  🙂  

 

Breakfast at the Lido Buffet is usually pretty crowded, too.  Consider the (awesome) fresh made-to-order breakfast burritos at the Blue Iguana Cantina instead.   (For that matter, it's also a great lunch option.)   

 

We liked the Conquest so much back in the day that we sailed her two cruises in a row.  She IS old -- flagship of the Conquest-class -- but she's still a fine ship.  

 

[pe4all]

The iced tea on Lido is definitely unsweetened.  We usually fill a cup with 1/2 iced tea and 1/2 lemonade - very refreshing.  You can reserve the steakhouse online, or as you get on the ship.  If I remember correctly it is $48 pp, and a good meal, imho.  While Conquest is an older ship, we loved sailing on her.  Plenty to do onboard, if you wish - bingo, trivia, deal or no deal, love or marriage game, shows, comedy club.  If your son desires have him go to the meet and greet for the teen club - usually the first night.  You may not see him the rest of the cruise though - lol!

[mandyleighflies]

Thank you everyone!!! This was extremely helpful!! I'm just so used to RCCL it's like re-learning a foreign language with Carnival sailing with them again after so long. I still haven't decided which sailing I am taking but all of your input has helped so much. ❤️ 

[ninjacat123]

13 hours ago, cruisinqt said:

For water you can order a 12 pack of bottled water for $9.95 ahead of time. It will be in your cabin when you arrive. But yes there are places to fill up with water. What I do is keep the empty water bottles and fill them with lemonade at the lido and juice at breakfast time and put them in the cabin fridge. I also collect a few extra mini chocolate milks at breakfast and store them in the fridge too. I like to have something to drink on hand in my cabin when I first wake up or when I’m chilling in my room trying to wind down enough to go to sleep.  There are other things you’ll enjoy like free soft serve ice cream machines in the lido, Guy Fieri’s burgers, and the Punchliner Comedy Club (the late night adult comedy is especially good). 

FYI, the fridge in our room didn't really keep things cold enough. We tried the towel in the cabinet door trick, didn't help.  Ask the steward to provide a bucket of ice to keep drinks more cold.  Have a great cruise!!

[cruisinqt]

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

FYI, the fridge in our room didn't really keep things cold enough. We tried the towel in the cabinet door trick, didn't help.  Ask the steward to provide a bucket of ice to keep drinks more cold.  Have a great cruise!!

Yeah things aren’t super cold if you don’t do something about it. Keeping the cabinet door wide open and pulling the fridge out away from the back wall helped a lot. It needs better air circulation in order to work properly. Ours worked much better when we did that. Having them bring ice is a good idea.