Conquest Rocks!!!!!

[idec 102]

We (party of 8) just returned from 7 awesome days on the Conquest. I read alot of reviews before sailing and I should say that a vacation is mostly what YOU make of it. With that said, here's my review:

 

We drove from OKC and stayed at the Econo Lodge on U ave. Not the nicest motel by a long shot but, cheap and you can park your car there for free. One night's stay was about $80. The same you would pay to park at the pier. Again, we stayed only one night so save your $ for the ship, you'll need it. Took a cab to the pier around 10:30a for about $15. Yes, you will have to stand in line for about 30 to 45 minutes but then your roaming the ship. This ship is so cool. It's huge and unlike I read, it's so easy to find your way around. When you get on board turn right, the info desk will be right there and get a pocket sized deck plan and keep it with you for the first day and you'll have no problem. I grabbed extra's and gave them to people who were lost. We were on the Riviera deck forward. No balcony, but had the window and being that close to the water you could hear the water at night. Made for a great nights rest. We had great weather, no rain, couldn't feel the ship rock hardly at all, like I had read. My brother did get alittle sick because of the motion which was a first in three years, but put on a patch and had no problems after that. We spent most of the first two sea days at the pool, and yes people were saving chairs but so what. You wont have ANY problem finding one. Their everywhere on this ship. Don't sweat the small stuff. We had three kids with us (9, 8, 6) they spent mornings and evenings at Camp Carnival. I had read that our 9 year old would be able to check himself in and out of camp and that there was nothing a parent could do about it. That has changed, you can sign a paper the first night stating that they are not allowed to check in and out and your kid WILL NOT be able to, which put my wife and me at peace. This ship is too big for a 9 year old to roam. I will say one day they did a hunt and I had to sign something that allowed my son to be roaming the ship. He had a buddy he had met with him so I was O.K. with it. Camp Carnival does almost to good of a job with Security, which is what you want I guess. The kids have always loved going there and meeting new friends. The staff is great. The only complaint I have is it takes forever checking them in and out. They have made some improvements but could use a better system.

 

Wednesday is Jamaica. This was my favorite port. Montego Bay isn't as nice as other parts of Jamaica but it does not take away from the beauty of this island. I could see myself living here. I only wished we were there for several days. But we weren't so we took a cab ($2 per person) to Sunset Beach with some people from our roll call. Only took about 5 min to get there. I highly recommend this place. $40 for adults, $20 for kids. Food and drinks (yes, alcohol) are free and unlimited. Beautiful place. My kids loved the lazy river and I also enjoyed the two slides. They are high and very fast. Be sure to give them a try. We had so much fun on them with the kids. They have 3 pools, one with water volleyball. We started up a game and had a blast. The workers were all very friendly. We left to spend an hour or so at Margaritaville. It was $4 per person to Margaritaville, then $4 back to the ship. This place was really fun, did the slide and water tramps but it is pretty expensive. If I was to do it again I would probably have stayed at Sunset Beach till the ship left. Would have saved alot a $.

 

Thursday is Cayman. Again, we booked a Stingray/Snorkel Excursion online with our roll call group. Cayman is beautiful! I still can't get over how clear the water was. When we were sailing to the sand bar you could see the bottom of the ocean like it was only acouple of feet! Amazing! This excursion took up most of our time in Cayman. People go on and on about the stingrays being so cool but I wasen't really into it, which really surprised me. My wife, kids and mom all loved it and we got some pretty cool pics. I would have loved to checked out more of the island. We did have about an hour to hit the Hard Rock and a couple more shops before heading to the tenders.

 

Friday is Cozumel. I always look forward to Cozumel. It has that laid back feel. And Corona's are only $1.50! You gotta love that. They have done an outstanding job of rebuilding. We were there last May and couldn't hardly see a difference. They have worked very hard at getting the tourists back and it showed. The pier is moving along and we saw people working on it. Our Kids wanted to go to Camp Carnival so my wife and I took any early tender in with the kids so that daughter could get her hair braided then took them to Camp Carnival and grabbed the rest of our group and walked around the shops then hit Senior Frogs and Charlos-N-Charlies. Pretty much stayed there till the tenders left. Very fun place. The tenders were running pretty fast but will be much better when the pier is done. I heard Summer 07?

 

Last Sea day is usually hard on me because I'm ready to get off the ship but not this year. We again, hung out at the pool and increased our sail and sign account.

All the workers on board were very friendly. I don't think I saw one negative person. I did get in the elevator and had a passenger upset because the elevator was going down and she wanted to go up. She was very ticked because of this and I did the best I could at holding back a burst of laughter but couldn't hold it back. You spend say $600 to go on a cruise and complain because you got on the wrong elevator. Come on, stay home.

The cruise director was Todd Wittmer and he and his crew did a great job at keeping up the fun. The midnight deck party was a blast and we saw some pretty funny stuff.

 

We were the last deck to be called to debark and we knew this so we took our time at breakfast then went to the promenade deck and the ladies read while we took the kids to the video games. It WILL take awhile to get off so just plan on it. They have 3000 people getting off! We were off the ship by 11:00 and in our cars by 12:00.

We have sailed the Elation the last two years and loved her. This cruise was even better. I really can't say one bad thing about the Conquest. Also our room steward was the best. Cabin's 1236, 1240, 1244. My brother and his family had a connecting room to our's which the Elation did not have. We kept the inner door open most of the time and the kids loved going back and forth.

I left $10 for our room steward (tomas) the first day at sea, and from then on he ALWAYS went out of his way to help us.

You will love the Conquest! If you have any questions, ask away.

Enjoy, Brett

[txwildflower2002]

What side did the ship ort in Jamaica?

[Katz A Prowl]

I'm so glad you had a great time. I am having a hard time waiting for my Conquest cruise in October........but I know it will be worth it!!!

[*CruiseFan*]

I LOVED the Conquest and would take it again in a heartbeat. It's great because it's out of Galveston now. I loved it and we had rain all but 2 days! It was amazing and the staff was WONDERFUL. Def. the best ship/cruise I've ever been on so I am very much looking forward to the Valor in a month because they're similar ships!

 

I'm so glad you had a wonderful time!

[idec 102]

What side did the ship ort in Jamaica?

 

Starboard, but I've read that it can be either side. Not sure what make's the decision. Our cabin was port side and we could see a really cool looking resort not far from the ship!

[woohoo4ue]

What is the difference in sides of the ship? We are on the left side when looking at the deck plans. Will we be facing land when docked?

 

Thanks!

[idec 102]

What is the difference in sides of the ship? We are on the left side when looking at the deck plans. Will we be facing land when docked?

 

Thanks!

 

There is no difference really. Left side is port, right is starboard. On my cruise the ship docked from the right side. We were on the left side also and still saw some of the island and a neat resort.

[ConquestCruiser]

Did you happen to visit the piano bar? Who was the entertainer? Going on the Conquest for the 2nd time in September!! Thanks

[vesw01]

What was the name of the excursion you did in Grand Cayman - or better yet who did you book through?

[txwildflower2002]

How was the live band on ship? Which lounge did they play in and what kind of music?

[txskier]

Hey Brett (Idec 102)

.....we had a tremendous time on the Conquest!!!

.....we didn't think it was hard to navigate the decks of the ship either......like you said.....keep the deck map handy for the first day or so.

 

We really enjoyed the dining room.....our waiter/asst. waiter were awesome. We looked at dinner as THE event.....not just a meal. Komang and Michael were our servers at table 169 in the Renoit dining room.

 

When going on the Conquest.....make sure you stop and look at the artwork everywhere. When in the atrium....sit down at the bar or in a chair and look up at the artwork in the ceilings......if you are in a hurry.....it can be easy to pass.

 

Brett, did you get the cruise video DVD? I believe I saw some of your party in the sail away portion.

 

We really enjoyed listening to Diamond Jeff at the casino entrance/bar.....very entertaining.....get there early for a sofa to sit on......or if you like to smoke......the bar at the casino.

 

We did not eat at the buffet except for the first day of embarkation and the next sea day for breakfast.

When passing thru the buffet, it always seemed congested.

We preferred the dining room, pizza bar (there is a good salad there too) and the fish/chip (SerMur) is never crowded.

 

Don't miss the chocolate buffet on the last sea day....what a porking fest....:D

 

.....take the slide at least once!!!!:D

[oldvato]

Starboard, but I've read that it can be either side. Not sure what make's the decision. Our cabin was port side and we could see a really cool looking resort not far from the ship!

 

I think it has to do with which way the tide is flowing. The tide will pull the ship away from the anchor but the anchor keeps the ship from drifting away.

[Cruise Cat]

How was the Entertainment? Was it good bands and performers throughout the ship in the evenings, or was it just endless keraokee stuff like RCCL?

[idec 102]

Hey Dan, glad your group enjoyed as much as we did. No we didn't buy the DVD, should have, my wife was in it alot. Spend to much $ on drinks!

We didn't even hear about the chocolate buffet. I wanted to try the Dining room for breakfasst and lunch but with kids, it was to hard to pull off.

Diamond Jeff is the singer at the Casino Bar on Promenade, very entertaining!

The Guy in the Piano Bar was the worst, didn't know several very common songs. The Guy on the Elation last year blew this guy away. We have always enjoyed going to the piano bar too. Not this trip, Oh well, plenty of other stuff to do.

Only made it to two of the vegas style shows, very good. Not sure about the other entertainer's.

The Excursion in Cayman was the Buccaneer Stingray City Catamaran Excursion booked thru www.grandcaymancruiseexcursions.com

Great bunch of guys.

[luvs2croose]

Can you tell me, or ask your son all the activities that they offered him? (The 9 year old) Did they have karaoke for that age group? I also have a 9 year old and we leave in July.:)

[okiemom]

:) Thank you for your review! We can't wait until our turn.

[silverstang]

i was on the same cruise!!!!! it was wicked cool specially seeing it was my first time. i hated montego bay but we didnt bo0ok anything my father decided it would be better to get a cab and see the island. i guess if it wasnt for all the drug pushing it would have been nice. grand cayman we did the 7 mile beach and oh my god was it great. in cozumel we did the dolphin sweim that was the best thing i have ever done