Just back from Carnival Conquest

[rsham]

I have searched this message board for months to find information about the Conquest and its ports of call. I found the information very helpful and decided to give back to all the readers heading on a trip of the Conquest in the near future. I will try to give a review of our recent graduation cruise. We were a group of 11 celebrating 1 high school (18) and 2 college graduations (23, 21). The rest of us were over 40 except for one 15 year old and one 25 year old.

 

The embarkation was not bad at all but we arrived early, about 11:30 and were onboard by 1:00. The life boat drill was better than on past cruises because the life jackets did not look like you were going to catch a disease from them. It was not a terribly hot day in Galvestion so the drill was easier. We also did not arrive at the drill early as we usually did but waited 5 minutes to head to the area. This placed us near the front of the line up and in a cooler position. Supper was good and there was little movement on the boat. I was surprised that there was any movement as this is a BIG ship.

 

The two days at sea allowed us to unwind from all the stress of work, graduations, and packing plus a 12 hour drive. We went to some shows and activities. At least we had some different games from past cruises. All in all a good time for all. The weather was great and the ship did not have any movement at all after we got out a ways. The food on the ship was good. My family enjoyed the icecream best of all.

 

In Jamaica we followed the advice of other cruisemates on this board and went to Sunset Beach Resort all inclusive for $40. I must admit we were very hesitant since it was not a place carnival endorsed, but during a discussion about this in the casino a man sitting next to us overheard our discussion. He had been to the resort and was returning on this trip. He told us we had nothing to fear. We got a cab just outside the terminal and all 11 were taken together in a bus for $2 each for about 5 minute cab ride. We were met at the gate by a guard and taken to the main desk. I collected all sign and sail cards which were kept for the day and returned by the guard when we left. I was worried about this but there was no problem. This was one of the highlights of the trip and if you need information on the outing just ask.

 

Grand Cayman was beautiful and clean. The stores are a little high but we had fun shopping. Here we booked a carnival trip for Stingray city, Turtle farm and Hell. Two of the three were good. Hell was a joke. The turtle farm was very interesting and the graduates enjoyed getting to hold turtles. The highlight of this trip was Stingray City. There were a lot of other boats and people but our guides took time with us, took pictures for $50 per CD or more depending on your group size. Of course this is once in a lifetime and I bought it. We all enjoyed this trip.

 

Cozumel...tendering was HELL. My daughter had booked a scuba trip and was to meet at 9:00 in a lounge. Her number was called at 10:00. This was probably the second tender out. The line to get back to the boat was lined up all the way down the pier and took about an hour to get on. Unloading the tender was also long. The destruction is very evident but I was pleasantly surprised the most of the downtown area was redone. We tendered to the ferry pier. The scuba trip was a great success and she had a great time. Others in the group took a beginning scuba lesson and also loved it. That trip was also from Carnival. I did get to see a water spout, tornado on the water while tendering in. I took great pictures of that. I spent time shopping at my favorite shops on the water front and contributed to the ecomony.

 

The last day at sea flew by. I was so tired at this time that I slept late and tried to relax.

 

Things we enjoyed on the boat were the comedian ventriloquist, juggler and magician. The last night at midnight the cruise director and some staff took off their name tags and got on stage at a lounge and performed Whose line is it anyway. That was great, raw but great. We went to the Mardi Gras party one night and had a great time. Bingo is expensive and a joke. One of the group spent time in the casino on the Wheel of Fortune machine and left the boat with $2000 more than she came with. I am jealous but just not willing to risk enough money to win.

 

I don't think we were ever comfortable with finding our way around this huge ship. We have cruised 6 times prior and never felt this way. It is very pretty and nice. Our room had a balcony and I did enjoy being able to open the door for fresh air. When the room door is also open it is a wind tunnel. Our room was not as clean as others had been but not terrible.

You will be standing in line on this ship. There is no way around this with over 3000 passengers. We usually ate all meals in the dining room. The service was great and the food good. The cruise director, Todd, was GREAT. Very funny guy, pleasing to the eye. haha

 

We did the self debarkation due to the long drive ahead. It seemed most others had the same idea and this became choas. Everyone had heard that they would call floors to debark but actually the announcement said to just disembark between 7 to 9. Everyone headed out at the same time. We were herded down stairs, thru the lounge, down a hall and finally out of the ship. The group was split up in several areas and we had to find each other and the right documents. We were at our car and on the road by 8:30 so it all turned out good. They just need to find a way to organize this better.

 

I hope that this review will give you that are going on a trip on the Carnival Conquest a little more information. IF you have questions I will try to answer. All in all a great trip and I would cruise on the Conquest again. The ports were good. I believe that we would have had a good time wherever we went just because we were all together. Have fun Cruisin!!!

[tkportersat]

I must have been next to you the whole time! We went to Sunset Beach, Hell/Turtle/Stingray tour and were watching the water funnel/tornado as well. I also agree the ship was possibly too big....this was my 5th cruise and this time the trip had a weird feel over it all week. Not that we didn't have some fun, just not as much as past cruises. Very pretty ship, I think just too many people in my opinion. Couldn't have had better weather though, right? Cozumel is a waste of time until they get the docks rebuilt, by the time we got off the ship it was 11:30 and we had to be boarded by 5:00. 3 stops in a row is too much in my opinion........soooooo tiring. Sunset Beach was my favorite!! I am considering just planning a trip there someday. We were never hassled, and it was beautiful.

 

Good review!! Now we just need to book new trips, I hate this after vacation depression :( Back to work tomorrow - boo hoo.

[BrendaB1]

Nice review. I'll be sailing on Conquest again soon.. :D

 

After sailing Conquest, Valor & Liberty......all the same class of ship, I have never felt crowded or found it hard to get around.

[firstcruiserDB]

Thanks for your great, detailed review! Since I'm sailing in just 12 days, I anxiously look for any and all Conquest reviews! It sounds like you enjoyed this cruise.

 

I do have a couple of questions for you:

 

*Did you go to the Piano Bar for some music? We love to spend time there, and I haven't heard much about the Piano Bar on the Conquest.

 

*Tell me a bit about the boat for the stingray excursion....Was it difficult to get in and out of? What did you do with your belongings while in the water with the stingrays?

 

*How about the food and drink at Sunset Beach?

 

*Where does the ship tender in Cozumel? Is shopping available closeby?

 

*Did you or anyone you know eat at The Point?

 

Ok, that's it for now! I really appreciate your help, and your time and trouble! I am already dreading that "post cruise depression" that you must be experiencing right now! Do you have your next cruise booked yet??

 

Thanks so much!:)

[okiemom]

Thank you so much for your review! Only 180 something days left for us. Can't wait!:D

[tkportersat]

Thanks for your great, detailed review! Since I'm sailing in just 12 days, I anxiously look for any and all Conquest reviews! It sounds like you enjoyed this cruise.

 

I do have a couple of questions for you:

 

*Did you go to the Piano Bar for some music? We love to spend time there, and I haven't heard much about the Piano Bar on the Conquest.

 

*Tell me a bit about the boat for the stingray excursion....Was it difficult to get in and out of? What did you do with your belongings while in the water with the stingrays?

 

*How about the food and drink at Sunset Beach?

 

*Where does the ship tender in Cozumel? Is shopping available closeby?

 

*Did you or anyone you know eat at The Point?

 

Ok, that's it for now! I really appreciate your help, and your time and trouble! I am already dreading that "post cruise depression" that you must be experiencing right now! Do you have your next cruise booked yet??

 

Thanks so much!:)

*did not go to the piano bar. I was so lifeless this week that would have put me to sleep for sure!!

 

*first of all if you can just do an excursion w/ stingrays that would be the best. I felt like the stop at hell and turtle farm were a waste. The steps into the water off the boat are slippery, so be careful - (it is a ladder). You just leave your stuff on the boat. Was not a problem because you stay right by the boat.

 

*Drinks at Sunset beach were quite potent, very good! All the alcohol you could possibly drink. Kids pina coladas and strawberry daquiris too. Jerk chicken was good, the hamburgers weren't real meat so I didn't enjoy that much. Beautiful place!!

 

*the ship in GC and Cozumel tenders you right into primo downtown shopping and restaurants now.

 

*never tried the Point -sorry.

 

*I am sure I will be booking something again soon, I am already having withdrawals!!!

 

have a nice trip :)

[rsham]

I did not go to the piano bar. I did see a little karoke, mostly drunks, a few good singers.

 

The food was fair at Sunset beach. We had lots of great drinks, tried a variety. Well worth the $$.

 

I liked the turtle farm, hell was not fun, stingray sand bar was great. The boat was easy to get up and down on. There was a disabled man in our group who ambulated with crutches. The staff were very helpful to him, getting in the boat, water and back. Just leave your stuff on the boat zipped up in a back back or something. Not a problem, you are never far away from the boat.

 

My daughter and son-in-law ate at the point and loved it. I think he ate 24 ounces of steak. They did not order wine and felt they let the staff down from the reaction. All in all a good experience. It would not be that special for me but they enjoyed it and chose to celebrate that way.

 

Shopping was easy, right by the port.

[GayleR]

Thanks for your great, detailed review! Since I'm sailing in just 12 days, I anxiously look for any and all Conquest reviews! It sounds like you enjoyed this cruise.

 

I do have a couple of questions for you:

 

*Did you go to the Piano Bar for some music? We love to spend time there, and I haven't heard much about the Piano Bar on the Conquest.

 

*Tell me a bit about the boat for the stingray excursion....Was it difficult to get in and out of? What did you do with your belongings while in the water with the stingrays?

 

*How about the food and drink at Sunset Beach?

 

*Where does the ship tender in Cozumel? Is shopping available closeby?

 

*Did you or anyone you know eat at The Point?

 

Ok, that's it for now! I really appreciate your help, and your time and trouble! I am already dreading that "post cruise depression" that you must be experiencing right now! Do you have your next cruise booked yet??

 

Thanks so much!:)

 

I know that tkportersat answered some of your questions, but I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents.

 

We did eat at The Point and LOVED it. It's well worth the extra $.

 

We booked our stingray tour with Nativeway and had a blast. We had approximately 15 people on our boat, so needless to say, we spent a lot of time with the stingrays. They take pictures that you can purchase, which of course we did.

 

At Cozumel we were downtown, so there is plenty of shopping once you get off the tender. It is a pain to tender here, but the good news is the tenders are huge! They can accomodate a lot of people. Some of them even have a bar on board.

 

Happy cruising!

[Hondo71]

We were on the Conquest 5/7/06 Cruise.

 

I agree with the others about the piano bar. It was always dead and not much fun.

 

A good alternative to Sunset Beach is Doctor's Cave Beach Club. It is a short cab ride from the peir and only a couple of blocks from Margaritaville. The entrance fee is $5.00 per person and the drinks are reasonable. A six pack of Red Stripe was $10.00. The food was excellent.

[pkholland]

We were on the same cruise as you all. Kerri was right I think Sunset Beach was better than Rose Hall.....we payed twice as much and they did not give us drinks. We had wrist bands on our wrists that said non alcohol. Now I'm way past a questionable age and so they did not plan on letting us drink. I also though they would have saved some lounge chairs for us, but instead we had to fight for them. Just a poor excurison. The stingray tour was great (by the way I think they were only charging $20 on our tour for the pics) Cozumel is where to shop for the travel trash guys you can really bargin with them....but the tendering was terrible. Need more time in Cozumel if we cannot port. As far as the ship it takes some time to understand the layout and then you will be fine, just a pain when traveling to dinner. My kids were in the internet room alot, and I smoke, but was offended that they had to go through a cigar bar to get to the internet. The food needs alot of help in the dining room, as well as the wait staff we had had NO personality. I went on RC before and enjoyed dinner so much as was do disappointed. They put families together if you are two or four for ten, but they did not mix us with other people. I eat with my family everyday and love them, but would have loved some more company at my table. Bingo is a RIP OFF. Talk about making money!!! Ten dollars I belive for one card and you play three games and prizes were like $100 $200 $300. Room service was great our room stewart was awesome and she had to pick up after my two teens that were in there on room. BY the way the AFT is the place to be folks. You see everyone things there, but beware of things flying overhead.....lets see, numerous food items as well as one hat. Noise level was nothing other than vibrartion when the boat was turning. You felt movement at the front of the ship but none at the back. All in all a great crusie with meeting some great people, but I think I will go bact to RC for my next cruise and think twice if a port is tendered.

 

Trish

 

PS Kerri & Karen I go back yesterday afternoon after a long drive. Barb and Kevin where were you????? Do you think they were not real???

[crsinmo]

Thanks for the review. It was nice to hear about our ship again. We will be sailing on her for the third time next february. We had no trouble finding our way around on the ship at all. First time we sailed, we spent most of the first day just exploring her. After that, we pretty much knew the ship. We have never ate at the Point.....don't see the point. lol. We think the dining room food is great in the evening. We ate breakfast and lunch in the buffett. Sunset Beach is great! Stingrays are fun. Not sure we will get off the ship next time in Cozumel. We didn't enjoy it much at all last time. But all in all, The Conquest is a great ship. We will continue sailing her as often as we can.

[Cruisin2006]

This is my very first post on Cruise Critics!

 

We have booked the Conquest in December!! This will be our first cruise and I’m soooo excited! DH and I are in our 50's and have never done much vacationing so this is a dream come true for me!

 

I have a big concern about our cruise in that my sister will be going with us and she is handicapped. She wears braces and walks with a cane or walker. I’m concerned about the tendering at Grand Caymans and Cozumel. Here are my questions:

 

1. How do you get on the tender from the ship? Do you walk down a ramp or get on via steps? (Steps might be difficult for her if they’re steep.) How do you exit the tender at the port - ramp, steps?

 

2. And reverse scenario - how do you board the tender at the port to return to the ship? How do you get off the tender and back on the ship?

 

2. She is going to rent a motorized three wheel chair to get around in when on board. Would it be practical for her to have it loaded on the tender to use while in port if she is only planning on staying in the main shopping areas?

 

Answers would be greatly appreciated! She really wants to go but not sure if she’s prepared for the difficulties so thought I would find out as much as possible beforehand.

 

Thanks, everyone!

[momof4boys]

Welcome Cruisin2006! I bet you will be addicted after your first cruise! Enjoy reading these boards and be sure to check out the Forum Jump for your Roll Call date and you can meet new friends before you even cruise.

 

Sorry, but I cannot answer your questions for sure. I know on the Elation last year there were lots of cruisers using wheel chairs. When the ship docked they rolled down the ramp to the pier. Very easy. We did not have to tender so I don't know how that will be. I suspect CCL will do everything to make your and your family's trip great!:)

[rsham]

I did seem many people using motorized carts or wheelchairs, even crutches on the ship but did not watch them tender. I would think it would be possible. There is usually a ramp but at least a step down once inside the tender. I would think the staff would be accommodating with someone needing assistance. They took my arm each time I got in or out eventhough I did not need it.

[fishinglady]

Thanks for all the Conquest info! - We're going in October, and can't wait!

 

A few more questions:

1) Is the Point a restaurant? - On the ship or in a port?

 

2) Any recommendation for Sting Ray City between Carnival's or a private tour? Is there a minimum age requirement?

 

3) How was the night life for the 20 somethings? - Did they enjoy the clubs?

[pkholland]

We were on tenders both in GC and Coz where there were people in wheel chairs. They brought them on board and used them in the shopping areas. I cannot imagine there to be a problem. As far as night life if you are over 21 you can go to Henri's Disco. It really did not open up to alot of people to after 10:30 PM. The music is mixed from 70's up to present. I think anyone over 18 can go in the bar, but you must me 21 to drink and they will card you if you do not look your age. Make sure you have shoes on that you can dance with, because if you kick them off on the dance floor they come and talk to you about it.

 

Hope you have a great vacation.

 

Trish

 

PS the ship is like Vegas the city comes alive at night.

[tkportersat]

Trish!! I tried to find you the last few days, where did you go???????? Glad to meet you :)

[tkportersat]

This is my very first post on Cruise Critics!

 

We have booked the Conquest in December!! This will be our first cruise and I’m soooo excited! DH and I are in our 50's and have never done much vacationing so this is a dream come true for me!

 

I have a big concern about our cruise in that my sister will be going with us and she is handicapped. She wears braces and walks with a cane or walker. I’m concerned about the tendering at Grand Caymans and Cozumel. Here are my questions:

 

1. How do you get on the tender from the ship? Do you walk down a ramp or get on via steps? (Steps might be difficult for her if they’re steep.) How do you exit the tender at the port - ramp, steps?

 

2. And reverse scenario - how do you board the tender at the port to return to the ship? How do you get off the tender and back on the ship?

 

2. She is going to rent a motorized three wheel chair to get around in when on board. Would it be practical for her to have it loaded on the tender to use while in port if she is only planning on staying in the main shopping areas?

 

Answers would be greatly appreciated! She really wants to go but not sure if she’s prepared for the difficulties so thought I would find out as much as possible beforehand.

 

Thanks, everyone!

Tendering was done w/ a ramp, and sometimes just walking straight from the boat to the tender - saw a few people in wheel chairs and the staff was very accomodating when getting anyone on and off tenders.

[belowradar]

We are first time cruisers - going on Conquest in 4 days!! (June 11)Thanks to all who posted above. Looks like we are on the right track with our plans after reading of the excursions, etc. posted. We are scheduled for stingrays only at Grand Cayman, and for the other 2 places, still weighing our options.

We are "late 40s" and our 2 teens are 13 (D) and 19 (S) y/o.

Please give any info about the following:

 

Sunset Beach vs. Dr's Cave/Margaritaville - has anyone done both? Which would our teens prefer? (husband and I are very flexible, just want the kids happy)

 

Chanakaab vs Paradise Beach - again, which would the 13 and 19 y/o prefer?

 

ONBOARD - looks like there will be plenty for the 13 y/o D to do, but the 19 y/o S falls through the cracks. Too old for Carnival Teens things (cut off is 17?) and too young for adult activities.

 

Thanks!!!

[belowradar]

I'm going to post it as a new topic. I'm afraid it won't be found/seen here. Sorry for the double post. Remember, I am a total noob with this cruisin' stuff.:o

[britishiles]

The Point is the reservations only supper club on Conquest. I have heard the average price is $35 to $40 per person in there.

[texas greeneyes]

The Point is the reservations only supper club on Conquest. I have heard the average price is $35 to $40 per person in there.

It is a fixed price of $30 per person, gratuity included, to dine at The Point.

[TML1101]

rsham - great review - if it weren't for my daily review reading, i might not make it!!! I have a question for you - While at Sunset Beach, do they have lockers that you can rent or did you have to leave your stuff on a chair or something?

 

TIA

[GayleR]

rsham - great review - if it weren't for my daily review reading, i might not make it!!! I have a question for you - While at Sunset Beach, do they have lockers that you can rent or did you have to leave your stuff on a chair or something?

 

TIA

 

I can answer that. No, they do not have lockers. We just left our stuff on a couple of chairs. Mind you, we didn't leave money, just our towels, shoes and sunscreen. Didn't have any problems at all.

[tkportersat]

I can answer that. No, they do not have lockers. We just left our stuff on a couple of chairs. Mind you, we didn't leave money, just our towels, shoes and sunscreen. Didn't have any problems at all.

did not see lockers. I purchased one of those waterproof plastic cases where I held my money, and credit cards so that I could participate w/ the kiddos. It is water tight, and travels fine down waterslides :) I got from http://www.fuertecases.com.