My Virtual Cruise Of The Conquest

[Luanne21]

Now that dinner is over with, we need to go to get a good seat in the the

Toulouse Lautrec. That simply means the theater where the entertainment is. Going a little early gets you a good seat, but if you go to early, you might get there as the other show is ending. This is a little confusing, but they put on two shows for dinner guests. The early eaters like us, our time is at 8:45, and if you have eat late the show is at 7:00. Sometimes after dinner, we go back to the cabin to freshen up, and take a few minutes to relax. Since you have not been on the Conquest before, you could also take the extra time to walk around. I always encourage everyone to go to the first show, the night we sail. They usually introduce the staff, and tell you some things about the ship. It is true that sometimes the shows are a bit cheesy, but those kids work their tails off, so keep that in mind, and go and enjoy.

[Luanne21]

You know it is getting kind of late, so let's go back to the room, and talk a little before bed.

 

You probably have noticed how important you S&S card is. You also have probably noticed that people have different colors. Yours is Red, White and Blue, because this is your first cruise. I have a gold card, because I have been on more than one. A platinum card is for those who are on their 10th cruise or more. The only real difference in the blue and the gold, is that you get a lot of crew members who say welcome back, or in your case, welcome. For Platinum you get a few goodies, which I don't have a copy, so if someone reading this has the info, please post.

 

Now, see how different your room looks? The curtains are closed to block out the morning sun, the end table lights are on to set the mood. You bed has been turned down, with chocolate on the pillow, and more important is your new Capers.

 

Notice that there are 67 things to do tomorrow. No, they don't expect you to do them all, but they do want you to have a good time. You need to get out that marker, and take your pick, unless you have been drinking to much, and need to wait until morning. I wouldn't want you to go to the teeth whitening clinic, if all of yours are made in a shop.

 

Now, Take the first night capers, the one you got this afternoon, and put it in a different zip lock. Poke a hole in the top, and hang it on the hook, on the wall. That will hold all your old Capers throughout the week. Use the zip lock for today to put your new ones in. See how organized!

 

Before you go to sleep, get the room service menu off the hook, and fill it out for in the morning. It is limited, but it will at least give you something to eat and drink, before you get ready for breakfast. If you will notice, there is a place at the bottom to put what time it is to be delivered. Tell them the time you want to wake. What a great wake up call.

 

Now, as you lay in bed, that is so soft and welcoming, notice the gentle sway of the bed. Good Night...... See you in the morning.....

[love-lee]

Loving it!!!

 

If you are not an author, you should be. This is good stuff!!

[Perini3]

Great review, we can't wait to get on her next week. Thanks Randy and Tami

[Baylee]

Lovin' it!!! :D We'll be on the August 17th sailing. My youngest daughter (22) will be going with us. She was in Galveston yesterday while the Conquest was in port and is WAY more excited now than she was when we booked back in February. Her first and only cruise was on the Celebration when she was 14 years old. She couldn't believe how much bigger the Conquest is. She said "That's a lot of people to meet!! I'm going to be busy!" LOL

[Luanne21]

Good Morning to your first full day at sea. So how did you sleep? Did you miss the sunrise? You know the Capers tell you what time to expect it. It will also tell you when it sets.

 

Well, I am glad you are up early, because we have a full day planned. While you finish your coffee, let me tell you a few more things you might need to know.

 

I do bring my lap top. I have never had any problems with it in the room, and have been very lucky picking up the signal in the stateroom. I have found that the best place to plug it in, is on the table in front of the couch. That way you are close to the only plug in, which is behind the bed. Let me check the capers to see if there are any good deals.

 

Yep, See it says 47% off the pay. It says that you can chat with family or friends on MSN,AOL,YAHOO, and more. If you didn't bring your computer, they also have them to rent. I usually get 100 minutes, which is called a package deal. I don't have the price, but it says to come to the Internet cafe. 24 hours a day. I believe that the price will go down even further, later in the cruise, even offering free time.

 

Okay, let's see what we have picked out today.

 

At 10:00 There is a combo Bingo/music trivia games. That sounds like fun. Now with bingo the cards are 10:00 a card, but you can get 3 for 20:00, so that is what we will do.

 

At 12:00 we can eat lunch. Why not go to the buffet to see what they have, but if you love Ruben sandwiches then you are in for a treat. The best in the world. We have all week, so we will try other places, as the week goes on.

 

There is a slot Tournament in the Casino.

 

At 1:00 we can go and see the ice carving demo. It is really cool. But please don't ask where the carving goes, when it melts. (this is an inside joke for those who have cruised.

 

At 3:30 is the New and not so Newlywed game. This is so funny. It cannot be missed.

 

At 5:00 is the Captain's cocktail party. This is after all, our first formal night.

 

Dinner is of course is our usual time. Tonight is formal, so try to dress accordingly. Men, A suite/ dark if you have it/ Tux of course if you brought it, and ladies, put on that formal or cocktail dress.

 

As you can see, I have only picked out a few things, and we will be busy. You can of course pick more, or less. It is your vacation.

 

 

Now, One thing I have not mentioned is the Cruise Director. To me, a cruise director will not make or break a cruise, but they sure help. The cruise Director for the Conquest has been Todd Whittmer. Sadly, he is moving up in the world. He will be on the Liberty soon, as John Heard will be going to catch the New Freedom when it does it's overseas thing. I am told that Mark Price will be taking over on the Conquest and have heard nothing but great reviews on Mark, but I will miss Todd.

 

Todd, thank you from the bottom of my heart for two great cruises. You made the difference. I have told you personally, but would like to say it publicly. Thank you for recognizing the soldiers on the ship, and their families. You did not have to do, but you did, and as you know there was not a dry eye in the room.

God speed Todd...........

Todd did indeed move on up the Carnival ladder. Marc Price turned out to be gret too, but as those of you who have met him, Todd is the best.

[Luanne21]

Okay, I am finally ready for our first formal night. A lot has been said about formal night. What do I wear? Will I be looked at funny? Will I be dressed up enough? Sadly, people will sometimes try to shame you into doing things, even though they don't know the person, or the ship, so let me tell you some common sense stuff. It is true that in the olden days, everyone was Tuxs and ball grounds. But is also true, is that over the years, the rules have evolved. If you are a man or male, then if you have a Tux, or have the money to rent one, either in your home town, or on the ship, this is what you should plan on. If you don't then a dark suit would be good. If you don't have that, then what about a pair of dress pants, dress shirt, and tie. If you still have none of the above, On the Conquest you will not be turned away if you have on dockers and a polo shirt. I do not claim to have cruised on all ships, but from Galveston, you see very few Tuxs. For the most part, you see suites. If you are military, wear your dress greens or blues. For our first cruise, hubby refused to wear military. Not because he isn't proud, but because this was a "getting away from military cruise" He also didn't have a suite. We did the dress pants thing.

 

Now for the women: If you have a ball gown then wear it, if you have a cocktail dress, that's good too. If you have none of the above, wear your nicest church clothes. A lot of ladies prefer the long black pants, so if you have it wear it.

 

On our first cruise last summer, I didn't have time to get all this fancy stuff. I left the house mad, at not hubby, but at the world, and the Army. Once again, they had interrupted a nice dinner with the phone

calls. I thought I would just ride around, to cool off. I saw the travel agency with this huge Carnival poster in the window. It said "Get away from it all" I did. I booked the cruise on Thursday, Carnival FedEx our Doc's which arrived on Monday, and we left Thursday. I wore a pretty pink summer dress, with heals. Not fancy, and no one said a word. Now on our next two cruises. Back to back this past Christmas, we went all out. The guys bought new black suites, white silk ties, and I had a black ball gown. To this day, my son calls the formal picture, the mafia picture. We looked like we were straight out of a Godfather movie. But,........ Ball gown got on the elevator that night. Well, part of it did. I went to deck 7 and the back of my dress stayed on deck 9. Now this is where you need to get out your list of things to bring. DUCT TAPE!! We had two more formals to go to on that two cruises, and I didn't have anything else to wear. So we duct taped that dress from under, and that is the way I wore it. As I would walk, part of the tape would stick to my leg, and make the strangest sound. I just held my head up proud, and pretended it had to be someone else. All around the world today, the uppity ladies are in need of there smell salts, but you know what? A girl does what she has to do. Want to see them faint again? The color of the tape was LIME GREEN. You couldn't see it from the outside, but just the idea of this hick taping her dress.

This last cruise I wore a red cocktail dress, that was jagged on the bottom. Why not, my black one was from the elevator.

 

The food from formal night is usually special too. Lots of steak, Lobster, etc. It really is a treat to go and feel like you are straight out of the Titanic movie. Sorry, bad example.

[Luanne21]

Okay, the dinner is over, and now we need to go and find the perfect background for our formal pictures. You will find many backgrounds on the Conquest, as well as many other ships. Pictures are my down fall. I can't help but buy anything that has my family in it. So, the best thing to do, is be picky on what you have taken.

 

Pictures!

 

There is a photo gallery on each cruise. Every so often, go there and pick up the pictures that have been taken of you and your family. The first ones are 8x10's, but you can order smaller ones as well. They also develop film, and sale photo albums, and frames. Watch specials through out the week in this department too. The joke on the ship is"How do I know which pictures are mine, since they don't have your name on them. I would love to give you regular prices on the photos, but the price has gone up, every cruise we have taken, so any amount, would probably be wrong for your cruise. They run around 20.00 a piece.

 

Now, here is another area that is talked about and debated, and even deleted due to the fact that the differences are often debated, heatedly.

DO I CHANGE CLOTHES AFTER DINNER OR DO I GO TO THE SHOWS IN FORMAL CLOTHES?

 

We change clothes. It is because we want to enjoy the rest of the evening, a little more comfortable. It will be up to you, because you will see both.

 

Now, Let's talk about Excursions. There is a excursions desk on the ship. It is many times crowded, but it is there. In your capers, will be advertisements for excursions, but let me tell you what we have always done.

 

I book all of our excursions on line, before I ever leave home. One good thing is that they are paid for, before we go. They are refundable if I change my mind, before we leave. I can see what is open, and don't have to worry about it being sold out. It is easy to refund on line, and many times the credit is given back in a matter of hours.

 

You will hear many many people tell you to book with excursion people, unrelated to Carnival. There are many good companies out there, but keep in mind the area you are going, and the fact on how much you know the area. I advise all newbie's to book excursions with Carnival. It will be more expensive, and in most cases, you will be with more people than on a private excursion, but if it is a Carnival excursion, the ship WILL NOT leave you. The excursion people stay in touch with the ship, and if there is a problem, the ship will wait. If you do private, it will be up to you to get back to the ship on time. Many, many people just want to go to the beach, and that is fine. What I am talking about are where you are going to pay someone to take you somewhere. The Conquest goes to Jamaica, and I advise all to go with a group!! I will talk about that more, when we get there.

We were on the Ecstasy last month, and they were no longer developing film from your camera. We were told it was not cost effective. You could still check on your cruise, but it is probably Carnival wide.

[sewut]

We'll be sailing the Conquest again in December. We're taking our granddaughter on her second cruise, have to get our money's worth out of that passport. :D I'm enjoying this thread in the meantime. Can we go on the Pirate Ship in Grand Cayman? Aargh!

Sewut

[Luanne21]

You know, this has been a good cruise so far. The weather has been wonderful, the waves are calm, and before we start our excursions, we have another full day at sea. So, what shall we do? Maybe lay out by one of the pools? Go to one of the events going on around the ship? So many things to do, and so little time.

 

Before we decide, let me show you something on the balcony. Look over the side and do you see what looks like bugs skimming the water? Those are flying fish. I guess I expected orcas or something, but those are tiny flying fish. When my husband(the fisherman) showed me the first time, I said,"Those are bugs" Okay, I have a blond moment or two every once in awhile. He was so kind when he asked me to remember where I was, and that bugs needed land, and that we didn't have any out here.

 

Something else I wanted to show you. See in the shower, on the wall. That little thing that you can pull out. That is a close line. It hooks to the other side of the shower, to hang wet clothes on.

 

Since tomorrow we will be in Jamaica, and you see that the steward has left beach towels for us. Let me tell you what you should have brought with you. (Add this to your list) Before you cruise, go to some place like Wal Mart and get cheap beach towels. The ones from Carnival are really nice, but pick one of those suckers up. It weight a ton, and gets heavier on an excursion, especially if you have to walk awhile. If someone picks up one of Carnivals towels, 22.00 against you. I actually saw a flea market in Cozumel, where they had them for sale. What you want to bet, people either left them, or they were stolen.

 

You also should have brought sun screen. The sun is very hot year round in the south, especially around water. Word of caution. That spray on stuff that you saw on ads this summer. The kind that says all you do is spray. Well, if you don't read the directions you will spray and rub. Nope, that's not how it works. Spray yes, but the rub does no good, so you have spots where you sprayed, and then lots of red.

 

Since we are talking about temperatures, let's talk. In Galveston during the summer it is hot, and humid, but during the winter it is as cold as any other part of Texas, and one year some people came back from their cruise, and there was snow on the ground. Doesn't happen often, but you get the idea. But, once the ship gets out into the gulf stream, it will warm up, and if you don't have resort clothes, you are not going to be happy. Remember, the further south you get, it will get warmer. It doesn't matter what ship you are on.

 

Well, I need something to drink, and you need to go and soak up a little of that sun, so lets go.

[Luanne21]

Good Morning and Welcome to Montego Bay, Jamaica

 

It is Wednesday on the wonderful Conquest. If you are traveling during the winter months, you will have changed your clocks, as directed by your Capers. It is not a time change during the summer, as far as I remember.

 

We will be docking today, and as you know from last nights Capers that the gym will be open this morning at 6:00, like you are going to need more exercise.

 

Docking should take place around 8:00.

 

Explanations: Docking means to pull up to the dock, and be able to walk off the ship.

 

Tendering means to pull as close to the shore, and dropping anchor, and having smaller boats pick up passengers.

 

Unfortunately Jamaica is the only port to dock on the Conquest. Hopefully by the time you cruise, you will once again be able to dock in Cozumel.

 

Docking in Grand Cayman will probably never be possible. The water there is so deep, so close to the shore, that it is financially not good to build a dock. "I'm sorry Mrs. Luanne, we just don't want to spend the money, and have such loss of life, when all you people can take our fine boats" That was a quote from a British sounding fellow. Sorry, I can't type with a British accent.

 

This morning let's go and eat breakfast on the Lido. They are suppose to have their famous french toast today, and it is to die for.

 

While we are eating, "Isn't the food good?" Let's talk a little about Jamaica. I have been here twice, and thanks to some bad advice, I didn't get off the ship the first time. People had me scared to death. My hubby and teens did the lazy river excursion, and almost went to sleep. Not enough excitement for my boys. The last time we were here we went with Carnival to the Dunn's River Falls. Now I can pretty much guarantee that anything sponsored by Carnival will be safe. What you need to do, is book on line, talk with your group, on what they want to do, and go with that. The Falls are very special, and should be seen by all.

 

The thing that is so scary is people here do a lot of begging, and they are not easily stopped. There also a lot of armed guards, but they are for your protection. There is a fence around the dock, also for your protection. If you are only wanting to go to the beach, it isn't far, and a taxi cab ride is short, but don't go alone. Go as a group to have the most fun, and to be safe. There is also a big problem with drugs here. I once saw a post on another site, where the whole thing was how legal drugs are in Jamaica. DRUGS ARE NOT LEGAL!!! Some of the problems you might have is someone coming up to you sailing bracelets. "Here, put this on. I want to give it to you free." You put it on and they demand money. None of what I am telling you is hearsay. I have experienced everything I am telling you. Another problem, and a good way to miss the ship, is drugs placed in your tote bag, when you are not looking, and the person doing it, tells on you for 50 American dollars. This was a huge problem once upon a time, but the police got wise to it. The best thing to do is stay with the Carnival group. Watch your bag, and before you go back through the check point to get on the ship, check your bag, to make sure you have only your stuff. If someone tries to sale you something, just keep walking, and don't say anything but maybe, no thank you. Be persistent, they will.

 

Now I have scared you, so let's talk about the good Jamaica. For one thing, from the coast it is beautiful. if you get away from the beach area, and the slums, you will see mighty plantations, still in operation. Some people that you might recognise are Steven Seagull. He owns hundreds of acres of land, and grows grapes for wine. Johnny Cash and family owned land here, this is where(if you are old enough) he and his family were staying one Christmas, and bandits broke in and tried to kidnap him, and his family. They were caught, because the Jamaicans loved Johnny for all that he contributed to the island. Of course there is the late great Bob Marley, who died of cancer some years ago. Someone once asked if it was far to see his grave, and museum, and the answer was yes. It is located on the other side of the island, and would take hours to get there.

 

The best way to enjoy Jamaica is to read about it before you arrive. All I did was type Jamaica in Google, and out pops all of this info. It is amazing to see all the things that have taken place here over the years.

 

More later.......</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN>

[Luanne21]

Before we leave the ship, let me tell you about life on board, if you don't get off the ship. I can only count 6 things, between the time the Caper starts, until 5:00 PM. Port days are a great way to give the staff a break. As you get off the ship, you will notice another exit for them.

 

The gym is open, the spa (you can usually get pretty good deals here on port days.) The Capers say that the pools are open, but I remember them closed, so who knows. There will be a few things open to eat, but over all it will be a pretty quiet ship.

 

Well we have eaten, and packed what we wanted to take so let's go.

What? You want to know the best things to pack? Your cheap beach towels, Bottled water, sun screen, water proof camera, chap stick, Pain killer, book. You understand most of it don't you? But what about the pain killer, and book. Well if you dock in Montego Bay, it is a two hour trip to the falls. If you get to much sun, then a Tylenol will make your headache feel better. Also, wear bathing suit, or shorts, and water shoes. Water shoes have the hard bottom, and when water gets in them, the water goes back out. YOU CANNOT DO THE FALLS WITHOUT THEM! Also, when you buy your shoes, make sure that they are not slick on the bottom, and have some sort of grip. The book is for the long trip.

 

Okay, off we are, and going through the first gate. Into a building, that has shops and check points for you stuff coming back. Straight through the building to the back, where you will see all these people with signs saying which excursion they are doing. Most every excursion requires you to get on a bus. Some are big ones, and some are little, and some even vans. Just look for your sign. Once on the bus, you get settled for the trip. There were no bathrooms on ours, so go easy on the water.

We always try to sit as close to the tour director as we can, because I love knowing what things are. Almost as soon as you leave the port, you will notice the beautiful bay, but also the absolute poverty. Remember when we were kids, and you would put a blanket on sticks or lean it against a tree for a play house or fort? This is where some of them live. Very sad. If this kind of thing bothers you, then get your book out, because I don't remember it getting much better.

 

After about an hour, we stopped for a break. The place looked like a dump, but the bathrooms were very clean, and there was a place to get snacks, and drinks. They were cooking on big outside grills, but you could tell they were just getting started, because it was still only about 9:00 in the morning.

[Luanne21]

Within two hours, we were at the parking lot of the Falls. You can see how popular the excursion is, because even then, the parking lot was getting full. We were met by another tour guide, and she is the one who took us down to the falls, which by the way we couldn't see, and we couldn't hear them. We walked for a little while until we came to the ticket window, and then another guide started with us. Our tickets were already paid, so our guide just handed the cashier our money. At this counter is where you can rent water shoes, because as I said, you can not do the falls without them. As we walk a little further, we started hearing something that we though was the falls. It also started getting very humid. Up to this point, we had not seen water at all. As we came in sight of the falls, we had to take the hand of those in front of us, and those in back. We had to go to the beach area first, and then loop around to get to the bottom of the falls. The first thing I noticed was it was where they taped the James Bond movie. It still looks like the spot after all these years. (They also did part of it, in a place called James Bond Beach) The first thing you notice is the water is ice cold! Soon as you get use to it, though, it feels so good. The next thing you do is look up, and say to your self, or like me out loud,"I can't climb this" I swear it looked straight up. There were also guides all over the place here too. They have on bright yellow shirts, so you can't miss them. I don't know how long it took us to climb, and at one point I thought I couldn't go any further, but I made it. There is a walk way along side of the falls where you can get out and walk, but only one person did that, as far as I could tell.

[love-lee]

This is great! I feel like I am really there!

 

Tell me more. Tell me more!

[Baylee]

::::tapping foot:::: Ok ... where's the next chapter???

[Luanne21]

Now for some, climbing the falls was fun and games, but for some of us, it was serious business. The guide for your chain, tells the first person, and they are suppose to turn around and tell the next person which rocks had been cleaned. Our chain didn't talk well, so I put my youngest ahead of me, and I let him test the rocks. The rocks get slimy from the water running over them, so in the mornings, these guides get out there and scrub these rocks. (How would you like to put that on your resume.) Of course that is the trick. They don't do them all, so they have to remember which ones have been done.

 

What I forgot to mention was that I met this nice young man on the bus, who was traveling alone. We got to talking and he told me that he was hired by Carnival to go on different excursions, to video tape the event, and then they are sold on the ship, later. By the time we got to the falls, I knew all about him(Yea, it's southern for me to ask) and he had taken a liking to me. He could not do the falls, because he had a broken foot. Guess how he broke it? He took his water shoes off, to get better shots, and fell and broke it. See, I told you!!! The reason he took them off, is in some places the water is so fast that it will cause you to loose your footing, which is why they say not to wear tennis shoes, because the water can't run out as fast. he thought he could get a more steady shots if he could grip the rocks with his feet. For those of you who have cruised before, you know when they do the video on the ship, you always look to see if your in it. Well, guess what being nice to young men will get you. The video was of me. All of it. Oh, he would take pictures of others, but there he would go back at me. We bought it, but I have never seen it again. The trouble with the tape was they showed it the entire cruise on the stateroom TV's I was a hag looking star. Most of the time you could see hubby behind me pushing on my butt, like I was some sort of donkey. It was not my finest hour

[Luanne21]

At the top of the falls is another experience totally. I am trying to figure out how to explain it, without scaring all of you, which might cause you to miss the falls all together, and that would be a shame. At the top of the falls is a little shopping area. Those trying to sale their stuff will meet you as soon as you come out of the falls area. You are on your way back to the bus, and you can go two ways. One goes down to the shops, and the other is I believe to the left, that will take you sooner. For those you meet out of the falls, do not talk to them, except to say No Thank you. Do not listen to them, no matter what they offer. They will offer you jewelry, drugs, carvings, etc. You do not want any of it. Keep walking. You will be away from them very soon. Once you get to the parking lot you will be fine. Do not go to the shopping area. Go to the bus. Watch your bag. Stay together. Also do not buy the video that the man is taping as you go up the falls. I am not talking about the one on the bus, that is hired by Carnival. This is an independent guy, who will tell you that he will meet you at your bus with your tape. It is a scam. You will get a case with a nice picture on it, and a CD inside, which once you get to where you can view it, you will discover that you have music, and a little footage of the falls, with you not in it. These are made who knows when, which is why he is able to "burn so many copies so soon." Again, this is not hearsay. The man that was with us, was telling everyone to pose for him, only the light on the camera was not on at the time. He expects you to not be observant. The one guy who bought one on our cruise, got a chance to see it, and it was as I explained.

[Luanne21]

Okay, that is done. On the way back, our guide had brought along some show and tell stuff. Different leaves, and fruit from Jamaica. It was very interesting. On the way back we stopped at that same shop, and guess what? the guys had finished cooking. It smelled like what heaven would be. It was jerk chicken, and ribs, and stuff. I don't know if it was because we were so tired and hungry or it was just good, but that was the best chicken. Just as we got back into Montego Bay, we stopped at a strip mall. It is called City Center, and they even offer a tour of it. It's junk. Very expensive junk. Either stay on the bus, or stay close. The bathrooms are up staires. Do not go alone. Take someone with you.

We left there very soon, and went back to the ship. I did not realize how tired I was until we got back. After you get on the ship, go where you can look over the the ship at the dock. There should be a marching band their made up of mostly kids. We threw coins to them, and they have these little bags to catch them in. It was a feel good moment.

[MagicEyez]

Very Nice!!!!!! :d :d :d

[Luanne21]

This part is not in my word section of my computer, but I did want to add a few things to what I have already talked about.

Since I wrote my virtual cruise, I have been back to Jamaica, again, on the Conquest.

Our experiences this time were not as favorable. My family did the white water rafting with Carnival. I have a hubby and two teen sons. All three are very good swimmers.

This took place last summer during July. The island had received a large amount of water. Instead of sending down an employee to see how the conditions of the river was, they decided to just go with the normal tour.

It was a huge mistake. The river was flooded, and had tons of trash in the water.

Within minutes of them leaving the bank, the floats capsized and all were left on there own. The tour guides were worried about their floats, and left the guests to get out the best way they could. My son rescued three people from another cruise ship, and my hubby had to rescue 5 others. They sat on rocks for 3 hours, waiting for someone to come and get them. They finally decided to walk down on their own when they saw that another tour had already started. They also were dumped. The rest of the tours were cancelled. No one ever made an effort to come back for those lost.

There was no loss of life, but it could have been a horrible time, for many families.

I have never complained to any of our cruise ships, because I just have the attitude of stuff happens, but this time, we let them know very politely what happened.

The pursers desk was very busy, because another group of people were held at gun point, during their excursion. (all of this you can read about here on the boards)

I took a mild mannered trip around the island, and shopping. I to had a very difficult time, when I was taken to a shopping area, in the middle of no where, and the shops were in these cave looking things.

They would get you inside where it was very dark, and stand in your way, in order to get you to buy. I was only caught once by the very pushy sales person, and then I stood outside the bus, until we left. I am so mild mannered, but I had to push this woman out of the way to get out.

It took me several hours to settle down, and then I had to worry about where my men were, because they were due back in 3 hours, and after 5 they were still not back on the ship.

Would I go back to Jamaica? Yes!! Would I get off the ship? I really don't know. Probably.... Would I ever book a non Carnival excursion? Probably not, but then again, the examples I gave were all Carnival excursions.

I am afraid money and corruption has hurt the island. I don't have any answers to what needs to be done, but it is very important for everyone to know the truth.

 

 

(We did receive obc for part of the excursion, but my hubby still has scares from where they were trapped on the rocks.)

[Luanne21]

Tonight after we got cleaned up and went to get something to eat, we went to the magic show. It was okay. Not great, but okay. I also notice that tonight the Internet is 50% off. Except for the teens, everything else on the ship was pretty laid back. Blue's music in the bar, Jazz in the bar, and if you could stay awake long enough, Bathrobe bingo at 11:00. By that time, I was probably asleep. I also notice that this was the night of the free trip bingo. Someone always wins, but sadly never me.

 

Okay, A couple of things before we say good night. You loose track of time on a cruise ship. If it wasn't for having to get to a show, or dinner on time, you probably would lose all track. Before you realize it, it is late. Also remember that you have three ports of call in a row. If you don't rest (take a nap) you will wear yourself out, and not have as good a time. Tomorrow is Grand Cayman, maybe..........

 

Special Note: Thank you to those who have encouraged me to do this. I didn't want to write another review, because most of the time, people writing reviews are so tired, they just want to get it over with. I did not however realize how much I had to say. What I have tried to do is to give you a complete outline of your cruise, and give you a chance to see what it might be like for you. No matter what ship you will be taking, most of what I have said applies to all ships. The excursions might be different, but cruise life will not be. Also remember that cruising is what you make it. If you get on that ship, looking for bad, you will find it. If you say Damn I am cruising, you will have so much fun.

[Luanne21]

Good morning and welcome to Grand Cayman. You will notice this morning that instead of being docked like you were yesterday in Jamaica, you are a ways away from land.

 

As we stand together on the balcony we also can look over the side and see boats, loud boats, pulling up to the sides of the Conquest.

 

These will serve as our transportation to the island. They look small from where we are viewing them, but in fact some can hold up to 500 people at a time, so the wait is not usually that long, at all.

 

I sure hope you are dressed and ready, because before we leave, we need to go and eat a good breakfast, before we leave the ship. The reason it is more important on this day, is that GC is very expensive.

 

Grand Cayman is known for it's banking system. Remember watching a movie, and they talk about the off shore bank accounts. Well, this is one of the locations those funds are sent to. They deal in numbers, and not so much identities. Good way to keep yourself from being identified, but with me, I will never have enough money to have to worry.

 

This is also the location of the movie "The Firm" with Tom Cruise, and Gene Hackman.

 

Now as we look toward the island, one question you have is why not a port, so that we can dock. I had this same question so I asked. What I was told was that the water is very deep on this side of the island. It would take a lot of man power and construction to build. I have also been told by more than a few people that in the future, cruise ships will no longer be welcome in GC. They simply do not need Carnival, or any other ship. In fact most of the regular residents resent having tons of tourists invading the island for the day. They say it has become way to commercial, and the peace and tranquility has started to disappear.

 

This is also one of the three ports that you might not be able to visit on the Conquest. If the water is to rough, or wind is to rough, they will cancel the port for the day.

 

I have been on the Conquest 3 times, and been to GC twice.

 

So.... Let's get ready to get on our tendering boat, and start our day. It's going to be a wild one!!:)

[poochierebelbear]

This is so awesome of you to take your time to post this. I have never cruised before and I know when I finish reading it all, this will help me tremendously. Thank you!!!!!

[Havinsnest]

Only another 214 days and we'll be back on Conquest. I am absolutely LOVING this virtual cruise. Thank you so much. What a great gift you are giving we Conquest lovers.

 

On a side note, I'm sorry about the bad experience in Jamaica. I fear corruption and money have hurt the island, too. We are considering a guided tour of the island in January but I am still researching the idea.

[cruisin bunga]

I am onboard and enjoying it. We go live on October 26th. This will be our third or if you count your virtual it will be my fourth.

Keep it coming Luanne.