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Conquest Review - 10/5/08

excitedcruiser

By excitedcruiser,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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excitedcruiser

excitedcruiser

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We got of the Conquest yesterday and here is my review:

 

First about us, Me(44) and DH(45) are previous cruisers and this was our 3rd time on the Conquest. We also sailed out of the Bayport Cruise terminal in Houston.

 

Saturday before cruise: Flew from OKC to Houston nonstop and arrived in Houston at 11:27 am. Quick flight. Yeah! Houston has a big airport but we managed to find our way around it fairly easily. Found the counter for our Supper Shuttle ride to our hotel in Baytown and checked in. They told us were to wait for the shuttle and he was there in about 20 minutes. The ride to our hotel was about 45 minutes. Only had one other person on the shuttle and she was dropped off downtown. We were able to see some damage left from Hurricane Ike on our trip. Lots of tarped roofs and missing signage. Got to our hotel at about 1:00 pm. Good thing we made reservations as all the hotels around the area had no vacancies. After having lunch at the restuarant next to the hotel, we contacted some family that was going on the cruise that was driving in from the OKC area. They arrived about an hour after we did. Thier hotel was in La Porte. They called to say that their hotel room was very large and being close to the port and our ride in the morning to the ship, they invited us to stay at thier room. They came and got us an hour later and we gave up our room to someone who needed it. After a wonderful dinner and a soak in the hot tub if was off to bed for the big day. We did meet up with some of the couples from our roll call. They were staying at the same hotel. Shout out to them:D !

 

Sunday: We wanted to see the Conquest arrive in port but made it just short of that. We got to the terminal about 8:30 am and watched it from outside the parking/port area. After being very excited and wanting to get parked and board. We tried to see if we could get into the parking area. It was guarded. They did let us get in and drop off our luggage which was helpful. They said to come back at about 11:00 am. We started to see traffic go in about 10:00 am so we tried again to get in and he said no parking yet and to do the loop to get back out. We noticed people were parking in the lot (also guarded) so we gave it a shot and they let us park. Off to the terminal to get in line. There was probably 50 people ahead of us. We started moving and before long we were on the ship at 11:45 am. Ate a wonderful lunch on Lido and kinda roamed around till we could get to our room. No sneaking to the rooms. All is blocked off or guarded by crew. Finally to our room at about 1:30 pm. We booked inside guarantee on the bottom floor. Our room was Aft/Port side, very last room on the main deck. Yes, you can hear the humming of the engines back there. Went to roam again, waiting for our luggage to arrive. Back and forth, many times, till it finally showed up at 7:00 pm. Muster drill was as usuall and sailaway started at the end of muster about 5:00 pm. We watched land go by a couple hours and finally saw Galveston before heading to sea. Spend the rest of the day, unpacking, casino(lost), shops and of course eating.

 

Monday - Day at Sea - Woke up about 9:00 am after having a rocking time during the night. Someone said something about a dead sea which is why the boat rocked so much. Don't know anything about a Dead Sea. We thought that being in the very back of the ship was why it was rough but apparently it hit the whole ship. Spent the day as usual, eating, casino(lost), shops and hanging out on Lido watching the games going on. One thing I do need to mention is that we did not eat in the dining rooms at all so I cannot give any kind of review on it.

 

Tuesday- Day at Sea: Made reservations to eat at the Point and it was wonderful. The service is the best I've ever had and the food was great. I highly recommend doing this.

 

Wednesday- Jamaica- got up early to watch us dock at Jamaica. It's a real pretty island to see coming up to it. Our excursion was a City Highlights, Negril Beach and Ricks Cafe. It was booked through A-Z Planners and apparently we were the only ones who booked this excurison. We had the driver to ourselves. Saw alot of the island including the very poor and the very rich. The beach was about 1.5 hours away and the driver gave us alot of information regarding the island on our drive. It was very nice. The beach was awesome and so was the food. We were asked if we wanted to buy any drugs from a couple of the locals but after seeing that we had no interest in that, most left us alone. After the beach, a quick trip to see the lighthouse and Ricks Cafe were a local offered to jump off the cliff into the water for $5.00. We passed on that. Our drive back was quiet as we were exhausted. We made it back to the terminal about 1.5 hours before the boat would leave. We did our shopping the terminal. Back on board we had a nice dinner and watched us leave Jamaica. Lost more money in the Casinos:(.

 

Thursday - Grand Cayman Island - Booked an excursion from Nativeways to do the Rays/Reef/Rum Point. The tour company meet us at the pier and took us out by boat to the stingray area. The group consisted of 17 people. Nice group. Boat trip was nice and the stingrays were awesome. The snorkling was in about 30 feet and fish were everywhere. Went on the Rum Point (my favorite place in the world) an ate a wonderful lunch. Spent about 2 hours there then back on the boat to get to the port in time to board. We had about 1.5 hours to shop after our excursion, so we powered shop. Spent the evening resting and got to bed early to get rest for our next port.

 

Friday-Cozumel: Booked an excursion to do the mini-sub. That was real nice. Saw lots of fish and snorklers:D from the windows underwater. The whole thing lasted about 2.5 hours from pickup to drop off. Spent the afternoon shopping on the strip and back to the boat to eat again.:D

 

Saturday - Day at Sea: Rested and slept in late. Very tired after three days in port. Got our packing done and decided to self-disembark due to our flight leaving in the early afternoon Sunday. Did last minute shopping on board. Lots of sales the last day.

 

Sunday - Bayport Terminal: We had to meet in the Lounge at 8:00 am due to our flight was before 3:00 pm. There were about 100 or so other people in there also. Embarkation went so fast. We were off the boat in 30 minutes. Went to meet our shuttle across the terminal. They finally showed 3.5 hours later.:mad: Back to the airport and home by 4:00 pm.

 

Overall:

 

Food - Great

Entertainment - Did not see shows as they were the same as last year.

Casinos - Were not paying as well as last year. Did not hear of any big winnings.

Shops - Best prices are on the last day.

Room Stewart - Excellent. We left him a tip everyday.

Dining Rooms - Don't know, didn't eat there.

Cruise Director: Ralph and Kyle(Asst. Director) are very good.

 

If you have any questions, let me know. I will help out anyway I can.

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dickens56

dickens56

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It has been a long time since I went to Jamaica. The shopping at the terminal, is it safe. Are you bothered by people selling drugs there? I am with family, but no wants to get off the ship in Jamaica. I was just wondering it the terminal shopping would be safe for me to get off and shop there.

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excitedcruiser

excitedcruiser

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The terminal in Jamaica is very safe. No worries at all in there. I know that Jamaica gets a bad rap sometimes but I recommend getting out of the terminal and seeing the island. It's true that sometimes you might be offered drugs but I have been there 2 times and I have never actually seen the drugs and they don't bother you after you say no. The beaches are absolutely wonderful.

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cruisenewbie1

cruisenewbie1

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Wassup. I am in the process of writing my first review. I am trying to go into as much detail as I can. One thing I want to point out. In Jamaica, we had a private driver and at no time did I ever feel unsafe. Everyone was very nice, They wanted you to buy something and I felt bad when I couldn't buy everything we saw. We got offered drugs once but he was very polite. Everyone we met was polite,helpful and fun. Don't let other's opinions sway you.get out and see the island.

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rob6465

rob6465

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True about Jamaica, last year on our 1st cruise we were hesitant to getting off at Montego Bay. We finally got off and did the bus tour and were not harassed or offered any drugs. This year we got off and went to Sunset Beach Resort and NOONE bothered us. Next year we'll go further on the island and might try dunn's river falls.

I feel more safer in Jamaica than some US cities. There are worst places in Texas, NY, NJ, KS,OK, ETC.

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