Cruise Line: Carnival Cruise Lines
Ship: Carnival Conquest
Date of Cruise: August 10, 2003

Carnival Conquest Western Caribbean Cruise from New Orleans
By: ct-cruisers

We are a family of three from Connecticut, my wife and I are mid-40's and our son Brian is 16 years old. This was our fifth cruise, second with Carnival. We had never sailed on a newer ship and we were not disappointed.

Embarkation day - We flew into New Orleans the mor ning of the cruise, which meant we had to get up at three in the morning eastern time to get to the airport for our 6:30 a.m. flight. We arrived in New Orleans at 10:30 a.m. and took a cab to the pier. The cab fare was $12 per person flat rate and the ride only took a half hour. We were dropped off at the pier by 11:30 a.m. and as we walked into the building they were just opening up the counters to sign in. There was no line and we were able to sign in at the counter and then walk over to pick up our sign and sail card within a few minutes. Since we had arrived so early, we decided to let the porters take all of our luggage including our carry-on (big mistake). After waiting about twenty minutes they started to let groups on board. We were the second group and we were on board the ship shortly after noon. They told us that the room would not be ready until 2:00, so we went to grab a bite to eat and then explored the ship.

The ship is laid out in such a way, that you don't get the feeling that there are over 2,500 passengers on board. We went to see if our room was ready and if the luggage had arrived. With our four previous cruises, the luggage arrived within two hours of boarding the ship, so we never thought there would be a problem waiting for our bags to arrive. Exhausted, we went to the cabin and ended up taking a nap while waiting for the luggage which did not arrive until we returned from our early seating dinner (8 hours after boarding). Now we know that we will bring our carry-on with a change of dining clothes on board with us. For dinner, we were assigned to the Renoir early sitting at a table for 12 people. We met our dining companions, a family of three from Louisiana and a family of six from California.

After dinner, we went back to the cabin and found that our luggage had arrived. We quickly unpacked and went off to the Toulouse Lautrec Lounge for the trivia quiz game and welcome aboard show. We won the trivia game based on general knowledge and received the coveted 24 ct gold plated plastic ship on a stick (We had won two the previous Carnival cruise). The lounge is huge, with a wrap-around balcony, and there only a few bad seats with poles in front of them.

The welcome aboard show was hosted by Steve Cassel, the cruise director. I thought he was very funny with his dry British humor. They had a comedian, Thomas Brown, close the show. Thomas Brown is very funny, unfortunately we had seen him on the Carnival Sensation three years ago and his act was the same word for word. But, we still laughed as he had three gentlemen come up on stage and worked out a song routine with them.

Day two - This was a sea day, we started the day going to the music trivia game that started at 10:00 a.m. (why do they have thinking games starting at 10:00 a.m.?). We almost won that contest. Our son went off to explore the ship while I went off to find the running track. It is on deck eleven aft and the track is on the small size. It takes ten laps to run a mile. The sports deck also has an enclosed basketball court, golf driving area, and volleyball court. After putting in four miles, I returned to the cabin to shower and then my wife and I went to the gym and spa. The gym overlooks the front of the ship and is found by walking through the spa. The gym is well equipped with a large variety of equipment. But the reason we went there was to use the spa pool and whirlpool that is located in the center of the gym. We found that it was never crowded and it is inside, so there would not be a sun factor (my wife can't sit in the sun). For lunch we went to the lido deck buffet area. It is enclosed and air-conditioned with a variety of foods available. Besides the usual salads and prepared foods, they have a Chinese Wok station, sandwich station, and Sur Mer for fresh fish dishes.

They had a Captain's welcome aboard cocktail party at 5:00 before the main sitting dining. They had waiters walking around with finger foods and mixed cocktails. My wife and I are beer drinkers and the waiters brought us draft beers when we requested them. They were very accommodating.

After dinner, we went to the big lounge for the song and dance show called "Formidable". If you like Vegas style shows, you would enjoy this show. The two singers, Kathy Vepley & Jason French had terrific voices. We decided before the cruise that my wife and I would stay up late to see the midnight shows since our son was old enough to explore the ship and stay out late with kids he met on board. Before the midnight show, we checked out the various lounges to listen to the live music acts. There are plenty to choose from, although the bigger bands tended to play country style music the majority of the time (possibly due to the large number of passengers from Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana?).

The midnight show was the comedian Thomas Brown again and he was very funny. The midnight shows are adults only shows and they asked that anyone under 18 please leave the lounge.

Day three - Another sea day, we slept in after staying up late and missed the 10:00 a.m. trivia contest (on the Sensation, the trivia games were in the late afternoon by the pool). We did the same routine for the afternoon and then went to a private reception for repeat Carnival cruisers. We were disappointed when after a brief speech by the cruise director, they had a raffle with only one prize, a dinner for two in the reservations only dining room called the Point. On Norwegian cruise ships, the repeat customers have several prizes including a seven day cruise for two. After dinner, went to see the main show in the lounge which had the cruise director, Steve Cassel perform his juggling act (very good) and then had a singer, Melinda Chatman sing a variety of songs (she was so-so). There was a late night Lido deck party with the best live band on the ship, the Mickey Utley band. Our son went with some friends he met and said that it was a fun time.

Day four - Montego Bay, Jamaica. We decided before the cruise that we would not take excursions. After 4 cruises, pretty much every island is the same and why should we have to get up at 6 in the morning to rush off the ship when we could sleep in and have the ship to ourselves. The Conquest was the only ship in port that day. In the morning, I ran my miles under a beautiful sunny sky and then met the family to have lunch before walking off the boat to check out the shops at the terminal at the dock. By this time, the skies had darkened and it was raining slightly. After buying our traditional amount of cheap tee shirts and a small steel drum for our son, we walked back to the ship for a very relaxing afternoon by the aft pool. Since it was raining, they had covered the pool area with the retractable cover. We spent the rest of the afternoon, using the whirlpools, swimming in the pool, and lounging poolside with a bucket of cold beers and soda.

After dinner, the main show was an illusionist called "Deja". Her act was just O.K., but the music and dancers made the show fun to watch. The midnight show was the comedian, Ronnie Bullard and he was hilarious.

Day five - Grand Cayman. Again, we slept in, had breakfast, and then took the tender to do some quick shopping. We stopped at the Hard Rock for a few tees and while my family checked some other shops, I went to the AT&T office to visit their internet café. They only charged 25 cents per minute with a five minute minimum versus the ships charge of 55 cents a minute and a $3.95 initial setup fee. The weather was same as Jamaica, a sunny morning with a rainy afternoon. There were several other ships in port that day, the Carnival Paradise, RCCL Voyager of the Seas, and RCCL Rhapsody of the Seas. We spent the rest of the afternoon poolside. Five days and my wife has yet to put on sun screen lotion!

The main act after dinner was a song and dance show was loosely based on "Sleeping in Seattle" called "Point & Click". We really enjoyed the show. The midnight show had comedienne Diane Ford. We have seen her several times on HBO. She was very funny.

Day six - Cozumel. After sleeping in, I went up to run and found that we were docked right next the Grand Princess and near the two same Royal Caribbean ships that were at the Grand Cayman, Voyager of the Seas and Rhapsody of the Seas. In the distance, I saw another Carnival ship (probably the Paradise). They had several shops along the pier which we checked out after our brunch. Then we went back to the ship for another relaxing afternoon poolside. This was the only day my wife had to use sun screen.

After dinner, we went to the lounge after visiting the casino. We lost $20 in a slot machine and then watched people play blackjack. I was tempted to play until the dealer hit 21 six times in a row. The show for the evening was the guest talent show. Everyone was singing. Some were better than others, but the crowd gave each of them a big applause for going up on stage and trying their best. It was a fun evening.

Day seven - Final Sea day. We were able to get up and make the 10:00 a.m. trivia game which was about commercial slogans. We tied for first place with two other couples and won our second ship on a stick for the cruise. I stayed to listen to the debarkation information since we had an early morning flight and wanted to know how to get priority tags to get off the ship early. Steve Cassel gave a funny talk adding some humor to the half hour talk with examples of stupid questions he has heard from passengers (Does this elevator go to the front of the ship?). All I had to do was go to the purser's desk with our plane tickets and they gave us VIP luggage tags. The weather was same as Jamaica, a sunny morning with rain in the afternoon. They had the cover over the aft pool, but since everyone was on the ship, it was very crowded so decided to pass on spending the afternoon poolside. Instead, we went to the Newlywed Not-So Newlywed Game which was very funny and clean. We then went back to the cabin to pack up our luggage before dinner. Before dinner, we went to Alfred's bar to listen to some live Jazz music which was very good.

After dinner, we went to the big lounge to listen to big band music, play Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, horse racing, win a cruise bingo, and then watch the final show of the cruise. It had comedienne Diane Ford and comedian/magician TC Tahoe. They were both very funny. After the show, we packed the final items and put out our luggage before going to sleep.

Debarkation - New Orleans. We got up at 6:00 a.m. to get ready and head up for breakfast before going to the big lounge by 7:30 a.m. for the VIP debarkation call. They announced that we could go off the ship by 8:15 a.m. and we found our luggage, grabbed a cab, and arrived at the airport by 9:00 a.m. for an 11:30 a.m. flight.

Food - Overall the quality was good. There was something for everybody. One night I tried the Sushi bar, but it was only open between 5 and 8 in the early evening which is right around dinner time. The sushi was very good and I wished they had it open for lunch instead of the evening. We did not try the Point, the reservations only dining room. We could not see the point of paying extra to eat on this ship. There was enough good food to be had in the various dining rooms. My son loved the 24 hour pizzeria/grill.

Drinks - You could find iced tea, lemonade, coffee, and hot tea 24 hours a day. In the morning they had orange juice and grapefruit juice as well. We are beer drinkers and they had a large selection although you had to ask for a cold beer if you wanted it cold. Some of the cans were on the warm side. My son bought the soda card for $23 which gave him unlimited soda at all of the bars, lounges, and dining rooms.

Cabin - We had an inside cabin on the Empress deck aft. We were two decks below the lido deck for outside activities and 2 decks over the promenade deck for the lounges and shops. The room had two upper berths that came down from the ceiling each evening. The cabin is 185 square feet and when we arrived, we found that they had the twin beds arranged side by side in the middle of the room with little walking space between each and the outer walls. We moved the two beds to the outer walls to give us a 3 foot space for walking around while getting ready for dinner and the like. The desk has a built in hair dryer found in the drawer. There is a safe in the room as well as a refrigerator stocked as an honor bar if you ask the steward. They also gave us two Carnival robes to use for the length of the cruise. They also provided large Carnival beach towels which were washed every day after use. You could buy new robes and/or towels to bring home if you desired. (The towels were $22 and the robes were, I think, $39?). If you lost a towel, you were charged the $22 and there are no towels to be found poolside.

Misc. - Our dining room staff of Niyom and Kanjanaporn were terrific. They were both from Thailand and Niyom is about to get married to another crew member.

Petty thing - You could tell that the designer of the ship never exercised. They did not have a water fountain on the sports deck for the runners or basketball/volleyball players. You had to go down two decks to the lido deck to get a drink.

Overall, it was a very relaxing and enjoyable cruise. The ship is beautiful and well designed. There are several places to go and be by yourself. The lounge area by the purser's desk was usually quiet. The outer deck walkway on deck three was rarely used. We found out that at the forward end of the empress and verandah deck you could go onto the walkway that overlooked the bow of the ship.

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