Carnival Conquest Western Caribbean Cruise Review

Cruise the Western Caribbean on the Carnival Conquest - Page 1

We just completed our 4th Caribbean cruise; the second on a Carnival ship. The cruise was very enjoyable. As a couple with a 4 year old son, there was plenty to keep us entertained, relaxed and satisfied. The Conquest left Galveston, TX on November 5, 2005 for a week cruise stopping in Montego Bay, Jamaica, Grand Cayman Island and Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Due to the last round of hurricanes, our embarkation city was changed from New Orleans to Galveston. Hurricane Rita hit Cozumel with a cat. 5. We detoured south to Playa del Carmen. Embarkation in Galveston was the quickest and easiest that we have ever experienced. We filled out all of the necessary paperwork online prior to the cruise and were on the ship within 15 minutes of leaving the taxi.

The cruise destinations were fine offering the usual activities. We tried the overhead zip lines through the rainforest canopy in Jamaica. What a blast. If you like extreme things, this was pretty mild but well worth the trip. The jungles did not disappoint and we got a pretty good guided tour while hiking out to the zip lines. Scariest part about the tour was the ride from Montego Bay to the jungle. Jamaican drivers are nuts. Playa del Carmen offered a mountain bike and snorkel expedition through underground caverns. The underground snorkeling was well worth while. We each carried lights to enjoy the stalagmites and stalagtites, eyeless catfish, clear water and deep cavernous drops underwater. Awesome. The mountain bike ride out was about a 6 mile trek in each direction through some pretty poor looking barrios through the outskirts of Playa del /Carmen. These sights and especially smells were not pleasant. Both Montego Bay and Grand Cayman offered some awesome beaches for our 4 year old to enjoy. Aquasol Beach in Jamaica and Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman boasted crystal clear and calm water, white, pristine, sandy beaches and privacy if you hit the beaches in the morning. The ship stopped at the port in Jamaica and tenders were required in Grand Cayman and Playa del Carmen. The tenders were slow and tenuous requiring 45-50 minutes in each direction making it difficult to leave the ship for more than one trip out.

Our ship accommodations on the Conquest were satisfactory with room for improvement. Our stateroom was a balcony room with room comfortably for three. The day bed was fine for our son. Room size was neither especially large or small. The balcony was small, however with mismatched a broken furniture giving a somewhat hillbilly feel. The bathroom had a shower stall which repeatably overflowed even though we took Navy showers (turned off the water while lathering). We called housekeeping to fix the slow drain but it never got resolved. The worst part about the accommodations was the fact that there were no non smoking rooms on this ship. Our room was so smoky when we embarked that a smoker would have been offended. Due to a full ship, the steward tried to accommodate as best as he could by having the carpets cleaned, lamp shades changed and air fresheners used. The room still stunk throughout the cruise. The ship seemed to have an unusually high quotient of smokers and ventilation was not adequate making it very difficult to escape the prevailing waft of cigarette smoke anywhere on the ship but in the dining rooms. I strongly suggest that anyone with asthma or compromised breathing conditions avoid this ship at all costs. We had never had this problem on other cruises the past.

The set up of the ship was nice. Walking on the Promenade on level 5 offered music, gambling, bars, places to sit and places to get a snack. It was quite pretty with a roaring 20's French type motif. The Lido deck with pools on the 9th level offered sun, bars, music and crowds. Because we had huge head winds heading out on the cruise (40-50 knots), other outdoor decks were not really feasible for use. On the 11th floor there was a nice outdoor walking track which was well used although very windy.

In regards to child care and activities, Camp Carnival on the Conquest was the hands down winner of ship amenities. Our 4 year old was entertained and engaged throughout the cruise offering us free time for dinners, off ship excursions and time to go to the gym. The counselors were attentive and imaginative and provided an hourly itinerary of activities that were age appropriate for the child. Security was not an issue as we carried pagers when our son was in "camp". Camp Carnival occupied the entire 12 floor in the fore of the ship and had an outdoor pool specifically for children. An outdoor kid/adult waterslide is also available providing that the child is 42 inches or more.

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