Carnival Conquest Cruise Review - Western Caribbean Cruise

This was our first cruise. We will definitely cruise again, and I would have no problem selecting a carnival cruise again.

We chose the Carnival Conquest based on sailing date and destination. Four of us traveled, including me, my wife and our 2 teenage daughters (ages 15 and 13).

I'd read a lot about the dreaded boarding process, but I have to say that it coldn't have been much easier or quicker for us. We arrived at the terminal around 11:45 AM and were on the ship by 12:30. It was very well organized.

We had 2 balcony cabins which we liked a lot. The decks connected, so we could go back and forth from room to room easily. Our Steward, Vijay, was excellent. In fact, at one point, our daughters wore their bathrobes (Carnival bathrobes, you can purchase for $49 each) to bathrobe bingo and forgot them. I was afraid we'd have to shell out $100 for them, but Vijay located 2 bathrobes for us and made the problem go away.

The ship is very impressive. I loved the art theme. My wife and I enjoy fine food and wine and we thought our dining room, the Monet, provided excellent food and service. Our wait staff was professional and pleasant, but they always seemed rushed. I felt they had too many tables to take care of. In spite of this, we were pleased with our meals.

Beakfast and lunch could be taken in the dining room or, buffet style on the Lido deck. The buffet food was good, too. One aggravating, and eventually hilarious routine was what I call the morning hunt for coffee. The Lido buffet area had 2 serving lines on opposite ends of the room, plus approx 8 beverage areas scattered throughout the room. Every morning, only 2 of the beverage centers had regular coffee. And, it wasn't the same 2 every day. Invariably, no matter which side of the cafeteria you were on, you were forced to traverse the entire room looking for coffee, going from beverage center to beverage center, usually following a crowd doing the same. Seemed weird! Coffee . . . in the morning . . . make it easy!

The staff, in general, were professional, but seemed kind of remote. Not a lot of greetings or eye contact. Some mumbled answers to questions, and were difficult to understand. I realize there was a language barrier with some folks, but a smile and hello is pretty simple to master.

The evening entertainment was great. I haven't been to Las Vegas, and these shows were billed as Vegas quality, so I can't attest to that. But, we enjoyed them all. Dance routines, a magician, a juggler, a ventiloquist and more were all very good.

We were blessed with great weather and got back to New Orleans a week before Katrina hit.

The destinations were interesting. We went to Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica and really enjoyed it. It's worth the trip. In Cozumel, we swam with the Dolphins. That was enjoyable, too. One weird thing happened at the Dolphin place. They take pictures of you with the Dolphins which you can buy afterwards. I ordered some pictures and handed the clerk a US $20 bill. The clerk went and got a manager who came out and told me he couldn't accept this $20 bill because the corner was ripped off. There was a small rip in the corner, but nothing you'd ever think twice about. I told him that they had given me the $20.00 bill as change when I rented a locker as we arrived at their building. He was rude and wouldn't accept the $20 bill. Pretty much a double standard. Anyway, it didn't ruin the experience, but seemed pretty backward.

My family loved the experience and we had a great time. Pack light, because you don't need a lot. We took too much, not knowing what to expect.

Have fun and good luck!