We remembered it being better...
Carnival Conquest Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern
8 Night Eastern Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)
Sail date: January 09, 2016
Ship: Carnival Conquest
Cabin type: Oceanview
Cabin number: 1391
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 8 years ago
Review summary
My wife and I had both previously taken 1 Carnival cruise previously approximately 10 years ago. Perhaps it was youthful ignorance, but we both remembered the ships being nicer and food being better.
The ship seemed tired and worn and needing some TLC from the common areas to the stateroom. The first 2 days of the cruise our deck had an odor of vomit in the hallway. The smoke from the casino was nauseating and we didn't venture into it more than once for just a few minutes because of it. Also, ignorant people around the ship defied the smoking areas without repercussion. Also, good luck finding a lounger on deck if you didn't reserve one by 830am. So much for Carnival clearing chairs that were left unattended go more than 40 minutes. Breakfast and lunch buffets were very repetitive. Dinner was by far out biggest disappointment. We both used to rave about the food from our prior cruises. This time we were disappointed by both the flavors and portion sizes. Granted you can order as much as you want, but 2 florets of broccoli does not a side make. The steaks were also the smallest I have ever seen. Similar portion size issues existed with everything. With few exceptions most of the food was also lacking in any sort of compelling flavor. It's the sort of food that if we received at a restaurant we'd probably not feel compelled to ever return.
We did 2 excursions and both were fun. The airport snorkeling in St Marteen should have been billed as airplane watching and swimming as there was no point to the snorkeling because there was no reef or fish to view where the boat stopped. The Snuba in St Kitts was fun but we wish there was an option to stay at the beach longer afterward.
The best part of the cruise was the comedy shows. We went to almost all of them. The only shortcoming of them was the venue was to small for their popularity. It would have been better if they were held in the main show room.
We did both get massages and they were enjoyable. The drinks were also a bright spot as the were made quality booze in generous quantities to justify the price.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ports of call
15 Comments
Idkist 8 years ago
To clarify, we did still really enjoy our cruise and not being at work. My review may seem a bit harsh, but it was just based on my observations and expectations. I gave the cruise credit where it was deserved and knocked it where we felt it fell short in our opinions. We were both just a little disheartened because we had such fond memories of our prior cruises so we were in fact a bit underwhelmed. The biggest letdown is that my wife and I both really enjoy good food and were looking forward to having the copious amounts of amazing food that we remembered, and were simply disappointed by most of it offered on the ship. The portion size can be overlooked because you can get as much as you like, but there's not much you can do about flavor. If it's not there in 1 portion, it's not going to be there in the next. That's not to say that all the food didn't have good flavor, just that we found most of it wasn't compelling enough to live up to our expectations/memories. We didn't expect luxury at a budget price, we knew what we were getting into. We were just looking for what we remembered from our past experiences. Like I said that could have been skewed from time or the fact that that we've changed. We'll definitely cruise again but we'll probably just do more research to make sure we get a newer/newly renovated ship and make sure we go with a ship/cruiseline with better food as that was our main pain point. The smoking was expected but more of an annoyance as it should be able to be remedied with better ventilation and Carnival enforcing their policies as to locations where it's allowed. Same thing with the lounge chairs, if Carnival enforced their policies (40 mins unoccupied and your towel would be removed) it probably would not be an issue. In addition to there was plenty of unused deck space so if there were more loungers available that likewise wouldn't be as much of an issue.
bobbychad 8 years ago
I disagree with alot of these comments. Why should we have to pay the same price today as we did 5 years ago and expect less??? That is not right. So all you people saying your cruise is what you make it, your right to a point...but cmon the cuts are the little things that make the cruise memorable. In my professional opinion Carnival is pushing guests to other lines. They are spending their resources to make their new ships great, but they are neglecting the older ships to the point that people are noticing, So yes, your cruise is what you make it, but for some that save for a long time to take a vacation have every right to expect a memorable and fantastic vacation with great service, food and entertainment, i know we didnt get that last week on our Conquest cruise, We are not sailing Carnival next year
rogerellenborland 8 years ago
randy3452 8 years ago
sbeach3 8 years ago