Our first cruise - may be our last

Item: Carnival Conquest
Rating: 4.5
Author: MommaMayberry

Carnival Conquest Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

MommaMayberry

Contributor Level: Purser

569 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 39

Overall rating:

4.5 out of 5

8 Night Southern Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: April 28, 2018

Ship: Carnival Conquest

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 2210 and 2214

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

Our itinerary changed less than 24 hours before sailaway which completely changed our cruise. This was completely within Carnival's control and is therefore not acceptable. Had it been weather related, it would have been completely understandable. But Carnival owns the ship, the island, the tenders..... they also set the itinerary so it was frustrating. We had a family wedding planned in Grand Turk and this caused the wedding date and time to change. Plus since it was at a resort apart from Carnival (even though Carnival referred to them), we had concerns that the wedding couldn't happen. We went to Aruba on Labor Day meaning that everything was closed. We spent 12 hours there with nothing open to do or see.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

No issues.... arrived at the port by hotel shuttle, right at our appointed time, security was quick and we went directly on to the ship - no issues

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

The food in the dining room was delicious and varied nightly. The buffets were disappointed- more like a high school cafeteria. We paid to eat at the Steakhouse. It was not more the extra money because the food in the dining room was just as good and didn't cost anything.

Alchemy Bar

1 out of 5

We ordered a drink there on the way to the main dining room. There were 10 people at the bar - a group of 6 guys and then 2 couples including us. There were 2 bartenders who were more interested in socializing with the 6 guys than making drinks. It took almost 20 minutes to get a drink (AFTER we had ordered it) and were late for dinner

Steakhouse

3 out of 5

Disappointed.... food wasn't any better than the main dining room. Wasn't worth the extra money

Lido Marketplace

3 out of 5

More like a high school cafeteria - not what I was expecting at all

Blues Piano Bar

5 out of 5

Lots of fun - Mark Johnson is great

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

We spent a lot of our time at the 18+ pool and enjoyed it. I was looking forward to playing Clue on the ship but they never did it. A lot of activities were additional or focused on sales at the shops. There was a final night celebration with a balloon drop that occurred during the late dining time and the crew didn't seem to care that half the ship would miss it.

The Sky Pool

5 out of 5

Our favorite place to hang out away from the crowds and noise of the sun pool

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Budiana, Kadek and Astawa were fun and exceptional

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

It was very clean but a little dated

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

4 out of 5

Princess Cays (Cruise Line Private Island) Did not visit port

Our itinerary was changed less than 24 hours before sailaway and we did not get to see this island. It was due to scheduled maintenance on the tender boats. Extremely disappointing

Thumbs Up 0

Grand Turk Island

5 out of 5

Only got to spend 5 hours here due to change in itinerary but was beautiful

Thumbs Up 5

Willemstad, Curacao

5 out of 5

Only got to spend 6 hours here due to change in itinerary. Lots of shopping

Thumbs Up 4

Oranjestad, Aruba

5 out of 5

Due to the change in itinerary, we arrived here on Labor Day which means everything is closed. We spent 12 hours with nothing to do... but we would like to go back when things are actually open

Thumbs Up 4