A good cruise for the money! by
Angie R. from Charlotte, NC
Sailing date: Oct 2009 Pros:
Comedians, Sit-down dinner, Ship condition
Cons:
Embarkation process issues, excurstion debarkation, buffet food
Overall I was very happy with thmy first Carnival Cruise, leaving Galveston, stopping in Montego Bay, Jamaica, then Grand Cayman, and finally Cozumel, Mexico. I expected to enjoy Jamaica most but would actually go back to Cozumel if I had the chance. In Jamaica, the poor economy made people desperate enought o be overly pushy. They tried something new with debarkation and just let you get off with no organization- it did not work! Talk about stressful! I hope they go back to organizing that again.
The ship was beautiful, and I loved the adults only pool area, which was SO quiet. Overall, the food was decent, except lunch and dinner buffets. Entertainment was good but some of the shows were too cheesy and didn't seem professional.
The service on the ship was reasonable but not impressive. I can say no one went above and beyond which left me disappointed. They also seemed to be letting people bring alcohol back on the ship into their rooms, though it didn't get out of control like I had heard of Carnival cruises.
Overally, we got a great price on a balcony room and enjoyed the trip overall!
Ship Quality Very impressive in decor and condition. They quickly cleaned our staterooms multiple times a day. The only issue would be accessability. Because of the layout, you couldn't get to AFT parts of the ship on several main floors without going up or down to get around.
Dining/Food The buffet was awful, other than breakfast. At least they offered salad and pizza options, which were good. The sit down dinner was very good actually. Plenty of options and reasonable service. I was used to the staff singing or dancing on "formal" nights, but they did it every night on this cruise. Formal nights were even less formal than on any cruise I'd been on.
Stateroom Quality We chose a balcony room for the first time and were very happy with it. It was nice having the sofa there that could have been another bed but kept things out of our way. Nice shower designs kept the bathroom floor dry, better than most cruises. We loved the location of our room, slightly forward of midship.
Ship Staff Quality This area was a disappointment. We saw no personality or interactions with most of the staff. They did their jobs but it didn't seem like they had fun doing it. No examples of above and beyond... most nights we had to ask for things to be refilled at dinner. The stateroom was cleaned timely.
Entertainment & Activities The comedians on board were awesome. The dancers and shows were disappointing, being overly cheesy enough that a lot of people got up and left during the shows. There was plenty else to do on board so I went to the best of the show options and still had plenty of activity vs. relaxation time.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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My cruise to jamaica,cayman,cozumel by
Shantay B from Houston, TX
Sailing date: Aug 2009 Pros:
The most was the way the stewards kept my room clean and the hospitality on the ship
Cons:
The tips that are reserved was 140.00 alone for my husband and me and then they still add gratuity to each thing you order.
I have nothing bad to say . It was my first cruise and it exceeded my expectations. I would definitley cruise again with carnival. I think carnival should consider the gratuity amount placed on the sail and sign cards when you have a couple. My husband and I are one so 70.00 for the both of us to me was reasonable. I think 140.00 just for gratuity set aside in addition to gratuities each time you order a acholic beverage is a bit much.
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5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Too much smoke! by
Cathy G from Spring, Tx
Sailing date: Feb 2009 Pros:
Great food and great band
Cons:
Too much smoke!
This ship has excellent food, in fact it's better than most ships that I've traveled on. I've been on 20 cruises so I've sampled a wide variety of food on many ships. The crew is great and the adult pool at the back of the ship is wonderful. The Blackjack band was playing almost everynight and is a great band. There's just one issue....smoking. The band and all of the lounges are located around the casino area. Even thought no smoking is allowed at the seating near the band the entire room is covered with smoke from the casino. Also all of the other lounges allow smoking and so it is impossible to get away from it. I could not even unpack my clothes in my bedroom when I got home because they were so smokey. We as consumers must stand up to Carnival and let them know how we feel. Royal Caribbean does not allow smoking in staterooms, but does on the balcony. Princes is beginning to cut out smoking in all of their lounges. We were on the Coral Princess just two weeks ago and I felt it was almost a smoke free environment. Write letters and make you concerns known to Carnival about the smoking. On the Conquest even the teen entertainment center is near the smoke filled casino area. I can't say that I won't sail on the Conquest again because it sails out of Galveston and that's close to home, but I have started a letter writing campaign to Carnival about the smoking.
Ship Quality I gave this rating becasue of the intense amount of smoking on the ship. The liberal smoking policy and locations make it impossible for non smokers to enjoy the amenities of this ship.
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6 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
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Enjoyed - 5 day cruise better by
A Traveler from The Woodlands, Texas
Sailing date: Jun 2009 Pros:
Service - food - dining
Cons:
Smoking everywhere
Great ship and crew. Unfortunately we picked a week when 1/3 of the 3500+ travelers were children which may be the reason that the music all over the ship was so loud it was hard if even able to hold a conversation while on deck. And we heard many a complaint regarding this issue. Smoking was prevalent and worse we had to walk through the smoke and foul smell of the casino area to dine in our designated restaurant, Monet.
Ship Quality Consideration in the layout of a ship's facilities should address those that don't smoke. At least one entire side of the ship's cabins e.g. should be assigned for non-smokers (we are a vast majority as you know). Our balcony cabin had smokers to the left and right of us that made utilizing it as the whims of the smokers. And why should diners have to walk through the casino full of smoke to formal dine or to eat in general. Lido dining was good, tables cleaned promptly, but the window sills seemed to never be cleaned and food crumbs evident.
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2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Galveston Cruise on Carnival Conquest by
Daniel M from Galveston, TX
Sailing date: May 2009 Pros:
Clean, well-maintained ship, good food, friendly attentive staff
Cons:
3 ports on 7 day cruise cut down to 2 due to swine flu outbreak.
The ship was maintained well and was spotless. The nightclubs were very nice and there was ample deck area for guests.
Dining/Food Food was excellent, but no midnight buffet.
Stateroom Quality Very nice, one of the nicest I have ever had (loved the balcony).
Ship Staff Quality Attentive without exception.
Entertainment & Activities Excellent and varied.
Collapse List of Ports
George Town, Grand Cayman Stingray City was AWESOME!
Don't Miss: Stingray City
Montego Bay, Jamaica Definitely choose the Irie Mon Beach Party- lots of fun, contests, volleyball, swimming, bbq, and drinking!
Don't Miss: Irie Mon Beach Party
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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A great and wonderful cruiser by
A Traveler from Houston,TX.
Sailing date: May 2009 Pros:
I loved every thing
we have a good time, the ship was extra clean and had hand sanitizer every where, which help every one to enjoy the crouse and forget about the flue
Dining/Food very very good (new chife) better then last trip
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Collapse List of Ports
George Town, Grand Cayman Seven miles beach
Montego Bay, Jamaica beach (Doctor's cave )very clean blue water
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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"Awesome Cruise" by
A Traveler from Pearland, TX
Sailing date: Mar 2009 Pros:
Ports of Call
Cons:
Internet Cafe
Everyone should go on this cruise, no matter what age you are, the senior citizens tend to bulldoze there way thru you, so move aside ahead of time. We had an awesome time.
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Collapse List of Ports
Cozumel, Mexico Buy more Jewelery
George Town, Grand Cayman Buy Jewelery
Montego Bay, Jamaica Don't Miss: Buy lots of Blue mountain coffee
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Super Time! by
Oscar J. from Cedar Creek, TX
Sailing date: Mar 2009 Pros:
SERVICE SUPERB
Cons:
WAITNG IN LINES AT EMBARK AND DEBARK not for the older generation!!
Out standing Crew!! Each one we met helpful ,considerate and thoughtful. The little things seemed important to them.If we should ever go again we would choose Cranival Conquest.
Ship Quality Clean,neat and attractive.
Dining/Food Very attentive service
Stateroom Quality Balcony a good choice
Ship Staff Quality AAA+ outstanding
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Major Disappointment by
Brian W. from Edmond, OK
Sailing date: Dec 2008 Pros:
Price/Value
Cons:
Long lines & customer service
Carnival is a good value for the money but you may want to spend a few more bucks and get a quality cruise. Carnival is severely lacking in entertainment quality, crowd management and customer service. You will experience things on their cruises that you would never encounter on a Disney cruise, for example.
If you want to save some money, book your shore excursions through third parties and not thru Carnival. A dolphin swim in Cozumel costs $165/pp thru Carnival but costs $103/pp if booked directly through a third party. There were four in our group so the savings can really add up.
Also, go to the pursers desk and have them remove the "mandatory" $70 of gratuities. They will make each person in the party come to the pursers desk to do this. Again, customer service is not their specialty. By doing this, you can give the gratuity directly to your wait staff or housekeeping staff. Otherwise, it is split amongst the crew the ones that waited on you will only see pennies on the dollar for the $70/pp charged to your folio.
Carnival is shameless in up selling. They will try to sell you something 24/7. This becomes extremely annoying when you are trying to enjoy your vacation. All cruise lines do this but no one is as persistent as Carnival.
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Entertainment & Activities Entertainment was subpar. Their major shows were more suited for a karoke bar.
11 out of 12 people found this review helpful.
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Our first but definately not the last. by
Peter T from Dallas, Texas
Sailing date: Dec 2008 Pros:
The interior beauty of the ship and the outstanding service of the crew.
Cons:
not enough time at each port.
This being my wife and my first cruise we did not know what to expect, but from the first moment from the check in counter to the last goodby to some special crew members this will go down as one of our best vacation experiences in 14 years of marrage. There was not one member of the ships staff that did not make us feel as if were not long time friends. The food was outstanding, the service great, the biggest problem was not having enough time to rest. My wife or I would not trade the experience for anything.
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Stateroom Quality Being at the stern on the main deck #2 the engine noise was a bit loud, however the view from the aft window was wonderfull. I would choose a room more mid-ship on the next time around.
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Collapse List of Ports
Cozumel, Mexico
George Town, Grand Cayman Don't Miss: The shopping
Montego Bay, Jamaica Don't Miss: The Rum
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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