Carnival Conquest
by Gene Payne
Western Caribbean
January 25, 2004
My wife, my wife's parents and I sailed on the Conquest on January 25. This was by far the best cruise we have been on. Not sure if there is anyway to top it. Going to Try.
NEW ORLEANS
We drove from the D/FW area of Texas to New Orleans. We wanted to enjoy a little time in the BIG EASY so we arrived a day early. We stayed at the Courtyard near the Convention Center on Julia Street. The hotel is located two blocks from the Convention Center, The River Walk Mall, and approximately 1-½ miles from the French Quarter. You can walk to the mall and see the Julia Street Cruise Terminal. Later in the evening we took a cab to Bourbon Street and went to the Chris Owens Club. Chris Owens the owner and entertainer of the club is a cousin of father-in-law. She has been entertaining at the club for over 40 years. Great Show! Stop by and say hello! You will be surprised to see a Lady in her 70s dancing and sing like someone half the age.
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EMBARKATION
Word of advise if you are driving to the terminal in you vehicle, be early. We drove approx. 1 mile from the hotel to the terminal and were in line by 11:40 AM and were turned away from the parking lot by 12:00 PM because the lot was full. We followed the other vehicles to the front of the terminal and unloaded the luggage. I asked the porter if there was any parking near the terminal. He advised me to go to the Fulton Street parking lot and they would offer the same price ($84) as the terminal and a shuttle would bring me back. When I returned to terminal my wife hurried my into the building were my mother-in-law was waiting in a short line with the carry-ons. My wife was very excited and stated that we had been upgraded from a 6A guarantee to an 8D on Lido Deck. After checking in at the front decks we were moved to the next room and the "yellow chairs" that anyone talks about. After approximately 20 minutes we moved into the next room with more yellow chairs and another 10 minute wait. Boarding photos were next then security. No problems!!! We were on the ship in approximately 45 minutes from beginning to end.
THE CONQUEST
AWESOME!!!!!! Not much else to say. Some areas of the main deck do get crowded at times, but not a big deal.
ROOMS
The rooms were bigger then the last rooms we had on the Norwegian Sea. Queen size bed, sofa, table and chair. Plenty of closet space, even to large storage drawers under the sofa. The only problem we had with the room was the shower kept overflowing.
CRUISE STAFF
I had read so many remarks about Cruise Director Corey Schmidt, but Corey was not on our trip. I believe Stewart Little had been promoted to Cruise Director. He did a wonderful job. The entertainment and activities were great.
SURPRISE
Unknown to us when we booked our cruise so had approximately 840 guests from the Grand Ole Opry! Traveling with the group were 5 entertainers, Trace Adkins, Brad Paisley, "Whispering" Bill Anderson, Jeannie Seely, and Jim Ed Brown. Unbelievable!! We where unable to see them perform because the shows were for the group from the Grand Ole Opry, but we meet and saw them around the ship. We meet and had photos taken with Trace Adkins, while shopping in Montego Bay. We meet Brad Paisley and had photos taken while waiting on the tender boat in Grand Cayman. One night we went to the Point Restaurant to celebrate my wife's birthday and all the stars set at the table behind us. They even sang Happy Birthday with us.
PORTS OF CALL
Montego Bay
Not the best place to visit, but we made the best of it. I would advise just take an excursion from the ship and skip the shopping in downtown. The venders are real pushy wanting you to by this and that and everyone wanting you to take their tour. We went shopping and then returned the ship to change into swimsuits for the Wet N' Wild Party Cruise. Good Time! We went snorkeling and to Margaretville.
Grand Cayman
The ship had to anchor at Spot Bay instead of Georgetown because of the weather. We had booked a tour to stingray sandbar but decided to cancel due to the water conditions. My wife does not like to snorkel and is not a good swimmer. Instead went took a cab into town and went shopping. While in town we meet three other passengers of the Conquest, who asked if would like to take a tour with them. A guide Gloria Lopez was very nice. She took us by the Governor's House, Turtle Farm, The Rum Cake Factory, Hell, and Seven Mile Beach. Beautiful beach!! Great trip for $14 a person, plus we tipped her well because she took us back to the tender boat.
Cozumel
We have been to Cozumel several times. We do the usual shop and eat thing. Go to the town square for some good deals on souvenirs. Carlo's and Charlie's is next. Go have a good time and dance in your chairs, or just watch everyone else.
DEBARKATION
This took a little longer that excepted. But all was OK.
To top it all off my wife won the free Cruise Giveaway!!! We are now planning our next Cruise!
