3-5-2006

By hazelson

• February 6, 2007

We had a wonderful time - as usual, but, again, we are very easy to please. Unless the ship sank (or caught fire - timely or what?) it would be wonderful!

The Conquest is a beauty - sister ship to the Glory. A little hard to find the dining room - but my day 7 we pretty much had it figured out. We were on Upper deck so took the stairs (3up for buffet - 2 down for dining room)all the time so weight gain was not an issue!

The food was great most nights - one night was off - not sure what happened but everyone at our table had complaints that night - even us which is very odd. Otherwise the food both on the dining room and on the Lido deck was very tasty (two creme brulees - naughty me!) Our wait staff - Igor and Marcin were very attentive and extremely personable. On the last night the dining room staff all sang a special rendition of "Leaving on a Funship" instead of "Jet Plane". It made sappy me teary eyed! We had great dinner companions every night - a Mom and Daughter from Houston, and on two nights a Mom and 2 daughters from Detroit. Some very pleasant conversations. DH dropped hints to the waiter at the next table that he was a "secret shopper" for Carnival. Our wait staff played along with it and we had this poor guy looking over his shoulder a lot. The last night we told him what he really did for a living and he seemed pretty releived - we would have given everyone glowing reports though - and we ended up tipping him as well! Zeid - we enjoyed meeting you!!!!

The cabin was the usual - not much changes - except the bedding. Carnival has duvets now instead of blankets and they were so cozy. Our only problem was were were right above the teen disco and in really didn't shut down one in the morning - a lot of booming base and a dj with a very monotonous voice. we called and asked for it to be turned down for "port" mornings because we had to be up early - and they complied fairly quickly. We got the standard letter of apology from the pursers desk but no discount coupon lol.

We only saw our room steward in passing - Sharaf by name. But he kept the ice cooler full and the room was always made up so he did his job well.

I guess I am getting used to this cruise thing because the shows didn't seem as interesting - except for the comedians - they were really good. And Carnival does do a lot of pushing you to buy stuff - but we just ignore it.

Wasn't fussy on Jamaica - everyone seemed to have their hand out for tips - and they mentioned it - A LOT!!!

Loved Grand Caymen - what a beautiful spot. We did the Stingrays, Hell and Turtlefarm - best shore excursion ever - except for the sunburn! I will have to post a photo of that! I've never been in such a clean place - apparatnley there is a $500 fine for littering and it is strongly enforced.

I was really surprised at how well Cozumel has recovered - and they really do appreciate our coming back. We just spend the day wandering around town and shopping - you really have to watch for the bargains - it's amazing how the prices change.

The only complaint I would have about the port days is the time - if you book a shore excursion you don't really have much time to shop - and I love to shop!!!

Getting on a off the ship was a breeze. Being Canadian - we had our own very short line to board. Our luggage was easy to find at debarkation and we got a great porter who took us out to the shuttle. We had to wait around for about ten minutes to get on but he wouldn't leave - so we gave him ten dollars for his time. He was a really funny guy.

And I can't say enough about the people we met in Texas - friendly is an understatement. One fellow in Galveston invited me in for tea when I asked if it was ok to take a photo of his heritage home. I love the buildings in Galveston - can't wait to go back for another visit.

One mistake we did make - the night pre-cruise we booked a hotel in Greenspoint - near the Houston airport - that was scary!!!!!! will do a little more research next time.

We still have nothing but good things to say about our cruising experience with Carnival - and can't wait to be "leaving on a funship" some day soon. TTFN Jennifer