We just got back from the Conquest on Sunday. (10/15-22) It was our second time on the Conquest and we had an awesome time. This time we were with a big group of our friends. Four married couples ages 25-30 with no kids. We got to Galveston the day before and stayed at the La Quinta. The weather was horrible the morning we woke up. Rainy and windy. Got to the terminal at 11:00 a.m. and was on the ship eating by 12:30. The rooms were not open yet (they actually had the hallways locks on deck 7) so we couldn't even try to sneak into our room. After lunch we went to the purser's desk to put money on our account and then we headed to the room by 1:30. We had cabin 7448 which is an Aft balcony. We had a side balcony last year and our room had a couch in it, this time, no couch and the room was smaller. The balcony was bigger which was nice for when we had 8 people out there. But let me just say, we won't be doing an Aft balcony again. It was hot and absolutely no privacy. And I'm not talking about privacy for hanky panky, just the privacy of being able to walk out on your balcony with no bra on and someone not standing right next to you. Ladies will know what I mean. The view was fabulous from the Aft, but I'd still rather have a side balcony. The muster drill went very smooth, in and out within 10-15 minutes and set sail I think like at 4:45 or so. The harbor was calm, but when we hit the open sea, oh man, talk about nausea! We were rocking like crazy. The seas were really rough and it was raining. Taking a shower before dinner was interesting as you literally got knocked over in the shower. I used some oil that you rub behind your ears for sea sickness (bought it at Wal-mart) it worked really good and really fast. Another note on the Aft room.....You DO feel more movement, people have said that it's no different, but believe me, it's different. The front of the ship was nothing like the back, I promise. We had dinner in the Monet at 8pm. Our servers were Rauluca and Boyko. They were awesome, dinner was awesome, the atmosphere was awesome. We had a table for eight all of us together right by the windows, and we were excited, but you can't see anything outside at 8 anyway so it's not a big deal if you don't get an ocean view. The food was fabulous, if we didn't like something or wanted to try two dishes, Rauluca didn't even bat an eye, in fact, she often times ordered extra stuff for us to try. They were the best servers ever. I hope some of you get them. Oh and another thing that was cool...They now have an alternative menu printed on the main menu. Everyone had been talking about the secret of being able to order steak even if it wasn't on the menu, well now, lots of extra things are on the menu. For example......shrimp cocktail every night, New York strip steak, Chicken breast, Angus burgers, broiled salmon, french fries, etc. etc. (a few nights you could get BBQ ribs on the alternative dinner menu, very cool) I really liked the new dishes offered each night, but it was cool to order shrimp cocktail every night. The Bigoli Ale Carnival is awesome and so is the slow roasted prime rib, well really everything was great. The deserts were to die for. We went to dinner every night even if we weren't hungry just because it was fun and we loved our servers. The entertainment was soooo fun too. They dance and sing and some of the waiters were up on the stands doing a little strip tease dance, very fun! good picture opportunities too! We didn't go to any of the shows except for Phat Kat's midnight adult show. He's really funny, but kinda died off at the end. I wanted to see the last show, but we didn't make it. Too busy in the casino or dancing or listening to jazz music in Alfred's bar while the guys smoked cigars and talked about how they were masters of the universe! lol This is getting long....I'll try to hit key points.. The ice carving on the lido deck was cool and the hairy chest contest was funny. Bingo is fun and the Deal or no deal bingo was hilarious. (the person that wins the last bingo game gets to play deal or no deal). We entered the slots tournament, but didn't win, but it is fun, only $20 to play. For Jamaica- we went to Sunset Beach for the day. $40 per person and it's all you can eat and drink for free. Great place. Facilities are clean, the water slides are fun, there's a lazy river, a volley ball pool, another pool with a swim up bar, and of course the ocean is there. I liked the pools but the ocean was not very clear at that area. We ventured out to snorkel and it was disappointing. I'm used to clear water with beautiful fish, nothing like that at the beach at Sunset, but I'd still go back because the drinks were good and the water park and pools were clean and big and refreshing. We got $1/minute massages under the trees, it was really nice. For Grand Cayman- we were in the Tolouse Latrec (spelling) lounge by 7 am to get tender tickets. We were on the first tender out and on the island about 30 minutes later. Had time to do a little street shopping before we met up with our pre-arranged tour. There were 6 of us and we scheduled a private tour with our own boat and captain for the whole day. Only $500. It was awesome. We went to stingray city. The waves were really big so you couldn't keep your feet planted, it was a little scary because you could accidentally step on the stingrays. They were huge, I mean huge!! one crawled up my back and another one kept crawling up the front of my husband, it was really funny. I loved it, some of our group got right back in the boat because they were scared, but I stayed out there. It was cool because there were only 6 of us close friends with our captain and we didn't' have to be in a huge group. You can check out the tour at http://grandcaymancruiseexcursions.c...ageEcoTour.htm John Michael was the best. We then went snorkeling at the barrier reef, then dropped off two of the guys at Rum Point Beach and the other four of us went snorkeling again out in the middle of nowhere, no one else around, huge coral reefs, very very cool. Then we went back to Rum Point Beach, ate and enjoyed the view and water, got back on the boat and went to Star Fish Beach. Found lots of star fish (good photo opportunities), lots of sea shells, fish, etc etc. It was soooo neat. Then we went speeding across the ocean (it was a blast!!!!) went through the mangroves, saw lots of jelly fish, back to the boat by 3:00 and set sail at like 3:30 OR 4. (last tender was at 3 so we had to be back by then or we would have stayed longer shopping) For Cozumel- We were able to dock at the new pier downtown, off the ship by 9:30. It was nice not having to tender. And no cabs needed cause you're right in the middle of downtown. We went on a glass bottom boat snorkeling tour and were able to get another private boat for the six of us. It was so much fun. Snorkeling in Cozumel is fun, the coral isn't much to look at, especially after the hurricane, but the fish are very bright and colorful. We saw several parrot fish weighing about 40-50 pounds each, fed them and got some good pictures, we saw two eels and went to a ship wreck too, I got stung by a jelly fish! didn't hurt too awful bad, just felt like a superficial razor blade cut on my knee, went away after rubbing the area with ice. Couldn't believe I got stung, it had been my worst fear and now it's happened, no biggy. I don't' remember which night it was, but Blood power played on the Lido deck and it was sooo cool. I think it was Tuesday night, it was a mardi gras theme and it was awesome. The band Blood Power is just tooo cool.

Few things to note.... There were no lanyards in the casino when we got on the ship, contrary to popular belief. The carnival vacation club has lanyards and we got one from them, but we had to sign up to talk with them. (we didn't go) hehe just wanted the lanyards.

Take your own luggage off of the ship. We were on deck 3 at 7:00a.m. on Sunday and were off the ship to our car and on the highway back home by 8:30 a.m. people that have their luggage taken for them were not so lucky. Some people were still on the ship at 1:30 pm. no lie! they had to wait. So don't' wait for your deck to be called, but get yourself and your luggage to deck 3 a little before 7 and you'll be good to go, if you wait then it'll take longer to get off of the ship. if you don't care, then no biggy, wait and enjoy the last minute of the vacation. Read more