Carnival Conquest Review

Mostly good, some rough spots

Review for the Southern Caribbean Cruise on Carnival Conquest
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cookiedinky
6-10 Cruises • Age 60s

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Additional details

Sail Date: Dec 2018
Cabin: Balcony

My husband and I are pretty loyal to Carnival, this being our third cruise with them. We've also cruised on Royal Caribbean and Holland America. We prefer Carnival because of the more relaxed customers. Just my observation, Royal is best for families unwilling or unable to spend the money for Disney, and Holland is for the older crowd. While my husband and I are demographically more aligned with Celebrity or Princess, we like to let loose and have fun while cruising and have found Carnival to be a good match.

We used All Stars Tours & Transportation to get us from the Crown Plaza to the port and would recommend them. We don't purchase the FFTF and aren't Diamond or Preferred or Platinum members and it's not a race to me, it's vacation. I prefer to get on board when the cabins are accessible. I wipe down the cabin with antibacterial wipes first thing. My kids call me a germaphobe, but knowing how quickly they turn over cabins, going over light switches, the telephone, the tv remote assures me the cabin is clean. I drop my carry bag, stash valuables in the safe and then head to the buffet for lunch.

We sailed Carnival in 2012 and in 2015. Since those cruises, the quality of the food has changed, not for the better. Before I go further, let me assure you I have realistic expectations. I know the dining room food is on par with banquet food, the buffet isn't gourmet although everything should be fresh and appealing, even if basic. The buffet wasn't very good for the most part, especially at dinner time when they'd serve creations that were barely edible. The main dining room food was hit or miss. During the past cruises, I could name memorable dishes from the dining room. This time around, the food wasn't very good. The salmon was overcooked, not just a little, but close to inedible. The chicken was dry. The shrimp was okay. The dining room and buffet is where I had the disadvantage of having sailed Carnival previously, because I KNOW they can do better. At first I thought I was being too picky, too critical (getting too old?), but other passengers talked about it as well. So, where is the good food aboard?

Cabin Review

Balcony

Cabin 8D

Normally I prefer the aft extended balconies, but this area was the one available using the casino rate.

This was an excellent location! I was pleasantly surprised. It's quiet as there's no reason for anyone to come this far forward unless they're going to their cabin. The food is on the same deck, aft. It's literally right above a stabilizer, so we barely felt motion, and there's a view of the flying bridge, so you can geek out watching the bridge staff.

Port Reviews

Grand Turk

Nice beach, not much else there. Had a good smoothie at Froots.

3 Helpful Votes
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