Conquest in September

J

jcb-mommy

Guest
Hello all -

I have just joined this board. I am looking into booking my next
cruise on the Carnival Conquest in Sept 2003.

I have been on 6 cruises (Disney (2), NCL, Celebrity(2), &
Princess).

My husband has never been on a cruise.

I've been reading lots of reviews regarding the Conquest and am still
planning on booking it. It is obvious that it's definately what you make of it.

The reason we are choosing the conquest is because of the New Orleans
Port. I've never been there and that seems like it would be a lot of
fun.

I have been to the Western Caribbean before, but last time I went to
Ocho Rios, not Montego Bay.

I also was wondering if anyone took the following excursions and what
they thought....

New Orleans: Swamp Adventure.
Montego Bay: Mountain River Rafting
Grand Cayman: Stingray City & Island Tour (I've been to stingray
city and it was awesome, but I was wondering about the turtle farm
and Hell part of this tour.
Cozumel: Mayan Ruins on Horseback.

Thanks for your input in advance!!

Happy Sailing!
 
C

cruiseaway

Guest
Dear jcbmommy,

Check with your travel agent on the conditions for the Conquest to get into the New Orleans port in September! My husband and I just got off the Conquest on March 2 and the group of passengers that were suppose to go out a couple weeks later ended up having to be transported by bus 1-1/2 hours to a port downstream Mississippi. Evidently there are some wires that block the Conquest to come into New Orleans when the river is high, which is usually is later in the cruise season because of all the rain being it's hurricaine season. Of course being transported means that you miss that whole day in New Orleans. Evidently RC goes out of New Orleans also, but I don't know if their ship has the same problem as the Conquest.

The tours you mention above we did not do. We booked our own excursions beforehand after doing much investigating and were happy we did. Everyone we spoke to that booked excursions through Carnival were disappointed, though I did hear the Mayan ruins were lovely, just a long drive to get there. The couple that went on that excursions didn't do the horseback option, but the tour. The question you have to ask yourself is if you want to be cooped up in a bus for 2+ hours when you are only on land for 7. We preferred to be on a beach so went to Playa San Francisco and was not disappointed.

If you have any other questions let me know. I saved all my excursion and day-to-day info from the cruise. Again, check with your travel agent about the Conquest's problem getting into New Orleans. If you still want to take the cruise I would suggest spending 2 days (Fri & Sat) in New Orleans and count on Sunday being a down/travel day. New Orleans was awesome and we are definitely going back next year for a 4-day Mardi Gras weekend!

Cruiseaway
 
S

Sharkin

Guest
Mommy,
My wife and I sailed the Conquest in February. Like you we choose it so we could spend some time New Orleans. We enjoyed both the ship and the city. I suggest you check for accommodations in New Orleans as you plan your trip. New Orleans has a lot of conventions; NCAA final four type events and other stuff that make hotels hard to book at times. The only excursion we took you asked about was the swamp tour. We enjoyed it, but the swamp is like the desert. It has it's own beauty, but not everyone sees it. As far as the ship is concerned, we couldn't ask for any improvements. The service was so good it bordered on bothersome (but not quite). We enjoyed every meal in the dining room and most of the few we ate on the Lido. We just don't care for the buffet experience too much. Send me a note if we can be of any more help.
P.S. There is photo gallery we posted titled Conquest 02-09-03.
 
S

Sunshine

Guest
The Conquest is a great ship and I am sure you will love it. We were affected by the Conquest's move to Gulfport, so we did not leave out of New Orleans. So far CArnival is saying that Conquest will stay in Gulfport until June at least.

In Grand Cayman we did Captain MArvin's Stingray City and absolutely loved it. We have done it twice. We have not booked the ship's excursion to Stingray City but I am sure it is great too. I have not done the other tours you mentioned.
 
T

tiadeerin

Guest
Was on the Conquest in December and it was great!!!! Good food, good service, good entertainment. I also recommend that you stay a few days in New Orleans & get acquainted with the city. I've been there any number of times & always fall in love with it again each time I go. The only tour you mentioned that I've been on is the one to the turtle farm & Hell. I would classify it as just barely "ok", but certainly not spectacular, but that's just my opinion. The turtles are beautiful but the air stinks. Hell is nothing more than a couple of souvineer shops & a post office.
 
A

aqly

Guest
How did you like the celebrity cruises? we've been on two carnivals and loved them. we are considering the celebrity century for our son's senior spring break trip in march 2004. there will only be 4 families and 4 boys...not a big group. i've heard the celebrity lines usually have older people...not many kids. how would you compare it to the rccl or ncl? thanks so much!
 
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