conquest or destiny?

F

fi

Guest
does anyone have any advice on which ship/route to take, for next summer?
the conquest or the desinty is what peeked our interest..

i've never been to the caribbean, so not sure which ports of call are better, or if one of the ships is a lot nicer than the other!

thanks for any advice!

fiona
 
N

Nanatravel

Guest
The Conquest is new with 3000 average passengers on board doing the Western Caribbean: Montego bay, Grand Cayman and Cozumel - hot ports and sailing out of New Orleans. Destiny will be about 8 years old, holds 2600 passengers and sails out of San Juan with a Southern Caribbean itinerary which personally I love. Since I know nothing about your interests and past cruising or vacation experience, it is hard to base a decision. We cruise on Conquest this Sunday. We have cruised on 1990's built ships holding 1400 and brand new ships to mostly all of the Caribbean. Where do you want to go? Is variety important to you: various dining opportunities on Conquest. Variety of lounges on Conquest, etc. Compare like features and costs. Don't let just a few dollars difference sway your options. We like new for the variety and convenience that a ship offers.
Bon Voyage
 
C

Cruzman

Guest
Usually, the airfare to San Juan is incredibly expensive. That would sway my decision.
 
F

fi

Guest
hey..

okay, never been to the caribbean (or anywhere warm for that matter!) most of my vacationing has been in europe.

i checked air fare to san juan and new orleans, and from toronto it's basically the same..

the conquest does look like it's a much nicer ship.. i just wondered if the destiny had better ports of call.

i've been on one 3 day cruise before, royal caribbean's radiance of the sea's.. when it did this dinky little seattle-vancouver-victoria-seattle thing. :) that was testing the water, so to speak, to see if i liked cruising. made me want a longer one, somewhere warm!!

you'll have to let me know how your cruise goes nanatravel.

fiona
 
S

SMASHROX`

Guest
I have not been on either ship, but I have been eyeing the itineraries out of San Juan, simply because they make stops at islands that I have never been to. Certainly, you will have a blast either way you go. Since I have not done a southern Caribbean itinerary (yet), I cannot vote yay or nay. But I can say that the western Caribbean itinerary is a blast!
 
N

Nanatravel

Guest
Fiona, our 1st. cruise was similar to the itinerary of the Destiny out of San Juan. We were hooked after that. I wanted lots of time at port - feet on the ground. We loved it. However, because it can be busy with many choices of things to do, you can come home needing another vacation. You do need to pace yourself and not try to do everything there is to offer. It really is a matter of what you prefer. Days at sea = Conquest. Slightly newer ship & large = Conquest. Lots of beach time possible = either itinerary will work. There is only so much time in the sun one should seek. I will let you know when we get back in November how we like the Conquest. The only other comparable size ship that we were on was the Grand, and we found it too big. However, Carnival has been doing a great job of building ships which are easy to get around.
Bon Voyage
 
N

Nanni-B.

Guest
Nanatravel-I would love to hear about your Conquest stories when you return as well! We are booked on the Conquest for March of this year and are very worried about being on this large of a ship. We have been on two smaller ships before (Inspiration and Grandeur of the Seas) and are worried we won't feel like we are cruising. We are afraid of feeling more like resort. Looking foward to your reviews! Have fun! :) Nan



Post Edited (10-23-03 21:34)
 
Y

yuyi64

Guest
Nanni-B, don't worry about the Conquest being too large. We cruised on the Inspiration a year before the Conquest and had similar concerns prior to our Conquest cruise. It turns out the Conquest was no more difficult to get around than the Inspiration and really didn't feel as "big" as we expected due to the way the interior is partitioned and decorated. The one thing we missed from the Inspiration was the open-air tables at back end of the Lido deck (the ones outside the inside eating area with a great view of the ship's wake and a nice breeze). On the Conquest this area is glass-enclosed and is referred to as the Sky Pool and Bar area; and while we still enjoyed the view, we missed the sea breeze blowing past our table. Other than that, we loved the Conquest too!
 
N

Nanni-B.

Guest
yuyi64-I know those outdoor tables you are talking about! Those were our favorite spots to sneak away to night because they usually were not crowded. We noticed that there were alot more enclosed with glass areas on the Grandeur of the Seas last year compared to the Inpsiration as well. In fact, we never were able to find a great view of the back of this Grandeur because everything seemed either enclosed in glass or too high up to see any sort of real wake so I guess the Conquest won't be much different. Thanks for your response, we love to hear any good "breeze blowing" areas you may think of! :) Nan
 
Y

yuyi64

Guest
Deck 3 on the Conquest (where the main lobby is located) has exterior promenades on either side that run almost the full length of the ship. There are no tables available but they do have chaise lounges that offer a great view of the sea or port and there was usually a nice breeze blowing everytime we were there. You can only access it from the two exit doors in the lobby. Check it out; a lot of cruisers miss this area completely because it's not clearly marked and there's hardly ever anyone ever there.
 
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