My partner and I scheduled this cruise just for relaxation and a "get away". We like to take a cruise every year. Once a month the Conquest includes stops at Key West and the Bahamas, and since neither of us had been to the Bahamas (and we've seen lots of Cozumel), this influenced our pick.

Let me start by saying that if you live in the New Orleans metro area, or within a day's drive of The Big Easy, the ships out of New Orleans are a treat. We live just a cab ride from the pier. It doesn't get much better than that.

The ship is very nice. Very clean and well-kept. The crew is a lot of fun and very helpful. I loved the dueling rum and tequila bars across the pool deck, with their complimentary fast-bites cafes adjacent to them: Guy's Burgers for the rum bar, and Blue Iquana Cantina for the tequila bar. If you're a beer on tap person, Carnival's own Red Frog is fantastic. Another amazing new venue on board is the Alchemy Bar at the end of Carnival's ubiquitous indoor promenade on deck five. Fantastic place for a drink before dinner. Fantastic drinks. Fantastic prices. And fantastic people: Tetyana, Daniel, and Adri. Every night. (Although I will say the team who designed the concept and drink menu have a rather expansive view of what constitutes a "martini".) Read more