We sailed on the Conquest 3/26/06, and I wanted to write this review mainly for the benefit of other cruisers w/young kids (we took our 3.5 year old). I won't focus on the one unfortunate incident of excessive drinking which required an unexpected stop in Cancun (see thread in Carnival forum) as that really didn't define the cruise at all (except for debarkation--see below).

We flew direct to Houston from Charlotte the day of the cruise--I was glad we didn't bother w/the extra night in Galveston. We booked the airport transfer per the instructions on Carnival's website, and had a comfortable 1.25-hour ride on a charter bus. Embarkation was amazingly simple. I don't know exactly how, but we didn't stand in a line for even a second. What a contrast to debarkation.

Our stateroom (8A balcony) was very roomy, even with a child. The steward made up the couch into an extra bed for DS and he slept great every night. Our bed was very comfy--nice pillows and duvet. The bathroom had plenty of shelf space for toiletries, though we did bring hanging toiletry kits as well. We brought a pop-up mesh laundry hamper and stuck it in the bathroom which kept things much neater. One thing I wish I had brought was an inflatable tub to bathe DS. The shower is just too small for an adult to get in there w/a child. Read more