My DH, 4 year old dd and I went on our first cruise. We went on the 7/16 sailing on the Conquest with some friends. We booked directly through Carnival. Our rep, Bob Wilson was really informative and went out of his way to answer questions. Being that we are from CA, we flew into Houston on 7/15 and stayed at the Fairfield and drove into Galveston the next day. We were with a group of 11 (5 kids/6 adults). Because my friend is a travel agent, she had our mini-van upgraded (complimentary!) to a min-bus. It was roomy and nice (it pays to have friends!)

Checking in was no problem, as we opted for a suite and that entitles you to VIP check-in. We arrived in the VIP room before most everyone else so, we got on board right away. The rooms were not yet available for us, so we went to the Atrium and met our friends for drinks. We were impressed. The Atrium is pretty opulent. They had a trio (piano, violin, and bass) playing classical music. The kids even loved it! I didn't expect that on a Carnival ship. I had always been lead to believe that Carnival was a "party" cruise line.

After about an hour, we got into our room. If you can swing it, I really suggest the suites. They are nicely decorated with wood-type paneling and crown molding. Very roomy. The balcony seems to be a bit larger. There is a separate dressing area and a bathtub/shower unit. This was helpful because our daughter prefers baths. The tub has whirlpool jets in it. There was enough space to stow all of our luggage and enough drawer space for our clothing. Our steward, Lauro was a really sweet and studious young man. The bed was really comfy! There was also a small lounger/sofa type bed available for our daughter. Also fairly comfortable. My daughter and I loved seeing what kind of "towel" animal Lauro would leave. The chocolates and cookies were a nice touch, too! Our room was always tidy, even when our four year old made it tough to leave it that way because of Lauro's attention. Read more