Cruising out of NOLA? Think twice. Cruising to Key West and The Bahamas? I would recommend the Roatan-Belize-Cozumel Trip over KeyWest-Bahamas trip on the Conquest. Reason: More to do in ports of call, prettier ocean to view as you are cruising between ports, better weather, less wind, warmer ocean, nicer beaches. I could go on and on, but you get the picture.

If you cruised 10 years ago, you probably had great food from Carnival. Not anymore, the food is medicore at best and often quite bland. The evening meals were good, but not to the quality level of the food served on prior cruises. Everything on the ship has become more of a mid-grade cafeteria or buffet quality, including some of the meals and desserts in the dining rooms. I also thought the coffee to be an inferior grade, unless you went to the specialty coffee shosp and paid for a cup o joe, the coofee was only so-so. And ice tea? Not a quality ice tea at all. The Comedy Brunches tahat were served on Sea days were the best meals on the boat, although the brunch entertainment could have been a 15 or 20 minute show instead of less than 5 minutes. There was very little entertainment, and, as a side note, gay entertainers as the main pool side entertainers do not "entertain" me at all. The Hasbro game show started out very lame, so I got up and left, but I did hear it got better aas the show progressed. Guy's Burgers and the Pizza were the most consistent meals on the boat, but very popular so always a line to get this special food. The Mexican Food area was open very sproadically, and the chefs could use a little tex-mex cooking lesson. Very bland stuff. Fresh cjhips and slasa should be available 24/7, they have become a staple in many people's diets and were very difficult to get on the boat. Popcorn would also be good as an additional snak onthe boat, very inexpesnive and easy to prepare and keep fresh for poolside consumption.

Room was clean, bed was comfortable, but bathroom sink was clogged, with a very slow drain the entire trip. The TV in the room was smaller than my computer monitor, so that was a bust and a larger tv in the cabin would certainly be an improvement. Hint to Carnival, mount a larger tv on the wall if it won't fit on the shelf. Do not forget to bring your own bottled drinking water, unless you prefer to pay champagne prices for ordinary bottled water. I did not trust the drinking water in the rooms, the taste seemed very "off". Hot tubs were perfect, swimming ppols were cold. All of the boat staff were wonderful, from the cabin stewards to the waiters and waitresses, busboys, deckhands, bartenders, casino employees, and just about every Carnival employee that we interacted with was wonderful. Such great attitudes about their jobs and their "life" on the ship. Enjoyed the trip, just disappointed in the food and the ports of call. Why anyone would make a repeat visit to the Bahamas is beyond me, there are so many wonderful tropical isalnds to visit in the Caribeann, I don't think I would ever go back to Freepoert or Nassau or Key West. This was my second trip to the Bahamas, and I just don't see any reason to re-visit those barren islands at all. Too expensive, too flat, not enough plants and trees, windy and hot, cold ocean, most all the food is imported, and therefore expensive. If you do go there, spend only 1 or 2 days, you will have seen and experienced it all. If you want a much better island, try Roatan. Same price, better conditions. Happy Travels!