Carnival Conquest Review
Great Time on the Conquest; Love the Southern Caribbean!
Rating by category
Additional details
We chose this cruise for the timing (to coincide with our anniversary) and for the ports - we have wanted to visit Curacao and Aruba for some time. Overall it was a great cruise that I would repeat anytime!
We drove to Ft. Lauderdale the day before departure and stayed at a nearby hotel. The next morning we drove to a Park and Go lot on Eller Drive - got a great rate on parking by paying in advance and a quick shuttle to the port.
Debarkation was somewhat chaotic, with 4 ships in port it was BUSY and the line to check-in was long. Carnival had suggested not arriving before 1:30 but with an 11am hotel check out that does not work. Once the agents started taking people it moved along at a good pace.
Cabin Review
Balcony
Splurging on a balcony is worth it to us. This was a standard balcony room, neat, clean, functional.
Port Reviews
Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades)
There were 4 ships in port so everywhere was very busy. We waited in a long line to check in and heard that the hold up was a slow debarkation from our ship. Once we checked in we boarded quickly and the check in process itself was quick and easy.
La Romana (Casa de Campo)
Could have skipped this one. No excursions seemed interesting so we got off briefly and shopped...
Curacao
Very pretty historic city. We had done some research before and did a walking tour on our own to the downtown highlights. Got to watch the Queen Emma pontoon bridge open and close for a large cargo ship.
What I did not like was our arrival and departure time - we docked at 1pm and left at 11pm. We did not want to have dinner in town so it made for a short day for us.
Aruba
Bon Bini!! This was our favorite! We did a self-guided walking tour of the downtown which we found to be very clean and charming. It was a holiday on the island and we were the only ship in port so I think it was much quieter than usual which we enjoyed very much. We had read about Trikes Aruba on CC and contacted them for a tour - they were great and we loved seeing more of this island.
Aruba is a desert so it is hot, dry and windy; whatever you do sunscreen and water are required!! Hope we can return to see more someday!!