This was our second time on the Conquest, and the crew seemed nearly entirely different, but the ship seemed just as nice. One thing that seemed different this cruise was the ratio of elderly people to young people. There were a vast quantity of senior citizens, so much so that the young woman running O2, the disco for teenagers, must have been bored out of her mind. (So keep in mind: If you want a cruise out of Galveston with very few kids - the first week in February appears to be a good idea.) We did have some very nice dinner companions (a young woman and her mother) and we met a number of gay men in their 30s, 40s, and 50s at the "Friends of Dorothy" gatherings at a quiet wine bar. This cruise went to Key West and I think that made it much more attractive to GLBT cruisers than a cruise that heads for Jamaica.

Our room was quite nice. Spacious for a cruise ship cabin, clean and well-lit. The deck below us (Deck 1 - Riviera) seemed to smell a bit bad so I would bring an air freshener for the room. Neither housekeeping staff nor wait staff were quite as friendly as on any previous cruises, but it was still more than good enough. They seemed to be a bit more rushed and overworked than usual. They still did a fine job. The food in the dining room was good as usual, especially their fish dishes and cold soups. Their Lido cafeteria was variable - some days having some very nice options and others not so much. We tried The Point, their premium steakhouse, and I kind of liked it, but not entirely. I'm not comfortable with fancy restaurants, and I felt very comfortable with the friendly staff. Also, the view out the windows was very nice. The food was not fantastic though. I had filet mignon with peppercorn sauce which was fairly good. The Portobello mushroom seemed overly doused in vinegar and the cheesecake, while HUGE, wasn't especially delicious. I can't remember complaining about presentation before the caesar salad was in such an odd bowl (halfway between a gravy boat and a wide-mouthed flower vase) that it was nearly impossible to eat. What I could manage was tasty though. DBF enjoyed his food very much, and I liked it well enough that I think it would be fun to try a premium restaurant again.

The entertainment staff was mostly fine as in the past. BUT, there was one dealer in the casino for blackjack who needs to be fired. I'm not going to mention his name here, but more than once he tried to swipe chips when the player had won and he didn't even apologize. Last year, the casino staff seemed really good about making sure the guests had fun, so the casino this year was something of a disappointment. Read more