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Palermo (Sicily)

Cruised with three other couples. Overall, we enjoyed the Conquest much better after the 2.0 upgrade. LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the Guy Burgers and Blue Iguana. Staff was pleasant. Loved the new music format of artists on acoustic guitars. Now for the detractors. Lots and lots and lots of unsupervised kids. Kind of tough to balance a round Guy burger plate with kids running into you. Understandable though with the time of year we cruised. Music at the pool areas was too loud to the point of distortion. Can tone it down. Heard nothing but negatives about the DJ, but it wasn't too bad. Not my kind of music but oh well. Main dining room was late dining in the Monet. WAS NOT IMPRESSED AT ALL!!!!! Carnival will receive feedback from me on this. Although I understand serving a table of eight is tough, but if you're one of the first table with all the guests seated, there is really NO reason to be the last table out each evening. We lost ALL the serving staff for over 15 minutes. I was about to find the maître d when they came back and decided to serve. Main dining room food and service has definitely gone down hill. Oh and for the guests...what part of NO hats, swim suits and flip flops do you NOT understand?Went on the Gumbalimba Park tour in Roatan. Had monkeys crawling all over us!!!! We LOVED it. Go for this tour.
Went ziplining and cave tubing in Belize. Overall had a great time, although they left out the one hour drive in a bus to and from. Was strange since there were other folks off the ship that were transported there in luxury buses.
Found a GREAT beach on our own in Cozumel! Don't pay the high prices off the ship. We paid $25 each. The ship was hocking them for $49 each.
This all sounds negative, but we REALLY enjoyed ourselves! Would recommend to everyone.

Overall a good cruise

Tallinn

Introduction



My lovely wife, Rosy, slipped on ice, pre-Christmas, and broke her left shoulder. She suffered a lot of pain and has been off sick from work since then. I decided that some hot sunshine would cheer her up and hopefully aid her recovery. 



Therefore, we looked for a Caribbean cruise, at a good price, preferably departing Florida. There were several to choose from, but alas no 'award' flights available. I had an American Express 2-4-1 voucher, which allowed me to use my BA miles to purchase two tickets for the price of one, on a return flight from the UK to any destination. 



I'd learnt from the FlyerTalk.com website that the most cost effective use of miles is to travel in either Club World or First class. I found good availability to Houston, Texas and found a 7 day cruise to the Western Caribbean from Galveston, Texas at an excellent price, utilising a $100 discount for the over 55's. We also qualify for on board credit (OBC) through our Carnival share-holding and past guest status.

I used 25k more miles to upgrade the outbound flight as I hope the 747 will be fitted with new First, as most Houston flights currently have the latest cabin style. This is also a long daytime flight and so we can take advantage of the extensive wine list and personal service. For years we travelled in economy, where my 6'4" frame fits very snuggly, so it's a real treat to be at the other end of the plane.



Last weekend (two weeks from our cruise), Galveston was fogbound and all cruises were delayed. I haven't told Rosy this, as I don't want to worry her, so I hope all is well on March 6!



Outbound Journey



We usually travel up to London the night before a long flight, but as our flight doesn't leave until 14.20, we decided to travel up in what should be lighter traffic, as it's a Saturday, on the day and leave quite early, allowing more time in the Concorde Room.



My mum has just moved to a respite home near Cambridge and wanted some things, so we decided to travel up on Friday 4th and stay at her house, near Cambridge, before driving to LHR on Saturday morning.



I found a special offer for parking on the Travel Essentials website, allowing valet parking for the same cost as long stay. Perfect parking are charging us £59.99 for 9 days parking, excellent value. We simply drive to departures, leave our car with their chauffeur and do the reverse on our return. 



UNWANTED FLIGHT CHANGE



On the Thursday night, I received a PM from a friendly Flyer Talk member, informing me that our flight BA197 may be cancelled. This really worried us as it meant we would miss our cruise, if the flight was cancelled. This was about 21.00 and BA in the UK close at 20.00, so I called BA USA and the agent told me that although the flight was still live, it said on our booking ref that it had been cancelled and as we had award tickets we would need to call BAEC in the morning. This stressed us further so I waited 30 mins for BAEC in USA and the agent confirmed that our booking ref showed the flight cancelled. He offered us various options, but the only satisfactory one meant us driving overnight to Cambridge to drop off my mum's things and then drive back to LHR. We knew she'd be upset, but fortunately she was awake at 05.00 and we had a quick chat. 



We arrived at LHR at 07.15 for the 10.50 flight, but the parking guys kept me standing in the cold for 45 minutes, which delayed our breakfast and Bucks Fizz.



Fast Track and check-in were really busy, so we didn't get to the CCR until about 08.30 and no spa treatments were available so we booked the massage chairs and showers, followed by smoked salmon and scrambled eggs for breakfast.



I had to change my car hire and book a hotel in Dallas, which took an age on the awfully slow BA wifi. Eventually I used the terminals in the Board room enjoying the comfort of the old Concorde leather seats. This internet was much quicker and I used my Starwood points to book the Westin DFW (3000 points). We changed the car hire for a Saturday collection and will keep our original reservation for the Sheraton Houston North for the Saturday night.



Just before we left the comfort of the CCR Terrace, I asked the BA agent if our original flight BA 197 on 5 March, had been cancelled and was horrified to find that they were checking people in and the flight was 'live'. They suggested I email BA customer services, with my 'story of woe'. Something must be seriously wrong with their booking system for things like this to happen!



In no time at all, our flight was shown as leaving from gate B34, which meant a bit of a trek. One minute it was showing as Boarding, then the next 'final call', so we rushed along. In the excitement, I initially failed to spot that this flight had new F, so I was delighted. I took some pictures ably assisted by the cabin crew, who were very attentive.



We were soon airborne, only allowing me enough time to send a couple of PM's to FT members and post an update.



The champagne in F is Taittinger Brut Millesime 2004, which tastes good, but I have no idea as to it's quality. After two days of liquids and Aloe Vera in a Detox diet I'm delighted to be enjoying other liquids. My wife is adorned in a beautiful silky blue dress and she looks lovely, it's great to be alive. I hope Sam, the cat will forgive us for the hurried exit last night!



We are about to have lunch, which for me will be salmon and shrimps, followed by a duo of English beef and some cheese and chocolate (don't tell the Detox adviser!). Still to come, cream tea and banana chocolate cake.



With three hours to go I still haven't had the cake, but oh dear I have sneaked off to the Club kitchen and indulged in chocolate! All that effort and the calories come creeping back! Maltesers, shortbread chocolate bars all the way from DORCHESTER! Hey, we've still got the cruise to come and Rosy wants to find the Cheesecake Factory, my oh my!



I now have burnt butter ice cream and Bailey's with ice, yum yum! We have been having a discussion about the distance from the table that an average stomach is and how important kit is to use a napkin! Pity the poor soul that does the laundry! 



Now 2 hours to reality, when we land at DFW and presumably meet chaotic immigration, but don't forget queue on the right, where the line moves fastest.



Arrival at baggage reclaim presents a further problem, as our bags are still in London, so a nice lady called Ruth, gave us a voucher for a night in the DFW Hyatt, with food to the value of $140 and an ATM card with $300 for replacement clothing. 



Our AMEX travel insurance allows us a further £750 and we're told that our bags will arrive in Dallas FW on BA193 5 March.



We took the shuttle to the Hyatt Regency DFW and had a very comfortable room, but it was now quite late and we were too tired to eat much. We went to bed at 22.00, only to awaken at 01.30 and couldn't get back to sleep, as were so stressed.



Next morning we enjoyed our complimentary breakfast and then returned to DFW for our short but bumpy flight to IAH. This was only the second flight that the cabin crew had been told to stay seated, so no drinks.



Upon arrival at IAH, we took the shuttle to the rental car centre and they tried to rip us off as we needed what we thought was 1 extra day's rental. I had notified NetFlights.com of our change of circumstances but they hadn't amended our voucher, for which we had booked an economy car for 8 days. Initially they wanted a further $120 for 1 day, but we challenged them and only ended up paying an extra $40 for a full tank of petrol, so we have to return it empty or lose out!



We were offered a choice of two cars, either a Ford Focus or Mercury Grand Marquis (a luxury car - we took the Ford - no not really). It was dirty and pretty scratched, so I marked numerous things on the report form. 






Next, we sought some replacement clothes and a suitcase, but the satnav tried to take us to Miami and we were getting thoroughly cheesed off, so we eventually stopped for coffee and cake at the Cheesecake Factory then bought a few things, but we just couldn't be bothered.



Then we called Ruth at DFW, about our missing bags. They'd arrived from LHR and would arrive at IAH on a Continental flight and we could then collect them. We drove to Terminal B and the Continental staff had no knowledge of them and there was no reference on the system, showing them as having left DFW. I threw my arms into the air in disgust and they told me not to get upset! We went to BA in Terminal D and they couldn't find any reference to them, but they were very helpful and told us they would look after us for the return flight. They told us there were to further flights arriving IAH that night so we went back to Term B and whooped with joy as our bags were sitting on their own in the middle of a near deserted terminal. Now anyone could have walked off with them - quite astonishing and the CO staff couldn't care less!



We drove to our hotel completely exhausted, but happy we'd been re-united with all our possessions. We were staying at the Sheraton Houston North, which offered free parking or a free shuttle. We'd been upgraded to the Club Floor, with free soft drinks and continental breakfast.We also had a ginormous bed!



Sunday 6 March (start of cruise)We sure were ready for our cruise as the last few days had been a nightmare and I hope we'll receive an explanation as to what happened to suggest our original flight had been cancelled.



Anyway we had an uneventful journey down to Galveston, avoiding the expensive toll roads by using I-45, which was an excellent road and our economy rental car, a Mercury Grand Marquis - £119 for 8 days, cruised down there with ease. 



We had a quick walk around then found that from where we had parked, it was an easy drive to the terminal, avoiding the bust traffic approaching from I-45. We dropped off our bags then drove a couple of hundred yards to our pre-booked car park. A short walk to the terminal followed. It took about 30-45 minutes to get on-board and we basked in the warm sunshine, whilst we waited for our cabin to become available at 13.30. 



My bag was waiting for me, but Rosy's was held back as she had a bottle of champagne in it. It was confiscated as it should have been in her carry-on, which she didn't have! Apparently people carry on alcohol in all sorts of disguises, but Carnival are getting very tough on this. They missed my water, which could have been vodka!



We had dinner on a table for six, but no-one else showed until half way through. Carnival is getting far more aggressive with their attempts to sell extras such as bottled water and bar drinks, which can be annoying. The Chocolate melting cake was outstanding, but we are starting to talk about returning to Princess!



I fell asleep during dinner and again in the welcome aboard show, so went to bed, but I still awoke at 04.30, blooming jet lag!



I am currently enjoying some early morning coffee, whilst most sleep!

I think we'll be taking more cruises from nearer home in future. These long flights pre-cruise are too risky. It's so easy leaving from Southampton, UK, 50 miles from home, but the weather is less predictable.



Just had breakfast in the buffet, but I'm feeling cold, which is unlike me, so maybe I'm under the weather. I was hoping it would be sunny and warm, but there's quite a stiff breeze blowing.



Rosy commented that Carnival may be cutting back on their entertainment budget, as there aren't many craft-based activities.



Clear the decks!



It's now pouring with rain and everyone's running for cover. That'll sort the chair hogs! Tomorrow, the weather will greatly improve, says the Captain, after this weak front's moved away. Good because we had enough rain and cloud on our 'Dream' cruise!



Tonight is the first elegant night, so the baseball caps should be hidden away.



Ports of Call



Montego Bay, Jamaica



We had decided to take the shuttle to town and back, walking wherever we felt like and mixing with the locals, but the shuttle was $15pp, so we decided to walk the 1.5 miles instead, ignoring the constant peeping horns seeking a fare. We walked to the edge of town, when we were befriended by a local, who advised us where to go and where to avoid. We thought nothing of it and continued on. 



A few minutes later this same man, who claimed to work at the port, again offered some assistance. He just stayed with us and was a very good guide, showing us some interesting places, including the Church of England.






By this time I was becoming a little wary and said thanks for the info, but we would buy a hat and some water before returning to the ship. 



He offered us a beer in an authentic bar, but I was concerned something might be added to the drink, having heard stories of tourists being drugged and robbed. He found what we wanted and sorted a cab back to the ship for $10. Surprisingly he got in too and advised us that his 'guiding services' usually cost about $60 each, but he'd settle for $40. We pretended we only had $30 and gave him 20 saving 10 for the driver. He then got out. On arrival at the port the driver tried to charge us $30 each for the 10 minute ride. We gave him $10 and told him that was all he'd get.



This is a cautionary tale, as I consider myself to be very careful, but I think my previous rule should apply. Never talk to strangers!



After lunch we walked to the Sunset Beach Resort, which took about 20 minutes and probably costs $10 by cab, maybe per person.



This return visit to Jamaica, our fourth, has confirmed what we thought before we came, that we'd be quite happy not to return and we wouldn't trust anything a Jamaican told us. It would often be cheaper and safer to take a London cab! The "all inclusive" resorts seem to be very well cared for and very comfortable, but once you step outside it can be quite scary.



Grand Cayman



This is a tender port and we were off bright and early at 07.30. We enquired about snorkelling, at tourist information and discovered a place called Eden Rock, where equipment can be rented for $14pp. We have our own and paid for flippers and a vest for me. We saw many multi-coloured fish large and small and it was good value for money. 



Next we walked about 1 mile out of town to a peaceful retreat called Dart Family Park, which is a National Trust venue, mainly for young children, with a play area and chickens, but it was nice to sit and relax in a rural spot.






After this we walked to a bar called 'Hammerheads' where free wifi is available, as well a selection of food and drink, but prices are in local dollars, so multiply by 1.25 for $ US. A typical cocktail was expensive at about $10 including tip.



After sampling some rum cake we returned to the ship.



Cozumel



We have booked a catamaran, sail and snorkel trip for $70pp, really to have everything taken care off, rather than trying to find the best place to snorkel and the transport to get there.



The excursion, booked thru Carnival, is run by a company called 'Fury'. They have 5 catamarans, which run from the various cruise ships in port that day. The company also has its own beach, with loungers, sun shades, cabanas, hammocks etc, as well as primitive restrooms. They offer purified water, Daquiries, sodas and beer, all included in the price, both on board and at the beach. Scattered close to the shore are water trampolines, slides etc and kayaks are also available. Parasailing and wave runners can be rented, but Fury discourage this as they cannot be held responsible for any mishaps.



Soon after leaving the jetty we stopped to snorkel. This is very well organised by the safety conscious crew. Floatation jackets are mandatory and we all kept to a tight formation. The sea was quite choppy and the current strong, but it was very well run. At collection time, the 'cat' moved around to sort of scoop us all up!



Then the bar opened and the staff were very keen to serve us and kept offering refills. I thought the alcoholic drinks seemed quite weak until we left the beach, for the return trip.



At the end we were given a farewell talk by the guide, who went on a bit about how impoverished his crew and their families were and how much we should tip them. I didn't like this and tipped the same as I would have without the 'speech'!



Disembarkation



We got up at 07.45 and grabbed a quick breakfast, eaten on our balcony and we now await our number to be called. Our number '2', was called at about 09.15 along with numbers 1&3 and then had to wait 1.5 hours in an immigration line, the only line for International customers. 



Why is there a need to treat us in this way? We'd already waited 2 hours to get through Dallas. Our car was parked right across the road, and the journey was very easy. As we had the extra day at the beginning of our car rental, we had to be at IAH by 12.30pm, or they would impose a hefty surcharge, so this means a long wait at the airport, hopefully enabling me to complete this trip report.



Unfortunately the First cabin is full for the return, so no chance of the promised u/g dependent upon available space. We were allocated seats 18E,F in the main cabin and no upper deck seats available, but delighted to be on our booked flight and in such comfort.



The service, food and drink were all excellent and then most went to sleep, but I always find it difficult to sleep for long, so tend to recline and watch tv. About 90 minutes from landing we enjoyed a quite decent breakfast. 



We landed on time, but had quite a long bus journey to the terminal. Immigration was quick and we were soon on our way home. 

Tim and Rosy's latest Conquest

Embarkation: 

Was pretty slow. We arrived at the terminal shortly after noon. We were in line over an hour before getting to the xray scanners. After that, it was faster, but still probably a half hour before we were on the ship.



Cabin: 

Cabin was roomy. 

Bathroom seemed well laid out. Shower was big enough and water temperature was very reliable. No bars of soap for shower, only the squirt kind. We knew this ahead of time, so we brought our own bars of soap.

I liked that I could lie on the bed and see out the window as we sailed.

TV selection was as good or better than any cruise I've been on.

Cabin Steward, Bony was good.



Food: 

We were very happy with the food. We ate every night in the Monet Dining Room second seating. Second seating was not our first choice, but I got to like it after the first night. Our afternoon was not rushed like it is when we have early seating. Food was fantastic every night; good variety. 

Food on the buffet was not a good as the Dining Room, but still good. We noticed the hand sanitizers at the buffet were placed so that hardly anybody used them. They were mounted on the wall, after the guests had already picked up their plates. Ever try to sanitize your hands and hold a hot plate at the same time?

One person in our party tried the Fish and Chips just upstairs from the buffet; thumbs down.

Burgers by the pool were good. 

Pizza by the other pool was good.



Casino: 

Payouts seemed better than most ship casinos. Or maybe we were just on a lucky streak. They had a wide variety of slot machines.

One complaint; the band playing in the casino was WAY too loud for the comfort of the gamblers in our party. 



Shows in the big theatre were good.

Pool areas seemed well managed. I didn't see any chair saving; a cruise first. On Lido deck, they had the bigger noisier pool midship and the quieter, more relaxed adults only pool in the back.



Dislike: 

Room Service was bad. From day one through day seven, they answered the phone promptly once. All the other times, they put us on hold without even answering first. Hold times were typically 5 minutes and more. While on hold, I was always thinkg, I could just go up to the buffet and get the coffee (all I ever ordered) myself. But, the coffee room service brings is a LOT better than the coffee in the buffet. The buffet coffee isn't awful, but that's the best I can say about it. So, I would usually hold until they picked up. It normally took right at 30 minutes for the coffee to arrive.



Like:

Softserve ice cream readily available 24 hrs a day.



Debarkation: 

We did the self assist. All the elevators going down were full, so in order to get down to Deck 3, we got on an up elevator, went up a couple of floors then back down to 3. Pretty much walked right off after that. No lines at Customs.



Overall:

We would do this cruise again. Value was good. Food was good. Hassle factor was low. Galveston is an easy port for us, since we live in Texas. 

Nice Cruise January 16th Sailing

This was our second cruise having taken RC first on a cruise of Alaska. This prompted a number of comparisons most of which were not favorable to Carnival. To be fair, we thought the cruise was good - just not great. It could also be that we're just not Carnival-type people. 
Parking at EZ Cruise and the shuttle to the ship were excellent. You can save a few dollars by paying online for the parking. Even though they tell you to show up at 12:30, we got there at 11:30 and there was already quite a line. Given that, the line moved consistently and we were on board by 12:30. We brought a bottle of wine in our carry on and were not hassled about it. Others who tried to bring on more than one bottle per person were not so lucky and had their excess bottles stored until their return. 
We tried most of the dining venues available. After waiting in the buffet line for breakfast for a few mornings, we went for the seating in the Monet dining room. This proved to be a much better choice as the food was prepared to order and it was a less chaotic atmosphere. The buffet lines moved slowly and we thought the action stations on RC were much more functional. All the folks we were seated with were pleasant conversationalists. For lunch, we mostly did the buffet line on the Lido deck and found the food to be okay. We tried the fish and chips and found them to be wanting. They use tilapia but it is too soft to hold up to the fryer and picks up the taste of the oil. Cod would be a much better choice. The grill offered burgers, hot dogs and chicken tenders all of which were okay. The Mongolian wok seemed to offer the best lunch or mid-afternoon meal as it was made to order. The dinner highlight was the Point Steakhouse. Everything was made to perfection. The corkage fee for our wine was $14 which seemed a bargain as their markup appears to be 3.75X retail. Again the main ding room was clearly a better choice than the buffet even though they mostly had the same food choices. Our assigned dining companions never showed up so we ate along each evening. The afternoon tea was most pleasant and had a number of good choices for tea, finger sandwiches, and desserts. For the most part, we found their desserts to be uninspired. The best dessert on the ship was a piece of carrot cake we bought at the coffee bar for $2.25. It was as good as any carrot cake we've even had and was clearly large enough to feed at least two people. 
The ship layout takes some getting used to. The Renior dining room is in the middle of the ship which means that you often have to go up and around to get from one part of the ship to another. You also need to know where you are in the ship as you need to take certain elevators to make it up to some decks. We had a balcony room that was slight bigger than we had on RC. One problem we had was that a partition on our balcony came loose 3 different times. Because of the high winds, we kept hearing the partition banging during the night and into the morning. Our shower drain clogged up once and caused a mess but this was taken care of. The magnetic stripe reader on the safe is very sensitive and you need to make sure that there are no fingerprints imparted to your credit card to ensure that the safe will read your card. 
Carnival offers most of the usual cruise activities. I won the sports trivia contest and we greatly enjoyed the art auction and associated showings. While they had a putting green and offered golf lessons on deck, the golf simulator on RC was much more enjoyable. Contest premiums were some dumb Carnival medals while we got nice tee shirts on RC. Carnival did provide a number of live music choices and we especially liked Claude in the piano bar and Groovey Tunes with Keith. The production shows were mostly good but the magician needs some improvement. 
One of the best things Carnival has going for them is their mostly excellent staff. We found them to be friendly, courteous, enthusiastic and helpful at all times. Our room steward, Marianne was excellent and we couldn't have asked for better service. Our only minor quibble was that the people at customer service seemed clueless about some questions we asked and indeed gave us some incorrect information. 
In Jamaica, we did the highlights and shopping tour that was uninspired. Some people who went to a beach said that they were guarded by soldiers with automatic weapons which may be a reflection of the current state of affairs in Jamaica. At Grand Cayman, we did the island tour the highlight of which is the visit to the turtle farm and where you get to hold a turtle if you want. There's plenty of upscale shopping in the downtown area. The people here are friendly, well educated and courteous. They take pride in themselves and their country and the police don't even carry guns - a Carribean Mayberry! Cozumel is probably a great stop for scuba, snorkeling or seeing Mayan ruins. Other than that, it just seemed like a giant tourist trap. The one good thing is that the taxis to and from town are well organized and relatively inexpensive. 
We did self assist disembarkation and thought that this went relatively smoothly. We'll probably be looking at a different cruise line for next time but Carnival is probably not a bad choice for younger people or those who want to spend a little bit less. 


It was okay - but not great

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