I chose this cruise for a few reasons. I wanted to go to Grand Turk and Half Moon Cay, I liked the length of six nights, and the price was excellent, For the most part I was very satisfied with only a few irritations. We had Faster to the Fun so embarkation was so easy. We literally dropped of our bags, went thru security and walked right onto the boat. Smoothest ever. I talked my husband into trying in inside cabin since we would be out of the room most of the time. He said he felt a little "boxed in", but agreed it was worth the savings for this cruise. The air conditioner did not seem to adjust and it seemed a little warm at night. The bathroom functioned surprisingly well. The room was kept clean by a great steward. Dining was hit and miss. A few nights the service was very slow. We had the Our Time Dining. After observation I decided the problem was two fold- the need more wait staff, and some staff were just better at there job. I think Carnival would be well served to increase the staff in the dining rooms. In the buffet there never seemed to be enough clean up staff and at times tables sat for hours without being bussed. For the most part the food was varied and tasty. There were several Punchline Comedy shows with two different comedians, and aout three music groups that played everyday. I think entertainment is an area that Carnival could improve on, not much to do on Sea Days except shop or play in the Casino. I suspect that is part of Carnivals business plan, Naussau has become too dirty and just isn't much of a port. We got off, walked to the Queen's staircase, toured the port and went back to the boat. I really don't care to visit there anymore. Half Moon Cay was amazing! We enjoyed a beach day, played in the warm, clear water, and walked the beach. Would love to go again, wish I could spend a few days there! Fisrt time in Gran Turk and I loved it. Beautiful beyond belief! We wne on the Ultimate snorkeling Excursion. The first stop was the wall and it was okay- didn't really see too much. The second stop was on a reef and we saw a large variety of colorful fish, was my favorite stop. We we dropped at a beach and we walked back to the port and stopped for a drink at a small bar near the dock the excursions went out. We used the free wi-fi and tried to conch fritters, then returned to the ship. In the Dominican Rebublic we did the ATV tour and loved it. It was a long bumpy ride in an open air bus to the site, but I enjoyed seeing the countryside. The staff were awesome. Would recommend this excursion. Read Less

I went with my friend who had an extra ticket. The food was great even the unusual food they served. The cabin was nice, but I was a little bummed the cabins only have one normal outlet. Our room keeper, Su, was wonderful and always greeted us by name when he seen us. Even by the first day. There were great activities on board. Dining was great and waiters very patient. I had Rouelo and Marco. Very polite and willing to joke around to break the awkwardness amongst the people we were assigned to dine with. Excursions great and organized. Embarkation went smooth for us, because we happened to be around where they unloaded we got off fast. The Cruise director, Leigh, was great with announcements and his dancing. The shows they put on are wonderful. Between live music and the lip sync battles. Leigh trying to teach people to dance was one of the best shows put on. Overall one of the best experiences I’ve had in my life. Read Less

My last Carnival was 4 years ago. Now I see many nice changes, and at least one terrible innovation. Booked the Conquest post-thanksgiving cruise for the great ports and the great price. Chose an outside cabin for the extra space and view for 100 extra, midship. Wanted to make my companion, a first time cruiser, comfortable. Great embarkation with the new appointment system. No wait. Easiest ever. As was debarkation 8 days later. Wow factors. And fantastic fire drill without the crushing bodies on deck. The big downer was the buffet. After 35 cruises, I rate it as one of the worst buffets ever, and I mean EVER. Went to the deli at the buffet. Big Big disappointment. Terrible pastrami, tuna, turkey, Cuban, falafel. Rest of the buffet was bad, I mean real bad. However, what they did do right was the 3 external stations. The Pizza was very good, but cracker crust only. I recommend everybody’s favorite, Guy’s Burgers. Why doesn’t he have a chain of them, they are sooo good? Burrito’s were terrible but good taco bowl and fish tacos. A real gem was the upstairs BarBQue, also by Guy. Don’t miss it. All buffet desserts tasted like cardboard throughout the cruise. I hated being forced to eat lunch at the buffet. Even on sea days they introduced Brunch in the dining room. Talk about penny pinching. The bad buffet food will most likely steer me away from Carnival in the future. BUT, the dining room breakfasts were superb (unless you got cold waffles like I did one morning). The filet mignon served with the steak and eggs was very nice, with bernaise. Service in the dining room seems to have slowed down considerably over the years. Heck, I sat there for 30 minutes one morning before any food came, AND THE ROOM WAS EMPTY! The real standout for me was the quality of the dining room suppers. Gourmet all the way, mostly. Delish. But the quality degraded as the days passed by. The prime rib on the last evening was a joke. No one at any surrounding table was able to cut through the thin portion because of all the membrane. And it was tasteless. So, you just had to try the other dishes on the menu and find one that fit. The earlier dinners included marvelous lobster tails and one dinner had the best filet mignon I ever had on a ship without having to pay. Melted in my mouth. The dinner desserts were mostly top notch. Nothing like the sawdust served up in the buffet. So, I was pleasantly impressed with the Carnival upgrades here, except for the noticeable quality deterioration on the last 2 nights of the 8 night cruise. The shows started out enjoyable, but became the same thing in different form. They brought on a juggler in the middle who was good. And they cheated us by removing one show in favor of some silly marriage thing. Cheap shot. I must say that the Australian male activities director was one of the best I have experienced. Kudos to Leigh for that. The comedy club, Punchliner was always packed, so you had to get there early. And the piano bar had Eden, who was one of the best, by his own admission. And Karaoke every night, but with low attendance. The atrium lobby had good bands, but NO SEATING!!! I do have to mention that the Casino slots did pay off nicely for us. That was a real surprise. It paid for the cruise. But I won’t use the money on another Carnival cruise. Oh yeah, this was the first time that I did not get an invite to the Captain’s party. They changed their requirements and don’t count their sister ships. Well, you can read below how another Diamond 47 will never cruise Carnival again. Carnival, sometimes it doesn’t pay to be cheap and flaunt it. Visited some of my favorite ports. Philipsburg St. Maarten, has a fun broadwalk with a nice beach. Walk to the end of the broadwalk where it is empty and enjoy the water and serenity. Then walk back on Front street for all the bargains. The port has lots of shops where we bargained as well as on Front Street. Nothing much to see on French side, or to buy. If they would build a beach by the port, I would stay there instead of walking into town along a broken sidewalk. St. Kitts is lovely. But visiting the Manor is a waste of time, as is the Batik shop. Heck, they charge you now $3 to look at the Batik, which went out in the 70's. Oh yeah, and $1 to go to a dirty toilet. Better to take a taxi to the rain forest and go for a lovely walk and maybe see the monkeys in the trees. San Juan is looking upgraded and modern. Walk along Principessa to enjoy the views and shade until you come to El Morro. It's unfortunate that the ship does not spend more time in a place with so much history. Grand Turk is a nice beach break alongside the ship, with the bonus of a Margaritaville bar and pool, all free. The first 2 days at sea to rest for the ports was nice as was the final day at sea before coming home. Would do this cruise itinerary again, but not with Carnival. Read Less

We sailed on the Carnival Conquest from November 18 through November 24th.We choose this cruise because we wanted to do something different for Thanksgiving and to celebrate couple of birthdays. The ship was a little dated and a bit overcrowded. Let not talk about the sewage smell, it was unbearable at time. We won't do another holiday type cruise. The embarkment went smoothly. Once on the ship we went to our room to get our Sail and Sign Cards, then off to explore the ship. We got something to eat and enjoyed some time in the arcade area. The muster drill was unorganized and the sail away was uneventful. The cabin steward was excellent. The dining experience was ok. One morning we decided to have breakfast in the main dining room. Service was slow and the food was better on the Lido Deck. However, that dining experience gave us a good opportunity to meet some nice people. Ports and Shore excursions were great; ATV in Grand Turks was great and informative. Ziplining in Amber Cove was fun. The Disembarkation was unorganized and chaotic. Summary: We had a wonderful time take another cruise with Carnival but on a newer ship and not a holiday cruise. Read Less

We enjoy going on cruises over the week of Thanksgiving. We found this cruise and thought it would be a good choice for our family. We've never cruised on Carnival before so we thought we would try it. We've decided Carnival is not the cruise line for our family. I recognize that a lot of families were traveling but the cruise was overrun with kids off all ages. Most were not well behaved and were running up and down the halls. It didn't matter what time of day or night. The itinerary was ideal because we've never been to any of the islands. The ports were nice and we felt safe. We went to Nassau, Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, and Amber Cove. We didn't book any excursions and I have to say I'm glad. My husband got hurt while playing basketball on the ship with our son. The medical staff onboard was awesome. They took very good care of him. He had to be in a wheelchair the rest of the trip. People were rude when he needed to get down the halls. I had mixed feelings about the food. Guy's Burgers were the best burgers I've ever eaten! The coffee shop was good for specially coffee. The buffet was not that great and the options in the main dining room weren't either. There was one night that we had really good food and the desserts were awesome. Other nights, not so much. Our room steward was very nice. He kept our room clean and provided what we needed. Needless to say, we will be going back to Princess. Read Less

This was the first, and probably last, cruise of my life. Overall it was just mediocre, and in the future I think I will stick to visiting all-inclusive resorts. Myself and my girlfriend (mid-30s) plus my family on the trip. Some details: Embarkation: We arrived around 1 p.m. and got through security pretty quickly and easily except that my group got separated and one half of us didn't have the necessary boarding papers. But that was our fault, not Carnival's, so I won't hold that against them. The safety drill was poorly timed because we missed seeing the ship set sail, and also it was hot and humid and we were crammed like cattle three deep. And it took an hour right after we arrived when all we wanted was to finally relax and get some food, so that was frustrating. My girlfriend had a minor panic attack getting stuck in that hot crowd. Debarkation: We had a 2 p.m. flight so we were in no hurry to exit the boat, and by the time we did so, we made it through pretty easily. There were still huge lines but they moved quickly and it was fairly straightforward. Ship: The ship seemed dated. I'm not sure how old it is, but I swear it felt like I was in a 1970s Vegas casino. From the outside, you could see rust that I didn't notice on other cruise ships at various ports. Parts of the ship just seemed worn. The decor was dated. The ship seemed strangely dark on the inside. Cabin: Review is below Dining: One thing they did well was food. We did not go into this expecting Michelin-rated meals, and as long as you temper your expectations, you won't be disappointed. I would say the food was roughly Applebees quality. I tried to get the various local seafood options at dinner and those were always tasty and well-done. The service could be a bit slow, but we were with family so it was fine, gave us time to talk and catch up. The dances they make the poor wait staff perform were silly and unnecessary and added nothing but wait time. Other than dinner, there are plenty of options. Like I said, don't expect the world, but you also won't go hungry. It's fine. Entertainment & Activities: I attended some things. Karaoke is just like karaoke anywhere. Trivia was random. I'm a sports fan, but the sports trivia could be stupid difficult, like, who won the 1972 gold medal in fencing? Are you kidding me?! The casino was smoky and the payouts were poor, but if you have some money to burn it can be fun. The shows in the theater were pretty fun. You just have to give them a chance, because the descriptions of each made the shows sound like they would be lame. But they were surprisingly good. Otherwise, the entertainment team does what entertainment teams do, and try to spice up an otherwise basic pool day. Service: Our room porters and cleaners did a fine job. No complaints, and I was impressed that our porter learned our name the first day and called us by our names the rest of the way. Dining service could be slow, but they got the orders right at least. Leigh the entertainment leader was fantastic, and should be a game show host on TV. Misc costs: I feel like Carnival tries to nickel-and-dime you to death on this cruise. Every single thing costs money. Drinks that aren't water-based, $$. Rent a lounger on Half Moon Cay, which Carnival owns, $$. Wifi, $$ (speaking of, this was particularly annoying. I know we're on a cruise ship, so I don't expect the wifi to be strong and high-quality, but it should be free. I don't like being disconnected from the world for a week or having to pay outrageously for something that even airports give away). They also heavily promote their various on-board shops, and they try to make them sound like great bargains because they're tax-free, but the prices are outrageous and you get a better deal back on land even with the taxes. The casino payouts are tiny when you win. Drinks are over-priced and under-liquored. And on and on. Like I talk about below, it was like living in a Walmart for a week. Ports and excursions: The beaches and landscapes were, as you would expect, gorgeous and fantastic. The problem was all the people crowding them. I wish I knew more about each port prior to arrival (my fault) so that I could find a safe way to get away from the crowds and better enjoy the time. The two excursions we did - Snuba in Nassau and a catamaran/snorkel/drinking trip in Amber Cove, were the highlights of the trip. They were amazing and fun and too short. Miscellaneous: I don't know if it's because this is a budget cruise, but my fellow cruisers... let's just say it was like being trapped in a Walmart for a week. There were so many times I wanted to snap a photo of someone and send it to peopleofwalmart.com... Being my first cruise, I don't know if they're all like that or what, but it was funny and sad. There were a few instances of rude people, but nothing major, and it was never anything Carnival could have controlled. Overall: I'm glad I did a cruise finally, and I'm glad to know that I'm not a cruise person. Between the ship being dated, the mostly trashy and sometimes rude people aboard, the way the ship nickel-and-dimed you over every single thing, and the general mediocrity of it all, I just don't think it was worth it. If you can afford a nicer, more expensive cruise, I would recommend giving that a try. This one isn't really worth it unless you just want cheap. Read Less

I went on this cruise with family and friends. I really enjoyed everything. Everyone was so nice and spoke to you when passing. All of them were so helpful. The first night the dining room staff introduced themselves. After that they knew exactly what I wanted to drink. They were so helpful with everything even suggestions on some things. Loved the entertainment!!! The Cruise Activities Director was amazing!!! I hope I see him again. I went to the Veterans service on Sunday. They had little service pins to give to Veterans some of them that came with me did not go. When I met him after the service. I asked could I have a few more. He said sure. I went to the morning show a few times he always called my name. He even asked me to participate in a dance contest. I took a picture with him. His name is Leigh. He is from Australia. I think the singles night could be better. It was at the Alchemy bar. But no one showed up. I think it could be in one of the clubs. Or on the sight when they book their reservations to say that they want to meet someone. Read Less

We sailed on Carnival Conquest from the 27th of October to the 4th of November. Even though my mother and I have been traveling together ever since I was born (22 years ago), all around the world - it’s only recently we started cruising. This was our fourth cruise and the first Carnival Cruiseline. Stateroom 2214: It was a very cozy, little cabin. Nothing extremely exciting, but what to expect from a standard cabin. The cabin-stewards were always very quick with cleaning the cabin, so it always looked nice. The cabin stewards were very sweet and always made sweet towel animals - so many that we had a zoo on the last day! The beds were outstanding! Never have we slept in better beds - not in hotels or other cruises - the madras was so soft and the pillows were fluffy and big. Dining: There were quite a lot different places to eat - but if it is doing the busy hours, not enough room to sit. We eat mostly on the Lido Deck with the buffets, Blue Iguana and the Pizza place. The food, in general, was good, but the variety isn’t the biggest. We liked the fact that we were able to get pizza almost any hour of the day and the frozen yogurt was available 24/7. The frozen yogurt/soft ice was very tasty and even though there weren’t more than three flavors to choose from - you never got tired of them. Breakfast: the croissants and most of the bread wasn’t fresh - which were quite a big bummer. The pasties such as cinnamon rolls were fresher and tasted great - but you expect to eat fresh bread every day when you are on an 8-nights cruise - actually no matter how many days you are onboard. Lunch: we loved the burritos and tacos - in general the lunch was great with a better variety. Dinner: the variety wasn’t the biggest, but it had a good taste. It could have been a plus if the Blue Iguana were open doing dinner-time. Desserts: Most of the cakes lacked taste and texture. Many were almost uneatable due to the huge amount of gelatin, so they became rubbery. Crew: We had the great honor of having Leigh as our cruise director - who is absolutely the star of the ship (if not the company). Leigh is energetic and shows a lot of passion and enthusiasm about his work. He cares a lot about the passengers, always allow himself time to chat with them and knows everyone onboard. He is without a doubt the greatest gift to this company and will with guarantee make your vacation even more unforgettable. He became a great friend of my mother and me, and we will always be thankful for everything he did. You will differently be missing him when you get back home. We hope to cruise with him again!!! Captain Claudio is - just like Leigh - a star of the ship. He is a very sweet, outgoing, charming man, that cares about his passengers, his crew and his ship. He likes to chat with people - not only doing events but also outside of the ship. My mother told him, I want to be a captain myself, and he immediately courage me to do so. The officers: all of the officers we came across were very smiling, sweet and caring. They always said hi and wanted to chat. Not only onboard but also when they saw you outside. The waiters: our experience with the waiters on the lido deck wasn't the best. They did not clean the tables very quickly and did not speak very much with the passengers. They did not seem to be very happy about their job and did not really want to get in contact with anyone - this was a shame, many want to talk with all kinds from the crew, and every other ship we have been to, the waiters were much more talkable and made you feel special. Entertainment: You will never be bored on carnival. If so, it’s your own fault. They have so many different activities during the day and night - so the only problem there is is the time-limit you have. Everything with Leigh is a must. He can make every event laughable. The game shows are a great fun - especially the love & marriage show. The shows with the dancers and singers have a beautiful, creative scenery, the performers and music are great - but the shows are quite the same concept except from a different theme (Motown, the 70’s & the 80’s). so it lacks a bit of variety. We were so lucky to be on Conquest on Halloween night. It was great to see that so many had a costume and Carnival for sure did a lot to put up special drinks and decoration for the night. The only minus was that it wasn’t the guests who chose the winner of the costume competition. It was a shame. Many talked about this afterward and they wished they had a saying in who should have won. The Wi-Fi was terrible. You have to log out and reconnect all the time, and you aren’t able to make a call over Messenger. The Hub-app, Carnival have is a great way to see what’s happening during the day and even get a reminder for the events. You are also able to see a map over the ship, which can come in handy for the first few days. Unfortunately, the app wasn’t able to download after leaving the port due to the Carnivals weak internet. Overall our first experience with Carnival was a success and we look forward to joining the fleet again in April on Carnival Splendor. Read Less

First i would like to say carnival tries to give you a fun experience and usually succeeds.Embarkation was fair. Food was fair service in Lido food court was terrible Service from our cabin steward was wonderful Dian was our cabin stewards name. He was attentive and one step ahead of us. We never had to remind him of anything he had our wine chilled and waiting for us every day. He made sure we had plenty of clean towels and bar soap. And the towel critters were a fun surprise everyday. The ship itself could have had more identification for direction and what is available on each deck could have been better defined like in elevator. The tv could have provided interactive account for those who could not download hub on cell. The entertainment was good The comedy club was a fun time with comedian Mrs. Ford who was very funny. The quest which i usually enjoy was a little raunchy and i am not prudish but found a real low life crowd not usually on any of the other ships i frequented in the past.No fault of carnival . But it kind of turned a funny and risky adult fun into raunchy dirty pig show.. The crew in the entertainment shows put on a good show and caught the audience attention and the lighting and tech group was actually excellent. The bingo was a sham. I would never be rooked again into paying for play with such ridiculously payouts with stupid contingencies to the winner. Likpick the right envelope or pop the right balloon to get the winners jackpot which they already clearly won. What happened to giving away the jackpot to the one who calls bingo? And quite frankly a 100. dollars or 200. should not be the winners payout ever if they pay 29 to 59 to play. and most of the time have to share with 3 or more winners lol. Cruise hip bingo has changed they use to give the whole jackpot of 5000. to 7000. away what happened. And being a bingo player i know that 49 numbers are very improbable to get in a coverall thus no jackpot winner usually. Shame on you carnival conquest. Read Less

This cruise was a bad idea from the start. Last time we went on Carnival 12 years ago and even then we thought that probably no more. But we really needed to get away this time and for many years wanted to visit Bermuda, so we decided to have no expectations whatsoever, and just relax and see the island. But this cruise was something else. To start, embarkation was ok, we came on time, went straight to the cabin and were shocked by the dilapidated state of the furniture and accessories, the shades were broken, the couch is stained, the window and door to the balcony so dirty you could not see through it. So I cleaned the room, the doors, the windows, the bathroom, but I still did not sit on that couch for the duration of the cruise, and tried to stay away from all surfaces. One day when mirrors were fogged, when we had the balcony door open, I saw all kind of had prints on every mirror in the room – must be a year at least of prints. We found discarded items from previous passengers, pill boxes under the bed. The same is true for every room and hall on this ship – it is dirty. Both my husband and I had terrible allergy attacks in the dirty cabin, and had to take antihistamine pills every day and buy more in Bermuda. Steward could not care less, I asked him to bring me a rope, it took a day, and when he did, it smelled of mold. One day the towels he changed were stained and torn. The drill was next, it started around 3 pm, standing in line for an hour in FL heat on the deck waiting for the drill. Captain did not wait until the end of the drill and started moving before it was over. So we were not able to have a going away party or see the shore from the top floor. This was just an opening act of the cruise where nothing was done on time. The crew behaved like it was their first cruise and they had no idea what to do and how the clock works. Captain’s toast was delayed by hour and a half without explanation or announcement. It was scheduled for 7 pm did not happen until 8:30; balloon drop scheduled for 9:15 was done at 9 instead when people were at dinner, and so on and so forth. There are no public places on this ship where you can just sit, relax, listen to music, the smoke is everywhere. The only through deck on the ship (deck 5) has a casino in the middle, the smoke is standing there, you cannot breath, and you cannot avoid going through there 10 times a day. Entertainment is nonexistent at best, and horrible the rest of the time. We could not find a thing to do on the ship for 8 days, tried to find any dance music, but all they have are terrible Cuban and calypso music on promenade, even when they played something tolerable, you cannot dance or stay there because of the smoke from the casino. So-called punch liners with their bodily function humor are tacky and not entertaining. Violinists on deck 3 were not told to stop playing when cruise director or captain is speaking, they would play louder so no one could hear the announcements. Singers and dancers are the worst I have seen in my over 30 cruises, 3rd rated Las Vegas strip club has better dancers that the once on the ship. The singing crew - wow - they should not be allowed to sing. In over 30 cruises that we took, we maybe missed 2 shows; this time we skipped 2 shows on purpose and left after 10 minutes of the other 2 shows - impossible intolerable cruelty on passengers to endure the screaming and screeching from the stage. The TV in the room is from the 19th century, no movies on demand, not even pay per view. Store selection is poor. This is the first cruise ever and the first trip abroad that we did not buy anything in the gift shops and did not bring any liquor back with us. The booze, watches, jewelry on the ship was more expensive than in regular US stores – first time ever. Everyone on the ship seems unhappy, crew is complaining all the time on long hours and being tired. Everyone is talking about when their contract ends and they go home. Very depressing. Now, the food. Food was terrible everywhere, no one cleans the tables at the buffet, and when they do, you have to clean them over again. I do not eat pizza, burgers, Mexican food, or any other junk, so I cannot rate these joints on board. But there was no food after 9:30 anywhere, no late night buffet, no deserts, no snack, no cookie, no ice cream ( I do not eat the chemical stuff they put into soft serve machines, would not consider it food). There is a coffee shop on board, so you can have coffee at least during the day because the cafeteria coffee is undrinkable. Buffet did not have any fresh choices, no berries, no fresh deserts, no good deserts either anywhere in 8 days. Terrible breakfast, to order cooks were out of pepper, tomatoes, mushrooms for omelets all the time. There would be a line of 10-12 people and he is making one omelet at a time on one skillet while 3 other people are standing nearby talking. Not once there was lox, white fish, herring, smoked fish served. No shrimps, no seafood for lunch or dinner at the buffet. I have not had anything tasty in 8 days, every time you go and eat, you think – why did I eat that? And how can I get it out of me fast? The second night was formal, so there was lobster at the restaurant; it was spoiled, I had stomach aches all night and the next day. Soups were terrible everywhere, how hard is it to have a consommé or chicken noodle soup? No vegetables were ever served anywhere but one day for lunch they had grilled zucchini and squash. In the restaurant when I asked to have vegetables, I would get 1 piece of broccoli or potatoes. We have noticed before that when chief is from India, the food is terrible, both in quality and choices. This was certainly true on this ship. On the last day at sea they decided to wash balconies - they wasted our last day on that and just spread the dirt all over. I can go over every day and every detail and cannot name one good thing from this cruise. This was our last cruise on carnival, it was terrible, and I never want to repeat it. Read Less