This is my review of my first cruise, aboard the Conquest for Thanksgiving week. It will be long and detailed, so I will break it up into sections. I was still on that beautiful ship just nine days ago, but it seems like forever! Here goes Day One...

Embarkation was an absolute dream, after the expectations I had from reading the negative experiences of others. We arrived at EZ cruise at around 11:45, after dropping our luggage at the pier and, of course, tipping the porter. We took our time walking back to the pier, and arrived at about 11:55. The Skippers Club benefit of priority check-in was great! With no waiting beforehand, we got our S&S cards while sitting in an office off to the side of the long line of passengers waiting for regular check-in. When we asked if the other members of our party could check in with us, Carnival staff cheerfully cooperated, and the people in the two cabins that were not suites were given the Skippers Club priority boarding as well! All six of us had our S&S cards very quickly. We were given the option of skipping the embarkation photo op, and thereby the long line to board, and we readily agreed. We were then escorted by a uniformed Carnival rep past the lengthy line of folks waiting for their photos to be taken; through the velvet rope barriers that he unhooked to let us pass. Boy, did it make us feel like VIP's! We were aboard the ship by 12:15...it was a breeze!

Following advice I received from fellow CC'ers, I went to the dining room immediately upon boarding to request a change in our dining assignment. (The 16 in our extended group had linked our bookings together and had all requested early dining, since we had a three year old and a six year old amongst us. However, we were assigned 8:30 in the Renoir.) I was told that the Maitre d' would not be available for dining assignment change requests until 4:30, so I rejoined the two sisters of mine who were sharing the cabin with me and we looked around the ship for a few minutes. Read more