My wife and I sailed on the Conquest Nov. 13-20, flying on Continental non-stop from Kansas City to Houston Intercontinental. Then we took the shuttle on to Galveston. We are both 48, this is our third cruise with Carnival. Originally, booked this flying Midwest to New Orleans, before Katrina made history. Continental provided an uneventful trip, unlike nightmare of flying American, on the previous cruise. The next time I will drive to Galveston though-airfare to Houston is always more expensive. Arriving in Houston, I found the first area of improvement needed for Carnival. The two young men representing Carnival were sitting down, and difficult to see in a crowded terminal. Their Royal Caribbean counterparts, were always standing, moving, and displaying their Royal Caribbean placards, over their heads. Since these two men were the first contact points, they need to be more visible.

EMBARKATION: Arriving at the cruise terminal is the next area of improvement needed-not by Carnival but, by the City of Galveston. Traffic control is very disorganized. We sat on our bus in front of the terminal for 30 minutes before unloading of luggage could begin. Many personal passenger vehicles pulled in front of buses that were being directed to park in that location. Simple separate queues of shuttle vehicles and personal vehicles would enhance this process. Porters were not directed in a logical manner, but those porters were efficient once they started unloading. Once inside the terminal, the entire process from entrance to boarding the ship was thirty minutes! That was the quickest and least painless yet. After reading previous reviews, I was pleasantly surprised how quick this went-well done on this point. As a note, Carnivals online FunPass did nothing to speed the process-from now on - I fill out the FunPass sent with the mailed documents.

CONQUEST: This is a large, beautiful ship; her crew was constantly cleaning, providing maintenance. Public restrooms were always cleaned or being cleaned. After the last cruise on the Victory, this was an area of concern. Other than one dirty carpet, she looked as she was on her maiden voyage. Walls were clean, railings were shiny and wood was spotlessly finished. My only complaints are Conquest is a cold ship and has indigestion. The temperatures in most public rooms, especially the Cezanne restaurant, required long sleeves. This lasted throughout the cruise. When we ate there, we usually sat outside as it was warmer. The other complaint, which subsided after day three, was the sewage odor. It appeared in unusual places, around the forward and aft elevators. Most noticeable, was on the journey down the hall to the Monet dining room. That tends to curb the appetite. Thankfully, it was not present in or near our cabin. The crew was very professional, but not overly personal. Aldo, our room steward, was exceptional, keeping our room spotless, while providing and warm smile and greeting. Read more