This was our third Carnivial cruise in three years. We sailed on the Elation (2011 from Mobile) and Dream (2012 from Florida). Conquest was right in between - to me it had just enough of the "large boat" features such as the speciality bars, steakhouse, balconies - without as much of the crowds. We felt Dream was too crowded - it seemed most of the added space was simply cabins - the public spaces were not increased in proportional size so there were lines for everything and often customers were turned away. We loved Elation, but it lacked some of the modern day features that we still enjoy.

My review is prefaced by two pieces of information, one about us and one about this particular cruise - 1) We are true believers that travel and cruising in particular is partnership between the cruise line and the guest - the guest has to know what they want and how some reasonable expectations of how that typically happens and how to articulate those needs - and the line should make it happen. Too many times we have read reviews or heard complaints about how the cruise line simply didn't anticipate their unspoken needs - or the person didn't speak up. We call these "first world problems" - for example we heard one passenger complain that on a sea day it took him 10 minutes for the staff to cook his pizza and it wasn't fast enough. However, he admitted the pizza was fresh and cooked to order - he simply thought the staff should have read his mind that he needed a mushroom and onion pizza right now. If you don't share this basic philosphy - then my review probably won't help you much.

2) Our cruise was truly "off-season" - right after the kids go back to school and before a holiday weekend. We understood from staff that this sailing was about 500 passengers below capacity - the rooms were all booked but they were booked at double and not triple/quadruple occupancy. There were very few kids, and the cruise was mostly middle age professional to retired couples. I think this altered the typical experience in a positive way for us - the staff had more time to pay attention details, wasn't rushed and as a result, with a very few exceptions - provided us with the best customer servicer experience we ever had on a crusie. The kitchen was as busy, there were no lines, and embarkation and disembarkation was a breeze because there were simply few people. Read more