Hello Cruisers, This was a family cruise for us. My Mom, Stepdad, husband, and my two boys that are 15 and 17. We drove to Huntsville, Texas the day before our cruise and met my parents here since they are from Texas. We had about two hours left to drive on Sunday to get to Galveston. This is my third cruise so I have learned a lot from past experience. Get there about 10:30 am and avoid the long lines. It took us less than an hour to get checked in. We were on board by noon. The most time was taken up finding the right parking lot. We were not sure where to park since they said go to B parking. Well, there is two B parkings and we went to the wrong one and had to circle back around a couple of times. We dropped everyone off and my husband and I parked the cars. We had bought parking online at the Port of Galveston website. You save $5.00 per car if you book online. Also, many don't know this but when you need a shuttle back to the parking lot, they will take your bags. You don't have to go get your car and then come back to pick everyone up. They took our luggage and dropped us off right at our vehicles and unloaded it for us. We gave them a tip. We ate lunch as soon as we boarded since your rooms are not ready. Our room was ready shortly after we ate but we didn't have luggage until around 5:00 pm. My parents and us had a stateroom with balcony each and our kids was in an inside cabin room right across from us. If you have teenagers this is the way to go since they stay out all night and sleep all day. We had a good location. Tip: We stayed on the 7th floor. Perfect actually. We had he lido deck two floors up and the promenade two floors down. The lido deck is the buffet and the pool areas and the promenade is where all the clubs, casino, shopping, etc is. We stay about 3/4 back from the front of the ship. We didn't have any bad weather but the back is better. We stayed about 7 rooms down from and elevator which was perfect. The ship is very big so location means alot. We had so much fun and there is so much to do. We took first in a bean bag contest with a couple from California. Took 2nd in ship building contest which my Mom and I entered. We went to the Casino a lot and lost mostly but had fun. They say the first day and last day at sea the slots are more loose. Not sure about that. We went to all the shows. The best was the juggler and the comedians. The Soul Man show was good too. We didn't care much for the magic show. It was too showy and not enough magic. My husband and I went to the So you think you can dance competition. You really don't have to dance that well but you have to entertain the crowds. We also went to the Camp Carnival talent show for the kids. There is a lot of bingo going on, trivia, competitions, etc. Always something to do. The pools were small but at times they were not very busy. My kids went to the gym but I didn't go that far. My youngest went to a golf clinic that was free. The kids had a blast. We didn't see them much since they are teenagers. They had an O2 club but they just really hung out everywhere and not just in the club. They say 15 to 17 but there was younger and older in there. If you have teenagers, I would suggest them getting out and meeting new people. Mine don't have a problem with that so once they met others you really don't see them much. There was a lot of kids but the time of the year too. If you don't like kids, then I would suggest a time after they go back to school. The have a lot of contests between the teams. Red, Blue, and White. You will find out what team your on when you go to the dining room.
The food was okay on the buffet. We thought Royal Caribbean had better food. The dining food was great. Eat in there as much as you can. We didn't take formal wear and they have two nights. We only ate in the dining room the last two nights but now we wished we would have ate the others too. The food service is great. We had some of the best waiters. They had a gala buffet with some of the neatest carvings. This was at midnight so it's hard to stay up and then eat this late. One day they had a chocolate buffet at noon but it was okay. I didn' think they had much chocolate but a lot of desserts. They also have more desserts during the lunch than at dinner since most go to the dining room. There is a 24 hour pizzeria that serves pizza, stromboli, and salad. There are outside grills that serve burgers, chicken, hot dogs, and fries. These close down at 6:00 pm. There is a sandwich bar that stays open late and the reuben is good. There is a chinese food and a fish and chips upstairs. The buffet has a variety. The breakfast buffet was always good but the same thing every morning. You can't go hungry and I gained 7 lbs. We went to Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. We went shopping in Jamaica right near the terminal. There is an outside market just s few feet away. I had been to Jamaica before and there is a lot of bad things that go on. Yes, we were offered smokie once. My son told me about a teenager that he met that was arrested while he was there for possession and they wouldn't let him back on the ship. How stupid are these people. My kids were wanting to shop anyway. You can get some better deals here. Just bargain with them. In Grand Cayman we went to Sea Grape beach. I had read on a review that you could take a taxi for $5.00 each way. You save money if you do this. It was $29.00 through Carnival and you got a chair and transportation. The chairs are $10 when you get there and $5.00 for an umbrella. We only bought them since my Stepdad doesn't swim and we sat him in the shade. It was pretty warm and we stayed in the water most of the time. For six of us, we saved $100 by not booking through Carnival. On the way back we shopped at Hard Rock Cafe. There are several ships in port at the same time so make sure you get in the right line for you tender back. We tendered around 10:30 so we walked right onto a tender boat and it took just a few minutes to get to shore. Cozumel we went on a Sub Ocean View and we did book through Carnival. This was pretty neat. If you get sea sick, then this is not for you. We shopped the rest of the time. Again, you can get good deals by bargaining.
More tips we learned: Take clothes pins for your shower curtain. They add some weight and keep the curtain down. Take a strip clip if you have lots of things to plug in. There was two in the room and not any in the bathroom. My Mom brought plastic holders they we put around our necks. We kept our sail and sign cards in there all the time. Many asked us where we bought them but we brought them with us. Many suggest a night light but we didn't need one. Also an alarm clock. Battery operated since there is no plug in by the bed. The beds were great. They have soft down comforters. I never slept better. Get a balcony. We always ported on our side so it worked out perfect. They opened the partition between my parents room and we had a big balcony with four chairs. Put your teenagers in their own room if you can. Go to the excursion seminar because you will learn alot. Also go the disembarkation seminar. Eat at the dining room as much as you can. Food is so much better. Well, there is probably more to tell everyone but it's hard to remember everything. I hope this helps someone. I know it helped me to read the reviews before we left. You can email me at phippsproringmen.auction@yahoo.com if you have specific questions you would like to ask. Thanks and we hope you have fun on your cruise. I would give a 10 out of 10 for this cruise. Also Mark the cruise director is the best I have ever seen. Take a Carnival Conquest Cruise because it's one of the best.