This was our 3rd trip on the Conquest. The last one was about 2 years ago.

Booking: We were caught in the "mess" when Cruise Value Center went bankrupt. We learned about it on Cruise Critic. Everyone here was soooo helpful in providing guidance on how to get a refund and rebook. I can't say enough good about CC, our original Travel Agent from CVC, our credit card company, and Carnival. They all made the process as painless as possible. After a few anxious days, we were rebooked and ready to go, until we got to the port....

Embarkation: The Port of Galveston was "socked in" by fog on our departure date 1/4/09. The authorities closed the port and the ship didn't come in until about Noon. This caused long-lines of people getting on and off. We didn't get on the ship until after 6P and sailed 8 or 9P (it is all a blurrrr). Carnival did OK with the situation. However, there is no good way to manage a double-load of customers. Things went much better on our previous cruise. Read more