Vacation is what you make of it......just my opinion

We normally take a cruise for either Christmas of New Years so we have certain dates we are off work. This was going out on 12/28 so worked for our schedule perfectly. We have been on the Conquest a few years back and thought we'd give it another try.

Getting onto the ship we had been assigned 12-12:30 timeframes. We took the shuttle over and dropped off the luggage and got right inside and onto the ship, I'd say less that 30 minutes. Disembarking was delayed due to customs so that took a bit longer. We know it was not Carnivals fault so we were just patient. I personally think they should shut down the elevators to lobby until they get people back offf the ship and moving, it was kind of a nightmare.........

We had inside cabin 6365. It could use some updating for sure. There were scuff marks on the walls, the lampshades were cracked, the tile in the bathroom could be replaced as it was cracked..... I think the ship just need a few updates here and there. Our steward Jeanette was awesome. We had her come twice a day so we could have fresh towels and her and her assistant were always very kind.

We did My Time Dining for the second time. We loved Deryl and Adriana our servers. I had read where you can request the same people each night, so we did just that. Unfortunately one night they had just filled up their section so we had to sit elsewhere. Service was slow and not as good. We enjoy talking to the servers and bumping into them other areas of the ship.

PIANO BAR was the bomb. Gustavo is amazing. He is now on the Paradise but let me tell you if he is ever on your ship check him out. Every night we spent in there, he was funny, and very entertaining. I'd say the best PBE we've had to date. Keep up the good work Gustavo.

We enjoyed the sports bar as it was college football playoffs week. I Gede was an amazing bartender and very kind and hard working.

Spent a little time in the casino. I didn't find it very smoky at all and we enjoyed gambling a little. I also enjoy people watching and seeing them lose their money instead of myself lol . We had our adult children with us 24 and 28. They enjoyed the casino a tad more than we did.

Comedy shows were all good and entertaining. We try to do the later shows so there aren't too many families and noise. We did not go to the main theater for shows. We saw Epic Rock in March and we tried the 80's show but weren't impressed so moved on.

We loved the trivia games throughout the week :0) we enjoyed the deli, several Guys burgers which are always delicious, pizza almost nightly before we hit the hay. Dining room food was good each evening. Nothing over the top but we had plenty of options and filled our stomachs just fine.

Ports: our fave Cozumel we spent the day at Paradise Beach. We do this every time we are in Cozumel, it is nice and relaxing.

Grand Cayman we taxied to the Royal Palms resort and enjoyed the deejay, the pool and lots of sunshine & relaxing.

Mahogany Bay we went to the beach area and stayed in the water for a couple of hours and hopped back onto the ship. We had never done that before but it was a short walk and beautiful there.

Belize is not our favorite so we stayed on the ship and watched football as it was New Years Day.

If you have never cruised over New Years you should check it out sometime. It's so much fun. Parties every where for midnight and we really do enjoy the deck party for midnight. free champagne galore .........