Super Sunday on Carnival Conquest

Embarkation Day

Superbowl Sunday

Get Ready for the "Big Game"

We embarked the Carnival Conquest on February 2nd shortly after noon.  The cabins weren't ready as expected and we headed up to Lido Deck (deck 9) for some lunch.  The first thing we saw was the big screen in the pool area.   It was displaying the Superbowl logo because later this evening this would be the site of the biggest viewing onboard the ship of the "Big Game".

Lido Deck is the perfect spot to watch the game since you are close to food and of course, beverages.

RedFrog Rum Bar   

Join the party at this poolside bar featuring a great selection of “frog approved” Caribbean rum-based concoctions available by the glass or pitcher and plenty of Carnival’s signature private-label draft beer, ThirstyFrog Red.  View RedFrog Rum Bar Menu
 

"Big Game" at Sea (click for more images)

BlueIguana Tequila Bar

The menu offers up Mexican favorites, including several brands of tequila and a slew of Mexican brews. There’s a line up of frozen concoctions, cocktails and margaritas served by the glass or pitcher and even a special Mexican beer cocktail.   View BlueIguana Tequila Bar Menu  As we mentioned in earlier posts, we had made a dinner reservation at "The Point" Steakhouse for 6:00 PM, so we only watched the start of the game and then headed off to dinner.   When we returned, the game was in the third period, so we watched the final minutes from the Lido deck chairs.   Unfortunately, it wasn't much of a game, but it still was a lot of fun watching with so many people on the open deck of Carnival Conquest.
 

Click for Mini-Series Articles / Images

Following the game, there was lot's to do onboard the ship.  In our next posts, we'll continue our tour of the ship and the activities onboard and then we'll be headed to our first port of call, Nassau, Bahamas.

Be sure to come back to visit us for more of our experiences and tips to make your next Carnival cruise enjoyable.

2015-16 Royal Caribbean Deployments

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line has begun announcing their 2015-2016 Deployment Schedule. We will be updating the table below with a link to pages on our website with more details about the ships and itineraries included in each deployment. As of this initial posting, two schedules have been released: the Summer Caribbean and Northeast and the Fall Bermuda and Canada/New England.  

Summer Caribbean and Northeast

Select from amongst the following ships:  Freedom of the Seas, Grandeur of the Seas, Independence of the Seas, and Oasis of the Seas.

• Oasis and Freedom feature alternating 7-Night Eastern and Western Caribbean Itineraries. 
• Grandeur features Bermuda with 6 & 7-Night cruises 
• Independence features 6, 7 & 8-Night Eastern and Western Caribbean Itineraries

Fall Northeast & Canada

Select from Brilliance of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas, and Grandeur of the Seas.

• Brilliance features 7 & 9-Night Canada/New England
• Grandeur sails 8 & 9-Night Canada/New England
• Serenade sails 10 & 12-Night Fall Foliage and a 14-Night Snowbird Migration 

Europe

Allure of the Seas, Rhapsody of the Seas, and Splendour of the Seas are the first itineraries to be released

Alaska

Two ships will take you to the glaciers in 2015 - Jewel of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas


For more information:

Week of February 10th	Summer/Fall Caribbean Northeast & Fall Canada
Week of February 17th	Europe Alaska
Week of February 24th	Additional Europe
Week of March 3rd	Additional Europe
Week of March 17th	Winter Caribbean
Week of March 24th	Australia/Hawaii Winter Caribbean
Week of March 31st	Short Caribbean and Bahamas
Week of April 7th	Exotics Brazil & South America
Mid 2014	Singapore
Future Deployment	China

If you haven’t signed up for our eSavers Newsletter yet, be sure to do so. This is just one of our communication vehicles to keep you informed about industry news and special offers for our loyal followers.

The Point Steakhouse Embarkation Day

Hope You Are Hungry

Continuing our exploration of Carnival Conquest shortly after embarkation, we discovered that we could make our dinner reservations for the specialty restaurant, "The Point" Steakhouse without leaving Lido Deck.   Initially we checked availability for Thursday, the second formal night of the cruise.   

Embarkation Day Special

We made the reservation and then were told that if we wanted to dine Sunday evening, we would be given a complimentary bottle of wine.   Didn't have to twist our arm too hard to decide we'd skip the main dining room that evening - especially when they told us the dress code that evening was casual and we were fine as dressed.

More images: The Point Steakhouse 

Specialty Dining

In the early 2000's specialty dining was introduced to the cruise community.   Norwegian Cruise Line introduced it in the form of "Freestyle dining" while others went with the term "specialty dining".   In both cases, the passenger selects the venue, usually an upscale restaurant, and pays an additional gratuity for special attention and better quality food.   Presentation is a large part of the experience with food often prepared table side or made to order at the very least.   Also, plan on spending several hours enjoying your meal.

"The Point" Experience

As with meals in the main dining room, you are presented with a menu to select your starters, entree, and dessert.   Since we were taking advantage of the free bottle of wine, we needed to select from white or red.   Instead of simply reading the menu to determine our entree selection, we were shown a selection of meats and other choices by our waiter.

Starters for us included bread, salad, and soups shown above which were all excellent.  The chef prepares a special treat for you following your starters.  We were presented with a small hamburger and a tomato based appetizer.

The Main Feast

There were so many choices to select from ranging from prime cuts of beef, lobster, lamb, and even chicken if red meat wasn't your preference.   Filet Mignon is a typical high-end steak option so that was one of our choices and an 18 oz. Grilled Prime Cowboy Steak was the other.   Back home if we ordered such a large steak, we'd be bringing part of it home.   Here, there aren't carry out boxes, so we just had to finish the entire meal at the steakhouse.   That is why we suggest going there hungry and planning on spending about four hours savoring every bite of your meal.

Think about what just this portion of the meal would cost you at home and we haven't even gotten to the side items or dessert yet.   Do you think it's worth the $35 surcharge?   We certainly do, although we hear from many of our clients that they don't want to pay anything extra for their meals and that is certainly their right.  We do however think they are missing out on a fabulous dining experience that they would most certainly repeat cruise after cruise.

Here are some of the menu options you can pick:



Click on image to enlarge

Click for Mini-Series Articles / Images

Do take advantage of the Embarkation Day special if you like wine.  For a house bottle of wine we found the white (Chardonnay) selection to be very good.   Red wine was a Merlot, but only one of us likes reds.   Make reservations when you get onboard to be sure you get the day / time desired.   It wasn't crowded the first evening, which would be another reason to select embarkation day even without the special offer.

Next we'll look at the Embarkation Day entertainment.  It was Super Bowl the day we boarded for our cruise.

Bottomless Bubbles & Cheers

All You Can Drink

Fun Ship Style

One of the latest trends added by the cruise lines has been beverage programs which makes cruises on par with all-inclusive resorts.  One big difference between the two is that the cost isn't included in the base pricing. That is beneficial to those that don't want to partake in unlimited bubbly and therefore don't pay the premium.

Carnival Conquest Programs

Continuing our coverage of Embarkation Day aboard Carnival Conquest, let's look at two beverage programs that you might want to consider.   Bottomless Bubbles is a soda package that can be optionally purchased that provides unlimited soda fountain drinks, consisting of several Coca Cola products, throughout your voyage.   It must be purchased on Embarkation Day and it is valid for the entire sailing.

The cost on Carnival Conquest during our recent cruise was $4.00 per day for Children and $6.00 per day for Adults.   You can also purchase a Carnival Tumbler for $4.95.   The total price including tip is added to your card and a sticker is affixed to your Sail & Sign card showing proof of purchase.   You simply show your card to the bartender or server and they'll fill up your tumbler if you have one or bring you a glass of soda of your choosing. 

Normal price for a "Coke" on the ship was $1.95, so for those that like 3 or more sodas a day, you can break even or be ahead very easily.

Tip:  For families that don't want children drinking soda, there are other choices in the buffet such as lemonade, ice tea, and juices.     Hot coffee, tea, and hot chocolate are also available without cost.  

Cheers

For our Adult guests that wish to partake in the "flavor of the day" drink specials and other alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, and mixed drinks, the Cheers Beverage Program can be purchased for $49.95 per day.  That's a $350+ investment per person on a 7 day cruise.

Click an image to enlarge

Is this program worth it? The answer depends on what you like to drink, and how much. Prices for drinks can range from $4.95 for domestic beer to $7.50 for a frozen invention. Wines could be more depending on the selection. There are restrictions, so be aware that not every drink will be included.
Complete details can be obtained onboard and we encourage you to carefully consider whether it is better to purchase as you go or opt in for this program.

Regardless, please do drink responsibly as we don't want to read about you in the news.

Click for Mini-Series Articles / Images

TIP:  Check on Deck 9 either before or after you welcome aboard lunch for these and other Embarkation Day specials.

We did take advantage of the Bottomless Bubbles program but decided to purchase our alcoholic beverages as desired during the voyage.  This combination worked fine for us.

Next up:  A special dinner that we arranged during the open house.

Embarkation Favorites - Spa

Wouldn't This Be a Nice Valentine's Day Present?

Spa & Salon
Carnival Conquest

You've just gotten aboard the ship and after having some lunch it's time to explore the ship and get to know more about what awaits you the rest of the week.   First up on our tour is the Spa.

On most ships, embarkation day means open house.  It is a chance for each department to showcase what they have to offer you as guests during your cruise.


Embarkation Specials

Carnival Conquest has a full service Spa, Salon, and Fitness Center located on Deck 11 Forward.
Prior to the mandatory safety drill, the spa is open giving tours of the facility and taking appointments for later that day and the rest of the cruise.

Arriving at the Spa, you are introduced to one of the many therapists on board who takes you on a private tour of the facility.   You are given the Spa Menu, much like you would receive a menu from the host at your favorite restaurant. 

Throughout the Spa, there are displays of the various treatments and someone on hand to explain the benefits and answer any questions you might have.   At the conclusion of the tour, you can make appointments and take advantage of published specials.

We decided to take advantage of having our treatment on embarkation day at a savings.  The Aromastones Massage is a 75 minute treatment which harnesses the properties of volcanic basalt stones combining with aromatherapy oils and traditional massage to make all your aches, pains, and stress melt away.  This hot stones treatment is by far our favorite massage on board a ship.   They were able to schedule our appointment right after the boat drill (and right before our dinner time).
They were offering an embarkation day discount of $46 from the $195 price tag.  Believe me, it is worth every penny.  There were several other offers with discounts up to $64 (for example: Aromaspa Seaweed Wrap & Massage to detox and condition your body).

Click for Mini-Series Articles / Images

TIP:  If you don't want to have your appointment on embarkation day, there are also 10, 20, 30% savings if you booked multiple treatments during the cruise.   For those still not ready to make an appointment - be sure to keep checking the Carnival Fun Times paper for more offers.

Now that we have our massage planned, we are off to continue our exploration of Carnival Conquest - be sure to come back to learn more about the ship and our cruise.

BlueIguana Cantina Fresh Mex Lunch

Lido Deck

Dining Options

Carnival Conquest

As mentioned in our previous post, just minutes after arriving onboard Carnival Conquest, we were already sampling some of the new Fun Ship 2.0 dining options that were added when the ship was in dry-dock.

See our previous article: Introducing Fun Ship 2.0 

 

BlueIguana Cantina

If you like fresh Mexican food, Carnival's all-new BlueIguana Cantina is for you. Your server starts with homemade tortillas and creates tacos and burritos per your specifications. Add toppings, chips and salsa from the salsa bar for a tasty meal.   Burritos were way too big for our appetite but the tacos were just right and very good. One night the fresh nacho chips were an excellent supplement to the deck party.

Welcome Aboard Lunch

Since the cabins were still being prepared when we got on the ship, the logical decision was to head up to Lido Deck (deck 9) for some lunch.   I know we just had breakfast at the hotel, but after all, this is a cruise ship and "All you do is eat - right?"

Click for Mini-Series Articles / Images

Our to-do list of food sampling already had two check marks before we even saw our cabin.   We were off to a great start in our mission to highlight as many new features on the ship as possible.  So much to do, so little time.


Next we'll talk about taking advantage of Embarkation Day specials throughout the ship.  We did take advantage of a few so we'll provide complete details on those and leave the rest for your next assignment.

 

Embarkation Lunch Guy's Burger Joint

Click for more Guy's Burger Joint pics

Just On Board 

Carnival Conquest

Already Experiencing

Fun Ship 2.0 

Recall that we selected this particular sailing of Carnival Conquest because of the itinerary and also to get an opportunity to compare with our last cruise on the ship.  Since that time, Conquest went into dry-dock for a major face-lift which included adding the Fun Ship 2.0 enhancements.

See our previous article: Introducing Fun Ship 2.0

Welcome Aboard Lunch

Since the cabins were still being prepared when we got on the ship, the logical decision was to head up to Lido Deck (deck 9) for some lunch.   I know we just had breakfast at the hotel, but after all, this is a cruise ship and "All you do is eat - right?"

We didn't get too far on Deck 9 before finding several of the Fun Ship 2.0 improvements. Of course, we also started taking some pictures with our camera phones to capture our first moments on board. 
When we were asked if we wanted to try the burgers, we had to agree.

Guy's Burger Joint

Carnival has teamed up with best-selling author, restaurateur and Food Network personality Guy Fieri to bring all the appetizing appeal of a roadside burger to Guy’s Burger Joint, the cool poolside spot for hot burgers and hand-cut fries.

As you can see in the pictures, there is a menu posted with several options.  You can have the "Plane Jane" which is simply the burger, bun, and cheese or you can pick one of the ready-made favorites.  Either way, there's a complete topping bar with things like mushrooms, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and various sauces that you can mix and match to your heart's content.

How are the burgers you ask?   Food taste and quality is always a very subjective subject so we can only tell you that we definitely enjoyed the burger and had several during the week.   Whether this is the best burger you've ever tasted we'll leave as an exercise for you to determine on a future cruise.   We can tell you that for us they were definitely among the best burgers we've had at sea and will definitely include Guy's Burger Joint on future Carnival cruises.

Click for Mini-Series Articles / Images

There are other options on Deck 9 for lunch when you get on board.  We will talk about one more in our next article.   We never made it to the welcome aboard buffet lunch, but other passengers seemed to be enjoying that as well.

If you are just joining us, we are reviewing every aspect of our cruise on the refurbished Carnival Conquest so be sure to come back for updates.