Carnival Cruise Lines

My husband and I went on this cruise together. It was our first cruise. We had a great time and it was incredibly relaxing!

Embarkation: We got to the pier around 2:00. There were a lot of people and the lines were long BUT if you got there early, around 12:00pm or so, the lines were really short. When we got to the pier we were greeted by a porter who took our bags and showed us where to go. We got in line, we waited about an hour and then go to get aboard the ship. They take a little picture of you and give you your Sail & Sign cards which are also your room key and charge card.

2 Days At Sea: There was a TON to do and see. We spent these two days looking around the ship and getting lost! The ship is HUGE! They have tons of contests set up through out the 2 days at sea. They have casinos, bingo, shows, lounges, you name it! It's hard to get bored on the ship!

We had an interior cabin at the aft (rear) of the ship. It was small but honestly, we weren't really in it more than to sleep and to get dressed. If you're celebrating a huge event (brithday or anniversary) then it'd probably be worth it to spring for a room with a window or balcony but we weren't in our room long enough to justify the cost of a room with a window!

We had the early sitting for dinner (5:45) in the Monet dining room. The waitors were awesome! Our head waiter was Michael and his assistant was Edwin. They were absolutely wonderful! By the second day they knew what we liked to drink with dinner and what dressings we liked with our salads. They were absolutely fantastic!

Jamaica: The ship was able to dock here so we didn't have to tender. We took the Black River Safari tour. It was about a hour bus ride to Black River. The roads are narrow and the people drive horribly. Jamaica is a beautiful place but the people are very poor. When we got to Black River we got on a Pontoon boat and saw crocidiles. Our guides showed us some exotic birds and fed the crocs. When we got back to Mongtego Bay we went to Margaritaville which was expensive! The people in Jamaica will do anything for money. The women try to braid your hair and the guys try to get you to take rides with them or offer drugs. It's a scary place.

Grand Cayman Island: This was by far my favorite port! You have to tender here which means you get off of the Conquest and get on a small boat that takes you to the port. The water isn't deep enough for the conquest to be able to dock. Here we did a little shopping. The people were friendly but didn't bother the tourists like they do in Jamaica. All of the shops are along the pier so they're easily accessible and you don't have to take a taxi or shuttle. We went on the Hell, Turtle Farm, and Stingray City tour. Hell is just a gift shop and some fossilized coral. It's neat to go to but there's really not a lot there.

The Turtle farm was very neat. Some of the turtles are HUGE and there's A LOT of them! The small ones you can touch and pick up to take photos with.

The next stop was the Stingray Sandbar. It was incredible. The stingrays are very curious and very tame. They let you hold them and they swim around your legs. At first it's kind of scary but it's very neat to snorkel with them. They're very sweet creatures.

Cozumel: Here you have to tender as well. Cozumel was very damaged by Hurricane Wilma so there's not a lot to see since they're rebuilding. We went on the highlights and shopping tour. We were taken to a beach called "The Look Out Point" and a little village called El Cedral. Here is a great place to buy mexican silver and coral. You can bargain with the shop owners for just about anything. Our tour guide was Gustavo and he was very knowledgeable about the island history and the best places to shop and eat.

I would highly recommend eating at Pancho's Backyard. It is an amazing little mexican place that serves fabulous food and has GREAT margaritas! Also, Del Sol is a little shop that has some really neat merchandise and the little $1.00 stores are very neat as well!

We booked all of our tours through Carnival. I would HIGHLY recommend this for Jamaica. Don't go out on your own there. I would rather pay more for a tour and be guaranteed not to be left and feel a little more safe.

1 Day At Sea: We just went to the shows and ate and were lazy the last day at sea.

Disembarking: We didn't do the self-assist. We had our luggage taken out the night before and then waited on sunday for our floor to be called to disembark. I like to sleep in and stuff so that's why we waited. Our color (each deck had a different color) was called around 10:00 or so. We were off of the boat in about 15 minutes. Then we had to go through customs. Customs takes awhile. The lines are long and it's kind of a slow thing but it's not too bad!

TIPS:
Get small bills for the ports. I wouldn't recommend taking anything over a $20. Take lots of ones for tipping. Almost every where in ports ask for tips!

Before you buy anything on the ship such as t-shirts and souveniers, wait till you get to the ports. They might have it cheaper. My husband got me a pink fossil wallet for Mother's Day and we found one on the ship for $55.00 but ultimately bought one in Grand Cayman at the Fossil shop for $43.00.

The entertainment was fantastic. All of the shows were very entertaining. My favorites were the las Vegas style shows and the comedians.

We had a really great time and plan on cruising Carnival again in the near future!