We took our cruise on October 10, 2004 and this is the first Carnival cruise I have taken and I was VERY impressed. I was traveling with 3 other adults and 4 kids and there was never a dull moment. From the time we arrived at the parking lot in New Orleans, boarding went very smoothly.

We had room #1406 on the Riviera Deck and our room steward was Erik from Peru. He was absolutely WONDERFUL!!! I cannot say enough good things about Erik! If you get him as your steward, you are LUCKY!! We were never without anything we needed and our rooms were cleaned at least 3 times a day. I think he had radar because every time we had dirty towels, he was there to replace them.

We had dinner in the Monet Dinning Room and "Lito" from the Philippines was our waiter. He was very fun!! The first night at dinner, he learned all of our names and our likes and dislikes and after that first night, he knew exactly what we wanted and didn't even have to ask for it.

They had dancing and some congo lines at dinner so make sure you stay for the entertainment! You get to see the staff let loose a little!

As far as the ship, it was extremely clean!! The food was WONDERFUL! And, the entertainment was exciting. There was something to do for everyone no matter what their age. Our kids, ranging in age from 11-16, stayed busy the entire time and the only time we saw them was at dinner and bedtime. The made a lot of friends and had the best vacation they have ever had (and we've been on a lot of vacations!).

The ports we went to were Montego Bay, Jamaica. The snorkeling there was fabulous!! We took the Priate Boat Cruise and those guys were SO MUCH FUN!!! You can definitely bargain in Montego Bay!!

In Cozumel, Mexico we took the Dolphin Adventure tour. It was a lot of fun too!! My advice it to take a waterproof camera so that you can get pictures. I did not and definitely paid the price for my pictures. They have staff there taking pictures and they are really good pics, but they are expensive!! Worth it, but expensive!

We were not able to visit Grand Cayman due to the hurricane.

Overall, this was by far the BEST cruise I have ever taken. Extremely clean ship, staff that goes out of their way to make you happy and lots of activities to do!!

If you're thinking about taking a cruise, Carnival Conquest is the one to take!!