Carnival Conquest

Carnival Conquest is a 290-metre long Conquest-class cruise ship with French Impressionist style interior decor designed to complement its homeport New Orleans. Since her renovation in 2009, 60 per cent of Conquest’s staterooms have balconies with oceanview. Aside from art enthusiasts, Conquest is also for those who wish to soak up some sun. As with other Carnival ships, the dress code is casual and remains so until evening, but there are also “cruise elegant” nights.

Accommodation

Carnival Conquest offers five different room categories. Cabins are fairly spacious with plenty of drawer and closet space. The bathrooms are elegant and have ample storage space, too. There are only two (110V and 220V) outlets in each room. Grand Ocean-view cabins boast slanted floor-to-ceiling windows, while Captain Suites (the largest cabin) have separate living rooms and bedrooms. In-cabin amenities include desks/vanities, bathrobes, hair dryers, mini-bars and safes. Guests can use the interactive TVs to watch movies, pay-per-clicks and also check the ship’s current map location, and view shore excursion videos

Food

Carnival Conquest’s two main dining rooms are the bi-level Monet and Renoir restaurants. Both have similar dinner menus, where cruisers can opt for the “everyday” choices or daily selections that change nightly. The rotating menus feature a variety of options such as the creative “Didja” (as in “did you ever”) menu that might include spicy alligator fritters, frog legs and redfish ceviche. Desserts change nightly, but Carnival’s signature heavenly warm melting chocolate cake is always available. Conquest is also home to more dining options such as the Cézanne buffet, Pizza Pirate, Chef’s Table, Guy’s Burger Joint courtesy of celebrity chef Guy Fieri, the Bluelguana Cantina and The Point Steakhouse, just to name a few. Each restaurant has its own dining times, but generally, on sea days, breakfast is served from 6.30am until noon, lunch is served from noon until 2.30pm, and dinner can either be an early (6pm) or late (8.15pm) time slot in the two main dining rooms. Room service is available 24 hours daily.

Activities

Cruisers looking to unwind and relax can head to Deck 11 and the ship’s spa. Services include the usual spa treatments such as massages, facials, wraps and detox sessions, and also treatments such as acupuncture, teeth-whitening and wrinkle treatments. A full-service salon offers a variety of treatments for men and women, including haircuts, mani-pedi, waxing and deep-cleansing shaves. The gym is up to date with a selection of LifeFitness machines. Various classes are also available. Some exercise classes are free, but guests may have to pay for yoga, Pilates, and the four-day fitness boot camp. Personal training services are also offered.

Families

For Carnival Cruise Lines, families are a top demographic and Conquest has spaces to cater for everybody’s activities. The ship has a robust kids club, which is divided into age groups so nobody gets left out. Camp Carnival is for kids to do arts and crafts, treasure hunts, or the Beary Cuddling workshop. Another Carnival signature, Circle C is a place for teens to hold Wii tournaments, late-night pizza parties and after-hours movie marathons. Club 02, a nightclub-esque space, is for older teenagers.