Carnival Conquest 9/7/2008 Allgeeteredup! - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Forum, Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

allgeeteredup · 07-20-2009, 03:52 PM

Well, I'm gonna have to make this in installations as I'm pretty long winded and I have so much to say..... I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed living it.....

Friday, September 5, 2008 (7:00 p.m.)
The finalization of our packing is being done tonight. My idea of packing and Dewy’s idea of packing have become two different things. Dewy says I’m overpacking. How can I be overpacking if I continue to find things I want to take???? Hello…. Lorrie’s Logic. I took pictures of our luggage. My suitcase versus Dewy’s suitcase.

Dewy’s suitcase…..

My suitcase. Now you tell me…. Did I overpack?????

After I finished finding things to “shove” into my luggage we, meaning Dewy, took all the luggage down to the car. I actually took a picture of my beautiful Pacifica before the trip. This picture may be the only one we have of our car. I guess looking back now, it is kind of weird that I would have taken a picture of the car.

Dewy very carefully packed one of our large suitcases with the following: 12 bottles of water, 12 Pepsi, 12 Sierra Mist, 12 Diet Dr. Pepper, 12 Diet Mt. Dew, and 2 bottles of wine, one bottle of vodka, one bottle of rum, 2 bottles of Bloody Mary Mix. Can you believe we got all of that in one suitcase? Leave it to Dewy to turn a suitcase into a rolling bar. And nothing was busted or out of place when we got it on the ship. Can you believe it?????

I have gone through our movies and decided which ones I would like to take with me. Let’s see…. Which ones should I watch first…..

Titanic or Poseiden???? Maybe these are a bad choice?!?!

I did end up taking about 30 movies with me. Don’t ask me why. I figured we would be in Galveston for two extra days after the cruise and one of those I was sure I was going to be in the hotel by myself so I wanted to have movies to choose from. Bad idea. I had some really good movies with us: Transformers, National Treasure, National Treasure 2, Cloverfield, 10,000 BC, War, Crank, Transporter, Transporter 2, Bad Boys, Bad Boys 2, Open Season, Meet the Robinsons, Bee Movie, The Reef, Shark Tale, and those are just the ones that pop out at me.

We are making the t-shirts we agreed to wear for our little meet and greet. Everyone has agreed to wear something with a smiley face on it. Dewy and I have gone all out and actually made t-shirt transfers and have incorporated our AGUDF into the T-shirts. Won’t everyone be surprised. Hint to those who decide to make their own t-shirts in the future…. When the directions say print in reverse, you better follow the directions or else carry a really big mirror around.

Well, it is about 12:30 a.m. and Dewy has gone on to bed but I am so excited that I can’t sleep. I got a blanket and turned on the TV in the den and watched television. I think I finally fell asleep around 3:00 a.m. (Or not!)
Saturday, September 6, 2008 (3:30 a.m.)
Dewy and I woke up (well, I was mostly already up) at 3:30 a.m.

Isn’t Dewy cute in the morning?????

I made coffee and bounced around doing everything and nothing. I was so excited that I couldn’t even speak. Dewy kept telling me to stop geetering. Yes, he tells me that quite often. I am extremely hyper and impatient. Put those two things together and you have Allgeeteredup!!!!!

allgeeteredup · 07-20-2009, 03:52 PM

We got ourselves together and made a final sweep of the house. I made sure to feed the fish as they would have to hold out until we got back. Can you overfeed fish?????

So, with keys in hand (and I mean ALL of our keys) we are off to Galveston. We actually were in the car and driving out the Gate of our apartment complex by 4:10 a.m. Not too bad. I set the GPS for the address to the hotel and off we were. We stopped on the way out of town to get some ice for the cooler and a couple of snacks but with everything out of the way and complete, we were back on the road in no time at all.

We got a good 30 minutes outside of Tulsa and I was out cold. I mean, I was incoherent to anything around me. The only thing I remember was Dewy waking me up when we stopped outside of Oklahoma City for a bathroom break. Once we got back in the car I was like a baby being rocked to sleep by the gentle hum of the engine. Again, the next thing I remember is Dewy waking me up for breakfast. We stopped at about 8:30 a.m. so I got a good 3 and half hours sleep.

We stopped at an IHOP and had a great breakfast. There was a family sitting right behind us (grandparents with their four grandchildren). Their parents were at the hospital having twins. What an excited group. And cute…. Omg where those kids adorable.

A picture of a weird yet cutsy building along the way…..

Okay, so we are back on the road and I seem to be doing better with the narcolepsy. Dewy feels pretty good especially now that the sun is up and energizing us. We turn the radio up and begin singing like we are teenagers out for the weekend. It was fun, it was energizing, and guess what… I felt like I needed a nap. No, I didn’t desert Dewy again.
We were listening to the GPS intently. I chose a woman’s voice just for the sheer fact that her name was Lori. Good choice, huh!!!!!

We drove until we got to the Dallas area and there was this strange lane to the left called the HOV lane. Well, Dewy and I had never really seen an HOV lane so of course, we were looking everywhere for a Hover Craft. Isn’t that what it means????? Well, we thought so. Come to find out is means “High Occupancy Vehicles” Go Figure. And to think, we were looking for Hovercraft. Bummer!!!!!! I took lots of pictures of Dallas on my cellphone so I could immediately send them to my sister who is a huge Dallas Cowboys fan. She was jealous even though we just drove through.

After we got through Dallas Dewy drove for a couple more hours and then got very tired and asked if I would drive. So, Dewy put on his protective gear, you know, helmet, super-dooper seat belt, blanket, pillow…. All the required equipment for when I drive, and I started driving.

allgeeteredup · 07-20-2009, 03:53 PM

I let Dewy sleep until we reached the outskirts of Houston which made me nervous so I woke him up just for the company. Now the GPS had been great the whole trip and we just loved hearing the voice tell us to stay in the left lane, make the next right turn in 800 yards, 600 yard, 400 yards, ….. you missed the turn you idiot….. turn back around. Well, maybe not the last part, but you get the idea.

The only bad directions the GPS gave us, and by the way, it was a Tom Tom. I guess I should have made the voice a male voice but I was afraid it would refuse to give me directions. So, I made the voice female because we all know that women are always correct.

Okay, back to the drive in Houston. We were in really bad traffic and by the way, still looking for that darn Hovercraft, when the GPS told us to get in the left lane and stay left. Well, I did what the stupid machine said and I found myself exiting the interstate and going into the city of Houston. Not good. I yelled at the GPS and then she started laughing and said, my bad, turn left at the next light, turn left, keep turning left, now this time, get in the right lane so you don’t go to Houston you silly girl…. Well, at least that’s what it sounded like to me. I swear…. (crossing my fingers) So, now that we are back on the interstate and I have had a good cry we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and are leaving Houston. I begin to breath a sigh of relief and tell Dewy if he ever falls asleep on me again I will put the pillow over his mouth and laugh that devilish laugh most homicidal murders emit when they are smothering their husbands. Or so I’ve heard….

I continue to drive until we reached La Marque and then stopped at the Wal-Mart so we could get the last minute things we wanted to get. We bought bungy cords, deep sea fishing gear, a cooler, and a couple of other things. We looked for water shoes but couldn’t find them. We then left and started on our way to Galveston. We were so excited. I continued to drive since Dewy was so tired and because, I really wanted to get there…. FAST!!!!! The GPS was finally recovering from the thorough shaking and beating I gave it and was playing fair. She was giving me great directions to the hotel and then all of a sudden she was saying…. You have reached your destination. Well, I don’t think so….. we had just been given directions to the Howard Johnson Express not the Holiday Inn Express. I couldn’t believe it. What a stupid machine. I made Dewy get out of the car and go into the next convenient store we saw and ask for directions to the Holiday Inn Express. We got the directions and began driving, and driving, and driving and couldn’t find the darn Hotel. So, I got a bright idea and pulled out the information I had printed and decided to call the Hotel. Well, low and behold, I owed the GPS an apology. We actually had reservations at the Howard Johnson Express and not the Holiday Inn Express. How embarrassing. How was I going to tell Dewy. How on earth did I make such a big mistake. Oh, I know….. they both begin with an “H” and they both end in Express. Easy mistake, at least that’s my story and I’m stickin to it. So, once I very sympathetically tell Dewy what a silly mistake I’ve made, and he stops demanding that I stop the car and let him drive…. Everything goes as planned. We get to the Hotel, we check in, and we bring in the one tiny, puny, piece of luggage that we had planned for our overnight in Galveston. Can you believe we actually only had one bag for an overnight???? Yea, boggles the mind right???? Hello…. Hello….. well, it does to me. Okay, anyway, now that we are in the room I give Suzbcruiser a call to see where they are. We had planned to all go to dinner together if Dewy and I were not too tired from our long drive. Well, when we called, Sue and Robert were still 2-1/2 hours away and it was close to 4:00 p.m. Dewy and I were absolutely exhausted but we agreed to talk again once they got into Galveston. Dewy and I decided to go exploring and drive by the cruise terminal so we could get a feel of the area. Low and behold, I see the Ecstacy pulling away from the dock. I was screaming and drooling and hyperventilating at the sight of such a big ship. I couldn’t believe it. It was huge. It was like….I don’t know….it was the biggest ship I’ve ever seen. So, once the ship was totally out of view and Dewy was finally conscious from me crawling over him and kicking and knocking him to see the ship, we decided we were starving and had to get something to eat. Unfortunately that meant we wouldn’t be hungry when Sue and Robert got in but we couldn’t hold out any longer. So we got a bite to eat and then went back to the Hotel. The moment I laid down on the bed I was out like a light. The last thing I remember was Dewy saying something about a shower. The next thing I knew I hear Dewy typing on the laptop and he is actually logged in to CLF. He is talking to my beloved family without me. How dare he. So, I make him log off so I can log on. How’s that for fair.

Okay, now that I’ve got your attention, I will leave you wanting more…. I hope.

allgeeteredup · 07-20-2009, 03:54 PM

Sunday, September 7, 2008 (9:00 a.m.)

The day we have waited for for 15 months has finally arrived. We got up early, duh, like we would have been able to sleep in…. and got everything cleaned up and packed back in the puny, tiny, I can’t believe we brought only one suitcase into the hotel, suitcase. Again, we, meaning Dewy, repacked the laptop case, puny suitcase, cooler, and two bags of things purchased from Wal-Mart into the car. We check out of the hotel and due to the excitement I almost tinkle all over myself. Should have gone to the bathroom before I left. Anyway, we get in the car and decide to see just how early Carnival will allow you to check in for embarkation. Remember, it’s only 9:00 a.m. I think we may be a bit eager….. ya think!!!!!!!

So, we start down the road and I’m sick to my stomach with excitement. I keep asking Dewy how long till we can see the port, how long till we can see the port…..oh you get the picture. And then……OMG…… the most beautiful sight in the whole world. No, not the Holiday Inn Express we looked for yesterday, but my new home for the next 7 days……THE CARNIVAL CONQUEST……. I swear I heard angels singing it was so beautiful….. I began snapping pictures as we drew closer…

and closer…

and hey, there’s Lot B, our poor Pacifica’s resting place after Hurricane Ike…. But at that time I had no idea…..

and then closer…..

And I thought the Ecstacy was big….. row boat compared to the Conquest…. Well, maybe not row boat. No insult intended to the Ecstacy but OMG….. LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THE CONQUEST!!!!!!!! Where are those darned angels singing at??????

allgeeteredup · 07-20-2009, 03:56 PM

Okay, we pull in front of the terminal and ask the nearest policeman what to do…. He just sort of looked at us and said, “Well for one thing, you can move your car.” Not the expected response but seeing as we were blocking traffic, a pretty good comment. So, Dewy pulled the car to the right which was in line with the other vehicles and low and behold, a porter pops out and asks if we need help? Well, I immediately begin saying that no, I took my medication this morning but then realized he was talking about our luggage…. My bad!!!!! He starts piling the mountain of luggage we have onto his cart and I’m so excited and keep hearing those darn annoying angels singing!!!!! Maybe I took the wrong medication….. Oh well, theme music. Once we empty our vehicle of luggage and realize it is still only 9:15 a.m., Dewy asks the porter if there is a good place to eat breakfast. The porter tells us where IHOP and Denny’s are and we tip him a ridiculous amount and then head off to get some breakfast. We drive down Seawall Boulevard, at least that’s what I believe it is called, and find the IHOP which has way too long a line. Then I get the bright idea of going to the nearest hotel and checking out their restaurant. Guess what hotel we went to….. oh, you guys are good….. The Holiday Inn Express restaurant. They had a great buffet which was ideal since we were rushed for time. I mean really, it was now 9:45 a.m. and we had a ship to get on. We ate breakfast and then headed for the ship. Wow…. I still can’t believe we are finally at the day I have very impatiently waited for. Dewy and I decided that since I was probably going to drive him buggo waiting for the shuttle to bring us back to the ship, I would wait for him at the terminal while he parked the car and caught the shuttle. So, I wave goodbye to my beloved Pacifica for the last time (didn’t know it at the time) and my husband and then rush to the door to see just how fast I can get through the embarkation process. Well, I learned after getting myself overly excited, that I would have to wait for Dewy outside the building. Darn the luck. I was so upset because I kept getting passed by people who would certainly be getting on the ship before us now. After what seemed like an hour but was actually only about 7 minutes Dewy arrives and we head back up to the embarkation area at 11:00 a.m. We are right on schedule, at least our schedule. We pull out our passports, cruise documents and funpass and hand them over to the security person who takes out her very official yellow highlighter and puts a check on Dewy’s and my name on our Funpass and then tells us to have a great cruise and points to the x-ray equipment which will be our next stop.

We get to the x-ray equipment and I begin placing my carry-on bags onto the conveyor belt and Dewy puts the carry-on he is taking. It was that easy…. We were through security. Next, they point to the area where we will give our credit card information and receive our sail and sign card. I was shocked. There was no line. I mean, I have heard some stories about embarkation taking hours but we hadn’t had to wait in any lines as yet. So, we go up to the desk and the very nice lady takes our passports, gets our credit card information and hands us back our sail and sign card. She then gives us a Zone card that says we are in Zone 4. I then look to my right and see that there are about 350 people already seated and we are instructed to go to the back of the room and start a new section for Zone 4. We are seated on the floor and the time is now 11:15 a.m. We begin meeting and talking with the people seated around us and find out that the couple sitting right next to us are on their honeymoon. Well, of course everyone wishes them congratulations. Suddenly I hear my name and I see this woman standing beside me and asking me if my name is Lorrie. I tell her yes and then realize this must be Sue. We hug and then she tells us that she is in Zone 5 and I am thinking, well you aren’t cutting in line to get on the ship before me…. But I didn’t say it out loud, I mean, we had just met. So, after we talk a couple minutes she heads back to her Zone and we begin our wait.

We barely get comfortable when a very nice man gets up in front of the room and tells us that we are going to be starting boarding of the ship in just a few moments and that they will be starting with Zone 1 and so on. He then tells us that we will be getting into two lines, line 1 is for large groups and line 2 is for couples. Of course, we are to go to line 2. This line is the one where we get our very first picture taken for our sail and sign card and then another picture of us that we will be able to purchase later on the ship. We are then again told to have a great cruise and we start the most amazing walk onto the ship. I mean, I thought I was in another world. And, just so everyone knows, it is now only 11:35 a.m. and we are actually stepping foot on the ship. We are greeted by security who puts our brand new sail and sign card into the machine and greets us. Well, I made it through just fine and then Dewy, who was walking behind me, has his card inserted into the machine and a loud buzzer goes off. I turn around to him and suddenly have visions of someone escorting us off the ship saying something about problems with our passports, but the security gentleman told Dewy that he needed to go to the 0 deck because there was a problem with our luggage. Well, of course the first thing we think is that our alcohol had been discovered and we were being kicked off the ship for smuggling alcohol. Darn the luck. So, me being the supportive wife, I tell Dewy I will be up on the Lido deck with a Funship drink in my hand waiting for him when he returns from the dungeon. So, off I go. I then remember that I have just been left with all the carry-on luggage and I really wanted my hands free for the Funship Drink. So, I sneak to the Upper Deck and open the closed doors that lead to the hallway and now I’m in the forbidden zone (the hallway before 2:30 p.m.) I decided I was going to find our room and quietly leave our luggage in the closet. I was expecting it to be difficult to find our room but was pleasantly surprised how easy it was and that the door was wide open and the room had already been cleaned and was ready. So, I stuck the 4 bags in the closet and closed the door to the room and then headed up to the 9th floor (Lido Deck) to look for my criminal husband. I begin walking around and hear my name called. It is my husband Dewy who has found Sue and her husband Robert.

I asked Dewy what the problem had been with our luggage and he stated that he had left a pocket knife in the front pocket of the suitcase with all the alcohol and when they were passing the suitcase through the x-ray machine, it showed the pocket knife as something strange. Not the alcohol.... the knife. So, he had to go down to the dungeon and get the pocket knife. They handed him the knife, told him to have a great cruise, and that was it. He was sent back to join the rest of the happy cruisers without handcuffs or anything. What a relief!!!!

Well, I have already found a waiter who very nicely hands me a DOD and asks for my sign and sail card. I am so excited, I get to be the first person to put a charge on our sail and sign card. We, Sue, Robert, Dewy, and myself, decide to get in line at the buffet and get something to eat. I decided to sit at the table we found and save it while everyone else gets in line to get their food. It takes no time before Sue is back with what looks like a really yummy sandwich that she got from the deli. It looked so great. Well, Sue told me to go ahead and get in line and that she would save our spot since she had already gotten her food. So, I get in line at the buffet and am so shocked at the amazing food. I got a salad, some broccoli salad, and then some eggplant lasagna. OMG…. Was this fantastic. I couldn’t believe I was eating my first meal on the Conquest….. (angels singing). And I forgot to take a picture of the food, but that won’t happen again.

allgeeteredup · 07-20-2009, 03:57 PM

So, after we eat we decide to go back to our room and see if any of our luggage has come to the room. Everyone from both cruise sites had decided we would meet at 6:00 p.m. on the 3rd floor in the artists lobby in front of the purser’s desk. So, we have plenty of time until then and we head straight to our room. To our surprise all but two of our bags are at the room but unfortunately the two bags are our formal clothes and our suitcase with our dinner clothes for the first night. Now how did that suitcase get checked….. Gee, Dewy, I wonder how…. So the first steward we see Dewy asks them to please check on our two missing pieces and within 10 minutes we have all of our luggage in our room. We handsomely tip the steward and thank him over and over. We begin unpacking and realize that we have an anniversary basket in our room with a bottle of champagne, champagne flutes, a carnival towel, two t-shirts, two visors, and a carnival tote bag, drink coupons and a photo coupon. Wow, are we excited. Then we look around and see that we have also been sent a fruit basket. This was sent from my nemesis, Stubby. It was an awesome basket with fruit, cheese, crackers and a bottle of wine.

This is me doing the Price Is Right Thing….

After we get the luggage unpacked we decide to go ahead and start taking pictures before muster drill. I am not looking forward to muster drill. Being a terrible claustrophobic person, I am petrified of having to go through this. But, we are going to do what everyone has suggested, we are going to wait until the last possible moment until showing up.

Dewy and I decide to check out our Balcony and see what our view looks like….

Well, I can now hear Jen over the loud speaker, intercom or whatever you want to call it…. She is telling us that we have 10 minutes until Muster Drill…. Dewy and I are so gleefully waiting in the room until the very last minute possible. We are so prepared for this…..

Now, we hear that there is only 5 minutes until muster drill so we decide that we have made everyone wait long enough and we head down to Deck 4 for muster drill. Well, we were in for a bit of a surprise because I guess other people had heard about our little trick and it seemed that we were a bit early for muster drill. How can that be? There was only supposed to be 5 minutes before muster? So, we get in line and thank God we were in the front of the line. I look at Dewy very calmly and tell him that I can do this…. I can do this…..

OMG…. More people keep coming and now there is a row of people in front of us….. Okay….. I can still do this. I can see to the front and I am breathing deep. Well, give me a break….. I guess people don’t understand what Muster Drill means because there are still people showing up and now there are two rows of people in front of me…. Okay….. I can still see to the front and I am practicing my breathing. I think I can do this….. and then, the most horrible moment of the day….. more people keep coming and coming and now there is a third row of people and the Jolly Green Giant has just stepped in front of my view. I can’t breathe and Dewy is telling me something and all I can hear is my brain screaming to get out!!!!!!!! I close my eyes and try to breathe and concentrate. Dewy puts his hand on my shoulder and I immediately scream at him to, “STOP TOUCHING ME!!!!!”

From what I understand I had people staring at me. That’s okay…. I made it through the ordeal and next time…. I will just hide under the bed or in the closet. I can’t go through that again.

allgeeteredup · 07-20-2009, 03:58 PM

Okay, Muster is over and Thank God I survived. Dewy and I rush to our room because unfortunately sail away started while we were still waiting to be dismissed from Muster. So we run to our room, get out on our balcony and begin snapping the camera at everything. Hey, it is our first cruise….. everything was picture appropriate.

Photos from our balcony at sailaway…..

The Coast Guard to the Rescue…..

Why is it we love to take pictures of other boats while on our boat????? I don’t know but I have plenty of them….
The view from our balcony to the above balconies and decks…..

Me with Galveston in the distance….

Some other boaters who were waving….

Pictures of the ferry. And they actually think they are on a big ship….. Gimme a break…. We are on the CONQUEST….. (now those darn angels are getting annoying)

After we have completely gotten out of view of Galveston, Dewy and I decide to do a little exploring on our way to the meet and greet we have scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Oh, and let’s not forget about the door decorations I made sure to bring so that EVERYONE would know who was in this room…..

Now, off we go to the meet and greet…..

So now that we have decided to make our way to the Lobby we make it as far as Deck 5 and decide to do some people watching. I mean hey, we still have about 30 minutes to waste. So we are looking over the balcony when I hear someone yelling…..LORRIE……LORRIE…… well, I can’t believe that someone would be calling me but hey, I looked. Turns out it was Southern Honey (Mindy) and her friend Kenda. They were across the way yelling at us. So we all start yelling back and forth and then realize that people are watching us. How rude…..

So, we make our way to the Lobby (Deck 3) and wait or everyone, and of course, we are sporting our AGUDF shirts… except for Mindy and Kenda….

Can you believe their shirts…..Has anyone seen Allgeeteredup????

Pictures of the beautiful Deck above us…..

We find an area with a sectional couch and a couple of chairs right next to the Purser’s desk. We listen to the music and wait for everyone to start showing up…. And show up they do.

I guess I should also mention that my clutzy self had an episode before everyone showed up. I was sitting on the couch and got up to do something and knocked over a wine glass that had been left on the glass table. I felt to embarrassed but of course, Dewy, being used to having to clean up my clumsy messes, got right to it and got it all cleaned up. What a great husband.

Annette, Lorrie, Mindy and Kenda…. Hey, isn’t that Frodo in the back??????

Robby and Sue…..

Okay, now back to the others.
Top Row: Left to Right…Annette, Kenda
Bottom Row: Left to Right….Sue, Lorrie, Mindy, Dewy, Little Tater, and Robert

What a great UN-tanned group.

We all talked and laughed for about an hour and then agreed to meet before dinner since we all had the late seating and everyone but Annette and Robby were sitting at the same table. So, off we went to get ready for dinner and take more balcony shots….
What a beautiful, peaceful place the sea can be….

allgeeteredup · 07-20-2009, 04:35 PM

We all met outside the Monet Restaurant on Deck 3. Unfortunately Annette and Robby were pretty far from us in terms of location in the dining room but Annette made sure to come and say hello on a regular basis.

What a good looking group. Don’t we clean up nice….

Now on to the food….. yummy… I can’t believe how great the food was.

Broiled Tilapia with macaroni and cheese….

I’m having a little bit of trouble with my pictures so I will have to post later. But, I will post the moment everyone has been waiting for……

Our very first towel animal…..

No pictures from the rest of the evening. Sorry.

Okay, let’s get this started again.

I left off with our group at dinner. Annette and Robby were seated with their large group in a different, yet much better, place than we have. They have an ocean view. But, we were fortunate to have Inyoman and I Gusti for our waiters. What a treat. What great ambassadors for Carnival. It amazes me that one company can find so many talented persons. From reading review after review I have learned that our talented waiters are not a fluke. It is the standard. We were greeted nightly with humor and what seemed to be genuine affection. We actually looked forward to each evening’s dinner antics. Not only was the dinner amazing but we got a show to boot. I have read on different threads that some people are tired of the dancing and singing waiters. Well, for those of us who are still new at the cruising game, we enjoyed this beyond belief. It made those nights comical and interactive. We were no longer the cruiser being served by the staff, we became a part of the show, the entertainment, the staff. It was fun standing next to our waiters and waitresses and screwing up the dance and laughing until we hurt. We got to be a part of something that you don’t see in the real world. I believe this is one of the reasons cruising in so amazing. It gives you things that are totally different from your real life. The life of the rich and famous???? Maybe. If this is what being rich and famous is like, well sign me up. I had so much fun and couldn’t wait for dinner each night. Please, just because you’ve cruised so often that the shine and gloss has worn off…. Don’t try to take that away from those of us who still see cruising as shiny and new. Something we look forward to and count the days until our next one. This is why cruising is so wonderful. At least to me….

Okay, back to the review.

allgeeteredup · 07-20-2009, 04:36 PM

After dinner our group broke up and Mindy and Kenda went back to their room while Dewy and I and Sue and Robert decided to meet for the big Welcome Aboard Show on the first night. It was fun, it was corny, but it was on a cruise ship. We got to meet our beloved Jen, our cruise director, for the first time along with her staff. We found out that Chicken Little would be turning 21 on our cruise and that Jen is quite humorous. She also has the patience of Job, we were to find out. But, we were given a show by the Carnival entertainers and then a comic/ventriloquist, Marc Rubben, came on the stage. He was a better ventriloquist than comic until he pulled someone out of the audience and used them as a stage prop. It was the funniest thing I have ever witnessed. He placed a half ventriloquist mask over the bottom portion of her face and made her look like a 100 year-old woman with no teeth. He then proceeded to have her use her body language and hand and arm gestures as she wished. The funniest thing was that she had no idea how she looked. It was amazing. I laughed until I cried. I was so full of happiness and joy at being on this amazing cruise ship the CONQUEST (freakin angels singing again) and it was just the first day. And what an amazing day it turned out to be. We investigated the shops, the decks, the rooms, and even decided to take our chance in the Casino…..on another night. I took pictures of the first night’s show but they were all blurry.

After the show, it was now a little past midnight so we all decided to go to our rooms and try to sleep our first night on the ship. I was so excited. Our first night on the ship. I was also looking forward to sleeping in the extremely comfortable bed that I have heard so much about. So off we go to our room to experience what I would have to say was a very deep and restful sleep.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Our First Fun Day at Sea….

Why is it when you have absolutely nothing to do but relax and enjoy sleeping in, you can’t. I’m up at the crack of dawn. Dewy on the other hand has absolutely no problem sleeping in. So, because I want to be a great wife on our first cruise (or maybe just because I want him to take me on many, many more cruises) I go out on the balcony and enjoy the morning quiet being at sea. Now, don’t get me wrong. I was making as much noise on the balcony as I possibly could. Are you kidding…. I would peek in the room and he was still asleep. So, I decided the only thing I could do was to give up trying. I slammed the door to the balcony and…. Low and behold…. Dewy woke up. He looked at me and I’m like….. “What????”

So, we take turns getting our shower so that we can go to the dining room for breakfast. We decided that we wanted to enjoy the dining room as much as possible because the evening was so much fun. Well, we get to the dining room and we are lead to a table for breakfast. There are already others seated at the table who have begun their breakfast. We say our good mornings and then Dewy and I look at the menu and I order the scrambled eggs with turkey bacon and toast. Dewy ordered an omelet and fruit. While we are waiting on our breakfast to arrive we start talking to everyone at the table. We begin asking questions about this and that and come to find out…. Our table mates are Firefly and her group. Wow… .what a surprise…. What a small ship…. So we enjoy breakfast with people we knew but didn’t really know. Know what I mean????

allgeeteredup · 07-20-2009, 04:39 PM

After breakfast Dewy and I decided to explore a little bit. I wanted to go to the Gold by the inch sale and Dewy wanted to go to the Morning Trivia game. Since they started at the same time, Dewy left me at the Jewelry store and he went to find the Trivia game. I’m standing in line and realize that it was a good thing I got there early because people just started surging on the jewelry store. But, I was fourth in line so I was able to get my jewelry before they ran out of the good stuff. I bought $103 worth of necklaces with free bracelets to match. I know, I know, I’ve read horror stories about the gold by the inch but I was not going to pass up anything by the inch. It was fun and by the time I finished, Dewy was nowhere to be found. I get a little panicked as this is a big ship and I get lost fairly easy. No sense of direction. So, I figure the best way for me to not get lost myself, was to go into one of the shops and spend some money. I went into the shop that has alcohol and all the stuffed animals and stuff. I bought a miniature set of Absolut Vodka and a miniature set of flavored Tequila. Now remember, we don’t drink… but, hey, I figured, it will look really pretty on some shelf back home. So, now that I have spent far too much money on stuff we really don’t need, I decide that in order for me to not get lost I better go back to the room in hopes that Dewy will eventually realize that I am probably lost and go to the room himself. So, I walk down the hallway and go into our room. The Good Lord is watching over me because Dewy is in the room. Thank You God!!!!! So, now that it is starting to get closer to lunch time, Dewy and I decide to try and find the Internet café so we can purchase internet time. Now, if you don’t already know where the internet café is, let me tell you, it is almost impossible to find. I mean, we must have gone into every possible room, bar, off limits area, and lounge before we found someone who actually “thought” they knew where they were sending us. Now for those who are new to the Conquest and haven’t learned that you can’t get to everywhere just by going to that floor let me let you in on a secret….. STOP TRYING TO FIND STUFF. IT ISN’T GONNA HAPPEN. We got lost but found some really interesting places. After we gave up looking for the internet café we decided to go to lunch in the dining room and were seated with a lovely newlywed couple. We had a great lunch.

I had the seafood salad on a sundried tomato bagette. Wow…. Was it good. Sorry, but I had already taken a bite before I remembered to take the picture.

Dewy got the Spaghetti Teresa. It was also amazing.

I never expected the food on this cruise to be so amazing. I knew I had read review after review stating that the food was great, but come on…. How could cruise food be THAT good. Well let me tell you…. It is THAT good.

After lunch we decided it would be fun to go to the Turbo Trivia game but unfortunately didn’t make it. We were too interested in everything else. I mean really, it was unbelievable how much there was to do. We decided to give it another try and this time finally found the internet café. We purchased the 100 minute time program and were then off to see if the laptop would pick up a signal. We soon found out that, of course, our room was not going to receive a signal so we couldn’t use the laptop with wireless connection in our room. We decided to go sit outside the Coffee Bar and answer a few e-mails. Dewy and I both got a great Cappuccino from the Coffee Bar at what I thought was a really good price. Better price than Starbucks. After we sat there for about an hour we realized what time it was and decided to take the laptop back to the room and go to the Lobby on the 3rd floor to participate in the Sports Trivia. On the way we ran into Mindy and Kenda and they were on their way to the same game. So, we decided to sit at the bar and partake in a drink or two while enjoying the festivities. The bartender was really great but wouldn’t help us cheat at the game. I did pretty well considering I’m a girl. I got 8 out of 20. Mindy got 7 out of 20. Kenda, poor girl, only got 2 out of 20. I believe she was more interested in the men sitting around us. Now my beloved Dewy, he got 14 out of 20 but the winner got 18 out of 20 so no ship on a stick for us. We were bummed…. But not much. We decided to sit at the bar and talk for a little while when all of a sudden we start hearing what sounds like angels singing. Now, I’m beginning to think those darn noises in my head are getting worse but then Mindy asks me if I am hearing that and so I knew it wasn’t just me this time. We look up and can’t see anything but the sound of angels continues. We finally catch of glimps of a group of men standing two decks up from us messing with us. They think it is really funny to sound like angels singing while we are all but wrenching our necks trying to find the noise. So, Mindy gets the idea to go up and confront them. Now let me first explain that Mindy and Kenda were feeling no pain. They had been walking around the ship all day with their Red Carnival Cups full from all the alcohol in their room. I had only been drinking a tiny bit and was feeling very festive. But, she runs up the stairs and sees that these guys are messing with us. Long story short… too late… the music stops and I’m not forced to take my medication. Whew!!!!!!!