Picked Carnival Conquest after a disaster Caribbean cruise with MSC, wanted to try a new line and 3 new islands for us on this itinerary hit the spot.
Embarkation was a total breeze, 30 minutes from shuttle drop off to on board. Very impressed, seems things go a lot quicker if you just turn up at your allotted time. Disembarkation was the opposite, as per usual, delays on getting off made even worse with only 5 officers on customs & immigration for a ship with nearly 3000 passengers!
Sail away was destroyed by total idiots at bar that wouldn't attend their muster stations, kept the rest of us waiting on open decks, no air con or drinks. Took best part of an hour and missed sail away.
+ Plenty of wardrobe & storage space. Comfy bed and pillows.
- Hair dryer attached to drawer, low power & heat.
- Very poor TV channels & movies. Never really watch but good to listen to something while getting ready.
Stunningly beautiful port beach. Left the crowds and walked up beach to Jack's Shack for good wifi and to meet in infamous dog, Topher. He didnt disappoint, he was digging most of day! Very relaxing day at a good vibe beach bar.
As a tender port, waits at both ends made day seems very short. Only ship in port and spoilt for choice for sun loungers. Cheers package did not work on shore but we took some cans of cider untapped before we left the sip. Food was complimentary at port but all packed away by the time we felt hungry. A few shops/stalls just outside of port exit with decent prices. Shops within port seemed very overpriced. Sea shoes come in very useful here.
Spent the day shopping around Oranjestad, I'm a bit of a diamond hunter! Germani jewellers came up trumps this time. I knew this would take some time so didn't plan on going to their stunning beaches, having stayed previously I knew what we were missing, but will be back next year to put this right!