Carnival Conquest ports of call: Nassau, Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, Amber Cove

February 2019, ports from 6-day cruise on Carnival Conquest

Docked in Nassau; view from front of ship overlooking serenity deck.

This is a brief post about our ports of call from Carnival Conquest. We have previously visited most of these ports, and we did not book any shore excursions this trip. Click on the labels at the bottom of this post for more information about places of interest. You can also find additional photos with information in the Carnival Conquest Facebook album, and information about the cruise in the cruise blog post.

View from our balcony, cabin 7405, while docked in Nassau.

Nassau, Bahamas: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Nassau was our first port of call after one day at sea. Since this was a busy cruise with a port of call almost every day, and we will be returning to Nassau before the end of the year, we decided to enjoy the view and silence from serenity deck for most of the day. Later in the day, we got off the ship for a short time to look around. There were three ships docked during our visit, and it was easy to disembark and return to the ship. We observed an outdoor market with items for sale inside the port area, and the area outside the port was similar to other ports we have visited: shopping, dining, and vendors trying to sell excursions, and such. Returning to the ship, we noticed a sign for guests boarding Disney about bringing wine and alcohol on board. It said guests are allowed to bring one bottle of alcohol and wine on. Carnival guests are not allowed to do that at any of the ports of call. Carnival guests can bring one bottle of wine on only from the home port at the start of the cruise.

Carnival Conquest Cruise: 6-day Eastern Caribbean from Port Everglades

February - March 2019, balcony cabin 7405 

Carnival Conquest from Half Moon Cay beach.
Click on photo to enlarge and see tender boat on left

More photos from this cruise and ports of call can be found in the Carnival Conquest Facebook album.

Pre-cruise

We booked this cruise last minute, because we initially thought we would stay in Florida on the beach for a week. After I discovered that all of the lodging choices we liked were well over $200 a night, we decided it made more sense to book this cruise instead. The cruise cost was about the same per night, and food and entertainment is included on the cruise. We initially booked interior cabin 1011, and received a call from Carnival offering an upgrade to the balcony cabin for $350 more. The online pricing between these two cabins was about $500 difference, so this was a bit of a savings. We try to book balcony cabins on 7-day or longer cruises, and decided to take this offer!

This was our first time on Carnival Conquest; however, we have previously sailed on the following same class ships: Glory aft extended balcony cabin 7442, Liberty large balcony cabin 7439, and Freedom inside cabin 1021. I imagine cabin 1011 would have been similar to cabin 1021 on Carnival Freedom. You can find reviews for Carnival Glory and Carnival Freedom in previous posts in this blog from 2010 and 2011.

Arrival and check-in ~ Port Everglades

We had not departed from Port Everglades since 2012, and our VIP check-in experience that time did not flow as it should have, so I paid closer attention when we arrived this time. I am glad I did, because our experience this time was similar. We arrived around 11 AM, and were though security very quickly. We were then directed to the waiting area for Faster to the Fun guests (ahead on the left, across from the check-in counters). Since I did not see a VIP sign, I looked around for another representative, and asked again. The VIP waiting area is around to the right, beyond the check-in counter and Faster to the Fun, and then upstairs. The VIP sign is visible after walking past the Faster to the Fun seating area. Other than a wedding party, not many guests were in the VIP waiting area. There had been many more guests waiting in the Faster to the Fun area. There is a bathroom in the VIP room, and water and cookies were provided while we waited.

The wedding party boarded first, then less than five diamond guests, and then platinum guests. We were on board before noon.

Carnival Conquest balcony cabin 7405.

Balcony cabin 7405, category 8C

This is a basic balcony stateroom near the center of the ship. If we had initially booked a balcony cabin, we would have chosen one of the larger balcony cabins, like 7434 or 7439. For the reduced cost, however, we felt the upgrade/upsell was worth it.

Carnival Conquest balcony cabin 7405.