As one of the most popular cruise lines in the industry, Carnival Cruise Line operates a large fleet of 27 ships across eight different classes of vessels. Unlike other cruise lines, Carnival’s fleet has minor differences between its ship classes in terms of size and design.
Carnival is known for offering affordable, family-friendly cruises onboard its notoriously fun ships. The lively, casual atmosphere attracts many loyal cruisers to the brand. From the in-house production shows to some of the best casual, complimentary dining options at sea, Carnival Cruise Line has so much to offer.
I’ve sailed on eight Carnival cruises in my lifetime, starting in high school with a spring break trip with my family. This was a weekend sailing on Carnival Destiny, which is now known as Carnival Sunshine after a massive refurbishment. A few years later, I sailed on Carnival Fantasy with my husband for another weekend cruise. We have fond memories of this spring break trip!
For more than one decade, I took a break from Carnival and sailed almost exclusively with Royal Caribbean. In 2022, I decided to sail on Carnival Ecstasy before her retirement and Carnival Celebration later that year, which was the newest Excel class ship at the time. I was blown away by the Carnival experience and couldn’t get enough.
Since then, I’ve sailed on four more Carnival ships, including Carnival Sunshine, Carnival Jubilee, Mardi Gras, and just recently, Carnival Valor. Although these ships are very different in terms of size, design, and age, so much of the Carnival experience is consistent across the fleet.
Over the summer, I found a cheap 4-night cruise from New Orleans onboard Carnival Valor, which was built during the Conquest Class era. I had never sailed on this ship class before, and I was intrigued by the convenient sailing, as it was within driving distance of my house.
After the cruise was delayed due to Hurricane Francine, we finally boarded the ship in the Big Easy for our 3-night sailing to nowhere. This gave us plenty of time to fully experience the Conquest Class ship from the bars, restaurants, entertainment, activities, and more.
In this post, I’ll be diving into my first experience on a Conquest Class ship as a seasoned Carnival cruiser, including a few things that left me both impressed and disappointed.
Ship design
Carnival’s Conquest Class was built in the early 2000s, making these vessels over 20 years old. With the flagship vessel debuting in 2002, Carnival Valor was built two years later in 2004. She has received a few refurbishments and upgrades over the years allowing for the 110,000 gross-ton ship to receive more modern amenities. One major refurbishment in 2016 amplified the experience with new restaurants, bars, and public spaces.
I've mostly cruised on Carnival's newer ships, although I've sailed on Sunshine and Fantasy class ships over the years. Comparatively, Carnival Valor is newer than Fantasy and Sunshine class ships, which were built in the 1990s.
The Conquest Class was actually based on the design of Carnival's Destiny class, which represents a transformative time for the cruise line. No ship had measured more than 100,000 gross tons until Carnival Sunshine (then Carnival Destiny), and the Conquest ship design expanded on this success.
Although Carnival Valor might have debuted with an impressive and innovative design in the early 2000s, she is certainly showing her age these days.
The design is somewhat confusing with navigation seemingly more difficult than you might anticipate. This isn’t uncommon for ships built during this time, but we found ourselves getting lost around the vessel.
For instance, we struggled to find the location of our dining room on the first day of the cruise. We needed to go upstairs before we could navigate downstairs to the dining room's entrance. We were so confused! In this way, the ship wasn’t intuitively designed like modern vessels today.
Even with a confusing design, Carnival Valor's size was neither too big nor too small. It was the perfect size for a cruise ship, in my opinion.
The ship was big enough to have a multitude of amenities without having to battle a large crowd with only 2,900 passengers onboard but still small enough to feel intimate.
Carnival Valor’s size allows for numerous restaurants to be found onboard, like Scarlett’s Steakhouse, Guy’s Burger Joint, Old Fashioned BBQ, and more. I was impressed with the number of eateries available for dining and nearly ran out of time to try them all during our short time onboard.
After recently sailing on Carnival Sunshine earlier this summer, I found many similarities with Carnival Valor’s design. This includes an impressive atrium that spans over multiple decks, a large Serenity adults-only area, and a promenade deck with shops, bars, restaurants, and lounges.
Along with the ship’s design, Carnival Valor’s decor was particularly impressive. All of Carnival’s ships have some sort of theme typically, but Valor’s heroism theme was over the top! Everywhere you looked onboard had American flag colors, gold bald eagle statues, and pictures of heroic moments in history.
Dining
Like many Carnival cruisers, the dining onboard is one of the highlights of any cruise.
I have always found Carnival’s dining options to be impressive, especially the amount of complimentary dining available onboard. Even the fleet’s oldest ships will have signature Carnival staples, such as Guy’s Burger Joint, BlueIguana Cantina, a pizzeria, and a sandwich shop.
Our dining experiences at these Carnival staples were up to par with my prior experiences. I love the juicy burgers at Guy’s Burger Joint, and these never disappoint. I usually enjoy BlueIguana Cantina for a breakfast burrito on the last day of the cruise, as it’s a filling meal for the journey home.
Because Carnival Conquest is midsized, you will find a variety of eateries onboard, including complimentary and extra-charge specialty restaurants.
However, because these ships are 50% smaller than the new Excel Class ships, you won’t find the newest dining options, including Big Chicken and Pig & Anchor Smokehouse. On a short 3-night voyage, there were plenty of dining options available.
Some unique, complimentary options onboard include a Mongolian Wok and Old Fashioned BBQ; I had never seen either of these on a Carnival cruise. The stir-fry station was clearly very popular, leading to the longest line we witnessed during our cruise, while the barbecue quality was unfortunately disappointing.
Read more: Carnival Cruise Line: Ultimate Food Guide
With onboard credit available to spend, we opted to book Scarlett’s Steakhouse for an upscale dinner on the final evening.
I’ve only splurged on specialty dining once before during my Carnival cruises, so I was eager to experience this restaurant. I was especially impressed with the selection of premium meats, sides, and desserts. Plus, the service was very attentive, and the drinks were delicious.
We also dined in the Main Dining Room for the first two evenings at dinner time. The three-course meals were delicious and, again, the service was top-notch. Of course, no meal is complete on Carnival without the decadent chocolate melting cake. I tried mine with peanut butter for the first time, and it did not disappoint!
We were, however, disappointed to be seated with strangers at our dinner table.
Luckily, our waiter secured us a private table for just the two of us after we requested a different table. Although this might not be a deal breaker for some, we really wanted to have dinner without making small talk with strangers.
Finally, SeaDay Brunch is a must when cruising with Carnival. Considering we had two sea days, we enjoyed this signature brunch in the Main Dining Room on both days of our cruise. The entree options are impressive during SeaDay Brunch, and we appreciated how late the service goes into the early afternoon for those wanting to sleep.
The brunch was good, but I was slightly disappointed with the quality of my favorite 12-hour French toast. This recipe has clearly changed over the last year, as it’s no longer the thick, soaked French toast I love. This is a very minor detail in the grand scheme of Carnival’s dining, but it’s always disappointing when a favorite item is changed or removed.
Read more: Carnival menus 2024: Main dining room, specialty restaurants & more
Entertainment
Generally speaking, Carnival’s entertainment is simpler than other cruise lines. You won’t find the jaw-dropping spectacles or full-length Broadway musicals that you might find on competitors. Instead, Carnival focuses on in-house Playlist Productions, comedy shows, and interactive game shows for its entertainment.
There is always something happening during a Carnival cruise, starting with the rowdy Sailaway Party. I couldn’t wait to bring my cruise buddy, Hayley, to her very first party on the top deck while we sailed away from New Orleans.
As expected, she had never seen a Sailaway Party on any of her prior cruises! Everyone was excited to start the cruise with a drink in hand, and many guests were dancing to the DJ’s party tunes as well!
With only three nights onboard, we attended as many production shows and activities as we could. This included one of Carnival’s Playlist Production shows called VIP Studio, which featured impressive singing, dancing, and theatrics. Much of the entertainment included interactive game shows, such as Deal or No Deal, Finish That Lyric, and the Love & Marriage game show.
Carnival Cruise Line isn’t the only cruise line to shift away from production shows in favor of game shows. In fact, this is something I’ve noticed become more common with Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean. Incorporating more games shows is a disappointing trend, as I much prefer the headliner shows that are produced in-house.
Another disappointment during our sailing was a lack of deck parties in the evening. Normally, Carnival has massive deck parties late into the evening under the stars. The Excel Class is known for its wild deck parties, including an 80’s Rock and Glow Party or the Mega Deck Party. Our sailing did not host any deck parties, which could have been due to a shortened itinerary.
Finally, Carnival is known for its Punchliner Comedy Club with daily comedy shows on its sailings.
We attended the comedy club for a family-friendly daytime show and enjoyed the lighthearted atmosphere with other guests. However, I was bummed that the other comedy times were quite late in the evening when we were ready for bed.
Other activities included trivia, scavenger hunts, and pool-side competitions, to name a few. Carnival’s activities are always well attended, and this cruise was no exception. Cruisers were eager to participate in all of the activities onboard with excellent participation for nearly every activity and gameshow that we attended. We often needed to arrive earlier than expected to ensure we could find seats for trivia!
Read more: Sailing Carnival Valor from New Orleans: My Review and Surprises Onboard
Staterooms
When it comes to Carnival’s accommodations onboard, I’ve learned that it’s a mixed bag. Some cabins have left me quite impressed while others are very disappointing. I was pleased to find an overall positive cabin experience on Carnival Valor during our short sailing.
This was especially notable considering my awful experience on Carnival Sunshine with a stinky, noisy cabin. This memory was fresh in my mind, so I was happy to have a comfortable cabin on this cruise.
For this itinerary, we booked an interior cabin guarantee, which is always a gamble on any cruise. We ended up with cabin 1251, which was located on the first deck of the ship. Although the cabin was simple, the spacious stateroom had everything we needed for a comfortable stay. There were modern amenities that spruced up the stateroom, such as bedside lamps with USB ports.
Our beds were also comfortable during the cruise, and we slept well for all three nights of the sailing. Considering we were only spending our time at sea, there was plenty of time to sleep and nap during our sea days. However, we did notice the internet access was spotty while we were in our cabin. Because of this, we needed to go elsewhere on the ship for reliable connectivity.
The stateroom’s bathroom had hits and misses, starting with its dated design and decor. With ample counter space and shelving around the vanity, we were initially impressed with the stateroom bathroom considering the ship’s age. The lime green counter and blue floor were a bold choice, although this is common with ships built in the early 2000s.
Sadly, the shower experience was disappointing, as the curtain hardly contained any water and created a messy situation each evening. The flimsy shower curtain led to a wet bathroom floor whenever we would shower, which was annoying.
Finally, it seems to be a trend that Carnival cruises are inherently noisy and walls are too thin on older ships. We could hear fellow cruisers yelling in the hallways through all hours of the day and night. I was glad that I packed my earplugs and white noise machine for the sailing.
Read more: Cruise ship cabins: Everything you need to know
Comparing onboard experiences
Compared to the Sunshine Class, I preferred the onboard experience found on the Conquest Class.
Carnival Valor is slightly bigger and holds fewer passengers than Carnival Sunshine, leading to a more relaxed atmosphere. We rarely had to fight any crowds, except for the occasional line in the buffet.
Although Carnival Sunshine and Carnival Valor featured outdated designs, the latter was slightly easier to navigate thanks to her expansive promenade deck. To most people, these ships are very similar overall and would rival a comparative onboard experience.
After sailing on Carnival’s newest ships, however, I still prefer the Excel Class over the older ships in the Conquest and Sunshine Class. The entertainment and dining options are elevated on the Excel Class ships, along with the staterooms being a huge upgrade in terms of functionality.
Bottom line
Carnival’s Conquest Class hits the sweet spot in terms of size and amenities for many cruisers. Without being too big or too small, Carnival Valor stuck a perfect balance with plenty to offer onboard for its guests. There is also an abundance of deck space to relax onboard, including the expansive Serenity for adults and a multi-level Lido deck.
Moreover, Carnival Valor had an excellent selection of dining options without needing to battle the long lines that you often find on newer and bigger ships.
Most of the dining options provided tasty options and quick service, which we appreciated. With only a few days onboard, we nearly ran out of time to try all the complimentary venues. Moreover, we were notably impressed by Scarlet’s Steakhouse for an upscale, extra-cost meal during our cruise.
The entertainment onboard was varied with numerous activities happening throughout the cruise.
The headliner show was impressive, although I was disappointed with the amount of game shows that were hosted as a replacement for production shows. I was also bummed that our cruise did not have any deck parties!
Finally, our interior stateroom was spacious, comfortable, and functional considering it was the cheapest cabin onboard. The lamps with USB ports were particularly impressive, as this was a modern functionality I didn’t expect from an older ship. The most disappointing aspect of our cabin experience was the bathroom shower, which flooded the bathroom floor.
Overall, I would sail again on a Conquest Class ship depending on the sailing. As someone who is destination-focused, I would rather sail on an older ship like Carnival Valor - or any other Conquest Class vessel - for a more interesting itinerary. For a quick, 3-night sailing, the ship was perfect for getting away and relaxing!
Allie Hubers
Allie Hubers has been cruising since she was a tiny toddler. What started as a yearly vacation with family quickly turned into a passion for travel, cruising and adventure. Allie's been on over 45 cruises all over the world. She even studied abroad on Semester at Sea, sailing the world on a ship while taking courses for college and visiting 4 continents.
