Day 10 was supposed to be in port in Antigua, but a tropical storm kicked the winds up sufficiently high to cause us to skip docking there. So an extra sea day. No great loss as our first visit to Antigua left us feeling that the island had little to offer.

The loss was in the casino. I spent too much time there and gave back almost half of what I had won on Days 8 and 9.

We had dinner with Clarence, a widower from Alabama, and two women. One of the women tried Marlene’s drink and gave it high marks.

We played a lot of cards after dinner and Marlene continued to school me, winning 3 games to my 1.

Day 11 featured more losses at both the casino and cards Fortunately the casino losses were minimal – less than $100.

I read a lot and did some trivia, too, But a very quiet day overall.

We started the day with breakfast, then went ashore. We have been to Dominica before, in 2024 on our first Conquest cruise, but neither of us recalled what we did on that visit. I guess the place isn’t that memorable. However, I think it has some interesting sights and we considered doing an excursion as we were approached by several guys who offered a 2-hour tour for $20. But neither of us had any recollection of the city so we just wandered around town for a couple of hours.

Mostly the time was spent shopping and buying little – just some magnets, a coffee cup and a local beer. But we also tried to visit a church, only to find that it had been closed for years due to hurricane damage.

We were back on board by 2pm, had some lunch, then I blogged while Marlene napped.

We had dinner then played cards (Marlene 2, me 0). The sunset as we left was very nice.

The casino was kind as I won $160.

This day started out like any other day at sea – breakfast, then lose some money in the casino and lose a couple of games of knock rummy. But it was notable in being probably the only day that we will have the cabin cleaned on this 2-week cruise. Marlene does not like to have daily cabin cleanings. Nor every-other-day cabin cleanings. On previous long cruises we compromised at one cleaning every 5 days. This time she balked at that, so we went a full week without the cabin attendant cleaning anything. This annoyed the heck out of him. He actually phoned us at 8:30am when we were still in bed and chided me for not letting him do his job. I assured him that we would take down the “do not disturb” sign and vacate the cabin at some point so he could give it a thorough cleaning but that wasn’t good enough. He wanted us to vacate NOW.

His expected tip just took a hit.

After breakfast and the obligatory losses in the casino and at cards, we actually got into the hot tub to soak for a bit. Then things got interesting.

First, Marlene cajoled me into signing up for the mixologist contest – an amateur bartender contest in which 4 passengers judge alcoholic beverage inventions, the winner winning… nothing. I planned to try a concoction with white rum, blackberry brandy, Triple Sec and orange juice. But only four people were given a chance to complete. One was Marlene who made “Marlene’s Mess” from tequila, Curacao liqueur, raspberry brandy, peach schnapps, pineapple juice and orange juice. I thought it would be very strong but it was actually fruity and refreshing. I guess the judges thought so too because she WON. So “Marlene’s Mess” will be available at all the bars on the Conquest for the rest of the cruise.

Then we ventured into the casino again and I put $20 into a Dragon Link slot machine. After about 10 spins I hit a bonus in which the dragon threw 3 additional “money balls” into the grid. One of the balls was a “Mega” ball which, much to my shock, paid over $970. So I went from being way down to being slightly up after 8 days of cruising.

My negative view of the casino instantaneously improved.

We continued to play and, of course, I lost some of that. But I ended the day just about even for the cruise.

That’s a relief!

Dinner had a French and Spanish theme. The French onion soup was outstanding.

The evening show was “Love and Marriage” which is always a hoot. This time the newlywed couple (on their honeymoon) were embarrassed, in front of both sets of parents and all of their fellow passengers by admitting that they had had sex in the cabana in the Serenity Lounge on board the ship. They will have to endure a full week on board with everyone asking if they had been to the Serenity Lounge lately.

I have been to Grenada a couple of times, most recently in 2024 during our first cruise on the Conquest. This is one of my favorite Caribbean islands, but this time we didn’t see the harbor or climb the hills for the spectacular vistas, two of the things that I like about this place. Instead, we shopped, pretty much until I dropped.

I don’t like to shop, even on one of my favorite islands.

We were back on board by 3pm and I then spent some time blogging, followed by a nap before dinner.

Dinner had a Chinese/Japanese theme. I had some California rolls for an appetizer and kung pao chicken for an entree. The California rolls were excellent; the kung pao was terrible – dry and bland. Fortunately, we had also ordered a BBQ steak dish that was quite good.

We saw the comedia show after dinner, featuring Percy Crews II. Pretty raw. Pretty funny.

I continued to lose in the casino. I have, in one week, reached the limit that I set for a “reasonable” amount of money to lose on the 14-day cruise. I need to be careful for the rest of the trip. This casino is being very tight. I lost nearly $200 today, with nary a bonus to show for it.

I also continued to lose badly to Marlene at knock rummy. She won all 3 games we played today.

Quiet day at sea. Except for the rescue.

Yes, we were diverted to save a person in a disabled sailboat far from land. How does a sailboat become disabled? I have no idea. But we did divert and did rescue him. It didn’t delay us at all, just added a bit of excitement to an otherwise dull day at sea.

I spent much of the afternoon reading and watching movies on TV while watching the ocean go by. Unlike previous Carnival cruises, the movies on this one are actually quite good.

We had dinner at a table with a couple from Nashville and a young lady from Geogia who was on her first cruise with her elderly aunt. Good dinner companions. No fistfights.

We went to the show after dinner – 80s to the Max (it was 80s night). A song-and-dance revue to 80s tunes. Not bad.

The casino continued to take my money.

I saw Footloose on the big screen on the Lido deck at midnight. Hard to believe but I had never seen this movie before.