Carnival Conquest creates an artful impression

Carnival Cruises’ biggest vessel, Carnival Conquest, at 110,000 tons and a capacity of 2,974 passengers, is an artistic ship, paying homage to Impressionists and Postimpressionists with reproductions of masterpieces all over the ship. (A guide to Impressionist paintings helps with identification and appreciation.)

Flowers are everywhere -- on walls, light fixtures, tables, doors. Where there are no flowers, there are paintings. Colors are bright but not garish.

The ship has numerous restaurants, and the wait is usually short. Besides two main restaurants, Monet and Renoir, there are a cafe, Restaurant Cezanne and an alternative restaurant, the Point (think Seurat), which carries a $25 charge but is worth it. It features steaks, lobster and Joe’s stone crabs from Miami. So you won’t go hungry, there’s also Sur Mer, serving ahi tuna, ceviche, lobster salad, fried oysters, soft-shell crab, fish fillets and bouillabaisse; the Pizzeria, open around the clock; Paul’s Deli, with great sandwiches; and P.C.’s Wok, with Asian dishes and a sushi bar.

Anyone familiar with Carnival’s Destiny-class ships will feel at home on the Conquest. At 952 feet, the Conquest is almost 20 feet longer than a Destiny-class ship, giving it more staterooms, and 116 feet wide -- too wide for the Panama Canal. It has 13 decks, 18 elevators and 22 bars and lounges.

For families, it has an expanded Children’s World, home to Camp Carnival, with art and exercise areas as well as computer terminals for games and Internet access. Teens have “Action Alley,” modeled after the Montmartre district of Paris, with brick walls, concert posters, graffiti, a large video game room and a “mocktail” lounge and disco with a video wall.

Besides two outdoor pools (one with a sliding roof), the ship has a gym and a 12,000-square-foot Nautica Spa, with rooms for massages (one for couples) and treatments, and a beauty salon. Behind a glass wall is a Jacuzzi and cool pool with a waterfall.

Midrange cabins with balconies (with a brochure rate of $2,179) have twin beds that convert to king size, a large vanity and desk area, three hanging closets, a sofa that could be a third bed, bedside tables with storage space and good overhead lighting. The bathroom has all the amenities you would find in a better-grade hotel room.

The three-deck Toulouse-Lautrec Lounge theater has excellent sight lines; balcony, loge and orchestra seating; and Toulouse-Lautrec murals.

The center of nighttime action is the Promenade Deck, which has couches and plush chairs grouped around a piano or the stage, and bars and coffee stations. Murano tulip glass lights hang from the ceiling and line the walls.

Lounges along the Promenade include the Degas, used for dancing and late-night shows; Vincent’s, a jazz bar with bright sunflowers everywhere and rough plaster walls to suggest the texture of Van Gogh’s works; Blues, a piano bar; Latour, a gold and marble wine bar; Henri’s, a disco with a large dance floor and walls of flashing TV monitors; and Impressions Bar, which serves the Tahiti Casino, filled with some of the loudest slot machines afloat, craps tables, roulette and blackjack. Gaugin’s Bar is nearby, and cozy Alfred’s Bar is tucked away on a lower deck.

Shoppers can head for the Boulevard shops for jewelry, sundries and clothes. A tuxedo rental shop ($75 to $100) charges an extra $25 for shoes, tie and cummerbund -- so bring your own and save the money.

If you need a respite from the casino and shops, try the Painter’s Library, but, as is usual on Carnival ships, there are not a lot of books.

New Orleans, which once was home to Edgar Degas, is the Conquest’s home port for seven-day sailings to the Caribbean.

Contact (888) CARNIVAL (227-6482), www.carnival.com.

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Harry Basch travels as a guest of the cruise lines. Cruise Views appears twice a month.