Finding Out About the Fantasy

[teacher2cruiser]

My DH and I booked a last minute Fantasy cruise, and I'd love to hear suggestions on what not to miss and places to hang out.

Thanks for anything you're willing to share!

[family cruisers]

We are also interested in any info on this ship.

Just got off the Pride and loved it. WE also love the smaller size ships .

Would love to hear it all.

[Daycare_98]

Hello, glad to hear you will be joining us on the Fantasty 11/21. Come join us on ROLL CALL. There are a few of us over there and you can get a feel on who will be onboard.

 

This will be my 3rd trip on the Fantasy. We just love her. Will be sad to see her go in May. AS with any ship, you just have to explore her out. I love everything. According to Cruise Director schedule, we will have a different person than I had the last two times. We had Big Tex and now we will have Risa Barnes. (I think that is her last name). Heard some nice things about her on Cruise Critic.

 

Only 10 more days.

[jessemon]

Have you looked at this area of the boards here ??? Have sailed her twice and love this size ship as opposed to the megamonsters....

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/

[steve4040]

I am relatively inexperienced at Cruising. I have done 2 on fantasy class ships, and one on the Destiny. I was on the Inspiration a year and a half ago. I think a plus is the size of the cabins, which are uniformly pretty good on Carnival.

 

If this is a cruise out of New Orleans, the cool factor for me is the ride down the Mississippi. I hope you have a window seat in the dining room.

 

For me, the most noticeable thing about the Fantasy class ships is the absence of lots of balcony cabins, and a supper club. I think the lido deck also has fewer offering than the larger ships. However, I did enjoy my trip on the Inspiration. I was aware of these issues, yet still had a great time. I enjoyed my first outside view cabin. And was never hungry either.

 

If you grow tired of the breakfast rush in the lido area, then eat in the dining room. That is one of my favorite cruise experiences.

[cruisetobeaches]

We've been on the Fantasy several times and are doing another B2B this January. We have always had exceptional service and are looking forward to our upcoming cruises on her.

 

The sailings we have been on have been full, but there never seemed to be a 'crowd' like we seem to experience on the larger ships. The ship is easy to navigate and with the addition of the serenity area, it's easy to "get away". it's always been pretty peaceful back there.

[yogi2929]

Don't miss the tea on a sea day. It is usually in the Piano bar on the Fantasy Class ships.

[bonniemari]

The Adults Only Serenity Area is my favorite place to hang out.

[KCMarie]

According to Cruise Director schedule, we will have a different person than I had the last two times. We had Big Tex and now we will have Risa Barnes. (I think that is her last name). Heard some nice things about her on Cruise Critic.

 

Just got off the Fantasy last week and our CD was Noonan, I thought he was an improvement over Big Tex. Quite a card, very approachable and spent time talking with my son and I.

 

As others have mentioned, the Serenity Deck is very nice, and a must do. We also liked sitting on the deck behind the water slides.

[conchead]

My DH and I booked a last minute Fantasy cruise, and I'd love to hear suggestions on what not to miss and places to hang out.

Thanks for anything you're willing to share!

 

My first and only (so far) was on the Fantasy out of NOLA. There was really nothing for me to say that I did not like on the Fantasy. Now even with it being on Spring Break and totally sold out it only felt a little crowded. Risa Barnes was our CD and with it being my first cruise, I really did not know what a CD was all about, so I don't know if she was good or not as a CD, she seemed nice. I really didn't pay much attention to the river part of the cruise, and the next cruise will be in January, so it will be dark at that time..so maybe someday. Now to what I can not say enough about were the activities people?? not sure of their titles But their names were Stitch and Britney. Oh my goodness they were great, I don't know if they are still on the Fantasy or not. There was a band called Music Manilla who were fantastic, they played an incredible variety of songs and were also in the Beatles show "Ticket To Ride". Now I have heard that most of the Carnival ships have very similar bands and as I hear it they are all good.

If you like breakfast and want something really good, then on the back of the Lido deck (where the Pizza station is) they make fresh made to order omlets or will just scramble or fry up some eggs if you want. My son and wife really liked the omlets. Now, 4 last words...

Warm Chocolate Melting Cake!!

[Daycare_98]

Cruise Director Keven Noonan got off on November 5 and Risa Barnes took over.

 

This was taken fron John Heald's blog Carnival's Senior Cruise Director

[Ocean Spirit]

We just got off a week or so ago. We had sailed her 1 time before and was very pleased with the improvements they have made.

 

I too agree that the show, Ticket to ride was very good.

 

If you do the casino thing... we found for most part, if you win something... if you keep playing it won't hit again. My DH did do well on the cent machines on the back wall, believe they were hot shot machines.

 

The very first night in the casino, they randomly select people to spin a wheel. Both my husband and myself got called. He won $20, I won a entry into the slot tournament...

 

We felt the food was very good and pleased with the selections. We got a all vegetable dish that was outstanding on the first night.

 

We really enjoyed sitting in the comfy chairs on the deck near the casino and 21st century club. Great place to sit and watch people and relax.

 

We had a very active meet and greet group that was formed on these boards. If you have at least 20 people, you can set up a private party for $12 each for an hour which includes all the drinks you want within that hour. (Best deal on the ship) We all had a great time meeting each other.

 

We did Nachi in Cozumel and had just a great day... plus there were about 16 that were at our meet and greet party that also went there.

 

Have a great time, we did.

[I Luv Crusin]

My DH and I are thinking about going on the Fantasy next Sept. What kind of shape is she in? Has she just done a dry-dock or is she scheduled for one soon?

 

thanks!

[scchasgal]

My DH and I are thinking about going on the Fantasy next Sept. What kind of shape is she in? Has she just done a dry-dock or is she scheduled for one soon?

 

thanks!

 

She had a big drydock for one month Sept/Oct 2008 where they did a lot of work including the evolutions of fun upgrade, so she is not due for another one for a while. I have not been on here since then but reports are that she is still in good shape. I am planning on booking her Christmas 2010.

[mrsbean1990]

My DH and I booked a last minute Fantasy cruise, and I'd love to hear suggestions on what not to miss and places to hang out.

Thanks for anything you're willing to share!

 

Sushi bar, near the casino. 5:30-7:00 each evening, I believe.

 

We could always find tables outside during buffet meal times. The ones in the rear of the ship are great. We were out there one day during sailaway from Cozumel. Very nice way to unwind.

 

There's a nice deck behind the mini-golf to take in views of the sea.

 

Lido deck and above in the mornings with a cup of coffee.

[mrsbean1990]

Oh, and the love and marriage show is FUNNY.

[Naomi John]

I love this place. It is all the way AFT about the Jublee Dining room. We go there for pre-dinner drinks then down the staris to eat. However, on our last trip, the stairs going down were roped off. Not sure why, but they were.

[suwaneedad]

We are eager to sail Fantasy again; she was our first cruise ever, back in 1999! While recently in Cozumel aboard RCCL Navigator, Fantasy was docked next to us. She looks great and it made me wonder where she is ported. We're now booked. We will sail her in April from Mobile, this time with the whole family and some friends as well! The mega ships we've sailed in recent years are great, but I'm eager to not get worn out traversing Fantasy!

[Indiansbaseball]

We just got off and I am sorry to hear you won't have Noooooooonan here ....

 

I loved loved loved the singers Rob Brown and Bree Shannon...they were amazing !! The comedians were awesome too. They had a lady singer do the early early comedian show and she was really great too.

 

The shows...Ticket to Ride and the others were really good and the first we went to on two cruises.

 

I have to agree with the person who said that it never seemed crowded. We spent alot of time on the Serenity deck. Unlike the Glory...we never had a problem getting a seat for the shows either. Talked to my PVP and she said we sailed at full capacity.

 

Enjoy the Fantasy !!!

[RizzoLee]

I far prefer the Fantasy class ships - and the Fantasy was the ship that got us addicted to cruising in the first place in 2004. :)

 

It never feels crowded, and there's always places to suntan around the main pool. The larger ships I get annoyed with the feeling of too many people everywhere, but they keep doing routes I like.

[hilltopfamily]

A beautiful ship that is in great shape. I've been on her twice in the last 5 months and had fabulous cruises both times. Others are right.....she is a very nice size, not so large that you're constantly disoriented. I myself also like the Conquest size, but the Fantasy class is wonderful. Noonan was our CD the 2nd time (just a few weeks ago) and he was great. Risa was our CD in June and she was alright, nothing to cheer or complain about.

 

Don't Miss Out on: If you have a balcony, order morning room service the evening before via the hang tag which you then put out on the cabin door and, viola, at the time of your choosing you get to enjoy fresh fruit, smoked salmon, a croissant or cream cheese danish, and carafe of coffee with the most beautiful view anywhere....the blue Caribbean!

 

The vegetable tray with dip from room service is a nice lunch, afternoon, or pre-dinner snack, particularly if you have brought on a bottle or two of wine. You can get clean wine glasses from any bartender at any bar, take them to your room, and enjoy! I always pack a soft-sided cooler in my suitcase along with one or two bottles of white wine. The room steward is happy to keep it iced down, if you let him/her know. Then I usually also purchase one bottle of red in the dining room and have a glass each evening with my meal. They keep the bottle and get it out for you each evening. I'm not that big of a drinker, so one bottle lasts me the 5 evenings. I had trouble with my corkscrew with the bottle of white I had brought on board, so I just took it to the atrium bar and the bartender was happy to open it for me.

 

As someone else suggested, the High Tea is very nice. It was served on a couple of the sea days (our cruises were 5 days, so we had 2 sea days) from 3:00 to 4:00 (or something very close to that) in Cleopatra's Bar (which is the piano bar). Very yummy and relaxing and I felt so pampered. These are very popular, so be on time, or come when there's only 20 to 30 minutes left in order to find seats.

 

As another person suggested, the sushi is great, too. They served about 4 different items each day, plus saki (for a small fee, $1.25 for a small cup).

 

The baby back ribs in the dining room on the first night are truly wonderful. In fact, all our food was delicious....never had a single thing that was "bad". Well, one time I did get a slice of my very favorite pizza, the goat cheese and mushroom, which was cold, but was definitely still edible!

 

We went to a few evening shows that were pretty good, a couple dancing lessons that were fun but did nothing whatsoever to improve our skills :D, the Love and Marriage show in the afternoon (which is always a hoot) and used the fitness room on sea days. It is a nicely appointed one, so bring your workout clothes. if you are so inclined. I also went to the art auction twice, as I enjoy these on every cruise I go on. This time I won a piece of art and then bought another (a print of the Carnival Destiny!). Have fun!