Fantasy 9/10-9/15 Review

[jus4fun]

Just returned from the Fantasy 9/10-9/15 and wanted to post a quick/short (short-of) review and answers to questions/ concerns that have recently been seen in many posts.

We travel to Charleston the night before and stayed with our daughter.

 

Embarkation: We arrived in the car line at approximately 11:00am. While the line seemed short the wait was long. It took us 30mins. to get to the drop off area. There seemed to be a lot of confusion among those working the entry point. This is something that Charleston really needs to work on, it is not Carnival’s fault but it does make it really stressful on the arriving cruiser. Once we were dropped off, we immediately boarded a bus and were taken straight to the terminal. The lines moved quickly. The only glitches seemed to be the fault of my fellow cruisers – did not have documentation ready, missing members of their party, items that were not allowed, confused: standing and looking and so forth. We were on the ship by 11:50am. We went straight to the Lido deck for lunch. Cabins were ready by 1:30pm.

 

Fights/Disruptive Behaviors: None noticed, but we did see a man removed in handcuffs shortly after we were allowed to go to our cabins. We never heard why or anything mentioned about the incident.

 

Food: Food is still great and plentiful – Lido deck, pizza, deli, buffet and dining room. We had the new menus and enjoyed them all.

 

Chef’s Table: OMG, OMG, OMG! If you have yet to experience this magnificent event – please splurge and treat yourself and loved ones to a night to be remembered!

 

Ship Cleanliness: Everything was well kept and clean. While the Fantasy does show her age, she is a well kept ship and is extremely clean.

 

Service: This was kind of hit and miss. It did not seem to be as much as a problem with the number of workers more of a problem with those working. Cabin service – fabulous; Pool Deck – hit or miss; Casino – hit or miss; bar service – hit or miss (for all/any areas we visited) Main Dining room – hit or miss; and so forth. Service was unpredictable. While it was great one time, it was so-so to bad the next. It was really puzzling to my DH and me.

 

Entertainment/Activities: The shows were the same from October 10, but they were still good. Activities were varied and met the needs of a variety of people. Comedians – great, both were good.

 

Children: Not sure how many were on the ship, but those seen were extremely well behaved.

 

Fellow Cruisers: Now this is a story within itself. Every cruise seems to have a theme of its own – this cruise seemed to be the “Let’s Eat.” I have never seen so many hungry people in my whole life. It was rather comical to watch. I did notice the change/shift of those traveling as mentioned in other postings. Carnival is attracting a bigger audience, but it is definitely a different audience from cruises I have experienced in the past. And for those who are reading this post, I have sailed on the Fantasy twice before – May 10 and Oct 10.

 

Ports: Since we have visited both ports numerous times, we just took it easy. At Nassau we went to Atlantis, what used to be “Straw Market” which is now tents lining the road from the ship to Senior Frogs, downtown shops and Senior Frogs. Freeport, we took a cab to town. Shopped, had drinks and lunch at Agava (met the chef earlier that morning – really nice guy and lunch was fantastic).

 

Casino: Tight, tight, tight, tight slots and by the way did I tell you that the slots were tight. (LOL). We had fun, but got little play.

 

Debarkation: Silent and quick. It was the quickest, least chaotic debarkation that I have ever experienced. I have only been on 13 cruises but this debarkation was the best and least stressful that I have ever experienced. We were off the ship and on our way by 8:30am and we did not do self assist or early off. The only problems were fellow cruisers not knowing what to do or either just not doing what they were suppose to do.

 

Overall a good cruise. We went to rest and relax and we did. The only real problems we experienced were the lackadaisical behaviors of some of our fellow passengers. I know we are all on vacation, but I do wonder what their homes look like and how they conduct themselves in everyday life (i.e. work, shopping, church and so forth).

 

Let me know if you have any specific questions and I will do my best to answer.

[adbnva]

we just booked yesterday for 6 day nov 12. no roll call to speak of. enjoyed your review. we have not been on carnival for about 5 years. need to hear everything about it. we are staying hotel the night before. have to find one where we can leave our car. thanks again. ad

[nybumpkin]

we just booked yesterday for 6 day nov 12. no roll call to speak of. enjoyed your review. we have not been on carnival for about 5 years. need to hear everything about it. we are staying hotel the night before. have to find one where we can leave our car. thanks again. ad

We stayed at the Hampton Inn Patriot's Point, which has a park and cruise package. The shuttle worked fine and it's a nice hotel.

[nybumpkin]

jus4fun, enjoyed your review. We sailed on Fantasy last month - first time on a Fantasy-class ship - and agree she is well maintained.

[LUVMYGSDOG]

Thanks for the review. We are sailing on Fantasy in October.

[gelo7]

The Fantasy has a special place in my heart, she was a year or two old when I took my very first cruise. I hope that she is still special.

[jus4fun]

She is still extremely special. We absolutely love her that is why we have sailed three times in the last 16 months. We would have cruised her more than that but I have been battling breast cancer so it has cut down on our cruising.

[dfleming1920]

Hello,

My buddy and I are booked on this cruise. Yes, there is a roll call for Nov 12 with only 10 replies. We are from Greenville and hope to meet more people from the South.

[adbnva]

Hello,

My buddy and I are booked on this cruise. Yes, there is a roll call for Nov 12 with only 10 replies. We are from Greenville and hope to meet more people from the South.

can't believe the roll call. we are booked. i know there are people booked because early seating is full. we took anytime dining. our 4th carnival cruise, but we are veteran cruisers. we drive down 11/11 and are staying at a hampton inn in n charleston.

i read the roll call for 10/22. we booked this because it goes to key west.

we lived in greenville for a while. live in martinsville va now. i will go to the roll call again. ad

[dfleming1920]

My friend has a condo and we will go down to stay there. Yes, it has to be booked because the anytime dining is now a wait list. We are doing the anytime dining this time. This is my 2nd cruise and I have lost track of how many times my friend has cruised. We are excited about key west as well. Not much to do there but relax and enjoy. We are excited about this cruise because there will be a lot of people from the South too meet. Under 3 weeks, stay in touch!

[justcruzn]

We are lucky that our sons go to school there and we don't have to pay for room or parking. I want to do the Chef's table! Would love more info on that!

[adbnva]

i want to go to earnest hemmingways house in key west. saw pictures and read articles about it. i love key west. it is a great walk around town.

in nassau i want to go to atlantis.

we are going on another cruise in dec so this will be laid back. ad