Carnival Fantasy quick Review

[Kristi Williamson]

Hi all,

 

This is going to be a quickie review, as most of you have lots of info on the Fantasy. This is mostly to give props to Carnival for making my parents 59th wedding anniversary cruise a winner and for keeping an old girl (the Fantasy) in great condition with a great crew.

 

Me, my DH and my mom and Dad boarded the Fantasy on the 19th with great hesitation. My DH and I rarely take 5 days cruises and we NEVER cruise in the summer...well, never is obviously a stretch. ;) My mother loves cruising and my father loathes cruising...until now. My DH and I won this cruise through the Player's Club offer and my mom wanted to go with us. We all ganged up on my dad and he finally gave in. He then grumbled as only an 81 year old man can grumble. (we love him for it, by the way) He was, by far, the most shocked of any of us to admit that he had a blast and grumbled some more when telling us he "might" be willing to be pushed onto a ship at a later date. (here's to believing that the later date will come...he's 81 and that's HIS joke, not mine)

 

We rode Segways in Nassau. Yes, Segways. ALL of us. We loved it and I recommend it for a quick excursion that's fun and new. We looked like goobers in those stupid helmets, but who wants a busted noggin, right?

 

Who would have guessed that we'd all enjoy it? Not my DH or I. We usually go for two types of excursions: The all out crazy, we could die ones...like a zipline or cave tubing or, option number two: vegging out on a beach with lots of fru fru drinks. So, we thought we'd be bored but wanted to do what my parents wanted to do...and THIS is what they picked. (I get it honest, I suppose) It was great. Daddy had a tough time grasping the idea that parking the Segway means you MUST lean it against something before getting off, but after it ran off a few times, he caught on. We all enjoyed the 2 hr. tour, and were ready to hop on the ship for lunch by 1:00pm. We ate, then played some cards, took a nap and met for dinner.

 

Best trip to Nassau in a long time. Other than Atlantis, we've always been ambivalent toward this stop, but maybe it's just that we've gone so often, we've forgotten there's always something fun to do if you just look and then go do it. Good lesson learned.

 

Freeport gave my DH and I a chance to hang out together on the ship. We've been here many times, too, and just loved the quiet day together this time. Lots of people hate Freeport, but we've always enjoyed the activities from ATV's to just lying on the beach. Here again, though, my parents shocked us: They opted for the bottom fishing tour. Now, keep in mind, they are 75 and 81. This is a 5.5 hr. excursion in the sun. They handled it like a boss. Daddy caught a barracuda and Momma caught 3 large fish of unknown origins. They raved all day about it.

 

As a side note: My DH and I bought their excursion tickets for them as their anniversary present. So, we were even more thrilled that they enjoyed the time they spent at both stops. It was money well spent, according to my mom. That's all we really wanted. :)

 

The food was good, the crew was great and the company was spectacular. We live about 3.5 hrs. from port, so this was a perfect "free" cruise for us. And I will always stand by my thoughts that EVERY ship on the sea should have the neat little area just off the Lido that the older ships like the Fantasy have. They are the perfect areas for coffee, a view and all around good places to hang out. By 9:00pm every night we pretty much had that spot to ourselves. I think that most guests didn't figure out they were there until the 4th day. Awesome.

 

A big thank you to Carnival, Segway tours in Nassau and the bottom fishing tour for making my parents trip an enjoyable one. Every single person they encountered treated them with the dignity and respect that a person that age, and a couple that's tolerated one another that long and still feel love toward one another, deserves. They have both had cancer and Daddy is in the 1st stages of Alzheimer's, so this meant something to each of us.

 

The final cap on my review and on our trip was that my parents made it onto the Newlywed (Game of Love) show on the final day. They LOVED it and my parents really were the stars of the show. They smiled the whole time and they have already watched their DVD since arriving home. Excellent all around.

 

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

[gvlgolflady]

Very nice review; what a great experience you will always remember. Congratulations to your parents on their Anniversary. Thanks for the review. Shirley

[lauraezzell]

Awesome review! Glad you and your parents had such a great time. We LOVE the Fantasy and have sailed her twice with a third cruise on her scheduled for December.

[noodle]

Fantastic review! Really shows how traveling as a family can really strengthen family ties and trying new things at any age keeps us young.

[nc_growth]

Thanks for the review. So good to hear caring adults taking parents with them for family fun. I'm the senior taking an adult child on this cruise 9/26. I'm also only 3hrs away, but wondering about cruise parking. What time did you arrive? And what was the final cost of parking if you did that? I'm looking forward to this cruise, and the time with my daughter. ♥

[rrraydon]

Thanks for taking the time to post.. great review!

[Terre]

What a nice review and so sweet. I'm glad your parents had a great time! I love the old Fantasy. She was our third cruise and my son's first--that was many years ago, but we're still booking her for those quick 5-day get-aways!

[Elustriah]

Now I'm even more excited!

 

We will be sailing on our first cruise on the Fantasy in 14 days!

[Hootymae]

Kristi,

My 91 year old aunt and I went on the Fantasy in 2011 and was the best ever trip for both of us. We are going again Nov 2013 (we're both 2 yrs older) and are thinking about parking in the cruise lot (with Handicap stickers it's free). I'd like to know how easy (or difficult) it may be to drop her off, park and make my way back. We have other family but since they live in Charleston they will have friends drop them off. I was also wondering if we need to do FTTF; if available. Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Barb

[dulcimergirl]

Another fan of Fantasy here. You will always be grateful you took the time to cruise with your parents. I cruise with mine 84/85 every chance I get. I love the 4 hour drive to port, but find 5 day a little short for true relaxation. So we do it B2B.

My folks will only cruise RCCL, I can't understand why, but since they live in South Georgia can hit almost any port.

Thanks for the review!

[OCruisers]

Loved your review! Witty & Informative! :D

 

So when will "Daddy" be cruising again?

 

LuLu

~~~~

[lauraezzell]

Kristi,

My 91 year old aunt and I went on the Fantasy in 2011 and was the best ever trip for both of us. We are going again Nov 2013 (we're both 2 yrs older) and are thinking about parking in the cruise lot (with Handicap stickers it's free). I'd like to know how easy (or difficult) it may be to drop her off, park and make my way back. We have other family but since they live in Charleston they will have friends drop them off. I was also wondering if we need to do FTTF; if available. Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Barb

 

I am also handicapped and have sailed the Fantasy twice. The handicap parking is in the warehouse and very close to the shuttle bus pickup. There are some shuttle buses that are handicap accessible if you have a wheelchair, walker, or rollator. It's extremely easy!

[LUVMYGSDOG]

What a really great review this was! I am so glad you had a great time with your parents and I love the Fantasy as well!

 

 

Kim

[MomPic]

We just got back from 7 days on Fantasy and it was awesome!!! This was our second time of this ship and already planning another next fall. To the person who wondered about FTTF.... Do it!!! Worth every penny!! Leaving out of Charleston was great!! It is so hard being back at work today... Lol!!

Y'all have a great time !!!!!!

 

 

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[thera]

Excellent review, thank you for sharing!

[Doug910]

...Thank you so much for taking the time to post your review. My In-laws are exactly the same age, and are a blast to cruise with. Some of the comments they make are just "laugh out loud" funny. Everytime they experience something new, they get that "caveman staring at fire" look! They are not nearly as physically active as yours, but they move around just fine. Glad to hear that Dad is looking forward to his next cruise!