12.2 miles on the Fantasy last week

[hn7609]

This will be a short & sweet review of my experiences aboard the Fantasy last week while confined to a wheelchair. The 12.2 miles refers to the distance I rolled during the 5 day cruise, if you are an average cruiser then I would expect that you would have walked at least this distance. First let me say that this was not my first cruise in a chair, although this was the first one that I attempted in my super huge power chair. I have cruised before with a small 35 lb. manual chair & I was a bit unsure of cruising with a 275 lb. mammoth power chair. Specifically I was concerned about the elevators, hallways, dining room, & bathroom facilities. These were all areas where my manual chair barely seemed to fit on the previous trip.

 

Embarkation: I’ll give a 9. Everything went super smooth. We arrived at the port @11:15 & were onboard by 12. No problems to report.

 

Room: I’ll give an 8. I was in one of the 4 handicapped accessible cabins onboard the Fantasy. The room had an automatic opener that was great. There was ample space to come into the room and turn around without difficulty. The AC was great, nice & cold. The only problem was with the shower. Oddly the shower bench was up at the front of the shower & required you to face the rear of the shower making it difficult to handle the sprayer, soap dispenser, etc. I made it work…..not a big problem.

 

Entertainment: I’ll give a 5. Both production shows Motor City & the Brits were just Fair. Not having the live band performing the music hurt the atmosphere. It was kind of like hanging out in a Karaoke Bar. The audience gave lukewarm applause after both performances, nothing like the standing ovations that Ticket to Ride always received. I’m a big fan of the comedy but both guys were just OK. I was disappointed that these guys were the only 2 comics for the entire cruise. On past trips we would get 2 new guys in Nassau. Definitely a downer. Musical entertainment was not up to the past standards. There were a few guitar players who were talented but they just are not as good as a band. My favorite pass time used to be listening to Music Boardwalk nightly in the Forum but they are no longer aboard. There was the show band who did play at least one night in the Forum but they played odd music & didn’t draw any sort of crowds. I did listen to them for a while but just couldn’t get into them.

 

Food: I’ll give a 7. I ate in the dining room & on the buffet. The food was always good. Not great………but I always found something to eat.

 

Service: I’ll give a 9. No matter where I went or what I did there was always a Carnival person ready to give assistance. Whenever I went to the buffet somebody was always there offering to assist. Even my fellow cruisers went out of their way to fill my glass with ice etc. Thanks to all who helped me out with those sticky little situations that a chair causes.

 

Debarkation: I’ll give a 9. Up at eight & off to breakfast in the dining room. Met downstairs at nine & was escorted down to deck 3 and then off the ship. Thru customs & in my van by 9. That went well.

 

In retrospect all of my fears were unfounded, the larger chair didn’t make the trip any harder. The elevators at the stern were usually not crowded and I could normally get one rather quickly. Much to my surprise they often arrived empty. When they were a few people aboard they were always courteous & gave me room to get on. The dining room was no problem as there was enough room to maneuver between the tables & chairs. I easily maneuvered the halls & the housekeeping carts were always tight against the walls so I could get past. The public handicapped restrooms all featured automatic openers & were large & clean. All in all it was a good trip.

[NCTribeFan]

That's great! I've noticed the automatic door openers for several of the rest rooms. Must says I'm a little surprised that you found navigating in the MDR to be that easy. It seems like those tables are just packed in there, but maybe there's more room than it appears.

 

Sorry you didn't enjoy the shows. I rarely go to any of them, but loved Ticket to Ride, so I was thinking I'd be disappointed. I really enjoyed both of them. They're "my" era of music. I personally don't miss the live music too much.

 

In my 5/3/13 review, I noted that I tried the dinner buffet a couple of times (just an early snack since I had late dining) and the "same" dishes on the buffet were nowhere near as good as when you order them in the MDR. It was an experiment I won't repeat. :(

 

They do a great job in Charleston with their embarkation and especially with the "silent" disembarking. They have such limited facilities there, but they keep everything moving smoothly.

 

Thanks for the review. I didn't mean to do it, but I just couldn't keep myself from booking her again for 9/1. The fares from Charleston used to be considerably higher than a comparable cruise from Florida, but they've come way down recently. Any excuse to sail her again and visit Charleston again works for me!

[cjknox]

Great review, and I applaud you for continuing to cruise even though you have to use a wheelchair. Kudos to you!:)