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Your thoughts on Fantasy class?


NOSaints1
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My DW and I are in our mid 30s and have sailed Conquest, Valor, Breeze and going on Adventure next October out of San Juan to the ABC islands, St Maarten and Antigua. How're the layout on the Fantasy class, cabins, ship movement, the dining and the food quality, pool area, onboard activities/ onboard entertainment. The one island we wouldn't mind going to is HMC

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We've been on Carnival Fascination once and Carnival Ecstasy 5 times. Fantasy Class ships have mostly OV cabins. There are very few balcony cabins and you have to book a suite to get one. Even so, the ships we sailed had great crew and staff. The food and service was excellent. The entertainment was outstanding--of course, that was before Playlist Productions--when they had a full orchestra, dancers, and entertainers. Lido Deck has everything that larger ships have: pool, water slides, food service, etc. Shops, piano bar, casino, and other features are on these ships as well. The ship is smaller than the mega versions but easy to find your way around.

 

Here's hoping you have a great cruise on a Fantasy Class ship. Bon Voyage!

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We've only sailed Fantasy class (Fascination and Paradise) so far. I'm not sure yet how they compare to the larger classes but both cruises have exceeded our expectations. The service was wonderful and it is super easy to navigate around the ship. In my opinion, both ships were well maintained and the food was good. The best part was that both trips were very relaxing. We didn't experience a lot of movement on the ship except for the day we had some bad weather. After both cruises I had that swaying feeling but it was worse after the trip with bad weather. We're looking to book a conquest class ship next year to experience a bigger a few more bells and whistles.

Edited by jasmine_cruise_yeah
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Fantasy Class ships travel not by diesel engines, but are rowed by Peruvian inmates on a work program who also generate the ships power utilizing specially equipped stationary bikes. food is also extra fresh because the livestock is kept on the crew deck below the waterline until they are butchered just before dinner preparation. All produce is grown on the Sun an Sports Decks by the rest of the crew. The linens are always super salty smelling as they are hand washed in port by the housekeeping staff.

 

 

No, really I love the Fantasy Class ships. They don't have the specialty restaurants or Dive in Movies. but they are also less crowded easier to get around and in many cases, such as the promenade are laid out much better with only the the lounge just ahead of the aft lounge/Punchliner having to be walked through to get to different venues.

 

If you're leaving out of San Juan you'll be on Fascination which is my favorite fantasy class ship/ She was my first ship and when I sailed her last September she was still in great shape. She has all of her "Evolutions of Fun" upgrades.

 

Joe Farcus' decor was still horrible, but not nearly as bad as the cheap stateroom decor and room furnishings that cause Elation such aesthetic problems. Farcus should be somewhere in the 70's decorating low rent Vegas hotels.

 

You'll love Faci, especially when you realize that there are only two thirds of the people to deal with on the ship, and during Embark/Ports/Debark.

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I too, have had the pleasure of sailing most of the Fantasy Class ships, and LOVE "EM! As noted above, they're smaller, so you get to know more crew, and fellow passengers. You don't walk for miles, and miles to get from one end of the ship to the other. (Well, it seems that way.) ;) Food and service are better than some (most) of the bigger ships, and IMO, sailing Fantasy Class is just a nicer, more pleasant experience. :cool:

 

"SKY"

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Not fond of Fantasy class. :(

 

Even when I sailed some of the Fantasy class ships 10 years ago, they seemed old then.

 

I was on the Disney Dream and there was this little tiny Carnival ship with fake plastic palm trees and grass docked below us in Port Canaveral. Kind of pathetic looking.

 

I know some people love them, and god bless 'em, they are entitled to their opinion. The majority of my cruises have been on Conquest class size ships.

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Were actually on a RC ship out of San Juan, the thing I hate the most with the Conquest class ship is the layout and that darn galley being in the way. Did you find there was lots to do? Is one Better than the other

 

Some people love driving antique cars, others will want to trade theirs in for a new one every year.

 

All you can get here are opinions. I'm so familiar with the Conquest class that I can navigate them in my sleep, so it's better for me.

 

Will it be better for you? Only you can tell. I've only had one not so good cruise on the Valor out of the 7 times I've been on that ship. YMMV.

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The decor on the Valor was nice but I hate when your trying to get somewhere on the deck and you have to go up stairs than back down

 

I usually book a cabin on Empress, sometimes Verandah or Upper deck. To get to Lido, I just walk up the stairs, To get to the dining room (and they usually assigned me aft) I walk down to deck 5 go aft and down to MDR. Once you do this a few times, it's no big deal.

 

If I got assigned the middle MDR, then walk down to deck 5, go to photo shop and enter there.

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Do you find its the right size, enough variety of food options?

 

The variety of food options is a problem for us but may not be for everyone.

When we book a Carnival Fantasy class ship, we know there are things we don't like but no one is forcing us to book on one. Charleston is an extremely convenient port for us for an extra cruise when a 7 day is offered. :)

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We've been on Splendor and Inspiration and would choose Inspiration any day of the week. Fantasy class ships are easy to navigate around the ship and you don't dread the walk to the opposite side of the ship. Love the secret decks and the waterworks area. Didn't notice much difference in entertainment, ship movement or food quality.

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We have cruised all but three of the active Carnivak ships. We are very fond of the fantasy class of ships- lots of good memories. The trouble is they are showing their age. There's no argument that the newer ships have more bells and whistles and we do enjoy a lot of the newer amenities. It's interesting in the past 10 months we've sailed two fantasy class ships. The Carnival Sensation felt totally dated and really felt like an old ship. Service though was excellent. Sailed the Carnival Ecstasy earlier this summer and this ship did not feel or look as dated. I know they have all gone through various dry-docks and upgrade- but the contrast was interesting. You will definitely see a difference between a fantasy shop and the Carnival Breeze- but any cruise day is a great day- so enjoy!!!

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We've been on the Sensation twice and had a great time on each sailing. While I can't compare the 2.0 food options, I can say we didn't go hungry. The service was wonderful, but we definitely felt like the little kids when we docked next to the bigger, newer, ships.

 

I wish Carnival would come out with a new class of ships in the same size range as the Fantasy class. I find comfort in the smaller ships and it would be nice to combine them with newer features. The smaller ships might also be able to take advantage of smaller ports, opening up new itineraries.

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