Cruise #11; Our Fantasy Out of Mobile Thanksgiving Week

[teacher2cruiser]

This was our eleventh cruise, and my reviews until now have been mostly Pollyanna positive as I truly love vacationing, especially cruising. My husband and I are teachers, so our cruises are scheduled during times when school isn't in session. Since we have an extra special one booked for June with extended time in Washington D.C., we looked for something affordable for a Thanksgiving getaway and the Carnival Fantasy out of Mobile met our requirements, but it didn't meet our expectations. I will preface this review with this statement: Perhaps our disenchantment comes because the boat was filled to capacity and overflowing with children unattended, but if this had been our first cruise, I seriously doubt there would have been ten more to follow. We believe that there is no such thing as a bad cruise, and this one wasn't totally bad, but we affectionately nicknamed it our "Wait in Line Cruise".

 

I'll begin with embarkation. We had read that Carnival was now enforcing the assigned times for getting onboard, so we didn't arrive until 12:00. Mistake! This was a first for us as we've always been much earlier in the past. First, we were misguided to where to drop off luggage, but we got past that minor setback and proceeded to the parking garage. Then we made it down the stairs and found the line to enter inside was horrendous! A lady asked for our boarding pass, and motioned us to a shorter line. Well, we are gold, and it was our seventh Carnival cruise, so we thought a perk of some sort, but after ten minutes or so, we were told that we were in the wrong line, and we made

our way to the end of the other line. When I tell you it was like herding cattle, I'm not exaggerating! It took over an hour just to get inside the terminal.That was a cold, windy hour. Once inside we went through three other checkpoints before getting our sign and sail cards and getting on the boat. This entire process was two and a half hours at least.

 

We had sailed on the Fantasy seven years ago, on this exact cruise. This Fantasy was not the same. It's still a beautiful ship, but it is showing its age, but I have no complaints with the ship itself, though. Our room was a forward porthole cabin on the fifth floor. We had never been so far forward, and I was a bit concerned about it, but the cabin and location were fine. Our cabin steward was one of the best we've ever had. He knew our names before we ever met him, and he called us by name every time he saw us, always pleasant, and did a great job. There was no refrigerator, and he kept our ice bucket filled. Upon arrival we had two 1 liter bottles of water and two drink coupons for the last night onboard.Our cabin did have a hair dryer and robes. We got a great price on this cabin, and we would choose this option again in a heartbeat. There may have been a bit more noticeable sway, and there was certainly more noise when arriving at port with the anchor or something, but no problem for us. Carnival bed and bedding were as great as ever and did not disappoint.

 

Our ports were Cozumel and Progresso. We had been to both of these several times, and this trip we chose to just walk, shop, and be leisurely. The weather was beautiful for our entire cruise.

 

We never found our spot where we enjoyed going and listening to music or people watching. On past cruises, we have always had a favorite place......not this time.

In regards to food, again, this wasn't the Carnival that we have grown to love and enjoy. On this five day cruise the only lunch in the dining room was sea day brunch. We aren't buffet eaters, so that left the options of Guy's burgers, the deli sandwiches, and pizza. Guy's burgers were awesome! The pizza was good, but there was one guy, ONE who took the order, made the pizza, and served the pizza. The lines were long and constant. It took twenty minutes or more to get a slice of pizza with only five or so people in line. Deli was the typical Carnival deli. There was no Mongolian Wok, no poolside bbq, and no lunch chicken strips like in the days of old. Dining room isn't the new American table menus, but it's not the menus of old. (We've experienced both.) Some of my favorites that I never saw on this cruise were creme brulee, farmer's salad, lobster, tiger shrimp, spaghetti carbonara. We ate in the dining room every evening and had anytime dining. We were given a pager with over an hour wait three nights. Two nights we walked right in.Going early or late will give you a better dining experience. Most of the dining room staff seemed disinterested, but one night I ordered a dish that I just didn't like. I wasn't going to complain since I had made a wrong choice, but my waiter noticed and offered me something else. (I won't be ordering blue crab ravioli in the future.) Some of my favorites from this trip were the lobster bisque, the warm chocolate melting cake, bread basket, and the Grand Marnier souffle. On the second sea day, we had lunch in the dining room, and I asked for the Ceaser salad with chicken and jerk bacon (normally an appetizer) to be served as an entree. It was delicious!

 

We did the self assist debarkation. They called "first to the fun", platinum, then those of us carrying our own luggage. While waiting, we talked to others who shared our opinions of this cruise. Will I cruise again? Absolutely! Will I cruise Carnival again? Yes. Will I cruise the Carnival Fantasy out of Mobile during Thanksgiving week again? Probably not.

[easyboy]

So glad you enjoyed your cruise. Thanks for the review.

 

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Forums mobile app

[tandemcruzr]

Thanks for your comments. Fantasy was our first cruise in 2004.

 

We will be on the Fantasy next month and picked our Check-in time for 11:00 - 11:30 when we filled out our paper work on line. (Mobile is a 'Staggered Check-in' port.) Did you choose the 12:00 time as your check-in time?

 

And it's been a while since Mobile hosted a cruise ship, so I expect there may be a few bumps early on.

Edited November 25, 2016 by tandemcruzr

[teacher2cruiser]

Thanks for your comments. Fantasy was our first cruise in 2004.

 

We will be on the Fantasy next month and picked our Check-in time for 11:00 - 11:30 when we filled out our paper work on line. (Mobile is a 'Staggered Check-in' port.) Did you choose the 12:00 time as your check-in time?

 

And it's been a while since Mobile hosted a cruise ship, so I expect there may be a few bumps early on.

 

We were assigned that time. We didn't pick it.

Have a great cruise!

[riclop]

This was our eleventh cruise, and my reviews until now have been mostly Pollyanna positive as I truly love vacationing, especially cruising. My husband and I are teachers, so our cruises are scheduled during times when school isn't in session. Since we have an extra special one booked for June with extended time in Washington D.C., we looked for something affordable for a Thanksgiving getaway and the Carnival Fantasy out of Mobile met our requirements, but it didn't meet our expectations. I will preface this review with this statement: Perhaps our disenchantment comes because the boat was filled to capacity and overflowing with children unattended, but if this had been our first cruise, I seriously doubt there would have been ten more to follow. We believe that there is no such thing as a bad cruise, and this one wasn't totally bad, but we affectionately nicknamed it our "Wait in Line Cruise".

 

I'll begin with embarkation. We had read that Carnival was now enforcing the assigned times for getting onboard, so we didn't arrive until 12:00. Mistake! This was a first for us as we've always been much earlier in the past. First, we were misguided to where to drop off luggage, but we got past that minor setback and proceeded to the parking garage. Then we made it down the stairs and found the line to enter inside was horrendous! A lady asked for our boarding pass, and motioned us to a shorter line. Well, we are gold, and it was our seventh Carnival cruise, so we thought a perk of some sort, but after ten minutes or so, we were told that we were in the wrong line, and we made

our way to the end of the other line. When I tell you it was like herding cattle, I'm not exaggerating! It took over an hour just to get inside the terminal.That was a cold, windy hour. Once inside we went through three other checkpoints before getting our sign and sail cards and getting on the boat. This entire process was two and a half hours at least.

 

We had sailed on the Fantasy seven years ago, on this exact cruise. This Fantasy was not the same. It's still a beautiful ship, but it is showing its age, but I have no complaints with the ship itself, though. Our room was a forward porthole cabin on the fifth floor. We had never been so far forward, and I was a bit concerned about it, but the cabin and location were fine. Our cabin steward was one of the best we've ever had. He knew our names before we ever met him, and he called us by name every time he saw us, always pleasant, and did a great job. There was no refrigerator, and he kept our ice bucket filled. Upon arrival we had two 1 liter bottles of water and two drink coupons for the last night onboard.Our cabin did have a hair dryer and robes. We got a great price on this cabin, and we would choose this option again in a heartbeat. There may have been a bit more noticeable sway, and there was certainly more noise when arriving at port with the anchor or something, but no problem for us. Carnival bed and bedding were as great as ever and did not disappoint.

 

Our ports were Cozumel and Progresso. We had been to both of these several times, and this trip we chose to just walk, shop, and be leisurely. The weather was beautiful for our entire cruise.

 

We never found our spot where we enjoyed going and listening to music or people watching. On past cruises, we have always had a favorite place......not this time.

In regards to food, again, this wasn't the Carnival that we have grown to love and enjoy. On this five day cruise the only lunch in the dining room was sea day brunch. We aren't buffet eaters, so that left the options of Guy's burgers, the deli sandwiches, and pizza. Guy's burgers were awesome! The pizza was good, but there was one guy, ONE who took the order, made the pizza, and served the pizza. The lines were long and constant. It took twenty minutes or more to get a slice of pizza with only five or so people in line. Deli was the typical Carnival deli. There was no Mongolian Wok, no poolside bbq, and no lunch chicken strips like in the days of old. Dining room isn't the new American table menus, but it's not the menus of old. (We've experienced both.) Some of my favorites that I never saw on this cruise were creme brulee, farmer's salad, lobster, tiger shrimp, spaghetti carbonara. We ate in the dining room every evening and had anytime dining. We were given a pager with over an hour wait three nights. Two nights we walked right in.Going early or late will give you a better dining experience. Most of the dining room staff seemed disinterested, but one night I ordered a dish that I just didn't like. I wasn't going to complain since I had made a wrong choice, but my waiter noticed and offered me something else. (I won't be ordering blue crab ravioli in the future.) Some of my favorites from this trip were the lobster bisque, the warm chocolate melting cake, bread basket, and the Grand Marnier souffle. On the second sea day, we had lunch in the dining room, and I asked for the Ceaser salad with chicken and jerk bacon (normally an appetizer) to be served as an entree. It was delicious!

 

We did the self assist debarkation. They called "first to the fun", platinum, then those of us carrying our own luggage. While waiting, we talked to others who shared our opinions of this cruise. Will I cruise again? Absolutely! Will I cruise Carnival again? Yes. Will I cruise the Carnival Fantasy out of Mobile during Thanksgiving week again? Probably not.

 

Time for an upgraded ship.

[tandemcruzr]

We were assigned that time. We didn't pick it.

Have a great cruise!

 

Thanks. I think we will. :) Doing a 5 day, 4 day B2B - our first trip to Progreso.

 

For future reference, not all ports have the 'Staggered Check-in' and for those, Carnival sends an e-mail saying check-in between noon and 3, or some other random time.

 

For those ports with the Staggered, when you fill in your info for names, payment choices, etc. on-line, you will have a choice for Check-in in 30 minute increments -- like 11:00 - 11:30, 11:30 -12:00, etc. And that's just for check-in time, not boarding time. :D

 

Oh, and also, my DW is a 'teacher 2 cruiser' as well.

Edited November 25, 2016 by tandemcruzr

[plane2port]

As we are going on the Fantasy in December, I read your review with interest. Thanks for giving an honest review. I'm a former teacher and can sympathize with your dilemma of being restricted to cruising during school vacations.

 

Your experience on board the Fantasy mirrors almost exactly our experience on the Sensation last December. This was a three-day cruise out of Port Canaveral, and while we didn't have the hoards of kids to deal with we did have a full ship in party mode.

 

The Sensation is an older ship that has gotten the 2.0 upgrades. I had no complaints with the ship itself, but we found crowding and long lines on all the buffets. Because we were cruising with a 4 year old, we had decided forego leisurely dinners in the dining room (mistake.) We never EVER got to eat at the Blue Iguana because the lines were horrendously long. Visits to the buffet had to be timed strategically to avoid crowds.

 

Our memory of the long lines on the Sensation has caused us to reserve early dining in the main dining room on board the Fantasy, even though we will be bringing 5- and 2-year-old grand kids.

 

Hope we will be avoiding some of the problems you encountered by sailing at a time when kids are in school.

[meatloafsfan]

Thank you for your review.

 

Cruising while school is out (and there are tons of kids onboard) is a very different experience. For the first time this year we cruised during the summer (normally we cruise January/February or October/November); our July cruise was crazy with families and kids and the experience was just off somehow. Late August was a bit better (and we were travelling with extended family who had kids so maybe we just didn't notice).

 

I am glad that I cancelled our Pride cruise for this week. I can't imagine that ship over Thanksgiving. I think it's something I need to remember to avoid in the future.

[JaniceB]

Thanks for sharing your trip!

[erica1000]

Thanks for the review. DH and I are traveling with our DD and SIL next month. She is a teacher so this trip had to be planned around the school calendar. Since we leave on Dec 26 I expect a ship full of children. My hope is they will be somewhat well behaved but not going to hlod those hopes too high. After reading your review I am really glad we booked grand suites, at least if the kids are too rambunctious I can escape to the balcony.

[elainmir]

I am a teacher as well! I can tell you I was glad to see your review and I think this was our 11th cruise also! :) I will start with my observations:

 

Being guided through the gates we were surprised at how chaotic it was...we were also FTTF and asked the luggage porter if he had the orange FTTF tags...he didn't know what we were talking about. Once we got parked we went inside...

 

We had FTTF...let me tell you MOBILE failed big time with the FTTF. WORST PORT EVER. They had a dedicated FTTF line but 2 NEW agents...the regular line was moving faster. Our new girl seemed perplexed that I asked for a receipt for the cash I put on my onboard account. ( this saved my life later as the 300 was NOT on my account when I boarded, later the problem was fixed) We FINALLY got checked in and then NO ONE and I do mean NO ONE knew where we were supposed to go. The guy with the microphone could NOT be heard. Their PA system must be jacked. Finally we got dinged onto the ship.

 

Our cabin steward was Aloy. He was nice and always asked how we were. Our cabin was a OV on the Upper deck. The ship needs some love for sure but it was light and bright and I think the decor was the favorite of any ship we've been on.

 

We've been to Cozumel MANY times but had never done Mr. Sanchos. We did it this time and I must say Gaby and his staff were very attentive. We loved the pool more than the beach...the beach had sand that was like quicksand. It was like you couldn't get out of it..and my son purchased the water park option but he said the trampoline things were hard and not bouncy. He stayed there a total of 10 minutes. I can now say I've done it but I probably wouldn't do it again.

 

We did a Carnival Tour ( white and gold cities) in Progreso. I firmly believe they should just cut Merida from the tour..we didn't get out , they just drove us around and showed us one cathedral. The second part in Iszmal was perfect..beautiful city and we had a wonderful time there. I didn't care for the small bus they crammed 13 of us in.

 

Onboard I noticed a lot of children RUNNING loudly and talking/yelling loudly no matter where they went. Sounded like a herd of elephants running down the hallway. Some drunk guy tried to jump his girlfriend ( my 24 yo son distracted him so she could get away) another lady tried to yell at me for unknowingly cutting the line at the liquor sales place ( I was buying for a friend) and went the wrong way. People can be *******es. Big ones. Carnival staff were kind and attentive the whole cruise.

 

The food- honestly we stuck with fresh ( omelets in the morning and blue iguana at lunch and dinner was salads and bits of this or that that seemed ok)

[99Fan]

Thanks for the review did you stay in mobile the night before? If so are there any good hotels that are not very expensive? Thanks

[elainmir]

we did not stay in Mobile as we are only 3 hours away:)

[Purvis1231]

It seems we were on the same cruise (another teacher) and I also saw long lines. The landside crew needs more training to deal with the poorly designed cruise terminal.

[easyboy]

I am a teacher as well! I can tell you I was glad to see your review and I think this was our 11th cruise also! :) I will start with my observations:

 

Being guided through the gates we were surprised at how chaotic it was...we were also FTTF and asked the luggage porter if he had the orange FTTF tags...he didn't know what we were talking about. Once we got parked we went inside...

 

We had FTTF...let me tell you MOBILE failed big time with the FTTF. WORST PORT EVER. They had a dedicated FTTF line but 2 NEW agents...the regular line was moving faster.

Sounds like Mobile made the FTTF useless. The porters should be re-oriented.

Thanks for the feedback.

Edited November 28, 2016 by easyboy