Old Ship New Ship

[SERK]

Well, newer ship I should say.  Wife and I are planning to go on a short 4 or 5 day cruise to fill the void while waiting on our longer cruises.  We were thinking Valor out of NOLA or Fantasy out of Mobile which is only an hour further drive.  We've never been on any Fantasy Class ships and are curious on trying it out.  Looking for some feedback from those who have traveled on both.  Not necessarily those two ships but class of ships.  Thanks!

Edited March 1, 2020 by SERK

[bobsfamily]

Fantasy is the oldest ship Carnival has (at least that is a Carnival ship and not one of the other lines) and it was the first "Fantasy class" ship. Cruised on her a few years back when she went out of Charleston.  Smaller ship compared to the mega ships nowadays but still big.... not sure how much it has been kept up thru the years.  I think the Valor, which you said is closer, would be my choice.

[Butterbean1000]

We've sailed on both.  We prefer the Valor, hands down.   Not a fan of the Fantasy, no balconies.  Fantasy is also showing her age.  Given the choice, we'd choose the Valor.

[BTromboneFrack]

I find the Carnival experience to be very similar on all of the ships we've been on, which have been the Fantasy class, Conquest class, and the Magic.  There are differences, but the service and food have been more alike than different on the ships we've been on.   I would imagine if we had kids, the experiences would be different because of the new stuff on the new ships the kids would enjoy.   

[evandbob]

The Fantasy is one of the oldest and tackiest of Carnival's ships.  I stopped sailing those over a dozen tears ago because for me, they were too old back then.

 

While Valor isn't new, it is a larger and smoother sailing ship than the Fantasy.  I've been on Valor 7 times, and its sister ships the Conquest, Glory, Freedom & Liberty another 15 times or more, so those used to be my go to bookings.  Now I prefer the Dream class if I book Carnival.

[linz98144]

We sailed Fantasy about a year ago and far preferred it to Vista which we were on recently. 

Never been on Valor, so can't comment. But Fantasy was nice, we enjoyed it. 

[CRocks]

Fantasy lacks many of the amenities on newer ships, but IMO, I love the open air deck space on that class ship. Not all enclosed or glassed in like the newer ships. If you insist on a balcony, best look elsewhere.

[kenb]

The Fantasy has a some junior suites, junior suites with obstructed view and grand suites. All have balconies. We stayed in a very nice Grand suite last November. The ship is showing its age but we had a wonderful cruise.

[Joebucks]

Any cruise is better than no cruise. However, I would easily pick the Valor over the Fantasy. Much more to do.

 

I actually did a cruise on the Valor last October. One very fun moment was the saints game on on the Lido. Couldn't happen on the Fantasy, because it has no screen on the deck.

[ricew001]

@Joebucks mentioned the Saints game. I found the Valor to be full of serious sports fans. If that is your thing you will enjoy the Valor. 

We had a very nice balcony on the Valor and yes there are lot of things to do. I prefer the Victory although I'm not sure if that's a different class. Like someone else said as long as you're cruising that's what matters! 

[Jamesatgsu]

20 hours ago, Butterbean1000 said:

We've sailed on both.  We prefer the Valor, hands down.   Not a fan of the Fantasy, no balconies.  Fantasy is also showing her age.  Given the choice, we'd choose the Valor.

Fantasy has balconies, granted not a ton of them (I don't know when you sailed it, because I think they may have been added later).

 

We went last summer on the Fantasy and enjoyed it. Would not rate it as a my favorite cruise (Dream), but it was fun. At the end of the day, it is going to depend on what is important to you. The Fantasy is going to rock more because it is smaller. It definitely has some age, but not really that noticeable compared to any other ship I've been on.  Smaller crowds on board for games, increasing your chances of playing or winning. Unfortunately the small crowd doesn't mean much in Cozumel usually because of so many other ships frequently docked as well (though sometimes you get lucky). 

 

I prefer the Mobile port to the NOLA port, but so much of that is because our hotel was so close we walked, while we took an Uber in NOLA. NOLA obviously has more to do though, and was cheaper hotel wise for us. We also drove to Mobile, but flew to NOLA.

 

I'd go with the Valor all else equal personally, but if there was a significant price difference, I'd go Fantasy.

[glrounds]

I use the Fantasy Class ships for my "sandwich" cruises in between larger longer cruises. Just off the PANORAMA a month ago and jumping right on the IMAGINATION for 4 days next Sunday. Love the old style glitzy work of Joe Farcus from back in the day.