Best Fantasy class cruises left

[Indytraveler83]

For better or worse, it seems clear that our time with the Fantasy class is soon coming to an end. (Please do not debate how much you do/don't want them retired here, I'm looking for something else). 

 

We are hoping to have a little more fun on these ships before they vanish entirely, so of the ships left, which ones do you think are the best (current features, differences, level of care)? And specifically which ones still have a decent itinerary in 2021 & 2022 that's longer than 4 days?

[ch09]

41 minutes ago, Indytraveler83 said:

For better or worse, it seems clear that our time with the Fantasy class is soon coming to an end. (Please do not debate how much you do/don't want them retired here, I'm looking for something else). 

 

We are hoping to have a little more fun on these ships before they vanish entirely, so of the ships left, which ones do you think are the best (current features, differences, level of care)? And specifically which ones still have a decent itinerary in 2021 & 2022 that's longer than 4 days?

The Elation and the Paradise are the best ones remaining as they are newer, have little neon like the earlier ones . The ships had recent refurbs with the cabins using the Carnival Breeze decor. 

[Indytraveler83]

57 minutes ago, ch09 said:

The Elation and the Paradise are the best ones remaining as they are newer, have little neon like the earlier ones . The ships had recent refurbs with the cabins using the Carnival Breeze decor. 

 

I've actually sailed Elation before, but it was around 2015 and before any of the newer features were fitted. 

 

Any thoughts on itineraries? Back then she sailed the rather unfortunate 5 day run out of New Orleans that included Progresso. I'm hoping to get 1 or 2 good cruises out of these old ships that don't call on the worst ports. 

 

Also, while I certainly appreciate the new features like Guys Burgers and Blue Iguana, the old neon stuff isn't a real issue for me. 

[tlw440]

We sailed on the Paradise in Sept. of 2018, it was a 5 day cruise, we had a great time. With that being said, I did not like the add on balcony. I liked the ship better before the add on balconies but that is just my 2 cents.

[MCC retired]

3 hours ago, tlw440 said:

We sailed on the Paradise in Sept. of 2018, it was a 5 day cruise, we had a great time. With that being said, I did not like the add on balcony. I liked the ship better before the add on balconies but that is just my 2 cents.

I have hated the look of the ships with the afterthought add on balconies .

Just plain ugly .

[Jamman54]

There are plenty of longer than 4 day cruises on the Elation and Paradise. There are even some 6 and 8 day cruises. Also you can put together B2B cruises that don't repeat ports. There are too many opportunities to list here, so I recommend going to Carnival's website and check them out.😎

[quattrohead]

Yeah the glued on balconies are rubbish looking but the Paradise actually brought Carnival back into my cruise line thinking after Triumph demolished it.

Tampa is an easy to use port and Paradise is a great ship.

[tlw440]

We love the Paradise......we took our first cruise on it in 2002 when it was smoke-free and sailing 7 days out of Miami.

[xDisconnections]

On 8/19/2020 at 6:30 PM, ch09 said:

The Elation and the Paradise are the best ones remaining as they are newer, have little neon like the earlier ones . The ships had recent refurbs with the cabins using the Carnival Breeze decor. 

Do those two still have that weird box in the corner of some staterooms? I think we had that on the Victory also? Not sure but I believe the box was only on those two Fantasy class ships — unknown if it’s all stateroom types.

Edited August 24, 2020 by xDisconnections

[2Shoes2Go]

7 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

Do those two still have that weird box in the corner of some staterooms? I think we had that on the Victory also? Not sure but I believe the box was only on those two Fantasy class ships — unknown if it’s all stateroom types.

No, they’re long gone. Life jacket storage boxes.

[wms99]

I hope a few of the Fantasy class ships stay in service. Our closest port is Mobile and they are a good fit for us and that area. Smaller ports can support this class. Currently we are booked in 2021 on the Sensation. We have sailed on the Fantasy and the Elation and loved our time onboard.

 

 

[elklemi]

Each year I switch between Jacksonville and Mobile for a January cruise as both are easy driving distance from Tennessee.  Jacksonville gets me to Princess Cay or Half Moon Cay and Mobile gets me to Progresso and Cozumel.  I like the smaller fantasy ships and have had enough of the large and getting larger ships and finally discovered Star Clipper for trips to small islands main cruise lines can't get into.  Feels like the remaining Fantasy class ships may be hanging on a short rope.

[Hotdog 52]

Usually have a 10 day partial Panama Canal cruise out of Mobile in September.

[K&RCurt]

We were on the Paradise the end of Last May and loved it and had a great cruise.  I was skeptical of the ship and only was willing to go because I really wanted to see Cuba.   We were very pleasantly suprised at how much we liked the ship, layout and space-wise.  Now it did help that we got an amazing deal on an upsell to a suite 3 days before sailing, but even if we hadn't it was a great cruise.

[May1cruiser]

Paradise and Elation seem like great ships. May not have all of the amenities of larger ships, but cleanliness, and crew more than make the difference. Also, we live in Tampa and Paradise is 20 minutes from house to check in.

[xDisconnections]

On 8/24/2020 at 7:27 AM, 2Shoes2Go said:

No, they’re long gone. Life jacket storage boxes.

Oh, good. I remember how annoying those were.

[BlerkOne]

On 8/19/2020 at 5:30 PM, ch09 said:

The Elation and the Paradise are the best ones remaining as they are newer, have little neon like the earlier ones . The ships had recent refurbs with the cabins using the Carnival Breeze decor. 

 

Elation and Paradise are the only two with Azipods.

[sarmat1]

We'll always have a soft spot for the Ecstasy as that was our first cruise on Carnival.  Will never forget Joseph the supercharged Maitre D and his signature "It's Sssshhhooowww Time".  Fun times . . .

Edited August 28, 2020 by sarmat1

[pc_load_letter]

Thread makes me sad ☹️

 

Being in San Diego, the 3 and 4 day Imagination\Inspiration cruises were our goto weekend getaway. Lots of fun memories on those small ships.

 

While people enjoy the mega cruise ships, we greatly enjoyed getting to know staff and the intimacy of a smaller ship. It was like coming back to an old friend when we'd cruise on them.

Edited August 28, 2020 by pc_load_letter
spelling

[toad455]

I think as long as Carnival plans to continue sailing out of Jacksonville & Tampa, the Elation and Paradise will remain with Carnival.

[xDisconnections]

3 hours ago, toad455 said:

I think as long as Carnival plans to continue sailing out of Jacksonville & Tampa, the Elation and Paradise will remain with Carnival.

Carnival can build, purchase or transfer a newer (and more efficient) small ship to accommodate cruises from the Port of Tampa if needed and Jacksonville can easily relocate the port elsewhere and no longer be impacted by the bridge. How profitable can Jacksonville even be? It’s certainly not a place I would choose to spend a couple of days extra in addition to a cruise.

Edited August 29, 2020 by xDisconnections

[Elvis1001]

I have sailed on Fantasy (twice), Elation and Paradise. I was planning a third Fantasy cruise in May when COVID hit. Fantasy was my favorite. I preferred the outside staterooms on the stern of the Fantasy and I was sad to see her leave the fleet. There was a stairwell at the very back of the Fantasy which led from the Empress Deck up two decks to the adult serenity lounge and from there up to the Lido buffet also at the back of the ship. The balconies added-on to the Elation and Paradise are unsightly and put my preferred cabins outside my price range for a quick 5-day get-away. I do like Elation and Paradise and enjoy the refurbished rooms and Guy’s Burgers, etc. I also like cruising from smaller ports like Jacksonville, Mobile and Tampa with one parking lot/garage next to or across the street from the ship. I haven’t had the heart to start planning another cruise until I know when I can actually count on going. 

[KmomChicago]

20 hours ago, pc_load_letter said:

Thread makes me sad ☹️

 

Being in San Diego, the 3 and 4 day Imagination\Inspiration cruises were our goto weekend getaway. Lots of fun memories on those small ships.

 

While people enjoy the mega cruise ships, we greatly enjoyed getting to know staff and the intimacy of a smaller ship. It was like coming back to an old friend when we'd cruise on them.

 

Hi, I am feeling like everything posted on social media lately is being seen as a challenge or argument, so I provide a disclaimer that I am not trying to contradict your statement, just perhaps a perspective to put your mind at ease:

 

While you are correct that Fantasy class sailings out of Long Beach are over for the foreseeable future, I have sailed on both Fantasy Class (Sensation) and Destiny Class (now Sunshine class) (Carnival Triumph, now Sunrise, sister ship to Radiance) as well as on much larger Royal Caribbean Ships (Adventure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas).  Radiance is supposed to take over the 3/4 nighters in Long Beach that you mention, and I think you will enjoy that ship if you liked Imagination / Inspiration.

 

I did not find it any more difficult to get to know the staff on the 101,000 ton Triumph than the 71,000 ton Sensation. As it happened, our cruise director on Triumph was slightly more accessible than on Sensation, and both were FAR more fun and visible than on RC where the CD seems to have almost an entirely different role than on Carnival, more of a professional, suited up manager than a let-it-loose participant. 

 

I've been able to get to know the room attendants as much or little as I want on all cruises, regardless of cruise line or ship size.  My family does not like the dining room except for Sea Day Brunch so we don't get to know those servers but we often find some counter service venue, or some recurring activity (i.e. trivia)  that we keep going back to, and a crew member there will quickly adopt us as new friends. 

 

Lastly, the staterooms, particularly the outside (no balcony) cabins on the two lowest passenger decks, will be larger on the Radiance than the rooms on Fantasy class ships. I believe our outside cabin, deck 2 aft on the starboard side on Triumph, was 220 SF which is really nice for a cruise ship, while our Sensation stateroom felt very cramped by comparison. We had an inside and my parents had an outside which was exactly the same size. 

 

Happy Cruising! You know, someday when we all do that again.

[pc_load_letter]

7 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

 

Hi, I am feeling like everything posted on social media lately is being seen as a challenge or argument, so I provide a disclaimer that I am not trying to contradict your statement, just perhaps a perspective to put your mind at ease:

 

While you are correct that Fantasy class sailings out of Long Beach are over for the foreseeable future, I have sailed on both Fantasy Class (Sensation) and Destiny Class (now Sunshine class) (Carnival Triumph, now Sunrise, sister ship to Radiance) as well as on much larger Royal Caribbean Ships (Adventure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas).  Radiance is supposed to take over the 3/4 nighters in Long Beach that you mention, and I think you will enjoy that ship if you liked Imagination / Inspiration.

 

I did not find it any more difficult to get to know the staff on the 101,000 ton Triumph than the 71,000 ton Sensation. As it happened, our cruise director on Triumph was slightly more accessible than on Sensation, and both were FAR more fun and visible than on RC where the CD seems to have almost an entirely different role than on Carnival, more of a professional, suited up manager than a let-it-loose participant. 

 

I've been able to get to know the room attendants as much or little as I want on all cruises, regardless of cruise line or ship size.  My family does not like the dining room except for Sea Day Brunch so we don't get to know those servers but we often find some counter service venue, or some recurring activity (i.e. trivia)  that we keep going back to, and a crew member there will quickly adopt us as new friends. 

 

Lastly, the staterooms, particularly the outside (no balcony) cabins on the two lowest passenger decks, will be larger on the Radiance than the rooms on Fantasy class ships. I believe our outside cabin, deck 2 aft on the starboard side on Triumph, was 220 SF which is really nice for a cruise ship, while our Sensation stateroom felt very cramped by comparison. We had an inside and my parents had an outside which was exactly the same size. 

 

Happy Cruising! You know, someday when we all do that again.

 

Oh I am not saying I dislike the large ships. We've been on plenty of large ships. Was on the innagural Panorama cruise.

 

They each have their pro's and con's. Just from a personal viewpoint, we enjoyed those two ships.

 

I am sure we'll enjoy Radiance as much as we've enjoyed the larger CCL, NCL and RCL we've been on.