Fantasy Review May 4-8 - Family Cruise

[IrishDolphin]

Hello there!! Long time listener, first time caller (or something like that). We have been reading these boards for about two years now and have just completed our first cruising experience.

 

Us: family of five: me(32), DH(32), DD(11), DD(9), DD(7) and well traveled. Typically we take 2 vacations a year and have been to countries in Europe, to Canada, and dozens of beautiful places in U.S.

 

We chose Carnival based on a few things (mainly due to the travels of yourselves) such as value, itinerary, and timeframe allowed.

 

Ship: Fantasy May 4 voyage for 4 day cruise. We were going to round out our trip by making our way back up 95 touring historic places (the kids are homeschooled). We were originally scheduled on the Sensation and were switched when the other ship broke its propulsion system.

 

Fantasy was so huge to us. We have been on sailboats and fishing boats, but wow, we started off calling her a city, not a ship. She was so clean and was kept clean throughout the entire ship (crew always swabbing the decks or polishing something).

 

Cabin: Oceanview #182 on Empress deck. It slept five with the 2 beds pushed together for mom and dad, 2 bunks that lowered from the walls, and the steward brought in a cot for my youngest. The room was comfy and we could walk around when beds were not made up for sleep. Turndown time meant we had to climb over parents bed to get around. We didn't mind though at all. The kids are young, it would have been a different story if we had had 3 teens running around. There were 3 closets, 5 drawers, and enough toiletry room in bathroom. There were 2 chairs and a desk. The tv had about 10 channels on it (2 of them being movie channels, I believe Narnia was shown first day). The bathroom? I was impressed with it's size and the shower was large. The only problem was it had 2 settings: emergency room hot and just right. It took each of us about 5 to 10 minutes to get it to right setting each time. Having a window out to sea was so fun and romantic. The kids loved it.

 

Steward: He wasn't around much for our viewing. Never could learn his name. He left towel animals every night with mints (oh my heaven, did the girls LOVE this). We bought the towel book due to my DD11 interest and she spent hours recreating the animals and snapping photos of her work. We left him extra cash on the desk for his work.

 

Camp Carnival: The girls participated in the overnight party where they bring the kids back at 3:30am. Unfortunately, there were not many participants (probably due to the lack of children on board). They loved it anyway and made a few friends from other states. Camp activities included ice cream eating contests, a talent show, arts and crafts, sand and spin art, arcade time, computer games, capture the flag, hide and seek, movie time, foosball, disco dancing, & others. The counselors were great with the kids and the area itself was clean, bright, and fun in appearance (consisted of 3 rooms). My only complaint was the location. You have to walk through a bar to get to it. Not such a big deal but it was annoying to try to find the first time. Any questions, feel free to ask. I am experienced now :p

 

Dining: Ahhh, our favorite part of the cruise (we are such addicts). We had early seating in the Jubilee dining room. We were supposed to have late seating but did not change it due to our go with the flow natures. We felt if it was terrible then it would be changed next night if possible. It worked out best for us and the activities we wanted to be a part of. The waiter (from India) and his asst. (from Ukraine) were sooo wonderful and helpful. We loved them and I think they felt fondly of us too. We were sat with another family of five and conversation was cordial and they didn't make it to dinner 2 of the 4 nights. Our waiter didn't care for them and without getting into details, we agreed with him wholeheartedly. Both workers received extra cash from my husband on the last night. Note: waiter started off by making all 3 girls eat off of adult menu, wanting them to try as many new things as possible (my philosophy as well). Excellent service, now on to the food....

 

Food: We ate breakfast buffet on Lido every day. The offerings were fine such as omelettes, pancakes and french toast (made from scratch), potatoes (well cooked), many cereals, yogurts, sausage, bacon, ham, scrambled eggs (not good, runny), fruits (fresh), croissant pastries (veryyy good, especially cream cheese), and other breakfast breads.

 

We never made it to lunch in the dining room and only ate buffet lunch once due to being so full from breakfast and off the ship for excursions and/or camp. Buffet lunch was great though. We had fried chicken (perfect), tortellini in ricotta cream sauce (my favorite pasta dish of entire cruise), cheeseburgers, sliced ham, fries, and on the buffet they had mexican dishes (not tried). The desserts were great, especially the chocolate sushi (sweetened rice that looks like sushi decorated with kiwi or strawberries).

 

Dinners: I will start off by saying that we took advantage of ordering multiple appetizers/entrees. Among the favorites: pumpkin soup, beef wellington (my fave), sweet and sour shrimp (dd11 fave), lobster tail (dd9 fave), chicken in foi gras sauce (dd7 fave), mango cream, prime rib (dh fave), filet mignon, satay chicken in peanut butter sauce appetizer, seafood fricassee (dd11 loved it), and the tilapia (dh loved). All steaks were perfect as medium rare, which we ordered.

 

Misses: We were not fans of the lobste bisque (we are lovers of bisque, it was strange, tasted awful, and we heard others saying it was horrendous), foi gras mousse (dh said it didn't have a taste to it), eggplant parmesan, tom turkey (came with school cafeteria gravy, haha), and all pastas were not desired.

 

Desserts were a highlight with us. Our blood has a 40% sugar content as we speak. I loved the grand marnier souffle. The kids liked the baked alaska and sorbets/sherbets. Dh and i always got cappucino with our desserts and we also always got the cheese plate too. Oh, my favorite dessert was the tiramisu. I ordered 2 of them to begin with.

 

Room service: always prompt, used mainly for my coffee caffeine fix, and the sandwiches such as roast beef were good. My dd11 loved the shrimp salad sandwich. The brownies and cookies were not liked (too hard).

 

Midnight buffet: on third night and Mexican buffet. I did not go, but the rest of the gang did. They had tacos and enchiladas. They said it was okay, nothing special.

 

Activities: comedian was funny (kids enjoyed him), magic show was not that great, the vegas style show was great (again kids loved it, the lights, costumes, and singing). Excursions: dolphin encounter in Freeport and going to the beach in Nassau. My advice: do your own excursions. It is not only cheaper, we would have liked to have more options than Carnival could or would provide. I know some people are just more comfortable with Carnival doing the work/thinking about safety, but we would have truly benefitted from doing our own thing. We are seasoned travelers who have always done that anyway.

 

Gripes: Now, now, I knew what I was getting into, seriously. A fun ship means fun in the American sense right? We knew that there would be drinking and drunks at all hours. We go with the flow. However, we do not drink and were very nice about the whole thing until the 4th day and literally being asked hundreds of times if we wanted alcohol. It was annoying and disrupted numerous conversations daily. They really need to rethink this. Maybe even wrist bands for those of us that will ask for a drink when we WANT one.

 

Disembarkment: 3 hours of waiting and standing, enough said. Immigrations held up everything due to some unreasonable passengers who refused to get off boats (non-Americans who were supposed to leave at 6:15am. Carnival didn't even announce when we were allowed to get off. It was a nightmare and poor elderly people were being rammed into. Thank god we did not carry off our luggage. Dh and I had a feeling that we should have that luggage out in the hall by midnight and we were right. People were carrying around heavy luggage for 3 hours. No one knew what to do or where to go, I got quite angry at the lack of sense of everyone involved. :mad:

 

Last gripe, photos. I did not have a problem with the prices. I only bought 2 because i did so much video and digital myself. However, finding the 2 photos I wanted, sucked royally. No rhyme or reason to where they were, only 1 cashier on duty, and people were standing in front of the bins like we had xray vision. We got a great one of the kids and the pirate, can't wait to frame it.

 

My suggestions: eat as many meals in dining room as possible. It is a great time to get your bearings, plan the night, and enjoy the people that you came with. Plan out your own excursions if possible. More bang for the buck. Also, if time allowed, take a 5 or 7 day cruise. 4 days is not long enough and I do not know how the 3 day cruises can even do justice to cruising.

 

Surgery Note: I had to have emergency back surgery 4 weeks prior to this long planned trip. I didn't know if I was even going to be able to do it. I am relearning to walk which I almost can do perfectly. The problem is I cannot climb steps (I can go down though). My point is this: anyone having trouble walking may benefit on this ship having an AFT cabin like us, close to the Lido, Jubilee, Camp Carnival, etc.. I could not have lasted too long in the front of the ship.

 

To sum it up, we had a great cruise. We loved the food and dining experience (the waiters singing "you're leaving off the fun ship" was so hilarious, not to mention the congo line that my girls joined in on). The girls loved all activities for the young. The cabin superceeded our expectations. There were enough activities going on even if you don't drink or gamble like us. The staff, everywhere, were filled with smiles and hellos. The ship was in good condition (we were not one of the victims of the flooding that happened day 2, so those people have a different story to tell) and was being cleaned constantly. We are thinking of doing an Alaskan or Hawaiian cruise in the future so again we will turn to the boards to teach us.

 

I am here for questions and look forward to more travels in life. :o

[CarribbeanTina271]

Thanks for your Review..I am glad that you and your family enjoyed your cruise. My children are addicted to cruising now and the Fantasy is one of thier fav's ships :) !!

Tina

[queenki]

DH, Bestfriend and her DH were on the same cruise. We had a wonderful time. If anyone gets on this ship U92 and 96 are nice rooms and the cabin steward, Annie, is wonderful. I cant say enough about her!!:D Our waiter staff, Savio and Julia were great also. We were very pleased with our service. As far as the Disembarkment being so long, we had a early flight and were one of the first ones of the ship so we know all the hold ups. First, like you said the person(s) who they had hunt down to go to check out with immigration, that is totally out of Carnivals hand. Once they docked it was all the government. Need I say more.:( And there was a power outage at customs, no one could go down the escalators and there were no lights, so we had to wait another 30 or so minutes just to proceed. Other than that I (we) had a GREAT time. I dont drink, and didnt feel pressured to purchase. I guess because there are so many who do, they were just doing there jobs. And they are like any where else that is in the service business.

 

ALL in ALL, Great trip, but the buffets were nothing to write home about.

[IrishDolphin]

Thankya!! Yea, the kids are totally addicted. Asking me on day 3 when our next one was, told me alot, LOL.

 

I also forgot to mention that we tried the pizzeria and lido grill. The burgers were great and fries were hot and crispy. The pizza was good, it was wayyyy better than frozen, that is how i describe it.

 

I found it funny that DH always had an ice cream cone in his hand!!

[ljchris1990]

1st...Great review! 2nd.....I am sooooooo glad that you had 5 people in an oceanview room because I will be doing the same thing for our Aug Fantasy cruise. The only difference is that our cruise is 5nites and our childrens are 15,13,and 4. How did your kids like camp carnival? And is there an arcade?

 

ljchris1990

[IrishDolphin]

I thought we would be so cramped and thought it would be fun like camping is. But surprise, surprise, plenty of room even with 4 females trying to get ready for formal night. Brought alot of closeness to us, actually. Lots of communication!!!

 

Your 13 year old will be placed with the teens. The teen that we talked to loved the group activities (ping pong tournament, dancing, etc..). He loved the arcade as well although he said it was expensive with some games (I believe he said it had about 20 games in it). It also does take dollar bills and quarters. My dh and dd11 went once to play house of the dead 3 (guess it is a game they have been dying to play).

 

There were so many activities for the youngest of the group. My 7 year old came back each night with face painted and arms loaded with crafts (she came home as harry potter one night). I believe you will find it to be safe and fun. Oh, and every night they came home with free stuff like carnival tshirts, nice tropheys, and cd cases for participation.

 

I still have capers from all camp carnival days, so feel free to ask specifics.

[ljchris1990]

I thought we would be so cramped and thought it would be fun like camping is. But surprise, surprise, plenty of room even with 4 females trying to get ready for formal night. Brought alot of closeness to us, actually. Lots of communication!!!

 

Your 13 year old will be placed with the teens. The teen that we talked to loved the group activities (ping pong tournament, dancing, etc..). He loved the arcade as well although he said it was expensive with some games (I believe he said it had about 20 games in it). It also does take dollar bills and quarters. My dh and dd11 went once to play house of the dead 3 (guess it is a game they have been dying to play).

 

There were so many activities for the youngest of the group. My 7 year old came back each night with face painted and arms loaded with crafts (she came home as harry potter one night). I believe you will find it to be safe and fun. Oh, and every night they came home with free stuff like carnival tshirts, nice tropheys, and cd cases for participation.

 

I still have capers from all camp carnival days, so feel free to ask specifics.

 

My 15 DS will be glad to hear that there is an arcade. He is not a very social person (quiet and a bit shy) and love video games. My 13 DS is very social and very active so all the activities for CC sound right up her alley. Luckily, there will only be 2 females (myself included) needing to get ready for formal nite. Do the kids have their own formal night at CC?

 

ljchris1990

[IrishDolphin]

We were asked to pick up the kids by 4pm because camp was close until 7pm due to formal night. Formal night happened to be 2nd night for us. If your kids like lobster it is very okay to have them get 2 to start with. They aren't that big.

 

Camp opened at like 8am (7am for people with excursions at 8am, I heard one counselor say). They closed at 10pm unless you wanted them to stay until midnight for $4 an hour extra. 9 years or older can sign themselves in and out without parent if you give permission. This came in handy a few times instead of searching ship for the kids. Have your daughter do the dance lesson with the showgirl, mine absolutely loved the lessons and it was free.

 

The last day was family day that included ice cream eating contest, talent show, and awards were handed out.

[Super89]

Thanks for the review! Sounds like you had a great time. My husband and I will be going on the 4 day Bahamas cruise in September and we are SO looking forward to it. We did our first cruise last August on the Miracle and are definitely addicted. We took the kids last time and will again but they are old enough now that we are traveling on the Fantasy with two other couples that we used to travel with before kids. These reviews sure help to get me through the long wait!! How was the pool on the Fantasy? Did the slide go into the pool, or was it separate like on the Miracle? Was there a mini golf course on board? I thought I had read that somewhere. Again, thanks for the great review. It was very informative and objective! Glad you had a good time .:)

[ljchris1990]

Once again thanks for info irishdolphin. I mention the dance lesson with showgirl to my daughter and she just loved the idea.

 

ljchris1990

[IrishDolphin]

The Lido pool was where my kids hung out with the waterslide (2 loops & about 40 steps up). The slide was separated from the water by about 2 feet or so. Watch your step around the pool. We saw at least 5-6 people slip and/or fall down, including dd9 who is clumsy to begin with.

 

Yep, there was a mini golf course that was added late last year. Several people said it was fun so I have to take their word for it, for we did not partake.

 

Hope your trip is as nice as ours was!!!

[IrishDolphin]

oh, you are more than welcome, like i said before, without these boards i would have been miserable - it would have taken 4 days just to learn the dining rules/regulations alone!!!

 

there will be alottttttttt more children on your summer cruise, which is the only thing my kids got cheated on due to my schedule (ex. 4 kids participated in the 9-11 year old overnight party)

 

also, to one mom from another - laundry facilities are not clearly marked anywhere!! easiest one to get to that was not crowded at all is across from room U152 on upper deck (we were on empress). it is $2 each load to wash and dry (take your own soap powder in a ziploc from home) and bring quarters.

[selling2sail]

I have two daughters, a 4 year old and a 9 year old. Will they be able to enjoy the same pool? It shows the childrens pool far away from everything. Is it deep enough to swim in or just wade? Also, are the pools open on the first day as soon as you board?

 

Do they have a sail away party of any sort?

 

Was the entertainment family friendly? Did you see anything other than bars, clubs and things after 9:00 that are not appropriate for children to attend?

 

What time is the muster drill and how awful was it?

 

When do you find out whether you have early or late seating and which restaurant you go to the first night.

 

Sorry for all of the questions, but I've only been on Disney Cruises and they seem to do things a little different.

 

Can you put a link or something to show the capers?

 

Thanks for any help, we leave in June. :)

[IrishDolphin]

Hi there.

 

The muster was at 4pm (lasted 45 minutes). We had to complete it before we left port. Many adults had to take the life vests off because faces were becoming hot and people were dizzy. Dh brought up good point, in case of a real honest to god sinking, who among us is going to want to go back deep inside this beast to get our lifevests knowing that those lifeboats are "unsinkable" practically?

 

I saw lots of small kids at the lido pool (one with slide). The kiddie pool way in aft is 1 1/2 feet supposedly (looked 1 foot) and is just to small to entertain a 4 year old. Pool was open when we boarded at 12noon.

 

There was no sailaway party that I knew of. We sat a table on starboard side and just watched us leaving.

 

As far as inappropriate, the early show (8:30) was fine for my kids (no nudity). The girls definitely would have told me if they had seen or heard anything that I don't approve, and they didn't.

 

You find out dining time and restaurant on your sign and sail card at boarding.

 

Also, don't forget your sunscreen (with a veryyy high spf). My kids had spf of 30 and got burned so bad in Nassau on the beach. A little lesson I want to pass on immediately as summer approaches.

[1timecruiser]

IrishDolphin thanks so much for your review! Like you, I'm an old CC board reader, but never posts unless I have something to say. I've been on these posts since '04 when I took my first 5-day cruise on the Holiday out of New Orleans with DH. I'm currently looking forward to an upcoming Fantasy cruise on 7/13 with 2 of my best buds, who are first time cruisers.

 

We selected a 4-day cruise, mainly because it's short enough for first timers and yet enough time for 3 women to have a nice time without working each other's nerves!! I was skeptical about the sleeping space, but your post relieves me somewhat. I've wondered about dressing for formal night and having enough room, but I know that the cabins are a pretty large size where that shouldn't be a problem. I've also planned to use the SPA for showering if I felt the need to as I heard that's also an option.

 

I'm so excited as it sounds like this ship is in marvelous condition! IF you have a copy of the capers would you mind sharing? Also, did you check out the piano bar, karaoke??

 

I look forward to seeing your response.

 

Thanks.

[vesw01]

My DS11 (at the time) LOVED camp carnival!! there were hardly any kids on the ship (a total of 9 - yes 9 when there are normally 900), the counselors treated him like a king!! We had a blast, some bumps in the road - but are going to try it again just DH and I.

 

As for the elderly, we had the same problem 2 years ago, my grandmother got thrown against the wall while waiting in the disability line to be the first off the ship, I was ticked and called and complained! They have to figure that out better!

[IrishDolphin]

Howdy!!

 

I will have dh place capers online and provide a link when he does it - I am not the computer savvy one, just know where I want to go and I figure it out most of the time.

 

DH and I stopped in to listen to the karoke (sp) and it was fun. Well, LOL, fun for us because a group of four got up to sing (bless their hearts) and you could hear them throughout the ship.

 

Piano bar has specific hours listed in the capers, so hopefully not much changes from ours to yours.

 

We brought extra hangers, but I hear if you need them then the steward will give you extra so you don't have to use up the space.

 

The toiletries basket included mouthwash, 4 types of toothpaste, 4 samples of dove hair products, 1 oil of olay lotion, and 2 razors. The shower had dove shampoo (I brought conditioner due to all the saltwater on board, I NEED it) and body wash gel. Like I said, large shower, it impressed me. I figured if my dd7 became too unruly, I was gonna make her sleep in it :p

 

Oh, and don't forget your hairdryer. I almost did and the 4 of us girls would have been miserable.

 

Yes, totally agree with a new system for handicapped and/or elderly. What I witnessed, I don't want to witness again.

[seashell36]

Thanks for the great review! I'm glad to hear that your DD's enjoyed Camp Carnival. I was worried that my DD (9) would not enjoy it. But, from your descriptions I think she will really enjoy! :D

[imirish]

IrishDolphin, great review. Thanks for all the info. We are cruising the Fantasy on 5/27 and are really looking forward to it.

 

Which beach did you go to in Nassau? Been looking for something to do there besides the straw market........UGH!!!! or Atlantis. Couldn't care less about either place.

 

Thanks.

[mississauga]

Thanks, Irishdolphin for the great review. Even though our kids are older and don't travel with us, this is a cruise we are interested in and it was an informative review for us, none the less.

I agree with your gripe. I also don't drink and always have to shake my head and say no thanks as soon as I see them approaching. ( it makes you feel guilty having to say no thanks all the time). We were on the m.s. Patriot ( out of service now) in 1999 and it was great how they did it. If you said no, they placed a napkin on your table to indicate you were not drinking and no other servers approached you after that.

[IrishDolphin]

mississauga: you will be pleased with the service and the ship itself, exceeded our expectations (great idea with the napkin btw, could have really helped my sanity) :)

 

imirish: we found cabbage beach by mistake, we were looking for cable beach (a beach all of the others on the water taxi went to) and stopped into a shop and lost sight of everyone - took a taxi to cabbage beach and it was our own private, secluded crystal blue watered beach - for 5 hours we saw 2 dogs with 2 owners and 1 snorkler (scared the s##t out of me, thought it was a shark). My advice: take the regular taxi, not the water taxi (was not prepared for all the walking) - and if you want cabbage beach, make sure they know you didn't say cable beach or you will be with hundreds of your favorite cruisers. Yes, totally agree with you about Atlantis and the market. Have a greattttt trip!!!

[cruise_pirate]

Did the ship have a deli on the lido deck (by the pizza bar)? I was on the Insipration in Feb 06 and they had one we are hoping this one will have one too. Last time on the Fantasy was many moons ago:)

[IrishDolphin]

Yep, right next to pizzeria. It had like 12 kinds of sandwiches and it closed kind of early (thinking 9pm?).

 

Enjoy it :)

[cruise_pirate]

Thanks! we have been cravin rubens!

[IrishDolphin]

Since dh and dds are out for most of the weekend, I thought I would give you summarizations of the daily capers (wish I knew about this printer thingy). So, if this works for anybody, let me know and I will do days 2-4 as well. It is no problem (I am supposed to be doing nothing, it IS mother's day weekend, afterall). :p

 

 

Day 1 (4 day Fantasy starting on Thursdays)

 

muster drill: mandatory for all guests/ prior to sailing (approx. 4pm)

 

11:30a - lunch opens

formalities shop open until 4pm

pool open until 8pm

 

12noon - mini golf open until 6pm

sign and sail deposit at information desk

 

12:30p - spa and fitness appts. allowed

shore excursions desk open

 

2pm - dining inquiries allowed

body airbrushing open

 

2:30p - shore shopping talk in universal lounge

 

5:30p - spa officially opens for treatments

 

6pm - casino open

detox for weightloss seminar

 

7pm - photo shop open

fun shops open

 

7:30p - margarita party in cleopatra's bar

camp carnival orientation

 

8p - country line dance class in universal lounge

 

9p - game show mania in univeral lounge

 

9:30p - piano party with peter in cleopatra's

karaoke in forum lounge

$1000 big bucks bingo in universal lounge

 

10p - showtime in universal lounge

 

10:30p - welcome aboard show w/ CD in universal

 

11:30 - singles party (different ages in different lounges)

 

24 hours - room service

arcade

 

art gallery - come in and guess the picasso contest worth $2300 in art - registration is free

 

galleria shops - tonight free liquor tasting and enter in contest for free diamond ring

 

babysitting - available from 10p to 3am tonight ($4/hr.) *there is no camp carnival first night, just orientation and viewing of rooms/meeting counselors

 

beach towels - don't lose or pay $22 charge

 

luggage - being delivered to your stateroom throughout evening (we had ours at 3pm)

 

Food & Drink Showcase

 

lunch: open 11:30am (buffet, grill, deli)

 

coffee bar - 11:30am to 12:30am

 

sushi bar - 5p - 8:30p

 

*resort casual dress in dining room tonight (no shorts/tanks)

 

dinner times (on sail/sign cards) - 5:45p, 6:15p, 8p, 8:30p)

 

buffet - 6p - 9p

 

late night grill - 11p to 1am

 

24 hours - pizza & drinks (lemonade, coffee, tea, fruit punch, juices, milks)

room service

 

Today's Drink Special - Fun Ship Cocktail ($6.75 in collector glass - refills are $5.95 each) - available at all bars

 

fountain fun cards - purchase at bars (adult $22 plus 15% gratuities, child $16) - all sodas during cruise (we brought a case of soda and ginger ale for seasickness on board, along with a case of bottled water)

 

If anyone wants day 2 to 4, more than happy to do same. Let me know!!