Fantasy Review 6/29-7/3

[alwaysmomof1]

We sailed on the Fantasy from June 29th to July 3rd from Port Canaveral to Nassau and then to Half Moon Cay. This was my DH’s first cruise and my 2nd. This might be a bit long, but here goes:

Embarkation: Very easy. We were on the ship within 45 minutes start to finish. Have your paperwork in order and in hand prior to starting the embarkation process.

Ship’s overall appearance: Very clean except the stains on the carpet in the stateroom hallway’s.

Stateroom: Very clean. Our Steward was Don from Thailand. This man went out of his way for us. He filled our cooler every day and even got me some conditioner from his personal supply when I ran out and couldn’t find any on the ship in the shops.

Food: We thought the food at the buffet in Windows by the Sea was terrible. We found it to be over seasoned and not a large variety. The food at 2nd seating in the Jubilee Room was far from a 5 Star restaurant, but a heck of a lot better than anything we eat on a day-to-day basis. We ordered several courses and the wait staff didn’t blink an eye. Our server K.J. lacked personality. We didn’t care for her. But our assistant server Manuella was AWESOME. Very friendly and always smiled. We tipped her extra at the end of the cruise. The deli was great. The made any sandwich we wanted. The pizza was a huge disappointment. My DH ordered the goat cheese and wild mushroom at the advice of this board. He was basically served a flat piece of dough with some cheese plopped in the center. It had a 4”-5” border before the toppings started. We tried all the recommended dishes from this board. Pumpkin Soup was VERY good. Strawberry Bisque was so-so. Lobster was good. A bit chewy, but who cares. IT WAS LOBSTER! My DH had the escargot. He loved them. Lobster Bisque was very rich and I didn’t care for it. DH thought it was fair. Desserts were good but nothing to write home about. DH had an espresso every night and loved it. He REALLY liked the dessert cheeses since he is a diabetic and the “diet” cakes they had were kind of dull and tasteless.

Ports: Nassau was a big disappointment. It might have been better if we had an excursion planned, but we decided to just see the town of Nassau. We thought it was dirty and not very impressive. The locals were in your face (literally) selling their wares. DH got asked about 20 times if he wanted to buy real Cuban cigars (and “other” smoke-able items), and I got asked to have my hair braided just about as many times. The Straw Market was cramped and hot! The shops all sold the same stuff. We took the #10 Jitney to Arawak Cay because my DH had to have conch fritters. We were recommended Twin Brothers Restaurant by a local. The fritters were beyond awesome. You got 12 big ones for $4.00. I got a dozen wings for $9.00 and they were a big disappointment. I should have ordered the fritters. My DH shared the fritters with me. I am a picky eater and I loved them. DH also had a local beer (Kalik) and he liked it too. We could have gone next door and had sheep tongue, but passed on that opportunity. :eek: I walked along the beach and the water was clear and beautiful. It was also as warm as bathtub water. The thing about going to the fish fry on Arawak Cay was; we looked to be the only tourists there! The homeless guy we saw scared the daylights out of me, but that’s another story in itself.

Half Moon Cay was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to in my life. The water was clear and warm. We brought a box of Froot Loops to feed the fish. We had a good 100 plus school of beautiful tropical fish under us feeding on the cereal. What an awesome experience. We did the jet ski excursion. This was my DH’s first time on a jet ski. He’s not a swimmer, but felt very comfortable on them. We went out for about an hour and a quarter. Although they are governed down, they were fast enough for us. My DH had a ball. I saw a shark and followed it for a while. We rented a clamshell for the day but weren’t in it. It was hot inside and you didn’t feel any breeze. Tendering was a bad experience. They were late and had problems connecting to the ship because of the high winds. Many stood in the hallways waiting to board. Several excursions were canceled. Ours was 2 hours late in starting. We were told the glass bottom boat sank. :eek: The food was good considering they drug it all the way out there, set everything up and then took it all back to the ship. While boarding the tender for return, ship security was in a CCL employee’s face that visited the beach. Seems he was there for pleasure but had to be back on ship to go to work so he cut in line. Security didn’t like that and let him know to get to the back of the line. It didn’t matter who he was. I thought that was cool. :D

Shows: We only went to one. It was split between a juggler, who was great, and a comedian who was so-so. We played bingo and lost. We played in the casino and lost. But we didn’t care! We were on vacation!

Funnel Deck: I took DH up there for sun and fun. DH saw Cuba! LOT’S of Cuba! That’s all I’m going to say about that! :cool:

We did have a problem at the buffet restaurant on the 3rd day. There were several teens being watched by a CCL employee. They got unruly and started to act up and be disruptive to the people in the restaurant. The employee grabbed her backpack, put it on and looked at us and said “I QUIT” and walked out. The kids started squirting mustard over the table and were being very obnoxious. My DH went to get someone and the employee who quit came back and let the kids know she wasn’t happy. They left shortly after. Some kids broke the elevator in the Grand Spectrum. Some kids were spitting down the stairwell. We felt there was no control of the kids on the cruise. That was our only complaint while on ship.

Debarkation: What a mess! Although is took us about an hour and a half to debark, we had to stay in the hot hallways while the Customs people took breaks. (I kid you not..That’s what we were told). After they came back, it went relatively smooth.

Time to book the next one!

[dexter]

Very good review. My wife and I are going on the Fantasy this September. It will be the 2nd time on the ship for use. Our first cruise ever was on the Fantasy 5 years ago and since then we have been on 10 cruises. You are right about the vendors in Nassau, but I've learned how to handle them. Just pretend they're not there and keep on walking. I hope you went over to Atlantis while you were in Nassau. That is the only good thing about the stop. We've also been to Half Moon Cay (on HAL) and I agree that it is the most beautiful beach in the world. We are looking forward to going to Grand Turk (never been there). I hope Fantasy isn't to worn out and dirty. I also know how to handle rowdy teens. Open up a can of whip---.

[Vidimom]

Thank you for such an honest review. We understand things are not always perfect and appreciate your honesty in all matters. We are also sailing in September on the Fantasy and had just a couple of questions. First of all, who is the Cruise Director on the ship now? We have also sailed numerous times and have our favorites. Sometimes we get lucky and get one we have sailed with before and enjoyed. Did you happen to notice prices for internet access. We are leaving our teens home and need to keep in touch with them. Any info would be appreciated. Any good bartenders we need to look up while on board? We have had some wonderful ones and always patronize the same one the entire cruise if we find a good one we like. If you have any pictures from the cruise, I would love to see them.

 

Thanks again for the review!

[jpfredd]

We were on the 6/24 cruise and saw none of the problems you saw. Everything was great. One thing about debarkment. We kept our luggage with us and were told we could leave between 7:00-8:00 when they called our deck. We just walked out got in line and were out of the ship and in our car within 45mins. I would do it this way instead of waiting on the deck to be called and then claiming your luggage.

[kathy32259]

Thank you for such an honest review. We understand things are not always perfect and appreciate your honesty in all matters. We are also sailing in September on the Fantasy and had just a couple of questions. First of all, who is the Cruise Director on the ship now? We have also sailed numerous times and have our favorites. Sometimes we get lucky and get one we have sailed with before and enjoyed. Did you happen to notice prices for internet access. We are leaving our teens home and need to keep in touch with them. Any info would be appreciated. Any good bartenders we need to look up while on board? We have had some wonderful ones and always patronize the same one the entire cruise if we find a good one we like. If you have any pictures from the cruise, I would love to see them.

 

Thanks again for the review!

 

Vidimom -

 

Here is the link to my review (same dates as OP) - I think it answers at least some of your questions. If not - ask away

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=374511

[DM797]

Heading out on the Carnival Fantasy on the 28th of August 06......

 

This is going to be my first Carnival cruise, I have cruised on Premier, Princess, Norwegian, and Royal Carribean, I've found each line to be amazing in Service and Style. My last cruise was the Royal Carribean in Aug2005 during the week of Katrina(it was only a tropical storm over us in the bahamas) but did not spoil our trip. My Question is I'm 24 years old, my gf is 21, and this will be our 2nd cruise together. Our reason for choosing our cruises is price. Being both students we are always pinched for money. This years was only $544US after taxes and port charges for 2 PEOPLE! The cruise before tax was only $110US each, I was amazed, last year we travelled on RCCL Soveregin of the Seas. Very pleased. Very cheap as well. My question is will this Carnival cruise be much the same as the other cruises I've been on, because my travel agent seemed she had to warn us that this ship was very Neon inspired Vegas ship. I know I dont mind a good party, booze, club etc. But was a little worried after being warn about it.

[alwaysmomof1]

Hi........I also had taken a different cruise line and I loved this cruise that we had taken. It is not bright and neon colored. I think it is done tastefully. You will love HMC. I have never seen a more beauitful island before in my life. We are trying to plan another cruise next year and I want to go back to HMC. The price you can't beat it. Keep checking the price to see if it drops and if it does call your agent and they will give you money back. I found the ship to be in great shape for as old as it is. Have a great time we did.:D

[Caribbean Buckeye]

Glad to hear you had a good time overall, but I'm real surprised you had that many problems on the same ship less than 2 weeks after you got back.

 

Hopefully, you had a chance to read my review before you left. I told everyone how miserable that straw market was. Just wondering though... how long was your wave runner tour in HMC? One of the things I mentioned in my review was how short the "tour" was. We didn't slow down long enough to see any sharks or anything else for that matter. Full throttle the entire time.

 

Any of you that haven't yet read my review of the Fantasy. Take the time to read it before you leave. It may save you some problems or help you take advantage of something you might not know about.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=366417&highlight=fantasy+review

[alwaysmomof1]

Glad to hear you had a good time overall, but I'm real surprised you had that many problems on the same ship less than 2 weeks after you got back.

 

Hopefully, you had a chance to read my review before you left. I told everyone how miserable that straw market was. Just wondering though... how long was your wave runner tour in HMC? One of the things I mentioned in my review was how short the "tour" was. We didn't slow down long enough to see any sharks or anything else for that matter. Full throttle the entire time.

 

Any of you that haven't yet read my review of the Fantasy. Take the time to read it before you leave. It may save you some problems or help you take advantage of something you might not know about.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=366417&highlight=fantasy+review[/quote]

 

Like I had already said in my review we were on the jet ski for over an hour. I was the first one after the guide and my DH was behind me the guide pointed out something in the water and I said yes (We were stopped waiting for everyone to catch up) it is coral. He said "NO" it is a shark. and then it moved. We were in shallow water and you could see it plain as day. My DH had the camera on his wave runner so I could not take a picture. As far as the review I did enjoy myself but it is my Opion of our vacation. The straw market I will not go back to. The kids not being nice to the carnival worker I would have handled it different. I would have been calling their parents to come get their kids who don't know how to act in public! We met alot of nice people on the cruise and the things that I didn't like is "not" going to stop us from taking another cruise.

[Caribbean Buckeye]

Like I had already said in my review we were on the jet ski for over an hour. I was the first one after the guide and my DH was behind me the guide pointed out something in the water and I said yes (We were stopped waiting for everyone to catch up) it is coral....

 

Now I'm really pissed. I knew our tour wasn't as long as it should have been. As I said in my review, we were on the wave runners for about 25 minutes. It would have been even less if I didn't ask him to stop so we could take some pictures. Carnival's response to my inquiry was that it was a 50 minute tour, which includes transportation to and from the beach and the orientation.

[alwaysmomof1]

We were two hours late leaving for the wave runners because of the weather. So maybe this is why we were on longer. Also one of the guys that was on the tour with us was doing his own thing so that also took longer. We never had the chance to stop and take pictures (I wish we would have) we were always moving fast.:cool:

[flygrass]

GREAT REVIEW, THANKS Az_RednecksDW,

I HAVE A QUESTION , COULD YOU TELL ME IF THEY HAVE PUTT PUTT GOLF ON THE FANTASY ? I HAVE SEEN PICS OF THE FANTASY HERE ON THE BOARDS WITH A LITTLE AREA TO PLAY PUTT PUTT, BUT I DONT KNOW IF THOSE PIC'S WERE BEFORE OR AFTER THE REFERB. I HAVE ASKED OTHERS BEFORE BUT NEVER HAVE FOUND OUT YET.

WE ARE SAILING FANTASY WHEN SHE GOES TO NOLA WITH OUR 16 YEAR OLD BOY AND HE LOVES SOME GOLF, THATS WHY I ASK :)

SORRY I RAN ON SO LONG .

[alwaysmomof1]

Yes. I think it is up on the sports deck but you get the clubs on the Lido deck. Have a wonderful time:)

[cubdaddy]

Heading out on the Carnival Fantasy on the 28th of August 06......

 

This is going to be my first Carnival cruise, I have cruised on Premier, Princess, Norwegian, and Royal Carribean, I've found each line to be amazing in Service and Style. My last cruise was the Royal Carribean in Aug2005 during the week of Katrina(it was only a tropical storm over us in the bahamas) but did not spoil our trip. My Question is I'm 24 years old, my gf is 21, and this will be our 2nd cruise together. Our reason for choosing our cruises is price. Being both students we are always pinched for money. This years was only $544US after taxes and port charges for 2 PEOPLE! The cruise before tax was only $110US each, I was amazed, last year we travelled on RCCL Soveregin of the Seas. Very pleased. Very cheap as well. My question is will this Carnival cruise be much the same as the other cruises I've been on, because my travel agent seemed she had to warn us that this ship was very Neon inspired Vegas ship. I know I dont mind a good party, booze, club etc. But was a little worried after being warn about it.

 

Hey DM797, I have not been on the Fantasy yet but will be in two weeks. I understand it is similar to the Imagination as they are in the same class of ships. They tend to be a bit Vegas and tacky but so far the Fantasy Class ship is my favorite. It is less crowded, better food and better service. That is just my opinion.

 

Just a suggestion, go on the cruise and have a great time. Keep an open mind and try not to compare it with other cruises or ships or you may be dissapointed!

[flygrass]

GREAT REVIEW, THANKS Az_RednecksDW,

I HAVE A QUESTION , COULD YOU TELL ME IF THEY HAVE PUTT PUTT GOLF ON THE FANTASY ? I HAVE SEEN PICS OF THE FANTASY HERE ON THE BOARDS WITH A LITTLE AREA TO PLAY PUTT PUTT, BUT I DONT KNOW IF THOSE PIC'S WERE BEFORE OR AFTER THE REFERB. I HAVE ASKED OTHERS BEFORE BUT NEVER HAVE FOUND OUT YET.

WE ARE SAILING FANTASY WHEN SHE GOES TO NOLA WITH OUR 16 YEAR OLD BOY AND HE LOVES SOME GOLF, THATS WHY I ASK :)

SORRY I RAN ON SO LONG .

 

OOOPPPPPSSS, I ASKED TO SOON, AFTER I POSTED AND LEFT HERE AND READ KATHY32259'S POST AND SHE HAD THE ANSEWER THERE, THANKS ANYWAY. ;)