Refurbished Fantasy's 1st Cruise!!

[jdk944]

We just returned from the 1st cruise of the Fantasy after its 5 week long refurbishing! Its still a work in progress. Unfortunately at the inconvenience and expense of its passengers!!!:mad:

 

Things happen but the way they are handled determines the true concern and understanding of the ship/cruise line. In this case Carnival and their Fantasy ship failed miserably!!

 

Refurbishing continued on Sat. Oct. 4, the day the ship was to sail. This delayed the ship leaving New Orleans until midnight. It took forever to even get on the ship. We were one of the earliest groups to get on and that was after 1:30 PM. Things were disorganized, etc. as they apparently were working 'the bugs' out of our Embarkation. Unfortunately, this seemed to be a theme throughout our cruise!! They continued all that day to load new furniture etc. onto the ship. In addition, throughout the 5 day cruise, there was work going on such as grinding, hammering etc. in areas where you were suppose to have 'piece and quiet' to sun, read, etc. On Tuesday while in Port at Cozumel they changed out carpeting in rooms resulting in a very strong smell left for those to deal with when they returned to their cabins. In addition while in Cozumel, there was some kind of smoke/fire issue that required evacuating and/or not letting passengers back on the ship for the better part of 2 hours.

 

No offer was made to provide us any type of 'on board' credit for all of these issues and I haven't listed them all - finding ice was a challenge, bad tasting water, etc. We have been on other ship lines where weather has prevented us from being able to go into a Port, not the ship or the cruise line's fault, but they still gave every passenger an onboard credit for the inconvenience and disappointment. It appears Carnival needs to 'catch on'!!

 

Disembarkation took us until 11:25 and we were one of the early #s of the floors who didn't take their luggage off with them.

 

We still had a great time and enjoyed the cruise. But this was our 8th cruise, 1st on Carnival and the 1st time we have been really disappointed with a cruiseline.

 

The ship's crew were very professional and friendly, a sign of quality in their ranks, but we can't say the same for the Management!!

[halos]

I'm so sorry that you were so disappointed and from what I have heard from others, you are not the only dissatisfied passenger. It's good that you enjoyed the cruise despite the circumstances, but I can understand your frustration. This was your first Carnival cruise and I am sorry that it was so bad because usually sailing on Carnival is a very good experience all around.

[firefly333]

Put on your flame retardant suit. Someone above said they too were dissapointed in this cruise and they are being relentless criticizing him. Sympathy is long lost on the Carnival CC forums lately.

 

Sorry to hear stuff wasnt done after dry dock. I remember some similar stories about Rhapsody of the Seas when I had it booked in a couple of weeks and following it, learned not to book right after dry dock :( Hope you can give Carnival another chance.

[aggieastrosfan]

Why do I have a feeling this is the other poster's DW??

[JustFloatN]

ok i have my beer and popcorn ..come on Carnival cheerleaders its been over 5 minutes since someone bashed our fave cruise line its time to go into flame mode!

 

Sorry for post jack OP and sorry things didnt go so well for you . All I can say is Im glad the wife and I didnt abandon Carnival because of one bad cruise they really do get it right most of the time .

[Kurbanfan]

Evidently this is becoming a norm with Carnival ships coming out of dry dock according to other posters..........

Not good:(

[farler05]

I'm sorry that you had such a poor experience. It's disappointing that Carnival brings a ship out of dry dock without having everything working. They should allocate enough time to have the ship ready to go, not almost ready. And to anyone who says you should expect this out of dry dock, I call BS. Either have the ship ready or don't sail her or offer dramatic discounts because it might not be the experience you should expect.

[ruskatab]

I had the same kind of experience but in the opposite. It was the last cruise before the ship went into drydock. It was the worst cruise I ever went on and we were not happy. Several areas of the ship were closed and they were doing work on the deck around the pool. The ship was all torn up. The cruise was on RC. I know how you feel but they want the ship back in service as soon as possible to bring in the money. I will never book a cruise within a few weeks before or after a drydock and I dont think I would go on an inaguaral cruise.

[fig414]

After years of Cruise Critic, I'm really believing you don't want to be anywhere on a ship for it's first trip after drydock. Our last 2 cruise have been on the 2nd or 3rd after refurb by coincidence and have had no direct refurb issues. I have seen WAY too many issues talk about 1st cruises though. It can't be a coincidence. I'd steer clear of these cruises if possible.

[Mikel1733]

I'm sorry your experience was not what Carnival advertises. Some adjustment should have been allowed. The smell of glue and sewage along with the noise and inconvenience is not acceptable. You are well within your rights to be disappointed. I hope you will try Carnival again, but I certainly wouldn't blame you if you didn't.

[nolaAlive]

Evidently this is becoming a norm with Carnival ships coming out of dry dock according to other posters..........

Not good:(

 

This is not just Carnival and it applies to new ships of any brand, as well.

 

Don't expect perfection on the inaugural cruise and you will not be disappointed. It is part of the adventure.

[firefly333]

I'm sorry that you had such a poor experience. It's disappointing that Carnival brings a ship out of dry dock without having everything working. They should allocate enough time to have the ship ready to go, not almost ready. And to anyone who says you should expect this out of dry dock, I call BS. Either have the ship ready or don't sail her or offer dramatic discounts because it might not be the experience you should expect.

 

When the Rhapsody came out of dry dock, among other problems, they had tried to move all the drink dispensors to the front of the buffet and hadnt finished .... the buffet was closed almost all week and they tried to do the buffet out of a bar or some small area, it sounded awful.

 

Elevators not working and electricity off a few times and water turned off on the ship.

 

Cured me of wanting to go right after dry dock. Clearly not fair to the cruisers that week.

[jetskier]

This is not just Carnival and it applies to new ships of any brand, as well.

 

Don't expect perfection on the inaugural cruise and you will not be disappointed. It is part of the adventure.

 

I do have to say that I sailed on the NCL Sun Jan 07 on the first cruise out of drydock. The only issue we had were dust bunnies from the new carpet. Everything else was perfect.

 

Dave

[nolaAlive]

I do have to say that I sailed on the NCL Sun Jan 07 on the first cruise out of drydock. The only issue we had were dust bunnies from the new carpet. Everything else was perfect.

 

Dave

 

I do think NCL does many things better than others. If NCL cut corners as much as the other majors, they might even make a profit.

 

I am happy to hear that someone still does things right. Hopefully quality will pay off for them.

[jdk944]

This is not just Carnival and it applies to new ships of any brand, as well.

 

Don't expect perfection on the inaugural cruise and you will not be disappointed. It is part of the adventure.

 

I consider an excursion I choose to try, an adventure, not a cruise on a ship!!

 

If I was expecting perfection, my post on this thread would be 'too long' to post on everything that was wrong!! Again, things happen, it's how a cruise line chooses to handle it. On this cruise, Carnival choose to handle it VERY POORLY!! :cool:

[Kurbanfan]

This is not just Carnival and it applies to new ships of any brand, as well.

 

Don't expect perfection on the inaugural cruise and you will not be disappointed. It is part of the adventure.

 

Ahhh yes, but we are talking about a Carnival on this thread;) I certainly do not expect perfection, but what they had to deal with was ridiculous to say the least:rolleyes:

[KY Transplant]

I would think after a reburbishment things should be perfect.

[firefly333]

Ahhh yes, but we are talking about a Carnival on this thread;) I certainly do not expect perfection, but what they had to deal with was ridiculous to say the least:rolleyes:

 

Im thinking Im not the only dissatisfied recent Carnival cruiser, they seem to be having lots of problems. This is just one more of a whole string lately. Folks jump in each time defending Carnival, but at some point Carnival needs to wake up and start trying to please its pax and fix these problems.

[arm2msm]

Sorry about your trip, we were on the fantasy in april and it was by far the worst cruise we have taken. and dediced after next week trip if it is not any better we may not cruise carnival again (sure i will be flamed for that) but we have taken 3 carnival and 3 RCC and we really enjoy the RCC much better. they seemed to be more organized, better food just better service. i know some angry people will not agree. but that is ok only my op. not that we have had horrible times on Carnival we have had great times but just the comparing of the two RRC was better. but maybe this cruise we are taking will be really great. going on the Legend and really looking forward to it

[Kurbanfan]

Im thinking Im not the only dissatisfied recent Carnival cruiser, they seem to be having lots of problems. This is just one more of a whole string lately. Folks jump in each time defending Carnival, but at some point Carnival needs to wake up and start trying to please its pax and fix these problems.

 

You're not. You are just honest enough to voice your experience.

 

I don't understand the whole defense thing..........everyone deserves a nice cruise. I don't care if it is fresh out of drydock or not.....shouldn't matter, those people paid just as much money as any other cruise.....

It's really kinda creepy to me the way people try justify Carnivals mistakes or any other cruiselines for that matter.............

[farler05]

You're not. You are just honest enough to voice your experience.

 

I don't understand the whole defense thing..........everyone deserves a nice cruise. I don't care if it is fresh out of drydock or not.....shouldn't matter, those people paid just as much money as any other cruise.....

It's really kinda creepy to me the way people try justify Carnivals mistakes or any other cruiselines for that matter.............

True 'dat!

[deepnite10]

i hope the Triumphs refits are better handled:confused:

 

i would be a little annoyed as well..after all..those inconviences

are just thing s im trying to get away from:mad:

[Grits53]

I am definitely a big Carnival fan, supporter, and frequent cheerleader. I love Carnival cruising so much that I have no desire to even try another cruise line. But I have to say that if my one cruise on the Fantasy had been my FIRST cruise, it would have been my last. I did not like the ship or the unprofessional way the captain/decision makers handled matters. (Cabin stewards and wait staff were great.) We were never on time arriving or leaving from any port. Much of our time in each port was lost, due to late arrival with no explanation. And yes, the water does taste bad on the Fantasy.....which means you have to buy their bottled water.....which gets expensive for me, since water is my drink of choice. :rolleyes: I'm glad you were able to enjoy parts of your cruise, despite the problems you encountered on the ship. If you ever decide to go on another Fantasy class ship, try the Ecstasy. Better yet, go first class and try the Conquest! :)

[Aurori]

Don't expect perfection on the inaugural cruise and you will not be disappointed. It is part of the adventure.

 

^this is the gospel. I expected perfection long ago and was sadly disappointed. Never again!

[C cruzer]

I am a platinuim Carnival cust, and I would have not known the exact dates for 1st dry dock sailing months in advance(when I book). So I can understand their disapointment. When we get the people who complain just to hear themselfs talk...well thats different. But these are things that would prob bother most of us. And not once have Ive seen anyone asking for a free cruise, $500 OBC and the captains first child, like the (just to complain) complainers do:rolleyes:

We should also try not to compare cruise lines either, its like looking at a new VS old ship, not a fare comparison.(they are not just off dry dock) But I do look at age when I"m booking, so may-be Carnival should let us know about dry dock dates too!?!