Back from 8/23/14 Fantasy: My Thoughts

Some background: My partner and I have been on approximately 15 cruises over four different cruise lines. We have zero loyalty. We booked Fantasy because she has occasional 7 night sailings (won't book anything less than 7) and we live only about 20-25 minutes from the port. We paid so little for this cruise that we went in with expectations set fairly low. As long as the food was decent and nothing was broken we really felt we could not expect much more.

I will get the few negatives out of the way first. None were so bad as to have a serious impact to our vacation, but they existed none the less.

Booking Chef’s Table: What a mess. The actual Chef's Table experience was wonderful, but getting a spot proved almost more challenging than booking a seat on the space shuttle! From reading CC, I knew there were two ways to make a request prior to boarding, through John Heald's blog and by sending an email to even planning. I did both. Never got a response from my request on the blog. After a month of nothing from event planning I sent them a second email and got a reply saying they were sorry I never heard anything and they would re-send my request to the ship. Again, never heard back. Once on board, we asked a crew member that was selling Cheers packages and she said she could book Chef's Table for us. Great! Two nights later the assistant maître d came to us in the main dining room to confirm. He asked about allergies or other food issues and told us the event would take place the evening of our port call in Nassau. We asked if that was an elegant night and he stated, no, that port days are never elegant nights. Turns out it was the second elegant night! Fortunately we got that confirmed elsewhere.

The Fun Times: This may sound petty to some, but it just shows a lack of attention to details. Every single day of this cruise the Fun Times were filled with grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and misplaced information. After a couple of days it became like a game to see how fast we could find all of the mistakes. The only one that may have caused some confusion was when a new set of Fun Times were created after we missed a port, the lunch hours for the main dining room were actually listed along with the breakfast hours, making it easy to miss.

Playlist Productions: Much has been said about them, and it is pretty much all accurate. What we found really frustrating was that the singers and dancers were actually quite talented and deserved much better than a cheap-looking show with pre-recorded tracks. We attended both The Brits and Motor City and neither was anything to write home about.

Missing Half Moon Cay: Thanks to Tropical Storm Cristobal, we had some less than pleasant weather this trip which resulted in a delayed arrival at Grand Turk and Missing Half Moon Cay altogether. Of course we blame no one for this and actually we thought they did a great job of keeping everyone informed. The crew did try to launch the tenders but the seas were just too rough to do so safely.

Some of Our Fellow Pax: Like on all cruises we have been on, there are a few who complain about everything and/or act like they have no clue how to behave in public. We saw a woman screaming at Guest Services saying over and over again “What exactly is your job? “ Have no idea what her problem was but she would not shut up. On three different occasions I saw a man (different one each time) attempting to enter the main dining room in a sleeveless shirt. All three times they were asked to please change into something with sleeves and then return. And I am more convinced than ever that embarkation, the muster drill and debarkation would go much smoother if people would be quiet, actually read/ listen to the instructions given and then actually follow them.

Location of Dat Band: These guys are really great, extremely talented and engaging. But they deserve far better than to be stuck essentially playing in a hallway. When crowds would gather to watch them it made passing through difficult. It made no sense, particularly when many times Cat’s Lounge (with plenty of seating, and a stage), mere feet away, sat empty.

Ok, enough of that stuff. Here is what we loved.

Condition of The Ship: I have to say, we were thoroughly impressed with how clean and in good repair the Fantasy was for a ship that launched nearly 25 years ago. Also, the refurb took a lot of the tacky décor out that plagues too many Carnival ships. Of the Carnival ships we have sailed on, Fantasy was by far the most subdued and easy on the eyes. We had a blast at Carnival Waterworks (we are two men, one in our 40s and one in our 50s, but big kids at heart), enjoyed relaxing on the promenade (great people-watching!) and in the atrium. Mini Golf was fun and Serenity was heaven! We had booked an ocean view guarantee and were assigned M211 about 3 weeks out. Good location near the aft elevators. Storage was excellent, and we are not light packers! Bed was comfortable and bathroom was adequate.

Meet and Greet: We had a decent turn-out and met some very nice folks. We had decided to meet up at the pool bar at 4:30 after sail-away. Its always fun to talk with some fellow cruise enthusiasts!

Soloist Trent: This guy is terrific (not to mention quite easy on the eyes!). He played guitar and sang a variety of music (mostly country and some rock). We really enjoyed listening to him before dinner (we had late seating) and chatting with him. He interacted a lot with the passengers and tried to play as many requests as he could. He even joined us on our snorkel trip on Grand Turk. Great guy!

The Crew: What can I say? Fantasy has one heck of a good crew! Nearly everyone we came in contact with worked incredibly hard to provide us with a memorable vacation, and did it all with a smile. Special kudos to our excellent dining staff who got to know names and preferences very quickly, our fine cabin steward who kept us well-stocked with ice and our room tidy as can be and Elizabeth at the Windows on The Sea bar who always gave us prompt, very friendly service. Pete the CD was ok, just ok. Seemed like a nice enough guy but I got the impression he is still fairly new to the gig. Perhaps over time he will get better at speaking. The assistant CD, “Donkey”, however, was a riot and did a great job of keeping folks who sat in the theater for two hours waiting to go over to Half Moon Cay advised of what was happening.

Food: I despise buffets so I avoid them at all costs. We did, of necessity have one breakfast there and it was passable. That is all. Why stand in line for mediocre, room temperature food when I can be waited on and receive better quality food served hot? The sea day brunch was a big hit with us. We went several times and really enjoyed the pork chop, the pasta dish, the Caesar salad and the steak and eggs. It’s a nice, varied menu that works for going in for breakfast and then back later for lunch. Dinners in the main dining room overall were very good. Standouts were the prime rib, the mushroom appetizer, seafood nuberg, bitter and blanc and of course warm melting cake.

Chef’s Table: Whoa! Holy cow! Hot diggety-dang! Shall I go on? All of the drama involved in booking this event was made worthwhile once the occasion arrived. The 12 of us that received reservations met in the atrium at 6:30 for what would be a 3.5 hour culinary extravaganza. Those of us who imbibe received a glass of bubbly (my partner and one other gentleman who do not drink were offered ginger ale). We were introduced to our server for the evening and the executive chef who stayed with us for nearly the entire meal. We were led to the galley where we were given a tour, a demonstration on how to make warm melting cake, and were served four different and insanely delicious appetizers. We were then taken to the library where a lovely table for us had been set up. We each had a place card and menus that were rolled into scrolls and had our names embossed on them. Nice touch! A group photo was taken which we were all given a copy of. We then were present eight (!) different courses of some of the most creative and scrumptious cuisine I have ever had. Tomatoes marinated in Chardonnay, an exquisite soup of apple and turnip, rare tuna with sesame crisps, a braised short rib that just melts in your mouth and a dessert that was a feast for the eyes and the palate. We had a wonderful group of fellow diners. Conversation was interesting, funny and contributed greatly to our enjoyment of the evening. The executive chef provided a running commentary on the food, its presentation and gave us some great behind-the-scenes information on the dining staff and how the galley operates. At its conclusion, all in attendance agreed it was a marvelous evening and we would not hesitate to book it again in the future.

White Sands Charters, Grand Turk: We love to snorkel and booked with these guys due to overwhelmingly positive reviews. We were late getting to Grand Turk due to strong winds, but they were waiting for us as soon as we disembarked. They warned us that the swells were high and visibility may not be the best (turned out be excellent) so if we wanted to cancel they would let us do so without charging us. We decided to plunge ahead and I’m so glad we did! These guys run a top-notch operation. There were I believe 10 of us (including our buddy from the atrium, Trent) plus two crew members. We snorkeled over The Wall (amazing experience!), a shallow reef, and were taken to Gibbes Cay to interact with the sting rays. It was a great time despite the rough seas. We have snorkeled all over the Caribbean and Mexico and this was probably in our top three. I highly recommend these guys.

Overall we had a very nice vacation on a very comfortable ship with an outstanding crew. I am happy to answer any questions you guys may have.

Thanks for the review of our favorite ship! Sorry you had a had time booking the Chef's Table. Both times that we booked it, we did so through the request form on John Heald's blog. Within 24 hours, we received a confirmation email from the ships maitre' d. And, being a teacher, I agree with you about the grammar and spelling on the Fun Times. However, I just chalk it up to it being done by someone from another country (not that this is an excuse, but spelling and grammar may vary from other countries).

I can't wait to sail on her again. We're just up the road a little bit past you so getting to the port is easy peasy for us too.

Missing Half Moon Cay: Thanks to Tropical Storm Cristobal, we had some less than pleasant weather this trip which resulted in a delayed arrival at Grand Turk and Missing Half Moon Cay altogether. Of course we blame no one for this and actually we thought they did a great job of keeping everyone informed. The crew did try to launch the tenders but the seas were just too rough to do so safely.

That alone would put a damper on my cruise .

Good OP report despite that.

Thanks for the review. Glad to hear so many positive things about the Fantasy since we will be on her in December. :cool:

Glad you boyz had fun! We will be playing your version of Search the Fractured Fun Times on all future cruises. On our last cruise the Fun Times had the usual hiccups but also had us returning to Long Beach before we had been to Ensenada!! Talk about fun times...;)

That is a nice and well written review. Thanks for posting.

Thanks for the review of our favorite ship! Sorry you had a had time booking the Chef's Table. Both times that we booked it, we did so through the request form on John Heald's blog. Within 24 hours, we received a confirmation email from the ships maitre' d.

Yeah, have no idea why none of the methods worked for us. Just glad we got in. Chef's Table is not to be missed if you are a foodie!

Thanks for the review. Glad to hear so many positive things about the Fantasy since we will be on her in December.

Have a great time! We sure did!

Glad you boyz had fun! We will be playing your version of Search the Fractured Fun Times on all future cruises. On our last cruise the Fun Times had the usual hiccups but also had us returning to Long Beach before we had been to Ensenada!! Talk about fun times...

We most definitely had fun! Although it was not that big of a deal, I had just never seen a daily program on any ship so poorly done. Its like a mediocre third grader wrote them. Come on guys, have you not heard of spell check and proofreading?

nice, balanced review, thanks for posting.

This info about the Fun Times has me curious. I have the Fun Times from our Fantasy cruise about a month ago right beside me, so I picked up one and started reading it. Here are the only errors (possibly) that I found:

1. Notices about the Spa, advertising a special. Said it included a hot stones (plural) massage. I realize there is more than one stone used, but it is commonly referred to as hot stone massage (is than an error? maybe)

2. It advertised for KARAOKE AWESOME. I thought it should be awesome karaoke, but maybe it is called this for a reason, to be catchy (is than an error, I don't know).

What type of errors did you find? I know grammar and spelling, but curious on specifics? Also, did you save copies, maybe you could scan them in for us to read?

I love to proofread and find errors! No, my posts are not always perfect - I do get lazy :o

Thank you for sharing your review. Fantasy is the only Fantasy-class ship we've sailed and we really liked her. I liked your comment about the waterslides - I'm a 50-something and I think I spent more time on the slides than my sons did.:D

Did you notice any air conditioning issues? Hearing a lot about that

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molly5673: No air conditioning issues for us. We were able to keep the room cool enough for us (low 70's) but could warm it up when needed.

funinthesun1964 : Did not keep copies of the Fun Times. We used to save the dailies from all of our cruises but realized that we rarely go back and look at them. I specifically remember the word "you" being spelled "yo". The hours for opening seating lunch in the Celebration dining room were actually listed under the breakfast times on one occasion. A couple of activities were listed twice with different locations. It was very strange.

molly5673: No air conditioning issues for us. We were able to keep the room cool enough for us (low 70's) but could warm it up when needed.

 

funinthesun1964 : Did not keep copies of the Fun Times. We used to save the dailies from all of our cruises but realized that we rarely go back and look at them. I specifically remember the word "you" being spelled "yo". The hours for opening seating lunch in the Celebration dining room were actually listed under the breakfast times on one occasion. A couple of activities were listed twice with different locations. It was very strange.

That is weird. Must have had a new or replacement person doing that job. Yes, I agree, people should proofread! It looks very unprofessional when there are many errors in a publication.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I love Fantasy. If I lived closer, I'd sail her multiple times a year. I was on her a year ago and, honestly, I miss her (and my favorite wait team, Rafael and Seville).

I wonder who actually does the FunTimes. In all my cruises on her (within the last 5 years or so since she's been in Charleston), I haven't seen any typos, grammatical errors, or poor spelling. I just cannot imagine that Risa would've let the FunTimes be distributed with errors. She's just not that sort, you know what I mean? Perhaps the new CD is one of these guys (like most that I work with) who neither notices or cares about such things. :(

I don't "do" buffets, either. I always get an omelette for breakfast from the back of the buffet by the pizza/deli. I actually prefer them to the MDR breakfasts I've had.

I don't have a problem with the Playlist shows. I really enjoyed both The Brits and Motor City (seen them both multiple times). I also saw The Brits on a larger ship and the difference in the production was rather a surprise. I think the Fantasy-class ships simply don't have the stage area to put on the "full" show. But I think it's very clever and entertaining how they do these, personally. I quit going to shows after only a couple of cruises because I thought the singers were not good. IMHO, if you're supposed to be a professional, you should at least be on key! What's the point in having a live band if the singers are terrible? I only started going again because I wanted to see Ticket to Ride, and I loved it! I really go just because of the genre of music. I'm a child of the 60s.