mackenzie80

Fantasy is a great ship. Some have mentioned rust, from outside, yes the ship looks older. But on board I never saw rust, everything was clean, great shape, and I had a blast.

As previously mentioned there are dogs sniffing bags, and I saw Authorities searching random bags and making people throw stuff away.

Really depends on each location.

I have been considering a solo cruise and appreciate your review! I'm trying to figure out the most cost saving way to do it...

I think I paid $667 and that included gratuities prepaid. Another $125 for Bubbles/Internet pkg and that was most of my expense. Oh, add on $100 for parking.

My recent sailing on the Fantasy my card was punched already when I got it. I took a lanyard with a clip on end, and just took lanyard off to give to them to swipe, or just pulled down to open my door. Plastic sleeve will get annoying quickly, and could fall out.

Tuesday was our Sea Day! I woke up early so decided to go to the Universal Lounge for the Morning Show. Was a lot of fun to watch while sipping on a morning Mimosa from the bar!

Once the show ended I went to Brunch. I tried the Mac & Cheese with Fried Chicken and one of the Pasta dishes. Everything was delicious! For Dessert I had the Banana Creme Pie....so good!

I spent most of the afternoon wandering the ship, exploring, and browsing the shops. I did go to the Excursions Lecture by Mikey but found it to be very boring, so didn't stay for the entire thing.

The first night everything was very smooth. However I noticed on the second day, and each remaining day that I noticed the ship moving much more than normal. Things were a bit rocky, but not so much that you couldn't enjoy yourself.

I had another burger from Guy's that afternoon, and then ordered some room service. I have to say that I am disappointed in the "no fee" room service menu. Very little on it. Also if you order Pizza from Room Service, save your time and money and go upstairs and order one yourself. By the time it got to my room it was not good, and cheese had gotten hard.

My overall rating of the food is as follows:

Buffet: About what you would expect. Enjoyed some of the Carribean Dishes that they offered, and did breakfast here several mornings. They also offered a late night snack of hotdogs and a few other things for those late nighters. Lasted till 1am I think.

I never tried the Sandwich station.

Pizza was amazing

Ice Cream and Frozen Yougurt - oh so yummy!

Cantina - never ate there

Guy's - Very good. Sometimes aggravating when people wouldn't read the menu and would then order a burger with all these things on it, when they could have just called the burger by it's name. I became addicted to their french fries. Oh so good.

Main Dining Room: Take advantage of ordering multiple things that you would never try, or aren't sure you might like. My server would bring several smaller dishes. I honestly couldn't find anything I didn't like. On one night I did order a steak off the menu, it was good, but not amazing. I also enjoyed the entertainment by the waitstaff. For those with smaller children they would teach kids how to fold hats or ships with their napkins, and entertained even the nosiest child.

Anyway after dinner that night I went to the shows, and then to the Comedy show. We had Diane Folsmer (I think that was her name) and the Cowboy Comedian. They were both hilarious. Only went to the R-Rated shows and laughed each night till I cried. I did go to all of their shows for the entire cruise and always had different material.

I was on same cruise with you and anxious to read your take on our cruise.

Feel free to add your experience as well. Overall mine was excellent. Few things here and there that I hope to get to.

I hope to post more today or tomorrow, work has been kicking my butt since being back after off a entire week!

Great start, thanks.

 

We haven't been to the Mobile port before (live in Montgomery) so the info on parking is appreciated.

 

I gather you didn't have to 'wait under the bridge' as I've read, prior to getting to the parking lot. Correct?

I've prepaid for the parking. Do you have to park 'nose in' so that your tag is visible? I've found it much easier debarking if I can back in. Not a problem, just curious.

 

My wife and I are avid dancers. Did you notice which bands, if any, were good to dance to?

 

Thanks in advance for your answers.

I enjoyed all of the bands - don't remember any of their names but danced at almost ever club, band, and venue. I had to wait about 5 minutes for parking, so no under the bridge. As for "nose in" several other people backed in, I just pulled in beacuse I was ready to be on the ship!

Greetings Cruise Critic!

I wanted to share a review on my recent cruise onboard the Fantasy.

Just a little bit about me. I am 37 and from Birmingham, AL. For this cruise I had booked it as a congrats on your divorce present to myself using my Alimony payments. At the time I didn't want to cruise with anyone, so I booked a solo cabin.

Leading up to the cruise I think I read every single Cruise Critic thread about the Fantasy and probably most of the reviews. It was a mixed bag honestly. Many called the ship old, run down, and others said it was fantastic. In life I tend to be a "Glass is Half Full" person, but when it comes to vacations and spending a lot of money, I typically expect the worse!

So after packing, re-packing, and over-packing I woke up the Monday morning for my drive to Mobile. Kissed the boyfriend goodbye, and was on my way!

Luckily Mobile is only about a 3 hour drive from Birmingham, so I left at 7am CST and arrived at the Parking Garage at 11:10am CST. So this leads me to my first tip/issue/rant.......PAY YOUR PARKING IN ADVANCE PEOPLE. There is a handy little website: http://www.shipmobile.com/parking/

This allows you to select your vehicle, pre-pay your parking. They pass out things saying you can pre-pay while waiting in line. But more than 75% of the people that were boarding with me tried to use a little kiosk machine.

But backing up, when you get to the port, follow police directions to enter the Terminal. You will stop and Porters will help you unload your bags, don't forget to tip them. As I stated earlier I overpacked so I gave him a $10.00 tip for 2 larger bags. Once you have unloaded follow the line to the upper parking decks. Park anywhere you can find a spot that doesn't have a reserved sign for crew/employees on it. You will see a sign that says to take a picture of your tag....if you prepay IGNORE that. If you chose to be one of THOSE people, take a picture of your tag.

Now, if you prepaid parking you can skip the LONG line at the kiosk and take the elevators to the first floor and enter the queue to check-in. If you didn't you have to stand in the long kiosk payment line. No attendants. You need your tag # so you can enter it when you pay, thats how they check who has paid and who hasn't by riding around on golf carts and checking tag numbers. There are huge signs about fines and towing if you chose not to pay.

Once you get into the main queue there is one for Priority Guests and Regular. I entered the terminal at 11:18am. my check-in time was 11:30-12:00. The lines were long but I got through the first check point where you show your passport and boarding pass. Next go through the scanners/body scanners. Then another line where they check you in, take picture if needed, apply cash to Sign & Sail Card, and take your medical forms. Several people were turned away because they filled the forms out the week before and had the previous weeks date on it. Most of the date of the day you are boarding the ship.

Once you are done here, you take your picture (I skipped this line) and I was able to walk right onto the ship at 12:10pm.

As our rooms weren't going to be ready until 1:30pm I chose to go eat at Guy's Burgers and eat outside near the pool. The Lido Buffet had MASSIVE lines. Guy's I had my food in less than 3 minutes.

I had purchased the Bottomless Bubbles and Premium Internet Package. For the Bottomless Bubbles you need to go to the Atrium Bar and ask for your sticker. There is also a table setup there with information on how to log into the Carnival Wifi.

A bit on the Wifi - I met people with the Social package and Value Package. Both complained about things being blocked or taking 3-4 minutes to load. I had the Premium Package. Things could be slow or take 5-10 seconds to load, but was considerably much faster. I was also able to use Facebook Messenger to call my boyfriend and mother every morning/night. Around middle of the cruise I realized that since I had a IPhone and ATT I could do Wifi calling at no additional charge. That would work periodically. If you are planning on using the Wifi I would suggest Premium if wanting to make calls etc.

After I finished all of this it was 1:05pm and I decided to see if I could get into my room. I booked on the Empress Deck room E238 with Oceanview. It was at the very back of the ship, and luckily my room was ready! I unpacked my carry-on bags and within 5 minutes I had both of my other checked luggage. I was able to be unpacked by 2:15pm.

After exploring the ship a bit I went out to the Muster Drill which was long, hot, and boring. Get there earlier so you can get a seat and not have to stand. Once muster was completed I was off to the Serenity Deck where I lounged in the hot-tub during Sail-Away.

Once I was back to my room I met my Room Steward Ludi. He asked if I wanted daily service, morning, or evening. I went with Evening, he said he would do that during my dining time around 8-8:15pm each night. He also asked of any special needs, offered robes, extra blankets, pillows, etc.

I got dressed the first night and went to the Hasbro Game Show, and to my surprise wound up being chosen as a contestant. My team won, and you get neat little prizes, but I wasn't the grand prize winner.

Since I was crusing Solo I had asked John Heald on his page to arrange for me to sit with other solo cruisers. After the Hasbro Show I go to dinner, and I am at a table with just that! Over the week we all became good friends, and would hang out or go to shows and events each night.

Our Team Head Waitress was Sunita, Team Waiter was Katalin, and Asst. Waiter Wonshim. These 3 were amazing the entire week!

I will post more on the food, dining, events throughout the week, and general observations at a later time.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask and I hope to upload picture soon too!

No, and if you look at what the infractions were for it was silly stuff that wasn't due to nasty/dirty conditions.

47 days until I sail on the Fantasy!

This happened to me. As previously stated if you don't exit out of your reservation properly it can get locked up. If you call customer service they are able to unlock for you.

Or just clear your browser and cookies and log back in.

I guess I was referring also to alot of the events held throughout the week. Things worth attending, things that didn't meet expectations! Thanks Rissacon378 checking it out now!

I have looked for similar threads, but didn't see anything recent.

What are some MUST See things on the Oasis? This will be our first time cruising on this ship, and I have heard from multiple people that you will have a hard time seeing and doing everything.

So what are some things you think are a MUST SEE, and what are some things you would recommend missing or skipping out on?

Has anyone used the Go Port Canaveral site? Saying you can have hotel night before and keep car parked for length of cruise.

Parking at Cruise Ship is $128.

Seems too good to be true, but thought I would ask if anyone has had experience with this?

So for those of you who have already cruised on the Oasis any types for first timers!?

Thanks for all of the info!!

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Hey everyone! First off I want to say how much I have enjoyed reading up on the cruise! This will be our first cruise (hubby and myself). We are going on Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas January 22, 2018 to the Western Caribbean (Haiti, Jamacia, Cozumel stops) for 7 days.

Will it be cold on the ship while out at sea? I realize the first and last day being at port in the US will likely be cooler, but wondering about my at Sea days. Will we be able to enjoy the pool or layout or will we freeze?