Do I Dare Take a Cruise on Carnival Fantasy?

My H and I are wanting to sneak away for a quick cruise for our Anniversary. We cannot afford to shut our company down for more than a day or two. This leaves us with few cruises to choose from.

The only one that will really fit our needs is on the Carnival Fantasy. It is within driving distance of Nashville, is a 4 Night over the weekend, and we will only miss two days of work.

Problem, the only cruise line I have ever been on is Royal Caribbean. I have heard many Royal Caribbean Cruisers express dissapointment on Carnival. I am hesitant to give Carnival a try.

Has anyone been on Carnival Fantasy recently? Do you have pictures? What was your overall opinion?

Fantasy or Nothing? I would take the Fantasy. :rolleyes:

Go in with an open mind, but realize that the Fantasy is pretty old and small compared to the newer ships.

For a quick getaway it will be fine, think of it as an adverture!!!

Sue

a 1990 built ship, but refurbished in 2005. I'd certainly go. Just don't expect the best of cruising on her.

By all means, try the Fantasy! We cruised from NO on the Fantasy Nov. 27th on a 5 night to Cozumel and Costa Maya. We were also looking for a shorter cruise within driving distance from our home in AL. Fantasy is a beautiful ship and really didn't how her age in our opinion. Smaller than many but still beautiful and with a great crew. This was our 13th cruise and our 4th on Carnival. If you have any specific questions, just email me and I'll be happy to give you our experiences. We had a great time!

Let's see, Older, smaller ship or no cruise. That's a tough one. Uh, lets see. Hmmmmmmmm.

My answer:

No questions about it,

GO!!!!!

If you go with the right attitude you will have a blast. :D

I would go.

Have you visited the Carnival board to try and gather more information on her?

I have tried to get some input on the Carnival Boards. So far no response. I really wanted some recent pictures of her.

Thanks for all of the input. You are all thinking exactly what I am. Fantasy or no cruise...go with Fantasy!

Joanz:

Do you have any pics of the Fantasy?

I have tried to get some input on the Carnival Boards. So far no response. I really wanted some recent pictures of her.

Thanks for all of the input. You are all thinking exactly what I am. Fantasy or no cruise...go with Fantasy!

Joanz:

Do you have any pics of the Fantasy?

Ten of us took the five day Nov. 27th Fantasy cruise. We each paid $159 for interior cabins. We had a great time. Three of my four cruises have been on Carnival and just one so far on Royal Caribbean. New Orleans is an easy drive from our home in the northern part of Mississippi and sometimes the price is just too good to pass up. But, Royal Caribbean has Carnival beat in every way. I say take the Fantasy cruise, but keep your expectations low.

Ten of us took the five day Nov. 27th Fantasy cruise. We each paid $159 for interior cabins. We had a great time. Three of my four cruises have been on Carnival and just one so far on Royal Caribbean. New Orleans is an easy drive from our home in the northern part of Mississippi and sometimes the price is just too good to pass up. But, Royal Caribbean has Carnival beat in every way. I say take the Fantasy cruise, but keep your expectations low.

HOLY MOLY!!!!! :eek: :)

http://youtube.com/results?search_query=fantasy+cruise

There is the link to a few videos on youtube.

Honestly, I would vote no cruise as opposed to the Fantasy, unless you like an over-indulgent crude atmosphere onboard an ugly ship. I have sailed Disney, Princess, NCL and Carnival (never RCCL.) We were on the first sailing of the Glory which was beautiful with good entertainment and food. However, we spent most of the cruise w/o air conditioning. We swore never again on Carnival. Last Easter, the Sensation was the only cruise which would fit our schedule. The Fantasy was substituted. It was horrible. The weather was very bad and we made it to only one port. So, that meant we spent most of our time in the ugly interiror with little to nothing to do. When we returned to Port Canaveral, we called the airline, extended our stay by 1 night and spent a night at a luxury hotel in Orlando just so we could feel like we really did get a vacation (we wished we had just done for the whole 5 days.) So, I say don't do it.

Well that was a delayed double post.

Fantasy is a pretty little ship. Go...you'll have a great time. As for the "review", take it with a grain of salt. Bad weather can mar anyone's outlook. Here's a copy of the Capers for the Fantasy. There is plenty to do onboard!

http://www.webshots.com/search?query=fantasy+cruise+capers&new=1&source=chromeheader

I would go for sure, just don't go into it with high expectations. We have cruised on Carnival, the Imagination, Fantasy's sistership. We had a good little getaway, but it really didn't compare to Royal Caribbean in my mind. But, if it was Fantasy or no cruise, Fantasy all the way. We have some friends who took their first cruise on Fantasy last week and they loved it, so who knows, you might end up havign a really great time.

I have tried to get some input on the Carnival Boards. So far no response. I really wanted some recent pictures of her.

 

Thanks for all of the input. You are all thinking exactly what I am. Fantasy or no cruise...go with Fantasy!

 

Joanz:

Do you have any pics of the Fantasy?

Catherine, most of my photos are of people and ports. I do have a few of the ship I could email you. The ship was extremely well maintained and very clean. We are sailing on RCL Freedom of the Seas on Sunday the 21st so the difference in size may be a shock to us!

Definitely go! We did the Inspiration, Fantasy's sister ship, and were very happy with it! We found the food, room sizes, and shows to be quite a bit better on Carnival, while the ship decor and activities were better on RCI. Service was outstanding on both.

It is I, Cruising Catherine, logged onto my H's laptop.

I would love it if you would e-mail me the pictures. My email is catherine 3144 @ hotmail .com (No Spaces)

You are all making me feel better about this ship. Some of the reviews I have read have not been very favorable.

My H and I are going to go ahead and book the cruise. Figure if we go in with a good attitude we can have a great time. Won't expect it to be as elegant as RCCL.

Couple of questions for those of you who have been on the ship:

1. How formal are there formal nights? I have some very elegant formal gowns and some that are more cocktail kind.

2. Does Carnival have a Wine and Dine type of package or soda packages?

3. Are there some extras that would be unexpected as a seasoned RCCL cruiser?

Thanks for all of your help.

There is nothing wrong with Carnival, in fact I like it better than RCCL.

Much better food, bigger cabins, shows are the same.

I have found formal to be the same on all lines, some dress, some don;t.

All cruise lines have the soda card.

No unexpected charges.

Suggest you click on the Carnival board - the cruise line, not CC - and pull up "Ships" or "Fleet" click on the ship you are considering and it should show you such things as deck plans, cabin layouts and maybe pictures of representative cabin categories.

as far as an elegant ball type gown, I would not waste the space; settle for a dressy cocktail dress because short cruises tend to be much less dressy, even on formal nights:)

I agree with ILOV2CRUS.

Fantasy and Glory were better than Mariner in our opinion. Cabin serbice was better and food MUCH better

I agree with ILOV2CRUS.

Fantasy and Glory were better than Mariner in our opinion. Cabin service was better and food MUCH better,

I've only been on two cruises - Adventure of the Sea and Fantasy - We found Fantasy to be far below AOS. Granted, we got a good price $250ish. The biggeset differences were the service and food. I would put them two levels below AOS. The food was poor enough that I would really think twice before taking another Carnival cruise. The rest was good - room, entertainment, excursions, etc. If you're just looking to get out and get some sun - go for it. If you're looking for great food or service, I'd skip. Your call.

I've only been on two cruises - Adventure of the Sea and Fantasy - We found Fantasy to be far below AOS. Granted, we got a good price $250ish. The biggeset differences were the service and food. I would put them two levels below AOS. The food was poor enough that I would really think twice before taking another Carnival cruise. The rest was good - room, entertainment, excursions, etc. If you're just looking to get out and get some sun - go for it. If you're looking for great food or service, I'd skip. Your call.

you can't actually compare the Fantasy to AOS.

You're comparing a 17 year old ship with no bells and whistles to a modern state of the art ship.

Fantasy just came out of dry dock in the summer and looks great.

Bill

My H and I are wanting to sneak away for a quick cruise for our Anniversary. We cannot afford to shut our company down for more than a day or two. This leaves us with few cruises to choose from.

 

The only one that will really fit our needs is on the Carnival Fantasy. It is within driving distance of Nashville, is a 4 Night over the weekend, and we will only miss two days of work.

 

Problem, the only cruise line I have ever been on is Royal Caribbean. I have heard many Royal Caribbean Cruisers express dissapointment on Carnival. I am hesitant to give Carnival a try.

 

Has anyone been on Carnival Fantasy recently? Do you have pictures? What was your overall opinion?

IMHO

A short cruise on a older ship

or

no cruise

the math is easy!