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Fantasy - Our Cruise of "Firsts" - 8/31 - 9/5

chasinraynbowz

By chasinraynbowz,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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peachcrek

peachcrek

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Pam as always I forget to get the camera out, due to having to much fun or the kodak moment is over, so thanks for the pics as so I can relive the days!! great fun and good times, nice to meet everyone, my group had a good time and great meeting everyone and don"t forget to post our signed Banner!!!

Fran

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chasinraynbowz Great Review Rare

chasinraynbowz

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Did you think the suite was worth the extra that you paid for it? It doesn't look bigger than most regular balcony cabins, and you had an obstructed view.

 

I was on the Fantasy and those balconies looked really small and not very private.

 

Really enjoying your review and all the pictures.

 

 

For us, it was worth the extra money because even with the upgrade/upsell... we still paid less than we did the last time we cruised on Fantasy. So it was a little added bonus.

 

The balconies are small... lol... but we were both able to enjoy it each morning with our coffee. You could look over the rail and see your neighbor, but our balcony on our last cruise was the same way.... some privacy, but not too private.

 

From what I understand, the cabin itself is the same size as the balcony rooms on newer ships. But again, for us... it was worth it. We enjoyed having the extra space and having the sofa.

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poptart

poptart

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Pam,

I'm thrilled with your review!! I think it's the 1st Fantasy review I've seen with pictures since I booked our November cruise in January!!!

 

We've sailed her before but not since the upgrades. We're doing her very 1st cruise out of Mobile.

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chasinraynbowz

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Happy Birthday, the big one:D Great pictoral review, my favorite kind.. Tell me more about the gift bag exchange. That sounds really neat. What kind of things were in the bags?

 

 

Thanks so much!!!

 

The gift bag exchange was fun! Everyone can either draw numbers (one thru whatever) or you can hand out tickets which is what we did (Fran brought 2 part tickets, so everyone got one and the other part went into a bucket).

 

We had everyone open their giftbag once they chose one. There were lots of different interesting things. For us, being from Memphis, I headed to Graceland and picked up a few things - something from Graceland (Elvis), salt and pepper shakers that said Memphis and a shot glass that said Tennessee. Some people had tshirts, magnets, mugs, food.... you name it!

 

Its great fun!!

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chasinraynbowz Great Review Rare

chasinraynbowz

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I am loving your review. The pictures are great.

 

Happy birthday to you.

 

One question.. you said the buffet had the same food as the dining room on elegant night. Did they have any lobster on the buffet?

 

No, I apologize, they did not have lobster. They did have steak and Hot Melting Choc Cake (yummm)!! It seemed most nights that one or two of the entrees offered in the dining room were also offered in the buffet.

 

Thanks the the birthday wishes!

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chasinraynbowz

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Thanks everyone for the b'day wishes and I am glad you are enjoying the review.

 

I promise I will finish tonight!!! It may be a bit later, but it will get done!! I am back at the office today (you know, that dreaded 4 letter word... lol) and they dont get too amused when we play on the internet :confused:.... lol.

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jetskier

jetskier

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Did you think the suite was worth the extra that you paid for it? It doesn't look bigger than most regular balcony cabins, and you had an obstructed view.

 

I was on the Fantasy and those balconies looked really small and not very private.

 

Really enjoying your review and all the pictures.

 

The Cat 11 balconies are not private as they are set inboard. Anyone walking up the stairs can look into them. The Cat 12's on the Upper deck offer more privacy and a whole lot more room inside the cabin.

 

I just cannot justify the price when I could take two cruises for what I would pay for one.

 

But then again you have folks that only take one cruise in their lifetime (oh the horror).

 

Dave

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chasinraynbowz Great Review Rare

chasinraynbowz

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The Cat 11 balconies are not private as they are set inboard. Anyone walking up the stairs can look into them. The Cat 12's on the Upper deck offer more privacy and a whole lot more room inside the cabin.

 

I just cannot justify the price when I could take two cruises for what I would pay for one.

 

But then again you have folks that only take one cruise in their lifetime (oh the horror).

 

Dave

 

I guess I got lucky then. I didn't pay that much extra, but then again it was an upsell. I booked ES for a 6A OV, upgraded to a 6B, had OBC and then paid an additional $100 pp for the upgrade to the suite. Even then, we still paid less than what we paid for our OV cabin in 2006.

 

Now on with the review!!!

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chasinraynbowz

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Friday

We both slept in till 9am and as was our daily ritual had coffee on our balcony before heading to breakfast on the Lido. After breakfast we decided to start packing (instead of waiting till the last minute). Before we knew it, it was lunch time so we headed to the Lido for lunch and then to the casino to spend the last of my winnings… lol. (It was great to be gambling on THEIR money for a change!). We had arranged to meet Susan and Bill and a few others in our cabin for some good conversation, some laughs and one last bottle of champagne (thanks Bill).

 

At 3pm, we headed down to formal tea. They had 2 tables for 2 available, so Greg made a beeline for the door.. hahaha! Susan and I had tea together and laughed about how quickly Greg got away!!

 

After tea, we finished packing and headed down to the dining room for our last dinner at sea. We all compared notes and all agreed this had been a great cruise! After we finished eating, I noticed everyone was getting dessert menus, but not us. I knew something was up. Our head waiter and his helper came over with a small cake and candle and everyone sang happy birthday to me!! My husband had surprised me!! Then, our waiter came over with a tray and WOW…. Crème Brulee for our table… and our table only!! I was honored!!! This was definately another FIRST!!!

 

After dinner, we headed back to the cabin to put out our suitcases and then to watch the final show “Ticket to Ride”. It wasn’t what I expected, but I enjoyed it.

 

After that we headed up to the front of the ship on the Verandah deck and watched as we sailed back into the Mississippi River. We headed to bed around midnight knowing we had an early call in the morning.

 

Saturday

What a sad morning. We woke up to NO room service and we were back in New Orleans… lol. We got dressed and got everything together and headed out to the Lido deck for coffee and to begin our wait to be called for disembarking. We sat with Joe and Judy and we heard the lady say that those on the Verandah deck could begin disembarking now. So we decided to try and beat the rush and headed out.

 

We got off the ship and started down the gangway and were told to turn around and get back on the ship… lol. She said we must have misunderstood. Well, we weren’t the only ones who heard what we heard, but since the luggage was still on the ship we headed back to the Lido deck. They finally called Zone 1 around 9am so we headed down and got into a MUCH longer line… ugh. It didn’t take long at all. We were off the ship and headed to our hotel by 10am.

 

We checked into our hotel, the DoubleTree across from Harrahs. This hotel is not the best I have stayed in, not the worst either, but the walls were toooooo thin. The bed, however, was to die for! Since we could not get into our room yet, we walked over to the Aquarium (a FIRST for me) and took the tour. After the aquarium, and after the rain died down, we walked to the Riverfront Mall for lunch and for some pictures of the Fantasy. After the rain died down again, we walked back to our hotel. After a 30 minute wait, we were allowed into our room. Greg rested while I took a long, hot bath to sooth my aching feet!! Up and out again at 4pm to get pictures of the Fantasy leaving port and then onto the trolley for a ride down to the French Market. We walked thru the market, picking up a few items and then walked to Café Du Monde for some beignets and something COLD to drink.

 

Rested, we walked over to Jackson Square and then back onto to the trolley and the 2 block walk back to our hotel. After dinner, we laid down in the room to watch TV around 8pm and woke up the next morning a 9am. BOY WERE WE TIRED!!! More tired than we both realized I guess… lol.

 

We got up and while Greg was taking his shower, I headed downstairs to get some pastries and coffee. It was only 10am and they were out already! UGH. So back upstairs to shower and pack. Since check out wasn’t until noon, we walked 6 or 7 blocks to CVS to get some cokes and possibly some breakfast. No breakfast was available anywhere so once back at the hotel, I ordered 2 grilled cheese sandwiches to take with us. We checked out and our taxi arrived to take us to the train station. We checked our luggage then sat down and ate our sandwiches.

 

We all boarded the train at 130pm for the 145pm trip home. We met some great people on the train and some of them had been on the cruise with us!! We arrived in Memphis at 10pm with my son and grandson there waiting for us!!

 

Greg and I both agree that this has to be our favorite cruise so far. I think what made it so special were the people in our roll call and our new friends Joe and Judy! Anywhere we went on the ship, we saw people we knew and since we had been on the ship before, it was like being home!

 

The rest of the pictures will be posted after this! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

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beccadoby

beccadoby

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Thanks so much for doing this review. DH, the kids and I will be on the Fantasy in a little under 2 weeks. Can't wait. Your review is just fuelling my excitement!!!

 

Ginjer,

are you on the Sept 19th roll call?

 

My family is also on this cruise, see you then!

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chasinraynbowz

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Sounds like you had a wonderful cruise! Thank you so much for sharing with us. I can hardly wait, only 20 more days!

 

Have a GREAT cruise!!!!

 

Thanks for the great review! My fiance (will be DH then!) and I are taking our first cruise on the Fantasy out of Mobile November 16. I can't wait.

 

Congrats and have a GREAT cruise!!!

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