Color Fantasy Review

[kaisatsu]

I've been meaning to post a review since I got back from our 2-night Oslo-Kiel cruise a month ago, but since it can't be submitted in the usual way, I haven't really gotten around to it yet.

Ship: Color Fantasy

Sailing Dates: 31 Oct 2009 - 2 Nov 2009

 

We decided to do the 2-night roundtrip Oslo-Kiel cruise with some friends to celebrate my birthday this year, and our collective schedules meant that we ended up sailing the weekend of October 31st, so we chose to make it a dual birthday and Halloween celebration.

Booking

We booked a package through the Color Line website that included the roundtrip sailing, cabin, 2 buffet breakfasts, 1 buffet dinner, and 1 2-course dinner in the main restaurant. Normally the roundtrip "cruise" package includes two buffet dinners, but thanks to a promotion, we got our first night's dinner in the restaurant instead.

 

Alternatively, it is also possible to book just the ferry trip without any included meals, choosing instead to purchase food in the main restaurant, the buffet, or another restaurant on board. Or to pack your own for a truly budget cruise!

 

We did notice that when we went to book the trip, Color Line's UK website (in English) showed different prices/packages compared to the Norwegian website. Since the better deal was only available on the Norwegian site, we stumbled through the booking in Norwegian. In the passenger information, we had a limited number of options for our nationalities, and ours were not listed. We just selected Norway and thankfully didn't have any problems with the rest of the booking or on checking in.

 

Embarkation

We arrived at the ferry terminal in the morning, but embarkation does not begin until 1:00 pm. We passed through security and then had to sit around the terminal until boarding. There was a small shop, but not much else. Once boarding began, the process was quick and efficient. Information on our boarding cards/room keys indicated which lifts to use once on board to reach our cabin faster.

 

Cabin

We opted for the least expensive cabin class, since it was a short trip (and Norwegian prices are sky high even when they're on sale). I was pleasantly surprised by the cabin. Although small, the cabin was comfortable, with two convertible sofas and one fold-down upper bunk. The small television had a number of Norwegian and German channels, and the room had a small (empty) refrigerator. The bathroom was actually a bit larger than a lot of cruise staterooms we've stayed in and was clean and well lit. The hallway between the cabins was also a bit nicer than some ships we've sailed, including the Fantasy's larger contemporary, Voyager of the Seas. The cabin doors are styled to look more like traditional ship cabin doors with a faux porthole and slatted texture. Walking down the hallway gives a much stronger feeling of being on a ship than I've experienced with the non-descript or hotel-like stateroom doors on larger ships.

 

Around the Ship

The general decor on the ship is predominantly glass and metallic without a lot of flashy colors. Aside from some decidedly strange artwork in the stairwells, the ship's style reminded me more of the Princess ships than its Royal Caribbean relatives.

 

Having sailed on the Voyager of the Seas, I knew I wouldn't be bowled over by the indoor promenade, but I realized that the concept makes much more sense on the Color ferries than it does on the mega-ships. Color Magic and Color Fantasy sail back and forth between Kiel and Oslo - a route that's not particularly well known for its weather. The ship is designed to have a focus on being inside, away from the elements, and during many sailings, some of the outside decks are even closed. With the focus tuned inward, it makes sense to have the central main area and thoroughfare that the promenade provides.

 

Shopping

Moreover, there are commercial enterprises to fill the promenade space. On the traditional cruise ships, the promenade is lined with a few jewelry, souvenir, and Duty-Free shops and the rest of the space is occupied by lounges and small secondary dining options. In the case of the ferry, there is a true market for this indoor shopping mall. Given the high VAT at either end of the ferry route (and the especially high prices at the Oslo end), there is a significant market for on-board shopping, so there are shops selling clothing, DVDs, etc. along with the typical souvenirs and jewelry. As for the small restaurants and pub along the promenade, these serve a very real purpose, since many guests are traveling one-way and purchasing their food en route.

 

Since Duty Free shopping is a major factor in the Scandinavian ferry experience, the duty free shop is located on a lower deck away from the shopping-mall area of the promenade. Instead, the large duty free shop functions more like a market (complete with shopping carts and checkout lanes). The shop stocks a wide array of chocolate, alcohol, and tobacco and is open long hours during the sailing. Unlike traditional cruises, passengers may take their purchases with them immediately. Alcohol can be consumed in the cabin, but not in the public areas, and some juices and mixers are available at the duty free market. I'm not sure whether the market carries meat (a surprisingly common cross-border purchase for Norwegians). One friend mentioned seeing a small selection, but I wasn't paying enough attention to confirm or deny that.

 

Dining

Since our package included four meals (two dinner, two breakfasts), we received meal vouchers when we checked in at the ferry terminal. For dinner in both the a la carte restaurant and the buffet restaurant, it is important to make reservations in advance. On our sailing, the buffet was much more crowded, and when trying to make our reservation after re-boarding the ship in Kiel, we found that all seats for the earlier dining time were already booked. In our case dining later wasn't really a problem, but for the family with small children in line ahead of us, a late seating could understandably be a problem, but they didn't have another option.

 

Our first night's dinner was the 2-course dinner included in our promotional package. The waiter brought us the a la carte menu, but when we inquired about our included 2-course menu (indicating our meal vouchers), he explained that it included a set menu or a main course and dessert, but that we could choose anything off the menu and simply pay the difference. We opted to keep the original two courses (beef entrecôte and crème brulée) and augment them with a starter off the menu (for around 100 NOK extra). I chose a dish of scallops, which was excellent, and I was generally quite pleased with the other two dishes as well.

 

The restaurant is situated at the back of the ship with a two-story window looking out over the water. Although we made our reservation early enough to ensure a seat by the window, in late October the sun had set long before our dinner, so there wasn't much to see. However, during the long summer days, this is probably a much better view out over the water and the ship's wake.

 

Our second night's dinner was in the buffet. There was a decent variety of food, though much of it catered to the local palate with lots of salmon and fish along with a large variety of seafood and a few meat dishes. The buffet seems a bit larger than it really is, since the lines are duplicated on either side of the buffet area.

 

Both days we ate breakfast in the buffet, and the selection was much smaller than at dinner. A large portion of the buffet was cheese and cold cuts. There were also eggs and bacon, a few cereals and yogurt, and a a very limited selection of fruit. Overall I would compare the selection to that of a typical Nordic hotel breakfast.

 

In addition to the main dining room and buffet, the ship has a few additional restaurants. There is an Italian pizzeria, a tapas restaurant, a cafe, and an American grill. During our trip we tried the grill and pizzeria.

 

The "Burger Bar" grill involves ordering at the counter and waiting for your food before finding seating at one of the few booths. We were there shortly after embarkation in Oslo, and the tables were quickly full, especially since the restaurant has outside windows, allowing diners to watch the picturesque Oslo sail-out while they ate. The burgers were sizeable and decent when compared to similar burger restaurants in Oslo and is pretty much just typical American fast food.

 

The pizzeria on the promenade has a small menu and a wait staff, so you can order from your table. The Italian thin-crust pizzas were tasty but very oily, making them a little disappointing overall.

 

Bars & Lounges

I was surprised to see that drinks on board weren't that much less than the outrageous prices you see on land in Norway. Although cocktails were slightly less (around 75 NOK), beer was still around 50 NOK ($8+ US). Regardless, the lounges were still popular throughout the trip.

 

The Observation Lounge was very crowded during the Oslo sail-out, even though the weather was overcast and foggy. All of the tables were full including those in the adjoining library.

 

Although we never stopped in, every time we passed the Donkey Pub on the promenade it was filled with patrons.

 

I thought the Tower Nightclub was actually one of the most impressive places on the ship. The two-story club is completely decorated in a medieval castle theme, complete with fake stone walls, throne-like chairs, and even a large dragon suspended from the ceiling. However, once the club is open for business in the evening, the low lighting, crowds, and illuminated dance floor all mask the detailed theming.

 

Theater & Shows

This was another area that was a pleasant surprise. From everything we'd heard, we weren't expecting much of a show, but we decided to check it out anyway. The theater is more of a show lounge with all table seating. It's large, but given the pockets of table seating, it fills up easily, so it's worth going a little early to choose seats. From what I understand, the ship's company performs two shows each night, alternating their early and late shows. We attended the early performance both nights, so that we could see both shows.

 

The first night was the group's "Crystal Ball" show with a traveling circus theme. I was expecting a cheesy and mediocre singing performance, so I was surprised to find that the show was more of a variety act. Unlike a traditional cruise, where you have singers and dancers one night, a magician on another, and perhaps an acrobat after that, the show was a blend of many acts. Of course a lot of it was simple song-and-dance production numbers, but there was also a decent juggler, a pair of impressive strong men, and even a pairs figure-skating routine! Although the performance was severely limited by the space on stage, I was astonished that they could perform as much as they did in such a small area (let alone on a raised stage with no edge and of course on a moving ship)!

 

The second night's show involved the same mix of singing, dancing, juggling, skating, etc. but the format was some kind of strange hybrid of a trip through the musical decades and a trip through outer space. Aside from the impressive skaters and strong men, this show was much more what I was expecting. The singing was mediocre, and thanks to the strange outer space sub-theme, the dancing ended up being the Robot over and over again: The Robot danced to 70s disco, the Robot danced alongside an Elvis impersonator, etc. Very weird. At least we had the non-singing/dancing acts to break up the monotony and strangeness!

 

Other Venues

The two other major public spaces on the ship are the fitness center and AquaLand. Both require an additional payment to use, and overpriced swimsuits are available if you forgot to pack one (but I definitely recommend remembering to pack your own).

 

AquaLand is an indoor waterpark with a waterslide, a short moving-water river track, a hot tub, etc. We had originally planned to have a children-at-heart day exploring it, but in the end we decided that we would rather avoid the families and spend our time in the hot tubs at the fitness center instead.

 

The admission to the fitness center (about 70 NOK) was roughly the same as a few hours at AquaLand, and we would be able to use all of the facilities there. There was an option to buy a one-day pass to the fitness center that would allow you to come and go as much as you wanted during the day, but we chose to pay the one-time fee and make our visit last as long as possible, which was surprisingly easy to do. There are two large hot tubs, a set of 5(?) automatic massage chairs, unisex saunas with a sea-view window in each changing room, and a wide array of gym equipment all equipped with individual televisions (bring your own headphones). Ice water and towels are available from the counter at the front.

 

The fitness center also provides the front-end to the ship's spa services, but we didn't opt for any treatments on this trip, since we wanted to spend the time with our friends.

 

Ports

I think the German passengers have the advantage here, since Oslo is a great city to explore. There are plenty of museums and a thriving tourism industry that functions even on quiet Sundays. When we disembarked, we saw tour buses lined up to take visitors around the city on pre-arranged trips.

 

Kiel, on the other hand, is a quiet city. Especially on a Sunday. There is a lot of shopping available near the ferry terminal, but none of it was open on the Sunday morning that we were in port. We stopped by the tourism office to try to decide what to see with our few hours, but there weren't all that many options. I think the city would feel more welcoming on a different day of the week, but even then I doubt that Kiel would be my first choice for a port day. Luckily, in our case the trip was more about the ferry experience, so neither the destination nor the limited time in port was too much of a concern.

 

Overall Impression

I think Color Line's claim that the Color Fantasy and Color Magic are the "largest cruise ships with a car deck" are well justified. I was surprised to find that the Fantasy was nicer and than some of the traditional cruise ships I've been on. Although the concept of paying extra for each little thing from food to fitness center was a little disheartening, so many of the major cruiselines are introducing their own little surcharges that it didn't seem as unusual as it might have. Also, it seems that the extra fees for the fitness center have been at least partially invested back into the facility, which combined with the limited number of visitors, means that the facilities are very modern and well-maintained.

[kaisatsu]

Cabin Photos from the Color Fantasy

 

Cabin 10-833 (class I2 - Interior cabin with separate beds)

 

Partial cabin deck plan (Deck 10)

[kaisatsu]

Color Fantasy Ship Photos

 

Hallway on cabin deck

 

Tower Nightclub