Carnival Fantasy Review (Feb 18 - 23, 2013)

[hooforce]

There is another thing I'd like to point out here about this particular cruise - I heard more country music playing on this cruise than any of my other prior cruises. I figured something out on this cruise that became blatantly obvious that I really never noticed before: cruise ships cater to their clientele. When we sailed out of Miami in January, the ship was filled with people with a more (how should I say it...) free and open lifestyle and the music played on the Lido deck certainly reflected that. On the Fantasy this past week, there seemed to be many folks onboard who were from the "bible belt" and more rural areas of the southeast. Again, the music on the Lido Deck reflected that with the country music. Now, I'm not saying either is right or wrong (I don't prefer one way or the other)...it's just an observation. I can tell you that there probably would have been a lot of unhappy people on my cruise that sailed out of Miami had there been as much country music playing as there was on the Fantasy. Just makes me chuckle inside when I think about the different dynamics I observed on both cruises.

 

With that said, the second to the last night of the cruise offered up a crazy, fun deck dance party where all walks of life were dancing and having a great time. I should know, my wife and I were among them! So, it just goes to show that there is a little bit of everything for everybody on Carnival cruises!

 

Main Dining Room:

 

We chose YTD and we enjoyed it immensely! We've done this our past few cruises and have never had a bad experience. I will say that we typically go to dinner right when the dining room opens (5:45 or so), which might be the reason for our good fortune. There were a couple nights where there was a line, but the line went quickly (I think the most we waited was about 5 - 10 minutes one night when we showed up a little after 6:00). On the first night, we landed an awesome server and we asked for him every night after that! Fernado was awesome! Here's a photo of us in the dining room and one of Fernando and my kids:

 

 

 

Food was always served warm when it was supposed to be and cold when it was supposed to be. I had one disappointment in the dining room...I waiting until the last night to order the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake as something special for me (I love the cake, but I love it too much and didn't want to gain too much weight eating it every night). Anyway, when I finally got it, I discovered that the cake had cooked all the way through (there was no uncooked portion in the middle). I should have had it returned, but I didn't - my fault. I ate it anyway. Sometimes, the WCMC can cook all the way through if it sits for a while or just cooks too long. That is the only thing negative I can say about the dining room - everything else was perfect!

 

Nassau:

 

We didn't book any excursions on this cruise. We've been to Nassau so many times that we are about tired of going, but several cruises ago we discovered Junkanoo Beach. It's not the best beach (kind of rocky and there is a steep drop-off as soon as you enter the water), but we like the atmosphere, the fact that it's close to the ships (you can walk there), and it's free! I like to snorkel there right off the beach. It's not the best place to snorkel, but you can see lots of fish if you know where to find them. There are concrete piers or jetty-like structures there and many of the fish like to hang out near those. Not a bad place to go for free! Here are some photos of our visit (sorry, no underwater camera...yet):

 

My 10 and 13 year old snorkeling right off the beach:

 

 

My wife and 5 year old on the beach:

 

 

Me and my kids (yes, I'm a UVA fan - graduated from there in 2002):

 

 

On the way back to the ship we always stop by the sno cone place across from McDonalds to get a sno cone. $2.50 for a small cup, but the small cup is right large - a great deal:

 

 

 

To be continued....

Edited February 24, 2013 by hooforce

[hooforce]

Nassau continued....

 

My kids were tired and sunburned by this time, but I had to get a shot of them in front of all the ships in port as we walked back to the Fantasy:

 

 

We spent the rest of the day on the slides and in the pool! We had a great time and even though we've been to Nassau a lot of times (lost count), it is still a very beautiful place! Love the color of the water!

 

 

I took some panoramic photos in Nassau...I wanted to see how they post here to see if it's worth it to post again in the future:

 

 

...and another one:

 

 

Fantasy in Nassua:

 

 

View from the top of the slides in Nassau:

 

 

More is coming....

Edited February 24, 2013 by hooforce

[hooforce]

I don't mind the picture. Tell the truth I was just looking on different websites to see if I can find these two girls i met on the cruise

 

Well, I hope you're successful - there were a lot of nice-looking people on that cruise! Who knows, one of my photos might have capture them! Good luck!

[Junior0317]

Hopefully I do

[hooforce]

Thank you for an amazing picture review. We are going on the ship in June with friends (this will be their first cruise), so I hope they enjoy it as much as we do. A couple of questions:

Did your son enjoy Circle C - what kinds of activities did they do?

You don't by any chance have any photos of the Camp Carnival room? Our daughter and friends son will be in the Camp Carnival.

Thanks a lot. Again, great photos of areas that no one else seems to have captured previously.

 

My son loved Circle C! I can't remember all the activities, but I can tell you that they had dance parties, scavenger hunts (have to find items on the ship), ship bingo (where they have to find items or people that are described on their bingo card), group photo opportunity, video games, and various other games and tournaments. The good thing is that at the Circle C age, the kids can check themselves in and out, so if they don't want to participate in a certain activity, they aren't "force" to do so - they just check out and go swimming or whatever else they'd like to do.

 

I don't have a photo of the Camp Carnival room because I didn't want to look like a really creepy man taking photos of kids I didn't know, but I have this one of the line leading up to the room. All kids had to wash their hand immediately upon entering Camp Carnival. Yeah, I liked that:

 

 

Take note that Camp Carnival is at the back of the ship (Promenade Deck, I think) and there are really two different rooms back there. This photo is of the hallway leading up to the room of the 2-5 year olds. To the right of this photo is the room for the 6-8 year olds. Another important thing: this photo was taken on the first day at sea. We are standing in line becuase the guy up at the front of the line is registering his kids (a long process). You can do this at home, on your computer before you leave for the cruise. It would save a lot of time, pain, and heartache if everyone did this. This guy didn't get the memo, so we waited 15 minutes for him to register his kids. Not cool. We already had our kids pre-registered and when we got there, they had all of our information and all we had to do was show them our Sail and Sign card and we were on our way. So much easier and so much faster - no one was inconvenienced!

 

Camp Carnival is wonderful! The kids really enjoy it. I know my 5 year old loved it. He's turning 6 in 2 weeks, so they let him move up to the 6 year old camp because he did get bored a couple times with the younger crowd. They did all kinds of activities and while I can't remember what they all were, my son did come out looking like this a few times:

 

Pirate Party:

 

 

Face painting:

 

 

I don't know what this was about:

 

 

Spin art:

 

 

I can assure you that your friend's daughter and son will not be bored and your friends will not be disappointed.

 

There is also a video screen outside of Camp Carnival that shows what the kids are doing in real time, so I thought that was also very neat.

 

Finally, at the end of the cruise (usually the last sea day) there is a talent show that the kids participate in. Usually, the kids sing, dance or display a special talent. My kid danced to Gangnam Style (the new and latest craze for kids and adults alike these days). It was cute and lots of fun to watch (this is another hilarious YouTube video I will have to post later).

 

Hope this helped. Enjoy!

Edited February 24, 2013 by hooforce

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[jbhcw]

Thanks for your review!! The fantasy was our second cruise and our first carnival cruise:):):)

[hooforce]

Freeport:

 

Again, we have been here before and the last time we were here we found out that there is no way to just go to town without paying at least $10 per person ($50 for my family), not including whatever activity we'd do once we got downtown/the beaches. So, we've always elected to stay on the ship at this port. I'm sure it's a great place if you can find an excursion you like...we just didn't anything that we couldn't do anywhere else. So, this is the day we usually stop by the arcade and blow $20 on video games. The kids enjoy it and they usually leave us alone about going to the arcade after that - it is, therefore, a win-win for everyone!

 

We did manage to get off the ship to walk around the straw market, just to look. We don't usually buy any of the souvenirs at any of our stops. I think we did that the first time we cruised, but after that we discovered everyone else at all of the other ports sell the same exact things. Oh, and another thing, why do they call it a straw market anyway? I've never seen any straws there. I guess it sounds better than calling it a crap and junk market. Oh well. While we were in Freeport we walked by the Senor Frogs and got some photos of us and the giant frog (Gangnam Style - like the video...the part in the elevator):

 

 

As we walked to where everyone was partying inside Senor Frogs, it was amazing! We witnessed a huge congo line and a guy standing up at the front the line pouring alcohol in people's mouths as they dance by! Now, that place was rockin'! Sorry, no photo of that, but it is engraved in our memories.

 

As we walked back to the ship, I took some more photos of the ship from the outside (try not to go to sleep now). That's how we feel about this port, but as they say: a bad port is better than an excellent day at work! Here's another photo of the ship's balcony rooms:

 

 

Here's another one of some maintenance workers working on the ship:

 

 

Some views of the actual port at Freeport taken from the back of the ship:

 

 

 

Finally, one last photo of the straw market below and a pretty cool-looking sailboat. This was taken just as we were about to pull out of Freeport:

 

 

When we weren't in the ship's arcade, my kids were swimming, sliding down the water slides, or soaking in the hot tub.

 

More to follow....

Edited February 24, 2013 by hooforce

[SevenSeasLagoon]

Did you by chance get any photos or scans of the menus, daily activities, etc.? Which night were you dressed up in the dining room? How did you enjoy the food?

[hooforce]

Last day at sea:

 

This was just a day of relaxation for us. Kids hung out at the pool, waterpark, hot tub, or Camp Carnival. We spent time at the pool and ate whenever we got the chance. It was also the day we had to pack up and prepare for debarkation the next day. We did spend the evening watching "Motor City" and a comedy show. Here are some photos of our days at seas:

 

 

 

Debarkation:

 

We elected to do self-assist debarkation. I thought it was interesting that even Carnival suggested that folks do self-assist debarkation (this is not the norm) due to the lack of space for luggage in the cruise terminal. The ship arrived back at the Port of Charleston by 5:30 - 6:00 (I don't know exactly because I was sleeping), but when we arrived, it was raining...raining hard too! At that point I wanted the captain to turn the ship around and head back to the Bahamas! Unfortunately, that was not to be and it was time to go. We did get up early and ate breakfast at the buffet and the schedule showed that for our room on our deck, debarkation was to begin at 7:20. Like clockwork, 7:20 came around and we were allow to debark. Take note that they close all the forward elevators the morning of debarkation to allow folks who are debarking to use them. Here's a photo of the line to get off the ship:

 

 

Again, there were numerous lines to get off the ship - one to get in the elevator, one to get off the ship, one to go through customs (this part went quick for us - it was an efficient process), and then one to get onto a shuttle to the parking warehouse. Theme for the Port of Charleston is LINES, lots of lines. Luckily, they don't usually last long, but they are intimidating. One more word of caution: if you are parked at a different warehouse or are parked at a hotel, make sure you get on the correct shuttle. There were a few people who got on our shuttle that went back to the parking at the warehouse who got onto the wrong shuttle. The problem was that there was no indication of which shuttle they needed to get onto and there weren't any signs that any of us saw. So, be careful and ask which shuttle you need to get onto in order to get back to your car. Since it was raining, I was glad there was a shuttle or else we would have been soaked.

 

Overall, this was a good cruise - not my favorite and probably my worst, but if this was my worst, then all my other cruises were absolutely fantastic! I just had those few issues (mentioned previously) that kind of put a sour taste in our mouths, but all-in-all, it was good. I don't know if I'd go on THAT cruise again (that ship from that port), but I'm glad we experienced it. Carnival still is a very good value and as long as they don't botch the whole experience up by cutting too much, I'll keep coming back.

 

Well, I took some more photos that I did not include in my review that I'll just post them here at the end (I like reviews with lots of photos). If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Until we meet on a future cruise, Happy Cruising!

 

Free drink for being a past guest! Don't worry, it was a virgin strawberry daiquiri! Only "catch" is that you cannot order your free drink during dinner. Has to be during lunch or at some other bar on the ship:

 

 

Santa Clause again at the buffet:

 

 

More photos coming....

Edited February 24, 2013 by hooforce

[nybumpkin]

Finally, one last photo of the straw market below and a pretty cool-looking sailboat. This was taken just as we were about to pull out of Freeport:

 

 

The sailing ship is the Alexander von Humboldt. She sails 3-hour excursions out of the harbor. We did Carnival's tour aboard her last year - pricey, but really a good tour. (I got to take the wheel!:cool:)

 

Thanks for posting your review - we did a 7-day aboard Fantasy in 2011 and really liked her. As for entertainment - it clearly has changed, and not for the better. When we started sailing with Carnival in 2004 we had 10-member ships' orchestras, jazz bands, and Caribbean bands on the Lido deck. The jazz and Caribbean bands have disappeared and the orchestra is down to 5 people. Lots of recorded music. There's still some live music, but very limited. It's not a dealbreaker for us since we're content to spend our evenings out on our balcony watching the sea go by, but I do enjoy good music.

[hooforce]

Photos continued....

 

Ship shops:

 

 

 

Another photo of the main thoroughfare:

 

 

Waterworks at night (for whatever reason, I took this photo. My wife hates when I do this...oh well.):

 

 

Another photo of the Lido Deck at night:

 

 

Photo of the outside seating area of the buffet at night (note ship in the background):

 

 

Maybe a few more on the way....

[hooforce]

The sailing ship is the Alexander von Humboldt. She sails 3-hour excursions out of the harbor. We did Carnival's tour aboard her last year - pricey, but really a good tour. (I got to take the wheel!:cool:)

 

Thanks for posting your review - we did a 7-day aboard Fantasy in 2011 and really liked her. As for entertainment - it clearly has changed, and not for the better. When we started sailing with Carnival in 2004 we had 10-member ships' orchestras, jazz bands, and Caribbean bands on the Lido deck. The jazz and Caribbean bands have disappeared and the orchestra is down to 5 people. Lots of recorded music. There's still some live music, but very limited. It's not a dealbreaker for us since we're content to spend our evenings out on our balcony watching the sea go by, but I do enjoy good music.

 

 

Thanks for providing the name of the ship. I knew there were some excursions available to sail her, but I wasn't sure if that was the ship or not. Obviously, no one sailed on her that day.

 

As far as the band being banned (excuse the pun) from the production shows, I was thinking that Carnival should use the live band that plays for live Karaoke and use them for the production shows as well! That means the band would play a lot more, but I think that if Carnival were smart, they'd do "more with less" and bring the karaoke band to the front of the ship! Just a thought. Thanks for stopping by!

[hooforce]

Did you by chance get any photos or scans of the menus, daily activities, etc.? Which night were you dressed up in the dining room? How did you enjoy the food?

 

I didn't get any photos of the menus this time (I've done it before and never used them), nor did I get any scans of the Fun Times. Sorry. I can say that the food in the MDR was very good. Lobster and ribs served on the only elegant night (our first day at sea - Tuesday in our case). The last day at sea, Mahi Mahi. For me, nothing else too remarkable on the other nights except the usual, but I have a different palate than everyone else.

 

I also want to note that the scrambled eggs seemed better this time go round. They didn't appear to be the fake stuff, but I could be wrong. I wanted to mention that because many people on this board talk about how horrible the scrambled eggs are. Anyway, the food was great overall!

[hooforce]

More photos....

 

Panoramic photo of Charleston, SC:

 

 

The family, just before pushing away from the dock in Charleston, SC:

 

 

The gym:

 

 

Oh, I did see them selling towels and robes at the towel hut on the Lido Deck. Here are the items that were for sale (sorry, didn't get the prices):

 

 

My son playing mini golf. The mini golf "grass" appeared to be brand new:

 

 

"The Maze." Also known as the Port of Charleston parking processing area:

 

Edited February 24, 2013 by hooforce

[cantwait2cruise]

Thank you so much for the review. We sail in 9 days. We are doing YTD and I'll try to remember to ask for Fernando.

 

Also, thanks for the good pictures, especially the one of the cabin and uppers. I just asked a question last night about the railing on the uppers. I'm concerned about my small children (3 & 5) sleeping on the uppers. I doubt we'll even attempt the 3 year old, but possibly the 5 year but I'm concerned about there being a big gap in the railing.

 

We hope our girls will like Camp Carnival and are hoping for some down time for us as we are celebrating our 10 year anniversary on March 8th!

[hooforce]

Thank you so much for the review. We sail in 9 days. We are doing YTD and I'll try to remember to ask for Fernando.

 

Also, thanks for the good pictures, especially the one of the cabin and uppers. I just asked a question last night about the railing on the uppers. I'm concerned about my small children (3 & 5) sleeping on the uppers. I doubt we'll even attempt the 3 year old, but possibly the 5 year but I'm concerned about there being a big gap in the railing.

 

We hope our girls will like Camp Carnival and are hoping for some down time for us as we are celebrating our 10 year anniversary on March 8th!

 

Congratulations on your 10-year anniversary! What an excellent way to celebrate - might be better without the kids (just sayin'), but family is important too. :)

 

There is a fairly large gap between the rail and the bed (I'd say about 6 or so inches AND the rail does not extend to the full length of the bed), but I think a 5 year old would be just fine. I think you are right about not attempting this with a 3 year old - might be a disaster waiting to happen. Glad you stopped by and enjoy your cruise!

[hooforce]

Thank you so much for the review. We sail in 9 days. We are doing YTD and I'll try to remember to ask for Fernando.

 

Also, thanks for the good pictures, especially the one of the cabin and uppers. I just asked a question last night about the railing on the uppers. I'm concerned about my small children (3 & 5) sleeping on the uppers. I doubt we'll even attempt the 3 year old, but possibly the 5 year but I'm concerned about there being a big gap in the railing.

 

We hope our girls will like Camp Carnival and are hoping for some down time for us as we are celebrating our 10 year anniversary on March 8th!

 

Oh, and one more thing: Please tell Fernado hello for us and that we sent you! My name is Eric, my wife is Shannon - we had 3 boys with us - that should be enough for him to remember us! Thanks!

[gelo7]

Excellent review and pics.

[julescruisin]

Photos continued....

 

The Lido Deck at night:

 

 

Funnel at night:

 

 

Excuse our mess, but we had 5 people in this inside cabin (M50)! We bought the cruise with an Inside Guarantee room and ended up in a great location! I've never been in any room lower than the Empress Deck, but this one wasn't bad at all. We don't spend much time in our room anyway, so we just need a place to rest our heads at night - this room was great for that!

 

 

Sushi bar at the buffet. They serve the same sushi here as they do at the sushi bar near the Casino and atrium:

 

 

As we were about to set sail in Charleston, a pelican flew down and landed on the deck of the ship! Two of my boys (background) were captivated and watched as the pelican marched around the deck. Amazingly the pelcan was not fearful of the people, music, or the picture-taking! My kids were able to get quite close. He finally few away after a few minutes and my 10 year old said that his wing hit him on the head as he flapped his wings to take off. Funny!

 

 

Then, there always seems to be one stange individual on your sailing that always ends up crossing your path during your cruise. We all got a "kick" out of this one - there was one individual that so closely resembled Santa Clause on our sailing! After we first spotted him on the first day, we saw him everywhere! I just couldn't resist taking a photo of him as much as I could. He always wore red and white and seemed to be friendly. Each time my 5 year old saw him on the ship, he would say, "Look! It's Santa!" One time, he said this so loud that the man heard him and waved. I was so embarrassed, but it was funny. Do you ever experience something like this on your cruises? Is there a certain individual that catches your attention on the first day (maybe an ugly couple, funny-looking person, etc.) that seems always cross your path on your cruise? It has happened to us during every cruise! This was ours for this cruise:

 

 

More to come....

I was on this sailing as well, I took the same picture of "Santa". I ended up sitting next to him and his wife at the Brits show. They were so wonderful, guess what, if you want to see him again you can at Christmas at Dollywood!! He is the official santa at Dollywood. They are actually on a B2B on the Fantasy, sooooo lucky. Enjoying your review and comparing your trip to ours.

[CrusinCyndi]

The balcony cabins you took pictures of are the "Grand Suites"...we have one booked on the Fantasy in October of this year leaving out of Charleston for a 7 day cruise...thanks for the wonderful pictures of the ship and the interesting details of the port.

[hooforce]

I was on this sailing as well, I took the same picture of "Santa". I ended up sitting next to him and his wife at the Brits show. They were so wonderful, guess what, if you want to see him again you can at Christmas at Dollywood!! He is the official santa at Dollywood. They are actually on a B2B on the Fantasy, sooooo lucky. Enjoying your review and comparing your trip to ours.

 

No way! Well, we just knew he had to be a Santa somewhere! Now I actually wish I had spoken to him. Originally, we just thought he was some coo coo nut job that always wore red and white! Go figure! Well, thanks for letting me know! Can't wait to tell the family!

[cantwait2cruise]

Congratulations on your 10-year anniversary! What an excellent way to celebrate - might be better without the kids (just sayin'), but family is important too. :)

 

There is a fairly large gap between the rail and the bed (I'd say about 6 or so inches AND the rail does not extend to the full length of the bed), but I think a 5 year old would be just fine. I think you are right about not attempting this with a 3 year old - might be a disaster waiting to happen. Glad you stopped by and enjoy your cruise!

 

Well we wished we could leave the girls at home for 5 days but my mom already keeps them 4 days a week while we work and it's just too much to ask her to keep them for 5 days straight with no break. My MIL will be on a 15 day Hawaiian cruise celebrating her 50th anniversary this year, so we didn't have her to help.

 

We are just really really really hoping they will like Camp Carnival and will go to it some to give us a break. They are used to preschool, church, etc. and like activities so we are crossing our fingers. Our last cruise was almost 4 years ago when my first daughter was 17 months old and I was pregnant with the second one. We vowed we weren't cruising until they were both old enough for Camp Carnival.

 

I may try to pack a pool noodle or something to put under the sheet to make another "barrier" besides the railing or maybe the steward can bring extra pillows or something. Our 3 year actually still sleeps in a crib and prefers to sleep in a pack n play when we travel, so I guess I'll lug it along and set it up. OR perhaps I could ask for a trundle bed? I'm probably over-thinking all of us, but my biggest concern about this trip is the tight quarters. Our last three vacations have been Disney World in a large 2 or 3 bedroom condo where we had plenty of space. An inside room with 4 should be interesting!

Edited February 25, 2013 by cantwait2cruise
misspellings

[cantwait2cruise]

Oh, and one more thing: Please tell Fernado hello for us and that we sent you! My name is Eric, my wife is Shannon - we had 3 boys with us - that should be enough for him to remember us! Thanks!

 

Will do!

[BenjiRodney]

Enjoyed the review and pictures, it's been since 1996 since I was last on the Fantasy.