Just back from Fantasy - Spring Break!

[patrice1]

Just a quick review, no pics, but I'm available for questions.

 

Stayed at YVE in Miami for 2 nights pre-cruise (we live in Key West and like to get off the rock early). We enjoy adventures, but...on the way up, hit a ladies room & somehow, my tennis bracelet came undone and fell into the toilet. Good thing it was one of those auto-flushers & had flushed before my bracelet fell in, because I reached in & got it. Otherwise, DH would have been called in as he's a plumber & has had his hands in...well, you don't want to know. For me, there's not enough bleach in the world! Got to the hotel and they gave us a corner room overlooking the port with views on 2 sides. Awesome! Went down to dinner & during dinner, fire alarm went off. After dinner, elevator was still out & they were trying to figure out how to get it going again. We were on the 16th floor. After waiting an hour in the Lobby, went back to the bar to wait, at which time it was working again & manager bought our drinks. He also gave us breakfast the next morning, which was very nice. Probably wouldn't stay there again as there's no pool.

 

Cabbed to the port and easily boarded priority @11:45. Lots of spring breakers getting Cheers at lobby bar while we enjoyed our first drink.

 

Nice refurb of ship - bathrooms new, Guy's, Red Frog & Blue Iguana. All public areas actually smelled new. Take aways:

- didn't get off in Key West, obviously. No lines anywhere. Had great Guy's burger for lunch

-Breakfast never had lines, as spring breakers apparently sleep in

-long lines for Your Time Dining, but moved fast. We asked why they didn't use pagers and they said they do once all tables are sat, so we realized there was a slight shortage of hostess staff

-Better food than many CCL ships. The eggs benedict I had were better than any restaurant I've had - poached perfectly, english muffin not flat or dry, sauce on the side to prevent drying out - perfect! Other food excellent as well. We told the Chef during Chef's Table, too.

- Saw very little of the spring breakers, as we stayed on the ship when in port and were in bed by 10 PM. Told by bar staff the after midnight it was crazy.

- Public restrooms were fun - auto-flushed when you sat, not when you got up! Wet butt was the order of the day!

-Band "Sound Machine" was fantastic! Played by the casino bar often.

- Casino very tight. Only second time left with no wins - first was last cruise on Ecstasy, so maybe it's the short cruises.

- Debark was easy - we were priority & self carry, so off by 7:30 and home in KW by noon.

- Didn't do shows & comedy we saw was a cowboy that we left early and did not enjoy his type of humor.

-Great bar staff this trip at every venue.

 

Any questions, I'll be happy to help.:D

[alscottg1]

Great to read your review. We are heading in her Monday for a quick few days of rest. Do you have copies of the menu. What day was the chef table? We forgot to book it and am hoping there is room for us.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report.

[granni10]

thanks for all the information thinking of going in early may. wondering how the shows and cd were, thanks for any input

[riclop]

Just a quick review, no pics, but I'm available for questions.

 

Stayed at YVE in Miami for 2 nights pre-cruise (we live in Key West and like to get off the rock early). We enjoy adventures, but...on the way up, hit a ladies room & somehow, my tennis bracelet came undone and fell into the toilet. Good thing it was one of those auto-flushers & had flushed before my bracelet fell in, because I reached in & got it. Otherwise, DH would have been called in as he's a plumber & has had his hands in...well, you don't want to know. For me, there's not enough bleach in the world! Got to the hotel and they gave us a corner room overlooking the port with views on 2 sides. Awesome! Went down to dinner & during dinner, fire alarm went off. After dinner, elevator was still out & they were trying to figure out how to get it going again. We were on the 16th floor. After waiting an hour in the Lobby, went back to the bar to wait, at which time it was working again & manager bought our drinks. He also gave us breakfast the next morning, which was very nice. Probably wouldn't stay there again as there's no pool.

 

Cabbed to the port and easily boarded priority @11:45. Lots of spring breakers getting Cheers at lobby bar while we enjoyed our first drink.

 

Nice refurb of ship - bathrooms new, Guy's, Red Frog & Blue Iguana. All public areas actually smelled new. Take aways:

- didn't get off in Key West, obviously. No lines anywhere. Had great Guy's burger for lunch

-Breakfast never had lines, as spring breakers apparently sleep in

-long lines for Your Time Dining, but moved fast. We asked why they didn't use pagers and they said they do once all tables are sat, so we realized there was a slight shortage of hostess staff

-Better food than many CCL ships. The eggs benedict I had were better than any restaurant I've had - poached perfectly, english muffin not flat or dry, sauce on the side to prevent drying out - perfect! Other food excellent as well. We told the Chef during Chef's Table, too.

- Saw very little of the spring breakers, as we stayed on the ship when in port and were in bed by 10 PM. Told by bar staff the after midnight it was crazy.

- Public restrooms were fun - auto-flushed when you sat, not when you got up! Wet butt was the order of the day!

-Band "Sound Machine" was fantastic! Played by the casino bar often.

- Casino very tight. Only second time left with no wins - first was last cruise on Ecstasy, so maybe it's the short cruises.

- Debark was easy - we were priority & self carry, so off by 7:30 and home in KW by noon.

- Didn't do shows & comedy we saw was a cowboy that we left early and did not enjoy his type of humor.

-Great bar staff this trip at every venue.

 

Any questions, I'll be happy to help.:D

Thanks for the review .

[Jesse1179]

Thanks for taking the time to review! We are doing Chef's Table on the Magic on April 3rd. Our first time doing it...can you do a little review on your experience? Thanks again!!

[Keith1010]

Thank you so much for the report.

 

Keith

[Lil2Angelic]

Just a quick review, no pics, but I'm available for questions.

 

Stayed at YVE in Miami for 2 nights pre-cruise (we live in Key West and like to get off the rock early). We enjoy adventures, but...on the way up, hit a ladies room & somehow, my tennis bracelet came undone and fell into the toilet. Good thing it was one of those auto-flushers & had flushed before my bracelet fell in, because I reached in & got it. Otherwise, DH would have been called in as he's a plumber & has had his hands in...well, you don't want to know. For me, there's not enough bleach in the world! Got to the hotel and they gave us a corner room overlooking the port with views on 2 sides. Awesome! Went down to dinner & during dinner, fire alarm went off. After dinner, elevator was still out & they were trying to figure out how to get it going again. We were on the 16th floor. After waiting an hour in the Lobby, went back to the bar to wait, at which time it was working again & manager bought our drinks. He also gave us breakfast the next morning, which was very nice. Probably wouldn't stay there again as there's no pool.

 

Cabbed to the port and easily boarded priority @11:45. Lots of spring breakers getting Cheers at lobby bar while we enjoyed our first drink.

 

Nice refurb of ship - bathrooms new, Guy's, Red Frog & Blue Iguana. All public areas actually smelled new. Take aways:

- didn't get off in Key West, obviously. No lines anywhere. Had great Guy's burger for lunch

-Breakfast never had lines, as spring breakers apparently sleep in

-long lines for Your Time Dining, but moved fast. We asked why they didn't use pagers and they said they do once all tables are sat, so we realized there was a slight shortage of hostess staff

-Better food than many CCL ships. The eggs benedict I had were better than any restaurant I've had - poached perfectly, english muffin not flat or dry, sauce on the side to prevent drying out - perfect! Other food excellent as well. We told the Chef during Chef's Table, too.

- Saw very little of the spring breakers, as we stayed on the ship when in port and were in bed by 10 PM. Told by bar staff the after midnight it was crazy.

- Public restrooms were fun - auto-flushed when you sat, not when you got up! Wet butt was the order of the day!

-Band "Sound Machine" was fantastic! Played by the casino bar often.

- Casino very tight. Only second time left with no wins - first was last cruise on Ecstasy, so maybe it's the short cruises.

- Debark was easy - we were priority & self carry, so off by 7:30 and home in KW by noon.

- Didn't do shows & comedy we saw was a cowboy that we left early and did not enjoy his type of humor.

-Great bar staff this trip at every venue.

 

Any questions, I'll be happy to help.:D

 

Thanks for the review! Love the eggs benedict on Carnival!

[reerun25]

Thanks for sharing your report!

[Jesse1179]

Eggs Benedict are my favorite too! Will definitely get the sauce on the side next time

[patrice1]

Great to read your review. We are heading in her Monday for a quick few days of rest. Do you have copies of the menu. What day was the chef table? We forgot to book it and am hoping there is room for us.

 

Chef's Table is on the last day. I don't have copies of the menu, but there's another review of the same cruise here on the boards that does have some.

[patrice1]

thanks for all the information thinking of going in early may. wondering how the shows and cd were, thanks for any input

 

Sorry, but we didn't interact with the CD, nor did we go to any shows, but there's another review of the same cruise here that does.

[patrice1]

Thanks for taking the time to review! We are doing Chef's Table on the Magic on April 3rd. Our first time doing it...can you do a little review on your experience? Thanks again!!

 

It's awesome! The chef meets you and takes you on a tour of the kitchen with champagne and appetizers and then to the dining room. There are six courses, so pace yourself! The chef reviews each one. There is wine non-stop, white or red, and time between courses to chat with the other folks. It was very nice. The Chef said there'd be a new Chef's Table menu in May when the Vista is launched, but the tomato soup, the Wagyu beef, and the crab stack were standouts.

[splash_in_the_water]

mmm...sounds tasty, nice review!

[workerbee01]

Thanks for the review.

Looking forward to our first cruise ever on her in July.

[Jesse1179]

It's awesome! The chef meets you and takes you on a tour of the kitchen with champagne and appetizers and then to the dining room. There are six courses, so pace yourself! The chef reviews each one. There is wine non-stop, white or red, and time between courses to chat with the other folks. It was very nice. The Chef said there'd be a new Chef's Table menu in May when the Vista is launched, but the tomato soup, the Wagyu beef, and the crab stack were standouts.

 

 

Thank you so much! I have not read a single bad review of this experience so I'm VERY excited to try this! Love trying new foods!!

[workerbee01]

We've attempted to sign up...just waiting on the email confirmation.

I'm optimistic since we don't sail until July.

 

It sounds like the menu will change before then but I'm sure whatever is served we'll find something we will enjoy!

 

So on The Fantasy is The Chef's Table in one of the main dining rooms or galley?