Carnival Fantasy Cruise Review by scwhiner

Sailing out of Port Charleston was not as much of a hassle as we anticipated based on the comments we had seen prior to our departure. We had a stay, park and cruise package at the Rodeway Inn in Mount Pleasant. When booking I had been advised the rate included the transportation cost to the cruise port. Upon check in they tried to say it didn’t. The hotel does not have a shuttle; they have a shuttle service that they use. Ultimately, they did pay for a cab, there and upon our return. I would rate the hotel at a C. The stay included breakfast in the morning and our car was parked in the front of the hotel in view of the front desk. The rooms were okay, nothing fancy, but for the price, it was well worth it. The port was no more then 10 -15 minutes away – directly across the bridge.

After taking advantage of early luggage drop-off (I’d recommend strongly to all), we had the cab drop us off to look around the Charleston market. Very stuffy and hot and really not much there that interested us. I think it had more to do with being so hot and all we wanted to do was get on board. We headed over to the “tent” to grab a seat (of which there were about 10) and sit in the only shade available. We did inquire if there was anything in particular we needed to do for VIP and were immediately dismissed by the security officer. “There’s no such thing”. So, we sat and waited, we got onto the first shuttle and eventually at about 11:45 were off to the check in. Overall I would rate this part of the embarkation a C.

Upon arriving in the terminal, there was no VIP line as yet because we were among the first inside the building. However, when we were finished at the desk, they told us to go on up the stairs and wait. We got over to the stairs and were immediately intercepted to tell us no one is permitted to go up until they actually start boarding. Although the check in process went smoothly, it’s a thumbs down for any type of VIP treatment. Overall, I would rate this step as a B. It really did go smoothly for us.

We did go immediately to the excursion desk to sign up for the Behind the Fun tour and to our surprise it was $55 pp versus the $95 that we expected since it was a 7 day cruise. He advised us that we were on the “wait list” since they couldn’t book excursions while they were in port. We also had my sister switch over her sail and sign to her own card at guest services. In terms of the service – I would rate both at an A. No issues.

We proceeded to the Lido deck to enjoy some lunch and wait for our room to be ready. The food was good and the DOD was the Funship special. We got to our room about 1:30 and all was well. Our luggage was already there and waiting which is why I’d recommend the early drop off.

I won’t go into all the specifics for ports and sea days because those really are personal preference. We ended up with an added sea day because the captain was unable to dock at Grand Turk. The winds were too strong and although he tried twice, (we were soooo close) he had to turn away. We wish he had made the announcement sooner because it really was a tease to be that close, taking pictures, and then sail away. At least this time we got to see somewhat that which we would be missing again (this was our second try at Grand Turk). I do have to say that making it to Half Moon Cay wiped out our disappointment. It was beautiful and the food was good. It was well worth the wait. Nassau was unimpressive. We didn’t book any excursions since we planned on it being a “shopping” day. I’m glad we read the material before disembarking about all the cab drivers. It let us know that the shopping was only a 5 minute walk to the pier and that we didn’t need a cab. We were bombarded with cab drivers and every other type of “tour” and it really was pretty annoying.

Overall – Half Moon Cay an A, Nassau a C

Now on to the ship itself. We had anytime dining and it worked out well for us. There were two nights that we had to wait, but it wasn’t any big deal, we used that time to get our pictures taken. And, we had a nice little tray of goodies after waiting the first night with a note that said “we’re sorry” you had to wait. Nice little touch. I think the premise is great because we weren’t nailed down to a specific time we had to be ready to go eat, but I think the wait staff seemed to struggle a bit. I don’t know if it was that they still aren’t used to serving various stages to multiple guests or that they were short staffed. But, it really did depend what section we were in as to the service we received. We were at a window seat each night and alternated between three stations. Overall, I would rate it as a B.

The food – the portions for the main course were too big but there wasn’t anything we had that wasn’t good. We were somewhat disappointed in the menu choices though. It seems like they scaled down compared to the Triumph two years ago. By that I mean the dishes weren’t as fancy in preparation or choice. We did get room service every morning for coffee and tea on the balcony and one late night snack. Quick and curteous - I love that you can fill out the cards before you go to bed to have it there when you want in the morning. Overall, the food was a B.

The room – we were in a grand suite and there were 3 of us. My sister ultimately decided not to pull out the sofa bed because it was far too uncomfortable. She chose to sleep on it as a couch instead. Otherwise, plenty of room and a nice size balcony. The steward(s) were only seen directly once when he came to introduce himself and that was about it. Overall, the room was clean and we would rate it and the service at a B.

The activities – I would have to say overall were a C. The cruise director, from everything we heard wasn’t very good and the assistant, although trying, wasn’t much better. Not much life in either of them for the activities we observed. The worst had to be waiting for the tenders for Half Moon Cay. There was nothing, no comedy, no talking, dancing, nothing… Quite a boring hour of having to sit and wait. But, at least we got to the island sooner then later. It looked as though they were still tendering at 12:30 / 1:00 and we had originally arrived at 9:15.

Band - Music Highlights in the Cats Lounge --- we loved, loved, loved this band. If you like a variety that you can dance to from the mid 90's and earlier, this is the band for you.

The Behind the Fun tour. We were very pleased with the tour. The down side was the individuals that were on the tour that tried to play up that they knew more the ship staff and that the picture with the captain was with everyone. We thought it was going to be with the individuals by Cabin. It was definitely considered a “strenuous” excursion. If you can’t do steep steps or any steps then you can’t take the tour. It was almost a straight 3 hours of walking and up and down. We did take the elevator a couple of times but not many. It was awesome to be able to see the Galley and the bridge. I would do it again for those reasons. The rest was interesting but nothing I would need to see again. Overall – would rate this as an A.

We did take advantage of the future cruise certificates and that’ll give me something to plan and look forward to in the next few years. Overall we had a great cruise and we would sail the Fantasy again. We’d have to rate the ship overall a B. The primary reason – the lack of pool area for sea days (definitely and F) we didn’t let it ruin anything, but they definitely have a poor design to accommodate everyone on sea days.

So much to say, but I’ll close with this – Carnival still is meeting our expectations for cruising. They have to make changes to go with the times and response to customers, but we really didn’t notice anything of importance cut back from our first cruise two years ago, unlike what I’ve been reading about on the boards. I think everyone just needs to experience for themselves and enjoy your cruise. There’s no other vacation like it.

Happy cruising to all!