Our Fantastic Fantasy Girls Cruise - May 6-11 - review with pictures

Hi all! Just returned from our 5 day girls cruise on the Fantasy. I'm gathering everything up to start my review but if you have any questions before I get started feel free to ask.

Hopefully I'll be able to start posting today or tomorrow sometime.

Looking forward to the review! The Fantasy was my first ship and I will be on it again in a few weeks!

Hi all! Just returned from our 5 day girls cruise on the Fantasy. I'm gathering everything up to start my review but if you have any questions before I get started feel free to ask.

 

Hopefully I'll be able to start posting today or tomorrow sometime.

Excited to see pics and hear about your trip. I am going on the May 15th Fantasy and so excited.

Wonderful crew and officers. We always have a great cruise on Fantasy.

Captain Eduardo (Eddie) is on vacation, I believe. Do you recall who is the current captain?

Thanks!:D

Wonderful crew and officers. We always have a great cruise on Fantasy.

Captain Eduardo (Eddie) is on vacation, I believe. Do you recall who is the current captain?

Thanks!:D

No, I'm sorry I don't remember.

Looking forward to your review.

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Looking forward to your review

Subscribed

Looking for it.

Sorry guys! We just got back home last night and I had to work today and my 2 little boys (ages 3 and 2) have decided they missed their Mom and they haven't let me out of their sight since I've been home except for work today.

I promise I will try and start this review just as soon as I can.

You heading got me laughing, sounds like a porn title lol

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We go on Fantasy next year looking forward to hearing about it

Looking forward to your review. Considering the Fantasy for our next cruise. :)

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Sorry it has taken me so long to get started on my review.

Here we go though -

First some background. I'm Angela (51) and this cruise was my 9th which have all been with Carnival. Traveling along with me this trip were my oldest daughter Whitney (22) ,my friend Donna (38) and Whitney's friend Chelsea (22). Donna and I along with our husbands and some other friends just sailed on the Magic in February. Cruising again in such a short time is something I've never done, but circumstances came about that we could do it and should - so we did.

We had only been back from our February cruise a few days when we booked this cruise for May. We booked on February 26th! My daughter Whitney is in college and is going to have to take some summer college classes because her major is in History Education and there are classes she needs that won't be offered in the fall. So, this means she is going to miss out on our family vacation that we do every year in June. I told her I would try and come up with something for her so she was still able to take a vacation. We had tossed around the idea of a late July cruise - but the prices were outrageous and we also knew the temperatures would be too. I love the sun, but really didn't want to melt!

I just happened upon the Fantasy out of Mobile. I'm not sure why, but I had really never even checked about the Fantasy. Maybe because when you're on the Carnival website you have to click that little extra thing to show the other ports and I just never do because we normally sail out of Port Canaveral, Jacksonville, or Tampa. I was so glad I clicked the extra little thing though because low and behold the Fantasy goes to Cozumel and Costa Maya which are 2 of our favorite ports to visit. I honestly believe that Whitney would move to Costa Maya if she had half the chance. She loves it there and has been wanting to go back for some time now.

I checked with her about her college schedule and it just so happened that her last final would be on Friday, May 5 and she didn't have to go back until May 22 so the May 6th sailing was a perfect fit for us and it was going to Cozumel and Costa Maya. The stars must have all aligned because it seemed it was meant to be!

Whitney and I get along really well and we would have been fine cruising with just the 2 of us but we decided we would both ask a friend to tag along. We originally had planned on doing just one OV room, but when we checked the pricing we decided 4 girls and 1 bathroom probably wouldn't be a wise decision so Donna and I booked an OV and Whitney and Chelsea booked an INT across the hall from us.

Several weeks after we booked, Donna called one day and said, "You'll never believe this, but my Mom and Brooke (her daughter) have booked the same cruise we are going on." She was right - I didn't believe her. They had just cruised with Donna in February 2016 and both said they would never cruise again. Well, I guess you just never know.

It didn't really matter to me - I was just going to relax and rest. Having 6 kids at home (even though 2 are college age, relax and rest isn't something I get to do very often). Yes, I know - I need to change my screen name to GeorgiaMomof6. I actually was still GeorgiaMomof4 until last August, when we adopted our 2 little foster sons who are 3 and 2. I know - most of you think we've probably lost our minds since that puts 20 years between our oldest and our youngest and we will be dead with old age when the baby graduates - but God had plans for us that we didn't know about.

I'm a planner and always have been. I really enjoy perusing around here on Cruise Critic prior to my cruises and deciding what to do and figuring out who has the best excursions, etc. Well, since we were just doing beach days and we already knew that we would be going to Tropicante in Costa Maya and hanging out with Steve and his crew that day and that we would be using the same private driver we've used on several occasions in Cozumel, there wasn't really a lot of planning to do for the ports.

I did have some planning to do for our trip down to Mobile and our hotel the night before. Since we had never cruised from Mobile (and I had actually never been to Mobile)I didn't know anything about the city or the port area.

We knew that we wouldn't get to leave until later in the day on Friday so we just needed somewhere to sleep for a few hours after driving to Mobile before we boarded the ship on Saturday morning.

I checked the home ports page and got some ideas on park and stay cruise packages. I originally booked the Country Inn and Suites in Saraland for a park and cruise package for around $130 or $140. After doing more research and learning that Saraland was about a 12-15 mile trip from the port and not knowing anything about their shuttle service we decided to change our reservation and book the Microtel Inn & Suites at a regular room rate and just park at the port.

Now, I normally don't ever park at the port because in my opinion their parking rates are just way too expensive. However since this was our first cruise from this port and the fact that we got a really good rate at the Microtel we really only ended up paying about $10 more between the park and cruise package and booking it separate.

We patiently (well not really patiently) counted down the days and it was finally cruise time! We were really ready because a few of us had been having some trying times and really needed to get away.

Friday - May 5th

Finally - our day that we leave home for our Fantastic Fantasy Girls Cruise.

We had all agreed to meet at my house around 7 and try to be on the road by 7:15. You see, I had an ulterior motive. I love Marble Slab Creamery ice cream and we don't have one nearby where we live. As luck would have it I found out that there is one in Opelika, AL and we would be driving right through thereon our way to Mobile. Taking the time change into consideration we would get to stop for ice cream on our drive down and break up our trip since it was right at half way between home and Mobile.

Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances (Chelsea ended up having to work later than originally planned) we didn't even get to leave home until about 9:45. So, that meant we would be too late to get Marble Slab ice cream, but it also meant I would be driving until about 3:30 in the morning. Not good considering I had been up since 6:15 Friday morning.

After giving hugs and kisses to my DH and my boys and girls I was leaving behind at home, we finally were on our way to Mobile.

One advantage to leaving later was that we missed all the Atlanta traffic. We made really good time and only stopped 1 time and that was for gas and a potty break. We ended up getting into Mobile and to our hotel about 3:15 Saturday morning.

Check in was a breeze and in just a few short minutes we were in the room and ready for bed. I think I was asleep by the time my head hit the pillow.

The room was nice enough -it was clean and basically a standard hotel room with 2 queen beds. We were only going to be there for about 6 1/2 hours so it would certainly do.

We set our alarms for 8 but were already awake before that so we all showered and got ready for embarkation! The hotel served breakfast- the usual items - cereal, bagels, muffins, fruit, etc. They did have a pancake maker which made 2 pancakes at a time and surprisingly they were really good. It was a tad slow at making them so if there had been a crowd - it might have taken a while but we were some of the only ones down there so we didn't have any problems.

Sorry but I didn't get any pictures of the hotel. I was so tired when we got there pictures didn't even occur to me and I was too excited to think about pictures Saturday morning.

We checked out of the hotel about 10 and made our way to the closest Walmart which was literally only about 2 minutes away. Whew - talking about convenience! Chelsea had forgotten sunglasses, Donna needed something - I forgot what and my allergies were killing me so I purchased some Allegra.

That's probably all for today! I know it's coming along slow and I'm sorry.

I'm playing catch up at work and it's baseball season - we have a game tonight and I won't get home until late but I promise I'll post more tomorrow!

Hope it's worth the wait.

Awesome review so far. I love the ones with lots of fun details to really draw the readers in.

Take your time and have fun with remembering the cruise!

Nice start!

We leave in 28 days, how did they do the safety drill.

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I love reading reviews. Tagging along for this one :)

Back on the road and within just a few short minutes we had arrived at the port and got our first glimpse of our home for the next 5 days - the Carnival Fantasy.

We actually had to drive past the parking garage area and make a u-turn and wait in a line to get into the parking garage. We only waited a few minutes and the line started moving. Even though we were quite a ways back it didn't take long to get up to the parking deck. We were directed to drop our luggage off with a porter and then proceed on up the ramp to find a parking spot. I had prepaid for our parking online. If you choose to do this you will need to know your car's tag number when you go online to prepay. I believe that is how they keep up with who has paid. We found a parking spot very close to the elevator, unloaded our carry ons and off we went into the building.

As usual they checked our boarding passes and so on. Now when we did our online check in stuff we had to choose a time. The first that was available was 11:30 -12:00 so that is what I chose. Even though we were earlier than that, no one said a word to us. We went through security and then waited inthe que line to get our sail and sign cards.

One thing I did notice that was different from our past cruises was you got your embarkation picture made before they actually called your zone number to board. The photo guys were just getting all that setup so we actually went and sat down and waited on them to let us know when they were ready to start doing the pictures. We went back and had our embarkation photo done. It's a tradition. I have one from all our cruises. Here we are - all ready for our cruise and anxiously waiting to board.

I believe it was probably around 11:15 or so they called for a wedding party to board and soon after they called for Diamond, Platinum and Faster to the Fun to board. After they had boarded the gentleman came on the intercom and said that they would be delaying Zones 1 - 3 boarding for about 20 or 25 minutes which meant it would be about 11:45 before we would be able to board - we were Zone 2.

That was kind of aggravating because the others had boarded and we really didn't know why they were making us wait. Guy's Burgers were calling our names after all!

All the other ports we have cruised out of handled it differently - once they started calling for boarding they continued on from Diamond, Platinum, FTTF and then would immediately start calling the Zones. We never did find out why they held us up, but sure enough about 11:40 or 11:45 they started calling the remaining Zones and were were on the ship in about 10 minutes.

We decided to go ahead and drop off our carry ons in our rooms. We only had back packs and we just slid them into the closet and went straight onto the Lido deck for lunch.

Our first stop was Guy's burgers! I love them. I'm not wild about the french fries so I always get my burger and then head to the salad bar for some potato salad. I wasn't disappointed with my burger and neither was anyone else. Delicious as always. After eating we decided we would go back to the cabin and see if our luggage had been delivered. Sure enough it had. We quickly unpacked - it sure is a lot easier unpacking for 1 than it is for 2, 4 or 6!

After unpacking we put our swimsuits on and headed to the Serenity deck for some sun and a nap. I'm not sure about all of you but I usually wear myself out prior to my cruise making sure that I haven't forgotten to do anything - all bills paid, list of appointments and sporting activities for those left behind - you know - Mom stuff. I also have to be sure my house is clean. I don't really know why but I do. Maybe I'm worried we will hit an iceburg and sink - I don't want to be the one that is remembered because she left a dirty house when she went on vacation!

It wasn't long until it was time for the dreaded muster drill. We have had some really easy muster drills and we have had some that weren't really easy. Unfortunately the Fantasy muster drill turned out to be one that wasn't really easy.

Our muster station was E and we met on deck 9 aft in the Forum Lounge. You had to have your sail and sign card with you and they scanned your card to be sure everyone was present. Well as always there are a few missing so you wait. And you wait. When they finally decided everyone was where they were supposed to be,they did the regular drill of what to expect, show you how to put on your life jacket, etc. Now on the Magic in February - that was it. We never did go outside to the lifeboats. Not on the Fantasy though. After all that we still had to trek up a ramp and then up the stairs to the lifeboats. Thankfully it was in the shade and it wasn't blistering hot. All in all it was pretty painless, but I've never been able to figure out why with each ship it seems to be a little different. Why on some ships do you just meet at your muster station and you never do venture out to the lifeboats and then on some ships you do venture out to the lifeboats. I think I'll ask next time and see what kind of answer I get!

Pretty much right after the muster drill we sailed away. We sat in the shade back on deck 10 aft and watched us sail away from Mobile and the real world for 5 days! We were on our way to Mexico!

I honestly don't remember what we did between sail away and 7 p.m. I did go and press a few things that had gotten wrinkled in my suitcase. Lucky for me the laundry was just right up from our cabin. It was a perfect time too because I was the only one there and didn't have to wait on an iron like you sometimes have to do on Elegant night.

We had decided that we wanted to go to the liquor tasting at the fun shops at 7 so a little before that we headed down that way. We got inline and they gave us a coupon for a drawing in the jewelry store. They did their spiel about pricing for liquor being so good on the ship and so on and on and finally started the liquor tasting. I tasted a flavored liquor of some kind and didn't care for it and then tried a Bailey's creme and it was really good. They did give you several samples if you wanted them.

After the liquor tasting off we went to the Hasbro Game Show. It started at 7:15 and was really fun. Mikey the cruise director was a hoot and he made it all fun! We ended up leaving a little early because we were hungry and wanted to get to the dining room.

Speaking of dinner this was the first time that we had tried Your Time Dining. Normally there are a minimum of 6 of us and sometimes upwards of 12-14 so we usually do early dining because we like to sit together and we're always afraid that we will have to wait a long time if we do YTD. It turned out the YTD worked well for us this trip. I think the longest we had to wait was the first night and we only waited about 10-15 minutes. I think they told us the wait would be about 30 minutes but it was no where near that long.

Because of another review that I had read here on CC I requested a waiter named Manik. They sat us at his table and we really enjoyed his service. He was excited that someone had recommended him. He was very pleasant and thorough and we ended up sitting at his tables 3 of the 5 nights.

Dinner was good and we did have tablecloths. The tablecloths are nice to have but they definitely don't make or break a cruise for me. I did seem to enjoy the menu better than the one we had on the Magic. I can't remember for sure but I think tonight I had the lasagna bolognese. It was good but if did have a few things init I didn't care for - no worries though - I just scooted those to the side and enjoyed the rest of it!

After dinner we went to the Welcome Aboard Show. I have to say that I really enjoyed our cruise director Mikey. He was nonstop - had the energy of the Energizer bunny! I do have to say that none of us were very impressed with the entertainment crew. The singing they did during the Welcome Aboard show was not the best in my opinion.

We decided to leave the Welcome Aboard show a little early and head to the comedy club. There was to be an 11:30 show and we wanted to be sure and get a seat. We did go in and get a seat but it was soooo cold that we were freezing to death. Donna was the first one who said she wasn't going to wait on the show to start that she was tired and freezing and was going back to the cabin. It wasn't long until the rest of us decided the same thing. It had been a very long day and I just can't begin to tell you how cold it was in that lounge. I'm a very warm natured person and I would have been happy to have had a jacket!

Off to bed we went -tomorrow is our first sea day!

Sunday - Sea Day

We woke up about 8 I think -and donned our swimsuits and cover ups and headed up for breakfast. Whitney joined us but Chelsea was still snoozing. I wanted an omelet but the line in the buffet area was way too long and there was only 1 guy doing omelets. He was all the way aft where the pizza station normally is during the rest of the day. So instead of an omelet I decided I would have a burrito from the Blue Iguana. It was very good and I had some potatoes to go along with it. I didn't realize it until a day or so later but they were also making omelets out on Lido where the Guy's Burgers and Blue Iguana areas are.

We actually got great seats out on Lido right by the stage. Whitney wanted to hang out there for the day because she wanted to be able to see the Red vs. Blue drink challenge (the former Master Mixology contest) and also we wanted to watch the hairy chest contest.

Sometime that morning I went out the back door of the Lido buffet where the seating area is and got this great picture. I think the bird was enjoying the view as much as I was - he certainly didn't move while I took his picture.

We settled into our lounge chairs to sun and relax. It was beginning to get crowded in that area and it was really warm. We all decided we would head to the pool to cool off a little. The pool was crowded but not horrible. We sat on the edge and dangled our feet for a while and then I decided to jump on in. The water was cold at first but I think it was because I was so warm. It actually felt really good after just a minute or so.

It wasn't long until they started the Red vs. Blue drink challenge. They had a variety of people participating (younger ones and older ones)so it was a lot of fun. The drink that ended up winning was one called the Boat Drink and Blake from Indiana was the one who came up with it. I tried it later on in the cruise and it was good.

Now next was the hairy chest contest. I remember the first one that I watched I really thought whoever won would be the one with the hairiest chest -but as you all know that isn't the case. I know this is a tacky contest but to me it is always hilarious. You really have to give it to these guys that get up there and participate because they do all kind of funny stuff and it doesn't seem to phase them. In the end they dressed up like women and it was a hoot! The first picture is a picture of the winner - not a good one but you get the idea! The other one is of the runner up!