Fantasy Review-Need Feedback Please From Carnival Fans.

[Ocean68]

***I'm mostly writing this so that I can get some feedback from some of you seasoned Carnival cruisers. This was our 15th cruise, and first on Carnival. We always said that we'd never try Carnival, however in the past year or two, we've heard

about how they've changed the decor of their ships, and that basically the whole Carnival reputation of yesteryear has been changing. We had friends booked last month (Oct 2010) on the Carnival Fantasy out of Charelston, and we decided to join them and give Carnival a shot. We didn't really have any expectations to speak of, and tried to go with open minds. I have to say that on a lot of points, we were very pleasantly surprised and happy with a lot of things. However, there were a few other things that we experienced which would make us not want to sail on Carnival again.

***Here is the thing: we have friends booked this winter on the Carnival Freedom. Our inclination after this last cruise is not to sail Carnival again. However, we're wondering if our complaints are typical of Carnival, or if they were just the Carnival Fantasy. I'm mainly concerned about 1. The smoke, and 2. Staff making people leave the show lounges.

My husband and I are in our early to mid-40's. This was our 15th cruise overall, and our first on Carnival. We had a great time as we always do, but I seriously doubt we'd sail on Carnival again unless some of these issues are totally isolated to the Fantasy ship and not a picture of Carnival as a whole. (mainly the smoking and the being asked to leave rooms where we already had a seat) We've had most of our cruises on Royal Caribbean and NCL. Royal Caribbean is our favorite. They always tell us that their ships are our home for the entire cruise. There's a huge difference between that and what we experienced on the Carnival Fantasy. We never felt like we were meant to feel at home at all...and sometimes didn't even feel welcomed. There were positives though, as well as negatives. There are always both to each and every cruise. I will also mention that embarkation and debarkation in Charelston was wonderful. The rest is explained further below.

Best: Food, Cabin Attendant, Cabin Size & Bed, Embarkation & Debarkation, Clean & Updated Ship

Worst: Smoke(major issue), Cruise Director Staff Attitude & strange "policies", Buffet Manager Rudeness

The ship is updated and very clean. The only thing that I noticed that could be updated is the pool, although it looks very nice with the decor around it. The ONLY reason I marked my rating down is because there is smoke everywhere on this ship. People can smoke pretty much anywhere but the dining rooms and the 2 show lounges. There is a non-smoking area in the promenade, which is right in the middle of a smoking bar, and the casino... so if you sit there, you're bombarded with smoke anyway. All of the bars allow smoking. Supposedly on deck your'e only supposed to smoke on one side, but it's not enforced-so there was smoking everywhere. As one example, the piano bar looked like a blast, but we walked in and right back out...the smoke was so thick. All of the smoke is the main reason we won't sail on Carnival again.

The food was some of the best we've ever had in 15 cruises. Both the buffet for lunch, as well as the dining room in the evenings. Wonderful food. (not impressed at all with buffet breakfast though)

We had an inside cabin on the Empress deck. Room was very nice size. Bed very comfortable. Cabin attendant excellent. Room was clean and updated. I'm very picky on clean. There were no hair dryers, which we knew ahead of time, but there

was an updated safe.

One day as the buffet was getting ready to close, a man was still serving cake to people. I was in line with 4 others, and 2 men in white uniforms(restaurant officers) yelled at him, said "no more!" and took the utensils out of his hands and threw them in the water. I couldn't believe it! That was so rude of them.

The cruise director staff aka the fun patrol, were not especially fun or friendly. The male staffer (Luke) would put guests down and acted as if his job was a big chore. I'm pretty sure that's his sense of humor, but I would guess that the majorty of people don't get that, and are put off by it. The girls all seemed to act about the same about their jobs, as if they'd rather be anywhere else but with the guests doing activities, etc. We were SHOCKED when we were at a comedian show in the forum lounge, it ended... and we were forced to leave the room( by Amanda and Chelsea) and go out and get in a line to go back in for the next comedian's show which was right after. We were sitting there, drinking, already had our seats, and were made to leave! Simply shocked. We were told that it's Carnival's policy that they empty the room so that it's fair to everyone. The staffer (Amanda) also told us that it wouldn't be fair either for some people to sit through all 4 shows. I dont know who would want to do this, I seriously doubt anyone would, but even if they did... so what. I am guessing that Carnival is trying to have the forum lounge as more of an intimate type of comedy club with the comedians doing several shows each in the evening. A much better use of their and everyone's time would be to have them each night do one show each in the universe lounge, and just make it the lower level or something. The forum lounge was simply too small of a venue for this, but under no circumstances should people who already have a seat (and in our case drinks too) be asked to get up and leave to come back in. Plus... we were in the universe theater one night, and a show ended and we were sitting there deciding what we'd do next... and they made us leave. Never... in 15 cruises, have we EVER been asked to leave anywhere on a ship. This is another reason that we will not sail Carnival again.

The fun patrol acted less than thrilled to do the various activities on board, such as trivia. Also, they have one prize for games... the ship on a stick. We had a group of 4 one day win, and she handed the whole group ONE of these prizes. What is a whole group of people going to do with one prize. Plus... Royal Caribbean and NCL and Princess, etc. all give out an assortment of prizes for games-useful things with the line's logo on them. We play for fun, not the prizes, but Carnival seems very cheap in this aspect. I realize that all of the lines are cutting back on certain things, but these ships on sticks would cost a similar amount to make as a pen or a hat or a frisbee, etc. They also had tons of trivia on the port days, which was really great...yet one or none on sea days, and the one sea day it was raining.

Some extra notes:

The bar staff was very nice and very good.

 

At dinner the maitre d' (Nicola) would get on a microphone and you could hear the room groan, because he would go on talking way too long while people were eating.

Our waitress was good, she got our dinners correct and remembered who they went to... but barely ever talked to us. She also had 2 assistants, and we were often waiting quite awhile to find one of them to ask for water, butter, etc. There was a waiter next to our area who was fantastic though. Awesome personality and his assistants looked to be right on top of things. Luck of the draw for us. Still had wonderful dinners with the best of friends and excellent top notch food.

There was a Beatles Tribute show that was apparently totally missing from our sailing also, very disappointing!

We actually went to the future cruise consultant to ask him if they allow smoke in so many areas on other ships, and he had no idea. We asked him several other questions concerning the Freedom that our friends have booked in the winter... and they were just basic questions, and he had no answers. We found that to be bizzare. I would think that he should know more about the cruises that he's there to sell.

They had what they called a "Farewell Show" at 5pm on the last night of sailing in the universe lounge. We went, and it turned out to actually be more of a farewell party. The band was playing, people could go up on stage to dance, and they had the waitstaff walking around passing out a nice variety of free drinks. While we were very happy to have gone and found this...we thought it was so odd that it was billed as a show... and it was nothing of the sort. We guessed that Carnival didn't

want many people there, and there really wasn't a big crowd at all.

Embarkation and debarkation were both fast and easy. We chose to carry our own luggage off of the ship since we drove, and it was a snap. They had a drug dog outside doing spot checks on luggage for people who carried off, which was kinda cool, and interesting to watch.

We liked that on Carnival they let you take a bottle of wine per person, and some pop per person also on board with you. It's also nice that you can order vodka for your room ahead of time also, however we didn't know about this till it was past the time you could order.

While we were happy that Carnival doesn't seem to be what they used to be... known for being a huge party ship. We found it to be quite the opposite. They had a few party type events that I can think of, but not like you'd except on a "Fun Ship". Royal Caribbean's ships for example always have lots of parties, dances, and lots more activities too. This surprised us.

We liked that they had 2 packs of nice French bar soap in our cabin, plus a basket with freebie goodies too- nice razor, toothpaste, pepcid, etc etc.

Our cabin steward was excellent. We didn't see much of him but he was very effecient. Love the towel animals as always, and there were always mints on the pillows. (I've seen people complain that Royal Caribbean quit putting mints on the pillows, which, it's something I can live with our without. I can see how it would be something that's probably wasted a lot, to cut. I know they are all cutting back in various ways.)

The buffet is set up kind of strange. They have the meat carver and foods that go with that outside by the pool. My husband thought that should be inside, and keep the burgers and even the Mongolian food outside. Also, they have it set so that people line up to get their food, and they still use trays also, which Royal Caribbean and NCL have gotten away with and have gone to having the various stations where you can get food without lines. Apparently though, they wash the trays after each use-which is good.

There was no letter from the captain or anyone on this ship talking about hand washing. They did have antibacterial soap stands outside of the buffet, etc, but they were not prominently displayed. Talk of this is very important on every cruise--not just when there is a noro virus outbreak.

We never heard from the captain, except that he spoke briefly at the captain's cocktail party. He didn't give a speech after the lifeboat drill, and we never heard him giving any daily reports from the bridge or anything. This was a first out of all the cruises we've been on. Love that you don't have to wear the lifejackets for the muster drill anymore. This is now the same on all lines and ships.

I've given positives and negatives about our cruise. I'm sure some of these things that I commented on seem smaller than others, but just thought I'd mention them anyway. No matter what, we still had a great cruise...we always do.

Thanks ahead of time for your feedback, seasoned Carnival cruisers.

[Ocean68]

ps. Another thing that we were disappointed about was that there were no guest satisfaction surveys at the end of the cruise. I asked at guest relations and they told me that we could do it online when we got home. I looked on the website when I got home, and there's nothing there. Then, a few weeks after the cruise our friends got a survey to do via their email. I called customer service, and was told that they are sent out to everyone via email. I asked if everyone gets them and she said yes, and also said that they're sent out randomly, which to me means they do spot surveys and not everyone gets one, because we still haven't. They can't improve on things if they don't get input from people(all, not some). Cruise staff can't get commendations/praise if they don't get the surveys to to everyone either. I'm still in the process of figuring out how I'll get our opinions to Carnival. I will make a few more calls, and will find out exactly to who and where to write a letter.

[Ocean68]

pss. This is a strange thing that I forgot to mention. On the first night of the cruise there was a game show in the universe lounge, and cruise staffer Luke introduced his fellow cruise staffer, Chelsea, as being a celebrity on board. She came out waving to everyone. He said that she'd been on season 2 of Big Brother on CBS. He even teased her about getting voted off the 3rd week because she talked too much. He told the audience to check her out when they got the chance on CBS.com. I actually watch Big Brother, and thought this was interesting. I talked to her during the cruise and asked her about being on the show... and she told me to look her up on YouTube. She had to run to an event and said we'd talk more later. When I got home, I researched this, and she doesn't seem to have been on any season of Big Brother anywhere. I made another thread about this on here to ask, and someone said they got in touch with her, and supposedly she said that Luke just likes to make that up. If that is the case, that is so incredibly dumb and annoying. Why would you make such an odd thing up to tell the entire audience? He had made a big deal out of it with a big entrance from her. (For those who may wonder-as you'll see in my other thread asking about this... she's not Chelsia from season 9.) I did find out after the cruise, however, that Luke appeared on the first season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, as he was Dina Manzo's assistant.

[klfrodo]

I'll just give my experience re the Fantasy recently.

 

9 cruises. All Carnival. Very first was a 3 day Fantasy. Fell in love with cruising.

 

Last cruise was this past September. Carnival Fantasy out of Charleston. My experience? just all right. Had it been my first Carnival cruise, I might feel the same way as you.

 

Re the smokeing. That is a hit and miss on every ship, every cruiseline. Depends on the people that week. I would expect, (and I may be wrong), that there would be a higher percentage of smokers on a ship sailing out of Charleston. Heck,,isn't that smack in the middle of tobacco row? (I'm a smoker, so calm down folks. I'm not dissing smokers). Not an excuse for people smoking in designated NON smoking areas though.

 

Re the moving you out of the club thing for another show,,,,,, Carnival just started the Comedy Club thing. There never was a specific venue designed for this. They are just using a previous slow club. I'm sure they're still working out the kinks in the program and such. They didn't have the comedy club in Sept when I was on the ship.

 

Depending on itinerary and port you are sailing from, I think you'll find a complete different experience on the Freedom.

[Megan_Strick]

***I'm mostly writing this so that I can get some feedback from some of you seasoned Carnival cruisers. This was our 15th cruise, and first on Carnival. We always said that we'd never try Carnival, however in the past year or two, we've heard

about how they've changed the decor of their ships, and that basically the whole Carnival reputation of yesteryear has been changing. We had friends booked last month (Oct 2010) on the Carnival Fantasy out of Charelston, and we decided to join them and give Carnival a shot. We didn't really have any expectations to speak of, and tried to go with open minds. I have to say that on a lot of points, we were very pleasantly surprised and happy with a lot of things. However, there were a few other things that we experienced which would make us not want to sail on Carnival again.

 

***Here is the thing: we have friends booked this winter on the Carnival Freedom. Our inclination after this last cruise is not to sail Carnival again. However, we're wondering if our complaints are typical of Carnival, or if they were just the Carnival Fantasy. I'm mainly concerned about 1. The smoke, and 2. Staff making people leave the show lounges.

 

My husband and I are in our early to mid-40's. This was our 15th cruise overall, and our first on Carnival. We had a great time as we always do, but I seriously doubt we'd sail on Carnival again unless some of these issues are totally isolated to the Fantasy ship and not a picture of Carnival as a whole. (mainly the smoking and the being asked to leave rooms where we already had a seat) We've had most of our cruises on Royal Caribbean and NCL. Royal Caribbean is our favorite. They always tell us that their ships are our home for the entire cruise. There's a huge difference between that and what we experienced on the Carnival Fantasy. We never felt like we were meant to feel at home at all...and sometimes didn't even feel welcomed. There were positives though, as well as negatives. There are always both to each and every cruise. I will also mention that embarkation and debarkation in Charelston was wonderful. The rest is explained further below.

 

 

Best: Food, Cabin Attendant, Cabin Size & Bed, Embarkation & Debarkation, Clean & Updated Ship

 

Worst: Smoke(major issue), Cruise Director Staff Attitude & strange "policies", Buffet Manager Rudeness

 

The ship is updated and very clean. The only thing that I noticed that could be updated is the pool, although it looks very nice with the decor around it. The ONLY reason I marked my rating down is because there is smoke everywhere on this ship. People can smoke pretty much anywhere but the dining rooms and the 2 show lounges. There is a non-smoking area in the promenade, which is right in the middle of a smoking bar, and the casino... so if you sit there, you're bombarded with smoke anyway. All of the bars allow smoking. Supposedly on deck your'e only supposed to smoke on one side, but it's not enforced-so there was smoking everywhere. As one example, the piano bar looked like a blast, but we walked in and right back out...the smoke was so thick. All of the smoke is the main reason we won't sail on Carnival again.

 

The food was some of the best we've ever had in 15 cruises. Both the buffet for lunch, as well as the dining room in the evenings. Wonderful food. (not impressed at all with buffet breakfast though)

 

We had an inside cabin on the Empress deck. Room was very nice size. Bed very comfortable. Cabin attendant excellent. Room was clean and updated. I'm very picky on clean. There were no hair dryers, which we knew ahead of time, but there

was an updated safe.

 

One day as the buffet was getting ready to close, a man was still serving cake to people. I was in line with 4 others, and 2 men in white uniforms(restaurant officers) yelled at him, said "no more!" and took the utensils out of his hands and threw them in the water. I couldn't believe it! That was so rude of them.

 

The cruise director staff aka the fun patrol, were not especially fun or friendly. The male staffer (Luke) would put guests down and acted as if his job was a big chore. I'm pretty sure that's his sense of humor, but I would guess that the majorty of people don't get that, and are put off by it. The girls all seemed to act about the same about their jobs, as if they'd rather be anywhere else but with the guests doing activities, etc. We were SHOCKED when we were at a comedian show in the forum lounge, it ended... and we were forced to leave the room( by Amanda and Chelsea) and go out and get in a line to go back in for the next comedian's show which was right after. We were sitting there, drinking, already had our seats, and were made to leave! Simply shocked. We were told that it's Carnival's policy that they empty the room so that it's fair to everyone. The staffer (Amanda) also told us that it wouldn't be fair either for some people to sit through all 4 shows. I dont know who would want to do this, I seriously doubt anyone would, but even if they did... so what. I am guessing that Carnival is trying to have the forum lounge as more of an intimate type of comedy club with the comedians doing several shows each in the evening. A much better use of their and everyone's time would be to have them each night do one show each in the universe lounge, and just make it the lower level or something. The forum lounge was simply too small of a venue for this, but under no circumstances should people who already have a seat (and in our case drinks too) be asked to get up and leave to come back in. Plus... we were in the universe theater one night, and a show ended and we were sitting there deciding what we'd do next... and they made us leave. Never... in 15 cruises, have we EVER been asked to leave anywhere on a ship. This is another reason that we will not sail Carnival again.

 

The fun patrol acted less than thrilled to do the various activities on board, such as trivia. Also, they have one prize for games... the ship on a stick. We had a group of 4 one day win, and she handed the whole group ONE of these prizes. What is a whole group of people going to do with one prize. Plus... Royal Caribbean and NCL and Princess, etc. all give out an assortment of prizes for games-useful things with the line's logo on them. We play for fun, not the prizes, but Carnival seems very cheap in this aspect. I realize that all of the lines are cutting back on certain things, but these ships on sticks would cost a similar amount to make as a pen or a hat or a frisbee, etc. They also had tons of trivia on the port days, which was really great...yet one or none on sea days, and the one sea day it was raining.

 

Some extra notes:

The bar staff was very nice and very good.

 

 

At dinner the maitre d' (Nicola) would get on a microphone and you could hear the room groan, because he would go on talking way too long while people were eating.

Our waitress was good, she got our dinners correct and remembered who they went to... but barely ever talked to us. She also had 2 assistants, and we were often waiting quite awhile to find one of them to ask for water, butter, etc. There was a waiter next to our area who was fantastic though. Awesome personality and his assistants looked to be right on top of things. Luck of the draw for us. Still had wonderful dinners with the best of friends and excellent top notch food.

 

There was a Beatles Tribute show that was apparently totally missing from our sailing also, very disappointing!

 

We actually went to the future cruise consultant to ask him if they allow smoke in so many areas on other ships, and he had no idea. We asked him several other questions concerning the Freedom that our friends have booked in the winter... and they were just basic questions, and he had no answers. We found that to be bizzare. I would think that he should know more about the cruises that he's there to sell.

 

They had what they called a "Farewell Show" at 5pm on the last night of sailing in the universe lounge. We went, and it turned out to actually be more of a farewell party. The band was playing, people could go up on stage to dance, and they had the waitstaff walking around passing out a nice variety of free drinks. While we were very happy to have gone and found this...we thought it was so odd that it was billed as a show... and it was nothing of the sort. We guessed that Carnival didn't

want many people there, and there really wasn't a big crowd at all.

 

Embarkation and debarkation were both fast and easy. We chose to carry our own luggage off of the ship since we drove, and it was a snap. They had a drug dog outside doing spot checks on luggage for people who carried off, which was kinda cool, and interesting to watch.

 

We liked that on Carnival they let you take a bottle of wine per person, and some pop per person also on board with you. It's also nice that you can order vodka for your room ahead of time also, however we didn't know about this till it was past the time you could order.

 

While we were happy that Carnival doesn't seem to be what they used to be... known for being a huge party ship. We found it to be quite the opposite. They had a few party type events that I can think of, but not like you'd except on a "Fun Ship". Royal Caribbean's ships for example always have lots of parties, dances, and lots more activities too. This surprised us.

 

We liked that they had 2 packs of nice French bar soap in our cabin, plus a basket with freebie goodies too- nice razor, toothpaste, pepcid, etc etc.

Our cabin steward was excellent. We didn't see much of him but he was very effecient. Love the towel animals as always, and there were always mints on the pillows. (I've seen people complain that Royal Caribbean quit putting mints on the pillows, which, it's something I can live with our without. I can see how it would be something that's probably wasted a lot, to cut. I know they are all cutting back in various ways.)

 

The buffet is set up kind of strange. They have the meat carver and foods that go with that outside by the pool. My husband thought that should be inside, and keep the burgers and even the Mongolian food outside. Also, they have it set so that people line up to get their food, and they still use trays also, which Royal Caribbean and NCL have gotten away with and have gone to having the various stations where you can get food without lines. Apparently though, they wash the trays after each use-which is good.

 

There was no letter from the captain or anyone on this ship talking about hand washing. They did have antibacterial soap stands outside of the buffet, etc, but they were not prominently displayed. Talk of this is very important on every cruise--not just when there is a noro virus outbreak.

 

We never heard from the captain, except that he spoke briefly at the captain's cocktail party. He didn't give a speech after the lifeboat drill, and we never heard him giving any daily reports from the bridge or anything. This was a first out of all the cruises we've been on. Love that you don't have to wear the lifejackets for the muster drill anymore. This is now the same on all lines and ships.

 

I've given positives and negatives about our cruise. I'm sure some of these things that I commented on seem smaller than others, but just thought I'd mention them anyway. No matter what, we still had a great cruise...we always do.

Thanks ahead of time for your feedback, seasoned Carnival cruisers.

 

 

 

There was no letter from the captain or anyone on this ship talking about hand washing. They did have antibacterial soap stands outside of the buffet, etc, but they were not prominently displayed. Talk of this is very important on every cruise--not just when there is a noro virus outbreak.

You need a letter telling you to wash your hands?? Just sayin

[Ocean68]

klfrodo: Thank you for your response. I appreciate it a lot. I know that the amount that people smoke on each ship could be different, and I get what you're saying... but our issue was that it was allowed so many places. We just couldn't get away from it. The other ships we've been on with other cruiselines will have a few designated places, but nothing like this ship.

About the comedy club... that's what we gathered they're doing... however on the Fantasy it's just not working, and the way they handled it we felt was very wrong. If anyone's been on another ship that has the comedy club, I'd like to know if they make everyone clear out before the next show, or even if Carnival tends to kick people out of anywhere on the ship. (Other than during show practices they don't let you in-that's understandable, and not what I'm talking about here) They made people walk out, and get in line to go back in...right back in. It just makes no sense.

 

sthrnbll: I'm guessing you're joking, and if so... ha. Good one. But if not, the other lines generally are good at educating cruisers on the importance of hand washing. NCL is especially great at making people clean their hands before entering the ship, and before entering the buffet. Also one recent cruise, they had a channel on the tv constantly explaining to people the proper way of hand washing, as well as letters in each cabin from the captain. Nope, I don't need a letter telling me to wash my hands, but believe me... a lot of people do. People should do whatever common sense thing they can to avoid getting any sort of virus while cruising. We've had friends who've been sick during cruises, and it's not fun.

[NavarreCruiser]

Being a smoker and having been on 23Carnival cruises and 18 RCI cruises I can tell you that the Fantasy had the most areas to smoke than any other ship I've been on. I just got off the Carnival Splendor, end of September. They were almost no places to smoke indoors. And you couldn't smoke on the pool deck on one side like most ships. It was like the Freedom ots. So you happened to find the worst ship for non-smokers in the fleet.

[MrPete]

First, it seems to me you think you are entitled to a seat JUST because you attended a previous show. I don't agree with that.

 

Smoke? It's really a hit or miss depending on how many smokers are on board, and they are contained o the smoking areas.

 

In any case, there is a HUGE difference between a 20 year old ship, and the Freedom. But there's ALWAYS the possibility the things that annoyed you for some reason will be found there as well.

[1timecruiser]

However, the smoking issue can be a hard one due to the layout of the Fantasy ship. However, if that alone keeps you from cruising, sorry to see ya go, but I'll definitely stay. I don't smoke regularly, but on occasion will take a puff. If it becomes too much for me, there are way too many other places to go on the ship to get away from the smell. The only issue I had last year was having to walk through the back Cigar bar area, far aft, to walk my son to Camp Carnival. There are elevators that come right into that area though, so instead of walking the promenade to get to the Camp Carnival area, we minimized the smoke intake by taking those and walking briskly to the camp area.

 

As far as buffets, c'mon now, they're usually hit or miss. Too much other food on the ship to complain about where the meat carver is located. With those being the only issues that you found to be major, I'm happy that you enjoyed your cruise. I sincerely wouldn't base my future sailings on one though, because if you did that, you'd certainly miss out on a lot of other ships that are probably totally opposite of your experience on Fantasy. You have different sailings, with different types of people. Therefore one cruise could be totally different from another for people on the same ship.

[mavis2222]

It was probably the late Comedy (adult) show next, and they wanted to empty the room of "kids" to make sure there wasnt any there when the next show started. Even though Ive seen allot in there during that show after repeated warnings from the comdeian.

I agree with the smoking..Less enforcable on the smaller older ships, vs the new bigger ones.

[jsfromsc]

Your post scares me. We have only cruised on Carnival, but mostly on larger ships. Our first cruise was on the Tropicale, a very small ship, one of the first that is no longer sailing, and we hated the smoke on that ship. It wasn't as much of a problem on the larger ships, except for the casino, which doesn't really interest us, or the lounges. I, too, tried to do a sing-along in the piano bar on the Triumph and had to leave because of the smoke. I'd prefer a non-smoking ship, but I guess that didn't work for them. But I'm also aggressive enough to tell someone if they're smoking in a non-smoking area - not that that would deter some people. Anyway, we were so happy to hear that Carnival would have a ship sailing year-round out of Charleston since we live in SC and can easily drive to the port. But when I learned it would be the Fantasy, I was a bit disappointed. Just the fact that there's only one pool is a letdown. Also, I'm sure the experience you had being asked to leave the lounge is that the public spaces are not big enough to accommodate all the passengers. You will not have a problem on a larger ship. And not everyone goes to all the shows. Perhaps it was also more crowded because the smaller ships have fewer choices for guests.

 

We've never had a problem with rudeness from any Carnival staff, although on my last cruise some of the waiters in the lounge took my orders for soft drinks and never brought them. I attributed this to the fact that I had purchased a soft drink card and they figured they weren't going to get a tip for serving me since tips are added into the price of the drinks. I wrote to Carnival and got a reply that I should have been served, but that didn't help after the fact. I was always served when I purchased a cocktail. Towards the end of the cruise we'd just stop in a bar and pick up a Coke on the way into the shows.

 

My daughter and son-in-law are sailing on the Fantasy in April. I was concerned about all the complaints about smoke smell, since my daughter has pretty bad allergies to smoke. I wrote to Carnival and got a reply that didn't really satisfy me. They said she could contact her room steward or guest services if her room smelled smokey and that they could spray it. She's also deathly allergic to stuff like Febreze, so I'm hoping that she doesn't get a smelly cabin. I don't want the treatment to kill her. I'm hoping someday Carnival will keep a larger ship in Charleston. Otherwise we'll just have to opt to sail out of one of the FL ports as we have in the past. I'm holding off on until my daughter sails to get her impression of the ship, but I have to say most of the reviews I've read have complained of the smoke and how crowded everything is on the ship.

[luvofthecruise]

I was on Valor in September and me and my group (6 of us) stayed in the lounge between comedy shows. We ordered drinks joked with our waiter about how bad the comedian was (our waiter was actually funnier) and hung out til the next show which was the adult late night show. So I'm guessing its from ship to ship how they handle that.

 

As for the smoke...I agree with you some on that. I would love to hang out in the piano bar but it's always so smokey. Both on Valor and Glory. I have been on RCI and enjoyed the dueling pianos very much so I miss that when I cruise with Carnival. Oh well. Plenty of other things to do.

 

I will be on Fantasy in July with my father-in-law who smokes so he will be happy about all the smoking places haha.

[Desiree D]

I can only comment about the Conquest, as I have cruised on "her" twice now (the last time was about a month ago). Don't smoke and only remember noticing the smell in the casino and "Alfred's" bar, having to go through the bar to get to the internet cafe. This did not ruin my cruise.

 

I believe we saw on TV the thing about washing hands often and thoroughly, to avoid germs and sickness. And there were anti-bacterial dispenser thingys around the ship, especially by the dinning areas.

 

We enjoyed a balcony cabin, and didn't notice any smoking. Thought the service and the food this time (MDR mostly) was better than any cruise food before. Everywhere we went we never saw rude staff, or even staff without a smile. We had a fabulous time, even though the Conquest is my least favorite ship (decor and layout) than any ship I've been on before. And yet, we had a simply marvelous time, with NO complaints at all, that I can recall anyways. I think you should give Carnival another try on another ship.

[michigyrl]

There was no letter from the captain or anyone on this ship talking about hand washing. They did have antibacterial soap stands outside of the buffet, etc, but they were not prominently displayed. Talk of this is very important on every cruise--not just when there is a noro virus outbreak.

 

 

You need a letter telling you to wash your hands?? Just sayin

 

Actually, yes...some people do need letters!! I get very disgusted when I see people in a public bathroom leave without washing their hands!

[gmkmetz]

***I'm mostly writing this so that I can get some feedback from some of you seasoned Carnival cruisers. This was our 15th cruise, and first on Carnival. We always said that we'd never try Carnival, however in the past year or two, we've heard

about how they've changed the decor of their ships, and that basically the whole Carnival reputation of yesteryear has been changing. We had friends booked last month (Oct 2010) on the Carnival Fantasy out of Charelston, and we decided to join them and give Carnival a shot. We didn't really have any expectations to speak of, and tried to go with open minds. I have to say that on a lot of points, we were very pleasantly surprised and happy with a lot of things. However, there were a few other things that we experienced which would make us not want to sail on Carnival again.

 

***Here is the thing: we have friends booked this winter on the Carnival Freedom. Our inclination after this last cruise is not to sail Carnival again. However, we're wondering if our complaints are typical of Carnival, or if they were just the Carnival Fantasy. I'm mainly concerned about 1. The smoke, and 2. Staff making people leave the show lounges.

 

My husband and I are in our early to mid-40's. This was our 15th cruise overall, and our first on Carnival. We had a great time as we always do, but I seriously doubt we'd sail on Carnival again unless some of these issues are totally isolated to the Fantasy ship and not a picture of Carnival as a whole. (mainly the smoking and the being asked to leave rooms where we already had a seat) We've had most of our cruises on Royal Caribbean and NCL. Royal Caribbean is our favorite. They always tell us that their ships are our home for the entire cruise. There's a huge difference between that and what we experienced on the Carnival Fantasy. We never felt like we were meant to feel at home at all...and sometimes didn't even feel welcomed. There were positives though, as well as negatives. There are always both to each and every cruise. I will also mention that embarkation and debarkation in Charelston was wonderful. The rest is explained further below.

 

 

Best: Food, Cabin Attendant, Cabin Size & Bed, Embarkation & Debarkation, Clean & Updated Ship

 

Worst: Smoke(major issue), Cruise Director Staff Attitude & strange "policies", Buffet Manager Rudeness

 

The ship is updated and very clean. The only thing that I noticed that could be updated is the pool, although it looks very nice with the decor around it. The ONLY reason I marked my rating down is because there is smoke everywhere on this ship. People can smoke pretty much anywhere but the dining rooms and the 2 show lounges. There is a non-smoking area in the promenade, which is right in the middle of a smoking bar, and the casino... so if you sit there, you're bombarded with smoke anyway. All of the bars allow smoking. Supposedly on deck your'e only supposed to smoke on one side, but it's not enforced-so there was smoking everywhere. As one example, the piano bar looked like a blast, but we walked in and right back out...the smoke was so thick. All of the smoke is the main reason we won't sail on Carnival again.

 

The food was some of the best we've ever had in 15 cruises. Both the buffet for lunch, as well as the dining room in the evenings. Wonderful food. (not impressed at all with buffet breakfast though)

 

We had an inside cabin on the Empress deck. Room was very nice size. Bed very comfortable. Cabin attendant excellent. Room was clean and updated. I'm very picky on clean. There were no hair dryers, which we knew ahead of time, but there

was an updated safe.

 

One day as the buffet was getting ready to close, a man was still serving cake to people. I was in line with 4 others, and 2 men in white uniforms(restaurant officers) yelled at him, said "no more!" and took the utensils out of his hands and threw them in the water. I couldn't believe it! That was so rude of them.

 

The cruise director staff aka the fun patrol, were not especially fun or friendly. The male staffer (Luke) would put guests down and acted as if his job was a big chore. I'm pretty sure that's his sense of humor, but I would guess that the majorty of people don't get that, and are put off by it. The girls all seemed to act about the same about their jobs, as if they'd rather be anywhere else but with the guests doing activities, etc. We were SHOCKED when we were at a comedian show in the forum lounge, it ended... and we were forced to leave the room( by Amanda and Chelsea) and go out and get in a line to go back in for the next comedian's show which was right after. We were sitting there, drinking, already had our seats, and were made to leave! Simply shocked. We were told that it's Carnival's policy that they empty the room so that it's fair to everyone. The staffer (Amanda) also told us that it wouldn't be fair either for some people to sit through all 4 shows. I dont know who would want to do this, I seriously doubt anyone would, but even if they did... so what. I am guessing that Carnival is trying to have the forum lounge as more of an intimate type of comedy club with the comedians doing several shows each in the evening. A much better use of their and everyone's time would be to have them each night do one show each in the universe lounge, and just make it the lower level or something. The forum lounge was simply too small of a venue for this, but under no circumstances should people who already have a seat (and in our case drinks too) be asked to get up and leave to come back in. Plus... we were in the universe theater one night, and a show ended and we were sitting there deciding what we'd do next... and they made us leave. Never... in 15 cruises, have we EVER been asked to leave anywhere on a ship. This is another reason that we will not sail Carnival again.

 

The fun patrol acted less than thrilled to do the various activities on board, such as trivia. Also, they have one prize for games... the ship on a stick. We had a group of 4 one day win, and she handed the whole group ONE of these prizes. What is a whole group of people going to do with one prize. Plus... Royal Caribbean and NCL and Princess, etc. all give out an assortment of prizes for games-useful things with the line's logo on them. We play for fun, not the prizes, but Carnival seems very cheap in this aspect. I realize that all of the lines are cutting back on certain things, but these ships on sticks would cost a similar amount to make as a pen or a hat or a frisbee, etc. They also had tons of trivia on the port days, which was really great...yet one or none on sea days, and the one sea day it was raining.

 

Some extra notes:

The bar staff was very nice and very good.

 

 

At dinner the maitre d' (Nicola) would get on a microphone and you could hear the room groan, because he would go on talking way too long while people were eating.

Our waitress was good, she got our dinners correct and remembered who they went to... but barely ever talked to us. She also had 2 assistants, and we were often waiting quite awhile to find one of them to ask for water, butter, etc. There was a waiter next to our area who was fantastic though. Awesome personality and his assistants looked to be right on top of things. Luck of the draw for us. Still had wonderful dinners with the best of friends and excellent top notch food.

 

There was a Beatles Tribute show that was apparently totally missing from our sailing also, very disappointing!

 

We actually went to the future cruise consultant to ask him if they allow smoke in so many areas on other ships, and he had no idea. We asked him several other questions concerning the Freedom that our friends have booked in the winter... and they were just basic questions, and he had no answers. We found that to be bizzare. I would think that he should know more about the cruises that he's there to sell.

 

They had what they called a "Farewell Show" at 5pm on the last night of sailing in the universe lounge. We went, and it turned out to actually be more of a farewell party. The band was playing, people could go up on stage to dance, and they had the waitstaff walking around passing out a nice variety of free drinks. While we were very happy to have gone and found this...we thought it was so odd that it was billed as a show... and it was nothing of the sort. We guessed that Carnival didn't

want many people there, and there really wasn't a big crowd at all.

 

Embarkation and debarkation were both fast and easy. We chose to carry our own luggage off of the ship since we drove, and it was a snap. They had a drug dog outside doing spot checks on luggage for people who carried off, which was kinda cool, and interesting to watch.

 

We liked that on Carnival they let you take a bottle of wine per person, and some pop per person also on board with you. It's also nice that you can order vodka for your room ahead of time also, however we didn't know about this till it was past the time you could order.

 

While we were happy that Carnival doesn't seem to be what they used to be... known for being a huge party ship. We found it to be quite the opposite. They had a few party type events that I can think of, but not like you'd except on a "Fun Ship". Royal Caribbean's ships for example always have lots of parties, dances, and lots more activities too. This surprised us.

 

We liked that they had 2 packs of nice French bar soap in our cabin, plus a basket with freebie goodies too- nice razor, toothpaste, pepcid, etc etc.

Our cabin steward was excellent. We didn't see much of him but he was very effecient. Love the towel animals as always, and there were always mints on the pillows. (I've seen people complain that Royal Caribbean quit putting mints on the pillows, which, it's something I can live with our without. I can see how it would be something that's probably wasted a lot, to cut. I know they are all cutting back in various ways.)

 

The buffet is set up kind of strange. They have the meat carver and foods that go with that outside by the pool. My husband thought that should be inside, and keep the burgers and even the Mongolian food outside. Also, they have it set so that people line up to get their food, and they still use trays also, which Royal Caribbean and NCL have gotten away with and have gone to having the various stations where you can get food without lines. Apparently though, they wash the trays after each use-which is good.

 

There was no letter from the captain or anyone on this ship talking about hand washing. They did have antibacterial soap stands outside of the buffet, etc, but they were not prominently displayed. Talk of this is very important on every cruise--not just when there is a noro virus outbreak.

 

We never heard from the captain, except that he spoke briefly at the captain's cocktail party. He didn't give a speech after the lifeboat drill, and we never heard him giving any daily reports from the bridge or anything. This was a first out of all the cruises we've been on. Love that you don't have to wear the lifejackets for the muster drill anymore. This is now the same on all lines and ships.

 

I've given positives and negatives about our cruise. I'm sure some of these things that I commented on seem smaller than others, but just thought I'd mention them anyway. No matter what, we still had a great cruise...we always do.

Thanks ahead of time for your feedback, seasoned Carnival cruisers.

 

 

I can just say you NEVER got to know anyone on the fun patrol. They were all a hoot! Luke has a DRY sense of humor which he pointed out several times during our cruise, as for leaving the comedy clubs just becuase you got a seat for the first show does that entitle you to a guranteed seat at the second, third, and fourth? Not in my book, there were 2000 other people on that ship that paid as much, some more, and some less that were entitled to see a show also, besides you just saw the guy do a set and you want to watch it again? If you dont like smoke keep moving.....I'm not a smoker but I believe they have just as much right to smoke as you and I have to not smoke.

[Wyattcruiser]

Actually, yes...some people do need letters!! I get very disgusted when I see people in a public bathroom leave without washing their hands!

 

A letter will not give people common sense........

[viaggi_per_mare]

We are older and cannot tolerate second hand smoke. I personally think you were on the wrong ship. I do not think you will have the same problem on a bigger ship. I have not been on a Fantasy class ship yet, but all the ships from the Legend up to the Dream have been very nice and fairly smoke free. Even 4-5 years ago before the regulations (and Carnival) prohibited smoking in several areas, including making part of the casino smoke free, we were not really bothered much by second hand smoke. We have never received a cabin that smelled of smoke (which in the amount of cruises we went on I have to believe that some had previous smokers)

I understand they treat the air after smokers have been in cabins, and if they do, it works for us. As for Cruise directors and others who work on the ship, we have occasionally ran into an employee that we didn't like but they are very much in the minority, but that can happen on ANY ship or line.

We have had cruise directors who seemed very annoying, cruise directors we never saw and won't recognize, after 7 days and a few standouts including Skip Lyons and John Heald which we enjoyed very much.

 

I think you will have a different experience on the Freedom.

[jalitch]

It was probably the late Comedy (adult) show next, and they wanted to empty the room of "kids" to make sure there wasnt any there when the next show started. Even though Ive seen allot in there during that show after repeated warnings from the comdeian.

I agree with the smoking..Less enforcable on the smaller older ships, vs the new bigger ones.

 

I just got off the Fantasy yesterday. We went to the Adult Comedy Show at 10:45 and we were also told we had to leave and get inline if we wanted to attend the next Adult show at 11:45. We were told the same thing, that it was to give others a chance to see it.

 

I was also suprised that there was no push to use the hand sanitizer near the buffet lines, etc. On other cruise lines they are at the door enforcing it.

 

The food was good as always. Lines not really a problem. Service in the dining room was not as good as other Carnival cruises I have been on. We did notice the smoke, but it wasn't really a big deal. I am not a smoker.

 

It wasnt the best Carnival cruise I have been on, but I will be going on the Fantasy again soon. I had a great time and weather was perfect!!

[bubbakirk43]

Just off the fantasy yesterday her is my take.As far as the smoke goes ,there was some areas like the majestic bar that there was not a lot of ventilation and the smoke was a bit much ,but the rest of the ship was fine I felt.The lido deck was starboard side smoking only and if it was too much for my liking then I just moved or walked to another area that there wasn't any at all .Although the fantasy is the oldest ship in the fleet ,it is still large enough to accomodate everyone.The maitre d nicola I thought was very engaging and caring to the needs of all that were dining in the MDR.Some of the staff in there were not very talktative and others that were very outgoing and very nice.You have to remember that everyone is different and have different personalities and they do work very long hours and try and do go out of their way to make the passengers dining experiences as best as they can.Luke is getting off the ship ,that maybe why he was coming off the way he was ,I found that he was ok and amanda along w/the other girls were very genuine in their approach to doing their jobs.The CD craig was very funny and entertaining,the bar staff were very good and never had to ask for anything ,always were very pleasant and knew everyone on a first name basis and worked very hard.I would highly reccomend this ship to anyone esp a first time cruiser.

[gmkmetz]

Just off the fantasy yesterday her is my take.As far as the smoke goes ,there was some areas like the majestic bar that there was not a lot of ventilation and the smoke was a bit much ,but the rest of the ship was fine I felt.The lido deck was starboard side smoking only and if it was too much for my liking then I just moved or walked to another area that there wasn't any at all .Although the fantasy is the oldest ship in the fleet ,it is still large enough to accomodate everyone.The maitre d nicola I thought was very engaging and caring to the needs of all that were dining in the MDR.Some of the staff in there were not very talktative and others that were very outgoing and very nice.You have to remember that everyone is different and have different personalities and they do work very long hours and try and do go out of their way to make the passengers dining experiences as best as they can.Luke is getting off the ship ,that maybe why he was coming off the way he was ,I found that he was ok and amanda along w/the other girls were very genuine in their approach to doing their jobs.The CD craig was very funny and entertaining,the bar staff were very good and never had to ask for anything ,always were very pleasant and knew everyone on a first name basis and worked very hard.I would highly reccomend this ship to anyone esp a first time cruiser.

 

 

Is Craig now the CD? I know he was billed as the asst CD but did he get promoted? Yes Unfortunately Chelsea told me Luke was leaving soon...You know thats gotta be a bitch being gone for a 6month minimum

[big_schots]

When I was on the Conquest I talked to the emcee/comedian that ran the Punchliner's comedy club. They also emptied out the showroom before some shows. His explanation was as follows. They usually emptied out the showroom after the first nights first comedian's R-rated show before the second one's show. It seems like the comedians are in more demand the first night they appear. On the second night the comedians appeared for the R-rated shows he allowed the audience to remain in the showroon between shows. They always made a note to let cruise guests know that the R-Rated shows would most likely contain the EXACT same material from the previous night. In reality it was even worse than that. One comedian I saw had pretty much the exact same material from my previous cruise, 17 months earlier.

[bubbakirk43]

No craig is just filling in for rissa ,he will be on the bloggers cruise next year w/john heald.He was a very funny guy ,he has a great sense of humor ,I think craig being around john has rubbed off on him some.

[Ocean68]

Thank you everyone, for your responses. I really appreciate it.

We took a 6 night cruise on Carnival just to try it out... and as I've

said, there were positives and negatives(there always are). There were some things about this cruise that we really liked a lot. We haven't absolutely decided to never cruise with Carnival again... if we had, I wouldn't

be on here asking these questions.

From everything that I'm reading, it sounds like the Fantasy is different from

other ships as far as the smoke goes. Sounds like they allow it in more places than the others, and as if they may also have some ventilation issues. It sounds like a cruise on another ship would probably be better as far as this goes.

Also, my post was a review of our whole cruise. There were only these two

main concerns of ours that we wanted to know about. The rest was basically me commenting on everything good or bad that I could think of that we

observed. That's what we do here on Cruise Critic. :-)

No matter what... we still had a great time, just as we always do.

About the comedy show. Not sure if I didn't explain it right, or if people are misunderstanding. Picture that you're sitting in a lounge with your drinks and

watching a comedian. That show ends, and the next show will be starting, with a

totally different comedian. As soon as the first show ends, you're made to

leave and get in a line to go right back in. You have to carry your drinks with you, and then go out and then go back in to hopefully find another seat. It makes

no sense at all, and it's ridiculous. No... of course this didn't ruin our cruise, but it bugged us enough to ask if this happens on other ships. (So, no, we were not trying to see the same guy twice in a row. I doubt that many people would, so that should not be a problem anyway.)

I agree that a different ship with a different crew could make a big difference.

Again, that's why I'm asking these questions. I wanted to know if these things

are typical of Carnival or not, since this was our first experience with them. Thanks again so much for your comments. :-)

 

ps. I do see in my original review where I wrote that we "won't sail Carnival again". Let this be a lesson in proofreading. It should have read "possibly" won't.

[OCruisers]

:rolleyes: Some things bother some more than they do others.

 

Does seem those "Comedy Shows" may not be worth the effort to attend. Would appreciate comments from others on their thoughts on these.

[scchasgal]

:rolleyes: Some things bother some more than they do others.

 

Does seem those "Comedy Shows" may not be worth the effort to attend. Would appreciate comments from others on their thoughts on these.

 

Obviously depends on the comedians some are funnier than others. We like the R rated shows later at night.