My Experience: Carnival Fantasy vs Liberty

[Msneata]

Hello Everyone,

My family and I are just getting back from our cruise on the Liberty and as a new cruiser I thought I would compare the two experience I've had thus far. Please keep in mind that this is just my opinion based on my idea of fun.

 

 

Fantasy

Sailing Crowd: As a partial southern girl I found the crowd on the fantasy to be more inviting, warm and friendly.

Sailing Location: As a current North Carolinian, Charleston is obviously cheaper and more convenient than the flight to Florida.

Cruise Director: I preferred the female cruise director on the Fantasy over Karl (yes with a K). To be honest he didn’t lead very many activities and was not very visible.

Nightlife/Entertainment: I’m sure many will question how I could possibly prefer the Fantasy over the Liberty. After all the Liberty is a much better ship. Here’s why:

1.Football Season: The bar on the Fantasy had multiple TV’s and played multiple games. Whereas, the EA Sports bar only seemed to play one game.

2.Comedy Show: Although we had two sets of comedians on the Liberty they were not the funniest bunch. My daughter and I both thought the comedians we saw last year on the Fantasy were better.

3.Night Clubs: I thought the Fantasy played a better variety of music. Given that we sailed out of MIA the Liberty had a much stronger Latin/Caribbean feel. There is nothing wrong with those music categories but not my preference for 7 straight days.

4.Other Entertainment: The Liberty does get Kudos for the big screen on the deck. Everyone seemed to enjoy the late night movies. The Fantasy however, wins for overall party and cruise energy.

5.Art Collection: The location of the Art Collection made it much easier to browse the selection in advance of the auctions.

 

 

Liberty

Food: Hands down the food on the Liberty far exceeds the Fantasy. The one exception would be the Mongolian Wok. However, this can be easily overlooked with the number of food options offered on the Liberty and Diamond’s Steakhouse. My husband and I truly enjoyed the Steakhouse experience. We both thought that we have paid a lot more for less service and possibly even quality of food (note: My husband did note his T-bone was not the best in the world).

Décor: I really liked the décor of the Liberty much better than the retro feel of the Fantasy.

Serenity and # of pools: Given that the Fantasy is a smaller/older ship there is not much they can do to compete in this category.

Itinerary: Although Tropical Storm Isaac was on the move and interrupted our visit to Grand Turk we did get to go to Nassau the next day. My family loved Half Moon Cay and San Juan. If the Fantasy replaces Freeport with Half Moon Cay it would be a much better itinerary.

 

Tie

Room Stewards: On both ships I found that the room stewards are the most friendly and consistent people I have encountered. Both times they have known our names and taken care of our every request without fail.

Camp Carnival/Circle C: My DS loved Camp Carnival on Liberty but my DD prefered Circle C on the Fantasy.

 

Things I learned:

1.The wonderful people on CC were extremely helpful. I thought I had really done my research and planned last year but it was nothing in comparison to the information provided here.

2.The next time we sail from MIA we will fly in a day or two early to experience the city.

3.Not sure there would have been a benefit to FTTF except for skipping the lines during debarkation.

4.My DH and I did not get as much quality time as I had hoped/thought. It seemed we always had at least one child with us until after 6 or 7pm. That combined with being in one room for 7 days was a bit much for me. I will most likely put them in a connecting room or bring Grandma for our next cruise. J

[trueblue91652747]

Thanks so much for your comparision. We will be going on Liberty in 2014 and I love hearing the pros and cons of the ship. We will be in a L-shaped cabin for the first time. I'd love to see pictures as well of the different areas if anyone has them.

Thanks in advance.

Can't wait to cruise again!! :)

[MissCruiseAddict]

Wow I'm surprised by Karl with a K. Maybe he was having an off week. I cruised on the Liberty back in March and every time you turned around there he was. I even got to dance with him during 70s music trivia.

[vivavegas]

Thank you for taking the time to provide your comparision experiences! Considering the Liberity next year!:)

[bjd2]

Wow I'm surprised by Karl with a K. Maybe he was having an off week. I cruised on the Liberty back in March and every time you turned around there he was. I even got to dance with him during 70s music trivia.

 

Karl was extremely involved and so much fun on our March 17th sailing too. Maybe it was an off week for him or he wasn't feeling well. Oh well, it's nice to see the comparison of these ships.