Just got back from Fantasy

[PrissyOne]

I just returned home from sailing on the 7/14/05 sailing to the Bahamas on the Fantasy Cruise Ship. Future passengers beware........

 

My past experience on the Fantasy ship was absolutely horrible. For starters, as we boarded the ship, I was NOT greeted nicely, I was handed deck plans in which the woman handing them out said "here" with an attitude. When I asked what deck we were on, the woman asked what deck I was looking for and when I told her Empress, she said "you're on it" also with an attitude.

 

Our TA told us that Carnival used our birthdates to seat us with people around our age in the dining room. They brought us to the table, in which there were about 15 senior citizens crowded around 1 round table. By the way, did I mention my friend and I are in our mid twenties? The waiter for that table brought us up to the maitre'd and we were left there for about 10 minutes or so, before she decided to help us. She finally puts us at a new table, also with people no where near our age group. I waited 30 minutes for a glass of iced tea. Our waitress treated us like we were a burden to her because we were late, which was NOT our fault. All through dinner, I had to listen to the labor and delivery stories of two of our table mates. GROSS!!!

 

Our room steward made our beds one time. She knocked on our door one night as we were about to leave, asked us if we needed anything because she was about to go off duty, also with an attitude. There was no turn down service, no cute towel animals, no comment card, or immigration papers left for us.

 

We received our bill and we automatically went down to the information desk to "adjust" our gratuities. When I told the woman that I wanted to adjust my gratuities because we only went to the dining room one time, she said with an attitude that the gratuities were not just for the dining team, but for the room steward team as well, and I said well she didn't do anything for us either. She did eventually take the entire $30 grat charge off.

 

The cruise director catered to older people, or younger kids. If you are in your twenties and thirties, I would NOT recommend this cruise.

 

This was my 3rd Carnival cruise and I have received impeccable service on the other 2 cruises. I was extremely disappointed with the way I was treated on this past cruise. I was traveling with a first time Carnival cruiser, who had cruised with RC in the past, and to her RC looks so much better than Carnival. Honestly, I don't blame her either.

 

I have called Carnival to file a complaint and they are supposed to be sending a voucher for a bon voyage package for my next sailing. After this experience, I am not sure if there will be a next sailing. Being a young teacher, I saved and spent a lot of money on this cruise and should have been treated better.

[katie286]

Wow! I'm sorry you had such a terrible time. Was the whole cruise ruined for you or did you at least have some fun? Most reviews of the Fantasy are favorable. And I think I've read them all LOL! I'm really looking forward to our cruise on her next month. I'm not going to let people's attitudes ruin my vacation though. If I get someone with an attitude, I will move on to another person, thats all. I'm betting that if you went on another Carnival cruise, you probbly wouldn't experience the same. They really only made your beds once?

[eaglesfan1]

This is really good to hear since I am leaving this thursday on the Fantasy. Hopefully I will have a better experience. Was there anything that you liked?

[brooms]

I am going on the Fantasy in October(right are she is refurbished) and I must say I have only read good reviews about the Fantasy, I have travelled RCL once last October and Carnival in January 2004. Never had a problem with either line, and I must say our 7 day cruise with Carnival was wonderful, I would appreciate hearing from anybody else who was on this cruise to see if it was the ship or just the people?

[beaming90]

We were on the Fantasy in Feb. and it was wonderful! Though we were seated alone at dinner all but one night. But it was a great trip. I hope everyone else that goes has a great time!

[harrodsfan]

Thanks for posting your review. I am sorry that you ran int o such bad service.

Sometimes ones just gets into a stroke of bad luck. I agree then when traveling we want good attitudes from paid staff. And afterwards sometimes we want to vent. Thank you for sharing.

[2cruiser]

Thanks for posting your review. I'm so sorry you didn't enjoy your short cruise!

 

I'm sailing on the Fantasy this coming Sunday! I certainly hope for a much better time! I've searched for recent reviews and opinions of the Fantasy for the past few weeks, and have found very few. No one answers my roll call, either. I've been concerned that we've wasted our money.

 

Was there anything you enjoyed on your trip? What did you do in ports? How was the food and entertainment? Come on, tell us that it ALL wasn't terrible!:(

 

Any past Fantasy cruisers out there that can ease our worries??? Please post!

[Redokie]

We loved the Fantasy!!!

Food was awesome!

Service was awesome! our rooms were picked up twice a day.

Activities were awesome!

We loved it and would go again in a heart beat!!!

Towel animals were Awesome!

 

Sounds like someone got on the Fantasy with an attitude to me.;) :)

[laura2161]

I've sailed on Fantasy twice within the last year, and as you can see from my sig line, I will be sailing on her again in December. I simply love the ship.

 

Here's my review of my latest cruise:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=11563

 

We have always received excellent service. Crew has been friendly, will go out of their way to make your crusie enjoyable.

 

I am sorry you had such a bad time- For myself, my family and the friends that sailed on Fantasy with us, we have nothing but great things to say about the ship and her crew.

[laura2161]

I am going on the Fantasy in October(right are she is refurbished)

 

Where did you see she is going to be refurbished? Will you post a link please or email me?

(I'm out of the loop) and since Im sailing on her again I would love to see what's being planned.

Thanks!!!

Laura

[brooms]

Actually I read it on this site and when you go into Carnival or different sites you will see that from Sept. 2 - 29/05 is blocked out and they usually do that when a ship goes into dry dock. I sure am hoping that is the case, either way I am going to have a good time no matter what. Hopes this helps you

[Ms Belvedere]

We have been on the Fantasy twice this year, as well. The service was wonderful. Dining room personnel and room stewards were always smiling and ready to serve.

 

We were on the four day sailing both times. I don't know if the three day sailings are different but I would sail the Fantasy tomorrow if I could work it into my schedule.

 

I'm sorry to read the OP's experience on her, it must have been very disappointing with all the planning and anticipation.

 

Ms B

[laura2161]

We have been on the Fantasy twice this year, as well. The service was wonderful. Dining room personnel and room stewards were always smiling and ready to serve.

 

We were on the four day sailing both times. I don't know if the three day sailings are different but I would sail the Fantasy tomorrow if I could work it into my schedule.

 

I'm sorry to read the OP's experience on her, it must have been very disappointing with all the planning and anticipation.

 

Ms B

 

Actually Ms B WHen I sailed on her twice this past year, both were the 3 day sailings (Very short vacations work best for me because of work and my daughter's school constraints). ANyway, As I said in my review, everything was excellent. :) I only wish December wasnt so far away. LOLOL

[Ms Belvedere]

Actually Ms B WHen I sailed on her twice this past year, both were the 3 day sailings (Very short vacations work best for me because of work and my daughter's school constraints). ANyway, As I said in my review, everything was excellent. :) I only wish December wasnt so far away. LOLOL

 

It's a shame that our schedules have to screw up our vacations - LOL! I'd go on a three day sailing too, anything to get away from home and work and the daily routine.

 

I'm still sorry when anyone has a bad cruise.

[PrissyOne]

Don't get me wrong, I did have wonderful time in port and at night thanks to the disco and the shows. The shows were awesome, and the disco was the happening place to be definately. The music was really good and up to date.

The room steward only made our beds the day we were in port. Other than that there was nothing.

This was NOT my first Carnival cruise, it was my 3rd. I was always impressed with the impeccable service I received on past cruises. As a teacher, I always approach everything with an open mind, not an attitude. Having a bad attitude will not get you anywhere in life. I did however receive a lot of attitude on this cruise from the the dining team, information desk, room steward. On my past cruises I have pictures of the dining room team and room steward. In fact on my last cruise, I asked my room steward (Bob on the Carnival Conquest) if I could take him home with me because he was such an awesome person.

While in the Bahamas, we did a lot of shopping. We went to the craft market right outside of the pier as well as some shops around there. Then we went back to the ship to drop off our souvenirs and headed out to our excursion. We went to Blue Lagoon which was very very nice and relaxing. White sand beach, crystal blue water, palm trees, hammocks, it was absolutely beautiful. When we got back to the pier, we went to the straw market and shopped a little bit more, and then went to Senor Frogs. That night we were going to take a cab to Atlantis, but it was raining and lightening and the only taxi service was at the end of the pier which is about a 10 minute walk.

I can only hope that the people who will be sailing on the Fantasy in the future, will receive better service than we did.

[madmachinist]

:) I was on the Fantasy memorial weekend with DW and DS and had a great trip. The ship looked new. The crew was very friendly . Had a small problem with my sail and sign card the first time I tried to use it. The problem was quickly resolved with a smile and sorry about that at the pursers desk. The food was great, the service was great. Anyone planning to travel on the Fantasy relax and don't let yourself feel like everything has to happen "right now". It's a vacation! We are planning to do it all over again next year.

[beaming90]

 

I would sail the Fantasy tomorrow if I could work it into my schedule.

 

 

 

Ms B

 

I can work it into my schedule. But my bank and credit cards cannot work it into theirs at this time... :eek:

Have to wait till January of 2007!

[ahoys]

I sailed the Fantasy in May of last year. On our three-day cruise we were treated terribly. Every staff member, with the exception of our dining room staff, seemed to have a terrrible attitude. We ordered two drinks in the atrium bar and the bartender sighed and rolled her eyes at us!! Mind you, we only asked for a margarita and a gin & tonic. Our friend ordered skim milk in her specialty coffee at the coffee bar and the server did the same eye roll and heavy sigh. An item that I purchased in the gift shop rang up wrong, and I went to fix the error. The clerk acted as if I was trying to cheat him. I bought a tshirt and it rang up as a "floppy hat" and overcharged me! I'm the type of person who overlooks the little things and have a good time anyway. However, with this particular cruise, every person seemed to have an attitude, and it really affected my cruise. The entertainment staff had a seriously bad attitude. The deck "party" lasted perhaps a half hour, with the staff leading two dances, and then left the rest of us looking for some music so we could continue our dancing. On our way off the ship, the hostess ushered us off the ship with a very sarcastic attitude, and demanded us to get in one of two lines. I'm not exaggerating, we were barked at and shuffled off the ship. Even the ladies in the terminal were surly, and snarled at us. I have never been treated so poorly on any of the cruises I've sailed. I vowed to never cruise Carnival again! However, a Miracle cruise was such a good value, I had to try it again. Luckily for me, it was one of my favorite cruises, and I'm back with Carnival. I've learned my lesson, though. I'm taking note of the names of the people who give me particularly good or particularly bad service. This way I can write to Carnival with detailed comment about those who deserve a pat on the back or a kick in the behind.

[katie286]

Why does it seem that the 3 day Fantasy cruises sound like this and the 4 day cruises sound like they receive better treatment. :confused: Do the employees not like the 3 day cruises and therefore take it out on the cruisers? Just curious. We're sailing on the 4 day in three weeks on a 4 day cruise and I will be very upset if we are treated this way.

[laura2161]

Why does it seem that the 3 day Fantasy cruises sound like this and the 4 day cruises sound like they receive better treatment. :confused: Do the employees not like the 3 day cruises and therefore take it out on the cruisers? Just curious. We're sailing on the 4 day in three weeks on a 4 day cruise and I will be very upset if we are treated this way.

 

As I said above, It most definitely did not happen on my past 3 day cruises. :)

[rpnelson54]

Actually I read it on this site and when you go into Carnival or different sites you will see that from Sept. 2 - 29/05 is blocked out and they usually do that when a ship goes into dry dock. I sure am hoping that is the case, either way I am going to have a good time no matter what. Hopes this helps you

 

I am booked on the Fantasy for the three day cruise from Sept. 1 to 4, 2005. I hope we won't be sitting in dry dock.

[CruiseZapper]

i've been on fantsy ship 5 times.three 3 nights and 2 -4 nights. we have always been treated wonderful. this past cruise we had our 18 yr. old grandson with us and we were seated with another coupole with a 17 yr. old daughter, it so so funny, both of these teenagers were in a SERIOUS??? relationship and they acted like they were afraid to even speak to each other. it was so funny, the first cruise we went on we were seated with 5 guys- in their late 20's,, you should have seen the respect come over their faces when they seated us almost seniors(all old women) with them. but i have to hand it to them, they came back every night. and even told us that they had a ball sitting with us,, you never know, we may have made their cruise LOL anyway i love the fantasy and only changing ships this nov. because i want to go to a different place.

[dlskcelebration]

Sailed on the Fantasy on Jun 19th of this year - 4 night cruise - we had wonder service from our cabin steward - Felix - great towel animals and our cabin was taken care of at least twice a day.

 

Our dining room staff in the Jubilee dining room was wonderful - Kekute was our waiter and he was lots of fun - he was good with our daughter and her boyfriend - as this was their first cruise - both 18 - and he made it lots of fun for both of them. They even ran back and got a picture of them with him on the last night.

 

Everywhere else on the ship was very nice and everyone was very nice to us. We would definitely sail on Fantasy again.

 

You have to go with an open mind and know you are going to have a good time - cruising is the best vacation ever.

[BND]

I am booked on the Fantasy for the three day cruise from Sept. 1 to 4, 2005. I hope we won't be sitting in dry dock.

 

The Gap I see on one website is Sept 9 - Oct 2. So, you're fine.

[Tigergurl]

I just returned home from sailing on the 7/14/05 sailing to the Bahamas on the Fantasy Cruise Ship. Future passengers beware........

 

My past experience on the Fantasy ship was absolutely horrible. For starters, as we boarded the ship, I was NOT greeted nicely, I was handed deck plans in which the woman handing them out said "here" with an attitude. When I asked what deck we were on, the woman asked what deck I was looking for and when I told her Empress, she said "you're on it" also with an attitude.

 

Our TA told us that Carnival used our birthdates to seat us with people around our age in the dining room. They brought us to the table, in which there were about 15 senior citizens crowded around 1 round table. By the way, did I mention my friend and I are in our mid twenties? The waiter for that table brought us up to the maitre'd and we were left there for about 10 minutes or so, before she decided to help us. She finally puts us at a new table, also with people no where near our age group. I waited 30 minutes for a glass of iced tea. Our waitress treated us like we were a burden to her because we were late, which was NOT our fault. All through dinner, I had to listen to the labor and delivery stories of two of our table mates. GROSS!!!

 

Our room steward made our beds one time. She knocked on our door one night as we were about to leave, asked us if we needed anything because she was about to go off duty, also with an attitude. There was no turn down service, no cute towel animals, no comment card, or immigration papers left for us.

 

We received our bill and we automatically went down to the information desk to "adjust" our gratuities. When I told the woman that I wanted to adjust my gratuities because we only went to the dining room one time, she said with an attitude that the gratuities were not just for the dining team, but for the room steward team as well, and I said well she didn't do anything for us either. She did eventually take the entire $30 grat charge off.

 

The cruise director catered to older people, or younger kids. If you are in your twenties and thirties, I would NOT recommend this cruise.

 

This was my 3rd Carnival cruise and I have received impeccable service on the other 2 cruises. I was extremely disappointed with the way I was treated on this past cruise. I was traveling with a first time Carnival cruiser, who had cruised with RC in the past, and to her RC looks so much better than Carnival. Honestly, I don't blame her either.

 

I have called Carnival to file a complaint and they are supposed to be sending a voucher for a bon voyage package for my next sailing. After this experience, I am not sure if there will be a next sailing. Being a young teacher, I saved and spent a lot of money on this cruise and should have been treated better.

 

I'm sorry that you had a bad experence on the ship. Me and my fiance (who proposed to me right after we got on the ship) just got back home from that particular ship and we had a really awesome time on there. Everyone on there was really nice and friendly, and laughed at all of my fiance's jokes. The cruise director (who looked very young and was just starting there) was really funny and cool too. Hopefully you will have a better time on there next time. Let us know what happens ok?