Fantasy B2B, August 2014: The Crew Takes It Away

[Seago2]

Just returned from a 12 day Fantasy B2B, a five day and then a seven. I have lived to tell the tale. I'm going to start on the iPad and move over to Tapatalk to hopefully load some pics.

 

Charleston embarkation: what more can be said? It's beyond. Beyond acceptable, beyond reality, just beyond. I think the moment when I was brushing the blowing dirt out of my eyes, grateful for one of the ten chairs in the white tent, thankful that it was only 90 degrees- and some guy actually lit up a cigarette in the tent- that I just started to to laugh. What else can you do? Forget FTTF- it means nothing. What are you going to do, push yourself to the front of a massive, baking line and say "excuse me, I have FTTF?". Not a chance. FTTF does not help you get through the parking lot morass (thank god we were dropped off by taxi from a hotel), into the comically small tent, and onto a shuttle bus. What happens inside the main "terminal" is almost irrelevant at that point. At least there is AC and no blowing, swirling dust. The truth is that if you want to board first and survive the tent/line/shuttle drama you have to get there first. Try 10am. There's your FTTF.

[Seago2]

The ship: no bells, no whistles. Not even a bell or a whistle. This is a bare bones cruising experience. Outdated signage, small pool, not a lot to do on sea days (hello trivia).

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Seago2]

Our cabins: for the five day we had E176. Perfectly serviceable and absolutely fine and clean. Not a lot of storage space but perfect for a five day. Of course we had a 16 year old coming out of a wall, but that's a nice feature, really ;)

 

 

 

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[Seago2]

Our cabin for the seven day was V5, a suite with a precious balcony and that's where the fun really started. As you can see, it's much nicer to have a 16 year old lying next to you:

 

 

However, the bed wasn't really designed for a 6'3" boy:

 

 

 

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[Seago2]

Cabin V5 deserves its own post:

 

Do not book this cabin. Do not. Do not take it from the upsell fairy. Nooooo V5. Directly above the cabin is the gym, specifically the weight machines, specifically an overhead weight machine. Sometimes someone is working out gently, and you just get a rhythmic series of crashes over your head. Most of the time, however, people let those weights SLAM down and oh. My. God. You would not believe the sound. After a few days our nervous systems had adjusted and we were "used" to it, but every now and then someone would come along and just crash those weights down and BAM! We would sit bolt upright.

 

There's also very minimal AC. Yes. We knew this going in as people on the five day had told us to get a fan and power strip. The fan is HUGE and the sound- let's just say it's not an option. You can have it on for a short while but then you have to turn it off.

 

 

The first night we saw an old timer really struggling in the hallway. He was on oxygen and dripping with sweat. He was on his way down to guest services to beg for an inside- anything, anywhere to spend the night that wasn't hot.

 

I will say that things cooled down somewhat as the days wore on, particularly as we headed back north and the afternoon sun was not on our side. Also, guest services really went out of their way to call and I quite as to how the temp was.

 

 

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[Seago2]

The food: come on, Carnival. How low are we going to go? I'm not blaming the food quality, lack of food choices in the lido, or inexorable slide in MDR menu choices/taste on Fantasy. It's fleet wide and we all know it. Example: penne mariscos and seafood Newburgh-esque items: are they supposed to have two scallops, three shrimp, and taste like that? How low are we going to take Chateaubriand? Are we eventually going to have a silver dollar piece of meat on top of pot roast? Four items in the steam trays in lido for lunch vs. long line for burgers and roller dogs vs. longer line for sandwiches vs. Mysterious Pizza Making Process That Takes Way Too Long? Whatever, Carnival. I'll be gone when this kid ages out of Club 02 unless you arrest this slide in food quality and selection.

 

That said, the pizza is very good, the lobster is delicious (small), bitter and blanc is good...

 

 

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[Seago2]

Service in MDR: outstanding. Do not get me wrong here. The waiters are fantastic. The chaos I saw during my B2B on Glory last year- nowhere to be seen on Fantasy. There was hustle and flow in Jubilee and lido. No crumb sat unaddressed. The waiters went beyond to remember our names, preferences- just wonderful. The shining star of that ship is Freddy, the maître d. He had his eyes on everyone, all the time. He was smooth, he was genuine, he was kind, he was skilled. I can't say enough about this man. He was transferred to Pride a few days ago but will be back in a few days.

 

This guy was so on the ball that if we ate at the Punchliner brunch he would say "I didn't see you in the lido today!". If he saw us in the lido he would come over to chat- every time. He was constantly in motion, picking up dishes, talking to crew, he's just a class act.

 

 

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[Seago2]

Guest Services: another class act. Jolly is unbelievable but I have to give high marks to Claudia, Kamliesh, and Chris as well.

 

Here we are with Claudia and Jolly:

 

 

The B2B performance they gave us was incredible. A happy walk off and on with Jolly, new cards, mimosas, this banner pic, and a leather bound folio with the pic and a pic of the ship. Jolly kept us there, chatting away like we were the VIP's of the ship. We got a nice in transit day with the entire crew saying "oh, back to back!" as they saw us running around like Eloise at The Plaza. It was phenomenal.

 

 

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[Seago2]

The rest of the Fantasy crew: I cannot say a bad word about anyone on that ship. They are a phenomenal crew. They are working non stop to give all of us a great vacation and you could place this crew on a Cunard ship and they would make that ship proud, too. This crew made the mediocre food and meh ports fade pale in comparison.

 

 

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[Seago2]

The Ports: Freeport: went to Grand Lucayan Resort. Best move I made on the whole trip. $5 each in the taxi thrill ride and $10 each to get in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Seago2]

Nassau: walked off and used the wifi at Starbucks. Oh- I forgot to mention that the lido coffee was actually really good. MDR coffee was terrible but I ended up getting the cappuccino every night- very good.

 

What can I say about Nassau at this point? Nothing.

 

 

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[Seago2]

Grand Turk: we were supposed to go on an independent snorkel shorex but changed our minds after Hurricane Cristobal churned up the water and delayed our docking by over an hour. It was an early departure, too, so we just swam.

 

 

 

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[Seago2]

Half Moon Cay: I am now 0 for 4. Four trips, zero calls at HMC. Once again I will warn everyone: if you are booking a cruise for HMC, don't. Wind, swells, chop- you will be looking at it from the ship as I have now done four times.

 

Nassau again: stayed on the ship. Yay. Everyone left and we had the water slide and pool to ourselves.

 

 

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[Seago2]

Here are some random ship pics for you:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Seago2]

Club 02: phenomenal. I never saw my son- except for dinner and when he was sleeping above my head :). Sophie- you deserve a raise and a promotion. This is another year of fantastic kids programming from Carnival and it's the only reason I'm still sailing CCL. When this last kid ages out I may be Funnel Free in the future.

 

 

 

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[Seago2]

Fellow pax: I'm wandering into a minefield here so I'll just say that everything you've heard about a five day on Fantasy has some elements of truth. I saw no booze cruise behavior, however, but I don't hang out in the bars. I hate to use the "Walmart" word but let's just say that when the seven day people got on we were thrilled. Our table mates were very nice and it was just a huge relief when the new people came on board. No kids acting up on either cruise but I think as a mother of five sons I'm just immune. So- no parents acting up.

 

 

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[blondie151o]

Here are some random ship pics for you:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Haha do you know the person in this pic posing?! That's funny if it's a random!

 

 

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[Seago2]

We had a helicopter transport of a passenger on the last night. I think everyone- certainly everyone I saw/heard- was very concerned. What could make us divert to hug the shoreline for the transfer- on the night before we were to disembark in Charleston again? It was a sobering experience. It was also very thrilling to watch the helo get so close. Believe me when I tell you this pic does not do it justice. It was MUCH closer to the funnel:

 

 

 

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[Seago2]

Couple more random ship pics:

 

 

 

 

 

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[cruise n' fool]

Enjoying your review. Can't wait for more!!

[Seago2]

Summary: yes, Fantasy is a good option for a cruise vacation. The question has really become: is Carnival a good option for my thousands of dollars any more...? The answer will come to me as I settle back in from the cruise. I think we're definitely going on Pride next summer after her upgrades but as I've now said three times- when the kid is done I probably will be, too (and that will be right when I hit Platinum).

 

If you can accept the baseline of where Carnival is right now then by all means go on Fantasy. Does it really matter that you can't get a breakfast burrito or go to Alchemy Bar or wait in line for a different kind of burger? Not so much, not to me. The days will still potentially be filled with trivia, towel folding sessions, learning how to Wobble or do the Electric Slide (the 1990's called, they want their line dance back), and bean bag toss. The nights have Playlist and Hasbro. This is exactly why we read 11 books and stared at the beautiful ocean.

 

I'll answer any questions you have!

 

 

 

 

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[LUVMYGSDOG]

Fellow pax: I'm wandering into a minefield here so I'll just say that everything you've heard about a five day on Fantasy has some elements of truth. I saw no booze cruise behavior, however, but I don't hang out in the bars. I hate to use the "Walmart" word but let's just say that when the seven day people got on we were thrilled. Our table mates were very nice and it was just a huge relief when the new people came on board. No kids acting up on either cruise but I think as a mother of five sons I'm just immune. So- no parents acting up.

 

 

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Well, I loved the Fantasy 5 day and I shop at Walmart. So guess I now know your opinion of me! :D

 

We love the Fantasy - have sailed on her twice. Mainly because it's an easy drive for us. We live mid-North Carolina and have a place at Myrtle Beach so we have a good stopping mid-way point.

 

Thanks for the review!

 

 

Kim

[Seago2]

Deleted

Edited August 31, 2014 by Seago2
Meh... Not going to bite :)

[cruzincindy1977]

Thanks so much for the review! I'm with u on Nassau. This will be our second time there as well. We decided to do the day pass. Hopefully it will be a good decision. As far as grand Turk and HMC goes I hope Octobers weather will be smooth. I'm just excited to go and not be working or stressed for 7 days!

 

 

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[Carnival_Brides]

I'm so glad someone had a similar experience on the Fantasy--I'm commonly told that "it's just me" when I complain about the terminal and set-up (how 'bout that debark..sheesh?). The show is bare bones which we kind of liked, but the terminal needs updating before we'll be back. The actual b2b transition sounds nice--we haven't experienced one that was so smooth (both of our b2bs were on the Glory), nor were there mimosas, a picture, and entertainment.

 

The person posing for you guys on the bow of the ship would haven't been a crew member since it's a crew area off of the crew bar.

Edited August 31, 2014 by Carnival_Brides