Would you suggest Fantasy-class for first timers?

[LMaxwell]

Have some friends that have never cruised but I think they are starting to get the itch and have mentioned wanting to try it out or plan a trip together. They seem hesitant to sink a lot of money and / or sign up for longer trips because they aren't sure if they will like it or not. Fair enough, sounds reasonable.

 

It has been a long time since I've been on a Fantasy-class ship. Wondering if bringing them on a 3 or 4 day trip on one of those ships would give a good first impression or maybe a bit too old and small for the "wow" factor? Or should I focus on the newer/bigger (midsize) ships. I'm going on Victory 4 day soon. I guess I'll have a better answer for myself after that but am curious of other peoples thoughts.

[dickinson]

If they are young I would say go for it. Older I would say short cruises are more booze cruises as young people take a few days off from work.

 

FYI- I have not been on a Fantasy class ship (or any Carnival ship) since 2004 but through reading CC this seems to be the case for all short cruises.

[LMaxwell]

If they are young I would say go for it. Older I would say short cruises are more booze cruises as young people take a few days off from work.

 

FYI- I have not been on a Fantasy class ship (or any Carnival ship) since 2004 but through reading CC this seems to be the case for all short cruises.

 

Closing in on 40. They like live music. They are good with a bar crowd/sports/singalong. I can definitely think of areas they'd enjoy. Not sure if they are into shows and entertainment or casino. I just wonder if Fantasy has enough to really satisfy, or if it's a bit like "oh, this is it?"

 

They had asked about the 2 night bahamas celebration and I told them don't bother with 2 nights and spending a day in Freeport; unless you know what you are getting it's not really like modern day cruising.

[kelkel2]

I don't see why not! We did the fantasy class for our first cruise. We really liked it, but we intentionally did a small ship/short cruise because we didn't know how we would do with cruising. We ended up loving it and have since "graduated" to bigger and better things but especially if you think a large ship with a bunch of stuff and a large amount of people could possibly overwhelm them, I think it would be a great fit.

I know it was for us, we enjoyed that it didn't take us forever to learn the ship and even for a first timer it still did take me a while to figure things out. I think if I had started out on the Breeze or a larger ship I would have been lost for much longer.

[Essiesmom]

Make it at least 4 days to avoid the booziest crowds. And crowds are not always rowdy. I found the most annoying to be the large family groups (matching t-shirts) that move about like schools of fish, pushing all others out of their way as to stay together. Anyway, if they have never cruised, a Fantasy class ship wills seem huge to them. But not so big that they can't find their way around in four days.

Sometimes the longer cruise is actually less expensive. A cruise over a weekend will be more expensive, even if shorter because there is more demand. EM

[love my grandkids]

Hard to say but thinking that a shorter cruise of 3-4 days is good (that is how we started) but would do it on a newer ship than fantasy class.

[Tapi]

Nothing less than 4 nights. They feel a bit more like a real cruise. 3 nights are too short to enjoy.

[sarmat1]

It has been a long time since I've been on a Fantasy-class ship. Wondering if bringing them on a 3 or 4 day trip on one of those ships would give a good first impression or maybe a bit too old and small for the "wow" factor?

 

We did fantasy-class to start and worked our way up. First Ecstasy, then Paradise. Then up to Valor this past August and scheduled for Breeze next summer. Granted the shortest we did on fantasy-class was 5 day, but size-wise the ship was great for first timers.

Edited October 22, 2015 by sarmat1

[loubetti]

I'm going to go against the tide here, and with only 44 cruises under my belt, I still think I have a rational argument.

 

Now, I do agree, go with a 4-night on Fantasy, certainly a large, fine ship, or do five nights on another ship, or better yet...

 

Jump in with both feet and do a 7 night. If you book right and can deal with an inside cabin, you might find it is not that much more costly than a shorter cruise in an outside. You need to do your booking homework. You never know, you might get upgraded!

 

My first cruise was 7-nights, and on a "small" 30,000+ ton ship, and I had a great time. Of course, this was 30 years ago to this very day!

 

So, have an open mind, do your homework, and you might find a 7-night that works financially, and will probably provide a more rewarding cruise experience.

[WISH84]

The Destiny (now the Sunshine) was our first Carnival ship but we've been on several Fantasy class ships (Fantasy, Ecstasy and Inspiration) and we LOVE these ships.

[pink roses]

I have a friend that wants to try cruising, I have told her she needs to try the shorter cruises first and I love the Fantasy class as much or as the big cruise ships.

[RuthlessBoss]

We did fantasy-class to start and worked our way up. First Ecstasy, then Paradise. Then up to Valor this past August and scheduled for Breeze next summer. Granted the shortest we did on fantasy-class was 5 day, but size-wise the ship was great for first timers.

 

Starting small is good. It will give them a bit of confidence to build to bigger and longer later once they get a feel of it.

I really wish the term "booze cruise" could be buried.

[ryano]

My first ever cruise was on Holiday. 5 night Western. Even smaller than Fantasy class and a ship that even some of the most loyal Carnival cruisers here hated.

 

LOVED that cruise! It was what hooked me on cruising :) And having nothing to compare to, she looked so massive sitting there in the port of Mobile. Now I know from being on other ships that she was dated and considered "old" to some cruisers, it was still a great cruise. The staff and food were wonderful! I actually wish there were more 46,000 GRT, 1400 passenger ships available on mass market cruise lines.

 

I say they should go for it.

Edited October 22, 2015 by ryano

[jimbo5544]

Nothing less than 4 nights. They feel a bit more like a real cruise. 3 nights are too short to enjoy.

 

Agree on both counts

[RecoveryDude]

Ok so I am a veteran cruiser. . . but my buddy has never been on a cruise ... and so for his first cruise I took him on the Paradise out of Tampa for a 4 night to Cozumel. Even though I thought the ship was "on the small side" and it's lack of specialty dining and other ammenities I have grown used to over the years made it a tad "boring" (for me), my buddy had a completely different view. He thought the ship was "Huge" (in a good way) and he thought there were "tons of activities" and "Lots of places to eat"

 

So I'm kinda glad I started him on a smaller ship. We booked the Pride in Feb, so that's larger with Guys, Blue Iguana and some other 2.0 stuff I'm excited about.

 

My buddy did say he wished he did a 5-6 night as opposed to the 4 night - so maybe try for a 5 or 6 night. I mean I'm pretty sure your friends are going to LOVE cruising ... what's NOT to love, right? They will be glad they picked a longer itinerary once they set sail.

 

Jeff aka Recovery Dude:)

[Schoifmom]

DH and I did our first cruise as a 4 day on the Sensation. We did a 5 day on the Elation with friends and are scheduled on a 5 day on the Paradise. Having never sailed on anything but Fantasy class ships, I say go for it! We will do a larger ship one of these days, but cost and time off work are often factors.

 

Do a 4 or 5 day on a Fantasy class ship for then to get their feet wet. If they like comedy, make sure you do the comedy shows. The live music is normally good. These really aren't "booze" cruises, like a 3 day over a weekend would be.

 

Whatever they do, they'll love cruising!!!

Edited October 22, 2015 by Schoifmom

[nybumpkin]

Our first cruise in 2004 was a 5-day Canada cruise out of NYC on Victory. DH was really unsure of cruising and I figured that we could drive to the port the day of the cruise, it was only one week, and if we didn't like it we wouldn't try it again. As you can see from our cruise history, we fell in love with cruising. It wasn't until 2011 that we sailed on a Fantasy-class ship and, after sailing on many larger ships with more bells and whistles, I was worried we wouldn't enjoy a smaller ship. I shouldn't have worried - we loved Fantasy. I would recommend a minimum 5-day cruise, though - it gives you a better cruising experience than the 3 or 4-day cruises.

[joeyancho]

I took my first cruise on the Holiday, a small, old, rusty ship. I loved it. I thought it was amazing. Your first cruise is always the best.

[tphitman]

A 4-day is a great way to start cruising! I would go with the Victory out of Miami. Bigger than the fantasy class ships and Cozumel and key west are vastly superior to the Bahamas.

[OCruisers]

For us the ONLY reason for taking a Fantasy Class ship is the convenience of the Port for embarkation/disembarkation.

[OCruisers]

Too late to add to our post.

 

Just saying we would certainly not FLY to a port to take a Fantasy class ship.

[Tapi]

Personally, all of my first cruises were 7 nighters. I didn't even know that there were shorter cruises until many years later. And at 16,000 tons, our first ship made a 70,000 ton Fantasy class ship look like the Oasis of the Seas! It never crossed my mind back then that the ship was "too small" or that 7 nights was "too long".

Edited October 23, 2015 by Tapi

[riclop]

Have some friends that have never cruised but I think they are starting to get the itch and have mentioned wanting to try it out or plan a trip together. They seem hesitant to sink a lot of money and / or sign up for longer trips because they aren't sure if they will like it or not. Fair enough, sounds reasonable.

 

It has been a long time since I've been on a Fantasy-class ship. Wondering if bringing them on a 3 or 4 day trip on one of those ships would give a good first impression or maybe a bit too old and small for the "wow" factor? Or should I focus on the newer/bigger (midsize) ships. I'm going on Victory 4 day soon. I guess I'll have a better answer for myself after that but am curious of other peoples thoughts.

 

Try something new the first time not an old clunker.

[LandlockedCruiser01]

My first cruise was a 4-day on a Fantasy class ship. I had such a blast that I came back next year. It was indeed a booze cruise. There was a large number of party-hearty 20-somethings onboard. I met a few of them, and found them to be very friendly and welcoming. They set the "this is a fun cruise!" tone, while still acting appropriately. I was 29 at the time, so I actually preferred that kind of crowd. And come to think of it, still would.

[ldlewis45]

I have mixed opinions. On one hand, the Fantasy-class ships are smaller and less overwhelming. On the other, they're smaller and can be somewhat on the less-than-stimulating side, unless you're a heavy drinker or plan not to do much more than sit on a lounge chair and read. Which I have done in the past, so I'm not knocking that. The small ships have their place, just like the larger ships. I personally will only cruise on the Fantasy-class ships if the price is very low and I'm in the need for a do-nothing-but-relax vacation. After a few cruises, they just don't do it for me, otherwise. They can be very relaxing, but the ports are the same old ports that I've been to multiple times. There's only so many times you can visit Nassau and Freeport and still think you're getting your money's worth. And to be honest, the entertainment is lacking lately, so it reduces the value of the cruise even more in my opinion.

 

If I had to choose, I'd take him on a 6 day cruise on one of the newer ships. Not necessarily the largest ships in the fleet, but on something like the Valor or a similar-size ship. It's big enough to have a little more going on, will probably visit some better ports, and still not overwhelmingly massive.