NYE on the Fantasy

[jaowel]

My husband and I are loving that our children are at the age that they request "experiences" rather than "stuff" for Christmas. When they told us that, we were like "WAHOO!! NYE cruise here we come!" The request for a family trip came up rather unexpectedly, so the "planner" in me started to freakout a little bit. LOL! We were limited on when we could go due to prior obligations, so the timing of the Fantasy worked best for us and I booked it. We've been on 5 Carnival ships before this one and we knew going into the cruise that she was the smallest and the oldest in the fleet. I love this site for all the wonderful tips and opinions. I never book a cruise without thoroughly investigating every ship, port and excursion I can.  We firmly believe that vacations are made great by the people you are with, your attitude towards people and how you handle things when they don't quite go your way. We don't sweat the small stuff, so when I read reviews, I take them with a grain of salt. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. I wish I would have taken more pics of the ship, but since it's going to dry dock, I'm not sure what is getting a facelift or not.

 

We are from Michigan and typically only travel during Spring Break or summer. We have 5 in our family so we drive to our destinations. Crazy...I know! We also own a timeshare, which we haven't used as much because we found we like cruising so much! Our cruise for NYE was out of Mobile. There isn't too much on here about this port, so with the help of a few other sites, I found a Park & Cruise Package at the Wingate by Wyndham in Mobile. The price at the port to park was $90, so to get a clean room, hot breakfast and free shuttle (round trip) for under $145 was the perfect choice for us. I would highly recommend them if you're coming in and staying the night before your cruise. The room was clean and comfortable. 5*...no, but it was nice. Here is our family in the shuttle on the way to the ship!

 

The weather was terrible when we arrived and there were a lot of streets closed due to flooding, but our driver got us there in no time. It was a 10 min drive to port and we were dripped off right at the doors. We did purchase FTTF, so were able to check in quite fast. The staff at the terminal were so friendly!  They allowed the VIP's and wedding guests on first, then FTTF! We were on the ship about 12pm.

It was decorated for the holidays and it was lovely. The ship itself appeared to be a little dated and in need of some repair. It was heading to Dry Dock after our trip, so hopefully it got a little TLC these last few weeks :O)

We were able to get to our room right away with FTTF which was nice! We always book an inside cabin that sleeps 5 (again..Crazy, I know!). All we do is sleep and get ready in there. Besides, I rather spend the money on an excursion. The nice thing about this ship is that it is easy to get around. It's a good ship for beginners or for people that don't really like other people. We never felt it was too crowded at any point during our cruise. But, maybe we are just used to traveling during Spring Break. We grabbed lunch at Guys and I ordered myself my favorite Carnival drink! Kiss on the Lips!

We turned to Gold status during this trip, so that was fun! I wore that thing like it was a gold medal around my neck! Lol! We explored the ship after lunch and got ready for the Sail Away Party! The weather held out for our send off! My husband actually line danced! We totally embarrassed our kiddos!

To be continued....

[jaowel]

After our kids finally realized we meant business on the dance floor, they decided to join us and it was so much fun! Marty, the CD, was great! I would say out of all the cruises we've been on, we didn't see him mingle with the guests as much, but his announcements were clear, he was funny and did a great job with all the contest and events. 

We did YTD in the MDR and it was very good. I have a collage of food that we had that I'll post later.

Our oldest was in the Philippines doing some modeling last year, so every time we had someone wait on us from there, he would talk their ear off about how wonderful the people were to him. The staff in the MDR were really great and they work their tails off. I always feel bad when I read negative reviews about them. I can't imagine what they must endure from so many people every day.

After our bellies were full, we decided to call it a night. The picture below is of our cabin arrangement with 5. It was taken later in the trip, in the morning, so that is why the beds aren't made.

As you can see, it is quite tight and that is why we keep the bottom beds separated. We had a queen once before and decided to never do that again. I hit my head too many times trying to get out of bed. :) Our steward, Edy, was great! We slipped him a $20 before the cruise started and he was very attentive. We don't have any complaints about the cabin or the service.

Day 2: Sea Day

I'll be honest, we love Sea Days! I love getting up at the crack of dawn and getting a cup of coffee to watch the sunrise. It is also a good time to secure your spot on the Lido Deck! Now, I'm not one of those that save a bunch of chairs and leaves for hours. We actually occupy our chairs all day. We got a great spot on deck 11 overlooking the pool and stage. Our princess had to get her virgin daiquiri :)

After a few hours in the sun, I decided to go to the Jewelry seminar and the Excursion reviews. I ended up winning a gift certificate for a "Steakhouse Selection for 2"! Since the Fantasy is a smaller ship, they don't have a Steakhouse. However, they do have "Steakhouse Selections" every night for an additional charge ($20pp). Here is a pic of the menu from one of the nights:

Here are a few pics of some of the wonderful food we had:

[SurfCat]

Loving the review.  We have given our kids a cruise for Christmas for the last six years and just booked a seventh for December 28.  The kids (three boys, 18, 22 and 27) have loved it. I always say its for them, but its really a selfish ploy of mine to get them corralled for five days so that we can all spend time together.

 

For the last three years we've been over New Years, and have absolutely loved it.

 

Thanks for taking the time out for this great report.

[jaowel]

23 minutes ago, SurfCat said:

Loving the review.  We have given our kids a cruise for Christmas for the last six years and just booked a seventh for December 28.  The kids (three boys, 18, 22 and 27) have loved it. I always say its for them, but its really a selfish ploy of mine to get them corralled for five days so that we can all spend time together.

 

For the last three years we've been over New Years, and have absolutely loved it.

 

Thanks for taking the time out for this great report.

Thank you! I feel the same! We want to make this a yearly tradition. It’s such a fun time and the vibe is different compared to Spring Break. I’m adding to my review when I can, so it might take a few days 😊

[Joebucks]

Thanks for the review! It is great to see how much of a positive attitude you all have. Being able to spend NYE with your family, let alone on a cruise is an amazing experience. It's a shame some just can't enjoy it.

[watermelonqueen99]

Enjoying your review! We're cruising on NYE for this first time this year, and I can't wait! Looking forward to more!

[jaowel]

8 hours ago, watermelonqueen99 said:

Enjoying your review! We're cruising on NYE for this first time this year, and I can't wait! Looking forward to more!

You will love it! It was so fun!

[jaowel]

Day 3 - Progreso, Mexico - New Year's Eve!!

We have never been to this port before and since we were scheduled to leave at 4pm, I didn't want to book an excursion on our own and risk the chance of being late, so we opted to do a ship excursion. BTW...the pier is 4 MILES long! You will absolutely want to take a taxi if you are just heading into town. There are quite a few shops in the port, but we were advised to be careful when shopping there. The ships "professional shopper" said they were not Carnival approved vendors, so if you're looking for jewelry, purchase it in Cozumel. They also said that many passengers have had their credit cards copied and a lot of fraud has happened.

Back to the excursion...We were limited on choices because most of the really good ones were sold out by the time my family made a decision. We decided to go for a beach day and selected the "Corona Beach Party". Like I said, I do read up on reviews before booking, so I was aware that it was transportation from the port unlimited drinks, chips and salsa and a discount on food ordered. Willy, the tour guide, was really great during our trip through town. The streets are crazy narrow and full of mopeds, so getting that huge tour bus through there was quite an accomplishment! 

The Corona Beach Club is a large bar/restaurant on the beach. There are staff everywhere, handing everyone drinks and chips/salsa. There were children on the excursions and they all appeared to be having a good time. I would say that it would be best for children over the age of 8 or 9 though. They had beach games that everyone could've participated in but none of the children wanted to. They asked if we wanted alcohol to be part of the games and it was a unanimous "YES!" from all the adults. We were all playing for the coveted bottle of tequila! LOL! The big winner....this girl!

These were the dishes we order while we there. Wonderful!!

Big winner!!!

After a fun day in the sun, it was time to get ready for the NYE festivities! It surprised me that Elegant night was the night before, but so many dressed up this night. Everyone looked so nice! They were planning on a balloon drop at 11pm and a Lido deck party at midnight. They had asked the guests write down their wishes for 2019 and place them in the balloons, which was very cool. They also had a special menu in the MDR that was delicious and party favors for all of us to ring in the New Year!

The count down at 11pm was so fun! The music and the vibe were just electric!

More to come later!.....

[jaowel]

Once the Balloon Drop was done, everyone headed to the Lido Deck. The music was pumping and everyone was dancing! They were handing out light up glasses, glow sticks, necklaces and other New Years trinkets. The energy was crazy fun! One thing I look forward to is the ships horn when we set sail. Well, I didn't hear it on our departure, but I sure heard it on NYE! Champagne was flowing the whole time!

And at the stroke of midnight, my husband handed me a very special glass. ❤️

Once all the festivities were done, we all headed to bed for since our stop in Cozumel was just a few short hours away!

Day 4 - Cozumel

We woke up to a beautiful blue sky on New Years Day! Towel Animals took over the Lido Deck!

We always ate breakfast at the Buffet. They had a great selection and it was all quite good. We planned on going to Mr.Sanchos since we have been there before but they announced that there was room on the Catamaran/Snorkel/Beach excursion and it was for a great price, so we took that offer asap! We did have a little time before our excursion started, so we were able to walk around the port for a while. We really like this port and there are a ton of shops and places to eat. There were two other ships in port, but it didn't feel crowded at all.

My what big feet you have!!

We found our excursion group and the tour company was Fury Catamarans. They only work with cruise ship companies and they were awesome!! They took us on a 15/20 min sail to our snorkel spot and explained everything very well. They have their own photographer and he had some kind of fish food with him because the fish were EVERYWHERE! It was beautiful under the water! I wish I had a waterproof camera with me so I could show all of you the amount of fish and coral we saw.

The photo above is the private beach that they took up to. They had lunch available for $11 (a huge burger, potato/pasta salad) and free drinks (beer & margaritas). They also had some trinkets to purchase and facilities to use. The inflatable water park is included in the price.

 

 

The ride back was nice and relaxing. We got to the port with plenty of time before sailing off to check out the water slide, get some pictures of the port from afar and capture the awesome sunset.

We were able to watch a few of the shows. They have been the same on every cruise we've been on, with the exception of the Country one. They were all very good, however after seeing them more than a few times, I think I'd skip them if they were on my next Carnival cruise. If you haven't gone to them, they are worth going to. The Love and Marriage is always our favorite! We actually participated in more activities on this cruise than any other (Music Trivia, Yahtzee, Bean Bag Toss, Clue). That's what's so great about cruising! Be as active or as lazy as you want!

Day 5 - Sea Day.

Like I said before, we love Sea Days and I think we really like having one the day before we head home. It just gives us a chance to chill and reflect on the great time we had. I love reading a good book and drinking my vodka/lemonade on the lido. BTW...we do love a good drink but when we travel with the kids, we don't tend to indulge as much. We typically purchase a bottle of vodka through the Fun Shops and have it delivered to the stateroom at the beginning of the cruise. We fill our travel mugs up and use the free lemonade. If you can get the passion fruit juice in the morning, my goodness! It is quite yummy as a cocktail in the afternoon! Of course I had the Kiss on the Lips (fav!) and I tried the Mocha Chocolate Getaway (mercy! yum!).

I love all our cruises, but this one had a different feel to it. Maybe it's because my kids are getting older and we are limited on the years that it will be just the 5 of us. I cherish these times together as a family and never take the fact that we can go on vacations for granted. Sure this ship was small and it is the oldest in the fleet, but that didn't matter to us. Of course there were small hiccups, but nothing that stands out or is worth complaining to the world about. I'd sail the Fantasy again in a heartbeat. Thank you to Carnival, for another wonderful vacation.

 

Day 5 - Day at sea

[KmomChicago]

Nice review! Thank you for seeing the positive and enjoying yourselves so much.

[Bondfan531]

Great pictures and review! My daughter (18) loves to cruise and my husband and I have decided to take give her a cruise as her Christmas present on the Fantasy. Trying to find ways to surprise her with it. We leave out Jan. 2 2020. My husband and I have been on the Fantasy once before but she hasn't and I think she will love it.

[jaowel]

4 hours ago, Bondfan531 said:

Great pictures and review! My daughter (18) loves to cruise and my husband and I have decided to take give her a cruise as her Christmas present on the Fantasy. Trying to find ways to surprise her with it. We leave out Jan. 2 2020. My husband and I have been on the Fantasy once before but she hasn't and I think she will love it.

She will love it! I think since this is a smaller ship and doesn't have all the bells an whistles. Our kids are 10, 15 and 11 and they have been on bigger ships, therefore, had lots to do on their own. Knowing that there wouldn't be as much to do on this ship, we made it a point to do as much as the cruise offered so we wouldn't get the "I'm so bored" stuff.

Kids get big so fast and I think we forget to savor these kinds of moments together :) Have a wonderful time on your cruise!

[Bondfan531]

Thank you! I've already printed a cute boarding pass with her info on it and will wrap that up with a lanyard and maybe a cheesy tote bag or tshirt and beach towel and I'm also going to get her a new spinner suitcase and wrap all of that up for Christmas. I have to also sneak around to her boss and request her time off since she works weekends primarily and they require 2 weeks notice for time off and I really don't want her to know about this until Christmas Day when she opens her presents. I know she isn't a little girl anymore but she's still my kid and I love the element of the surprise and seeing her face.

[jaowel]

47 minutes ago, Bondfan531 said:

Thank you! I've already printed a cute boarding pass with her info on it and will wrap that up with a lanyard and maybe a cheesy tote bag or tshirt and beach towel and I'm also going to get her a new spinner suitcase and wrap all of that up for Christmas. I have to also sneak around to her boss and request her time off since she works weekends primarily and they require 2 weeks notice for time off and I really don't want her to know about this until Christmas Day when she opens her presents. I know she isn't a little girl anymore but she's still my kid and I love the element of the surprise and seeing her face.

How fun! We wanted to surprise them with this one, play it off like it wasn’t going to happen because the cruise was sold out. We were going to make towel animals out of beach towels and wrap them up with their boarding passes. However, one of my good friends blew it and said “I’m so excited to dog sit for you guys while you’re on your cruise 🤦‍♀️ Oh well! Lol!