Tapi’s (somewhat) Fantastic Return to Carnival - Aboard Carnival Fantasy

[schazzy]

Thank you for the review! My first cruise was on the Fantasy and in those 4 days I spent on her, I fell in love! We too really like the Fantasy-class ships, the majority of our cruises have been on them. Our last was on the Ecstasy and she's only a year or so younger than the Fantasy, but we were surprised that besides a few cosmetic issues, she was in great shape for her age! She too had just gotten the updates and such in a dry dock a few months before we sailed. We have the Elation booked for 2020 and am looking forward to it.

 

I have kinda considered doing another cruise on the Fantasy, maybe if she's still sailing in 2024 I can do a 20th anniversary of my first cruise on her!    

[mvaughn11]

I really enjoyed your review! Thank you for taking the time! I've seen your and another that did the Humane Society in Cozumel. I think I would like to do that next time...

[h_blond2]

Loved the review! I'm so glad that you got off the ship in Progreso and didn't take other people's negative reviews to heart! I also love that you volunteered at the Humane Society.Did you contact them ahead of time or did you just show up? I will have to look into that for the next time we are in Cozumel!

Edited February 27, 2019 by h_blond2

[JaniceB]

Welcome back to Carnival.  I really enjoyed your review and pictures.  I wish they would have fixed the maintenance issue during the drydock, but I guess they really don't effect the cruise experience just don't look very nice.

[Bahbert]

Thanks for the review. I'll be on the Fantasy this May for the second time (the last time was Dec. 2016, when she already had Guy's and Blue Iguana). I think you've given the ship a fair review. I'm surprised at your review of Progresso, though; I've been there twice and wasn't overly fond of it (we ended up spending a lot of time in the bus terminal, though, so maybe we need to walk down to the beach next time, as you did). 

 

Thanks, too, for the first-hand details of the fog delay! I read about it while it was occurring (John Heald kept FB readers informed) and wondered what it was like on board. Great pics, and love the bonus Fun Times.

[Cruiser_1977]

Thanks for the review! I was on her the last sailing before the dry dock. I agree with you 100%!

[Garth2]

Your review was extremely well written.  We were back to back on Fantasy, the oldest ship in the Carnival fleet, a few months ago and enjoyed many of the same things that you did.  It seemed like most of our fellow passengers were from Alabama and Mississippi.  

[Tapi]

18 hours ago, pirate4me2 said:

Thanks for the review! I may have to look into volunteering at the Humane Society in Coz next February. I love animals, and it would be a nice change of pace. 

Thank you! It was really nice. And you can spend as little or as long as you want. I do recommend that you message them in advance to find out what's going on when you're in town.

[Tapi]

17 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

Thanks for the review, Tapi. It gives me hope for my return to Carnival 🙂

 

Your reviews are always well written and appreciated.

Thank you! The key really is to go with the right expectations. I can see how this cruise would've not been a lot of people's cup of tea, but we rolled with the punches and made the most of it. Hope you enjoy your upcoming cruise(s). 

[Tapi]

17 hours ago, Eggs And Bacon said:

 

I wonder why they don’t have a second ship there? Is it too small for a second one or a larger class ship? We would *love* to be able to sail out of Mobile, but we also love 7-8 day cruises and Dream class ships which pushes us to port canaveral. 

I don't think that the current facilities can handle more than one ship. Even with just the Fantasy, many passengers need to be directed to an alternate parking facility when the one at the cruise terminal fills up. We arrived around 11:30am and parked on the 3rd floor of the terminal parking lot. But friends who arrived after 1:00pm were directed to an alternate parking lot near the convention center and then they had to take a complimentary shuttle from there. When we returned to Mobile, they debarked about 30 minutes after us but didn't make it to their car until close to 7:00pm. By then we were already almost to Montgomery! So its in your best interest to arrive early.

 

Just speculating, but there may not be a market for a larger ship performing 7+ night itineraries from Mobile year round when New Orleans is a few hours away, offering larger, newer ships from multiple cruise lines. As much as I'd like to see a newer, larger ship and longer itineraries from Mobile, a Fantasy class ship may be all it can handle.

[Tapi]

17 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

Progreso is much more authentic Mexico. 

That's what I liked about it. It felt authentic. I asked our waiter about who goes to Progreso on vacation and he said that, when cruise ships are not in town, their tourism economy feeds from within Mexico. It's where locals go on beach vacations.

[Tapi]

15 hours ago, Fla Senior said:

The current parking structure can't hold capacity for Fantasy.  They use the auditorium across I-10 for overflow.  A larger ship or second ship would require building another parking structure.  I live an hour away, would love to see that happen!

Yes. our friends who arrived after 1:00pm were directed to the overflow parking and then had to take a shuttle to the cruise terminal. Upon our return, they had a rather lengthy wait for the shuttle. Glad I knew about the parking situation and went to the port early!

[Tapi]

15 hours ago, mpdog42 said:

 

By the way you were one of the people who convinced me to try other lines.. Thanks!!

Thanks! I hope that the advice has been beneficial! 

[Tapi]

9 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

m...perhaps the next drydock will be more thorough.  It seems Carnival just can't decide how much to invest and whether they have a ten-year plan for some of these old gals.  They've done more extensive reno to some of the newer Fantasy class ships which seems to be appreciated by the loyal cruisers. I get this is a downscale product and priced to match, but they need to keep an eye on that point where the value just doesn't meet basic expectations and what that says about the entire brand.

I had very  similar thoughts. It does seem like they are spending money to upgrade some things, but then they are neglecting others. Many of these things may be cosmetic, but as you say,  they paint an image of the brand.

[Tapi]

9 hours ago, momof4girls said:

You were one of the first reviewers I started “following” when I joined cruise critic so it’s nice to see you back on Carnival.  

 

 

Thanks, and I'm glad to be back! I'm glad to know that someone is actually reading what I write!  :)

[Tapi]

7 hours ago, MrFunInTheSun said:

Kinda surprised with your inaugural cruise back with Carnival you chose an old familer ship. 

I was trying to save my "grand" return to Carnival for next year when the Panorama comes out,  but this cruise happened before then because we were invited by friends who chose this particular ship and sailing date. I didn't really have much say in the matter. Now looking forward more than before to sailing on a new ship for our next Carnival cruise.

[Tapi]

6 hours ago, h_blond2 said:

Loved the review! I'm so glad that you got off the ship in Progreso and didn't take other people's negative reviews to heart! I also love that you volunteered at the Humane Society.Did you contact them ahead of time or did you just show up? I will have to look into that for the next time we are in Cozumel!

We didn't contact them in advance. I just checked their website for open hours and what articles they needed. But I do recommend that you message them in advance if you do decide to go. They have different volunteering needs on different days of the week. On our particular day, they only needed dog walkers so we spent less time there than originally expected, but on other days of the week they have other needs, like dog bathers, and people who will assist with surgery recovery. Also, they will hold adoption fairs. 

 

One thing that I do recommend is that you let your taxi driver what time you'd like to be picked up. The shelter is located a bit off the beaten path so you may have a hard time getting return transportation. The woman who greeted us called a taxi for us, but she told us that most times the taxi office doesn''t answer the phone. 

[Tapi]

6 hours ago, JaniceB said:

Welcome back to Carnival.  I really enjoyed your review and pictures.  I wish they would have fixed the maintenance issue during the drydock, but I guess they really don't effect the cruise experience just don't look very nice.

Yes, we still had an enjoyable cruise, and the cosmetic maintenance issues were more of an eyesore than anything else. 

[Tapi]

5 hours ago, Bahbert said:

 

Thanks, too, for the first-hand details of the fog delay! I read about it while it was occurring (John Heald kept FB readers informed) and wondered what it was like on board. Great pics, and love the bonus Fun Times.

For us, it wasn't that bad. We were packed and ready to walk out our stateroom when the announcement was made that the delay would be lengthy, so we just left our bags in the stateroom and got ourselves in "day at sea" mode. We had breakfast, and then my wife returned to the stateroom and relaxed for a bit while I took the kids to an arts and crafts class. We went to Sports Square and played a few rounds of mini golf and then had lunch at Blue Iguana. The kids begged to go down the waterslides when they saw that they were open, but I didn't want to unpack and get the kids wet again. 

 

Walking around the ship, a lot of people got right back into cruise mode. There were some people in the pool right until about one hour before our return to Mobile. The casino was open, and it was business as usual at the bars. But there were many who didn't seem to be taking the delay well. Even though we had full access to our staterooms, many chose to wait the entire day at the atrium, along via marina, or in hallways with their luggage, and a mortified look on their faces. In our group, most of us were making the most out of the delay except for 2 who were flying out. Understandably, they were pretty stressed but were able to rebook flights for the next day, although one had to drive to Pensacola to get a seat since everything out of Mobile was sold out. 

 

One thing that I wish they would've done was to provide an access code for just enough time to check important things out, maybe 20-30 minutes. I had to be at work the next morning at 5:00am, and I needed to access my company's intranet website, but the guest service person I spoke to said that unfortunately she wasn't authorized to provide that. But otherwise, I think that the crew handled the delay very well! 

[indygirl76]

We were in our car and headed back home by 5:30pm. As we drove away, we amusingly witnessed outbound passengers who had decided to make the most of the delay and had set up a tailgate party on the grass near the overpass, with lawn chairs and coolers in the back of pickup trucks. Several looked like they’d already had a bit too much to drink and they hooted and hollered as we drove by. Good for them for making the most out of the situation!

 

Thank you for the great review. And I LOVE the note above - those people know how to live! 😄

[Tapi]

6 hours ago, Bahbert said:

I'm surprised at your review of Progresso, though; I've been there twice and wasn't overly fond of it (we ended up spending a lot of time in the bus terminal, though, so maybe we need to walk down to the beach next time, as you did). 

Even though I really enjoyed Progreso, I can see why it's not everyone's cup of tea. I didn't know what to expect either. I had gone online and tried to research beyond what was on the cruise message boards, but I couldn't find much information. I finally found a video on YouTube that explained what to do in Progreso, with turn by turn instructions, and I pretty much followed the same route to the beach. 

 

To make matters worse, during the port talk onboard the ship, the CD made a point of "booking an excursion directly through Carnival and not venturing out on your own to ensure your safety". Several people in our group came back from the talk horrified, thinking that it would be dangerous to get off the ship, and that we would be met by gangs and drug violence. Even my wife was having second thoughts about getting off the ship. I tried to reassure them that  it was safe (I had researched this in advance, and knew that this part of the Yucatan peninsula is one of the safest and with the lowest crime in the entire country) , and I told them that the talk was nothing more than a gimmick to get people to book an excursion through Carnival, not to flat out scare them into staying onboard. But several wouldn't listen. They were first time cruisers, and first timers in Mexico, and unfortunately the image that they had in their head about this port didn't quite match reality. 

 

Some did stay onboard. Others chose to book an excursion, to a private beach club to "stay safe", and others took the bus, checked out the stores right at the bus terminal and got right back on the bus. because they feared going any further. When I showed them my photos and told them what we'd done on our own, they couldn't believe how nice it was. 

 

Looking back, I enjoyed Progreso much more than Cozumel. Once again, it may not be everyone's cup of tea, but the more laid back, sleepier, and authentic vibe was right down my alley. 

Edited February 27, 2019 by Tapi

[Tapi]

6 minutes ago, indygirl76 said:

 

 

Thank you for the great review. And I LOVE the note above - those people know how to live! 😄

I wish I would've taken video. It was absolutely hilarious. 

[indygirl76]

17 minutes ago, Tapi said:

I wish I would've taken video. It was absolutely hilarious. 

I can only imagine, lol. I wonder if it was a big group traveling together like yours? Or more a case of one guy getting the "sorry, going to be delayed for a long time" message and GPS'ing his way to the closest WalMart for chairs, a cooler, and beverages?? And then others followed suit until it was a party. 😄

[bmc alabama]

1 hour ago, Tapi said:

I don't think that the current facilities can handle more than one ship. Even with just the Fantasy, many passengers need to be directed to an alternate parking facility when the one at the cruise terminal fills up. We arrived around 11:30am and parked on the 3rd floor of the terminal parking lot. But friends who arrived after 1:00pm were directed to an alternate parking lot near the convention center and then they had to take a complimentary shuttle from there. When we returned to Mobile, they debarked about 30 minutes after us but didn't make it to their car until close to 7:00pm. By then we were already almost to Montgomery! So its in your best interest to arrive early.

 

Just speculating, but there may not be a market for a larger ship performing 7+ night itineraries from Mobile year round when New Orleans is a few hours away, offering larger, newer ships from multiple cruise lines. As much as I'd like to see a newer, larger ship and longer itineraries from Mobile, a Fantasy class ship may be all it can handle.

Loved your review!

 

I will say that one thing that Mobile has going for it is that it is direct deepwater access to the Gulf.  I've cruised out of NOLA before, and while NOLA is great, cruising down the Mississippi 7 hours each way with the stabilizers pulled in cruising past scenic oil refineries is not exactly my "ideal" cruising.  My guess is that if they were able to attract a second ship, that they would definitely expand the parking there.  There is land to the south of the terminal, I believe, if they were to do that.

 

That said, I think the more likely thing to eventually occur is that the Fantasy gets replaced by something along the lines of the Conquest/Triumph, etc...

[jaowel]

Welcome back! Very good review! We sailed on the Fantasy over NYE and had a blast! We've loved every Carnival cruise we have taken and it's the only line we've sailed so far. I'm curious....After cruising other lines, what do you think Carnival does better than the rest and what do you think they can improve on? We are doing a Norwegian cruise in 31 days (can't wait to be in warm weather!) and friends of ours are getting married next year on a Royal Caribbean cruise. I'm always interested to hear about other's experiences/opinions :)