And Then There Were Two (Fantasy Class Ships Left). Share your POSITIVE memories of the departed FANTASY CLASS VESSELS

[ninjacat123]

2 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

Yay!!  Thx for finding this!😊

[KmomChicago]

4 hours ago, Theosprey247 said:

I cut my cruising teeth with the Imagination and Inspiration out of Long Beach.  Good Times! 

 

Hard to beat the convenience of a ship like an hour from the house.  I had that during my 16 years in the Orlando area, but ironically, living in the sunny subtropics all the time, I didn't feel the need to go off sailing to the islands.

[DarthGrady]

I've only done a handful of Carnival cruises that weren't on Fantasy class ships (Splendor is the newest I've been on 🤣 ). Starting with my first CCL cruise in '99 on Sensation, I've had so many fun times on them. Inspiration and Paradise are my most frequented ships since they both spent many years in Tampa. I hoped to complete the class one day, but since the Fantasy fell victim to COVID that'll never happen now. It'll be a very sad day for me when they're all gone, I'm really hoping Paradise and Elation still have many more years left. Some photos from my Elation cruise back in December of 21.

Edited October 15, 2022 by DarthGrady

[toad455]

5 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

 

Interesting point - yet you have been on Anthem 5x and Quantum of the Seas, both on the LARGE side of the spectrum!!! I have not tried Quantum class but I am sure we would like it as we loved Oasis class and Carnival Excel class (Mardi Gras).  I would say we generally lean to the larger side but have no problem with the smaller ships whatsoever. 

 

I think the difference is that the Anthem is more spread out then the Dream-class. I never felt crowded on the Anthem. The Dream-class and Destiny-class felt like I had to always fight for space. However, my favorite RCCL class of ships remains the Voyager-class and my favorite Carnival ships remain the Spirit-class.

[Jasonsterling]

My first cruise was on the Sensation and I thought it was the largest thing ever put to sea at the time, lol. It really did seem massive. I've also been on the Elation twice- the first time through the Panama canal. It was my favorite of those two ships and I'd still like another sail on her someday but I doubt it'll happen- unless they move her back to Galveston, lol. My last sailing on Elation and therefore the fantasy class as a whole was 2004. All three cruises were a really great time but in general I do like the amenities of newer vessels and time just moves on- new styles, new ideas. It's a shame that so far no one has been able to take on a Fantasy class vessel for a start up or smaller cruise line. Maybe by the time Elation goes they'll be a taker.   

[KmomChicago]

9 minutes ago, Jasonsterling said:

All three cruises were a really great time but in general I do like the amenities of newer vessels and time just moves on- new styles, new ideas. It's a shame that so far no one has been able to take on a Fantasy class vessel for a start up or smaller cruise line. Maybe by the time Elation goes they'll be a taker.   

 

With the Queen Mary basically falling apart in Long Beach, I would love to see a much newer ship transitioned to a hotel ship in similar fashion, but realistically I don't know how feasible it is. I assume, not very or someone else would be doing it. There are a handful of them around the world and I guess I thought it would make sense to use them in this way for a decade or so until they get too obsolete to bother with. 

[pe4all]

We usually sail on the conquest-sized ships.  We did one cruise on Fantasy.  It was our first (and only) suite.  Nice size for 4 of us.  I remember walking onto the ship and feeling like I could stretch my arms out and touch the port and starboard sides of the ship at the same time, if felt so small to me!

[KmomChicago]

6 minutes ago, pe4all said:

We usually sail on the conquest-sized ships.  We did one cruise on Fantasy.  It was our first (and only) suite.  Nice size for 4 of us.  I remember walking onto the ship and feeling like I could stretch my arms out and touch the port and starboard sides of the ship at the same time, if felt so small to me!

 

I think you can probably do that at the bow of the ship. But maybe not limited to Fantasy class. 🙂As far as the ship felling small. . . 

 

My first cruise was the SS Royale, late spring 1985, the first Premier (Big Red Boat) ship. She was a whopping 21,000 tons, just over one quarter of the size of Carnival Fantasy.  My second, Oceanic, was relatively massive at 39,000 tons, and on that sailing I clearly remember seeing one of the then brand new 46,000 ton Carnival Holiday class ships, just a little bigger than ours but looking sparkling spiffy and having a raucous deck party that we could easily hear from our quieter lido deck. I was impressed and maybe a little jealous.

 

In fact, this Wikipedia shot of the Royale could possibly be the actual sailing I was on.   The date is right, but the Oceanic pic is off by a couple of years.  Funny how our perspectives change as the ships grow and change as well.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_SeaBreeze#/media/File:"Royale"_-_Nassau,_1985.jpg

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Oceanic_(1963)#/media/File:Oceanic_in_December_1987.jpg

[ninjacat123]

1 hour ago, KmomChicago said:

 

With the Queen Mary basically falling apart in Long Beach, I would love to see a much newer ship transitioned to a hotel ship in similar fashion, but realistically I don't know how feasible it is. I assume, not very or someone else would be doing it. There are a handful of them around the world and I guess I thought it would make sense to use them in this way for a decade or so until they get too obsolete to bother with. 

When DH and I were living in Los Angeles, we attended a formal function held in the Spruce Goose I think like 1990.  We spent the night in the Queen Mary.  I had never been on a cruise before so I thought "hey this must be cruising".  Little did I know I would become a cruisaholic. 😅

[KmomChicago]

1 minute ago, ninjacat123 said:

When DH and I were living in Los Angeles, we attended a formal function held in the Spruce Goose I think like 1990.  We spent the night in the Queen Mary.  I had never been on a cruise before so I thought "hey this must be cruising".  Little did I know I would become a cruisaholic. 😅

 

This is awesome! I did one of the tours of the ship on my first LA vacation, which I believe was in 2001. I was disappointed when I found out the Spruce Goose had already been moved but really enjoyed the comprehensive walking tour of the ship. Didn't stay overnight but I slightly regret it now. I was young and on a tighter budget and I know I looked into it but I think it fell just a bit out of our price range. 

[pe4all]

56 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

 Funny how our perspectives change as the ships grow and change as well.

 

 

This.  Our first cruise was 1984- Home Lines Atlantic followed in 1985 by Big Red Boat Oceanic, and then 1986 Home Lines Homeric. (all out of NY)  Those ships seemed huge to us. They are babies in comparison to today's ships!

[KmomChicago]

56 minutes ago, pe4all said:

This.  Our first cruise was 1984- Home Lines Atlantic followed in 1985 by Big Red Boat Oceanic, and then 1986 Home Lines Homeric. (all out of NY)  Those ships seemed huge to us. They are babies in comparison to today's ships!

 

But on the other hand, we were served lobster and baked Alaska and even on the cheapo bargain basement lines, people had to adhere to the dress code on formal night. . . so we take the changes as they come and for the most part we prefer the now to the the then.

[KmomChicago]

Not from one of my voyages, but from the last sailing of Ecstasy last week. Enjoy!

 

 

[KmomChicago]

 

[nybumpkin]

The only Fantasy-class ship we sailed was Fantasy in 2011. She was sailing several 7-day cruises out of Charleston. It ended up being one of our favorite cruises. We had an upsell to the Owner's Suite (looked the same as the photos posted earlier) and some of us on the Roll Call went in together for the Grand Cabana in Half Moon Key.

 

Up to that time, we had sailed Destiny-class, Spirit-class, and Conquest-class ships, so we were used to more "bells and whistles." But we loved the smaller ship.

[KnATL]

we had our 1st cruise out of Orlando with friends...fantasy class, have no idea which one!

2nd--was the Paradise when it was non-smoking...a bunch of young baseball players and families

3rd--Fascination--HS graduation trip with many more families...and those baseball kids 🙂

4th--Sensation--HS band trip...200 HS band kids!

 

Oh the fun, love those ships !

[CruizinSusan70]

On 10/14/2022 at 1:25 PM, Funsince1983 said:

 He’s finally found.. where you may ask? With a bunch of chicks on the topless deck. 🤣😆

He was just looking for Cuba.

[CruizinSusan70]

On 10/15/2022 at 10:16 AM, KmomChicago said:

. . . so we take the changes as they come and for the most part we prefer the now to the the then.

Only sailed on the Fantasy Class four times, on the Imagination in 2011 & 2008, the Sensation in 1996 and the Fascination in 1994.  The only thing that stood out on those ships was the old midnight buffet, which we stood in line for to take pictures but never ate at since we always had late seating dinner and didn't get out usually till 945, so we were not hungry two hours later.

Things evolve and of course we prefer all of the changes over the years for the most part, but beer was so cheap back then....

[KmomChicago]

On 10/15/2022 at 6:16 AM, Jasonsterling said:

It's a shame that so far no one has been able to take on a Fantasy class vessel for a start up or smaller cruise line. Maybe by the time Elation goes they'll be a taker.   

 

I think that's a combination of bad timing with the pandemic, demise of Pullmantur, at that time for example, I think a little talk of some startups that didn't start after all. . . and again the balcony problem.  Bahamas Paradise, now Margaritaville, is really the only domestic line trying to recycle old ships and they dumped their older one at that time as well; the line has worked on their theme but I still see gripes because their current ship is also mostly without balconies.

Since the big shift right around the year Y2K to all new builds being covered in balconies, it's been obvious that F class can only hold on so long.  As you note, however, if the recovery is strong enough it's possible the last two will find a home in a few years, but my crystal ball is not supporting it.

[Drew B 58]

Nearly half of my Carnival sailings have been on this class.  My first cruise was on Elation, I sailed Paradise three times, and finally Imagination.  I love that the Promenade and the Lido are only a deck apart and there’s a designated stairway from Promenade that emerges right in the middle of the Lido deck!

[matt1]

I cut my cruising teeth on the Fantasy-class, beginning with the ECSTASY in 1993. That was followed by IMAGINATION and SENSATION (1995), FANTASY and INSPIRATION (1996), ECSTASY again (1997), and finally PARADISE (1998). That last one was probably the singular, most unique Carnival cruise, since PARADISE was brand new and billed as the world’s first completely No Smoking cruise ship, with the No Smoking symbols painted on her hull and flying the No Smoking sign flag from her bow mast. 
 

After PARADISE my cruising wings sort of sprouted and I went back-and-forth for dozens of cruises between Royal Caribbean, Princess, Holland-America, two or three times back to CCL in the early 2000’s, Cunard, Celebrity, and then finally back to Royal Caribbean. It’s been a wild ride. 

 

Hopefully, I’m looking forward to maybe trying the new CARNIVAL VENEZIA next December out of NYC. 

[IntrepidFromDC]

We sailed on the Elation in 2014 and Sensation in 2016.  When I look at my cruise history I see they were both 5 day cruises.  I honestly don't remember anything about either ship or the itinerary.  Must have been good cruises.

[KmomChicago]

On 10/14/2022 at 7:11 PM, ninjacat123 said:

Yay!!  Thx for finding this!😊

It is so crazy what old news is still viewable out on the internet archives, when so many links and content are dead.

[KmomChicago]

2 hours ago, matt1 said:

I cut my cruising teeth on the Fantasy-class, beginning with the ECSTASY in 1993. That was followed by IMAGINATION and SENSATION (1995), FANTASY and INSPIRATION (1996), ECSTASY again (1997), and finally PARADISE (1998). That last one was probably the singular, most unique Carnival cruise, since PARADISE was brand new and billed as the world’s first completely No Smoking cruise ship, with the No Smoking symbols painted on her hull and flying the No Smoking sign flag from her bow mast. 
 

After PARADISE my cruising wings sort of sprouted and I went back-and-forth for dozens of cruises between Royal Caribbean, Princess, Holland-America, two or three times back to CCL in the early 2000’s, Cunard, Celebrity, and then finally back to Royal Caribbean. It’s been a wild ride. 

 

Hopefully, I’m looking forward to maybe trying the new CARNIVAL VENEZIA next December out of NYC. 

I did a post on that stairway for my Sensation review. I wanted to get the scoop on the glass dome that covered it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[evandbob]

My best decision regarding Fantasy class ships was to stop sailing them when they got old and tired back in 2010.

 

Moved up to booking Conquest class, then Dream.  Now my last 2 bookings were Mardi Gras and maybe Celebration is next?  Not looking backwards, no regrets.