M.S. Fantasy Review 6/29 - 7/3

[kathy32259]

I have now joined the ranks of CJW – a true Fantasy Class fan. Here is my review of the June 29 – July 3 sailing on the M.S. Fantasy. This was a 4 night itinerary – Nassau and Half Moon Cay with at sea day on 3rd day. This was my mom/dad and daughter/boyfriend's first cruise. I do believe we have 4 new cruise addicts!

 

Embarkation

The embarkation at Port Canaveral was fast and easy. We left Jax at 8:45 and arrived at the port approximately 11:00. We gave the porters the luggage and I went to park the car. It was $12.00/day - $48.00 total. They directed me to the valet who took my name and car keys. I left the car and walked across the street to the terminal where family was waiting with our carry-on luggage. We were the only people in line for security – walked through and up the escalators to check in. Went right up (no lines) and checked in and proceeded to get our room keys and then pictures, then onto the ship.

 

The cabins were not available so we went to Windows on the Sea with our luggage and had a nice leisurely lunch. After lunch we were able to access our cabins and unpack. Muster was held for us in the Forum Lounge, at approx. 3:30, – then we went to the aft deck to watch sail away.

 

Overall Experience

The Ship - I was somewhat concerned prior to sailing. This was my first time on a smaller Fantasy class ship and in an OV cabin, as I have always had a balcony. I was pleasantly surprised! The Fantasy class is a wonderful ship! I would cruise on a Fantasy class again – no problem. There is a mini-golf course on the sports deck, basketball and a track. I loved the aft decks, which were for the most part very quiet. When they closed the children’s pool at night – there was no one there and you can have the deck chairs all to yourself! The dining tables on the outside deck at Windows on the Sea were always available. I even saw deck chairs available by the main pool! The ship is easy to navigate and find your way to everywhere – and for some reason it didn’t feel as crowded as the Spirit, Destiny or Conquest class.

 

The Casino has a lot of options and all denominations of slots. I left some money there for one of you to claim. I hope you are luckier than I was. I saw some big winners, just not me! The shops are nice and I noticed that the souvenier gift shop had a better selection than I remembered on my last cruise. The jewerly shop is rather smalll and does not have a big selection, but does have some nice things.

 

Cabins - Our OV cabins were located on the Empress Deck aft, port side. (E210/E222/E226) This is a great location and gave us quick access to Windows on the Sea and the outside decks - just up the aft stairs. The cabins were spacious, clean, and the ventilation was good. Of course, the beds are fabulous! The only noise I heard the whole trip was the thrusters when we were going into port. They woke me up the morning of debarkation – and I ran upstairs to the aft deck to watch us come into port. Coffee in hand I watched the dolphins swim and the fish schooling. What a way to end a vacation!

 

Food – I was very pleased with the food on the M.S. Fantasy! Every meal was wonderful, the buffet was great, and the salad bar and dessert bar were to die for! The night they had beef Wellington, I opted for a filet and it was served with no questions asked. Room service was right on time every morning – and the coffee was HOT! Great job by all in the food service department! They had the Captain’s party and formal night on Friday (2nd night). We opted for the 8:00 seating and were seated at a table by a window in the Jubilee dining room. Our wait staff was excellent – Mario from India and Dewey from Indonisia. The maitre’d was at our table several times and very friendly. We saw him several times at Windows on the Sea and he always stopped to say hello. Oh yes, at sea day the taste of the nations was American and they served Fried Chicken. It was yummy! Also had the chocolate buffet on Sunday.:eek:

 

Entertainment – I didn’t attend many shows, but I did attend bingo and some of the games in the Universe Lounge. It was so cold in there – brrrrr. Make sure you bring a sweater! The singer in the 21st Century lounge was not bad. He sang country, which I enjoy. Marahscalh Stanton is the CD and he is a hoot. I happened in on the Newlywed/Not So Newlywed game and it was a scream. He makes everything a party.

 

Excursions – Nassau - we opted to go “on our own” and this is probably boring to most of you but it worked for my parents, who are in their 70’s and this was their first time in the Bahamas. We grabbed a taxi when we got off the ship in Nassau and had him take us around the island. We saw a lot of interesting things, the Queens Staircase, the fort, and then we went to Atlantis. We left him at Atlantis and opted to take the tour of the digs and aquarium. It was fabulous. We had lunch at a little restaurant on the grounds – and the food was good but very expensive. The ride back to the ship via taxi was quite the adventure. It reminded me of an amusement park with bumper cars.

 

HMC – We were late debarking for the island. It seemed as if they were having problems with one of the tenders. The line to tender in was still very long at 11:15 – so we didn’t get to the island until about 11:45. They canceled some of the excursions but I never heard why. This was my daughter’s favorite island. She did tell me that "next time" she will bring her own snorkel as there were none left to rent by the time we got there. It was so hot – I went back to the ship as I cannot be in the sun. I thought the cabanas were pretty expensive, but in retrospect I wish I would have rented one. The rest of the family really enjoyed the water and snorkeling. One guest at our table said that he went on the Aqua-Trax (jet skis) Encounter – and he had a blast. He said he could see sharks swimming below him, which was great incentive to stay on the jet ski and not fall off!

 

Value – You can’t beat the value on this sailing. Because of the past guest discount this cruise was definitely worth the price. I wish I could afford a suite on this class of ship – then the sailing would be perfect! I will be scheduling a similar cruise in the future, without a doubt.

 

The only thing missing (besides the balcony) was the ability to get an M.S. Fantasy pin! I went to the purser’s desk and they told me that they don’t have pins on the ship – but if I contact Guest Relations, I may be able to get one. I have a good collection of all the ships I have sailed, with the exception of the Pride (my first sailing) and now the M.S. Fantasy. I looked on the web site but couldn’t find a place to order them.

 

Debarkation

 

We docked at a different terminal than the one we left. We were asked to leave our cabins no later than 8:00 am and wait on either the Lido or Panorama deck areas. We chose Lido and had a leisurely breakfast. We were not in a hurry – so wanted to wait until the crowds subsided. About 10:30 we made our way down the aft elevators (this was smart on our part – but we didn’t know it at the time) When we got to the Empress deck we walked up the hall past the cabins and got right off the ship. There was a line formed from somewhere else – not sure where – but we bypassed it. I guess we got lucky!

 

 

We found our luggage with no problem, since there were not many left, grabbed a porter who escorted us through customs to the valet. The valet gave us the keys and told us where the car was parked – just steps away. We were back in Jax by 12:50.

 

Please let me know if I can answer any questions.

[crzDave]

Kathy - thanks for the great review. We are on the 7/27 Fantasy sailing. I've read nothing but great reviews so far! One question I still have is related to parking at Port Canaveral. I've read several posts about departing and arriving at different terminals. Carnival has told me that they don't "plan" this to happen, but it seems to be the norm for the four day cruise. Can you elaborate on your parking experience? Did they valet's move your car? I seem to recall other posters saying that's what happened. I've also heard that there were horrible lines for valet...did you experience any of that?

 

Thanks for your help!

[Vidimom]

Thank you for a very detailed review. We are looking forward to cruising on the Fantasy in September. Do you have any pictures of the cabins since they have been remodeled? Would love to see any pics of the ship since the remodel has been done.

[hill6]

We loved the Fantasy when we sailed on her two years ago. She is a beautiful ship with a great crew.

[kathy32259]

Kathy - thanks for the great review. We are on the 7/27 Fantasy sailing. I've read nothing but great reviews so far! One question I still have is related to parking at Port Canaveral. I've read several posts about departing and arriving at different terminals. Carnival has told me that they don't "plan" this to happen, but it seems to be the norm for the four day cruise. Can you elaborate on your parking experience? Did they valet's move your car? I seem to recall other posters saying that's what happened. I've also heard that there were horrible lines for valet...did you experience any of that?

 

Thanks for your help!

 

We paid for the parking at the gate then proceeded to the valet who took our keys and gave us a receipt to claim our car upon return. The ship was docked at #10 I believe. After dropping off the car we just walked across the street to the terminal. Very convenient. There were three ships in port that day, the Sensation, the Disney Wonder, and the M.S. Fantasy.

 

Upon return the ship docked at a different terminal (#6 I believe - it is where the Sensation was docked the day we boarded the Fantasy). The valet had parked our car in the lot right across the street - so yes, they moved it. After exiting the terminal we crossed the street - walked right up to the valet stand - no lines - retrieved our keys - the car was parked right there. We loaded it up and were on our way. I think the reason we didn't encounter any lines is because we waited to get off the ship. Ships in port that day were the M.S. Fantasy and Soverign of the Seas.

 

I do not have any pictures of the cabins. I will check with the rest of my family to see if they have any. The cabins reminded me of the cabins on the larger ships - same decor. I had a King bed, a chair, a vanity, two little tables, TV in the corner and nice size bathroom and shower. Plenty of closet space too!

[Caribbean Buckeye]

Great Review Kathy. I'm glad you had such a great time. It's always good to see what people thought after they've been on the board preparing for a while. I bet you can't believe it's over already.

[alwaysmomof1]

Hi Kathy...... We were also on this cruise and we have not had the time to post a review yet. The after we got home my DFIL passed away so we are dealing with that. We will post a review soon. Glad to hear you had a wonderful time. We too will be looking for another cruise with the kids next year.

[beaming90]

Thanks for the great review, I love reading about the Fantasy since it was my first cruise last year. :rolleyes:

[kathy32259]

Hi Kathy...... We were also on this cruise and we have not had the time to post a review yet. The after we got home my DFIL passed away so we are dealing with that. We will post a review soon. Glad to hear you had a wonderful time. We too will be looking for another cruise with the kids next year.

 

Oh my! I am so sorry to hear about your DFIL. Please tell DH that I am sorry and my thoughts and prayers are with your family!

 

I am also sorry we didn't get a chance to meet. I did look for the florescent green swim trunks with the orange life vest! You two must have zigged when I zagged. It was a whilrlwind 4 days. Much too short and I am looking forward to my btb in December. I was so exhausted when we returned as I am sure you were with your long flight and all! I hope you were able to have a good cruise.

[flygrass]

Great Reveiw, Thanks .

About Your Fantasy Pin,,, Yes,do Call Guest Relations And They Will Get Them For You, And Ask For A Set For The Pride Also. I Did This After Our Glory Cruise For The Same Reason, They Said They Have None On The Ship. I Called Carnival And They Even Gave Me A Pin For The Celebration ( She Was Our First Cruise).

Again Thanks For The Review, We Will Be Sailing The Fantasy For Holloween When She Comes To Nola, Cant Wait To See Her.

One More Thing, We To Love The Fantasy Class. Dont Know What It Is About It But So Far The Elation Has Probably Been Our Favorite Ship, Maybey The Fantasy Will Change That.:)

[kathy32259]

Great Reveiw, Thanks .

About Your Fantasy Pin,,, Yes,do Call Guest Relations And They Will Get Them For You, And Ask For A Set For The Pride Also. I Did This After Our Glory Cruise For The Same Reason, They Said They Have None On The Ship. I Called Carnival And They Even Gave Me A Pin For The Celebration ( She Was Our First Cruise).

Again Thanks For The Review, We Will Be Sailing The Fantasy For Holloween When She Comes To Nola, Cant Wait To See Her.

One More Thing, We To Love The Fantasy Class. Dont Know What It Is About It But So Far The Elation Has Probably Been Our Favorite Ship, Maybey The Fantasy Will Change That.:)

 

You are lucky you got that Celebration pin. I have heard that they no longer have them available. And....

 

Just so you know - I wrote to Guest Relations and they promptly sent me a Pride pin - but, they have no Fantasy pins available.:eek: They apologized and gave me a 45 day letter. So if anyone knows where I can get that elusive Fantasy pin, please let me know.

 

I have been trying to figure out how I can take this ship again before she moves to NO. There was a GREAT rate OV the 8/24 sailing (my PVP called me) but unfortunately I have too much business travel planned this month and couldn't take advantage. :p Darn - work gets in the way of my vacation time!! :rolleyes:

[Super89]

Thanks for the great review! Glad you had a good time. We are cruising on the 4 day Fantasy in September. We have only cruised once before on the Miracle and had a balcony room, so I am sure we are going to miss it! I don't think we will spend too much time in the room though. I hope we can find some of the money you left in the casino! :D I see you live in Florida, but we are flying in that morning. Has anyone found that the transfers through Carnival are the best or is there an easy, inexpensive way to get there on our own. Our flight gets into the airport at around 10:30am. Thanks Susan

[heymom32000]

I loved reading your review! We are sailing on the Fantasy Oct 14th and can't wait! Just hubby and I this time. In 2008 we are doing a big group cruise and taking our kids. What are some must do's on the fantasy in your opinion?

[kathy32259]

What are some must do's on the fantasy in your opinion?

 

Must take a sweater or light jacket for the Universal lounge - it is REALLY cold in there!

 

Must check out the aft deck balconies on the ship. They are deserted most of the time and around early dining times the children's pool is empty and there are lounge chairs where you can just sit and relax! This is where we went for sail away and I found myself not missing my own private balcony too much!

 

Must try the Grand Mariner souffle at dinner - it is so yummy!

 

Must not miss the Chocolate buffet during at sea day. The chocolate ice cream swans were really good. (I wonder if they churn their own ice cream? This was the best chocolate ice cream....)

 

When I think of more I will add - just got a ld phone call