Fantasy Review 1/22

[sassykajun]

Back from the Fantasy a few days now and already missing cruising!

 

I had heard both good and bad about this ship prior to sailing on it, but I put all of that from my mind and boarded without any preconceptions.

 

I had a blast!!

 

Day One: My mother was my traveling companion and we only live about an hour from N.O. so my father drove us down the morning of the cruise. We stopped off in Kenner for some lunch at Kenner Seafood - yummy! - and then made our way into N.O. and downtown to the pier. I think it was about 12:30 when my dad dropped us off, which turned out to be perfect timing.

 

We were going to carry on all of our luggage - my mom had one large suitcase and I had a medium sized and a smaller one, all with handles and wheels - but the porter at the curb said that my mom's suitcase and my bigger one wouldn't make it through security because of their size and that they would send us back down with them. So, we checked those two with him and just carried on my smallest suitcase after my mom transferred her medicine to it.

 

Inside the terminal, we were greeted at the door and a woman tore a couple of the documents out of our packet - the sail and sign card and something else and told us to keep them handy - and she gave my mom a separate sail and sign card to fill out. My mom had an ink pen in her tote bag, so we filled out our sail and signs while standing in line. The line wasn't bad at all. I think once we got upstairs, we stood in line maybe 10 or 15 minutes before it was our turn at the desk. We were helped by a very nice older gentleman and he got us all squared away. Took our embarkation photo, then had to smile again for the security camera that took our picture as our sail and sign cards were scanned for the first time.

 

You enter the Fantasy on the Empress deck, which was handy for us because that's the deck we were staying on. We made our way to our room and even though it was 1:30 by then, the cabin steward was in our room and it wasn't ready yet. He was very nice, though, and took our one suitcase, my mom's tote bag, and my sweater and put them away in one of the closets for us, which was all we wanted to do anyway.

 

We wandered up to Lido, even though we weren't that hungry after our big lunch, but there wasn't a whole lot else to do. The desserts were out and we each had a small piece of chocolate cake and some tea. Walked around the ship after that, both outside and in, until 3:30, when we headed back to our room to get our life jackets. Muster drill was crowded. Our deck was assigned to the Forum Lounge and it was packed to the gills. The few chairs were taken by the time we arrived so we had to stand, but it wasn't a big deal as the drill didn't take that long. I never could figure out how to hook the strap of my life vest around me. I think mine was broke. Took us outside afterward to show us where the life boats were, followed shortly after by the ship's horn blowing, and we were off!

 

They assigned us to the Celebration dining room, first seating, at 6:15. We arrived the first night to find that we had been given a table with four other women - another mother and daughter pair and two single friends. From that first night forward, we had a blast every night at dinner, and actually became friends with the two single women. They sat with us for a couple of the shows in the Universe Lounge and hung out with us in the Cat's Lounge to listen to Dakota.

 

Our team head waiter was Sorel from Haiti, and he was an absolute sweetheart. His assistant was a young woman from Thailand and I can't remember her name except that it started with the letter 'p'. She was kind of quiet and shy, though, so we didn't really have as much interaction with her as we did Sorel. I had filet mignon that first night and it was cooked to perfection. Black forest gateau for dessert - heavenly.

 

We went to the Universe Lounge after dinner. There was only going to be one show that night at 10:30 instead of the customary two showings, but there were some games and things taking place in the lounge until then. Noonan, the assistant cruise director, was our host for the Game Show game and he was terrific! I stood up when it came time for him to pick the contestants and waved my arms in the air going "Pick me! Ooh, pick me!" and he did. If anyone was in the lounge that night or saw the replay later on the t.v., I was the very short, curly haired blonde wearing a short sleeved black sweater and grey trousers, and I won the game. My prize was a geniune 24 carat plastic ship on a stick. :p

 

I think there was a couple of rounds of bingo after that. I played the first one where the single cards were only $5, but sat out the second one when the price went up to $10. I have no luck at bingo and never win. At 10:30, the cruise director, Big Tex, took the stage and introduced himself, and then the dancers put on a little show. We stopped by the Cat's Lounge afterward and instantly fell in love with Dakota. What a great band!

 

Day Two: Day at sea. We woke up around 7:30 and got dressed and headed down to the Celebration dining room for open seating breakfast at 8. Open seating is sort of a misnomer in the fact that you can't just sit anywhere you want. It's not assigned seating like dinner at night, but when you go in, they ask you how many in your party and they lead you to a specific table. Not that this was a big deal or anything, but just thought I'd mention it. We like it because it's a way to meet different people at each meal, though it was kind of funny because we ended up being seated with the same couple from Canada every morning! They were very nice, though, and we enjoyed their company. The tables they sat us at usually held about 8 people, so our other dining companions were different each morning. You can have breakfast up on Lido, too, but it's a buffet and part of cruising for my mom and I is being waited on and made to feel special, so we had breakfast down in the dining room every morning.

 

We went up on Promenade after breakfast to look at the photos. There were the embarkation ones and the ones from dinner table the night before and the ones taken with the "pirate" outside the dining room. We didn't take any back drop photos that first night because we weren't dressed up and this wasn't our first cruise. In looking through the embarkation photos, though, I was able to pick out Tanya and Pete through the descriptions they had given me of themselves. Tanya was just as she'd described, down to the clothes she said she'd be wearing, and Pete, of course, was easy to pick out with his Memphis sweatshirt. I did run into Tanya on the cruise and introduced myself. She wasn't sure at first who I was until I mentioned Cruise Critic! Never did run into Pete, but have since found out he was on the late dinner seating in the Jubilee and that he didn't go to any of the shows so that probably explains it. Sorry we missed each other, Pete! Squidly, didn't see you either, nor could I pick you out from your embarkation photo.

 

Lazed around reading until it was time for lunch. We headed to the Celebration once again for open seating for lunch. Told you we like to be waited on! Hey, it's not something we get much of at home! I have a husband and an 11 year old son, so it's me doing the cooking and the serving and washing the dishes afterward!

 

Participated in the Bistro Triple Play games that afternoon, although it actually turned out to be a double play instead. Stephanie - one of the social hosts - was the host. She's nice enough, I guess, but probably my least favorite of the "social" staff. I thought Big Tex, Noonan, and Alan were all more friendly and personable, but maybe that's just me. Stephanie is actually going to be assistant cruise director on the Freedom when it starts sailing. She's currently filling in on the Fantasy because they were shorthanded.

 

It was formal night Tuesday night. I wore a very comfortable cocktail dress that I got for a steal on eBay. It was purple with sequins and I wore it with a wrap that I actually had from my first cruise. The formal night menu didn't impress me - not much on lobster and such - and I actually ordered the NY strip steak off the alternative menu. I did have one of my very favorite desserts that night, though, the Bitter and Blanc, which I had had on my first cruise and loved.

 

The show in the Universe Lounge that night was "A Broadway Fantasy". The dancers performed songs from a variety of popular Broadway shows such as Chicago, Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, Guys and Dolls, A Chorus Line, and Tommy. I was disappointed that there was no Cats. :p

 

Day Three: Costa Maya. We weren't set to arrive there until noon, so we hung out on the ship that morning. Ate our one and only lunch up on Lido because the dining room wasn't serving lunch that day. Headed downstairs just after 12 with some of our friends to get off the ship. I'm afraid I can't give any information on shore excursions because we didn't do any. We just walked around and in and out of the various shops. There was a nice sized public pool right in the middle of the square that a lot of people were taking advantage of and it did look refreshing since it was rather warm that day. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it was free to swim in it. There was a band playing nearby and plenty of places to buy alcoholic beverages. I believe there were public restrooms and showers, too.

 

We were back on board ship by mid afternoon and I went up to Verandah deck with a friend to go swimming. It was nice and quiet up there, very few people around. We didn't end up swimming, though, because the water in the pool was too cool for our tastes, but we did take advantage of the hot tub and its temperature was just right.

 

The entertainment that night was in the form of a guest talent show and wasn't going to take place until 10:30. We skipped it in favor of going to listen to Dakota when they started playing at 9:30. Before that, though, we did go to the lounge for some games after dinner. They did the Game Show again, but I didn't stand up to be picked this time since I had done it the first night. I did make my presence known, however.

 

Alan, the other social host, hosted the game that night, and Noonan was up on stage with him to work the sound and stuff. The way the game works is that they play clips of things - music, lines from movies, etc. and there are three contestants and they buzz in if they think they know the answer. You get 100 points for each correct answer and the first person to reach 500 points wins. Anyway, on one of the first questions, someone buzzed in and while they didn't give the correct answer, there was a question of whether their answer was acceptable. I think Alan asked the audience and we said yes, but then he asked Noonan, who said no. I cupped my hands over my mouth and shouted out, "What does Noonan know!" Alan was doubled over with laughter and the audience got a kick out of it, too. Noonan looked out and spotted me and shook his finger at me. Later, there was a question again on an answer someone gave, only this time, some others in the audience joined in with me in shouting "What does Noonan know!"

 

After that game, it was time for the Battle of the Sexes game, which works probably like you would imagine - men vs. women in a set of trivia questions. The catch is that the women are asked "men" questions and the men are asked "women" questions. The women sit on one side of the lounge and the men on the other. Noonan was the host for this. Each team is led by a captain and Noonan picked me to be the captain of the women's team. He teased me throughout, of course, but it was all in good spirit. He really is a great guy and will make a wonderful Cruise Director when his time comes. We beat the men! Myself and the captain for the men's team were each rewarded with a bottle of champagne. :D

 

Oh, side note -- I finally tried the warm chocolate melting cake for dessert that night and it was SO GOOD!

 

Day Four: Cozumel. We tendered here. The Conquest also tendered in Cozumel back in July, so I was familiar with that whole process. A lot of people complained about having to take a tender boat to shore, but I didn't think it was a big deal either time. I guess maybe if you're prone to seasickness it was kind of bad because the water was really choppy that day, but if you took your Dramamine or Bonine or whatever, you shouldn't have had a problem. I took a Dramamine prior to breakfast that morning and was fine.

 

This time in Cozumel was a bit different than my previous trip there. Where the Conquest tendered back in July, the tender boats dropped us off at a pier that was in the middle of the downtown area, so we were able to just walk up and down the street from the pier to shop. The Fantasy, however, tendered way down at some other pier - can't recall the exact name - Punta Maya? - that was nowhere near downtown. There were four of us together, though, and we grabbed a cab. It only cost $6 - that was total, not per person - so not bad at all. I paid going and one of the other ladies paid coming back. Again, we just shopped and ate lunch at Las Palmeras restaurant. I guess we aren't really beach people or party people.

 

There was a show that night - a magician who was assisted by some of the Fantasy dancers and a comedian. The magician was Mr. Magic and he was all right. On the Conquest back in July, they had a magician by the name of Asia - this tiny little Oriental lady - and I thought her show was much better. The comedian was Mark Hawkins and again, he was okay, but I've seen much funnier comedians. He did a midnight, adults only show the following night, but I didn't stay up to go to it. I was disappointed that Dakota didn't perform in the Cat's Lounge that night. I don't know if they had the night off or what. We missed them!

 

Day Five: Last day! Another day at sea. We went to the debarkation talk. Nothing new, really, as we've both cruised before, but it was fun to listen to Big Tex. He knows how to entertain a crowd while giving them pertinent information at the same time.

 

After lunch, we hung out around The Bistro to play the games that were going to be held there at 2. I thought Stephanie was going to host again, but it was Noonan! Yay! We played the Match game, Name That Tune, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. My mom and I teamed up for Name That Tune and thought we did fairly well, but someone did even better than us. I think they got like 31 out of 40 possible points. She and I are usually really good at Millionaire, too, but each got tripped up on a question and were out.

 

We went to afternoon tea after that in the Cleopatra lounge. I had forgotten to mention above that I had also gone to it on Tuesday. It was very nice. There was a piano player in there - Gregory, I think - and he was really good. Plenty of staff to wait on everyone. Nice selection of tea, plus plenty of finger sandwiches and little pastries.

 

Last night at dinner. We gave Sorel a very nice tip and took our pictures with him. Tipped his assistant, too, but not as much. I had the Baked Alaska for dessert and was very disappointed. It was basically Neopolitan ice cream surrounded by a scant amount of sponge cake and some meringue. I wished afterward that I would have ordered the warm chocolate melting cake instead.

 

Show that night was "Nightclub Express" by the Fantasy dancers. It was good, though I think I liked "A Broadway Fantasy" a little better. Oh, the male dancers did YMCA, though, dressed in skimpy clothing, so that was a plus. ;)

 

Debarkation: We decided to do self-assist debarkation since we knew we could handle all of our luggage ourselves. It was nice, not having to rush to pack and have our bags out in the hall by a certain time the night before. We did go ahead and pack up most of our stuff before dinner that last night, but we had the leisure of taking our time. Placed a wake-up call for shortly after 6 that morning, got up and dressed and went down to breakfast in the Celebration for 6:30. Used my cell phone to call my dad and gave him an idea of what time to come pick us up. Headed back to the room a little before 7:30 and right at 7:30, Noonan came on the PA system to announce that self-assist was about to begin. They called Empress deck first, so we were some of the first ones off the ship. We sailed through customs and were sitting in the lobby just a little after 8. My dad arrived at 8:30 to pick us up and I was back home by 10 that morning.

 

Overall: I truly had a wonderful time. Yes, the Fantasy is an older ship, as well as a smaller one, but I don't have a single complaint about the condition of the ship, its cleanliness, nor the friendliness of the staff. I found everything to be in very good condition everywhere I went on the ship and everywhere you looked, someone from housekeeping was always cleaning something.

 

Our room was kept up excellently by our cabin steward. He even put ice in the ice bucket the morning after I won the bottle of champagne, without even being asked. We found this out when we returned to our room Thursday afternoon after Cozumel. One of us was going to take the ice bucket up to Lido to fill it so we could ice down the champagne because we were going to drink it up on deck as the ship sailed away from Cozumel, but when my mom picked up the ice bucket, she discovered it already was filled. That is service!

 

The dining room staff was on its toes at every meal - we ate dinner there every night, as well as breakfast every morning and lunch all but one day. Sorel, our team head waiter at dinner, soon learned that I liked my beef well done and that I preferred bleu cheese dressing on my salad. His assistant kept our water glasses and bread plates full, took away our dirty dishes practically the moment we finished eating something, and by the second night, already knew that everyone at our table wanted coffee with their dessert.

 

Food was excellent. I tried new things. That's part of the fun of going on a cruise for me - eating new things. One night, I wanted two of the appetizers and it was absolutely no problem.

 

Though I think I've learned that I prefer the bigger ships such as the Conquest, I would absolutely sail the Fantasy again. She's close to home - only an hour's drive for me - the price for this cruise was most definitely right, unbeatable, really, and there's something to be said for a smaller cruise. It was a bit more intimate somehow. I made some new friends, whom I plan to keep in touch with, and the staff seemed to have more time to get to know people.

 

If anyone's got any questions, feel free to ask.

[marty30907]

Glad that you had a great time on the Fantasy. My DW and myself sailed her back in 98 and we had a great time.

[MelBCroozer]

I'm looking forward to cruising on the Fantasy in a few weeks. I'm only an hour away too and really like that. We've been out of NO before and other ports, but it's great just driving an hour and being on the ship and vacation!!!

[cvrap]

Hey!! Can you tell me what kind of music Dakota plays? Do you remember some of the songs? Thanks!!

[cvrap]

Can you tell us what type music Dakota plays? Do you remember some of the songs? Thanks!!

[socal cruzin]

myself and dw r 6 days out from our first fantasy cruise (third with carnival)and we cant wait(we changed from the paradise but didnt change the countdown ticker)any how thanks alot for the review it was great:D

[sassykajun]

cvrap:

 

Dakota actually plays all kinds of music from country to 50's and 60's with some 70's mixed in also. I had heard that they were a country band, but actually, they didn't play a lot of country, not when we were there.

 

Songs? Hmm, trying to remember. The two country songs I remember them playing were "I Got a Brand New Girlfriend" by Steve Holy and "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" by Trace Adkins. I remember "My Girl" a couple of times. They also did a whole 50's/60's set one night with "Rock Around the Clock" and "The Twist" as well as some others. They played "Brick House" one night by request. One of the the other band members - not the lead singer - did Jerry Lee Lewis's "Whole Lotta Shakin'" one night.

 

All in all, they are a very good, very entertaining band and well worth stopping by the Cat's Lounge for every night.