Advice for new booking Conquest VS Fantasy??

[Rodeomomof2]

Now that the Triumph was cancelled, I have to decide (like many, many of you) which other cruise to take. We were booked on the first cruise out of NO on the Triumph, it was a 5 day, I had a 9A, bigger balcony room, and I had a great price. I was also going on my birthday, the last two were not so good (2005-we were dealing with Katrina, and last year had surgery with a 6 week recovery) SO...I really wanted this year to be fun. My choices seem to be: Fantasy 5 night out of NO (2 1/2 hour drive for us)for about the same price as the Triumph cruise, but I would have to get a suite guarantee, the only rooms on this ship with balconies are suites. I would not be at sea on my birthday, but a cruise is a cruise. The other choice is a 7 night on the Conquest with another balcony guarantee, and a 7 1/2 hour drive to Galveston and pay about $200 more, BUT for a 2 day longer cruise. OR...I could go on the Holiday out of Mobile which is a 3 hour drive for us, BUT, we would not be able to do the balcony, we would have to get an oceanview or pay $500 more than we were going to on the Triumph.......I would be at sea on my birthday, though.:confused:

Are the balcony rooms on the Conquest the same? I have never booked a guarantee, the price sure seems appealing, but I would hate to be stuck in a small room with my family for 7 days of tripping over each other. If the rooms are not too small, we could get around that, I was just wondering from someone who has been on the Conquest....what size are the balcony rooms. (it is me and husband and 15 & 12 year old kids) I have sailed on the Sensation, so I have an idea about the Fantasy, and I have been on the Holiday, and know about it's pros and cons.......so opinions anyone?????

PS, I really wanted to be in a 9A balcony room!:(

[CalgonCruiser]

I have been on both the Fantasy & Conquest.

The Conquest is my suggestion for your family. Its larger, plus it has more balcony cabins. Larger waterslide. I have not used Camp Carnival on either ship, but my guess would be more things for your children to do. And more children your kids ages. Although the Fantasy is my favorite. No matter what you on a cruise so enjoy!

 

Just an added note.... It was my birthday for both cruises, what a blast!

 

Happy Cruising !!!

[jointavenger]

We are in a similiar position, we had booked our wedding and cruise on the Triumph, only to find out that it was cancelled :eek: . We rescheduled with Carnival last night for the Fantasy cruise leaving N.O. Dec. 1st. I was very surprised at how accomodating they were about the reschedule. Not only did we receive a lower rate, we also received the stateroom credit as promised and an upgrade that we weren't expecting :D.

 

Because our wedding is on the cruiseship, we have to leave from N.O. You just need to determine if the time and cost of the additional travel is worth the two extra days. Also, upon reading the reviews for the Fantasy, I don't think that you will be disappointed either way you go!

 

Hope this helps!

[RzrLens]

I would not go on the Holiday, as it is their oldest ship and is quite small (40,000 tons). We went in 2001 and hit some rough seas-- it was not fun in the slightest. Haven't been on the other 2 boats you are looking at so I don't have any advice there.

[nealstuber]

We've done a sister to the Fantasy and the Conquest. Becuase there are so few balconies on the Fantasy the Lido deck was always over crowded (only time we could not find deck chairs). You proably can get your kids their own inside across the hall and put yourself in a balcony for the same price as a suite on either ship. The only way to get a balcony on the Fantasy is a suite.

[jetskier]

While I enjoy the Holiday, the balconies are inboard on the ship and looking at the lifeboats. Plus your OBC does not apply to the Holiday.

 

The Fantasy is a great ship. The Cat 12 suites are nice. Since you have 4 people going you cannot get the Cat 11s as they only hold 3 people. You only get a $50 OBC if you choose this ship.

 

Or you can join us on the Conquest Sept 2nd. We are using this date to reduce the number of days our kids are out of school. We have 12 and 5 yr old daughters. With this sailing, you get to use the $100 OBC. Carnival was running a special yesterday for past guests. Use code DP3. We were able to get a 4G for a 4A price. They are currently offering a 8E for a 8A price of $729pp for guests 1/2 and $379pp for guests 3/4.

Dave

[Rodeomomof2]

Thanks for the opinions and advice, I am still not sure which one to do, the Conquest really seems like it would be fun, but I HATE to drive, and it would be over 7 hours.:rolleyes: The Fantasy would be the easiest choice, just not my first choice. I do think that the kids would like the Conquest more. Jetskier, if we kept our vacation schedule now, we would be getting off of the Conquest when you would be getting on, unless we change our dates, my daughter will be 12 by then.;) My kids have always just hung out with mom and dad and have never done the Camp Carnival thing. They were looking forward to the big water slide on the Triumph.:( I guess I need to toss a coin between the Fantasy and Conquest. haha

Did any of you have travel insurance with your cruise? I was wondering what that will matter? Will I get to apply it towards another cruise or will I just be out that money since the cruise was cancelled? It was through a private travel insurance agency, and i have e-mailed them, but have not heard as of yet. Anybody have an idea?

[beach410]

7 hours is not that bad, we are driving 13 to NO in April to go on the Fantasy. The longest we have ever driven was to FL, 10 hours, but we are breaking the trip into two days this time, we want to spend tiime in NO the day before. Our boys are 14 and 9 and hook up their game system and watch movies. Either ship I am sure they will have fun, but it seems like you will be able to enjoy a bigger/newer ship and 2 more days for such a little difference. But, the suite is a little bigger and probably a bigger balcony as well, but how much time do you spend in the room, you will have to consider that, check out the square footage and pictures of each. We always arrive the day before so that we can enjoy the port and be on the ship as early as possible the next morning. We have sailed on the Fantasy class ships, have not yet had the pleasure of a bigger ship, hope to one day soon, but we still enjoy and the kids always have fun! Happy Birthday!

[mtgman1]

I have been on both ships and I am booked for 3/19 on the Fantasy for spring break. This will be my 16 cruise and I actually go for the ship. The ports don't interest me anymore. I like bigger ships if it is 7 days. The bigger the better. The Conquest works for 7 days. The Fantasy has had great reviews on this board lately and some cruiser have sailed her may times over. I like the idea of the ship new remodel. I think it will work well for a five day spring break cruise. The service is consistent on most Carnival ships. If you stick with Carnival you will be ok on either ship. I don't like to drive either but I will for a good cruise. I would look at Freedom of the Seas RCCL if you want the cruise to be "over the top" memorable. I have been on the Adventure of the Seas and it was the best. I can see why the cruise lines keep building bigger and better ships. It just makes the cruise experience much better.

I used airline miles for the airfare. The extra cost is worth it to be on Freedom of the Seas. If you want to keep cost down and driving time ,go with Fantasy if not go with Conquest.

[jetskier]

Thanks for the opinions and advice, I am still not sure which one to do, the Conquest really seems like it would be fun, but I HATE to drive, and it would be over 7 hours.:rolleyes: The Fantasy would be the easiest choice, just not my first choice. I do think that the kids would like the Conquest more. Jetskier, if we kept our vacation schedule now, we would be getting off of the Conquest when you would be getting on, unless we change our dates, my daughter will be 12 by then.;) My kids have always just hung out with mom and dad and have never done the Camp Carnival thing. They were looking forward to the big water slide on the Triumph.:( I guess I need to toss a coin between the Fantasy and Conquest. haha

Did any of you have travel insurance with your cruise? I was wondering what that will matter? Will I get to apply it towards another cruise or will I just be out that money since the cruise was cancelled? It was through a private travel insurance agency, and i have e-mailed them, but have not heard as of yet. Anybody have an idea?

 

The driving part doesnt bother me. I used to have to drive to Texas a good bit when I was racing jetskis. My daughters will be 12 and 6 by the time of the sailing. Our two girls love Camp Carnival and if it was open 24 hrs a day, we would not get to see them. The Conquest will have a bigger kid's area along with more passengers.

 

My deciding factors were 1) getting the OBC, 2) different ship. If I was to sail on the Fantasy again, it would be the fourth time. Also if a larger ship is brought into NOLA later, it will give my girls (and me) another different ship to go on.

 

On the insurance, you are probably out those monies. I had that happen to me when the Sensation and the Sun were both cancelled due to Katrina. I dont get insurance until final payment is due. If you have pre-existing conditions, you will want to get the insurance within 14 days of booking the cruise. Try insuremytrips.com

 

Dave

[LRene]

Hi RodeoMom - I know what you mean about driving. My idea of driving to a cruise is to drive to the nearest airport. I guess those days are past for me as I'm just not willing to drive long distances any more for anything.

 

As for your insurance - you should be able to call the ins. company after you are rebooked and have them switch your insurance to the new sailing. I just did that for our cancelled Fantasy cruise last week since we rebooked right away. If there's a difference in the insured value, there will be a difference in premium but you should not "lose" the premium money you've already paid for a cruise you can't take. I had CSA Travel Insurance and it was very easy.

 

My vote between Conquest and Fantasy with 2 kids....Conquest.

[arby70]

It's definitely worth a try to either get the trip insurance back or have it transferred to your new cruise. All they can do is say no. When my NCL Sun cruise out of NOLA was cancelled and changed to Houston as a departure point because of Katrina, I got everything back, including my trip insurance. I had almost my entire trip paid for (hotels, cruise, air fare) and they all returned every cent so my trip insurance was not needed. I simply wrote the insurance company about this and they sent all of it back to me. If they won't do that they might well transfer it to your new trip.

[Rodeomomof2]

I finally got some quotes and answers back from my TA. The trip insurance is going to be transferred to my new cruise that I will be booking soon. We are going with other people, so I am trying to collect enough info on both the ships to give to everyone so that we can make an informed decision. I appreciate the input, and will let you all know in a day or two what we all have decided. (I think I am leaning towards the Fantasy because of the price) You are great!:)

[nealstuber]

While the Ferry may save you just a couple of minutes in travel, its fun and the drive is much more interesting.

[jetskier]

While the Ferry may save you just a couple of minutes in travel, its fun and the drive is much more interesting.

 

Especially when the fog is very thick and they still go across the channel. That is the same route I take. Go through Beaumont and then go toward the beach at Winnie.

Dave

[mtgman1]

I just got back from 5 days on the Fantasy. Don't do it. Go with the Conquest. The ship Fantasy needs to be retired. Service is not good at dinner. The food was just average and the meat products ( beef) was to tough to eat. The hot tubs were taken over by the children as were the pools. No music at all in the forum club, the disco didn't open until 11:30 for adults. Not enough deck chairs for everyone. A lot of girls were laying on towels on the deck. I won't travel Carnival ever again. RCCL new ships is the way to go from now on for me. You might be ok on the newer ships since they probably get the best entertainers and older service people probably get their choice of ships to work on. This was my 16th cruise and I can tell you it gets a lot better than this for a cruise.

Tendering in Cozumel for me started at 9:15 and I finally got on the dock at 11:00. We had to be back at 4:15 for the last tender. Their were 7 ships in port. We were the last ones in and the second to leave. RCCL ships had their own pier. Costa Maya is nothing. This is the biggest scam in all the ports I have been to. The comedian on the ship even made fun of the port in this show. Skip the Mahulia Beach. It is nothing unless you want a massage and get drunk. What a joke port.

? How many 3-6 year old kids can you get in the hot tubs?

Answer : 18

? How long does in take to get your appetizer from the time you sit down for dinner until you get it?

Answer: 35 minutes.

? How long does it take to get you entree at dinner from the time you sit down?

Answer : 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.

? How much are you charged for th 8 x 10 picture of you getting on the ship as a family?

Answer: $21.00 for 1 picture.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I wanted to correct my earlier reply now that I have lived the experience. Good Luck.

[Guienevere_Arianette]

It's really new (2004?), so it's in great shape; big, lots to do, beautiful Impressionist decor, lots of fun food options, awesome ports, and it's a 7 dayer!

[jscott918]

go for the conquest EVERYTIME :D i love mo bay jamaica rose hall excursion cant be beat

[Rodeomomof2]

I just got back from 5 days on the Fantasy. Don't do it. Go with the Conquest. The ship Fantasy needs to be retired. Service is not good at dinner. The food was just average and the meat products ( beef) was to tough to eat. The hot tubs were taken over by the children as were the pools. No music at all in the forum club, the disco didn't open until 11:30 for adults. Not enough deck chairs for everyone. A lot of girls were laying on towels on the deck. I won't travel Carnival ever again. RCCL new ships is the way to go from now on for me. You might be ok on the newer ships since they probably get the best entertainers and older service people probably get their choice of ships to work on. This was my 16th cruise and I can tell you it gets a lot better than this for a cruise.

Tendering in Cozumel for me started at 9:15 and I finally got on the dock at 11:00. We had to be back at 4:15 for the last tender. Their were 7 ships in port. We were the last ones in and the second to leave. RCCL ships had their own pier. Costa Maya is nothing. This is the biggest scam in all the ports I have been to. The comedian on the ship even made fun of the port in this show. Skip the Mahulia Beach. It is nothing unless you want a massage and get drunk. What a joke port.

? How many 3-6 year old kids can you get in the hot tubs?

Answer : 18

? How long does in take to get your appetizer from the time you sit down for dinner until you get it?

Answer: 35 minutes.

? How long does it take to get you entree at dinner from the time you sit down?

Answer : 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.

? How much are you charged for th 8 x 10 picture of you getting on the ship as a family?

Answer: $21.00 for 1 picture.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I wanted to correct my earlier reply now that I have lived the experience. Good Luck.

 

Thank you for taking the time to post this, I am sorry that you did not have a wonderful cruise!:(

We actually did book the Fantasy on 8/25, we went with it over the Conquest because of the fact that NO is closer and the 5 day suited us and our traveling companions who are both veteranarians and did not want to be away from their practice, or young children too long. I have heard that the dining room service was slow for a few other people, I wonder if they are understaffed or what is going on with that, I guess there is always the buffet for us if that is going to be a problem. Again, I am sorry that the Fantasy dissapointed you, I am still hoping that our 8/25 sailing will be a good one.:)

[LHP]

Thank you for taking the time to post this, I am sorry that you did not have a wonderful cruise!:(

We actually did book the Fantasy on 8/25, we went with it over the Conquest because of the fact that NO is closer and the 5 day suited us and our traveling companions who are both veteranarians and did not want to be away from their practice, or young children too long. I have heard that the dining room service was slow for a few other people, I wonder if they are understaffed or what is going on with that, I guess there is always the buffet for us if that is going to be a problem. Again, I am sorry that the Fantasy dissapointed you, I am still hoping that our 8/25 sailing will be a good one.:)

 

 

We were getting off the ship as the 3/19 passenger was getting on...

the beef was a little off of Carnival's usual quality on this ship (all I eat is beef and I have had it on 15 different Carnival ships). It was ok but I have had better on Carnival. The soups were some of the best (just the right blend of spices). The lobster was a little chewy according to my husband, but still ok. All the appetizers we had were fine. The other seafood Hubby had was fine except for one dish that he said tasted "to fishy". (I don't eat fish, so I don't have a clue what that means)

 

I don't do buffets, but I can tell you the grilled reuben at the deli was very good. I have coffee and bagels and cream cheese delivered to my cabin every morning and it arrived hot and at the appointed time. Hubby and son can vouch that the hamburgers and pizza were fine.

 

Service in the formal dining room is as individual as the people waiting on you. Yaco and Gun were the some of the best we have had. We had the 5:45 seating and were done by 6:50 one night (when I had karaoke at 7pm) ~

I did skip dessert that night. Every single night our orders were taken immediately (for our table of 10) and our items came out in a timely manner.

 

There is no "band" in The Forum lounge because that is where they do karaoke from 9-12. (7-10 on one night)

 

The band in the Cat's Lounge is Dakota and they are not to be missed. Loved

'em. Joel (who plays in the Promenade) is very talented.

 

This was a full ship sailing and (I don't do the pool and laying out in the sun thing) our 2 friends sun bathed every day without a problem. They had 2 chairs together on the level above Lido right by the pool.

 

Yes, the hot tub by the middle pool was full of kids. In fact, ONLY kids, every time I walked by. I never checked the Aft pool. But since you are sailing the end of August, I would think that a lot of schools (like ours) are back in sesson at that time. So hopefully less children will be onboard.

 

We had a wonderful time. At $299.00 a person, we definately got our money's worth!! As for those who are to do another cruise line because of one bad experience, they are going to run out of cruiselines because it can happen on all of them.

 

Hope this helps....

[jetskier]

We have sailed on the Fantasy three times, and never had to wait for food to be delivered. Within 5 minutes of the order being taken, we had our first course. I even had them bring me my entree before everyone else one night because we had to go to the past guest party.

 

The hot tub by the slide is for the children so yes it will always be full. Forum Club is karaoke so no music in there most of the time. Research on this board would have told you about Costa Maya. There is not much to do. It is a laid back port for relaxing. There are plenty of beaches you could take a taxi to that is away from the village and cruise port.

 

MGTMAN1, did you get a tender ticket? I have always been on the first tender after the one for shore excursions leave. I am usually on the dock 30 minutes after the start of the tender process. You should have started tendering at 7:30 on March 22nd as the ship gets to Cozumel around 7am.

A lot of people sleep in and it does get packed around 9-10 as everyone is trying to get off without tender tickets.

Dave

[nealstuber]

and loved it - but I can believe the deck chair thing. Because the ship has so few balcony cabins, every-one is up there on nice days and there are just not enough chairs for that.

 

On ships with lots of verandas, we've never had a problem getting a deck chair. Deck chair availablity may seem like a small point to choose a ship on, but the sea days are one of our favorite parts of cruising and the deck chair thing can be a real hassel.

 

Loved everything else about the Inspiration, the one Fantasy class ship we sailed.

[LHP]

The hot tub by the slide is for the children so yes it will always be full. Dave

 

 

That would explain it. I never get in a hot tub (or do the pool thing)....I just noticed the number of kids, because it had been discussed on here so many times.

[Kurbanfan]

I just got back from 5 days on the Fantasy. Don't do it. Go with the Conquest. The ship Fantasy needs to be retired. Service is not good at dinner. The food was just average and the meat products ( beef) was to tough to eat. The hot tubs were taken over by the children as were the pools. No music at all in the forum club, the disco didn't open until 11:30 for adults. Not enough deck chairs for everyone. A lot of girls were laying on towels on the deck. I won't travel Carnival ever again. RCCL new ships is the way to go from now on for me. You might be ok on the newer ships since they probably get the best entertainers and older service people probably get their choice of ships to work on. This was my 16th cruise and I can tell you it gets a lot better than this for a cruise.

Tendering in Cozumel for me started at 9:15 and I finally got on the dock at 11:00. We had to be back at 4:15 for the last tender. Their were 7 ships in port. We were the last ones in and the second to leave. RCCL ships had their own pier. Costa Maya is nothing. This is the biggest scam in all the ports I have been to. The comedian on the ship even made fun of the port in this show. Skip the Mahulia Beach. It is nothing unless you want a massage and get drunk. What a joke port.

? How many 3-6 year old kids can you get in the hot tubs?

Answer : 18

? How long does in take to get your appetizer from the time you sit down for dinner until you get it?

Answer: 35 minutes.

? How long does it take to get you entree at dinner from the time you sit down?

Answer : 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.

? How much are you charged for th 8 x 10 picture of you getting on the ship as a family?

Answer: $21.00 for 1 picture.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I wanted to correct my earlier reply now that I have lived the experience. Good Luck.

 

Just curios....there was a whole ordeal about people getting their liquor taken away from them in their checked luggage. Did this happen to you or did you hear anything about this......

[mtgman1]

Jetskier. I was tender ticket 21 and I know they went up to 24. The tender was huge and took forever to get the folks on. Fairly fast getting off. The tender ticket 24 actually got to the pier the same time we did.

I did not see any liquor taken away from anyone.

I knew the forum club had karaoke but I didn't think it would be every night. It is a large lounge and only a few kids singing karaoke each time I check in each night to see if their was anything going on. I think Carnival wants to save on live entertainment. One thing I like to hear from a band on deck is a steel drum. I asked the musicians on the Lido deck to play some steel drum music and they didn't have one.

When I was on Adventure of the Seas their was live music playing each night until late in every lounge. The stage shows had lots of props and great singers. We had 1 good show the last night of the cruise. Dancers were good but little on stage props. I noticed some ship officers down front in the second show. The showroom was about 70% full for the second show.

The cruise director is heard but I only saw him twice on the cruise. Once at the captain party and at one of the shows.

I had my ship card replaced on the first day and they never got it right. Everytime I went on or off the ship I had to be written up by security. If you want to see some pissed off people just look back as you are trying to get on or off the ship and you are holding up everyone behind you until a security guard take you off to the side to write you up.

I will give time here for what I did like. here goes. Warm chocolate cake, hamburgers, omlett on lido, ice cream from machine on left only, baked ham on lido after I went to dinner and was still hungry, cappichino at dinner, dancers, singers ( only 2), casino, thats all.

Did I mention the ship rolled a lot. If you get sea sick easy expect to spend a lot of time in your cabin. It didn't bother me but It did quite a few people.

I learned if you don't pay much you will get approached to buy stuff constantly whenever you are in the public areas. Their must be 6 photographers stations set up at night on the promeneade deck trying to get you to have your picture taken. They are really a pain when you are trying to get off the tender in Cozumel and they are funelling you all through one exit where everyone is stoped to have their picture made. Why don't they just open up another lane for people that don't want their picture taken?

Oh we'll I am tired of talking about it anymore.