Fantasy Only Questions ...

[LHP]

My wife, son and I are embarking on our first Cruise on the Fantasy out of NOLA on 9 Feb 08 after I get back from Iraq.

 

Jetskier, you aren't going on that one, are you? (Sempre Fi)

 

Has anyone gone in Feb before? Weatherchannel.com says that Cozumel should be in the low to mid 80s. How is the water in the Gulf this time of year: rough, calm? I love a good roller coaster ride, but my wife gets seasick.

 

I'm thinking of wearing my Dress Blues (I'm Active Duty Army) for formal night. Do other service mebers wear theirs?

Thanks

Kevin

 

Absolutely. There is nothing more handsome than a man in uniform!!!!

[airdale]

First off...our PVP called the night we were going to leave Iowa and set my heart a pounding. I was outside loading our car when my wife came out and said Carnival was on the phone. I thought she had some bad news about our up and coming cruise. You know...maybe it had been canceled, changed, or what ever? Well what she wanted was to wish us a "Bon Voyage" and she would be in touch after we returned. It took a minute for me to catch my breath. LOL

My wife and daughter and I drove to new Orleans from Iowa and arrived there on the 1st of November. We stayed at the Holiday Inn in the French Quarter for the two nights. The hotel was offering a cruise package which included parking for our stay and the time of our cruise for free. The employees were very friendly and our room on the 15th floor and was very clean had a great view of the Mississippi river.

We went to the Acme Oyster House for dinner and I am sorry to report that my meal was not that great. I had the shrimp and they were very small in size and not all that tasty. I have had larger and tastier shrimp at Red Lobster. My daughter's roast beef sandwich was very good as was the wife's sandwich. Our friend said his gumbo left something to be desired but his wife was happy with her soft shell crab. I tried the grilled oysters and they were delicious!

We went on an hour carriage tour, seen the aquarium and an IMAX show, bought a beignet at Cafe Du Monde but ate breakfast across the street because the Cafe Du Monde did not offer a breakfast. We walked everywhere and really covered the French Quarter. We walked the length of Bourbon Street the first night and never felt uneasy about our surroundings. I heard some really good jazz and a little not so good music. We caught the Gumbo Shop the second night for dinner and the food was wonderful! We really enjoyed ourselves in New Orleans and would not have any problems going back again.

We arrived at the cruise terminal at 11:30 on Saturday and had VIP boarding which was good but the VIP out of Galveston was smoother than New Orleans because we were left in line behind everyone else after our first of many Carnival cruise photos and you still had two more check points to go through. In Galveston we were escorted all the way through the process and to the ramp to board the ship. All in all we were on board by 12:15pm and on to lunch.

Our cabin was clean and fairly large (cat 12). Our room steward was not as attentive as could be expected. We booked our cabin for three persons and the room was set up for two persons which the room steward did correct. A couple of times during the five day cruise the room steward would not leave enough wash clothes or towels for three. This required a phone call to correct. I take meds and was looking forward to our refrigerator in our cabin to store them. The refrigerator did not cool well at all and it was not fixed during our cruise. The room steward got a bucket the is used for beer and filled it with ice so I could keep my meds cool and said he would keep it full every day. Twice this was not done and once we had returned from port and I had to call room service (our room steward was off until 5pm) to bring up a bucket of ice so I could keep my meds cool.

Our dining room waiter and his helper were fantastic! The food was well prepared and very tasty. We were seated in the Celebration dining room at 8:30pm. We had asked for the 8:00 seating but my PVP said the we would be in the Jubilee dining room in the aft and would have to travel one deck above or below the Atlantic deck to get there because of the galley being between the two dining rooms. I mentioned that I would prefer the Celebration dining room and she arranged it for us. My hat is off to her. We were seated at a table for 10 and only my family and a mother and daughter traveling together were at the table each night. They were wonderful table mates and we even ended up taking a tour in Progresso together. The two other couples would pop in on different nights depending on the food being offered.

I Progresso we took the ruins/buffet/singing and dancing/rodeo excursion. This was the second time we had been on it and once again we had a really good time. The ruins were interesting, the buffet was very tasty and the performance was well presented.

In Cozumel we booked the Ocean View Sub excursion. This is aboard a 75 foot boat with glass windows below water line to view the fish. The water was rough that morning and the boat was rocking and pitching. It was a 1 1/2 hour excursion. By the end of the cruise almost everyone on board was barfing. My wife who hasn't barfed in twenty years threw up and myself who I can not remember EVER being sea sick got sick when everyone around me was throwing up. It was just too close of quarters for me to be able to ignore those that were getting sick which got to me. Five more minutes and we would have been docked and I would have made it, but it was not to be. The ship captain said upon returning to dock that we should not have gone out that day. GEE do you really think so?

Would we sail on the Fantasy again? YES!

Would we sail out of New Orleans again? YES!

Were there a couple of things that could have gone smoother? YES! But life is like that.

Don

[Country_Girl_995]

Thanks so much for making this thread! I am going on my first cruise ever on Carnival Fantasy in Dec. and have asked many questions on here...but this thread will help keep it all in one place!

[Country_Girl_995]

Quick Question...

On the Dec. 15 cruise out of New Orleans will I be able to meet people between the ages of 18-22 onboard to hang out with? I want to be able to do stuff with people in my same age group!

 

Also, is there just one big dining room or are there several small ones? I just want to be able to check out who is all there ;-)

 

But I guess i forget that there will be about 2300 people on board?

 

Thanks!

[LHP]

Quick Question...

On the Dec. 15 cruise out of New Orleans will I be able to meet people between the ages of 18-22 onboard to hang out with? I want to be able to do stuff with people in my same age group!

 

Also, is there just one big dining room or are there several small ones? I just want to be able to check out who is all there ;-)

 

But I guess i forget that there will be about 2300 people on board?

 

Thanks!

 

Check out the Roll Call for your cruise and see if someone your age is signed up. Of course, this is just a small percentage of folks who will be there....but you might find someone to chat with before you cruise.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=577765

 

College is out by then, so hopefully there will be a some folks your age to hang with.

[Country_Girl_995]

Thanks for the roll call post!

:-)

[maryn680]

Anyone have some good restaurant recommendtions for Cozumel or Progresso (Merida?).

 

Alway looking for some good authentic local flavor, usually off the beaten path. Any suggestions would be great.

 

Thanks.:D :D :D

[Country_Girl_995]

Ooh! are you thinking about going to Merida? I heard that taking a bus ride to that town is a lot better than staying in Progresso.

 

don't know anything about what is good to eat there though!

[RolexRider]

I have a question reguarding dining on Fantasy. i was wondering if there was a Supper Club on the Fantasy? my husband, daughter, mother and myself are all going on our first cruise on 11/26 and i have been reading a lot about the supper clubs and know that not all cc have them. i'm getting so excited about our first cruise. i'm ready to leave today :D

[RolexRider]

opps one more question....do they have a captain's party on the 5 night cruise on fantasy or just the one formal night? hope that wasnt a stupid question. being my first cruise i'm a bit lost on somethings :rolleyes:

[mariemorgan]

I have a question reguarding dining on Fantasy. i was wondering if there was a Supper Club on the Fantasy? my husband, daughter, mother and myself are all going on our first cruise on 11/26 and i have been reading a lot about the supper clubs and know that not all cc have them. i'm getting so excited about our first cruise. i'm ready to leave today :D

 

There are no Supper Clubs on Fantasy Class Ships. That just means you'll have to take another cruise on one that has a supper club :p ;)

[mariemorgan]

Anyone have some good restaurant recommendtions for Cozumel or Progresso (Merida?).

 

Alway looking for some good authentic local flavor, usually off the beaten path. Any suggestions would be great.

 

Thanks.:D :D :D

 

Check out the website. www.cozumelmycozumel.com it is written by 2 americans that currently reside in Cozumel. They have shopping and restaurant recommendations.

[WiredRacing]

Just off the Nov 3rd sailing. We ate in Merida (rented a Jeep).. now we did ask locals for the best places here but long story short, we ended up at a place near the downtown Catherdral.. and while it was the whitest place around (again.. not by choice, more like fate actually) it was quite enjoyable and I did see locals eating there.

 

Anyhow the place is called Main St. (yeah yeah, I know) off of. Calle 61 I think.. in a little square.. across the street to the left is a Burger King (I mention this for people wanting to locate it only).

 

In Cozumel we hit a great place recommended to us from the older woman running the Feather Art store... a couple blocks off the main drag, it was called... umm.. Ack..

 

Okay so the place has a straw (thatched like) roof... the sign is black white with yellowish lettering.. the sign is actually difficult to read.. two words.. arrgh what was it called.. ahh.. La Choza. Good mix of locals and tourists.. excellent and huge margharita's. Two of us had the Chicken in black sauce and two of us had the fajita's. Service was (in context) quite good. Food was quite good. Especially the dipping sauce they had there.. we ended up buying 3 litres of it to bring home. :)

[RolexRider]

There are no Supper Clubs on Fantasy Class Ships. That just means you'll have to take another cruise on one that has a supper club :p ;)

 

 

hahaha well i'm hoping this first cruise goes great so i can take another cruise. if my husband doesnt like it then i doubt we do it again so i'm praying we all love it.we are taking my mother with us on this cruise and i hope she loves it. her girlfriends at work go on fantasy a lot and always want her to go but never would. so i'm hoping she likes it.i see it says you are from La, what part? i'm from Slidell but no longer live there but i am always down home to visit my mom.

i am so overly excited and ready to leave now. i was planning on leaving for La sunday but i'm sure my excitement will get the best of me and i'll want to leave saturday.i want to hit either R&O's or Deanie's before or after the cruise. god i miss my La restaurants. how is the food honestly on the fantasy?

[Country_Girl_995]

opps one more question....do they have a captain's party on the 5 night cruise on fantasy or just the one formal night? hope that wasnt a stupid question. being my first cruise i'm a bit lost on somethings :rolleyes:

 

 

I believe there is a captain's party...and I think the one dress up night is just a cocktail party...nothing like extreme formal.

[mariemorgan]

hahaha well i'm hoping this first cruise goes great so i can take another cruise. if my husband doesnt like it then i doubt we do it again so i'm praying we all love it.we are taking my mother with us on this cruise and i hope she loves it. her girlfriends at work go on fantasy a lot and always want her to go but never would. so i'm hoping she likes it.i see it says you are from La, what part? i'm from Slidell but no longer live there but i am always down home to visit my mom.

i am so overly excited and ready to leave now. i was planning on leaving for La sunday but i'm sure my excitement will get the best of me and i'll want to leave saturday.i want to hit either R&O's or Deanie's before or after the cruise. god i miss my La restaurants. how is the food honestly on the fantasy?

 

I am not going on the Fantasy until January 31st so I cannot say how the food is.. I hope it is great! :D I live in BR currently. I hope you come back and give us a great review when you return. I went on my first cruise in 2005 and have been hooked every since.

[djacobson]

I believe there is a captain's party...and I think the one dress up night is just a cocktail party...nothing like extreme formal.

 

The captain's party is just before dinner on formal night (first sea day) in the Universe Lounge- I believe at 5:00 is the early party for the first and second seatings.

[globe9]

hahaha well i'm hoping this first cruise goes great so i can take another cruise. if my husband doesnt like it then i doubt we do it again so i'm praying we all love it.we are taking my mother with us on this cruise and i hope she loves it. her girlfriends at work go on fantasy a lot and always want her to go but never would. so i'm hoping she likes it.i see it says you are from La, what part? i'm from Slidell but no longer live there but i am always down home to visit my mom.

i am so overly excited and ready to leave now. i was planning on leaving for La sunday but i'm sure my excitement will get the best of me and i'll want to leave saturday.i want to hit either R&O's or Deanie's before or after the cruise. god i miss my La restaurants. how is the food honestly on the fantasy?

 

Honestly, if you're from New Orleans, or anywhere in southern La. really, you may not like the food all that much. It's not terrible, but it's not very good compared to what we're used to, and I don't even mean top notch 4 or 5 star restaurants. I've had better meals at R&O's, Drago's, even Crazy Johnny's---all local mom & pops and not considered 4 or 5 star, but we're spoiled down here. I basically stuck to the pizza, deli, and salad bar. They couldn't mess that up and the deli sandwiches were actually quite good.

[Ang in Miami]

Fantasy was my very first cruise, way back when she was brand new. Christmas week, 1990, I think it was, out of Miami on a 5-day Bahamas itinerary.

[djacobson]

hahaha well i'm hoping this first cruise goes great so i can take another cruise. if my husband doesnt like it then i doubt we do it again so i'm praying we all love it.we are taking my mother with us on this cruise and i hope she loves it. her girlfriends at work go on fantasy a lot and always want her to go but never would. so i'm hoping she likes it.i see it says you are from La, what part? i'm from Slidell but no longer live there but i am always down home to visit my mom.

i am so overly excited and ready to leave now. i was planning on leaving for La sunday but i'm sure my excitement will get the best of me and i'll want to leave saturday.i want to hit either R&O's or Deanie's before or after the cruise. god i miss my La restaurants. how is the food honestly on the fantasy?

 

Gaynell- I think the food is very good in the dining rooms. You might consider having breakfast in the Celebration dining room for such items such as Eggs Benedict. Lunch is also quite good in the Celebration dining room. At the Windows of the Sea, I enjoy the reuben sandwiches and out by the pool, the burgers and hot dogs. They do have tabasco but you need to bring your own Tony's... The gumbo they serve is not good but as you know, nothing is as good as Louisiana food.

 

Remember- if for some reason you don't like something, you can always order something else. If you can't decide between lobster and prime rib on formal night, get both! There are also midnight buffets, pub crawls and the grand buffet in the Celebration dining room, and the poolside buffets and late night parties.

 

Have a great cruise!

[allicat1214]

Honestly, if you're from New Orleans, or anywhere in southern La. really, you may not like the food all that much. It's not terrible, but it's not very good compared to what we're used to, and I don't even mean top notch 4 or 5 star restaurants. I've had better meals at R&O's, Drago's, even Crazy Johnny's---all local mom & pops and not considered 4 or 5 star, but we're spoiled down here. I basically stuck to the pizza, deli, and salad bar. They couldn't mess that up and the deli sandwiches were actually quite good.

 

We went on the Fantasy last January and are heading out again Saturday. I thought the food at dinner was very good.

 

Now, with that being said..... Being from south LA I have a rule that there are certain things I NEVER order at a restaurant outside of New Orleans: namely gumbo or a lot of seafood items. Let's face it: it's not like "ya mamaN'ems". But the steak and meat items and veggie side dishes were very good.

 

AND of course if you like chocolate, you absolutely MUST try the Warm Melting Chocolate Cake. Oh, my!!!

[nawlinscruiser22]

The food in the dining room has been really hit and miss lately. It is all beautifully presented and it comes out warm but there is just something seriously lacking. The appetizers were great as always- try the asparagus soup, chicken in peanut butter sauce and the stuffed mushrooms. They are great! The salads- I usually stick with the caesar but the greek salad was quite good this past cruise. As far as entrees go-- I found that the beef dishes were hits, the chicken dishes(my usual choice) were not up to par and anything seafood related (lobster, shrimp, fish, etc) were quite a disappointment. Moral of the story? Stick with beef and you are good to go!

 

The buffet on lido has actually gotten slightly better. However, thats not saying much---there really was only way to go as far as that goes:p Try the deli--the turkey sandwiches are my fav! If all else fails, there is always the burgers/hotdogs/fries out by the pool!

 

Happy sailing!

[LHP]

Just a heads up (since all I eat is beef)....the beef fare is usually fine...except the New York Strip. For some reason, it is always (and when I say always ~ on the dozen or so different Carnival ships I have eaten it on) tough.

 

Obviously I still get it on the night it is the only beef fare...because all I eat is beef. And that is usually the first night and I worry about it "scaring folks off" from the rest of their beef offerings..which are usually just fine.

 

LOVE the soups. Just love them. The Fantasy, especially, had really good soups!!!

[Angiem]

Hi, we're going on Fantasy next week and since we booked last minute the only CAT 11's that weren't obstructed view were V2 and V3. We are going with another couple. I see on the deck plan a set of steps right by our balcony? If anyone has stayed in these cabins or on the Veranda deck pls reply and let me know how it is. Is there any privacy?

 

Thanks

Angie

[RolexRider]

Honestly, if you're from New Orleans, or anywhere in southern La. really, you may not like the food all that much. It's not terrible, but it's not very good compared to what we're used to, and I don't even mean top notch 4 or 5 star restaurants. I've had better meals at R&O's, Drago's, even Crazy Johnny's---all local mom & pops and not considered 4 or 5 star, but we're spoiled down here. I basically stuck to the pizza, deli, and salad bar. They couldn't mess that up and the deli sandwiches were actually quite good.

 

 

see thats what i'm affraid of hahaha we are so dang spoiled when it comes to good food. and i'm not saying we are rude by any means we just know good food and we know what we like and dont like and have a opinion about it. to me the mom and pop places are the best places to eat. thanks for responded back to me. i can't wait to leave :D