Holiday vs Fantasy..... my side by side comparison

[beachbum6264]

Holiday vs Fantasy IMHO:

Embarkation: both went smoothly and quickly. We parked in the garage in NOLA and took a shuttle from the hotel in Mobile. About 30 minutes from handing off luggage to being on board in both ports.

Ships: Holiday is older and smaller than Fantasy. Both are showing their age some, but both seemed to be kept up well. The Fantasy has the big atrium in the center of the ship, Holiday does not, but since that is just something to look at as we walk by, it’s not important to me. Fantasy has more deck space, therefore more chairs on deck. We never had trouble getting a chair on Fantasy (just 2 of us), but some trouble finding a chair on Holiday (there were 8 of us on that one, did get chairs together on the 2nd sea day).

Entertainment: shows basically the same, singers were better on Fantasy, tho.

Food: Hands down, Holiday wins this one. Menus may be the same, but they are NOT using the same recipes! :eek: For example, one of my favs is the Sweet and Sour Shrimp. On Holiday they were great, same as on Glory and Inspiration – large tempura style fried shrimp. On Fantasy they were small, hard fried things. :mad: I could only eat one of them. The farmer’s greek salad was another that was not anything like I have had before. On Holiday it was what you would think: lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, olives, and feta cheese. On Fantasy: no lettuce in sight, just a small bowl of some diced cucumbers and onions with feta cheese and some dried out chicken something on the side. We were really disappointed in the food on Fantasy – first time ever. I’ve had better food at political banquets.

Service: Great on both ships, room steward on Fantasy (Diego)called us by name each time he saw us, always with a smile. We were not in the room often enough on Holiday to even meet the steward, but he/she did a wonderful job! Dining room service was top notch on both – a slight nod to Holiday for Nonilon and Alex – both wonderful!

Debarkation (before I say anything, let me say that I know that Carnival has no control over this, but since it is part of the total cruise experience, I’m including it). Mobile: 30 minutes from calling our number and getting into the shuttle back to the hotel. Easy, painless. NOLA, however, was a total nightmare. They started calling numbers, called one bunch, then …..nothing for a loooonnngg time. Sitting there, waiting, reading, wondering what was going on. Big Tex comes on and tells us that there is a problem…. Not enough customs agents. What? They should have known that the ship was full… we knew. Finally at 10:45 our number was called…. Headed down the gangway, got halfway and stopped. Standing in the heat (fans out and running, just pushing hot air around)…. Waiting some more… stop, wait a few minutes, go 10 steps, stop, wait….. finally got to luggage area, then into another line for customs. Several empty spots, could have had 4 more agents there. FINALLY, at about 12:45 we get to our car. 2 hours from number called to car. Does not leave a good feeling about the port of NOLA. (there was a music festival in NOLA over the 4th of July weekend, I think the customs agents went and all called in sick – or hung over! :eek: )

 

I would sail the Holiday again, in a heartbeat. Fantasy, I would have to think about it, :confused: between the food and debarkation, I was not impressed. We talked to several first time cruisers who were very disappointed, but told them to not judge by that experience.

[Hurricane Girl]

We have sailed on Fantasy twice, both times out of Port Canaveral, and really loved it. The food was always good and we had a worse debarkation from the Triumph in Miami than any we ever had. Both times on Fantasy we were on the road headed home by 9:30. I guess different port/different crew makes a difference.

[JerseyshoreBruce]

Beachbum you have me scared to death about the food as I am sailing on the Fantasy in the middle of August. I love the cruise and ports but always look forward to trying lots of different types of food. Is this cruise gonna turn me off for awhile or is it really not that bad....Help!:eek:

[beachbum6264]

Beachbum you have me scared to death about the food as I am sailing on the Fantasy in the middle of August. I love the cruise and ports but always look forward to trying lots of different types of food. Is this cruise gonna turn me off for awhile or is it really not that bad....Help!:eek:

 

It would take more than bad food to turn me off cruising (Hi, I'm C, and I'm a cruise addict :D ). I hope it was just a bad week - I love NOLA, and am hoping for a 7 day out of there). Some things were OK, breakfast was good every morning (in the Celebration dining room - we don't like buffets much), lunches were mostly OK there, too. But the food was not like what I have had in the past with Carnival :( We were talking to a couple in line during debarkation who had been on the Fantasy in December, and they said the food was much better then, too. So maybe we just hit a bad week. But it did not ruin our good time.

[JerseyshoreBruce]

It would take more than bad food to turn me off cruising (Hi, I'm C, and I'm a cruise addict :D ). I hope it was just a bad week - I love NOLA, and am hoping for a 7 day out of there). Some things were OK, breakfast was good every morning (in the Celebration dining room - we don't like buffets much), lunches were mostly OK there, too. But the food was not like what I have had in the past with Carnival :( We were talking to a couple in line during debarkation who had been on the Fantasy in December, and they said the food was much better then, too. So maybe we just hit a bad week. But it did not ruin our good time.

Good I'm sure i'll be okay as I survived on a all-inclusive in the Dominican Republic last year and it did turn me off from doing anymore all-inclusive's vacations anymore. I'm sticking with cruising every year from now on......The Fantasy has to be better than that was. I can't wait to see NOLA. First time cruising out of there. Staying a day before and two days after to enjoy NOLA.Oh Hello im JERSEYSHOREBRUCE and i am also a cruise addict : )