Just Off the Fantasy~~Will Never Sail Carnival Again

[AquaWtr4me]

I'm going to post my review of the Fantasy and I will be brutally honest. I am not posting to offend anyone or discourage anyone from sailing on this ship, this is just my experience, the good the bad, and the ugly.

 

I will also start by saying I am an experienced cruiser, as you can see from my signature. I prefer to sail in suites where being a V.I.P. has certain perks. If you have never cruised before, you may enjoy this ship, but it was just not for me. Anyway onto the review.

 

Embarkation

 

We arrived at the port at about 1:30 pm and were welcomed to mass confusion. We were booked in a penthouse suite, and had V.I.P. luggage tags. As we entered the port one of the carnival ladies had to put us on the side and figure out where to put the V.I.P.s. After we waited for almost a half and hour we were escorted upstairs to V.I.P. check in.

 

More mass confusion as we went into a special lounge where all V.I.P.s had to wait with no organization. This process took longer than people who were doing regular check-in. V.I.P. means nothing to carnival. After about two hours we finally made it to the ship.

 

Cabin

 

Considering this was the best room on the ship it left a lot to be desired. The room is very small and the new flat screen t.v. was very very small. The bathroom was very small and crowded with only one sink. The bed was a nice size and our balcony was decent. The cabin was very clean and did not smell bad. It was nicely decorated and the sofa was pretty comfy. It was just the size that I was not happy with. No perks.

 

Steward

 

We only saw him one time, on the first day. He kept our room clean and organized the entire time. No complaints here.

 

The Ship in General

 

In my opinion the ship looks old and small. I cannot even imagine what it looked like prior to being re-done. The areas that were renovated look good, the serenity deck, the lido deck, and the cabins. The areas that were not done, need to be........dining rooms, hallways, elevators, etc.

 

The showroom was nicely set up, very nice to have tables for your drinks while you are watching a show. Wear and tear was evident in the carpets and the furniture.

 

The sewer smell everyone talks about is true and it is horrible. We did not notice it too much until yesturday and it lasted throughout today. It was horrible in the elevators and no one seemed to be working on the problem. The smell of urine was horrible in any of the ladies bathrooms in the common areas. Every single one of them.

 

Rust was evident on many of the railings where they tried to cover it up with white paint, even on the new serenity deck area and our balcony.

 

The Food

 

Every place we went to eat, except for the dining room we had to wait. The lines were very very long as the ship seemed over crowded. The buffet on the lido deck always had a line of at least 50 people at a time. The one time we did wait, the food was just o.k.

 

In the dining room the food was also just o.k. The wait staff rushed us through dinner every night. Forgot peoples wine and coffee requests and we had to ask for drink refills quite often. They were not on top of things to say the least. The lobster was very good.

 

Windows by the sea was o.k. again, prepare to wait. The sandwiches were pretty good, but the pizza was not. I love pizza and it was not good at all.

 

I will finish my review shortly...........

[firefly333]

Thanks for your review. I hope you have your flame suit on. I have always said Carnival just doesn't do enough for it's suite pax. They need to offer them some special treats in their cabin or something to show them they are special. Sorry that it wasnt up to your expectations. You did at least get a balcony and a bigger cabin. That's supposed to be enough for suites per most posters here. I hope Carnival steps up more in this area too. I would book a suite on other cruiselines, such as RCL, but never on Carnival. Its not worth the extra money. I want to be treated a little extra special if Im paying top dollar.

[JnM]

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise.

 

Never booked a suite, but I have heard Carnival isn't the best with giving VIP perks.

 

Fantasy: I agree that she is an older ship. We knew that when we sailed on her. I never had any issues with smells though.

 

TVs: Eh, I don't cruise to watch TV so I don't care about their size. It's a flat screen vs. the old-box styles in the other cabins.

 

Lines: There are lines on cruises. When DH & I saw a line for food, we went elsewhere or hung out on deck until the lines died down. We customized our Sea Days to avoid lines at the high peak times. I don't think this is limited to Carnival.

 

I didn't read your bio, but it sounds like you're getting older and Carnival may no longer be for you. A smaller, more expensive/VIP ship may be more up your alley.

[arpie05]

It is too bad that as an experienced cruiser that you haven't spent much time reading to know that NOLA is not known for loading VIP's. Everyone complains about that. Plus - I can't imagine standing in line waiting for 1 1/2 hours unless it was REALLY busy. I would have just gotten on myself and not waited to be escorted on. Don't need it.

 

I've heard NCL treats Suites well. I've never enjoyed.

[AquaWtr4me]

Ports

 

We booked a 9 am excursion to Isla Passion. We got to the gangway at about 8:30 and we were told that no one was allowed off the ship due to the other carnival ship pulling up to the pier. We waited for 45 minutes before being able to leave the ship.

 

We finally made it and two people got left behind because the tour guides could wait no longer.........I hope those guests got their money back. The tour was excellent and I highly suggest it to anyone.

 

Tips

We always pre-pay our tips anyway, but we learned that this is automatic on this ship or on carnival period. I do not know, but this explains so much about the wait staff since they already have your money, they don't have to impress you at all. I think this is a bad idea and I would suggest carnival remove this mandatory charge.

 

Shows

The shows were short and very rushed. The fly on entertainment was good, but did not last long enough. The welcome aboard show was a joke, but the final show ticket to ride was better.

 

Disembarkation

Another bunch of waiting, and no V.I.P. checkoff. We did not get off the ship until 10 am with number 2 tags. Not to mention the confusion, no porters, etc.

 

It was a mess and left a bad taste in my mouth to say the least.

 

Overall, we made the best of it and tried to enjoy ourselves. This is just not what we expected from Carnival.

[AquaWtr4me]

Some carnival employees should go "mystery cruising" on RCCL. They treat their guests fabulously. Even when I took the Grandeur out of New Orleans it was so smooth.

 

Suite cruising is nice for those who do enjoy spending time in their cabins, they sure pay enough for them. To have the best ammenities should be a priority, not an after thought.

[LHP]

Some carnival employees should go "mystery cruising" on RCCL. They treat their guests fabulously. Even when I took the Grandeur out of New Orleans it was so smooth.

 

Suite cruising is nice for those who do enjoy spending time in their cabins, they sure pay enough for them. To have the best ammenities should be a priority, not an after thought.

 

Well...you had me right up until this post....

 

you may be interested to know that just as many folks have said the same thing about RCCL...that they need to "shadow cruise" Carnival to learn a thing or two.

 

As for Carnival....personally dismissing an entire cruiseline over one cruise does not seem the mark of an "experienced cruiser" to me. Any ship can have an off week...even RCCL. I should know.....we have read about enough of them as well on these boards.

 

As for the suites and perks...I think Carnival does well for the price of the cruise. If you want to get more with RCCL or other lines...you have to pay for it. That is an individual choice.

 

Personally, I don't think the Fantasy is nearly what she should be and she certainly is not currently representative of what Carnival has to offer. But if you want to write off an entire cruise line and miss out on what else Carnival has out there...that's certainly up to you.

[patrice1]

...

 

The Ship in General

 

In my opinion the ship looks old and small. I cannot even imagine what it looked like prior to being re-done.

 

 

...........

 

(Emphasis mine) The ship is old & small. Did you not know that? You seem to prefer younger, bigger ships. And, while I have no doubt that some things were not up to snuff, it doesn't seem you prepared adequately re: the Fantasy.

The smell would bother me, too, but your other complaints seem to be about the special treatment you didn't receive or the shortcomings of an old, small ship. Perhaps you should stick with another newer, bigger ship on a line that provides the perks you expect.:confused:

[lanoitarus]

I don't mean to pick a fight here, but even never having sailed before (first cruise is this weekend), I could have told you nearly everything in your post. You booked on the oldest and smallest ship of what is generally a cheaper, less formal, less perk-giving cruise line (versus RCCL or celebrity or perhaps NCL with its absurd villa suites).

 

You say the ship felt small and old.... it IS small and old. Your prior cruise according your sig was a ship almost double the size, and 16 years newer!

 

You seem astonished by the lack of VIP treatment, but nearly every review I read when I was picking a cruise line mentioned that carnival doesn't go the extra mile for suites like some others. Admittedly the patheticly confused VIP boarding situation is unique to New Orleans, and thats something they should fix or stop advertising.

 

Im not quixotically defending carnival here-- Ive not sailed them yet and have no personal opinions yet, but your post seems to me rather like someone traveling to London and being horrifed when it rains. :confused:

 

I'll be flying southwest down to my cruise this weekend. Last time I flew I was in business class on BA. But I won't be here complaining about southwests failure to live up to that.

[BND]

Our first cruise was on Fantasy in a Cat 11 suite (V9) and it got us hooked. Was it as big as our suite on Glory on our second cruise? No, but it was our first cruise and I would go back on board that class of ship again. Carnival never said the bathroom was big nor do they advertise the cabin as being large, just larger than other rooms. As for VIP perks for suites, Carnival never said you were getting more than you got did they? I've been on Princess and a lot of the things you said could be said about them too. I'm always astonished by the expectations some people have for a vacation. Almost everything you complained about you could easily have found out before you cruised.

 

I also wonder about people who post here and say "I'm never sailing Carnival again". Do they alwways say that whenever something isn't up to their expectations?

[arpie05]

Our first cruise was on Fantasy in a Cat 11 suite (V9) and it got us hooked.

 

I think from a much earlier post, unless it changed, she was V1.

[BND]

I think from a much earlier post, unless it changed, she was V1.

 

Um, okay, we were in V9, I wasn't talking about which exact cabin the op was in, just stating the one we were in.

[FortyParty]

It seems like with this many complaints about the VIP boarding process that someone would be trying to fix the mass confusion. To whom would one voice a concern to about the problem? Carnival or The New Orleans Port?

 

I am a first timer sailing in June, and that is one of the things that got us excited about booking our Suite. We were told that we would have VIP status for boarding!

 

Now I'm worried that we will be disappointed if no one knows what's going on during boarding. First impressions really matter. I hope it's fixed before we sail. Now, not only do I have to worry about that stinky smell, I have to worry about confusion with boarding. UGGHHHHHH!

[BND]

We always stay in Cat 11's and have VIP boarding and have never had a bad experience. It must be New Orleans. Port Canaveral has it down and it works great. Our Fantasy cruise was also out of PC before they moved the ship to NO.

[leadout_kv]

I don't mean to pick a fight here, but even never having sailed before (first cruise is this weekend), I could have told you nearly everything in your post. You booked on the oldest and smallest ship of what is generally a cheaper, less formal, less perk-giving cruise line (versus RCCL or celebrity or perhaps NCL with its absurd villa suites).

 

You say the ship felt small and old.... it IS small and old. Your prior cruise according your sig was a ship almost double the size, and 16 years newer!

 

You seem astonished by the lack of VIP treatment, but nearly every review I read when I was picking a cruise line mentioned that carnival doesn't go the extra mile for suites like some others. Admittedly the patheticly confused VIP boarding situation is unique to New Orleans, and thats something they should fix or stop advertising.

 

Im not quixotically defending carnival here-- Ive not sailed them yet and have no personal opinions yet, but your post seems to me rather like someone traveling to London and being horrifed when it rains. :confused:

 

I'll be flying southwest down to my cruise this weekend. Last time I flew I was in business class on BA. But I won't be here complaining about southwests failure to live up to that.

 

 

Wow! I couldn't have said it better myself. Nice Job!

[leadout_kv]

Oh, and one more thing OP - Asta la Vista...baby.:p

[Ken076]

IMO you might try Carnival's Splendor or Dream, or just make the move to Holland America or Celebrity. Ken

[Kcarp]

AquaWtr4me,

 

Just curious, where are you from?

[scperk]

I'm going to post my review of the Fantasy and I will be brutally honest. I am not posting to offend anyone or discourage anyone from sailing on this ship, this is just my experience, the good the bad, and the ugly.

 

I will also start by saying I am an experienced cruiser, as you can see from my signature. I prefer to sail in suites where being a V.I.P. has certain perks. If you have never cruised before, you may enjoy this ship, but it was just not for me. Anyway onto the review.

 

Embarkation

 

We arrived at the port at about 1:30 pm and were welcomed to mass confusion. We were booked in a penthouse suite, and had V.I.P. luggage tags. As we entered the port one of the carnival ladies had to put us on the side and figure out where to put the V.I.P.s. After we waited for almost a half and hour we were escorted upstairs to V.I.P. check in.

 

More mass confusion as we went into a special lounge where all V.I.P.s had to wait with no organization. This process took longer than people who were doing regular check-in. V.I.P. means nothing to carnival. After about two hours we finally made it to the ship.

 

Cabin

 

Considering this was the best room on the ship it left a lot to be desired. The room is very small and the new flat screen t.v. was very very small. The bathroom was very small and crowded with only one sink. The bed was a nice size and our balcony was decent. The cabin was very clean and did not smell bad. It was nicely decorated and the sofa was pretty comfy. It was just the size that I was not happy with. No perks.

 

Steward

 

We only saw him one time, on the first day. He kept our room clean and organized the entire time. No complaints here.

 

The Ship in General

 

In my opinion the ship looks old and small. I cannot even imagine what it looked like prior to being re-done. The areas that were renovated look good, the serenity deck, the lido deck, and the cabins. The areas that were not done, need to be........dining rooms, hallways, elevators, etc.

 

The showroom was nicely set up, very nice to have tables for your drinks while you are watching a show. Wear and tear was evident in the carpets and the furniture.

 

The sewer smell everyone talks about is true and it is horrible. We did not notice it too much until yesturday and it lasted throughout today. It was horrible in the elevators and no one seemed to be working on the problem. The smell of urine was horrible in any of the ladies bathrooms in the common areas. Every single one of them.

 

Rust was evident on many of the railings where they tried to cover it up with white paint, even on the new serenity deck area and our balcony.

 

The Food

 

Every place we went to eat, except for the dining room we had to wait. The lines were very very long as the ship seemed over crowded. The buffet on the lido deck always had a line of at least 50 people at a time. The one time we did wait, the food was just o.k.

 

In the dining room the food was also just o.k. The wait staff rushed us through dinner every night. Forgot peoples wine and coffee requests and we had to ask for drink refills quite often. They were not on top of things to say the least. The lobster was very good.

 

Windows by the sea was o.k. again, prepare to wait. The sandwiches were pretty good, but the pizza was not. I love pizza and it was not good at all.

 

I will finish my review shortly...........

YTou get what you pay for when you sail the oldest ships in the fleet, Im have never been disappointed in our boarding time on any Carniavl cruise....dennis

[shipty2]

OP you sailed on the Carnival Inspiration before I see. Did you not know the size of the Fantasy would be identical? They are the same class of ship only the Fantasy is older.

[code_d]

[selucrey]

AquaWtr4me,

 

Just curious, where are you from?

 

New Orleans area.

[CC Help Michell]

To the OP, I "hear" from your post the thought "we're spending the big bucks, where's the special treatment?" As others have said, CCL isn't really the line for that (or Royal Caribbean, for that matter, which you have mentioned as being a better experience -- believe me, it gets better still). Among mainstream lines, for suite/VIP level cabins to mean anything more than a few extra square feet in the cabin, you need to look at Celebrity, HAL, NCL, and then move into the premium lines. Other lines offer VIP boarding, shore excursion tendering, disembarking, lounges, butler service, concierge service, and so on. I hope your next cruise is better!

[nolaAlive]

I bet the OP was happy with the price of his suite compared to others. You can buy a lot of perks with the difference.

[selucrey]

I bet the OP was happy with the price of his suite compared to others. You can buy a lot of perks with the difference.

 

Very good point!;)