November 2018
This was our first experience on Carnival Fantasy, and our first time cruising out of Mobile, Alabama. You can find additional pictures and information about Carnival Fantasy in my Facebook album.
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| Carnival Fantasy atrium steps and elevator behind bar. |
Pre-cruise
This cruise was kind of a last minute decision for us. We initially thought we would rent a condo in Orange Beach, Alabama for two weeks; however, the cost was quite high. We rented a condo last year for a week, and my husband said he wanted to go for two weeks this time to make the drive from Michigan worth it. I am the one who usually does all our vacation research; however, he found this cruise! The cruise was a much better value than booking the condo for a second week.
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| View of Carnival Fantasy in Mobile showing location of cabin E244. Click photo to enlarge it. |
Carnival Fantasy is one of the oldest ships we have been on (I am not stating this as a negative point; I am merely stating the facts), and there are no balcony cabins. The suites on this ship look pretty much like balcony cabins, to me. We usually book a balcony cabin; however, we decided the extra cost was not worth it, so we booked oceanview cabin E244. This cabin is located in the best spot on the ship for us (more info under cabin heading), and we were happy with our decision.
Arrival and check-in ~ Mobile port
We stayed at Renaissance Riverview pre-cruise, and rode their shuttle to the cruise port. The traffic line along Water Street waiting to enter the cruise port was extremely long before 11:00 AM. Our driver was able to drive right through the waiting vehicles, and enter from Old Water Street. See my previous post for the Marriott Renaissance for further information. After we disembarked from the shuttle, we did not need to transfer our bags to a porter. A porter came over with a cart, and loaded all of the bags directly from the shuttle bus onto the cart. All of the bags he loaded had VIP tags on them (other than two people who grabbed their bags and then took off). We handed him a tip and proceeded to check-in.
VIP check-in was clearly marked. I observed a kiosk outside near the entrance with a sign that said something about needing to stop if you were arriving at a different time than your scheduled arrival appointment. The VIP check-in process was quick, and we were then directed to seats in the boarding area for VIPs and a wedding party. I did not see a VIP lounge at this port. When it was time to board, a representative called out each group by name: wedding party, diamond members, platinum members, and then guests with suites. We are platinum guests, and I did not hear Faster to the Fun guests called before we left the waiting area.
After being called to board, you need to have your boarding pass scanned before proceeding to the ship. Some of the scanners were not working properly because many guests had to step aside or have their pass scanned several times before it was read. My boarding pass [finally] scanned, and my husband had to step aside until his boarding pass was finally read by the scanner. He also had to have his picture taken, and I did not. The picture that showed on the screen every time I got on or off the ship was my passport photo. My husband and I both had our passports renewed and photos taken at the same time, so I do not understand why our experiences were different. Our boarding passes had been filled out and printed together, as well. I did not observe a Carnival representative taking pictures when we boarded. We had taken the 10:00 AM shuttle from our hotel (it actually left a bit late), and we were on board around noon. We had not received our key cards, and the agent who checked us in had not told us how to get them. I assumed they would be in our mailbox from what I had read about this new procedure, and they were.
After being called to board, you need to have your boarding pass scanned before proceeding to the ship. Some of the scanners were not working properly because many guests had to step aside or have their pass scanned several times before it was read. My boarding pass [finally] scanned, and my husband had to step aside until his boarding pass was finally read by the scanner. He also had to have his picture taken, and I did not. The picture that showed on the screen every time I got on or off the ship was my passport photo. My husband and I both had our passports renewed and photos taken at the same time, so I do not understand why our experiences were different. Our boarding passes had been filled out and printed together, as well. I did not observe a Carnival representative taking pictures when we boarded. We had taken the 10:00 AM shuttle from our hotel (it actually left a bit late), and we were on board around noon. We had not received our key cards, and the agent who checked us in had not told us how to get them. I assumed they would be in our mailbox from what I had read about this new procedure, and they were.
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| Carnival Fantasy cabin E244 |
Ocean view cabin E244, category 6D
Since we have been platinum guests for several cruises now, we are used to having our cabin ready when we board. This time, all of the hallway doors were 100% shut, and notes on the doors advised guests not to enter. Therefore, we lugged our heavy carry-on bag around with us for a over an hour. Later, I learned that VIP guests had been told they could access their rooms after boarding. The agent who checked us in had not told us that.
This was our first oceanview cabin, and we were very happy with this stateroom. It is in an excellent location on deck 7: serenity deck is easily accessible via stairs right outside the stateroom, and the Forum Aft Lounge (comedy shows) and Jubilee restaurant (assigned dining) are easily accessible via the main stairs or elevators just down the hall.
The sleep quality was excellent, and the room was spacious. There was a third fold-up type bed under our bed and room for this bed in the corner. The room also contained: 2 small tables (like nightstands without doors or drawers), a straight-backed chair, a stool with no back, makeup type counter with a large mirror and drawers, closets with shelves and a safe in one, and plenty of hangers in the other two. Hopefully, when this ship is remodeled in January, they will replace the extra folding bed with a sofa sleeper in the corner. We would have liked a couch in the room, along with nightstands.
The bathroom was a good size, other than there was not much counter space. The only bath amenities provided were bar soap, shower gel, and shampoo. The shower gel and shampoo were in dispensers in the shower. Bathrobes were not provided in the cabin.
The safe in our guestroom was unusable when we arrived, because it had been left locked open (by a troublemaking previous guest, I assume). We did not receive our platinum welcome letter with the VIP guest services number until the first evening, and no one answered the telephone when I pressed the preset button on the telephone, so I walked to guest services. I told the person I spoke with that the safe was locked open, and I asked if I could request a bathrobe. She did not seem to understand what I was telling her about the safe because when she called someone, it sounded like she told the person I needed help to use the safe. She then told me someone would meet me at the room right away, so I immediately returned to my room. Fortunately, our room steward stopped less than 15 minutes later, because he then took care of both requests. He called engineering on his phone, and someone arrived immediately. He delivered a bathrobe to the room later that day. A hairdryer was also listed as an item I could request from my steward, and I later found one in the bottom drawer of the makeup vanity. I did not request a hairdryer; he had asked if I wanted one, and I said no. I do not know if he brought one anyway, or if this had been in the drawer when we arrived. I did not open all of the drawers until after our luggage had been delivered just before dinner.
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| Carnival Fantasy cabin E244 |
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| Carnival Fantasy cabin E244 |
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| Bathroom in Carnival Fantasy E244 |
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| Closet in cabin E244 |
Food and beverages
We were both happy with the food and beverage quality, although we did miss a few options that are on some of the larger ships, such as the taste bar, sushi, Guy's Pig and Anchor, Alchemy Bar, and [inside] Red Frog Pub.
As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I absolutely love the new breakfast menu in the dining room! I think the dining room breakfast is better than SeaDay Brunch for breakfast, so at the end of the week, we took to ordering lunch food from the brunch menu. The Mac 'n Cheese and Flamin' Tomato Soup were both excellent.
BlueIguana Cantina was fabulous--excellent seafood tacos and burritos. My husband likes Guy's Burgers, and I like the Deli. I missed the turkey sandwich with arugula at the Deli that I have had on other ships. I did not see this on the menu, and I did not ask if they had it because I could not remember what it is called. We also tried Pizza Pirate, and we went to Lido for the Chocolate Extravaganza. Either I missed something at Chocolate Extravaganza, or it was changed after a bit. I wanted a small bit of chocolate to go with my mimosa when I visited shortly after it started, and all I saw were two areas with different chocolate desserts, like cakes. Later, I observed someone walk outside with a dark chocolate dipped banana--something I would have liked. I did not go back inside to look; however, it was obvious I had missed something.
We had assigned [early] dining for dinner, and were surprised at the number of people who waited in line for the dining room to open 20 minutes in advance! The first evening, when we arrived at 6:00 PM, we felt like we were late. The doors were open and guests were already seated and being served. We were the very last guests to arrive at our table of 10. When I observed guests waiting 20 minutes early later that week, I understood why. The service and food in the dining room was fabulous.
Before our cruise, someone had told me online that Carnival Fantasy has Alchemy Bar; however, that is incorrect. I assume the person may have been thinking of Majestic Bar, which we did enjoy. This is an excellent stop for a cocktail before or after dinner. I did the Mule Tasting, and I would do it again. The cost was $20.50 before tip.
We bought a pitcher of margaritas in the showroom one evening, which was a good value. It held 4+ drinks, and the cost was less than 4 separate beverages. We thought the bucket of beers we bought poolside one day was a good value, as well.
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| SeaDay Brunch Mac 'n Cheese |
BlueIguana Cantina was fabulous--excellent seafood tacos and burritos. My husband likes Guy's Burgers, and I like the Deli. I missed the turkey sandwich with arugula at the Deli that I have had on other ships. I did not see this on the menu, and I did not ask if they had it because I could not remember what it is called. We also tried Pizza Pirate, and we went to Lido for the Chocolate Extravaganza. Either I missed something at Chocolate Extravaganza, or it was changed after a bit. I wanted a small bit of chocolate to go with my mimosa when I visited shortly after it started, and all I saw were two areas with different chocolate desserts, like cakes. Later, I observed someone walk outside with a dark chocolate dipped banana--something I would have liked. I did not go back inside to look; however, it was obvious I had missed something.
We had assigned [early] dining for dinner, and were surprised at the number of people who waited in line for the dining room to open 20 minutes in advance! The first evening, when we arrived at 6:00 PM, we felt like we were late. The doors were open and guests were already seated and being served. We were the very last guests to arrive at our table of 10. When I observed guests waiting 20 minutes early later that week, I understood why. The service and food in the dining room was fabulous.
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| Mule tasting at Majestic Bar on Carnival Fantasy. |
We bought a pitcher of margaritas in the showroom one evening, which was a good value. It held 4+ drinks, and the cost was less than 4 separate beverages. We thought the bucket of beers we bought poolside one day was a good value, as well.
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| Serenity deck; one whirlpool tub visible on right. |
Pool and outside areas
There are two whirlpool tubs on serenity deck, and usually they were not too crowded. Serenity deck on this ship is not very big, and we observed several guests who could not find lounge seats on our last sea day. There were signs telling guests not to leave their seats for more than 40 minutes; however, we did not see this enforced. One day, a woman must have been watching and timing because eventually she went over to talk with the staff member at the towel stand, and a few minutes later, the staff person helped her move to one of the loungers. There were plenty of servers on serenity deck. The closest bar was up one floor next to the Deli. The closest bathrooms were a one stall unisex bathroom down the steps on the port side (only a few steps more to our cabin, E244), and the bathrooms in the hall area outside Majestic Bar.
There were always open chairs on deck 11 where the water slide comes out above serenity, if you like full sun. We never sat around the main pool, which did not appear to be overcrowded when we were in the area for lunch. Fantasy also has mini-golf and a jogging track on deck 14. Unfortunately, that deck was closed because of high winds on 3 of our cruise days.
There were always open chairs on deck 11 where the water slide comes out above serenity, if you like full sun. We never sat around the main pool, which did not appear to be overcrowded when we were in the area for lunch. Fantasy also has mini-golf and a jogging track on deck 14. Unfortunately, that deck was closed because of high winds on 3 of our cruise days.
Entertainment and activities
We enjoyed all of the shows in the showroom, and the comedy shows in the aft lounge. We were lucky we got to see the magician because his second show was cancelled for technical difficulties. I also recommend the Senior Officers Q&A in the afternoon of the last sea day -- very interesting! We missed the marriage show because it did not start until 10 PM, and we are early risers.
Although musicians entertained in several areas, the only place we found with a band that actually played instruments was in Cat's Lounge. The band was great! We also enjoyed the piano player in Cleopatra's.
Be prepared for changes, as some of the events listed in the Fun Times were not correct: Cozumel shopping show, Ladies Hair Show, piano bar schedule, breakfast dining location departure morning... Sometimes, the miscommunication was corrected, and other times not. There was never a Hair Show at the spa even though I was told to return the next day.
There were free beverages and tastes at several events: the art auctions, jewelry sales/drawings, liquor tasting the first night, and tastings Mexican Fiesta night. We did not have any tastes the first evening, because the line was extremely long.
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| VIP welcome letter |
Platinum perks and past guest party
Our bottled waters and VIP welcome letter were delivered to the stateroom while we were at dinner the first evening. Chocolate covered strawberries were delivered on elegant evening. The past guest party was very nice, and we love the platinum gift! I did not realize until I am writing this post, that we did not receive Fantasy ship pins. 😢
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| Carnival VIP gift November 2018 |
Ports of call ~ Cozumel and Isla Roatan
We have been to both of these ports several times and did not book any excursions this trip. It was very windy when we were in Cozumel, and apparently we were unable to dock at the newer Puerto Maya pier 3 miles from town. We docked at the downtown cruise port in Cozumel. This was a pleasant surprise for us, as we have always been at the piers outside of town. If you like to purchase alcohol while cruising (the taxes where we live in Michigan are very high), the Mega Supermarket is an easy walk of less than half a mile from the downtown port. In Isla Roatan our experience was the same as it had been the last time we visited -- rainy and overcast in the morning, and then it became nicely warm. |
| Carnival Fantasy from Mahogany Bay nature trail in Isla Roatan |
Debarkation
I was confused when we got back from dinner the last evening and found only a standard debarkation letter with no luggage tags. We received our VIP letter with Zone 1 tags later that night. The next morning, we were off the ship quickly, and exiting through customs was a breeze; however, there was a luggage snafu during the process. Our instructions had said to meet in the Universe Lounge at 8:30 AM. We had breakfast in the dining room when it opened at 7:00, and then arrived at our meeting place around 8:00 AM. We were told Platinum guests had already disembarked, and we were directed in line to get off. The chaos happened in the luggage area. Luggage was still being unloaded from the ship when we got there, and we had to stand off to the side with more than 50 other VIP guests for over an hour waiting to be let into the luggage area! There was not enough room for all of the people, and I heard many guests talking about the scathing letter they were going to send to Carnival. When we finally were able to get our luggage, the exit route was not clearly marked or directed. Seems VIP guests with checked luggage had been released from the ship before it was time. We were outside the terminal at 9:48 AM. Our shuttle driver from the Renaissance arrived in less than 4 minutes.
We had a couple of different experiences on this ship: It was very chilly on board Carnival Fantasy, and we requested an extra blanket from our room steward. Possibly, this never was a discomfort for us before because we usually have a balcony room, which allows air from outside. Guests on this ship were always lined up for the dining rooms about half an hour before they opened: anytime dining, assigned dining, breakfast dining, and SeaDay brunch. We had assigned dining, and never arrived until 6:00 PM, so this only presented a problem for us if we were trying to go up or down the stairs before dinner because guests were also seated on the steps making it difficult to get through. I do not know how the lines factored into wait times for anytime dining. The first two days, the line at guest services was down the hall into the art gallery most of the day. I have no idea why so many people would have been in line to see guest services. I guess that is why the phone was not answered when I called the first day!
Remember to check out my Facebook album for additional information and photos. The Fun Times and some menus are posted there. Let me know if you have any questions, and feel free to share this post!
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| Mobile Bay on departure day. |
Overall and misc.
All staff members were great. Everyone we had contact with expressed genuine interest in meeting our needs. Our last couple of cruises have been great, and we now have three more booked: Carnival Conquest, Sunshine, and Horizon! After that, we are planning a Panama Canal full transit voyage.We had a couple of different experiences on this ship: It was very chilly on board Carnival Fantasy, and we requested an extra blanket from our room steward. Possibly, this never was a discomfort for us before because we usually have a balcony room, which allows air from outside. Guests on this ship were always lined up for the dining rooms about half an hour before they opened: anytime dining, assigned dining, breakfast dining, and SeaDay brunch. We had assigned dining, and never arrived until 6:00 PM, so this only presented a problem for us if we were trying to go up or down the stairs before dinner because guests were also seated on the steps making it difficult to get through. I do not know how the lines factored into wait times for anytime dining. The first two days, the line at guest services was down the hall into the art gallery most of the day. I have no idea why so many people would have been in line to see guest services. I guess that is why the phone was not answered when I called the first day!
Remember to check out my Facebook album for additional information and photos. The Fun Times and some menus are posted there. Let me know if you have any questions, and feel free to share this post!
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