Jaowel

Whenever we book a cruise, I always do my homework and research the ship and ports like crazy. To be honest, I would not have booked this particular ship based on the reviews however, we were asked to join our niece and other friends on this cruise for their “Senior Spring Break”. We were able to select the UBP and Specialty Dining for 4 nights as a perk when we booked. I knew enough from reading reviews to pre book our shows and dining reservations prior to boarding. If it says that reservations are not available, call them directly and make them. I had no problem doing that over the phone and they were very nice. The only thing I didn’t pre-book (or couldn’t) was the tendering to GSC or the main dining room. EMBARKATION: A hot mess! Unless you had priority boarding, you waited hours to board. Don’t get there early thinking you’ll get on sooner. SHIP: At the beginning of the week, I didn’t like the ship layout at all. But by the end of the week, it grew on me. It is the largest ship we’ve ever been on and I thought it felt a little closed off. The use of space could have been better, but it is what it is. I wish they had more outdoor space to view the water. There always seemed to be an obstructed view unless you were on the very top deck (forward on deck 18). POOL AREA: The “Adult Only” area had no music, but it had a bar, so pick your battles. Lol! The main pool area was packed!! If you want a chair on the deck or by the pool you have to be up before the sun, or forget it. I was up and in my chair by 6:45am every sea day and more than half were already claimed. They are good about putting stickers on chairs that aren’t occupied. They do not allow drinks around the pool, so if you want to grab a cocktail and stick your feet in the water, you can’t. The other issue was the bar in the pool area. With so many adult guests selecting the beverage package, they really should have more than 3 bartenders. Some people waited 30 min or more for a drink. Kids wanted soda, so they had to either wait at the bar or walk to the buffet to the soda station. We saw, maybe, 3 waiters taking orders on the pool deck over the course of the 3 sea days. We are very laid back, so knowing there would be lines, we always ordered 2 drinks at a time. STATEROOM: We always book an interior room and this was the smallest of all our cruises. The layout is goofy because of the bathrooms, but we knew that going in. You can absolutely hear everything through the frosted glass doors, so keep that in mind if booking a room with friends! The room was always clean and our room steward was great! DINING: The food was great! There are a ton of options at the buffet. We had the 4 Night Specialty Dining, so we went to La Cucina (good but not great), Teppanyki (awesome!), Moderno (very good) and Cagney’s (delicious!). We also ate at the Sushi place and it was great! We ate 2 nights in the Taste Dining Room and never had to wait. We did go around 5:30, so that might be why. The food and service were wonderful! SHOWS: Burn the Floor was great! It reminded me of Dancing with the Stars, so if you like that, you’ll love the show. Priscilla was good. The acting was great, but this is absolutely not meant for kids. With all the Broadway shows out there, I think they could select something that would appeal to all age groups. My husband did not enjoy it at all. Cirque Dreams was very good! Dueling Pianos was our favorite! They were awesome! The 80’s dance party was so so fun!!! Don’t miss it! The Glow Party was fun too, but the techno music was too much for some of the older crowd. The younger kids love it! PORTS: Tortola - we chartered a private boat and island hopped. Very fun! Waves were crazy though! St. Thomas- time in port was too short so we shopped and went to Paradise Point. It was beautiful! GSC- The Island was nice but again, they were short staffed and it took forever to get food and drinks. Book you tender at one of the kiosks instead of your stateroom tv. There will be more slots available. Over all, we enjoyed ourselves very much! We are always grateful to be on vacation, so we don’t let little things bother us. We can’t control a lot of things, but we can control our reaction to them. I would say it the price was right and the ports were good, we’d sail on the Epic again. It was our first time on NCL and I wouldn’t say that I’d base my opinion of the company on this sailing. There’s been too many friends that have sailed other NCL ships and loved them. I think it’s just an issue with the Epic. A “love it or hate it” mentality. We are right in the middle....didn’t love it or hate it. Happy Sailing!!

Carnival throws the BEST NYE party! See you soon!!

There are a lot of mixed reviews about this ship, most of them I felt were petty complaints, so we had a pretty open mind heading into our family vacation during Spring Break. I believe that it's the experience and the people you are with and your attitude towards others that make or break a vacation. We found every Carnival crew member we encountered to be quite nice and very helpful. The ship is older and a little dated, but the crew worked tirelessly keeping it clean with more than 2,800 people on board to tend to. The dining team was fantastic. Heshbon and his team were vary attentive to us. Entertainment was very good and the magician, Zee, was a lot of fun! We didn't see the comedian, so I can't comment on that.

The cabin was a bit tight, but we had 5 in there and knew from being on previous cruises to rotate who got ready when. All we did was sleep and get ready in the cabin, so it wasn't a big deal to us. Our cabin was over the casino and you can hear it at night. We brought a small fan with us and didn't hear it once it was on. If you go to bed before 12am, I would suggest to bring some sort of white noise maker. The location of the cabin was great though! Easy access to everything. We found the food to be fantastic! Anyone that has been on a cruise before knows that there are lines a peak times and that the Lido decks are windy. If you walk around with your food trying to find the perfect spot to eat, it will get cold :) We did Anytime Dinning and found the earlier we ate, the faster we were serviced and the food was hot and delicious! Plus dinning earlier allowed us to watch a beautiful sunset each night. We didn't do the Cheers package because we didn't think it would be worth it only being at sea 1 day and a port the other 2. My little drink treat was to fill my cup half way with vanilla soft serve and fill the rest up with lemonade. Stir completely and enjoy!

We didn't have any complaints about the Victory and would absolutely sail on her again. If I had to pick something they could improve on, it would be the popcorn they serve during the movies at night. It was awful!!

We had so much fun on our NYE Cruise! The Fantasy is a small ship (comparably speaking) and one of the oldest in the fleet. We’ve done a number of Carnival cruises so I can tell you that this is an easy ship to navigate. It does lack some of the bells and whistles of the newer ships, which didn’t really matter to us. Cabin- there are 5 in our family, so we opt for an inside, mid-ship. We keep the bottom bed separated so there’s more space to move about. There’s not a ton of storage so keep your suitcases under the beds (if they fit). There was 1 plug in the stateroom. Not a double plug outlet, but 1 plug. Bring a power strip to have more outlets for charging phones. Especially if you have the Hub App. Our cabin steward, Edy, was great! Food- We thought the good was great! We love Guys Burgers and the tacos are awesome on the Lido. The buffet was always good with lots of options. Of course the pizza was a favorite of our kids as well as the ice cream. We ate at 5:45 every night and walked right in with “Your Time” dining. The staff were very attentive and our food was always served hot. I did win “Steakhouse” selection for two during a raffle, so we got the Surf &Turf. It was absolutely delicious. Steakhouse selections are available for $20 every night in the main dining. Totally worth it. Alcohol package - We usually don’t drink a ton when we travel with our kids. We typically order a bottle of vodka to be delivered to our stateroom and add some to our travel mugs before heading to the Lido deck. Free lemonade added to it does the trick! Faster to the Fun- Totally worth purchasing. Getting on the ship was fast and efficient. We had immediate access to our room once we were on the ship and were able to eat and explore before many were on. Separate line for customer service was nice too. There was no ports that required a tender, but if there was, FTTF is a must! Entertainment- It was good, but we’ve seen all the shows on previous cruises. They should rotate some new stuff in. The Country show was good, but it was more of a skit. The singing was great though! Loved the shows that included the guests. Love and Marriage show was so funny!! Marty, the CD, was fun. He didn’t engage with guests (saying “hi” to people as they walked by, that kind of thing) as much as previous CD’s we’ve had in the past, but he did a good job. The trivia in the atrium was a good time. NYE Party - So fun!! There was a balloon drop at 11pm in the Atrium. Every balloon had a wish for 2019 filled out by the guests on board. The overall vibe was electric! Once that was done, everyone moved to the Lido for the countdown. They passed out free champagne, glow sticks, light up necklaces and glasses and played some great music to keep the crowd excited. At midnight, the ships horn counted down and everyone went crazy! So much fun!! We are going to make this a yearly tradition, that’s for sure! The reason for 5 stars is that I truly believe your vacation experience is what you make of it. We consider ourselves blessed that we can travel as a family and don’t let the little things bother us. Sure, the ship is older and yes, there were rude passengers, but we don’t let that bother us. This is a great little ship and perfect for those that are just starting to cruise. It’s like the appetizer to a great meal. Thank you, Carnival, for another great cruise!