Great trip - - already booked for two more trips on Fantasy for next year. There was plenty of activities available (though it was too windy with 50+ mph winds over the bow for much golf while under way).
Embarkation
2 out of 5
Getting into the parking garage has always been frustrating, especially if you have no checked luggage as there is NO way into the garage without sitting in line for people to unload their checked luggage. Once into the terminal, the process is pretty efficient.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
We eat in the MDR every chance we get. The buffet is OK for the first lunch. Guys Burgers is the best non-MDR eating venue. We found the service and the food in the MDR to better than average and entirely satisfactory. Only complaint is that Earl Gray tea costs $2/cup (It used to be included) so we bring our own tea bags.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We pay a lot of table tennis on board, some golf, and some of the trivia games. We enjoy them all and have absolutely no problem keeping our selves busy. We don't use the gym much, but almost never use the elevators, so managed to complete the cruise without putting on any weight.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
We only went to one show (they are ALWAYS way too loud), a new one called Country Road -- the singers were accompanied by a three piece band which was pretty good, thought so loud that it was hard to understand the lyrics being sung. The singers had guitars, but there were no strings on them - - really looked strange!
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Fantasy is the oldest ship in the Carnival fleet, but is well maintained and clean. We have sailed on several of Carnivals newer larger ships, but our favorite class is the Fantasy class. We're sailing on Elation next month and hope that the extra cabins and additional passengers don't result in an over crowded ship like Sunshine did.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Cabin was clean, comfortable, and everything worked (except the 1 key on the safe) which I forgot to mention to the room steward or Guest Services.
Ship tip
If you are not already at the Platinum loyalty level, spring for the $69.95 Faster To The Fun excursion - - It is worth it if you are in a hurry to get home! - - also eliminates long waits in line at guest services. If you are prone to motion sickness, prepare for that. We had 10' to 12' swells the first night out and most of the next day, but the ship's motion was really gentle - - several of our table mates in the MDR missed a couple meals to being sea sick.
One of the passengers had a medical emergency about 2230 the first night out and the ship turned around to meet a CG cutter. It was too rough to transfer the patient to the cutter at sea, so the ship returned to the dock where the transfer was made. The result of having to do that was that 12 hrs of steaming time was lost, so the stop at Progreso was cancelled and a 20% credit against the next cruise booked was given to each cabin.
Nice review. Elation only add about 40 state rooms, guest capacity went from 2052 to 2130 double occupancy, not a big bump but they add higher priced cabins. Although 24 rooms cans hold 3 people and 2 rooms can hold 4. I don't think it would be noticeably more crowded.
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