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Posted: Sat Jun 17th, 2006 06:46 pm | 1st Post |
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This was my twenty-first cruise and my twelfth on Carnival. I was on the Fantasy for a three night cruise in July and had an outstanding time and this cruise was just as good. Carnival recently sent the Fantasy to Freeport for a five week renovation. During this time most of the ship was refurbished. She looks great now with her major facelift.
Embarkation: Arrived at the port around 10:30. Porters took bags. Parking was a breeze and it was on to the check-in area. This also went fast. Carnival did not start boarding until 12:00 but once started things moved fast.
Ship: As mentioned above, Carnival just spent millions of dollars refurbishing the 1990 built Fantasy and she looks great. Stepping aboard you will now notice a lobby bar and the ugly piece of sculpture is now history. The lobby bar takes up most of the area but the lobby seemed to handle crowds well. There is also a musical trio playing in this area while passengers board. I was on the Fantasy in 1993 and I remember that you almost needed sunglasses at night to handle the bright neon. This is no more. They have now toned down this area with small dark blue lights that really make for nice lighting. The atrium is much darker in the evening now.
The promenade deck Via Marina was also totally made over during the dry dock. Carnival added a new ceramic tile floor with carpet inlays. The promenade still has a Roman theme but Carnival has carried it out much more now with the remodel. They added chaise loungers along this area and they are some of the most comfortable chairs on the ship. Great for stretching out and reading a book or just relaxing. They also reconfigured the back lounge called The Forum and this is where they hold kareoke. All of the other lounges just received minor cosmetic changes with mostly new carpet and upolstery.
Cabins: This is where you notice a difference. The entire cabin was totally redone. Walls, flooring, ceiling, drapes, furniture, bedding and pillows. Carnvial has done away with the bedspreads and now have down duvet covers. They are awesome. The bathrooms are also brand new including all plumbing fixtures, walls and flooring. One negative about the bathroom. They removed the medicine cabinet and you only have one small shelf to place things on. You run out of room quick but other than that the change is awesome. Gone is the dormatory look of the past.
Food and Service: We did not eat in the regular dining room once on the cruise. We stuck strictly to the lido area or ate off of the ship. Lunch and dinner were not bad but breakfast was another story. First of all, the lines are held up due to the omelet station. They need to move this back out and away from the other lines. Also, if you want bacon they now have it at the omelet station and you have to ask for it. I guess that it has become gold in the eyes of Carnival. Also, the staff could not keep up with refilling the food and condiments fast enough. Trying to find syrup was a joke. Carnival has also done away with fruit punch on this ship. They offer lemonade, apple juice, tea and water through the dispensers. Carnival has also added a deli to the Fantasy. It is located next to the pizza area but they do not have Reubens.
Ports of Call: Standard two ports of Freeport and Nassau. Even though the island of Freeport is nice I will stay on the ship next time. I know better than to book an excursion through the cruiseline but did so here and it was a mistake. We booked the "Pirates of the Bahamas" beach tour. It sucked! The beach was about 100 yards long and the lounge chairs were stacked on top of each other. We stayed two hours and found someone to take us back to the ship for twenty bucks. One of the highlights for me in Freeport was seeing two of the old liners docked. The Big Red Boat ll and the Rembrandt(formally the HAL Rotterdam V). It was kind of sad to see both of the ships tied up to the docks with their futures uncertain.
Nassau - Did nothing here but walk around. Been there too many times. Did have dinner that evening at the Hard Rock Cafe and the food was very good. It is located very close to the ships. The weather was perfect the entire cruise. Plenty of sun and a nice breeze.
Entertainment: Can't tell you much here. Did not go to any of the production or comedy shows. Did go to the Newlywed and Legends show. Both were passenger participation shows and they are better than the other shows IMHO. The Legends show is all kareoke. They pick the best performers from the week to come on stage and sing one more time.
Kids-Kids-Kids: There were over 600 kids on board and you could tell it. I will have to say that most of them were well behaved but you still had some that were turned loose by the parents all week to raise hell. I will not get on my soapbox about how I feel about todays parents and their lack of skills in parenting.
KUDOS TO CARNIVAL: Carnival has now adopted a NO SMOKING policy on the Fantasy in the atrium bar,promenade deck including the 21st Century bar near the casino. It was nice being able to take a breath of fresh air in these areas. I will send a note to Carnival thanking them for this and asking to make this a fleet wide policy. Smokers are pretty much limited to the Majestic bar, Cleopatras, Cats lounge and the dance club for their smoking activities. Of course they do allow smoking on the open decks also. They also removed the butt cans near the elevators.
Overall, this was a great little get-away cruise. The will hold me over until my next cruise in March on the Triumph. I have posted some pictures that I took on the Fantasy and they are in the photo gallery. I apologize that some turned out dark due to the lighting in the atrium but hopefully it will give you an idea of some of the recent changes on board.
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