CRUISE ARTICLES AND REVIEWS
CHILDREN'S PROGRAMS:
CARNIVAL'S CAMP CARNIVAL
HOLLAND AMERICA CLUB HAL
NORWEGIAN'S KID'S CREW
RADISSON'S CLUB MARINER
ROYAL CARIBBEAN'S ADVENTURE
OCEAN
BRIEF REVIEW OF ALL CHILDREN'S
PROGRAMS
CRUISE REVIEWS
Cruising Hawaii on the Norwegian
Star
Western Caribbean Cruise on
Carnival's Paradise
Bermuda Cruise on Radisson Seven
Seas
CRUISE ARTICLES
Family Reunion Cruises
Luxury Cruises
Cruising with Grandkids
Freestyle Cruising on Norwegian
Cruise Line
Cruise Line Contact Info
CHILDREN'S PROGRAMS:
CARNIVAL'S CAMP CARNIVAL
HOLLAND AMERICA CLUB HAL
NORWEGIAN'S KID'S CREW
RADISSON'S CLUB MARINER
ROYAL CARIBBEAN'S ADVENTURE
OCEAN
BRIEF REVIEW OF ALL CHILDREN'S
PROGRAMS
CRUISE REVIEWS
Cruising Hawaii on the Norwegian
Star
Western Caribbean Cruise on
Carnival's Paradise
Bermuda Cruise on Radisson Seven
Seas
CRUISE ARTICLES
Family Reunion Cruises
Luxury Cruises
Cruising with Grandkids
Freestyle Cruising on Norwegian
Cruise Line
Cruise Line Contact Info
FAMILY TRAVEL FUN.COM
CRUISES
CRUISES
 | |  | |  | |  |
CARNIVAL FANTASY
Carnival Fantasy - Great for a Quick Getaway
by: John Childs
The Carnival Fantasy is a great ship for first
timers. It is usually scheduled for 3 or 4 day trips
out of Port Canaveral or other south Florida
embarkation ports. It is an ideal way to get your
feet wet so to speak and see if you would like
cruising. (Of course my personal opinion is that if
you don't like cruising you should see a doctor
ASAP as there is something wrong with you-but I
digress) It is easy to extend a Disney or other
south Florida vacation by adding on the extra
couple days on one of these short trips.
This ship (Carnival Fantasy) is not for cruise
aficionados. I don't have to repeat that do I? Do
not go on this ship if you have been on multiple
cruise vacations. I have noticed that the more
ships people go on the more they become
"cruise snobs"-nit picking about everything.
The Carnival Fantasy is about 70,000 tons. It is a
perfect size. Not so big that you have to line up
for everything and not so small that you feel
motion on the ocean. The Fantasy is the first in
this class of ships of which there are ten.
The Good
As per usual on a cruise ship the service is
excellent. There are often many trainees learning
the ropes on shorter duration cruises but the
standards are pretty much the same. The menus
are the same across the board on all Carnival
ships-yummy. There is one night for lobster and
yes you can have more than one. Food always
tastes better when served by tuxedo clad waiters.
For that matter you can order more than one
entree or any other menu item you like.
If you can stand to have more than two people in
your cabin (185 sq ft for a standard cabin) you
can save money. The third and fourth person
rates are usually about half that of the first two
people. The extra people sleep in murphy beds
that pull down from the wall. During the day these
are secured to the wall giving you extra space.
Having said that the last time we booked a triple
cabin my travelling companions called it the
penalty box because of the number of times we
body checked each other during the course of
getting ready to go out.
The Cat's lounge is a must see on this ship.
Everything is laid out as a cat would see it really
really big. Cleopatra's bar features an Egyptian
theme in a piano bar setting-way cool.
The bad
The Carnival Fantasy is showing her age in spite
of last years refurbishment. Most notably in the
teak deck boards that you can spring up and
down on.
On all Carnival cruises (including the Fantasy)
your tips are already added to your shipboard
account when you get on. To remove them you
have to stand in line behind 2500 people at the
pursers deck . Since the service is worth at least
what they recommend that you tip I suggest that
you just leave them on. Unless you really like
handed out the envelopes with the tips in person.
The Ugly
The Carnival Fantasy has a childrens program
called Camp Carnival. I have sailed on this ship 3
times and have used the services of Camp
Carnival all three times. Although not all three
were aboard the Carnival Fantasy. The first two
times all went well. My son loved it all. The last
time the staff at Camp Carnival (Fantasy) were
the worst I have ever seen. Suffice it to say you
are better off leaving your child with a steak tied
around his neck in a lions den than with the staff
on the Fantasy.
On the cheap
If you want to go on the Carnival Fantasy
cheaply, go in the off season ie September or
October for the biggest savings. Book far ahead
or if you don't have to worry about fluctuating
airfare book less than a month away.
Take a taxi to the beach from the Carnival
Fantasy instead of joining up with the ships
excursion of "beach party" .
Eat on the ship (the Carnival Fantasy has some
of the best food at sea), instead of on each
island ie come back for lunch . Or just have a big
breaky so you won't be hungry while you are off
the ship.
Book a guarantee cabin ie you are guaranteed
that category of cabin or better just not a specific
cabin. YOu will often be upgraded this way and
will always sail cheaper.
Note: Between my brother and I we have cruised
on the Carnival Fantasy 7 times now. Its short
iternerary makes it ideal for a long weekend
getaway, or to accompany a Disney vacation.
Find other travel reviews at
http://travel.gocurous.com/
About The Author
John Childs is a software engineer with 30 years
experience. He has seen the landscape of
computing change from the days of no personal
computers and mainframes which took up entire
rooms to the ipod shuffle (the clip on
one)...amazing stuff. He's spent the last 10 years
working on the Java platform and is a strong
advocate of Java technologies.
Carnival Fantasy - Great for a Quick Getaway
by: John Childs
The Carnival Fantasy is a great ship for first
timers. It is usually scheduled for 3 or 4 day trips
out of Port Canaveral or other south Florida
embarkation ports. It is an ideal way to get your
feet wet so to speak and see if you would like
cruising. (Of course my personal opinion is that if
you don't like cruising you should see a doctor
ASAP as there is something wrong with you-but I
digress) It is easy to extend a Disney or other
south Florida vacation by adding on the extra
couple days on one of these short trips.
This ship (Carnival Fantasy) is not for cruise
aficionados. I don't have to repeat that do I? Do
not go on this ship if you have been on multiple
cruise vacations. I have noticed that the more
ships people go on the more they become
"cruise snobs"-nit picking about everything.
The Carnival Fantasy is about 70,000 tons. It is a
perfect size. Not so big that you have to line up
for everything and not so small that you feel
motion on the ocean. The Fantasy is the first in
this class of ships of which there are ten.
The Good
As per usual on a cruise ship the service is
excellent. There are often many trainees learning
the ropes on shorter duration cruises but the
standards are pretty much the same. The menus
are the same across the board on all Carnival
ships-yummy. There is one night for lobster and
yes you can have more than one. Food always
tastes better when served by tuxedo clad waiters.
For that matter you can order more than one
entree or any other menu item you like.
If you can stand to have more than two people in
your cabin (185 sq ft for a standard cabin) you
can save money. The third and fourth person
rates are usually about half that of the first two
people. The extra people sleep in murphy beds
that pull down from the wall. During the day these
are secured to the wall giving you extra space.
Having said that the last time we booked a triple
cabin my travelling companions called it the
penalty box because of the number of times we
body checked each other during the course of
getting ready to go out.
The Cat's lounge is a must see on this ship.
Everything is laid out as a cat would see it really
really big. Cleopatra's bar features an Egyptian
theme in a piano bar setting-way cool.
The bad
The Carnival Fantasy is showing her age in spite
of last years refurbishment. Most notably in the
teak deck boards that you can spring up and
down on.
On all Carnival cruises (including the Fantasy)
your tips are already added to your shipboard
account when you get on. To remove them you
have to stand in line behind 2500 people at the
pursers deck . Since the service is worth at least
what they recommend that you tip I suggest that
you just leave them on. Unless you really like
handed out the envelopes with the tips in person.
The Ugly
The Carnival Fantasy has a childrens program
called Camp Carnival. I have sailed on this ship 3
times and have used the services of Camp
Carnival all three times. Although not all three
were aboard the Carnival Fantasy. The first two
times all went well. My son loved it all. The last
time the staff at Camp Carnival (Fantasy) were
the worst I have ever seen. Suffice it to say you
are better off leaving your child with a steak tied
around his neck in a lions den than with the staff
on the Fantasy.
On the cheap
If you want to go on the Carnival Fantasy
cheaply, go in the off season ie September or
October for the biggest savings. Book far ahead
or if you don't have to worry about fluctuating
airfare book less than a month away.
Take a taxi to the beach from the Carnival
Fantasy instead of joining up with the ships
excursion of "beach party" .
Eat on the ship (the Carnival Fantasy has some
of the best food at sea), instead of on each
island ie come back for lunch . Or just have a big
breaky so you won't be hungry while you are off
the ship.
Book a guarantee cabin ie you are guaranteed
that category of cabin or better just not a specific
cabin. YOu will often be upgraded this way and
will always sail cheaper.
Note: Between my brother and I we have cruised
on the Carnival Fantasy 7 times now. Its short
iternerary makes it ideal for a long weekend
getaway, or to accompany a Disney vacation.
Find other travel reviews at
http://travel.gocurous.com/
About The Author
John Childs is a software engineer with 30 years
experience. He has seen the landscape of
computing change from the days of no personal
computers and mainframes which took up entire
rooms to the ipod shuffle (the clip on
one)...amazing stuff. He's spent the last 10 years
working on the Java platform and is a strong
advocate of Java technologies.