CARNIVAL FANTASY
A Cruise That Care Forgot
Cruise Diary
by Linda Coffman
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Carnival
Fantasy
docked in New Orleans |
You might wonder, why take a second
cruise on the same ship?
In our case, the ship was the same,
but the cruise experience was quite different. We sailed on Carnival
Fantasy just last year from Port Canaveral and this time we
were set to embark in New
Orleans.
From our home in east-central
Georgia we have a number of embarkation ports within a days' drive
and New Orleans is by far the easiest for us, being Interstate all
the way. Your mileage may vary, but taking to the road can prove to
be a less stressful, lower cost alternative to air travel. With long
airport check-in and security lines and frequent flight delays, in some cases we arrive at our
destination sooner by driving than flying!
Pre-Cruise
After a day on the road, we spent two nights in New
Orleans. It's always wise to arrive in any embarkation port a day
early to offset any last minute delays or travel glitches and our
timing meant we were able to enjoy some New Orleans Jazz &
Heritage Festival highlights as
well as our cruise.
Embarking
If there's such a thing as the "perfect" port
in which to embark, it's New Orleans. Carnival Fantasy was docked at
the Erato Street Cruise Terminal, which opened in September of 2006.
The facility includes a 1,000-vehicle secure parking garage where
luggage to be delivered to the ship is offloaded inside—there's no
struggle with curbside confusion. Once in the terminal, passenger
services are state-of-the-art and we were processed swiftly.
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Carnival
Fantasy—bow & ship's bell* |
Shipmates
It's no secret that southerners are overwhelmingly polite and we
found our fellow passengers to be exceptionally courteous. Compared
with our last Fantasy cruise, there were less passengers on board,
but the ship was still "full" with 2,168 (120 of which
were under age 18). While passengers were mostly from southern
states, we met a small group from New Mexico, another from
California, and couldn't miss a large group of Red Hat Society members.
Our tablemates were four delightful ladies from Kentucky who arrived
in New Orleans by train, while a high percentage of others drove to port from
both close-in areas and surrounding states.
On Board
Carnival Fantasy
The Ship
At 70,367 tons, Fantasy was a big step up in ship size for
Carnival in 1990. She also introduced a lot of the glitter and neon
glitz which became synonymous with a Carnival ship. Although large
in size, when compared to
today's mega-ships, she seems much smaller. However, that size is
ideal for her present 4- and 5-night itineraries. There's still
plenty of room to roam, while an advantage is that she's easier to
get to know.
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Carnival
Fantasy—Sun Deck |
As we discovered last year, Fantasy
received numerous upgrades during her last
drydock in the fall of 2005. For teens 15 to 17, there is Club O2, their own
no-adults-allowed party space. Spa Carnival has been expanded and
the indoor whirlpools removed to make way for an aerobics room
beneath the skylight. A miniature golf course is located in the
center of the oval jogging track on Sun Deck. The secondary show lounge was reduced in size
in order to expand Camp Carnival facilities, which were once
woefully small. The more compact Forum Lounge is primarily used for art
auctions and evening karaoke and Camp Carnival is now bright and
cheerful.
To make Fantasy-class ships even
better, Carnival recently announced a
$250 million "Evolutions of Fun" refurbishment
program, during which the line will update each ship's name as it appears on the vessel's
hull, as well as in printed materials. When Fantasy enters drydock
for future upgrades, the name 'Carnival' and the company's logo will
be combined with the ship's name to provide an updated look and
feel. Other planned "Evolutions of Fun" enhancements are
an expansive children's water park, a new design style and features
for the pool areas, and the creation of a Serenity adults-only
deck area. Alas, the guilty pleasure of the "topless" sunbathing deck is a thing of the
past.
Nights Out
In a nod to our embarkation port, Fantasy embraced Big Easy style by staging a Mardi Gras.
The celebration kicked off in true Big Easy parade
tradition—complete with beads tossed to the revelers—as good times
rolled from lounge to lounge along the promenade. With specialty
drinks available at each stop along the way, it was a big hit with
participants, even those accustomed to the real thing.
No less animated were American Idol
aspirants who took to the too-loud karaoke microphone in the Forum
Lounge every night from early evening until late. For
passengers relaxing in the adjacent Majestic Bar, the arrival of
singing "regulars" was groan inducing. We will concede
that some of them put on pretty good performances in the Guest
Talent Show, though. While we could understand why lip-sync'ers weren't
welcome, why do they not allow tap dancers?
Aside from a hopping piano bar, the
most popular hot spot during our cruise was Cat's Lounge where the
superb band kept the dance floor packed. Oddly, the disco was
deserted whenever we passed by.
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Fantasy
Photos:
Courtesy Carnival Cruise Lines
and *CruiseDiva.com © Linda Coffman
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