Carnival Fantasy?

[hmneal]

Having been on DCL once now, I'm afraid I'm going to be disappointed with all the others!

Carnival would not be one of my first picks BUT there is a Contemporary Christian music cruise on the Fantasy that my dd (college age) would like us to go on as a family. My dd (teen) is thinking DCL teen stuff is better. Then two more dd's (elementary) are just along for the ride....they are happy as long as there is sun & a pool (ah, but I know that'll change soon too!

Can anyone compare the two? I know Disney's entertainment is great but we'll all be thrilled with the concerts as they have some great groups booked, so I'm not worried about that. I'm more concerned about accomodations, food, lack of CC, etc!

Anyone have experience with both to compare?

 

[DaveO]

I have been on Carnival twice and been on 4 other lines. They are by far the worse and I will never take a crusie with them again. I have not been on DCL yet (October will be first DCL trip) but Carnival's service is bad, food mediocre, and maintenance spotty. There ships have a Las Vegas feel to them which is fine as I like Vegas, but some people find them to over the top. They put a lot of focus on alchohol and I found more than the normal amount of drunk people. Also a lot more rude passengers. Thier cabins are large but have paper thin walls - at least on the ships I was on.

That being said your cruise being a Christian Cruise might mitigate some of the 'hard' partying and rude ship mates.

If I was 20 again and wanted to party and hook up I would pick Carnival - otherwise I will stick with RCCL.

Dave O.

 

[SCOTTOHIOCPA]

We sailed on the Fantasy in January of 2000. We have also been on the Imagination in 2002. We will be going on the Disney Wonder in about 3 weeks.

We enjoyed the Fantasy. The passengers were pretty normal and we did not see anyone drunk or disorderly. The food was good and the wait staff did a reasonable job. The ship was in good repair. The shows were entertaining. They probably won't be as good as the Wonder is going to be, but it was still a fun trip and it cost a lot less. To put it on Disney terms - if you are the type who HAS to stay at the Wilderness Lodge or the Grand Floridian, you would probably be disappointed, but if you don't mind staying at the pop century or all star sports, then you'll get along just fine.

One swimming pool drawback for your DD's though - Carnival uses saltwater in their swimming pools.

 

[Chattyaholic]

DH and I sailed on the 4-night Carnival Fantasy in January '03.
We've done 2 7-night Disney Magic and a 4-night Disney Wonder cruise as well. We are both 46 years old, "empty nesters" and not "party people" by any means and we thoroughly enjoyed our Carnival cruise. It was only $299 per person and we definitely felt we got our money's worth. On our Disney cruises we had verandahs, but on the Carnival cruise we had an inside cabin and really did not mind it at all. Never heard any noise from neighbors. We were happy with the ship and I had heard others saying things about the "wear and tear" and the lack of cleanliness and I didn't see any of that at all, and I looked!! We enjoyed the food just as much as we enjoy the Disney cruise food, although the service on Carnival wasn't as good as Disney in our opinion but still nothing to really complain about. We enjoyed the shows and the pool area too. We walked through the casino once to look, but that was it, did not spend time there. We never saw anyone drunk, or rude. It was a nice cruise and I wouldn't hesitate to sail on the Fantasy again.

 

[tecdavidt]

You won't be disappointed. We have been on Carnival 5 times, all Fantasy class ships, Celebrity twice, Princess once and DCL 6 times. I have always had the opinion the food on Carnival was the best of all the lines. We have been on the Fantasy 3 day twice and there were people having a good time but no one was falling down drunk. The ship had a long dry dock about 2 years ago or less and the large lounge in the aft of the Promenade deck was converted to a large children's program area. It is true Disney has the best children's programming but some on this board wouldn't agree to that either.

If my college age child put in a request like your child did and it is a Christian Music cruise I would go in a heartbeat. It is true the pools are saltwater but there is also a large water slide into the large pool that the other children will enjoy.

Try it out and give us your opinion when you get back. My motto about Carnival is "Carnival gives you a lot of bang for the buck". No Disney characters but then you won't be paying a Disney price. Enjoy your time with your college age child.
Kathy

 

[Bbethparsons]

I sailed on the fantasy Halloween of last year! It was a wonderful trip. I have sailed on Disney Magic 7 night-3 years in a row. It was great. However, I can say Carnival Fantasy was great too. I thought the food was a great comparison to Disney, I found the ship to be very clean and it was recently refurbished. I have a friend who took her family last week and it was their first cruise and they LOVED it. My husband and I took a cruise on Royal Carribbean and we thought the boat was great, but food and service was not good. We probably won't be cruising RC again...I will go Carnival again. Disney's prices are too high. My family and I can't afford them now. Unless they run some specials.