Carnival Fantasy Review
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Remember when you were back in school and you wanted to go to the school dance because you didn't want to stay at home, but at the same time, you really didn't want to go with the date you had?
Admittedly, a cruise on Carnival's Fantasy was not our first choice for Spring Break. Previously-made plans evaporated with less than a month to go. We immediately noticed the Fantasy's perfect departure schedule and easy access in Charleston, South Carolina. But we spent a week investigating cruise options from Florida ports. More appealing ships and itineraries (along with better values) were plentiful but grossly expensive last-minute airfare forced us to choose the Fantasy.
The biggest pre-cruise concern about us taking any cruise was the fact that eight months earlier, our family (parents and two boys ages 8 and 12) had taken the "perfect" cruise aboard Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam to the Mediterranean. We were worried that any cruise would be disappointing in comparison.
Cabin Review
Interior
Because we booked this cruise so late, we didn't have many cabin options to choose from. The Fantasy only has a handful of balcony cabins to begin with. We found ourselves split between two inside cabins (U36/U40). While they couldn't be described as "roomy," they were absolutely fine. They did lack a true sofa area for seating. Instead the interior cabins had a small wooden kitchen-table sized chair. The bathroom was the same size we've had on many other cruise ships with a shower. Based on peeks in other cabins as we were getting off the ship, most of the "outside" cabins appeared to be the same size except they of course had real windows.
Our cabin steward, Muhammad, was probably the happiest and friendliest guy that I've ever met in my entire life. If I could bottle up his attitude and sell it, I would be rich. He had more than two dozen cabins assigned to him and he knew everybody's name immediately! Again, the carpet in the cabins and hallways looked brand new and the beds were in excellent condition. Nothing looked worn or "used," not even the interior of the closets.