This was a family/friends group cruise of 21, mostly from OK, a few TX, for the 4 day cruise to Cozumel. We didn't stay overnight in NO but instead stayed at a nice Holiday Inn in Opelousas about 2 hrs away. We were traveling with a couple of 85 yr olds that were first time cruisers and couldn't make the road trip in one day(and won't fly). We arrived around 12:30, had a short wait to embark, lines weren't too long but took us awhile to check in only because of some last min rm changes. Our rms were ready by the time we were processed. It was a little hectic with that many people and only 5 of us being past cruisers. Did a brief tour for the newbies, ate and then was time for muster. We had 5 kids ages 8-10, and 3 teenagers 12-16. Watched sailaway on deck, this kept the kids occupied till early seating dinner time. Our group chose to eat in dining rm each night, the first night was a little disorganized, our waiter Luis handled it very well. The rest of the cruise food service was very organized and Luis remembered to serve all the kids fruit punch and most of the adults ice tea. He was great w/the kids since all but one was boys! Food for the most part was good and I heard very few complaints from anyone in our party. If someone didn't like what they ordered Luis was right there to bring out something different. After the first day the two 85 yr olds (who are active) figured their way around and we usually didn't see them until dinner time, they went to a few shows and enjoyed them. The kids went to Camp Carnival, teenagers to O2 and seemed to have a good time and made new friends. The animal towels were a great hit w/everyone. Some even got a towel person reading the Caper in bed--hilarious! Our only port was Cozumel and everyone went to Paradise Beach, met Tom, food was excellent. Yes, the water by the beach was brownish from Arthur few days prior, but several adults/kids went snorkeling out by the dock and the water was pretty and clear. Saw lots of different fish, angelfish, starfish and even a small stingray, very exciting. No one got seasick, seas were calm for most part, windy at times. The newbies didn't care the ship was older and needed some sprucing up, they were ready to go on another one. We chose the Fantasy because it was smaller ship, friendly staff, and port location. We did self debark and everyone was off the ship in less than an hour. The older folks got off in 15 min! Will definitely sail Fantasy again but probably after dry docking phase.