15 years ago on our first cruise (Disney's brand new ship), we were docked next to the Carnival Fantasy in Nassau. Our Disney ship was like a fine dining restaurant docked next to a Taco Bell. We vowed never to sail Carnival, much less on the Fantasy. It had what looked like a million Christmas lights all over it, the music was VERY loud and went on through all hours of the night, and the people never slept. You know, the "fun ship". Disney had a steel drum band and lots of elegance.

Fast forward 15 years to cruise #7. Carnival sails the Fantasy out of Charleston, we live near there, the price was fabulous, and so we booked! Now, aside from that snooty first paragraph, we are very easy to please on vacation. We expect a good time, we bring along great attitudes, and have never had a bad cruise.

Summary upfront in case you don't want to read all my ramblings: We loved Carnival. We love the Fantasy. There. Done. It was awesome!! Note that the time of year we sail is now always Winter and usually January. We have never been on a Spring Break cruise (probably a VERY different experience). Our first cruise (Disney 15 years ago WAS Summertime and that's probably why Carnival was rockin! We've not been on a Summer cruise since. We like the older clientele that comes with January cruising -- we are morning people.) Now for some details... Read more