My husband and myself chose this cruise for our one year anniversary. We met on a Disney cruise and got married on a Disney cruise two years later so we decided to celebrate on the seas, as well. Since we could not afford Disney at the moment, we selected the Carnival Fantasy for it's low cost and itinerary including islands we'd never visited. We have cruised 8 times with Disney and I have sailed with Carnival one time previously ( the Inspiration, Fantasy's sister ship, in June of this year) We live locally so we drove to the port and parked there. Embarkation was simple and quick. The ship is pretty much identical to it's family of ships (Inspiration, Imagination, etc..) so I knew what to expect layout, amenity and decor-wise. It's old-school cruise ship cheesiness is kind of fun. Nothing elegant or fancy about it, just fun. For being an old ship, she's in pretty good condition with very little wear and tear affecting your cruise. One thing to pay attention to....because it's an old ship with very little advancement in terms of ship stabilizers, IT IS ROCKY!!!! We were tossing and turning, rocking and rolling constantly! I've cruised a lot and I've NEVER been on a ship that rises and falls as much as this one! BE WARNED!!! You may want to try for a cabin midship on a lower level for less motion form the ocean!

The staterooms are decent in size. The bathrooms look like they have been redone recently and were very clean. Carnival bedding is great and the beds are very comfy! Our stateroom in particular was convenient in location due to the fact that it was on the main lobby level and just about ten doors down from the information desk, bar, etc. I do think, however that because it was a higher level and forward, we did "feel" the ship a lot more. One very important comment: IF YOU CAN'T STAND SMOKING, AVOID THIS CRUISE!!!!!! There was smoking everywhere!!!! As an asthmatic, I found it very uncomfortable and just gross! Now, before I go any further, let me say this.... you get what you pay for. We sail Disney. It is our preferred cruise line. The food is phenomenal. Service is five star. Entertainment can't be beat. The prices are very high. I've sailed Carnival twice now. Food is blah. Service is mediocre. Entertainment is laughable. Prices are astoundingly low. You get what you pay for. Now, this might sound like I am saying that Carnival sucks. Not at all. It's a cheap, fun get away. It's the chance to cruise (which I adore) for less than what you'd pay to stay in most hotels. It is what it is. With that said..... I was not impressed with the activities onboard (neither the offerings nor quality). There is very little to do on a day to say basis and the few activities they do have are sub-par. (Men's Hairy Chest contest, Austin Power's Dance classes) They do have a 9 hole mini-golf course but most days it's either too hot or too windy to play. The casino is what most people look to for fun and it's a decent one. The spa is pretty basic and the services are of average quality, but they do have some good deals on the last day ($58 for a 50 minute full body massage)The shops have some great diamond sales if you wit until the last night.

We did not do any shore excursions, as we prefer to explore on our own and we are not snorkelers. Grand Turk was beautiful, but not much to do. Margaritaville is tons of fun if you like to swim and party but isn't always appropriate for kids. The pool may seem inviting for them, but keep in mind it's a bar in the Bahamas with lots of scantily clad folks who, with some encouragement form an audience will shake what they got and it can get kinda raunchy. Half Moon Cay was a GREAT beach day, but that's about all it is. A beach and water sports. Nassau is well....Nassau. It's dirty, people are pushy but shopping is great. Entertainment kinda stinks onboard. The shows that are done by the Carnival dancers are just so-so. Cheesy and Vegas-like. The comedians and magicians that they bring aboard, we thought we awful. They seem like performers that couldn't get jobs anywhere else so they put them on the ship. We would definitely skip them next time. We were more entertained by the in-room movies!(Good selection!) Service onboard was fair. We had great servers at dinner ("V" and "Joe") but elsewhere, service was just ok. Infact, we encountered a few crew members that were less than helpful, but that was rare. Overall, everyone was nice but no one really stood out or went above and beyond. Let's get to dining. I know many of you will disagree with me, but I think Carnival food is bad. Well, not entirely bad, but for the most part. My number one complaint is selection and lack of availability. Food, at times, is hard to find. Yes, pizza is available 24 hours a day, and burgers and hot dogs are available most of the time, but still... room service had no hot food on their menu, just salads and sandwiches. The quality of room service was sub-par. It was mushy and had no flavor. In the dining rooms Carnival pre-plates their food so in most cases, they can not prepare foods to special requests (ex:/ minus the sauce, without croutons, with a substitution) Now, seeing as I have dietary restrictions, this made dining hard and unenjoyable for me. I DID inform Carnival prior to sailing of my restrictions and they told me to get a doctor's note (rather rudely) but that was not an option for me. I was left to fend for myself and did not succeed. In fact, for the first time ever, I LOST 2 pounds on my cruise! My hubby and I couldn't wait to disembark and head to our favorite Orlando restaurants! Now, I am not saying that all food was bad. The filet mignon was great and the soft serve ice cream bar is a plus. But Disney has GREAT food. Carnival does not. Disembarkation was somewhat chaotic but it went quickly. Overall, we had a great time, we really did! But you get what you pay for. Carnival is cheap and fun. But worth it to cruise!