Embarkation: I flew to New Orleans Monday morning (we embarked on Monday). The transfer to the cruise terminal ran very smoothly. There was a Carnival employee waiting by baggage claim to take us to the bus. The only draw back was we were told the bus would be there at a certain time and it arrived approximately 45 minutes later than we were originally told. Once on the bus, there was a short ride to the terminal. All employees I encountered were very nice and helpful. At the terminal, they took my suitcase and I proceeded upstairs to register. Although the line looked super long, it went very quickly. The entire process, from arrival at the terminal to being onboard ship took approximately 30 minutes. It couldn't get any easier than that.
Onboard: The Fantasy was a nice ship. It was very clean, the staff helpful. The food was good, not great. The shows were fantastically cheesy and wonderful. I attended every one and actually enjoyed them. I didn't attend many activities, I choose to spend my time lounging my the pool or at Serenity (a Godsend). The captain was awesome. He was funny and had the greatest Italian accent EVER!
Room: I stayed E-7. The room was a good size with 2 port holes. I have two complaints about the room. The first being not enough light in the bathroom. And the second is only one outlet in the room.