We ended up booking this cruise as a replacement after Carnival cancelled the second half of a B2B we had booked because that ship was chartered. I was not happy about the circumstances around booking the Fantasy but we really lucked out when we chose this cruise and this ship. This cruise was like the Carnival we remember before all the cut backs. Our cruise started with a 6 hour drive to Mobile. We had a late start so didn't arrive at the port until 2:30. By this time, the port parking lot was pretty much full. We managed to get one of the few spots left on the very top, uncovered deck. We paid $90 at the machine near the elevator. We then got on the elevator only to be directed back outside to get to the entrance for the cruise terminal when we got to the main level. There were no lines.

Once we got to the area where they check passports, I remembered why we don't like cruising from Mobile. We've only sailed from Mobile one other time, on the Elation in 2010. At that time, the port was staffed mostly by retirees. The check-in process was a slow, tedious affair. I was hopeful when we booked the Fantasy that that had changed. Unfortunately, it has not. The security check is overly rigorous. They were searching the purse of the person in front of us when we walked up. The offending item? A bracelet. My purse didn't fare much better. The offending item? The metal spiral binding on my notebook. What good is that scanner if they can't determine what is in the bag by looking at the monitor?

After taking forever to screen 2 families, they then informed us that the 12x14 cooler that we have taken on virtually every cruise is too big to be taken on the ship. It was a mere 2 inches bigger than the 12x12 in the policy. When I protested, they pointed to some policy they had printed out and said that it was a new policy. I looked it up when I got home. Since the cooler size policy was put in place in 2015, we have taken 2 cruises prior to this one with our cooler. No one questioned the cooler or even had a tape measure out to measure it. For a mere two inches, we were told that we could take what was in the cooler with us but the cooler had to go back to the car or it would be confiscated. My husband had to walk all the way back out to the car to put the cooler back which meant going through the screening process again. Once again, we got on the ship not at all happy with the check-in experience at this port. Read more