Carnival Fantasy Review
If you want good food and service, look elsewhere
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Was on this cruise because my husband was speaking to a business group on the cruise. This was our first Carnival cruise, but not our first cruise. We have cruised on Royal Caribbean previously. From the start, it was clear the Fantasy is an old ship that is ready for retirement. There is visible rust everywhere and pretty much all parts of the ship have very visible age and wear.
My favorite part of cruising is the food and I was terribly disappointed in the Fantasy's food offerings. The food in the main dining room is nothing I would pay for off of the ship or ever want to have again. I even opted to pay for a surf and turf on formal night (because you can't get a steak or lobster tail without paying) and it wasn't worth the $20 I paid. The only other dining options are the "buffet," Guy's Burgers, Blue Iguana, or room service. Guy's Burgers was by far the tastiest option on the ship, but the burgers were super greasy and the lines were always super long. Blue Iguana only had chicken tacos and taco salads, despite the sign that said "Burritos Aqui." I had tacos and they were ok. The "buffet" had constant lines and the food was just ok. With room service, you can only get a few things for free and those things are like a grilled cheese, pb&j or tuna salad sandwich. Everything else costs money and there's nothing offered that is worth paying for. Everything we had on the ship was underseasoned or not seasoned at all.
The few bars on this ship always have a line and wait because they are severely understaffed at all times. It makes no sense to me that Carnival would only put one and two bartenders at the only two bars on the deck with the ONLY pool on the whole ship, but each day this is what happened. This caused us to have to wait at least 5 minutes every time we wanted a drink, which doesn't seem like a lot, but it is if you are trying to enjoy a cruise and not stand in a stinky bar line. Also, there was an overpowering sour smell at all times surrounding the lido deck, especially in the bar areas. There were servers walking around the pool deck, but the service was so slow you had to go get your own drink if you wanted it within 30-45 minutes.