Carnival Fantasy Review
Nice escape from the cold between Christmas and New Years Day
Rating by category
Additional details
Fantasy Review – December 2017
4-night cruise to Cozumel departure on December 26 and return on December 30. Group of six adults from 23 to 55 years of age.
Pre-cruise Hotel
Cabin Review
Ocean View
Our outside stateroom on the Empress Deck overlooked the stern. The room was generally cool if the ceiling vent was open and comfortable if the ceiling vent was closed. The bed was very comfortable and extra blankets were in the closet to handle the cool temperature while sleeping. The pillows were also acceptable. The carpet and furnishings were in good condition. The bathroom sink and shower were acceptable but more worn than the room. The shower curtain stayed where it belonged and did not drift into the shower or allow water to escape onto the bathroom floor. Our room steward Ruli did a great job keeping the room fresh while we were away having fun. A towel animal made an appearance every day. There was noise and vibration starting early in the morning while preparing to dock in Cozumel and Mobile.
Port Reviews
Cozumel
Our group of six walked from the Puerta Maya Cruise Pier where Fantasy and the other Carnival ships dock about 2.5 miles to the Thirsty Cougar near the Punta Langosta Cruise Pier “downtown”. After various adult beverages and lunch, we did some shopping and caught a taxi back to our cruise pier for $16. We left Cozumel 30 minutes late, I assume waiting for a Carnival excursion to return. A family of four were running to get to the gangway, while two others seemed unconcerned and were strolling toward the ship. As soon as the two stragglers crossed the gangway we finally left Cozumel. That evening I observed we were going about 3 knots faster than normal, probably because we left late.
Mobile
Departure: Port documentation says parking deck opens at 10 AM. We arrived at port at 10:25 and were turned away by police because of previous cruise customers still leaving. We were instructed to return at 11. We returned at 10:55 and traffic on Water Street was backed-up on to the I-10 exit ramp. We noticed a shorter line of cars along the rr tracks on Old Water Street and were eventually directed to that line, I assume to clear the backup off the I-10 ramp. It took 45 minutes to get into the parking deck to unload luggage and park. Unloading is a bottleneck because cars are unloaded in batches of six or seven. If the first or second car is not prepared and has to sort or tag luggage then everyone behind that car waits until they are finished.
Return: Customs consisted of checking passports, no forms and no questions about what we were bringing into the country from abroad. BTW there were literally no bags waiting in baggage claim and everyone was doing self-debarkation. Leaving the parking deck was quick and easy once the trains passed.