We were on a specialty themed cruise, but because it wasn't a full charter we had the experience of both the charter & the Fantasy's normal trip. We had 2 adults & 2 children, the youngest being 4, so the smaller ship could not have worked out better for us!! We had a room on the 6th deck at the back of the boat. Above us were the kids club, dining room, and pool level buffet. This made it so convenient!! The kids club was AMAZING!! the staff were so sweet, they constantly had something going on for the kids, and I felt really good about my girls being there. We dropped them off at night after dinner and would pick them up on the way to bed. So convenient and really gave my husband and i the chance to enjoy ourselves at night without any guilt. The rest of the staff on board were amazing as well! not a single rude comment or annoyed face. We were well aware this was an older ship, but didn't lack for anything we needed. I tend to be of the thought that unless you are spending a fortune on a vacation, you have to know that there are some compromises to be made, but that the vacation becomes what you make of it. We didn't want for anything, we didn't feel like we missed anything, the biggest complaint i have is that because it's a smaller ship, there's less staff so sometimes the wait for a drink at the pool bars were a bit long (somehow i survived tho!) The shower pressure in the cabin made for the best shower ive ever had! the rooms were what we expected, and just big enough for comfort. The tv remote was a bit weird as the volume & channel buttons didn't always work, but this was for 1am tv before falling asleep. We had a blast in the casino & bar next to it, they constantly had activities going on inside & outside, and getting on and off at cozumel was quick & easy. we've decided were only going to cruise from now on as its so much easier with 2 kids!!! no cooking, cleaning, and finding something for them to do as its all taken care of. Weve begun planning out next Carnival Cruise for this fall :)