Carnival Fantasy – A Cruise Ship For Everyone #CCLWinter

Just 5 days ago my husband and I stood on the sun deck of the Carnival Fantasy cruise ship enjoying a beautiful sunset together while our children were enjoying Camp Carnival.

This was our first time cruising and although I’d done heaps of planning and research for this 5 day Bahamas cruise I don’t think I’d really understood how much we would enjoy it.

I have so much to share with you all, from the amazing food, to entertainment I foresee many articles here sharing our experiences. Today I’ll focus on the Carnival Fantasy itself and what we enjoyed.

Carnival Fantasy

Carnival Fantasy was the Queen of the Fantasy-class of ships when she entered service in 1990. She was the largest of the fleet at the time and although cruise ships have gotten progressively larger, there are many who enjoy the intimate feel of the Fantasy these days.

Carnival has invested millions into the Fantasy in order to keep her beautiful and current with the times. This was obvious as we strolled the Serenity Adult-only area and Camp Carnival.

Cabins on Carnival Fantasy

The Fantasy offers 5 different styles of accommodations; Interior rooms, Ocean View, Balcony, Suite and Cloud 9 Spa. Each of these can be found in various locations on the ship, you can read more about them HERE.

For our trip, we chose to book 2 Interior Rooms side by side. With two children who have VERY different sleeping patterns we felt this would be a wise choice and the costs involved were minimal.

When we opened the door to our staterooms we were pleasantly pleased! We had somehow pictured something much smaller and were impressed how Carnival has used the space to make it feel quite roomy.

In my stateroom there were 2 single beds pushed together to make a King sized bed. There were 2 flip down single beds on each wall, a desk, 2 closets, 1 vertical closet of shelves and a small bank of drawers. We found we had plenty of storage, there would have easily been room for 4 people’s clothing for the 5 day cruise. Luckily there was also room under the beds to store the luggage.

The bathroom was of a good size and had a stand up shower which was key after long days exploring. Tip: Bring your own hairdryer if you need one which you’ll use in the mirror above the desk as there is only 1 outlet in the stateroom.

Dining on Carnival Fantasy

We throughly enjoyed the variety of food on the Fantasy although I must admit I didn’t make healthy choices for the entire trip, thank goodness there is a gym!

Signature Dining

When booking our cruise I had the option of having a set time (early at 6pm or late at 8:15pm) for dining each night or the option which I chose, the Your Time Dining which allowed us to walk into the restaurant anytime from 5:45pm – 9pm.

There are 2 restaurants onboard, the Celebration Dining Room and the Jubilee Dining Room. Each of these restaurants offer SeaDay Brunches and evening dining. There is a daily menu which doesn’t change through the trip and another Daily Menu which offers additional choices from Lobster to Prime Rib and kids menu choices. Our eldest daughter even tried Frog’s Legs!

There are many other options for dining onboard which are another expample of how Carnival has thought of everyone’s preference. Others are the Poolside Grill, Windows on the Sea Bar and Grill, Sushi Bar and Bistro.

Activities We Enjoyed

There is far too much to be said about the activities on the Fantasy but I will do my best to convey what we enjoyed. There really is something for everyone onboard! I watched all ages and lifestyles enjoying their experience, from Bingo to the night clubs there was always something to choose from.

Hasbro Game Show

This was a highlight for our family as we watched Hasbro Games come to live on stage. My darling husband was seen to be jumping up and down as the host was selecting audience members to participate onstage.

In the end hubby and our wee Chelsea were chose to be part of the action and although they were winners, they did receive a hand-held Simon game for participating.

Camp Carnival

Each day as we awoke the girls would check the time to count down until Camp Carnival opened at 10am. This is a FREE camp for kids where they get to hang out with FUN staff and children their own ages. Games and activities are selected specifically for the age groups of the kids and I can honestly say our girls resented missing any time there.

From welcoming the Family Dance party to the Build a Bear workshops, every activity the kids participated in at Camp Carnival is jammed with memories for them.

Carnival Waterworks

What an amazing feeling it is to stand on this cruise ship in the ocean watching my kids scream their heads off as they go down a 300ft water slide at the top of the ship!

Lido Deck Pools & Hot Tubs

The Lido Deck is the Shangri-La for family, with the buffets, the bar, a stage, the pool and 2 hot tubs it’s where the action was at. There are plenty of deck chairs, towels, tables for eating and staff always at hand to assist if you need them.

Gym

The gym onboard is lovely, it had all of the amenities I am used to including Pilates and Yoga classes. With all of the indulgences I enjoyed while dining I was glad to use the gym to work it off.

Casino

We aren’t one for the evening dance clubs but do like to enjoy ourselves in the evenings while the kids were at Camp Carnival. Between the shows and the Casino we had a BLAST together, it almost felt like we were dating again.

At the Casino there are all of the typical games; slots, cards, dice and more. I enjoyed joining in a few tournaments and walked away a winner!

There is so much more to share with you all about our cruise, watch for my upcoming articles where I will share our shore excursions to Nassau and Freeport.