We had been wanting to go on an anniversary cruise this year. As it happens, the closest cruise port is currently home to the Carnival Fantasy. They had a 6-day sailing that worked really well with our vacation schedule, and it would allow us a day of down time when we returned before heading back to reality. The sailing offered two ports of call – Grand Cayman and Cozumel – with a total of 3 days at sea. While some people prefer port-packed cruises, we very much enjoy our sea days – sometimes as much as our excursions!
Vacation (especially an anniversary cruise!). For us, it’s time away from the stressors of corporate America and the rat race of Atlanta traffic. Because of this, we rarely see the need to pack our vacations with activity during every waking moment of the day. Sea days give us that built-in “down time” to just take the day at our pace. We can do as much (or as little!) as we wish! Since we are both avid readers, as well, sea days give us plenty of time to sit wherever we like, either inside or outside, and just read with no life pressure weighing on us. Others may choose to vacation differently, but peaceful vacation is our personal preference.
Cruise History and Anticipation...
We have been on three cruises prior to this, and all of them had sailed out of New Orleans, LA. Those cruises were on both a mid-sized and full-sized ship, so we had the opportunity to learn that we actually preferred the smaller ship. The Fantasy is a sister ship to our first ship, the Carnival Elation, and we were fond of the layout. A bonus was that the ship had been refurbished and now had some really appealing additions. More on that later…
All of our sailings so far have been on Carnival Cruise Lines, and our next cruise with them will put us into Gold status. Woot! The Fantasy is currently sailing out of Mobile, AL. Having never been to that cruise port before, we weren’t quite sure what to expect. Sure, Mobile is a smaller city. When it comes to crazed vacationers, however, that doesn’t necessarily translate to a smoother experience. We had read mixed reviews online and heard horror stories from other cruisers who had sailed from there. We were undaunted…
Parking at and Navigating the Port of Mobile
As we arrived in town and saw the ship RIGHT THERE, our excitement was almost more than we could handle! We hadn’t been on a cruise in 2 years, and we had missed it – A LOT! To get to the parking garage, we went on up over the overpass. We were then directed by police (along with what looked like hundreds of others) to where we should get in line to await entry. Having arrived early in the hopes of early embarkation, there was a slight delay waiting for those who were departing the previous sailing to make their final exit from the garage.
We finally entered the garage, and the stevedores were lined up ready to unload your luggage. Our friendly stevedore made quick work of unloading our bags onto the cart, and we were on our ascent to find a spot!
(#PROTIP – be sure you take cash for these nice ladies and gentlemen, as well as for others who might provide service to you along the way. They are some hard working people!)
The garage is not tiny, but it’s also not huge, so even the farthest parking spaces were still fairly convenient to the door. We made our way inside where there were several elevators working to take people to the level of the waiting area. We moved right through security (easy, peasy!), then found comfy seats to await our number to be called for check-in.
Review of Port of Mobile
After all the horror stories about parking at Mobile and the not-so-great experience navigating the Port of New Orleans, we were THRILLED with how smoothly we made it through Mobile. We were on the ship a few hours early, giving us plenty of time to take advantage of the amenities before sailing.
The Anniversary Cruise Begins...
Once our number was called, it was time to make it through the obligatory “photo op” area with backdrops of the ship. We declined. We knew we would not purchase the photo, anyway, and we were ready to get on board! As we walked around to the gangway, we snapped a better view of the bow of the ship. Can’t you just FEEL the relaxation coming on?!?
It’s finally time to talk about one of those appealing additions to the refurbished ship – Guy’s Burger Joint! We had heard nothing but rave reviews, so we had saved our appetites to enjoy this as soon as we got on board. To make it over there, though, we had a short walk cross the lido deck. It was the quietest we had ever seen Lido, so I snapped a quick photo.
You will never find Lido Deck this quiet – unless you happen to visit late in the evening. Even then, it’s no guarantee. A short time later, this was anything BUT quiet!
Just look at that delicious burger and those awesome fries! I must say that Guy’s Burger Joint did NOT disappoint! I think we ended up eating at Guy’s 3 or 4 times before the end of the cruise…
A Sneak Peek at the Ship
After a very filling burger meal, we wandered through the ship, reacclimating to the layout. (It had been 4 years and 4 months since we were on the sister ship!) The refurbished dining area was definitely much more open and easy to navigate than what I remember from the Elation. Since the staterooms are not ready until much later, we found a spot to just relax for a while. It was also several hours until dinner #1 of our anniversary cruise (thankfully!), so we had plenty of time.
We snapped a few quick photos as we wandered through the ship. We grabbed a view of the atrium and its window ceiling. There’s also a picture of an awesome model of our ship that was on display close to the theater. They also had a life-sized chess board on the sports deck. So cool! Stay tuned for more later, but for now, here is the quick peek at the inside of the ship…
Embarkation Day Dinner
In addition to the staterooms not being ready until later, sometimes it is a bit later when your luggage arrives. Because of this, the first night at dinner is deemed “cruise casual” so that you don’t have to lug fancy clothes around with you on Embarkation Day. For this cruise, we chose the option of a flexible dining time, which gave us a bit more freedom in the evening. Port days can be exhausting, so we had the option of a quick nap before we had to rush around to get ready for dinner. There are also activities after dinner, so for those days, we had the option of going early to be free to play. Since we were cruising alone on this one, it was easy to manage with this option.
We were so excited to be on the ship that we didn’t even stop to take photos of our dinner, but we did grab a photos of our dessert. We had chosen a Warm Chocolate Melting Cake, which is a signature dessert for Carnival. It is a dark chocolate cake left souffle-like in the middle. It is rich chocolate and not too sweet, served with a side of vanilla ice cream. If you haven’t had it, but you are a chocolate fiend, we would HIGHLY recommend it! We thought we were done after that….but….
Our waiter was aware this was an anniversary cruise and was SO EXCITED to be able to celebrate us! We were serenaded AND got to indulge in this dark chocolate moussey heart-shaped cake. The cake was delicious, and the waiter was so sweet and kind…
Wrapping Up Day 1
We just wandered the ship and people-watched for the remainder of the evening – moving from one area of the ship to another, enjoying the thrill of vacation’s long-awaited arrival. Our anniversary cruise was off to a great start!
NOTE: If you are cruising with a large group, it may be a better option to have a set dining time. You’ll have the same dining staff each night, and you won’t have to coordinate with/corral the whole gang before you head to the dining room.
Have you ever been on a cruise? If so, were you on Carnival? Have you ever cruised on the Fantasy? Leave us a comment so we can share in your vacation adventures, too!