T. Gay Turner

Age: 51
Occupation: Land Developer
Number of Cruises: 1 and only
Cruise Line: Carnival
Name of Ship: Fantasy
Sailing Date: April 6th, 2003
Itinerary: Bahamas

Carnival will be the first and last cruise I will ever take. It was highly over rated. Once we got past the gate and on the ship we were prisoners of the Fantasy. Oh, the guarantee. Funny, you don't really know how bad it can be until you get past the first port. Then it is too late.

I think gratuities should be earned. We were charged tips for EVERYTHING and I do mean everything. BEWARE: You cannot adjust tips for the beverages. Make sure you do not get a joint account for a beverage card. You can only get one drink at a time, per card. Watch out for the beverage Nazis. You will get 50 lashes if you ask for 2 sodas at one time!

Then there is the Safety Drill Nazi. You cannot sit down no matter how long it takes to go through the drill and PLEASE, do not loosen your life jacket where you can breath. You must suffocate! That’s another 50 lashes!

By all means keep your shoes on the whole time you are dancing in the disco because "Francisco" the shoe Nazi (security) will threaten to remove your feet.

I am sure you are getting the picture by now so let me cut this part short, the staffing was totally unacceptable.

The only person deserving of a tip was our cabin steward a very quite little man who we saw only once but, he was very good and made us very comfortable without asking for anything. We had a very nice cabin, U102. It was very roomy, and very comfortable. Our tv did not work well and I did check in other cabins since we were traveling with 5 other people and their tv worked fine. This was not a big problem as we did not need to watch it except that there was a war going on.

The food, was okay. The price of wine was outrageous. We were charged $21 for a bottle of wine you can buy in any grocery store for $6.99 oh, and don't forget the tip. Our servers were okay even though they could be forgetful.

Excursions, RIP OFF! You can take the ferry to the Blue Lagoon for $5. or take Carnivals ride for $27. You get one beverage with Carnivals.

Overall the ship was clean and orderly. No complaints. Our suite was $1800 for 5 days/ 4 nights. The service was bad. The food marginal. The staff was pathetic. Did I get my moneys worth? NO. I don't like having to eat on a schedule or having assigned seats. I don't like tipping when it is not deserved. I don't like the regiment and I especially don’t like a rude staff.

Will I do it again? NO. Oh, and don't let them try to talk you in to using their phone service. Just call your own cell phone provider. It is .99 per minute with Cingular. Just register your phone.

The departure procedure took longer than it should have. Finding your luggage can be a little tricky. I was very happy to get off the boat. Don't bother to complain to Carnival they already have your money and they really could care less. Even if they offered me another cruise I would not go. There were many other complaints of the same kind from fellow cruisers. I did meet some very nice people who were trapped on the same boat.

Please feel free to e-mail anytime should you have any questions.

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