We chose this ship due to the Mobile port. We had never cruised Carnival and some of the reviews held me back of ships in New Orleans and Mobile. I decided I was not going to drive further to a port (Mobile is within 4 hours) so we took a chance on the Fantasy. We aimed for low expectations due to reviews and we were surprised at how much it exceeded our expectations. The food in the dining room was the best food we've had on a cruise yet. I don't understand the reviews that say their food was awful. Ours was fantastic, everything cooked perfectly from their flank steak to chicken, etc. Tasty and wonderful! Our waiters were fantastic and called us by name as soon as we went in each night. They were delightful.

Our room steward was also great, calling us by name daily. He was in stealth mode and would slip in almost as soon as we left and the room would be clean when we got back from breakfast or wherever. We asked for ice one time and had it refreshed daily by him and his memory everyday. Asked for extra towels and he never forgot to do that either.

Our cabin was a window view on deck 7 and the location was extremely convenient. Just one flight up the steps to our dining room. It had no smells and I was worried about being hot after some reviews, but it was super cool. Air worked great. We actually had to turn down the air some and I stay hot...so I was pleased! No, the cabin is not newly decorated but the beds were comfy, there was lots of lighting, the air temp was great and our bathroom was always clean. Zero smells. All the previous bad reviews make me wonder was it the same ship. Most comfortable bed on a cruise so far. There was plenty of storage space. Tv was small (think small computer monitor size) but we got Turner classic (yeah!) and a few channels. It was better than other ships we've been on. We did not try the wifi or internet. We go to unplug. Read more