A lot of excitement was generated this morning by Carnival Corporation's announcement to build a second Vista Class cruise ship for Carnival Cruise Lines. This announcement made me feel excited for Carnival and hopeful that I will get to sail on the new ship too. However, with the Carnival Vista coming in 2016 and this second (not yet named) Vista Class ship in 2018, I have began to wonder if it is in the near future that a Fantasy Class ship will get sold off or transferred into another cruise line. As I have mentioned in past posts, it is inevitable that these ships will get sold or transferred and it is only a matter time before one of these two possibilities occur.
        The Fantasy Class cruise ships are Carnival's oldest and largest class of cruise ships. The Carnival Fantasy, Carnival Ecstasy, Carnival Sensation, Carnival Fascination, Carnival Imagination, Carnival Inspiration, Carnival Elation, and Carnival Paradise make the Fantasy Class what it is today.  In total, there are 8 Fantasy Class ships.
              The last Carnival ship to be sold was the M/S Holiday in 2009. The Holiday sailed with Carnival from 1985 through 2009, making a total of 24 years of service with Carnival Cruise Lines. Before the Holiday was sold, the Carnival Celebration was sold in 2008, which gave it about 21 years of service with Carnival. Although the Holiday Class ships were sold off relatively quickly, my guess is Carnival will probably keep the Fantasy Class ships longer than 25 years. The Carnival Fantasy turned 24 years old in 2014 and the Carnival Ecstasy will turn 24 years old in 2015. Many of the older Fantasy class ships have been dry-docked and renovated in the past few years to keep them refreshed and up to date. The dry-docks have helped keep these ships competitive with some of the newer and larger ships, but there is only so much renovation and refreshing that can be done to a ship. 
                  Carnival's long term plans for ship placements, construction, and deployments will determine the fate of these ships. The Fantasy class ships can fit in most ports of call and utilize many homeports. For example, Tampa cannot currently handle any of the new large mega ships because of a bridge limitation. Fantasy and Spirit Class ships are the only Carnival ships that can cruise from Tampa. Without Fantasy class ships, Tampa would only be able to get Carnival's Spirit Class ships. It will probably take many years for all of the Fantasy class ships to be sold or sent away, so Tampa doesn't have to worry about this potential situation for a little while longer. However, this is a situation that is inevitable since Carnival will have to someday retire the Fantasy class ships. 
                  The mega ships have their appeal to many people, but ships that are considered "smaller" have their appeal to many people too. The Fantasy Class ships are not small, they are just considered smaller when compared to many of the brand new mega ships today. The average length of the Fantasy Class ships is about 855 feet, which is not small. The Vista Class may be part of the Fantasy Class's successor, but it should be a while before all of the Fantasy Class ships are retired from Carnival's fleet. However, it may only be a matter of years before some of the older Fantasy class ships are retired. The Fantasy Class ships are still around and sailing, providing many people with memories of a fun cruise vacation. I believe the Vista Class and any future classes of Carnival ships will have big shoes to fill after the Fantasy Class goes away.

For Citation/Reference Purposes:
All of these links will take you away from our website. I am not responsible for the content on these pages.
Here is where the dates for the old Carnival Holiday came from:  Click Here To View
Here is where he dates for the old Carnival Celebration came from: Click Here To View
Here is where you can find some information about Fantasy Class ships:  Click Here To View
The Fantasy's and Ecstasy's inaugural books gave me their dates of first sailing, which helped me calculate their ages.

      Is your cruise ship visiting a port of call that will require your cruise ship to tender? Tendering is when a cruise ship does not dock at a pier in a port call and passengers get shuttled on & off via a smaller boat. Typically tendering happens if a port of call does not have a pier large enough for cruise ships, the water depth is too shallow for cruise ships to get close to land, or the pier in the port has already been reserved by other cruise lines and ships. Tendering is often viewed negatively by many cruisers because it takes longer to get from ship to shore and it is not efficient as disembarking using a pier. However, tendering can be made a positive experience if everyone cooperates with each other and the ship's crew. This article will give some information about tendering and how you can help with making the process of tendering more efficient. 

 Before Cruising:  Ask Your Cruise Line If Any Of Ports You Will Visit Required Tendering
    Before you depart on your cruise email or call your cruise line to ask if any of your ship's port of calls will require the passengers to be tendered ashore. The majority of ports have piers, but you don't want to be surprised on your cruise and find out that you will tender ashore. 
    Guests With Disabilities:
    If you learn that your ship will be tendering and you have a travel companion that has a disability or is in a wheelchair find out from your cruise line in writing if the tender can accommodate that guest. I suggest getting that information in writing to keep the representative that you got the information from accountable.  
    Give Yourself Plenty of Time 
    Your cruise ship will probably have a long line at the bottom of the ship to get off because tender boats can only hold a certain number of people and run on a every so often basis.  If you are taking a shore excursion try to get off early and give yourself plenty of time so you don't miss your shore excursion.  Often cruise ships will publish a "last tender runs at..." time.  Try to get back onboard before that time in order to insure that you don't miss the boat.  Since tenders run on an every certain amount of minutes basis plan accordingly. 
    Bad Weather 
    Sometimes bad weather can occur and tenders are not able to run.  Ships will be turned away from ports if tenders are not able to run because of high winds or bad weather.  If you are onshore when bad weather is about to strike try to get back onboard the ship to prevent getting left ashore because the tender service had to be suspended. 

    I hope this post on tendering will help you better prepare for your cruise.  Do your research before cruising to prevent any surprises with tendering.

     Before taking a cruise vacation, planning can be a stressful experience. If you have never cruised before you may feel overwhelmed with the details of cruise preparation, but your planning can pay off when you are finally sitting on the deck of your cruise ship looking down at the people stuck on land while you are on vacation. The goal is this post is to help you get ideas on what you need to do and when you need to do these things before your cruise vacation. Keep in mind that you should try to take care of business in advance to try to keep the days before your cruise vacation stress free! 
        If you book your cruise months in advance you will have plenty of time to keep these things under your radar. If you book your cruise a few weeks or days in advance you may have to speed up doing some of these things, if possible within a short notice. 

Right After Booking:
       After booking your cruise vacation, no matter how long until your cruise,  make sure you save a copy of your confirmations. Consider making multiple copies of your booking confirmations, airline confirmations, and/or transportation confirmations to ensure you have enough copies in case something goes wrong. You should also keep any receipts or records of deposits/vacation payments. Ask your cruise line or travel agent for confirmations when you pay off your vacation. Also, ask your cruise line or travel agent for some important deadlines that apply to you. These deadlines could be things such as final payment due date, cancellation deadline, or how long you have to digitally check in before embarkation day.

Applying For Proper Government Photo ID: 
         You will most likely need to have certain documentation or photo id to travel. Ask your cruise line what type of travel documentation you will need to visit a state or country's website to find more information about valid identification. Never assume something will accepted. Always research and check in advance to make sure you have correct documentation needed to travel. Apply for required photo id or documentation in advance. I recommend you apply for these items at least 6 months in advance. If you are applying for a government id or documentation that is known to take a long time to receive apply more than 6 months in advance. Give yourself plenty of time to receive these items and time for processing. Not having proper documentation or photo id could cause you to be turned away from your cruise or to have trouble with a country's customs agents. It is best if you make sure in advance you get the right photo ID or documents to avoid trouble later in time.

3 Months Prior To Cruising: 
-  Keep important dates that you have research or learned about in mind and act on deadlines that are approaching.
-  Make sure you have all travel documentation & id requirements. If you don't have these things apply as soon as possible.
-  Make sure you have secured any transfers, airfare, and lodging that you will need pre or post cruise vacation. Keep a copy of confirmations for transfers, airfare, and lodging as a proof of purchase to try to prevent any problems that may occur with reservations.
-  Don't neglect any payments or forget about when your payments are due. 

1 Month Prior To Cruising:
-  Make sure you are taking care of or have taken care of important deadlines, dates, etc. 
-  Verify again that you have all of your travel documentation and IDs ready. If you don't you might still have time to apply for what you need. Sometimes there are ways to get documentation expedited for an extra fee. If there is a delay you could risk not having your required items in time to cruise. 
-  Start writing a packing list and thinking about the items you will need to bring. 
-  Be checking your bookings online, if your cruise line offers this, to make sure nothing has changed.

When Should I Start Packing?
       The time you start packing is up to you! When I cruise I start by writing a packing list about one month ahead of the cruise. I think about what I will & may need for the entire cruise vacation. About 2 weeks prior to leaving for my cruise vacation I start putting some items in a dedicated corner that will be packed later. About a week before the cruise I have my suitcase out and in my packing corner. One or two days prior to the cruise I put my items into a suitcase and cross them off my list to make sure I don't forget anything. 
-  Try to stay organized with your packing and create a list.
-  Cross items off your list when they are packed so you know what you have ready to take.
-  Don't forget toiletries.
-  Check your cruise line's website for prohibited items that cannot be packed or brought on the cruise. 

One To Two Days Prior To Leaving For Your Cruise:        
-  Finalize your packing and verify again that you have your travel documentation. 
-   Don't forget to pack your camera, batteries, and/or a battery charger!  I usually start charging my camera's batteries about two days ahead and I also pack a battery charger for during the cruise. 
-  Have your mail stopped if nobody is going to come by and collect it.  You might want to consider having a trusted neighbor pick up your mail & hold it for you while you are gone.  If you don't have a trusted neighbor you can try to have the postal service hold your mail. 
-   Keep packing and thinking of things that you want to bring.

Before Leaving The House:
 -  Make sure have water faucets off, stove off, appliances off, and valuables secured and hidden.
 Note:  Some people turn off their water or basic utilities before leaving.  If you are one of these people that do this don't forget to follow your routine!
-  Make sure you lock all doors and turn on your security alarm, if applicable.
-  Make sure you take all luggage, documentation, and anything else you will need.
-  Unplug electronics from the plugs incase a power surge occurs while you are gone.

Enjoy preparing for your cruise vacation! 
Click Here To Go To Our Homepage