wrenegade

Sailing out of Charleston, S.C., with the Ravenel bridge in the background

And here's the sunset from our balcony. Notice that sliver of moon near the very top. Looks like the moon is smiling down on us for this trip

Thanks for the photobucket recommendation. Here are the photos that go with the previous posts.

Here are my table mates during our spring breaker cruise on the Fantasy.

And here's the wife getting ready to pack for our trip at the hotel in Mount Pleasant

And this is Ash, our tour guide at the Sands brewery. I also have a video of him downing those three beers in seven seconds. I'll try to figure out a way to post that.

Now that I've got the hang of this, things should go much smoother from here on out.

What day of the week were you in freeport? I want to take a taxi to sands for the tour also but have heard it is closed on Saturdays.

 

 

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We were in Freeport on Monday. They have a web site http://www.bahamianbrewery.com I didn't see any hours posted but they do have a message feature so you could ask them if they'll be open when you're there.

Also, everyone, I've been working on the photo issue. Apparently, I need to find a file sharing web site that allows hot linking. If anyone has one they use and recommend, please reply. My apologies for the problem. This is my first time trying this kind of thing

FREEPORT I had read a lot about the Sands brewery tour and I had considered signing up for it through Carnival's shore excursions desk at a price of $44.95 per person (there were three of us). I'm glad I procrastinated. We wound up finding a taxi at the port and got a round-trip ride to the brewery for $34 including a $5 tip both ways. The brewery tour itself was $7 per person. So all three of us wound up paying just a little more than it would have cost for one person through Carnival. To be fair, we didn't get to stop at the perfume factory, but that didn't appeal to me anyway. And there was a great straw market at the port -- no need to take an organized tour to get to another one.

The brewery tour was great -- all the free beer you can drink as fast as you can drink it. We sampled every beer they make: Sands original, Sands Light, High Rock lager, Strong Back stout and a special ale they produce exclusively for The Atlantis resort in Nassau. The ale supposedly sells for $36 a bottle, according to our tour guide Ash. All of the beers were tasty but my favorites were the lager and the beer made for Atlantis.

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Ash, our tour guide, was hilarious and so personable. We got to the brewery's tasting room about an hour ahead of the first cruise boat tour, so we had the place almost all to ourselves except for another family that had gotten there before us. Ash challenged all of us to a drinking competition. He bet that he could drink three beers in less than 15 seconds and, if he succeeded, we would have to chug two glasses of Strong Back stout. Ash downed the three beers is just over 7 seconds -- an amazing feat. I didn't have to chug because -- when it comes to drinking games -- I never bet against someone who drinks for a living.

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I've read a lot on the Carnival forum about the new stage shows and how people aren't happy with them. From what I experienced on the Fantasy, I can see why. There were two stage shows, one called The Brits which featured music from the British invasion and another featuring music from the Motown era. We only saw The Brits so I can't give an opinion on the Motown show.

The Brits features a few singers dancing around to poorly recorded music from the era known as the British Invasion. It was possibly the cheesiest stage show I've ever seen. If the real British invasion had been this bad I have no doubt Britain would no longer be around. We would have nuked that country off the planet. The "star" of the show danced around with a fake, cardboard looking guitar without any strings. When they started their version of "You Really Got Me" the wife said, "No you don't" and we took our leave.

Later that night, the wife was having a hard time sleeping so she turned on the cabin television. They were showing a replay of The Brits from earlier in the day. The wife said it gave her nightmares.

This is a small ship so the entertainment options are somewhat limited. We saw one of the two comedians and he was pretty good. A lot of fart jokes from what I remember. The comedy show was about the only thing going on at the time and the line to get in stretched along the Promenade deck. The room was packed and several people had to stand.

-- My bourbon and bubbly

-- The wife looking at the Charleston port from our balcony

Trust me, I'll get the hang of these photo attachments. I'm not as computer illiterate as I seem. Please bear with me

OK, it's not the best photo solution, but at least it works. If you click on the photos you can see them larger without leaving the web page.

To continue the review:

Embarkation was super smooth. Our shuttle driver pulled us up to the baggage area where we dropped off our checked bags and then walked a short distance to the terminal. The lines for the X-ray machines moved fast and -- since they saw what appeared to be bottles in our carry-ons -- we were escorted to a table where a nice gentleman went through our bags. There were three of us so we brought the allowed two bottles of wine and a bottle of champagne and I had brought some Cokes to mix with my bourbon. (Pre-cruise I sprang for a bottle of Maker's Mark and some bubby for our trip).

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The inspector made sure all of my Coke bottles were sealed and even shook them to make sure they fizzed. We also brought on some liquid coffee creamer which drew some scrutiny but eventually passed the inspection.

We had a balcony suite so we were given priority boarding, which was great because the embarkation line was LONG and not moving particularly fast. We zoomed through the priority boarding line (there was only one more person in front of us) and -- after posing for our embarkation photo -- we were on the ship. We took our carry on luggage to our room and dropped them off. The steward was still straightening up but she didn't seem to mind.

We went to the Lido deck for some lunch. I got some pasta and it was just OK. A little cold. My daughter got some pizza from the buffet and I grabbed a margarita to start the trip. My wife got a drink of the day, complete with souvenir plastic cup. A few minutes later we went back to our room to watch us set sail from our balcony.

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Trying to post the photos a different way. Let's see if this works.

Here are my table mates on the Fantasy spring break cruise

And here's the wife sipping a cold beverage as we pack at the hotel for embarkation

Yes, Junkanoo beach is within walking distance and a good alternative if you need a quick place to go. You could also walk up to the fish fry section for lunch. We ate at Goldie's conch house. Great food!

Haven't received any VIFP survey

Not sure why the photos aren't showing up. I've tried to use the URLs from Facebook, photo bucket and imgur and none are working. Any advice?

I've even tried to post links to the photos and it appears cruise critic is blocking the outside links

Just got back from a 5-day cruise on the Carnival Fantasy and want to write up my thoughts -- the good, the bad and the ugly -- while they are still fresh in my Margarita-soaked mind. I also took a ton of photos. I won't bore you with all of them, but will upload a few that seem appropriate. Here goes:

First of all, this cruise was filled with spring breakers from nearby colleges such as the College of Charleston and UNC-Wilmington. Many more college girls than college guys, and it was fun to watch the show on the Lido deck. Nobody really got out of hand, although I heard one guy was thrown in the brig for trying to climb the radar tower and we watched another girl being carried by friends onto the boat after a day of heavy drinking in Freeport. They managed to get her onto the ship just as she proceeded to throw up all over the floor.

All in all, though, sailing with so many beautiful girls around -- none quite so beautiful as my wife, but beautiful all the same -- turned this trip into a real Fantasy cruise.

Here's a photo of our table mates to give you an idea. Normally, I don't like those big cruise ship tables where you have to sit with a bunch of people you don't know, but this time it worked out just fine.

Pre-cruise day in Charleston We live along the South Carolina coast, so cruising out of Charleston was a no-brainer for us. Even though the port is only a couple of hours away from our home, we decided to drive down the day before just in case. You never know if you'll get a flat tire or some other emergency the day of that could keep you from catching your ship.

We decided to stay at a Hampton Inn in Mount Pleasant located on a side street just before you get to the Ravenel bridge. We got the stay and cruise package for $202.50, which included one night's stay, a continental breakfast, round-trip transportation to the port and back and a safe place to park our car for the week. I highly recommend this place. The staff was friendly and the room was clean. Transportation by Showtime was great, particularly on the way to the cruise where we met a young man who's trying to earn some extra money while serving in the Navy reserve.

Here's the wife enjoying a cold, German beverage as we pack for our departure at the hotel:

More in a bit ...

I don't see any of them listed on the online bar menus but was wondering if Carnival stocks any hoppy craft beers either on the Lido deck or in their bars. Something like Sierra Nevada or any other IPAs. We'll be traveling on the Fantasy and would like to have something besides the typical Bud or Miller.

Thanks everyone for the great advice. Sailing out of Charleston SC in 12 days!

I'm considering getting a Bon Voyage liter of Maker's Mark for our five day cruise. If for some really odd reason that I'm not able to finish it, can I take the opened bottle with remaining bourbon off the ship on debarkation? Or does it have to stay on the ship?

Taking the family on a cruise on the Fantasy out of Charleston next month. Can anyone recommend a good, clean hotel -- preferably in Mount Pleasant -- that offers to let you leave your car at their property and provides round-trip transportation to the port if you spend the night prior to your cruise? All of the hotels I've seen on the port's web site are about double the price you would expect to pay for a one-night stay.