momin05

We will be on Fascination in 27 days! We have sailed three other Fantasy class ships but never Fascination. Your review was excellent and your pictures stunning. Thank you so much for taking the time. Couple of questions.

Was the water from the tap in the room also bad? I have seen this bad water comment in several reviews about Fascination and have never had an issue on any other ship.

Where is that dessert sushi? It is beautiful and I have never seen it before.

Thanks again for the great review.

I was looking at booking the Sands brewery tour in Freeport through Pat and Diane because we are there on a Sunday from 7am - 2pm. Diane said the brewery would be open for tours and tasting although the assembly line would not be running. My question is...would the brewery be open to the general public not on a tour? I don't care much about the rest of the Pat and Diane tour (perfume tour, etc.) and would like to just go there on our own.

Our group if 17 did pat and dianes last week and it was awesome. We did the long tour. the snorkeling was great and the private island and lunch and drinks were heavenly. They gave us tickets we could use for return transportation, but there really wasn't extra time to spend at Lucaya. They had a bus waiting for us when we got back. The bus is luxurious, way better than the taxis. They really took good care of us. They advertise that in more than 20 years in business they have never missed a ship. I would highly recommend for a worry free exursion.

The cruise I was looking at has now gone up $50 and does not have the $150 obc. The price had gone up while I was on a cruise last week, so I held off, thinking it may come back down. But now it is up another $200. Should have pulled the trigger.

I just got off Fantasy on Wednesday, so to answer the recent questions... The doors are not metal, even though I had asked that question before and am positive I was told they were. I had taken magnetic white boards but had to use two sided tape to hang them.

Fantasy does have Cheers. None of us got it but I saw them selling it. You will see it on Lido when you get on.

As for Freeport, for beach, conch and snorkeling I would recommend Pat and Dianes long tour. You will get all three plus lunch. Great reef snorkeling, private beach, free drinks, lunch and fresh conch they catch. Otherwise, you can take a cab to Lucaya and go to the free beach and get conch at Billy Joes. But you won't get snorekeling that way. And by th time you pay for drins and lunch and conch, you probably won't be better off than Pat and Dianes.

I went through a PVP and booked all the cabins at the same time. Every time I tried to call her extension after that, she was not available so I assume she left the company. But I was always put through to someone who could help. But she made sure our reservations were all linked so we have dinner together. We like anytime dining, but with a group I think it will be better to have assigned dining just so everyone knows where to be and when. I am not sure there is really anything more you need to do in terms of reservation.

Don't dismiss the backpacks! I got them from Oriental Trading for $30 per dozen with our slogan printed on the back! They are the perfect size for a carryon and to take on the island. We will see how much people usd them but I sure plan to use mine. The only problem is they all look alike! We will hae to get a Sharpie and put our names on them!

I don't know that I can commit to a full fledged review but I will certainly post my experiences once we return. Bon Voyage!

Thanks BrownCalico and Bob and Joan. That does help.

Bob, congrats on booking your group cruise! This is the first time we have sailed with a group so I will let you know how it goes. I have been Julie the Cruise Director for the whole thing, planning it all. I have done silly things... I have given our clan a name and ordered personalized drawstring backpacks and lanyards and stickers to wear. I have also made door decorations and bought white boards for our door so we can leave each other messages. My daughter says everyone on the ship will wish they were part of our clan! We will see what things are popular and I will let you know.

We booked this cruise back in May so to have less than 72 hours to go seems unreal!

So you recent Fantasy sailors can tell me... do they show the same shows more than one night? For example, will the Brits show on multiple nights? We have lots of kids on this family cruise and I just wondered if we took turns with the kids and missed a show one night, could we catch it another night? Last time I sailed three years ago they did not do this, but in reading recent reviews something gave me the impression they now do.

Only five days to sailing!

We go next week. I will be sure to post. His email said 8 - 12 minutes for single and 12 - 15 for tandem. It is also $20 for anyone who wants to ride in the boat but not parasail.

Loving your review, you are making me laugh. My husband thinks I am crazy for reading this board but I made him read your post about not drinking beer and ending up doing the cupid shuffle with grandmas and he laughed out loud! We board Fantasy in 10 days! So keep it coming, love the pics, especially the pics of the Fun Times! That is awesome! Thanks so much!

Yes. I just received an email today from Freddie of Freddies Hi Tech. He is reputable and has been advsed by others on this board. He said he will pick up and return from Senor Frogs. It is $70 per person, double or single. Anyone who wants to ride in the boat but not parasail is $20. Payment in cash when you meet him. You can google him and his website has his email and phone number. I emailed him Saturday night and he wrote back today. I think this is a better option than through the cruse company.

Rachel, if you want, we can move this conversation to the roll call thread. There is one started but I haven't posted on it yet because it was started by a guy who said he has been on Fantasy before and it was awful but is going again... Great attitude. I just didn't even want to be part of that thread! But I will concede. I can tell you our plans and my rationale for them. Also, bobsfamily and nctribe are sailing right now and we expect lots of information from them when they return! And yes, you can't really get around the $85 for parking. If you need to spend the night before you can find a hotel with a shuttle but otherwise just cough up the parking fee. I probably won't post again until his evening but I will head over to the Fantasy Oct 18 roll call thread and post there.

Jeffer Rachel, we are also on the Oct 18 sailing. We have a family group of 17 going. We have reservations with Pat and Diane for snorkeling in Freeport. You should join us, it has really good reviews on tripadvisor. You will love cruising and Fantasy is awesome! I don't remember how much we have spent in the past, but you can defintely get away with not spending much money and having a great time.

I don't know if you guys have been watching the Fantasy webcam. Someone posted it recently. I check it out most days and try to catch it docking or leaving. I saw it docking in Nassau one morning and it was so cool...it turned around and backed in. It refreshes every 30 seconds, just refresh your screen. You can see it is headed back to Chas for you guys today, Bob and Joan! Enjoy yourselves this week. I am so jealous... I have until Oct 18!

Great. As long as we can go later, I am good. I remember Charleston is different from other ports but couldn't exactly remember the difference. I remember the elevators are taken over so you can't get off earlier than you are supposed to. My husband has always complained that the worse part of a cruise is the disembarkation process, but Charleston seemed to have it worked out. We are in no hurry and would rather eat a nice breakfast and wait on the rush. I know I have read they now do silent disembarkation, which I am very happy about. I rememer those announcements starting at 6:30am last time.

Thanks so much for the info.

Right. As I was asking on behalf of my 73 year old dad who can't do a lot of walking.

So, I was also curious about disembarkation in Charleston. We have taken Fantasy out of Charleston once before, three years ago, and did self assist. That was fine for me and my husband, but with my seven year old and my parents, I am thinking we would rather not haul our luggage. But we also will not be in a big hurry to get off the ship. If we put our luggage out the night before, do we have to disembark with our zone? Or can we just wait until later during self assist and still pick up our luggage in the terminal?

Thanks, bobsfamily. We will look for it. My husband keeps saying it can be a long way just to get off the pier! When you write your review in September I will look for you to let me know if they are still there! Have a great cruise. We can't wait to be on Fantasy again. This will be our third time sailing her.

Bobsfamily, I would like to hear more about the free bus in Nassau at the pier. We have never noticed that and were concerned about my dad making that long walk down the pier when we take a family Fantasy cruise in October. How do you catch the bus?

I have seen that if you buy a Sheraton pass you get access to the Wyndham. Is the opposite true? If so, shouldn't I get the Wyndham day pass for cheaper?