mandydean

We are sailing out this weekend. We booked very early on the Carnival Fantasy out of Charleston - IDK how far a drive that might be for you, but it's close for us so no need for a plane. We booked in early spring - our total was $1400 after taxes, tips, and everything - that's for 4 people in a stateroom. So works out to $70pp nightly after tips. We booked an interior but by watching the prices carefully (and since we booked a price-guarantee rate) we were able to upgrade to an oceanview room recently for no extra cost. For our crew, this is a great price on a 5-night vacation like this. We homeschool our crew, so we're able to wait for the price-drop after labor-day. If you're able to work something out like that with your kids' school, or take advantage of a long fall break weekend or something, that's a big factor in getting good rates, it seems.

We have never been on the Fantasy (or Carnival, actually) so I can't speak to the ship. I know it's Carnival's oldest ship. We chose it because we don't want to drive any farther than that with a 4yo and 1yo in the car. :-) I can definitely see us saving up a bit more and springing for a nicer RCL ship for our next vacation though, and making the drive to Florida once the kids are a bit older.

Call Carnival and have them put a pack n play in your room. They do have them available.

I bring water because That's all I drink and I think water does have a flavor.

You can pack it in a rolling bag.

Have a great cruise!

Is what they have available actual pack n plays, or mini cribs? I've read that the mini-metal cribs that many ships have are larger than pnps. Since our son actually sleeps in his pack n play as his crib every night (with the added "regular mattress), we're thinking he will sleep better in his "own bed" than one provided. But maybe not worth it..?

I love this assortment of scientific answers! Haha - you all must have known I was a nerd :-) Thanks so much for the detailed responses!

Hi all,

I've heard some mixed feedback on the on-ship water. We're sailing out on Fantasy on Saturday and I'm wondering if it's worth it to bring our own water on. We are bringing a 1-yo and a 4-yo (including porta-crib) so we will have plenty of stuff to carry and check. My husband doesn't want the hassle of carrying the water onto the ship, but while I'm no water-snob, he is rather picky about water. Is the water on the ship OK? I'm asking flavor-wise, since I'm sure it's safe or they wouldn't sell it.

I've seen that we could order water to the room, but I cannot bring my self to cough up that kind of money for bottled water. We are not bottled-water drinkers here at home.

Also on a totally different topic, but while I'm thinking of it - can I check a portable crib (pack n play) as luggage? What about a rather unwieldy mattress for same pack n play?

Thanks everyone. Sorry for my newb questions :)

I got an upgrade! I was not eligible for any money-back. When I booked, I had chosen my own interior room, and the lower "interior room" price is for a "Guaranteed" room, so I could not get a price drop on the interior.

However, since the "Oceanview Guarantee" rate is considered an upgrade, and would have been $40 less, I was allowed to trade in for this upgrade. Taxes had increased since I booked in July - quite a bit, so rather than receiving $40 back, I had to pay an extra $15 to make up for the taxes.... I went for it though. It's for a "guaranteed ocean view" so we can't pick our room, but since we didn't really care where we are on the ship, we went ahead with it. Hoping we'll be glad we upgraded!

Thanks everyone! If you have any horror stories about winding up with an awful room after choosing a guaranteed rate.... well... keep them to yourself. :-)

Amanda,

 

In your confirmation email, toward the bottom, you will find a section called "Guest Notes". If you booked Early Saver, one of the items will state this.

 

Steve

Thanks! I did notice it had an Early Saver memo, but I wasn't sure if everyone got that footnote regardless of their rate. Thanks! I'm excited - think I'll call and see if I can get upgraded! Or maybe I'll be responsible and ask for the refund....... :-)

Hi,

I'm thinking my cruise might be eligible for a price drop but I'm not entirely sure. How can I tell whether it was an "Early Saver" booking? I don't see that mentioned in my email or my online booking information. I also am not very familiar with stateroom categories, etc. I know that when I booked, I chose my own interior cabin (since that was not any costlier than letting Carnival choose), but right now I could get an Ocean View cabin for less than I paid for the interior. So, I'd prefer money back, or else an upgrade. But want to be sure I'm eligible for one. Is there an easy way to find out, or should I just call? For some reason I'm worried they'll be reluctant to help me ;-)

Thanks,

Amanda

Hi everyone,

We've got our first Carnival cruise scheduled for 8/30 on the Carnival Fantasy in Charleston. I need information on the Charleston embarkation process that Carnival couldn't answer for me.

We'll be traveling with two small kids, and planned on driving the 3 hours to Charleston on the day-of. We were seriously considering the "Faster to the Fun" pass so we could get on the ship and skip the whole "waiting in lines with small wiggly children" part. :-) I was told that the pass will allow us to embark at 11:00 instead of the normal 12:30.

HOWEVER, according to the Charleston Port Authority website, the gate will not accept vehicles for parking except between 12:00 and 3:00 on sail days. This seemed to confuse the Carnival agent I spoke with, who just said "well... it's a parking garage, right? so it should just be open?". But it's my understanding that the parking is guarded by the port authority gate, and is limited in accessibility.

So I'd LOVE it if someone could clear me up on whether I can park at 11, and how. Will the Faster-pass get me into the gate sooner?

I'm also open to hearing suggestions on places in Charleston that offer the least expensive "Park and Cruise" type packages, in case we decided to go that route... Please help this newbie out! :-)