mamaof3crazykids

I would like to know this as well.

We are cruising next week on the Fascination for 4 days and was needing to find out if there was a formal night? We have never cruised a short cruise and wanted to make sure. If so what day is it usually?

Thanks in advance!

mamaof3crazykids, Glad you enjoyed the Fantasy. Did you happen to hear Music Boardwalk while onboard? Pink,PS if I didn't already have my screen name I would of used "daddyof3crazykids" (all girls:eek:)

Yes, and they are awesome!

We just returned from our first ever cruise on the Fantasy yesterday. A 5 day to Nassau and Freeport. Mamaof3crazykids, I think I saw you from a distance but not close enough to introduce myself! You were with the only guy I saw with a red beard! I have nothing to compare with but we had a great time and did not want to disembark. We did not try to do everything on the ship so I don't have an opinion on the casino or bar scene. We did the late seating dining and enjoyed the food and our service which was entertaining and catered to our every whim. We did the dining room breakfast one morning and the buffet on the other mornings. We found the food on the buffet to be just as good, even the eggs! I had lunch most days from the Mongolian Grill, stir-fried to order. There was almost constant live music on the Lido deck in the pool area. The pool scene was not for us, too small and way too crowded. We loved the comedians in the Punchliner for the family friendly shows. Our excursions were both booked through Carnival. We did the Atlantis tour of the digs and aquarium in Nassau. It was interesting and there was plenty to look at. Our dinner friends did the dophin experience there and were very excited about their experience. At Freeport, we did the Western Heritage tour with Chad. He was so much fun! I enjoyed every part of this, we all did. But my dd and dh had the time of their lives snorkeling at Paradise Cove. They saw sea turtles, nurse sharks and fish of all types. I beachcombed and took pictures of curly tailed lizards. We tried conch fritters. The cruise weather was just about as perfect as one could ask for, except a few showers in port at Freeport.

My dh booked our cruise in January and chose a Grand Suite. He had regrets and thought he could have used the money in a better way, but found that he couldn't change without losing our perks that were offered. We left it. We are so spoiled now, that it would hurt to consider cruising in a different fashion! The VIP boarding was awesome and fast.We lived on our balcony...just watching the waves and the sky. We loved seeing the dolphins hunting their lunch as we prepared to leave port in Charleston. My dh spotted a whale early on the first morning and spent at least an hour or two of every evening sleeping on the balcony.

We spent one night at the Hampton Inn and Suites on the Isle of Palms connector and parked there, using the TNT driving service that they booked through. We were a little delayed leaving for the ship because of a mix-up where the desk clerk didn't give the service an accurate number of passengers. The biggest problem was the pickup after disembarking. We were early, #2 for relaxed disembarkation. The other family to be picked up were #18. The service would only come for both at the same time. We had to wait for the other family to come off, call the driver and then wait 25 minutes in the heat for him to show up. There could be alot of improvements to this situation all around. The terminal area should be expanded to allow space for sheltered waiting areas for pickup. Not just out by the street. I was not real impressed by this driving service.

We can't wait to plan another cruise experience and our daughter just wants to get back to Freeport to snorkel.

Yea, I didn't see many with a red beard:D I also thought the pool was way to crowded so we stayed away from it.

I know what you mean. I sailed on Glory last October to Bermuda then Fascination about 5 weeks later.

 

Yes, the menus have changed some but the food was still very good. I never had a problem finding entertainment (or I just made my own!).

 

Is it still the case that you should NOT arrive at the port too early? When I cruised her last, it was just the 2nd sailing after she moved to Charleston. I know it isn't the largest, newest port from which to sail and that they're pretty strict about how vehicles are allowed in both to park and as drop-offs.

 

I'm going to try Anytime Dining by myself on Leg 1. Did you do that or have set dining?

We got there at 11:00 and they were not letting anyone in yet. We finally started moving and was on the ship by 12:00. We did the anytime dining and never had to wait. We sat by ourselves every night but you could request to sit with others.

Just got of the Fantasy yesterday,and we had a blast! All these threads that talked about cut backs,and no live music had me worried.But I didn't see any of this on the Fantasy.There was live music almost every night .