Our Fantasy Review 1-1-11

[cruisecrazyk]

We drove down from Charlotte NC the day of the cruise. There were four of us. My husband and I (51)and my son and daughter-in-law (20's)drove down together. Embarkation was easy enough and they had adequate staff at the port to keep things moving. The ship is very nice considering its age . Carnival has kept it up well. Rooms were large enough but had little storage especially in the bathroom. No hairdryers in the rooms which we knew ahead of time.We were lucky regarding the weather because it was warm that day just a little cloudy. We all had spa treatments the first day and we loved them. The guys has hot stone massages and the gals had facials. We probably should have waited to do the spa the last sea day since it was too windy to have any deck time. We enjoyed all of the shows, especially Ticket to Ride. Universal Lounge, the theater, is large but the view of the show is terrible in the upper balcony with the way the seating is set up. Try to get there early enough to get a seat in the lower section. They have the punchliners comedy club on this ship and only got to see only one comedian Dean who was very funny. Unfortunately the comedy show is in a small lounge and is standing room only and hard to get a seat so come early! Risa the cruise director was great in the shows and had a great sense of humor. We loved the Love and Marriage Show. Never laughed so hard in my life!We had perfect weather in all of the ports of call and the seas were calm. The only bad weather was the last sea day with high wind and rain. Luckily we had our deck time earlier in the week. We had great experiences in the port with the excursions we purchased in Nassau and Freeport. We took the trolley in Key West to go to all the points of interest and got to see everything we wanted to do. The staff on the boat were wonderful and the self-assist debarkation was a breeze. Just make sure you are ready to leave at 6:30am and they call you by floor with the Empress floor first. Carnival staff runs the elevators during self-assist and only that floor can use the elevator at their specific time. I am not sure how many are used for just the self assist but they leave some open for the passengers left to use until they can get off in regular debarkation. We were thru customs in less than 5 minutes and in our car by 7am.

 

 

We took the Harbor tour and Discover Atlantis tour. Great fun to see Atlantis if you have not been there before. We also went to the straw market for a few things and went to the shops for our freebees and to look around, Go to the shopping talk to learn of the free stuff you can get by visiting some of the stores.

We took the Jeep excursion tour in Freeport and it was a blast. We got to see every part of the island (Tatiano Beach, Garden of the Groves) including areas only accessible from a jeep such as some waterfront beach area and pine forests. My son and daughter-in-law thought this was the best tour for Freeport. You really need to take an excursion in Freeport or a taxi since the port is away from any of the beaches or shopping areas.

We took the trolley around Key West and went to the Hemingway house, Butterfly aviary, and the southernmost point. We also got a view of the island from the top of the hotel in town and got some great photos. We loved our Key Lime pie on a stick dipped in chocolate. Lots to see in Key West so plan accordingly to avoid missing something, The trolley is the best and cheapest way to get around. We spent 5 hours out and about and saw most everything we wanted to and got to sample the local food. There are 2 different trolley companys in Key West and they have simular routes but one goes a little farther out. City View is the cheapest and just as good as the Old Town Trolley so it is whatever you want to do. I believe Old Town has more stops. All in all a wonderful trip. I was very pleased with the food, service, and the ship. Our first time cruisers had a blast and it was a vacation to remember. Thanks Carnival!

[fistertondeluxe]

Hello, glad that you had a good time, My family is leaving on Monday 1-17 from Charleston and are looking forward to it. I do have a question. What time did you all arrive at the port? I read another members blog and he said he was waiting in line to park for several hours.

[cruisecrazyk]

We arrived at noon and did not wait that long. You go from line to line to pay then they move you to drop off your luggage so make sure it is tagged and then you follow the signs to park in the warehouse. They have plenty of people to wave you to the correct areas and parking. I would say we were on the boat by 1pm from the time we started the process and the time we got checked in. So really not too bad. Our boat was sold out and since a lot of people drive to this port, I think they did well. Once you park, you wait for a bus to take you to the port area to check in and get your key card and board. They have the buses coming every 10 minutes. Hope that answers your questions. Our longest wait was unloading the buses of people from the parking along with the tour buses ahead of us that were unloading people. Got a little jammed there.

[softball13]

Thanks for sharing; we are doing the five day so we won't get to go to Key West. Struggling as to which excursions to do in Freeport and Nassau. Sounds like you had a good trip. We leave in 16 days!

[SeamusNC]

Softball: I'm heading out on the Fantasy in a week, I signed up for a snorkel in Freeport with Sanddollar Cruises (google it). I read a bunch of great reviews on here about them. Great captain and not too crowded. It's not a Carnival excursion so you need to get to the boat on your own. I'm really looking forward to it. Hopefully the weather will be good!

[softball13]

We are meeting tonight to discuss excursions and Sanddollar is one that has been mentioned. Please give me a shout when you get back and let me know what you think about the excursion. We leave February 2! Have a wonderful cruise and I look forward to hearing from you!

[ashefrog]

We leave 3/1 (36 days, yippee) so any comments/suggestions from you lucky cruisers leaving before then would be much appreciated.

 

Ports: Nassau and Freeport.

[SeamusNC]

Softball:

 

We had a real bummer in Freeport, the seas were too rough for snorkeling so the trip was cancelled. Capt. Tony met us at the meeting point and immediately refunded us our deposit, he also recommended a good place to eat on the beach called Billy Joe's. He seemed like a great guy and I will definitely be booking another trip with them in the future.

 

Have you decided on any excursions yet? Hope you have a great cruise!