Fresh off the Fantasy

[JStarbrite]

Just returned from Charleston and have some time now to write a report. I’ll split this up into a few segments so if you have any questions just chime in.

 

Pre-Cruise and Embarkation

This is my third time on the Fantasy, and each time the ship was different. This was my sixth cruise and still had a few firsts.

First of the firsts, I drove to the port. I packed up the Mini Cooper and made the 13 Hour drive from Detroit to Charleston. Leaving at 10 PM put me at the hotel at about twelve thirty, ready to check in. At a hundred and eighty dollars for gas and twenty-four dollars in tolls round trip’s, not having to worry about taxis, Rent-A-Car’s, lost luggage, TSA molestations, or delays the trade-off was worth it. If I can get there in a day I would rather drive even considering the high gas prices. Besides the Mini liked the mountains.

Upon arrival at Shem Creek Inn, even though check in was not until 4 PM, they accommodated us and let us check in immediately. This was a very nice hotel located on a canal of which the shrimp boats dock. It is very scenic and you’ll see artists setting up their easels and painting. There’s plenty to do within walking distance including many restaurants and bars, a catamaran sailboat that you can take a day cruise on, speedboat rides, and kayak rentals. The rooms were large and spacious, clean, and each had a private balcony. While we were there they were constructing a boardwalk and a park. I had a hankering for some oysters on the half shell so we made our way across the bridge to Red’s bar and Grill.

Red’s was your typical nautical theme bar with a nice deck overlooking the harbor. I was extremely disappointed when the waitress said they had no oysters! But on the other hand it was my first contact with the people of Charleston’s hospitality. Reds is a place where people come to eat and drink, and bring your dog! If you are a dog lover you’ve got to check this place out. I found the food to be mediocre at best, but the Corona’s were cold and the Cuervo sure did take the edge off of the long drive. I found everybody that I came in contact with in Charleston to be extremely nice and friendly, and we had some very pleasant conversations with the people around us. After being up for over twenty-four hours it was all I could do to make it back to our room and collapse in bed. Good thing my travel companion was not as exhausted, she decided to go out and purchase our contraband liquor.

Liquor stores in Charleston are only open from 9 AM to 7 PM and closed on Sundays!

The next morning we were treated to the typical hotel continental breakfast. The concierge contacted the shuttle company and arrange for pickup. I wanted an early pickup at about 10 AM to get to the board about ten thirty, but they informed us that we could not get into the port until after eleven. Even so the shuttle driver was there at a 10:45 and we were waiting at the gate to get on the ship. At ten dollars per person each way, it was well worth parking for free at the hotel and getting dropped off right at the ship. We were of the first people on the ship! The shuttle driver was great, almost like a cheerleader pepping us up for our vacation.

Boarding brought on another first. After all the talk on these boards I had decided to fill up a water bottle or two with liquor and bring it in my carry-on. Don’t do this! You will get busted! The security guards shake your bottles and can tell by the foaming that it is liquor. Smuggle your liquor in your checked baggage. Our rum runners and a twelve pack of Coke made it just fine in the checked luggage. The paperwork was a breeze. We were on the ship in less than 10 min.

Since it’s not a modern cruise ship terminal, you enter the ship on the third deck just as you would in port. Kind of takes away of some of the wow factor when you first enter the ship at the bottom of the atrium and have the procession line of ship’s officers and a reggae band welcoming you aboard. Another first, all the elevators had attendants that would not let you go to any other deck except the top decks. All my other cruises even if your state room wasn’t ready you could still go and drop your carry-on off. No big deal we went to the Lido deck for lunch. I had the Mongolian barbecue and was quite impressed. A great addition. It was great eating our lunch out on deck. A pod of dolphins kept us entertained as well as our conversation with some spring breakers who also got busted carrying liquor on their carry-on. Of course a couple of drink of the days were in order. At the end of the cruise I was surprised to see that these drinks were credited off our account. Wish I would’ve known that. I would’ve ordered a classic drink and had a chance to make money at the casino.

That’s it for now, I will post more when I get a chance.

[CMstreet]

So why did they credit of the DOD at the end of the trip?? We will be sailing on the Fantasy at the end of May and this is our first cruise so we are really looking forward to it.. Can't wait to read the rest of your review.

[JStarbrite]

Have not a clue. First two charges said "Refundable Onboard Credits" for $9.66 each

[scchasgal]

Have not a clue. First two charges said "Refundable Onboard Credits" for $9.66 each

 

Are you sure these were DOD's being refunded? Sounds like some port charges or fees dropped and they passed it along on your account. We had this happen on our Dream cruise. No notification just a refundable credit to our account times two one for each of us.

 

Whevever it came from credit are a good thing.

[Parent22]

Just off the Fantasy as well. . . . I don't think those credits were for the drinks. We had the same posted on our account, and we don't drink alcohol. Perhaps previous poster's suggestion regarding refunding of port charges or something for all guests was correct.

[JStarbrite]

After lunch the elevator guards were gone and we could go to our stateroom. We had a porthole cabin, another first. Literally the second cabin from the bow of the ship, it was slightly bigger than the cabins I’ve had in the past. You could feel some motion at night, and when the ship docked, the side thrusters turned your bed into a vibrating bed. For the same price as an interior cabin, I thought it was great, but it might not be for everyone.

We met our cabin steward Toulus. He was very personal and friendly, but was not the best cabin steward I have ever had. Just a couple minor things like not filling our ice and not giving us new towel animal couple days. Regardless, I tipped him a couple of extra bucks continuously throughout the cruise. The last day of the cruise he didn’t look so well, so I think he was getting sick. Working on a cruise ship is one step above slavery. Luggage did not come yet, so we took the elevator up to the sundeck for the grand tour.

Be forewarned! As soon as we step out of the elevator into the spa atrium the spa personnel hijacked us enticing us with a coupon for a chance at free spa services and before I knew it I was in the middle of a 20 min. long sales presentation of their services.

The spa area cheapened a bit since I sailed the Fantasy last. They took the whirlpool out (which was my favorite hot tub as it was usually always empty) and replaced it with an aerobics room. They also took out the five head showers and replaced them with the handheld kind they have in your cabin. They also did not have the toiletries out such as shaving cream, deodorant and aftershave like they used to. However they still had the steam sauna spiked with eucalyptus and the dry sauna available at no charge.

We went back to the cabin found that the luggage was still not delivered. I was getting a little nervous after getting busted sneaking the alcohol in my carry-on. But I still had my allowable bottle of champagne which we cracked open and had a couple glasses waiting for the muster drill. This time the Muster drill was different. You did not have to put your life preserver on, rather you assembled in the Universal Lounge for a lesson on how to put them on and then made your way to your lifeboat for the rest of the routine. I only have one thing to say to those young girls who came right from the Lido deck to the lifeboat drill in their bikinis. Thank you!

We then went up to Veranda forward deck for sail away. It’s always a thrill sailing out of port. Charleston Harbor was beautiful and did not let us down. After sail away we had some sushi. Sushi wasn’t bad and I really enjoyed the Japanese side dishes, but I really must go to the galley and teach them how to make sushi rice correctly. If your rice is imperfect, your sushi will suffer.

The bands that played just outside the casino in the long hallway they call Via Maria really were fantastic. Past cruises on the Fantasy I only remember a single piano player or one-man band. This cruise they had full four or five piece bands playing some really good variety music. It didn’t take them long to open the casino and I played some craps and my girlfriend played some slots for about an hour or so. We both left slightly ahead. When we checked the cabin our luggage finally arrived. Hooray! The rum runners made it! We unpacked and indulged in our plunder.

We had any time dining which was another first for me. I will never do assigned seating again. It was just way too convenient to do dinner whenever you wanted. That way you don’t have to plan your activities around your dinner. Dinner in the main dining room was about the same as I experienced in the past with Carnival. Some dishes were extremely good while others were quite mediocre. Who cares, if you don’t like it order something else! We didn’t have any problems missing the dining room floor show, although it wasn’t much. I guess when you been on a cruise with Ken Byrne as maître d’ you get spoiled.

After dinner we made it to the Universal Lounge for the welcome aboard show. To my surprise and delight we had no problems getting excellent seats. I think it was due to the fact of our young spring break crowd putting more value into partying on deck than seeing a good show. Risa the cruise director and her assistant Squishy (he would not tell us his real name) were quick and witty. Only one fault. They picked eight cruisers to do the opening gig for the welcome aboard show and that was really too long. Six or four would have been plenty. Anyway the comedians did not impress us too much so we opted to go to the piano bar.

Cleopatra’s, the piano bar was really a huge disappointment if not a black eye. The first thing I noticed was the terrible mess around the piano. Spilled drinks, broken glass and cigarette butts remained on the bar in until I wiped them away with a bar napkin. There were two piano entertainers. The one that was playing that night was good working the crowd and funny, but did not know very many songs. The other entertainer knew a lot of songs, but was not good with the crowd. The second time we went to the piano bar later in the cruise and found another mess, we took our drinks to Cats lounge where they had an excellent rock ‘n roll band. It was too bad I discovered it late. I could’ve partied at that bar the whole week.

That was quite a lot for the first day so we headed back to the cabin to be gently rocked to sleep

[GuitarPlayer]

we took our drinks to Cats lounge where they had an excellent rock ‘n roll band. It was too bad I discovered it late. I could’ve partied at that bar the whole week.

 

Awesome so far...can't wait to hear more, as we are going in June, so I'm especially excited to hear more about the Fantasy out of Charleston.

 

Any more details on the Cats lounge band? Name of the band, players/instruments?

 

It's good to hear there are full bands these days, as the trend from experience confirmed with reading these boards these days seemed to be toward smaller groups (1 or 2 with techno-tracks as background). I'm hoping that trend is reversing...

 

Thanks!

 

GP

[KentuckyKat]

The bands that played just outside the casino in the long hallway they call Via Maria really were fantastic. Past cruises on the Fantasy I only remember a single piano player or one-man band. This cruise they had full four or five piece bands playing some really good variety music.

 

That is great news! I've read so many posts about no real bands on CCL anymore. We will be on the Fantasy for the first time in July. Really enjoying your review - going to bookmark it to read again in the summer!

 

Thanks!

[Casey9]

Keep the reviews coming! I'm leaving on the Fantasy on Saturday - just two more days - wahoo!

[JStarbrite]

Awesome so far...can't wait to hear more, as we are going in

 

Any more details on the Cats lounge band? Name of the band, players/instruments?

 

GP

 

All I can remember is a wicked guitar player and a bass player that was a dead ringer for Morgan Freeman. When I dig out our copies of Fun Times, I will post the name.

[Mary49]

All I can remember is a wicked guitar player and a bass player that was a dead ringer for Morgan Freeman. When I dig out our copies of Fun Times, I will post the name.

 

I'm sure you had to hear the rock band "Music Boardwalk" Enrique is a great guitar player one of the best. They also do the "Ticket to Ride" show. Do you remember them?

[mouche]

Loving the review!!! 39 days til we are on the Fantasy!!!:D

[JStarbrite]

Day two, at sea

 

Got up to my usual room service breakfast in bed. I’m not a big breakfast person, so this is good enough for me. My favorite is the smoked salmon with bagels and cream cheese. My other cruise morning ritual is to go to the spa and sit in the steam room with a bottle of water to clear the cobwebs from the night before. I shower and shave there to free up the cabin bathroom for my lovely travel companion. After which, what else but go up to the deck and try to find a lounge chair and take in some sun and sea air.

 

What a shock on the Lido deck! Just a sea of people and lounge chairs. While a few chairs were being hogged, it seemed like everybody on the ship was on the deck that day. I attribute it to the spring breakers and the great weather. There were literally no lounge chairs available on any deck! We did find a stack of chairs in the water park area grabbed a couple, held it above our heads and looked for an inch of real estate to put it down on. Once we found an area, to the concern of the cruise are behind us “you know I got to get out somehow” we assured her that if she wanted to leave we would let her by. Seconds after we sat down at least ten other cruisers squeezed in beside us.

 

The waterpark area was a great addition, giving an additional area for kids to play and a wide open deck for their parents to watch them. The slides are great, Even though I am over fifty, I still felt like a kid going down them. Due to the large crowd, drink service was kind of slow. We relaxed for a couple of hours and had a cocktail or two, but the crowd was making me feel a little claustrophobic and it was lunchtime. We went back to the cabin, threw on some casual but respectable clothes and went to the main dining room for lunch, another first.

 

Lunch in the main dining room, while not as fancy as dinner, is still a treat. It’s nice to relax and have someone wait on you, after all you have already paid the tip. The fair is mostly upscale warm sandwiches soups and salads. We changed have went back on deck where the crowd dissipated a little and we were able to get a chair on the main deck and listen to the reggae band. The reggae band was one step above terrible. While I am no artist I don’t think it’s that hard to sing reggae. This guy was out of tune and seemed to forget the words every now and then. Maybe he was stoned in the real Rastafarian fashion!

 

We relaxed a bit and cleaned up for elegant night. Another first time for me, we had our picture taken at a number of settings. The photographers were very knowledgeable and most of the pictures taken were very professional. I could not believe at the end of the cruise that they would not give us a package deal if we purchased multiple portraits. It was either $21.99 or throw it away. Sorry Carnival, it’s just against my principles to spend a hundred bucks on pictures.

 

We did not get to meet the captain, but we did meet the first officer. No more free drinks for the captain’s reception, but you do get a dollar off of drinks and the Via Maria hallway is festive with live bands and lovely women and gentlemen dressed to the tees. Having any time dining we were not rushed. Being dressed in a tuxedo, I just had to go to the casino and order a martini, shaken not stirred!

 

Elegant night dinner did not disappoint. The only downside is I could not decide on what to order. There were a lot of items available only that night including the seared duck breast, prime rib, and of course lobster tail. I ordered both the duck and the lobster. Yum. Repeat. Yum. After dinner I kind of rushed to the Universal Lounge for the show. But there was no need. Lots of good empty seats available minutes before the show. As expected a great show. I bet those spring breakers are kicking themselves in the butt for missing it. After the show it was right to bed in anticipation of that dreaded 6 AM wake-up call.

[scchasgal]

I'm sure you had to hear the rock band "Music Boardwalk" Enrique is a great guitar player one of the best. They also do the "Ticket to Ride" show. Do you remember them?

 

They were on the Fantasy when we sailed at Christmas and we hunted down wherever they were to watch them. The songs were great and we sang along.

[princess di44]

I think we were on the same fantasy cruise.. It was a great time. My mom's favorite thing was the salmon/cream cheese on bagel too. It was our first time using the dining room for breakfast, and really enjoyed it. Glad to have wonderful weather. Only complaint here was the noise we heard from our cabin every night (e 153 and e 157). I think it was from the galley, but every single night it around 3-4am, it was very noisy... We didn't even have much noise from the spring breakers. I did finally win my first ship on a stick, and also a medal from being a judge from hairy man contest.. lol.... now please I hope noone will remember me from that one, lol, it got a bit wild... but, it was a fun time.

[GuitarPlayer]

also a medal from being a judge from hairy man contest.. lol.... now please I hope noone will remember me from that one, lol, it got a bit wild... but, it was a fun time.

 

Don't worry...No one will remember it as much as *you* will. :p

 

Hey, you were there to have fun, and apparently, you *did!* :D

 

GP

[fishinbitch]

Don't forget dear....some how some one told the Maitre'd it was our 3yr anniversary. We still don't know how they knew. The whole dining room sang happy anniversary and they gave us a small cake with a candle and made quite a spectacle of us. It was all fun and I will never forget that night.

[wannago35]

I can't wait to hear more, loving your report so far, thanks for sharing! we sail Fantasy in July & can't wait!

[angiegal]

Thanks for the great review so far! Can't wait for more! Question: Is it true that leaving out of Charleston there are more people in gowns and tuxedos?

[kew1031]

did you run into Gustavas on this cruise?:D

Maybe he was on a different sailing; he certainly wasn't as kind to the Fantasy and her passengers in his review.......

[scchasgal]

did you run into Gustavas on this cruise?:D

Maybe he was on a different sailing; he certainly wasn't as kind to the Fantasy and her passengers in his review.......

 

Yeah I just read his arrogant, pompous review a few minutes ago. I think folks that have sailed with him will remember. Can you imagine being at dinner with him??

[Ms Belvedere]

Great, detailed review. Thanks for taking the time to post it!

[Granny1]

I'll bet he ate alone!! :(

[jenms2000]

I'll bet he ate alone!! :(

I certainly would have requested a table change!!!

[Kharalew]

JRStarbrite, I will be on the May 25 Fantasy cruise (1st cruise ever) and your "story" has me soooo excited! Thanks for taking the time to write with so much detail :) I'm glad you had such a great time!