Fantasy was a nice time

[Gabrielle R.]

Fantasy was the only ship in port when we visited Freeport. This was nice since we were able to find our excursion without any problem!

 

We booked Pat & Diane snorkel tour. This was a private tour that I read about here on CC. This was a great time! We did the 5 hour snorkel & beach break. We went to a nice dive site. It actually rivals Grand Cayman The fish were crazy for the food bag you can for $1. They will swarm you if you don't get the food far enough away from you. I have snorkled many times- this is the only time that I actually got sea sick while snorkeling. The waves weren't rough but they were a slow up and down, with just a little roll to it- this motion gets me all the time when riding in the back of a van- I never thought I'd be affected. Well lesson learned for me- I better take motion sickness pills next time.;) I had spent A LONG TIME in the water so I wasn't missing out on anything either. They did give enough time to snorkel.

 

The private beach was in a nice quiet area. nice area to walk and the water was so warm. They made some great BBQ chicken. They had a hot sauce that their grandfather made- that had some nice bite. that you could put on the chicken- IF YOU WANTED SOME SPICE. They also made a fresh conch salad- YUM!! It was fun learning about conch too. They showed us how to clean it too.

 

They had lots of rum punch- my husband really enjoyed this.;) I couldn't since I can't have pineapple (allergic to it) BUT they had other drinks to have- so I was taken care of. Great time with Pat & Diane.

 

That evening we didn't do much. I did try the sushi from the did you ever??? part of the menu- that was good. DH & I both had the seafood pasta- that was good.

 

10 PM that night they had the Talent show. We didn't get there- too tired from our day at the beach. A good tired from just sun and fun. WE listened to Rob play in the Atrium for awhile. We enjoyed the evening air up on the Lido deck. The Hasbro Game show was the entertainment in the Universe Lounge... that was at 7:30... we had just finished dinner so didn't take that in. Otherwise they had the usual Karaoke and some trivia contest. We did wander through the Casino Not too smokey.

[NCTribeFan]

I love Fantasy. I miss her. I mean, I haven't sailed on her since last September! :p

 

I keep checking fares to see if there's a way to sneak in a Fantasy cruise before too much longer. I'm sailing on 11/1, and that's kind of messing up my usual fall/early winter sailings. I love the sailings between Thanksgiving and Christmas - great prices, few kids, and not quite so hot in the Bahamas.

 

I love the "silent disembarkation" they do. Waiting to see what problems you encountered. My only dislike is the LONG walk down to the taxi/shuttle area, dragging cases. I've never had any problems (4 sailings on her from Charleston (can't count Leg 1 of the B2B because I got to stay on the ship!)) with disembarking.

 

I tend to not notice the CD unless they're really loud and intrustive, since I don't "do" a lot of ship activities or shows. But I really liked Risa. She was just an efficient CD who kept the old gal running smoothly. I do wonder if she left because of Carnival's focus on turning the CDs into Head Comic on Board. :(

[NCGAL1971]

NCTribeFan,

 

Since you have sailed solo from Charleston a few times- have you noticed if those cruises ever have no single supplement fee? I am looking at going solo but it seems it is so much more out of Charkeston versus Florida. Then again I could drive versus fly so that helps even it out a little. Would like to go in Fall. Just wondering if Carnival has specials from your experience?

[wifeNmommy]

Enjoying reading your review, thanks for posting!! We just sailed on the June 17th Fantasy - the staff were awesome!

[CruiseCrazyCouple0611]

Risa was a great CD. She will be missed, but she is now working for the Chamber of Commerce, in her hometown of Chapin here in South Carolina. As for the Fantasy, she continues to be a fleet favorite even though she is the oldest ship Carnival has. And yes, I agree, Charleston is a great place, that's why I wouldn't consider living anywhere else!

[rarasnake]

The CD was to introduce the show... It wasn't him, but a her.... Pearl....??? We liked her- she did some kind of trivia before the Brits show- it was fun and we enjoyed her.

 

 

We LOVED Pearl! She is such a sweetheart. I actually have wrote a note, suggesting that she become a CD because she is sooo under-rated for her job. My DH wants to go back cruising, just to talk to her. We did ALOT of the trivia games and a Bingo game with her as the host..

[Gabrielle R.]

Enjoying reading your review, thanks for posting!! We just sailed on the June 17th Fantasy - the staff were awesome!

 

I so agree with you about the staff! Our room steward felt so bad that we had two problems when we got to our room. 1st... the safe from the previous cruiser was still locked. We had that fixed within 10 minutes of having someone from guests services being notified. 2nd Our beds were separate. It read as Mr and Mr. He was surprised to see that I was a female.

 

Our steward apologized numerous times. We told him, no big deal. Small problems that were easily fixed. He took good care of us... we didn't see him after the first day- but we were good about not needing anything.;)

[Gabrielle R.]

We LOVED Pearl! She is such a sweetheart. I actually have wrote a note, suggesting that she become a CD because she is sooo under-rated for her job. My DH wants to go back cruising, just to talk to her. We did ALOT of the trivia games and a Bingo game with her as the host..

 

I so agree!! Pearl got everyone in the theater involved- EVEN my DH who generally won't do things. She IS so awesome!

[Gabrielle R.]

Risa was a great CD. She will be missed, but she is now working for the Chamber of Commerce, in her hometown of Chapin here in South Carolina. As for the Fantasy, she continues to be a fleet favorite even though she is the oldest ship Carnival has. And yes, I agree, Charleston is a great place, that's why I wouldn't consider living anywhere else!

 

We absolutely LOVED Charleston!!! EVERYONE made us feel so welcomed. EVERYWHERE we went we were greeted with a smile. My DH was quick to say- I want to go back. Makes my world easier to decide on a June vacation again! You have every right to be proud of your city. It is terrific AND there is a GOOD REASON why Charleston is ranked as a top vacation city!!! Loved it!

[Gabrielle R.]

We did not have anything planned for Nassau. I was a bit worried about this port, since I saw many negative things & advisories about this port. It was silly in the end that I worried. We never felt unsafe in this port and we had a good time!

 

We got off the ship fairly early. There were several ships in port. We were the smallest of 4 (I think). We joined the masses as we went through the cruise terminal shops and all the noise and hawkers- what noise!!! Once we were cleared it was fine- DH HATES the noise of sellers and was glad once we got out of the area.

 

We wandered towards Senor Frogs- It wasn't even open yet!:eek: Not that we wanted to go in... BUT I was surprised since we were the last ship to pull into port.

 

Just past Senor Frogs we walked into downtown and with DUMB LUCK I found the Pirate museum- which I REALLY wanted to do!!!! So like any grown 50 year old I turned to my husband and said: PLEASE CAN WE GO??? PLEASE???? We bought tickets and we were off to see pirates. (I'm a history teacher- what can you expect??) It is a nice little museum and I enjoyed going through it. The exhibits are triggered by you walking along. It was a 'little' spooky as you near the Pirate ship at the start. It is set up like a port at night and there is all sorts of ne'er do wells luring in the shadows. Little ones may be afraid since it is quite dark, but it gives the sense of danger that had to be a part of the ports back in the day. I really enjoyed the museum since it gave a good feel and background of pirates.

 

After the museum we went back to the road that takes you to Junkaroo Beach (:confused: Spelling?) This is a public beach AND I thought it was just fine! We walked in walked down a ways found a plot of sand and plopped ourselves down for some sun and beach time.:cool:

 

Junkaroo has several bars & places to grab a quick bite to eat. We did buy 1 beer and I had one Daiquiri- rather strong! DH said a bit expensive... I guess it was $6 for the drink? couple of bucks for the local beer. We stayed for a few hours and then headed back to the ship.

 

We thought, hey, Lets stop at Senor Frogs! Well... the line went around the dor and out into the street... So I looked and said- hey, there's a small bar with a roof top tables that are open, lets go there. So we did. There wasn't bar service up on the roof, but it was a take care of your self... DH went downstairs got 2 dark beers- a nice dark Stout and we watched the world go by. 3 beers later (Strong beers) we made it back to the ship.... it was one LONG walk since the beer just about put me on my backside. Word of warning- IF YOU LIKE DARK BEER BUY STRONGBACK STOUT. There is a ram on it for a good reason... it will knock you down. I will admit that.

 

Dinner was boring for choices. DH said he would check out the dinner choices. Turkey and a fish choice was the only thing that caught his eye, so we opted for the buffet. They had a good pork 'steak' choice with a gravy. we were happy with the buffet since we were both tired from the sun and stout..... The main feature for the theater was part 2 of the Hasbro game show.... Bingo was going on, Karaoke, casino, punchliner had a 8:30 show that was family friendly. The beach party was set up for 10:30 that night... we watched the set up from the deck that overlooks the Lido. I was too tired to make it to the beach party..... It looked like fun.... but..... told you that stout knocks you down....;)

 

Last day of sea coming up.

[NCTribeFan]

I was initially booked on the 5/6/14 sailing but switched to Pride 5/4 because I found that one with no solo supplement (and had wanted to sail on her plus it went to HMC). Left my two friends to sail on Fantasy without me. Turned out, that sailing also was no solo supplement (it wasn't that way when I booked).

 

I've checked the summer sailings and there's no solo discount that I've seen. Too much demand during the summer months to find many solo sailings, at least from ports that have little or no competition. Maybe from S Fla, but not the east coast.

 

OP - it's Junkanoo. There's a free Junkanoo beach in both Freeport and Nassau. I haven't been to the one in Freeport but did walk down to the one in Nassau a few cruises ago and just strolled around for a while. Good place to go for a cheap beach day.

 

EDIT: oh, the 7-night on 8/23 has no solo supplement!! And it looks like 7/29 5-night (Nassau, LSC) doesn't, either. Just go to "planning" page, put in 1 cruisers, select Charleston as the departure port, and look for low-ish prices (compared to others). Some of the upcoming Nassau/Freeport sailings, too.

 

Sorry, OP. Didn't mean to hijack the thread. And, yes, Charleston is wonderful. I love it there! I need me some Shrimp and Grits. Must plan a visit. :)

Edited June 25, 2014 by NCTribeFan

[Scrapenthusiast]

The Pirate Museum sounds fun! Do you recall how much it was for tickets?

[Gabrielle R.]

The Pirate Museum sounds fun! Do you recall how much it was for tickets?

 

I think it was $12? We used a credit card.... Our Discover doesn't charge a transaction fee for the Bahamas But it was around $12....

 

It is a self guided tour that you can take at whichever pace you want to set- which was nice.

[Gabrielle R.]

Our last day at sea and on board the ship was a sad day... You know the feeling that you have to get off the ship the next day..... (That's why the :( )

 

Once again up early- awoke to rain! LOTS OF RAIN! We sat on the lido drinking our morning coffee. Coffee started off great but seemed to go down hill as the days wore on. Sometimes had the burnt flavor to it. BUT it was drinkable- we did comment that the coffee on board the Fantasy was better than on most other ships/lines that we have had.

 

DH grabbed an omelette at the grill... I had a warm roll and fruit... I liked the grill & omelette stations best they always had rolls that were warm and the food just seemed better than the buffet inside. Just my feelings on that.

 

Our morning was wet and we walked around trying to find something to do... packing was VERY LOW on our list of what to do... Besides we like to be out of the room so the steward could get his work done. So we sat in the comfy chairs that over look the lido deck and read and DH napped

 

We realized that our free drink coupon needed to be used in the dining room so we decided to do the sea day brunch... we got in around noon/12:30 The Bloody Mary's took a long time to get to our table- in fact we had our food before we got our drinks. The bloody Mary's were OK... but heck they were free so we didn't complain. DH had the Eggs Benedict- they were OK.. he thought they were missing something..... He couldn't decide what... but he said they were fine... he just wanted something added to them. I had the steak & eggs- THESE WERE GREAT!!!! nice little steak done the way I like it. eggs were fine- hard to mess up an over easy egg.

 

Once we finished eating we saw breaks in the clouds and said, well lets get the swimsuits on. It was hot & humid- we were happy! Now to find a spot.... we ended up back by the water slide and kids pool area. Believe it or not it was quiet! The slides & water works weren't working so there were loungers to be had and a few kids- but that was it. They did get the slides going- there was some problem with the pumps or something since we did see workers working on it... BUT eventually it got going. The kids returned. The noise level never was bad... this is from a person who doesn't have kids AND I'm a high school teacher so I know noise & behaviors.... I can honestly say the kids were pretty good on this trip.

 

The biggest group that we saw as being a problem was the kids who were 6-10. There was a pack of them that took over one of the hot tubs and they were pretty bad. Spitting water, diving under the water-head stands under water, (worried about them getting a head stuck underwater) screaming... parents were no where in sight, pool security told the kids to stop spitting. it stopped for 10 minutes but started again. This group seemed to always be in the hot tub every sea day and every evening.

 

DH observed a group of teens he guessed about 13-15 years old in the buffet one evening. (He wanted a snack- I wasn't hungry, so he was solo.) He said the teens were loud and had taken over a group of tables. Mostly just talking/ laughing being teens (DH is a custodian at a high school- not at my school.) He was surprised when the kids got up to leave that they picked up their table, pushed chairs in/ put back where the chairs belonged and then left.:) I thought that was great to hear..... so to the parents- you did something right with these teens- they were good.

 

We went to dinner- again no wait for our table. Meal was good. I had fish DH had prime rib. DH had a scoop of each of the sherbets- he said that it was good. I had something....it was good.. just can't remember ;) The waitstaff sang us a song about us leaving on a jet plane. It was cute. I do feel sorry for the waitstaff having to sing at every meal- I hope they don't mind it.... We also had a card magician who walked around during the evening and another one that made table napkins. That was fun too.

 

We liked the anytime dining. Waitstaff were very good- We had different areas each night, and different waitstaff. They were all very nice. We liked it. Food was good, we never went hungry.

 

That evening we sat and listened to Rob play in the atrium lobby- We really enjoyed listening to him play guitar and sing. he played every night and we always stopped and listened for quite some time. He was our favorite to listen to.

 

That evening we packed. once we finished we went out and about. Listened to the Fantasy farewell in the the Atrium lobby.. then wandered up to Promenade to see what was up. Cats lounge was packed with Steel City Groove- they were good- no place to sit since we got there too late. Eventually we went to the room & put the suit case out the door.

[Scrapenthusiast]

I think it was $12? We used a credit card.... Our Discover doesn't charge a transaction fee for the Bahamas But it was around $12....

 

It is a self guided tour that you can take at whichever pace you want to set- which was nice.

 

Sounds great! Thanks.

[Gabrielle R.]

Our last morning on board the Fantasy was fine. We were a little sad that our trip was over but we were looking forward to spending 4 days in Charleston.

 

Breakfast was on the lido once again with both of us having an omelette. We enjoyed our breakfast since we knew our group to leave wouldn't be called until after 9:00.

 

We went to our room around 7:30 and did the last minute things before leaving the room so our steward could finish up. We sat up on the Promenade and waited for 9:00 to roll around.

 

Silent debarkation was nice. We walked to the theater and waited for our number to be called. At 9:15 numbers 18-21 were called. The long trek to customs started.

 

The idea is that the numbers coincide with how suitcases are claimed. The lower the number the closer to the customs area. On paper it sounds good- it didn't happen this way.

 

The departure was a very long line that snaked down the ramp and this took a long time. I think they should have called fewer numbers to reduce the lines. When we got to the suitcases, reps were there to direct us to our suitcases. We found ours quickly, That was the last thing that was quick.

 

The mass of people were all over getting suitcases that were scattered all over the pick up area. The 'line' for customs ..... Well there wasn't a line just a mob that moved forward and people got moved to the right or left.... Don't go LEFT! we were trapped in this mob for over 40 minutes. I can't really describe what happened other than it was crazy. A few groups of people were upset (Understandably) when they couldn't find their suitcases. This was happening in the middle of the mass group moving towards the line for customs. Unclaimed suitcases were knocked over moved around as people tried to get to Customs. Along the left side there was crew members trying to get off the ship for the day so they had to also go through customs. we were in line for at least 40+ minutes It took us an hour and 10 minutes from leaving the theater to getting through to customs. This mass of confusion caused us to have a bit of a negative view towards Carnival. We were the last 30 people leaving the terminal and we didn't dawdle the lines were just slow and not enough open lines for customs. Our last trip with Carnival we had long lines at debarkation and once again this was a big problem.

 

I'll be honest I don't know how this could be better. A bigger terminal would help....BUT.... in the mean time.... Perhaps not calling 4-5 numbers at a shot would be better? Another idea would be to self check out carrying your bags would have been better.

 

Once we got through customs (All of 1 minute max with the agent).... We walked out and down the pier towards the cabs. We quickly got a cab and we were off on our next adventure.

[Gabrielle R.]

We did enjoy the Fantasy! We liked the size of her and the crew was great! We liked the passengers. The thing that we liked is that the decoration of the ship wasn't loud colors but nice decor that was relaxing.

 

There was many different venues for food- no complaints there.

 

Entertainment was just a bit spotty. We would have done more things but only a few venues were open. For example the Theater had something and Kat's Lounge had Karaoke BUT if you didn't want the theater show and Kat's didn't appeal (OR it was too packed) not much else was open that appealed to us. We did find the live music very enjoyable but those areas were packed with people so it was hard to find a place to sit.

 

During the sea days we always found a lounger and we could always find something to do. We didn't use the Serenity area for adults... No real reason why other than we found a place that we liked and set up there to listen to music and enjoy the pool activities. I do know the last sea day- after the rains, there was a few loungers in the serenity area.... BUT we were fine by the water slide AND the kids that were there were pretty well behaved.

 

We enjoyed the ports. We REALLY enjoyed Charleston as a port though debarkation needs HELP.

 

My husband felt this was a great way for a first time cruiser to get an idea of what cruising is all about.

 

If you have any questions fire away! I'll answer the best I can.

Gabrielle

[Gabrielle R.]

What a great review so far! I can't wait to read more. I'm so thrilled to see so many good things about the Fantasy, looking forward to sailing on her in December!:D

 

Thank you! I hope I helped you out with the review. Have a great cruise!

[NCTribeFan]

See, one of my least favorite things about Fantasy is the decor. I've always said she looked like Farcus was on a bad-acid flashback when he designed her. But as I've sailed her more and more, I've either just gotten used to it or I'm too old to notice! :p

 

I like the mosaics on the walls around the atrium. What I don't like is the carpet, and that is something they easily could change during a dry dock.

 

Anyway, I don't sail for the ship's appearance.

 

I do think Fantasy has a good chef but also think it simply depends on what they receive for their shipment for the week. When I did my B2B, the food on Leg 2 was much better than on Leg 1. If someone only ever sailed that first sailing, they might come away thinking "oh, the food wasn't good" and forever have that opinion.

 

I haven't had that problem with disembarkation. Even though I have #1 tags, I've sometimes waited until quite a bit later to leave the ship, since I drive to the port and I'm never personally in any hurry to leave! The line is long and slow. If there was a mob, it's the fault of the personnel in there for not keeping things organized. But there's only so much they can do with that limited space. I understand their need to get people off the ship as quickly as possible as there's a lot of work they have to do in only a couple of short hours before the next group begins to board.

 

Hopefully, those snobs who are holding up the new terminal will get over themselves and let the city build a new pier and facilities.

 

I'm seriously thinking about booking the 5-night at the end of July since there's no solo supplement senior rate (the 7-night late August that I mentioned before now isn't showing no-solo-supplement :mad: ). I just have to make sure I can get the time off (I may need oral surgery at some point this summer - how dare I have to actually use my paid time off for medical reasons instead of cruising?!?).

 

OP - thanks for sharing your thoughts and opinions. I love Charleston and Fantasy and always enjoying reading what others have to say about both.

[kybluecruiser]

See, one of my least favorite things about Fantasy is the decor. I've always said she looked like Farcus was on a bad-acid flashback when he designed her. But as I've sailed her more and more, I've either just gotten used to it or I'm too old to notice! :p

 

 

 

I like the mosaics on the walls around the atrium. What I don't like is the carpet, and that is something they easily could change during a dry dock.

 

 

 

Anyway, I don't sail for the ship's appearance.

 

 

 

I do think Fantasy has a good chef but also think it simply depends on what they receive for their shipment for the week. When I did my B2B, the food on Leg 2 was much better than on Leg 1. If someone only ever sailed that first sailing, they might come away thinking "oh, the food wasn't good" and forever have that opinion.

 

 

 

I haven't had that problem with disembarkation. Even though I have #1 tags, I've sometimes waited until quite a bit later to leave the ship, since I drive to the port and I'm never personally in any hurry to leave! The line is long and slow. If there was a mob, it's the fault of the personnel in there for not keeping things organized. But there's only so much they can do with that limited space. I understand their need to get people off the ship as quickly as possible as there's a lot of work they have to do in only a couple of short hours before the next group begins to board.

 

 

 

Hopefully, those snobs who are holding up the new terminal will get over themselves and let the city build a new pier and facilities.

 

 

 

I'm seriously thinking about booking the 5-night at the end of July since there's no solo supplement senior rate (the 7-night late August that I mentioned before now isn't showing no-solo-supplement :mad: ). I just have to make sure I can get the time off (I may need oral surgery at some point this summer - how dare I have to actually use my paid time off for medical reasons instead of cruising?!?).

 

 

 

OP - thanks for sharing your thoughts and opinions. I love Charleston and Fantasy and always enjoying reading what others have to say about both.

 

 

See I think the opposite lol I think the fantasy is least like the others. I think her decor is very muted compared to others in the fleet that is why she is my favorite

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Cruise, J.D.]

Did you check out the piano bar singer? If so, how was he/she? Thanks.

[Gabrielle R.]

Piano bar singer? I didn't see one... I remember Rob singing in the atrium.... And the live band that played but I didn't catch a piano bar... sorry.... I missed that part. Perhaps somebody else saw one????

[Gabrielle R.]

See I think the opposite lol I think the fantasy is least like the others. I think her decor is very muted compared to others in the fleet that is why she is my favorite

 

KY Blue- YUP! I agree with you! That's what I liked about Fantasy...

 

BUT... I'll be honest...NCTribe fan I didn't really catch the carpeting you didn't like. I guess it didn't jump out at me as ISH! I don't like it.....

 

Isn't funny how we notice different things on a ship?