Fantasy out of Charleston

[FlorenceItaly]

Thanks for your review. I enjoyed reading about your trip. She really has a fabulous crew. We cruised the Fantasy in December. We just got off the Fascination on Thursday. We met several people from NC. Have you considered the Fascination out of Jacksonville? It is the same class as the Fantasy, so perhaps you are wanting something larger.

[sammee]

Was on the Fantasy last May for Mother's Day. Lot's of college kids, but they actually livened up the Lido, in a good way. Didn't run into one grumpy person. Everybody was so nice. It felt like the southern hospitality got on board the ship too. I liked the Fascincation, but not nearly as much as Fantasy.

The only wait we had was the Punchliner, and that wasn't so bad either.

[FlorenceItaly]

I also give the edge to Fantasy over Fascination. Although we had a great cruise, I don't know if we will cruise out of Jacksonville in the future. We ended up going the day before, so we could have well gone to Port Canaveral or another Florida port. We leave in a few weeks on Celebrity Constellation out of Ft. Lauderdale. I am not looking forward to the drive! ETA: We will cruise out of Charleston again. It is a very easy drive for us, and we can go down the day of.

Edited March 8, 2015 by FlorenceItaly

[planetcadillac]

Jacksonville is a bit too far of a drive for a day trip and the difference between Fantasy and Fascination isn't enough to warrant the extra 2 hours. Like others have said, if we are going to go to Jacksonville, we will just go all the way to Canaveral, Lauderdale, or Miami. Better selection of ships and longer voyages. Our trip was GREAT! but 5 days is just too short. I have done a 21-day cruise and several 10+ and those are best not as rushed. This definitely felt like a weekend getaway.

 

As for the crowd, the college kids were among the least intrusive crowds on the ship. There are always a few bad seeds on the ship, drunks, people with no self control, sneakers, cheaters, etc. Otherwise nothing major that significantly impacted the experience. I have been on a couple of cruises that were so quiet that you thought everyone was sitting around waiting to die. lol.

 

We did not go to the Punchliner I am not that old but hard pressed to sit at a show that starts at 11PM. We did see some lines there but otherwise no real lines elsewhere since we got to dinner early. Even the lido buffet was manageable. The main shows did not completely fill up so you did not have to rush in there really early and take a book or something to read as I have heard on some other ships. Our ship sailed full from what I understand but people were pretty well dispersed. One advantage of a lot of college kids they usually do not take advantage of all of the shows and other on board activities so competitive for space is less pronounced.

 

As you can see from my signature, we have mostly sailed the more traditional experience lines and this was quite a departure in atmosphere and style from what we normally encounter. With that said especially for the money we paid it was a tremendous success. Of course, like with most things, it is what you make of it. Unless I got sick, was physically attacked, had something stolen, any cruise would be a good cruise.

[GeorgiaMomof4]

As I'm sitting here in Chattanooga, TN under 9 inches of snow, all I can do is dream about cruising....

 

I really, really, REALLY want to take the family on a shorter cruise for this year's Fall Break which will be in October. We usually do 7 day cruises because for me, that is the minimum number of days I would want to be on a cruise but Fall break is short so I was looking at some of the 5 day cruises out of ports close to home.

 

I know the Fantasy is pretty old. I have sailed on her YEARS ago. I was wondering if anyone has sailed recently on Fantasy that can give me a thumbs up or down.

 

Sailing with us will be me, DH, 17 y/o (boy), 14 y/o (girl), 13 y/o (boy), one who will turn 13 on the trip (boy), 12 y/o (girl) and 5 y/o (boy).

 

Bahamas are not my favorite port but on cruises where we take all the kids, we usually just do a simple beach day anyway.

 

What is the mix of travelers who travel from Charleston? Is it more of a party type atmosphere on the shorter cruises in the Fall? Let me know your thoughts y'all. I need some warm weather dreams to melt my winter blues!

 

 

 

 

 

Nice to hear from someone in Chattanooga!

 

Both my wife and I grew up in that area. I'm originally from Fort Oglethorpe, GA (just over the state line from Chattanooga for those who don't know) and my wife grew up in the Highway 58 area.

 

Anyway, to answer your question, we've been on the Fantasy twice...both times in the Fall. In our experience, the crowd is somewhat subdued (less children) and deck chairs more plentiful when trying to find a place to lie in the sun.

 

I love the ship itself. She's the oldest ship in the Carnival fleet, but she's been well maintained and cared for. I wouldn't hesitate to book her again.

 

Garnett

 

 

Wow - it's a small world. We're from Dalton - just south of Fort Oglethorpe and Chattanooga.

 

We haven't sailed on the Fantasy but we are considering it for our next 5 day. With that being said, we have been on both the Fascination - Feb. 2014 and the Paradise - just this past February. Since they are both similar to the Fantasy I will chime in on our thoughts.

 

We loved both the ships but I think I enjoyed the Fascination better. Loved the drive to Jacksonville - not a bad drive at all and wouldn't be for you (the OP) either. I liked the fact that it had the waterworks area (your kids would probably like that too) and like others have said the service was great! The Jacksonville port was one of the easiest we've done too.

 

I'm not sure what upgrades the Fantasy has had but if it's anything like the Paradise and Fascination I think you'd love it.

 

We did a 5 day on the Sunshine this past October when our kids were out for a few days and I was recuperating from surgery. It was a great time to go. The weather was still really warm but the crowds weren't bad at all.

 

Whatever you decide - I'm sure you'll have a great time.