All Things Fantasy

[proudpatriot07]

We had an awesome time! The fiance and I did go to the library, you can play games in there or check them out and keep them the entire cruise. We sat in there one day and just played jenga because it was hot outside and the middle of the day.

 

I will say that you should check the games for the pieces before you take them out, because apparently some of the jenga games were missing pieces since someone checked them all out and apparently tried to make a really, really huge jenga tower, haha. But it was nice to just cool off.

 

I also liked the fact that it was a smaller ship... pretty easy to find your way around. I don't think Carnival should retire it any time soon :eek:.

[rrraydon]

Personally I wouldn't put three adults in a cabin but it can be done. You can take turns showering in the spa.

In Dec. there will be 4 ladies in our balcony cabin. That is exactly what I plan on doing, using the spa showers! :)

[fre1fred2]

In Dec. there will be 4 ladies in our balcony cabin. That is exactly what I plan on doing, using the spa showers! :)

 

HA HA HA... 4 ladies in one room...NO WAY.. We just got off the fantasy and it was four of us... and only 2 ladies (31yr old and 11 yr old) and if there would have been 3 ladies...they would have killed each other with only one bathroom :) :)

Edited June 23, 2010 by fre1fred2

[NCTribeFan]

My first Fantasy cruise was my 2nd Carnival, and it was with my DD and her BFF for their high-school graduation present!

 

So, three females in a cabin, and you can just imagine what two 18-yo girls drag along, as far as bathroom items.

 

It wasn't that bad. The girls both showered at night, and I'm an early riser, so would shower in the morning. Shelf space in the bathroom was the worst part.

 

The thing was, I was in the bed by the window, and DD was in the bunk, which folded down over the foot of the two twin beds. So, when this middle-aged woman had to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, I literally got down on my hands and knees and crawled along the foot of the beds so I would crash into the bunk. Hey, I'm 5'10"! I could've hurt myself! :p

 

If I had it to do over, I would definitely take the bed closest to the bathroom and give up my window view. In fact, that was the last time I had an OV.

 

I have FINALLY uploaded the FunTimes from the 5/23/10 7-night sailing. They won't apply to many sailings, but for those who want to get an idea, they're now on my Webshots page. The little tear-off pages are difficult to read, but if you make them fullpage, you can see everything.

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/578014287qxHDCv

[trucruz]

Our roll call is trying to pick a place and time for a meet and greet. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks for your help.

[NCTribeFan]

Obviously, I meant to write that I crawled along the floor so that I wouldn't run into the bunk. :o

 

IMO, Fantasy-class ships are not the best as for having a good place to meet for sailaway. We ended up meeting on the first day at 10:30 or 11 along the promenade across from the coffee bar, by the baby grand piano that is out there. But then, we were at sea the first day and had two sea days at the end, so we had plenty of time. It was the first M&G I've been to that wasn't at sailaway, and I thought it worked out well.

 

That way, people can do whatever they want and be wherever they want on the ship for sailaway and not be trying to meet up with folks.

 

For people who want a drink for the Meet & Greet AND want to do it at sailaway, the choices are just one of the bars by the main pool, and those bars are small and the tables are always taken, or the lobby bar, or the casino bar, which are both inside.

 

And if you have an experience like ours, where you sail 3 hours late, many of the people will be at dinner!

[trucruz]

Obviously, I meant to write that I crawled along the floor so that I wouldn't run into the bunk. :o

 

IMO, Fantasy-class ships are not the best as for having a good place to meet for sailaway. We ended up meeting on the first day at 10:30 or 11 along the promenade across from the coffee bar, by the baby grand piano that is out there. But then, we were at sea the first day and had two sea days at the end, so we had plenty of time. It was the first M&G I've been to that wasn't at sailaway, and I thought it worked out well.

 

That way, people can do whatever they want and be wherever they want on the ship for sailaway and not be trying to meet up with folks.

 

For people who want a drink for the Meet & Greet AND want to do it at sailaway, the choices are just one of the bars by the main pool, and those bars are small and the tables are always taken, or the lobby bar, or the casino bar, which are both inside.

 

And if you have an experience like ours, where you sail 3 hours late, many of the people will be at dinner!

 

We have two sea days at the beginning of our cruise. Our group is discussing having the meet in the morning of the first sea day. Your reply is very helpful. Thank you

[path145]

Personally I wouldn't put three adults in a cabin but it can be done. You can take turns showering in the spa area.

 

Driving from Pitt to Charleston will be about 11 hours but you have to keep in mind January or February up your way could be a very snowy drive. I would leave at least a day before you sailaway date. Your group flying could run into weather issues as well. This past February quite a few cruises missed our Miami departures due to the snow storms in the north east. It will be chilly leaving Charleston to be up on the decks. It will be chilly all the way until you get to mid Florida at least.

 

Charleston the end of January beginning of February can be pretty cold. This is subjective since I live here and we don't usually have snow but early Feb this year we did with enough to close stuff down as we don't have any equipment for this for the roads.

 

That being said anything below 70 is cold for me and sometimes in January you can hit some 70's but it is rare. The nightime lows can be as cold as the upper teens (but not often).

 

As of right now we won't be worrying about more than 2 per cabin. I have 6 people who actually gave me their deposits and I booked three cabins. Still waiting on four others who said they were coming to cough up the cash. We are booked for January 28 and the price was $249!! If my other friends wait much longer they may not get as good a price but, as much as I've stressed it, I don't think they understand that. I'm the only experienced cruiser in the group...

 

I'll still be hoping for warmish weather in Charleston and on the way to the Bahamas, but if it's cool I'm sure we can find something to do! At least it shouldn't be as cold as Pittsburgh!

 

I think I'm more comfortable with driving. This past February it was rather dicey flying out of Pittsburgh on our way to Ft Lauderdale. We got a big snow storm the night before we left, but at least it wasn't one of the ones that dumped over a foot. I think we "only" got 6-8 inches that time and they didn't even delay the flights! The airport must have been used to it by then! LOL

[NCTribeFan]

I just don't think I'd want to drive from Pittsburgh in February. You do know that you could have horrible weather all the down even into South Carolina, right? Even though we don't get the snow so much, we had a really rough winter last year with plenty of ice and sleet. And do realize that areas in the SE don't have the tons of snow-removal equipment, so even the interstates can be very hazardous when there is minimal wintery precipitation.

 

At that time of year, I would just plan on flying down as early as possible the day before the cruise. That "should" allow time for any weather delays. And buy trip insurance! Actually, if I were coming that far, I'd try to get down an day or two early. Historic Charleston is a beautiful place to visit, and that would give you extra flexibility if weather interferes.

 

Sailed out of Jacksonville in mid-December 2008 and it was too cold on our two sea days (first and last days) to spend any time on deck. :(

 

But the day at Half Moon Cay was worth it. :D

Edited June 26, 2010 by NCTribeFan

[dreamcruiser525]

I have read in various threads/post the Carnival Fantasy will be in "Dry Dock" fior 2 weeks later this year.

 

Does anyone know when? We are going on her in November.. I thought someone said November but I don't see where she's out of the schedule for two weeks.

 

Where do you find this information?

[scchasgal]

I have read in various threads/post the Carnival Fantasy will be in "Dry Dock" fior 2 weeks later this year.

 

Does anyone know when? We are going on her in November.. I thought someone said November but I don't see where she's out of the schedule for two weeks.

 

Where do you find this information?

 

She is going into drydock this year from November 26 to December 10. If you check the website you will see the last cruise going out November 20th and the first one back out is December 11

Edited June 29, 2010 by scchasgal

[Sammy Sails]

Does anyone know if there is a Cruise Critic Meet & Greet on the Fantasy 7/17/10 out of Charleston, SC to the Caribbean?

Just wondering. We always have them on Celebrity.

[scchasgal]

Does anyone know if there is a Cruise Critic Meet & Greet on the Fantasy 7/17/10 out of Charleston, SC to the Caribbean?

Just wondering. We always have them on Celebrity.

 

Here is the link to your roll call http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1064806

Carnival does not officially do them like some other cruiselines, your roll call group will usually set up an informal meeting.

[OCruisers]

:) Many thanks to ALL who have posted on this tread!!!!!

 

Very helpful to all of those of us who have upcoming cruises booked on Fantasy! :cool:

[OCruisers]

She is going into drydock this year from November 26 to December 10. If you check the website you will see the last cruise going out November 20th and the first one back out is December 11

 

Now seems it's November 28 to December 10 of 2010.

 

We are booked with docs in hand for a 7 night 11/20/10 thru 11/27/10.

 

 

Somewhat of a concern! From what we understand a cruise prior to drydock can be a problem since they begin some preparations .... :confused:

[crewsnews]

Here is a link to a review I posted with plenty of pictures:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1222706

 

That was from the 6/11/2010 cruise, 5 nights through Freeport and Nassau.

[All4fun&fun4all]

Here is a link to a review I posted with plenty of pictures:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1222706

 

That was from the 6/11/2010 cruise, 5 nights through Freeport and Nassau.

 

 

I enjoyed reading your review!

 

Here is a link to a review that I posted with tons o' pics too! Thanks for showing me yours...now I will show ya mine. ;)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1219556

[cruising forever]

I'm so glad this thread was started! I was "appointed" (since I have a little cruising experience and the others have none) to be in charge of booking a cruise for a bunch of friends and we have settled on Carnival Fantasy's 5 day cruise to the Bahamas out of Charleston. I've been trying to find out as much as I can before booking...

 

Can someone give me a comparison between an inside cabin and an ocean view cabin? I'll be sailing with up to 11 people and there will be three of us in my cabin. Just wondered if we could get away with three adults in an inside cabin or if there really would be more room in an ocean view.

 

How cold can I expect Charleston to be in late January or early February? I'd also love to know how cold it will be on our trip to the Bahamas but I don't think the weather can be predicted that far into the future! My hope is to be able to hang out eating and drinking outside on the Lido on Sea Days and to be able to relax on a beach and swim in the Bahamas.

 

Does anyone know how long it realistically takes to drive from Pittsburgh PA to Charleston? Mapquest says about 11 hrs. I'm sure that's close, add some time for meals and rest stops... just a bit nervous about getting to the port on time. A few people in our group will be flying but we have at least two who are afraid to fly and the rest of us would rather save the $230+ each for airfare. Plus it will make for a memorable trip!!

 

Also wondering about the "booze cruise" in Nassau that proudpatriot mentioned earlier. That sounds just like the type of excursion my group would love!

 

Another thought you may want to consider; if driving in a day early, stay in one of the hotels that offers a complimentary shuttle to and from the port and free parking during your cruise and have the overnight stay practically pay for itself.

[cruising forever]

Thanks for the fantastic reviews, photos and humor ~ all were muchly appreciated!

[MooNGaTe27]

does anyone know if the Fantasy out of Charleston has VIP checking

[momof4boys]

Yes it does. Once you finally get into the "building" go to the left where the VIP check in sign is. You most likely will be next in line. We were and our group got checked in extremely fast!! It was awesome...once we were allowed to get into the building. Before that....well .....Charleston needs to build a real port so people don't have to drop off their luggage at one spot, then drive to another spot to wait in the hot sun in line to get into a shuttle to go to the building.

Edited July 3, 2010 by momof4boys

[cruising forever]

Yes it does. Once you finally get into the "building" go to the left where the VIP check in sign is. You most likely will be next in line. We were and our group got checked in extremely fast!! It was awesome...once we were allowed to get into the building. Before that....well .....Charleston needs to build a real port so people don't have to drop off their luggage at one spot, then drive to another spot to wait in the hot sun in line to get into a shuttle to go to the building.

 

 

WOW, things must have changed since we last cruised out of Charleston. We took 2 of Carnival's prior twice a year cruises out of Chas; one was to Nassau, etc., and the other was to Bermuda. Both times, we were directed to the Aquarium parking garage to park the car, then we brought our luggage to the ground floor of the parking garage where they had 2 scanners set up and you turned in your luggage to be checked and then scanned your carryon. The shuttle to the port was just outside the parking garage.

 

So, where do you park now? Where do you turn in your checked luggage? What do you do if you're riding a hotel shuttle to the port?

[rrraydon]

45 more days until I'm stepping on the deck of the Fantasy and drinking some DODs!!!!!

[paulekrause]

45 more days until I'm stepping on the deck of the Fantasy and drinking some DODs!!!!!

 

 

39 days for me :-)

[lauraezzell]

Now seems it's November 28 to December 10 of 2010.

 

We are booked with docs in hand for a 7 night 11/20/10 thru 11/27/10.

 

 

Somewhat of a concern! From what we understand a cruise prior to drydock can be a problem since they begin some preparations .... :confused:

I'm scheduled on the December 11th cruise. I hope they are finished with the dry dock by then.