All Things Fantasy

[bobsfamily]

I had U-239 on one of our cruises which was an aft facing oceanview. The room itself was awkward with a support pole right behind the door so it wouldn't open all the way. The movement was more than I have ever felt. We typically do portholes at the front. The movement was more of a feeling of pressure straight down. Hard to describe though. While I wouldn't turn it down if I had to book one again, I would much prefer my porthole or midship better. It was also really loud pulling into port. You can hear the hydraulics and banging of metal louder here than any other cabin I have had.

Tomorrow we get ON!!!! Had to "rub it in"... soon you will be doing the same to me when you board the Fascination.

[NCTribeFan]

Yeah, Nancy! Wish you were coming with us.

 

Bob, I'm heading down in about an hour. Need to be sure I'm at the hotel in time for the Manager's Happy Hour! ;)

 

Not sure what our plans are for this evening. I'll have to wait and see what the Birthday Girl wants to do. I'd be happy going next door for some more of that delicious sushi, but they'll probably want to drive into downtown, which is fine with me.

 

This time tomorrow, we'll be up and getting ready to head to the port. :D

[wnc]

Ah,

Well there is going to be a hearing about the pilings for the new port. Both sides have agreed to let a judge decide without a trail/etc. It still has one side wanting to stop any cruise ships from homeporting here.... Now having huge container ships in every few hours is no problem. Pretty lame but they will get their time in court. I sure wish they could just go ahead and start the new terminal.

Family and I have cruised Fantasy out of Charleston four or five times. We always spend extra days in the City spending our money at hotels, restaurants and shopping. DW forces us to eat at her favorite Charleston restaurant ( I'm easily "forced" because I like it too!) and "it ain't cheap". But I, for one, resent spending money there when those blue blood snobs don't want us cruisers breathing their rarefied air. In this tough economy most other cities would welcome with open arms visitors spending money. The cruise lines should look into other ports on the SC/NC coast.

[momin05]

I don't know if you guys have been watching the Fantasy webcam. Someone posted it recently. I check it out most days and try to catch it docking or leaving. I saw it docking in Nassau one morning and it was so cool...it turned around and backed in. It refreshes every 30 seconds, just refresh your screen. You can see it is headed back to Chas for you guys today, Bob and Joan! Enjoy yourselves this week. I am so jealous... I have until Oct 18!

[rdh rules]

Just booked for Thanksgiving week. Anyone with experience on a holiday cruise? Anyone ever book an ocean view room at BACK of ship on M deck? Better? Worse?

 

We went last year on Fascination from Jacksonville during Thanksgiving. Lots of kids/families. But it was chillier than I expected, about 50 degrees, so the kids were making "kid soup" in the hot tubs, lol. It got warmer when we hit Key West and Nassau. Lots of wind and puking on the way back:eek: not for us, but it was in the hallway! We still had a great time! I love the serenity deck. I've read that the very aft oceanview rooms were rough and loud. I love the middle to the beginning of aft for no movement/noise. I like upper floor, hey it's where the grand suites are, it most be for some reason:) Have fun!

 

Joan and Bob, I'm so jealous that tomorrow you will already be on the ship, but only 10 days left for me!!!

[NCTribeFan]

Well, no happy hour at the hotel but we had plenty enough to drink. ;-) Not sure when we'll get to the port but at least the weather is better than when I boarded in May.

 

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[Mkehlb]

What juices are being served on the Fantasy?

[All4fun&fun4all]

Tomorrow we get ON!!!! Had to "rub it in"... soon you will be doing the same to me when you board the Fascination.

 

Aw I missed this over the weekend. Happy Belated Bon Voyage!!!

 

Yeah, Nancy! Wish you were coming with us.

 

 

This time tomorrow, we'll be up and getting ready to head to the port. :D

 

One day we will get a chance to sail together. I just know it! Hope you guys are having a good time. :)

[jeffer_rachel]

My boyfriend and I are going on our first cruise ever! We leave Oct. 18th on the Fantasy! So excited, but also soooo nervous! We still haven't figured out the best option for parking. We also, don't really know how much extra money to take with us. We are trying to not spend a whole lot of money. We are definitely on a budget. Any suggestions on parking or spending money to take?? Thanks!!!

[MomPic]

Jeffer-Rachel,

You can do the cruise and not spend a fortune. Hubby and I did the 7 day on Fantasy this past summer. Our bill at the end was a tad over $400. We bought about 5 pictures, had at least a beer at the pool daily, a Manhatten at dinner and an occasional drink of the day. I bought some gifts on the ship and paid for Endless Bubbles with Carnival cup for me....and let us not forget that I paid $25.00 for the USELESS shopping book :(.....!not worth it!!

We did have $425 OBC which we spent on Citzen Eco watches. We both got one and love them. So if we had not splurged on the watches....our S & S bill would have been $0!

Have a great time!!! Sooo excited for you both!! We are booked to sail again on the Fantasy next October!!! Counting the days already!!

 

 

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[jeffer_rachel]

Thanks MomPic!!! That's not bad at all. We were planning on having about $500 spending money for the whole trip, so it's comforting to know that will be plenty.

[momin05]

Jeffer Rachel, we are also on the Oct 18 sailing. We have a family group of 17 going. We have reservations with Pat and Diane for snorkeling in Freeport. You should join us, it has really good reviews on tripadvisor. You will love cruising and Fantasy is awesome! I don't remember how much we have spent in the past, but you can defintely get away with not spending much money and having a great time.

[jeffer_rachel]

Thanks momin05!! Snorkeling would be great!! We're still undecided on what to do at the ports, most of the excursions are so expensive. We've talked about just walking around and maybe sitting on the beach a little while. The parking situation brought up another unexpected expense. I guess we didn't even think about parking when we booked back in March. We are basically clueless when it comes the the cruising world. That's why I downloaded this app. It's been very helpful.

[momin05]

Rachel, if you want, we can move this conversation to the roll call thread. There is one started but I haven't posted on it yet because it was started by a guy who said he has been on Fantasy before and it was awful but is going again... Great attitude. I just didn't even want to be part of that thread! But I will concede. I can tell you our plans and my rationale for them. Also, bobsfamily and nctribe are sailing right now and we expect lots of information from them when they return! And yes, you can't really get around the $85 for parking. If you need to spend the night before you can find a hotel with a shuttle but otherwise just cough up the parking fee. I probably won't post again until his evening but I will head over to the Fantasy Oct 18 roll call thread and post there.

[NCTribeFan]

Got back home at about 2 pm. Sigh. I miss my waiters and Risa and the great food and little casino hostess and cold drinks and hot sun.

 

Newbie had a great time and kept asking, "why haven't I done this before???" so I think she's already hooked. Talking about going again as soon as next tax season is over.

 

Still am amazed at how well-kept the ship is for her age. And how much maintenance they do every single day, especially on port days when people are off the ship. She looks great.

 

I'll probably write a short review tomorrow. I didn't take any notes or take many pics since I just did the same cruise 4 months ago, and when I sail with others, I don't keep track of what I've done or eaten nearly as closely.

 

But I'm sure everyone's just been waiting for me to report back. :p

[BrownCalico]

Of course we were!!!! Glad you had a great time! Anything new that those of sailing soon should be aware of??? I have read your other reviews, but this will be my first time on Fantasy and my first time on Carnival! :-) :-)

 

15 days and counting!!!!

[Stevo24]

heading out on the 16th! can't wait

[rdh rules]

Joan, we were waiting on your report:D Glad you had a great time. How was the balmoral excursion? Bob posted his thoughts on the other thread. I got 4 days to go. I just hope the time slows down on the cruise, cause it's flying by.

[NCTribeFan]

I uploaded my pics to Flickr, so I guess I'd better get busy writing.

 

I'll hop over to the Bahamas board and post my thoughts about Balmoral. I think I enjoyed it more than Bob, but I'm not sure I'd spend that much money again. We'll see.

 

I do love the stingrays, though!

[NCTribeFan]

I've started my review...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1910815

 

But I must do some laundry. Don't want to sit around and realize tomorrow night that I have nothing to wear to work next week.

[Jabee]

Have been on the Fantasy several times, and Risa is my favorite CD. We have had her on the Celebration and the Fantasy....

 

We are hoping to go on the Nov. 2 7 night trip....

 

Glad to hear the "old Girl" is still holding up...she may be the oldest ship in the fleet, but still my favorite. I love the small ships.

[All4fun&fun4all]

Got back home at about 2 pm. Sigh. I miss my waiters and Risa and the great food and little casino hostess and cold drinks and hot sun.

 

Newbie had a great time and kept asking, "why haven't I done this before???" so I think she's already hooked. Talking about going again as soon as next tax season is over.

 

Still am amazed at how well-kept the ship is for her age. And how much maintenance they do every single day, especially on port days when people are off the ship. She looks great.

 

I'll probably write a short review tomorrow. I didn't take any notes or take many pics since I just did the same cruise 4 months ago, and when I sail with others, I don't keep track of what I've done or eaten nearly as closely.

 

But I'm sure everyone's just been waiting for me to report back. :p

 

Welcome home! I am already thinking about booking Fantasy again in the spring with my oldest kid. Maybe if I have enough money I can book it while onboard the Fascination in October.

[NCTribeFan]

Thanks! I'm not thrilled to be back at work. Must keep my nose to the grindstone for the next 5 weeks, then I'll be able to relax and look forward to Conquest.

 

I did check the Fantasy schedule for end of April and May. The only two 7-nighters are over Easter and Memorial Day so, being holiday sailngs, the prices are way higher than what I want to pay. :(

 

There are a couple of 5-night sailings that are Nasasu & Little Stirrup Cay (Coco Cay). That may be an option for us. Let me know which sailings you're looking at. Maybe we can cruise together after all. :D

 

5 nights just isn't long enough, though! Would love to do another 5+7 B2B.

[bobsfamily]

Welcome home! I am already thinking about booking Fantasy again in the spring with my oldest kid.

 

I did check the Fantasy schedule for end of April and May. The only two 7-nighters are over Easter and Memorial Day so, being holiday sailngs, the prices are way higher than what I want to pay. :(

 

There are a couple of 5-night sailings that are Nasasu & Little Stirrup Cay (Coco Cay). That may be an option for us. Let me know which sailings you're looking at. Maybe we can cruise together after all. :D

 

A group of us are looking at May 6th (Nassau and LSC) and I've been nominated to get all the info together. I've had to explain that even if LSC is on the schedule it's more like a 50/50 chance of going. All live in Charleston and most have done the Fantasy at least once. Goes to show how well she's liked.

 

I did a short review and will recap briefly here:

 

The ship is well kept, food was good - Risa is a great CD, keeps things flowing and when doing the "required" announcements makes them fun. Great steward (Angel), nice cabin. As NCtribefan has stated the ship is in great shape. I enjoyed the Balmoral beach but would not recommend the excursion til the area is finished, maybe several more months. Get the deluxe package if going, well worth it... buy water when getting on the ferry at $1, same bottle $5 on the island. Freeport port area has all except beach/casino... may not need to pay for cab to Our Lucaya. Sorry no pics... NC has some great info also!

[All4fun&fun4all]

A group of us are looking at May 6th (Nassau and LSC) and I've been nominated to get all the info together. I've had to explain that even if LSC is on the schedule it's more like a 50/50 chance of going. All live in Charleston and most have done the Fantasy at least once. Goes to show how well she's liked.

 

I was thinking about the LSC sailing. Are there a lot of kids during the May months? They should still be in school right?

 

My next one I should be bringing the Andrew, my oldest child Jacob who will be 21 (lord help us) and his girlfriend.