Carnival Fantasy Review & Pics/ June 5th, 2010 Sailing

[mamawsnest]

Love the review! Your tone and attitude match mine. My husband and I are going on our first Carnival cruise aboard the Fantasy in December. The pictures are wonderful.

[minerva78]

I remember your wonderful review and remember how helpful you were to me when I was planning my 1st cruise on the Fantasy last year. So I was happy to come up here today and see that your review is still being read! But I am so saddened to hear about Andrew and the fire. :(

 

My thoughts are with both of you. So glad to hear that he is recovering well. I lost my belongings in a dorm fire that destroyed our hall when I was in high school, and I also remember what it was like to be overly paranoid about any kind of fire hazard. It took a long time to work through that, but it does get better. I know going through the loss of a house is even tougher, but I also know that from reading how much fun you and Andrew are together, you'll be able to make it through!

 

We loved the Fantasy so much, we almost rebooked our exact same itinerary (5 day Freeport and Nassau) after we got back from our 1st cruise! But we decided to try going out of the Fascination out of Jacksonville this time, mainly because it stops at HMC and we are at Nassau much longer. But we really liked Charleston a lot, so we may end up going back to visit for a few days sometime in the future! :D

[mamawsnest]

Ack! I just finished reading all the review. You and Andrew are in our prayers. Loved the pictures especially of the room as we will be in it Dec. 3-9 this year! Hope Andrew continues to improve.

[All4fun&fun4all]

Love the review! Your tone and attitude match mine. My husband and I are going on our first Carnival cruise aboard the Fantasy in December. The pictures are wonderful.

 

Ack! I just finished reading all the review. You and Andrew are in our prayers. Loved the pictures especially of the room as we will be in it Dec. 3-9 this year! Hope Andrew continues to improve.

 

I am glad you enjoyed our story. We just love to have fun and laugh and just be silly in general.

 

Thank you for your prayers. I think all the prayers we have been receiving is what is getting us through this nightmare. He is healing up so well that if you had never met him before you wouldnt know he had been burned. (except for his arms and his ears). His face healed up remarkably!

[All4fun&fun4all]

I remember your wonderful review and remember how helpful you were to me when I was planning my 1st cruise on the Fantasy last year. So I was happy to come up here today and see that your review is still being read! But I am so saddened to hear about Andrew and the fire. :(

 

My thoughts are with both of you. So glad to hear that he is recovering well. I lost my belongings in a dorm fire that destroyed our hall when I was in high school, and I also remember what it was like to be overly paranoid about any kind of fire hazard. It took a long time to work through that, but it does get better. I know going through the loss of a house is even tougher, but I also know that from reading how much fun you and Andrew are together, you'll be able to make it through!

 

We loved the Fantasy so much, we almost rebooked our exact same itinerary (5 day Freeport and Nassau) after we got back from our 1st cruise! But we decided to try going out of the Fascination out of Jacksonville this time, mainly because it stops at HMC and we are at Nassau much longer. But we really liked Charleston a lot, so we may end up going back to visit for a few days sometime in the future! :D

 

Thanks for checking back in! I am glad that the review helped you for your cruise.

This fire thing has really shaken us to the core. I am so glad that we got the house knocked down so we dont have to see it anymore but now we just stand at that empty spot and just say "well...now what". Not having insurance has made this almost impossible. We will figure it out though. We always do.

We were thinking of booking the Fascination for our cruise this year but every penny we get is going to the rebuild instead. Maybe next year. I liked Fascination's itinerary too. LOVE HMC!!!

[aobrien16]

I have just sent the entire evening reading this post!! Loved every minute of it. Me and my 2 sons are cruising March 6th (very last minute plan so I am trying to read up on the cruise as quickly as I can).

Since we booked so late we are on early dinner stand by. Any suggestions what I should do for dinner? My boys are 19 and 23 and think they would be ok with casual dining rather than the dining room every night.

Thinking about snorkling in either Freeport or Nassau..any suggestion on which is a better choice?

Any ideas about what my boys might like to do in Key West..renting a cart to drive around sounds kind of fun :)

 

Anything you didn't bring that you wish you brought on the ship?

 

Hope Andrew is doing well, and you too :0

 

Again thanks for all the wonderful info!!!

[All4fun&fun4all]

I have just sent the entire evening reading this post!! Loved every minute of it. Me and my 2 sons are cruising March 6th (very last minute plan so I am trying to read up on the cruise as quickly as I can).

Since we booked so late we are on early dinner stand by. Any suggestions what I should do for dinner? My boys are 19 and 23 and think they would be ok with casual dining rather than the dining room every night.

Thinking about snorkling in either Freeport or Nassau..any suggestion on which is a better choice?

Any ideas about what my boys might like to do in Key West..renting a cart to drive around sounds kind of fun :)

 

Anything you didn't bring that you wish you brought on the ship?

 

Hope Andrew is doing well, and you too :0

 

Again thanks for all the wonderful info!!!

 

I am glad you enjoyed the review. I am so happy people are still reading and getting something from our story.

The dining room is an experience that I would not miss. We always look forward to eating in the main dining room at least every other night if not every night. The food is so unbelievable! I really dont think that the buffet for dinner would compare. It isnt so formal that you have to dress up every night. There is a formal night where you dress up but the other nights, a nice pair of jeans with no holes and a polo type shirt will suffice.

 

We liked snorkeling in Nassau and are glad that we booked the excursion through Carnival. That being said, I think that next time we go, we are going to Fish Fry in Nassau and maybe find a beach a little farther away in Freeport. Or perhaps book a snorkeling excursion in Freeport.

 

Key West: Really we just enjoyed walking around and stumbling in to different places. Although, if walking around isnt their "thing" perhaps renting a golf cart or a bicycle will help. We didnt get around to everything we wanted to see because it was so freakin hot! With you going in March, you shouldnt have a problem with the heat. Just dont let them rent mopeds. Always a bad idea. Also, there is no need to book and Carnival excursions in Key West since it is so small there is little chance that you will miss the ship.

 

I am a planner by nature so I had most of our extras packed MONTHS before the cruise. I am the girl that has everything that you may have forgotten to pack. I really cant think of anything that I should have packed and didnt. I have my list somewhere in my closet. I could dig it up for ya. :D

 

We are doing pretty okay at this point. Still get emotional from time to time but Cruise Critic is a helpful distraction. :) Thanks for askin!

[aobrien16]

Getting close, my cruise begins on Sunday!!! The snorkling excursion you did looked fun, was it through Carnival, if so do you remember which one??

 

thanks for the last minute advise :)

[All4fun&fun4all]

Getting close, my cruise begins on Sunday!!! The snorkling excursion you did looked fun, was it through Carnival, if so do you remember which one??

 

thanks for the last minute advise :)

 

I just went to the excursion section on the Carnival website and I dont see the tour group listed that we sailed with. It was called Blue Water Catamaran and Snorkel. Not sure what happened with them.

 

I wish we were cruising on Sunday. Have fun!

[LUVMYGSDOG]

Hi, I am another who loved your review! I have read it several times and actually have it saved as a favorite on my computer....I go back often and read parts I liked. And I'm sure I will read the entire thing at least 10 more times before we cruise!

 

We are sailing on the Fantasy in August - me, DH, DS21 and DS19. This will be our first cruise and I AM SO EXCITED!!!

 

Just wanted to tell you also that I have been thinking of you and The Andrew and I know things will work out great for you. I've had some crap in my life and things always work out. You don't think they will at the time, but they do. Hang in there!!

[All4fun&fun4all]

Hi, I am another who loved your review! I have read it several times and actually have it saved as a favorite on my computer....I go back often and read parts I liked. And I'm sure I will read the entire thing at least 10 more times before we cruise!

 

We are sailing on the Fantasy in August - me, DH, DS21 and DS19. This will be our first cruise and I AM SO EXCITED!!!

 

Just wanted to tell you also that I have been thinking of you and The Andrew and I know things will work out great for you. I've had some crap in my life and things always work out. You don't think they will at the time, but they do. Hang in there!!

 

I am so happy to hear that you find it enjoyable enough to read more than once. That made my day! Thank you!

 

I am excited for you. There is nothing like your first cruise. Everything is so amazing and your jaw will drag the ground as your eyes bug out of your head.

 

Trying to keep The Andrew's spirits up. He is having a really hard time coping. We will get through this though :(

[MACAMAW]

I located your thread searching for information on the Fantasy which is very hard to come by. I am toying with the idea of getting married on her in October in port before departing. Just to make everything a little easier on me. They handle everything and when we have to kick most of our non sailing guests off, we can just keep on partying all week! Has anyone ever attended a wedding on it? I want to make sure its nice!

This is the best review I have read by far!!!! Thank you for all the information. I also loved your style. I'm from the area as well (Summerville) so I can relate to you! I feel like I know you after reading this. My heart hurts for yall! Sorry to hear about The Andrew getting burned. I can relate here as well. My fiance works at an aluminum plant here and got his hand burned really badly last May. Luckily he did it on a Wednesday and the team from the burn clinic in Augusta is here at Trident every Wednesday. He still is scarred and has to wear a glove 23 hours out of the day. We are just thankful because it could have been so much worse! He had it grafted twice and it is healing remarkable as well! I hope Andrew heals up soon!!!! P.S. - Keep that sunscreen on it when outside!! We also had our house burn down when I was a child. We lost everything and that is tough! Its also a smell that you will NEVER forget!! Praying that Andrew heals quickly and you guys hit that lotto and can take a forever cruise!!!!!!!!

[Fuzzy Buddy]

Husband, daughter, son in law and 2 grandchildren age 9 and 15 are sailing on Fantasy. This is a first time cruise for all except hubby and I-will be our 4th cruise. Any one have access to Carnival Cappers from a recent cruise that would be so kind as to share with us. So we can start our plans on what to do while on board. We have booked with Blue Lagoon for Dolphin Encounter in Nassau, but not sure of what to do in Freeport. Any ideas?

[scchasgal]

Husband, daughter, son in law and 2 grandchildren age 9 and 15 are sailing on Fantasy. This is a first time cruise for all except hubby and I-will be our 4th cruise. Any one have access to Carnival Cappers from a recent cruise that would be so kind as to share with us. So we can start our plans on what to do while on board. We have booked with Blue Lagoon for Dolphin Encounter in Nassau, but not sure of what to do in Freeport. Any ideas?

 

 

We were on the Fantasy for Christmas this past year. We struggled with what to do in Freeport since the port area is nasty and nothing to do there. We got in a taxi and headed over Port Lucaya there is shopping there, restaurants and across the street you can use the beach. Cheap for a family excursion. Don't pay the Carnival prices to do the same thing.

[All4fun&fun4all]

I located your thread searching for information on the Fantasy which is very hard to come by. I am toying with the idea of getting married on her in October in port before departing. Just to make everything a little easier on me. They handle everything and when we have to kick most of our non sailing guests off, we can just keep on partying all week! Has anyone ever attended a wedding on it? I want to make sure its nice!

This is the best review I have read by far!!!! Thank you for all the information. I also loved your style. I'm from the area as well (Summerville) so I can relate to you! I feel like I know you after reading this. My heart hurts for yall! Sorry to hear about The Andrew getting burned. I can relate here as well. My fiance works at an aluminum plant here and got his hand burned really badly last May. Luckily he did it on a Wednesday and the team from the burn clinic in Augusta is here at Trident every Wednesday. He still is scarred and has to wear a glove 23 hours out of the day. We are just thankful because it could have been so much worse! He had it grafted twice and it is healing remarkable as well! I hope Andrew heals up soon!!!! P.S. - Keep that sunscreen on it when outside!! We also had our house burn down when I was a child. We lost everything and that is tough! Its also a smell that you will NEVER forget!! Praying that Andrew heals quickly and you guys hit that lotto and can take a forever cruise!!!!!!!!

 

I havent been to a wedding onboard but I bet that would be an awesome event. We walked by the aft lounge and the doors were closed and the Wedding sign was out there. We ran away fast. :p

 

The Andrew has been to 3 visits so far at that clinic at Trident. They really do amazing work at the Augusta Burn Center. His ears are still painful and his upper arms but I believe he is suffering from PTSD. :( He is doing a good job about keeping the sunscreen on. I havent had to nag him about it at all...yet :D

 

OHHH a FOREVER cruise would be fantastical!

 

P.S.---I used to live in Summerville in the Sangaree area years ago.

[JSmith28]

And the Award for The Best Carnival Fantasy Review goes toooooo....drum roll please.....All4Fun&Fun4All!!!!!!! OMG that review was so awesome, it felt like I was on the cruise with you. I'm so glad I found this because I will be going on my very first cruise, leaving from Charleston on May 14th. Umm lol I really don't have any questions to ask because you seem to have covered everything. I was gonna ask you about the prices on the drinks but I see you listed a few of those. What did surprise me was the Key West stop because I didn't know Fantasy stopped there, at least the ones I looked at in May didn't mention it, just Freeport & Nassau. So I was surprised about that. No biggie though, I'll settle for just Freeport & Nassau!! I'm glad you went over what to pack & what not to pack. I plan on starting my packing at least 3 days before we leave, my boyfriend & I. I know I will definitely have to check over his suitcase, we women know how men are, knowing my boyfriend, he'll just pack 1 outfit for each day LOL. Anyway, just to make sure I have everything, I'm gonna start packing early & I also jotted down your list of what to pack, definitely glad you mentioned a watch because I'm a cell phone kinda person, don't own a watch & glad you mentioned chapstick lol. GREAT REVIEW! It was perfect being that this is my first cruise, I now know what to expect from Embarkation to Debarkation thanks to you. I also have a excursion planned but no snorkeling or anything. I'm starting to think its a waste of money after reading your review. In Nassau, my boyfriend & I will be going to Wyndham Resort Getaway At Cable Beach. Wait a minute, didn't you mention something about Cable Beach???? I'll have to go back & check. Anyway, GREAT GREAT GREAT REVIEW!!!!

[tcdell]

Hey JSMITH28, my mom and I are on the May 14th Fantasy sailing too. Come join the roll call!

[JSmith28]

hey jsmith28, my mom and i are on the may 14th fantasy sailing too. Come join the roll call!

 

great!!

[All4fun&fun4all]

And the Award for The Best Carnival Fantasy Review goes toooooo....drum roll please.....All4Fun&Fun4All!!!!!!! OMG that review was so awesome, it felt like I was on the cruise with you. I'm so glad I found this because I will be going on my very first cruise, leaving from Charleston on May 14th. Umm lol I really don't have any questions to ask because you seem to have covered everything. I was gonna ask you about the prices on the drinks but I see you listed a few of those. What did surprise me was the Key West stop because I didn't know Fantasy stopped there, at least the ones I looked at in May didn't mention it, just Freeport & Nassau. So I was surprised about that. No biggie though, I'll settle for just Freeport & Nassau!! I'm glad you went over what to pack & what not to pack. I plan on starting my packing at least 3 days before we leave, my boyfriend & I. I know I will definitely have to check over his suitcase, we women know how men are, knowing my boyfriend, he'll just pack 1 outfit for each day LOL. Anyway, just to make sure I have everything, I'm gonna start packing early & I also jotted down your list of what to pack, definitely glad you mentioned a watch because I'm a cell phone kinda person, don't own a watch & glad you mentioned chapstick lol. GREAT REVIEW! It was perfect being that this is my first cruise, I now know what to expect from Embarkation to Debarkation thanks to you. I also have a excursion planned but no snorkeling or anything. I'm starting to think its a waste of money after reading your review. In Nassau, my boyfriend & I will be going to Wyndham Resort Getaway At Cable Beach. Wait a minute, didn't you mention something about Cable Beach???? I'll have to go back & check. Anyway, GREAT GREAT GREAT REVIEW!!!!

 

Thank you so much! I am glad you found this review helpful. I have to tell you that you will NEVER forget your first cruise. Everything is just so stunning the first time around. You will walk around for the first day or so with you mouth wide open and eyes wide open taking it all in. Its equally stunning still but walking into the atrium for the first time is just...WOW!

 

I want to say Cable Beach is where we went on our first cruise in 2004. We just took a shuttle from the ship to the beach for relatively cheap and just plopped down in the sand. I got my hair braided and we drank rum out of real coconuts from some guy walking down the beach. LOL. I will look and see if I can find pics to confirm that was the beach. I know that we walked through some trees and there was a down slope to the bright blue water. (Oh how I miss blue water)

 

If you can think of any questions let me know. Especially about Charleston. Since I live here I can give you some insights.

 

Additionally, I have decided to start a blog which will have the same basic format as this review. I will let you know when it is up and running. I am a little nervous about doing it but have had so many people tell me I should write more...so, I will!

[All4fun&fun4all]

Hey JSMITH28, my mom and I are on the May 14th Fantasy sailing too. Come join the roll call!

 

Maaaaan! I wishI was part of a roll call. :(

[All4fun&fun4all]

@Jsmith: In looking at pictures I believe the beach we went to in 2004 was Cabbage Beach.

[HendersonKY]

Your review has been great!! I am taking my wife and 17 year old stepdaughter on their first cruise next week. It is for my stepdaughter's birthday (turns 18 the week after we cruise) and graduation. We are very excited! If there are some must do's let me know. Also, we will staying in Orangeburg the night before we leave and I understand there is a road race going on sat. If we can get on the boat about 11:30, what time do you think we need to leave Orangeburg? Thanks for any help and ideas! The only thing we really have planned is Dead Man's Reef in Freeport.

[All4fun&fun4all]

Your review has been great!! I am taking my wife and 17 year old stepdaughter on their first cruise next week. It is for my stepdaughter's birthday (turns 18 the week after we cruise) and graduation. We are very excited! If there are some must do's let me know. Also, we will staying in Orangeburg the night before we leave and I understand there is a road race going on sat. If we can get on the boat about 11:30, what time do you think we need to leave Orangeburg? Thanks for any help and ideas! The only thing we really have planned is Dead Man's Reef in Freeport.

 

I am happy you enjoyed the review! You guys are going to have such a great time! Take a picture of your stepdaughters face when she walks onboard. It will be priceless!

 

I would leave around 9:00 or 9:30am. But understand, I am habitually early everywhere I go. I dont like to feel rushed and I typically bring reading material with me to pass the time. The Andrew is a procrastinator and it makes me NUTS!!! It takes about an hour and a half to get to Charleston from Orangeburg so use that and plan accordingly.

 

The next time we go to Nassau we really want to try Fish Fry. Locals hang out there and we like a more laid back experience. I hear the beach that is close to it isnt that great but we want to try a different beach next time. We really enjoyed our snorkel excursion in Nassau but next time we will probably make this our beach day and then make Freeport an excursion destination. I have heard good things about Dead Man's Reef though. Sounds like a great choice.

[mouche]

great!!

 

 

We will be getting off the day you board JSmith, our first time on the Fatansy.:D

[JSmith28]

@Jsmith: In looking at pictures I believe the beach we went to in 2004 was Cabbage Beach.

 

Ohh ok. Well I ended up canceling our Nassau excursion cuz I figured we can use that money for something else while in The Bahamas. Besides, we'll still enjoy whatever beach we end up going to. I fell in love with the photo they have for Wyndham Resort, that's why I picked it lol. Anyway, I cannot wait for this cruise! My boyfriend & I were going on 1 May of last year but I had to cancel after paying the $400 deposit, I was devastated! So glad we're finally going! We love our 3 kids dearly but we need a break lol May 14th can't get here fast enough! I'm gonna dread heading back just like u were.