Fantasy Review (Kind of) 9/18 - 9/24

[jovifan78]

My name is Gina and I'm a cruise addict. :D I just took my very first cruise on the Fantasy, Sept 18 - 24 and absolutely loved it! I'm not good at these review things so instead I'll just ramble. lol

 

The first night I wasn't to sure why everybody liked the whole cruising thing because I was moving a bit more than I liked. I couldn't tell who was drunk and who wasn't and you that were there know what I mean! lol But later in the evening on Sunday it was smooth sailing. :)

 

My adventure started in Charleston where I stayed at Hampton Inn and Suites in North Charleston. The staff there were extremely polite and the breakfast is much more than I expected after staying at other hotels over the years. I will definitely stay there again when I cruise again and I will cruise again that much I do know! I was ready to book another one before I even left.

 

The Fantasy is obviously one of the older ships but I still had a blast! Especially in the Casino at night. :D As far as the ports of call went I was more impressed with the color of the ocean. lol After years of going to Myrtle Beach I didn't think it was possible for water to be that blue but it truly was! The shopping on the other hand was a different story - maybe I was missing something because I didn't see anything all that great unless of course you enjoy purses or jewelry because they do seem to have plenty of that!

 

As for the excursions we took, which were not booked through Carnival btw, were probably the best parts of the trip. When we docked in Nassau I had a snorkeling adventure planned which turned out to be completely awesome! They took you to three different spots to snorkel and one was with the Caribbean Reef Sharks which was the highlight of the trip for me. My next goal is to be certified next time so that I can actually do a dive with them.

 

Now in Freeport again the only thing I enjoyed was the ocean where I spent over half the day. Oh how I wish I was on that beach right now! Beats a day of work. :cool:

 

As for Key West - again I wasn't thrilled with the shopping but we did go on a Shark Tour adventure. On that we were able to observe lemon sharks and I actually got to feed them! As long as I wasn't the bait all was good. lol After those we saw a few dolphins which I actually managed to get pictures of.

 

When we got back to the ship on that day it was sad to watch it sail away from Key West because that meant the end of vacation was near.:( I'll try to post some of the pictures I took during the trip including a beautiful sunset.

 

All in all it was a great vacation that I can't wait to repeat. I only had one complaint through the whole thing - when I got back to my room after dinner on Thursday night they left these debarkation tags on the desk.....Can you believe that??? :eek:

[jovifan78]

[happy cruzer]

Welcome to the world of cruising....

 

Glad you had a great first cruise!

[Cricket63]

Hi Gina...when we got off, you got on! Yes, the Fantasy was a great vacation for us too! IT'S VERY ADDICTIVE!! Glad you had a wonderful first cruise!

[ANGSWIN]

I, too, am addicted after my first cruise in April and have booked my second one on the Fantasy in Dec and am already planning my third for Alaska in 2012 (I hope they release those itineraries soon!)

 

Anyway, I heard a very true statement somewhere here on CC while I was planning my first cruise:

"There are only two types of people- those who have never cruised and those who are planning their next!"

 

Little did I know how true that was... :rolleyes:

[jovifan78]

Anyway, I heard a very true statement somewhere here on CC while I was planning my first cruise:

"There are only two types of people- those who have never cruised and those who are planning their next!"

 

Little did I know how true that was... :rolleyes:

 

How true that that is! I was ready to have my mom just swipe my card when she left then I would find somewhere to hide but figured they'd find me! lol

[Dive Master]

I am glad you enjoyed your cruise and got to see the amazing reef sharks (yep diving with them is better). Wish I could have met you but unfortunately my favorite Aunt died and we had to do a last minute cancellation on the 17th.We did manage a few days in Charleston after the funeral and I did walk out on Friday morning to see the Fantasy.

[maldenmusic]

I have always enjoyed cruising on the Fantasy and was sad to see her leave and go to SC. But now i cruise on the Elation and love it just as much.

[jovifan78]

I am glad you enjoyed your cruise and got to see the amazing reef sharks (yep diving with them is better). Wish I could have met you but unfortunately my favorite Aunt died and we had to do a last minute cancellation on the 17th.We did manage a few days in Charleston after the funeral and I did walk out on Friday morning to see the Fantasy.

 

I'm sorry to hear about your aunt - we were kind of in the same situation. My grandma had been fighting alzheimers for the past four year and she passed away on the Sept 14th just a couple of days before we were set to leave. My mom took care of her and the family knew how much she needed this vacation because it's all she'd talked about for a while so they arranged it so that we could have the funeral before we left. While it was sad to see her go we know that she's in a better place now and she was definitely with us in spirit while on the cruise. She always loved the ocean so I guess this was her stubborn way of going with us anyway. So with that being said it was a great but bittersweet trip.

[KCMarie]

My name is Gina and I'm a cruise addict. :D I just took my very first cruise on the Fantasy, Sept 18 - 24 and absolutely loved it!

All in all it was a great vacation that I can't wait to repeat. I only had one complaint through the whole thing - when I got back to my room after dinner on Thursday night they left these debarkation tags on the desk.....Can you believe that??? :eek:

 

The nerve! A totally legit complaint! Debarkation is such an ugly word. sigh...

 

I loved the Fantasy, still do! I've been on her twice but alas....time to move on!

Will be on the Valor in 29 days, then the Elation in January, and the Inspiration in March. Be prepared for a lifetime of cruising addiction!

[littlejo]

got a question and hoping someone who has been on this ship can answer for me. there is a group of us going in nov. a few of the members of this group smoke. we all have rooms without portholes or anything, just reg. rooms. does anyone know if you can smoke in these rooms? and where on deck can you smoke?? thanks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[KCMarie]

got a question and hoping someone who has been on this ship can answer for me. there is a group of us going in nov. a few of the members of this group smoke. we all have rooms without portholes or anything, just reg. rooms. does anyone know if you can smoke in these rooms? and where on deck can you smoke?? thanks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Smoking is allowed within cabins except for Spa cabins.

There are smoking areas clearly posted throughout the ship. On the Lido deck, one side of the ship is designated as smoking. There are plenty of places to smoke. We smoke, but never smoked in the cabins as we never felt comfortable doing that, so we'd go to an open deck and sit in the smoking sections. I believe the Casino and piano bar as smoking, as well as the Cigar Bar at the back of the ship.

 

Have a great cruise!

[DEERINH2O]

jovifan78,

 

Can you tell me who you used in Nassau for snorkeling? We want to do this but I dont know of any independents?

 

thanks,

kathy

[HopeB1]

I'm not sure who she used, but we used Stuart's Cove out of Nassau and they were great! They did the same type of stops. I will definitely use them again.

[jovifan78]

We used Stuart's Cove and I will go with them again next time.....wouldn't even hesitate. :D The driver is very prompt at picking you up and there are people to direct you exactly where they pick you up at.