My Carnival Fantasy Review March 12th - 18th 2011

[scchasgal]

Having never cruised from Charleston before, I wasn’t too happy with the set up of having to take our own luggage to the bins and load them ourselves ( No porters to handle our luggage )and take a shuttle, a shuttle I exclaimed, to where ??? I can see the ship,…LOL … We were told to come back at 11am, we headed to the market to check out the locals and their wares… Great place to waste some time… We stopped in at Kilwin’s to purchase some chocolate for the Maitre’d Dessie ( more on that later )

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Lisaandmckinley@aol

 

Don't let this deter you from cruising from Charleston again. This is not the norm I have cruised from here many times. Plus the bonus is a new terminal is being built and further up the river so the parking and getting to the ship (shuttle) will be gone. Terminal is suppose to be completed by early fall 2012.

[Chef P]

Having never cruised from Charleston before, I wasn’t too happy with the set up of having to take our own luggage to the bins and load them ourselves ( No porters to handle our luggage )and take a shuttle, a shuttle I exclaimed, to where ??? I can see the ship,…LOL … We were told to come back at 11am, we headed to the market to check out the locals and their wares… Great place to waste some time… We stopped in at Kilwin’s to purchase some chocolate for the Maitre’d Dessie ( more on that later )

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Lisaandmckinley@aol

 

Don't let this deter you from cruising from Charleston again. This is not the norm I have cruised from here many times. Plus the bonus is a new terminal is being built and further up the river so the parking and getting to the ship (shuttle) will be gone. Terminal is suppose to be completed by early fall 2012.

 

 

I wont let it deter me, We are actually taking about a summer cruise out of here again,

I did love the area... :)

[Chef P]

Well as you guessed it after dinner, we walked in the open air deck and what a Beautiful night, seeing lights from nearby cities ….

We decided to get up early and try to get some seats for the day, well were we WRONG… Can you say CHAIR HOGS…LOL

There were no chairs around the pool at 7:45 am, NOT ONE !! so I waited 40 minutes, mentioned it to Security, they watched for another 40 minutes, came to me at my table and asked me which chairs poolside did I want ?...LOL I choose front and centre…. At this point the time was 9:00 and about a dozen chairs around the pool had guests sitting in them the other 100 chairs empty with nothing but a book or carnival towels placed upon them…. Today turned out to be our party day, we hung with some of the college students sitting next to us and our new friends we had met throughout the week…

Lots of drinking was taking place today, St. Patrick’s day hats and shirts being worn by most.. The sun was shining brightly for all of about 10 minutes when a dark cloud came upon and start to drizzle very lightly, most people ran for cover while others ran to steal the chairs just vacated by everyone…LOL

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After a wonderful day of partying it was totally ruined by having to return to my cabin to do the dirty four letter word “ PACK “

YUK, I hate this part, truly hate it…. I hate to pack to go away and I hate to pack to go home… I keep saying I am just going to travel with nothing but a swimsuit and my mastercard… J

Instead we napped, LMAO.. way to much sun and drinking today,… but we did make it to dinner, where we had a fabulous last evening with our tablemates and servers..We exchanged email addresses and phone numbers…and said our good bye’s to Dessie, Kristan and Ismail..

This time we headed back to our cabin to PACK, did I mention how much I HATE IT ? I basically through everything in the cases and called it a NIGHT !! LOL

[Chef P]

Thanks for the review. Do you know where I could get a look at some recent Fun Times sheets from the Fantasy? I want to start planning/dreaming of the activities I want to participate in this summer!

 

I am going to TRY and scan them and I will post them here, check back and see if I was successful...LOL

[babyblue78]

I am loving all of your pictures! We are going on Fantasy in August, very excited! Have you tried the Kino sandal place in Key West? The lady there was very nice when we stopped in there back in February. Love the sandals too! :)

 

So, when is a "good" time to show up at the port? We are staying at the Hampton in Mt Pleasant, but want to be early on the ship. I don't mind hauling bags... I was thinking 10:30 or so...

[the queen of clutter]

I am loving all of your pictures! We are going on Fantasy in August, very excited! Have you tried the Kino sandal place in Key West? The lady there was very nice when we stopped in there back in February. Love the sandals too! :)

 

So, when is a "good" time to show up at the port? We are staying at the Hampton in Mt Pleasant, but want to be early on the ship. I don't mind hauling bags... I was thinking 10:30 or so...

 

This may change but last week we stayed at that Hampton Inn (our 2nd time) and took the free shuttle to and from the port. I pitched a fit when I called to reserve the shuttle and was told the shuttle would be there at 11:30 or 11:45 (I forgot which it was). Of course I was impatient and wanted to go early!

 

Even so, we boarded the shuttle, a quick ride to the port where we were let off in front of a gate as our luggage was taken by the stewards. Note: have your carry-ons in the seat with you or they'll grab them, too! We walked thru the gate, onto the transfer bus, into the terminal where there looked like a long line. But, we stayed at a steady walk up to the counter, pics, and onboard pretty fast.

 

From what I experienced and read at CC I wouldn't arrive before 11 a.m.

[Chef P]

I am loving all of your pictures! We are going on Fantasy in August, very excited! Have you tried the Kino sandal place in Key West? The lady there was very nice when we stopped in there back in February. Love the sandals too! :)

 

So, when is a "good" time to show up at the port? We are staying at the Hampton in Mt Pleasant, but want to be early on the ship. I don't mind hauling bags... I was thinking 10:30 or so...

 

 

Funny thing is, Kino was where I wanted to go, so of course I asked where they were located once we were in town, I stopped a man and he said Kai Kai on Duval... Remembering the name started with a K, now i realize it was Kiino... :) LOL

 

I would say arrive at the port at 11am,

[Casey9]

Thank you for the review and pics! I set sail on the Fantasy in 9 days - doing the Single Digit Happy Dance now!!:D

Looking forward to seeing the Fun Times if you get them scanned!

[The Wolverine]

Thanks for the review, do you happen to have pics of the cabin. I never been on the Fantasy, and I'm looking to book an ocean view room on it.

 

Thanks,

[babyblue78]

Thanks for the review, do you happen to have pics of the cabin. I never been on the Fantasy, and I'm looking to book an ocean view room on it.

 

Thanks,

 

Check www dot cruiselinerooms dot com :)

[Britty36]

Are you going to post anymore of your review? I got hooked and then it stopped! :D

[triumphcruise]

I am leaving out of Charleston on the Fantasy on April 23 and am trying to locate a few details from the Funtimes. If you have them, I forward to having a quick review for our planning - - Thanks

[spyder209]

Thanks so much for your review! I am sailing on the Fantasy this year and have been looking for a recent review with pics!

[Megan_Strick]

Carnival Fantasy March 12th ~ 18th 2011

 

Prior to Embarkation

I booked this cruise about 3 weeks prior to sailing, and chose an Ocean view cabin. We are a family of three and all are platinum cruisers with Carnival.

Our goal was to leave Ontario around 3am Friday morning and arrive in Charleston around dinner time…LOL ..well anyone who knows me, knows I change my mind all of the time and decided if the weather is crappy we will leave earlier in the day… So with the forcast in mind, we decided to leave right after school let out Thursday afternoon…. OOOOpppsss imagine the look on my face when I see the forcast Thursday morning when we awoke… Torrential down pour for the entire drive…we quickly packed the truck and said to hell with sending our Daughter to school…LOL

We left customs at Buffalo at 9:45am, and made a quick shopping stop in Erie PA, and was back on the road for a very CRAPPY drive in the rain…we finally stopped in Lake Norman, NC ( Mooresville ) at about 9:30 pm and pulled into the Fairfield Inn…. Everything about this hotel was great, the room, the rate and especially the breakfast…..

 

We awoke to SUNSHINE…. Imagine the excitement after a day of travel during torrential down pour…

 

Our excitement was soon turned to sorrow when we heard on the news of the Earth quake in Japan,

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the residents of Japan…

 

We continued on our driving journey, arriving at the Holiday Inn Express ( 350 Johnnie Dodds Blvd Mount Pleasant ) Charleston at 11:20am, The hotel was booked with Priority club points, we were allowed to keep the car parked for the duration of our cruise.

They allowed us to check in immediately… and we headed for a some lunch and some shopping… We were so happy that we arrived when we had, it gave us plenty of time to check out the area and of course the cruise port….So much to see and do in this port, the history alone was fascinating…Let alone the architecture….

 

 

 

 

Just have to give a shout out to Mooresville, NC. My sis in law lives there!!

[LBumb]

great photos

[Randisoko]

You mentioned that you purchased an arm band for $60. What all did that include?
Thanks!

[wannago35]

Great pictures and review, thanks so much for sharing your experience. We cruise in 93 days and cannot WAIT! :)