Just off Fantasy - June 29-July 6

[LPGA Golfer Gal]

What a glorious 7 days that was. With the exception of the first day at sea the weather was perfect. All the ports were made and just a great time.

I don't have a lot of time right now to write a review, but will try from time to time in the next few days to put some thoughts down. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask away.

 

EMBARKATION:

As most people have indicated that the Port of Charleston is lacking in amenities, but I will agree with most posters about the ease of check in. Don't let the maze of cones fool you - it is efficient and quick from arrival, to parking to check in and then you are on the ship. We arrived around 9h30 and dropped off our bags right away. We then left and went to the market place to do some shopping. We returned around 10h45 and waited in the maze for about 25mins. From there we parked in the warehouse and got onto a shuttle almost immediately. We were on the ship within 50 mins of arriving in the maze of cones... not bad.

 

ON BOARD:

We ate a tasty lunch and my daughter got into her bathing suit immediately and jumped in the pool. We also got our first DOD. Yummy.

The vacation had started.

We were allowed into our cabin - U158 - around 1:30pm and we all got into our suits for the water slides. We met our steward, Sokate - he was fantastic and took care of everything for us all week. We never needed ice after the first day!!

 

The Fantasy is a great ship. The sailing was smooth, the crew fabulous and everyone was very helpful. We loved the sailing out of Charleston and will do it again in a heartbeat. Our daughter took part in most of the Camp Carnival activities and loved it.

 

Well that is all the time I have right now, but feel free to ask any questions.

[landonsnanny]

I agree, Sokate is terrific.We were in u140 in May.Great cruise,except for the 50mph winds the first 36 hours:eek:.Well you cant have everithing!!!We will be sailing on the Fantasy again in december.We enjoyed the mdr,but also the outside tables just off the buffet area. Comedy shows were great,and the other shows were good.We enjoyed the food,except maybe breakfast in mdr:eek:.again,you cant have it all.We chose your time dining,and that worked well for us.Never waited over 15 min., and always had a two-top!!:D. room location was perfect(in our opinion)...close to stairs,laundry(3.00-wash...3.00-dry---take quarters),very quite.Wishing all good cruising!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lauraezzell]

Love the Fantasy and will be sailing on her for the 3rd time in December. Thanks for the great review. I agree that the boarding process (dropping off luggage, parking, etc) is not as complicated as some people seem to imply. On one of our sailings, they opened the gates at 11:15 and by 12:15 we were finishing our buffet lunch!

[MomPic]

We also were on the Fantasy from June 29th to July 6th and it was AWESOME!!! We loved leaving out of Charleston as we live in Columbia, SC...so close to home! We did Faster to the Fun and it was so worth every penny! We did spend Friday night in Charleston doing some shopping at the Tanger outlets. We headed to the port about 9:30 am and dropped off our bags. Our car and bags were ticketed so everyone knew we were Faster to the Fun. We went to the East Bay Deli for a great breakfast! Once we got back in the car line via the cones...lol....we headed right into the line to park. We did not have to pay to park as DH has a handicapp tag. We parked in the warehouse and waited for the shuttle. Once inside we went thru the X-ray scan line and then acknowledged as Faster to the Fun to check in...our keys were ready and we were on our way upstairs for pictures.....up the ramps onto the ship!! Our room was ready and luggage was there....all by 11:00 am!!! We put our carry on down....headed to the Lido deck for our first drink of the day....Love those wicker chairs with the cushions!!

Meals were awesome!! From yummy breakfasts on the Lido deck to incredible dinners in the MDR...if you went away hungry on this cruise, it was your fault. Edy, Francis and Christopher in the MDR spoiled us every evening. Allan, our room steward was my angel. Always filling my small cooler with ice to keep my sodas cold, turning down our bed and making adorable towel animals...fresh towels all the time...gosh I miss them all already!!

My only complaint is being taken when I bought that shopping book for $25.00. It is a rip off unless you plan to buy diamonds, emeralds, or tanzanite. We tried to get the free shopping bag and ring at Del Sol on Grand Turk only to be told they were all out. we were the only ship there and we were first off the ship. I was so upset! My DH and I headed to the beach to relax since I was not in the mood to shop after that disappointment. Later that night we headed to the Shopping Desk to ask for our money back. Kirstey said other cruisers had voiced the same complaint and she ripped my coupon out for Del Sol and Diamonds Intl saying she would get them me in Nassau. She did get me a tote bag but no charm from DI. Save your money and DO NOT buy this book!

DH and I love the Fantasy and will cruise again...maybe when the many kids who were on the ship are in school...maybe end of September??

Back to work...it is going to be a long day tomorrow!!

 

 

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[CrusinCyndi]

Glad you had a great time! We will be sailing on her in October.

 

Can you tell me if there was an area set aside for FTTF or for Suite/Platinum check in?

[babyblue78]

The 7 day cruise out of Charleston on the Fantasy has been one of our favorite cruises ever! Loved the itinerary and I really liked the Fantasy, I like it as much as the newer ships but in a different way. I love how the Serenity deck is on the back of the ship with no aft cabin balconies below so you can stand back there at night with a drink and watch the wake.

[imola]

Can someone tell me what Faster to the Fun is and the cost. We are sailing in Nov.

 

Thank You

[LPGA Golfer Gal]

Sorry I can't help you with the Faster to the Fun. We just boarded as normal and it still only took an hour from arrival till the lido deck!

We travelled with friends and their parents. We all had Your Time Dining. We had linked our reservations and each night we were able to easily sit at a big table as a group. 3 nights we were lucky enough to have Catherine! She was amazing. All the staff really are great.

We will consider this cruise again from Charleston. Loved the itinerary and especially being able to drive to the port.

I have to say we Loved HMC - we rented a villa for the day and WOW!!!!!

That was a beautiful place, could easily have missed the ship!!

[peggyo]

Love reading about the Fantasy. We will be on our first cruise in November on Fantasy.

[NCTribeFan]

I wish they'd work in a few more of the 7-nighters. Of course, if you don't mind Nassau twice in 12 nights, you could do a 5+7 nighter like I did last October.

 

Glad you had a good time I didn't care much for Fantasy after the two sailings I did early in my cruising career, but I've grown quite fond of her. :D

 

Of course, sailing from Charleston is also a plus.

 

But she's kept in good shape and has a good "vibe" to her.

[kellyccz]

Glad you had a great time! We will be sailing on her in October.

 

Can you tell me if there was an area set aside for FTTF or for Suite/Platinum check in?

 

There was not a separate area when we sailed her the beginning of June. It was just one big area and no real way of distinguishing FTTF and platinum/diamonds from everyone else after getting your S&S.

 

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[LoveVakays]

Glad to hear you had a good time! We're sailing on the Fantasy on Oct 13 - we booked the cruise less than a week from being back on the Paradise!

 

Question for you: you mentioned dropping off you luggage and then heading out to shop. How does that work? Is the luggage drop off totally separate from the entire parking section so that you can pull in, get all that done without being part of the parking procession? We've always dropped off our bags with the porters and immediately went to check in.

 

Also, happy to hear that your child enjoyed CC. Our 2.5 yr old loved his time there also and this played a part in us going with Carnival again! Thanks.

[kybluecruiser]

I always ask everybody on that has been on the fantasy how was Risa? My favorite cruise,director.

[MomPic]

Henne was our cruise director and he was great!! Actually all of the staff was incredible!!!

 

 

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[NCTribeFan]

If the OP doesn't mind, I'd like to direct some folks to the "All Things Fantasy" thread. It has lots of useful info about the ship itself as well as boarding from Charleston. And I'm not just saying that because I started it. I find the All Things Shipname threads to be extremely useful for collecting info about the ship - things that may not be specific to one particular sailing.

 

There's also a very useful thread on the East Coast Departures board for sailing from Charleston.

 

Golfer Gal - how was the kids' club? I recall you asking about it in the Fantasy thread and I posted a pic of the room with the hideous carpet. :D

 

Maybe you could post a link back to this review thread in that generic Fantasy thread?

 

What did you do for dinner? I'm wondering if anyone has had my wonderful Seville for an assistant waiter recently? Rafael and Seville were in the mid-section of the Jubilee dining room.

[LUVMYGSDOG]

I'm another Fantasy lover! Glad you had a great cruise!

 

 

 

Kim

[LPGA Golfer Gal]

Thanks all for comments. Lets see if I can comment on some of the questions/comments.

We pulled into the port at 9:30, followed the maze of cones and arrived at the bag drop off area. Had our boarding pass ready, hopped out and gave them our cases. We then drove out of the port area- very conveniently signed. The market is a couple of blocks from port. We shopped and when we were allowed back in we were told to stay in the right hand lane of cones to bypass the luggage drop off area. The next place checks IDs, boarding pass and you then go to the next area to pay for parking. Very easy and the workers are very quick to help you out.

We were in the Celebration dining room for Your Time Dining.

Hennie was filling in as cruise director.

NCTribe- yes it was me that asked about the Camp Carnival area. It is in the back of the ship, very convenient as it would turn out for our cabin locatin. The photo was true to the room. Thanks. What was not clear to me in the photo and description was whether the 2-5 yr olds and 6-8 yr olds were all together in that small area. I was pleasantly surprised that there were two areas about the same size for each age group. DD(7) had a ball.

[NCTribeFan]

Glad your DD enjoyed it!

[Boris-n-Natasha]

What a glorious 7 days that was. With the exception of the first day at sea the weather was perfect. All the ports were made and just a great time.

I don't have a lot of time right now to write a review, but will try from time to time in the next few days to put some thoughts down. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask away.

 

EMBARKATION:

As most people have indicated that the Port of Charleston is lacking in amenities, but I will agree with most posters about the ease of check in. Don't let the maze of cones fool you - it is efficient and quick from arrival, to parking to check in and then you are on the ship. We arrived around 9h30 and dropped off our bags right away. We then left and went to the market place to do some shopping. We returned around 10h45 and waited in the maze for about 25mins. From there we parked in the warehouse and got onto a shuttle almost immediately. We were on the ship within 50 mins of arriving in the maze of cones... not bad.

 

ON BOARD:

We ate a tasty lunch and my daughter got into her bathing suit immediately and jumped in the pool. We also got our first DOD. Yummy.

The vacation had started.

We were allowed into our cabin - U158 - around 1:30pm and we all got into our suits for the water slides. We met our steward, Sokate - he was fantastic and took care of everything for us all week. We never needed ice after the first day!!

 

The Fantasy is a great ship. The sailing was smooth, the crew fabulous and everyone was very helpful. We loved the sailing out of Charleston and will do it again in a heartbeat. Our daughter took part in most of the Camp Carnival activities and loved it.

 

Well that is all the time I have right now, but feel free to ask any questions.

 

Hi there, the wife, teen and I will be on the fantasy in March and staying in u158 - the wife and I were in u144 this past August - yes, Sokate was awesome. We have never taken the son along and stayed in a cabin for 3 - do you have any pics of the room? I believe it is an upper that pulls out for the 3rd person, is that correct?