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

[All4fun&fun4all]

We didnt go to dinner this night either. We headed up to our favorite alternative. Sushi!

 

 

The best time (we found) to grab some sushi with minimal line is around 7pm. It is only open from 5pm-8pm but there is a crazy long line right at 5pm.

 

Not sure what night this was but it seems relevant here

 

 

We went back to the room to watch a little tv

 

 

Around 11pm we ordered some room service. I got the shrimp salad which was super and Andrew got the Salmon Caesar Salad which also was delicious. This night we went to bed early like responsible adults who need rest before snorkeling in Nassau the next day.

 

Here is the Andrew in the porthole pointing at his new shirt we got in Freeport

 

 

Day 4= Freeportalicious and rummy

 

Nassau: We pulled into Nassau and I really wanted to get to lido deck ASAP and grab some buffet breakfast so I can get pics of the cool lighthouse.

 

Mission accomplished

 

 

I love lighthouses and this one is my favorite

 

 

Off to the breakfast buffet and forgot to take pics but it looks alot like the previous buffet breakfast posted earlier. Feel free to go back and check it out. Bacon police were in effect on this day. As I sat my plate down on the table outside I realized that I didnt have any juice. One quick trip to the apple juice machine and back outside where EVERYONE out there is laughing at me. Really now? I cant figure out why they are laughing but Andrew clues me in.

[All4fun&fun4all]

This little guy stole my bacon.

 

 

Check it out! We have Coburg milk! Yum

 

 

This is where we ate our breakfast. Right above the Serenity Deck

 

There were 3 other ships in port with us. One was Norweigan Sky but I am unsure of the others. I forgot to look. We turned around and backed into our spot.

 

 

I remember this house from when we were here on this ship back in 2004

 

We made our way back to our room to get changed and packed up for our snorkel adventure. I was excited and quite nervous. Self Doubt started to set in. Our tickets arrived on our night at sea. Tickets say 9:45 departure but I stopped in at the Shore Excursion desk the previous night and the lovely young lady there said to get there about 30 minutes ahead of time. The tickets say to meet "off the ship". Um, ok...where is that specifically?

 

[All4fun&fun4all]

All you have to do is look for these guys. They were waiting with signs for their specific excursions and they were...right off the ship.

 

 

They told us we were early and just to have a seat until everyone shows up. It was shady and cool in that area between the ships. Andrew sat here...on the number two.

 

 

Then he stood for number one. (C'mon...its FUNNY)

 

 

After waiting awhile we stood in double straight lines to walk to the marina. Keep an eye on the guy with the paddle. You have to go through the market and out in the street then down the marina and its easy to fall behind or get stuck behind someone not on the tour. There are many vendors to pass by too. One smart lady was selling water for a dollar and a big one for $3.00 right by the boat.

 

They dont want you wearing your shoes on the boat and make you take them off right when you step onboard.

 

I'm on a boat

 

 

Once onboard you walk to the front where they hand out your snorkel, mask and lifevest. (You get your fins later) They were soaking in some soapy water. I dont know what method of cleaning they use because I was just going with the flow and didnt really want to think about it.

 

Here are fins next to the snorkels

 

 

There is a bar on the catamaran and you can order drinks or beer. Andrew got the local Bahamian beer Kalik for $4.00.

 

This is my snorkel gear and a Kalik beer.

 

 

One of the crew stood at the front while we were underway and gave a demonstration on how to use the snorkel gear. I paid attention like my life depended on it. We had to respond to him "yeah mon" if we understood. Funny. After this demonstration you are allowed to climb out onto the nets at the front of the boat. He reminded us they are NOT trampolines.

[MustardMan]

This is one of the most funniest reviews I've read in a long time. Thanks!

 

 

Hey, I know you fellow cruising buddy!! How the heck are you??

 

 

I agree, this is a great review!

[All4fun&fun4all]

Here I am sitting on the net. It wasnt really comfortable but I wanted to say I sat on the net at the front of a catamaran.

 

 

Here we are passing by Atlantis

 

 

Cuteness self portait

 

 

There was this really cool little island with all these palm trees. I looked over at Andrew and said "there had better not be houses on that island". It was just so much of what I want to live on. And yep...there were 4 little houses on it. I want to live here

 

 

They passed out fins to all of us but said not to put them on while on the boat. We were then asked at this point to start putting on our gear (without fins). He instructed that thumbs up means "I'm ok"

 

 

And that waving your arms means "Im not ok"

 

 

Now I am terrified. My lifejacket is fully inflated and then Andrew deflates it and says "you wont be able to snorkel with it inflated" at which point I re-inflate it. He gets the evil glare and in the demonic voice that is rooted somewhere at the core of my soul pops up and says "LET ME DO THIS MY WAY PLEASE". At least my demon is polite.

I just want to slowly get in...get used to the fact that I am in deep water in the ocean and then start to use the snorkel stuff. There was a guy in front of me and Andrew behind me. You are supposed to carry your fins to the back of the boat, sit on the little platform, put on your fins and jump in. So the guy in front of me jumps out and starts swimming out so I go down there & put on the fins. I am sliding in when the guy that just jumped in starts thrashing around and grabbing the yellow tow line back to the boat as fast as he can. So much for slowly getting in. I have to get out of his way so Andrew can help pull him back into the boat. Not sure what happened but this guy FREAKED OUT! Talk about second guessing my decision to snorkel. I was clinging to the ladder of the boat. Andrew got in and since he has done this before I sent him off to enjoy himself while I got used to the whole thing.

The guys on board threw food out to draw the fish to that area and WOW once I got used to it I LOVED it. So many fishies! We got to stay here for 45 minutes. Seems like just as I got used to it...it was time to go. Andrew took some underwater pics but they didnt turn out so well.

[jwise1]

I enjoyed reading your thread and looking at your pictures. Were cruising July 2nd and can't wait.

Edited June 18, 2010 by jwise1

[All4fun&fun4all]

They carried us across from where we were snorkeling to this little beach called Rose Beach.

 

 

You can either jump off the back of the boat and swim to shore or go down the ladder that they have into waist deep water. Oddly enough, I jumped off the back and swam. I had my own personal snorkel gear with me so when we had to turn in all of the ones the boat gave us, I still was able to snorkel.

 

This is the view from the beach to the reef that we were snorkeling at. You can see another catamaran there and my little island in the background.

 

 

It was a really pretty beach. We stayed here and swam for 45 minutes and then it was back onboard.

 

 

Watching these guys wind the rope back up was fascinating

 

 

And just so you get an idea of the size of the catamaran...here is the front.

 

 

And this is the back, the bar is in the middle and if you look really hard in the back right corner you will see Andrew NOT smoking a cigarette..ahem.

 

[All4fun&fun4all]

Gonna try to get in a few more before I leave. My son is coming home from military school this weekend so I wont be posting again until Monday after these. Sorry guys! Lets at least finish up in Nassau.

 

Now that we are on our way back the fun doesnt stop. No ma'am it doesnt! Can you say unlimited free rum runners on the way back?? I bet you can! How many can you pound in 20 minutes? We can pound 3! They were big and STRONG!!!

 

 

I was attempting a little pole dancing (just a little) and Andrew tied me to the pole.

 

 

Then Andrew started pole dancing. He was actually quite good!

 

 

Can you untie me now please?

 

 

Passing by Atlantis again

 

 

And this beach is the beach that we took a cab to on our 2004 cruise

 

 

They had a little dance thingy to do so the crew asked for volunteers. Andrew volunteered. I dont know what possessed him to do it. There is video. As soon as I upload it to youtube I will provide the linky.

[All4fun&fun4all]

Walking back to the ship I wanted to take a picture of the Fantasy's aft

 

 

Andrew looks like his backpack is attached to the ship

 

 

Headed back to our floating home...feelin no pain

 

Hey there Nassau....we arent quite done with you yet. We jog up (down?) to our room and get changed into some Nassau exploring clothes. I wanted to find a conch fritter and find a gift shop to pick up some shot glasses and a magnet. Here we go. Look how dark those clouds are. Hmmm

 

 

We wanted to go to Kafe Kalik but seriously couldnt figure out how to get there. There is video of this too. I think someone said it closed down?? Can someone confirm?

 

 

Oh yeah? Where? We eventually gave up looking for the place.

 

 

It started to sprinkle a bit

[All4fun&fun4all]

Just a little rain. No worries. Andrew is walking like Johnny Depp in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He does this often

 

 

Went into the market area and Andrew went here to get a drinky

 

 

And I found a conch fritter stand

 

 

And got these

 

 

I tasted absolutely no conch...mostly bread. Bummer. Ah well. Outside to take a picture by a tree. Jeans will prove to be a bad decision on this day.

 

 

We went by this bar and went to see about a beer for Andrew.

 

[All4fun&fun4all]

And that is when the bottom fell out of the sky. It poured rain so hard for quite some time.

 

 

We were thinking it would stop eventually but didnt want to become runners and end up on you tube so we needed to head back to the ship.

 

 

We puddle stomped our way back to the ship. Heck, its just rain.

 

Soaked

 

 

My clothes are SOAKED

 

 

Then we got changed and wandered the ship some more. We didnt make it to dinner this night either. Didnt want to offend our dining couple.

 

 

Made some drinks in our room and headed up to watch sailaway from Nassau which is beautiful. I took some video of that too.

[Ashpalo]

I'm loving your review! Thank you so much!

 

Ashley :)

[All4fun&fun4all]

Sailing away...buh-bye Nassau. You were the MOST awesome.

 

 

This is how I look when I realize we are leaving our last port of call

 

 

This is how an exhausted Andrew looks on lido

 

 

I guess this little guy wants to come along

 

 

And away we go

 

 

If I jump off right now I can make it to the pier...if the fall doesnt kill me

 

[All4fun&fun4all]

Everyone is leaving. Traffic jam in Nassau.

 

 

Zoom

 

 

Birdie in the way of my lighthouse

 

 

Ahhh, there we go

 

 

We are really starting to move now!

 

 

Man! Look at that!

 

[All4fun&fun4all]

Novelty umbrellas are soooo cool

 

 

Whale tail. Kept forgetting if I had taken the picture so I have like 10 pics of it.

 

 

Sunsets are prettier at sea

 

 

We are going so fast now that its blurry

 

 

AHHHHHH

 

 

Me at sunset

 

[arenfroe]

Fantastic review!! We were on the same sailing! I can't believe we didn't cross paths! We had a great time also, and your review may inspire me to do one as well. I think we took about 700 pictures.

 

You are SOO right about Key West - it was unbelievably hot, wasn't it? Being a huge Jimmy Buffett fan, I remembered Jimmy's words: "I went down to Captain Tony's to get out of the heat." and that is what I eventually did. I grabbed a barstool at Capt. Tony's and even got to meet Capt. Tony himself!

 

I too found the sushi bar and everyday right at 5pm, I was in line for my daily fix! The spicy tuna was my favorite.

 

Anyway, great review. Sorry we didn't get to meet you. Also, thanks for the advice about staying at the Rodeway Inn in Mount Pleasant. We stayed there for $85 and it was quite adequate for our needs. Great location!

[All4fun&fun4all]

Andrew at sunset

 

 

I wanna go back

 

 

We got another DOD and bucket of beer. Bahama Mama was the DOD

 

 

Be careful on these steps. When they are wet they are slippery. We saw quite a few people fall.

 

 

Tonight we wandered the ship again and got some more sushi. They always put us in the Odd cabins. I have no idea why.

 

Here is Andrew looking ODD

 

 

And me looking odd because I have a wet chest.

 

[All4fun&fun4all]

Fantastic review!! We were on the same sailing! I can't believe we didn't cross paths! We had a great time also, and your review may inspire me to do one as well. I think we took about 700 pictures.

 

You are SOO right about Key West - it was unbelievably hot, wasn't it? Being a huge Jimmy Buffett fan, I remembered Jimmy's words: "I went down to Captain Tony's to get out of the heat." and that is what I eventually did. I grabbed a barstool at Capt. Tony's and even got to meet Capt. Tony himself!

 

I too found the sushi bar and everyday right at 5pm, I was in line for my daily fix! The spicy tuna was my favorite.

 

Anyway, great review. Sorry we didn't get to meet you. Also, thanks for the advice about staying at the Rodeway Inn in Mount Pleasant. We stayed there for $85 and it was quite adequate for our needs. Great location!

 

Glad to hear the hotel was good for you. I am sure we crossed paths at some point. The spicy tuna was YUM!!! Thanks for the kind words. You should totally write a review. Its alot of work but fun re-living our cruise again. Makes me want to book another. We took 658 pictures...and 3 short videos.

[All4fun&fun4all]

I will write more on Monday or if I get time during the weekend. Need to spend some time with my boy before he goes back on Sunday. All we have left is another day at sea and then debarkation...my least favorite subject. :(:mad:

If anyone has questions, ask away.

[Chief Cruiser]

I will write more on Monday or if I get time during the weekend. Need to spend some time with my boy before he goes back on Sunday. All we have left is another day at sea and then debarkation...my least favorite subject. :(:mad:

If anyone has questions, ask away.

 

I hate to see debarkation too! That means the end of this review.:(

[All4fun&fun4all]

I hate to see debarkation too! That means the end of this review.:(

 

I hate the end of a good review...and I am glad you think mine is worthy!

 

More review as soon as I get caught up on my work from last week. :rolleyes:

[All4fun&fun4all]

I am back. Thanks for your patience. I am going to try to get through the day at sea today without benefit of my Fun Times and my notes which I left at home. I guess if I forget anything I will add it later. Debarkation will have to be done tomorrow because about 100 photos didnt upload, most of which were taken on the last day as we wandered the ship. We snuck our way into the Owners Suite and got a few pics from there!

 

Here we go...

 

Day 5 (?) = mind blowing!

 

Day @ Sea #2: Hey hey! We successfully got up in time for breakfast in the MDR! Andrew brought his two beers he had leftover from the previous evening.

 

 

And me? Well, I took advantage of the specially priced mimosas.

 

 

I just love a good mimosa. And they did not disappoint.

 

I had the scrambled eggs with corned beef hash. The eggs were perfectly cooked.

 

 

And of course I had to have the salmon/cream cheese/bagel thingy.

 

 

I am so in love with it that I may just marry it. Andrew had one of his favorite breakfasts. 3 eggs over-easy with toast, some bacon and a dollop of my hash.

 

 

We made our way back to the cabin to check our Fun Times today to see what, if anything, we would like to do. With our quasi-plans made we were off to Lido to people watch. But wait...better check our balance on our s&s card.

 

 

Back in 2007 on Triumph you were able to check your folio from your room on your tv. Not sure if its a Fantasy class thing or just on the Fantasy, but you cant check your folio on the tv. We bothered Guest Services a few times to make sure we werent getting close. They were happy to oblige. Never saw the line long there at all.

[All4fun&fun4all]

We snapped some random pictures today. Here is a poor attempt at an artsy shot.

 

 

The atrium, my bloody mary & Andrew's beer

 

 

Ripple effect from the window washers

 

 

Its a looooong way down

 

 

I see your whale tale

 

[All4fun&fun4all]

One more atrium shot

 

 

Did you see all that activity on one of the levels in the previous atrium shot? All those folks are looking at their pictures. I wanted to purchase each and every one of them but $11.99 is a bit steep for our budget. We settled on buying one from the first dinner night. I enjoyed looking at other people's pictures too. Some of the positions those photographers get you in are hilarious. I have heard talk on these threads about wanting Carnival to go digital with their pics and I agree that this is a very good idea. It is such a waste of paper and not to mention it can be very difficult to find your picture. Although, I would miss not being able to see all the others.

Once you pick out what picture you want, then you take it to the photography counter to pay with your S&S card. This is Thom at the photography area.

 

 

They had a watch raffle and asked for us to be present (of course) for the winner to be announced. After that there was to be a watch sale. I wasnt interested but Andrew was entertaining the thought of a purchase. Here are all the people waiting to see if they are the winner.

 

 

We looked at the watches and they were made by Cote de Azur. Some came with a pen and a flashlight. Others came with a billfold. The ladies watch sets came with necklaces or earrings. At $19.99 it sounded like a good price so Andrew picked one out for himself. We handed the man our S&S card and that was that. Oh, one woman said to pay attention to the receipt they give you because they charged her $39.99 instead and had to have them change it. Here is the watch Andrew selected.

 

 

There was an elephant on our bed when we got back to our room to make a few more drinks. I am not sure why it was there in the middle of the day but it made me smile.

 

 

Here is a shot of our bartending station: Note the less than 12x12x12 cooler, the pink water bottle that had some rum in it, along with some regular "water" bottles, our two bottles of wine, bucket o beer, ashtrays, pistachios to ward off seasickness (which we ate but didnt need for seasickness) and wrinkle release. We used almost the whole bottle of wrinkle release. It helped to cut down on the smell of smoke. My DBF is a heavy smoker. What a mess!

 

[All4fun&fun4all]

Back up to our favorite bar on lido deck. We gave extra tips to Dalibor, Koli and Ramona. They were very thankful and they deserved the extra money. Lido was packed with people; again. Though, I only noticed a ton of people on sea days. Which sorta makes sense because most people go ashore on port days. Thanks captain obvious.

 

 

The reflection in this shot of the umbrellas behind us makes it look like there is a mountain in the distance.

 

 

I really had all intentions of visiting the gym to work out a few days this week but it just didnt happen. Well, I DID visit the gym...but only to take a few photos for you guys.

 

Work out area

 

 

This is in the area facing where you walk into the ladies side. Towels, changing area and showers.

 

 

I had always heard that the couples game show is usually pretty funny so why not give it a try. It was so funny. Here they are sitting facing away from each other. Notice that the girl on the right was sitting alone? Her man was in the corner as far away from his wife as possible. Hennie did that so that he wouldnt get smacked for his answers.

 

 

After the show we had a discussion about what to do next. The subject of the wine we never opened came into play. We asked Heavy D for some plastic wine glasses and headed back to the room.

 

Being a bit of a planner I decided we should probably go ahead and pack up our stuff so it wont be so hard to do in the morning. This is the first time we actually put our luggage outside the door (except for our carryon). Typically we just haul everything off and do self assist but we decided to try to stay onboard as long as possible. Andrew offered to pack everything up.

 

Packing...this is a very sad moment