Carnival Fantasy Cruise Sept 6, 2010

[goldwinger88]

Finally coming out of my Post Cruise Depression but still wishing and dreaming to be back out on the Seas again.

 

Anyways, we sailed on the Carnival Fantasy which sailed out of Charleston, SC on Sept 6. (Memorial Day)

 

I had put together a group cruise consisting of RV friends and one of wifey’s girlfriends from work.

 

Our son and his GF were going to drop us off at the Port and bring my truck home. We left the house in Goose Creek around 10:30AM and headed downtown. Not much traffic and made the port in no time.

 

(If you are coming down I-26, get off on the Morrison Dr exit and you will begin seeing the signs. Just follow them to the port.)

 

Apparently we were the last ones to be able to do the Early Drop off as the carts took off after we left the bags with them. As we were leaving the parking area, we saw some of the RV friends who were waiting to drop off their bags and park. They wound up having to wait for quite a bit for the Fantasy to finish the Debarkation process and get the passengers off. The plan was for them to start boarding around 11:30AM and sail at 4PM

 

Our plan was like last time on the Glory. To have our son drop us off around Market St and we would walk to the shuttle area. We met up with Wifey’s girlfriend who was also going on the cruise and made our way over to the shuttles. The shuttles finally started taking folks to the terminal around Noonish and we were the first busload. Man, was it hot and humid!!

 

The screening, check in, and boarding process went smooth and easy and we were onboard in no time.

 

The Fantasy loads from ground level, so you will have to go down a ramp to ground level and a short walk to the Gangway. Once onboard, you are on deck 3 and can make you way to wherever from there.

 

We headed straight up to the Lido Deck to find a place for our group of 10.

 

After about 20 minutes, everyone started showing up. Hey Hey , the Gang’s all here.

 

Everyone tried a variety and it was all good. The Mongolian was good and fast, first day, no one knows about it yet. No long lines. The burgers and hot dogs lines stayed long all cruise long.

 

Afterwards we went to our cabins to check them out

 

Upper Level (6) Interior – Whoa.. What a dinky cabin! We were used to balconies on the newer ships and had seen interiors as our youngest son and his wife have cruised with us before. But the Fantasy being one of the oldest ships Carnival has. So we got a little surprise there.

 

Luckily, we are RVer’s as used to cramped quarters. So we made the best of it and set up house. Our luggage showed up in no time since we did the Early Drop Off, but our friends who were pretty close to being first in line had to wait a couple more hours and 1 bag did not show up until later in the evening after we sailed.

 

Noone got called to the Naughty Room which made it great for everyone.

 

I have to say that the Safety Muster in Charleston in early September is HOT! We stood around on the Lido deck at our station at 3:30 and everyone was miserable since there wasn’t a breeze in the center deck area. You don’t have to bring or wear your life jacket anymore so that was good news. Luckily we had a ice cream dispenser close by and it saw a ton of traffic from folks just trying to stay cool.

 

Once the Drill was over, we hung around the outer decks and watched as we sailed out of the harbor with a DoD in our hands.. Saw dolphins swimming alongside the ship and kept an eye on the harbor pilot boat until the pilot left the ship.

 

Let the Fun Begin!

 

Let me say that my intent on this cruise was to have a good time with family and friends and Gamble! Which I did on both accounts. And this review is going to have a lot to say about the casino.

 

I proceeded to tour the ship and got as far as the Casino on the Promenade Deck. Had to make a stop at a slot and try my luck. Put $100 on my Sail & Sign and hit a .2 slot next to the roulette tables. I was down a bit and then made a $179 win. Realised the time and headed to the cabin to get wifey and go to dinner. Cash in my pocket ad we are ready to go!

 

The dining rooms on the Fantasy and a little quirky to get to. Level 8 does not go straight through the ship unlike most decks. So you have to go down and over and then back up if you are on the 8th deck (I forget the name). We came up and found ourselves at the back side of the Celebration Dining room. The person covering the back door led us straight to our assigned table unlike getting put at any table on the first cruise as we had done on past cruises.

 

All of our group joined us and Kenroy and Kert took great care of us for the entire cruise. The Black Tiger Shrimp starter was a tad small compared to what we have had in the past, and being from Charleston, we knows our Shrimpies. But the Flat Iron Steak was good. And of course, we couldn’t start a cruise without Chocolate Melting Cake.. Mmmmm!

 

After Dinner, everyone went back to their cabins to make sure luggage showed up. Most everyone’s bags were in their cabins with the exception of one lone bag which eventually arrived. We then headed to the Promenade Deck to check out the ship.

 

The Fantasy is set up differently that the other Carnival ships we have been on. The Promenade Deck had most of the bars for the ship and the shops were on level 8 near the Atrium, but it being a smaller ship, it was easy to navigate once you made a quick tour and everything was closeby.

 

Wifey and Debbie headed to the shops and I hit the Casino. I hit some of the tables and they had not picked up the action yet, so I just meandered around. Thought I had recognized one of the Pit Boss’s from when we sailed on the Glory last May and approached him and Kristen (the Casino Host) where I introduced myself. I asked about us not receiving a letter in our cabin as we are Carnival Players Club Members and had notified OPC that we were sailing. (We had received a Bon Voyage gift of Chocolate Covered Cherries in our cabin and a coupon for $15 off on pictures, but no letter.(I guess Carnival didn’t think I spent enough on the Glory)). But Kristen later on, made it right for me and so off I went, a Happy Cruiser.

 

I hit the Craps table for awhile and this is where I met a player from the South Carolina upstate (D). The table went cold and we took a break and talked about the gaming. I learned quite a bit in a short time from this gentleman. Hopefully, he gained some good information from me especially about the Carnival Players Club.

 

D and I went back to the Craps table and had a good run, we finished the night out with some black chips to the good in our pockets and I had started after the break with $20.

 

More to follow.......

[goldwinger88]

1st Day at Sea

 

We started the day off not knowing what time it was as we were trying an interior cabin for the first time. With no windows and my cell phone not plugged in I had no way of telling time. That was not a feeling I liked. It turned out it was after 8AM so we got up and made our way to the Lido deck.

 

If you look around, you will usually find a food line that was not long and most of them had the same thing anyways. So we got breakfast and made plans for the Day at Sea.

 

Of course, the wife was going to lay out in the sun and I was going back to you know where. I explored the ship some and found where the most common smoking areas were. Found the Guest Services desk and put money back on my S&S card from the day before.

 

Guest Services was very helpful even if they did forget to give me back my S&S card and I had to traipse all the way back down there to get it after standing in front of a slot machine with no S&S card in my hand. But no worries, I am on vacation.

Note to those with questions about the S&S Account. We usually sign on the ship with both of us using either the Wife’s or my credit card. The Check In folks inside the terminal seem to get confused when trying to separate everything in the beginning. However, we like keeping our finances separate since I play in the casino. So once we get on board, we go to Guest Services and have them put her on her credit card and me on my credit card. This way there is no confusion as to who spent how much on what. Even though I still get scammed with DOD’s and other goodies for her all the time, but then that’s marriage for you.. The common items such as the gratuity and OBC’s are then split on the account.

 

The day was spent playing in the casino, up on the slots, down on the tables and so on. Played the Slot Tournament, didn’t make the finals. Overall it was not a good day in the Casino. The night play wasn’t much better.

 

Tonight was Elegant night. Many were dressed nicely and even saw a couple of Tux’s being worn. There were quite a few youngster dressed up for family photos. Dinner in the MDR was great, Prime Rib and Lobster, and yes we had both. Once again, Chocolate Melting Cake for desert.

[luv2gocruzin]

I am sailing this Saturday and am really enjoying your review so far..........can't wait to hear more!!

[lidoplease]

Great review so far! Thanks!!!

[Zeek95]

Great reveiw,

 

THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[goldwinger88]

Thanks, I will have more later this morning.

[rtw68]

Great review so far! :D

 

We are going on Fantasy on 1/1/2011 and am always looking for info about her.

 

Love to play craps but DW is not wanting me to spend money on the casino (even though I budget and expect to lose $$). Do the tables normally run cold or can they get exciting?

[goldwinger88]

Day 3 – Freeport

Another late start – I had set my Droid up as a alarm clock, and made sure we had Room Service set to bring us our Rise & Shine Coffee. They brought the coffee between 6:30 – 7AM, but we never heard them knocking on the door and they had to call. We didn’t hear a thing in that cabin. I use a CPAP and had taken a battery operated fan and a AC adapter. It drowns out all the other noises.

 

Our next door neighbors were some from our group and had fun making noise and banging on the wall while I was trying to nap on Embarkation day, but I never heard them. Slept soundly and the bed was real comfortable.

 

So once coffee was delivered, back to bed I went.

 

Once up and moving around, we went to the MDR for breakfast. It was good and service was excellent. Our entire group made it to breakfast, but they had to split us up between 2 tables, but kept us close together.

 

We had another couple join us at our table and they were from the Charlotte area. Nice folks and entertaining. (You never meet a stranger on a ship).

 

After breakfast (M) pulls out a cigarette and begins puffing on it. Wait a minute that’s not a cigarette.. M is a distributor for the Electronic Cigarette and I am a smoker. We talked about it and I picked up one to help me quit.

 

Wifey and I have been to Freeport and Nassau before and I was not impressed by Freeport at all. My last time there in May had Isle of Capri Casino getting bought out by Treasure Bay group and 80% of the machines were down. The remainder operating machines were tight, tight, tight. I wasn’t into shopping as wifey was, so there really was nothing there for me. But since the group had not been there, I was cajoled into going along for awhile.

 

The plan was to go into Freeport directly from the MDR, but I made a side stop with M and picked up one of the electronic cigarettes. So by the time I was off the ship, everyone was already waiting outside near the taxi’s.

Leaving the ship is easy, go to deck 3, pop in your S&S card, duck the photographer, and out the gate.

 

I am a business traveler and have seen too many odd things happen. So I always carry my passport with me, even though Carnival says a Photo ID and S&S card are sufficient. I would rather be safe that up a tree if something happened. Carrying your passport is optional, but I do recommend it.

 

Did I mention it was hot n humid? Well it was. The breeze from riding in the taxi helped some, but something was going on with me.

 

Once we got to the shopping area, everyone stayed together until the jewelry shops came up, then it was ladies to the shops and the men found a open bar to drink some brew. The heat was getting to me, so I made my way over to the TB Casino to cool down and dry out some.

 

I have to say I was impressed compared to the last time I was there. The casino was in full operation and everything was open. I tried my hand at 3 Card Poker and some of the Slots. Down about $30 and got out of there.

 

I took a taxi back to the ship ($5 per person each way $10 total) and hung around the ship. Had Room Service deliver a Ham & Cheese Sandwich with some coffee and juice and just kicked back for a quiet afternoon. Wifey rolled in around 4 with her shopping treasures and had gone to the Public Beach with Debbie. It was time to get ready for supper in the MDR and the Past Guest party.

 

The past Guest Party is for returning Carnival Cruisers. Free Booze and O’dourves for about an hour. Don’t miss it when you get to go. Normally on your 2nd cruise with Carnival.

 

Supper was good as Kenroy and Kert once again took great care of us. We were at table 148 in the Celebration Dining room. Our group is a bunch of Southern folk and had a couple of comedians who like to crack jokes. Kenroy and Kert joined in and made it very humorous. Wifey’s GF Debbie is visually impaired and legally blind. She had asked a question about something, Kenroy asked “What are you blind?’ and she quickly shot back “Yes”. She took it and gave it right back which made supper very entertaining.

 

For the past few cruises I had been on, I did not have a problem with the ships water. But this trip I found the taste really not to my liking. I’d suggest brining some bottled water if you are that way. Otherwise the small bottles of water on the ship are $2.24 per bottle. I finally settled on a glass of half ships water and half tea for supper.

 

After supper, everyone went to the shows and I made my way to the casino.

 

I tried my hand again at the 3 Card Poker and it paid off. Within 5 hands I made 2 straight flushes with odds of 40 to 1. The Craps table was cold, but it was a Good Night!

 

I meant to add that if you are seasick prone, be sure to call your doctor and get some patches. We did notice a lot of missing and ill looking passengers after we sailed from Charleston and on Sea Day.

 

More to follow

[goldwinger88]

RTW,

I am halfway trying to talk wifey into going back out on that 1-1 sailing. Not having much luck right now, but I am working on her.....

 

As for the Craps table. first night was good and last night was great!. In the middle of the cruise, it was cold. I tried several times. I will cover more of then in the review shortly.

[goldwinger88]

Day 4 - Nassau

 

Another late start after Room Service dropped off Coffee, but hey, we’re on vacation.

We met the group on the Lido Deck for breakfast. I did start noticing that the ship seemed hotter than others we had been on. Now the Lido Deck is going to be humid due to all the outer doors getting opened and closed 4 million times a day, but this was even down on the Promenade Deck. It felt cool, but I was perspiring like crazy. (I have lived in Charleston for over 35 years and have never gotten used to the humidity, but this summer was really bad).

 

Anyways, the group met up again on the pier and headed over to the straw market. Wifey had a shopping list of stuff from coworkers to bring back. So she set a time and place for the group to meet up and off we went.

Be sure that if you go somewhere and are going to go separate ways, that you have a plan to meet up at a certain point at a certain time.

 

I parked myself in some shade under a palm tree on the wharf and waited and people watched. After awhile, one of the street vendors was kind enough to offer me a metal chair to sit on. I repaid the kindness by being a good customer and buying water and a fruit drink from them. Water $1 per small bottle. Fruit Drink $2. I should have thought to get more water and take back to the ship at that price.

 

Then Wifey shows up with all these bags… Ut oh.. I see Mule duties coming.

 

We headed back to the group, but had to make a stop at the Tortuga Rum Factory. I picked up 2 6packs and some pint bottle of rum. (Don’t ask me why. The prices are the same on the ship although these are fresher, but vacuum sealed. I deep freeze them anyways.)

 

Afterwards, I began my Mule Trek back to the port and the ship. I made the obligatory stop and rests and finally made it back to the ship.

 

As I was going through the Security screening I told them I had liquor and asked for the dog dish to put my pocket change and stuff in. The Security officer behind the Xray, waved me through even though all my pocket stuff was in my hands. I go through the machine, it goes off and I get ushered to the side even though I am showing them I have stuff in my hands.

 

I got the wand search and a pat down. Good thing he put on gloves cuz I was NasTee from all the sweating. As a business traveler I am used to the searches, but this one did not make sense. They weren’t busy with a full line of folks coming back, maybe they were bored I guess. But at least I was back in some air conditioning.

 

Hit the cabin, dropped the bags, and jumped straight into the shower.

 

Finally got cooled off!

 

Eventually made it to the Lido deck for lunch. This time it was pretty busy except for the Deli station. Long lines, get used to them. I had a Pastrami on Rye and it was downright good! The bread was lightly toasted and not hard core baked like some I have had on other cruises. I added a sampling of some of the Caribbean cuisine - jerked chicken and Caribbean spiced seafood which was pretty good too.

 

I got to spend another leisurely afternoon aboard the Fantasy and it was nice. Stopped by Guest Services to check the charges and got a Wow! Have I spent that much. Put some cash on the account to bring the credit card charges down so it wouldn’t be so much when we hit home..

 

The afternoon was uneventful which is the way I like it.

I have to say that everyone on the ship has been friendly and attentive. The fantasy being a smaller ship has less crew, but they also have less passengers. I know the folks taking care of the Lido Deck were pretty shorthanded and stressed, but they did anything that was asked of them. I don’t have any complaints whatsoever about the Service we received.

 

Wifey returned from the beach and riding a Banana Boat. Apparently they got a dunking as a larger passenger leaned wrong and everyone toppled over. But she say she had a good time overall.

 

Supper was again entertaining although we lost one of our group who wasn’t feeling well. Perhaps the sun and heat got to her. I had hoped for the Crème Brule for desert, but they only offered it on the first night. I had the penne pasta and wow was I stuffed. I needed to walk this stuff off.

 

Off to the Casino.

 

The Craps table was cold so I played at the 3 Card Poker again. Woohoo, I saw 1 9 then a 2nd 9 then a 3rd 9.. Absolutely Marvelous as Jay the Karaoke Guy would say. I took my winning and ran so to speak.

 

I joined wifey for the main show and played a round of Bingo. The Juggler was entertaining, and I assume he was used to getting upstaged, because he got a lot of it from his participating audience.

 

After the show, I tucked wifey in the cabin and away I went.

 

Back to the 3 card Poker table and after awhile I hit another 3 of a kind. 7’s… sweet!

 

Tonight was the Blackjack Tournament. I entered and made the Finals. I Finished out 3rd, but 1st Place is the only cash winner.

 

I’d run into D and we would try the Craps table, but nope, no luck there. It was still a good day.

[chapps]

what time is "early drop off" at charleston? great review so far! (i haven't got past your first post. i wanted to ask the question before i forgot :D

[goldwinger88]

They were supposed to start boarding at 11:30. We got there close to 11 so I guess Early Drop off went from say 9am to 11.

We had to stand at the walk on shuttle area for maybe 25 minutes since they had a late start on the actual boarding.

They were delayed with all those folks getting off.

But our entire group was on the ship and in the Lido Deck by 1:30

[jalitch]

Enjoying your review very much!

[MsBrownize]

Great review - thanks!! I'm definitely enjoying it! :)

[goldwinger88]

Day 5- Day at Sea – Heading back to Charleston… Bummer

 

We definitely slept late today. It was after 9 when we showed up on the Lido Deck for breakfast. Most of the group was already there. The ladies were going to get out in the Sun and I just meandered. No matter where I went on the ship, I saw crew working hard to keep everything clean.

 

I spent most of the day in and out of the Casino, Hit some of the machines I won on before and tried some new ones. But I always made my way back to 3 Card Poker or the Craps table. I gave back some of my previous winnings, but I was having fun and that is what counted.

 

I entered the Slot Tournament in the afternoon, but didn’t make the Finals and couldn’t pull off the Wildcard draw.

 

I did spend some time talking with Kristen the Casino Host as I had noticed that the Casino was pretty slow for the entire cruise. Apparently it has been this way all season. I am not sure why, but knowing that Charleston is still part of the Old South Bible Belt might have a part in it. If you do cruise on the Fantasy and play in the Casino, go say Hi to her. She’s Good People

 

We went to a Sail Away party being held in the Universe Lounge and for an hour had free booze. Then off to Supper.

 

Last Supper-Dang this week went by fast (my vernacular is a lot stronger than that, but this is a family site)

 

I called some from the group about the Sail away party, but they did not pass the word to the others, so the entire group didn’t make the party, but they did make Supper.

 

It was agreed amongst everyone to give cash to Kenroy and Kert so it was collected and passed directly to them in an envelope. I gave Wifey the envelope for the Maitre’D, as he came by the table every night and spoke to everyone. He put on a good show too. I must say that this Maitre’D was more active with the passengers that the past other ones and we even sat next to their station on the Carnival Pride last August and never saw him.

 

Kert gave us a drink recipe which I still have to try. He called it “Holy Water”. His recipewas Crème de Cacao, Vodka, and 2 shots of Baileys. Drink dat and you’ll receive a blessing, he would say in his Grenada Island accent.

Suppertime was full of laughter and lots of picture taking. We had a good time

After Supper the group hit the shows and I hit the tables. I ran into D again and we worked the craps table. It was warming up and we had some good runs. D had late seating for dinner so he had to break away and go. I spent time at the 3 card Poker and then Remus took over as Dealer.

I hadn’t spoken about the Dealers much. I was once told that it was bad luck to say that you liked a dealer or something to that effect, but I got along great with all of the dealers on this cruise. I had learned last cruise, to toss them some tips when winning and I even placed a lot of bets for the dealers at Craps. They called me by name and even overlooked a lot of my goofups like not making to the far wall and reminding me of my C&E or World bets when I forgot to make them.

 

Their personalities were pretty good considering they have had slow turnouts on past cruises.

As far as their dealer skills. The Fantasy seems to have just gotten a bunch of new dealers. Many were in training so to speak as I always saw seniors teaching the newbies how to be dealers. There were a couple of times at the craps table that it was chaos. They paid off the wrong players a few times. I got paid when the bet wasn’t mine, etc. We did have 1 night where the chaos crew took over and that is the only miserable time I had to the point of me getting upset. I had a hot roll going too.

But all in all they did a great job.

Now, if you are going on the Fantasy, Watch out for Remus. He is the Star employee of the month. He knows how to deal and gets wicked house winning streaks at 3 card poker. Also watch Sebastian. He can cover the house at 3 card poker too. But both guys are straight up dealers. I would back off the tables when they came on. I did enjoy Remus at Craps as he was no nonsense all business and kept the game straight.

D showed back up and we took the craps table opposite of where we had been playing all week. The table went hot and we were there until the wee hours. I did get to fill one full row with chips and then it started to go back down. I went one more round and called it quits for the cruise.

Kristen made announcements throughout the evening to close our your sail & sign card from the casino , then came up to me and reminded me that Wifey had money on her account and needed to close it out. She also called the cabin. Good Customer Service.

When I got back to the cabin, I found that wifey had already packed. We planned on doing the Self Assist so we could go at a leisurely pace in the morning. I waited until morning to pack since I only had 1 bag.

[goldwinger88]

Debarkation Day – But I don't want to go home!

 

Room Service Coffee showed up and woke us up around 6:30. After grabbing a shower, I packed all my stuff and was making sure we hadn’t left anything.

 

For most of the cruise I had not seen our cabin steward, but if I needed anything, I would find someone out in the hallway, ask them for what I needed, and it would show up in the cabin. We left the cabin steward a little extra, but was not as generous as we have been on past cruises when our steward made themselves more present and accommodating.

 

Being in a service related industry (IT Computer repair, Project Manager), I can appreciate good service and tend to reward it when it is above and beyond.

 

We left the cabin sometime after 8 after they had called the Upper Deck for Self Assist and within minutes, we were standing in front of the Customs Officer with our passports. He cleared us and off we went to Concord St.

 

Some friends picked us up after a obligatory wait, but we got to watch folks come off. We made it home by 10ish and after another shower, it was nap time and the onset of post cruise depression.

 

Man, I had fun. I didn’t want to come off the ship.

 

Oh well, time to start planning the next one… hint hint

 

Let me see if I can sum up some tips for those new to cruising and those going out on the Fantasy in the next few weeks.

Get to the port as early as you can. You can get your bags checked in early, get them to your cabin in the first deliveries and also get on the Lido Deck for lunch and whatever before it fills up with everyone.

Allow yourself plenty of time, don’t get into too much of a rush, after all you are on vacation.

Set mobile to Airplane mode so you don’t get roaming data charges or high dollar calls

Internet $55 for 100 minutes, plus a special of 20 free minutes if sign up on embarkation day

The Fantasy did not have hair dryers in the cabins like the other ships. We called Guest Services and they sent one up for wifey to use for the cruise. So keep that in mind if you don’t take yours.

If you must have fan, get a battery operated one that comes with an ac adapter. The confiscation rules keep changing, but battery operated ones usually make it through.

I also picked up a little travel power strip from Office Depot for under $20. It has 3 outlets as well as usb connections. Mark it for Medical use if you use it for that purpose. (mine was the CPAP) store it and your extension cord together with your medical equip or carry it on.

Ladies, be sure to carry a shawl, sweater for the chilly time, Wifey kept one for supper and the shows as the big rooms do tend to get cold even though I stayed hot all the time. Being hot all the time was my only real complaint on the Fantasy.

Go by the Casino and they can punch a hole in your S&S card and give you a springy lanyard to attach it to. For Free

I will not confirm nor deny I use Rumrunners, but if you do. Be sure to put then in Ziplocs in case they leak and tuck them out of the way. Don’t leave them laying on top of your bag for the world to see.

If you are bringing kids, please talk to them about using manners and no running on the main decks. For the most part, the kids I saw were well mannered, but we did have a couple who thought it hilarious to run around in dripping wet bathing suits making those marble floors very hazardous for some of the elder adults.

Don’t forget your camera, and also don’t forget to take pictures. For some reason this trip, we did not take as many as we usually did. Just didn’t think about it

But most importantly - - Remember that you are on vacation! Don’t sweat the small stuff and don’t let the little things get to you.

I did see many little biddies who complained about everything. (The plates are too hot, he didn’t cook my sandwich right, they are moving too slow, etc) Go grab a drink of the day DOD and relax……

 

HAVE FUN!!!!

[gracie65]

Thanks for the reveiw, heading out on The Fantasy for the 4th time this Saturday but first time out of Charleston. We're staying all night in Charleston the night before & have a shuttle coming to get us at 10:30. I'm wondering if that's early enough? Do you think the early luggage drop off is mainly available in case people want to drop off luggage then explore downtown?

[momin05]

Goldwinger88, can you please tell me more about dropoff at the Charleston terminal. We are coming from Moncks Corner and I hoped to have my dad drop us off. Is it easy to be dropped off? Or would it be easier to just drive and park.

[goldwinger88]

If the ship was leaving port at 4PM. They would start boarding around 11:30AM or as soon as they can get the debarking passengers off the ship.

In our case on Sept 6, they started a little before Noon.

 

The Early Drop off is good for those who are wanting to drop off their bags and then get dropped off, with their vehicle leaving the property. In our case, our son was dropping us off and bringing my truck home. We walked the Market area for a bit, then went across the street to the shuttle area.

The difference is that if you are parking at the port, you will get put into a covered building and shuttled directly to the terminal.

Walk-ons like us will have to meet at a shuttle area right off Concord and Market and get shuttled up to the terminal building as they do not want anyone walking along the narrow causeways to the terminal

Hope this helps

[GhickfromTN]

We are going in October and we thank you for your review. We love the casino, but strictly play slots: pennies, 2¢, and nickels. Can you remember any certain games on the boat- like Coyote Moon, Quick Hit, etc.?

Also- the names & locations of casinos in Freeport and/or Nassau again.

Thank you!!

[goldwinger88]

They had some theme game slots which I didn't play much, since I play max bet, so on the .2 slots that is a $4 bet. Most of the machines will let you change denominations to .1 and that is usually what I did.

I can only tell you the location of the 2 hot machines I played and won on.

as you look at the casino from the promenade between the 2 roulette tables, look to the left and the very first slot machine is one of them. It had a medieval theme. The other machine was at the other entrance near the bar. It was a Hot Shot Progressive at the end of the bank of machines.

I have been following the theory that the casinos want people to see people playing and winning to draw others in, so I play machines that are close to the entrances. This trip it paid off really well.

 

The casino in Freeport - Port Lucaya is Treasure Bay. Plenty of slots, but only won some teasers and the tables were so so. I played 3 card Poker but did not like how the dealer dealt from a shuffle machine. All 3 cards at once to each player. I preferred the one deck game on the Fantasy.

 

Nassau has the Atlantis Casino. I had been there August 2009 and last May. Neither experience was very good, so I didn't bother going over there this time. Dealers were downright mean. I know they had been provoke by a drunk European, but they took it out on me and another player from the Glory.

 

If you do the slot tournaments I do not recommend #6.

And please tell Kristen (Casino Host) that Ron said Hi!

 

Hope you have a great cruise

[jordanaire]

Goldwinger88...thanks for a great review! We will be sailing aboard the Fantasy two weeks from tomorrow! It will be the first time we've been back to Charleston since '96, when we moved from there to our home here in Kentucky. We're looking forward to meeting up with old friends and neighbors during our 2 days prior to the cruise.

 

I take it that your screen name reflects the fact that you ride a Honda Gold Wing? I used to ride them myself. In fact, I was the first Area Rep for Ohio Chapter A of the GWRRA!

 

Thanks for the review! We will definitely use some of your tips during our cruise!

 

:cool:Bill

[goldwinger88]

I belonged to SC chapter G for awhile, but fell out of the group. Having a older bike, you know how that goes....

Grew up in a Honda family too.

 

Hope you have a great time visiting Charleston and old friends

[uncccruiser]

Thanks for the review! The fantasy will be my first cruise in February 2011, so all of the information is helpful!

[scchasgal]

I belonged to SC chapter G for awhile, but fell out of the group. Having a older bike, you know how that goes....

Grew up in a Honda family too.

 

Hope you have a great time visiting Charleston and old friends

 

I have been to some chap G events I may have seen you there.