Epic Carnival Fantasy Review & PICS/March 23rd, 2012 Sailing

[All4fun&fun4all]

After dinner, I went back to the cabin to start packing. Tonight was the heart towel creation.

 

 

It was then that I realized that I didnt have my debarkation tags or customs forms. I also realized that the liquor that we purchased earlier had not arrived. I stuck my head out the door to see if Iputu was around. I couldnt find anyone close by so I picked up the phone and hit the button that said "Room Steward". It rang...and rang...and rang and then ultimately ended up ringing to Guest Services. I explained what I needed and that I hadnt received our liquor either. I waited around for a bit and decided, maybe I should just go to Guest Services. They gave me the debarkation tags and I looked up and saw that the Galleria was still open.

 

I went upstairs and asked them if all the liquor had been delivered. It had. I explained that I hadnt received mine. They asked for a receipt and of course I had left it in my cabin. They were able to use my S&S card to view the purchase and Robert went into storage and came back with my 2 bottles, boxed them up and I was on my way. Minor inconvenience but whatever.

 

I went back down to the cabin, put the tags on the suitcases and sat them outside the door. After that ordeal, I needed a drink. Back to home base where I found the Andrew, Kate and Jim.

 

I decided on a Miami Vice

 

 

Kate was having a malfunction with her drink...ice chunk?

 

 

There was lots of music and silly conversations. I have some videos that I need to upload. One is the lido deck erupting in song when Bohemian Rhapsody started playing and this guy who was close by that had the greatest laugh of all time. I will try to get those uploaded at the end.

 

There was a casualty

 

 

And the flying glass ended up cutting Kate on the arm

 

 

Which made the Andrew sad

 

[All4fun&fun4all]

Why you wanna cut me on the arm fool??

 

 

And he got even sadder

 

 

Random atrium shot....PURPLE

 

 

Collar poppin...oh YEAH

 

 

James' collar is buttoned...still funny

 

 

Art sketching by Andre'. He sat here quietly and drew everyone at the table.

 

[MrsZee]

I have to ask what you did to get so much love from John Heald and Rissa! :) I

[All4fun&fun4all]

GRRR! I just wrote an entire post and the computer ate it. Apparently my computer doesnt want this review to end either. Let's try this again.

 

Everyone in our little group decided to go their separate ways. We still had one more thing to do before we hit the hay. Off to Cat's Lounge to find our favorite bartender Ni. We gave her a little extra tip for being so sweet and remembering our names. This girl is very professional and super friendly.

 

 

I had a couple of rum and diet cokes and the Andrew had a Budweiser. (Cost: $6.61 for rum and diet and $6.61 for Bud)

 

 

We love signs

 

 

This reminds me of a person doing the limbo and the pole fell down

 

 

We ended up in bed at a reasonable hour so that we could enjoy breakfast and meet up with Ann and James who offered to drive us back to my mom's house. Very cool!

 

The next day we woke up and turned our bed back into it's proper position

 

 

The final picture out of our aft oceanview window

 

[All4fun&fun4all]

Debarkation:

 

I hate this day. Not fun at all.

 

 

This was my first experience with silent debark. I liked not hearing all those announcements. Nice move Carnival.

 

We decided to have lido breakfast. I know I had a bagel and cream cheese and perhaps some sausage. I dont remember right now. I usually block out debarkation day so that the trauma doesnt render me useless.

Ha!

 

The Andrew found several cigars lying around. He didnt smoke them though. I guess people realized they could not bring them off the ship.

 

 

Our debarkation number was 15 and it said that we should leave at 8:45am. We ended up heading out at 9:00am. Bad idea. Stay on the ship as long as you are able. The line to leave the ship was LOOOONG!

 

 

And we ended up standing in a long line on the way down the gangplank. We were able to find our luggage with no problem and then stood in the line for customs. I want to say that this entire process was about 40 minutes.

 

Ann and James parked at the warehouse across from the terminal so they have a shuttle that will pick you up and drive you to the warehouse. They put our luggage in a trailer that is pulled behind the shuttle and off we went.

 

We gave Ann and James a mini tour of Charleston (Market, Rainbow Row, The Battery) and we showed up at my mom's house around 11:30 I believe. We hugged Ann and James and agreed that one day in the future we should go on a camping trip together.

 

I then grabbed a cup of my mom's sweet tea and we hit the road, headed back to our little house in the country.

 

Back home and time to unpack...not as much fun as packing. That's for sure.

 

 

So, it has taken me awhile to get this review completed but I did it! I really do appreciate your patience and welcome all your questions and comments.

 

I still intend on noting some things that I wished we had done, things we wont do again and maybe some packing lists.

 

I hope you enjoyed our adventure. We cant wait to sail again and I can write another!

[bobsfamily]

Fantastic! Review...

So sorry to have it end. WAIT, I can go back to the first page and see it again! YEAH

Edited April 6, 2012 by bobsfamily

[goldwinger88]

Nancy,

Thanks for such a entertaining review.

We will be doing our 3rd cruise on the Fantasy in May and your review makes me ready to go now!

Thanks Again

[Nickymjw1]

don't try to smuggle bottles, it won't work. the "naughty room" line was crazy long! good thing was, our liquor was in rum runner flasks in our big suitcase which was delivered with no problems. They pulled our little suitcase with the soda and water in it...no liquor there :D

 

Can someone tell me how the entertainment was on this cruise? we are leaving Friday 4/13.

 

thanks

Nicky

[Pinkfloydfan]

don't try to smuggle bottles, it won't work. the "naughty room" line was crazy long! good thing was, our liquor was in rum runner flasks in our big suitcase which was delivered with no problems. They pulled our little suitcase with the soda and water in it...no liquor there :D

 

Can someone tell me how the entertainment was on this cruise? we are leaving Friday 4/13.

 

thanks

Nicky

Nicky, There were a couple of shows in the Universe Lounge, the beatle show was good. There are comics in Aft lounge. there were two guys singing island music on the Lido deck. Of coarse karoke, and a couple of one man bands. The only music I listened to was great cover band MUSIC DEGREE in Cats lounge and once at deck party. Really nice guys. Ask them to play Freebird by L.S. they are better than the orginal group. One last thing ask them to play Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd for David. They will go on vacation soon. I would book cruises just to hear them again. David...:D

[Pinkfloydfan]

Nancy, Love, love, loved your review. My wife was looking at some of your pictures and ask me what were all of the blue things on upper deck. I told her they were "deck chairs" I told you she doesn't get out of the casino much, but she did very good on the craps table & at blackjack. She loves the casino & I love the cover bands it works for us. We did enjoy finally meeting you & the Andrew. Would love to be on a cruise with you guys in the future.David...

[All4fun&fun4all]

After 4 cruises and numerous hours of reading thread after thread on CC, I have come up with the following packing list. It is a bit extensive. Keep in mind, all of this fits into one large suitcase, one carry on case, one backpack, a checked duffel bag and a less than 12x12x12 cooler.

 

Welcome into my little world of OCD. :o:p:rolleyes:

 

Clothing:

• Underooos! (for how ever many days you need)
  
• Bras (usually one strapless, one regular & one sport)
  
• Elegant night dress
  
• 3 sundresses
  
• 2 comfy pants (yoga type)
  
• 5 shirts
  
• 2 cover-ups
  
• 2 bathing suits (It really sucks only having one and waiting while it dries, or worse yet, putting on a wet bathing suit...ew)
  
• 3 pairs of socks
  
• Heels
  
• flip flops
  
• tennis shoes
  
• light jacket
  
• sleep shirt
  

Electronics:

• Iphone and charger
  
• Regular phone and charger
  
• Camera and charger
  
• Headphones
  
• Ecigarettes, cartridges and charger
  

For Boarding:

• I.D.'s
  
• Birth Certificates
  
• Boarding Passes
  
• Sunglasses
  
• 12 pack of water
  
• 6 pack diet coke
  
• 4 pack of Monster
  
• 2 bottles of wine
  
• Tip money
  
• Wine tool
  
• Wallet
  
• Cigarettes and lighter (you may not need these :D)
  
• Cooler
  

Toiletries: (these items were in the less than 12x12x12 cooler for carry on)

• Cooler
  
• Seabands
  
• Aleve, Motrin, Heartburn meds, ginger root tablets
  
• Make up
  
• Curling iron, hairdryer and straightener
  
• Shampoo & Conditioner
  
• Sunscreen and aloe
  
• toothbrush and toothpaste
  
• deoderant
  
• chapstick
  
• Q-tips
  
• lotion
  
• body spray
  
• razors
  
• jewelry
  
• nail clips and polish
  
• feminine hygiene products (if needed)
  
• hair clips and scrunchies
  

Miscellaneous:

• Ear plugs
  
• salty snack
  
• empty water bottle
  
• wrinkle release
  
• post it notes
  
• highlighter
  
• journal and pen
  
• flashlights
  
• underwater camera
  
• snorkel
  
• book
  
• watch
  

Next up...the Andrew's packing list which is considerably smaller than this one.

Edited April 8, 2012 by All4fun&fun4all
forgot a piece of luggage

[All4fun&fun4all]

Here you go...there arent even any categories:

• 2 pairs of white socks
  
• underwears (for how ever many days you need)
  
• 2 pairs of black socks
  
• bathing suit
  
• 2 pairs of shorts
  
• Suit and tie
  
• 1 pair of khaki pants
  
• undershirts (for how ever many days you need)
  
• tshirts
  
• hawaiian shirts
  
• 1 pair of jeans
  
• hats
  
• dress shoes
  
• tennis shoes
  
• flip flops
  
• toothbrush
  
• deoderant
  

And that is all for the packing lists. I hope it helps!

[EpcotBill]

I don't know if anyone else commented on this but Andrew is definitely sporting a halo in this shot.:)

 

[All4fun&fun4all]

I don't know if anyone else commented on this but Andrew is definitely sporting a halo in this shot.:)

 

Now that is funny, considering he was being a bit of a devil at that moment! :p

[All4fun&fun4all]

I have to ask what you did to get so much love from John Heald and Rissa! :) I

 

In February of 2011 we were supposed to go on our anniversary cruise but since the fire occurred a month prior, we were unable to go. There were some dark days (weeks/months) that followed and I reached out to many people during the Andrew's recovery period. Friends, relatives, bloggers, facebook folks and one of those people was John Heald.

 

I just told him our story and how sad I was that we would not be taking a cruise that year and that we hoped to do some some time soon. Flash forward to January of this year when we booked and I contacted him again and told him that we had finally booked our cruise and how excited that I was. He asked me to contact him 3 days before our cruise with our cabin number and we did. I never really expected anything but had heard that this happened on occasion. I had seen multiple people on his blog that were very rude and demanding, asking for things. :rolleyes: I honestly just wanted to share with him our excitement and told him such.

 

Such a wonderful man and the Andrew seriously was touched and teary-eyed that someone he didnt even know would take the time to acknowledge him. :o

[All4fun&fun4all]

Fantastic! Review...

So sorry to have it end. WAIT, I can go back to the first page and see it again! YEAH

 

Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed it enough to read it more than once!

 

Nancy,

Thanks for such a entertaining review.

We will be doing our 3rd cruise on the Fantasy in May and your review makes me ready to go now!

Thanks Again

 

Thank you for reading. We hope to sail on Fantasy again in December if we can work it out. We are aching for a 7 day to HMC and GT.

 

don't try to smuggle bottles, it won't work. the "naughty room" line was crazy long! good thing was, our liquor was in rum runner flasks in our big suitcase which was delivered with no problems. They pulled our little suitcase with the soda and water in it...no liquor there :D

 

Can someone tell me how the entertainment was on this cruise? we are leaving Friday 4/13.

 

thanks

Nicky

 

Agreed Nicky. It worked in 2010 and this time was a giant FAIL. :( Oh well, lesson learned.

 

We really enjoyed Music Degree in Cat's Lounge but I believe that pinkfloydfan says that they will be gone soon. We didnt go to any of the broadway type shows. Not our thing. Maybe someone will have some helpful input. :o

[All4fun&fun4all]

Nancy, Love, love, loved your review. My wife was looking at some of your pictures and ask me what were all of the blue things on upper deck. I told her they were "deck chairs" I told you she doesn't get out of the casino much, but she did very good on the craps table & at blackjack. She loves the casino & I love the cover bands it works for us. We did enjoy finally meeting you & the Andrew. Would love to be on a cruise with you guys in the future.David...

 

It was great meeting you too David. We are attempting to work out the finances for that December cruise. Would love to make our way back to HMC and have been wanting to go to Jack's Shack in GT.

 

Funny about the deck chairs. It's cool that you guys do your own thing and have a blast! Thanks also for the gifts and the DODs!

 

I am glad you loved the review. I really cant wait to cruise again and do another. I need to work on buying a new camera though. Such a bummer I missed out on the acoustic jam during the Past Guest Party.

[tlbutler33]

Hi Nancy. Thanks again for another great review. We are down to 69 days for the Fantasy and can't wait.

 

Any chance you have and could post the Fun Times ??

[All4fun&fun4all]

Hi Nancy. Thanks again for another great review. We are down to 69 days for the Fantasy and can't wait.

 

Any chance you have and could post the Fun Times ??

 

I do have them but they are at home and I am at work. :( Perhaps I can scan them for you tomorrow. I know I tried this on my last review and they came out blurry but maybe this time it wont.

 

69 days. I am so jealous. I just want another countdown ticker. :(

[wrigley80]

Great Photo Review. We were sad the day you guys were getting on because we were getting off. We were in cabin R31 (a porthole cabin. we had never had a porthole room. they are great). I am happy to hear that even though we were a rowdy bunch on March 17 cruise that we saved some fun for ya the next week.

[cruzegurl104]

Thanks for the review Nancy. I enjoyed reading!!:).

[beach410]

Pre cruise: Since we live in Charleston and don’t have to travel, our pre-cruise is spent at home finalizing last minute things.

 

 

We decided to try our luck at smuggling on a bit of rum. On previous cruises we were successful at buying a 12 pack of water, wriggling a few bottles out of the shrink wrap, filling them with rum and wriggling them back in to the middle. I purchased a meat injector this time and commenced to filling.

 

 

And then the injector broke. We attempted to repair it with scotch tape. That definitely didn’t work.

 

 

We also used a turkey baster that over time had lost it’s suction.

 

 

 

Next time use a funnel (but not with water bottles as you found out), you can find one at any dollar store or walmart, much quicker I guarantee! ;)

Edited April 11, 2012 by beach410

[All4fun&fun4all]

Great Photo Review. We were sad the day you guys were getting on because we were getting off. We were in cabin R31 (a porthole cabin. we had never had a porthole room. they are great). I am happy to hear that even though we were a rowdy bunch on March 17 cruise that we saved some fun for ya the next week.

 

We love a porthole room as well. I really want to try a balcony one day. But how can you beat the price of the porthole.

 

Thanks for saving some fun for us!

 

Thanks for the review Nancy. I enjoyed reading!!:).

 

I am glad you enjoyed it.

 

Next time use a funnel (but not with water bottles as you found out)' date=' you can find one at any dollar store or walmart, much quicker I guarantee! ;)

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Great idea! But, yes, definitely not with water bottles. I learned my lesson. :(:o:p

[dms361]

What an awesome review!! I'm going on this cruise for my honeymoon next year, and I'm becoming a bit obsessed already. I just got off of the legend last week and I have to direct my cruise energy somewhere I suppose, but it won't be until September of 2013. Ugh! I don't know how I'll be able to wait that long!

This has gotten me even more excited and you guys seem like the exact kind of people that my fiancé and I end up finding. Good times would be had by all, for sure! Glad you guys had such a fun trip!

[gelo7]

Great review.