Fantasy to Bahamas - solo cruise 5-3-13 - pics & review

[LUVMYGSDOG]

Glad you found your missing top! I'm forever misplacing items that show up in some strange place 6 months later......

 

 

 

Kim

[2snorkel/cruisers]

"We had Dream on one side and Behemoth of the Seas on the other"

 

This cracked me up "Behemoth of the Seas"! I'm not interested in anything this large either. Very nice review and great pictures!

[Carbri]

Oh what a wonderful review! I feel like I am with you every step, every meal, and excursion and/or adventure. We are leaving on the Fantasy the 30th. I am excited to be back on a smaller ship. Even the Pride seemed huge to me! My husband doesn't walk well great distances so I think the Fantasy will be perfect for him. I love how you are so well rounded for the activities and just give great insights on some things (piano bar) that I might skip. I am definitely checking out that piano bar now and the tea! Thanks so much for sharing your vacation with us(and taking me along,lol)

[NCTribeFan]

I wish you could take me along! I'm ready to go again. ;)

 

Honestly, every time I book a cruise I think "do I really want to do THIS again?" And then I find myself sitting there after boarding, having lunch on the Lido and think "of COURSE I want to do this again!! This is wonderful!!!"

 

I really am looking to see if I can fit another Fantasy cruise in my budget. But I don't really want to sail when the ship is packed with running, screaming kiddies. Not that I have anything against them, but I already struggle to find anywhere half-way quiet to sit and read. So I'll probably just try to be patient and wait for my Conquest cruise.

 

But that's almost SIX months away! :p

[mere08]

This was a great review. Thanks for taking the time to talk about all the details!

[NCTribeFan]

I still need to get my thoughts together and summarize about a few things.

 

And post the link to my Flickr page. I guess I can do that. I used to include my Webshots page but they changed on me. I still need to go back an upload all my old cruise pics to Flickr, too. It annoys me that I spent so much time adding photos to all my reviews and now, when you go back into any of the (prior to the B2B), you can't view them. :mad:

 

Anyway, thanks for the comments. I know I really enjoy reading reviews because we all have such varied experiences, even when on the same sailings.

[uncleg]

Glad you had a good trip. E183....LOL that's my cabin!!! twice on the Fantacy and 3 tines on the Fascination. You were on the Fantasy Halloween sailing after your daughters wedding? Right?

[Beacher123]

Sunday, 5/5, Nassau Seville ended up having to work much longer than scheduled (those poor guys work all the time!), so I headed off the ship at 11. I had no plans, so I just wandered along Bay Street, pretending I was serious about buying some expensive jewelry. Stopped in one of the liquor stores and got a Kalik Gold. My black sunglasses had lost one of the nose pads during the trip, so I went in search of a replacement pair and found a pair of fake D&Gs for $15. Stopped for another beer, this time a Kalik with lime, and then into a jewelry store near Senor Frogs. There was a beautiful alexandrite and opal bracelet that I really wanted. She started out at $750, then dropped it to $600, then to $450! But for that price, I could practically cruise again, so I made myself leave. Besides, I never wear what little jewelry I already own. I wore my pearls twice during the cruise. What little else I brought stayed in the safe.

 

We had Dream on one side and Behemoth of the Seas on the other

 

Big 'Un leaving port; seriously, you'd have to pay me to sail on one of those monsters - I'm just not interested

 

Back on board, I sat and read a little bit, then showered and dressed for the PG party, which was in the Forum Lounge. It was pretty sparsely attended, yet I still couldn’t get a 2nd red drink! Probably a good thing, though. I did get the yellowish one. And who was the first one on her feet when they were going to teach the dance steps! You guessed it! I love to dance, but these choreographed steps just don’t agree with me. I like to free style, know what I’m saying?

 

Had to pay a visit to the casino (at some point I went to the window and got my whopping $25 that the Players Club gave me – hey, it’s better than nothing); went into the onboard shop and looked at the jewelry there. Then it was time to eat again! I had the French Onion Soup, the sushi appetizer, another burger with bacon and guacamole, and a glass or two of red wine. As was the case last time, the burger was better at lunch than at dinner, but it made an impressive picture!

 

 

 

 

I had to be sure to finish before 9:30 because I was determined that THIS TIME I was NOT going to miss the salsa dance lesson. So, stuffed as I was, I got up there on the big stage and did a better job with the salsa than I had with the earlier dancing. And then I went to the disco. I think I danced with some women, but I may have danced solo. Who cares, right? I was thinking of having One More glass of wine, and realized I was considering bumming a cigarette from the girl next to me. That was when I knew it was time to go to bed. I haven’t smoked in about 30 years! And I had to meet my excursion on the pier at 9 am.

We were in one of those aft balconines on the Dream. Had a great day at the British Colonial Hilton. I agree that the Oasis of the Seas did not look inviting! But to each his own.

[LandlockedCruiser01]

I agree that the Oasis of the Seas did not look inviting! But to each his own.

That's what I think too, and by extension, Allure of the Seas as well. Just something about its shape, I guess, that I find slightly off-putting. It kind of looks like a military fort on the front, a condo building on the side, and a missing wall on the rear. There isn't much of a classic ocean liner look, like RCI's older ships. I read somewhere that it's an "inward-facing ship", which probably means that its main focus are its indoor spaces. But I don't know, I'm more wowed by ship's design than by its massive size.

[NCTribeFan]

Glad you had a good trip. E183....LOL that's my cabin!!! twice on the Fantacy and 3 tines on the Fascination. You were on the Fantasy Halloween sailing after your daughters wedding? Right?

 

Yep. That was Leg 2 of my B2B. Man, was there some serious shaking in that cabin when we docked in Charleston! Good thing I'm a morning person. :p

 

I did like that location. Hadn't even thought about it until I read something in the "1A" thread about how nice those are. I liked it primarily because of the convenience to the Serenity Deck via the "secret" rear staircase, and the Promenade Deck via the aft stairwell. And, of course, the Lobby. You just need to zig-zag down the outer hallways.

 

As for the giant RCI ships, I think I was in port next to Allure in Nassau one day and thought it was really ugly and dull grey. Almost like a battleship!

 

I don't cruise for the ship, so something that is so large that I couldn't even see it all in a week just doesn't appeal to me.

 

My favorite Carnival class is definitely the Spirit class. I've been on Miracle twice and while I dislike the decor, I love the layout. My HAL cruise on Zaandam was very nice. That ship was much like the Spirit class only smaller.

 

I really don't care for Carnival's ship designs, though. I don't think they're very elegant (not referring to decor here but to the "look" of the ship from the exterior.)

 

I thought I'd hate Glory (even 110 gtw is too big, imho) but she has a good "feel" to her. Hope I feel the same way about Conquest.

[NCTribeFan]

Going to post some final comments here shortly and wrap this thing up.

 

Let's see if I can post my panorama pick of Ship's Butts in Nassau...

 

Pretty sure these were Grandeur, Sky, Dream, Fantasy & Oasis, l to r

 

You can't really see poor, little Fantasy's bow; it's a little blurry, but it's just by Oasis on right.

[NCTribeFan]

Miscellaneous Thoughts…

 

Food – I thought the food was, overall, good to very good. I don’t normally eat breakfast in the MDR. I gave up when after a couple of experiences that weren’t great and realized that going there just to get Eggs Benedict, which I don’t even really like that much, was just silly. I like my made-to-order omelets. I just wish this class ship had the side items available so it wasn’t necessary to stand in two lines, letting food get cold while waiting in line 2.

 

I rarely get anything from the buffet lunch line. Exception was the fried chicken on that last day, and it wasn’t as good as it looked like it would be. I love my turkey & swiss on roll from the Deli. But as I’ve griped before, what is the reasoning behind NOT having chips available? You can get them through room service, so they have them. Again, I’d get my sandwich and then have to go stand in the long line at the grill to just get some fries. I don’t do the burgers from the grill, only the hot dogs.

 

Lunch in the MDR is pretty good. At least my cheeseburger with bacon and guacamole was! Seems like a waste of a free drink to only get a beer with lunch, but I just don’t drink the fruity things.

 

Entertainment & Music – I mentioned James in the piano bar. I’m really not a fan of singalongs and most of the songs people request are those that I detest. I did miss there being a Filipino cover band. I always really enjoyed them, but like I said in my last review, having the band play out there in the hallway across from the casino bar is just a bad idea. It makes it really difficult for people who are just trying to walk down the hallway. I enjoyed both the production shows, probably because they were both related to “my” era of music. I don’t like show tunes or big band stuff. I didn’t miss there being a live show band at all. And although I’m not fond of the DJ at the Lido deck, and I know I’m in the minority here, but I’m actually HAPPY that there’s no live band out there. I never heard a single one that was any good. Sorry folks, but I’d rather have canned music than bad live music. And I love live music, so that’s saying something!!

 

But here’s my complaint. It’s the piped-in music. It’s everywhere, just like it is in my everyday life. I wish someone would do some research and determine at what point in American history was it decided that there MUST be canned music piped into every single public space in the universe? And it isn’t the bad-yet-soft “elevator” music of my youth. It’s loud, obtrusive, bad pop music. Everywhere. At all times. All this piped-in bad pop does is add to the background noise, which makes already too loud people have to talk over it, which makes the people next to them have to shout over them until everywhere everywhere is yelling all the time. I hate it. L

 

The Ship – I love her. Instead of being bored with her, I find that I like her more and more every time I sail. I know she had some refurbishments early in the year, but I didn’t notice anything different. I still think her colors are too garish, but I guess I’ve gotten used to them. As usual, there were always, always, always people cleaning.

 

The Itinerary – I would never pick a cruise to intentionally go to Nassau and Freeport, but as I get more and more sailings under my belt, I don’t feel as much of an urge to go somewhere new. This really was just to get away and relax (although I again had rather a difficult time finding anywhere to sit quietly and read with the noise level what it is everywhere on the ship). Despite the port limitations and the hoops one has to jump through to board, I love sailing from Charleston simply because I love it there! If you’ve never been, I really encourage you to book Fantasy and spend a day or two pre and/or post cruise.

 

The Passengers – Lots and lots of blue cards, so I guess Carnival’s low rates are bringing in the new passengers. The crowd didn’t seem very different than in the past; lots of NC/SC/TN/GA folks.

 

There was a young woman (she actually looked to be about 18 to me but she was probably older) walking around the ship one day in her bikini. Nothing else. Barefoot and no coverup; just wearing a bikini. She was with a guy so I assumed she was not with her parents. If I had been nearer, I would've advised her that she really should wear a coverup when she wasn’t sitting poolside. Would you walk around the mall wearing nothing but a bikini just because you’d been at the beach that day? And this was no Sport’s Illustrated swimsuit model we’re talking about, so it’s not like she was so stunningly gorgeous that she should’ve felt the need to show herself off like that.

 

Then there were the people walking around downtown Nassau on a Sunday, Now, these people may not have been from Fantasy, because there were five ships in port, so this is just a general appalled-at-people’s-behaviour comment. I saw many people walking down Bay Street dressed as though there were on the beach. There were multiple fat, hairy old men with no shirts. There were multiple women with bikini tops and short with bellies hanging over the belts. Blech!

 

Good grief, people! You’re in public! You’re in a stranger’s hometown on a Sunday. PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!! Would you walk around YOUR hometown on a Sunday afternoon dressed like that? What is it that makes people think that because they’re on an island that this is acceptable? The locals certainly don’t dress that way. Disgraceful, really. There just seems to be no sense of what is appropriate and what isn’t.

 

Cruising solo – I really enjoy myself when I’m solo. Yes, it’s great to travel with friends or family and share the experience, but it’s also great to be on your own and do whatever you want to do whenever you want to do it (as it is in my everyday life; it is so liberating!). There were three couples at one of the large dining tables next to me (not traveling together). They seemed to have a really good time during dinner, lots of laughing and talking. One of the men came over to my little table one night and invited me to join them the next time. I thanked him but politely declined. Now, I’ll admit that I’ve struggled with being extremely shy my entire life, and dining with strangers is actually good for me because I force myself to make small talk. But I really wanted to just sit and observe.

 

Just because I’m solo (and single) doesn’t mean I’m lonely, folks. It just means I’m doing something by myself. Please don’t pity me! I’m single because I like it this way. I made a decision long ago that I was not going to be involved with someone just to be involved with someone.

 

While I’m at it, let me interject something about you couples out there. Being used to doing things on my own for many years, I’m always amazed when I go somewhere and see couples who absolutely cannot do a single thing without being joined at the hip. Seriously. They can’t sit in the sun if their chairs aren’t next to each other. They can’t get on a plane and sit two rows apart. They can’t do ANYTHING without the other person being there every single moment. And the thing that gets me? When you listen to them talk, they don’t even seem to enjoy each other’s company that much. So why the need to be together every hour of every day? Habit? I couldn’t stand it! There was one couple on the tour in Freeport sitting in front of me on the bus. Every single thing the man said the woman had to disagree or correct him. Every. Single. Thing. And she never smiled the entire day. Not once.

 

So please, don’t look at me and think, “oh, that poor woman is all alone.” I like it this way. I look at these couples and think, “oh, what a miserable existence!”

 

SUMMARY – I had a wonderful time. It was very relaxing. It was exactly what I needed and had hoped for. As I’ve said in the past, no cruise is perfect, but I don’t expect perfection. I want to be well fed, well cared for, be able to relax, and have plenty to do if that’s what I choose. Carnival gives me that at a ridiculously low cost for what they provide.

 

I’m booked on the second leg of the Conquest repositioning in November. So far, I’m going solo but have a couple of friends who might be interested in joining me. I really want to return to Dominica and Antigua. Plus, I absolutely LOVE San Juan. I had hoped for another B2B or longer cruise, but instead I’ll fly down to San Juan a couple of days early and maybe spend an extra day post-cruise in Miami.

 

I’ve sailed Glory twice, and was surprised that I liked a ship that large as much as I did. She has a nice vibe to her. And I love my Fish & Chips! So I’m hoping I’ll enjoy Conquest, too, although they didn’t put in a Serenity Deck when they did the 2.0 upgrades, which is just stupid, imho.

 

Although I have another cruise booked I would love to find another Fantasy cruise while I have some 3-day weekends this summer. :D

[NCTribeFan]

Here's the link to my Flickr album. I'm assuming that people can view the pics without being registered or signing in, but I don't know that for sure.

 

[LandlockedCruiser01]

Here's the link to my Flickr album. I'm assuming that people can view the pics without being registered or signing in, but I don't know that for sure.

You can see the pictures without signing in and/or registering. However, I hate the new Flickr! It's obnoxiously slow and smacks of Pinterest, instead of having a somewhat professional look that the old Flickr had. Hopefully, they'll change it back. Anyway, it sounds like you had a great solo cruise, and captured the memories pretty nicely.

[missdebi]

Let me just give you a view from one half of a couple! I "like" my DH we have been married 37 years and really enjoy doing things together. We have separate jobs and we have some activities that we do separate so we enjoy the time we do spend together. When we are traveling we do not want to sit separately if it is necessary we will but would prefer to be together. I am not going to look at a single cruiser and pity him or her because as you say most times it is a choice. I have been on a cruise w/o my DH and had fun but certainly missed him.

 

We sail on the Fantasy in 14 days and cannot wait. We are like you it is convenient and we want the relaxation so the ports we not in the decision but I will say we are going to do the Brewery in Freeport just haven't decided if we will do the tour or just take a taxi, what do you think? And we are going to walk to the Rum Factory in Nassau saw a recommendation from scubagirl.

 

Thanks enjoyed the review and pics!

[NCTribeFan]

Oh, I know not all couples are like some I described. It just seems that the ones who are least happy together (the constant sniping) are the ones who are the most, what's the word? Co-dependent? Have no idea how to function on their own?

 

I must confess I wouldn't object to cruising with a male companion at some point. ;)

 

There were some people already in the brewery tasting area when our group arrived, who must have arrived by taxi. It isn't all that far from the port. If you have no interest in the perfume factory, since the shopping part of the tour is really rather sad, if the brewery tour is all you want, I'd definitely take a taxi.

 

I think there's a thread on the Bahamas board about going there on your own. Someone may have posted the taxi fare there.

[CruzerDeb]

Thanks for the great review! Solo cruising is probably in my future, even though I'm married. Skiing is DH's thing . . .

[pirate4me2]

I have debated on trying the Fantasy since she is our closest port, but I am worried about her size. I have only sailed Spirit class and am going to be sailing the Breeze in November. Did Fantasy feel small or crowded? I wish she did some different itineraries. Although I haven't been to Half Moon Cay, and doesn't she go there? It might be worth hopping on her.

[Alinora]

I've really enjoyed reading your review as I'm taking this cruise in August, traveling solo as well, so it's nice to get an idea what to expect.

 

I was wondering a couple things that I hope you or someone else reading here can answer for me.

 

I think I read somewhere on here that Charleston was a small port and therefore if you're driving and parking at the dock, you can't get in before a certain time as they have to unload the ship/get the incoming passenger cars out first (10:30am?). If that's so, when can I arrive and expect to get in to park? This will be my first time not coming in by air and I'm all for getting on board as soon as possible and starting my vacation but driving around waiting to be able to get in doesn't appeal either. :D

 

Also, I think they don't have fridges on the Fantasy, is that the case? I usually bring bottles of water with me and keep them in the fridge, but if there's no fridge I read a suggestion somewhere on the board about bringing a small cooler that I can keep topped with ice to put my drinks in and was thinking about doing that as an option.

 

Thanks!

Alinora

[NCTribeFan]

pirate: I've sailed Miracle twice. Love the layout of that class ship. I'm not into "big" when it comes to sailing (almost didn't sail Glory because of the size). I think this class is plenty big enough. No, there's no supper club and there's only one pool, but I don't make use of either anyway, so it isn't an issue for me. Honestly, I'd rather not spend all my time walking, walking, walking (although I must admit it's a good way to get some exercise whether you want to or not; had a bow cabin on Main last time on Glory and it's a looooooooong walk back to the stern and up the stairs to the Lido buffet!).

 

I don't think the ship feels small, but I've sailed this class ship a lot and I'm used to it. In fact, I sailed a Fascination after consecutive Miracle and Glory cruises and wondered if returning to this ship class/size would bother me. Not in the least. But I really don't sail for the ship.

 

Fantasy does sail a few 7-nighters (see my October B2B 5+7 cruise) that go to HMC. You might want to consider going on down to Jax. Fascination does a lot of 5-nighters that stop there. It truly is paradise!

 

Alinora: Charleston is one port where there's absolutely no need to get there early. They just cannot start boarding until they clear out the parking, and the small terminal is just one big room. All the luggage has to be cleared out and the immigrations/customs desks removed and the luggage scanners set up.

 

On my B2B, I was there early and had to wait over an hour (and there's only a small tent with about a dozen little metal folding chairs). The earliest I'd arrive would be 11:30 and at that time, there will probably be a long line of early arrivals who aren't aware that being there at 10:30 won't get them on the ship early. Not at this port. You can drop off your luggage and just do some walking around and sightseeing. I don't recommend flying the day of sailing (from anywhere), but if you are, if you make sure your carry-on isn't too heavy, there's a beautiful waterfront park just south of the port.

 

No mini-fridge in the cabins (maybe in the suites?). I just ask my steward for one of the plastic buckets they use for the beer and keep my wine/water in that. He keeps it full of ice. A small cooler works, too. Have done that and just put a hand towel under it on the vanity just in case it decided to leak.

 

CruzerDeb: do it! It's really very liberating to be all on your own and doing whatever you want whenever you want!

 

I don't think I mentioned that I had a few people come up to me later in the cruise and mention seeing me up there on the stage during the salsa dance class. Lol! It was fun and chances are I wouldn't have done it if I'd been with friends or family. I'm really not very outgoing, but I was much more extroverted on this past cruise than I've ever been before.

[Gma&Gpa]

Two questions regarding the Fantasy. Is there a coffee bar? We always enjoy a cup in the evenings and have gotten very used to that.

 

And.... a friend of ours that is contemplating going with us - is diabetic. With no fridge, does anyone know how they can keep the insulin?

[poptart]

Nice review. I enjoyed it. The fantasy was our 1st so we really have a soft spot for her.

[wrigley80]

Nice Review....we enjoyed our time on the Carnival Fantasy last year. We really enjoy the Fantasy class ships as well

[Alinora]

Alinora: Charleston is one port where there's absolutely no need to get there early. They just cannot start boarding until they clear out the parking, and the small terminal is just one big room. All the luggage has to be cleared out and the immigrations/customs desks removed and the luggage scanners set up.

 

On my B2B, I was there early and had to wait over an hour (and there's only a small tent with about a dozen little metal folding chairs). The earliest I'd arrive would be 11:30 and at that time, there will probably be a long line of early arrivals who aren't aware that being there at 10:30 won't get them on the ship early. Not at this port. You can drop off your luggage and just do some walking around and sightseeing. I don't recommend flying the day of sailing (from anywhere), but if you are, if you make sure your carry-on isn't too heavy, there's a beautiful waterfront park just south of the port.

 

No mini-fridge in the cabins (maybe in the suites?). I just ask my steward for one of the plastic buckets they use for the beer and keep my wine/water in that. He keeps it full of ice. A small cooler works, too. Have done that and just put a hand towel under it on the vanity just in case it decided to leak.

 

Thank you for the info, it's very helpful. I've been curious about the arrival time thing and it's good to have more info about it from someone who's done it. And I agree on not flying in the day you're sailing. I always try to get there at least the day before. My luggage hasn't been lost often, but that's all I'd need to be dealing with before a cruise!

 

Thanks again. I'm really looking forward to this trip! :D

 

Alinora

[NCTribeFan]

Glad to answer any questions. Thanks to all for reading.

 

There's probably lots more info (and different viewpoints) in the All Things Fantasy thread.

 

Insulin? I'm pretty sure you can contact Special Needs before sailing and they can let you know what the procedure is on those ships that don't have a fridge in the cabin. There should be a link on the main Carnival webpage.

 

I've only been in a few cabins that had them and have never used them, but I've read that they don't really keep things cold; just keep things from getting too warm.

 

And, yes, there is a coffee shop on the Promenade deck (aft of the casino, heading toward the Forum Lounge). They can also make specialty coffees at most of the bars, now (at least I've seen the machines at the Lobby Bar, Majestic, and the bar at the back of the buffet (I think). Probably at the casino bar, too.