FANTASY MAY 8, 5 DAY REVIEW w/ PICS

[Medtech2]

Bacon Mac n Cheese:

 

 

The ladies received carnations for Mother's Day.

 

Grand Marnier Souffle (light on the Grand Marnier but good nonetheless):

 

 

After dinner we went to enjoy the sunset:

 

 

 

 

[cruiseclues]

Thanks for all those food photos and your good review. :):):):)

[Medtech2]

We tried to go up on the Lido Deck but it was closed for washing so we went back to pack.

 

Our towel animal was a heart (I added the carnation)

 

 

There was a knock on the door.

 

Chocolate covered Strawberries arrived from the Maitre D. (I am hoping this was because I praised our waiters, since the card said it was from the Maitre'D)

 

[Medtech2]

May 13, Monday Debarkation

Debarkation is silent and EARLY on this ship. It is silent because downtown Charleston folks have complained about announcements being made and early because there is such a lack of space at the terminal they need to completely clear everyone from the terminal and parking before they reopen for the next set of pax.

I was afraid we would over sleep but there was no danger of that as the Captain literally gunned the engines while in neutral during docking. We docked at Nassau and Freeport without such a racket. I was wearing ear plugs to sleep and it woke me up before dawn.

 

We carried our own luggage off by floor and there was not much of a wait for an elevator. While disembarking I saw the CD Henney for the 1st time since the Welcome Aboard show. Not a personable sort IMO.

Would I take this cruise again? Probably not. It was very convenient, and the ship and food were good. The crew for the most part was not and Nassau and Freeport get old. I would like to try a cruise that goes to CCL’s private island but for now I am booked to Bermuda from New York.

 

If you have any questions please ask. Again, we enjoyed ourselves but this crew on this sailing failed, IMO. I know that Norwegian reads that board but do not know if Carnival reads this. If so, maybe they can re-emphasize smiling customer service to what appeared to be a very tired crew.

[Medtech2]

Thanks for all those food photos and your good review. :):):):)

You're welcome!

 

I know a lot of people have been on the Fantasy. One thing that made me feel better about booking this cruise was seeing others' recent pictures of her.

 

I have never written a review with pictures before. It is really a pain to open a flickr account and upload and copy and paste. There must be an easier way...

[O.92]

Great review! I will be sailing on this ship in a couple months. How is the lighting indoors? A lot of your pictures, and most pictures I see online, look kind of dark. Is that because of darker lightning everywhere, or just the camera flash?

 

And how is the ship's cleanliness? Are the windows kind of dirty, or unclear to see out of?

[bluecruisin]

Thanks for taking the time to writr this review!

[Fydlstyx]

The view from the James Island Connector:

 

An anti-cruise flag hanging from a house downtown:

(please note these people are in the minority here)

 

 

 

Wow. I have never seen that before. I did not know there were anti-cruise people! I am looking forward to reading your review. Thanks for sharing it and your pics!

 

Sherry

[Dremac373]

Back at the ship we showered and did the Martini Tasting. You get 4 mini-martini’s for $17 and there were 8 flavors so we tried them all. You get the recipe card and a martini glass charm to keep. We both loved the Sea Blue best and the Blackberry Bramble least.

 

 

 

 

 

 

All gone!

 

 

Thank you for sharing your cruise with us and I'm glad to hear that for the most part you both had a good trip...I've hedar about these "tastings" cruises have and I would love to try one...I hope my upcoming August cruise on Imagination has this or at least the wine tasting...btw those martinis didn't look "mini" :p but for $17 I would've tried all 8 also :D, thank you again

Edited May 27, 2013 by Dremac373

[Medtech2]

Great review! I will be sailing on this ship in a couple months. How is the lighting indoors? A lot of your pictures, and most pictures I see online, look kind of dark. Is that because of darker lightning everywhere, or just the camera flash?

 

And how is the ship's cleanliness? Are the windows kind of dirty, or unclear to see out of?

The lighting was fine. I take a lot of pictures with no flash to compare with flash. I think the ones with no flash have more natural colors. For the most part I do not think they are too dark so it must be preference or the computer screen.

 

On my Ipad they look better than my Dell...

 

The public area windows higher up were clean. Our cabin was on deck 5 and suffered a great deal from seaspray. That is no fault of the ship but the reality of cruising close to the ocean, lol!

[Medtech2]

Wow. I have never seen that before. I did not know there were anti-cruise people! I am looking forward to reading your review. Thanks for sharing it and your pics!

 

Sherry

A few vocal people who live downtown object to cruise ships docking there.

 

I must have passed these flags for years and never paid attention to them until my daughter pointed one out. We were trying to decipher what it was when it finally dawned on me that it had a whaletail on it...

[Medtech2]

Thank you for sharing your cruise with us and I'm glad to hear that for the most part you both had a good trip...I've hedar about these "tastings" cruises have and I would love to try one...I hope my upcoming August cruise on Imagination has this or at least the wine tasting...btw those martinis didn't look "mini" :p but for $17 I would've tried all 8 also :D, thank you again

It was 4 mini martinis for $17.

 

Since there are 8 flavors we each bought a tasting, so it was really 8 for $34.

 

It was enough that we were both a tiny bit buzzed.

 

On the Fantasy you don't have to do it at a set time, you just go to the bar that is featuring them. It is probably like that on the other ships. More convenient than having to show up at, say, 3pm, although then you miss the fun of doing it with a large group of strangers :)

[nc_growth]

Your review confirms I made a good decision to book this for September. My adult step daughter has had a very rough 2 years, and I thought this would be a good treat for her. It sounds just right, with relax time mixed with fun time and good food to boot. Thank you for taking so much time to write and display your great photos. :)

Edited June 24, 2013 by nc_growth

[ew101]

We like a bit of dancing after dinner. They have gotten rid of the little house bands in the bars for the most part. Did you find one anywhere? We were on the Pride a while back and found the DJs not too good and the disco way too loud. BTW the British Colonial Hilton has a lovely day pass program and you get a nice lunch and beach and it is clean and well maintained.

[Medtech2]

Your review confirms I made a good decision to book this for September. My adult step daughter has had a very rough 2 years, and I thought this would be a good treat for her. It sounds just right, with relax time mixed with fun time and good food to boot. Thank you for taking so much time to write and display your great photos. :)

My daughter and I had such a great time together on this cruise I am sure it will help ease those last 2 years for your step daughter.

 

Happy travels!

[Medtech2]

We like a bit of dancing after dinner. They have gotten rid of the little house bands in the bars for the most part. Did you find one anywhere? We were on the Pride a while back and found the DJs not too good and the disco way too loud. BTW the British Colonial Hilton has a lovely day pass program and you get a nice lunch and beach and it is clean and well maintained.

There was live music in the promenade area, not really conducive to dancing.

 

The disco had a DJ but we never stayed to dance because we were being asphyxiated by all the smoke :(

[chelster]

What a great review! You're getting me excited to go! Thanks for taking time to post lots of pictures :)

[Medtech2]

What a great review! You're getting me excited to go! Thanks for taking time to post lots of pictures :)

You're welcome! And welcome to CC! (Cruise Critic)

[Dayenu]

Hi, thank you for photos and detailed review. You had a window cabin, and I'd reserve the same. Looking now at the options. Do you mind to tell the cabin number or location?

 

I've noticed, the beds are not "across" the ship with the head toward the window, but along it, with the window on the side. This may cause motion sickness as others told me.

 

Are all cabins like this, or your cabin was somewhere in front or back of the ship?

[Gabrielle R.]

I leave in 4 days on board the Fantasy!!!!

 

THANKS for the timely posts!!! You know how it is as you near a departure- You just want ALL the information you can get!

 

THANKS!!!:D

[mattmdv]

Medtech2, Thank You so much for your review!!! Our first cruise was on the Fantasy back in 1999, now, several cruises later, we are going back to where it all began.

Wonderful pictures and narrative of your daily activities!!!

Question: What time did you arrive at the terminal? We are staying at local Inn, and I am arranging transportation, what time should I schedule pick-up from the Inn to the terminal?

Again, Thank You for your review!!! I will be sharing it with others cruising with us.

 

Matt

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[NOSaints1]

As anyone stayed in a suite? Which one has the whirlpool in the suite and is it worth it?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Medtech2]

Hi, thank you for photos and detailed review. You had a window cabin, and I'd reserve the same. Looking now at the options. Do you mind to tell the cabin number or location?

 

I've noticed, the beds are not "across" the ship with the head toward the window, but along it, with the window on the side. This may cause motion sickness as others told me.

 

Are all cabins like this, or your cabin was somewhere in front or back of the ship?

We were in M218, which was starboard and towards the aft. We never really felt any motion. I had never heard of the beds being oriented front to back causing more motion than sideways. I would think it would be the opposite as the ship is more likely to move front to back than side to side but that's just conjecture on my part.

 

I think this cabin was standard in configuration.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[Medtech2]

I leave in 4 days on board the Fantasy!!!!

 

THANKS for the timely posts!!! You know how it is as you near a departure- You just want ALL the information you can get!

 

THANKS!!!:D

Happy Sailing!