Fantasy Nov. 2 rock and roll review

[missygirl]

My husband and I were on Fantasy November 2...We came down a day early and stayed at Best Western in Ladson, SC. We had a king room with a comfy mattress and they served a cont. breakfast.

 

We drove into the port area expecting just to drop the luggage which we did but they directed us to continue on to line up so here we are in line at 10:30...we did have to wait 30 minutes but hey we are in line. We parked and then the bus ride and within minutes we are onboard heading to the lido so hubby can start the grazing...

 

After lunch we checked on the cabin and it was ready so we dropped our things...and found loungers where hubby rested and I watched and took pictures of two dolphins playing.

 

Moving on to the mustering in the lounge then to the deck...lucky it was not hot and the wind was wonderful. I had been speaking to some on cruise critic and they had planned to meet right after muster on the Serenity deck...not sure how many showed up but we did meet some nice people.

 

Cabin-we have been on this ship before and the cabin was always neat and the mattress was very nice...the only thing was on day one I flagged down a steward outside our cabin not knowing if he was ours or not...he was not but he asked what I needed and I asked for some ice for our wine...for much later after the luggage was done...the room was cleaned, fresh towels and new ice everyday, perfect but weird that not one time for a seven night cruise did we ever meet our cabin steward...we were in and out and even hubby had some motion sickness but first time on 15 cruises that we didn't meet steward.

 

Food-we are not much of a breakfast eaters but did go to a brunch and had the steak and eggs...yum best steak I ate all cruise.

Lunch-we usually have a sub sandwich or wok stir fry.

Dinner-we ate every night in anytime dining the meals that we ordered were very good as well as the desserts. Our headwaiter was Roberto and his helper Winn were amazing...so if any is booked soon ask for Roberto.

 

Now to the rock and roll part...we had some rough seas heading to Nassau and upon arriving the wind was blowing so hard...when we got back to the ship due to leave at 7pm we were told that we were not leaving but spending the night in port and going to miss Half Moon Cay for the next day. We did spend the night alongside a Disney ship that we heard was also to miss their private island. We were to leave Nassau at 6am and when we did we went out with the ship tilted and remained this way for a little while...like I stated the wind was so bad and now raining. Now we were going early to Grand Turk only we didn't get there early...it took us about 28 hours to get from Nassau to GT we had to slow down for people to be able to walk around...many were sick in cabins and our guy Roberto told us that a lot of crew were also sick.

 

GT was not raining and beautiful...I had a beachside massage...wonderful! A couple yummy drinks, swimming and a little shopping for kids. Now our ports are over and we have two more sea days hoping for calm seas.

 

We woke up Thursday morning to go to Serenity deck and couldn't keep our towels on the chairs so yes we are heading back to the wind and rough seas and patchy rain. So Thursday and Friday were carbon copies of weather. They kept making announcements about being careful and the stairs. Friday just before dinner the waves were huge and the captain announced that the final show was to be canceled and we were to slow down and would be coming into Charleston a little later than expected.

 

Overall we had a good cruise just being together and can't wait for the next one.

[dulcimergirl]

Well, I'm glad you had a good cruise, and an equally good attitude. I wonder how many will complain that Carnival didn't fix the weather problem. lol

Thanks for posting your mini-review.

[thegoodlife247]

It has been many years since I cruised out of charleston. Do you drop your luggage off somewhere before you line up to park? If so, where do you drop off your luggage. I thought they took your luggage when you were boarding the bus to the terminal. Sorry about the rough seas but I'm sure it's better than a day at work :)

[NCTribeFan]

Sorry to hear about the weather (and missing HMC - we missed it last October due to Hurricane Sandy).

 

When I sailed in early September, the seas were so flat you couldn't tell you were moving. I was talking to Risa about it and she was laughing about how people were coming up to her asking if there was nothing to be done to keep the ship from rocking so much! The sea was like glass! Honestly, I've never seen that for the entire cruise.

 

You never know what you're going to encounter. I used to suffer but Ginger Root capsules have cured me.

 

thegoodlife247 - check out the All Things Fantasy thread. Plenty of info there. Also a couple of threads on the East Coast Departures board about sailing from Charleston.

[BEACHPAD04]

SORRY the weather was so bad on your cruise, when we sailed on 10/5 it was like glass.

 

The best think about this ship is CAPTAIN MIELE, HE IS wonderful, he was all over the ship talking with guests.

 

good to know you have a Great Captain taking care of the guests.

Sorry you missed the island it was so pretty.

:)

[bobsfamily]

WoW!!! We had what we thought was bad weather in May and missed LSC, but we did not have to stay in port! Although when we arrived in Freeport they had to keep the thrusters running all day as the ship would have slammed into the dock. We were tied up but the wind was pushing the ship in and then it would bound back, then hit the dock again.

 

Safety is always at the forefront, glad you made the best of it....

[missygirl]

It has been many years since I cruised out of charleston. Do you drop your luggage off somewhere before you line up to park? If so, where do you drop off your luggage. I thought they took your luggage when you were boarding the bus to the terminal. Sorry about the rough seas but I'm sure it's better than a day at work :)

 

There is a main gate and you show your boarding pass and drop your luggage just inside the gate. This time they let us drive on to get into line to pay for parking and then on to park. Then you board the bus for the mini bus ride to the terminal. very easy.

[Jabee]

We were also on the same cruise.

 

We stayed at the Comfort Inn in Mount Pleasant just across the river from the Port for $150. We left the car in their parking lot and the had a taxi take us to port and picked us up on return. I thought it was a pretty good deal since we were on a seven day cruise and only thing we were out was s tip to the driver.

 

The weather was atrocious, but the crew was incredible and found ways to keep the fun going. We had 500 people on board for a Gospel Music Cruise, but only they could go to the concerts, but we had a blast with the singers in Karaoke. Some of those gospel music singers were also awesome country singers.

 

Anna in karaoke was one of the best hostess ever. One thing also, a very large number of crew members were from the Phillipines, and so amazing to see the words of encouragement from the passengers to the crew. Our Dinner server Edwin was so happy when he was able to speak to his wife and children, but told us that others had not been able to get in contact with families. It made me realize how small our world really is.

 

Risa Barnes was great to keep us in touch, even with all the bad news, and she made some quick plans to add events for the unexpected day at sea.

 

Nassau...been there six times and done that...

 

But, Grand Turk was a big surprise. What an amazing beach right next to the ship. I do want to go there again, but better just to stay at the beach.

 

JB

[bobsfamily]

Risa Barnes was great to keep us in touch, even with all the bad news, and she made some quick plans to add events for the unexpected day at sea.

Risa is wonderful! She should be on a bigger ship but I sure hope she stays put. So nice, so helpful.

Glad you made the best of it, The Fantasy recently was 3rd among ALL Carnival ships in cruiser reviews/comments.

[Gabruska]

We were there too and were little disappointed by the weather and by missing HMK. Otherwise we had a great time. The food in dining room was excellent . The buffet was not really impressive, the deli or Mongolian wok is the best choice. Breakfast Eggs Benedict was my favorite and the amazing croissants are so yummy. Desert selection was the BEST!!!!

I don't think I will ever book a cruise in November again from Charleston I think it's just too cold. Next time will try to go from Fl to Western Caribbean for some warmer weather.

Very happy with Carnival though .....I was little worried. I will definitely sail with them again!

Edited November 14, 2013 by Gabruska