First Cruise

[Terre]

My suggestions are aimed at the first-time cruiser in general. Our first cruise was a 5-day Canada cruise out of New York, just to see whether we would like cruising. (Okay, my signature kinda tells you what we thought:D)

1. When you board the ship, take a tour of what the ship has to offer. You can do this on your own (there will be card-fold maps available in the lobby), or most ships offer a guided tour around 2:30 in the afternoon.

2. Be on deck for sailaway. There's always an electric feeling, leaving the port behind. (For OP, Charleston is a great port.:))

3. Don't try to do everything - you'll wear yourselves out. I think it took us three cruises on Carnival Victory (our first ship) before we found all of the lounges. And don't think you HAVE to do anything in particular - you don't have do do anything particular at all. My DH is very happy to get a chair, a book, and watch the sea go by. There's something for everyone. You can always catch up on some of the activities you missed on the next cruise.:D

And my suggestions are Ditto to above! Don't worry about any complaints you may read and just enjoy yourself. You will be hooked. I love the Fantasy as she is an older, smaller ship...a good one to start with. Let us know how you liked it when you get back.

[MoniqueNC]

Thank you NYbumpkin and Terre. I definitely will!!!

[cruise_gal21]

I second what cruse2lose said about Freeport. We have not been, but are going in May, and this is what my DD and I are doing while DH goes deep sea fishing. For Nassau, if you're up for an excursion that includes wildlife they have dolphin swims/encounters and sea lion encounters at Blue Lagoon Island. We did this last time. It was very inexpensive through the Blue Lagoon website, just google blue lagoon dolphin encounters, and was a great time. Just know that the ferries to Blue Lagoon are on a schedule and it takes about 30 mins to get to/from the island, so leave on one that will get you back to the ship at least an hour before departure to be safe. We had enough time to do a 2 hour island tour of Nassau and Paradise Island before we had to go to Blue Lagoon and also shopped and ate lunch in Nassau after, while making it back onboard an hour and half early. So depending on the time of your swim/encounter there are lots of things you can fit into one day. This next time in Nassau we're doing the Ardastra Gardens and Zoo and having lunch at The Fish Fry area and playing the rest by ear. Whatever you decide have a blast! And congrats to your son!

 

Here's a link to my review with pics of our cruise including our day on Nassau

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1897831

 

Fascination 8-10-13 Full Trip Report With Pictures!

 

Sent from my LG-L38C using Forums mobile app

[Mysticks1]

One hint for you is to make sure you take any medications - over the counter types that you might need. What is on the ship is very limited and extremely expensive. Have fun and come back and give us a trip report when you get back. I am going to Freeport and Nassau for the first time in May, with two 20 year old girls we have to go to Atlantis.

[5Hawkeyes]

Just curious when was the last time you were at Atlantis?

 

I've never been but a few on this board and last week when we were in Nassau I heard comments about how much it's gone down hill recently?

We did Atlantis from our Disney Cruise in November of 2011. It was amazing!!! I guess it could have went downhill since that time, but that would be surprising to me. All I know is it cost way too much money and I'd do it again in a heartbeat if we ever go back to Nassau:)

[LREcruise02]

We were at Atlantis this past March. I thought it was great. We had our kids with us so paid for the dig and their beach and it included lunch. There is a water park too but we didnt do that as our girls were too young really for all the slides and stuff. We had a great day there and enough to do to spend the day. My husband and I went there on our honeymoon cruise in 2007 and just did the digs and explored the grounds and also had a great time. I didn't feel that it was much different this past trip than it was when we went 6 years ago. Hope that helps!