Fantasy Review

[mistory]

My Fantasy Review

Overall I would rate this vacation as a 4.5. I had a blast!!!!

I don’t remember everything that we did b/c we did so much but here goes. Sorry if it seems so scattered.

We arrived at the pier (1pm on the dot) to find virtually no waiting, no lines outside. However when we got inside we found a very very long line. There was a sign that said Fun Pass Check-in but no line to correspond with it. So we waited in line with everyone else. The line moved very quickly and before we knew it we were on our way. One couple in our group had not filled out the fun pass and we looked up to find them being rushed away by a Carnival employee. We chase after them thinking something was wrong only to find out they were being pushed to the front of the line b/c they were military and considered VIP status. How nice. We board the ship and its on from there. We found our rooms nice, neat and clean. Off we went to eat lunch, muster drill and such. Overall the boat was very clean, there was always someone cleaning. You could tell the boat was older by the décor but it was still nice. The first and last night in the dining room was casual. All the food I ate was awesome (except the lobster) and there was always plenty to eat. We had a party of 14 and we went to the maitre d’ and requested we sit together. He changed our seating time and gave us a large 15 person table. Our head waiter Wayne was AWESOME!!!!! He made all of us including the kids feel like royalty. We went to art auctions, various shows, got free art, diamond bracelets and other stuff. I would advise anyone to attend the info sessions to find out how to get stuff for free. It was rather cold in Florida and the weather was looking dreary. We were quiet surprised to find it warm in Freeport the next morning.

Freeport:

We decided to get off the ship and go shopping. That was pretty much all that we saw to do. As soon as we got off a nice man came over and offered us a ride which we refused over and over until he said it was free. The ride would have taken us 2 min max to walk but we got in instead. Turns out the ride really was free but we tipped him anyway. The shops in Freeport in comparison with Nassau were a little more expensive. I brought 4 t-shirts with Freeport on them. We walked around until about 12 and then got back on the boat to get the kids out of camp. Speaking of camp there seemed to have been a problem with a bully. Our kids were very upset and did not want to return to camp anymore. The camp counselor assured us that they would talk to the bully’s parents and he would not return. One of the parents in our group found the boys parents who made him apologize and assured them he was in deep trouble and would not be back in the camp. The kids decided then they would go back and other than dinner never left!!!! They were in camp the entire time and never wanted to even go to the beach or get off the boat. For the rest of the day we walked around, ate, hit the casino and watched games and such on the lido deck.

Nassau

When we woke up to find hot beautiful weather in Nassau we were so happy. We ate breakfast and got off the boat for some shopping. We planned to take a taxi to Atlantis but opted to shop first in the straw market. When I say that place was crowded that was an understatement. It was hot and the women were really aggressive and very rude when you turned down their “bargains”. I was able to get a few things at a good price from some friendly women. I took a lot of nice pictures in Nassau! We got back on the boat checked on the kids who were having a ball and then went to change for the beach. We got to the beach and it was beautiful. The water was a little chilly by the time we found the public beach (a few blocks beyond Senor Frogs). We stayed there and took some pics in the water and decided to head back b/c it was getting dark. We did some more shopping and got our free diamond bracelets from Diamond International. We then got back on the boat for dinner, rested and went to buffets/shows.

The Ship/Staff

The ship was nice overall and very clean. The casino was really stingy when I figured this out I found a penny machine and stayed there..lol… The art auction was really nice but the art was over my price limit. Carnival staff overall was really nice. I did get yelled at by a photographer b/c when the girl she thought was my daughter was taking her picture the girl’s actual mother snapped a picture and turned around. That left me and she assumed that I took a picture. Of course I set her straight. We did have to request a different room steward b/c our first one did nothing to our room except turn back the cover ( I wish I could post pics of our room it was a mess). We complained to the purser and were given the most awesome steward named Curtis who did an excellent job! Other than that we really didn’t have any issues. I was able to keep my bill at $79.98, $40 tips and $39.98 for photos (which were beautiful).

The Food

Awesome! I actually ate healthier onboard than I do normally. Combine that with all the walking I did and I actually lost 2 pounds J Now I almost forgot about debarkation and the lost luggage. It was a royal mess! No organization whatsoever. The VIP couple had a bag of shoes that was lost and carnival basically did nothing but send out notes looking for it. On the last day when we went to pick up our luggage low and behold its there with the rest of the stuff. So obviously it was in the wrong room and never found or looked for as they said they would. The porters really made us get out quicker though b/c they rushed us right through customs and to the curb.

Overall my trip was great! Any questions just ask..

[Djptcp]

Sounds like a great cruise! I have a question about Freeport as we are sailing on the Celebration in March and Freeport is one of the destinations. From what I have read recently and heard from one of my staff who was there in October, there isn't much of anything close to the ship and you have to travel to Lucaya to shop. It sounds, though, as if you went shopping close by the ship. Is that so?

[beaming90]

Thanks for the great review, we loved the Fantasy earlier this year. :p

[mistory]

Sounds like a great cruise! I have a question about Freeport as we are sailing on the Celebration in March and Freeport is one of the destinations. From what I have read recently and heard from one of my staff who was there in October, there isn't much of anything close to the ship and you have to travel to Lucaya to shop. It sounds, though, as if you went shopping close by the ship. Is that so?

 

yeah as soon as you get off the ship or from the lido deck you can see some empty looking tents..have breakfast and by the time you are done you should see people under there...(if you go right at 7:30 you may not see anyone) its just a few feet from the ship...now there may be better shopping elsewhere but to be honest with you its really not worth it...i would buy freeport tshirts only! everything else you see will be in nassau cheaper and better! we only got off to say we did..lol..freeport is dead...save your money for the next port.

[walkswife]

We were in Freeport last spring and had a blast.....although we did excursions for most of the time we were there.....hubby and daughter did a little shopping after their dolphin excursion.

[wdowns9]

Ditto on your review. We had a very enjoyable 4-dayer and it was our 1st. Freeport was a stop in which only a third of the people left the ship. There is a minature market at the port with some good T-shirts. You can head into town to buy over priced jewelry and the same stuff just off the ship. Others took excurisions but said they would of rather stayed on the ship. Its one of those things where if you do not investigate for yourself you will kick yourself if you don't. If there is a next time I'm staying on the ship. Only $$ spent was at the casino and taxi fare into the town. Nassau was great because you have 24hrs so the pressure is off unless you are a shopper as the stores close around 5-530.