Our fantasy review (long)

[heymom32000]

We are home safe and sound but so sad that our cruise is over. Time to plan another one. LOL We were assigned to room U86 with Lilia as our room stewart. She did a great job! We loved all the towel animals and kept each one in our room so we had a zoo picture with them all at the end of our cruise. We also found that we had internet access from our room! Woo Hoo! The lady in charge of the internet cafe was shocked to hear this. When we went to talk to her and make sure we were given our free minutes after paying that night for our package deal she kept saying "no you can't get it from your room, you have to be on one of the decks to get service" Finally she understood that we were able to go online from our room and were just letting her know....not asking her if we could. So room U86 is a good one if you want an inside room and the ability to access the internet from your room.

 

Embarkation went pretty smooth once we found where we needed to go. The signs pointed one way but our ship was the other. The only other port we have left from was Tampa so we weren't real sure what to expect from Canaveral. It surprised us that dh had to drive the car over to the valet instead of them taking it straight from the drop off area like Tampa did. There was a line formed so we joined all the others and waited to board. Didn't take real long and there was a nice breeze to keep us cool while we waited outside. The lady behind the counter was friendly and very welcoming. Finally we made it on the ship, our first stop was to the excursions desk to book our cabana. Not a problem, picked the Green one and saw we were the 2nd one booked. We then got our sign/sail card hole punched as well as our key card for our room. Eventually we ended up on the adult pool deck with a drink in hand and soaked up some sun. At 1:35 we went to check on our room and found our luggage by the door! We put some clothes away, met our wonderful room stewart (Lilia), walked around the ship to acquaint ourselves with it, then went back to our room to get our vests for the drill. The drill went smoother and quicker than our Inspiration one did last year which we were thankful for. Our ship was the first to leave port. I saw 3 dolphins from the front of the ship, and a stingray that was at the very tip of the ship as we went over it. Sure hope it survived. That night the ship was moving quite a bit. So much so that by that evening after our dinner there were vomit bags sitting about for people to use.

 

Our first day at sea was wonderful! The sun was shining, drinks flowing, people friendly, etc. Dh and I dressed up for formal night, had our picture taken with Marahscalh at the captain's party, and more pictures taken around the ship. We were very upset that those pictures professionally taken did not turn out good at all. The ones with the grand piano were sooo blurred due to the photographer focusing the camera on the wall and not us. Oh well, saved me some money :) Dinner was wonderful! The lobster was not too rubbery so I had 2 of them. Stan the man was our Maitre D and did a good job. He came to our table 3 different times during the cruise to check on us.

 

Our first port of call was Grand Turks. I had read on the boards where to go to the right and walk down the beach to find conch shells so that was the first thing dh and I did. We saw lots but they were broken. Farther down we saw a guy digging in the sand. He pulled up this huge shell fully intact. So we too started looking and digging. We found 4 really nice sized ones and brought them back on the ship. We eventually gave 2 away since our table mates did not find any. We went to Margaritaville and hung out there for a bit, watched the Miss Margaritaville contest, had a drink, and enjoyed the pool. Many of the shops were closed and the ones open basically had the same stuff. We did get a little something for each of our kids.

 

Half Moon Cay was WONDERFUL! I would book on any ship going there just so I could enjoy it again. Like I said earlier we had the green cabana. One couple from our dinner table joined us which made it fun. The water was sooo clear and the sand sooo white. While snorkeling off the shoreline dh was spotting sand dollars laying on the floor. I saw a small stingray laying in the sand on the floor, a fish came up to it, poked it, then it lifted up and swam away. I hope my pictures of it turn out. The frig in the cabana had just been plugged in so it was not cold. the drinks were sitting in a cooler on the cabinet for us. The veggie & fruit trays were nice and the chips/salsa were yummy. The one thing we all noticed was nobody came to see if we wanted to order any drinks. When it was time to eat lunch we stopped at the bar and got a miami vice. If anyone has the green cabana tell stumpy, curly, and curly jr hello for us. Yes, we had visitors of the lizard kind show up. They were very curious and would stare at my dh as he sunned himself. We took quite a few pictures of them. We finally left our cabana at 5pm and were sad to go.

 

Nassau was/is Nassau. We knew what to expect from the things we read on the boards. Our first stop was Hard Rock Café so dh could get his tshirt. Then we went to Venician jewelry to enter the raffle. There wasn't a container for our ship. Also they were giving free loose sapphires away to those with a card from their ship. Our shopper did not give us one so they told us to have Julie sign out paper by their store's name and bring that back. We did and they gave me one. We also stopped by another store to get our free ruby which they were no longer giving out. Instead they were giving garnets. So got one of those. We went to the straw market right away so it was not very crowded. Got a good price drop on 2 shirts, and 2 straw bags. They were not going down much at all on the fake purses so I didn't buy one. The sellers were getting pretty snotty about everyone asking them to go down too much. I would offer to pay half and they would just put the purse up and walk away from me rolling their eyes. Same thing with the wood carvings....very disappointed that they would not wheel/deal like Mexico does. The best part.......... my wonderful hubby surprised me at Diamonds international. He had me upgrade my diamond in my wedding ring! He said that after almost 19 years of putting up with him I deserved a bigger diamond. How sweet of him! I had the VIP card from the ship. The lady had Dorian look at my ring and tell me what they would give me for a trade in. The showed me diamonds of the same color/clarity but larger. She also showed me some that were lower color/clarity than mine. I did not want to give up on that just to get a bigger diamond and did not really want to pay the price she gave me. She talked to Dorian, he gave her a different price, and my hubby said ok. Our shopper, Julie, happened to walk by and I grabbed her. She looked at the deal they were offering us and was surprised by it. She picked up the ring for us and delivered it to our room as we were leaving port. I put the ring on and showed it to her. She agreed with us that the diamond looked a lot bigger than what they said it was. I can't wait to get it appraised here to see what the jeweler says about it.

 

All of our meals were wonderful. We had a wonderful waiter, Mario, who too lots of time with us. He was funny, informative, friendly, and greatly missed now that we are off the ship. One of our table mates had a deadly food allergy. Dh and I were so impressed with the way Carnival took care of her. The person in charge of taking care of her, Lois Shangh, was so wonderful. She surprised our friend one night by having the chef make a special dessert for her. Up to this point all our friend had to eat was fruit for dessert. This night she had chocolate mousse made with soy milk. Her kindness made our friend cry and me tear up. I will be writing to Bob about this and hope she receives a special thank you from him.

 

Marahscalh was better than I could have imagined. He was soooo funny! I told him about this chat board and that I had read terrific things about him. He said he would have to come check it out. So if your reading this....I loved our time on the ship with you. Those who have never cruised with him missed out big time. He will be retiring in 4 weeks.

 

The shows were ok. I think we liked the ones they did on our cruise last year better. Dh was not impressed with the male singer because according to dh he butchered some of the songs. I thought he was ok....not great but ok....he put his own spin on the songs to "make them his own" instead of trying to copy the original singer. The magician wasn't impressive at all. We thought that the magicians on "America's got talent" were better. The first comedian,Carl Rimi, was funny. The second one, Jeff Laub, wasn't so much.

 

The halloween night was good. They had some decorations up, a special photo area, trick or treating for the kids, costume contest, ghost stories, and a special Friday the 13th viewing that was interactive. We did not go watch the movie so not sure what the interactive stuff was.

 

Debarkation was very smooth for us. Our friends did the do it yourself one even though we warned them not to. They were off the ship only 30 minutes before us. I love how Canaveral is set up for this with the carousel like the airports have to pick up you luggage from. So much better than the warehouse type thing Tampa has. Marahscalh emphasized that you will not get your luggage any sooner if you leave the ship when the first color is called.... That the luggage is put out as the tag color is called and no sooner. So that helped. We at a leisurely breakfast in the dining room then went to the universe lounge for about 10 minutes before it was time for us to leave.

 

If you have any questions feel free to ask them.

 

Michelle

[LHP]

So glad you had a good time and congrats on the ultimate "upgrade" (diamonds of course)

 

We will be sailing on her in December after the move to New Orleans. Can't wait to get aboard!

[kaseyoz]

Hi michelle

 

i was on the same cruise as you. I was sorr we didnt get the chance to hook up.

i also had a cabana on half moon cay, the purple one. we shared it with a wonderful couple who organised it for us from this board.

 

Can you ask your hubby if he showed his sand dollars to an australian lady on the beach. A kind man was telling me about them and showed me one he had found. That would be eerie wouldnt it.

 

I will try and find time to also write a review, but it is a bit hard as kids are back at school on monday and am trying to get caught up on emails and home things.

So glad you had a great time. I was by myself most of the time as daughter found a few friends (not many kids on board) but i enjoyed the freedom to just sit , read and do just nothing!!

 

karon

[heymom32000]

He doesn't think it was him. He showed them to a few but doesn't remember anyone having an australian accent. I am still feeling the ship move even though I'm on land. Don't remember feeling it this long last year when we sailed. Helps me sleep at night but sure makes me feel weird during the day. LOL Glad you all had a good time. Can't wait to read your review.

[lyssasis]

Thanks for a great review! We were on Fantasy last year and had a wonderful time as well. Next, we're on Elation and going to the same ports as you. I have heard nothing but fantastic things about Half Moon Cay and can hardley wait!

[CarribbeanTina271]

Hi Heymom, Thanks for the great review makes me want to go back! Was on the Fantasy Oct 5-9 and also has Lilia as Room Steward, wow what a beautiful smile!! (cabin U90)...She and the asst RS were Awesome!

Loved HMC as well!! Beautiful Island!!

 

LHP Got to chat with Noonan for a minute and he said YES Freddie is out!! Not sure if you got the message I posted on here as you were away on your cruise when we returned!

 

Tina

[Seekup]

Glad to hear good things about the Fantasy. We're going Dec 7. Is there a Supper Club on the Fantasy?

 

Thanks,

Pam