Embarkation:
We were lucky...the upgrade fairy smiled on us before we left Myrtle Beach. We went from the main deck to the verandah deck. Go figure!?! Well, this meant \"Skippers Club\" for us. At the time, I had no idea what it was. It was unbelieveable. We were ushered into an office where we presented all our paper work. Then we were escorted to the entrance to the ship where we had our pictures taken and were on board in a manner of minutes.
We were eating by 11:45 after having made a side trip to our cabin which of course was not ready...didn\' t expect it to be:) But we did drop off our carry on luggage. I must also comment on the personnel at the Fantasy terminal before I forget. It was so unlike my first cruise, which was aboard the Sovereign (RCL). The folks at the luggage drop off were so friendly.
Not only did we get a \"good morning\" but a \"welcome to the Fantasy\". This is not a criticism of the folks at the RCL terminal ...it is just an observation that I made. I was pleasantly surprised :) I am thinking that the RCL terminal was much busier at least from what I can remember. I just want to interject here that I will be making comparisons of the Sovereign and the Fantasy. Both cruise lines have their pluses and minuses. So I hope no one will be offended. It is only human to compare, I guess. And, what I may dislike someone else may actually like and vice versa.
Day 1
- We spent most of it exploring the ship. The Fantasy decor is glitzier than I have seen. The Sovereign was more subdued and elegant. Both decors were fine...just depended on what you like. I must say that the refurb that the Fantasy went through was to the better. This observation is based on what I read on the various boards before going on this trip. I took plenty of pictures of the ship so please check them out if you have time.
I will tell you one thing...the rooms are much bigger on the Fantasy :) I loved it! Also, the TV programming was excellent eventhough we didn\' t watch it all the time. We did get to see the very end of \"Survivor\" :). The dinner the first night was good and adequate. I had grouper for the first time in my life. I must lead a sheltered life LOL. All the desserts were great...I had key lime pie. Our tablemates were very nice people and we enjoyed their company. Our waiter and his assistant needed improvement. In fact, our waiter kept trying to take the plates away before my husband was done eating.
Generally speaking I found most servers rather stand offish and detached. There is one server that I would like to praise...His name is Rhonel from the Philippines and he was our drink server on the Lido deck. We always ordered our drinks from him. He was so good that we decided to give him something extra the day before debarking.
My husband commented that he should be teaching a class for Carnival Cruise Lines on how to interact and treat guests aboard their ships. Our room stewards were also outstanding. Ana and her assistant were wonderful! I loved the towel animals that greeted us upon returning to our room for the evening.
We felt that they too should be given more than what was suggested by the cruise line.
Day 2 -
Our port of call was Freeport. Many people find the port depressing and ugly. I read several reviews so I knew what to expect. We decided to tour Freeport on our own. We took a taxi to the Port Lucaya Market Place($5.00 per passenger) It was a quaint little collection of shops...Of course, the vendors tried to encourage us to purchase something from them, but they were not obnoxious. We had a nice chat with a wood carver in the market place. It was very interesting, and we ended up purchasing a gift for a friend. I have read on some boards that the Bahamians are not a friendly people. I strongly disagree! We then encountered a \"Junkaroo\" person. He wanted to take a picture of my husband and me. Well, my husband hates having his picture taken so I ended up getting my picture taken instead. This person insisted that it was free...but tips were appreciated. So we did tip...as he also spent time with us explaining the \"Junkaroo\" festival that occurs around Christmas time.
We then wandered around the Sheraton/Westin grounds. The beach was beautiful. Here we met a hairbraider. I have short hair so she was not interested in braiding my hair, but again we had a nice chat with her as no customers were approaching. She even knew about Myrtle Beach which surprised me for some reason:) We returned to the ship after our little side trip and again enjoyed what the Fantasy had to offer. This was our formal night. We attended the Captain\'s cocktail party, which was very nice (I missed this on the Sovereign), So it was a treat for me. The captain was very gracious upon meeting and greeting us at the Universe Lounge. After that, all the officers were introduced on stage. I must admit that the captain at this point seemed completely bored...I guess I would too if I had to do this every cruise:)
It was off to dinner after that. I was a little disappointed with the \"lobster tail\". Let me tell you it was not Maine lobster by any means, and I am not an expert on the subject. I will say here that the food on the Sovereign(RCL) was out of this world whereas the food on the Fantasy was adequate. After this we decided that we would be eating at the Windows of the Sea(alternative dining) Here I found the food adequate again. but not of the same quality as I experienced before. Don\' t get me wrong, we did not starve. We both liked the idea of the 24 hour pizza, 24 hour ice cream (my husband loves this stuff), coffee which was available at all times (I loved their coffee), and the grill on the Lido deck(burgers, franks, fries, etc) were quite good. Those things were missing on the Sovereign(at least 24-hour pizza and the burgers, etc.)
Only way to get burgers on the Sovereign was to go to Johnny Rockets(extra charge).
Day 3 -
Nassau We docked in Nassau around 7:00am and remained in port until 7:00 am the following day. Again, we opted to see Nassau on our own. We were not disappointed. We decided to take the #10 jitney bus to Ardastra gardens. Fare was $1.00 per person and you pay when you get off. Just tell the driver where you want to go and voila. Once one is let off the jitney there is a very short walk to the gardens. We enjoyed the walk because we felt that we needed the exercise :)
The gardens/zoo is on the small size, but enjoyable. Entrance fee is $12.00per person. The flamingo show was wonderful and very interesting. We did not go to the parrot feeding, as we wanted to go to Cable Beach. But on the way out we had our pictures taken for a small donation to the upkeep of the zoo. My husband was holding and petting a Macaw and I had a hat with a Macaw on my head. It is one of my favorite pictures! Our next stop was the Wyndham hotel on Cable beach. We entered through the casino and looked around before going out on the grounds.
I don\' t know what their rooms are like, but the pool area and the beach were beautiful. Since it was December, we had no desire to take a plunge. I could just picture enjoying this in May- October if I were there. We hopped on the #10 jitney bus again and headed towards town. Here I met a very nice young man who was born in Nassau, but had family in Florida. I guess he alternates between Nassau and Florida. We had a little chat about the aquarium in Nassau, which was destroyed by hurricane Michelle a few years back. He was explaining to me that most Bahamians could not afford the aquarium on Paradise Island. I can see why. So now they have nothing unless they want to spend $$$ on the taxi fares and entrance fee. Here again I encountered the friendliness of the Bahamian people.
After departing the jitney we wandered about town just taking in some sites before returning to the ship. Later in the afternoon we decided to go over to Atlantis. I had seen this on my last trip. This was the first cruise for my husband so I had to take him over there. We boarded a taxi. Fare was $4.00 per person one way. Atlantis really got his attention LOL. I did get to take more pictures here too. I really missed alot of it when I was on the Sovereign as I went on the ship\'s tour-we only spent 10 minutes there on the ship\'s tour! This time I could see the casino, the shops, and looked out on their grounds. We did not venture out as this is for their guests which I understand completely. We returned to the ship to get ready for dinner and a show...the not so new newly wed game. It was a scream! Paul Santley was MC and our cruise director. He was very enjoyable throughout the entire cruise.
I really can\'t make any comparisons here as I never had the opportunity to see any of the shows aboard the Sovereign:( If you do go to any of the shows make sure that you bring a sweater. It gets cold in the Universe Lounge.
Day4 -
Sea Day We didn\' t do too much except wander around the ship again finding places aboard that we still had not seen. We went up to the sun deck where there is another small pool and small jacuzzi(aft), a putt putt golf course (bow), a golf net with a pro willing to give you lessons if you book lessons ahead(aft). I took even more pictures. All my pictures are posted on webshots if you care to see them. Later in the evening we attended a musical show in the Universe Lounge. It was all West Side Story tunes along with dancing. It was very good, but very loud!! Almost got blasted out of our seats and we were on the balcony.
We returned to our room to pack and fill out our Custom\'s form. Turned in early so we could be ready in the morning. We had some rough seas on the way back, but we did not get sick. We just looked like a couple of \"drunks\" walking down the hallway :)
Disembarkation
- We had an early departure so we met in a \"special\" place as our cruise director put it. The other passengers did not have to wait to have their color tags called. I guess Carnival has done away with this. Passengers could try to go early or later. Our cruise director assured everyone that they would all be off the ship by 9:15 at the latest. I don\'t know how this all worked out.
Closing thoughts:
I did enjoy the cruise aboard the Fantasy...it was just different than what I expected which is not a bad thing. I liked the idea of being able to explore Freeport and Nassau on our own. I could have done this on my first cruise, but everyone else in our group did the \"tour\" thing and I didn\' t want to wander on my own.
I am looking forward to cruising again in 2007. Hope to be boarding the Mariner of the Seas next time out on a 7-day cruise!
