Random thoughts on various "hot topics"

Fresh off of the Fantasy and still feeling the rock of the ship. Lol. Below are a few thoughts. I did a blog while on board and will be posting that to my personal blog (link in signature) later today or some time tomorrow. For now....here are my thoughts:

Embarkation – The process once in the cruise terminal is very smooth and easy. However, the process to get to the terminal is very confusing. You are dropped with your luggage at what reminds me of a car rental return. After you have turned over your luggage, you are sent to a queue to board a shuttle for a 2 minute ride to the terminal. After all was said and done, we were on the ship enjoying our first dod in about 20 mins after setting foot in the terminal.


Sail Away – We were very disappointed that there was no horn blast as we were pulling away from the pier. According to the debarkation presentation, Risa had noted that when the announcements start for the debarkation process that they would only be made internally due to city noise restrictions. This could also be the reason why there was no horn blast when leaving port.


On-board Entertainment – OMG! Butt cheeks. Beware butt cheek haters. Lol. We had 2 production shows on this cruise. The first one was Nightclub Express and was overall pretty decent. The second show was Ticket to Ride which is a tribute to the Beatles. The last 20 mins or so was about the only part of the show that I enjoyed. Granted if you are a big Beatles fan then you might appreciate the entire show. The musical entertainment (Lido deck, piano bar, atrium, etc) were all excellent. I never found myself needing to leave any of the area’s where there were performers (unlike the performers on the Dream in October). Overall I would give the entertainment an A.

General observations: As a non-smoker, I found there to be way too many public smoking areas. I would have enjoyed the piano bar and Cat’s lounge more if it weren’t for the small space and the amount of smoke in them. There was a strong sewage smell throughout the ship. I may have been more sensitive to it as I do have a sensitive sense of smell, however it was very overpowering near the forward elevators on Empress, Atlantic and Promenade. While the ship has been refurbished, you can still tell that the ship is old. There are a number of areas in which more work could be done (theater, ceilings, various furniture pieces).

Ports of Call: I think Carnival should investigate some new ports of calls for the Bahamas’s cruise. Freeport is a very disappointing port of call and we really do wish that we would have just stayed on the ship. Nassau is one of those ports of calls (in my opinion) where if you have been there once, you are good to go. We spent maybe a couple of hours in port (if that) and even then we just grabbed lunch and some rum cake from Tortoga. All in all, if you are looking for pure relaxation and never getting off the ship, this would be the itinerary for you.

Medical Center: While majority of the cruising population will never have to visit the medical center, I unfortunately did after falling on Lido due to a slippery deck. The staff is very professional and thorough in assessing and treating you. While I never wish anyone to have to visit medical, if you do end up there, you will be in good hands if you do.

Chef's Table - Amazing as always. The Fantasy holds theirs in the library. While the menu is the same fleet wide, there were a couple of dishes that we had not previously had on the Dream. The Chef did say that the menu should be changing within the next 2 - 3 months. One thing we did learn during Chef's Table is that you can special request dishes that may not be served during a 3 - 6 day cruise. As long as the ingredients are on board, the chef will have the dish prepared for you. This made the hubby very happy when he inquired about bitter and blanc.

Overall, the Fantasy is a good ship and itinerary for a first time cruiser who is not sure whether they will like cruising or not. Given the chance I would cruise it again since it is relatively close to home.

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From Carnival Fantasy/Charleston, SC