Conference abbott::cruise_travel

219.0. "Trip Report - FANTASY" by SALEM::SULLIVAN_D () Tue Jul 24 1990 08:25

        This cruise was FANTASTIC!!!!  My wife and I were in total awe
        of the FANTASY.  At just over 70,000 tons, it is the second
        largest super-liner.  What a ship!  3 days was just not enough
        time.  Here's my trip report... (It's a little long, I could
        go on and on about this trip...) 

    DAY 1: (Friday, July 13)  

        Woke up at 4:30am for a 6:30am flight.  We flew out of
        Manchester, NH airport via USAIR.  We arrived at the airport
        at 6:00am and were on the plane 10 minutes later.  I'll take
        this hassle-free airport over LOGAN any day.  No lines, easy,
        cheap parking, (only $2.00/day).  The only drawback is that we
        had to change planes in Philadelphia both going and returning
        from Miami.  Since it was Friday the 13th we were waiting for
        something to happen.  So far everything was going smoothly
        until...this clutzy flight attendant spilled an entire Coke on
        my white pants.  I guess I can't complain because that's the
        worst thing that happened on the trip.  My wife got a big kick
        out of it also, I think she laughed the entire way to Miami. 

        We arrived at the ship around 12:30pm and walked right on
        board without waiting in any lines!  When you board the ship
        you enter into the Grand Spectrum which is unbelievable!
        It's 7 stories high with a huge glass dome above.  There are 2
        glass elevators and neon lights everywhere.  The neon lights
        change colors which really adds to the atmosphere.  I read in
        one of the magazines in the room that there are over 15 miles
        of neon lights throughout the ship! 
	
        The first surprise came to us when we got our cabin
        assignment.  When we booked the cruise, we paid the lowest
        rate, (category 1), and were told we had a guaranteed
        category 4 or better, (there are 12 categories).   We got
        upgraded 3 more categories and ended up with a GREAT cabin on
        the Verandah deck!  It is the highest deck that has cabins on
        it, most of which are suites.  It was an inside, category 7,
        cabin with an ideal location.  It was about 10 steps from the
        balcony overlooking the Grand Spectrum, one floor up from the
        Lido deck with the pool, and 2 decks directly above the
        Universe Lounge, (which is where all the shows and events
        were). 
	
        After we got settled on board and had a couple of SUPERLINERS,
        (a great drink!), we started to explore the ship.  We got the
        late sitting for dinner which was at 8:00pm.  (I Definitely
        recommend the late seating for dinner.)  After dinner, we went
        to a fantastic show in the Universe Lounge and then hit the
        casino. 
		
    DAY 2: (Saturday, July 14)
        
        We arrived in Nassau around 7:00am and spent the morning
        shopping in all the stores on Bay street, which is easy
        walking distance from the ship.  We also went to the straw
        market, which I wasn't too crazy about.  The locals really
        hound you to buy stuff, (which is mostly junk).  We then came
        back to the FANTASY for lunch and then headed over to Cable
        Beach in the afternoon.  Cable Beach is really nice and the
        water was GREAT!  The only negative thing is that there were
        locals everywhere trying to either sell you cheap t-shirts or
        wanting to braid your hair.  Because of that, we couldn't
        really relax on the beach.  You could do just about any water
        sport imaginable on the beach. I rented a jet-ski, ($25 for 20
        minutes),  it was expensive but worth every penny, those
        things are a blast.  Crystal Palace, which is owned by
        Carnival, is right on the beach and looks like a really
        nice hotel.
 
        After a quick nap, (a necessity), we went to the Captain's
        cocktail party and then the formal dinner, which was
        fantastic.  It was an Italian theme and all the Waiters danced
        and sang.  I got some great video of it. That night, we stayed
        on board and enjoyed the ship.  We went to the Mexican
        midnight buffet which was outside on the Lido deck, watched
        the LIMBO contest and enjoyed a few drinks under the stars!
        We finally wondered back to our cabin around 3:00am. 
        
    DAY 3: (Sunday, July 15)
        
        This was the "FUN DAY AT SEA."   We started out with some
        trap-shooting.  It was $5.00 for 5 shots.  My wife went
        first... first time she's ever held a gun.  I was taping her
        with the video camera.  She missed the first 4 attempts, and
        then I shut off the camera.  Of course, she hits her 5th and
        last shot.  She almost killed me when I said I turned the
        camera off after her 4th shot.  I was up next and also hit my
        5th shot. 
     
        The rest of the day was spent drinking, eating, drinking and
        lounging around the pool, and drinking....  I also entered the
        beer drinking contest.  I got knocked out in the first round,
        but at least I got a free beer out of the deal! 
        	
        The theme for tonight's dinner was "American."  Again, all the
        waiters and bus-boy's were singing and dancing through the
        aisles.  Both the food and atmosphere were great.  The show
        after dinner was good.  It was a "best of Broadway" show with
        highlights from all the big Broadway hits. 
        
        After the show, we spent the night in the casino and also out
        on deck.  The only time we had to wait in line for anything
        was for the big midnight buffet where we waited about
        40 minutes. It was only worth the wait it you are hungry.  We
        wanted to go just to see it and to take some pictures.  It was
        OK, but from what I understand, it's not as big as the "Gala"
        buffets they have on the longer cruises. 
                                      
    Day 4: (Monday, July 16)

        Getting off the ship was painless.  The only bad part was that
        we had to wait about 1� hours for customs to clear the ship.
        We were off the ship at about 9:30am and headed for the
        airport. 
                                                       
        We would go on this cruise again in a second!  I HIGHLY
        recommend it to anyone.  It was a great way to spend a
        mini-vacation.  The only drawback for me was that it was too
        short.  We are definitely hooked on cruising and our next one
        will be a longer cruise hopefully on the ECSTASY which is due
        to make its maiden voyage in July of 1991. 
        
        The ECSTASY is going to be an exact replica of the FANTASY,
        (all 70,000 tons worth!), except for the decor.  It will be
        going on 7-day cruises with alternating itineraries.  I'm not
        sure of the exact destinations but I think one "run" will go
        to Nassau and Freeport and a couple other stops, and the other
        run will be going to Grand Caymon and Jamaica and I think 2
        other stops.  They will alternate the runs every other week. 

        If anyone has any questions about the FANTASY, just let
        me know.
                                                    -Dave-
        					
    

    Would you mind sharing info on cost for 3 day cruise, with or without
    airfare?  How many days in port on the 3 day cruise?  I take it you
    would recommend it for a first time cruiser? 
    
    Thanks,
    
    Betsy

          I paid the category 1 cabin for a guaranteed category 4 or
        better.  The listed price for a category 1 is $505 and the
        category 4 is listed at $715.  And we ended up with a category
        7 cabin!.   I also got a discount from Crimson Travel of $25
        each.  This brought the price down to $480 per person, or $960
        for both my wife and I.  This price includes air fare. 
    	
          As you can tell from my trip report, I would definately
        recommend this cruise to anyone, especially if it will be your
        first cruise.  The 3 day FANTASY cruise only stops at 1 port,
        which is Nassau.  The ship is magnificant, and 3 days is just
        long enough to get you hooked on cruising. 
        
        						-Dave-
    

    Hi Dave,
    
    		What Crimson Travel did you work with to get a good
    discount like that and an upgrade to boot......mfn

    
    	  It was the Crimson Travel located in the Burlington Mall.  I
    	believe the special they were running was only good if you book
    	a vacation in the month of June.  They gave $25 off each person.
    	Even if you can't get that discount, I would still recommend
    	using them.  I had no problems at all, and they were very 
    	knowlegable.
                                                          -Dave-

    There is a Crimson Travel in an office building right next to
    Horsefeathers in Marlboro. It's not advertised very well as they
    do mostly corporate travel but are just as good doing personal travel.
    They offer pretty good discounts also. It all depends on what time
    of year you sail.
    
    -John-
    

    I've just come back from my first cruise aboard the Fantasy and while
    it was definitely an enjoyable experience, I don't think I'd choose
    this particular cruise line again.
    
    Alot has to do with age and what your idea of fun is, I think.  We met
    many other couples around our age (over 45) who agreed that being on
    a smaller ship the next time around would be their choice.  There were
    2500 people on this cruise.  Certainly the ship is large enough to
    accommodate this many people and the only time it really became an
    issue was when we were debarking which was pretty much of a horror
    show thanks to torrential downpours at the dock.  Obviously this was
    not the fault of the ship, but the process was poor partly because we
    were led to believe that our baggage would be handled differently -
    instead we were trying to deal with heavy luggage, pouring rain and
    trying to decipher which bus went to which terminal.
    
    A well traveled elderly couple who were our dinner companions highly
    recommended Holland American lines.  Once again, I think age has alot
    to do with what you're looking for on a cruise.
    
    Nancy

    When we traveled aboard Carnival last year (on the Holiday), the
    departure was a disaster.  We wrote and complained... they sent us 10%
    off our next cruise.
    
    I love traveling with Carnival but I do agree it has a lot to do with
    what you think is fun but not necessarily with age.  The last group we
    traveled with 1/2 of them were over 45 and they did more partying than
    we did!
    
    Suzanne