Cheryl Mauney  

Age: 42
Occupation: Merchandiser
Number of Cruises: First Cruise
Cruise Line: Carnival Cruise Lines
Ship: Fantasy
Sailing Date: April 1st, 2001
Itinerary:  Freeport/Nassau, Bahamas

My husband, 17 year old daughter and I were very excited to be cruising for the first time. We drove down to Cape Canaveral on Saturday from South Carolina and spent the night at the Radisson, very impressive.

Porters: If you don't tip anyone else, be sure to tip these people. Your luggage is at their mercy. Be sure to carry anything breakable, such as binoculars in a carry on. Due to the amount of luggage being taken to the ship, mine were broken.

Embarkation: Because we wanted to board the ship as early as possible, we were the first in line. The desk clerk was very helpful and kind. After completing all necessary paperwork, we were shown to a lobby with comfortable seating to await boarding. After about 30 minutes, a Carnival staff member told everyone in this area to go to a different section to wait(very uncomfortable chairs). The reason for our having to move was that a few of the Fantasy crew members needed to have a "little meeting." So much for our comfort. Boarding went smoothly. Although, we were snapped at quite brusquely when we asked for help in finding our cabin. We encountered this type of rude behavior each time we stopped a crew member for information.

Cabin: Since I had never cruised, I was very surprised when I opened the door. Small doesn't even begin to describe what I saw. But, our cabin attendant was very good. Our luggage arrived in what I considered a reasonable time. Nothing was lost or misplaced. We were especially surprised when we found our first towel animal wearing a pair of my daughter's sunglasses. These were a favorite part of our cruise, along with having our beds turned down every night and receiving a chocolate on our pillows. The bathroom was a decent size considering the size of the cabin. The problem here was water. We hardly had any. We arrived in our room one afternoon after a shore excursion completely covered with sand and sunscreen and couldn't wait to get a shower. Bad idea! No sooner had I lathered my hair with shampoo and was beginning my bath did our water flow completely stop. No drip, no nothing. My husband immediately reported this, and reported this, and reported this. I stood in the shower with shampoo in my hair and soap drying on my body for 25 minutes. No explanation, no apology, no nothing. I was not a very happy cruiser for the remainder of the evening. From then on, I was gun shy when it came time to shower.

Dining: The Windjammer was pretty good, what I expected. We loved the 24 hour pizza. And room service was wonderful. I asked for a pastry and a cup of coffee and received five different kinds of pastries and a pot of steaming coffee in little time at all. Very impressive considering the amount of people I'm sure who were requesting room service. But, the formal dining room was an experience in itself. We had to request soft drinks more than once each meal. We never had refills without asking for them, and even then most of the time we just finished our meal without something to drink. The food was always served in very, very small portions and was not what the brochures had portrayed. We "never" saw the headwaiter until the night before tips were to be handed out. Needless to say, we got horrible service, so the tips we had set aside for the waiters were given to our cabin attendant. He was really the only person on board worthy of tipping.

Entertainment: The shows were beautiful. There just weren't enough of them. If you didn't like to gamble or drink, there wasn't much to do. And teenagers could just forget it. They were just on their own to find age related entertainment.

Ports: Freeport was filthy, and very expensive. People worrying you to death wanting to braid your hair mam. We finally agreed on a price of $60.00 to have my daughters hair completely braided - front to back - top to bottom. The person braided the front and stopped. Another $60.00 for the rest. Now, who in the world would want half of their hair braided. After much arguing and bartering, we finally got her down to $50.00. What a waste of money. Be sure you get negotiated prices in writing with exactly what you're paying for specified.

Nassau: Well, we didn't see much here. We had scheduled a two hour snorkeling tour which would have given us time to sightsee in Nassau. Apparently, the waves didn't cooperate and this tour was cancelled. No hope of getting our money back though - we had to choose another tour. Refunds were not discussed. So we chose the Blue Lagoon tour. Another waste of money. There was nothing to do here but sit in the sun or get drunk. I felt somewhat that Carnival had been a little dishonest with us about the snorkeling tour because we saw people from other cruise lines participating in this tour. The Blue Lagoon was more expensive - could have been a set up. By the time we got back to Nassau, all the shops were closing. We didn't get to take any sightseeing tours. We did hire a taxi over to Paradise Island and toured Atlantis. One word - beautiful. I'm not much for aquariums, but this one was awesome. Don't miss this. Stingrays the size of a dining room table. The landscaping was spectacular. There was an island wedding going on and we watched the procession, feathers, horns, drums and all. This was worth the trip over.

Although, we will never cruise Carnival again, there were some things worth partaking in. The sunsets and sunrises from the deck of the ship left me speechless. The sounds of the waves as the ship sailed were absolutely peaceful. Being on the ocean with nothing else in sight gave you a sense of calmness and serenity. I have never before felt such emotion. We will be cruising aboard Royal Caribbean's Sovereign of the Seas in June, 2002. I don't plan to miss a thing this time. I do not for a minute believe that all cruises are like the first one we encountered. This year we will be celebrating my daughter's high school graduation. Hope to see you there. Cheryl, Scott and Elisabeth.

Ask a Question About Carnival Cruise Lines