Being that this was our first time in Charleston, I had no expectations for embarking from the Port of Charleston. I had heard that it was a little different than larger ports and expected some delays because of this.
Embarkation on the Carnival Fantasy goes something like this- assuming you are parking your car at the port.
1. Pay for port parking ($15 per day)-drive to tents
2. Drop off checked luggage–drive to parking warehouse
3. Park car
4. Take shuttle to cruise terminal
5. wait in line 🙂
6. Check in-have passports and/or birth certificates/IDs ready!
7. Walk up 1 flight of stairs to take picture for Sign & Sail
8. Take gangway to boat
9. Get in elevator to whichever floor you choose- in our case, we went to the room
10. Sail away!
I would say the whole process took about an hour- not bad!
The Port of Charleston is set to have a brand new cruise terminal in the next 2 years.
Of course, the first thing we do when we get on the ship is check out our room. We stayed in an ocean-view cabin on the Main deck. I found it to be very clean and even given the small space, we all fit comfortably.
This room could occupy 4 people. We had 1 queen bed and an upper and lower bunk. My daughter made herself right at home 😉
Standard bathroom with stand up shower-
From here, I knew there was 2 things I had to do once on-board.
1. Sign my daughter up for Camp Carnival.
2. Order my daughter’s birthday cake- She celebrated her 6th birthday the first night of the cruise.
We headed over to Camp Carnival right away to avoid the lines. Sign-up was very easy. My husband and I showed our Sign & Sail cards and signed some paperwork. We were given the Camp Carnival activity schedule and a little tour of the facility-which was very nice.
Camp Carnival ages 2-5
Camp Carnival ages 6-8
My family went to get a bite to eat while I headed over to Formalities and ordered my daughter’s birthday cake.
For only $10, I ordered her a vanilla and strawberry heart shaped cake to be delivered that night after dinner. Formalities has lots of gifts and other goodies that can be delivered to your dining room or cabin.
I decided it was time to check out the rest if the ship, including the pool area.
Water Works Aqua Park
9-hole mini golf course on Sports Deck
Our family had an early dinner seating at 6:00pm. This is the time that most families dine. There is also a late dinner service at 8:30pm and anytime dining, if you choose not to eat at a set time every night.
I headed back to the room to meet up with the family and change before dinner. Once inside, I found these gifts delivered by Bon Voyage!
I knew this was the start of a great cruise!
Up Next: First night at Sea
Special thanks to Carnival Cruise Lines for hosting my family.
