Carnival Fantasy equipped with WaterWorks and Serenity Retreat
Living in the Southeast gives us plenty of options for year round cruise ports. When thinking of a cruise, most think of departure ports in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa, and Port Canaveral in Florida. There are however, several lesser known ports that can be accessed quite easily by car here in the Southeast such as Mobile, Jacksonville, and beginning in May 2010, historic Charleston, South Carolina.
Carnival Cruise Lines announced this week that it will move the Carnival Fantasy from New Orleans, LA and Mobile, AL to year round sailing out of Charleston, SC with five, six, and seven day itineraries to the Bahamas and Eastern Caribbean. Carnival has operated seasonal cruises from Charleston, including departures on the Carnival Triumph in 2009 and two on the Carnival Glory for 2010.
The addition of this year round option on Carnival Fantasy provides another viable choice for families looking for departures closer to home. There are 33 major metropolitan areas - including Atlanta - within 5 1/2 hours and 350 driving miles of Charleston. Destinations from the Port of Charleston on the Carnival Fantasy include Key West, Florida, Nassau, Bahamas, Freeport, Bahamas, Grand Turk, and Half Moon Cay, Bahamas.
Fantasy is the name sake for this 70,000-ton, 2,056-passenger class for Carnival Cruise Lines. The entire fleet has been undergoing an extensive renovation and refurbishment program for its eight Fantasy-class vessels. The renovation for the Carnival Fantasy was completed last fall. The "extreme makeover" includes a new Carnival WaterWorks aqua park with a 300-foot-long corkscrew water slide, dual-lane 82-foot-long racing slides and various water toys. Kids and adults will also enjoy and round miniature golf with a new nine-hole course.
Carnival offers an extensive and well organized program for children in three different age groups – "Camp Carnival" for youngsters, "Circle C" for 12- to 14-year olds, and "Club O2" for older teens.
For adults, Carnival Fantasy now provides peace and solitude with the Serenity Pool, an exclusive adults-only retreat featuring plush chaise lounges and chairs, oversized umbrellas, teak decking and two whirlpools. The "resort-style" main pool has a tropical theme with thatched roofs, faux palm trees, oversize umbrellas, and a tiled "beach" bordering the pool. Carnival Fantasy also offers a variety of staterooms and suites, all of which feature the "Carnival Comfort Bed" sleep system with plush mattresses, luxurious duvets and high quality linens and pillows.
Including Charleston, Carnival Cruise Lines will operate from 20 North American homeports in 2010, with 12 year-round departure points – the most in cruising.
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