Family Flings - vacations that combine cruise in the Bahamas and theme park in Florida

Cruise Travel, June, 2001 by Debbie Meyers

Mega-Liners On Mini-Cruises Offer Great Escapes Year-Round, Combining A Bahamian Getaway With A Central Florida Theme Park Stay

If frolicking a few days in the never-never land of a Florida theme park sounds like your idea of the perfect family getaway, go a step further and let dreams take sail by rounding out your fantasy week with a cruise to paradise. Think of it--in one neat package you can combine escapes to Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando with the beaches of the Bahamas.

Fueling your magic carpet to adventure are family-friendly mega-liners that offer three- and four-day cruises from Port Canaveral, on the east-central coast of Florida, just over an hour's drive from Orlando. Every week of the year, two tourism giants--Carnival and Disney---offer land/sea vacations that have special appeal for first-time cruisers.

Short-duration cruises have always been ideal for those who wanted to test the waters within a modest budget and time frame. In the past, however, most ships making Bahamas hops were small, outdated vessels operated by second-string lines. These days, big ships run by big companies have catapulted Port Canaveral sailings into the big leagues.

Carnival Cruise Lines, the world's largest cruise line, twice a week dispatches its recently refurbished Fantasy from Port Canaveral to the Bahamas. The 2,056-passenger ship entered service in 1990 and is the signature vessel in the line's "Fantasy Class," a group of eight phenomenally successful 70,367-gross-register-ton "SuperLiners."

The Fantasy's focal point is the Grand Spectrum, a seven-deck atrium crowned by an immense skylight. Computer-controlled dimmers constantly--although slowly and almost imperceptibly--change the colors of the lights that reflect off the white and gray decor, creating the dramatic illusion that the atrium itself is changing color. A glamorous double staircase with glass balustrades winds upward through the atrium, wrapping around two glass elevators outlined in red neon. A 20-foot-high kinetic sculpture on Empress Deck mesmerizes guests with brilliant geometric designs rotating on cylinders, creating a wild, flashing effect.

The Via Marina promenade, fresh from a redesign, is inspired by the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, with a faux stone floor, electric "torches," Doric columns, and terra-cotta urns. Located aft of the promenade is the new Formality Shop, where guests can rent tuxedos and purchase flowers, fine chocolates, and other "Fun Ship" mementos.

Kids flock to Children's World, a carefree kingdom with a vast assortment of toys, computers loaded with educational software and games, and an arts & crafts area. A new teen center features Sega Dreamcast video game units, plus foosball and pool tables. Other gathering spots are the three swimming pools, one with a 115-foot-long waterslide.

The Camp Carnival program for various age groups (from 2- to 15-years-old) brims with supervised activities from morning to night. Older kids might take part in a scavenger hunt or ping-pong tournament, while sing-a-longs, puppet shows, face-painting, and cookie-decorating are popular with the younger set.

Entertainment venues range from Cleopatra's, an Egyptian-themed piano bar, to the pulsating Electricity dance club; from the huge Club 21 casino, with scores of slots and dozens of gaming tables, to the multi-deck Universe Lounge with elaborate Las Vegas-style revues. Feline fanciers like the Cats Lounge, inspired by the Broadway musical of the same name; you enter through a giant Pet Milk can turned on its side. Located amidships along the promenade is a new Internet Cafe where guests can check e-mail and stock prices, obtain news updates, surf the web, and even send a video postcard.

In the Fantasy's two main dining rooms, the children's menu (printed on back of a coloring/activity book) lists favorites .like chicken nuggets, hot dogs, and peanut-butter & jelly sandwiches. At the poolside Windows On The Sea, guests can enjoy a buffet breakfast, lunch, and dinner, or a 24-hour pizzeria serving seven kinds of pizza and calzone, along with garlic rolls and caesar salad. Junior sailors find chocolate-chip cookies on their pillows the first and last nights.

Both kids and adults like using the Fountain Fun Card, good for unlimited soft drinks at any bar or restaurant on the ship. On a three-day cruise, children's cards are $9, adults $14.95.

The Fantasy's three- and four-day Bahamas itineraries include a full day and overnight in Nassau, where passengers can prowl the duty-free shops, tempt Lady Luck in the casinos, and take a variety of tours. The most popular excursion goes to Blue Lagoon Island, a Robinson Crusoe-style hideaway with watersports, a restaurant, and a limbo dance performance. Blue Lagoon options include snorkeling in Stingray City marine park and interacting with Atlantic bottlenose dolphins. Also from Nassau, the Fantasy offers snorkeling and scuba tours to Athol Island National Marine Park. Four-day cruises, besides serving Nassau, devote a day to Freeport, where snorkeling and dolphin encounters are also available.