Cruise 2012 Page 1 of 6 Welcome to the Carnival Fantasy! Diane & I decided to hop the Carnival Fantasy out of Charleston again, this time on a different itinerary, and brought along my aunt and cousin for the adventure! Day 0: Travelling My cousin and I ran across this fine fellow at the Moratoc Restaurant (formerly Cobb's) in Williamston, NC. Why, yes. Yes, we are. This awesomeness happened at a random rest stop along I-95. Hey, look! The Hampton Inn in North Charleston. Not to be confused with the OTHER Hampton Inn in North Charleston. And you don't even get a cookie when you check in. Day 1: Charleston, SC. Hotel breakfast buffet, gearing up for the onslaught of food that comes with cruising! Most notable is the veritable crag of overly dry oatmeal in the bowl. Our standard first official cruise shot, Diane and her key card, taken in the "no photography" area of the cruise terminal. The nice security lady quickly came over and halted my photo-taking just after this shot was snuck. We boarded to the news that our cabins were already clean and awaiting our occupancy, so we dropped our bags and snuck a peek at our first daily "Fun Times". The rewards of still having gold status after many people lost theirs in the restructuring of Carnival's loyalty points program... two gold pins and two drink coupons! Diane, after enjoying lunch while sitting on the deck above the crowded Lido deck. Me, Jason, after the same. Perched uncomfortably on the edge of my deck chair. A view of the lobby and bar area, from about two decks above. Masking tape. Sometimes Carnival's classiness overwhelms. Diane's first baguette of the cruise! Always a Kodak moment. Or technically, in our case, an Olympus Stylus moment. Having trouble finding new things to eat on your fifth cruise? Try the tofu steak! (Thanks for the subtle photo-bomb, Preston! And that would be my aunt Jeanne on the left.) Day one brought the first gold ship-on-a-stick trophy of the cruise, as we whooped on "Famous Faces" trivia, scoring 34 out of 35 correct. "Well done!" says social host Kenneth in his oh-so-Scottish way. Trophy. Answer sheet. Golf pencil, still smoking from the sheer genius that it delivered. Another standard shot, the "self portrait whilst sitting in the main show lounge". Yup. It's easy to forget that it's the holiday season while on a cruise where the weather is slated to stay in the mid-80s. Good thing we have this gingerbread town around! Our first towel offering from our room steward, who we had yet to encounter. This would be a demon seal... this is the first room steward we've had to use red for the eyes, rather than the customary blue. Hmmm. * Continue the Cruise Adventure... * Return to the Photos page!