jjach
Contributor
We spent a week at FIBR. April 24 to May 1. Our flight on Continental out of Chicago was uneventful. We were met at the airport by a FI rep. Took all of us to the resort with no problems. Check in was a breeze. We stayed in room 121 which is one of the updated rooms. The room was fine except for a leaky shower. The floor got wet every time we showered. The beds were comfortable enough for us. Slept good and never woke up sore. I've been sleeping on a waterbed for 30 years, so it takes awhile for me to get used to a regular bed. The resort itself could use some updating, and minor repairs. But we knew not to expect 5 star. This place was better than we anticipated. All of the bad reviews we read are unfounded. If someone expects a Palace Resort, or Sandals, pay the extra money and go there. Seeing the monkeys, iguanas, peacocks, and those island rat things was good. The monkeys are definitely entertaining.
The food is ok. It is nothing to write home about, but better than college food. I was worried about not getting enough to eat, but there is plenty to eat. One thing, they do have some weird little sausages that they tried to pass off as breakfast sausage. They were edible, but not a breakfast sausage that you expect in the states. Every morning you had pancakes or french toast, omelets , scrambled eggs, sausages, toast, rolls and juices. Beats the oatmeal I eat while at home. Lunch was served outside some days and inside a couple of days because of the heat and humidity. Dinner was usually some type of fish, a pasta dish, a beef, pork or chicken dish. Some of it was prepared right there on the grill. The ice cream is a can't miss. Very good ice cream after lunch and dinner.
The dive shop is a short walk from the main lobby. You are assigned a boat for the week. The same captain and dive master. You also dive with the same group of people for the week. Which can be good or bad depending on the different people you are with. We got lucky and were with a good group. You can do 3 boat dives per day, with the option of a drop off at the St. Albert wreck. You dive the wreck then to Newmans wall then to the gazebo. You make arrangements to have a boat pick you up at the gazebo at a certain time. We waited about 10 minutes for the boat. No big deal. We did 3 different reefs everyday. After each dive you come back to the dock for your SI. There is water and fresh fruit on the boat for after each dive. We were very pleased with our dive master, Miguel. You do have to set up your own gear, no valet service. They will bring the tanks to the boat, but after that it is up to you. All of our dives were between 50 and 60 minutes. The reefs are in good condition, in my opinion better that what we saw in Belize last year.(only my opinion) I did 18 dives for the week and my wife did 16. For us that is good, seeing I only have a total of 65 dives after our week there. Our favorite dive was Mary's place. Beautiful reef with quite a few fish. We didn't see anything unusual, but I was concentrating on trying to find some small stuff. Which I am happy to say I did. I found my first Flamingo Tongue, and several different little shrimps. Since I am a new diver, some of this stuff is still new to me. On a bad note, we saw loin fish on almost every dive. Miguel did kill some., but I think he needs more practice with the spear gun.
We did meet some very good people on this trip. All of our people on the dive boat were great. Different backgrounds, different places we call home but everyone was interesting and enjoyable to dive with.
Janet (If you read this) it was great meeting you and Vic, and Trish and Rich. Maybe we will see you back there next spring.
All in all, Fantasy Island is a wonderful place to go to dive. You just have to understand that it is a 3 star at best. This is not the place to go if you want the best of everything. And for the price we paid, I will not hesitate to go back there.
The food is ok. It is nothing to write home about, but better than college food. I was worried about not getting enough to eat, but there is plenty to eat. One thing, they do have some weird little sausages that they tried to pass off as breakfast sausage. They were edible, but not a breakfast sausage that you expect in the states. Every morning you had pancakes or french toast, omelets , scrambled eggs, sausages, toast, rolls and juices. Beats the oatmeal I eat while at home. Lunch was served outside some days and inside a couple of days because of the heat and humidity. Dinner was usually some type of fish, a pasta dish, a beef, pork or chicken dish. Some of it was prepared right there on the grill. The ice cream is a can't miss. Very good ice cream after lunch and dinner.
The dive shop is a short walk from the main lobby. You are assigned a boat for the week. The same captain and dive master. You also dive with the same group of people for the week. Which can be good or bad depending on the different people you are with. We got lucky and were with a good group. You can do 3 boat dives per day, with the option of a drop off at the St. Albert wreck. You dive the wreck then to Newmans wall then to the gazebo. You make arrangements to have a boat pick you up at the gazebo at a certain time. We waited about 10 minutes for the boat. No big deal. We did 3 different reefs everyday. After each dive you come back to the dock for your SI. There is water and fresh fruit on the boat for after each dive. We were very pleased with our dive master, Miguel. You do have to set up your own gear, no valet service. They will bring the tanks to the boat, but after that it is up to you. All of our dives were between 50 and 60 minutes. The reefs are in good condition, in my opinion better that what we saw in Belize last year.(only my opinion) I did 18 dives for the week and my wife did 16. For us that is good, seeing I only have a total of 65 dives after our week there. Our favorite dive was Mary's place. Beautiful reef with quite a few fish. We didn't see anything unusual, but I was concentrating on trying to find some small stuff. Which I am happy to say I did. I found my first Flamingo Tongue, and several different little shrimps. Since I am a new diver, some of this stuff is still new to me. On a bad note, we saw loin fish on almost every dive. Miguel did kill some., but I think he needs more practice with the spear gun.
We did meet some very good people on this trip. All of our people on the dive boat were great. Different backgrounds, different places we call home but everyone was interesting and enjoyable to dive with.
Janet (If you read this) it was great meeting you and Vic, and Trish and Rich. Maybe we will see you back there next spring.
All in all, Fantasy Island is a wonderful place to go to dive. You just have to understand that it is a 3 star at best. This is not the place to go if you want the best of everything. And for the price we paid, I will not hesitate to go back there.
