Terab85

That's what I thought was illegal because I heard it scratches up the door. Another Cruiser stated she has never seen it hung on the stateroom door, but that's not the problem, the problem is the potential to scratch up the cabins bathroom door.

I actually packed two 8x10 pieces of felt that I got at Walmart for less than a $1 each to put under the hook if they said anything but never used them.

I've never been to HMC and wanted to go this trip, but when you only have a certain time period to cruise, you kind of have to take what's available. It looks So beautiful and relaxing.

 

Thanks for the restaurant info.... :)

No problem! HMC was everything we had hoped it would be (warmer water would have been a plus).

I used a shoe holder on our last cruise in February on the Fascination and had no problems. I had it hanging on the outside of our bathroom door.

TeraB, how was #10? We were thinking about any one numbered #10 or higher.

I did a trip review (still can't figure out how to link on my signature) and there are pictures of #10

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2330597

Page 3

I am trying to remember, I feel like when we booked it is when we said we had 2 people. However, it's the same price for 2 as it is for 4. You only pay extra beyond the 4th person. Even still, if you have more than 4, they probably wouldn't know as you can come and go as you please, but the number reserved is more for the beverages, snorkel gear and towels.

 

If the other couple will not be with you when you select your cabana at the excursion desk, make sure you have their shoe size and soda preference and I would just let the excursions desk know then.

 

Also, we only got 2 tickets for the tender at the time of choosing our cabana because I had reserved just for the 2 of us. If you are unable to add the other couple for some reason, they could simply get on another tender and join you at the cabana anyways. Enjoy!

I can add to this one. We had 5 in our group but didn't tell them about the 5th person. I just got one slip of paper for our group and no one ever checked it or counted how many were in our group. We followed everyone down to the tender and then headed directly to the cabana.

I'm sorry I didn't really go down that way, so I can't weigh in here. Teresa had #10, she might be able to share her thoughts!

We had #10 and could barely hear the music. I had a speaker playing in our cabana but only had it loud enough to hear if you were IN the cabana. If you want to hear the music, I'd probably go for #7 or #8.

Soon after the snacks arrived, we received our snorkel gear, beach towels and a cooler full of sodas and bottled water. When they say they give you 2 bottles of water, know that they are 2 huge bottles of water. We didn't need the extras that we brought!

 

So now, everything was kind of delivered and we were settling in - mostly laying out on the loungers on the porch. We attempted to use the misting fan when it started to warm up, but one of the holes was messed up and shot water straight out at you instead of in a nice mist haha. Thankfully it wasn't really hot and we didn't need it.

 

Someone finally came by to introduce themselves and check on everything - closer to 10 am. While we were fine, I was disappointed in this - kind of.

 

Here's the thing. When you get a cabana - you want to get there as soon as possible, right? But there is a part of me that would rather have had everything set up and a welcome note, and someone checking in with us - upon our arrival. The thing is - for that to have happened would have meant that the crew got to the island sooner, and we got to the island later. When I consider the options - I would rather be enjoying the cabana earlier, than waiting for it to be 'just right'.

I was thinking the exact same thing. Was a little disappointed that our name wasn't written either but like you, I would have rather gotten to the cabana early and just wait for the items to be delivered. Nick mentioned that he wished that we could have left HMC later in the evening so we could have enjoyed it longer. Guess we'll have to plan another cruise with a stop at HMC again.

I enjoyed your review. We're leaving on the Fascination Saturday and I'm sooo bummed we don't get to go to HMC. :( I think we're sticking to the ship in both Nassau and Freemont, because I'm not crazy about neither of those ports.

 

We're also staying at the Springhill Suites Friday night...Do you remember what kind of restaurants are close by?

 

Thanks again!

I wish they would do cruises just to HMC :p

The three places to eat that are within easy walking distance is Longhorn Steakhouse, Ruby Tuesday, and Zaxby's. Down the road, on the east side of I-95, there is a huge variety of places to eat (Five Guys, Red Lobster, Buffalo Wild Wings, etc) Just try Google Maps.

We decided after Margaritaville to head over to Senor Frogs with Terab85 and her family. The water taxi on the way back was just a single layer and they had us packed in like sardines. Poor Terab85 had the guide right by her and he had to yell quite loud to be heard over the sound of the old boat.

 

Here's a snap of the 3 ships in port - boy does our little Fascination look...little!

 

 

Once we get to Senor Frogs, we were able to find a table with a view of the stage and where most of the 'action' happens. (aka...a lot of drunk people dancing).

 

My husband and I each ordered a yard of Kalik - and for the first time ever, the waitress asked if we would rather buy a bucket of beers and the yards separately, as it would be cheaper. I cannot tell you how many of these yards we have bought and taken back to the ship and/or given to the kids to put change in. YES...change. So we went that route, which means we only have 2 very useless yards, and are paying less - win.

 

This sums up the next hour or so - and I hope the gif works for you the same it does for me...I've never posted one here before. At any rate, we were refilling our yards like champs. :p

 

Love this and still laughing at the drunk people in the background:D

I'm booked on Fascination in July when it will be used for the 7 day southern Caribbean out of San Juan. This has been my concern when I found out it is a smaller ship. Hopefully the cocktails will keep my mind off it.

Depends on how you like to spend your time. If you need being entertained, you'll probably do all the shows. We're all about relaxing, reading, drinking, and people watching ;)

Great review Teresa. Glad you enjoyed the smaller ship. Your pics of HMC were great. Water looked much calmer than when we were there last Sept. Looking forward to planning for the Magic in 2017.

Hank

Thanks Hank! Kind of rushed through this review, but I'll be sure to take lots of notes on our next one. Looking forward to traveling with you guys. Can't believe we have to wait so long :(

Great review and it makes us want to board the Fascination now! And thanks to your pictures DW wants to take an itinerary that includes HMC:).

We would do a itinerary with HMC in a second, even if we had to suck it up and go to Nassau again ;)

My overall thoughts about the Fascination. Loved the ship. It was small and easy to get around. Not sure I would want to be on it longer than a 5 day. We didn't do many of the shows except for the comedy shows. We did catch the Divas & Motown briefly and both seemed worth seeing the whole show.

Besides the lack of service at the Shore Excursion desk when we first got on board, service was exceptional. Our room steward Ramil, who I forgot to mention early was wonderful and all our wait staff was friendly and attentive.

We have booked a 8 day out of Port Carnaveral Sept 2017 on the Magic and I can't wait to try a new ship :D

Really enjoying your review. We leave in 21 days for the Fascination. I am so glad you posted the pictures of the cabana's, because I am hoping to get #11, and your pictures really helped out a lot.

If I had to do it again, I would probably go for #12. If you want it really quiet, go down farther to #14 or #15.

Oh that's great! Since laying on a lounge chair in the sun watching the ocean go by is one of my favourite things to do, I was starting to re-think going on that ship! Glad to hear there are lots of spots :)

You can see from this view, there are lounge chairs on both the right and left side, some facing ocean and others facing poolside. I don't think you will have a problem finding one.

View of the parking lot. Looks pretty full.

 

We decided to do self disembarkation, and since we were FTTF, we had to meet in the Sensation dining room by 7:45. Once the platinum passengers were escorted off, it was our turn. They took us down the elevator and into the terminal where we had to go through customs. For the most part it was easy, except for when the drug sniffing dog got a whiff of my husband. Apparently someone on deck in the morning was smoking a little contraband and I guess he was in close proximity. After a few minutes, we were let through and out to the car. We were loaded and out of the parking lot by 8:30.

Woke up early to catch the sunrise again.

DH and I went down for breakfast before we had to leave. It was so peaceful.

Our last sea day, I didn't take many pictures. We laid out most of the afternoon, had dinner, and caught the last comedy show. The weather was warm and the day perfect :D

They had a big Dr Seauss celebrating in the lobby.

We absolutely LOVED Half Moon Cay. We arrived in our cabana by 8:30 and didn't get on the tender until 2:15 and it was still not enough time. We spent the day snorkeling (not much to see but still fun) and just hanging out. I was sad when we had to leave.

Can't say what we did the rest of the day besides dinner. I'm sure we all crashed out early.

Our view from the cabana. Was nice to have a place to get out of the sun.

Pirate Ship

If anyone needs a plug, there is one in the cabana.

Our snacks arrived

The beach was beautiful and quiet since there were few people there at this point.

Here you can see how close cabana #10 and #11 are.

This is looking down towards the Pirate Ship Bar.

Cabana #10 - We have arrived!! Of course, we arrived so early, that nothing was delivered yet except for the rafts (5 were provided).

Here is another view of the cabana. The building behind and just to the right is the restroom.