Fascination Review (w/pics...I hope) 4/20/15-4/25/15

Even an experienced cruiser likes to find reviews of older ships and when we booked this quick get-away on the Fascination I looked for cruise reviews and had a tough time finding any newer ones on this old girl, so I thought I'd post a quick one for those that are sailing on her soon.

We booked this cruise under the 50.00 per/person casino promo and couldn't have been happier! Since my DH and I both received the offer, we booked myself and my cousin (also my closest friend) in "my" room and my DH and her DH in "his" room. These were connecting inside cabins and once we were on-board we simply hopped rooms and had our sail and signs adjusted. Easy peasy.

With the offer, we paid a total of 283.00 bucks (that includes port charges and taxes) and couldn't wait to start our trip.

We drove down from SC to Jacksonville and stayed at the Jacksonville Plaza and Suites. I wouldn't say this was a fabulous hotel, but for 51.00 we got a decent bed, a basic continental breakfast and were less than 1/2 mile from tons of restaurants and shopping and less than 15 minutes from the port. We'd stay there again for that price, for sure. It's right off I-95 and Duval.

Here's the group of us just before the Past Guest Party, which is a good thing because free drinks make us much more smiley later in the evening (I have no idea why the date is wrong, but I'm going to guess they're all that way):

We arrived at the port around 10:40am on Monday morning because I'd read that Jacksonville can sometimes turn you away if you get there before 10:30. That didn't happen this morning because there were already a good many cars in the terminal parking area.

I don't have a pic, but if you park here the terminal entrance is very close to the parking area and the cost is $15.00 per day.

A porter walked straight up to us and began to help unload our luggage straight from the car and onto his cart. I've never had that happen before but it was nice! (we've only sailed from Jacksonville two other times, so maybe this is common and we've just missed it?)

He didn't act like he expected a tip, but we handed him one anyway and he was very happy to receive it. He slapped our Priority stickers on our bags and away we went!

Since we're Platinum, we walked straight into the priority boarding section, got our S & S cards and had a seat. We knew there would be a wait because people were still debarking when we were heading into the terminal (this is a thing in Jacksonville because the same thing happened to us), but we'd already decided we were on vacation and nothing was getting us down. The guy in front of us was basically the sourest human ever, but we talked amongst ourselves and ended up having him laughing, too, by the time we boarded.

We left SC with a week of rain and turned up in Jacksonville to more rain, but we grabbed a couple of DOD's and had lunch before settling into the Serenity located on Deck 9 just behind the Puttin' on The Ritz lounge. We found a love seat under the eaves and drank and talked the afternoon away.

Our luggage was to our room by 1:00pm, so we unpacked, grabbed another drink and settled back into the same love seat until muster.

Speaking of muster... We went to the Palace lounge, listened to the spill and then had to line up and all walk outside to the lifeboat area for more drills. I didn't love this part, but it was over in twenty minutes or so and then we headed out to sea.

I love the little details on the Fascination....

The piano tables in the Piano Bar made me smile every single time.

The piano key bar stools:

The cute little caricatures in the Stars Bar outside the Casino were fun to see, too. Each table is unique and different, but here's an idea of what they looked like...

And, of course, Scarlett...

Thanks for sharing, I'll be following along. I've been on her twice and enjoyed both cruises a lot!

Day 2 was a Sea Day and I'd love to say I have tons of pics but I don't. We went to Sea Day Brunch, which is really fabulous and if you haven't been, you should.

We laid in the sun, which was mostly hiding behind gray clouds, and drank. We read books, played a bit in the casino and dressed for dinner.

Later that night, we went to Punchliners and then hung out and visited. That was our entire Sea Day and it was wonderful!!

Our first stop was Nassau. Our traveling buddies had never been here and we'd originally booked the scavenger hunt excursion but because it was still raining that morning we canceled it and decided to just hit the straw market. We actually had fun but came back to the ship just after lunch....And then the sun came out!!! Finally.

We decided to hit the Serenity deck and read because, honestly, I'd missed the sun and just wanted to appreciate that she was still in the sky.

Serenity:

During lunch on the ship, a young man had some pizza but left the crust and his plate when he was finished. This is the aftermath of that rather gigantic mistake:

These pics were taken about 15 minutes before the sun made her re-appearance.

Thanks for sharing, I'll be following along. I've been on her twice and enjoyed both cruises a lot!

Good to see you, Grady. I'm pretty sure I've read many of your reviews and I will not do you justice! :)

We had a wonderful time and I'd sail her again in a heartbeat.

Good to see you, Grady. I'm pretty sure I've read many of your reviews and I will not do you justice! :)

 

We had a wonderful time and I'd sail her again in a heartbeat.

Thank you for the compliment! Like you, I also appreciate the little things. I spent many a (semi sober) night playing air piano at one of those little tables. :D:D

I'll add here that one of the things I love most about the Fantasy class ships are the outdoor eating areas all the way aft on the Lido. They're easily accessed by the Serenity deck, as well. The waterworks is one deck up and the Serenity deck is one deck down and stairs from this location will lead you up to Waterworks or down to Serenity. Lovely area!!

If you walk all the way through the Lido buffet area, to the right and left of the pizza/deli area there are sliding doors that lead outside. There's an open area with outdoor tables that covered overhead. It's almost always nearly empty and every night after 9:00pm we found ourselves here with coffee and the ship's wake to keep us company.

We laughed and talked until we were tired or ready to do something else and were almost never joined by anyone else.

So, if you're heading out on a Fantasy class any time soon, find this area when you want some time to enjoy the ocean and your companions. It's wonderful.

Our second stop, and the reason we choose to book this particular offer, was Little Stirrup Cay, also known as RCCL's Coco Cay.

We've been here many times and, aside from Carnival's Half Moon Cay, it's our favorite place to spend a sunny day by the ocean.

There's plenty to do here if you want to spend some cash, but we decided a free lounger and a few drinks would work for us. If you want to play on the water slides or parasail or ride a jet ski or kayak, all that is available for purchase.

There are also some cabanas to the left of the docking marina, but I must admit I thought they were oddly placed. The beach and ocean are not easily accessed from the cabanas, but if you want privacy there's plenty of that to be had.

Here's a few pics, but I've never seen pictures of the private islands that really do them justice and I promise you my point and shoot certainly won't be those.

After the bird fest on Lido the day before in Nassau, this struck us all as funny...

Me and Syndee in the water. Note how shallow the water is, even that far out. We saw stingrays, small sharks and star fish just walking around in these shallow waters, but snorkeling isn't really premium at LSC.

Let me take a Selfie...after one to many drinks or two...

And a random one of Atlantis from the evening before.

We spent the last Sea Day doing the same things we did the first Sea day: Sunning, reading, gambling and eating. All good things!

We also attended our first Past Guest Party, which was actually pretty awesome. We enjoyed a plethora of free drinks, free appetizers and dancing. We clapped and cheered and were basically just happy to be doing what we were doing. We'll definitely be attending the next one.

Final thoughts and a few random pictures:

We ate dinner four of the five nights in the MDR and thought it was very good to good. Service was great and we weren't charged a corkage fee for opening our wine, which is always nice. :p

We attended the show where the guests are the talent (can't remember the name for the life of me) and one older gentlemen sang to his wife of 52 years and made us all cry. Again, more good things.

The comedians were funny at the Punchliner and the venue is actually large enough to hold most people who want to attend, unlike the Sunshine.

Our steward, Kedek, was beyond awesome. We actually wondered if he had a camera on our room. We'd leave for breakfast, come back to change into swimwear and he'd been in and gone every morning. We'd come back from dinner and our rooms were magically perfect every single night. Ice was plentiful every day and he filled our cooler without complaint. We were happy.

Mostly, I wish I was still on the Fascination and I'm once again convinced that the smaller ships without all the bells and whistles are the way to go if you're just going for a get-away with loved ones.

I admit that we missed the night time movies on Lido, but other than that, I think the smaller ships really help to create an atmosphere to enjoy the company you're with and relax. We'll definitely be back...

Till next time:

Thank's for the great review :)

We are boarding Monday for a B2B & this just make me more excited if that is possible ;)

We are staying at the Quality Inn & meeting some of our roll call at the Millhouse for Happy Hour on Sunday. That is always fun ( getting a early start )

Char

Thanks for the review. We'll be on the Fascination next year after she relocates to San Juan and can't wait (although my countdown clock tells me that I have to).

Thank's for the great review :)

We are boarding Monday for a B2B & this just make me more excited if that is possible ;)

 

We are staying at the Quality Inn & meeting some of our roll call at the Millhouse for Happy Hour on Sunday. That is always fun ( getting a early start )

 

Char

Early starts are always fun!! Have a wonderful trip! We're considering a B2B for next year. Come back and let us know how you liked it, please! :)

Enjoyed your review!! We love the Fascination, sailed on her twice so far!!

Want to try one of the smaller ships. This one looks decent.

Want to try one of the smaller ships. This one looks decent.

They are really wonderful for quick get-aways. I think their size really helps you to focus on the people you're with and relax more. Hope you get a chance to spend some time on the smaller ships, too. We loved Fascination and we enjoy the Fantasy, as well. Thinking about the Elation next year. :)

Nice pictures and review, really want to experience one of these smaller ships just once. :)

Thank you for the review! We are going the week before Christmas, so excited! Your review got me even more excited to go!!

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I love the Fascination. Been on her 3 times now (JAX is a cheap flight from BHM what can I say) I wish these Fantasy class ships still got more play on 7 day routes. I would take them more. I know I'm in the minority and it will never happen but a guy can wish right? There's just more a feel of being on the ocean to me, and as the OP said there are plenty of outdoor spaces. Looking forward to taking one of the longer cruises on here out of San Juan.

DW and I are on this ship October 19th, for our first ever cruise so it was nice to see this review. We were worried that we were missing out by not being on one of the newer ships. After reading your review I am certain we will have a great time. It would be nice to have Guys burgers and the Dive in Movies, but won't miss the crowds of the bigger ships that everyone always speaks of. Thanks for the insight.

Love your review! I have sailed on the Fascination a few times and always had a blast!

Even an experienced cruiser likes to find reviews of older ships and when we booked this quick get-away on the Fascination I looked for cruise reviews and had a tough time finding any newer ones on this old girl, so I thought I'd post a quick one for those that are sailing on her soon.

Awesome. I'm following. I have 9 days to go!!!

Albania

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