Fascination review April 26-May1, 2010

[groo]

I'll not hijack my wife's review (Cruisin'Together) and just do my own...

 

 

 

Embarkation : smooth enough. Got to the port at about 11 and checked in by 11:30 or so. Had to wait until after

12 to get the OK to board. Lido deck grill was crowded and had to wait in line for a good while to get burgers, line

for the buffet was shorter, but I really wanted the burger. We were able to get into our room by 1:30. After

 

that we explored the ship for awhile and went up above and forward of the Lido deck for sail away and Pina

 

Coladas. Our room was U132 and was an Oceanview room. It was very nice and clean and we did enjoy having a

 

window at times. The window was on the east side the first morning and the light was overwhelming with the

 

curtain open, but it has really nice thick curtains that block a lot of the light when you need it blocked.

 

 

 

 

First night : We had the late seating for supper. This was our first time sharing a table with strangers, but we

 

didn't remain strangers for long. We met three great couples and enjoyed our shared meals each night of the

 

cruise. The food was always good and plentiful. Service was timed well so each coure quickly followed the last.

 

We sat down at 8:15 and finished each night by about 9:45 - 10:00. The late show was scheduled for 10:30 each

 

night so we had time to finish and still get to the show. We spent plenty of time talking each night at dinner and

 

sometimes could have left earlier.

 

 

The first nights show was a little weak for me. The music was good but not enthusiastic and the

 

comedian seemed to be a little lost in the PG rated show. He was much more at ease and flowed better in the R

 

rated show the following night. His name is Roman.

 

For those interested, the movies playing this week included "The Time Travelers Wife", "Old Dogs",

 

"X-Men: Wolverine", "Space Chimps", "The Informant" and a couple of others I can't think of right now.

 

 

 

 

 

Second Day : We slept late as a change of pace from home, watched a movie and almost missed breakfast. After

 

the late breakfast we went out to the Serenity deck and got a couple of chairs in the shade. There were still a

 

few lounges left in the sun so this deck seemed to be somewhat of a secret still. We never found decent seats

 

there again. After enjoying a DOTD (Yellow Bird) and reading for a while we explored the decks some more. I

 

can't remember each detail ( I didn't make notes like my wife so see her review as well ) but it was a relaxing day

 

at sea. Roman the comedian had an early show that was again disjointed and unflowing probably due to the PG

 

limitations of an early show. His late show that evening was much better.

 

 

 

More to come.....

[groo]

Third Day : Key West 7am - 3pm : We got off the boat around 8:30 and started walking aimlessly. We have

 

never been to Key West before and did not have a map. After roaming around for a while we found our way to

 

the southernmost point and took a few pictures and read the historical plaques. We followed Whitehead street

 

back into town and stopped at the Hemingway House along the way. I enjoyed this stop the most. It was $12 for

 

adults and we had pretty much free reign to walk around. There was a tour guide but we opted to go it on our own.

 

It was a very interesting ramble through the house and grounds and made me want to read some of his books.

 

While I do a good bit of reading, Hemingway somehow never found his way onto my list.

 

 

 

After walking back to mid-town we walked over to Duval street and went from one end to the other

 

and stopped in a few shops along the way. My wife got a Key Lime Pie on-a-stick and covered in chocolate. I opted

 

out. Not everything is better covered in chocolate. She seemed to enjoy it though. After walking up and down

 

Duval we were hot and tired and hungry. We searched for a good place to sit with a cold drink and good food.

 

Caroline's looked good and shady with an open deck covered by large trees with fans blowing across the tables.

 

We ate rather large and good Shrimp Po Boys and I got my Key Lime pie slice for desert. Time to get back

 

walking.

 

 

 

We went back and finished Whitehead street off in the other direction and ended up at Mallory

 

Square. After walking around the square for a while we made our way back to the ship a little after 2pm. We

 

immediately went back to room for a cool shower and a nap.

 

 

 

After our evening meal (Cruisin'Together will remember the menu ) we went to the late show in the

 

Palace Theater with the singer Tia Thompson who can sing very well and is side splitting funny to boot. She put on

 

a good show and was followed by the next comedian Happy Cole. Happy Cole was very good and followed the

 

10:30 show with an adult show at 12:00.

 

 

 

 

Still more to come ....

[groo]

Fourth Day : Nassau noon - 10:00pm : We got up a little later and had a good breakfast and got ready to head

 

ashore. We book an island tour through Island Marketing. One other couple from the ship was also on this tour

 

and it ended up being just the four of us sharing a nice roomy air-conditioned van. Joe was our tour guide and he

 

met us outside the Port entrance. He gave us a ride through the city and told us the history of the island as he

 

pointed out some of the historical buildings and locations. He took us up to a Fort Fincastle and the Queens Staircase. After

 

a quick walk through the fort we walked down and back up the Queens Staircase. The staircase was carved from

 

solid limestone by slaves over a 16 year period. It is an awesome sight.

 

 

 

 

After the stops in town we went over the bridge to Atlantis and spent a good bit of time walking

 

through the public areas as Joe laked about the resort. He also gave us background about local laws and customs

 

during his tour. Atlantis is beautiful and I wouldn't mind going back for a stay there someday.

 

 

 

 

After the Atlantis tour Joe took us back into town and talked more about the background of Nassau

 

as we drove to the Fish Fry for dinner. The Fish Fry is a group of local restaurants near the beaches. We had a

 

platter of local food brought out as part of the tour. We did have to buy our own drinks. We had fried conch,

 

fish, rice, plantains, mac and cheese and potato salad. Joe then pointed out some of the sight s as we made our

 

way back to the ship.

 

 

 

After Joe dropped us off we went back to the Pirate Museum and walked through. It was

 

$12 per person and was similar to walking through Pirates of the Caribbean at Disney. At least the first part, then

 

it was mostly staged scenes with wall plaques giving information about the pirates. Nice tour and worth the money.

 

 

 

After getting cleaned up back on the ship we went to supper with our new friends. We were still a bit

 

full from the Fish Fry, but we didn't want to miss the time with our dinner mates. After supper we went out on

 

deck for sail away from Nassau.

 

 

They were having a party out on deck so we pulled up a couple of chairs and

 

watched the band Revolver play until midnight or so. Revolver is a classic rock cover band that are very good.

 

They play music from mostly the 70's and 80's and play it very well. Everything from Eagles, Tom Petty, ZZ Top

 

to Prince and the Commodores. If you are going on this cruise and like this knid of music make sure to check them

 

out. They had played one night earlier in the week and and we regret missing them. They also had a Mexican

 

Buffet at 11:15pm on the Lido deck.

 

 

 

 

Next day coming.....

[groo]

Day Five : Sea Day : After sleeping in and a late breakfast, we went out on the deck and found a shady spot to

 

read for a while. The Serenity deck had some single chairs available but were widely spaced and some were wet

 

from folks getting out of the hot tub and sitting in the chairs. But we were able to find some on the top deck

 

where people were getting onto the new waterslides. we spent the rest of the day reading, walking and shopping.

 

We did stop by Gatsby's and get a couple of banana spits ( about $4 each ).

 

 

 

We had our last supper with our new friends and traded contact info in case we wanted to keep in

 

touch or trade pictures and video. We were uneasy about sharing a table with strangers but we had very

 

wonderful tablemates for this cruise and I'm glad I got to meet them.

 

 

After supper we went back to Passage to

 

India and watched Revolver play until after midnight. Then it was off to bed for an early debarkation.

 

 

 

 

 

Debarkation : We opted to walk off wtih our luggage. We left our room at 9:05 and were in our car on 295 by

 

9:25. The debarkation was simple and easy. Just walk off the ship, hand over the Customs declaration and leave

 

the port building. We did see one guy get pulled out for a random search but that was all.

 

 

 

 

Summation: We loved the trip, met wonderful new people and very few unwonderful people, probably gained a

 

few pounds and now need a break to rest up from my vacation. Read my wife's review for more details I didn't

 

include.

 

 

 

Sorry it's so long. Maybe we'll get pictures posted later. let me know what kind of pictures you're interested in and I'll look through the thousand or so we took and see what I can find.

 

 

 

Darry

[groo]

I don't see an edit button by my post so......

 

Change day five.... "We did stop by Gatsby's and get a couple of banana spits"

 

to "We did stop by Bogart's and get a couple of banana splits"

 

 

Thanks to my wife for pointing out my error after spitting coke all over my monitor and laughing at me......Thanks Honey!

 

 

 

I guess the edit button goes away after a while.

[Janespup]

Thanks for the great review. I am thinking of a large family (many young kids 4-9) trip next Spring on the Fascination. Will check out your wife's as I am interested in menus, etc. Did the kids you saw seem to be having a good time?

[groo]

The kids I saw were having a good time. They have the WaterWorks slides but kids have to be at least 42 inches tall to use the slides.

 

 

Then there are the childrens clubs available as well.

[CRUISIN' TOGETHER]

I don't see an edit button by my post so......

 

Change day five.... "We did stop by Gatsby's and get a couple of banana spits"

 

to "We did stop by Bogart's and get a couple of banana splits"

 

 

Thanks to my wife for pointing out my error after spitting coke all over my monitor and laughing at me......Thanks Honey!

 

 

 

I guess the edit button goes away after a while.

 

You know I love you Baby!!!

[greenl78]

Awwww! Anita and Darry, we had a blast with y'all on the excursion. I can't believe we didn't even see you guys again! I saw the same 20 people for some reason every day at every meal, but not you. Weird. And on the subject of the slides...Clint and I were like children yesterday. We were obsessed with the waterslides...they are so much fun!! I'll be posting a review Monday when I get back to work. :( We had a blast!

[CRUISIN' TOGETHER]

We were up on the deck by the water slides (by the funnel) on Friday...I'm surprised we didn't see you!!

 

And I thought that was wild too....we never saw you two on the ship at all.

That was weird!!

 

I really enjoyed meeting both of you and hope to see you again one day on another cruise:D

 

As far as our plans for now...we have booked NCL Sun for December 11-18 out of Port Canaveral and for off in the future, we have booked NCL Dawn for Jan. 15-25, 2012 out of Miami.

 

So...let us know if you do any of these. You'll have to keep us up to date on your future cruising plans....keep each other informed of good deals!!!

 

Looking forward to your review...I'm going to learn how to post pics here now!

[groo]

we enjoyed the tour with you guys too. I'm surprised we didn't see you at the slides on Friday. We didn't use the slides but we were reading on lounge chairs at the top of the slides for a couple hours or so.

 

It's always nice to meet great people on your cruise.....

[CRUISIN' TOGETHER]

we enjoyed the tour with you guys too. I'm surprised we didn't see you at the slides on Friday. We didn't use the slides but we were reading on lounge chairs at the top of the slides for a couple hours or so.

 

It's always nice to meet great people on your cruise.....

 

Yes it is nice...and then you hate to say goodbye to your new friends.

Hopefully, someday we will meet again!!