4 Night Fascination, May 6 – 10

[LSEA]

This was a last minute cruise, purchased about a week and a half before the sail date. I traveled with my 11 year old daughter. Her first cruise. Dad and little brother stayed home.

 

We left when DD got home from school on Wednesday and it was an easy drive to Jacksonville, with an overnight in south Georgia.

 

Getting to the port and parking in Jacksonville is a piece of cake. The check in process was painless. The man who checked us in did ask for the notarized letter with permission from the non-traveling parent for the child to leave the US. Glad I had that.

 

In no time at all we were enjoying lunch in the Lido. Had no trouble finding a table, and didn’t for the duration of the cruise.

 

We were in E177, an ocean-view room. It was very comfortable and clean. I typically don’t book a balcony on a short cruise and we were quite satisfied with the window.

 

We were woken around 3:30 am on the last night due to the bomb threat. After getting over the shock of it (my first thought was something bad had happened at home and they were waking me because of that), it turned out to be no big deal. They knocked, looked around, apologized and then left. DD never woke up and I was quickly back to sleep.

 

 

The ship is in very good condition and very clean. Crew was friendly and helpful.

 

MDR service and food were good. Not as good as Holland or Celebrity but even those are not what they used to be. Cruising is a good value and I am satisfied with the product. Carnival is my choice for shorter cruises and on this trip the focus was on my daughter and she enjoyed everything. The only complaint I have about this trip was in both the MDR and Lido I noticed that when they filled my glass from a pitcher they rested the pitcher on the lip of the glass. Doesn’t seem like the best way to limit the spread of germs.

 

Stateroom Steward was great. The room was clean and he was really fast, the room was always done up in no time.

 

Room service was prompt and accurate.

 

Ports were Freeport and Nassau. We didn’t get off the ship in Freeport. Stayed onboard and relaxed. In Nassau we walked to the public beach next to British Colonial Hilton and it was fine. Clean and safe. I wanted to get a day pass at BCH but I wasn’t sure that DD would want to spend much time off the ship (she has a developmental disability) so I thought it would be best to schedule as little as possible. Turns out after about an hour of sun and sand she was ready to head back to the ship so the public beach worked out perfectly for us. DD really enjoyed the waterslides on the ship.

 

We didn’t use the kids club so I can’t comment on that. There did seem to be a fair amount of kids on board and all seemed to be behaving appropriately.

 

Didn’t go to any shows so no feedback on those either.

 

Announcements were minimal.

 

Drinks were available when we wanted them but they weren’t pushy.

 

Debarkation seemed to be a little slow; probably because of the bomb threat but I don’t know that for certain. We were on the road by 11:30 and home by 7:00 pm.

 

All in all it was a fantastic. DD loved it and wants to go again. 4 nights was the perfect length for her, and Jacksonville is super easy so we will probably repeat on the Fascination. I hope Carnival can keep a ship in Jacksonville, things I have read recently indicate that it might not be possible.

[travelntreats]

Nice review short and to the point unlike some members that give every little detail about their family, hotel, driving, flying, taxi rides, etc.... you got right to the review and skipped all that other excessive and questionable needed info !

 

Thanks for sharing and glad everyone had a good time !