Carnival Fascination Review - June 29, 2013 Sailing

[Cruise Envy]

After our dinner, the bar staff came around selling after dinner shots. Tonite was Limoncello, and it produced one of my favorite pictures of the trip. Our group leader bought one (in the souvenier glass), downed it, and then proclaimed "That was NASTY!"

 

 

Here's a better shot of the ceiling lighting elements -

 

For the second night in a row, we were the last of the five tables in our group to finish dinner. Many were headed to game in the library. I joined for a bit (and learned a new game), and then proceeded to the Taj Mahal theater to catch the Divas production. For this show they have a catwalk that comes out the center aisle into the theater. I enjoyed the show very much, and thought the cast was quite talented. Paul, the cruise director, did a bit at the beginning of the show that was cute.

 

I'm not sure if I checked on the gamers again after the show or not, but eventually I ended up back in the cabin to find this little guy.

 

I can't remember if it was last night or this night that my son and I ordered room service. They were pretty accurate in their time estimate when we called, and we enjoyed our late night snack.

 

I had also asked our room steward Wijaya earlier in the day for a bag for the $15 all-you-can-stuff laundry special. When we picked our son up from Boy Scout camp, he had some really smelly clothes. I had budgeted for a bag of laundry to deal with the camp funk odor. I rolled them pretty tightly, and included a few of my husband and my things as well. This was set to give to the staff in the morning.

 

 

A few miscellaneous thoughts that I have failed to share so far.

• When we upgraded from a 4B triple to the 4I, Carnival did advise us that the 3rd bed would be a trundle bed. My son found it very comfortable, but part of his trundle was under the dresser while he slept. I am not sure someone else would find that comfortable. I also would have had alot of issues getting up and down from the trundle since it was so low to the floor. Last, if we had stored it during the day, it would have cut down on suitcase storage under the bed.
  
• We don't mind inside cabins. Thanks to a CC tip, we always turn the tv to the lido channel or bow cam and mute the volume. Voila, instant window!
  
• The safe used a magnetic strip card (that you must provide) for it's key. The one I brought (a used up gift card) stopped working towards the end of the cruise. No big deal, but Carnival, I prefer the ones where you set your combination!
  
• The controls for the shower were a bit weird. It was kind of a handle bar with knobs on each end. The one on the left turned the water on/off; the one on the right controlled the temperature. Very simple once you figured it out, but it took a minute to do that.
  
• My son did register for Circle C the first day, and I have the activity schedule. The ONE activity he wanted to do, they cancelled because a movie they were watching ran late. The other time he went he left soon because he felt ignored. The other two teens in our group enjoyed Circle C, and the two younger kids seemed to enjoy Camp Carnival.
  

Here is a picture I took of my son asleep, to give you an idea of the height and location of the trundle bed.

 

 

Next up, Day 3 @ Half Moon Cay, where our group had rented the Private Oasis!

[Georgiagolfer]

I believe his name was Paul, and he was a Brit. I didn't attend a huge number of ships activities, so I didn't see him often. I thought he was personable and had a good personality. We had a more personal encounter with him on the last day, which I'll detail as I go on.

 

DW and I have had Paul 2 times on Fascination. The thing I like most about him, he is not constantly making announcements over the PA system. Most CD's become obnoxious with their constant announcements, especially since you can't hear half of what they are saying.

 

Good review.

[lisalisa143]

Day 2 - Cruise Elegant Night

 

Our group had made plans to gather for a group picture in the atrium at 5:15 PM. It took a little to get everyone there, but then we climbed the stairs to pose. Jumping ahead a bit, we were pretty frustrated at Carnival over this picture. They printed several copies, but have a policy of not giving a discount of pictures with 8 or more people in them. The pictures were $22 each. Our group leader bought one, and the rest of us declined. They would have sold another 12-15 copies at $10 each. Fail, Carnival!

 

 

 

 

Print the Carnival Cruise Photo Release Form and you can reprint that picture anywhere...search for the form and you will find.

[Cruise Envy]

Print the Carnival Cruise Photo Release Form and you can reprint that picture anywhere...search for the form and you will find.

 

I have the release, but thank you! We would have gladly paid a reasonable price for the reprints, but felt like Carnival was trying to gouge us on this one.

[All4fun&fun4all]

Wonderful picture review! I will be sailing on Fascination in October!

[lisalisa143]

I am enjoying the review. We sail in October as well. I will wait and see as you post pics, but curious to see if you have any pictures of the Water Works. I have a 4 year old DD that enjoys the water so much and looking forward to water time.

[SallyPilot]

Great review so far!

[Cruise Envy]

Wonderful picture review! I will be sailing on Fascination in October!

 

Nancy, I am SO honored. I hung on your reviews while counting down to my first Carnival sailling on the Fantasy -- SQUEE! :p

[deedle7544]

We are cruising with teens Sept. 2- you?

 

 

Follow me on Twitter: @SarahELewis38

 

right behind you on the 7th

[Macklovin38]

right behind you on the 7th

 

Darn!! I was hoping your teens would entertain my teens!!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[TVChick16]

I headed upstairs to the sun deck looking down on the Lido to meet my fellow Cruise Critic folks.

 

Carolyn, it was great to meet you and your son! We had a great time on the cruise and booked our next one while onboard. :p Thanks for posting the pics of our roll call M&G. Obviously from the pic above Jimmy and I were all smiles and excited to be cruising! :D

[Cruise Envy]

I am enjoying the review. We sail in October as well. I will wait and see as you post pics, but curious to see if you have any pictures of the Water Works. I have a 4 year old DD that enjoys the water so much and looking forward to water time.

 

I never made it back to that area in the daylight, but one of my group members took this shot:

 

There was a third slide to the right that my 12 year old didn't find terribly exciting but your four year old might!

 

Working on Day 3... should be up in a bit!

[tm32561]

Curious about your cabana at half moon cay. What number did you choose! Activities if any. Great TR! Thank you for posting it

 

 

3013 Sept Carnival Ecstacy

2011 Dec Carnival Fascination

2010 Sept Carnival Elation

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Cruise Envy]

Day 3 – A day in paradise!

For my family, this was to be the highlight of our trip. We had our first visit to HMC in 2011, where we were lucky enough to snag the Private Oasis with several members of our roll call. When this group formed, we suggested it to our group leader.

While we packed our beach bag, I called Wijaya to let him know I had a bag of laundry to be sent. He asked if he could come get it now. Of course! He was there in literally 30 seconds to pick it up.

After the partially overcast, occasional shower day before, we were hoping for fabulous weather. FTTF would have given us priority tendering, but we also qualified for the first tender by having an excursion booked, so we gathered early in the Taj Mahal lounge to wait for the first tender. You couldn’t tell at all that the kids were excited for the day!

 

I was really amazed at the number of people waiting for that first tender. We also had one party member with mobility issues. The told us to wait to the end and they'd help. Um, no thank you. As it was, due to his speed going down the stairs, by the time we got on the tender we had to stand. Didn't care for that much.

 

Look, more roll call members!

 

 

When we did the Private Oasis in 2011 on the Fantasy, we were escorted to the Oasis, and given a short talk about how the day would go. This time they pointed us in the direction of the Oasis. OK....

 

 

We had 22 people in our Oasis group. We paid $113 each, and then contributed $12 each to the tip. We all made an effort during the day to ask the lifeguard (which changed periodically) if they needed water or a snack. We had wristbands that we bought for our group to distinguish us, and told theh lifeguard if they didn't have one, they didn't belong. They were awesome in chasing off those who came to borrow our equipment.

 

Besides the lifeguard, our favorites were Maria, our hostess

and our bartender We were surprised the frozen mixes weren't at the bar immediately, so we started with rum punch!

[Cruise Envy]

We were blessed with such a pretty day, but it was very windy. A note to those of you who, like me, prefer spray on sunscreen. You might want to apply your sunscreen inside. Part of our goodie bags from our group included a beach ball from one of the game manufacturers.

 

I inflated it for the kids to play with. It only took about 30 seconds from arrival for all 5 kids to disappear into the water. I gave my son the beach ball, and he let go of it for just a sec. Yep... I am sure it was in Puerto Rico by dinner time!

 

Here is the shot someone else took of me while I photographed the beach ball -

 

Here is part of the snack spread that was waiting for us when we arrived.

 

The salsa was really good!

 

 

I also brought my iPod classic, loaded with a 5.5 hr playlist for the docking station. I was a little annoyed later in the day to find the staff playing additional music on the side of the cabana. It made it hard to appreciate either, but by then considerable alcohol was involved, so I said nothing.

[Cruise Envy]

I have to say that Maria spoiled us rotten, constantly offering to refill our drinks, even in the hot tub.

 

 

 

 

I have to tell a little story on one of my tablemates. Your alcohol in the private oasis is unlimited. She and her mom would order two beers each time, and then put one away in their bag. They went back on the ship with seven beers to have for later!

 

Several of the ladies, including me, really enjoyed the floats provided. We made a little flotilla for a while. Since we were several drinks into the day, it popped into our heads to yell for Maria, and ask her to bring four margaritas to us at the stairs. She obliged with a smile.

 

 

We were disappointed that the slide was broken (the bottom support was missing). We even had a little (or not so little) friend swim by to say hello.

 

 

[Cruise Envy]

Here's my favorite "fish" of the day.

 

 

 

Lunch was the same as the rest of the island, except they cooked it for us at the cabana. I had the cheeseburger, my son the fish. Everyone really enjoyed the food. I thought the cous cous was very good.

 

Unfortunately, even a day in paradise must come to an end. In 2011, they excorted us onto a tender. Here, we were on our own. No problem, except my husband who has mobility issues had some difficulty walking in the heat (& distance) was really wilting on me. A crew member saw how hard of a time he was having, and walked us up to the front of the line and onto a tender. God bless him.

 

Once we got back on board, I headed up to the deck forward on top of the bridge (Verandah deck) to take some last shots.

 

 

 

 

We heard on board that many excursions had been cancelled that day to high winds. I am always sad to leave this little slice of paradise.

[deedle7544]

Darn!! I was hoping your teens would entertain my teens!!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

 

Me too! You switch

[Cruise Envy]

Remember my comment about the sunscreen earlier in the day? Yep, several of us got a bit cooked, including me. Thank goodness for aloe!

 

Dinner tonite was tasty, but slow again. I tried the Jerked Pork Loin for the first time; it was YUMMY. The waiters danced tonite to Low Rider.

 

 

 

After dinner, our group adjourned to the library for more games.

 

 

 

A few odds and ends before I end day three.

 

• I budget our on board spending pretty tightly. I made use of the two sign and sail kiosks to check our account regularly. One was located on the Empress deck in the atrium. The other one was near the bakery/coffee bar.
  
• Our laundry was back when we returned from HMC. What I managed to shove into one bag was two bags folded! SCORE!
  
• The movies on the TV during our trip were decent: Oz the Great and Powerful, The Hobbit, The Guilt Trip, and one more I can't remember. I only caught snippets of two.
  

One last picture before we go to sleep

 

Next up: Day 4 in Nassau

[Cruise Envy]

Curious about your cabana at half moon cay. What number did you choose! Activities if any. Great TR! Thank you for posting it

 

We didn't have one of the 15. We had the $1400 Private Oasis that was near the tender area. We spent most of our time swimming in the beautiful waters.

[aggiejade]

Enjoying your review!

 

Did you happen to notice which board games were in the library? I can see some games in a cabinet in one of your pictures.

[gambee]

Loving your review, keep it coming!

[Cruise Envy]

Enjoying your review!

 

Did you happen to notice which board games were in the library? I can see some games in a cabinet in one of your pictures.

 

No, we brought our own. You can go to guest services to get a key to use the gams in the library cabinet. My best guess is we brought at least 6-7 suitcases of games among our group of 30. The folks who put our group together, JustUs Productions, run gaming conventons in the southeast and wanted to try one on a cruise.

[Cruise Envy]

Day 4 - Nassau!

 

We had planned a lazy day in Nassau. Some of our group went to Sandals for the day, some went walking, others took a stand up paddleboarding/snorkeling excursion.

 

We started our day agian with breakfast in the MDR. I think we lucked out and got a waiter who didn't speak very good english. My husband asked for pineapple juice with his meal. The waiter came back to confirm if he really wanted his pineapple juice in milk....

 

After breakfast, my son & I headed down to the gangway and out into Nassau. I have no pictures of our excursion as my camera fogged up really badly. We walked through the port building and out to the street, headed in the direction of the straw market. There were lots of people offering services, but I found my polite, firm, "No thank you!" with a smile seemed to keep them at bay. We walked a little ways, and found the souveniers we were seeking. After that, we headed back to the ship. We were in port with the Majesty of the Seas and the Sensation.

 

 

As I returned to our cabin, I saw our steward in the hallway with his life jacket on. I asked him if he was planning on jumping overboard. He laughed, and then removed the "evacuated" tab from our stateroom door so I could get in. It was a really hot and humid day. I heard them announce that folks could remove their life jackets and carry them under their arms due to the heat if needed. After my sunburn at HMC, I was taking no chances today, so I wore a tshirt over my swimsuit when I headed to the pool. The cold water in the practically empty pool felt WONDERFUL. We were entertained by the crew lifeboat drill. They even lowered the lifeboats on one side.

 

Later in the day I learned my second new game of the cruise, Bananagrams. It's very portable and will travel with us going forward.

 

 

It's a scrabble type game with a definite twist.

 

 

We had alot of fun playing on the Lido deck in the shade, even though I failed to win against the word sharks who taught me the game. We even attracted some crew attention as they'd stop and watch us play.

 

My afternoon passed pretty lazily, and then about 4:20 PM I headed up to above the Lido area on the Verandah to watch for runners. Sure enough, lots of people slowly strolling back, even though on board time was 4:30 PM.

 

 

At 4:30ish they blew the ship's horn once, and shortly after there was an announcement for two people to call guest services. I can tell you I was a wee bit disappointed to watch them casually stroll up to the gangplank a few minutes later. Where was the running???

 

 

I think even the Sensation guests were disappointed in the show!

 

[Cruise Envy]

I headed back to the cabin, and was so lazy I took a picture of the bow cam and called it my sailaway picture!

 

 

Our tablemates joined us at dinner with tales of their Nassau adventures. Some had gone knock-off purse shopping, another to Sandals, and some of us just stayed on the ship.

 

Do you think they put enough olives with Katie's Bloody Mary?

 

 

Of course then my son had to show off the cherries on his smoothie.

 

 

The bar staff had definitely figured out we ordered every night, and came by like clockwork.

 

Tonite's showtime was "Hot Hot Hot", and included a conga line around the dining room. My son was one of the participants, and no, the stuff on this tray wasn't glued down!

 

 

 

One of the other tables from our group came over to tease us about being done before we got our entrees. Tonite we actually seemed to have watches at the table, and realized it took an hour and 20 minutes to get our entrees!