Fascination Cruise-Review 10/28-11/2

[marshhawk]

We have been back for a week, winding ourselves back up from one of the most relaxing cruises we hav ever taken. Right now, I am going to test the photos, so bear with me while I start review.

Here's the Fascination as we head out of Jacksonville and towards the Dame Pointe Bridge to start one of the best cruise ever.

[marshhawk]

I am fond of large pictures, so if you find them upsetting-sorry in advance.

We left Atlanta on October 27th-me and my wonderful DH Catmando, our newbie friend Sallie and her daughter Frances. The drive took longer than normal, as three of us were smokers, but could not smoke in the car, so we would drive for two hours, stop for a smoke, and load back into the car. Of course one of those stops had to be Cracker Barrel:). I also recommend the very friendly welcome station whenyou first get into Florida. I just love those free samples of grapefruit juice.:)

We got to the Holiday Inn Blount Island around 4, immediately signed up for the shuttle the next day, dragged our luggage up to the rooms and then headed for dinner at the Sandollar restaurant, We had had a cooler than normal week in Atlanta, and the Florida sun felt great.

We had Faster to the Fun on this cruise. DH has been ill this year, and we were not sure how he would feel on cruise day. The hotel let us sign up for the early shuttle because we had FTTF. So at 10:30 on 10/28 we loaded up with another couple who had FTTF and headed over to the ship. From the time we left the hotel to the time we left our luggage in the cabin was about 40 minutes. It was so nice not to have to drag every thing around for a couple hours. It was fantastic to be able to find a table for four and sit down for lunch without being over run by everyone being on at the same time. This was the true reason we chose FTTF but it gets better as the cruise went along.

After we ate lunch we went back to our cabins to unpack. We had a porthole on the Riviera-R4, which was huge! They could have put a couch in there and we still would have had plenty of room.

The front of the ship on the lower levels have very deep window sills for the portholes. I thought I would climb in and demonstrate how deep they were.

 

Edited November 11, 2013 by marshhawk

[marshhawk]

If you dine on the lido for lunch, try the rotisserie. On embarkation day they had rare roast beef, and the best mashed potatoes I have ever had.

Muster was at three thirty-we met first in the theatre, and then we headed up to our "boats". I had read on CC that if you had a bad back (which I do) then get in the back and lean against the ship. I did, Thanks to who ever posted that, I have a pinched nerve in my lower back and I happily leaned against the ship. Luckily they hadn't been painting that day.;)

After muster was sail away, we had become seperated from our friends prior to muster (as they met in a seperate area) . We stayed up by the funnel, and they had a balcony cabin and spent sail away on their balcony. I know they had great views, but being up top gives you views like this-

[meatloafsfan]

Great start to your review and a great view at Sailaway!

[jbhcw]

Great pictures..thanks for doing a review...we got on after you got off! It was a nice cruise...love those Fantasy class ships! Your porthole cabin looks great...how was the ride?

[Georgiagolfer]

Great start, keep it coming. Love reading reviews of Fascination.

[Jamman54]

GREAT start!! We've loved our cruises on the Fascination. And I LOVE the BIG pictures!! :D

[marshhawk]

Thanks for the positive feed back.

Well now back to embarkation day. Since our newbies got seperated from us, we went up to get them when it was dinner time. I had done some research and found out that the ISS (INternational Space Station ) was going to be visible for 6 minutes in Jacksonville on 10/28, so we went up to the Verandah deck and watched it cross the sky. Then we went to the MDR. We had anytime dining which worked very well for us. We arrived at 7 each night-this is the time that the first seating has finished the main course, and the waiters are going into the sing, dance parade, pre dessert event. We didn't miss one song. And we got Frances to dance along with the waiters. (we told her it was mandatory that daughters that cruised with their moms had to dance) LOL!

Catmando never skips the escargot-

I tried the beef brisket-it was yummy-but thanks heavens there was gravy, it was a bit dry-

And for dessert-I had the incredible wonderful chocolate cherry bavarian cream, what ever it's called cake

[JAXCRUISER]

Great review so far! I love the big pictures too! Looking forward to more, thanks.

[ATL2LAS]

I can't wait for the rest of your review. I leave on the Fascination in 10 days:D

[marshhawk]

I'm at work now, and I think these pics might just be bit too big.

Well for those of you who know how good the next two "regular" menu items are- yup, DH had these too.

 

and

 

[marshhawk]

Well, we were fed, it had been a long day, we headed up to the Lido deck for a smoke, and were blasted with loud music.

This, along with too tiny a smoking area on the ships are my only complaints about the cruise. Well any Carnival cruise. It was too loud to talk, the sports channels were on, but you couldnt hear them, you couldn't even hear yourself think. Bless Sallie for having a balcony on her first cruise (of course she is now spoiled), but we grabbed a cup of tea, and headed down to her balcony. Here you can HEAR the ocean. And get that kind of unwind that you pray for all year to have on your cruise. Well you do if you are my age.:o

After tea, a smoke and the sound of the surf, DH and I headed off to bed.

Now remember that huge cabin R4? Well the bed was great, and I was out like a light.

This was our fourth trip to the Bahamas, once on the Sensation, the cruise that got us hooked on this type of vacation, and three times on the Fascination. (this being the third), all of these trips took place in the fall months, October, November and early December, and this was the smoothest sailing, we have ever had. This was the warmest trip down there we have ever had. This was the best time of year to go. Lowest expected rain fall, etc. I mean the best cruise!

[marshhawk]

Ahhh! A fun day at sea.....

Used to be that all the fun day at sea activities were up on the Lido, this cruise they were all at the stars bar on the promenade. Outside the casino. I never knew there were so many Trivia fans. So we were out of the sun, on a beautiful day, and if we wanted to go to the lido, there was that noise again..:mad:

Days at sea are great, time to relax, swim, get in a hot tub, or just wander the ship. Which we did, stopped to play some trivia, wandered, browsed the shops, wandered. Frances wandered into the port shopping lecture, seems she was gone for hours....she had a very long list of all the places to stop in Nassau for free things.;)

Sallie wandered into her cabin to read, and Catmando and I finally wandered to the back of the ship and found the Serenity deck. Two previous cruises on this ship, and we had never gotten here. We found a set of chairs in a shady area, picked up our books, pretended to read, and dozed off. The Serenity Deck is an area where children are not allowed. There is no bar, but a bar waiter comes through every once in a while. There are two hot tubs, which seem to be hotter than those by the pool, and they are not filled with kids. A very enjoyable area, as long as the crowd arrives serene. Sometime during that dozing, about 6 people arrived who were unserene, and as their voices rose, we figured it was time to go get ready for dinner.

[marshhawk]

Formal night, and we have a new waiter, odd since we were seated at the same table.....and our new waiter just couldnt get it together tonight. We were not in a rush, so it didn't really matter, but a couple of the plates were wrong. He made them right, ...but. They brought butter, but we had to ask for bread.....and the staff was tripping over each other. Was it a debbie downer? No, my theory is that you will never starve on a Carnival cruise, and if you aren't full in the MDR, then go up to the lido and snack away. Thing was, and I guess it was the Calorie Gods looking out for me, that the service was so slow, we decided not to ask for seconds- OMG I cant believe I didn't ask for seconds, when I see this picture-

One of my favorite desserts on a Carnival cruise, is the Bitter and Blanc, a white and dark chocolate bread pudding served with a vanilla sauce, and while I love the flavor, sometimes it is too dry, so this evening I decided to step it up a bit. I ordered the cherries jubilee, and scooped the cherries onto the bread pudding. I mean, you cant go wrong with cherries and chocolate?

[Crusin Karen]

Have fond memories of this ship. :) We were docked next to her in GT in May and I remembered what a nice ship it was. Thoroughly enjoying your review. Thank you for sharing your cruise with us. ;)

[mj]

Thanks for the review. Will be on the Fascination in less than a week! Keep it coming.

[marshhawk]

Now here it is after dinner again, and we want that smoke with a cup of coffee, so once gain we brave the noise on the Lido. Now about this time, Frances had had enough. She walked up to the bartender and asked him if he could turn the volume down. She may have said-"see those old folks over there, they cant hear", but they turned the sound down! Leave it to youth to get things done. We could actually hear the TV....not that we wanted to but it was a listening option.:rolleyes:

I wish I could say that I stayed up, went to the shows, played at the casino, danced at the disco- but I cant. I went to bed before 10:30 every night except one. Each night after the noise on the lido, we would head on down to Sallies and enjoy her balcony.:D And then when she started yawning, we could head on down to our place.

Edited November 11, 2013 by marshhawk

[marshhawk]

It's Nassau! We are in port on time, the morning is sunny! And we are smiling! And we are the fifth ship in Nassau:cool:.??? Last in port, and at the far far, far dock. I just want you all to know the set up. If you have been to Nassau, we are so close to Paradise island at this dock, we could watch their TV's. You got the idea.

 

After much thought and research, we decided that the four of us would get on Jitney # 10 and head out to the Sheritan on Cable Beach. Catmando and I had been there two years ago, and loved it, so we thought our very pale freinds would like it too. Lots of shade, three huge pools, two giant hottubs, and the beach, sand the view....I digress. We got off the ship and headed into town.

 

I had not been there since they had reopened the straw market, so since the shops were not lined up and down the street, we went through the main section, weaving out of properties, and sidewalks, and paths along the side of the road. I asked a Bobby (cop) how many blocks to the Jitney 10, and he told me. We crossed the street-and watch where you walk! watch where you walk-all those stores have all those sparkling stones, and brilliant rum bottles, and Catmando wasn't watching where he was walking and fell right into a grated portion of the sidwalk, sprained his ankle, bruised his arm and elbow and cut his hand! OMG!!!! We let him catch his breath, got him up and moved him to a bench, and not one minute later another person fell in the same place.

 

Now what to do? It was a shorter walk to get the bus now, but did the Catman want to go back to the ship? No, he limped on over to the bus, and we waited until the bus filled, and then went on out of town.

 

We were there in 2011, and now the roads were all changed. There were no longer cross streets with lights, but round a bouts. What was happening? Well Cable Beach is disappearing due to a Chinese company that is building this huge apartment and condo complex about one mile east of the Sheritan. The builder paid for half of the street improvements, forcing the Bahamian government to pay for the other half. Actually, while the driver,s we were told, dont like the new road, it moves traffic! No one stops, they just round a bout!

 

When we got to the Sheritan, we explained the dilemna of DH's ankle, and we got a day room for 119.00 for the four of us. Once in the room, Sallie went and got ice for Catman's ankle, Frances got in her suit and asked where the ocean was, and I waited for Sallie and got DH into a lounge chair. We were on the first or ground floor, and to get to the pools, we just walked out the door. To get to the beach, we walked around the pool.

 

I am going to combine some photos from this trip and our last trip. If you are thinking about heading over to the Sheritan, it is a great place. The day pass does not include food, or drink, but who cares when your view is like this-

 

 

This pool is great for kids, as you walk in it gets deeper. It's like beach without the waves.

 

 

The island you see is the new excursion Balmoral. Previously known as Blackbeards Cay.

 

 

 

This is a view from the water.

Edited November 11, 2013 by marshhawk

[marshhawk]

Because Catmando's foot was paining him, we decided to take a cab back to the port, and we had a wonderful cab driver. He explained that he loved the bus, but he had hurt himself, and she not only charged us just 20.00 (for the 4 of us), she literally drove him to the fence for the boarding area.

Sallie and Francis decided they were going to go do that shopping for free stuff, and DH and I waited for a shuttle back to the ship. Yes, there were that many ships in port. We got on the shuttle and most everyone was heading back to the Fascination, except for one couple who were getting back on the NCL ship. They were about to pull up the gang way, and these two were hussling, the officer on board told a man who had a golf cart, they were still missing 4, and he took off to find them. Not 5 minutes later the ship pulled out. I hope they got on board!:D[/size]

 

[Well Sallie and Frances found out that all that free stuff, came with a price, something about a coupon book that they were supposed to have when they went in the shops, but Frances didn't know that and after visiting two stores, with no coupons, they just came back to the ship. I think that there are two things that people get misdirected to when they cruise, one is shopping, and one is the art. If you cant afford the painting, dont go to the auction.SIZE]

 

 

Before we pulled out at 8 p.m. the Norwegian Breakaway was pulling in. That is one BIG ship!. The Fascination was half her length, and about 6 decks shorter. The Breakaway looked like a monster!

I do think that everyone on board the Fascination looked just like- :eek:

Edited November 11, 2013 by marshhawk

[marshhawk]

I am going to stop here for the day- I realized that Catmando had not loaded all my LSC pictures and I want them to put in the review.

I will go over what people have posted and try to get the answers for you.

Just to let you know, so that you will keep these people in your prayers-Saturday night, Catmando's car was stolen, an old jeep, but it was his service vehicle. And our dearest freind Sallie, came by during lunch to tell me she just lost her neice. So while I am writing about all the joy that we had a week ago, sorrows are taking back over. Life is short, make good memories.

[Georgiagolfer]

I am going to stop here for the day- I realized that Catmando had not loaded all my LSC pictures and I want them to put in the review.

I will go over what people have posted and try to get the answers for you.

Just to let you know, so that you will keep these people in your prayers-Saturday night, Catmando's car was stolen, an old jeep, but it was his service vehicle. And our dearest freind Sallie, came by during lunch to tell me she just lost her neice. So while I am writing about all the joy that we had a week ago, sorrows are taking back over. Life is short, make good memories.

 

While truly enjoying your review, so sorry to hear about the vehicle and niece. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

[marshhawk]

[/color]

 

While truly enjoying your review, so sorry to hear about the vehicle and niece. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

 

 

Thanks. It's been a hard year on both Catmando, Sallie and I, and this cruise was so needed. It did what it was supposed to do, get us out of the "us" for a week.

[willow028]

 

Ann - loving your review but so very sorry to hear all you've had happen since you've been home.

 

I don't want to crash your review, but if you'd like, I have a couple of very cute pictures of you, Chuck and of course the Sidster I can include - if you'd rather not have pictures of you on here, of course I understand that too!

 

So very nice meeting you, Chuck & Sally!

 

[jrmende63]

Enjoying your review. We have sailed on the Fascination one time before and we are sailing on her , 9-27-14! We have one of those Port hole cabins too! Love them!

[marshhawk]

 

Ann - loving your review but so very sorry to hear all you've had happen since you've been home.

 

I don't want to crash your review, but if you'd like, I have a couple of very cute pictures of you, Chuck and of course the Sidster I can include - if you'd rather not have pictures of you on here, of course I understand that too!

 

So very nice meeting you, Chuck & Sally!

 

 

Would love it if you do. Hugs to you and Sid!