Talk to me about the Fascination.....

[hannahsmomtoo]

I've sailed on the Fascination three times, written reviews, three times, reviews on her just happend to run around the same time, must be a group that writes them, sails together?

I love the size of this ship, no offense to humans in gneral, i just dont like crowds. This last trip I made it to the Serenity deck, which i loved because it was quiet. That is my main compalint about cruise ships in general, they crank up the noise level. My friends say it's because I am old, and my ears cant take it, but on our last cruise, my friend's 20 something daughter walked over to the bar tender, and said="do you see those old people sitting there? it's too loud for them, turn it down. oh and by the way, it;s too loud for me too" LOL. I think this comes from our culture, we no longer know how to just chill, so they wont let us. Get to the Serenity deck.

The food is great, the ports are fun, especially HMC, I do miss that they are not going to Key West anymore, but LSC and HMC make up for that big time! Have a great time, and really, search Fasciantion reviews. Oh, if you can book a balcony, that might be the only way you can get the sound of the ocean.

 

 

Thank you.....we DO have a balcony and also a HMC cabana.... We have experienced Large ships and I have a teen who has some anxiety issues in crowds ( it was actually SHE who requested we drop to 5 day cruises instead of 7) .... so I actually think trying out a smaller ship will be beneficial. Thank you for your response !!!

[hannahsmomtoo]

We flew in from RI for our cruise. Sure the flights back were very limited. We actually flew home to CT and then drove to RI from there.

 

 

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I should have prefaced this by saying.. I have Southwest air credit that covers the cross country flights... that expires about 30 days AFTER our scheduled cruise... That also helped our decision... we don't WANT to fly so many hours... but we ARE doing so for free

[Dare2Believe]

Some people will still fly in, but they will be in much smaller percentages than on cruises departing from larger and more established ports of embarkation like Miami where the newest and largest ships sail from on better itineraries, making it worth it to spend the extra money to fly.

 

These older, smaller ships, sailing on short, inexpensive itineraries, and relegated to a smaller port of embarkation like Jacksonville (the cruise terminal is literally a temporary, single story, warehouse style building, catering solely to the Fascination), are designed to attract a "drive to" clientele which, under different circumstances, would've never considered taking a cruise or spent the money to fly.

 

You will see more "locals" that live within driving distance (lots of GA, SC, and FL license plates), many who are first time cruisers and who have nothing to compare the Fascination to (thus the frequent comments here from people stating that it was their 1st cruise and how wonderful it was). Others sail on her frequently and love her because she's so convenient and is the "local girl". Even though our last cruise on her was a bit disappointing, we are still tempted to sail on her again just because of the easy, short drive.

 

For me, flying across the country to sail out of Jacksonville on the Fascination instead of out of a more established port of embarkation with newer, bigger, and better ships, would be the equivalent of flying to Valdosta, Georgia to visit Wild Adventures instead of flying to Orlando to visit Disney World, Universal Studios and Sea World.

 

It's true...our first choice was definitely not to fly to Jacksonville and take the Fascination..I've never been on a smaller, older ship but I'm going in with an open mind!

 

We were originally booked out of Miami on the Victory for the same week in February, but the airfare from NYC was extraordinarily expensive...we were able to fly from JFK - JAX for HALF as much as the flight to Miami would have been..so that is why we ended up going with the Fascination.

 

I can see why many "locals" go on this ship multiple times (due to ease of access)...she has good reviews and has generally inexpensive price points. I'm looking forward to trying her out...

[GTO-Girl]

You guys try and find out which bar Tommy is working and go see him. He is from Indonesia and has been-with carnival since 1985 and is a definite asset to the company!

 

He is a great guy and will definitely keep you entertained!

[Dare2Believe]

You guys try and find out which bar Tommy is working and go see him. He is from Indonesia and has been-with carnival since 1985 and is a definite asset to the company!

 

He is a great guy and will definitely keep you entertained!

 

Thanks for the tip!

[daniella1279]

Thanks for the tip!

 

 

Tommy was AWESOME!!! When we cruises he was at the bar outside of the comedy club.

 

 

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[Georgiagolfer]

Tommy was AWESOME!!! When we cruises he was at the bar outside of the comedy club.

 

 

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On our 5 cruises on Fascination, Tommy has been at the aft bar outside the comedy lounge 4 times, and in the Atrium Bar 1 time. He is quite a character.

[tncap]

I don't understand this? My daughter and I are flying from Arizona to Jacksonville.. People don't do this?:confused:

 

As Tapi put much more eloquently than I - yes, but you will be in the minority. I fly from Nashville but RT to Jacksonville can usually be had for $100-120 on Southwest.

[code_d]

Tommy was AWESOME!!! When we cruises he was at the bar outside of the comedy club.

 

 

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He was there in Aug as well! What a character! I love how he sings to people and makes up names for them.

[jenb42]

Fascination is awesome. U will have a blast

 

 

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[wb3690]

My friend sails on her quite a bit because we live in jacksonville. It's easy. I've never really considered it due to the itinerary. I want to go further south. It's good for the value I think. and remember you are on vacation!

[IPlayWithString]

My husband chose the Fascination for our first ever cruise as a sort of "Let's get our feet wet, see if we actually like cruising" sort of thing. We absolutely loved it..loved the decor, loved the staff, loved every thing. Especially HMC. :D I could have stayed there forever.

[ImmortalxKiss]

Great ship! Always very friendly folks and love HMC!