Our Fascination Anniversary / Spring Break Getaway Cruise (with pics) - 3/26/16

[yukongold]

Enjoyed the pics. Any cruise that starts off at the Cracker Barrel is bound to great!:)

[mawvkysc]

Enjoyed the pics. Any cruise that starts off at the Cracker Barrel is bound to great!:)

 

BTW was that Cracker Barrel in Walterboro SC? Looked like "ours" :)

[cruise_mojo]

we ate at that cracky barrel in feb on our way to a jax cruise on the F

 

and well stay there at the micro on our way to cape c for our fos sailing in a few weeks too!:)

[Jamman54]

Enjoyed the pics. Any cruise that starts off at the Cracker Barrel is bound to great!:)

 

BTW was that Cracker Barrel in Walterboro SC? Looked like "ours" :)

 

Thanks for reading!! We stopped at Cracker Barrel in SC on the way down, and on the way back, but don't remember exactly where, but different locations each time. Don't they all look the same? :D

[Bluemoon319]

Thanks for posting about this review on the Pride site, enjoying it.

 

Just a few notes:

 

Your son reminds me of my brother at that age. I miss him so much so this was a real treat for me right off the bat with your 1st post.

 

Really cute tables in the Club 88

 

Really cute decor in the Coconut Grove area

 

Sorry about your muster drill. BTW, regulations do state that muster drills are allowed to take place after sailing. However, announcements are required.

 

What an amazing memory your MDR server, Laureen, has!

 

(How do you get the vertical pics to show up that way?)

[Jamman54]

Thanks for posting about this review on the Pride site, enjoying it.

 

Just a few notes:

 

Your son reminds me of my brother at that age. I miss him so much so this was a real treat for me right off the bat with your 1st post.

 

Really cute tables in the Club 88

 

Really cute decor in the Coconut Grove area

 

Sorry about your muster drill. BTW, regulations do state that muster drills are allowed to take place after sailing. However, announcements are required.

 

What an amazing memory your MDR server, Laureen, has!

 

(How do you get the vertical pics to show up that way?)

 

Thanks for coming over and reading it!! We love doing these reviews because it's like reliving the whole cruise! Our Pride one next February will be epic for sure!! :D

 

As far as the photos go, I edit and rotate them all before uploading, so you are always seeing the final product.

[Jamman54]

It’s time to tell you about our final sea day of the cruise. The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed……

 

 

Well, not exactly, but the bow camera view on our television told us that we were sailing through a nasty thunderstorm. The ship was rocking some, which I kind of like, especially when going to bed at night.

 

Patti wanted to sleep in a little longer, so I made my way up to the Coconut Grove for a little breakfast…..

 

 

Looking out the window you could see that the seas were a little choppy…..

 

 

Even though Serenity was empty due to the rain, there were still some hearty souls in the hot tubs…..

 

 

 

Same thing for the mid ship Lido Pool…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

I tried getting on the internet, but the service was really spotty, probably because of the storm. I made my way back up to the Lido Pool Bar, and spent the next few hours chatting with my fellow passengers, and having a “few” Coronas.

 

Around 11:30am I made my way back to the cabin to meet up with Patti, and gasp, our debarkation information and customs form were waiting there…..

 

 

My favorite Diamond perk is the event with the Captain that we get every cruise. The amount of Diamond members on board will dictate what the event will be. On my Splendor repo cruise a few years back, there were over 100 Diamond members aboard, so they threw a big party in the aft lounge. On other cruises where there were a dozen or so Diamonds aboard, they had a cocktail party in the Piano Bar. This cruise I was the only Diamond member aboard, so Patti and I were invited to brunch with the Captain, and his senior officers and staff.

 

At noon, we met in the Club 88 Piano Bar, and after introductions we were escorted to our table in the Sensation Dining Room. Captain Longhin brought his wife and two young daughters along as well. They had been sailing with him the last three weeks, and tomorrow when the ship is back in Jacksonville, Captain Longhin will leave the ship for a well deserved vacation.

 

For the next hour or so, we chatted with one another like we were old friends, and of course the brunch was awesome. Naturally, the service we received was top notch. Here is the official picture of our brunch with the Captain, which they gave to us. His wife didn’t want to get in this picture……..

 

 

She’s in our picture though…….

 

 

Here are Patti and I with Captain Gianluca Longhin…..

 

 

It was almost 1:30pm when it was over, another awesome experience!

Patti and I were going to head upstairs to the Casino Royale for the second slot tournament of the cruise, and on the way got a few pictures of the Backstreet Video Arcade…..

 

 

 

To be continued…….

[Jamman54]

Here are a few more pictures of the Backstreet Video Arcade…..

 

 

 

We both entered the 2nd slot tournament of the cruise, but this time my score was nowhere near good enough to qualify. However, Patti had a great score……

 

 

Patti is on top of the leader board. We’ll check back later to see if her score holds up…..

 

 

There were almost two hours before the slot tournament finals would start, so Patti made her way back to the cabin to begin packing.

 

I stayed in the casino and played blackjack until the slot finals were set to begin, and I wound up winning $400. This is beginning to look like a great day!

 

It was time for the slot tournament finals, and Patti’s score held up as the top qualifier. She got to pick her machine first, and went back to machine #2…..

 

 

The slot tournament finals were hotly contested……

 

 

To be continued…….

Edited April 21, 2016 by Jamman54

[Jamman54]

Patti won!!!!!! Way to go Patti!!!!!!

 

 

 

Katerina counts out $500…….

 

 

Patti shows off her winnings…….

 

 

Patti also won a seat in the Grand Slot Tournament Finals on the Carnival Magic May 7th. However neither one of us would be able to make that trip. This was the last week of qualifying for that cruise. If she would have won a week later, the next Grand Final is in November, and that may have been doable. Oh well.

 

It’s my turn to go pack, and Patti is heading to bingo and the final coverall jackpot. She would meet me at the VIFP party at 5:15pm.

 

It was time for the VIFP party, and this was the welcome sign by the front door of the Puttin on the Ritz Lounge……

 

 

Patti has her drink…..

 

 

To be continued…….

[Jamman54]

Looking around, the lounge looked fairly empty. It looked like every section had their own personal waiter with snacks and a bar waiter. I don’t believe there were more than 50 or 60 people there.

 

The party ran true to form. They ran a few contests, showed the ships video, then Cruise Director Felipe introduced the Captain and Senior Staff…..

 

 

 

Captain Gianluca Longhin said a few words…..

 

 

I was called up as the only Diamond member on the ship, and given a plaque…..

 

 

 

This is Patti’s photo of the group. The two women on the left were given plaques as the contest winners…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[sjn911]

Ahh it is all so wonderful....thank you!! Bump to page one..

[Bluemoon319]

My favorite Diamond perk is the event with the Captain that we get every cruise. The amount of Diamond members on board will dictate what the event will be. On my Splendor repo cruise a few years back, there were over 100 Diamond members aboard, so they threw a big party in the aft lounge. On other cruises where there were a dozen or so Diamonds aboard, they had a cocktail party in the Piano Bar. This cruise I was the only Diamond member aboard, so Patti and I were invited to brunch with the Captain, and his senior officers and staff.

 

At noon, we met in the Club 88 Piano Bar, and after introductions we were escorted to our table in the Sensation Dining Room. Captain Longhin brought his wife and two young daughters along as well. They had been sailing with him the last three weeks, and tomorrow when the ship is back in Jacksonville, Captain Longhin will leave the ship for a well deserved vacation.

 

For the next hour or so, we chatted with one another like we were old friends, and of course the brunch was awesome. Naturally, the service we received was top notch. Here is the official picture of our brunch with the Captain, which they gave to us. His wife didn’t want to get in this picture……..

 

 

 

 

 

When I first started reading this I though that sounded kind of boring to be the only Diamond guests in attendance, but I think it was done very well. That must have actually turned out to be great!

 

Here are a few more pictures of the Backstreet Video Arcade…..

 

 

 

 

 

Oh my, you sure do take your video gaming seriously! LOL

[Bluemoon319]

Patti won!!!!!! Way to go Patti!!!!!!

 

 

 

Katerina counts out $500…….

 

 

Patti shows off her winnings…….

 

 

 

Congrats to Patti!!! :cool::D

 

(I want to know her secret, LOL)

[reerun25]

Great review as always!! I know this is a bit off topic, but I see you and Patti play the slots a good bit. Not ever having played them, but toying with the idea, I assume there is some skill involved, but are they pretty easy to learn how to play, or get the gist of how to play?

[RiotAct]

Great review as always!! I know this is a bit off topic, but I see you and Patti play the slots a good bit. Not ever having played them, but toying with the idea, I assume there is some skill involved, but are they pretty easy to learn how to play, or get the gist of how to play?

 

Slots aren't a game of skill.

 

The table games (blackjack, poker, etc) are, somewhat.

[Jamman54]

Great review as always!! I know this is a bit off topic, but I see you and Patti play the slots a good bit. Not ever having played them, but toying with the idea, I assume there is some skill involved, but are they pretty easy to learn how to play, or get the gist of how to play?

 

Thanks for reading! The only time I play slots is in the tournaments. My game is Blackjack. There really is no skill involved when it comes to slots. The machines are programed to pay out so much for every dollar played. The trick is to know when to get off the machine when you are winning before you give it all, and more, back. :)

[Jamman54]

When I first started reading this I though that sounded kind of boring to be the only Diamond guests in attendance, but I think it was done very well. That must have actually turned out to be great!

 

Actually, I like it when there are only a few Diamonds on board since I get more face time with the Captain and staff.

[Jamman54]

It’s time to finish our little get away review.

 

Here is the official group photo from the VIFP party that they gave us…..

 

 

Me and my plaque….

 

 

It’s really just a glorified drink coaster. Better than another ship on a stick!! Lol…….

 

 

After the party Patti and I both went to the Casino Royale to play blackjack for an hour or so before dinner. Patti broke even, and I won another $100.

 

Here is tonight’s dinner menu…..

 

 

Tonight we are going to have the Anniversary dinner that we had planned for the first night. We brought our second bottle of wine to dinner with us, and again we were not charged a corkage fee. I started off with the crab cake…..

 

 

While Patti started off with a Caesar salad…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

From the Steakhouse selections we both ordered the Maine Lobsters for a $20 each up charge. They were great! Unfortunately, we were so excited to have them we forgot to take a picture of them. I did get a photo of the empty shells though. Lol…….

 

 

Here is tonight’s Dessert menu……

 

 

The waiters marched in and did the usual last night of the cruise rendition of “Leaving on a Fun Ship”…..

 

 

 

I am sad that this cruise is almost over…..

 

 

For dessert, I had the baked Alaska…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

For dessert, Patti had the fruit plate…..

 

 

Our wait team was excellent the whole cruise. Here I am with Elmer, Larsson, and Minggus………

 

 

After saying our goodbyes, and thanking our maitre’d Dario, we went up to the Casino Royale one final time. Patti went to pick up her seat certificate for the Grand Slot Finals, and I played blackjack for an hour or so, and wound up breaking even.

 

We decided to call it a cruise and head back to the cabin. It’s always a sad sight to see the luggage out in the hallway…..

 

 

Here is our final towel animal of the cruise…..

 

 

We were up at 7am, just as the Fascination was docking back in Jaxport. Here is the debarkation info…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

As Diamond and Platinum, here are our debarkation instructions…..

 

 

We made our way to the Coconut Grove for our last breakfast, then at 8:45am we vacated our cabin and made our way to the Club 88 Piano Bar to wait to be called to debark.

 

At 9:20 am we were led to the elevators, down to Deck 3, and we were off the ship. We grabbed a porter, easily found our luggage, and breezed through customs in no time flat. The porter took our luggage right to the van and loaded it up for us. By 9:45am we were on our way home.

 

This is our last view of the Carnival Fascination from the van…..

 

 

We are exiting Jaxport. I’m sure we will be back here one day…..

 

 

I’m starting the long drive back to New Jersey…..

 

 

15 hours later we were home safe and sound. Another great cruise completed. THE END.

 

Once again we had a fantastic time on the Fascination. She is our favorite Fantasy Class ship. Now that she is leaving Jacksonville for San Juan, I guess somewhere down the line we will have to give the Elation a try.

 

I guess now that Patti is going to be retiring this was the last peak season cruise that we will book. It’s great to have flexibility to book whenever you want.

 

We are excited about the next three cruises that we currently have booked. The next one up for us will be labor day weekend when we board the Carnival Sunshine,(a new ship for us), on a 7 day cruise to New England and Canada. Patti has always wanted to do this one, but these are always in September and October so she never could go at this time because she was teaching. I don’t recall ever seeing a picture review of this itinerary, so we’re excited to do this one.

 

Then next February is a bucket list cruise for us. We’ll be on our favorite ship, the Carnival Pride, as she does a 14 day cruise as she repositions from Tampa back to Baltimore. This cruise includes a partial Panama Canal transit, and two countries, Costa Rica and Bonaire, that we have not visited before. I think our review of this one will be epic!! Can’t wait!!

 

Then in October of 2017, we will travel to Port Canaveral to embark the Carnival Magic, another new ship for us, and we’ll be visiting Amber Cove for the first time. Patti also wants to piggyback this cruise with a stay at Disney, for the first time without kids. Should be a lot of fun.

 

Of course, if the right deal comes around, we are in pretty good shape to take advantage of it, so a few more may get added along the way. Fingers crossed.

 

So there you have it, our little photo review of our Anniversary / Spring Break get away. Glad that we had you with us, and we hope you enjoyed the ride. Until we meet again, may you have clear skies and smooth seas. Happy sails!!!

[mtns2sea]

Thank you for the enjoyable review. I felt like I was there with you. I'll be looking forward to your next one.

[jeepchick444]

thank you for your great reviews,,,my husband loves reading all your reviews and now I am hooked too, we will look forward to your sunshine review as we will be sailing on her for the first time this fall also :)

[almostaswayne]

Nice review! Thank you for sharing!