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

[Jamman54]

YES!!! you are back!! I feel like my eyes are deceiving me!!:eek::eek: Thank you, thank you, thank you:D:D:D:D

 

I think we found Patti post retirement job..lol.

Hotels, and cruise ships should pay her for the marvelous pictures she takes.

 

Thank you so much for coming along again! Patti does have a good eye. She makes it so easy to weave a story around the pictures she takes.

[Jamman54]

Hello,

I want to thank you & Patti for taking the time to do your reviews. I enjoy them so much and feel like I am sailing along with you all!!! Tell Patti "Congratulations" on her up coming retirement. She will love it!!!! I am also on the 2/26/17 Pride cruise and looking at the 10/7/17 Magic cruise for my yearly Family & Friends cruise. I am excited about meeting you & Patti.

 

Thank you so much for your kind words. Patti reads all the responses, and she is overwhelmed by the amount of good wishes she's received, and the comments about her hair. :)

 

It will be great to finally meet you on the Pride next year, and hopefully, also on the Magic!

 

I am so excited...I am at a lull before and it just cheers me up to the max to go on these cruises with all the sweet posters who do this...you are one of my absolute favorites..thanks..Happy anniversary and I am all sentimental about Fantasy class...so coffee freshened and and hour of fun here I go...God bless you guys and thanks again.

 

My dad's mom taught, mom taught, all three siblings teach and one daughter of one sis is on her second year teaching...smiles....

 

Sarah, it is so great that you are sailing along with us yet again! Thank you so much for the anniversary wishes! :)

[Jamman54]

Looking forward to the rest of your review. I've enjoyed reading about your previous cruises. Your reviews about Grand Turk has me very excited about going there next year!!!!

 

Glad you are along for the ride! Grand Turk is one of our favorite places.

[all_aboard]

Hi Jeff! We were with you on the last Splendor cruise. Good to see you again, and Happy Anniversary!

[marty1950]

Another great review and pictures. Tell Patti congrads on her upcoming retirement. If she is like me, she will be busier after retirement then when she was working. HaHa. Also HAPPY ANNIVERSERY. Gary:cool:

[Jamman54]

Hi Jeff! We were with you on the last Splendor cruise. Good to see you again, and Happy Anniversary!

 

Hey there! Glad you dropped by. Thanks for the anniversary wishes!

 

Another great review and pictures. Tell Patti congrads on her upcoming retirement. If she is like me, she will be busier after retirement then when she was working. HaHa. Also HAPPY ANNIVERSERY. Gary:cool:

 

Thanks so much!! Thanks for coming along for the ride again!

[Jamman54]

Okay, we’re back! Just to let you know that the beginning of this segment is going to be a bit wordy, so if it becomes too much for you, feel free to scroll down to the first picture. I will not be offended. When I make a statement that something was the WORST ever, I feel like I need to back that statement up with an explanation.

 

When I last left you, Patti was going back to the cabin to unpack, and I was going up to the Lido Bar for an hour or so, until it was time for the muster drill. I would then go back to the cabin to meet up with Patti, and wait for the alarm to sound. What happens next was the worst muster drill in my 45 cruise history, over six cruise lines. It really bothered me that this happened because of the make-up of my fellow passengers. Let me try to explain.

 

Sitting at the Lido Bar talking to, and watching other passengers as they come up and order drinks, you can learn a lot about the people you are sailing with. Believe me when I tell you that almost everyone had a blue card, and if not blue, they had a red card. Now having a blue card means you are a first time cruiser on Carnival. It doesn’t mean you have never cruised before, but not on Carnival. A red card means you have cruised at least once on Carnival, but not that many times. I did not see that many gold or platinum cards at all, and I held the only white card on the ship as a diamond. So all in all, it appeared to me that this was a ship with mostly inexperienced Carnival cruisers. This is to be expected during these spring break cruises, as veteran cruisers avoid these like the plague if they can. Also, out of the about 2,600 passengers on board, about 1,000 of them were under the age of eighteen.

 

The announcement in the Fun Times word for word as it was printed said this: IMPORTANT: Today at approximately 3:15pm will be our Mandatory Safety Briefing. When the signal sounds, please go to your assigned muster station as printed on your Sail & Sign Card.

 

Patti and I were sitting in the cabin, waiting for the alarm to sound. At about 3:25 our stateroom steward Raj, knocked on our door, and said that the muster drill had started. Funny, I hadn’t heard the alarm, and it is unmistakable. No problem, we made our way up two flights of stairs to the Promenade Deck, and into the Puttin’ on the Ritz Lounge, which is our Muster Station “E”.

 

When we arrived the lounge was full, and we wound up standing in the back. Had we really not heard the alarm? After standing there for ten minutes, the alarm sounded. What the heck!! Then it dawned on me why the lounge was already full when we got there. All the newbies read in the Fun Times that the muster drill was at 3:15, so they just went there at that time. Good for them, since I believed that the muster drill would be over that much quicker. Boy was I wrong.

 

We stood there for over half an hour, and nothing was heard from the bridge. The natives were getting restless, and the crew members in charge of our muster station kept saying that we will hear something in five minutes, five minutes, five minutes. Some of the people who were standing in the back sat down on the floor, and were admonished by the crew. Finally, Cruise Director Felipe came on and read the first part of the drill, up to the crew members demonstrating how to put on the life jackets. By this time many people were not paying attention.

 

On the Fantasy Class ships, the second part of the muster drill is when you are led up one deck to Deck 10, where you would actually go to board your assigned lifeboats. I have to say that the crew members did a very good job in controlling the passengers during the exodus from the lounge to upstairs, but once up there chaos ensued.

 

The crew was not doing a very good job in getting people to line up properly so the drill could continue. People were sitting down on the deck, at the tables, leaning over the railing. You could tell that many of the passengers were done. We stood up there for another fifteen minutes or so without hearing another announcement. Meanwhile, the ship had begun to sail.

 

Then the crew members said that the drill was over. I never heard that announcement! To top it off, they skipped the spiel where they tell you “If this were an actual emergency this is where you will board your lifeboat, women and children first, the lifeboats are commanded by able bodied seaman, unsinkable even when flooded, blah, blah blah”. None of that was said at all. Patti and I just looked at each other and said “pray that nothing happens, because not many people will know what to do!” We really said something else, but the mods wouldn't like it! In summary, that whole mess took over an hour.

 

Patti told me that she wasn’t feeling well, and she was going to go back to the cabin to rest. Actually she wasn’t feeling too great before the muster drill, and that circus just did her in. It would be my job to take pictures of our sail away. I hope I made Patti proud!

 

As I mentioned before, the ship sailed before the muster drill was over. We are now out far enough so that the ship can spin around and head down the St.John's River, then out to sea……

 

 

 

From Deck 11 aft I am looking down on the Serenity area and it’s two hot tubs…..

 

 

 

 

We will be heading out that way, and be going under the Dames Point Bridge…..

 

 

To be continued……

Edited April 8, 2016 by Jamman54

[Jamman54]

All the way aft on Deck 10 are two good vantage points to watch the sail away from…..

 

 

 

Here is a shot of a nearby power plant……

 

 

The Fascination is now almost completely turned around…..

 

 

Here are a couple more views of the Water Works…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

That’s Jacksonville off in the distance…..

 

 

The ship is starting to move forward…..

 

 

We are now sailing past Jaxport……

 

 

That is where we boarded the ship…..

 

 

We are heading towards the Dames Point Bridge…..

 

 

We are leaving Jaxport behind. See you in five days!!

 

 

To be continued…..

[Mutumbojimbo]

Our last muster drill with Carnival was on the Elation, and it seemed pretty disorganized too. I know I've only been on a few cruises, but it seems like the drill is never conducted in quite the same manner. We do seem to have more than our share of fog and customs delaying embarkation, and often the drill has been held later, but sometimes I've had to go to my muster station, sometimes I don't.

 

I usually have my worst interactions with the crew then too, if you show up early and try to talk to your family, you are liable to get hushed. We've been waiting for them to start and been admonished for using our phones. We now wait for the alarm and go at the last minute. I think muster drill is definitely an area where Carnival could improve. All that said, our NCL cruise, where many people had a complimentary beverage package had a pretty bad muster drill too.

[Jamman54]

Here are a few shots as we were approaching the Dames Point Bridge…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[tiff54]

To your defense, I never heard the alarm for the Muster Drill either. We were also Muster station E, and were one of the first ones there as we arrived around 3:30. As we went up to the decks, we didn't even make it to the lifeboats. We were still on the side of the ship by the tables when obviously it was over because everyone started turning around and coming towards us. It was a complete mess.

 

I also agree on the blue cards. The ship was full of them.

[Jamman54]

We are sailing under the Dames Point Bridge…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

We are leaving the Dames Point Bridge behind…..

 

 

I wanted to make my way to the front of the ship to get some pictures of us sailing down the St. John’s River. On the way I saw quite a few people line dancing on the Lido Deck by the Lido Stage…..

 

 

 

 

All the way forward on Deck11, on either side, you can access the stairs that lead you to the viewing area on top of the bridge……

 

 

There’s a great view from up here…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Here’s a view looking aft from the port side bridge wing…..

 

 

You can also reach the front of the ship on Deck 14 by the Sports Park…..

 

 

Here’s a view of the ship’s bell…..

 

 

We are sailing down the St. John’s River towards the Atlantic Ocean…..

 

 

There are some beautiful homes along the shore on the starboard side…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Destinyinspirationdream]

How much clearance does the ship have under the bridge?

[Jamman54]

Looking aft from the starboard side bridge wing…..

 

 

Check out all these lovely homes along the St. John’s River…..

 

 

 

 

 

A few homeowners stepped outside to wave to us as we passed by…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

How much clearance does the ship have under the bridge?

 

Probably a good 15 to 20 feet. It looks a lot closer then it was.

[Jamman54]

Here’s another look at my fellow passengers above the bridge…..

 

 

Here are some more pictures of homes that we could only dream of owning…..

 

 

 

 

Nothing like a little party on your own private dock…..

 

 

Looking over to the port side there are even more gorgeous homes…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

More beautiful homes off the port bow…..

 

 

 

These Verandah balconies are not that private…..

 

 

I have time for a quick beer break at the Port Side Lido Bar…..

 

 

We’re getting closer to the open ocean…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

We are almost out to sea…..

 

 

Here are a few views of the beach as we pass by…..

 

 

 

 

We are approaching the end of the jetty…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

The Pilot Boat comes alongside to pick up the Pilot…..

 

 

This is the very end of the jetty…..

 

 

 

We are now officially out at sea…..

 

 

After we were out at sea I went back to the cabin to check on Patti. She wasn’t up to having dinner, and just wanted to stay in the cabin and get some rest. She was disappointed about not being up to our anniversary dinner.

 

I found our room steward Raj, and explained to him that Patti didn’t want to be disturbed, and that all we needed from him were some more towels and tomorrow’s Fun Times. Raj immediately got those items for me, and told me if we needed anything else to get in touch with him.

 

Not feeling like going to the dining room without Patti, I made my way up to the Coconut Grove for a Lido dinner. I had the meat lasagna, and also some prime rib with a baked potato. It wasn’t bad at all.

 

I made my way down to the Casino Royale, and played blackjack for a few hours, winning $150. But even playing at a $10 table, they only paid 6 to 5 for a blackjack. Man, are they getting greedy!! Later on during the cruise they opened a $15 table, and they paid 3 to 2 for a blackjack. Never did see a $25 table.

 

Afterwards, I caught the 10:45 adult comedy show starring Dan Chopin. He was alright, but I’ve seen better.

 

After the show I went to check on Patti, and she was resting comfortably. I decided to call it a night and get some sleep myself. It was great to be at sea once again!

 

Coming up next: A Happy Easter Day at Sea!!

Edited April 8, 2016 by Jamman54

[cruzin Phillis]

Looking aft from the starboard side bridge wing…..

 

 

Check out all these lovely homes along the St. John’s River…..

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

 

 

What is it with you, sail away,and bridges...:D

I also see you took a pic of my second home...lol ;)

[tlw440]

Looking forward to reading the rest of your review, I enjoyed your review of the Breeze. Happy anniversary to the both of you and congrats to Patti on her upcoming retirement.

[Bringonthesun01]

Thanks for your amazing review of the ship! We are doing the San Juan cruise and have never been on the Fascination, so your review is great!!!