Fascination 10/4 Sailing

[grandmato4]

Seeing as I typed the wrong date in my title on my first post I'll try again with a correct date for our sailing! :o

 

We returned yesterday from our 5 night Oct 4th sailing on the Fascination out of JAX. I'd have to say that we found a little bit of everything on this cruise. I booked the cruise last Oct as a Christmas present for my DH, DD, and SIL and we did have a good time. Flew into JAX the day before and spent the night at the Hampton Inn and Suites by the airport. Hotel suite accomodations were good and the price was right with the convenience of two restaurants in front of the hotel. Only problem was getting the hotel shuttle to pick us up at the airport, called twice with the hotel staff telling us the first time they would sent the shuttle and called again 30 minutes later to be told they had sent the shuttle but would call again. 20 minutes later when it still had not arrived we grapped a ride with another hotels shuttle offering us a ride to arrive at the Hampton to hear that the driver hadn't arrived to work YET that day. Not a great way to start a vacation but we were in Florida and on vacation so we managed to put it behind us and enjoy our time in Jacksonville. Ate dinner at the Ruby Tuesday's which is in front of the restaurant. The shuttle driver had finally arrived at work so we asked to be taken to the Walmart just down the road to pick up some Champaigne and soda to take on the cruise. When we were done we called for the shuttle to come back and pick us up and he did come very promptly this time. Arriving back at the hotel about 9 pm we decided to go enjoy the pool and hot tub for a few minutes which we had all to ourselves.

 

The next morning I call at 9:30 to Gator City Taxi to ask them to pick us up at 10 to take us to the cruise terminal to hear that they were not allowed to pick up any cruise passengers, unless they were part of a wedding party until 11 am. to which I said fine. At 11:30 when they still had not arrived so we called again to hear that they would be there shortly. At about 11:58 they finally showed up and we were finally on our way to the port. There were many many people at the terminal and the drop off lines were very long with the taxi drop off lane being closed off. Fortunately our taxi driver asked a security person why and told him that was the line the taxi's were always allowed to us and the security person finally allowed our driver to use that lane which made our wait much shorter than it would have been otherwise. The lines of people at the terminal were very long but they did move quickly and we were on board the Fascination shortly after 1 p.m. Up to Lido deck to get something to eat, and of coarse by then with so many people already on board finding a place to sit was a bit of a problem but with a little patience we did find a place for the four of us to sit and enjoyed our first food on board.

 

I had not originally planned to book a cabana at HMC but in talking to everyone the night before we decided that we would attempt to get a cabana if any were still available and if not that would be ok too. Boarding as late as we did I assumed they would be all booked so I had not gone directly the the excursion desk. After getting something to eat and dropping our luggage off in our rooms close to 2 pm we wandered around the ship and between 3 and 3:30 found ourselves near the excursion desk with no one standing in line there so I went over and asked about a cabana to find out that only 4 had been booked up to that point so we were able to book my first choice of #10 green which turned out to be absolutely wonderful.

 

Muster drill was held at about 3:45 and I must say, it was the longest by far drill I've ever had to endure. We've heard others complain about long muster drills on different ships but up until this point all that we've ever done on both Carnival and Princess had been short and sweet and nothing painful in the least. This one felt as if it lasted forever with first meeting in one spot and hearing the instructions and practicing putting on the lifejackets and then everyone having to walk to our lifeboat and standing for what seemed like forever and then finally being told this was the lifeboat we would be on if anything should happen. I must admit that this was the point that the shuttle problem and taxi problem and now a lengthy musterdrill caused me to loudly muttered something about NEVER ever sailing out of Jacksonville again!

 

With lifejackets put away, and a MiamiVice in hand and music playing I must say that sail-a-way was wonderful sailing under the Jacksonville bridge. It is amazing how few feet there is clearence between the ship and the bridge. The weather was beautiful and all was right with the world again!

 

We had 6 pm. dinner in the Imagination dining room sitting at table 265 with a great waiter Teo and his assistant Dwi. Their service was great all four nights that we ate in the dining room. After dinner we wandered the ship some more and attended the Welcome show in the theater which was one of the better welcome shows we'd seen on Carnival. Later we played in the casino for a while and later had a wonderful first nights sleep aboard the Fascination.

 

More to come.....

[samiam0403]

...Later we played in the casino for a while and later had a wonderful first nights sleep aboard the Fascination.

 

More to come.....

 

More, more! Thanks for the review so far - never cruised out of Jacksonville, or on the Fascination, so this is great for me! Good job so far...

[jrmende63]

Grandmato4,

We are booked on the Fascination 4/4/09 ( our 28th wedding anniversary) I chose this cruise because of HMC. It will only be my hubby and I in our party, would it be wasteful to get a cabana on HMC for just us 2? Did you have trouble with others coming into your cabana? I am wondering how you would keep others out if you were out snorkeling or something. Thanks for anyadvice you can give.

Julie

[jrmende63]

also wanted to add the Best Western Airport has nice rooms, free hot breakfast and shuttle to the airport and cruise port. All it cost us was a tip for the shuttle driver. My sister and I stayed at the Best Western before our Celebration cruise out of Jax, I highly recommend it:D

[samiam0403]

Grandmato4,

We are booked on the Fascination 4/4/09 ( our 28th wedding anniversary) I chose this cruise because of HMC. It will only be my hubby and I in our party, would it be wasteful to get a cabana on HMC for just us 2? Did you have trouble with others coming into your cabana? I am wondering how you would keep others out if you were out snorkeling or something. Thanks for anyadvice you can give.

Julie

 

*Ahem* If I may...DH and I have booked cabanas at HMC twice (although not while on the Fascination) and it is NOT wasteful. It is HEAVEN! Yes, it's a little pricey, but we think it's worth it. We've gone snorkling and swimming and wandering and never had anyone come into our cabana. My mom and I had some folks sit on our steps (we though about looking for a broom to shoo them off...:D ) and we had a little boy, probably about 6 years old, run up to us, look at us, then run off. That was it. Once folks realize that they're something you pay for, they seem to respect it. Your biggest problem will be all the people pulling their lounge chairs all around your cabana to catch some shade. We could hardly get out of ours to walk to the restroom last time because there were just so many people around it! Totally worth it though, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

[grandmato4]

Sunday-first sea day-

 

Woke up to a beautiful day and decided to start the day with sitting out on a lounge chair to soak up and enjoy some sun. We decided to first have some breakfast at the buffet and enjoyed eating outside on one of the small aft open deck areas on Lido. Afterwards we hurried up the stairs to aft pamarama deck expecting that as it was now after 9 am we would find many laying out on their deck chairs in this area by the aft pool and hot tubs. It was a major surprise to find that there was only maybe 5 people on the entire deck laying on lounge chairs. Even more surprised to find that there were only a handful more by 10 a.m. It was almost like having the entire area all to ourselves. Another first for us as the entire cruise there were NO chair hogs to be found. Or maybe better stated, for the extreme few that did put towels on any loungers and walk away for a few minutes it in no way at all prevented anyone else from finding empty lounge chairs to use. No matter what time it was on both sea days there were always empty chairs by ALL the pools on Lido and Pamarama. Very strange!:eek:

 

We spent the morning enjoying the sun and going in the pool many times. Around 1 pm we decided to go change out of our swimsuits and go to the dining room for lunch. I'd guess that there were less than 75 passengers that went to the dining room for lunch that day. The food was good and a very relaxing way to spend lunchtime with great service. Afterwards we went back to lido and played cards for a while and then attended the newlywed game in the Palace theater. That's always a fun game to watch. Afterwards we got some ice cream and nacho chips and salsa, played some more card and checked out the shops. Soon it was time to get ready for Formal night. DH and SIL had decided to bring their tux so us girls had brought long gowns. We attended the Captains cocktail party in the Palace Theater and then had some pictures taken and went to the dining room for dinner. We found the lobster and pawns quite good and of coase enjoyed the chocolate melting cake as we did each night. There was a wide variety of dress for formal night from sun dresses to gowns for women and men with tuxes to button shirts without ties but I didn't notice anyone that I would considered inappropriately dressed and all seemed to be comfortable in whatever they decided to wear.

 

The first production show, Hey Mambo with the Carnival dancers and singers was that night in the palace theater. It was a good show. The Palace theater has to be the worst theater for seeing the stage from the upper balcony of any cruise ship I've ever been on. Too many poles everywhere and just not great sightlines to the stage. It is a bit amusing watching everyone change seats numerous times trying to find a better view and finally giving up and often seating where they first started. The late night comedy show this night was Phat Kat who had performed the first night during the Welcome show. We found him to be quite amusing and enjoyed his R-rated show that night. A stop at the casino before bed was again a bit profitable for me although everyone else seemed to easily loose what ever they put into the slot machines.

 

More to come......

[grandmato4]

Grandmato4,

We are booked on the Fascination 4/4/09 ( our 28th wedding anniversary) I chose this cruise because of HMC. It will only be my hubby and I in our party, would it be wasteful to get a cabana on HMC for just us 2? Did you have trouble with others coming into your cabana? I am wondering how you would keep others out if you were out snorkeling or something. Thanks for anyadvice you can give.

Julie

 

I very much agree with the other poster that it would NOT be wasteful to book a cabana for just the two of you. I'd read a lot about them and also had first thought it was an expense that we didn't need as I enjoy laying out in the sun when I get the chance, but everyone had said how great it was and after all, we were on vacation so decided to spurge as you only live life once!:) HMC is absolutely beautiful with or without a cabana but I'd have say that having one made our time there absolutely perfect and special !!

 

Our's was #10 green which is a bit further down the beach from where most of the crowd gathers so there were few people on the beach around us. We never hesitated to leave our belonging that we'd taken with us in the cabana when we went on our parasailing excursion or later when we walked to get our buffet lunch and brought it back to the cabana to eat. WE took our sail and sign card with us and our camera which were the only things that were really important in case of a rare case of thief. I think we were much more comfortable leaving our camera and sign and sail cards in the cabana while enjoying the water swimming and snorkling in the water in front of the cabana than I would have been leaving them by our lounge chairs if that was all that we had. I might feel a bit more uncomfortable with leaving our things there if we'd booked a cabana in an area with more people around. We had one person during the day come up and ask if we had a can opener as they couldn't open their bottles of beer and I would have gladly shared if we had one but we didn't. Other than that the only people that came up to our cabana were the Carnival workers bring us our towels, and chips and salsa and fruit trays and asking if we needed anything else or if we needed fresh towels around 1 p.m. and the waiters asking occasionally if we wanted any drinks. Most of the time the waiter just hesitated for a minute on the beach to see if we would wave to them that we needed something and if not they just continued on their way so they were no bother either.

[grandmato4]

Monday and a little bit of Heaven!!-- As we'd booked a Cabana we were were assured of being on the first tender to HMC and our ticket (one ticket which was good for all four of us) said to be in the Palace theater at 8:30. We met at 7:30 and went to the Sensation dining room where breakfast and lunch were served each day and enjoyed breakfast. We counted about 40 people who also were enjoying breakfast in the dining room. Arrived in the Theater about 8:20 and almost immediately we were told we could board the tender. Arriving at the tender pier I couldn't remember if we'd been told to go to the first watersports booth or excusion both so of coarse we first went to the wrong one and had to go back to the excursion desk:o The friendly woman said that the vehicle to take us to our cabana was full but she'd be back in a few minutes to pick us up- I asked we we could just walk to our cabana and she said that would be fine if we didn't mind walking. Like I would ever have a problem walking on a fine white sand beach!! So off we walked to find our cabana. It was about a five minute walk on the most beautiful beach I've ever seen and I thought I'd seen some beautiful beaches before. Upon arriving at our cabana was found our snorkel gear and water mats on the front open porch. When booking the cabana they ask the shoe size of everyone in your party so they can supply you with the correct fin sizes for snorkling. We also had our ice chest filled with ice and 2 bottle of water and six soda's. They ask which kind of soda you would like also when you book the cabana. A few minutes later they delivered fresh towels and our vegetable tray and fruit tray and seperate orange tray. A bit later they delivered our bag of chips and salsa and sour cream. There is an air conditioner in the back of the cabana and a fan over the table and four chairs. On the open porch there are two padded lounge chairs with a misting fan and another sperate mister. Above the stairs but before the open porch on the right side there was a open shower which was wonderful for rinsing off after swimming in the salt water. In the back of the cabana there is also a small refrigerator and closed cupboard with shelves for anything you wish to store out of sight and another closed cupboard with a garbage can inside. We walked a few steps down the beach and pulled four of the regular beach lounge chairs up by our cabana in case we wanted to sit out on them in the sun on the beach. We had trees on either side of the cabana along with a hammick right beside us and the path up to the bathroom was to our right which was very convenient throughout the day. In less then three minutes we were all swimming in the water. The water is crystal clear and tropical fish are easily seen swimming around your feet.

 

SIL had booked a 10:30 snorkeling excursion. He reported seeing lots of beautiful fish but said it was difficult snorkeling as the waves were strong and as you are in deep water it was hard to get started and even though he is a good swimmer he found it difficult to swim back to the boat. We haven't developed the pictures yet from the underwater camera he took with him but hopefully he got some great pictures.

 

The rest of us booked a 10:30 parasailing excursion which left on time but after going out on the water the boat overheated and we had to be towed back to the island. Fortunately the problem developed before anyone had gone up as if it had happened while someone was in the air it could have been a major problem. We were given the choice of either having our money refunded or booking for a later excursion if the boat was repaired. Several with us chose to just get their money back but we were brave and rebooked for 3:00 pm. The boat did get fixed and at 3:00 pm we were off again to attempt to parasail. It was a great experience floating up in the air. I took my camera with me and got some great shots high about the water looking down on HMC and our ship and small boat we were parasailing from.

 

To our surprise at 3:45 the beach was almost totally deserted. The last tender was to be at 5:30 pm. At about 4:00 it started to sprinkle and the few people still in their cabana's and on the beach all took off for the tender area. That is, except us. It was amazing to look further down the beach and see rain falling not far from us while we were only getting sprinkles. A few minutes later the sprinkles stopped and the sun came back out so we went back in the water to swim again. Some of the Carnival workers were cleaning up the beach area and it was obvious some were waiting for us to leave as ours was the last cabana being used that would need to be cleaned. They didn't mind waiting and we were in no hurry to leave as we had the entire HMC beach all to ourselves.

 

A bit before 5 we decided it was time pack up and leave our beloved cabana so we said goodbye and walked back down the beach to the tender. Other's that had taken late excursions were also on the tender and a number of the Carnival workers from the ship joined us for our return to the Fascination.

 

Upon arriving back on the ship we all showered and changed for our 6 pm. dinner. Again another good meal(not great but certainly good) and great chocolate melting cake for desert. The show that night in the theater was a magic show and we decided not to attend. Instead we wandered around and stopped in the piano bar for a while. We had enjoyed a great piano bar on the Victory in Feb so we were looking forward to spending some time in the piano bar on the Fascination. Unfortunately this was a disappointment for us as the gentleman was playing the piano and singing but there are no participation by anyone in the room nor was it encouraged. On the Fascination it was simply someone providing music to listen to and extremely few people were even in there to listen.

 

We stopped in the Passage to India lounge for a few minutes but didn't stay long. The liveliest place for listening to music every evening seemed to be outside of the casino by the Stars Casino Bar. By midnight each night the ship was fairly quiet. Overall I'd say that people were enjoying themselves, but this was by no means a "party cruise".

 

Another stop at the casino to collect a few dollars before turning in for bed.

 

I haven't mentioned our room steward up to this point. Our room was cleaned each morning and evening and the ice pucket filled once per day. We did have towel animal the first four nights. None the last night:( We had two request when we met him the first night. More pillows and an ashtray. Upon being reminded we did finally recieve both on the third day. Ourside our door in the hallway seemed to be the location to stack the dirty laundry bags for the entire cruise. I had to go to the pursers desk the last night to request comment card for both our our room and my DD's room as neither of us received them. When I asked for the them the purser on duty said twice, both politely, that we would have recieved them in our room from our room steward and both times I smiled and said yes, I know we should have, but we didnt'. I shall say no more on the subject.

 

Coming next- our day in Nassau ...........

[grandmato4]

Nassau day and my OMG day!!! :D

 

We decided to have breakfast again in the Sensation dining room at 7:45. It would have been nice if we could have found our way there to the door we needed to use for breakfast or lunch just once without having to backtrack but at least we laughed a lot everytime we did it wrong:) Nothing special about breakfast except it was peaceful and quiet and we had almost the entire dining room to ourselves and were served very quickly and always enjoyed our tablemates. Our rooms were on Riverea deck which was very convenient for leaving the ship as we always only had to go down one deck to deck 3 anytime we left and only up one set of stairs anytime we returned to the ship.

 

I had printed out the Frommer's walking tour of Nassau before leaving so we decided to do the walking tour of Nassau first before the heat of the day set in. We visited the Queens Staircase and the fort, saw the library and churches, the Governor's residence and lots of other interesting and pretty sites. Next stop was the straw market where DD wanted to do some shopping. They sure do pack a lot into a small space!:eek: Many of the same things are sold by many vendors but if you look closely there are some different things to be found. We all haggled back and forth with the vendors for anything we wished to buy and usually settled on between half and three quarters of the original asking price. Next I needed to find Diamonds International to get my free sand dollar charm for my cruise charm bracelet. The charms may not be worth much but I still find it fun to be working on collecting all of the charms from the different ports and I only have a few more to go. As we worked our way back to the ship we stopped in several more shops along the way. We went back to the ship to drop off our purchases and DD an SIL decided to go grap some lunch from the deli before we set off for our afternoon travels. DH and I took the opportunity to rest for a few minutes in our cabin.

 

When we left the ship again we walked past the BCH to the public beach and went swimming for a while. It was really hot and humid by this point of the afternoon and the water felt wonderful for a few minutes. From the beach the view of the 6 ships in port that day was impressive. For as many cruise passengers as were in Nassau that day the only places we visited that we found to be crowd were the cruise terminal and the straw market for the last 30 minutes we were in the market.

 

Next we continued to walk to Arawak Cay to the Fish Fry to enjoy some local seafood. As we walked around we watched the fisherman catching conch and putting it into the small boat. SIL had thought about buying a conch shell to take home earlier by the straw market but hadn't wished to pay the $10 to $20 they were asking which is a good thing because at Arawak Cay there were piles of conch shells from which he picked up one that went home with us. The locals there were all extremely friendly and we enjoyed talking to them. We settled on eating at Goldies and had a great meal. I think we've all joked about being in a restauant and when it took some time to get our food have joked about the staff having to go outside and catch what we were going to eat before cooking it for us- here at Arawak Cay that is exactly what they really did. We got to see how when ordering conch they got outside and bring a conch up out of the water and remove it from the shell and take it inside to cook it. Most interesting!

 

Next we walked a bit down the road to the Jitney stand to catch a jitney to Cable Beach. We walked past a fresh fish stand with some of the largest lobsters I've ever seen in my life. While waiting for the jitney a taxi stopped and offered us a ride for $2 each or what ever we wished to pay so instead of waiting for the last jitney we took him up on the offer and off we went to the Wyndam Resort. By the time we arrived it was close to 6 p.m. and we walked through the resort to the pool and beach area. A very nice resort. After sitting on the beach for a while we found our way to the Crystal Palace casino where we all played the slots for about an hour. We were all pleased that after an hour we had about $60 more than what we had when we walked in the door so we considered our stop there a success and went outside and got a taxi for $4 each to return us to the ship.

 

When we arrived back at the ship we decided to go up to the pamarama deck aft hot tub but before going to the hot tub we stopped and got some pizza to take up with us. While not as good as at home we found several of the pizzas to be very good. Stayed in the hot tub for about half hour and then back to the room to change as this was the night of the deck party and 11:30 Mexican Buffet so after changing our clothes we headed toward Lido deck to enjoy the party. On our way there we stopped to look through the many photos we'd had taken during the week and chose our favorites to purchase. I think the Fascination has one of the best set ups for their photo as there is a lot of space and and one can wander around looking without being nearly as crowed of an area as we'd found on the Victory in Feb.

 

DD and SIL decided to take the photos back to our rooms and wanted to stop at the shops to look around so as they headed that direction DH and I headed to the Casino to wait for them to return before we all went up to Lido deck together. I headed to one of the dollar machines that I'd played the two previous night and had won a couple hundred dollar on each evening. Each time I was in the Casino there was never anyone playing any of the $1 machines for more than a minute or two and usually absolutely no one anywhere near them. It made me smile as the penny and nickel machines were always busy but I noticed that most people were still playing between the $1.80 and $4.80 per spin on those machines but I never saw or heard anyone win more than $360 on any of them.

 

I transfered money from the previous nights winnings from my sail and sign card into the machine and pushed the spin button about 5 times when to my great shock the bells and whistles went off-- its impossible to describe the slow feeling that comes over you as you realize that you've just won a jackpot. The thing we all sit down at a shot machine hoping to do but rarely ever get to experience. In less than 10 seconds I was surrounded by Casino staff congradulating me on my winning. All I could think of was "where is my husband and daughter and son-in-law! " The casino host watched the machine for me as I went running off to find my husband. Arriving back at the machine I had lots of paperwork to fill out and I needed a photo ID so off to our room I went to grap my passport. I found my DD in her room next door and didn't tell her why but insisted that she had to come with me NOW. Arriving back at my machine the staff had drinks waiting for me and although I drank every drop I haven't the slightest idea which rum drink it was!;) I had just won $11,000.

 

We floated up to Lido deck where DD and I enjoyed several Miami vices while listening and dancing to the music. We ate at the Mexican buffet which was ok but nothing special. I was on cloud 9 and have not come down from it yet. Of coarse I had to stop in the casino again before going to bed and as you can guess didn't win a single thing on that stop.

 

Last sea day yet to come ..............

[terri&roy]

Thanks for the review. Please do tell more!:D

[jrmende63]

*Ahem* If I may...DH and I have booked cabanas at HMC twice (although not while on the Fascination) and it is NOT wasteful. It is HEAVEN! Yes, it's a little pricey, but we think it's worth it. We've gone snorkling and swimming and wandering and never had anyone come into our cabana. My mom and I had some folks sit on our steps (we though about looking for a broom to shoo them off...:D ) and we had a little boy, probably about 6 years old, run up to us, look at us, then run off. That was it. Once folks realize that they're something you pay for, they seem to respect it. Your biggest problem will be all the people pulling their lounge chairs all around your cabana to catch some shade. We could hardly get out of ours to walk to the restroom last time because there were just so many people around it! Totally worth it though, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Thanks Samantha...I appreciate the advice. You have just sealed the deal! Now what color did you have?

[jrmende63]

Wow...congratulations on your 11K!! I was so excited to win 27.00 on 25 cents~ you definately have the right to float! Wow..

thanks for describing the HMC cabanas...I am going to get one! I think the # 10 green sounds nice...Do you know what color is the very last one?

I don't want to do an excursion with the cabana but just relax and snorkel!

[grandmato4]

Wow...congratulations on your 11K!! I was so excited to win 27.00 on 25 cents~ you definately have the right to float! Wow..

thanks for describing the HMC Cabanas...I am going to get one! I think the # 10 green sounds nice...Do you know what color is the very last one?

I don't want to do an excursion with the cabana but just relax and snorkel!

 

Thanks for the congrats. I still find the win hard to beleive but I'm putting part of it to good use right now as we're trying to decide on our 2010 cruise since our 2009 is already booked:D

 

The last cabana #15 is Mauve. On the Port of Calls-Private Island board there is a thread Half Moon Cay Cabana's that has pictures of all the cabana's with their numbers and colors. I found it a great help before we left to actually see all the cabana even though at the time I didn't really think we would book one. I am glad we did the parasailing excursion as we've never parasailed before and it was a great experience but I likely wouldn't have booked the excursion if we'd decided to book a cabana earlier. The cabana was really the only little piece of heaven we needed to thoroughly enjoy our stay on the island.

[grandmato4]

Wed-our last sea day- The day started with bright sunshine and smooth sailing. We got up about 8:30a.m. and grabbed some juice and danish from the Coconut Grill buffet and headed up to the aft pamarama deck to lay out in the sun and enjoy the morning. Again, we were the only ones in lounge chairs for quite a while before a couple others joined us on the deck. Because of all the problems with recent debarkation I decided to go sit in on Trevor's debarkation talk so I left everyone else as there wa no reason for all of us to go and went down to the Palace theater at 11:00 am. Before leaving the deck I noticed that the waves had picked up a bit and we were doing some rocking but nothing too bad at that point. Trevor annouced at the talk that they had gotten permission to go back to the old way, before 2001 of immigration and customs coming on boaard to meet with non-us citizens and anyone needing to declare anything to customs at 7am. and hopefully passengers could start leaving the ship by 7:30. I knew the minute I heard him telling everyone how great self-disembarkment was that way too many people were going to be doing it. He really needs to stop encouraging everyone to do it as it really is NOT for everyone.

 

By the time the talk was done it was apparent that we had some rocking and rolling going on and walking was going to become a bit of a challenge for some people around the ship. That continued into the night. We lost our sunshine and had some rain in the afternoon and evening but nothing too bad. I don't think a lot of people actually ever got sick but I heard a lot commenting on not feeling their best. One gentleman was doing a lot of loud complaining as to all the bad seas we'd had going down and coming back and really was not happy blaming the crusieline for what he considered a bad cruise. It took me a bit of restraint not to remind him he was on a cruiseship in the Atlantic ocean and that our first sea day had been wonderful weather and then we had two fantastic weather days in HMC and Nassau. He hadn't the slightest idea what really rough seas were like as even Wed was not all that bad. I really hope he never gets on a cruiseship again as it was obvious that cruisng really is not for him.:rolleyes: But I was a good girl and kept walking!:) When it was time for lunch we all grabbed something from the grill. I had a cheeseburger and onion ring and of coarse some chips and salsa. Besides the pizza, probably the best food to be found on Lido.

 

Around 2 p.m. DD and went to the casino to play in the slot tournament. On the Victory in Feb I'd made it to the finals and had a great time. There had been a slot tournament on Sunday that we did not play in. Unfortunately neither DD or I made it to the finals this time but we did have a good time. After that DD decided to join SIL to take a nap for the afternoon as the rocking and rolling was effecting them so I went to go do my packing. At 4 pm. DH and I did the Gally tour. We've always wanted to go on one but never seemed to have made it to one before. Nothing great but it was interesting to see the huge kitchen area where all our dinners are prepared each evening.

 

After that it was time to get dressed for our last dinner in the Imagination dining room with Teo and Dwi. I had my shrimp cocktail that I enjoyed every evening along with Onion soup, and I think it was the fried muzzella that evening. For my main coarse I had the beef rib whch was so tender no knife was needed. It tasted like pot roast and was wonderful! Chocolate melting cake for desert of coarse!:)

 

The show that night in the Palace theater was another production number with the Fascination dancers and singers, Far From Over, an 80's review. Again it was quite good for a cruiseship production. There was another midnight r-rated comedy show but we din't go to that one. WE looked through the photos one lat time and couldn't resist purchasing tree more. Don't usually purchase more than 2 photos but for this cruise we made an exception to that as there really were some great photos. We had pizza one last time for our late evening snack and wandered a bit looking for some good music to listen to but didnt really find any so we made one last stop in the casino where Benn, the casino host, was kind enough to bring Miami Vices to my DD and I to enjoy while we played for a few minutes. I then headed to the pursers desk to pay off in cash our sign and sail card. No lines at the pursers desk again, as there rarely were (another unusual thing about this sailing).

 

Disembarkation and final thoughts yet to come..........

[yearnin4cruisin]

Great review. Congrats on your winnings.

[grandmato4]

last day and final thoughts-

 

We decided to meet for breakfast at 6:30 as I need to be in the Passage to India bar at 7:00 for customs declaration. The non-US citizens had to meet in the disco at 7 a.m. Customs agents were a few minutes late getting there but after they arrived it was fairly painless. Customs laws allow 1 liter of liquor per person to be brought back into the county without paying customs but the agents were allowing 4 liters per person (8 liters for two in a family) without charging duty. I don't beleive anyone had to pay duty. I did hear them comment that this was a more honest cruise than most as a number of people showed up to declare their over the 1 pp limit. I had to declare the money I was bringing back into the county because of my casino win. I thought I was going to be the lady to hold up the ship from clearing customs as no one had the form I had to fill out. Finally one was located and I painlessly filled it out and was on my way. All very nice customs agents may I add!:) The ship could have been cleared by 7:30 except for one lady that they had to keep calling over the loud speaker that did not show up for immigration. Finally she showed up and the ship was cleared shortly before 8 a.m. Everyone leaves the ship from deck 3 which is right below Riverea deck where we were staying so although the lines were very long as most people were doing self-disembarkment we were off the ship, grabbed a taxi and at the airport by 9 a.m. Our flight left at 11:40 a.m. so we had plenty of time. We first flew to JFK and then connected on to Buffalo. We made to home about 7 pm. that evening. No airline problems- yeah!!:)

 

We went on a cruise and we had a good time. How could we not? Much of a cruise really is what you make of it. The highlite of our trip was without a doubt Half Moon Cay. We absolutely loved every minute we were there. We would have had a good time even without a cabana but the cabana made our stay into the perfect time there.

 

The Fascination is by far my least liked cruise ship that we've sailed on. One of the things I like about Carnival is the decor of their ships. I like that Vagas over the top bright look on a cruiseship and the Fascination's colors are dark and unappealing. The ship is clean but all the dark colors could easily leave someone with the impressing of it being less than clean and well taken care of. I think the dark colors in some area make the low ceiling feel even lower. I may smoke but I found it the smokiest ship I have ever been on as the smell seems to hold forever where ever there has been smoking in the past or currently. The crew and the captain are friendly and work hard to give great service and most obviously love their jobs and do them well. The production shows are among some the best we've ever seen on a cruiseship. The Palace Theater is the worse theater for sightlines we've ever been in on a cruiseship.

 

The food was certainly eatable and we certainly didn't starve by any means and quite frankly after comparing it to our most recent cruise on the Victory I think it has become standard fare for Carnival but it is not what was offered several years ago and that's a downer for cruising in general.

 

I kept saying over and over again that this was not a normal cruise. Taxi's that would not take you to the cruiseport before noon, Cabana's still available several hours after boarding, lounge chairs available any time of day near all the pools without a chairhog in sight, lots of excursions still available on Half Moon Cay long after everyone was on the island, short or no lines at the pursers desk often. For a five night cruise certainly not in any way shape or form a party cruise by any standards.

 

I've often found it hard to understand when I've read other reviews of ships when someone has made the statement that you get what you pay for but after this cruise I find myself making the same statement. The affortable low price that I paid for the four of us for this 5 night cruise does go along with the overall feel of this cruise. We certainly got everything we paid for and we had a great time and I don't regret for one moment booking this cruise and getting to experience it but its not likely that I will be booking another cruise on the Fascination anytime in the near future.

 

If any of you reading this are cruising on the Fascination in the near future I hope you all have a great cruise !

[Hockey Addict]

Thanks grandmato for a great review. We will be going on our first cruise on November 1st on the Fascination. Same itnerary as yours. I can't wait to see HMC. I also hear a lot of great things about it!

 

I live in Jax. I hate Jax most of the time. You don't get good customer service 90% of the time, IMHO. I'm sorry about the hotel and the problems with your transportation to the port. I hope they fix the problems with getting on and off the ship. To be honest, it doesn't surprise me there were problems. It's kinda the way of life here. :sigh: But I'm glad you had fun!

[FlipFlop Girl]

Thanks grandmato for a great review. We will be going on our first cruise on November 1st on the Fascination. Same itnerary as yours. I can't wait to see HMC. I also hear a lot of great things about it!

 

I live in Jax. I hate Jax most of the time. You don't get good customer service 90% of the time, IMHO. I'm sorry about the hotel and the problems with your transportation to the port. I hope they fix the problems with getting on and off the ship. To be honest, it doesn't surprise me there were problems. It's kinda the way of life here. :sigh: But I'm glad you had fun!

 

 

Hi Hockey Addict! My DH and I are going Nov 1st as well. It will be my 2nd cruise, his 3rd. We are hocky fans as well!!

[Hockey Addict]

Hey there Flip Flop Girl!! Make sure you come over to our roll call thread for our cruise!!!

 

Here's a link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=694994

[SunnyinMA]

Wow - congrats on that great win in the Casino!

 

Thanks for such a thorough review.

[grandmato4]

Thanks grandmato for a great review. We will be going on our first cruise on November 1st on the Fascination. Same itnerary as yours. I can't wait to see HMC. I also hear a lot of great things about it!

 

I live in Jax. I hate Jax most of the time. You don't get good customer service 90% of the time, IMHO. I'm sorry about the hotel and the problems with your transportation to the port. I hope they fix the problems with getting on and off the ship. To be honest, it doesn't surprise me there were problems. It's kinda the way of life here. :sigh: But I'm glad you had fun!

 

Thanks for your honest asessment of living in JAX. My SIL who had never been to FL before this trip commented that he'd always heard lots about southern hospitality but he just wasn't seeing or feeling it before we got to leave for the port. Fortunately he did get to feel it from our taxi driver that eventually picked us up at the hotel and we recieved the same from the taxi driver that took us back to the airport. Both men were great!:)

 

 

There is no doubt that you will love Half Moon Cay ! If your Nov 1st cruise is your first cruise you should have a good time and enjoy yourselves because you don't have other cruises to compare this one to. Read your Caper every night and take advantage of the different things that you can experience and participate in, just don't feel like you have to do all of them. There's always another cruise to do what you didn't get to do on your first!;) Have a great cruise and I'll be looking for your review when you return! Don't forget to get yourselves some Bonine(take one before you leave for the port that morning) and ginger tablets just in case you have a bit of rocking and rolling of the ship. Enjoy!!

[cruiseapril]

Interesting well done review. Enjoyed your review of Nassau.

[homeofthedogs]

WOW! Thanks for such a thorough review. I picked up some great tips for our upcoming Fascination cruise in January.

 

It sounds like you are a seasoned cruiser with lots of experience and knowledge to share.

 

Did you have trouble with getting your sea legs back? (rocking on land) It always takes me several days to stop the motion in my head.

 

Again, thanks for all the info and Congratulations on your winnings!

[Hockey Addict]

Thanks for the tips! I'll be checking the Capers everyday! :D I already have some meds just in case she's rockin and rollin!

[grandmato4]

WOW! Thanks for such a thorough review. I picked up some great tips for our upcoming Fascination cruise in January.

 

It sounds like you are a seasoned cruiser with lots of experience and knowledge to share.

 

Did you have trouble with getting your sea legs back? (rocking on land) It always takes me several days to stop the motion in my head.

 

Again, thanks for all the info and Congratulations on your winnings!

 

Funny that you ask about the sea legs because this was the first cruise I've ever had sea legs for the first two days after the cruise!:eek: All gone now:) DD an SIL over for dinner this evening and both of them and DH had them much worse than me. Hope you enjoy your cruise and if you have any other questions just ask!