Fascination Review with lots of pics 12/27/08-1/1/09

[jump4jai]

A nice mansion along the water

 

We ate breakfast at 11:30am before getting off the ship on the Lido deck. It was Mexican.

 

 

 

 

 

[jump4jai]

We got off the ship and onto the land of the Bahamas at exactly noon. There was a small line because everyone wanted to get off at this port. Our ship was the farthest from the dock because there were a few other cruise ships (I think 4) there already including a personal yacht that was as big as a cruise ship itself. I should have taken a picture because this thing was amazing with a sailboat on top of it, a speedboat and fishing boat along side of it, and some wave runners inside of it. We were told it was a russian billionaire's yacht. Since we were the farthest from the welcome center that you have to enter it was quite a walk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[babyher]

Very nice pics :)

 

So why didn't two pretty girls like you and your sister go over to the yacht and see if the Russian was a young single guy (or maybe had 2 sons) *LOL* ya never know

 

Enjoying your posts very very much

[homeofthedogs]

Jump - you still out there?????????

[cathyoo]

excellent review.. beautiful pictures. thank you for sharing. Can't wait to read the rest.

[poptart]

Great job! Thanks for taking the time to do this.

[lewsmom]

I hope this shows up as this is my first picture upload. Great review BTW.

We were on this same cruise. This shot was taken as we backed into the slip. As you can see, the yacht is docked sideways and blocked in by the Carnival ships.

[jump4jai]

We were planning on going to Atlantis and doing the whole Aqua Adventure that includes the water park, beach, and aquarium. On the ship the excursion was $152 and at the resort itself it was $105 per person. We decided to try to save some money and purchase directly from the resort. We took a cab ride over there ($4/per person) and went over a cool curved bridge. We were very disappointed when we got there because they sold out of Aqua Adventure and the Beach (how could they sell out of the beach?!?!?!?) and were only selling aquarium tickets ($35 per person). We were so bummed out and learned our lesson. I don't care if you are trying to save money or do things on your own but if you want to do the package deal at Atlantis I recommend you purchase the tickets from your cruise ship to be on the safe side. We walked around the aquarium which is little sections all over the resort. There is alot of walking involved. Our highlights were feeding the sea turtles and stingrays at designated times. I also went into the casino and spent $20 on the slots. All the blackjack and other tables were $100 minimum so this place is expensive and ritzy. We stayed at Atlantis until around 3:30pm and I took tons of pics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jump4jai]

Atlantis Beach

 

 

 

 

Feeding Time

 

Huge Stingray

 

[jump4jai]

Sea Turtles - we got to feed them lettuce but they also eat squid

 

 

Turtles Kissing

 

Just Chillin

 

 

 

[jump4jai]

Food for turtles and stingrays - Eww gross

 

 

 

Stingrays eat fish tails

 

 

 

 

[jump4jai]

 

 

There was lots of dolphin decor

 

 

 

[jump4jai]

 

 

 

 

 

[jump4jai]

They had this cool clear shark tunnel that you walk through and see the sharks from both sides and from above.

 

 

 

 

 

[jump4jai]

 

 

 

 

Cool Water Bikes

 

[sp29488]

Great review and pictures. Did you purchase a tour or something for Atlantis? Is that how you got to move around the Atlantis so much? I've been told that unless you purchase some kind of ticket you won't be allowed in certain areas of the resort. Thanks for the info.

[jump4jai]

We bought the aquarium tour for $35 per person which allowed us to walk around the whole resort except for the beach (which you have to pay extra for and was sold out when we went) and aqua adventure (the water park). Security is tight and checked our wristbands. We were told that we could go on the lazy river because hardly anyone was on it but we decided not to get wet since we couldn't go on the really fun water slides. We are definitely going to purchase any atlantis tickets on our ship next time because they sell out fast.

[jump4jai]

The famous chair

 

 

 

 

 

[jump4jai]

 

 

 

 

This shot is cool because I got my sister's reflection in the picture

 

[jump4jai]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a village you can walk through when you leave paradise island on the way to the ferry boat. It has some different stores. Since we took a taxi to Atlantis we weren't in a rush to get back so we decided to take the scenic route.

 

Ice Cream Bench in front of Ben & Jerry's

[babyher]

Great pics :0

 

That is a cool pic with the jellyfish and your sis.

 

Thank you again for sharing them

[jump4jai]

There were some ladies selling souvenirs at the ferry dock. My sis and I bought some shotglasses for 99 cents each and I bought a Bahamas dress cover-up and my sister bought a Bahamas shirt where the sleeves were fringed. Both were very bright colors. We then took the ferry ($3 per person) back to the port. There was a guide on the ferry that was telling us about the island and I guess he was just working for tips. I felt a little bad because I couldn't understand him and he was cute at 4'10. They really squish you in like sardines on those ferries.

 

Our ferry guide

 

When we got back to the port area it was about 4:30pm and I had a feeling the straw market would be closing soon so we headed over there. We had extra money since we didn't do the Atlantis Aquaventure. My sis and I both bought a purse and I got some jewelry. I wanted to buy some Cuban cigars for my brother but I know nothing about cigars and did not want to get scammed if they were not the real thing. They were selling them 4 for $20.

 

We were walking back to the ship and saw this 12 year old boy selling shells so I bought 2 for $5.

 

We went back to the ship to eat dinner on the lido deck quickly and change because were were anxious to go back out since we didn't have much night time at port in the bahamas. The sensation was docked there overnight and they were lucky because it seemed to be quite a crowd during the evening hours.

 

I had to go to the Hard Rock Cafe to get a t-shirt and some pics. They had alot of cool memorabilia inside.

 

 

 

Then we went to Senor Frog's which is a spring break type place. They had current hip hop music playing and a bunch of people dancing. This is a place where the under 21's can drink since they don't even card here. Some of the teens looked as young as 15 or 16 drinking. I know my sister was excited about this so I bought her a yard for $16. I only took a few sips and she drank the rest which got her a little tipsy. Also you line up and walk around the bar and there are a few guys holding bottles that will just pour shots right into your mouth when you are under them. I bought a cool keychain in the gift store that says I'll pop your top and is a bottle holder with a frog on it. We didn't want to leave but we had to return to the ship by 9pm. So long Bahamas! We'll miss you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jump4jai]

More Senor Frog's pics

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jump4jai]

Our last pic in the Bahamas

 

When we got back to our room we found our towel stingray

 

We were a little hungry so we went up to the Lido deck around 11pm to get some food.

 

Mexican again

 

Strawberry Shortcake - looked better than it tasted

 

After eating and staying up a little longer we went to bed.

 

 

[jump4jai]

Day 5 - Sea Day

 

We woke up a little later than usual today and got dressed and went right to lunch in the dining room.

 

 

Fruit Platter and Cottage Cheese

 

 

 

Spinach and Ricotta Cheese Ravioli - Yummy

 

Create Your Own Burger - My sis really liked this because it's the second time she ordered it