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Fascination Review 3/30/09

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paradoc1

paradoc1

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thanks for the review we leave in 4 days to bahamas and HMC, herd a lot of diffrent reviews but just being on the ship is better than being at work anyday, can't wait to read the rest of it, BTW how was the water was it warm or still a little cool?

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FloridaCruisinNewbies

FloridaCruisinNewbies

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thanks for the review we leave in 4 days to bahamas and HMC, herd a lot of diffrent reviews but just being on the ship is better than being at work anyday, can't wait to read the rest of it, BTW how was the water was it warm or still a little cool?

 

The pool water was a little chilly, but not too bad once you got past what I like to call testicular freezing point. HA! The ocean water in the Bahamas was fantastic!!!! Did not go in the water in Key West.

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FloridaCruisinNewbies

FloridaCruisinNewbies

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Review Continued:

Day 3 – KEY WEST…

April 1, 2009

We woke up at 6:00 AM to eat breakfast. I had my usual for breakfast. And another excellent omelet. I made the bacon **** give me an extra portion of bacon! We got off the boat at 7:20. We walked around Mallory Square for awhile waiting for our Trolley Car Tour to begin at 9 AM. We didn’t have a whole lot planned, but we new we were going to go to Hemingway’s house and to the Southernmost Point.

Hemingway’s House:

What a beautiful home. Jennifer took about 70 pictures here. She was fascinated by the furniture, the architecture, crown molding, and the window treatments in the home. We had a fascinating guided tour full of interesting Hemingway information. Of the 70 pics taken by her, I would say that at least 30 of them were of the 6 toed cats found here. They really are some weird looking things. She is allergic to cats, but must have pet at least 20 of the 40+ cats on the property. It was a good tour, but not exactly my cup of tea. I would’ve been more at home doing a pub crawl or something. But, you have to keep the little lady happy sometimes, so we did Hemingway’s house, nuff said!!

We also took pictures of the lighthouse, which is nearly right across the street from Hemingway’s house. We did not do a tour of this, however

We got back on the trolley and proceeded to the Southernmost Point. We took the obligatory pictures of the buoy here. NOTE: Everytime I say what we took pics of, I just get more and more mad that they were lost….. OK, I’m better now!

We then walked from here, down Duvall Street back to Mallory square. It was a nice day, in the mid to high 80’s. We took in ALL that Duvall has to offer, and then some! I’m not one to judge, but let’s just say that there were all different types and sorts of people found in Key West. EXAMPLE: Our trolley driver was 6’5”, 250+ lbs named Miss Vee. He/She had an Adam’s Apple as big as any I’ve seen in my entire life.

We purchased some souvenirs for our kids and their grandparents left back in the Panhandle of Florida.

We got back on the ship at around 1:30. We beat most of the crowds and enjoyed a quiet lunch at COCO Grove on the Lido Deck. I then went down the lido slide about 10 times since there were not any kids there. I had a blast!! And my DW took some pics of this as well.

Recap: Key West was pretty cool. Having never been there, it was nice to check that off of places I have been. I am sure we will be back sometime, since my daughter is dying to see kitties with 6 toes.

We did not eat dinner in the dining room this night!

Any questions?

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FloridaCruisinNewbies

FloridaCruisinNewbies

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My guess:

 

You didn't know how to tie the tie, and ended up doing it all wrong. When you got to the dining room, a tablemate noticed and commented and then fixed it for you.

CLOSE!!

Fact: I did not know how to tie the tie!

Fact: I walked down to where they take pics of formal wear and asked one of the photographers who was wearing a tie if he knew how.

Fact: He called over to the formal wear shop and the lady in there hooked me up.

Fact: I was embarrassed!!!!

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punkidoodle

punkidoodle

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Answer is in above post. I had also asked 3 cabin steward in my hallway for help. So I made the walk of shame in seek of help. God Bless my clip on tie I wear with my Service Dress Blues!

 

Thanks...you must have posted while I was typing...:rolleyes:

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Tyskie

Tyskie

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Mike1223 - we're on the same trip with you. Unfortunately our Roll Call is almost non-existant! We're doing a brief tour in Nassau and just taking a cab to Atlantis (the men want to gamble a bit). We really don't have much time in Nassau for the Atlantis experience and everything we've read, it's really not worth the money. Guess everyone has to make the decision for themselves. I'd love to hear how you enjoy the Dolphin Encounter..............always wanted to do that !

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mike1223

mike1223

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Tyskie- Just like everyone else I can't wait for this much needed vacation... I'll definitely be doing the dolphin encounter and probably just stay the rest of the time on the beach...from what I've been reading about Atlantis' waterpark, its not worth that much just for a water park.... I will stick to the beach and after a couple of drinks I wont even remember there was a waterpark at all !!! woohoo !!! :)

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Tyskie

Tyskie

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I hear you, Mike ! We're counting the days...............since this winter is never-ending.

punkidoodle, I see you're from Ponte Vedra. We have a house there, as well as, NY. Sometimes it's such a small world! :D

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FloridaCruisinNewbies

FloridaCruisinNewbies

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Review Continued

 

Day 4 Nassau, Bahamas

 

--We got up at around 9 AM. We had breakfast in the dining room. This was the one and only time we ate here for breakfast. It was very good. We wish we would have taken advantage of this a little more throughout the trip. I went up to the funnel deck again because this is my chosen vantage point to take pics. I took lots of them on our arrival into Nassau. It was very beautiful. We were really excited to finally be "out of the country" on our first cruise. Key West was nice, but it was still the good ole' USA.

 

Once we arrived at the pier at 20 minutes until 12 noon, we had to wait until about 12:20 to get off the boat. Probably clearing customs and such. Our tour with Blackbeard Beach Break was scheduled for a 1:00 pickup thru Carnival, so we were not stressing. We walked over to the shop by what I like to call the Welcome Center and looked around for a little while. Someone directed us to a bench after we asked for directions to where we needed to be. He told us to either go back and wait right by our ship, or sit on the bench and the tour groups would walk by with signs for the various tours. At 1:10, the tour walked by us, I showed the guy our tickets, we joined the line and walked to the private boat to take us to our beach break. It was a boat with 2 levels of seating and all in all, it was a very comfortable ride. Me and the DW could not believe how beautiful the water was. It was various shades of green and blue and very beautiful. She grew up about 20 minutes from the beaches in California... and since we have been married we have spent 4 years on the tropical island of Okinawa, and 4 1/2 years on the panhandle of Florida near the beautiful Destin beaches. The water in Nassau was a whole lot prettier then any of those 2 places. Although, our white, sandy beaches here in Florida will give them a run for the money. The sand here is like SNOW it is so white.

 

Anyway, we have about a 20 minute ride on the boat out to the private island. There are people like us without an arm band, and people with 2 different color bands. These signify whether they are going to do the Treasure Hunt or the Sting Rays. Those without the bands are just there for the beach break. (THAT WAS US). We got 2 chairs about 10 feet from the water's edge. And then we just layed around, swam, searched for shells, and had a couple of drinks from the bar. It was a fun, stress free, relaxing, enjoyable day. I'm sure that it is not for everyone, but it hit the spot for us on that particular day!! We get to stay there for about 2 1/2 hours... maybe a little more. And then we get back on the boat for the return trip to the pier. We do a little shopping at the nearby markets; quickly get tired of the being hassled by everyone, and return to the ship to shower, change, and grab a quick bite. The rest of the afternoon/evening is spent enjoying the nearly empty ship. We had some alone time in the hot tub back by the b-ball court; and looked off of the back of the sip and watched the sun go down. It was very pleasant and enjoyable... not to mention QUIET!

 

- We did not eat diner in the dining room again.

 

Questions?

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FloridaCruisinNewbies

FloridaCruisinNewbies

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The last day was also a sea day! My wife took a well deserved nap from about 12-4 pm. I was out on the deck in the hot tub and pool from about 11 am til 4 pm. I then woke her up and we got ready for our last dinner on the ship. I MAY have been a little drunk by dinner time. I had promised myself I would finish the 1.75 liter bottle of rum by the end of the day. When I woke up that morning, I had just a little more then half of the bottle remaining.... so I knew my work was cut out for me. But I DID IT! By the time i had spent 5 hours by the pool/hot tub... and then sobered up for dinner... and then drank some more at the Casino... and then went to the R rated comedy show... and then drank some more//// The Rum Was Finally Gone!

 

The last dinner was pretty cool. And a little sad. We finally met fellow CC'ers Jon and Angela from New York. This was the only time we saw them at dinner. And then later, all 8 members from our dining table went to the comedy show together. I don't remember his name; but I did not think he was as funny as the first one. He had made up songs that he sang while playing his guitar to immitate real songs. Kind of like Weird Al Yankovich.... but NOT!!

 

I called it a night at about 2 AM that night/morning.

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Djptcp

Djptcp

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DH and I have sailed out of the Jax Port 5 times since 2006 and have never had to wait in line more than 25 minutes. This includes various arrival times, but mostly between 11:30-12:30. Actually, the longest was in January when we had VIP embarkation and that was the only one that took about 25 minutes. We are sailing on the Fascination again on 5/16 and plan on arriving around noon.

Thanks for your review!

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FloridaCruisinNewbies

FloridaCruisinNewbies

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So, here is a quick recap:

 

--We had a wonderful time! Awesome first cruise!

--I lost most of my pics due to PC failure. But I ave recovered some of them and will post very soon.

-- The Fascination is a lovely ship. She may be older and smaller then some.... but she was great to us.

--I made about $320 playing poker at the casino:)

--We cannot wait to cruise again!!

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FloridaCruisinNewbies

FloridaCruisinNewbies

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A quick story about this next pic. This was my 2nd time going down the slide on this particular day. I asked if we could go down head first and was told NO! I went down the first time and spun towards the end and came out head first. When I climbed back up there.... the lady told me that I was not allowed to do this and she had already told me so.... I told her I underestimated the speed and the last turn and it was an accident. She then said... and I quote, " I think you just be ornery and think I not know what going on up here." I just laughed and told her she was right and that she caught me. The pic is my laugh being captured. As you can see, the lady up there is kinda smiling.

4q30wy.jpg

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cvrap

cvrap

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CLOSE!!

Fact: I did not know how to tie the tie!

Fact: I walked down to where they take pics of formal wear and asked one of the photographers who was wearing a tie if he knew how.

Fact: He called over to the formal wear shop and the lady in there hooked me up.

Fact: I was embarrassed!!!!

 

 

Funny!! My brother had what he called his "funeral" suit and he kept the tie fixed and would slip it over his head. I know that doesn't sound very pleasant, but that's about the only place he ever wore a suit.

 

But he's going on the Fascination in May with us (His 1st cruise) and he actually went and bought a new suit. I think I may get him a special tie as a surprise!!

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divinmule

divinmule

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Thank you so much for a great review. The pictures were great and make me long to be there even sooner.

 

Any Idea how close you were docked to this location in Key West...631 Greene Street (corner of Greene & Elizabeth Street / next to Conch Republic Seafood Restaurant).

We are going diving with this group and were wondering how close the location might be to where the fascination docked.

Thanks

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