Just off Fascination 4-18 thru 4-23 w/pics

[SunnyDayz4me]

Great review. I was also on this cruise w/ my family! My kids and I are in one of the pool pix from day one -- we're sitting on the teak "bench" across the pool. :D

 

 

How neat to spot yourself ! If you'd like the pic, I'd be glad to send it to you.

[tiggerman101]

Thanks for the great review and pics. I did the Fascination Nassau and Key West cruise over Christmas and will be back on her for this cruise in 47 days. I am really looking forward to HMC.

[suejoe]

Thanks for the great review and wonderful pictures!! 2 weeks from today we will be on the Fascination doing Key West & Nassau. Will definitely have to book again to do Nassau & Half Moon Cay. Great job :):)

Susan & Joe :D

[Hockey Addict]

Sorry for the hijack.....HI "Hockey":D. Paul & I cancelled our Glory cruise that sailed yesterday - he lost his job in January - and booked a 4 day on the Imagination sailing 5/4.

 

Thanks for posting your review BJC...loving it and your pics. "Awesome" can only describe sailing under the Dames Point bridge!!

 

OK sorry again but I got a new puter and it didn't keep punki's email... punki.... jaxcudas @ gmail. com send me a email!! Sorry about Paul. I got laid off too!

 

Keep the review coming!! I love it! I feel like I am there again and making me wish September would be here sooner!

[Hollybelle]

Wonderful review... and great pictures. I can't wait to read more.

[cruiselife8]

I'm loving this review, I've been thinking of going on the Fascination to HMC and Key West. Looking forward to more of your posts and pictures.

[bonniemari]

Love the review and the pics--3 days and 19 hrs and I'll be there.

[divinmule]

Thank you so much for a wonderful review with awesome pics.

 

Did carnival list your excursion as the catamaran and snorkel? That is the one we were thinking about booking... Looks like ya'll had a blast with them.

 

Thanks

[lhuggi1]

Day 1 - Embarkation Day

 

 

 

 

Turns out it was a good thing we were there waiting as Steve (the shuttle driver) was quick that morning ! We left out of the hotel around 11:30....which of course meant 15 more minutes on the ship ! It took about 15-20 mins to get to the port. I had heard such horror stories about embarkation at Jacksonville...well....I'm here to tell you that (at least for us)....they are just that....stories ! We were through the line and on the ship by 12:15 ! Woohoo !!

 

 

As we were walking to the Guest Services desk so I could set up our account (so far, I've always done a cash account.....great feeling to not owe any money when you get off the ship)...there was no one at the excursion desk so I sent my oldest over to ask about the cabanas....see if any were still available. Well....there must have been several still up for grabs as he was yelling to me from the excursion desk..."Mom...which one do you want?" "Mom....what do you want to drink?" "Mom...what size shoe do you wear?" "Mom....I got you #7 just like you wanted !!" Such a good boy !! :rolleyes:

 

 

Am I missing something Cabanas???can you help me out with this one pls

[SunnyDayz4me]

Thank you so much for a wonderful review with awesome pics.

 

Did carnival list your excursion as the catamaran and snorkel? That is the one we were thinking about booking... Looks like ya'll had a blast with them.

 

Thanks

 

Yes....that's the one that uses SeaHorse sailing....and is $5 cheaper per person thru Carnival than if you call SeaHorse directly.

[SunnyDayz4me]

Am I missing something Cabanas???can you help me out with this one pls

 

 

You can rent Cabanas on Half Moon Cay for $225 for the day (for up to 4 people). I believe there is an extra per person charge if there are more than 4. They are wonderful. Here's a pic of the one we had.....it was mid-beach. They supply you with drinks, fruit tray, veggie tray, oranges, dips, snorkel equip., float mats, etc.

 

[SunnyDayz4me]

Day 4 - Half Moon Cay

 

We got up bright and early as this was the day I had been looking forward to the most. It was a little cloudy but you could tell that it was going to be a beautiful day ! After a quick breakfast....I went up top to get some pics of the island while we were still moving.

 

The Cabanas from the ship before we anchored....shows our #7 (yellowish) in the middle. You can sorta see how they are layed out by this.....more space inbetween some than others, etc.

 

Except where Carnival has built up on the island....it's pretty much just as Mother Nature intended it to be....Gorgeous ! With everywhere so commercialized these days....I found this to be like a breath of fresh air !

 

 

 

Tender boat waiting for our arrival.

 

They had to take everything ashore for us (food, etc) first before we could go....this boat pulled alongside us and loaded up.

 

[Frenchsnowhite]

What a nice review, we are doing this cruise next august and get wait to see HMC!;)

[SunnyDayz4me]

We took the first tender in that we could....when you get off you see this little "town square".....There's a shore excursion desk you can visit to sign up if you haven't already.

 

 

Complete with signs :rolleyes:

 

 

 

We walked down this trail to get to our cabana....or you can walk along the water.

 

[SunnyDayz4me]

This was the view we had straight out from our cabana....how great is this to look at all day !?!

 

 

Inside.....

 

 

Snacks....

 

 

The guys were set to go parasailng at 10am....so they took off about 9:30 to walk back up to the excursion desk.....only to find out it was cancelled due to the winds....now....it didn't seem breezy at all to us. So back they came to the cabana to let me know....and while we were talking about it....along came a Carnival Shore Excursion guy checking with people. We asked him about it being too windy...he said that parasailing is only safe up to 20 knots....and we were at 21 knots ! He also said that it was forecast to drop so the guys could wait and see....or they were welcome to switch out to a different excursion. We thanked him....the guys talked about it....decided they may try horseback riding...and took off again to the excursion desk.....Only to come running back all excited that the winds had dropped and they were set to go at 11am......Great !! They had been looking forward to this the whole trip.

 

Off they went....

[SunnyDayz4me]

I stayed behind to relax and take pictures....This little "tweety" decided to join me in the cabana.....he hung around for close to 1/2 hour....wasn't afraid of me at all.

 

 

Luckily the boys were flying straight out in front of me so I was able to get tons of photos of them. They had the underwater camera with them to take pics from the air.

 

 

 

 

 

They were gone close to an hour....when they got back we looked over some of the pics and decided to play in the most beautiful water we had ever seen. Time sure gets away from you when playing around and before we knew it....we had missed the lunch that is provided so I can't say what they served....I'm guessing it was something like burgers, etc. It was 1:30, they quit serving at 2pm, and we had the Stingray Adventure set up for 2pm....so off we went to swim with the Stingrays.

[SunnyDayz4me]

We walked up to the "town square" and waited with our group. A short ride later (5 mins or so), we were at the Stingray Adventure. They have 9 stingrays there and you pretty much have to snorkel when in the water. Apparently, stingrays will bury themselves in the sand and if you happen to step on one....they will whip their tail and get you with the barb. You only get about 10 mins for snorkeling....a little disappointing ! We still managed to get some good pics....

 

 

After you swim around with them, the guide then gets everyone in a circle (showing you where you can stand up) and then hands out squid for feeding them. They show you how to hold it so the stingrays can "suck" it up.....said they have the suction power of 6 vacuums...and warned everyone not to pull away or they think it's prey trying to get away...and up the suction power.....which could leave with a nice sovenior....a Caribbean Stingray Hickey. :eek:

 

Once everyone has had the chance to feed them....the guide then lifts one up out of the water...you can see them open their mouth once or twice...and then "whoosh", they blow water at you !!

 

[SunnyDayz4me]

Back to the cabana for more playing in the ocean...and, sooner than we would have liked....it was time to go home :( We caught the last tender back to the ship. Change of clothes...and time to eat. We ate again on Lido.....too late for the early seating that we had. For desert, we went to Bogart's and got Strawberry Cheescake.....YUM !!!

 

 

That night we went to the Jason Dowty Show and then made another donation in the casino.....will I ever win anything ?!? I'm beginning to think....NOT !! Called it a night around midnight....lazing in the sun really makes you tired !!

 

Waiting for us to join him....

 

[SunnyDayz4me]

Day 5 - Sea Day

 

Woke up early....kinda sad knowing this was our last day on the ship. We went for breakfast and then just lazed around again for awhile....oh, how will I ever go back to work after this ! :confused:

 

Decided to try my luck one last time in the casino.....and.......

 

 

You'd have thought I had won a thousand dollars....the way I grabbed my money and RAN !!! :D Afraid they may take it away from me....saying it was really meant for someone else :rolleyes:

[SunnyDayz4me]

We spent the rest of the day just fooling around. Ran into our tablemates and promised them we would make it to dinner that night....we wanted one more helping of the Chocolate Melting Cake !!

 

Enjoyed a wonderful dinner and conversation...the waiters put on a great show singing to everyone....then took off to see the show Far From Over......oh, how I wish that were true !

 

Back to the cabin to get everything packed up and set outside....I do believe this is the hardest part about cruisin'. Went back out for a few drinks and then back to bed.

 

The next morning came way too fast...went up to Lido for our last breakfast and coffee...then back to the cabin to wait. We had #17 for debarkation....which was in the second group after everyone doing self-assist was complete. We were off by about 9:45. Called the hotel for the shuttle....didn't have to wait long at all. We were back to the hotel and on the road home by 10:30.

 

Now....not quite a week later....I am so totally ready for another cruise !!

I need a vacation !! :D

 

So....hope you enjoyed sharing our trip with us ! Any questions....just holler !

 

Happy Cruisin' :cool:

[KroozFoolz]

Thanks so much for the great review and wonderful pictures! We loved Fascination (and Half Moon Cay :D) so much this past November that we are going again in seven more months!

[SunnyDayz4me]

How was the weather there in Nov?

[KroozFoolz]

How was the weather there in Nov?

Not as nice as April - OK - generally better than here in TN, lol, but not as hot as Progreso/Cozumel was in Nov 2007. We had rough seas/cooler temps on our first day at sea, tendering to shore at HMC was "interesting" (we got soaked riding the tender to HMC from the waves coming up on the sides of the tender) and the water was a bit chillier than when we were there in April 2008 (on Freedom). It still was a glorious day on a gorgeous beach. It was nicer and warmer our day at Nassau. I don't know if that is generally the case for the Bahamas the end of Nov/beginning of Dec or just what we happened to get, but we are going to try it again.

[teamrlk]

Thanks so much for the review.....we will be on the 7/11/09 sailing and we can't wait!

[CalgonCruiser]

Thanks for sharing your cruise. Love HMC !!!