REVIEW: 5-Day Carnival Fascination (05/02/09)

[Pegs222]

Great review Don, loved your pictures. Now I am hungry and longing to go on another cruise.

[DGP1111]

Thank You, Half Moon Cay, for offering this cruise dude a perfect day of relaxation that will be remembered for quite some time . . . and I'm already looking forward to the next visit, which is already booked. :) :)

 

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I guess a picture really can say it all . . .

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[chiefs18]

Thanks, Don. Great review and pics.:D

[DGP1111]

Enjoying the review.

 

Thanks for a great review :)

 

Thanks again for sharing.

 

Thanks for the kind words. Doing this is really not my forte, but I'm giving it the ol' college try. :)

[DGP1111]

and looking forward to your next installment!

 

Thanks for the review so far. Love the play-by-play and the pictures!

 

wow, great! thanks for sharing!

 

You comments are much appreciated - Thanks!

[DGP1111]

I too am enjoying your review.

 

Don, you always know how to make someone laugh.

Thanks, Penny <<hug>>

 

Don, your review and pictures are awesome:D We are planning on taking that cruise next year but with hopes of going to Key West.

Ooooooo, Key West Winery. Go for the tasting, and you'll come away with purchases. :)

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Thanks, all, for the kind support to my efforts today.

[jima53]

Enjoyed the review including the review of the Jax port. Cruised out of there a couple of times and found the special room off to the side to be a bit awkward the way they handled passengers for suites. Didn't really do anything for us as they forgot when the actual boarding began and let us on late. Best thing is the closeness to the northeast area of florida for cruisers.

 

Jim

[WAcruisers]

I loved Half Moon Cay too! Great job on the review.

[DGP1111]

Day Four is the infamous stop at Nassau, and even before beginning the cruise I had no intention whatsoever of leaving the ship except for an evening excursion, and to check out the new balconies on Carnival Sensation right before doing so.

 

Nassau: been there, done that, bought the t-shirt, sold it on eBay.

 

But now there was even more reason to stay onboard and take it easy for the majority of the day . . . I was sunburned, and quite a bit. I'd stayed out way too long at Half Moon Cay. Damn that room service delivery!!

 

Oh, sorry, where was I??

Great start to the Nassau morning with a delicious breakfast in the dining room, and a stroll around the ship to grab some pictures of areas while they were rather empty.

 

Got into a fun conversation with several crew members on the Promenade deck, and while we were drinking coffee, I suddenly realized what was on the nearby tables. They were all decorated with Al Hirschfeld artwork. All admitted they'd never heard of him, so I told them about the Ninas, and we all started looking over each table. We were like kids at an Easter egg hunt. Ooo, there's one, there's one! What a bunch of goobs, but it was fun.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Hirschfeld

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Chose to do an early lunch, and then planned to do an afternoon nap prior to the evening excursion . . . but plans changed quite a bit. Yep, got another turkey sandwich for the third time, but I'm boring like that.

 

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Incoming!! I was the only passenger out on that aft Lido area that I enjoy so well for lunch time. But the sea gulls had no concern about my enjoyed privacy, and they immediately started to set up camp. An ice cube or two thrown in their direction did nothing. Battle lines were being drawn.

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They were grouping on three sides so I picked up my nearly empty tray and went indoors, and they flew off. I all too well remember the 'poop bombers' while visiting Alcatraz in San Francisco. Didn't want that to happen today, or ever again. Grabbed one croissant from inside and then headed back out to attempt some more photos. Was able to get one of Atlantis with one of the gulls flying by in the distance. It came out pretty good but I knew I could do better.

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I put the croissant between my teeth so I could get both hands on the camera. Ready . . . aim . . . and . . .

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The darn bird grabbed part of the croissant right out of my mouth, and two of them were right there in my face. I almost threw me and the camera off the railing. Somewhere in that whirlwind I pressed the shutter button and captured this. Without thinking, I said a very naughty phrase, and sorta loud. The folks dining along that side had a good laugh at my expense. Blushing doesn't show nearly as bad when you're sunburned, but it make the burn feel more intense.

[DGP1111]

Went to the forward area of the ship, and was looking over the side, and pretty much stopped in shock. There was this totally amazing yacht docked directly behind Carnival Destiny and the Royal Caribbean ship (neither cruise ship scheduled for Nassau, but Mexico changes brought them here anyway). This yacht was huge, or at least it seemed that way to me. Onboard it had it's own speed boat and sail boat, as well as space for its helicopter. And there was yet another one on the other side of it.

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Change o' plans. I gotta see these things close up. In my quick run to the cabin, I stopped to check out the details on the internet. Yowza!!

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Grand_Bleu_(yacht)

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Really enjoyed the look-see, and after experiencing that I did a closer inspection of the new balconies on Carnival Sensation. Much better up close than from a distance. I'm not yet a fan of the addition when looking at the entire ship at once.

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OK, I've tinkered with the review enough, off and on, today, and am tired of doing the repeated cut-n-paste. There's probably a much easier way, but I just don't know it. Will post the conclusion to Nassau later tomorrow. It was the best part of the day by far, and something quite unexpected.

[luvtocruise11]

Absolutely love your review. Can't wait for more!

[AshleyDillo]

Hi Don:

 

Your review is great. Can't thank you enough for doing the review. Now I know what I have to look forward too. We sail tomorrow. Different ports. You mentioned something about the winery in Key West. Where is it located? We might have to give it a shot.

Can't wait to read the last part of your review. Wonderful pictures. We are in Jacksonville visiting our DD, before we sail.

 

Thanks again,

Eileen

[pale lady]

Your review is making me wish the next month would go by faster. I am going with a friend on the same trip you went on. Don't know if I can wait. I better bring a gallon of sun screen for Half Moon Cay since I am so pale (hence the screen name!)

[Wants2cruise]

Hi Don,

 

I wondered why I didn't see you after formal night, now I know. I have full sympathy for you. I don't just burn, I get crispy like fried. :) I had the staff bring in a vat of sunscreen into our room the night before HMC. I soaked in it all night, so I didn't get burned. :D

 

I was in love with the two private yachts that were docked right next to us at Nassau. I even talked to the crew of the Le Blue Cordon to see if it was a smaller cruise ship or a private yacht. That ship had some serious toys on it. If you counted it had the two large boats on the back, two fully equipped life boats and two smaller play boats. Then there was a zodiac tethered to the swimming platform. It was the topic at our dinner table that night. I was ready to volunteer to be the personal medic for whomever owned that little gem.

 

I did try to goggle it to see if there was information about it on the web. I am so glad that you had the insider info since I didn't have the right name.

I will be posting a review of our experience on the Fascination.

[teahoney]

I absolutely loved the review. Being that this the same class of ship that I'll be sailing this summer, I am super excited. I won't lie though. I died laughing at the seagull snatching the croissant out of your mouth.:p:D

[ohitssunshine]

Great review- I love the pics you took! I cannot believe that whole situation with the room service!

[DGP1111]

One night at home, several weeks prior to the cruise, I decided to check the available shore excursion to see if there was anything new listed I'd consider leaving the ship for while in Nassau. Same ol', same ol'

 

But then I remembered reading from someone online who was on one of the Sensation 'overnights', that they did an evening catamaran, and enjoyed it. So I looked that up and figured I must be looking at the wrong thing, as it was only thirty-nine bucks. :rolleyes: Yeah, right, how good could that be for so cheap?

 

The saying often goes, "You get what you pay for", and I routinely see it quoted here on CruiseCritic. Well, folks, I'm here to tell you that occasionally you get far more than you pay for when cruising. This excursion (in my own opinion) was worth much more . . . and I reacted to that feeling later.

 

While waiting for all the passengers to arrive on the pier next to our ship, it was interesting to watch the Carnival Destiny passengers who were late coming back for their sailaway. Some walked slowly while cursing those onboard who were yelling to them, some ran in gasping breaths, and the final couple arrived in a golf cart being driven at warp speed. The ramp had already been pulled in, with doors closing, but they put the ramp back out. Whew, lucky them!

 

Anyway . . . once that entertainment was completed, it was time for us to head to our "Champagne Sunset Catamaran" experience. Arrived at the boat to find one couple who was miffed that they'd already been there waiting for us to arrive. They'd confused the words Pier and Dock. She was especially unhappy, and let that be known. We'd all signed the liability waiver, and now that couple was being asked to sign the sheet before boarding. As they were grumbling and signing, as few up us began to board. I decided I'd sit in the back, despite having a lesser view, because it looked more comfortable. I'd not yet gotten my nest made before the unhappy couple came onboard and headed inside to the covered area . . . with the one problem that she'd not noticed there was an approximately 12-inch piece of metal to step over. It all happened so fast that she didn't have time to put her arms out. She splattered herself on the floor with such force that I wondered about the structure of this thing still being seaworthy. Wow!! (to use my word from the embarkation day). I was absolutely certain that we were in for a long delay while they'd have to call for medics, and do tons of paperwork. But her husband helped her up and got her seated inside. She looked beyond dazed and confused. I quicky headed to the front of the vessel, so that I'd not be asked if I saw anything or needed to fill out witness documents. Thank goodness they had her sign the clipboard before boarding.

 

Surprisingly, we were only a few minutes delayed, and off we went. The crew was introduced, and our two champagne coupons were distributed. Most hurried to the bar for their first (plastic) glass. From the get-go it seemed like this was going to be a very basic sail into the harbor, but the weather was great and I didn't care. Some of us passengers were getting chatty, which added to the enjoyment, and then we got to watch the crew pull the sails.

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A while later we went under the bridge which leads to Paradise Island & Atlantis. Enjoyed the view.

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We continued on to the end of Paradise Island, but instead of doing a u-turn and reversing our path, we headed down and around the other side. Cool!! We'd get to see Atlantis Resort from the opposite side of the normal view. . . and what a view it was. Also saw a wedding taking place along the beach and we got to cheer for the bride/groom and their guests. They waved back in appreciation.

 

One poor young man (a newlywed) was obviously not accepting the current rocking of the vessel very well, and started to get a 'look'. I knew that look and moved away in advance. New wifey got to see a different side of hubby. :eek: Eww. Yet another gentleman was coming back out with a drink in each hand when we hit a wave, and those nearby (especially his sweet wife) thought he was heading to sea, but with his legs dangling over the side, his rumpus caught the bottom rail and he was stopped. The crew got rags to clean his beverage mess from all around the area. He was not injured, thank goodness.

 

I know we've all seen that one lighthouse where the ships enter to dock at Nassau, but I've never been that close to it. Of course I grabbed my camera again.

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A full sunset (thus the excursion name) had begun and the red and orange tones were awesome. As we were ending our tour, a little over two hours from the start, I took some great photos of the ship from a different angle, but it was the view from the catamaran as we were being roped to the dock that caused me to audibly gasp.

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This had been a special thing for me, and easily worth (for me) more than the thirty-nine bucks spent . . . I made up the difference with a very nice gratuity into the bucket. What a way to end a day in a port stop that I'd totally ignored earlier in the day. Thanks, again, to the crew of the SeaHorse III.

[jpmaximus]

Don this is terrific! Keep it coming. I am waiting for your summary at the end of this cruise to other cruises. How does this ship measure up? THANKS!!!

[2snorkel/cruisers]

Don! Absolutely one of the BEST reviews I've ever read. We were on the Fascination in Dec but it went in a blur for me, had our 2 yr old grandson with us, everything centered around him. We're going to do the same itinerary that you did in the future. Keep it coming...

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

...

Cheryl, I know you and Tom are in Vegas, but if you happen to read this, I want you to know that I honestly had to laugh later with a though that you'd somehow, some way, arranged that whole episode, after the comments on the earlier thread. :p :p

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We take the 5th... ;)

 

:D

 

Tom

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Don - I wouldn't be surprised to see Cheryl hanging more with you than with me on our next cruise together. She said that there appears to always be more exciting things happening when you are around.. LOL

 

I love that shot of the crazed Gull !!

 

Tom

[Wants2cruise]

Don,

 

Your stories are hysterical. Who knew that you were having all of these adventures? We almost booked the sunset cruise. I would have paid money to see the antics on that adventure. That alone would have been worth the money. :p

 

For the record a women in her late 20-early 30's was injured in her attempt to self-disembark. She was being assisted into a wheelchair on deck 6 when we were returning to our room to pick-up our carry on bags.

[lakeluvr]

I've thoroughly enjoyed Don's review. :)

We leave on the Inspiration next Monday and I was searching to see if our cabin would be available as soon as we are onboard?

Don, please write and let me know how you uploaded the pics OR did you cut and paste everything (including pics) from Word? I would love to do a review like this when we get back .... :rolleyes:

Thanks.

Lisa

lakeluvr@gmail.com

[luvncruisn]

Thanks so much for this great review. A friend and I just booked this cruise and we are so excited!! Thanks for sharing your experience and your GREAT pictures!

[JaniceB]

Don,

 

Great review. You have probably been asked this question previously, but what type of camera do you own? The pictures are great.

I really enjoyed you review and appreciate the time you took so that we could enjoy your cruise with you.

 

Janice