Fascination Review with Pics 6/13-6/18

[sherizel]

This was my first cruise and didn't really know what to expect so I have nothing to compare it to. Overall a good time but I think I would like to experience a newer ship or a different cruise line just for comparison sake.

 

We flew into Jacksonville the day before and stayed at the Springhill Suites by the airport. Very nice hotel, clean, and the staff was very accommodating. Our hotel price included pickup from the airport, breakfast and the shuttle to the port the next day. There are a few restaurants across the street so no need to take a cab anywhere for the evening unless you want to. This is the lobby of the Springhill Suites.

 

 

 

 

The next morning we had breakfast and took the 10:45 am shuttle to the port because we wanted to be there early. We arrived at the port around 11:15.

 

 

 

 

Everything at the terminal ran smoother than I had anticipated plus it was air conditioned. As soon as we stepped out of the shuttle we had someone take our bags and we were inside the terminal within minutes. We stood in line for a bit, set up our sign & sail cards, etc.. The process took about an hour but moved along quickly. We had our picture taken and were sent on our way. Once on board we made our way straight to the excursion desk to book a cabana for Half Moon Cay. We were fourth in line and got one. We headed up to the Coconut Bar & Grille for lunch.

 

 

This was madness. There were a ton of people up there and it was REALLY hot. We left and decided to walk around the ship some and then come back.

 

 

[sherizel]

 

 

 

 

After checking out the ship we went back up the Coconut Grille and had lunch. We sat at a table outside on the deck. Again, it was really hot but the only place available to sit. We made our way inside and out to the Lido deck where they started the music and some dancing.

 

 

[sherizel]

We went down to our rooms to wait for our luggage, cool off and wait for instructions for the muster drill.

 

 

All of a sudden the power went out. Everyone had their doors open and we were wondering what was going on. Luckily we had an oceanview cabin so we could see but the inside cabins across from us were completely in the dark. This lasted about a half hour, turns out they blew a fuse but everything was fine. We rearranged the beds to give us some more room and then headed up for the muster drill which went by fast.

We went back to the cabin to change for dinner and made our way to the dining room.

 

The dining room staff was very nice. We had several different waiters so it was hard to keep up with who was who but they were all nice. Overall I was disappointed in the food. I think it was because I kept reading on how great the food was but honestly I thought it was just okay. Nothing special or out of the ordinary, just okay. I tried different things on the menu every night and it was all about the same quality. Good but nothing exceptional which is what I would have expected when cooking for 2000 people. The desserts were the best thing on the menu and I have to agree with everyone when they say the chocolate melting cake is good, it's great! The best thing on the ship is the ice cream in the Coconut Grille.

Later that evening we went to the show that evening in The Palace theater. We were introduced to our cruise director Trevor who was great and the cast of the shows who were all pretty talented. After the show we went to check out the Piano Bar but there was no one there. We then called it a night.

 

The next day was a full day at Sea. We spent the day eating at the Coconut Grille, going to a few shops, laying on the lounge chairs, going to the casino, etc.. I am a pool person and would have loved to spend time in the pool but it was full of kids and the pool was so small no adults could really go into it. It was like this throughout the whole cruise.

Later that evening was the Elegant Night. There was a reception with the captain in the Palace theater which turned out to be the captain getting on stage and saying a few words which you couldn't really hear or understand. You were offered your choice of a few pre selected free drinks but could not order what you wanted. We went to dinner and it was basically the same as all the other dinners just in fancier clothes and they added a lobster tail to the menu. Personally, I thought the whole thing was kind of a let down, it was nothing special. There were tons of people taking pictures though which were nice. I believe that was also the night of the 80's dance show which was great, definitely one of the highlights of the trip.

The next day was the one I was really waiting for, Half Moon Cay. We were told there would be an announcement as to when we could head down to get off the ship but that never happened. We ate breakfast up on the Lido deck and waited and waited and finally went down to a ton of people waiting to get off the ship. It was very disorganized, we didn't get off the ship until after 10 and I think we docked somewhere around 8. Half Moon Cay is gorgeous! It was worth going just for that stop.

 

 

We spent the day in our Cabana which was absolutely worth the price. It included a table and four chairs, two chaise lounge, a shower, a fruit plate, vegetable and dip, salsa and chips, soft drinks, water, a refrigerator, and air conditioner, a fan, floatie mats and snorkel gear. The weather was perfect when we got off the ship and I layered the sunscreen but as the day went on it got hotter and hotter. By 3 pm it was blazing hot. There was a bbq lunch available for free which included hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, coleslaw, cookies, etc.. We thoroughly enjoyed the day and headed back around 4. It was kind of a hike from our cabana back to the ferry boat that dropped us off. A truck stopped and picked us up which I was so thankful for because it was soooo hot out. We had to stand in line for about 20 minutes waiting for the ferry.

After making it back to my room, cooling off and taking a shower the sunburn really started to set in. I was really burnt. A lot of aloe and some tylenol really didn't help much so I skipped the dining room that night and ordered room service. I had the BLT sandwich which was pretty good. I wanted to get a good nights sleep because the next day was Nassau.

 

 

 

[sherizel]

Our original plan was to shop a little in the morning and spend the afternoon at the Wyndham Resort swimming but after the terrible sunburn at Half Moon Cay we decided to stick with shopping and the straw market.

 

 

After some shopping I decided to go check out Atlantis. I took a shuttle over there and walked around the hotel and casino. I went to a few stores and had lunch at the deli. It's very expensive, my turkey sandwich and diet coke cost me $23. Atlantis is a beautiful resort and if I were to come back to the Bahamas I would stay there and probably skip the cruise and take advantage of their waterpark, pools and beaches.

 

 

It had been raining off and on the whole day and we got soaked walking back to our ship which was the last one in port.

 

 

 

[sherizel]

 

 

That evening back at the ship we had dinner and walked around some. Went to check out the piano bar again but there was no one there. We checked out the jewelry store, photo gallery, hung out at the bar and then headed to the lido deck where there was live music and a late night mexican buffet. I was still full from dinner but others said it was pretty good. Then off to bed.

The next day was our last day at sea. We had breakfast in the dining room. It was great, why didn't we do that the whole time?? My biggest complaint with the Coconut Grille is that it was really crowded all the time and the tables didn't get cleared off quickly so we wound up sitting outside most of the time which was okay but it got really hot at times. The dining room was so nice. We met some new people at the table and were able to order pretty much the same thing as the grill but it was a nicer relaxed atmosphere.

I spent the rest of the day walking around, visiting the casino, picking up some last minute souveniers, and packing. We had dinner in the dining room and then went to the Hey Mambo show which was okay.

The next morning we got up early and had breakfast in the dining room while we waited for our numbers to be called to disembark the ship. It all went very smoothly. Our number was called and we were off the ship quickly, our luggage was there waiting and we were out of the terminal and headed to the airport. Our flight didn't leave until 5pm so we sat at the airport all day but the time went quickly.

Overall I had a good time and think it was a good experience for my first cruise. My main complaints with this ship in particular was that the food was just okay and some activities never happened because no one was there (like the piano bar). Half Moon Cay was definitely a highlight and the customer service on the ship was superb. I would like to try a newer ship just to see the differences but was very happy with the quality and cleanliness of the Fascination. After reading this message board for months I really wasn't surprised by anything except for the fact that cruising is a lot more physical than I thought. I guess it never crossed my mind but there was a lot more walking and running around than I thought there would be and it was really hot out. I would recommend this cruise for a first time cruiser but not someone who is used to a higher class or quality of food and accomodations.

[randys]

how much was the cabana at half moon cay and how did you reserve it?

 

i am trying to reserve one now and cant find it on the excursion section

 

 

thanks for the review

[Glassrobinson]

great review so far, nice pics...keep it comin'!

[rebeljohn]

Nice review and pics...........................!!

[GAMOM4]

I have sailed out of Jacksonville on the Jubilee and the Celebration (2 times) but haven't been on the Fascination yet..I want to go --- I wish they had a cruise to Half Moon Cay & Key West....I would book immediately!

[sherizel]

The cabana at Half Moon Cay is $225 and in my opinion well worth it. You have to reserve it at the excursion desk once on board. We got on board around 12:00 and were fourth in line at the excursion desk and were the third group to get a cabana. Around 2:00 I heard someone say they tried to get a cabana and they were all gone so get there as early as possible.

[remharri]

Good review so far, but you could have used your own pics ;) These are some of the same pics I took and posted in my review.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=974156

[sherizel]

Sorry, I think I did use 3 of your pics of the inside of the ship because they came out better than mine. For example my Diamonds are Forever pic was a little blurry and you had the same one but clear. It's the same pic. The rest of the pics are mine. The pics I used were just pics of the inside of the ship, I didn't use anything personal.

[remharri]

Sorry, I think I did use 3 of your pics of the inside of the ship because they came out better than mine. For example my Diamonds are Forever pic was a little blurry and you had the same one but clear. It's the same pic. The rest of the pics are mine. The pics I used were just pics of the inside of the ship, I didn't use anything personal.

 

 

No problem, I knew they looked familar ;)

[cuted126]

Our hotel price included pickup from the airport, breakfast and the shuttle to the port the next day.

 

May I ask how much was it?

[tiggerman101]

I was on this cruise. I wish you had a pic of yourself so I could see who you were. It was a nice cruise for us. We booked it for a relaxing getaway. Being the time of year I knew what the crowds would be like. There were a lot of families and kids which made the pool area pretty much unusable. It was just way too crowded. Still, I expected that.

 

The power outage was weird. I like how they came on at first and tried to say it was a "routine power test" which just happened to occur minutes before Muster :rolleyes:. At least they finally admitted a generator had gone out after awhile. All in all it was no big deal.

 

We had a great time though. We had Cabana #11 and thought it was completely worth it.

[cuted126]

I was on this cruise. I wish you had a pic of yourself so I could see who you were. It was a nice cruise for us. We booked it for a relaxing getaway. Being the time of year I knew what the crowds would be like. There were a lot of families and kids which made the pool area pretty much unusable. It was just way too crowded. Still, I expected that.

 

The power outage was weird. I like how they came on at first and tried to say it was a "routine power test" which just happened to occur minutes before Muster :rolleyes:. At least they finally admitted a generator had gone out after awhile. All in all it was no big deal.

 

We had a great time though. We had Cabana #11 and thought it was completely worth it.

 

Enjoyed your Victory review,are you gonna do a Fascination review? With pics:D?

[gatour]

When you went to the piano bar to check it out, how long were you there for and what do you mean by "no one was there" do you mean no customers or no piano player? Or both?

[sherizel]

The cabana is $225 and well worth it in my opinion, especially if you are planning on spending the whole day there. It got much hotter as the day went on and like I said, I got burnt but I do have very sensitive skin. We were in the orange cabana which was perfect. Away from all the kids but not too far down the beach.

 

Tiggerman - the power outage was interesting. They first came on saying it was a "routine test" but all of us were in the hallways laughing saying, "yeah right" and they did get on saying it was a generator problem or something. At least we had an oceanview room and a little light.

 

We went to the piano bar at least 10 times. Several times we specifically went when the caper said the player (I forget his name) would be there and he was never there. A couple of times there were some people hanging out in there smoking but never the piano player. There were some other smaller activities where I showed up (on time) and no one was there. It wasn't that big of a deal but I was looking forward to the piano bar.

[sherizel]

Cuted - sorry, I thought you were asking about the cabana price, I read to fast! The hotel was around $145 which I thought was a pretty good deal for transportation and breakfast. The hotel was nice also.

[tiggerman101]

Yea, the piano bar was completely dead on this cruise. It was the same when I was on the Fascination in December. I would guess that it has something to do with the location. It is away from everything else. The rest of the lounges were pretty busy. There was a MASSIVE karaoke crowd on this cruise.

[sherizel]

I never witnessed any karaoke but I sure did hear it! Especially on the way to dinner and around the promenade deck, it was pretty funny.

 

What surprised me is that there were 2000+ people on board yet I kept seeing the same people over and over again.

[Georgiagolfer]

Overall I was disappointed in the food. I think it was because I kept reading on how great the food was but honestly I thought it was just okay. Nothing special or out of the ordinary, just okay. I tried different things on the menu every night and it was all about the same quality. Good but nothing exceptional which is what I would have expected when cooking for 2000 people. The desserts were the best thing on the menu and I have to agree with everyone when they say the chocolate melting cake is good, it's great!

We went to dinner and it was basically the same as all the other dinners just in fancier clothes and they added a lobster tail to the menu. Personally, I thought the whole thing was kind of a let down, it was nothing special. There were tons of people taking pictures though which were nice. I believe that was also the night of the 80's dance show which was great, definitely one of the highlights of the trip.

 

DW and I sailed this itinerary in Feb. this year and have to agree with you about the food. Never had an outstanding meal in MDR on this cruise, which is a 1st for us on Carnival. Also, the staff while appearing friendly, seemed to be just going about the motions. We enjoyed the cruise, as we have every cruise, just that this was our least enjoyable.

[WAcruisers]

Yea, the piano bar was completely dead on this cruise. It was the same when I was on the Fascination in December. I would guess that it has something to do with the location. It is away from everything else. The rest of the lounges were pretty busy. There was a MASSIVE karaoke crowd on this cruise.

tiggerman..........are you going to do a review too? I love your writing style and photo's. :cool:

[CarolinaCouple09]

The piano bar was always dead when I went there too. And when the piano player was there, I thought he was pretty bad. Karaoke was pretty packed most of the time though. What happened to the finals on the last night? It said throughout the week you could qualify for them but then I never saw anything about them towards the end. Also I think it stopped to early a lot of the time. It was over at 10:30 and we had late dining so by the time we were done with that we would get there when it was almost over. Had a great time though. We actually got seated at dining with someone who was on our roll call. I thought that was pretty crazy.

[CarolinaCouple09]

We kept seeing the same people over and over too. Tiggerman I thought I saw you a couple of times but wasn't sure so I didn't want to look like an idiot.