We don't know what were doing 😜

So we got aggravated with the kids one day. Realized we've only had one vacation in 15 years. Called a PVP and booked a cruise. We can get to Jacksonville, and we don't care where. Boom! Fascination to Bahamas. I've read a lot of posts and picked my preferred ships for next time. I don't get all the negativity I see. I get a place to sleep, tons of food choices and booze, comedy and Broadway type musicals. How can I have a bad time? I'm pretty sure we will become cruise addicts. Since we're "foodies" I just need to pay more attention.

Welcome to the wonderful world of cruising. You left out one super benefit from your list, unpacking and packing just once.

Check out the material on this link:

First Time Cruiser Resources

Thanks Host Walt! Somehow I missed that page in my perusings. Im waiting on our passports. I may want a cruise before our first cruise. Lol this site has gotten me too hyped.

Granny you got the right attitude. Get your butt to the chip and enjoy yourself.

At day on a cruise ship is a good day.

Only thing to be concerned about is getting hooked on cruising (and that ain't really a bad thing).

Sounds like a plan to have a GREAT time! Enjoy!

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Cruising is a wonderful way to vacation

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

What a great attitude you have.

Once you have taken that first cruise, you will be hooked.

So we got aggravated with the kids one day. Realized we've only had one vacation in 15 years. Called a PVP and booked a cruise. We can get to Jacksonville, and we don't care where. Boom! Fascination to Bahamas. I've read a lot of posts and picked my preferred ships for next time. I don't get all the negativity I see. I get a place to sleep, tons of food choices and booze, comedy and Broadway type musicals. How can I have a bad time? I'm pretty sure we will become cruise addicts. Since we're "foodies" I just need to pay more attention.

Welcome. There was recently a thread in the Celebrity forum about this very thing. The poster was tired of listening to the complaints and whining and requested everyone list what made them happy about cruising - what a great, fun thread it was. You are right - there is a lot of negativity on this Board, but I advise you to ignore it. I've taken 15 cruises and I can count the number of times I had a legitimate complaint on one hand - and I wouldn't even use up all the fingers. Even if there is something to complain about, the positives far, far outweigh the negatives. When you read about someone complaining about the orange juice or the toiletries, or whatever, you have to wonder what they would do if they really had something to complain about. Like, oh, I don't know...living in Syria, maybe. You will have a ball. You have the right attitude for cruising. Bon voyage.

The cruise fever is very catching. I had never been on a cruise until I retired 7 years ago. Today, I have 18 past cruises and 5 more scheduled for the next 18 months.

There is a ton of good information on the forum and there is enough to keep you reading till the cruise starts. Don't be put off by the negative posts. Ninety percent of the people only speak up when they're PO'd at some perceived slight. Someone already said something similar, but it bares repeating: "The worst day cruising is better than the best day at work".

Were very excited. Seems like Fascination doesn't have as many bells and whistles but it should be a good first cruise. I've already picked out my next three trips!

Hi Granny!! I totally agree with you...there does seem to be a lot of negativity and criticism, and it drives me crazy!!! I'd like to share a little story with you...

Three of my friends and I booked our very first cruise last year. We booked in February, and by the time the sail date rolled around in October, we were so excited, we were ready to burst!! We were supposed to sail to Bermuda on the Norwegian Dawn on Friday October 17. Two days prior, I was watching the news, and was horrified when I saw that Hurricane Gonzalo was barreling towards Bermuda, and was due to make landfall around the time that would have really mucked with our cruise.

I was TERRIFIED. And, I feel a little guilty because this is going to sound horribly selfish...as much as I cared about the good people of Bermuda, I didn't want to see the scariest words I could imagine for my first vacation ever -- your cruise has been canceled.

I picked up the phone and called my travel agent immediately. What I found out is that cruise lines NEVER cancel. However, the *might* send you somewhere you didn't think you were going. At that point, Norwegian hadn't made any decisions, and the Dawn was still scheduled to go to Bermuda. Ok...I was nervous, but not as much as I had been before that phone call.

On Friday, we still hadn't been notified by NCL that anything had changed, so we took our suitcases and schlepped down to the pier. We checked our bags and went through security. There was an NCL staff member who was handing out the obligatory health forms, and right behind her was another staff member handing out something, too. I took the paper and read it -- all I really read was "Nassau" and "Bahamas," and I literally started jumping up and down and squealing right there in line. In hindsight, it was a bit embarrassing, but I digress...

I got on that boat, and all I really wanted was to be somewhere warm and someplace where my office couldn't find me. Beyond that, I really didn't care WHERE they sent me. And yet....I heard people complaining every single freaking day. There came a point when I finally just started telling people, "I'm really enjoying my trip to the Bahamas, please don't ruin it."

In fact, we liked it so much, two of the four of us are taking the Gem in July to the Bahamas again...intentionally! Of course, with our luck, we'll wind up in Bermuda, but that's ok with me!!! We even pushed the envelope a little farther and booked a guaranteed interior stateroom. Now, in my mind, I'm assuming there going to put us in some tiny little closet on Deck 5 under the casino, which would be absolutely fine with me. All I need is a bed to sleep in, a place to store my belongings, and a little privacy to bathe and change my clothes. God only knows what stateroom we'll wind up in or what port we're going to visit. But hey, if you weren't willing to take the adventure aspect, why wouldn't you just fly to the destination you want to visit?

Love your attitude!! By the way, I had actually dreamt of taking a cruise to the Bahamas for over 20 years....NCL and Hurricane Gonzalo made that dream come true!

Oh I do like this thread!! I too am booked on my first ever cruise, coming up in December TA from Southampton to New York. I'm so excited already that I spend half my time daydreaming and reading crossing blogs.

I have booked an inside cabin because there was a low single supp, and I shall be perfectly happy whether I'm upgraded or not, next to the elevator or not, I shall have earplugs in my bag just in case. I know I will have gratuities to pay, I shall also pay for a spa pass so I can swim and steam and dream my way across the Atlantic.

I will be well fed, well watered (free drinks package), I won't be jet lagged and feeling like a dried out squeezed up lemon on arrival in the USA. I can dress up (or not) for dinner, sip cocktails to my hearts content, socialise (or not), and sail past the Statue of Liberty.

I plan on simply having a wonderful time.........

Scarlet

Any new positives out there? Our cruise is now 129 days. Still seems like forever. I'm even more excited. I've read thread after thread. It seems a lot of the disappointment comes from high expectations vs reality, or perception of that reality. I'm pretty easy going/go with the flow. Give me a lobster bisque or a good chili dog and I'm happy. Now if they run out of wine, I gotta improvise...

Welcome to cruise critic and congrats on booking your cruise. Keep an open mind, don't expect 5 star restaurants on board and you will have an awesome time. Sounds like you have the right outlook.

Oh I do like this thread!! I too am

 

 

I plan on simply having a wonderful time.........

 

Scarlet

This is key. Happy is as happy does, or something like that (to mis-quote Forrest Gump). :) Our first cruise was almost 3 years ago on the Celebrity Century. There were lots of bad reviews about how run down it was, etc. etc. We didn't care. We were going to Alaska!

It was our first vacation, not at a cottage and away from the kids, in 22 years. We were so excited. Yes. So excited we booked two more before even going on the first one.

Anyway, it was fabulous. We loved every second of it. I'm pretty sure there were flaws. In fact, something has gone wrong pretty much every cruise, but they were so minor and so quickly rectified as to not even warrant a mention here.

Hope you have a great cruise!

Granny....don't get caught up in negativities. If you have no way as of yet to base an opinion it is a good thing for you.....but.....as you gain experience.......you will know what you can live with or without! You learn with each and every cruise:p

Any new positives out there? Our cruise is now 129 days. Still seems like forever. I'm even more excited. I've read thread after thread. It seems a lot of the disappointment comes from high expectations vs reality, or perception of that reality. I'm pretty easy going/go with the flow. Give me a lobster bisque or a good chili dog and I'm happy. Now if they run out of wine, I gotta improvise...

Aloha :D,

Sept. wife & I are going on our 3rd cruise. 1st Anchorage to Vancouver, 2nd Hokkaido circle island.

However, firstime using this message board for 3rd cruise.

Use the very front page of message board http://boards.cruisecritic.com/index.php and look under "Roll Calls" for Carnival CL. Sign up for the Mix and Mingle get together hosted by the CL.

Also look for interesting topics using search feature. Use "Jacksonville" as a search criteria and see what pops up.

Play around with the message board topics and you will probably garner a lot of information about your particular cruise from people who have taken the same cruise previously.

Ignore grumblers. If it was so bad, why are they still paying to go cruising?

Aloha & good luck ! ! :D

Hi Granny!!! I've been on 7 cruises with two of them being on the Fascination and my upcoming cruise is on the Fascination as well! As you pointed out it does not have all the "bells and whistles" but I enjoy it and myself on VACATION!!!! Which means I don't have to work, cook, clean, drive or any of those other pesky little day to day task!:D I honestly can't figure out all of the negativity, but then again I am pretty easy to please..... I plan to have fun when I book a cruise and FUN is exactly what I do!!!!

Any new positives out there? Our cruise is now 129 days. Still seems like forever. I'm even more excited. I've read thread after thread. It seems a lot of the disappointment comes from high expectations vs reality, or perception of that reality. I'm pretty easy going/go with the flow. Give me a lobster bisque or a good chili dog and I'm happy. Now if they run out of wine, I gotta improvise...

Four years ago, my wife and I went on our first cruise (10 days on Norwegian Jade in Eastern Med.) It was awesome, of course! We were hooked. But I have two specifics thoughts related to what you've been talking about.

#1: Before our first cruise, my wife was very skeptical that cruising would be for her. She likes to go, go, go when we're on vacation...squeezing in as many new places and experiences as possible. I have the more stressful job in our marriage, and I'm much more okay with relaxing and doing nothing from time to time. But she was convinced she'd be bored on the ship and had a hard time imagining what she would do with herself. So, on day 1, we boarded around 2pm in Civitavechia (near Rome). I would say by 7 pm or so, she was hooked. Everyone around us was in a great mood. Music playing. LOTS of food. Amazing things to see. A lovely cabin with our own balcony. And the beauty of sailing away. Readily available alcohol! Our next day was at sea, and we had the most wonderful time. For us, cruising is the perfect combination of being able to do nothing and offering lots to do. I simply can't understand those who don't like it. (And I love being able to give my wife a hard time about her initial attitude!)

#2: Things will go wrong. A meal might not be all that great. You will struggle to find a seat in the buffet for lunch. You might find out that the subway you were going to take back to the port from Athens had closed down for repairs and you don't quite know how you were going to get back! Internet will be slow and expensive (thus encouraging you to spend less time surfing and more time looking at the surf...aren't I poetic!?). You might engage in an onboard event that turns out not be your cup of tea (art auction!). But it sounds to me like you have the right attitude, and are totally set up to have a great time. We like to preplan like crazy, and cruising is perfect for that...so much you COULD pre-plan. Or you could completely wing it and go with the flow...and also have a fabulous time. I'm envious of you being able to go on your first cruise. I'd like to try it again for the first time.

Thanks everyone! I think the best advice I've read so far is to pack my good attitude. Thus said, they'd have to work hard for me to have a bad time. I cannot wait!

Have a great time.

We were pretty much the same 23 years with only one holiday, lets have a cruise, now we are hooked.

Be careful it is addictive.

I just wanted to say that we booked a fabulous cruise using CruiseOnly.com. They were very helpful in all that we needed. We got a $50 on board credit for using them. Our ship was Carnival Pride. June 7-14, 2015.

My comments are as follows:

Stores: prices are ok. We bought 2 shirts for $20 the first day and then on the last day the store advertised that they were on sale for $10 each? That is what I paid the first day? Candy bars were $2+ and the “pay by the pound” candy did not have a large variety of candy. The jewelry store had great sales on lots of different types of jewelry and items. Michelle in the jewelry store was fantastic and very friendly. The watch sale was great. You got a red or yellow ticket when you bought something in the jewelry store, then you came back for drawings. You had to be present to win the prize. That was a great idea to get you in the store to buy more items. I missed dinner to go to the drawing but did not win. I had the 8:15pm dinner seating.

Room:

We had a window room on the first floor. It was small but it worked for us. I had 3 adults in our room. My son said sleeping on the couch which was VERY hard and was not fun. I wish you could choose the type bed he could have had like a birth type bed. Bring a strip type electric cord cause there is only one outlet in the room. The room steward that we had was great and friendly. Vincent Jones was his name. He did a great job for us. I had my son order room service one night but did not know that the pizza is a $5 charge. Most everything else on room service is free and they will bring you most anything you want like PBJ sandwiches or milk and cookies. Bathrobes were great for after showering and I saw some people were wearing them cause they were cold on the ship. We only had bathrobes 2 in our room till the last 2 days and we had 3 people but we did not use but one of them. Our room was comfortable most of the time with the temperature. One night I did get hot. Some people were saying that they were very cold in their rooms. You get a blue large towel in your room to use at the pools. You can turn them in to the pool counter and get a fresh one. You can buy one of these to take home at the end of the trip. You can buy a robe too.

Food:

I loved that there were small shop size eateries all on deck 9. Lots of selections like Italian, salads, Chinese, burgers, deli.....I did crave chips after a few days. Maybe add that to the deli. Fresh Fruit was everywhere. There was a Sweets area too. And one day they had a chocolate bar! Guys Burgers are great. We ate there everyday.

Dining Room:

I ate breakfast the first day in the dining room. The scrambled eggs were not very tasty. I ordered grits and never got them. After that we ate on Deck 9 each morning and had lots to choose from like cereal, oatmeal, grits, eggs 3+ different ways, pancakes, waffles, toast, bacon, ham, sausage, ….. I had asked for “any time” dining but got 8:15pm. I did not know that you could change this by asking. I hated eating this late in the day. We attended the Captains dinner and did not leave till 10:15pm. I went straight to bed. The meal at the Captains dinner was GREAT. I had shrimp cocktail and 2 Lobster tails. Then the Chocolate Melt cake with vanilla ice cream. This desert I had many time. It was great. Know that that night is the only night you can get lobster tails with out being charged $20. I tried the escargot and enjoyed it. All the meals were fabulous and you can have as many items as you want. 2 appetizers or 2 main or 2 scoops of ice cream with your cake. They will do any thing you want. If you like chocolate milk, they will have it ready for you at every meal. My son and husband had bought the soda package and they had sodas for them every time. I drink the ice tea. $6 of your gratuity goes to the dining staff so use the dining room.

Soda Program:

Sodas are $1.50 so you have to buy more than 28 sodas to make the program worth buying. My son only bought 8 so he was paying $3+ each soda. You are asking how I know this? It is only your statement that you can pull up anytime. Bring sodas on board. I saw 12 packs + being carried on board. We brought a 6 pack of different kinds and I ordered a 6 pack of Caffeine free cokes cause they don't offer them. I have kidney stones and can't have caffeine. Yes I had to drink the tea at dinner. Many people had their own sodas. I wish the cruise line would change this and offer free sodas.

Excursions:

Florida-We did not want to go to Disney or Universal or spend lots of money so I researched Jetty Park. I loved it. Swimming in the ocean, walking on the pier and seeing turtles, very clean bathrooms, gift store, snack bar with lots of variety of foods. I did not cost us any money to get in the park by way of taxi. It did cost us $5 per person per trip to taxi there. $30 for a 8 mile trip was really high for a taxi. The taxi drive said to us that “ you won't like Jetty Park” cause he works for someone who owns business at Cocoa Beach. Cocoa Beach has high crime rate so be warned. The people at Jetty Park were so very kind and helpful. Thank you to them! A big storm came and shortened our stay but we had a great time. The taxi driver only took 5 minutes to come back and get us but then he tried to tell us we did not pay enough money and may have to pay more. WARNING! He told us we had the wrong tickets too. This stressed me out. I am glad we did not go to Disney cause they got rained on and could not ride the rides. We went back to the ship and ate Guys Burgers! I give a 5 out of 5 for Jetty Park.

Nassau- We booked online a trip to a beautiful Ardastra Gardens and Zoo with a city tour included. I give it a 5 out of 5. I recommend this trip to anyone. Our bus driver “Carvin” was fantastic! He was fun and entertaining. He showed us all the interesting historic sites. Now I did see how trashy the people keep their yards and houses. They seem VERY poor. I saw old appliances in yards, broken down cars, old broken lawn mowers.... We stopped by a small vendor area by the Fort Charlotte. My husband and son bought some shirts for $7 each and the towels were $15 each. Prices were not bad. Young boys selling items and not in school? What was that all about? We then were driven to the zoo and beautiful gardens. It was very small compared to zoos in DC but I really enjoyed feeding the parrots. My son got to march with the flamingos too. I loved the place. Bring bug spray cause the biting bugs were bad. The Zoo brought some spray around for us to use which was very nice. It was an hour and a half which I wish it could be 2 hours long. I did not get to shop in the gift shop. They sell water and soda too. We gave our driver a nice tip at the end of the ride back to the dock area. We went back to the ship and dropped off our stuff and ate lunch then we went shopping at the Straw Market. Be careful with how much you tell them you have to spend. Talk them down on the items. I only had $22 dollars and one lady was asking $35 for a “hand made looking” album that hold post cards. She did take the $22 after I showed her how much I had. If you are with someone split your money up and don't tell them if your partner has more money. By the exit there are vendors that have $1 items like key chains and such. We did try to find the close beach but the Hilton Hotel was doing construction on a parking lot and we could not figure out how to get to the beach. We walked 2 miles to the Junkoo Beach and it was trashy. Drunk tourists were everywhere. One drink guy was hitting coral with a glass beer bottle in the water like playing baseball. We put our feet in cause we forgot our swimsuits on the ship. We walked back to the ship. And on our way by the Hilton Hotel there was a store “T-Shirts Unlimited” selling t-shirts 3/$10. We shopped there and found some nice shirts and gifts. They took credit cards too. We went back to the ship and ate dinner at Guys Burgers. Great day! Very hot and humid so take a mister or Frogg Togg with you.

Freeport- Not a very pretty area to port but they have some shops were you get off the ship. We booked a trip to Paradise Cove, not through the ship. We were trying to get off the ship in time to make our transportation but tour groups were big and we could not get through and then they were stopping on the gang plank to take their pictures for the ship photographer. We missed our bus by only 15 minutes, but a very nice lady in a nice suit called the Paradise Cove owner and he sent out another bus to get us. They picked us up at 9:00am and we were off. Seeing how poor the people are of this island was very hard. People living in a concrete block 4 wall house with a roof and sometimes no windows was so hard to see. We arrived at Paradise Cove and paid for 2 snorkel adventures and one chair for my husband with umbrella. They said that the chair and umbrella were free but it still added up to $103. Transportation was $24 each. We brought our own gear too. I did use a free floating belt which I am glad I did cause it made it nice to not have to tread water. We took the mandatory safety training and off my son and I went. We walked out as far as we could then swam. My son got touched by Fire Coral by mistake from the tide pushing him down on it. It hurt for 45+ minutes but he was a trooper and kept going. He had trouble with his mask getting water in it and his snorkel kept not letting him breath. We found a group out in the water and there was a man with them that seemed like he was instructing them. I asked him if he could help my son and he did kindly. It was worth the money. We swam more than an hour and saw 50+ fish of all sizes. When we came back to shore I fell on the hard rocky surface that was very slippery about 2 feet from the sand area. I told the owner Barry that I fell and he got me ice and offered my son some vinegar for his fire coral sting. Now if you do come to Paradise Cove don't think it is a resort of any sort. It is small. It is a shelter with snack bar, equipment rental area and bathrooms. If you want the resort thing don't come here. I had a great time. We had to catch our bus back to the ship at 12:00. Our bus took us back in time to do some shopping. I got my best deal at one of the small tables. I got a shark tooth bracelet, Turquoise necklace, 2 turquoise bracelets, and turquoise ear rings for $20. Back on the ship and off we went. Got to see sharks by the restaurant on the way out. They feed them there. I give Paradise Cove a 4 out of 5. Wish they would advertise their prices before hand.

Recreation on the Ship:

There really was no recreation on the ship. There was contests like bean bag toss and Limbo contest. I wish there was more fun things to do. Trivia every day got old. Bingo cost $20-40. My suggestions are scavenger hunts for facts about the ship, hula hoop contests, relay races, beach ball games, basketball shooting contests, circle the words the fastest contest, putt putt contests like hole in one, ….. Rebekah did a great job even if she had a stalker following her everywhere-Austin. Loved the prizes for the games of trivia and bean bag toss. Loved the trophies and metals. The arcade is VERY hard to find. It took my husband and I 2 ½ days to find it. We played in there lots. You pay by your room key/Sail and Sign card and it adds up your tickets and you can “buy” small cheap prizes for the tickets. We had fun with the air hockey and skee ball. I put some money on my sons Sail and Sign card and let him have fun in the arcade.

Ship:

The ship is beautiful inside. In the eating area on Deck 9 it is VERY cold. Bring a sweat shirt and long pants. It was always clean and neat. The bathrooms are clean and well stocked. The Taj Mahal was FREEZING cold. This is where the bingo games were played and I froze. 80% of the rooms were balcony rooms. I went on line to find out what the ship had so I could plan accordingly but no where did it say exactly what was on the Price ship. My son took tennis shoes which came in handy at the basketball court. He wishes he took basketball shorts. The water slides were fun for him. I did not know there was a slash type area for young children till late in our trip. I love the Serenity area and pool for over 21 year old. No splashing in the pool just relaxing. You were to reserve a lounger or hammock but I just waited till the people were done and used it. The hammocks are great! Recommend the ship put more of those on the ship. I recommend showering off by the pool cause the salt water in the pools drys your skin. My husband would go to the bars all over the ship to get his soda in his cup he bought and he would be ignored. The bartenders did not want to wait on him cause there was no tip from him. Alcohol drinkers with tips were priority. Suggestions for the ship is to have one bartender help soda drinkers at the end of the bar or have free sodas.

Suggestions of what to bring:

Strong metal clip type magnets for the room. We hung our wet bathing suits over the sink in the bathroom. There is a small drying line in the shower.

Strip electric cord for all the electronic items to be charged. There is only one outlet.

Some decoration for your door so it is easy to find your door.

Extra empty bags to take your purchases home with you.

Underwater camera if snorkeling. They are sold for $18 at beach areas.

We used a Travel card for the credit card for the Sail and Sign account so we could know how much we could spend. You can get these at any bank but be careful with the card cause your name is not on the card. We saved our money for months and deposited a large amount at one time cause they charge you a fee each time you deposit money on the card. Take another credit card just in case you over spend like we did. They ship has ATM machines and they have machines to tell you how much you spend. If you have more than one person on the account, you can see what they are spend the money on. This is how I knew how many sodas were being drank. Each time you get a soda they swipe your Sail and Sign card. Great to keep tabs on your children spending.

For the ladies, bring a small shoulder strap purse. I bought a $1 Dollar Tree bag big enough to put my passport in and some cash. It worked great. I put the daily activity schedule in it and some cash for the Quarter drop game. I used it on excursions too.

Lanyard for the Sail and Sign card. If you walk through the casino the first day they may be giving them out for free. Just ask. Ask the service desk to punch a hole in the card and you are good to go. The lanyard the casino gives you is stretchy and you don't have to take it off to make purchases.

We just booked our second trip on the Carnival Fascination. We had a load of fun and met some great people on that ship, in fact we still keep in touch with one couple (we lost the contact info for the other couple).

we most enjoyed spending time in the forward portion of the pool. The wait staff comes right to the pool to take your drink orders and food is readily available.

Good food, relaxing environment, great scenery. You'll have a blast.

Congratulations on taking the first step to your first cruise and (hopefully) new addiction ;):D.

You have the right attitude as others have said. I find that those who post nothing but negatives most likely don't EVER have anything positive to say. I have a co-worker who is like that. You just can't change a pessimist no matter what.

Having said that, what happens on your cruise and how you view it is ENTIRELY UP TO YOU! You can look at the bad things that might happen and focus only on that OR you can look on them as a learning experience for future cruises. Since you are new to cruising you might find things that you really like to do a lot on the ship and those things which you don't. Does that mean your cruise is ruined? Of course not. You have simply learned that X is something you don't really care for and make a note not to participate in it going forward. Or if a meal isn't up to your standards, well, SEND IT BACK and ask for something different (you CAN do that!!). There is always the next meal or another restaurant on the ship to try. Ask the maître d' to seat you at a different table if you have obnoxious tablemates.

Will everything go smoothly? Probably not, especially since it will be your first cruise and there is a learning curve that goes with that first cruise. But I promise you, if you continue to soak up what you are learning here on CC and apply some of it during your first cruise, you will be one up on those who aren't on CC on their first cruise. There is a lot of knowledge here that people want to share in order to make your first cruise the absolute best thing you've ever experienced and makes you want to cruise again. Focus on the positive people, not the negative people.

One last thing. DON'T TRY TO DO EVERYTHING DURING YOUR FIRST CRUISE. A lot of the things that are offered onboard ship are offered on ALL cruises. So if you miss it on this cruise you can try it on the next cruise. Consider it an excuse to take another cruise! What will I do next? :rolleyes:

I wish you the very best and hope that your first cruise is the first of many to come!

Hi Granny!!! I've been on 7 cruises with two of them being on the Fascination and my upcoming cruise is on the Fascination as well! As you pointed out it does not have all the "bells and whistles" but I enjoy it and myself on VACATION!!!! Which means I don't have to work, cook, clean, drive or any of those other pesky little day to day task!:D I honestly can't figure out all of the negativity, but then again I am pretty easy to please..... I plan to have fun when I book a cruise and FUN is exactly what I do!!!!

WOW this is a great thread full of positivity.... i am counting down the days (63) til my first cruise and it is wonderful that there are so many different reports to read on the many different aspects of cruising. It is hard to not read the negatives but as above..... my hard earned holiday is what I make of it and as long as someone else plans the menu, cooks n washes the dishes then that is all it takes to chill me out !!:D