Fascination review with pics Aug 30- Sept 4

[sthrnbll]

Here is my review of the Fascination Aug 30-Sept 4 to Key West and Nassau. I have never been to either. Just a little background info. Cruising were myself 33. I have been on 3 cruises all with Carnival. My BFF Dana 37. Her 2nd cruise both with Carnival and my Dad 65. His 3rd cruise all on Carnival and all with me . Be forewarned I am very opinionated and apologize in advance if I offend anyone. I will make a lot of comparisons to my cruise last year on the Glory. My first cruise was 15 years ago when I graduated high school so I don’t remember much about that one.


Embarkation Day


Since we only live an hour from Jax we decided that it was cheaper for my husband to bring us and pick us up rather than pay for 5 days parking at the port. I got up that morning at 6 as it was a school day. Got the kids ready and off to school. At about 8:30 I couldn't stand it anymore so I called BFF and she said she was ready. So we went to pick her up and we were on our way.


When we arrived at the port the girl had no idea what to do. They stop you before going into the parking area or drop off area. She said she needed all of our id's before we could go any further. Well of course all of that was buried in the back of the car in our carry on bags. So we were stopped in the middle of the road and I had to take all of the luggage out to get to the carry on's with the info we needed. In Port Canaveral you didnt need this info until you got in the building. Here you needed it before you could even enter the parking lot.

[sthrnbll]

After that drama we finally drove around to the front drop off area. DH dropped us off and we waited. Every time you asked someone something you got a different answer. The same thing happened in PC. We tried to walk through the door where you go through security and the man about bit our head off. He said we couldn’t be in there and it would be at least an hour before they let us and go the security etc. Anyway, we stood in line (outside) for 15 minutes or so and they let us in. While we were inside waiting to go through security another port worker came in and asked Mr. Crabby Patty (the man who bit our head off) if an elderly lady could come in and sit to wait until she went through security and he said no. WOW! I was really vocal about that.


Finally it was time to go through security, x-ray, etc. I put my carry on bad through the x-ray machine and I went through the scanner. Buzz. Ok, I go back through again. Buzz. This time I take off ear rings, watch, etc. Buzz. Dang it. They said please step aside. So I thought “Oh crap” they know I have smuggled liquor in my carry on. They lady make me “spread em” and uses the wand on my. I was so embarrassed. We finally decided it was my belt buckle. Whew!! That was a close one.

[sthrnbll]

We went straight to Lido for lunch. They had the usual. Hot dogs, burgers, chicken strips, and fries. I had a hot dog with grilled onions and cheese fries. Yummy. Dad had a hot dog and bff had a burger. After that is was time for an adult beverage. I don’t like the fun ship specials so I got a banana daiquiri. This turned out to be what I drank the entire time. We didn’t even drink any of our smuggled liquor. Too much of a hassle to keep going to the room.




At 1:30 on the dot it was time to check out our rooms. BFF went to ours and I walked dad to his and got him settled. He had a regular inside room. When I called to book his I asked for a 1A but didn’t realize until a few days before we cruised he actually had a regular inside room not a 1A. No dang wonder it was so much. He was in room E142 on the Empress Deck. After I got him settled I walked down to our room. It was nice. We had E9 on Empress which was a port hole room. I was pleased with the room and the price was great.

[sthrnbll]

We dumped our bags and went to guest services to add money to my s&s card. It was on the same deck which was great. Then we walked around a bit and checked out the pool and hot tubs. Then it hit me. “Holy Crikey” (in my crocodile hunter voice) I think I forgot my bathing suit. Both of them!! Are you kidding me? I have been packed for 2 freakin weeks and I forgot my bathing suits? I called DH and he was already home. I asked him to look in the drawer where I keep them and there they were. Who goes on a cruise and forgets their bathing suits?? Me apparently. Geesh.


Serenity Area

[sthrnbll]

So now it was time for the muster drill. Very painless. We sat and listened to the speech then took a field trip to the life boats. During the muster drill someone came over the intercom and said said Code Bright Star, Code Bright Star, Code Bright Star then deck whatever forward. Then said it again. More on that later.


Sail away time. Then it hit me. OMG I wont see my family for 5 days! I have never been away from them for that long by my choice. I was really sad but I got over it. It was worse at night because I didn’t get to tuck them in.


Leaving the Pier in Jax


Random boat going by us at sail away


A family dancing. There were about 30 of them all in orange shirts. They were having a good time.

[NeverBeenThereEither]

Yay!! Thanks so much for this!

I'm on my first cruise EVER in Nov and we're taking her to Half Moon and Nassau.

The pics are great -- keep em coming! Thank you!!

[sthrnbll]

Bridge coming up.




Getting close.


Will we make it??




Under the bridge.

[sthrnbll]

We made it!!




Be back soon. My daughter wants to go out.

[NeverBeenThereEither]

Oh no!
There was a death at sail away and you leave us hanging!!
Come back soon -- it's like a cliffhanger on TV.

[sthrnbll]

Time for dinner. We had any time dining. I highly recommend it. I love going when I wanted. Every night except one we had the same table. One night we ate at Senor Frogs and the other we had a different table. They always asked if we had a preference of table location. Our waiter was Benny from Indonesia. Very nice man. Not sure of the assistant waiters name but she wasn’t very friendly. I don’t even think she ever talked. That night all 3 of us had the ribs. They were great. Came right off the bone.


After dinner we just hung out for a little while then went to bed early. It was a long day and we were pretty tired.


Day One- Day at Sea


Woke up this morning after a not so good nights sleep. I always sleep with a fan on by bedside table and it was really hard to sleep with out it. Not to mention the rough water we had. The entire trip had rough water. After showering and getting ready we headed down to the lido to check things out and get something to eat. I had the same thing every morning as I did last year on the Glory. I had a bagel with 2 pieces of ham and cheese, some melon, and an apple pastry, Yummy. The bacon police were in full effect. Now here is my opinion. It really irks me that people get so much food on their plates and don’t even eat it. I can't believe that some parents let their kids fill their plates with food. It really disgusts me.


We were inside walking around and we hear Trevor the cruise director come on and say that there was going to be a special debarkation for a passenger by the US Coast Guard. I guess that was the Code Bright Star they were talking about yesterday. We were on the Lido deck and heard the helicopter coming. It circled the ship the went to the back behind the funnel so I couldn’t see anything. They had the deck above the lido deck roped off so no one could go up there. Finally after 20 minutes or so we saw the helicopter again. It hovered over for about 10 minutes then flew off. I dont know if it ever landed on the ship or they put them in the basket and lifted them in. I never heard anyone say anything else about it.


approaching the ship






leaving the ship

[sthrnbll]

After the helicopter incident we walked around a little. Checked out the pics from embarkation and I bought the one of all three of us. Then I decided that I had to get in the hot tub. So I went to the room and put on a tank top and pair of shorts. I felt so stupid to not to be in a bathing suit but the hot tub was calling my name. I could barely squeeze into the hot tub because of all the kids. They said there were 350 kids on board and I think 349 were in the same hot tub I was. Both hot tubs were filled with them. I stayed in for about 30 minutes, got in the pool for a few, then went and changed. I never got a chance to get in the adult only hot tubs. I felt stupid with no swim suit.


Most of the day we hung out, took a nap in the afternoon, and played in the casino a little. We did eat lunch in the dining room this day. I had the California Rolls for appetizer and it was not good. It tasted funny and the soy sauce was so salty I couldn’t finish them. I had the crab and shrimp salad on some type of roll. It was really good.


fireplace in the library


hard to see but ceiling in the library


a table in one of the bars


bar stools are piano keys

[sthrnbll]

Tonight was elegant night. We got ready and went downstairs and had some sushi and listened to the band for a little while. Sushi was good at the sushi bar. The California rolls were much better than in the dining room for lunch. Most people looked really nice. I only saw one tux and one man in his Marine uniform which I am very partial to since my son is a Marine.


For dinner I wanted the prime rib and shrimp. I had it like that on the Glory last year so I didn’t think it would be a problem. They told me I could not do it this that I had to get 2 entrees. So they brought me a plate with shrimp and lobster then when I finished that they brought me the prime rib. Needless to say I was stuffed. Tonight was the night we weren’t at our regular table.


After dinner we went to the show. Forgot which one it was but it was ok. After that we went to karaoke. I haven’t laughed that much in a long time. People crack me up but I must say they have a lot more courage than me. Some had liquid courage but courage non the less. After karaoke we went to the room and chilled for a bit then went to bed. Tomorrow is Key West eaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarly.


Me and Freddy


I dont think you can see if but this guy had on a nice suit and flip flops


Listening to the band before dinner


Pre-dinner cocktail

[omgletmeon]

Thanks for the pictures and the great review! Keep it coming!! We sail in 50 days and I can't wait!

[sthrnbll]

Day Two- Key West


We were scheduled to dock about 7am but we got in around 6:30. When I could hear the ship docking I hopped up and headed to Lido to get some pics as we docked. Hung out up there a while and started talking to a man who proceeded to tell me that he was Platinum first of all, then he told he was infected with Agent Orange so the Government gives him $1200 a month and free medical care. He now makes close to $4000 a month. Wow really??? That was really TMI that early in the morning. I made a quick get away from him and went back to the room. We really weren’t in to big of a hurry since the stores didn’t really open up till about 9 or so.


Still dark when we docked. Why was I up???


What you see when the sun comes up


The captain made an announcement the day before that it would be 99 degrees in Key West so we prepared for the worst. Since we are from the south we are pretty much use to the heat like that but it was very humid there. Needless to say I had a bad hair day.

When we got off the ship we walked down the pier and felt rain drops. Oh no! Then a monsoon came. It lasted about 15 minutes and we were good to go. Of course it made it more humid but no as hot. It was pretty much overcast most of the day.


We hung out here until the rain stopped.


We decided to take the Old Town Trolly so we could get off and on as much as we wanted. I bought the tickets on line and saved $2 each. We did a nice little tour and the only stop we got off at was the Southern Most Point. There was a long line to take pics but we finally got our turn. There was a weird dude wanting to take pics of everyone with their camera in front of the monument. I'm sure for a tip. We said no thanks and took our own. We walked back up the street to wait for the trolly. By that time I had to really “go”. I asked to use the restroom at a little store and they said it was for customers only so I was thirsty anyway so I bought a coke and used the facilities. I bought a few magnets for my mother in law at a little store an headed to wait for the trolly.


Southern Most Point


My dad being silly.


Random chickens everywhere.

[omgletmeon]

ROFLMAO at the guy in the suit and flip flops!! You are awesome to get this picture! Love it!!

[sthrnbll]

We walked around a bit and did some shopping. They had a store that had everything for $5. I got 2 Key West towels and some shirts for the family. We went to the little indoor mall and looked for a bathing suit with no luck. Went to the Key West toy factory and I was a little disappointed in that.


We decided to go to Hogs Breath Saloon for lunch. I really wanted to try conch. We got conch fritters and yuk. They were not for me. We both had the burgers on recommendation of the waitress and it was nothing to write home about. Tasted like any ole' regular burger to me. After lunch we went to their store bought a few shirts and headed back to the ship about 2pm.

[sthrnbll]

Here's a few random Key West shots








Famous Pie Guy

[sthrnbll]

Ok a few more. I love when people put lots of pics in their reviews.








I dont know what this means but I did see a few cars with stickers that said this also.

[anamanxs]

Originally Posted by NeverBeenThereEither

Yay!! Thanks so much for this!

I'm on my first cruise EVER in Nov and we're taking her to Half Moon and Nassau.

The pics are great -- keep em coming! Thank you!!

Just noticed we are on the same cruise as you, there is a roll call in that area, if you have not been there yet. Welcome to your first cruise, you made a great choice from what I am tolf.

Thanks for the review, loving it.

[sthrnbll]

We were only in Key West until 3. We got back to the pier area, got a piece of Chocolate dipped Key Lime Pie on a stick (yuk!), and got back on the ship.


Since we were up so early we decided to take a nap before dinner. Took a cool shower then off to dream land.


Off to dinner and we were back to our regular table tonight. I cant for the life of me remember what I had for dinner that night.


After dinner we hung out for a bit then off to Karaoke. It of course was very entertaining again and had a good time. We left about 10:30 or so and went back to the cabin. Chilled for a bit then went to bed. As you can tell we are not party animals.


Tomorrow is Nassau.

Here are a few ship pics


putt putt


sushi bar


casino