Fascination July 8th review!

Wow, what a great time we had on the Fascination! DW, DS (14), DS (11), and I had an awesome vacation. I will try to give some highlights! We stayed the night before the cruise at the Residence Inn Jacksonville Airport location. Great price using priceline, we had a suite, a great pool, basketball courts, hot tub, and a great breakfast. We checked out around 10 and had a 10 minute drive to the port. We chose the $8 parking and only had a short wait on the van to head to the port. We were on board the vans by 10:35, at the port and inside by 10:40. Check in went really smooth, on the boat around 11:00.

We had FTTF and our room was ready as soon as we got on the boat.

After dropping off our luggage it was off to the pool and then the Wok to eat lunch. We explored the ship a little while, kids got in the pool some more, played some ping pong, played some putt putt, had some ice cream and then got ready for the 4:00 send off! We went up to the 11th floor so we could see the smoke stack go under the bridge. What an awesome view as you think it is going to be a very tight fit.

We then went back to the room to change for our any time dining! This was a great choice for the week. We had Rueben as our head server and he was awesome! We requested him and a window seat every night and we got our request. I would recommend any time dining!

Later on after the dinner, DW and I went to check out the show. It was a very good show but not something the boys liked to much. They enjoyed Circle C activities alot more!

Well that is about all for day 1! I will update day 2 and more later!

Looking forward to more, we are going on September with kids 13 & 16

We've sailed on her four times now.......we had a wonderful cruise each time!

Day 2 was our day at sea! We had a great day. Woke up and went to Lido deck for breakfast! The omlette line is well worth the wait. The bacon police were in full force, but they gave you plenty of bacon. The fruit was great and DW had to have her grits! We came back down and sat on the balcony while the kids did some ping pong action. We enjoyed the view of the beautiful blue waters! We changed and up to the pool side we went. We got some good seats, talked to some new friends, and enjoyed the water. Did lunch in the lido, it was burgers, fries, pizza, and the deli for our family. We found the deli to be very very good. My boys loved the pizza as well. ICE CREAM was the treat everyday after breakfast, lunch, and dinner for DW and the boys. I got a few cones myself. By 4:00 we went in to change, walk around a little, went to the gym to get a workout in (treadmill), and then back to the room around 5:30 to get ready for dinner and elegant night! What a great meal and time for all of us. The lobster was great. Did the comedy show after dinner and just enjoyed some relaxing time on the back of the ship after the show! An excellent day was had by all!

Great report..Keep it coming.

We are going 9/2/2013. Excited!!! Thanks for sharing.

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Enjoying your review, looking forward to the rest of it.:)

Enjoying your review! We are thinking of booking the Fascination! Thanks for writing!

We are booked for New Years Eve. My favorite port..Key West and then Nassau. DOn't like it as much..but sunny and warm.

Looking forward to it....very much.

thanks for the review. I too thought the Deli on the Fascination was great. I had the Ham and cheese grilled sandwich..every day...after the first one..for lunch. Delcious. The Turkey wraps looked good too.

We were on board before ( NYE will be 2nd. time on Fascination)...with a group of College graduates and High School Graduates...it was the end of May..2011.

They were .....totally a surprise. Well mannered. did not see one drunk.Some of the girls did wear little bitty bikiniks..and maybe if I was that slim..I would too..but I think not. Not much was hidden. Poor DH had eyeball popping issues.....but he recovered nicely. ANYWAY..they were at the Deli a lot and all of the Sandwiches they had looked so good..but the grilled ham an cheese..too good to miss. This Year..I am going to try a Turkey Wrap.

Thanks for your review.

Day 3 was a day at Nassau! I did forget to mention the name of the shows earlier. The first show we saw was the Motown show. We loved the show! The place was packed. Also, the 2nd night we saw the show "Divas" It was great as well. We loved how they got the audience involved and even one became a Diva as well by the end of the show. On Day 3 we got up around 7:30 to watch the boat come into Nassau. Me and DS sat on the balcony and watched from far away as the light house got closer and closer. It was very nice to see three other cruise boats sitting there in port. We got the DW and other DS up and headed to Lido for breakfast. Then it was off to the Sheraton. The Bahamas were celebrating their 40th year of Independence. So it was pretty neat getting to see a big parade and celebration there on Bay st. We caught the #10 Jitney to the Sheraton. It was an easy ride and all the locals in the bus with us were very nice. The Sheraton is a very nice place and big! Lots to do. We were a little disappointed that they didn't have the water slides or anything out in the ocean. We did get to use the Kyaaks, and we did alot of snorkling where we saw sea turtles, sting rays, and lots of fish. The boys enjoyed the pools and the hot tubs as well. DW enjoyed the view of the ocean and the white sandy beach. Back on the Jitney around 4pm and on the boat at 4:45 after we did a little shopping in the market. DS wanted a pair of knock off oakleys which were easy to find (just had to ask) and they take you to the right man. The evening meal was great as usual and the boys couldn't wait to get to see Rueben again! He made each of our nights very enjoyable! DW and I watched the comedian Scotty K, went to the casino for a bit, listened to Rob in the Piano Bar (wasn't our favorite this cruise), and then called it a night. Went to bed around 12 knowing that Little Stirrup Cay was coming up in the morning!

I will be on her next month with my DD (18th birthday) and her BFF (also 18). It will be a first cruise for BFF so I hope they find plenty to do (me, a few DOD's and the Serenity deck will keep me amused very nicely, thank you very much!!) :D

Did you go to Half Moon Cay???

Thanks for the great reviews and info! We're going to be sailing on the Fascination on Sept 30th to Nassau and Little Stirrup Cay and it's great to read some positive recent feedback. We're really looking forward to our cruise and will be checking back for the rest of your review!

Day 4 is Little Stirrup Cay! We woke up and went to have breakfast at around 7:30! I enjoyed the omlette's as usual along with bacon and more bacon! Chocolate milk seemed to be very good as well. We packed our backpacks and headed to the guest service desk. As soon as we walked up, (after hearing all the tender ticket announcements) we were escorted straight to the tender boat because of faster to the fun! So from the time of leaving our room in E86 to the tender boat was probably 3 minutes! Now that is faster to the fun! LSC tender was very nice, a nice view going in. We also saw a RC boat that was tendering to BSC island a good piece off in the distance. As soon as we got on the island we went to snorkle before it got crowded. The good snorkle area with rocks and things is located pretty close to where you get off the boat. There we saw a large type of lobster, three large sting rays, and a small shark. It was very neat and I wish I had the pictures for you but the underwater camera has not been developed yet. After about an hour of snorkling we were tired since we take our own stuff and didn't have a life jacket. We headed to the less crowded part of the island. Walk a little further and you get to all the water toys and the beach is very nice on that side. Keep walking about another 75 to 100 yards past the water toys and you will come to a slanting tree that leans over the water. Not many people at all are on that side of the island. You can walk out in the water about 150 yards and it is still only waist deep water. Lunch was served from 11:00 to 1:30 and was very nice and plentiful. We had hamburgers, hotdogs, salads and fruit. Back to enjoy the beach until the time to tender back. We did see alot of iguanas on the trails and that was very nice. The tender back had a pretty long line but it moved quickly. Back to the ship for showers and get ready for the dinner. Ruben did a great job at dinner again. We went to the ships talent show this evening. It was very good with four guest singing some great tunes. Paul our cruise director did more talking than the guest did for singing. I do wish that they would let more people participate and Paul would do less talking. The kids did the Circle C and had a great time. They really enjoyed the dodge ball. Overall another great day! Our day at sea is coming next.

Great review! we are sailing Aug 10, can' wait!

Great review! Please post more on LSC. There just isn't enough up close and personal info on LSC. We will be on the Fascination in Oct and can't wait! Pictures when you get them please.

We just booked the Fascination for Aug. 10th. :D

What is the $8.00 parking?

$8 parking is right outside the Jacksonville port gate. It is only about 200 yards away! Just a parking lot that you pay 8 instead of 15 a day. They transport you in by van and then pick you up after the cruise.

We just booked the Fascination for Aug. 10th. :D

 

What is the $8.00 parking?

If you happen to be spending the night in Jacksonville before your cruise, you might want to check out the Jacksonville Plaza hotel. Their rates are very reasonable and they offer a cruise package which includes free parking while you're gone and a shuttle to and from the terminal.

We're heading out on the Fascination on Sept. 30th and this is what we'll be doing.

Did you buy chance check out the water play area with rock climbs and slides in water.. ? If so any thoughts.

We used that last time also for parking and using it again Monday ..worked out well as your in your car and gone on way home in 5 minutes after getting off the ship. Great quick service.

Were doing LSC this time ,great to hear about the fish and such to see while snorkeling ...we did HMC for Easter and loved it.. Kids just wished there were some fish..There was NONE...LOL

Yes! More Little Stirrup Cay pictures! Going there in October and am so excited!

Great review! we are sailing Aug 10, can' wait!

We are sailing Aug 10th too!!! Less than 3 weeks!!:)

Great review! Please post more on LSC. There just isn't enough up close and personal info on LSC. We will be on the Fascination in Oct and can't wait! Pictures when you get them please.

Yes! More Little Stirrup Cay pictures! Going there in October and am so excited!

Pretty please - ditto all of what those two said!!! :)

We are sailing out of Jacksonville November 16th and we are so excited! This will be our 7th time cruising out of there....we have never stayed at the $8 parking lot - I thought I read somewhere that they had closed that lot down - I guess that was incorrect information. Were you pleased with parking your car there? Last year we stayed at a hotel that I booked that let you keep your car there and a shuttle took you to the port and then back to the hotel.

Two different times we parked at a Park N Go kind of place and the other times we parked at the port.

I was just wondering what you thought of the parking lot and if it seemed like a good option.

To answer some of the parking questions. Yes it is very crowded and they pack the cars in. I didn't see or hear of any damage to any cars. They did have some cars blocked in that had to be moved before some cars could get out if you are very early off the boat. It was well worth the $8 instead of the $15, but if you don't mind paying 15 a day then by all means park at the port.

LSC is an awesome island. The water toys out in the water were great. For 19.95 per person (both our kids did it) they get 55 minutes. I asked why not all day, and the lady explained that they would be very tired after an hour. She was right, they were very very tired. They do have a big water slide, but it is not in the water. It is a large slide that is on the island. It is just one slide and you can use it all day for 19.95. The people I saw using that didn't think that was as good a deal as getting to go out to the water park area.

I'm sorry I didn't take many pictures at all in LSC except for the ones with DW in them, and she would rather not share those. If you look at any reviews with CocoCay you will find all the pictures you need. I do recommend tendering over there as early as possible to enjoy a full day. We didn't want to leave once we got there!

http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotos-g499396-d1064261-w5-Coco_Cay_Little_Stirrup_Cay-Berry_Islands_Out_Islands_Bahamas.html#22140728

Here are a lot of pictures that will give you a great idea of the island!