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Fascination review 1/15-1/19 4 day


bobsfamily

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Fascination review,

Day one:

We got to the port a bit early… 10 am. We were told we could come back or go sit in another lot until time. I asked when to come back and was told 12:30… HA!

We left and went to a Wendy’s about a mile away.. BTW there is a Holiday Inn (I think) behind the Wendy’s. It seems to be the closest to the pier… This area is really an industrial area and is not all the eye appealing. We went back around 11:00 am and went to the holding area for around 15 minutes til we were directed to luggage drop-off. They allow about 6-7 cars at a time pull up to the drop-off area and it was very quick. You then pull out and into a closer parking area. It is $60 for 4 day and $75 for 5 day to park. If going on a 5 day it might be worth looking into a park and cruise package at a hotel.

We parked and then took our carry-ons thru the security gate. There was a sign that stated on certain sizes would be allowed BUT it was being ignored by many. Some had their entire luggage with them… very annoying as it slowed it down for everyone else. We had VIP status so were shown into a separate room and given our S&S cards. We were seated in a “separate” area… lol – it was 2 rows of seats that were apart from the “rest” by about 2’! funny! We waited around 15 min., saw a couple of weddings go on and then heard it was going to be about 20 min. before being allowed on. About that time the lady in charge of VIP said “get in line”. We were in the 2/3rd seats and the guy at the front had all HIS luggage with him – well he was fumbling with his luggage and could not find his S&S and passport so we slid by him and were first on! Well not including the wedding people. We went up to entrance to the ship – had our pics taken and were on the lido by 11:30. We went to check if cabins were ready and of course they weren’t se we decided to get a drink.

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The time went by quickly and 2 beers and one DOD we checked and our cabin (V15) was ready… nice cabin with a balcony… well let me rephrase that. It was a place you could stand outside of your cabin. I could not sit down unless I turned the chairs sideways. I LOVED having the balcony anyway. There is a hair dryer (at least in our cabin) in suite cabins. The bed is wonderful and comfy. On Fantasy class ships I would do Cat. 11 again. Cat. 12 have bigger cabins/balconies but being on the upper level is just not the same as up on Verandah. Very quiet with virtually no hall noise. The area below the balcony is rarely used and when we did see people below it was kinda funny as they would do/say things thinking no one was around. Couples would behave the way they do behind closed doors…. Kinda weird. I actually said someone one time and I thought this one guy was going overboard.

Food on the Lido was actually quite good… better than in the dining room – kinda sad.

We ate twice in the dining room and this was one of them. Our tablemates were well… they were not our type and we asked to be moved. The food was acceptable but nothing else. I don’t even remember what it was. I do remember the Rueben I had about 2 hours later! It was great. Carnival needs to review the quality of the food coming out of the dining room. Wait staff was very attentive but they do not cook the food.

I spent some time in the casino – OK til 3am! and came away a winner the first night.

The common areas were in great shape and look well kept. I did not see any wear and tear. Piano bar (88?) looked nice and is smoky… if you do not like smoke stay away. Casino was smoky but not with a haze hanging down. I would say that only 40-50% were smoking constantly. It should be tolerable for the non-smoker. My wife noted there was one bank of slots that were labeled “no smoking”. She remarked that it was a carousel of slots that were ringed by smoking ones… not very effective.

As this was our 7th Carnival cruise we have seen the shows (might be a little different but not much) and so I cannot comment on them. Did stroll by several and they seemed the same “glitzy” sorta show that almost had talent. Not bad but you would not pay extra to go see. I’m sure the performers are good… it’s just when you do it every night it can get kinda stale.

Beds were wonderful… stewards were competent and did their job. Not the most personable but cabins were cleaned/new towels all the time/ beds made up. For some reason ice seemed to be hard to come by. Suites come with refig but it is filled with stuff to sell you. Time for sleep…. Day 2 coming.

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Hey Bob!

Nice review - keep it coming. I sail on Fascination this Saturday. Can't wait.

 

How was the weather out of Jacsonville? Was the movement of the ship a problem?

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

Count on 50's to maybe 60's. Not pool but maybe hot tub.

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Day 2:

We went to bed late and got up around 8ish… did not order breakfast for the room so did a quick shower and down to the Lido deck for a yummy omelet… inside they are made where pizza’s are…. Not everyone is eating pizza for breakfast! We wandered around for a bit and then went back to the room and watched from our balcony. Took a little nap and then we got ready for the afternoon.

 

We were going on a sail with Capt. Tony so we were going to try and get off first… HA! Went down at 11:30 and were told we would be getting in late to the pier. Well we did not dock til close til 1pm and finally got off around 1pm… rushed to a private taxi - $30 with tip. We got to Our Lucaya in about 10 min. and it was quick. Capt. Tony waited on us and we had a great trip (I have a report in the Bahamas section). We got back to the pier around 4ish and walked over to the shops… we have stayed on GBI many times before so went to the shops we knew – checked on liquor prices – better on ship this time. We went over to the casino and met some friends who offered us a ride back to the ship so we played for an hour so and then went back. The trip back was much calmer and we were back on board by 5:30ish.

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We showered and relaxed with a nice drink (not much today as we were still recouping from the night before) and got ready for dinner. We had a different table with a very nice waiter (sorry name escapes me) but it was a table for 6 with just us. It felt kinda awkward but we had dinner and once again the service was wonderful but the food just did not make it except for the dessert. My wife had the famous melting cake and I had the Grand Marinier (sp?) soufflé… both were the highlight of our dining room food. Carnival really needs to look into the quality of this area. We left never to return to the dining room the rest of the cruise. We did turn in early this night and the beds made us sleep very nicely. Day 3 coming.

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Day 3:

Nassau! We got up early as we went to bed early (well 10ish) and were in no hurry as we had no planned excursions. We thought of going to the dining room for breakfast but decided on Lido again – this time just what was offered and no omelet. We decided to sit on the very back and view downtown Nassau for high up. As I opened the back door (well it opens on it’s on) I spied some tables with great views at the very back… I found out why they were open – the wind was gusting about 30mph and almost dumped my tray on me. I backed off and took one that was sheltered by the stairs. My wife came out shortly and pointed at the empty tables… I stopped her before the same thing happened. We had a lovely breakfast and stopped several other couples from having the same problem. After a nice relaxing shower and cup of coffee laced with baileys we got ready to go over to the Wyndham/Sheraton/Crystal Palace complex. It had been years since I had been to this area so were looking forward to seeing it again.

 

I do gamble some and when we got to the complex we went and saw the casino host and we were given a room for the day which made the choice even better! The room overlooked the beach and was in the same building as the casino/bar. We went down and played for a while (about and hour) then went and changed for the beach. The “beach” area is very nice and the pool complex has a swim up bar/water slide/DJ/massive hot tub/ sandy area with plenty of chairs/volley ball/etc. If planning on going to this area and doing a “Free” day at the beach make sure you go more in front of the Sheraton as most of the beach at the Wyndham is “manmade” and is not below the high water mark so belongs to the resort. We did the hot tub and thought about the pool until I stepped in… brrrrr! We wandered around a bit but with all the walking on the ship we cut it short. Went back to the room/showered/dressed and went back to the casino… won some money and checked out.

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We got back to the ship around 8:30 and missed dinner in the dining room, but not all that hungry (after munching for 2 ½ days it caught up). We went to the room and watched the twinkling lights of downtown for a bit, changed for the evening and went to see what was up. The 2nd shows were starting and we peeked in to see what was being performed. Nothing that I would stand up for… I guess if I had gotten a seat earlier I may have stayed but we didn’t so on we went. The bars were starting up but nothing really big going on so we went to go lose what we had won onshore. Funny thing happened… we won some more. Not enough to go crazy but ahead. Checked out the disco… and went back to wandering the ship. We ended up with a nightcap and got ready for the day at sea.

 

I can truly say so far this has been a very relaxing and wonderful cruise… it almost made me wonder if something bad was going to happen. Nothing bad happened to us but the next day was tragic for some. Day 4 at sea next:

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Food on the Lido was actually quite good… better than in the dining room – kinda sad.

We ate twice in the dining room and this was one of them. Our tablemates were well… they were not our type and we asked to be moved. The food was acceptable but nothing else. I don’t even remember what it was. I do remember the Rueben I had about 2 hours later! It was great. Carnival needs to review the quality of the food coming out of the dining room. Wait staff was very attentive but they do not cook the food.

I spent some time in the casino – OK til 3am! and came away a winner the first night.

quote]

We just got off the Fascination the day you got on. Sorry your dinning experience wasn't great. We felt that the food in the dinning room was very good to excellent. I felt it was one the best on a cruise we had. Only really had Lido food for breakfast. Though the rubens were excellent, as were the pizzas and caesar salads. Glad to hear so far you were relaxed, we had a great time as well.

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We just got off the Fascination the day you got on. Sorry your dinning experience wasn't great. We felt that the food in the dinning room was very good to excellent. I felt it was one the best on a cruise we had. Only really had Lido food for breakfast. Though the rubens were excellent, as were the pizzas and caesar salads. Glad to hear so far you were relaxed, we had a great time as well.

 

I've heard that but can only go by my experience... the food was adequate, just not what I would call excellent. Of course we did miss the lobster. Cruises we took back 7-8 years ago the food seemed to melt in your mouth and no matter what you ordered it was good. Maybe we just picked the wrong thing that night. The food was better than on the Sensation last March. And yes we had a wonderful cruise and will be going again soon. I will have day 4 up soon.

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Day 4 at sea:

 

Let me start out with the tragedy. A 33 yo collapsed at the rear basketball court and was taken of by helicopter. He died and we are saddened by this event. We also heard that an elderly lady died sometime late Sunday but have not heard anymore about it although during disembarkation all was stopped for and “event” which we were told was the removal of a body. Sad.

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Ok now for the day. We got up a little late as it was a “fun” day at sea. We decided to do the hot tub so got on our robes and yes swimsuits… went to the back ones and soaked for a bit. We then had an nice shower and went to Lido for a tasty omelet. We decided to sit on the deck near the “dance” area on Lido right next to the outside food line… MISTAKE! I waited in line while my wife got milk/etc. Once I got the omelets we started breakfast and lo and behold 2 couples with screaming babies decided that sitting next to a couple with no kids would be a good thing. Now there were plenty of seats but NO let’s mess the childless couple. If we had any thoughts of having another (heaven forbid) or adopting they were forever removed from out brains by this. I love kids… my own that is… and they were a long way away. HA lol. It was not as bad as I said… IT WAS WORSE! Honestly I am glad you are on a cruise with your kids, as I have done, but please leave us who don’t have them with us alone.

 

We strolled away from breakfast and watched the water go by. After a coffee with baileys we decided to do the “free cruise bingo” and donate out $20 to the cause. We went down to the Palace theatre for the game. Well they were doing the towel demonstration and it went a little long. I told my wife that I was going to wander around and she overruled me. Gee that never happens… so we waited for the game to start. Once they announced the game I got into line and decided to get 2 sets of 3 cards ($40 donated) so that wife and I would have our own. So they start calling numbers and after about 20 or so my wife said “all I need is I30 for the x” and the woman calling the game said “I30” and I screamed “BINGO” and my wife screamed. Then they came over to make sure we knew what we were talking about and guess what? SHE WON!!! With my money – er, her money. So we now have to go on another cruise this year. BOO_HOO.

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After doing a dance or two about this we took the coupon up to the room and had a drink on the win. We decided to get a Reuben and then we went to the casino to get in the slot tournament… why not after winning a cruise. We both entered and both didn’t do so well so we decided to actually play some slots. My wife came out ahead and I went to play 3 card poker as slots don’t like me. After a bit we decided to wander around. The water in the pools was never warm enough to get in and we had got enough sun the day before so we had a few drinks and then took a nap.

 

We decided to not do the self-disembarkation route so packed everything EXCEPT what we needed for the night and the next morning. We got some liquor on board as the prices were the cheapest we saw in both ports. We also bought some trinkets for folks at home.

The cruise being almost over we got kinda sleepy and took a short nap. When we got up dinner had come and past. I did go down and give a “tip” to wait staff as it was not their fault I missed 2 nights. We decided to hit the casino and bars for a couple of hours. One thing I did noticed is that “smoke” was not pervasive… it does not bother me but it just seemed to be not an issue. I’m sure someone else thought different but that was my experience. Off to bed and get ready to leave the ship.

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Day 5: We leave...

 

Well as all cruise do it had to end. Because we were in Cat. 11 or maybe because we were lucky we were sent a note that said we were VIP disembarkation. We got up and made sure we had taken all jewelry/cash/passports/etc. out of the safe and put in the bags we were taking off with us. One final view of the world from our balcony and up to the lido for a bit of breakfast. We chose the rear again which seems to be child free... then it dawned on me - people smoke outside so no screaming ones. One good thing about smokers... lol.

We had our food and then a slow stroll back to Putting on the Ritz to await our VIP disembarkation.... and wait - and wait. Well as I mentioned they had to remove a body and it seems many wanted to wander the ship will all of their luggage so it was almost 10am before we were called.... BUT it was quick once started. From the time we were called until I was in my car was less than 15 min. - more like 10. So we said ado to Fascination and hello to I-95. Trip home was quick and mostly painless arriving around 2pm to a doggie just waiting to give us kisses.

 

Hope you enjoyed my tale and any questions just ask.

 

BTW - blackjack did well until last night - 3 card is fun but table fills up fast. 5 card is a bit strange and not as good chances it seemed. Did not play any of the funny 21's. Roulette is a big gamble but did win several times on 29.... GOOD LUCK

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