Fascination questions

[sajohnston]

I cruise on the Fascination from Jacksonville next month and I have a few questions.

First, I plan to put cash on my sail and sign card instead of using a credit card. Is there a minimum amount? Also, can I do that in the Jacksonville terminal or do I have to wait until I get on the ship?

Also, is there any parking by the terminal that is cheaper than the port parking that is $75?

What time is the earliest that you have been able to board? I planned to arrive around 11am-12pm.

[firefly333]

There is a suggested amount, but no mimimum. Of course you would want to put down enough cash to at least cover your $11.50 pp per day tips.

 

Sorry cant help with the rest.

[ready2cruzagain]

I cruise on the Fascination from Jacksonville next month and I have a few questions.

First, I plan to put cash on my sail and sign card instead of using a credit card. Is there a minimum amount? Also, can I do that in the Jacksonville terminal or do I have to wait until I get on the ship?

Also, is there any parking by the terminal that is cheaper than the port parking that is $75?

What time is the earliest that you have been able to board? I planned to arrive around 11am-12pm.

 

We parked at Jax Park and Cruise but it is now called V.I.P. Park and ride. It ran $5.00 a day which is a lot less than the cruise terminal. They do provide free shuttle to and from the port. Here is a link to their website.

http://www.vipparknride.com/index.shtml

 

If you park at an off sight parking facility we found that the earliest they would let you start parking was at 10am.

[marshhawk]

We have stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Blount Island, and had them take us over to the port. Don't know where you are coming in from? Would you need a hotel the night before you cruise? Takes a lot of stress off of you when you aren't rushing the day of to get on a ship.

We prepaid our tips, and put cash on our sail and sign card on the ship at the pursers desk. Very easy. We had a bit of an on board credit:), so we waited until the second day to do so. If you don't have an OBC, then go to the pursers desk first thing, so you can have a DOD, in our case an NA DOD

[murph1031]

We cruised on our first cruise on this boat, and searched other parking options. We ended up paying the $75 , and believe me when we got back off our cruise and diddn't have to deal with getting a ride to another parking lot, been able to walk past everyone else standing in another line outside the boat, and be able to head straight to our car and leave, its well worth the money you will save, which is not much. Think about $75 knowing your car is safe, and right there when you get off the boat, priceless. Ever been to an Airport waiting for a shuttle? No fun? End your cruise in comfort, pay the extra, just IMHO

[travelgarn]

If you wanna keep from waiting in line at the purser's desk when you arrive, call your PVP and prepay your tips. Then search funship dollars on carnival website. Purchase some funship dollars & apply them as onboard credit. To apply as onboard credit - when checking out, in address line 1 put your booking # & in address line 2, type in "APPLY AS ONBOARD CREDIT." We do this for every cruise & never have to stand in line at the purser's desk. It's so nice to know you've already paid your tips & you have spending money on your S&S account. :)

 

Good luck & happy sailing! We love the Fascination!

 

DJ

[Lady_Jag]

No minimum amount for your S&S, as far as I know.

 

We sailed the Fascination this past Thanksgiving and parked at the "Park-&-Ride" just outside the port area for $5/day. However, the day we sailed, they raised the price to $8/day, because the owner claimed that the price of parking at the terminal went up to $20/day.

 

The shuttle to the terminal was free and dropped us off much closer to the terminal than the rest of our party who parked there. They had plenty of shuttle vans available. We had a few minutes wait going TO the terminal, and zero wait for the shuttle back. Very smooth and easy.

[vgates01]

You dont have to put a certain amount but the do take the $11.50 a day out of what you apply to your sail and sign, just go to the service desk once you get on the ship and let them know how much you want to add. I waited till the line wasn't so long. I parked at the Jax park and cruise for $5.00 a day it was right before entering in the cruise terminal with free shuttle that will be waiting when you return. Have fun:)

[COJO1956]

We cruised on our first cruise on this boat, and searched other parking options. We ended up paying the $75 , and believe me when we got back off our cruise and diddn't have to deal with getting a ride to another parking lot, been able to walk past everyone else standing in another line outside the boat, and be able to head straight to our car and leave, its well worth the money you will save, which is not much. Think about $75 knowing your car is safe, and right there when you get off the boat, priceless. Ever been to an Airport waiting for a shuttle? No fun? End your cruise in comfort, pay the extra, just IMHO

 

We cruised in Oct on the Fascination, and parked in the Park n Cruise lot. Got out of our car with our luggage, and right onto the shuttle. They dropped us off very close to the terminal. When we walked off the ship, the shuttle was waiting for us. Very easy. They had a nice secure lot. We would definitely park with them again.

[ready2cruzagain]

You dont have to put a certain amount but the do take the $11.50 a day out of what you apply to your sail and sign, just go to the service desk once you get on the ship and let them know how much you want to add. I waited till the line wasn't so long. I parked at the Jax park and cruise for $5.00 a day it was right before entering in the cruise terminal with free shuttle that will be waiting when you return. Have fun:)

 

Jax park and cruise has moved, they are not next to port anymore. They are around 10 miles away. We had no problems though catching a shuttle. Will definitely park there for the savings. The lot was secure and no problems at all.

[Herfnerd]

We cruised on our first cruise on this boat, and searched other parking options. We ended up paying the $75 , and believe me when we got back off our cruise and diddn't have to deal with getting a ride to another parking lot, been able to walk past everyone else standing in another line outside the boat, and be able to head straight to our car and leave, its well worth the money you will save, which is not much. Think about $75 knowing your car is safe, and right there when you get off the boat, priceless. Ever been to an Airport waiting for a shuttle? No fun? End your cruise in comfort, pay the extra, just IMHO

 

 

Ditto Murph - we were gonna use the Park and Ride but found the Jaxport parking was much more convenient for us

 

And we arrived and boarded by 11:30 and headed straight to the purser's desk to plunk cash down on our S&S account.

[sajohnston]

Thanks so much for the answers! They really helped out!

[Lady_Jag]

Jax park and cruise has moved, they are not next to port anymore. They are around 10 miles away. We had no problems though catching a shuttle. Will definitely park there for the savings. The lot was secure and no problems at all.

 

Maybe it's a different name now? In November, the lot was still just outside the port property.

[dollbaby28]

If you wanna keep from waiting in line at the purser's desk when you arrive, call your PVP and prepay your tips. Then search funship dollars on carnival website. Purchase some funship dollars & apply them as onboard credit. To apply as onboard credit - when checking out, in address line 1 put your booking # & in address line 2, type in "APPLY AS ONBOARD CREDIT." We do this for every cruise & never have to stand in line at the purser's desk. It's so nice to know you've already paid your tips & you have spending money on your S&S account. :)

 

Good luck & happy sailing! We love the Fascination!

 

DJ

 

That is awesome! Thanks for the tip. We leave on our first cruise on the 31st and I thought I would have to wait and add cash when we got on! This will save a lot of trouble.

[scgamecock]

VIP Park & Ride was great and cheap. Loved Fascination. If Joseph is still the maitre d', make sure to get assigned to his dining room. Have a great cruise.

[Sh1035]

We cruised on our first cruise on this boat, and searched other parking options. We ended up paying the $75 , and believe me when we got back off our cruise and diddn't have to deal with getting a ride to another parking lot, been able to walk past everyone else standing in another line outside the boat, and be able to head straight to our car and leave, its well worth the money you will save, which is not much. Think about $75 knowing your car is safe, and right there when you get off the boat, priceless. Ever been to an Airport waiting for a shuttle? No fun? End your cruise in comfort, pay the extra, just IMHO

 

I second that and just live 5 miles away! It's my vacation and last thing I want to do is wait for a ride and haul luggage. parking is so close!

 

Then again Joseph makes me want to puke....supercharged...but of all my cruises the friendliest staff of all! Maria and the casino staff rock!

[scgamecock]

To me, it was well worth waiting a few minutes for the shuttle to load up and take a 15 minute ride to my car for the 50 bucks I saved vs port parking. That paid for the gas on the ride back home to Panama City...

[Vidimom]

VIP Park and Cruise is top notch! We were the first group at their new facility right near the airport and it was a wonderful experience. We unloaded under a covered area and then boarded a shuttle to the port. Our car was valet parked with them keeping the keys. When we returned, we gave the shuttle driver our ticket that they gave us when we left and by the time we got back to VIP, our car was under the covered drop off area with the trunk open and our keys waiting for us. Great staff and service! We will always use them again weather we are cruising or flying out of Jacksonville!

 

The minimum you can put on your on board account is $100.00 pp. If you don't spend it, they refund it to you on departure day.

 

Love sailing out of Jacksonville and make sure you go to the front of the ship when it goes under the Dames Pointe Bridge. It's a great experience!:D:D

[sajohnston]

I have a question about the VIP Park and Ride. What return time did you list on the reservation form?

[GAMOM4]

VIP Park and Cruise was great! They were very professional...very organized...we booked it on-line and handed them the paper when we got there...got on a heated shuttle bus (this was the first week of December)...this was our 5th cruise out of Jacksonville...the first 4 we parked at the port...but we saved so much money this year!:)

[groo]

 

Love sailing out of Jacksonville and make sure you go to the front of the ship when it goes under the Dames Pointe Bridge. It's a great experience!:D:D

 

The last time we sailed Fascination, we had our grand daughter at the back of the ship in the waterworks area. I swear, I thought we were going to hit the bridge. Would have bet money on it all the way up until we went under. We've always been in front before.

[sea_u_onboard]

About what time do they go under the bridge?

[NCMtnBoys]

Thanks for the great info on this thread! As a result, I booked us a reservation for parking at VIP for our November Fascination cruise. For the 5-day cruise, we'll be saving about $44 vs parking at the port. We happen to have a reservation the night before embarkation at a hotel adjacent to the VIP lot anyway, so we'll just leave our car in that area, let them take us the 10 miles to the port and back, and then head back up I-95 North when we return. Will work out great!

 

Does anyone know how early they'll pick up from the cruise port upon our return?

 

As far as getting TO the port, they say not to show up at their facility before 11:00am. That's fine. But I definitely want to be on the road well before 11:00am upon our return...more like 8:00-9:00 if possible. If not, we'll live.