Fascination 8-4-12 Great Cruise

[missdebi]

I am still being lazy so I decided to post a "mini" review!!! This was cruise #14 all with Carnival it was DH 56 and myself 55. We were on the Fascination out of Jax with Nassau and Half Moon Cay for our ports.

 

We went down the day before, which I highly recommend, and stayed at Embassy Suites-Bay Meadows. The hotel is about 20 minutes from the port, a very easy drive, it is a nice hotel with the 2-hour free drink special and a good made to order breakfast in the morning we paid $89.00 through Travelocity. They do not have a cruise and park deal so we had made arrangement to park at Cruise Parking Jacksonville which is located just at the entrance to the port, it is $8.00 per day and we were very pleased. The staff are friendly, professional, and the shuttles run quickly.

 

We arrived at 10:30 and the terminal was already busy~we used the VIFP check-in and things went smoothly we were on the ship at 11:15! The ship was sold out so were prepared for crowds.

 

This cruise was booked with the intention of relaxing and that is exactly what we did! Our room steward did a fine job. The wait staff in Imagination dining room were excellent, very funny and attentive. The ships have several options for dinner so if you do not want to dress for dinner you can eat in the Coconut Grove or order room service but if you want to eat in the MDR I feel you should be held to a dress code, we saw basketball shorts, ball caps, t-shirts and many teens with short shorts and tank tops. I enjoy dressing for dinner, it is part of the experience.

 

Half Moon Cay is beautiful, white sandy beaches and crystal blue water. We did use the VIFP prority tendering option because they were calling #6 group and we saw people with #25 :eek: we were walked from guest relations straight to the tender! We settled in a chair and enjoyed the view!

 

We have been to Nassau 8 times so we only got off to walk around the "new" straw market. It is pretty much the same but I still bought my usual trinkets! We have done tours and excursions and I highly recommend them if you have not been to Nassau. We went back on the ship and enjoyed more pool time.

 

Our sea days were spent poolside~we would eat breakfast and settle in chairs around Lido pool and leave 8-9 hours later! My DH literally stayed in the pool 6-7 hours only taking "necessary" breaks. We had ordered a cooler from Bon Voyage, the bar staff keep it full of ice and Bud Lite, they would walk by take the empty, open a cold one and hand it to him :) He was a happy boy! The pool was packed but we could find a corner.

 

We went to the comedy shows which were funny and lost a few dollars in the casino but did not see any of the production shows.

 

The staff on this ship seemed very happy and friendly. We saw the Captain several times around the ship and he would always speak. All in all it was perfect!!!!!!

[lauraezzell]

I'm glad you had a great time on the Fascination! My first cruise with Carnival was on her. We loved it too!

[vivavegas]

Nice review! Thanks for taking time to write a review and share your experiences with us! Glad you had a good cruise!:)

[Mrs CruisinCritter]

Thank you for taking the time to write a mini review! We will be on the Fascination for the first time at the end of November and we are so excited!

[erewhon]

Thank you for taking time to write your "mini" review.

Glad you had a great time.

[missdebi]

I forgot to mention~~~please bring back the steel band :D I would prefer a DJ playing island music over the 2-man keyboard "music" we are on a cruise we want island sounds :D