Gypsywych

She's a little older and maybe showing a little more class in her middle aged years :) Just like me! :)

We like her because she's smaller, and more intimate. You can see the same people and feel neighborly. She feels less rushed, like you have more time to relax. She's easier to get around on, to remember what is on each deck. You also don't have to go up or down a deck to get to where you want to go.

There's always a chair, or a seat in a theater.

She's not for every one, I'll admit. She doesn't have rope courses or Guy's Burgers. She doesn't have a big huge water slide park, though she does have a slide and kids area that's really nice.

She's the lady in the park that you know you can be yourself with. She's that Sunday afternoon nap that you don't have to feel guilty about. ;)

I've been holding out, waiting to see if the Miracle was indeed coming back through the Canal.

The specialty travel company who organized the charter that's been listed for the Miracle has changed its marketing over to the Pride. Ahh well...... :(

A courtesy hold will lock in the rate for 24 hours

Call your PVP so they can help you.

We've sailed her 3 times in the last couple of years.

We've been parked and a porter unloading our suitcases from our trunk by 10:45 am. On the ship and ordering in the deli by noon and we've never had FTTF.

Just don't arrive to park until 10:30. They will not let you in. :)

Is this April 1? :confused:

 

So, i am guess there is no Platinum party....

Didn't Platinums and Diamonds get their very own exclusive party a couple of weeks ago?

:confused:

Thanks to all of you as I said I am not a complainer so I appreciate your advice before I call. Yes, all 10 of my cruises are listed but I am listed as gold. Thanks sooooooooo much! I will get back with you as soon as a get my (hopefully ) good news.

Good Luck and let us know how it goes! :)

I have not been able to cruise in 2 years, I do not know when the changes came about but I recently found out I am no longer platinum but am now gold. I went on 10 cruises with Carnival and even had my sister, try them out, now all I get for a perk on my cruise is a bottle of water. WOW!!!! I am very disappointed. Can anyone tell me when this happened? I do realize they are going by days cruised instead of cruises so I do not need that info. I am not a complainer but was wondering if it would help me get any of my perks back to call Carnival.

From what I understand.... if you have 10 cruises, you should be grandfathered in to the platinum level.

You can log into your account on carnival.com and it will list your cruises. Then you can call Carnival and talk to a rep. about your benefits, or if a cruise is missing off of the list, you can also find out what photo or "proof" of the cruise you can send in to have it added.

This should be an easy fix, so don't get upset yet. :):):)

Good Luck

I think I know what is meant by "outside aft past the deli". Just got off Saturday. At the back of the lido buffet/grill area on each side adjacent to the pizzeria and deli are two sliding doors to take you to a sitting area where you can eat. There was hardly anyone eating there the entire trip.

This. Thank you.

I did say balcony type areas, yes? There is one on either side.

One used to be smoking and one non smoking. Now with the new rules, I do not know.

1. Hair dryers on the Fascination. Are they available in all staterooms from day 1 or do they have to be requested (so they are in limited supply). Carnival says they have hair dryers, but I wasn't sure if that meant they have some or all rooms have one. I have short fine hair, I don't need a lot of power so if I know one will be available for sure I won't bring one.

Bring a hair dryer if you are not booked in a suite. They are only standard in suites and only have a limited number to share among other cabins.

2. Are there any dining options besides the lido buffet for lunch on embarkation day? What will be the least-crowded area? We are not picky about food style. Is the rotisserie area sufficiently hidden so we can find it and grab a plate?

The rotisserie is easy to find, it's near the pool area. The least crowded place for lunch on embarkation day is outside through the aft doors past the deli. There are two "balcony" areas above the serenity deck with table and chairs that is our favorite spot. Nice breeze, shade, great view and not so many people realize it's out there.

3. Is there any downside to arriving at 1:30 or so? Would the lines for embarkation be a lot shorter, as most people have boarded already? Or is that peak time? We are not FTTF. I don't want to get there at 11:30 and stand in line for an hour and a half to get on, then another 45 minutes at the buffet dragging our bags the whole time because the room isn't ready. Would rather arrive at 1:30 and get right on and hopefully most people will have been through the inch line and possibly our room would be ready within an hour.

This one I can't help you with. I'm sorry. We are always there before 11 and boarding before noon.

4. We are not huge drinkers, so we won't be buying the cheers program. We are bringing on our two bottles of wine and we still would like to enjoy a few drinks a day. What are the most economical drink choices on board the Fascination? How do I find out about drink specials? Is there anywhere on here with a current drink menu with prices? I found one, but I don't think it was current as beer was less than $5.

The daily drink specials will be listed in the Funtimes, Most other drinks will run you between $7.50 - $8.50 each plus tip. Beer, I think is still $5.75 plus tip. I've forgotten how much buckets of beer are, but there is a savings.

5. We prepaid our tips when booking. Am I right in assuming that no gratuities should appear on our Sail and Sign account (outside of automatic drink tips)?

On your Sign and Sail account, it will show gratuities and then where is already paid, so the two lines will be a zero.

4. We are sailing from Jacksonville mid August. Dare I hope that most kids will be back in school by then? I figure most people drive into Jacksonville rather than flying, and most southern schools start back in August. I have children myself, but this is a getaway cruise and hundreds of unsupervised children would be a bummer.

Nope, there will be kids in mid August. Lots of kids. Serenity Deck is your best bet. The crew of the Fascination does a pretty good job of keeping it a kid free zone.

Have a great cruise. We love the Fascination.

The Miracle is also listed on the Hawaii Port Authority as porting in Kailua/Kona on January 22, 2017.

And listed as being on a full ship charter out of Tampa from the 5th-14th of February 2017.

:cool:

Yes. Anytime after 10 a.m.

 

Harriet

Thank you :)

Question:

Does the Delivery Charge apply for a pot of coffee in the afternoon?

There is now cruises listed for the Carnival Miracle through December 2016 on the website.

They added two months worth.

Weird.

Having sailed out of Jax several times, and tendered at HMC and Great Stirrup Cay from the Fascination, I wouldn't waste the $50. Arrive at the port at 11am, there will be plenty of parking and plenty of people to check you in.

You'll be on the ship by noon, eating or by the pool by 12:30.

Tenders are plentiful at both private islands, so no worries there either.

Have a great cruise!

Nothing said out loud, but John Heald did post a few pictures of the Miracle on his FB page today. One of them was a shot of her going under the Skyway Bridge.

Interesting, to say the least.

Yes you are supposed to be able to. Others have reported that you can apply them by going to guest services or at the self-service kiosks.

 

I am sailing the Freedom 12/13/14 and plan on taking some with me for OBC.

They work great. In Jacksonville, they would not take them at check in, but they took them at Guest Services right after sail away (the line was short). Easy Peasy.

Our tablemate B (not his real name) started this kleptomaniac routine, which he performed throughout the entire 25 day cruise. He was imitating some lady we had talked about who was on a world cruise and had tried to steal all of the dinnerware, utensils, and whatever else she could get her hands on until she got caught. B would casually start stuffing utensils, sugar containers, plates, glasses, and more, often while the head waiter Arkie (short for Arkadius) stood talking to us about what we did that day, or any special orders we asked for. We laughed and laughed every time Bob did this shtick, as he slowly and surely made all the dinnerware disappear. Then he would stand and all the stuff would fall from his clothing causing all of us to squeal with joy and laughter! No matter how many times he did this, we could not stop laughing at it. B should be a comedian!

I certainly hope that "B" over compensated the wait staff for having to replace all of the items that he'd stuffed into his pockets or underwear only to drop them on the floor. Appalling behavior by adults.

Joy and laughter? It should have been utter shame for acting like that in public.

Kind of like Billy Joel.

and people will spend $1000's to see him. *swoon*!

http://www.carnival.com/legal/militarytermsandconditions.aspx

If your spouse served 2 or more years and was honorably discharged, you are eligible.

Happy Cruisin'! :)

The prices depend on the popularity of the performer.

We went to see Kansas last month on the Fascination. There were rows saved for the VIP ticket holders $100, and the $20 general admission tickets for everyone else. First come, first serve, no seat saving.

Is the above for Nassau or Freeport ? I would love to know what to do in Freeport if we also do not want to go to the beach... Thanks

Nassau. Our one and only time in Freeport, we did a glass bottom boat tour. We haven't had the urge to go back ;)

We just got off the Fascination on Saturday and I can't say enough great things about the Hampton Suites - Airport. They were really good to us.

On the other hand, I can't say anything nice about VIP Parking. Incredibly rude employees. We arrived at their lot at 10:40 and were told we couldn't stay. That we'd have to come back and get in some line after 11am because they were busy. Not a single soul but us in the lot at the time, but ....hey.....they were busy. The woman at the lot was just downright mean about getting rid of us. So we left, and parked at the cruise port. Much easier experience. Nicer people too.

We just got off the Fascination on Saturday. We had a GREAT cruise!

We did a private tour of Nassau that was awesome. I can give you more information if you're interested in a non Carnival excursion.

Used VIP Parking and we will never use them again and I most certainly won't be recommending them to anyone. The car was safe enough, but their employees are extremely rude and downright disrespectful.

From now on, we'll use the port parking.

We just got off of the Fascination. We were a group of 6 who dined at about 6:15/6:30 every evening and we asked for the same wait team every night. We never had to wait, not even 5 minutes. We were always immediately escorted to a table in that area. It was not always the same table.