Just back from Fascination trip!

[GAMOM4]

We have just got home from our cruise - I sure hated to get off the ship t his morning - in fact we sat around the lido deck and enjoyed our last morning on the ship. I will post a detailed review - maybe later this afternoon. We loved the ship - it was identical to the Inspiration that we were on last year - so we knew the layout of the ship. It was just me and my husband and we went for our 25th wedding anniversary - this was the first time we have been on any kind of trip since our first child was born and she is 21 years old. I will tell you one more thing before I stop typing for now - we ordered two bottles of liquor in advance - one tequila and one Absolut Citron (it ended up being plain Absolut - which was fine) but it was $40.00 a bottle on the ship - t hey had a special where you could purchase 4 liter bottles of Absolut for $44.44 (I think that is the exact price - it may have been $40.44) the price Bon Voyage is charges quadruple what you would pay for one. That kind of makes me sick just thinking about - I agree you should be able to make a profit but good grief :eek: they took my husband's margarita mix that we purchased at Wal-mart for $5.00 and it plainly had it written on the top of the sealed bottle contains no alcohol - he was furious to say the least - he called guest services - but of course they couldn't do anything about it - he even asked if they would just refund the money for the tequila because without the mixer he couldn't drink it unless he wanted to just do shots. It was in a checked baggage (they probably would have taken it anyway - according to them) but we had it in a small suitcase that had 6 16oz. cokes, 6 tiny cans of pineapple juice, and 4 bottles of water - and then the powdered individual packs of cranberry pomegranite and crystal lite lemonade packs - but they brought it back to the room last night. I will post more later.

[mountainbreeze]

Good to hear you had a nice time, I'm jealous that you were just on a ship this morning! I'll be waiting forever till my first cruise leaves Miami in May :(

Can't wait to hear details of your cruise, I am loving these reviews!

[GAMOM4]

I have just spent at least 45 minutes typing a detailed review of my cruise - and when I hit submit - it showed up that I wasn't logged on - I don't know what happened. I lost the entire review - and I was trying to be so careful in my details. I will try to re-type it tomorrow.

[GAMOM4]

I don't understand how it let me type that long review if I wasn't logged in. I thought that I was..and I just went in and tried to type something while I wasn't logged in and it went to the log in page. What do you think happened???? It is just irritating that I lost it all.

Guess I'm wishing I was sitting on the deck of the ship like I was last night at this time..looking at the full moon!

[yogimax]

Looking forward to your review tomorrow. You might want to separate it into paragraphs for easier reading.

[GrammyJill]

I can't wait to read all about your adventure! We sail in 8 days! Seems like we booked so long ago!

 

Tell us all about it & I would love to see pics & the fun times if you have them!

 

Thanks in advance~

[Essiesmom]

Type it up in Microsoft Works or Word, then copy and paste. EM

[GAMOM4]

That is a great idea about typing in word and the just copying and pasting it. That is what I'm going to do today.

[NarloJunior]

I ALWAYS copy what I intend to post just before I click submit. Too many times I have gotten the "Internet Explorer Error" or something...or in your case, you weren't logged in. I am sorry this happened. Invest 3 seconds of time and it will save you!

 

I was on the Fascination in April! I loved Half Moon Cay and I hope you got to make it there. The ship was wonderful. Next for us, the Dream ship in October with a high school buddy and a few others!

[WAHMto5]

Glad that you had a great time on the Fascination. We are planning on trying that ship for our next October trip;)

[smeck]

That is a great idea about typing in word and the just copying and pasting it. That is what I'm going to do today.

The save icon is your best friend

[GAMOM4]

Review of Fascination Cruise – 08/21/2010 – 08/26/2010

We left our house around 8:45 a.m. and arrived in Jacksonville around 12:00. When we got to the port we were going to drive around and drop our bags off with the porters and we got in a line that didn’t move. We couldn’t figure out what was going on – but what they seemed to be doing was letting so many cars pull up at one time and then once all the cars were gone they let that amount pull up again. We would have gotten on quicker if we would have parked the car and went and got a porter – at least it seemed that way. I have never noticed them doing this before – in the past as soon as one car moved another could pull up (or maybe I am just not remembering correctly).

After we got the car parked and walked back up to the terminal we only had to stand outside about 15 or 20 minutes – it was so hot – we were glad to get inside. The line seemed to be moving slow – but I was intent on enjoying every minute of this trip and I was just glad that we were in an air conditioned building. There were so many people toting drinks, I saw everything from 12 packs of cokes to 12 packs of Gatorade, and all kinds of other drinks. We packed our drinks in checked luggage, I wrote about it in my very first post.

By the time we boarded it was 1:30 and we were able to go to our room. It was nice and just as we expected it. We were on the Inspiration last year so we knew the layout of the ship. After we put our carry-on stuff down and our things in the safe we went down to the Lido deck for lunch. I can’t remember all the food we ate but I don’t know of anything that wasn’t good. We went back up to the room and our luggage was there except for the small bag that had the drinks in it. When it arrived my husband was so upset about the Margarita mix not being in there. I tried to calm him down but it wasn’t working and he NEVER gets mad. He just couldn’t believe that we paid $40.00 a bottle for the tequila and the vodka and that he didn’t have anything to mix it with. The thing that made me mad was the Absolut was 4 bottles for $40.00 and we paid $40.00 for 1 bottle. Now that is a rip-off in my opinion, I can understand making profit but not at that rate. We still ended up spending quite a bit of money on drinks. My husband just kept telling them that we played by their rules and bought the alcohol through Bon Voyage and didn’t smuggle it and then they took his $5.00 non alcoholic mixer.

We went to the dining room for dinner that night – we were in the Sensation Dining Room with anytime dining. We wore the shorts and shirts that night that we were wearing when we boarded. People were dressed in every imaginable way. We saw baseball caps, cut off jean shorts, jeans that had the ripped holes in them like people wear these days, and I could go on and on but what other people wear doesn’t bother me. I just know that it is a big topic on the message boards so thought I would report what I saw. Dinner was very good that night – I had the pork chop and my husband had the steak. I had the warm melting chocolate cake.

We didn’t go in the dining room the rest of the trip – I know that sounds hard to believe. We had all the right clothes with us but each night we just decided not to go – not even on Captain’s night. We ate every meal other than dinner the first night on the Lido Deck. I ate 3 of the turkey wraps from the deli this week and ate Pizza one time. I ordered a BLT from room service and it arrived within a few minutes and it was just what I ordered. I tried the Mongolian Grill – I had never had that kind of food before and had no idea when I was putting the stuff in my bowl that when I got up there he was going to cook it in the wok. (How stupid did I look? I hadn’t even put those noodle things or whatever they are in the bowl). I never ate the hamburgers but my husband had them every day. I ate from the salad bar every day (haven’t had that many salads in a long time) and I also ate a lot of the desserts. The only one my husband tried was the ice cream.

We didn’t go to any of the shows so I can’t comment on them. We walked through the casino but I don’t get into that kind of stuff but it looked nice enough. I never saw it where it looked crowded though (that was one difference than past cruises). We spent most of our time sitting on the decks and enjoying watching the waves roll by. That has got to be one of the most peaceful feelings on earth. We saw beautiful sunsets and a beautiful full moon. This is the first cruise we have been on that it didn’t rain at all. It was windy a couple of nights and hot during the day.

We went to Half Moon Cay on the 2nd full day – this was our first visit there and the first time we have ever had to use a tender. Half Moon Cay was breath taking. My husband isn’t in to laying out in the sun so we walked for a long time and just enjoyed the beauty of the place. When we first got off the tender I wasn’t expecting the area you walk into to have the little stores; guess I was just thinking it was an island with the cabanas and chairs and all the water toys. We only stayed about an hour at Half Moon Cay and then went back to the ship and walked around the decks.

My husband watched parts of 2 different movies on the TV. in the room we walked through the shops and the prices in the stores were very low – especially on alcohol. We didn’t purchase any – my husband did purchase some cigarettes. We bought t-shirts and a Christmas Ornament and a shot glass. I have a shot glass and a Christmas ornament from every ship we have sailed on.

The 3rd full day was in Nassau. We have been their several times so we didn’t get in any hurry to get off the ship. If you aren’t in a hurry you can save the time and stress of getting off the ship at the same time as all the other people by just waiting and getting off later. We walked around a few blocks and went through some of the stores. We went to Senor Frogs and purchased souvenirs. My husband wanted to walk through the straw market – I don’t like going in there because everything is really about the same stuff you see over and over. It is muggy and extremely hot in there. I will say this year we just walked from the back up through the middle and out the front going back to the ship and the middle aisle did seem wider. They are in the process of building a new straw market – the building is next door to the tent. It is really big – so maybe once it is completed it will be more pleasant walking through the store. I know that some people love haggling with the vendors but not me. We purchased a tote bag a couple of years ago and we talked them down in price and then found the exact same bag a couple of stores down for cheaper than we talked them down to. We went back to the ship and had lunch and then my husband decided to walk back into Nassau and look for some sunglasses. I stayed on the ship and watched from the deck. When we boarded the ship from Nassau they were patting down some of the passengers. The two people in front of us were patted down – one of them looked like a crew member in a blue jump suit – the other one was a young man with cargo shorts on. My husband was wearing cargo shorts but they didn’t pat him down. When he got back on the ship the 2nd time he said that they weren’t patting anyone down.

We talked to a young couple and they said that they had brought back on a 5th of liquor and another size bottle and they didn’t say anything to them and that they weren’t patting people down when they were boarding; but they did say there were lots of people boarding at the same time.

They announced the first day during the muster drill that this was the last big family cruise of the year. He said that there were 600 kids on board. I guess that school is starting back next week for most kids. I didn’t see many college age students since colleges have started back. The kids all must have been enjoying Camp Carnival because I didn’t see many of them when they weren’t in groups and seemed to be having fun.

The last sea day was our anniversary and my husband’s birthday. My children couldn’t believe we didn’t do anything special...my answer was that the cruise was special enough. What could be better than sitting on the deck of a cruise ship with your spouse and enjoying the sunset? Of course, I guess a 17 and 21 year old doesn’t understand that yet. We packed our bags that night and put them outside the door.

This was the most relaxed debarkation we have ever had – in fact in the capers that is what they called it “relaxing”. We ate breakfast and then went back to the room got our stuff and went and sit on the lounge chairs on the lido deck. They seemed to be having a lot of problems with people that were not doing self debarkation trying to get off the ship early. They made the announcement over and over that if you came down before time you would be sent back and that made it longer for everyone to get off. They said that until your number was called your luggage would not be sitting in the terminal. I don’t understand what part of that people couldn’t understand.

We were off the ship by about 10:15 or 10:20 and didn’t feel rushed at all. It is so sad the last day – I guess you know you are getting back to reality. I think a lot of people get back to reality when they receive that sign and sail card bill!

I will make a couple of comments – we went into the gym – it was so nice! They have equipment that is nicer than a lot of gyms in town have. We didn’t use it but did go in.

The ship seemed to be in excellent condition to me. I think that the workers on cruise ships are some of the hardest workers I have ever seen. I mean they were continuously cleaning. I can’t imagine what it is like to be one of the workers and be so far from home for such long periods of time. Several of the employees that I spoke with told me that they had only been on the Fascination for about 2 or 3 months. I heard one man make the comment that Carnival must be cutting back because dishes weren’t taken off the tables fast enough. I never saw dishes sitting for more than a few minutes at the most and we never had trouble finding a table to sit at. So I guess that is just a different perspective on things than I had. I did notice that people still continue to put stuff on chairs and save them – but we never found it hard to find somewhere to sit.

I didn’t go in any of the lounges or bars at night so I can’t comment on them other than they all looked nice when we walked through them.

We did go to the past guest party – that is the only time that I put on anything other than shorts – I put on a pair of Capri pants and my husband wore his shorts. Drinks were free and they were bringing them around as soon as yours was empty. They didn’t have a large selection to choose from but what they did have was plentiful. They had wine (which my husband thought was horrible), I had the melon ball and I think they had whiskey sours, I can’t remember what all they had.

I know that my review isn’t one that is day by day – but it was harder for me to try and do that since we really went on this cruise with one thing in mind – not having anything to do for the entire week – and basically that is what we did. I had so many people ask me today including my daughter “what did ya’ll do if you didn’t go to the main dining room, lay out in the sun, go to the shows or go to the lounges”. My response was – we had the best anniversary week that I could imagine having!!!!!!

If anyone has any questions – just ask. I’m sure I have left a lot out but I’m still frustrated with my review yesterday being lost before it posted. I have tons of pictures and I’m going to try and figure out how to post them.

[GAMOM4]

Now I have posted the review and I typed it in microsoft word in 14 Font and it is big - but now that I have hit post look how tiny it is. Oh well - at least I got the review to post.

[GAMOM4]

Also one other thing that I have just noticed - I have it divided out by typing in paragraphs and that didn't show up on my post either. I guess I didn't do anything right. Is there a way to delete my review and me to re-post it - and if I can - what can I do different? I went to workd typed it, copied and then went to this message board and pasted.

[tomboyy]

your post was fine ! Thank you , im leaving monday and this is our 6th one and im thinking we might do the same as yuo and your husband did :)

[jbanana1]

GAMOM4 - sorry you've had such trouble posting your review, but I'm glad to know these things happen to others besides me!

 

Enjoyed your review. Sounds like you had a great time. Since we will be going on our 2nd cruise next yr. on the Fascination (went on Fantasy in 08), I have a question about the past guest party. What night of the cruise was it, what time and where?

[GAMOM4]

I am looking through the capers now - and for some reason I don't see the past guest party listed. You get an invitation that you have to take with you - it is put in your room - maybe that is why I don't see it listed. But it had to have been Monday night or Tuesday night. Because it wasn't the first night, the 2nd night they had the Captain's Reception (and in the past they had free drinks but this year it was only $1.00 off) and I know it wasn't Wednesday night because it wasn't the last night. But looking through the capers I see something we did miss...I didn't realize that on the last day they had a Fun Farewell Celebration at 4:30 in the afternoon and it says complimentary drinks served there. No wonder Wednesday afternoon I couldn't understand why there weren't more people out on the deck. I want to say that the past guest party was from 7:00 - 8:00 or something like that.

[TikkiTembo]

This was very helpful for me as a first time cruiser. My hubby will not be laying in the sun that much so your review has helped me realize that (1) it's okay and (2) there will be quite a bit of other things for him to do. My goal is for me and hubby to relax while my kids have their own vacation. Two vacays for the price of one.

[GAMOM4]

If I want to attach pictures I know that I go to the manage attachments but which one of those types of pictures do I click on? I'm sure it is different for different things - but I just want to post pictures that everyone can see.

[jbanana1]

Thanks for the info on the past guest party, although I now realize yours was a 5 day cruise and ours is a 4 day. I think I've read on here that Carnival doesn't do past guest party on 4 day cruises. Anyone know if that is right?

[Biffer1997]

enjoyed your review--a friend of mine just brought back me the Funtimes from her end of July Fascination cruise, and I didn't see a past guest party mentioned either. Guess I will be surprised on when it is when I get my invite!

[GAMOM4]

My husband said that the past guest party was on Tuesday night (which would have been the night we went to Nassau). He said that the drinks that were offered was the Yellowbird, White Wine, Red Wine, Whiskey Sour & Melon Ball

[GAMOM4]

Posting pictures from the cruise (we will see if it works this time)

[RBCL]

It works fine. :)

[GAMOM4]

More Pictures