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Fascination 9/4/2010 - Half Moon Cay & Nassau Review

GrammyJill

By GrammyJill,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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GrammyJill

GrammyJill

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Fascination 9/4/10

Well, thought I would put into words my experience on the Fascination. Our background info, my family consists of dh 48, me 42, ds 24, his baby momma 23, dd 15 & dgd 4. We traveled with friends a couple in their early 40’s & their kids ranging from 18 – 22. Also, in our group my bestie WhooHooCruiser, won’t tell her age & her sister, late 40’s & whoohoo’s dd 23. My dh & I have traveled on the Holiday with our kids and on Enchantment of the Seas just the two of us. So yes there will probably be a bit of comparison between the lines.

We traveled from Nashville on Friday & stayed at the Best Western @ the cruise & park package rate of $120 per room that included shuttle transport to & from the port. The rooms were fine the pool was cool & we had a Waffle House next door we went to at 4 am Saturday! LOL, great fun let me tell you with a bunch of youngsters! Lol Lots & lots of laughs.

The shuttle to the port was running early but they couldn’t get all of us on one shuttle. We split up & my family went first at about 12:15 took about 20 minutes to get to the port & the porters took all our bags. There was a pretty heavy line & we waited outside for quite a while. The line was moving but very slowly. We did take a luggage rack with all our drinks for both rooms (1 case of bottled water, 1 case of diet coke, 1 case of Mt. Dew & 2 12 packs of diet Sprite) No problem with the mobility of it through line or in the x ray machine. Granted we did have to remove all the drinks & reload the luggage rack after x ray. Not a problem though. After passing security we notice our buddies had arrived & went through line MUCH faster & even though they left the hotel at least 45 minutes after us we only got on the ship about 7 or 8 minutes before them. It was close to 2 by the time we heard that AMAZING “DING”. We all went to our rooms first to unload our carry ons.

The ship was BEAUTIFUL! Our steward was there waiting for us as we came aboard & introduced himself (aawww, our new BFF). We were booked on the Upper Deck, at the time of our booking 5 cabins in all the best we could manage was getting in the same area of that deck. Our room numbers ranged from my dh, dd & myself in U224 (port balcony, handicap accessible room,, no we didn’t’ request it to be but that was all they had in our area & size needed), our ds, baby momma & dgd in U164 (ocean view), whoohoocruiser, dd, & sister in U161 (ocean view), friend couple U227 (starboard balcony), their kids (U22? Ocean view).

Our cabin was the last cabin on the right side of the ship going towards the back. It was glorious! I will post some pics of it also. The only weird part was that our daughter’s upper berth was right above our king bed. So when I laid in bed there was going to be no watching of the ship’s channel. And the ladder was right in front of hubby’s face. But, heck if that is my biggest complaint you better believe I had a great time! Lol The bathroom was HUGE! Only thing I missed there was the little shelf over the sink. Wouldn’t think you would miss that unless you are accustomed to it being there. We had a closet with only 2 doors & 4 drawers at the desk. I did take a bathroom organizer & used it plenty! There was a wide ledge under the window by the balcony door as well to store items.

Comparison to balcony room on RCCI, our room this time was nice but the room on EoS had a couch we used for enjoying drinks with our friends before dinner. Also the balcony on Fascination was much narrower. Granted we did take the little brown side tables our there as chairs a number of times. I also greatly missed having a refrigerator the little bucket of ice was replenished twice a day but having a fridge was a plus on EoS. Now on to my son’s room….

They had a typical ocean view room in my opinion. Great ledge to sit in & watch the ocean float by. The closet was bigger here, they had a triple door closet with many shelves for storing clothes. They had one chair. I had requested the beds NOT be made as a king. Even on the phone the day before our cruise planner called to see if we needed anything I asked again that the beds be made up as singles he assured me that was no problem. When we arrived they were made as a king with the upper berth over the opposite wall. Let me tell you my granddaughter LOVED that bed. Even today on the drive home she said it was her FAVORITE bed EVER! She could see straight out the window and LOVED it. I asked their steward to please change the beds & we made sure we tipped our stewards and extra $10 per room upon arrival. That night the beds had still not been changed nor the next night. I had decided if it hadn’t been done by the time we returned from Half Moon Cay I was going to see the Hotel Manager but thankfully it had been changed. I still think it was a little delayed but it ended up fine. Too much back story to explain why but the fact is they aren’t married nor are they dating right now so to make them sleep together was a little uncomfortable for both of them. Their bathroom was very typical of the other cruise ship bathrooms we have experienced. They also had the much coveted bathroom shelf. DOH!

Now up to deck to PARTY for sail away! Oh wait I forgot muster with NO LIFE JACKETS! Plus we got to sit in a comfy lounge. I have to admit Carnival wins the muster drill comparison hands down! Only us & the other couple in the balcony room went to the same muster station together. After muster it was time again to buy more happiness in a cute little plastic carnival cup. We couldn’t find any of our friends after muster… bummer so we went up to the top top toppest deck to watch the tail go under the bridge. I had been waiting & waiting for this very moment! It was phenomenal! Ok, time for more happiness in a cup….. and more…. And more…

We found some friends who believe it or not also had some happiness & joy in their hands. The kids were all having a blast & well on the way to hangover town. We stayed on lido for the rest of the afternoon & enjoyed ourselves. I can’t remember swimming but think there are a few pictures of us doing that. Hum…. I must have been photoshopped.

Oh also that afternoon I went to register my daughter for Circle C. They did give us a phone to use on the ship & it was very very handy. I talked to the youth director about the email I had sent & received from Carnival’s special needs department & she assured me all would be well. We took our daughter to the welcome aboard party that night. Unfortunately the nightly activities started right at 8:30 each night & we had late dinner seating. So a few nights she had a starter with us & then my dh took her to meet with the Circle C crowd. I must admit this is my biggest complaint of the entire cruise. The lack of any organization or awareness on the part of the young guy that was with them each night. More about this later. I did my best to explain my daughter’s special needs to them then they seemed unaware she was even there. My daughter doesn’t require any special treatment the only thing we asked was that she not leave the group or be left with out calling us first. The first night she had a good time with the group.

When we went to dress for dinner all of our bags had arrived except one. I had packed 10 rum runner throughout all the bags for 2 rooms so I half expected that the missing garment bag was in the naughty room, but no letter arrived. I did hear the guy next door talking about getting a letter. He kept saying all he had packed in there was a few sweatshirts. Now personally I didn’t pack a bag of sweatshirts to go to the Bahamas in September but hey, whatever floats your boat, right? Well we checked outside of guest services for our long lost bag on the way to dinner but it wasn’t there. We had asked our son earlier if it was mistagged & put in his room, he said it wasn’t. We were a little worried all our dinner clothes were in the shuttle van back in J’ville. At dinner our son did happen to mention an extra bag in his room. Lol, he is such a goober! So all 10 of our rum runners made it! Now don’t start…. Our bar bill was $400 our son spent $350 and the baby momma spent $300 so we spent plenty as well as made our own. And, believe it or not we were not snockered the entire time just a nice constant cruise speed.

We had a great time at dinner. Our seating was kinda weird though. We had a group of 13. We expected to be sat at 2 tables what we didn’t expect was the 2nd Dessi the matre d’ earned her money & came to us that first night. Making us laugh with a story of an encounter with a previous guest. She also was the first to bring up the table situation & told us the next night the tables would be put together before we arrived. She was true to her word & visited us each night. She had a great memory & took very individual care of us. Even going out of her way in the breakfast buffet to see to one of our young ladies needs. Our waiter & assistant were a little stand offish that first night but warmed up to us over the next few days. Don’t ask me what we ate but it was good I guarantee it! I do remember ordering the warm melting chocolate cake & the cheese plate. Not a big fan of the cake SORRY GUYS! It was like warm pudding wth a crust. Very rich but not a favorite. Now if you remember I told you we had an 18 year old with us. A boy! Do you know how much food an 18 year old boy can eat? Every night he ordered steak, at least 2 & some nights 3. Our waiter, Edgar, brought him as many as he wanted and he ate every single bite. table would be a 4 top at the very back corner of the dinning room.

The first night we went to see the R rated comedy show. Now I don’t care who ya are that guy was FUNNY! We were hysterical! I was very disappointed I couldn’t seem to get anyone to bring me any happiness in a glass though. Oh well, there was a bar with a “tender” and they were happy to oblige.

 

Next up Day 2

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GrammyJill

GrammyJill

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Day 2 – Sea Day

Now here is my other big disappointment. I had read on cruise critic about not having a full hot room service menu. This was a huge disappointment. I got up around 9 ordered coffee, hot chocolate & juice (sweet grandbaby spent the night). Then heaven’s forbid I got dressed and ran up to the lido. Boy oh boy talk about a$$es and elbows. Wow there were a lot of people in line. Went out on deck to the late risers breakfast for a shorter line. So very thankful they had trays to carry the plates down that made it much more convenient. We had scrambled eggs, huge tater tots, bacon & fruit. Now for something else I have read about on here the “bacon police”… dun dun dun… there was a guy standing there helping serve but he gave them as much as they wanted. I only got the impression he was helping separate the pieces not hamper any fat harboring. That had to be the NASTIEST bacon I have ever seen. Every morning it was undercooked & dripping with fat. Now don’t get me wrong I’m a good southern woman I love my fat dripping & fried foods, but ick, they never cooked it crispy & the only reason I figure is because they cook it on a sheet pan in the oven. So down I went & we had a great breakfast on our lido. Here is a tip I learned on my 1st cruise, when ordering the coffee if you are a heavy coffee drinker order it for 4 people instead of 2, they will bring you 2 carafes. Now to get the girls up & swim suites on to go do absolutely NOTHING for the day.

I had checked the fun times & highlighted a few things for our enjoyment. The first was at noon our daughter was to meet up with Circle C for putt putt golf, we got there a few minutes early, then a few other parents & kids, we waited & no one from Carnival ever made an appearance. My dh went to camp carnival to see if they would meet somewhere else he even went down to the Circle C room, it was locked up with a sign on the door saying the next event was putt putt on the top deck at noon. DUH so we went over the rules with our dear daughter & taught her our cell phone number because she wanted to stay. Then headed off to find some, a few, glasses of happiness. Our buddies were on the lido so we went to shake & bake with them. Our daughter was going to come down to us before meeting the Circle C crowd at the slides at 1 pm. Well our daughter showed up & we took her to the slides but again no Carnival staff was present. I was a little peeved but our daughter wanted to come swim with us at the pool so that was cool with us. We had many many happy moments that afternoon in liquid form. Our adult kids were having a lot of fun & very entertaining. We swam we laughed, we applied sun screen, we drank applied sun screen, drank, laughed…

It was formal night and we ate in the MDR every night. It was lobster night. I ordered lobster & steak and they were perfect. Tonight was bitter & blanc for dessert & it was divine. My favorite dessert by far. Most nights I had dessert & the cheese plate. Our servers were always accommodating. Oh & by the way our tables were fixed when we arrived. A long table for 13. It was perfect.

I have no idea what we did after dinner, this may have been the night we went to the casino. Our daughter hung out in Circle C and made pizza. She said she had a good time.

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Megan_Strick

Megan_Strick

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Fascination 9/4/10

 

Well, thought I would put into words my experience on the Fascination. Our background info, my family consists of dh 48, me 42, ds 24, his baby momma 23, dd 15 & dgd 4. We traveled with friends a couple in their early 40’s & their kids ranging from 18 – 22. Also, in our group my bestie WhooHooCruiser, won’t tell her age & her sister, late 40’s & whoohoo’s dd 23. My dh & I have traveled on the Holiday with our kids and on Enchantment of the Seas just the two of us. So yes there will probably be a bit of comparison between the lines.

 

We traveled from Nashville on Friday & stayed at the Best Western @ the cruise & park package rate of $120 per room that included shuttle transport to & from the port. The rooms were fine the pool was cool & we had a Waffle House next door we went to at 4 am Saturday! LOL, great fun let me tell you with a bunch of youngsters! Lol Lots & lots of laughs.

 

The shuttle to the port was running early but they couldn’t get all of us on one shuttle. We split up & my family went first at about 12:15 took about 20 minutes to get to the port & the porters took all our bags. There was a pretty heavy line & we waited outside for quite a while. The line was moving but very slowly. We did take a luggage rack with all our drinks for both rooms (1 case of bottled water, 1 case of diet coke, 1 case of Mt. Dew & 2 12 packs of diet Sprite) No problem with the mobility of it through line or in the x ray machine. Granted we did have to remove all the drinks & reload the luggage rack after x ray. Not a problem though. After passing security we notice our buddies had arrived & went through line MUCH faster & even though they left the hotel at least 45 minutes after us we only got on the ship about 7 or 8 minutes before them. It was close to 2 by the time we heard that AMAZING “DING”. We all went to our rooms first to unload our carry ons.

 

The ship was BEAUTIFUL! Our steward was there waiting for us as we came aboard & introduced himself (aawww, our new BFF). We were booked on the Upper Deck, at the time of our booking 5 cabins in all the best we could manage was getting in the same area of that deck. Our room numbers ranged from my dh, dd & myself in U224 (port balcony, handicap accessible room,, no we didn’t’ request it to be but that was all they had in our area & size needed), our ds, baby momma & dgd in U164 (ocean view), whoohoocruiser, dd, & sister in U161 (ocean view), friend couple U227 (starboard balcony), their kids (U22? Ocean view).

 

Our cabin was the last cabin on the right side of the ship going towards the back. It was glorious! I will post some pics of it also. The only weird part was that our daughter’s upper berth was right above our king bed. So when I laid in bed there was going to be no watching of the ship’s channel. And the ladder was right in front of hubby’s face. But, heck if that is my biggest complaint you better believe I had a great time! Lol The bathroom was HUGE! Only thing I missed there was the little shelf over the sink. Wouldn’t think you would miss that unless you are accustomed to it being there. We had a closet with only 2 doors & 4 drawers at the desk. I did take a bathroom organizer & used it plenty! There was a wide ledge under the window by the balcony door as well to store items.

 

Comparison to balcony room on RCCI, our room this time was nice but the room on EoS had a couch we used for enjoying drinks with our friends before dinner. Also the balcony on Fascination was much narrower. Granted we did take the little brown side tables our there as chairs a number of times. I also greatly missed having a refrigerator the little bucket of ice was replenished twice a day but having a fridge was a plus on EoS. Now on to my son’s room….

 

They had a typical ocean view room in my opinion. Great ledge to sit in & watch the ocean float by. The closet was bigger here, they had a triple door closet with many shelves for storing clothes. They had one chair. I had requested the beds NOT be made as a king. Even on the phone the day before our cruise planner called to see if we needed anything I asked again that the beds be made up as singles he assured me that was no problem. When we arrived they were made as a king with the upper berth over the opposite wall. Let me tell you my granddaughter LOVED that bed. Even today on the drive home she said it was her FAVORITE bed EVER! She could see straight out the window and LOVED it. I asked their steward to please change the beds & we made sure we tipped our stewards and extra $10 per room upon arrival. That night the beds had still not been changed nor the next night. I had decided if it hadn’t been done by the time we returned from Half Moon Cay I was going to see the Hotel Manager but thankfully it had been changed. I still think it was a little delayed but it ended up fine. Too much back story to explain why but the fact is they aren’t married nor are they dating right now so to make them sleep together was a little uncomfortable for both of them. Their bathroom was very typical of the other cruise ship bathrooms we have experienced. They also had the much coveted bathroom shelf. DOH!

 

Now up to deck to PARTY for sail away! Oh wait I forgot muster with NO LIFE JACKETS! Plus we got to sit in a comfy lounge. I have to admit Carnival wins the muster drill comparison hands down! Only us & the other couple in the balcony room went to the same muster station together. After muster it was time again to buy more happiness in a cute little plastic carnival cup. We couldn’t find any of our friends after muster… bummer so we went up to the top top toppest deck to watch the tail go under the bridge. I had been waiting & waiting for this very moment! It was phenomenal! Ok, time for more happiness in a cup….. and more…. And more…

 

We found some friends who believe it or not also had some happiness & joy in their hands. The kids were all having a blast & well on the way to hangover town. We stayed on lido for the rest of the afternoon & enjoyed ourselves. I can’t remember swimming but think there are a few pictures of us doing that. Hum…. I must have been photoshopped.

 

Oh also that afternoon I went to register my daughter for Circle C. They did give us a phone to use on the ship & it was very very handy. I talked to the youth director about the email I had sent & received from Carnival’s special needs department & she assured me all would be well. We took our daughter to the welcome aboard party that night. Unfortunately the nightly activities started right at 8:30 each night & we had late dinner seating. So a few nights she had a starter with us & then my dh took her to meet with the Circle C crowd. I must admit this is my biggest complaint of the entire cruise. The lack of any organization or awareness on the part of the young guy that was with them each night. More about this later. I did my best to explain my daughter’s special needs to them then they seemed unaware she was even there. My daughter doesn’t require any special treatment the only thing we asked was that she not leave the group or be left with out calling us first. The first night she had a good time with the group.

 

When we went to dress for dinner all of our bags had arrived except one. I had packed 10 rum runner throughout all the bags for 2 rooms so I half expected that the missing garment bag was in the naughty room, but no letter arrived. I did hear the guy next door talking about getting a letter. He kept saying all he had packed in there was a few sweatshirts. Now personally I didn’t pack a bag of sweatshirts to go to the Bahamas in September but hey, whatever floats your boat, right? Well we checked outside of guest services for our long lost bag on the way to dinner but it wasn’t there. We had asked our son earlier if it was mistagged & put in his room, he said it wasn’t. We were a little worried all our dinner clothes were in the shuttle van back in J’ville. At dinner our son did happen to mention an extra bag in his room. Lol, he is such a goober! So all 10 of our rum runners made it! Now don’t start…. Our bar bill was $400 our son spent $350 and the baby momma spent $300 so we spent plenty as well as made our own. And, believe it or not we were not snockered the entire time just a nice constant cruise speed.

 

We had a great time at dinner. Our seating was kinda weird though. We had a group of 13. We expected to be sat at 2 tables what we didn’t expect was the 2nd Dessi the matre d’ earned her money & came to us that first night. Making us laugh with a story of an encounter with a previous guest. She also was the first to bring up the table situation & told us the next night the tables would be put together before we arrived. She was true to her word & visited us each night. She had a great memory & took very individual care of us. Even going out of her way in the breakfast buffet to see to one of our young ladies needs. Our waiter & assistant were a little stand offish that first night but warmed up to us over the next few days. Don’t ask me what we ate but it was good I guarantee it! I do remember ordering the warm melting chocolate cake & the cheese plate. Not a big fan of the cake SORRY GUYS! It was like warm pudding wth a crust. Very rich but not a favorite. Now if you remember I told you we had an 18 year old with us. A boy! Do you know how much food an 18 year old boy can eat? Every night he ordered steak, at least 2 & some nights 3. Our waiter, Edgar, brought him as many as he wanted and he ate every single bite. table would be a 4 top at the very back corner of the dinning room.

 

The first night we went to see the R rated comedy show. Now I don’t care who ya are that guy was FUNNY! We were hysterical! I was very disappointed I couldn’t seem to get anyone to bring me any happiness in a glass though. Oh well, there was a bar with a “tender” and they were happy to oblige.

 

 

 

Next up Day 2

 

Was Roman the guy that did the R rated comedy? We got off the day you got on. He was sooooo funny.

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sharlon

sharlon

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Loving the review! My b'day was Tuesday and my present is a cruise on the Fascination. Thanks so much for the cabin info! As for the bacon description, LOL!!!! I'm a good southern girl too, so I totally get the love of bacon fat!

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GrammyJill

GrammyJill

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Was Roman the guy that did the R rated comedy? We got off the day you got on. He was sooooo funny.

 

yep, I am pretty sure it was, he was the black guy.

 

I decided this morning I am going to look at my fun times as I write this review to refresh my memory more.

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GrammyJill

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Day 3 – Half Moon Cay

Well to say I had a hard time getting up would be an understatement. At 8 our son knocked, I told him to GO AWAY, at 9 our friends knocked I nicely told them to GO AWAY, at 10 the other friends called & I said FINE WE WILL BE OVER SOON!. LOL we were on vacation and we were in paradise. That is the most beautiful beach in the world. I loved going out on the balcony to have coffee. It was my hubby’s turn to go up on deck for breakfast but we weren’t hungry so we just had coffee & juice. We really lucked out on the tender front. We went downstairs about 10:45 & hopped right on a tender, of course we had to wait for the boat to fill up before we took off though. We all thought it was really neat the way the tender drove through the canal & around to dock. The little welcome center was fun.

Our group went way down the island to the area in front of cabana 9. It didn’t seem to us like they even booked all the cabanas. One of our friends rented 3 clamshells and they came in very handy later in the day. On top of all the drinks we brought on board we also had bought 2 soda cards. My dh & dd only had a short walk up to the bar to get refills. Lunch on the island was an easy affair; we were impressed with how clean everything was all the time. The bathrooms were spotless and the pavilions were everyone ate were immaculate. We had no problem finding a spot to eat. My only suggestion to Carnival would be more ice & drink stations. There were always lines there. Maybe because it was a hot sunny day. We all went back to the ship around 4. This time we weren’t so lucky we had to wait a while for a tender back.

I will say one thing happened getting off the tender that I was impressed with Carnival staff for. When we were first disembarking there were two ways up to the deck as we walked up to the one closest to us we were asked to go to the other side. Well you know how it gets with so many people & somehow when we turned around our daughter was up the ramp and they had tied it up so we couldn’t get to her. I hollered at the staff person that was my daughter and asked if they could let her back down, he obviously couldn’t understand me but another staff person came over & made sure we got together by letting my dh & I go up that side. WHEW, relief……

We didn’t do much this afternoon, I felt bad because the ship was kind of leaning to the starboard side so when we took a shower the water ran over to the other side of the bathroom instead of down the drain. We tried to scoop it over to the drain but not very successfully. We apologized profusely to our steward, Oscar, who apologized profusely back. After we had changed we went to find some happiness in a glass & let our daughter hang out & walk around since we had the phone & she could call us. I can’t remember how many times she did call us, she got lost a few times & made it back to the room where we would come gather her. Very handy phone!

Dinner in the MDR again, lots of fun & laughter. Have no clue as to what any of us ate but let me tell you I was not disappointed in my 3rd night of starting things off with a very wet & dirty martini. Oh how I do love these when I’m onboard. Oh yeah, this was the night we tried the martini tasting before dinner. 5 martini samples for $15. We shared with some friends (he bought so I guess they shared) the tiramisu was the biggest hit.

I think this is the night we all went to the casino. Lost everything we intended to gamble in a matter of minutes.

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GrammyJill

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Here is the view from the top of the Grand Atrium

4979204777_15f1e74938_m.jpg

 

Our sail away on top, behind us is the mini golf area & front of the ship

4979814692_35c8a6d357_m.jpg

Walt (dh) & Jill (me aka RBLWMN)

 

Going under the bridge

4979812854_9a1b850edc_m.jpg

I had waited so long for this moment!

 

Our buddy Terri (WhooHoo)

4979813444_c9bedf7aed_m.jpg

 

Dinner the first night was so good!

4979815418_dd60968d99_m.jpg

Niki the princess!

 

 

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princessjanee

princessjanee

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Day 3 – Half Moon Cay

 

Well to say I had a hard time getting up would be an understatement. At 8 our son knocked, I told him to GO AWAY, at 9 our friends knocked I nicely told them to GO AWAY, at 10 the other friends called & I said FINE WE WILL BE OVER SOON!. LOL we were on vacation and we were in paradise. That is the most beautiful beach in the world. I loved going out on the balcony to have coffee. It was my hubby’s turn to go up on deck for breakfast but we weren’t hungry so we just had coffee & juice. We really lucked out on the tender front. We went downstairs about 10:45 & hopped right on a tender, of course we had to wait for the boat to fill up before we took off though. We all thought it was really neat the way the tender drove through the canal & around to dock. The little welcome center was fun.

 

Our group went way down the island to the area in front of cabana 9. It didn’t seem to us like they even booked all the cabanas. One of our friends rented 3 clamshells and they came in very handy later in the day. On top of all the drinks we brought on board we also had bought 2 soda cards. My dh & dd only had a short walk up to the bar to get refills. Lunch on the island was an easy affair; we were impressed with how clean everything was all the time. The bathrooms were spotless and the pavilions were everyone ate were immaculate. We had no problem finding a spot to eat. My only suggestion to Carnival would be more ice & drink stations. There were always lines there. Maybe because it was a hot sunny day. We all went back to the ship around 4. This time we weren’t so lucky we had to wait a while for a tender back.

 

I will say one thing happened getting off the tender that I was impressed with Carnival staff for. When we were first disembarking there were two ways up to the deck as we walked up to the one closest to us we were asked to go to the other side. Well you know how it gets with so many people & somehow when we turned around our daughter was up the ramp and they had tied it up so we couldn’t get to her. I hollered at the staff person that was my daughter and asked if they could let her back down, he obviously couldn’t understand me but another staff person came over & made sure we got together by letting my dh & I go up that side. WHEW, relief……

 

We didn’t do much this afternoon, I felt bad because the ship was kind of leaning to the starboard side so when we took a shower the water ran over to the other side of the bathroom instead of down the drain. We tried to scoop it over to the drain but not very successfully. We apologized profusely to our steward, Oscar, who apologized profusely back. After we had changed we went to find some happiness in a glass & let our daughter hang out & walk around since we had the phone & she could call us. I can’t remember how many times she did call us, she got lost a few times & made it back to the room where we would come gather her. Very handy phone!

 

Dinner in the MDR again, lots of fun & laughter. Have no clue as to what any of us ate but let me tell you I was not disappointed in my 3rd night of starting things off with a very wet & dirty martini. Oh how I do love these when I’m onboard. Oh yeah, this was the night we tried the martini tasting before dinner. 5 martini samples for $15. We shared with some friends (he bought so I guess they shared) the tiramisu was the biggest hit.

 

I think this is the night we all went to the casino. Lost everything we intended to gamble in a matter of minutes.

what phones are you talking about,,,regular cell phones or something different...sorry if I sound dum but our phones never worked on the ship?

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GrammyJill

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what phones are you talking about,,,regular cell phones or something different...sorry if I sound dum but our phones never worked on the ship?

 

They were a Cisco doip phone the ship gave to the parents of special needs and Camp Carnival. I'm sure you could rent them though. It had an in house extension. For example all you had to do was go to any house phone & dial 1787 to reach us. The ringtone was LOUD & unique so we never missed a call. Our granddaughter's mother also got one even though Skylar only went to Camp C one time. It was also nice having it because I didn't take my watch so we always had the time.

 

On a side note both my husband & I had service the entire time on board & when in port. We made sure to put the phones on airplane mode but I still received a text one day. Make sure you check to see how much your phone company charges for international calls & texts. Ours would have charged $2.50 per minute or $2.50 per text.

 

Oh & it's not a dumb question, we wondered the same thing before the cruise.

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GrammyJill

GrammyJill

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Day 4 – Nassau

We were excited to get here! We wanted to get up early so we could start seeing the city. Our friend had reserved 2 day rooms at the Sheraton. It was $120 per day for 4 people per room. It was well worth the money. Granted she never let me pay her. But, let me talk about getting off the ship first.

We got up & went to breakfast around 8 or so. Our son had stayed out way too late & had no intention on getting up or getting off the ship at that ungodly hour. We took our granddaughter back to their room to sleep in a bit. The boat swaying seems to have a very calming effect on her. Lol She had the hardest time keeping her eyes open.

 

 

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We made plans to meet WhooHoo & her family back at the ship @ 10:30 & we went out. Let me tell you I hated getting off that ship in Nassau. I can not stand to be haggled for everything I never wanted to begin with. Granted all the people were friendly enough but there were so many wanting to sell us so much. Yes, my dh was approached & offered some “reefer” LMAO~ Just getting off the pier was just too much. We hadn’t even made it to the first little shop area. OMG, I understand they need to make money & the market is tight but please I just wish they would have backed off a little. Let me tell you I am not a dainty fainting flower kind of woman but dang I was kind of intimidated. We walked down to the Harley Shop as I had wanted to buy a tank top there & then looked at some of the cheapy touristy shops for my dh a tee shirt. Then back to the ship to get our buddies.

The 2nd time getting off the ship was better the crowd of excursion pushers had thinned out. We walked to the straw market & got some more stuff pushed at us before heading down to catch the #10 jitney bus to the Sheraton.

The hotel was so pretty. We looked around the little shop & my dd wanted one of those big conch shells, but it was $75 & can you imagine how many drinks I can buy for $75? So we passed on that little gem. For some reason the hotel’s computer system was down. So they had housekeeping open our doors & let me tell you what a little slice of heaven those were. OMGOSH, we had walk out rooms. The rooms looked out past one of the pools with a water fall out towards the ocean. What a view! We sat out stuff down & went to find a little local happiness in a blue can.

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The day was gorgeous, it had clouded over a little & we used the free snorkel stuff & the free mats to enjoy that amazing water. There was a guy on the beach selling huge conch shells for $5 & our dd was very happily surprised we got her one. We were offered a snorkeling trip for $35 per hour in the water & almost took him up on it but decided to just enjoy the beach.

 

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As the day progressed our kids did find us & dropped off our dgd & they headed up to the fish fry place, they both said the food was phenomenal. We had a very expensive lunch at the Sheraton, $58 for 3 sandwiches with fries a coke, water & a beer. Wish there had been somewhere local close by we could have eaten or we could have popped back on the ship. But, we wanted to enjoy our day at the Sheraton until it was time to leave. It rained on us twice that day but we just sat on our veranda in our loungers & watched it. What a great place to hang out. It was so great to be able to shower & change before heading back up to town too. Very convenient. We did find out from one of the jitney drivers that they only drive until 7 IF there are people out riding. If not they will close up early.

So that night of course we ate in the MDR. Food & service was great. Our dd wanted to go to Circle C so dh took her after the starters came. They were supposed to be showing New Moon in the Circle C area. After dinner we all went up to the back of the ship to watch sail away. I have to admit that was a highlight of the trip. Watching the lights as we sailed out. Sensation was also in port & it was fun watching her as we sailed out, she was all lit up & so pretty. After dinner we ran into our granddaughter & her mom so we sat in the chairs next to the pool.

Next thing we know circle C is walking by, we see all the kids EXCEPT our daughter. We waited & waited to see her walk by, checked the Circle C papers to see what they were doing & yep, they weren’t supposed to leave Circle C they were supposed to be watching New Moon. Well, that began our search for our daughter. We found the guy “in charge” of Circle C & he didn’t even know who she was. He said “was this her first night with us?” We said NO she has been with you all week. DUH! I went up to the Lido Buffet where all the kids were sitting, doing nothing & asked them if they saw her. One of the girls said she walked to the bathroom & they all left her. We searched for her for an hour. You can’t imagine the things that went through my mind. She never one time picked up the phone to call because we told her we wouldn’t be picking her up until like 12:30 or 1 am. My daughter was definitely partly to blame, she should have called but I also hold Carnival responsible for the fact they didn’t even know who or where she was. That was our only request, do not leave her anywhere. She gets lost very easily. I also suppose we had been so spoiled by everyone knowing our names from our room steward to bartenders to the matre’ d’ that when they didn’t know her it shocked me. Needless to say our daughter got a good tongue thrashing that night & threats not to be left alone again. Can you image searching for your child? I was completely freaking out!

Next up….. Day 4 Sea Day

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GAMOM4

GAMOM4

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Just reading your review is making me wish we were back on the ship! We were on this same cruise the week of August 21st. We were in room U162! Did your room have a balcony? Ours did not (hopefully one day we can afford one with a balcony). The one thing about Nassau that we learned the very first time we went was when they come up and try to slip a bracelet or necklace on you - DO NOT TAKE IT thinking it is a gift....they want money and they don't want the bracelet or necklace back. We ended up paying for them our first time and now I am amazed every time we go back including this year how many people they are slipping those bracelets on. I also don't like all of the haggling and constant offers to sell things. I will have to check into the Sheraton the next time we go - we only went to the Main Dining Room one time this year and it was the first night - but it sounds like you enjoyed it every night. I can't wait to cruise again!!!!

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