Fascination review - 10/29-11/4

[RuthieandTony]

Hi everyone, and welcome to Ruthie's no-holes-barred, my opinion only review of the cruise of the Carnival Fascination. I will try to make this review as specific as possible, including information about our travel (yes, we drove), accomodations in Jacksonville (hotel, dinner, Jax Park and Cruise), everything we did - or didn't do and all the fun we had. I will also try to include prices of things we did. I know in reading reviews it is always helpful in my planning to know how much things cost.

 

First, let me introduce the case of characters that are attending this cruise. FYI - this is my first attempt at adding pictures, so I hope it works, and I don't show up supersized!!! :eek:

 

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This is me - Ruthie, and my darling husband Tony. We have been married for 1 1/2 years and he is literally the air that I breathe. We were in an inside cabin E127. We did early saver approximately 8 months ago, and ended up with $60 in on-board credit. This is my 12th cruise, and Tony's 2nd. I love my platinum perks, and Tony is just platinum by proxy!

 

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This is my mom - Wendy. Also a platinum cruiser and also did early saver. She had the same amount of on-board credit. Wendy uses an electric scooter, so she had cabin E119 which is fully accessible.

 

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This is Joyce - Wendy's BFF. They have been neighbors and besties for 25+ years. Wendy talked Joyce into coming on this voyage. This was Joyce's first cruise and also enjoyed the platinum by proxy perks. She and Wendy shared their cabin.

 

That's who we are. More to come later. I have pounds and pounds of laundry!

[Vidimom]

Great Start! Can't wait to hear all the details including the Parking! We sail in 1 week!

 

Welcome Home!

[NCTribeFan]

Looking forward to the rest. Any chance you could post slightly-less-large photos? They aren't even fitting on my laptop's screen.

 

I want to hear about VIP embarkation. :D

[gusandgidgetsmom]

looking forward to your review. We are going to drive from So. In. to Jax next year. Normally we fly but hubby wants to drive now. We are going to do a b2b so interested in hotel and parking as our car will have to be there 10 days at least. How long did it take to drive from Frankfort? I drive to Frankfort several times a year as I own a cheer gym and our girls compete there so I can guage how long it would take me to get from here that way. thanks.

[Kel040]

looking forward to the rest of your review - I have sailed on Fascination 2X and both times had a great trip....

[RuthieandTony]

Looking forward to the rest. Any chance you could post slightly-less-large photos? They aren't even fitting on my laptop's screen.

 

I want to hear about VIP embarkation. :D

 

I would love to make the pictures smaller - can you tell me how??? :D

[upscope]

I think your pic. are great,leave them like they are.

[NCTribeFan]

I don't know. I upload mine to webshots. Then, when I get ready to add them to my review, I can select the size (there are 6 options, I think). I just pick the one that's next-to-the-biggest, so they're big enough to see but not full screen. Don't know what hosting site you're using.

 

Haven't quite decided where to stay in Jacksonville, yet, or whether to stop around Savannah and drive the rest of the way Saturday morning. Think I'll use the $5/day off-site lot, though. From what I've read recently, it sounds like the thing to do.

[marshhawk]

Ruthie, I will have to read your review when I get back. :eek: I'm leaving tomorrow morning at 7 to drive down to Jacksonville to get on the Fasciantion on Monday. :DWe sailed her last year, and I really love that ship. So I will find your review when I get back. Take care til then, marshhawk

[RuthieandTony]

I thought I would type some while I'm yelling at the football on television! :rolleyes:

I did a lot of research and prep-work prior to coming on this cruise. I'm a total planner - almost to the point of compulsion. And then when things go badly (as they did on this trip), well, I tend to have a "come apart" (as I did on this trip). We planned this cruise for several reasons. The first, and most important to me, was that we sailed on Tony's 44th birthday. So I was like "Happy birthday honey - here is your present - a cruise!". Aren't I just the best wife ever?? :) Other perks were the time of year. I have sailed many times during hurricane season and there has never been a problem. Because it was the end of October/beginning of November, the likelihood of slightly cooler weather was also good. I have never sailed out of Jacksonville, but since we drive, I was excited about being able to travel to our destination in one day, have a good nights sleep and get up feeling fabulous for embarkation.

Here is how we began - my first day off work was Thursday, October 27th. Hubbie works third shift, so as soon as he got home from work that morning, I grabbed the car keys out of his hands and went and got mom for a little beautification. She lives about an hour away from us, so I went and got her and came back to where I live for nails/manicure and haircuts. It was raining on and off all day long. Little did I know this was a predictor of the weather for the upcoming week! After beautification was done, I went back to my house, got Tony and all our luggage, and we headed back to mom's house. About halfway there, I realized that mom's Halloween costume was sitting in the Party City bag on my kitchen table. CRAP!! So we turned around, got the costume, and went onto her house. I wanted to load as much of the luggage as possible the night before. After all was said and done, our mini-van held four adults, an electric scooter, the ramps to get the scooter in the van, manual wheelchair, two large suitcases, one garmet bag, four small suitcases and a cooler. For anyone wondering, yes, I was able to see out the rearview mirror. :eek: Well, there was smidge of daylight coming from back there. On Friday, October 28th, we left mom's house at 5:30 AM. We stopped every few hours to stretch, potty, fuel the van and fuel the adults. All together, it took approximately 12 1/2 to get from Stanton, KY to Jacksonville, FL.

Up next, the Microtel Inn and Suites during a big football weekend and the best seafood restaurant that everyone needs to go visit!

[saltybones]

Love it all, just like it is:D hoping to book one on her next year!!!! Keep it coming!!!!

[Koshlong]

:):):)

[ahoys]

Great start to your review! Love the pics and the narration. Can't wait for more!!

[RuthieandTony]

So part of my pre-planning included finding a hotel for us to stay in that was 1) reasonably priced 2) in a well-populated, decent looking neighborhood and 3) had a handicapped room with two beds for Wendy and Joyce. Since we booked the cruise so early, I did a lot of internet research and found the Microtel Inn and Suites in Jacksonville. It was approximately 20 minutes from JaxPort and met all of my other criteria. Using mom's AARP discount, we got each room for $57 plus tax!!! :eek: There was no option to keep our vehicle there while we cruised, but we didn't need that anyway. I checked us in while Tony began the tedious task of unloading the van. Upon check-in, the very nice clerk was shocked about the price we had for the room. What nobody knew at the time we booked the room was that the Florida vs. Georgia football game was that weekend (the schedule wasn't out yet). We were likely the only people in the hotel who weren't going to the game! The clerk said that the rooms were actually going for $130 a night! Yipee for us!!!! Mom and Joyce were upstairs in room 202. Tony and I were downstairs in room 104. Here is our room.

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It had two queen sized beds, microwave, refridgerator, window seat and a work desk and chair. The handicapped room looked similar with wider walkways and a huge bathroom. The tub had a pull down bench. It met all the criteria I wanted. There was also a continental breakfast the next morning that was available. Certainly not the Lido Deck, but the muffins were fresh and the juice was cold.

 

By the time we got everyone unloaded and situated, mom and Joyce decided that they were too tired to go out to eat. Also in my pre-planning, I had looked at the website restaurant.com (I hope I can list the site - if not, sorry!) and found a coupon for the restaurant Crazy Fish. It advertised as fresh seafood with a view of the harbor. I was immediately hooked. I purchased a coupon at 80% off, which ended up being $2. That gave us $25 off of a $40 purchase. I plugged the address into my GPS and Tony and I were on the road. It took about 25 minutes to get there. Now, having never been to Jacksonville, I didn't know what part of town I was going to. This restaurant was so hidden away, that you would miss it unless you were looking for it. We got there at about 8:00, and it closed at 9:00. Upon walking in, we were greeted by the host/bartender/order taker person. He was a cutie and very sweet. He showed us the "big board" that listed all of the options. Now, I had been up since 4:30 that morning and let me tell you, I couldn't decide much of anything, let alone what to eat. So I asked cutie pie to suggest something yummy. We had appetizer of seafood salad with home made tortilla chips, my entree was crab cakes, fries and cole slaw and Tony had blackened catfish, fried okra and plantains. OMG - this was the best, freshest, yummiest seafood I had ever eaten. The restaurant was very eclectic in its design. I unfortunately got no pics of the food or the inside of the restaurant. After dinner, we walked outside on the deck. What a beautiful view!! We really should have eaten outside. But again, that would have required thinking and that just wasn't happening. We did get some pics outside. All in total, after the coupon, and including tip, the dinner price was $32. Well worth the price in my opinion. So if you are planning a trip to Jacksonville, go to Crazy Fish. You will not be disappointed.

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After dinner, we came back to the hotel and crashed. I was never so glad to get some sleep. We awoke the next morning to realize it had rained the night before. I was still cloudy outside but nice and warm. The van got re-loaded and we headed out to Jax Park and Cruise.

 

Up next - parking and embarkation!

[NCTribeFan]

I haven't booked a hotel yet. Think I'll check out the Microtel.

 

Last time, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Airport (the HIE by the port wasn't doing cruise parking packages then), but I'm thinking the Hyatt Place ($76) and the cheapo parking lot.

 

Bring on the embarkation portion!! :D

[Vidimom]

Great Job Ruthie! Can't wait to hear about the Park & Cruise. I pre booked it for next weekend and look forward to hearing about your experience with them. Love all the pictures and can't wait for more:)

[RuthieandTony]

We finally got the van re-loaded, and put the address of Jax Park and Go into the GPS, and we were off. It was an approximately 20 minute drive from the hotel to the parking. As we were driving to the parking area, we passed a few hotels that were obviously much closer to the port. I was pleased with the Microtel and wouldn't hesitate to stay there again. I had heard about the Park and Go here on Cruise Critic. I went to their website and did a live chat with one of the employees. I explained that we would have an electric scooter, and would they be able to accomodate our party. The response was "absolutely, no problem". Considering the price difference between the pier and the Park and Go, the choice was simple. Upon pulling into the lot, I was greeted by an energetic employee, I gave her my last name and she looked us up. Everything was pre-paid, so we got a tag for our dashboard and went on into the garage area. There was a small covered area, but the rest of the lot was open. We pulled into the garage because that was concrete and the lot was gravel. The concrete made it easier to unload the scooter. They did not have the handicapped accessible van on-site, so they called the driver and asked him to head back to the Park and Go (I'm not sure where he was). It took about 30 minutes for the van to arrive. A little inconvienent, but nothing too bad. After all, I was on vacation! Once the van arrived, the lift loaded mom and her scooter in the van, we piled in and the driver loaded our bags and we were off to the pier! It was no more than a 5-7 minute ride to the pier. Once we arrived, the lift then unloaded mom.

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A porter came and got all the luggage, and we entered the terminal. Of course, we went to the wrong door first! I didn't realize that there was a separate entrance for the VIP/platinum folks. So we had to back up and go to the door to the left of the main entrance. We showed the door monitor copies of our fun passes and we were in the terminal! By this time, it was approximately 11:00 AM. It had been more than an hour since we left the hotel. Not too bad in my estimation. After we entered the correct door, we were directed to a room with two Carnival employees checking folks in. Unfortunately, the room was small and there were approximately 10 people already jammed in there. While it moved steadily, it was warm and everyone had their carry-on bags, so it made things crowded. But we checked in, and snaked our way through the security line. By the the time we got through security, took the obligatory embarkation photo and bing-bong - we were on the ship!

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When entering the ship, we embarked on deck three. We were hearded to the elevator to go up to deck 10, which is Lido Deck for lunch. I took a couple of atrium pictures from up top.

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We had lunch at the Coconut Grove Grill. Can we say crowded??? Well, of course it was. Nobody had anywhere to go other than eat and wander. We finally found a table at the very back, which was great for me. I then got my first of many corned beef and pastrami sandwiches, along with lots of other yumminess! Right at 1:30, the hallway doors opened up and we were able to get to our cabins.

 

Up next - why is there a stripper pole in our cabin??

[jkneern]

NO...............you left us hanging.........the pole...we want to hear about the pole;) Great review, can't wait for more!!

[scgamecock]

Great start! Eagerly awaiting the rest of the review. I will be on Fascination for a b2b Dec 5 through the 15th. :)

[NCTribeFan]

OK, I sailed from Jacksonville once before I was Platinum, so I wasn't paying attention to VIP. I did see their waiting area, though.

 

You mean there's an entirely separate door into the building?

 

Do you go in there and have a separate security line?

 

If you hadn't needed the HC van, would you have gone immediately from the parking to the ship? I just like to board and get lunch before it gets too crowded.

 

You would think that as many times as I've been on Fantasy-class ships, I would know what the lobby/atrium looks like, but it seems every time I move from class to class, I sort of forget what they look like! I like that lobby! :D

[nathand95]

Ah you ended your review at such a cliff hanger! I want to know why there was a stripper pole in your cabin! Hahaha:). I'm enjoying your review so far. I've always wanted to sail from JAX. My aunt lives on the river and one time we took the boat 5 minutes down the river and we were able to see the Fascination pulling out of port. Such jealousy! Just curious-what was your itinerary?

[RuthieandTony]

OK, I sailed from Jacksonville once before I was Platinum, so I wasn't paying attention to VIP. I did see their waiting area, though.

 

You mean there's an entirely separate door into the building?

 

Do you go in there and have a separate security line?

 

If you hadn't needed the HC van, would you have gone immediately from the parking to the ship? I just like to board and get lunch before it gets too crowded.

 

You would think that as many times as I've been on Fantasy-class ships, I would know what the lobby/atrium looks like, but it seems every time I move from class to class, I sort of forget what they look like! I like that lobby! :D

 

Yes, there was a separate door to the left of the main entrance. Totally missed it!! And yes, if we didn't have to wait for the accessible van, we would have been able to leave immediately. They were loading folks and moving them out very quickly.

[NCTribeFan]

Thanks!

 

Looking forward to the rest.

[bliss_fully_happy]

Please post more. I am so excited about my up coming cruise and I need pictures. LOL!

[NCTribeFan]

C'mon now, Ruthie! Don't keep us waiting too long! We need our Fascination Fix! ;)