Cruising the Fascination

[Lhorn1209]

:DI have been reading these forums for about 2 days now and am so over loaded on information that I cant remember half of what I have read..Go figure right???I am taking my mom on her very first cruise for her birthday :) I myself havent cruised since a week over Thanksgiving back in '99 on the Carnival Paradise...Was 11 then so can't remember much! Anyways, I was just wandering what kinda tips yall have to offer or some do's or dont's I guess you could say. I have ordered the famous "rum runners" lol. I am 24 and love my drinks :D My mom loves her wine so we will be taking in 2 bottles in checked luggage for her. I love to travel and have been to alot of places in the Carribean and USA. My problem is I over pack way to much..What makes it worse is my mom is the same way! Daughter like Mother I guess situation :)...I guess I better stop rambling on but any tips or comments would greatly be appreciated! Oh before I forget we are taking the Carnival Fascination outta Jacksonville on April 28th!

[KroozFoolz]

You will need to take the wine onto the ship in your carry-on's - not your checked luggage.

[Herfnerd]

You will need to take the wine onto the ship in your carry-on's - not your checked luggage.

 

Yuppa - carry on. You don't wanna risk them breaking in your bag, either - they do tend to throw the around.....

[cruise_pirate]

Go meet Tommy at the main atrium bar. He is not to be missed and has been working for Carnival since 1987

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Lhorn1209]

Thanks guys. I mean't to say we were going to put the wine in the checked luggage. I seen somewhere that some of the ships have webcams and you can look at them on here but cant seem to find them for the Fascination.

[jbanana1]

Go to seauonboard.com for info on cruising Carnival. Some info is out of date but most is still good.

 

Get to port around 10:45 - 11 am if you can. After lunch (or before if you aren't very hungry) go to customer service desk and pick up some pocket sized layouts of the ship and that day's FunTimes. You will get a FunTimes in your room but you can get ahead start by picking one up at the customer svc desk. Don't stand in line, just go to the front and tell anyone inline you just want to grab those things.

 

Take and buy at least one picture on board. Eat in MDR and order as many things (more than one appetizer or entre or two salads - portions can be small) as you want. Hope you get Joseph, the SuperCharged M'aitre D - he's hillarious.

 

Get to the shows early for good seating.

 

Go to the Fun Farewell party the last day, should be 5 pm.

 

We were on the Fascination last June and loved it (Herfnerd was on the same cruise). Wrote a review in this section and the Member Reviews section.

 

Have a great time.

 

 

 

Have

[Lhorn1209]

Just read your review! It sounds awesome except I am going to Half Moon Cay and Nassua..Who is Herfnerd? I think I may know but not sure or if I am even saying it right.

[oldrailfan]

Lhorn - you're on our cruise, I've already seen you over on the roll call. This will be our third time on this ship, this itinerary, so we kinda know the good-stuff and the neat places. As soon as we get aboard, Rusty-girl and I will establish a beachhead in the Coconut Grove Bar and Grill (Lido dining room), as near the beverage stations as we possibly can, in one of those curved booths right in line with them if possible. Look for us, I look like my avatar pic for some strange reason... ;)

 

Herfnerd's (added: Oops, Cruise_Pirate) right, Tommy, Hiyaru, and (darn, senior moment!) share duties at the atruim bar on Empress deck, and are three of the nicest people you'll meet. Always pleasant, good information, and good drinks of course! If you don't find us in the "Grove," we'll prob'ly be there.

[Lhorn1209]

Lhorn - you're on our cruise, I've already seen you over on the roll call. This will be our third time on this ship, this itinerary, so we kinda know the good-stuff and the neat places. As soon as we get aboard, Rusty-girl and I will establish a beachhead in the Coconut Grove Bar and Grill (Lido dining room), as near the beverage stations as we possibly can, in one of those curved booths right in line with them if possible. Look for us, I look like my avatar pic for some strange reason... ;)

 

Herfnerd's (added: Oops, Cruise_Pirate) right, Tommy, Hiyaru, and (darn, senior moment!) share duties at the atruim bar on Empress deck, and are three of the nicest people you'll meet. Always pleasant, good information, and good drinks of course! If you don't find us in the "Grove," we'll prob'ly be there.

 

I will definetly look for yall! I am taking my mother..I would say look out for a 52 and 24 year old but there will be plenty there :) This is my mothers birthday cruise..My gift to her!

[kingoftheicedragons]

DON'T think everything with the cruise is going to be perfect and run smoothly. If it does, great, but things can and do happen that you didn't plan for.

 

DON'T be a chair hog.

 

DON'T let other people spoil the fun you're having. If someone cuts in front of you because they didn't know where the line was, go with it. If there are a lot of chair hogs, see if you can find somewhere else to sit instead.

 

DO have an open mind and try things that you wouldn't have done before, whether it's food or an activity or getting up on stage or singing karaoke or whatever.

 

DO take the time to explore the ship. You don't want to come back and find out you missed something on the ship because you just didn't look for it. Do some of the entertainment the ship provides, do the comedy show, go to the piano bar, listen to karaoke if you're not willing to actually do it.

 

DO the free portraits, even if you don't think you're going to buy any. You never know, there may be some great pictures waiting for you.

 

DO have a back-up plan ready to go for the ports. I've had both ship-offered excursions and independent operators cancel at the last minute and then you're left with trying to come up with something last minute.

[rnvattes]

:DI have been reading these forums for about 2 days now and am so over loaded on information that I cant remember half of what I have read..Go figure right???I am taking my mom on her very first cruise for her birthday :) I myself havent cruised since a week over Thanksgiving back in '99 on the Carnival Paradise...Was 11 then so can't remember much! Anyways, I was just wandering what kinda tips yall have to offer or some do's or dont's I guess you could say. I have ordered the famous "rum runners" lol. I am 24 and love my drinks :D My mom loves her wine so we will be taking in 2 bottles in checked luggage for her. I love to travel and have been to alot of places in the Carribean and USA. My problem is I over pack way to much..What makes it worse is my mom is the same way! Daughter like Mother I guess situation :)...I guess I better stop rambling on but any tips or comments would greatly be appreciated! Oh before I forget we are taking the Carnival Fascination outta Jacksonville on April 28th!

 

No tips for you, but we are sailing her on the April 23rd. We'll try and make sure we return her to you in good condition ;) Happy sailing

[Lady_Jag]

You're going to have a GREAT time! Have you considered decorating your mom's door and/or cabin for her birthday? You can order bday cabin decorations from the Carnival web site so that's one less thing to pack. You can also order a bday cake online or from Formalities on board.

 

Definitely take her to afternoon tea on sea days. Maybe the steakhouse on her special day? Send the CD a note via the Guest Services desk when you board, and maybe she'll give a special "shout out" to your mom on the morning show on TV.

[tandemcruzr]

Maybe the steakhouse on her special day?

 

No steakhouse on the Fascination.

[tandemcruzr]

Thanks guys. I mean't to say we were going to put the wine in the checked luggage.

 

No, you want it in your Carry On luggage, not checked.

[Lhorn1209]

No, you want it in your Carry On luggage, not checked.

 

 

Yeah I meant to say carry on lol I must be so excited that I cant type what I really want to say:D

[GTO-Girl]

Go meet Tommy at the main atrium bar. He is not to be missed and has been working for Carnival since 1987

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

Yep....that Tommy is a hoot!!! We spent several evenings at the Atrium bar listening to him sing and interact with his customers. He is one cool dude!!!

[tandemcruzr]

Yeah I meant to say carry on lol I must be so excited that I cant type what I really want to say:D

 

Happens to all of us. :D :D

[jbanana1]

Herfnerd had replied to your question before me. Met them at our Cruise Critic meet n greet that first day. Was fun to see fellow cc'rs thruout the cruise.

 

Another thing I did on both my cruises was buy a ship magnet (for the fridge) and a ship Christmas tree ornament from the gift shop. My oldest son won a ship on a stick this past cruise. I think it was from a ping pong tournament.

 

We also like to go to the Trivia contests. My kids enjoyed the keroke but my hubby and I never make it out of the casino for that!

 

BTW, I will be 52 in July so tell your mom Happy Bday for me. The chocolate cake from either Bon Voyage (ordered before cruise) or from the Formalities shop if you wait to order once on board is delicious! Had it both cruises.

[Lhorn1209]

I will tell her! Thanks for all the good tips. Do yall know anything about Half Moon Cay...Tips?