Carnival Fascination March 25-30 - A trip report

[kybluecruiser]

Are the eletric cars worth it? Is it easy to get around Key West and find paces to park? I'm thinking about a cruise to key west with my mother who can't walk well. So I thought the eletric car might work. I'm also looking at a seven day on the fantasy that goes to hmc.

[Naomi John]

There is just something about the Fascination..that makes you love it. We live in JAX sailed it for the first time last may. We have cruised a bit, and we were oh we are going to so disappointed and don't be rude and make comparisons with big ships and other lines..

 

WOW. Loved the staff. Loved the fellow passengers. Loved the laid back vibe. We sailed in May and the ship was full of college kids and high school grads. THEY GAVE ME HOPE FOR THE FUTURE GENERATION. Polite. One young man..dreadnaughts...rapper attire somewhat....had to be a basketball player....holding the door for old me..yes mam, no mam. I mean he would have been right at home in Buckingham Palace. TWO College grads played Trivia with us. Both times we won..and they took the Ship on a Stick home with them.

 

The food was cruise food. Some good. Some not so much. The Grill...ham and cheese toasted........to die for. Ditto pizza I thought. The Salad bar...wonderful. I loved it. Ditto the Desert Bar. I loved the signs showing clearly where everything was...

 

We sail on the Breeze in Sept. After that..We are going to have a date with the Fascination..God Willing.

So glad you enjoyed your cruise. And I share your opinion of Nassau. Returning there anytime...is too soon.

 

I love the Fantasy Class ship. Yes, the Fascination was a great ship with fun crew. No big problems with kids and we were there over a spring break.

 

Are the eletric cars worth it? Is it easy to get around Key West and find paces to park? I'm thinking about a cruise to key west with my mother who can't walk well. So I thought the eletric car might work. I'm also looking at a seven day on the fantasy that goes to hmc.

 

Yes, they are worth it. Parking is a little issue, but not too bad, when we went back around 11:30 for the Hemmingway house, there was no parking near it. We had a four seater for and it was $160, (total with taxes, etc), for the day, we had it from 8:30 am until about a little before one. The company also had two seaters. I do not know how much. Paying for parking was easy, you found a booth, paid for the amount of time you planned to use, and then put the slip on your windshield. We paid $6.00 for three hours, so if my math is correct, it's $2 an hour for parking. I'll get with the DH to tell me the name of the company we rented from, but the were right there on the dock.

Edited April 6, 2013 by Naomi John

[Naomi John]

Here are the Fun times. I let y'all know about debarkation tomorrow.

scan0005.pdf

[Naomi John]

Good review so far!

 

Thank you.

 

Thanks for posting... we travel this ship at the end of May and are looking forward to it.

 

Love the ship, are you on a sailing that goes to the private island? Would have enjoyed that more then Nassau.

[Naomi John]

The rest of the sea day was spent finding a little warmth on the Lido deck and reading. The kids enjoyed the pool and waterworks, then DH took them to the arcade for a little bit. One tip about the arcade, there is nothing there. It's like a mini chucky cheese and some of the games did not work well. DH advised he had to swipe his card a few times just to get one game to work, then had to complain to the casino area when they charged him each time even though the game would not work. If you have kids, avoid this area, it's not worth it.

 

We were told to be ready for dinner at 7 PM, (really, again, great hurry up and wait), we were seated about 8:15 Pm in a small corner, all 12 of us. A little crowded. But we did have a window, that was nice. We did not have Mohamed, but the wait staff was Ok.

 

Upon returning to our room, we had the note advising where to meet for self-assist debarkation, deck 9, main show lounge. I packed, DD spent the night with her cousin, DH fell asleep.

 

Debarkation was very easy. We met at the Palace Theater at 7:30. Those who had early flights or FTTF, were on deck 8 in the Theater. Once cleared, the Hosts secured two of the forward elevators, which would bring us from deck 9 down to deck 3, w/o stopping. We were at our car by 8:15 AM. Very easy.

[Naomi John]

I noticed I did not mention my room stewards name, Joefrey. He was very good, just not as vocal as other one's I have had. We always had plenty of ice, our room was taken care of well. He went searching for our laundry one night when it had not arrived by 7 PM. He just didn't engage us in too much conversation. No biggie, tipped him well at the end.

 

If you have anytime dining on Fascination, ask for Mohamed, he was fun, engaging and a great server.

 

I love this class of ships, and with the added balconies, it's even better, I personally would not have chosen the room we had, on main floor aft. I tend like being more forward on a ship, and higher up, that is just me. Also, the rooms are smaller. This is not a balcony you find on the Conquest class ships.

 

DH and I and have stated we will probably never drive that far again for a cruise, we can go to New Orleans and Galveston if needed, and will probably never do one to Nassau or Key West again. Nassau we did not like, and Key West is a place for a nice weekend trip, not on a boat.

 

I will give props for the Jacksonville Port, easy embarkation and debarkation, nice people, and very helpful.

 

Hope you enjoyed.

[ata1976]

I noticed I did not mention my room stewards name, Joefrey. He was very good, just not as vocal as other one's I have had. We always had plenty of ice, our room was taken care of well. He went searching for our laundry one night when it had not arrived by 7 PM. He just didn't engage us in too much conversation. No biggie, tipped him well at the end.

 

If you have anytime dining on Fascination, ask for Mohamed, he was fun, engaging and a great server.

 

I love this class of ships, and with the added balconies, it's even better, I personally would not have chosen the room we had, on main floor aft. I tend like being more forward on a ship, and higher up, that is just me. Also, the rooms are smaller. This is not a balcony you find on the Conquest class ships.

 

DH and I and have stated we will probably never drive that far again for a cruise, we can go to New Orleans and Galveston if needed, and will probably never do one to Nassau or Key West again. Nassau we did not like, and Key West is a place for a nice weekend trip, not on a boat.

 

I will give props for the Jacksonville Port, easy embarkation and debarkation, nice people, and very helpful.

 

Hope you enjoyed.

 

Thanks for the review. I'm thinking about booking this exact room for our October cruise, just a little hesitant about the sleeping situation. I'll have an almost 3 yr old and 7 yr old. The website says if you have both bunks down, you can't have a king. Looking at your pictures it looks like if we had the 2nd bunk down at night we would just have to bend down under it to get to the balcony or crawl over the bed, right?

 

Im not sure where my 3 yr old would sleep. The rails on the bunks don't look tall enough to make sure she doesn't fall off. Is there enough space on the floor if I wanted to pull the mattress off a bunk and put the mattress on the floor. I guess I could put her on the bunk above me and DH and if she came off it would just be on us. Lol!:p I guess worse case scenario, I could put DH on a bunk and have the 3 yr old with me. :rolleyes:

[Merrymate]

Would love to hear more.

[TVChick16]

Great review! We'll be on the June 29 Fascination sailing.

 

I've been on many cruises and they have a different show each night. According to the Fun Times it seems that the Fascination just repeats Motor City and Divas each night but at different times. Is this true?

[Naomi John]

Thanks for the review. I'm thinking about booking this exact room for our October cruise, just a little hesitant about the sleeping situation. I'll have an almost 3 yr old and 7 yr old. The website says if you have both bunks down, you can't have a king. Looking at your pictures it looks like if we had the 2nd bunk down at night we would just have to bend down under it to get to the balcony or crawl over the bed, right?

 

Im not sure where my 3 yr old would sleep. The rails on the bunks don't look tall enough to make sure she doesn't fall off. Is there enough space on the floor if I wanted to pull the mattress off a bunk and put the mattress on the floor. I guess I could put her on the bunk above me and DH and if she came off it would just be on us. Lol!:p I guess worse case scenario, I could put DH on a bunk and have the 3 yr old with me. :rolleyes:

 

Yes, with both berths down, it is very hard to get to your balcony door. There is a little room where the chair and table are under the TV where a small cot could be placed on the floor.

[cruise_gal21]

So glad you had an over-all good trip. Really enjoyed the review thoroughly and am so excited for my first cruise in August! I do have one more question though... A lot of forums I've read say that Carnival has had cutbacks that have gotten rid of the live steel drum bands and that the DJ's play rap and rock on-board all day. Did you ever hear any reggae or Caribbean-style music? Or was it all loud and obnoxiously upbeat for the lido deck? Thanks :)

[dotheyes]

Great review thanks

we are going on the Fasination 4 13 13

was wondering which restaurant has the anytime dining

thanks

[Hmdecor]

Great review thanks

we are going on the Fasination 4 13 13

was wondering which restaurant has the anytime dining

thanks

The Sensation Dinning Room (forward) is anytime dining it also has set dining times as well. ;)

[dotheyes]

The Sensation Dinning Room (forward) is anytime dining it also has set dining times as well. ;)

 

WOW quick response

That is good to know; I requested the forward restaurant. We will be Diamond on this cruise and I hope the request goes thru.

dot

[FreezingInMichigan]

I'm sure this place has been posted here before, but, love the name:

 

 

My husband and I spent a week on Key West last fall. We frequented this establishment. :o The inside is very cool... think elegant French jazz club. Drinks and desserts all cleverly named and so, so delicious.

 

~ Sheryl

[Naomi John]

Great review! We'll be on the June 29 Fascination sailing.

 

I've been on many cruises and they have a different show each night. According to the Fun Times it seems that the Fascination just repeats Motor City and Divas each night but at different times. Is this true?

 

Yes, and I liked that. Even though I was not able to see either of them, it was nice to see they gave you more opportunity to see them.

 

So glad you had an over-all good trip. Really enjoyed the review thoroughly and am so excited for my first cruise in August! I do have one more question though... A lot of forums I've read say that Carnival has had cutbacks that have gotten rid of the live steel drum bands and that the DJ's play rap and rock on-board all day. Did you ever hear any reggae or Caribbean-style music? Or was it all loud and obnoxiously upbeat for the lido deck? Thanks :)

 

yes and no. During the morning hours it was usually laid back music with a little Caribbean mixed in. In the afternoons it was more upbeat dance music. I never found it too loud.

[Naomi John]

Great review thanks

we are going on the Fasination 4 13 13

was wondering which restaurant has the anytime dining

thanks

 

See below

 

The Sensation Dinning Room (forward) is anytime dining it also has set dining times as well. ;)

 

the Sensation has set dining in the middle of the room, and anytime dining around near the windows. I liked that as well.

[battchief1]

Thanks for the review

[Naomi John]

During debarkation, as we stepped off the elevator on deck 3, from the opposite elevator we heard a cry from a staff member, "hey, someone left this on the elevator". It was one of those little straw purses from Nassau, with a name stitched on it. I asked, "who was the last on the elevator", I was told, "a family, lady with pick shirt, pushing a stroller and blue suitcases". OK, no problem, I advise I would find them on the gangplank. We dinged our cards on deck 3, walked off the ship through the carousel, as I call it, in front of me I noticed a woman with a pick shirt pushing a stroller. I yelled, "Pink shirt lady with stroller", and held up the little straw purse. They stopped and I noticed a girl about 7, crying. Mom, (pick shirt lady), walked back to us and advised her daughter noticed she lost the purse. Then the crying child smiled. :D

[marshhawk]

So sweet about the purse-I loved your review, wondering where it was -hadn'tt seen a Fascination review in a while, and thanks for the Funtimes-I printed out the first day at sea, so my newbies can get an idea of what goes on. DH is hoping the Beatles trivia is still going on.:D

I spent a week a long time ago in Nassau out on Paradise Island before the Atlantis-had a great week, did nothing but play in the water and drink. And that was a long long time ago. Nassau itself is all about the "sale", but if you can get away from downtown, and you want clean clear water, and that is the goal, then I loe Nassau=Blackbeards Cay, Blue Lagoon, the Sheritan (by far my favorite so far). When we were in Key West back in 12/10, I think the only thing the town people sold were sweat shirts! It was so cold the first night on the ship, they gave us all double blankets. brrrrrr. Thank you for the review.

[SwellBee]

Thanks for sharing your trip with us. :D

[Georgiagolfer]

Great review and pictures. Sailing Fascination in June for 4th time. Too bad you didn't go to HMC as it is a beautiful beach.

[Naomi John]

Thanks for sharing your trip with us. :D

 

Thanks.

 

Great review and pictures. Sailing Fascination in June for 4th time. Too bad you didn't go to HMC as it is a beautiful beach.

 

The only reason I would do an eastern sailing again is to go to HMC!

[bobsfamily]

Nice review, will be on her shortly and will be going to Little Stirrup Cay...

[Naomi John]

Nice review, will be on her shortly and will be going to Little Stirrup Cay...

 

Lucky You!