Halloween Cruise: Carnival Fascination Review & Pics-10/28/13 Sailing to LSC & Nassau

[RWA Cruisers]

I am considering seriously that May 6th trip and so is willow! Just waiting to get my tax return and then will book it. Come with us!

 

After seeing all this fun and realizing that y'all are a lot like us, we are seriously considering it now too. Can we really swing THREE cruises in one year?? :eek::D I guess we might just have to find out. We'll keep you posted!

[marshhawk]

Thanks for the review-I knew I forget to get to that PG party, but I was sitting in a hot tub on the Serenity deck. Why have I not been there before????

[wrigley80]

When did they start that $1.00 a minute for massages on Lido?? I was on the Freedom in March and I didn't notice it. I'd like to try it on the Imagination or Sunshine next month

[Orpheo]

Soo loving your review and pictures! The tutu's are soo cute..:D

[All4fun&fun4all]

Sitting in the bar in fll waiting for my flight to San Juan! They need to have those massage chairs on fantasy! The PG party was on the last day? I don't think I'd like that. I'd drink too much (love the red drink but not the yellow), and probably get all sad and refuse to pack. ;-)

 

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Forums mobile app

 

 

Yeah, I thought it was odd to have it on the last day too but I think it may have had something to do with all the Halloween Festivities happening on LSC night. It probably would have been then instead I think on a non-seasonal sailing.

 

Have fun on your trip!

[All4fun&fun4all]

Thanks for the review-I knew I forget to get to that PG party, but I was sitting in a hot tub on the Serenity deck. Why have I not been there before????

 

I still haven't been in a hot tub on a cruise ship yet. I am really hot natured and I don't know if I could stand it too long. I just cant sit still for more than a few minutes.

 

When did they start that $1.00 a minute for massages on Lido?? I was on the Freedom in March and I didn't notice it. I'd like to try it on the Imagination or Sunshine next month

 

I have seen it on Fantasy before on sea days but never tried it. It's only for a few hours though. My roomie called the spa to see what hours they would be doing the massages because we didn't see it in the Fun Times.

[kybluecruiser]

Great review!!!!! Though kind of weird seeing a review from you and not seeing the familiar sights of the fantasy. Lol

[All4fun&fun4all]

Great review!!!!! Though kind of weird seeing a review from you and not seeing the familiar sights of the fantasy. Lol

 

It is a bit bizarre isn't it? Never fear! I will be back on Fantasy in May!

[All4fun&fun4all]

Dinner was a silly mess of nothing but laughter. I dont even think anyone was thinking about this being our last dinnertime together.

I WUV YOU MELISSA

 

Trace and Gede

 

One of our tablemates brought in this little toy that made Halloween sounds. I told Sheryl about the wonders of Siri when we were back in Savannah and she was trying to summons Siri with this noise machine. I couldnt stop crying I was laughing so hard.

 

Then Robin tried

 

For starters I had the sushi and the crab cake. The crab cake was pretty good. I have had better in the past and the sushi was just meh.

As a side note, I hate that they have gotten rid of the sushi bar. The Taste Bar makes no sense to me since none of the restaurants are represented on this class of ship. I didnt remember to go down there and give it a try so I cant report on if it was a tasty morsel or not.

For the entree I had the flat iron steak. I know some folks have had some issues with the flat iron steak but as long as I order it medium rare it has always been very good.

There is a story behind this face.

 

Maitre d Fuat. He was fast. I could never get a good pic of him

[All4fun&fun4all]

Then the waiters performed Ghangham Style. This was more entertaining than I thought it would be

 

Gede removed his vest and started doing a little pole dance for us. YOWSA!

 

And Melissa went to tip him for his dancing skills

 

Go Melissa

 

Go Gede!

 

Also noteworthy and pretty cool. Earlier in the week Melissa inquired about the Creme Brulee to see if it would be on the menu. We had heard that usually they dont serve it on 5 day sailings and since it was her favorite dessert, she wanted to confirm if they would have it. It was not on the 5 day menu. So she begged on that first night to see if they would serve it to our table. And ya know what? They did! On our last night, our entire table got creme brulee!

She is sooooo happy

[All4fun&fun4all]

After dinner, I was pretty much done. Stick a fork in me, I am DONE done! I went by the internet cafe and typed a short message to the Andrew and all I wanted to do was just get off the ship and go home. This is the first time I have felt this way on the last day of a cruise.

I went back to my cabin and took some pictures of my cabin. Seemed like the right thing to do.

Towel "animal"

 

Perspective?

 

Shower

 

Flushed

 

Beds

 

[mbmbird]

Great review!! Sounds like such fun:D One ? I have is about the coffee filters on the sink in the bathroom.....you use them for?

[All4fun&fun4all]

Great review!! Sounds like such fun:D One ? I have is about the coffee filters on the sink in the bathroom.....you use them for?

 

I had to go back and look to see if I actually packed coffee filters and then I realized that is the porcelain bowl that the steward fills with amenities. We had soap and toothpaste in it this time

[mbmbird]

I had to go back and look to see if I actually packed coffee filters and then I realized that is the porcelain bowl that the steward fills with amenities. We had soap and toothpaste in it this time

 

It looks just like coffee filters:p I thought maybe you had a good use for them other than making coffee:o

[Jenny in TX]

Love reading your reviews....can't wait to finish reading the rest!!

[dahlin43]

When I was scoping out the Bahamas, I stumbled on your reviews and I <3 them! This time I read your review because you always seem to have a blast on your cruises. I'm at 50 days til mine. :D

 

I have to ask, where did you get your bathing suit? I love it!

[All4fun&fun4all]

Love reading your reviews....can't wait to finish reading the rest!!

 

Thanks you so much. I should be finishing up here within the hour! I hate writing about leaving the ship though.

 

When I was scoping out the Bahamas, I stumbled on your reviews and I <3 them! This time I read your review because you always seem to have a blast on your cruises. I'm at 50 days til mine. :D

 

I have to ask, where did you get your bathing suit? I love it!

 

Thanks for reading my reviews. I love having a record of my vacations and if it helps people along the way then even better! I am jealous of your countdown. I want another countdown ticker.

 

I got that amazing bathing suit from Walmart believe it or not. I ordered it online and the size was perfect. It is made by Catalina and if you google catalina and slimming bathing suit you should see it. I bought it last year but this year they added a few new designs. They had one with cherries and ones with anchors! I really need to get another one. Most "pin up girl" style bathing suits are very expensive but this one was right around $40.00 I think.

[All4fun&fun4all]

In room artwork.

 

Melissa wanted to order a little room service. She got a grilled cheese sandwich and veggies

 

Our suitcases were outside the cabin and ready to be picked up and my carry on bags were ready to roll in the morning.

 

We put out a room service order for breakfast and I made note that lido deck looked pretty vacant

 

And saw how close we were to Jacksonville already

 

I had a few cocktails in bed and saw this sad sight

Edited November 17, 2013 by All4fun&fun4all
veggies

[PC Cruisin]

Love reading your review! Brings back memories. I cruised on her back in April 2013 and loved it!

[All4fun&fun4all]

It was a fitful sleep, and before long I heard the sound of thrusters as we pulled in to Jacksonville. As the ship slowly rocked back in forth into it's place, an eerie light shone through the portholes and moved up and down, up and down. It was almost spooky. This picture doesnt really translate how cool this was but I am throwing it in here anyway.

 

 

Room service came right on time. We wanted to see if we added something to the room service menu would they bring it. So we added the words peanut butter off to the side so Melissa could have a PBJ on toast.

They brought it

 

And I, of course, got my last bagel with cream cheese and lox

 

 

Roomie enjoying our last breakfast together

[All4fun&fun4all]

Before long, Sheryl called us and we headed down to the debarkation area. I wanted to get a quick picture of the Tara Library.

 

 

 

Waiting to leave

 

 

It was around 9am before we were led down the elevators to the debarkation level. We dinged our cards for the last time and went to the luggage area to find our luggage.

Where is my luggage? Thank goodness I have a very unique color of luggage. It was in the wrong zone completely. We went through customs and walked out to locate zone 3 which is where Jetway told us to be for pick up. Then a porter mentioned to us that they werent going to be in zone 3 since it was raining on and off. We found their shuttle (they had the small one) and it filled up very fast. People were jumping the "line" (common courtesy line) and one couple in particular positioned themselves so that they would be next, even though they just showed up. I found this very tacky especially since Sheryl's mom has mobility issues.

When the next Jetway shuttle showed up about 15 minutes later this couple actually jumped ahead and lucky for us, Trace started putting our luggage in the shuttle to make sure we got on next. I am not sure if there is anything Jetway can do to know who was waiting longest or if this was just a mankind having entitlement issues but I was genuinely angry about this and was not how I wanted to end my cruise.

We got back to Jetway and they already had our cars pulled up to the front line for easy access which I found very helpful. I went inside and paid our group fee and loaded up my car.

Me and Jetway guys

 

I loaded Melissa in my car as well (she got to ride too) and drove the 5 minutes down the road to drop her off at the airport for her flight home. I left Jacksonville around 10:25am and made it back to Hollywood, SC by 2:00pm with only two stops made and a few confusing moments when I forgot that even though I was looking for exit 33....I needed to look for that exit in SC and NOT in GA. (there is only a milemarker 33 in GA and I thought I was really lost)

 

And there you have it! My review of Carnival Fascination 5 day to Nassau and LSC on HALLOWEEN! I hope you can find something in here that will be helpful for your next cruise. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to ask away. Thanks for reading!

[mackatty]

Loved the review! I live in Jax but am not considering the Fascination for my next cruise only because it's been SO long since my last & I want to go on a longer cruise on a bigger ship. That being said, fun reviews like yours are making me realize that a great shorter cruise out of my backyard is possible.

 

I have the exact same Catalina bathing suit & also have it in the cherries pattern. It seems to be nearly universally flattering on all body types - it has amazing reviews on the Walmart website.

[All4fun&fun4all]

Loved the review! I live in Jax but am not considering the Fascination for my next cruise only because it's been SO long since my last & I want to go on a longer cruise on a bigger ship. That being said, fun reviews like yours are making me realize that a great shorter cruise out of my backyard is possible.

 

I have the exact same Catalina bathing suit & also have it in the cherries pattern. It seems to be nearly universally flattering on all body types - it has amazing reviews on the Walmart website.

 

It really does look good on every body type. I swear it's the best bathing suit I have EVER owned and that includes when I was super skinny.

[dahlin43]

I got that amazing bathing suit from Walmart believe it or not. I ordered it online and the size was perfect. It is made by Catalina and if you google catalina and slimming bathing suit you should see it. I bought it last year but this year they added a few new designs. They had one with cherries and ones with anchors! I really need to get another one. Most "pin up girl" style bathing suits are very expensive but this one was right around $40.00 I think.

 

Thanks!! Never thought to look on their website for off season bathing suit! I have a top from there that I love. I missed the clearance sales for bathing suits, too busy with my wedding planning!

 

Best way to get through not having a time clock is to book a cruise. :rolleyes: My family thinks I'm crazy cause I'm trying to plan another one even though I haven't left on this one yet.

[abitaturbodog]

"Our next stop was to be Jetway Parking. Way back at the beginning of our cruise planning we wanted to use the $8.00 lot that was right outside of the port area. Well, it appears that they got shut down due to some fraud issues so I went in search of finding a reputable place to leave my brand new car for 5 days. I read about Jetway Parking here on the CC boards and checked out some reviews and decided that they would be who I would use. They advertise $4.99 a day parking with a round trip shuttle fee of $10.00. They offer 24/7 surveillance on site so I was sold. We ended up getting a group rate however, which cut the cost by about $5.00. CHA-CHING."

Can you answer a few questions about this parking lot?

 

1. Was it $10 per person for the shuttle to the port?

2. How many people earned you a "group" discount? We have a group of 9 going with us.

3. What time did you get to the parking lot, and what time did you get to the port?

 

Thanks!