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

[All4fun&fun4all]

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.

 

I think it would be awesome to have one booked before you leave for the next one. It would help alleviate that "post-cruise depression"

 

Can you answer a few questions about this parking lot?

SURE!

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

It was $10.00 per vehicle. We had a person that flew in to Jacksonville that needed me to give her a ride to the airport and they let her ride back from the port to the parking lot with us.

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

I think we had 10 cars total. I started a FB page and most of us talked about pre cruise planning there and then gathered a group of folks that decided to park there too. Give the guys there a call and ask what they can do for you.

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

I want to say that I got to the parking lot around 11:30 and we got to the port around noon. There was a little bit of a wait while we waited for the big bus to come and get us and they waited until there were a fair amount of people onboard. Be prepared for a wait but nothing that was outrageous. I was so anxious to board that it seemed like a really long wait. Don't go there expecting that when you park you will just then hop on a shuttle and head right to the port.

 

Thanks!

 

ANSWERS ABOVE IN PURPLE!

Edited November 18, 2013 by All4fun&fun4all

[abitaturbodog]

Thanks for the info on the parking. I get really antsy about getting on the ship early...I just want to park at the port, but would love to save the cash by using off-site parking. Oh, decisions, decisions.

 

Your review was awesome---totally enjoyed it! Thanks again.

[All4fun&fun4all]

Thanks for the info on the parking. I get really antsy about getting on the ship early...I just want to park at the port, but would love to save the cash by using off-site parking. Oh, decisions, decisions.

 

Your review was awesome---totally enjoyed it! Thanks again.

 

You are welcome. I get really antsy about getting on the ship too but I just kept telling myself I will be there before it leaves...so I settled down.

 

I don't think I will be sailing on anything other than Fantasy for awhile so it's easy for me since I live just outside of Charleston. I drive to my mom's and hop in a cab to the port for less than $10.00. :)

[pghsteelerfan]

I just finished reading your review and really enjoyed it, just as I have the others. Thanks so much for all the pictures of LSC. I know Carnival just added that one recently and have always heard of the comparisons to HMC, which we've been to in 2010 and loved, and that HMC is so much better. I certainly wouldn't mind LSC, it's different from HMC, but still looks very pretty and I know I would enjoy it. Thank you again for this and all of your other reviews. Boy, do they take a lot of time! :)

[All4fun&fun4all]

I just finished reading your review and really enjoyed it, just as I have the others. Thanks so much for all the pictures of LSC. I know Carnival just added that one recently and have always heard of the comparisons to HMC, which we've been to in 2010 and loved, and that HMC is so much better. I certainly wouldn't mind LSC, it's different from HMC, but still looks very pretty and I know I would enjoy it. Thank you again for this and all of your other reviews. Boy, do they take a lot of time! :)

 

Thanks for reading! I am glad people still enjoy my rambling and tangents. They really do take a lot of time but it's worth it if it helps anyone out that may have questions.

 

I think the only comparison between LSC and HMC are the fact they are both islands, both tender ports, both ports serve lunch but the comparisons really stop there. I loved LSC and I love HMC.

[slord12]

Awesome review, I love to see someone have fun and really enjoy their trips, so thank you so much for sharing! I live halfway between the Fantasy and the Fascination and have yet to go on either. My first 2 cruises were on big, new ships. I went on the Sensation back in June, and besides the delightfully tacky purple interior I LOVED it. There was something about the older, smaller ship that made me feel like I was really on a cruise. Your reviews have made me want to try both the Fantasy and the Fascination! Thanks again!

[gusandgidgetsmom]

Great review. We are booked on a b2b in Sept 2014. We generally do a b2b on the Fascination in October to go to HMC but we went there in June instead as we did the 15 day Hawaii sailing this October. Last night I talked our besties (never cruised before!) into going with us on the b2b. I am going to see if I can send this thread to them so they can see what it is like to go to LSC--which I still call Coco Cay as that is the name I went there under. We are going to have the best of both worlds as the first leg we go to LSC and the next leg we go to HMC! Can't wait. Thanks again for the wonderful review.

[bluewater723]

Thanks for this review! I really enjoyed your pictures. I really don't feel like working today and this gave me something good to occupy my time with. ;)

What else can I do until 5 o'clock? Think I'll check out your fantasy review. :D

[gapearl]

I keep trying to remember to change the font on these posts but I apparently have a hard time remembering. It can only get worse now that I am switching from wine to rum. Bare with me folks.

We got our room service coffee around 7:00am. It arrived right on time and Melissa got her decaf coffee and I got my regular. By the way, just to mention, Melissa was the PERFECT roomie to have. We worked around each other with showers and getting ready perfectly. Since she was flying, I brought our toiletries to use for the duration of the cruise and that worked out well also. I had the over the door shoe holder that held everything we needed.

Prior to the cruise, on the Ghoulie page, we discussed all sorts of topics. Jennifer 2 mentioned having mimosas/bloody marys on Serenity deck on the first Sea Day. One of our members (Bubba) planned on being the tooth fairy for Halloween and his costume had a white tu tu. During our day to day banter (which could become sarcastic and laugh out loud funny) member Tanya mentioned we should all wear tu tu's to breakfast on the first sea day and that one idea began to spiral completely out of control. A large group of us decided, yes, we shall wear tu tu's to breakfast and yes, a great many of us will actually make our own tu tu's. If there was a shortage of tulle in your town in the last month or so....now you know why.

I got dressed in my borrowed tu tu (thank you Nikki), my pink argyle knee socks and headed out to meet some folks on Serenity deck with the thought in the back of my head...what if these folks dont show up in tu tu's (or at all) and here I am BRIGHT pink tu tu and pig tails. Ah, whatever. I will totally rock this tu tu anyway.

Me....in my tu tu

 

I crept ever so slowly down the steps leading to Serenity and saw no one and it was quiet. Hmm. A few more steps and it is really quiet. Now I am a little worried. Then I see them all congregated under the overhang.

There they are

 

Then Jennifer and Kyle showed up

 

And Nikki and her mom

And then Kelly got Nathan dressed in his

And Bubba and Caz

I also noticed at this time, one lady moving a whole bunch of lounger chairs around near the railing. One of the chairs was blocking the pathway closest to the railing. Not sure what was going on there.

Where is our mimosa waiter? Apparently it was too early for a waiter to be making the rounds on Serenity but all it took was Sheryl to make mention to someone on deck and a waiter showed up within a few minutes.

 

OMG You look adorable in that first picture! And I love Nathan's camo tutu! LOL

[redryanc22]

All of your reviews are awesome. Quick question. What cab service should I use from Shem Creek Inn for my January Fantasy cruise. Sorry to go off topic.

 

Sent from my SPH-M820-BST using Forums mobile app

[All4fun&fun4all]

All of your reviews are awesome. Quick question. What cab service should I use from Shem Creek Inn for my January Fantasy cruise. Sorry to go off topic.

 

Sent from my SPH-M820-BST using Forums mobile app

 

Yellow cab is the standard cab company in the charleston area. I use them when I take a can from my moms house. Let me see if I can find the number

 

843-577-6565

 

They can be really slow and customer service is deplorable but they get the job done and it's cheap. I would call them around 10am for pick up. They will get there within 40 to 45 mins typically

Edited November 24, 2013 by All4fun&fun4all
Number

[All4fun&fun4all]

Great review. We are booked on a b2b in Sept 2014. We generally do a b2b on the Fascination in October to go to HMC but we went there in June instead as we did the 15 day Hawaii sailing this October. Last night I talked our besties (never cruised before!) into going with us on the b2b. I am going to see if I can send this thread to them so they can see what it is like to go to LSC--which I still call Coco Cay as that is the name I went there under. We are going to have the best of both worlds as the first leg we go to LSC and the next leg we go to HMC! Can't wait. Thanks again for the wonderful review.

 

I am glad that you enjoyed reading it. I really do tend to ramble and worry that I lose half the readers after a few posts. :o

 

What's funny about LSC is that they still sell the Coco Cay merchandise in the little straw markets. And now I just realized that I forgot to inquire if they were selling the Coco Loco drinks that people were talking about in the Private Islands threads. Boo!

 

Thanks for this review! I really enjoyed your pictures. I really don't feel like working today and this gave me something good to occupy my time with. ;)

What else can I do until 5 o'clock? Think I'll check out your fantasy review. :D

 

You can easily kill and entire day by reading the Fantasy reviews! Glad to be of some help. :D

[All4fun&fun4all]

Awesome review, I love to see someone have fun and really enjoy their trips, so thank you so much for sharing! I live halfway between the Fantasy and the Fascination and have yet to go on either. My first 2 cruises were on big, new ships. I went on the Sensation back in June, and besides the delightfully tacky purple interior I LOVED it. There was something about the older, smaller ship that made me feel like I was really on a cruise. Your reviews have made me want to try both the Fantasy and the Fascination! Thanks again!

 

I agree with you about the smaller ships but I have only been on one other ship that wasn't a Fantasy class ship and it wasn't that much bigger. I would imagine that I would probably get sooooo lost on the Dream or the Breeze.

 

I really enjoy myself in everyday life and when cruising it's amplified by at least 20 times. I cant wait to book my next one!

[Georgiagolfer]

I agree with you about the smaller ships but I have only been on one other ship that wasn't a Fantasy class ship and it wasn't that much bigger. I would imagine that I would probably get sooooo lost on the Dream or the Breeze.

 

I really enjoy myself in everyday life and when cruising it's amplified by at least 20 times. I cant wait to book my next one!

 

You won't get lot on the larger ships. However, DW and I really like he Fantasy class. Seems you see some of the same people daily and has more of an intimate feel to it.

[gapearl]

Trace was Scream and it was really creepy. I guess because he is so tall

 

For dinner on this night I had:

For a starter: lobster bisque

For an entree: Chateaubriand

And look at my adorable little pumpkin cheesecake

 

This was the other option

 

Tonight was the conga line night in the dining room. Sheryl, Melissa and I all jumped in

 

One of the dinner nights the service was actually noticeably slow. I usually dont even realize because I am usually enjoying my friend's company but at some point we all looked at each other before our entrees arrived wondering what happened. All the other nights was spot on though. Maybe just a bad night for the chef.

Conga

 

I love how Carnival really went all out with the Halloween decorations! I loved the Halloween themed photo backgrounds and drinks too! I was on Royal Caribbean last Halloween and they did nothing even close to this much fun!

[All4fun&fun4all]

I was just looking at the videos that I took of LSC and they are recorded up and down and not side to side so it isn't very good. I am hesitant to even post a link. Boo! :(

[All4fun&fun4all]

I just got my cell phone bill today and the 7 minutes worth of phone calls that I made to the Andrew from Nassau totalled $17.50. My service provider is At&t and I didnt set up any sort of calling plan before I left because I really didnt think I would call home. My intention was to find free wi-fi and skype with him. Oh well. It was worth it just to hear his voice.

[maureencruiser]

 

Why didn't you tell us Bill Clinton was on the ship with you? :D

[hannibal54]

Here is a review off of the RCL board. There are pictures of Coco Cay (LSC) that are very good, the pictures of Coco Cay start on page 3.

[pepsigirl64]

Your review was great, it got me excited to go on my second CCL cruise last week, Nov 17-24 to the Mexican Riviera on the Miracle. To tell the truth my first one was not a hit for me on the Inspiration. I wanted to Thank you for the information regarding the way you kept in touch with "The Andrew", I used the same method to keep in touch with the hubbee at home. It was great!! I posted everyday and told a bunch of friends to look for it. I felt guilty at first, but the computer guy told me not to worry and have fun!! Well, my cruise was Great...from the ship itself, the food, the staff and my favorite.....lots of trivia games. More on this ship then I have ever experienced in all of my cruising. I would do it again for a 7 day trip.

[All4fun&fun4all]

 

Why didn't you tell us Bill Clinton was on the ship with you? :D

 

Holy moly!!! I totally missed that! That's flipping awesome! If I had made the connection I would have asked for a picture.

 

Your review was great, it got me excited to go on my second CCL cruise last week, Nov 17-24 to the Mexican Riviera on the Miracle. To tell the truth my first one was not a hit for me on the Inspiration. I wanted to Thank you for the information regarding the way you kept in touch with "The Andrew", I used the same method to keep in touch with the hubbee at home. It was great!! I posted everyday and told a bunch of friends to look for it. I felt guilty at first, but the computer guy told me not to worry and have fun!! Well, my cruise was Great...from the ship itself, the food, the staff and my favorite.....lots of trivia games. More on this ship then I have ever experienced in all of my cruising. I would do it again for a 7 day trip.

 

So glad some info was helpful on your cruise and glad you had a great time!

[ATLRealtor]

Thanks so much for your AWESOME cruise review. I just booked a last minute deal on this ship and was curious to find some info, stumbled upon this and thoroughly enjoyed every post. I hope I find some party folk like your group on board, you really know how to enjoy yourselves.

 

Thanks again.

[carolinablonde81]

Thanks for another great review Nancy! In my (so far only) cruise, I spent most of my time on Serenity deck with my iPod and a couple DoDs. I actually used the hot tub on a very hot day in Nassau - I got in just long enough to get wet, and then sat on the lounger to dry off and it cooled me down significantly. You might want to try that round.

 

I'm trying to talk my Mom into a mother/daughter cruise in December on the Fantasy since we've decided to give each other a trip in lieu of a gift for birthdays. She's voting NYC but I'm hoping the pictures of Little Stirrup Cay and Nassau sway her in my direction.

[Cruise Envy]

Nancy, LOVED the review. One of these days I want to sail with you! Take a look at www.kyssbag.com -- I am careful with my stuff too and this was my solution. Great peace of mind.

[Sea Legs]

Enjoyed all the pix from Halloween night. There were some great costumes.