Our Family Fascination Fall Break Cruise review with pics Oct 5 - 10, 2015

[LaCal]

Started reading your review but the font was soooo small I started going blind 😳👀

[JMHAM1]

The sign below lists all of the shop types in the market across from the resort and casino if you are interested. It is a cute little area.

 

 

 

 

We stopped and looked at some of the items for sale in the port area. Our oldest bought a hand carved wooden saber/sword and when we tried to board, Carnival took it from him and said he would need to come down to pick it up on Debarkation day. I was surprised by that and had I known, I would have told him not to bother with it. I guess they did that because it looks like a weapon. Anyhoo, we also stopped into Senor Frogs.

 

 

The Fantasy was in port with us this day. As you can see we were moored up close together. I always love to see the ships side by side when we get back into port.

 

 

We got a quick snack from room service and then hit the water slides for some more fun before we headed up to dinner.

 

This night they had the characters out there for photo ops. You could have your picture made with the Cat in the Hat, The Things and one other character. We bought one of the photos of our youngest with the Cat. Those pics are more expensive than regular shots of the same size. I'm not sure that it was listed that way because we were surprised at check out.

 

My inability to get a good shot of the menu continues...

 

 

Food Porn! Below was the chicken tender app. I gave one of the boys a taste and it ended up being me with only a taste. He said it was delicious!!

 

 

 

Bacon mac & cheese. In my opinion you can never go wrong with bacon but this dish was just not my taste. The kids liked it though! I'm not sure why there was also a grilled chicken breast on top but oh well!

 

 

 

 

 

[JMHAM1]

I'm not embarrassed to say that I enjoyed the WCMC with two ice creams (the ONLY way to have it) every night for dessert. As usual, it did not disappoint. I had been seeing posts where people rave about the bitter and blanc. I can't remember which night they had it but the kids wanted to do a taste off between the WCMC and the bitter and blanc. I'm not a fan of bread pudding because I don't care for the "wet bread" texture. For our family, at least, we are in the WCMC camp.

 

 

This night in the theater they had Hasbro, the Game Show and the Love and Marriage Show. I took a couple of the kids to the Hasbro show and the rest went elsewhere. The Hasbro is heavy audience participation. If you want to be picked to go on stage, be sure you sit on the main level. They will do some trivia and if you get the host's attention and answer you question right, you can go onstage and potentially win a prize. I have one kid who LOVES to go up on stage no matter what it is. He answered his question and got onstage for one of the games. Unfortunately, there was a lady on his team who just couldn't get the hang of it so his team go killed.

 

 

I've seen the Love and Marriage show and to me it is funny the more inappropriate it is so I figured it would not be family friendly for the littles. We left after the Hasbro show. We went up on deck to get some ice cream then I took the littlest to bed.

 

Hubby and I ended up watching a movie in our room and Cole was tired and went to bed. The teens stayed out until probably about 1:00 am since the next day was a sea day.

 

Towel Animal for your viewing pleasure...

 

 

 

 

[shelro]

We leave Thanksgiving Day on Fascination (first Carnival cruise). Your review has been great! I've really enjoyed it. Thanks for all the time you're putting into it!

[JMHAM1]

We leave Thanksgiving Day on Fascination (first Carnival cruise). Your review has been great! I've really enjoyed it. Thanks for all the time you're putting into it!

 

 

Glad you are enjoying it. I would love to do a Thanksgiving cruise! No cooking and no running around on Black Friday! Heaven! You will have a blast.

[JMHAM1]

Now we are up to the last sea day. I love having sea days. I so rarely have an opportunity to sleep in or relax that it is nice to have a reason just to be. We decided early on to do the Dr. Seuss breakfast. There is a $5 per person charge but it is totally worth it. I would like to take a moment to compare NCL's Pajama Jam with Sponge Bob to CCL's Dr. Seuss breakfast. Cost was $30 p/p versus $5. All the characters came out in both but I liked that Carnival had all the characters come around to the tables instead of having to line up to meet each for a photo op. NCL did theirs buffet style and CCL did theirs by order off the menu and the servers brought it to the table. CCL wins on food for this event. NCL's character breakfast had an actual show with it and there really was not a show on CCL. They did have the waiters dress as "Things" and they did a quick dance number like they do in the dining room during dinner. All in all, I think this was something fun to do, our kids enjoyed it and I would say it was well worth the extra charge.

 

 

 

The dining room was decorated all up. I loved the ice sculpture as well as all the table decorations. Very fun atmosphere.

 

The menu!!

 

The food was festive and for the most part tasty. Those eggs though! Not sure if it was the green color, the texture or the fact that they are probably powdered eggs but the green eggs and ham were no bueno!

 

 

 

 

They came around with these little parfaits....they were not only beautiful but tasty too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LuCruise]

Omg...the food is so cute!

Looks like a great cruise for all. Very sweet kids. :)

[JMHAM1]

After brunch we took Cole to Camp Carnival. We walked around some and then hit up the casino. Continuing on as we started, Hubby had no luck and I played forever on $5. Go ME!

 

OK so the next pic shows something that I typically wouldn't mention but I really thought the public restrooms on the ship were not only clean but nice looking. There was a little garbage can next to the door so you could drop in the paper towel you used to open the door. Nice!

 

 

Below is the candy shop on board. I'm not sure if this is a good use of space. I never saw anyone in here.

 

 

I still love the ships that have the large central atrium.

 

 

After the casino we browsed the photos at the photo gallery. We bought a few that we could not live without and we had some on board credit to burn.

 

I also stopped at the shop on board and bought my Mom a bracelet as a thank you for taking care of our dog. The last day they had practically everything on sale. Before the trip, my watch broke. I was planning to pick up one during the cruise but hubby surprised me with a new Citizen. We saw a watch identical to the one I got and the price was comparable.

 

I'm not really one to buy things on board unless I have OBC that I need to spend. I do like to browse. Besides jewelry, alcohol and cigs, I really didn't see much selection. Unless I missed that particular shop completely, there wasn't much. I usually look for a Christmas ornament or maybe a sweatshirt. I didn't see any ornaments and the selection of sweatshirts were not to my liking.

 

I know people are always asking about the phone rates. I think that the cabin phone is a good option if you must call home IF you keep track of the time. I couldn't get it any cheaper with my cell. This time we purchased the social media package and I didn't have a need to call at all.

 

 

On this cruise, hubby and I both got the water and I got the free drink coupon because I'm gold. I really wish you could use the coupon at any bar, any day of the cruise. I didn't use mine because it was hectic on the last evening for me making sure everyone was packed and ready to roll out. I have no idea if these tickets are transferable. Maybe someone else knows and can comment. I would have totally donated mine to a deserving, thirsty soul. I hate having a freebie of anything go to waste. I am guessing this is the reason why there is a time/day restriction on it. Lots of people may not use them for the same reason I didn't.

 

 

 

 

 

[gapearl]

Really funny review! I thought it was just me and something I was doing wrong, but I can never get a good shot of the dinner menus either. You're not the only one. And you're so right about one thing- the only way to eat the wcmc is with two ice creams! :D Thanks for posting. It looks like you and your family had a lot of fun.

[dltvermont]

Great review! Glad to see one of the Fascination. At this point I dont have a desire to go on a Bahamas itinerary but see that this ship is due to be relocated to San Juan on an itinerary that IS on my bucket list. Almost everything I read was people saying they wouldnt go to San Juan to be on THIS ship. I admit it isnt at the top of my list of ships either but may not be so bad!

[Buckimion]

The food was festive and for the most part tasty. Those eggs though! Not sure if it was the green color, the texture or the fact that they are probably powdered eggs but the green eggs and ham were no bueno!

 

 

Those would appear to be real eggs with a bit of green food coloring added. I make my own version every year for St. Patty's Day. :D

Edited November 24, 2015 by Buckimion
"s"

[JMHAM1]

Really funny review! I thought it was just me and something I was doing wrong, but I can never get a good shot of the dinner menus either. You're not the only one. And you're so right about one thing- the only way to eat the wcmc is with two ice creams! :D Thanks for posting. It looks like you and your family had a lot of fun.

 

 

GAPEARL read my review and commented! Woot! I'm doing the happy dance now! I have so enjoyed your reviews on here. I even read the ones on ships I know I won't be sailing any time soon. We did have a lot of fun. It is so difficult pleasing everyone on vacation but cruising makes it so much easier.

[kitkatnicolo]

Great review, thank you for taking the time for such a thorough review. I'm even more excited now about my cruise coming up in April of 2016 :)

[Medinatn]

Go to this link - scroll to the bottom of the page and there is a link to pay online in advance. http://www.jaxport.com/cruise/parking-and-directions

 

I have been looking for this! We are sailing out on 12-19-15

[Medinatn]

We are sailing on 12-19-15 also!!

[tootsp]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this review. My mother and I scheduled to cruise the Fascination on 1/30.