My condensed review w/pics: The Fascination (Grand Suite) to HMC (Cabana) & Nassau

[happy cruzin]

We had #7 last cruise and we could still hear the music, but it wasn't terribly crowded. Was also short walk to bathrooms and buffet.

 

Sounds about perfect! Thanks :)

[happy cruzin]

Thanks - because I did look back at our reservation and I don't they they ever asked "how many"! :o

 

 

Sheez....thanks auto-correct for COMPLETELY changing my sentence! :mad:

Edited March 21, 2016 by happy cruzin

[Crazyrbbt]

We were just at Half Moon Cay and had cabana 14 as well. We had the same experience with the fan, only I sprayed my family with it like a water gun before I could turn it off. We loved the location. Quiet and not crowded. We walked on the back path to the bathrooms and it is such a pretty walk that time flew by. My only complaint was when we got there they had not cleaned from the previous booking and the cabinets were full of old food, and lots of bugs. My husband went to complain and staff came right out and cleaned and wiped down everything. A supervisor came back and said that they just had a meeting to make sure that didn't happen again, then she told us she was giving us 25% off the cabana for the trouble.

[iheartmarshall]

Along my journey moving to a vegan diet, I fell in love with pigs. Not surprising because I have a 35 pound pug at home, who is basically also a pig. But I never really liked farm animals much until I started to volunteer at an animal sanctuary and the pigs just stole my heart. I also fell in love with a pretty famous pig - Esther. If you haven't heard of Esther the Wonder Pig, you should check her out! Her story is amazing, as her dads adopted her thinking she would be a mini pig and then she continued to grow to over 600 pounds. Long story short, what was meant to be a small pet turned their lives upside down and they now opened an animal sanctuary and care for many more animals. They are actually doing a group cruise next March to help raise money for their new sanctuary - and yes, we are going!

 

Ok Jen, shut up about the pigs...well I share this because I started to collect pigs and we found the cutest stuffed pig in the gift shop. Our room steward did a great job of adding little Curly to her towel animal creations.

 

What? You don't name your stuffed animals as a grown adult?

 

Just as I am a pig fanatic, my husband is a turtle lover. We have had pet turtles and tortoises and one day hope to have a tortoise sanctuary. We looked high and low for a cool turtle souvenir but only came up with a small keychain. Once this purchase made it into our room, she added that as well.

 

 

 

 

 

I love this! I have a stuffed dog named "Bobby Dog" about the size of your Curly. I take him on ALL overnight trips, no matter if it's for one night or an 8-day cruise. He's more of a placeholder to me, as I like to wrap him up in my arms and without him there, it doesn't feel right. Bobby Dog is actually the second stuffed dog named Bobby that I've had in my 29 years. "Original Bobby" (aka "The OG") I got in 4th grade when my friend (Bobby - obviously) moved away. My mom knew I was sad, got me a stuffed dog to cheer me up, and I named him after my friend (we separated over the years and somehow he lost all his stuffing and is rather odd looking now but still in existence at my mom's house). Fast forward to 2009 when I had surgery and again, to cheer me up, my mom went to the gift shop and bought me an exact replica (albeit smaller) of The OG. And for the past 6.5 years, he's slept with me every night since.

 

Anyway, the point of me sharing Bobby Dog with you is that I've had stewards do the same thing with him -- position him up nicely on the pillows, or sit him up properly beside the towel animal. I love it!

Edited March 23, 2016 by iheartmarshall

[gapearl]

I just realized that I forgot about the coughing kid incident. I have to back up to dinner on our first night. I mistakenly thought this happened later in the cruise but now that I think about it, it was the first night.

 

So I don't know that I could tell this story without some sort of visual...so obviously I have created one.

 

Here we have a family sitting at the table for 4, with a beautiful view of the Jacksonville port out the window. We have mom and dad, little Sally who is all of 3 or 4 and then little Billy who is probably 8-10.

 

Next to them we have a nice couple, eager to enjoy their dinner.

 

And finally at the end of the row, which - this is the typical setup in the Sensation MDR on the Fascination if you sit near the windows...you have myself (for the sake of this story, I've chosen Jennifer Lawrence to represent me) and my husband. Again, this is my story and if I want him to be Ryan Gosling, he will be.

 

 

Notice I didn't include any photos for the little Billy's family.

That is for 2 reasons.

 

1. If I were them, I would be embarrassed

2. Because they pretty much were invisible the entire time, and did nothing to stop or apologize for the situation

 

I would also like to make one call out here in regards to the authenticity of this photo. No, I am not apologizing for likening myself or my husband to stupidly good looking actors...but I do feel the need to say that the photo of little Billy isn't as accurate as it could be. You see, this is because if you google "boy coughing" you get 99.9% results of a picture of a boy coughing AND covering his mouth. This is completely opposite of what little Billy must have been taught.

 

Little Billy started coughing as soon as we were seated. But it wasn't just a cough into his arm, sleeve, napkin, anything...he would lean back in his chair, kind of roll out of it towards the poor woman sitting to his right, and then cough...open mouth...into the open air. Repeatedly. I couldn't even bring myself to look at the woman next to me, but I imagined she was like...

 

 

So this continues to go on, and we've ordered our dinner and are enjoying our appetizers. Which now, this sparks my memory that they were the stuffed mushrooms, and I wish I had ordered 2. Anyways, back to the story.

 

My husband made eye contact with the dad, who was sitting to the left of little Billy. You know that eye contact like...are you going to do something? Something is amiss and you can fix it. You have a booger on your face, how do you not know? Dude, your mom is standing RIGHT behind you.

 

 

You know - THAT eye contact, and still...nothing. I on the other hand, couldn't bring myself to make eye contact with anyone.

 

It was almost like little Billy was a limp noodle who couldn't stay upright in his chair, and he just kept getting closer and closer to the poor woman sitting between us. Coughing over and over and over again. Never covering his mouth. His parents never saying anything to him or to any of us.

 

Even the waiters at this point are like

 

So our main entrees are just being delivered, and I am already picturing plastic tenting and hazmat suits because this kids germs are just EVERYWHERE at this point. All of a sudden, the poor woman in between us and her husband just get up, mid bite...and leave. They could not take it for another SECOND.

 

Now the one barrier I had between little Billy and I...is gone. I look over and see him in all his glory, just limp noodling all over his chair, coughing every 30 seconds or so straight into our shared aerosphere. Little Sally doesn't know any better, she's just trying to figure out what happened today that landed her on a boat with 2,000 strangers and chicken tenders for dinner. His parents still oblivious to the carnage their son has caused.

 

We finished our dinner as quickly as possible and got the heck out of dodge. I am usually such an easy going person, I don't care if your kids act up, because they are kids. But at 8, 9, 10 years old, you should know how to cover your mouth. And if you aren't covering your mouth, then as parents, you should really remind your kid - and apologize to those around you who it is affecting. At least. Personally, if my kid had been that sick to where he could not stop coughing throughout an entire dinner service - I would not have brought him on a cruise, or at the very least got room service and kept him holed up there until he was feeling better.

 

So that's the coughing kid incident. It is one that will likely be retold and acted out many a times in our household because, well...we are a-holes like that and laughing about it afterwards keeps us from opening our mouths in public. I can't believe I forgot that was on day 1 - but now I will get back on track...

 

 

 

Oh. My. Gosh. This is the funniest thing I've seen on CC in a long time. Funny post of the month award goes to you. LOL :D Great review!

[ohitssunshine]

We were just at Half Moon Cay and had cabana 14 as well. We had the same experience with the fan, only I sprayed my family with it like a water gun before I could turn it off. We loved the location. Quiet and not crowded. We walked on the back path to the bathrooms and it is such a pretty walk that time flew by. My only complaint was when we got there they had not cleaned from the previous booking and the cabinets were full of old food, and lots of bugs. My husband went to complain and staff came right out and cleaned and wiped down everything. A supervisor came back and said that they just had a meeting to make sure that didn't happen again, then she told us she was giving us 25% off the cabana for the trouble.

 

Wow, that's crazy! Glad they took care of it, and gave you a discount. I'm glad you enjoyed #14 and you made me laugh thinking about that misting fan!

[ohitssunshine]

I love this! I have a stuffed dog named "Bobby Dog" about the size of your Curly. I take him on ALL overnight trips, no matter if it's for one night or an 8-day cruise. He's more of a placeholder to me, as I like to wrap him up in my arms and without him there, it doesn't feel right. Bobby Dog is actually the second stuffed dog named Bobby that I've had in my 29 years. "Original Bobby" (aka "The OG") I got in 4th grade when my friend (Bobby - obviously) moved away. My mom knew I was sad, got me a stuffed dog to cheer me up, and I named him after my friend (we separated over the years and somehow he lost all his stuffing and is rather odd looking now but still in existence at my mom's house). Fast forward to 2009 when I had surgery and again, to cheer me up, my mom went to the gift shop and bought me an exact replica (albeit smaller) of The OG. And for the past 6.5 years, he's slept with me every night since.

 

Anyway, the point of me sharing Bobby Dog with you is that I've had stewards do the same thing with him -- position him up nicely on the pillows, or sit him up properly beside the towel animal. I love it!

 

Oh my gosh, I love it! I'm so glad I'm not the only adult that travels with a stuffed animal Haha! How special, I loved your story - thank you for sharing!

[ohitssunshine]

Oh. My. Gosh. This is the funniest thing I've seen on CC in a long time. Funny post of the month award goes to you. LOL :D Great review!

 

Haha, thank you!! I'm so glad everyone has seemed to enjoy it :)

[TheGirlNextDoor]

I just realized that I forgot about the coughing kid incident. I have to back up to dinner on our first night. I mistakenly thought this happened later in the cruise but now that I think about it, it was the first night.

 

So I don't know that I could tell this story without some sort of visual...so obviously I have created one.

 

Here we have a family sitting at the table for 4, with a beautiful view of the Jacksonville port out the window. We have mom and dad, little Sally who is all of 3 or 4 and then little Billy who is probably 8-10.

 

Next to them we have a nice couple, eager to enjoy their dinner.

 

And finally at the end of the row, which - this is the typical setup in the Sensation MDR on the Fascination if you sit near the windows...you have myself (for the sake of this story, I've chosen Jennifer Lawrence to represent me) and my husband. Again, this is my story and if I want him to be Ryan Gosling, he will be.

 

 

Notice I didn't include any photos for the little Billy's family.

That is for 2 reasons.

 

1. If I were them, I would be embarrassed

2. Because they pretty much were invisible the entire time, and did nothing to stop or apologize for the situation

 

I would also like to make one call out here in regards to the authenticity of this photo. No, I am not apologizing for likening myself or my husband to stupidly good looking actors...but I do feel the need to say that the photo of little Billy isn't as accurate as it could be. You see, this is because if you google "boy coughing" you get 99.9% results of a picture of a boy coughing AND covering his mouth. This is completely opposite of what little Billy must have been taught.

 

Little Billy started coughing as soon as we were seated. But it wasn't just a cough into his arm, sleeve, napkin, anything...he would lean back in his chair, kind of roll out of it towards the poor woman sitting to his right, and then cough...open mouth...into the open air. Repeatedly. I couldn't even bring myself to look at the woman next to me, but I imagined she was like...

 

 

So this continues to go on, and we've ordered our dinner and are enjoying our appetizers. Which now, this sparks my memory that they were the stuffed mushrooms, and I wish I had ordered 2. Anyways, back to the story.

 

My husband made eye contact with the dad, who was sitting to the left of little Billy. You know that eye contact like...are you going to do something? Something is amiss and you can fix it. You have a booger on your face, how do you not know? Dude, your mom is standing RIGHT behind you.

 

 

You know - THAT eye contact, and still...nothing. I on the other hand, couldn't bring myself to make eye contact with anyone.

 

It was almost like little Billy was a limp noodle who couldn't stay upright in his chair, and he just kept getting closer and closer to the poor woman sitting between us. Coughing over and over and over again. Never covering his mouth. His parents never saying anything to him or to any of us.

 

Even the waiters at this point are like

 

So our main entrees are just being delivered, and I am already picturing plastic tenting and hazmat suits because this kids germs are just EVERYWHERE at this point. All of a sudden, the poor woman in between us and her husband just get up, mid bite...and leave. They could not take it for another SECOND.

 

Now the one barrier I had between little Billy and I...is gone. I look over and see him in all his glory, just limp noodling all over his chair, coughing every 30 seconds or so straight into our shared aerosphere. Little Sally doesn't know any better, she's just trying to figure out what happened today that landed her on a boat with 2,000 strangers and chicken tenders for dinner. His parents still oblivious to the carnage their son has caused.

 

We finished our dinner as quickly as possible and got the heck out of dodge. I am usually such an easy going person, I don't care if your kids act up, because they are kids. But at 8, 9, 10 years old, you should know how to cover your mouth. And if you aren't covering your mouth, then as parents, you should really remind your kid - and apologize to those around you who it is affecting. At least. Personally, if my kid had been that sick to where he could not stop coughing throughout an entire dinner service - I would not have brought him on a cruise, or at the very least got room service and kept him holed up there until he was feeling better.

 

So that's the coughing kid incident. It is one that will likely be retold and acted out many a times in our household because, well...we are a-holes like that and laughing about it afterwards keeps us from opening our mouths in public. I can't believe I forgot that was on day 1 - but now I will get back on track...

 

 

 

OMG... this is the funniest story ever! Your visuals are just awesome. I have kids and am always afraid of them making a scene at dinner or something. I can only imagine how much that poor woman must have showered after dinner! LOL!

[Mabks0412]

I loved your review! We were on the Fascination back in October. Didn't get a chance to go to HMC though, but we would love to!

 

Your first dinner sounds so...interesting. I'm sure my husband would have said something loudly or to them.

[Mommabear2Five]

Sounds like a great day at HMC. We've tried to book a cabana before, but they are always sold out by the time we decide. Maybe next time :)

[Roz326]

One of the reasons that I had kept FTTF even with the priority boarding, was so that our room would be ready and we would have our luggage sooner. It just feels like your truly on vacation once you are no longer lugging around carry on's, and then once you are finally unpacked.

 

Knowing that we had the Grand Suite, we were also just really excited to get into our room!

 

Grand Suite U111

 

Here's a collage of photos that capture the room as a whole - because I failed to take one solid picture.

 

Again, 2 photos put together to show the size and layout of the walk in closet

 

Essentially, when you enter the room - the walk in closet is to your left, the bathroom to your right and then the rest of the room in front of you. The door to the balcony is is straight ahead.

 

Here is a view with my back to the balcony door, and looking towards the left.

 

The restroom - this is advertised as having a jacuzzi/whirlpool tub. The tub is very deep - so much so, that it can be difficult to get in and out of. Don't be thinking you are going to have a romantic bath with anyone - because it is just not that large. The jets did work - so that was a plus.

 

The restroom itself was very small in that just one person could really ever be in there. If my husband was coming in as I was leaving - one of us would have to wait.

 

 

And the balcony - it is hard to show what a great balcony this was, but it was perfect. The view here is in port - but once you set sail, there are no obstructions. To the left, the divider was quite substantial, like it is the last balcony in the row - but it is not. To the right, the divider was almost floor to ceiling, but was different than the other.

 

We spent quite a bit of time on our balcony, and we never heard a peep from our neighbors. It was almost as if the rooms on either side were empty! We brought along a bluetooth speaker and played music and just hung out a lot out there and it really just made the trip that much better. And when our wedding song popped up in the playlist - we even had a nice little dance together out there!

 

 

Very excited to also be cruising in this same Grand Suite! Anything extra you can tell us or pictures will be greatly appreciated! Looking forward to reading the rest of your review.

[ohitssunshine]

Very excited to also be cruising in this same Grand Suite! Anything extra you can tell us or pictures will be greatly appreciated! Looking forward to reading the rest of your review.

For some reason I totally had missed your post! Have you already sailed? I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

 

Sent from my SM-G920V using Forums mobile app

[SoCalKJ]

i just realized that i forgot about the coughing kid incident. I have to back up to dinner on our first night. I mistakenly thought this happened later in the cruise but now that i think about it, it was the first night.

 

So i don't know that i could tell this story without some sort of visual...so obviously i have created one.

 

Here we have a family sitting at the table for 4, with a beautiful view of the jacksonville port out the window. We have mom and dad, little sally who is all of 3 or 4 and then little billy who is probably 8-10.

 

Next to them we have a nice couple, eager to enjoy their dinner.

 

And finally at the end of the row, which - this is the typical setup in the sensation mdr on the fascination if you sit near the windows...you have myself (for the sake of this story, i've chosen jennifer lawrence to represent me) and my husband. Again, this is my story and if i want him to be ryan gosling, he will be.

 

 

notice i didn't include any photos for the little billy's family.

That is for 2 reasons.

 

1. If i were them, i would be embarrassed

2. Because they pretty much were invisible the entire time, and did nothing to stop or apologize for the situation

 

i would also like to make one call out here in regards to the authenticity of this photo. No, i am not apologizing for likening myself or my husband to stupidly good looking actors...but i do feel the need to say that the photo of little billy isn't as accurate as it could be. You see, this is because if you google "boy coughing" you get 99.9% results of a picture of a boy coughing and covering his mouth. This is completely opposite of what little billy must have been taught.

 

Little billy started coughing as soon as we were seated. But it wasn't just a cough into his arm, sleeve, napkin, anything...he would lean back in his chair, kind of roll out of it towards the poor woman sitting to his right, and then cough...open mouth...into the open air. Repeatedly. I couldn't even bring myself to look at the woman next to me, but i imagined she was like...

 

 

so this continues to go on, and we've ordered our dinner and are enjoying our appetizers. Which now, this sparks my memory that they were the stuffed mushrooms, and i wish i had ordered 2. Anyways, back to the story.

 

My husband made eye contact with the dad, who was sitting to the left of little billy. You know that eye contact like...are you going to do something? Something is amiss and you can fix it. You have a booger on your face, how do you not know? Dude, your mom is standing right behind you.

 

 

you know - that eye contact, and still...nothing. I on the other hand, couldn't bring myself to make eye contact with anyone.

 

It was almost like little billy was a limp noodle who couldn't stay upright in his chair, and he just kept getting closer and closer to the poor woman sitting between us. Coughing over and over and over again. Never covering his mouth. His parents never saying anything to him or to any of us.

 

Even the waiters at this point are like

 

so our main entrees are just being delivered, and i am already picturing plastic tenting and hazmat suits because this kids germs are just everywhere at this point. All of a sudden, the poor woman in between us and her husband just get up, mid bite...and leave. They could not take it for another second.

 

Now the one barrier i had between little billy and i...is gone. I look over and see him in all his glory, just limp noodling all over his chair, coughing every 30 seconds or so straight into our shared aerosphere. Little sally doesn't know any better, she's just trying to figure out what happened today that landed her on a boat with 2,000 strangers and chicken tenders for dinner. His parents still oblivious to the carnage their son has caused.

 

We finished our dinner as quickly as possible and got the heck out of dodge. I am usually such an easy going person, i don't care if your kids act up, because they are kids. But at 8, 9, 10 years old, you should know how to cover your mouth. And if you aren't covering your mouth, then as parents, you should really remind your kid - and apologize to those around you who it is affecting. At least. Personally, if my kid had been that sick to where he could not stop coughing throughout an entire dinner service - i would not have brought him on a cruise, or at the very least got room service and kept him holed up there until he was feeling better.

 

So that's the coughing kid incident. It is one that will likely be retold and acted out many a times in our household because, well...we are a-holes like that and laughing about it afterwards keeps us from opening our mouths in public. I can't believe i forgot that was on day 1 - but now i will get back on track...

 

 

 

the. Most. Hilarious. Illustration. Ever. :d:d

[ohitssunshine]

the. Most. Hilarious. Illustration. Ever. :d:d

Haha, thank you!

 

Sent from my SM-G920V using Forums mobile app