M.S. Fascination Review from 10/14 - 10/17

[bmcdowe]

Hey everybody I just returned from my three day cruise to the bahamas aboard the M.S. Fascination with my loving girlfriend. this was both our first times cruising and we will be cruising again in febuary. M.S. Fascination is a really good ship so don't listen to the bad reviews. Here is my review.

 

Embarkation: We arrive at miami at 8:30 aboard a 7am flight from atlanta. (its better to be early than late) Miami has a lot delayed flights. so we didn't want to chance it. We met with the carnival representative at about 9am and she told us that the bus wouldn't leave until 10:30. So we had breakfast in the airport. Got the the boat terminal and waited in line for about 30-40 mins total. Which wasn't long compared to the amount of people that were there. Got on the boat and was told that we couldn't go to the cabins until 1pm. So we went up to lido deck and had lunch. The lunch on lido deck wasn't that good but lunch in the coconut groove was great. Oh yea passport, photo ID or birth certificate is required.

 

First day aboard: After going to our room at one oclock we sleep until about 3:30 pm. we didn't sleep the night before was doing last minute packing. After getting up we went to eat again at the coconut groove. I went the the pizza bar and deli both were great. We later walk around the ship to get familiar with it and took some pics. I video tape the entire ship on my cam. We went to muster drill and then went up to lido deck at the back of the bout to watch us pull off from miami. It was beautiful because the sun was setting in the background. That night we went to get dressed for dinner watched the other couples come in dressed up. Our waited was very good and very pleasant. The food was good, but it came in small portions so we order more than one entree which is fine you just have to do it when you first order. Our tablemate were great they were two couples one from baltimore and the others were from jacksonvill fl. Carnival did a great job pairing us. I don't know how they knew or if they knew, but we were all celebrating our 4 year anniversaires.( Not Marriage) We were celebrating ours on the 14th and our tablemates were to. We ended up hanging out with them during the cruise.

 

Bahamas: We woke up in the bahamas and it was beautiful. Well I woke up to a loud thump, i thought the ship was sinking but it was the boat hitting the dock. Like i said before it was beautiful. Nice and warm and the water was absolutely breathe taking. The waves were crashing over the top of some the the rocks on a nearby island and it look like a was a scent out of a movie. We ate breafast at the lido deck buffet which wa good. We took some pics on deck of the Soverign of the Seas, and the celebration which i will be cruising in Feb. We then exited the boat for our shore excursion to blue lagoon. We enter the calypso one boat and traveled through the harbor on a beautiful morning. We could see the fish swimming beneath us on the boat. The boat had a live band and they were great. We ended up having to dock on the side of the island were the stingray snorkel was because the strong currents wouldn't allow us to enter the lagoon. So we walked breifly to the other side of the island were the lagoon was. It was absolutely beautiful, it had real coconut trees, hamicks, and white sandy beaches. we swam in the lagoon and it was great. I would recommend this excursion I would bring a collapsable cooler to take your own lunch because we spent 24 dollars on a hamburger and fries plate, and another 2.50 for a 12oz can a soda each. later we went back to the straw market shopped, and visited junkaroo fest. We went back on the ship and ate lunch for free lol, then showered and took a nap. We got up later, My girlfriend went and shopped and I watch the college football games on the television in my room. So, men you don't have to worry about missing games because the have cbs and abc on the televisions. After the games we watched some shows in the palace and played bingo. Got dressed later (it was formal night) and went to dinner. We took alot of pictures at every pic station just to do it and see which ones would be better for buying. We went to the late night adult comedy show and the comedian was funny. We stayed and Listen to Azz Iz in the Ritz lounge. They sounded great.

 

Day at sea: we attended the de-embarkation lecture and listened to our funny cruise director talk. We later attended the attended a talent show and then went and bought photos at the photo gallery. Bring about 60-100 dollars for pics, they are really expensive. $20 for a 8x10.They were alot of things to do that day but i mostly watch sunday NFL football and relaxed on the deck. I watched a little of the ice carving contest, and hairy man contest. But mostly people we tanning and playing minature gold. Later that night we watch the hollywood show put on by the fascination dancers. It was pretty good. We went back to the palace for the adult comedy show and then went to the deck party on the lido deck. After that we went back to the Ritz for some dancing. Went to bed after that.

 

De-embarkation: Woke up at 7:30 went to breakfast and waited for de-embarkation. We spent 20 minutes in line and were out. We were out so fast the when we got to the airport we got on a standby flight back to atlanta. I schedule a later flight after reading the de-embarkations took awhile. Well ours didn't. The driver said because we were to only ship coming in that morning.

 

Tips. If you take the shuttle carry your on luggage on to the ship, the luggage guys will tell you that you better tip them if you wanted them to handle your luggage. The only thing they do is take it five feet to a bin were the luggage is put on the ship. Carry lots of ones to tip you cabin steward, ours did a great job and we never met him. for a 3 day cruise carry around 3-4 hundred dollars between two people for spending money that should be enough. The prices off the boat are s o good that you will get alot for that. If you drink smuggle your on drinks aboard because they are expensive. Print out a packing list and want to bring list from *****.com because the have really good things on their that you will need and it is in check list form.

 

if you have any other questions just repond to this thread and i will get back to you.

[hollyc23]

Thanks for posting such a wonderful review. Glad you had a great vacation!

[dancedoc]

Going on this cruise in December for my birthday, glad you had a good time. Going on the Glory on Sat. Two cruises in one year. Whoa. Thanks for the review passing it along to my other cruisers going with me.:D

[HockeyMom44]

Thanks for the great review. We have not sailed on her for a few years. I was a little worried because of the bad reviews. Thanks a lot.

 

Are we there yet?

[Kahhli]

Great review thanks for sharing.

 

I am going on the 4 day Western Caribbean on October 24 on the Fascination .. IF Wilma wills it ! :confused:

 

What kinds of music do they have in the bars ?

Are there live bands ?

Rock .. Pop .. Country ??

 

Thanks !

[LisaFlyer]

Thanks for a great review!!! I am booked to go on the Fascination for Dec 2-5 for my B-day (29 and holding!) and we are so psyched!!!! I have read all kinds of reviews- good, bad, ugly, but I am taking them with a grain of salt- it's all how you view the world. I am choosing to view it as a great time- even if things aren't. I am going to manage my expectations and not expect the steaks to come out like I was at Ruth's Chris, I won't expect the decor of an older ship to look like it was just built, and if I don't see my cabin stewart the entire cruise, that's not a bad thing. I am going to go- relax, have fun, drink a lot of foofy drinks, and hang out in the sun watching the hairy chest contest and the ice sculpting. I am going to eat pizza in-between meals, eat lots of deserts, gamble, and let my hair down on the dance floor. I may sleep, but I might stay out all night too.

 

It's going to be F-U-N!!!!!!

 

LisaFlyer

[kabux]

Hey LisaFlyer!

My sister and I are also cruising 12/2 on the Fascination -- we'll also be drinking and funning it up!:D

[roberooski]

We should hook up for some fun.....LOL! We're heading to Blue Lagoon on our own on Saturday (obviously!) and probably to Senor Frogs. Two mid-30's chicks without husbands, children ....we can go WILD! LOL!

 

Roberooski

[LisaFlyer]

Ok- when and where do you want to meet? We are counting on being one of the first on the ship since our plane lands at 8am in Miami. We have to stop at the package store for some libations to smuggle on board, and for some wine for dinner, then we will head right over to the ship and stake our line claim... There are 6 of us going together- Scott (hubby's bro), Joan his girlfriend, Rusty and Mary (friends and total partiers), and Marc and I. We got inside cabins, so we are curious to see where they will put us- not that it matters because we will not be spending much time in our cabins besides passing out, but I am hoping it is a good location. When we were on the Miracle, our rooms were all the way on the other end of the ship and it was a real trek to the room to "refill our refreshments", so our bar bill was higher than we would have liked... This year, we are bringing bigger mugs ;-)

Lisa

[roberooski]

Kristin and I (Robin) will be meeting you at the front of the line then! Our plane lands at 9:20 and we're heading straight to the ship! WAHOOO!!!! We also have an inside cabin because, really, it's only for 3 days and nights and I'm with you - it's for passing out! LOL!

 

We should exchange emails outside of the board..... rdemoy@rcn.com

 

Only 42 more days!!!!!!!

[MichaelW1]

We leave Nov 21st and glad to hear that everthing was a blast. You never know on older ships.

 

Mike

[sunshine426]

Just wondering if there are hair dryers in the room, and are there in room refrigeraders?

[Love-to-ride]

There was no hair dryer in our room this past week. Don't know if they would bring you one if you asked. Never asked. Also no to refridgerators in the rooms.

[Vanessa L]

Thank you for the review. As I am reading the reviews it is occurring to me that how well your cruise goes and how well the ship looks has a LOT to do with one's outlook on life. It seems that the people who are picky and diss every little thing are living a miserable existance. I have been on over 20 cruises starting in 1984 and have seen the good, the bad and the ugly. Basically, you get what you pay for. If you book Carnival at $239 per person you are not going to get QE2 luxury. Duh :rolleyes: . But, what you do get is a heck of deal for $239pp.

 

DH and I are going on the Fascination in January and I have decided that we are going to have a ball, come rain or shine. Hey, those indoor activities are fun too :D !!!!!!! And it will be our anniversary.....Of course, all of this is still a 100% surprise to him so that adds to the excitement.

 

OK, well, thank you again for a great review. Your exuberance shines through and I appreciate it!!!!

 

Vanessa

[smoothdancer]

My husband and I also could not pass up the deal and are sailing on a 3 day December 9th... The flight to Miami almost cost as much as the cruise!

 

It has been a long time since we have been on Carnival, but we have done 3 day sails on RCCL. All of the 3 days are older ships, but I dont know, I just dont think they are bad at all... The furniture is a little beaten up, but the crew and staff really seem to take a lot of pride in thier ships. I have never once been dissappointed on the 3 days we have done.

[LisaFlyer]

24 days until our cruise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I can taste a "Yellow Bird" drink now... Wo whooooo!!!!!!!!!

Lisa

[MichaelW1]

Any pics from the crusie you want to share?

 

I have 1 week and 1 day......ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh:eek:

[ASONGULOVE]

for those cruising 11/14-12/4, I will be rockin out in the piano bar onboard...come by and say hi...

 

Just shout "MARK!" real loud, and you'll find me!