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Wow! Does ANYONE sail the Fascination??!


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Thank you for sharing, I found your experience and pics helpful. Like others mentioned, I have not found much info on this ship. We are planning a Fascination cruise for next March with our 2 kids, dd will be 6-7 months, ds will be 8 yrs. We are a couple hrs from Jax so we are excited to be leaving from close to home.

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I have also sailed the Fascination three times and just love her. All different trips too...one with just the hubby...one with the kiddos and one with just the girls. All three different, all three amazing. The staff (for the most part) is amazing and super friendly. Really good food too, as mentioned before. I think it's the best ship for a quick getaway! Have a great time!

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Ok, now I REALLY want to know!

 

Well...if you insist! The first time I sailed on the Fascination they had manequins positioned in various public rooms around the ship -- the one I remember being the most annoying was the one sitting on a bar stool at the Beverly Hills Bar. I always did a double-take when I saw it. It was almost creepy.

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DH and I also sailed on her out of San Juan for the Southern Caribbean itinerary back in the '90's and loved it. We have already booked the Fascination for May 2009 when she is in her new home in Jax. We live 50 miles from Jax and have sailed on the Celebration three times in the past two years and it will be nice to have a largers ship now in Jax. Don't get me wrong, we really enjoyed the Celebration very much and we are just glad to have a ship in Jax because of our close proximity. DH and I look forward to sailing on the Fascination again:D

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Anybody know about formal nights, theme nights? I need to pack today and not sure what to bring. Also what's the entertainment like?

 

On the weekend cruise to Nassau you'll have one formal night -- Saturday night -- which is also the night you're in port in Nassau. Some people choose to enjoy the nightlife in Nassau/Paradise Island though so they don't do the formal night thing. From what I remember of the entertainment, it was good.

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Check out my countdown clock! It's our first cruise, and my understanding is that Fascination went through upgrades last fall? Maybe early winter? All my info points to the "all new" fascination. Can't wait. We have no idea what it'll be like, so open to the whole experience.

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I spoke with a Carnival Rep who does training seminars for Carnival and on Evolutions of Fun. I asked if there was a tentative date set yet for the Fascination and she said no. I'm really wanting to do a group cruise out of Jacksonville when she moves there but want to wait until after the Evolutions of Fun upgrades.

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Well...if you insist! The first time I sailed on the Fascination they had manequins positioned in various public rooms around the ship -- the one I remember being the most annoying was the one sitting on a bar stool at the Beverly Hills Bar. I always did a double-take when I saw it. It was almost creepy.

 

Did they give any reason as to why they were there? That would be freaky!

 

Now that you mention it, I remember seeing some mannequins posed in the virtual tours that Carnival has on their website. I figured they were there just for the virtual tour.

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Anybody know about formal nights, theme nights? I need to pack today and not sure what to bring. Also what's the entertainment like?

 

i cruised on the Fascination from march 7-march 10

 

on the first night, the entertainment was a comedian and a juggler. both of them were OK. the juggler was much more entertaining than the comedian though. FYI, the comedian does an "adult" show in one of the bars later in the evening--his act there may have been better?

 

the second night featured an 80's show. my wife and i LOVED this. the cast of the show performed all types of 80's music...prince, madonna, etc...it was amazing. if you like 80's music, or at the very least have a nostalgic heart for the 80's, you'll love it. i would have seen it twice if i knew how good it was (we had the late dinner seating and saw the later show).

 

on the last night, there was a latina show...we didn't go because my wife was seasick.

 

 

don't stress out too much about formal night--there were some people who were dressed up quite nicely, but others who adopted a very liberal definition of the word "formal"

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DH & I sailed the Fascination in November 2006. Loved it! It has been the only cruise where we did not have a balcony. We were on the Empress Deck - E65 -Oceanview. It was a 4 day cruise and we never missed the balcony. She had been refurbished in 2006 - flat screen tv's added. Food was great and staff were great. I am envious of all of you leaving soon. I would definately sail her again.

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OK, I need the food lowdown on the Fascination.

 

On the Liberty, which I was last on, in addition to the regular buffet lines there was a separate area for a deli and asian section as well as a fish and chips station upstairs from the regular buffet area. Anything similar on the Fascination?

 

There is 24 hours pizza, correct? Reviews of the pizza are also welcome.

 

Also does the Fascination have a premium dinner restaurant?

 

Thanks.

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OK, I need the food lowdown on the Fascination.

 

On the Liberty, which I was last on, in addition to the regular buffet lines there was a separate area for a deli and asian section as well as a fish and chips station upstairs from the regular buffet area. Anything similar on the Fascination?

 

There is 24 hours pizza, correct? Reviews of the pizza are also welcome.

 

Also does the Fascination have a premium dinner restaurant?

 

Thanks.

 

The Fascination is smaller than the Liberty, so it doesn't have quite so many food options. No Asian or fish & chips, or supper club. There is the buffet restaurant -- the Coconut Grove Bar & Grill -- on the lido deck which also has a large salad and dessert bar, ice cream, pizza station and deli station. There's also a grill/snack bar outside closer to the pool area that has hot breakfast in the morning and grills burgers and hotdogs for lunch. I usually have breakfast & lunch upstairs then dinner in the dining room.

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I spoke with a Carnival Rep who does training seminars for Carnival and on Evolutions of Fun. I asked if there was a tentative date set yet for the Fascination and she said no. I'm really wanting to do a group cruise out of Jacksonville when she moves there but want to wait until after the Evolutions of Fun upgrades.

 

Well, that's pretty annoying. PVP said it would be done before we sail in December. I emailed him during the week to see if he could give me a date, but, of course, he hasn't responded.

 

Really wanted that Serenity area! :(

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Have sailed the lovely lady twice with a 3rd coming soon. Love the boat, love the layout. Shes awesome for a short hop to the Bahamas. I look forward to many more in the future

 

She is that, very comfortable. I've sailed on the Fascination three times, Paradise twice and Imagination once (with one more coming up in August). They're all the same layout and it feels like coming home whenever I board. :o

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LetsSailAway, thanks for the info.

You confirmed what I thought. I pretty much assumed the Fascination, being a smaller ship, would have less options. Not surprised at all. I just wanted to make sure I didn't miss any food tricks. That fish and chips station was the most overlooked food place on the Liberty. Lines would be backed up at the buffet and you could just walk up at fish and chips and get all sorts of good stuff.

 

At breakfast buffet do they have an omelet or crepes station? We had omelets on the Liberty and crepes on the Paradise.

 

Also, what's the skinny on kids food at evening meals. We are going with twin 7.5 year old boys.

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LetsSailAway, thanks for the info.

You confirmed what I thought. I pretty much assumed the Fascination, being a smaller ship, would have less options. Not surprised at all. I just wanted to make sure I didn't miss any food tricks. That fish and chips station was the most overlooked food place on the Liberty. Lines would be backed up at the buffet and you could just walk up at fish and chips and get all sorts of good stuff.

 

At breakfast buffet do they have an omelet or crepes station? We had omelets on the Liberty and crepes on the Paradise.

 

Also, what's the skinny on kids food at evening meals. We are going with twin 7.5 year old boys.

 

Yes, they do have an omelet station - although I never had one there, so I don't remember how busy it was. As for kids, since I don't have any little ones to travel with, I can't give you details, but I do know that they have a children's menu in the dining room. I was once seated at a table with a couple who had a daughter about 8-10 years old and I remember the waiter giving her her very own menu.

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