Fascination Review with lots of pics 12/27/08-1/1/09

[jump4jai]

At the beginning of December my mom said she was giving me and my step sister a vacation for our holiday present. I really wanted to go on a cruise because I went on one with my family in December 2000 but I was sick the whole time with scarlet fever, strep throat, heat stroke, and sea/motion sickness. Back then we were on the Carnival Fascination. I was deciding which cruise to go and saw that the Fascination was departing from Jacksonville. Driving down would be cheaper and having my car with me would be convenient. Also that port is less of a drive than any leaving from Miami or other ports so I called up and booked it taking the second to last cabin. It was guaranteed inside but we didn't know which cabin or deck it would be on.

 

 

We left at 4pm the day before and the drive from NC to Jacksonville was about 7 hours. We stayed at a cheap hotel, the Rodeside Inn, by the airport which was good enough to get a couple hours of sleep and a shower in the morning.

 

I started taking ginger pills and motion sickness pills a day before we left so I wouldn't get seasick this time.

 

 

We checked out of the inn at 9am and drove around downtown Jacksonville and to the local Walmart to get a few last minute things.

 

Downtown Jax

 

 

Bridge we cross over

 

Another view of the bridge

 

 

We reach Jax Port and go through security. I drop off the suitcases with a porter and go to park. It was $75 up front for 5 day parking fees.

 

Then we saw our ship!!!!

 

We got into line and waited about 45 minutes until we checked in and received our sail and sign cards. Then we took the mandatory embarkation photo. ($8.95)

[jump4jai]

We were so excited to get onto the ship and finally got on board at 11:30pm but our cabin wasn't going to be ready until 1:30pm. We went up to the Lido deck to the Coconut Bar & Grill for some lunch.

Sis eating yogurt

[jump4jai]

It reminded me of a cafeteria where you take a tray and serve yourself from the selections. Then you try to find a seat. There were already quite a few people eating lunch at that time.

 

Palm tree decor in Coconut Grill

 

We decided to just walk around the ship and explore.

 

View of Jax from the ship.

 

Pool and Waterslide

 

Atrium elevator - There were two of these in the center of the ship and they were the slowest with the most people wanting to use them. There were always the same kids going up and down in these at all hours of the day and night.

[bobsfamily]

MORE please! We leave in 8 days!!!

[NCTribeFan]

Can't believe it's already been nearly 4 weeks since we were on Fascination. You wait and wait and wait, and the anticipation builds and builds and then - snap! It's over and you're home and thinking about the next cruise.

 

We loved our Fascination cruise (except for the cabin noise issue and no sun on sea days :( ). Makes me homesick looking at your photos!

[tiggerman101]

To think that I was walking off the ship while you were sitting there waiting to board. Nice start on the review. I really wanted to do your itinerary and go to HMC, but it was a family cruise and we had to do the prior one for the kids. I am debating on trying to do this itinerary late August/early September. It is smack in the middle of hurricane season, but we live in Atlanta so it is an easy 6 hour drive. Plus the cruise itself is very cheap.

[jump4jai]

Our itinerary was the same as yours...Key West and Nassau, Bahamas

[jump4jai]

We waited until our room was finally ready. Our cabin was U8 which is the upper deck, 4th up from the bottom. I was really worried we would be on the deck on the way way bottom since we booked the trip late. We were at the very front of the ship which was nice since the Palace Theater was 2 decks directly above us but not so nice when our dining room, Imagination, was on the back end of the ship and we always had to walk it in heels.

 

Our room

 

 

 

It's basically what you see with a closet in the narrow hallway that had some shelves and hangers. We brought one of those hanging shelf thingies that definitely helped us with our feminine things since there was no dresser.

 

Funny Story: As soon as we entered our room we both screamed at the top of our lungs because we thought we got a room with a window. We both tear the curtain away only to find a wall behind it. We were hysterical. I think they should just remove the curtain all together cuz it is such a tease.

 

Bathroom

 

[cjkumbaya]

Good start to your review. My sister and I do trips together too and we really enjoy it. Looking forward to more.

[jump4jai]

We still had some time to spare so we walked around the ship and took pictures.

 

The Palace

This was where the evening shows were held. The shows were cheesy, the costumes distasteful, and they tried to coordinate while dancing but hey it's free entertainment. We were there every night after dinner except the last night when the only show was before dinner. We had the late night dinner seating (8:15pm) and the late shows were at 10:30pm.

 

Outside of the Palace

 

Inside of the Palace

 

They called the entrance to the "bars/clubs" Hollywood Boulevard

 

 

The Casino - Where I lost about $60 on the slots. I came here just to waste time (and money) when there wasn't much else to do at night.

 

Passage to India - They had a band in there most nights. It was called Dakota and they were from Louisiana. It was a little too country for my tastes.

[jump4jai]

The ship was still decorated with Christmas decorations. They had a gingerbread house display set up.

 

Diamonds Are Forever

This was the only "club" on the ship where they had a DJ each night and it opened at 10pm. You have to be 18 to enter and they have security posted outside the door. It was always busy in there, especially on New Years Eve. I couldn't go very often because my step sister is only 17 and could not get in. She tried!

 

 

 

Beverly Hills Bar - This was just a seating area with a bar. I rarely saw anyone in this area drinking except a few people smoking cigars.

 

Puttin on the Ritz

This is the Karaoke lounge. We sang the chorus to Hey Delilah one night and it was fun. We had a guy on our cruise that could really sing and sing well. I have some videos that I will post on Youtube or something and then post the links if anyone's interested. I didn't catch his name but I'm sure he does some kind of public performances. We usually hung out here between dinner and our late night show.

 

[jump4jai]

We took pictures of us outside on the deck with the bridge in the background. It was the same bridge I drove over earlier and also the same bridge the ship goes underneath.

 

 

 

The ship had a basketball court and volleyball court

 

And mini golf - When I went on this ship in 2000 they did not have this and instead had a topless tanning deck.

 

More pictures of the ship

 

[jump4jai]

We still had a little bit of time before sail away so we took a tour of the spa/gym.

Hair Salon

 

Massage Table

 

Gym - Where I spent most of my mornings

[OhioGriffiths]

Great review - we leave tomorrow for Jax and board Fascination on Saturday! Can't wait! Mine and DH first cruise.:D

[bobsfamily]

more!

[NCTribeFan]

OK, I have to ask...

 

We were in U99, same layout (sideways interior). Did you have any issues with the "whump whump whump whump" sound? You know, like when you have one car window partially down and the air pressure thumps in your ears? Sorry, that's the only way I can describe it.

 

I had never encountered that on any Fantasy-class ship (2 different inside cabins and 1 OV). Just wondered if I just picked a bad location. I suspect some sort of gigantic a/c system in that white space down the center of that deck. I know I'll never pick on there again!

 

Of course I knew that there was not really a window behind the curtain in our inside cabin, but DD wanted a pic anyway...

 

 

They're all just prefab boxes. Personally, I don't care to pay for the window so am happy with my cheapo inside cabin.

 

Highly recommend the itinerary that goes to HMC. It's fabulous.

[bobsfamily]

We have had one interior room and that was enough for me! Glad to pay the extra for light.

[jump4jai]

Then we did the life jacket thingy. We all went to the Palace Theater where they showed us how to put the life jackets on. Then we went up to the Lido deck by the life boats and lined up shoulder to shoulder. This whole thing took about 45 minutes.

 

 

 

We already started moving at that point and when the lifeboat drill was over we raced to the front of the Lido deck to watch the ship go under the bridge. It's the same bridge I drove over earlier in the day. I have a video of the sail away that I will post later.

 

There were a few seagulls gliding along with the ship. I wonder if they do that at every Fascination sail away.

 

 

[duhe98]

We love the interior room after a night of drinking.... can't beat that cold quiet DARK room after partying late. Funny story. The wife and i had a fun day of sun and drinks. We went back to the room for a nap and woke up hungry, called and ordered room service before we noticed it was 3am. Totally missed our night out. The way we lost track of time reminded me of the casinos in Vegas.

[jump4jai]

NCTribeFan - We didn't hear any noises except our neighbors tv and the occasional voices in the hallway.

 

bobsfamily - We were ok with no window since we weren't in the room very much. The carnival agent on the phone that we booked with said we might be upgraded to a window by chance. We didn't use our common sense on that one because we were at the end of the hallway and you turn and there is that little hallway where our room was and you could totally tell it was an inside cabin. We were just caught in the moment!

 

duhe98 - Yeah it was nice not to have any light in the room sometimes. My sis and I had to nap in between suntanning and dinner because the sun was so intense and made us soooo sleepy.

[jump4jai]

Warning:

I suggest you don't read any more of my review if you don't like looking at pictures of food. I took many pics on request of my brother. We ate about 80% of the time we were on the cruise and took the pictures to prove it!

[2-laner]

:) I say go for it. Ready when you are :)

[beach410]

patiently waiting for those pictures of food!!

[nanny_9_99]

please come on food ,food let me see what i am going to get when i go

[jump4jai]

My sis and I were getting hungry since we had lunch around 12pm and our dinner wasn't until 8:15pm. We ordered room service before the lifeboat drill. It was very easy since they have the menu in the room and all you do is press a button on the room phone to order. You tell them what you want and how many you want. The guy was waiting with our food right outside our room after sail away. Such awesome service!

 

I ordered a pastrami sandwich on rye and fruit salad. It was yummy!

 

I forgot to take a picture of the room service menu but I took pictures of almost every other menu.

 

My sis was craving french fries so we went up to the Lido deck to get some.