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

[jump4jai]

Dinner - Imagination 8:15pm

There was supposed to be a dress code in the dining rooms but some people did not follow it. We saw people in shorts and flip-flops (2 of the bans) and bathing suits with cover-ups. My sis and I wore dresses every night because we wanted to look nice when they come around to take pictures. We sat in a booth close to the front of the dining room and no one ever joined us for dinner. Either they were eating somewhere else or they stuck us by ourselves. When we ate in the dining room for breakfast or lunch they did seat us with other people though since it was open seating.

Us at dinner - Another Carnival photo ($8.95)

 

 

 

Cream of Broccoli Soup

 

Marinated Fruit with Papaya Smoothie

[jump4jai]

Iceberg Lettuce with Zucchini Fritters - ok

 

Tilapia - very yummy, did not like the mac and cheese

 

Chicken a la Grecque - sis did not like

[steven41782]

We are sailing on the Fascination soon. Thanks for all the pictures.

[homeofthedogs]

Jump - thanks for the pictures and review. We are sailing Fascination 1/24.

 

Was wondering if you were cold leaving Jacksonville? Saw you had short sleeves and your sister had no sleeves. Wasn't it cool? Some of your pictures show people wearing shorts. I thought the weather would be too cold for shorts. Just wondering what to pack.

 

How was the weather throughout your trip? Hot?

 

Can't wait to read the rest of your review. Keep it coming.....

[rebeljohn]

Nice review and GREAT pics...........looking forward to the rest..............

[jump4jai]

homeofthedogs - The weather was in the mid 70's in Jax when we left. The trip weather overall was low to mid 70's. It was windy sometimes during the day on the Lido deck on up, especially mini golf area. Also at night it was very windy. We were lucky with the weather except New Year's Eve was pretty windy/chilly and the next day in Jacksonville was 50's. As soon as we got off the boat we changed into jeans and sweatshirts. I don't know what it would be like now but it will probably be nice once you hit your ports of call.

[jump4jai]

Dessert!!!

 

 

Sis had the cheesecake with strawberries - said it was delicious

 

And of course I had the chocolate melting cake after reading the rave reviews it got on here. It took some time (10 seconds) getting used to but it was very good. It is very sweet and I'm glad they served it with ice cream because it balanced out the flavor just right.

 

I also ordered the tropical fruit plate. At almost every meal my sis and I ordered the fruit because it was sooo good!

 

After dinner we headed over to the Palace for the Welcome Aboard Show. Our cruise director was Jacques de Lange. Like I said the shows were cheesy but it was some entertainment for the night. There were 2 main singers, a male and female, and the rest were dancers. Also there was a comedian, Darren Sanders, who was alright. There was only one show that night at 10:30pm so you had to get there very early to get a good seat or even a seat at all.

 

 

 

[jump4jai]

After the show we went up to the Lido deck to see if anything was going on up there but it looked like everyone was already in bed. There was a late night buffet in Coconut Grill but we were not hungry after that huge dinner.

 

Our night picture on the Lido deck

 

 

 

We went back to our room and found a towel seal!

 

We crawled into bed and went right to sleep. The secret is that they give you two pillows each, a down comforter to keep you warm because the ac is always on, and the beds are as soft as clouds.

[jump4jai]

Day 2 - Sea Day

 

We slept in today. We had our continental room service breakfast come at 8am which was orange juice, fruit bowls, yogurt, and bananas. We at it and went right back to sleep. We woke up at 11am and went to lunch in the Sensation dining room where there was open seating.

 

 

Sensation Dining Room

 

Avocado Soup - Cold but good

 

Burger - My sis loved it!

 

Vegetable Fajitas - Good, the vegetables inside were unusual, looked like salad spinach was in them

 

 

Dessert - Black Forest - basically just ice cream with some sauce on it

[jump4jai]

 

 

For people that did not want to have lunch in the dining room they had alternative dining on the Lido deck. Today they were doing a Caribbean buffet.

 

We tried to lay out by the pool but all the chairs were taken (by towels, not bodies) so we decided to play mini golf instead. We played a quick game since it was so windy up there.

 

 

 

 

We were getting hungry again so we had a slice of pizza. Mine was the vegetable kind.

 

Tonight was Formal Night and my sis and I wore matching dresses that were different colors. There was a Captain's Welcome Reception before dinner in the Palace. It was basically a fancy way of saying hors d'oeuvers and drinks. The mixed drinks were free here so my advice is to take 2 per person and slam them down so you're ready to grab 2 more when the servers come around again.

 

Sis eating cherry from the drink

 

Us all dressed up

[jump4jai]

Our Formal Dinner

 

 

 

Minestrone Soup - Sis liked it

 

Pumpkin Soup - Delicious

 

Fresh Fruit

 

 

[jump4jai]

Zucchini and Eggplant Parmesan - Sis said it was ok

 

Prime Rib - just ok

 

 

Cherries Jubilee and Chocolate Ice Cream

 

The waiters sang to us this night

 

 

Our waiter, Nyoman, was awesome. His assistant, Ricky, was pretty cool too

[jump4jai]

After dinner we went to the show Hey Mambo. It was more singing and dancing. The main singers names were Ben Beechey and Kate Andrews.

 

Then at midnite the comedian, Darren Sanders, was doing an adult show in Puttin on the Ritz. He was funny talking about kids riding the glass elevators up and down and licking their ice cream cones.

 

Then we went to sleep because we had our first port, Key West, in the morning.

 

Towel Elephant

[oooohDonna]

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.

 

 

 

 

you pics look like my pics, minus the people of course :eek: But wanted to say, they did not make us go to the lido deck and line up for the lifeboat drill. We just went to the palace room for insturctions...that's weird huh!

[Georgiagolfer]

jump4jai, enjoying your review, especially the pictures. We sail Fascination in 4 weeks. Don't wait too long before your next post, as some of us are very impatient and want the details, now!!!!:D

[CRUISIN' TOGETHER]

Loving this review...keep it coming!! We sail on March 12...taking our kids and granddaughters...this was their Christmas gift! This will be their first cruise...our third, but first on Carnival line. Thanks for posting all the pics..even the menus and food....great info to have! Looking forward to the rest of your review!

[homeofthedogs]

jump - Darn, I just realized you did the different itinerary from us. We go to Half Moon Cay instead of Key West.

 

You are so thorough with all the details and I was so ready to see Half Moon Cay, which I have never been to. BOOHOO! LOL Looking forward to seeing your version of Key West, I've been there several times and loved it. We rented mopeds the last time and really saw the town.

 

I'm not going to get much accomplished today because I will keep checking CC to look for your posts. Keep em coming.

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!

[Familyforce6]

Just a small question......Do the showers in the stateroom just a shower unit or do they have a tub? Secondly, You saw shorts on ELEGANT night? Or the other nights? From what I have heard shorts are allowed on other nights.:confused:

[Hockey Addict]

you pics look like my pics, minus the people of course :eek: But wanted to say, they did not make us go to the lido deck and line up for the lifeboat drill. We just went to the palace room for insturctions...that's weird huh!

 

You think THAT'S weird.... when we sailed her on 11-1-08 we had our muster drill on our first sea day.... (we left Saturday and our drill was Sunday at 10ish) we met outside the casino and we didn't go outside either. They say it has to take place within 24 hours of boarding... I just didn't expect it at all!

 

Love the review... it makes me remember mine all over again! Keep it coming!! :D

[oooohDonna]

You think THAT'S weird.... when we sailed her on 11-1-08 we had our muster drill on our first sea day.... (we left Saturday and our drill was Sunday at 10ish) we met outside the casino and we didn't go outside either. They say it has to take place within 24 hours of boarding... I just didn't expect it at all!

 

Love the review... it makes me remember mine all over again! Keep it coming!! :D

 

Yes, that IS weird too :D

I'm glad we didn't have to go out on deck and crowd together. It was nice just sitting there comfortably. I do wonder why they are not consistent with that though, as far as going on deck to the lifeboats.

[Hockey Addict]

Yes, that IS weird too :D

I'm glad we didn't have to go out on deck and crowd together. It was nice just sitting there comfortably. I do wonder why they are not consistent with that though, as far as going on deck to the lifeboats.

 

I'm not sure. We were sitting in one of the window seat benches... it was real comfy. It only took about 5 minutes. Everyone was real quiet during the whole thing. They announced it over the intercom.

[c u there hershdog]

We are sailing with Georgiagolfer and we are looking forward to the rest of your review. It has been very imformative and the pictures are fantastic.

[c&d]

We are with Golfer and CU in 4 weeks. Great pictures. Keep them coming

[jump4jai]

Familyforce6 - There was a small shower in our bathroom as shown in the pic. I don't know about the other rooms' bathrooms though. I did not see shorts on elegant night but all other nights people were dressed very casual like they were going to a McDonald's which I didn't expect. On casual elegant night very few people wore formal dresses except the occasional few that posed for the formal professional pictures. Most people wore black dresses or plain dresses for the ladies and slacks for the men.

 

I know they have to do it but our muster drill was long, boring, and I felt it did not accomplish anything. In an actual emergency people will be going every which way and most will not remember their area of where they were supposed to go.

[TennisLover]

Can't wait to see more. We sailed on Fascination exactly two years ago (12/25/06). You can see my pics via the link below. Looking forward to seeing more of yours!