Just got off the Fascination 4/13 - 4/18

[hipmama71]

This was my 2nd cruise. However, my first cruise was 13 years ago and I really do not remember a whole lot of it. I got sea sick on that one and was either asleep from the Dramimine or sick. Was my Honeymoon also, real nice, huh?

 

Anyway - this time I took Bonine and Ginger pills. Never got sick. :D

 

There were 10 of us - 4 adults and 6 kids between 3 cabins.

 

Day 1 - Monday - We stayed at a hotel the night before and was able to use their park and cruise package. A shuttle came to pick us up and we checked in with no problems. Our friends who came with us, however, had some problems checking in. They had just had his birth certificate, they had to show it as were were driving in. But, could not find it while checking in. My friend was very upset and they were blaming each other and it was a big mess. She finally did find it stuck to some other papers. Well, the lady who was checking them in said they were just starting to board the VIP's and told them she would let all of us board VIP since my friend was so stressed out. :D How cool was that! We immediately got on. There were VERY few people on at this time. We went to the Lido deck and had lunch in the Coconut Grove. The food was good. The tea and water however were YUCK! The lemonade was fine. We then just walked around, taking pictures, etc .. Our luggage arrived in a very timely manner. We met our Steward, Kodek (pronounced Kodak) and his assistant Valentine. Kodek was wonderful!! He put our 2 twins together so fast that I wondered if we were his only cabin! ;) I did not even know the boat had taken off. We got distracted unpacking and did not even realize what time it was! So, we missed the Bon voyage Party. Oh well. My friend won a 20 minute massage from the Spa for filling out a drawing form. Her name was drawn. They made her do a little dance in front of everyone. It was funny. Then we went to dinner in the Imagination dining room, our waiter was Valerie. He preferred to be called Mr. V. :) The water in the dining room tasted fine. The tea tasted funny in here also. How strange that the water tasted fine in the dining room but yuck everywhere else. Took the kids to Camp Carnival after dinner and just hung out with our friends for a while. Did not do much else that evening. Our kids loved our first towel animal!

 

Day 2 - Tuesday - Full Day at Sea - The boat was rocking pretty hard this day. We did several activites on the capers and hung out at the pool. This was our elegant night. The dining room staff did a little song and dance tonight and said they would do one every night for the rest of the cruise. We had our pictures taken at every station we could get to. We went to the first show. It was all about the 80's. We loved it being we were all teenagers in the 80's!

 

Day 3 - Wednesday - Key West - Did not do any excursions, we just walked around and did some shopping. The show was a juggler and a comedian. The juggler was funnier than the comedian!

 

Day 4 - Thursday - Nassau - My husband and son and the rest of our group went to the Blackbeard's Treasure Hunt excursion. My 3 year old daughter and I did not go as she was too young. So, we ended up just hanging out on the boat and swimming. Anyway - everyone said the excursion was fun. The beach they were taken to was nice and they got to snorkle. My husband said he was a little disappointed because he was expecting the coral reefs and fish that we saw the last time we went snorkling in Nassau. But, there were only stingrays. You were supposed to be able to find treasure coins that you could turn in for cheesy items at certain stores in downtown Nassau. My son is the only one out of our group who even found any treasure. I do wish they would have announced the shops in downtown closed at 6 because by the time they got back to the boat and we left to go turn the treasure in, the shops were closed. My son was pretty bummed. If we had of known they closed at 6, they could have just went straight there after the excursion and not even went back to the boat. You live and learn, I guess. There was a party on the Lido deck and we stayed out there and danced for a while. So, my 10 year old son decides he wants to go to the Camp Carnival slumber party from 10 pm until 3 am. AFTER he spent the entire day in Nassau. He had a great time and the camp counselors even brought him back to our cabin at 3 in the morning!

 

Day 5 - Friday - Last day at sea - Very Very choppy waters. One lady got sick in one of the stores. :eek: Yuck. The children's pool (the one in the very front on the Promenade Deck) was literally splashing water over the sides of the pool. The "Hey Mambo" show was pretty lame.

 

Day 6 - Saturday - Debarkation seemed to go pretty smooth. We chose to wait and do it by zones. We were 23 out of 25. :eek: We were still out of there by 10:00.

 

I felt totally pampered and absolutely loved our Steward! He would call us by our first names and would always take the time to acknowledge our kids and ask them questions. The boat was very clean. There was always somebody cleaning something everywhere we went! My only complaint was I spent too much money at Bingo and never won! LOL!

[bzymom22]

Thanks for your review. I will be on the Fascination on 5/21. Less than a month to go :)

[suejoe]

Thanks for the review!! We sail 3 weeks from today......woohoo :D:D:D:D

Susan

[vkramer]

I love Fascination. My sister and I had a great time on our 4 night. Glad you enjoyed it.

[Lv2Camp&Cruise]

Thanks for the review. We board the ship this Thursday. Who was the cruise director and were they good?

[cruiser/teacher]

Thanks for the review- I'll be on the Fascination in a mere 45 days! :D

[hipmama71]

Thanks for the review. We board the ship this Thursday. Who was the cruise director and were they good?

 

His name was Trevor. He was good, I guess. I really do not have anything to compare him to, though. :)

 

Just a few more days for you!! Have fun!!

[honeycruiser1]

This was my 2nd cruise. However, my first cruise was 13 years ago and I really do not remember a whole lot of it. I got sea sick on that one and was either asleep from the Dramimine or sick. Was my Honeymoon also, real nice, huh?

 

Anyway - this time I took Bonine and Ginger pills. Never got sick. :D

 

There were 10 of us - 4 adults and 6 kids between 3 cabins.

 

Day 1 - Monday - We stayed at a hotel the night before and was able to use their park and cruise package. A shuttle came to pick us up and we checked in with no problems. Our friends who came with us, however, had some problems checking in. They had just had his birth certificate, they had to show it as were were driving in. But, could not find it while checking in. My friend was very upset and they were blaming each other and it was a big mess. She finally did find it stuck to some other papers. Well, the lady who was checking them in said they were just starting to board the VIP's and told them she would let all of us board VIP since my friend was so stressed out. :D How cool was that! We immediately got on. There were VERY few people on at this time. We went to the Lido deck and had lunch in the Coconut Grove. The food was good. The tea and water however were YUCK! The lemonade was fine. We then just walked around, taking pictures, etc .. Our luggage arrived in a very timely manner. We met our Steward, Kodek (pronounced Kodak) and his assistant Valentine. Kodek was wonderful!! He put our 2 twins together so fast that I wondered if we were his only cabin! ;) I did not even know the boat had taken off. We got distracted unpacking and did not even realize what time it was! So, we missed the Bon voyage Party. Oh well. My friend won a 20 minute massage from the Spa for filling out a drawing form. Her name was drawn. They made her do a little dance in front of everyone. It was funny. Then we went to dinner in the Imagination dining room, our waiter was Valerie. He preferred to be called Mr. V. :) The water in the dining room tasted fine. The tea tasted funny in here also. How strange that the water tasted fine in the dining room but yuck everywhere else. Took the kids to Camp Carnival after dinner and just hung out with our friends for a while. Did not do much else that evening. Our kids loved our first towel animal!

 

Day 2 - Tuesday - Full Day at Sea - The boat was rocking pretty hard this day. We did several activites on the capers and hung out at the pool. This was our elegant night. The dining room staff did a little song and dance tonight and said they would do one every night for the rest of the cruise. We had our pictures taken at every station we could get to. We went to the first show. It was all about the 80's. We loved it being we were all teenagers in the 80's!

 

Day 3 - Wednesday - Key West - Did not do any excursions, we just walked around and did some shopping. The show was a juggler and a comedian. The juggler was funnier than the comedian!

 

Day 4 - Thursday - Nassau - My husband and son and the rest of our group went to the Blackbeard's Treasure Hunt excursion. My 3 year old daughter and I did not go as she was too young. So, we ended up just hanging out on the boat and swimming. Anyway - everyone said the excursion was fun. The beach they were taken to was nice and they got to snorkle. My husband said he was a little disappointed because he was expecting the coral reefs and fish that we saw the last time we went snorkling in Nassau. But, there were only stingrays. You were supposed to be able to find treasure coins that you could turn in for cheesy items at certain stores in downtown Nassau. My son is the only one out of our group who even found any treasure. I do wish they would have announced the shops in downtown closed at 6 because by the time they got back to the boat and we left to go turn the treasure in, the shops were closed. My son was pretty bummed. If we had of known they closed at 6, they could have just went straight there after the excursion and not even went back to the boat. You live and learn, I guess. There was a party on the Lido deck and we stayed out there and danced for a while. So, my 10 year old son decides he wants to go to the Camp Carnival slumber party from 10 pm until 3 am. AFTER he spent the entire day in Nassau. He had a great time and the camp counselors even brought him back to our cabin at 3 in the morning!

 

Day 5 - Friday - Last day at sea - Very Very choppy waters. One lady got sick in one of the stores. :eek: Yuck. The children's pool (the one in the very front on the Promenade Deck) was literally splashing water over the sides of the pool. The "Hey Mambo" show was pretty lame.

 

Day 6 - Saturday - Debarkation seemed to go pretty smooth. We chose to wait and do it by zones. We were 23 out of 25. :eek: We were still out of there by 10:00.

 

I felt totally pampered and absolutely loved our Steward! He would call us by our first names and would always take the time to acknowledge our kids and ask them questions. The boat was very clean. There was always somebody cleaning something everywhere we went! My only complaint was I spent too much money at Bingo and never won! LOL!

Who was your comedian?We are going on the fascination in september for our first b2b.I'm glad you had a good time.

[hipmama71]

Who was your comedian?We are going on the fascination in september for our first b2b.I'm glad you had a good time.

 

His name was Roman. He did the main show one night and then a couple of nights later he did the late adults only show.

[bluecruisin]

What hotel did you use the night before the cruise/ Would you reccomend it to others?Thanks

[NCTribeFan]

I loved our 12/13/08 sailing (5 day to Nassau & HMC). It was great to be able to drive down the day before. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Airport, which had the park & cruise package.

 

Unfortunately, both our sea days (1st and last) were cloudy and cool. Guess that doesn't just happen in December!

 

I love the Fantasy class ships. Sure, they're older, and they don't have a supper club, or a Fish & Chips, a big TV, or blah, blah, blah, but they're a great size with a good layout. And they feel like "home" to me.

 

Trying to figure out if I can manage a B2B on Fascination in about a year that combines the Key West and the HMC itineraries.

[hipmama71]

What hotel did you use the night before the cruise/ Would you reccomend it to others?Thanks

 

We used the Best Western Jacksonville Airport. www.bwjax.net It was only about 20 minutes from Jaxport. They have the park and cruise package. For $99, you get the room and a shuttle to take you to Jaxport and you can park your car at the hotel for free for up to 5 days. The first 2 people for the shuttle are free, if you have additional people, it is $15 per person. They also have free hot breakfast. Considering you pay $15 per day to park your car at Jaxport, I thought the park and cruise package at this hotel was very reasonable. The hotel was older and the rooms were not interior, which I did not like. But, it was fine for one night and it was clean and I felt comfortable leaving my 2008 Grand Caravan there. We had lunch with a family that did the park and cruise package at the Holiday Inn Express. She said they could have walked to Jaxport if they had to. SO, you might check that out also. Not sure of the rates. Just be careful cause a lot of the hotels I called charged quite a bit per person for the use of the shuttle.

 

Let me know if you have any more questions.