Fascination cruise 5/2-5/7 review

[jpmaximus]

5 DAY FASCINATION CRUISE -5/2/09-5/7/09 HALF MOON CAY + NASSAU

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This was my sixth Carnival cruise and i was very excited to be going on a ship i hadnt been on before. I also had never sailed to Half Moon Cay so i was excited to see the island.

 

WHO: It was myself(Justin) and three of my friends (Ashley, Courtney and Jessica). Three of us had cruised before but Courtney was a newbie. She thought the cruise was ok but was ready to leave by the last day.

 

ARRIVAL/EMBARKATION: We flew to Jacksonville on southwest Airlines. We arrived at 11:30 am and took a cab to the port. I was very suprised to find that alot of people had already arrived. The cruise port was nice in my opinion(ive ready many people dislike it) although the lines moved very slow once inside. Slower than any other cruise ive taken. I would say it took us about 30-40 minutes to get onboard.

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: There was a terrible sewer smell that radiated throughout the ship. It was very disturbing!

 

CABIN: Our cabin M55 was an Oceanview on the Main deck. It had two regular beds and two fold down beds. It was perfect for us for the five days. The girls up top did bang their heads a few times forgetting where they were in the morning. HA HA.

 

CABIN STEWARD: With four of us to keep up with i must say our steward Jose did a good job dealing with us. We left a pretty big pile of clothes on the floor and the desk was always cluttered with the girls stuff. We used a lot of towels and he always restocked them at the ideal times.

 

THE SHIP: I was curious to see if the ship would look dated and some parts did look "90's ish" but for the most part i enjoyed the decor. The promenade looked cool lit up at night and i loved the DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER disco (best lighting design ive seen by Carnival so far). The Coconut Grill was neat!

 

CRUISE DIRECTOR: Trevor Block was a nice guy but he was rarely seen other than at a few events throughout the day and he rarely made announcements telling you what events were coming up throughout the day. John Heald and Brent Mitchell were extremely good about this on previous. Trevor's assistant was running most of the events.

 

WATER: I must comment on how the drinking water had this strange almost metallic aftertaste in the Lido restaurant and outside by the pool grill. My friends were grossed out by this.

 

FOOD: We ate breakfast and Lunch in the Coconut grill restaurant and the food was good for the most part. I am in love the the "Turkey Wrap" from the sub guy in the back. I ate that almost every lunch. Burgers were great!!!

 

DINNER: We had the late seating in the Sensation dining room. I like the decor of this room. The gold panelling now looks very dated but the low bluish lighting was great after a sun soaked day. Anna was our server and she was very nice. Food was great the first two days and fell off the day we hit Half Moon Cay (not sure why). We missed dinner the night of Nassau and finished strong with our best meal on the last night. I had the salmon (it was amazing!!) Food was on par with previous cruises.

 

DESSERT: Im addicted to the diet cake they offer everynight. I had that every dinner along with butter pecan ice cream(Superb)

 

KARAOKE: One of our nightime traditions was going to Karaoke. If you were on this ship then you know that this guy named Kevin was amazing in Karaoke. I loved the social host Antonette! She was perfect at running this event. Very encouraging to everyone who sang.

 

EXCURSIONS:

HALF MOON CAY - We just grabbed some deck chairs and enjoyed the beach. The water was simply amazing. It was so clear it was like taking a bath. The sun was simply brutal though. We all used massive amounts of sunscreen and we still were burnt at the end of the day. I ended up covering myself with a towel and my t shirt for the last hour. I had had enough. NOTE: THE RESTROOMS IN HALF MOON CAY WERE IMACULATE!

 

NASSAU- Atlantis Aquaventure. I was so happy to be able to do this excursion. I wanted the full dosage of all Atlantis had to offer. Once inside it is simply magical. I felt like royalty and the waterpark contains some of the most breathtaking eye candy ive ever seen. From the slides ,to the pools, to the beach, to the plantlife everything was beyond my wildest dreams. I felt like i was in my own paradise! Highly recommend.

 

OTHER EVENTS:

Nassau- PARADISE BEACH We took a banana boat ride for $15 per person at Atlantis beach. It was nice but Jessica got scared she was going to fall off. The boat splashed alot of water in my face and it was very salty. My contact lenses didnt enjoy that part at all!

 

Nassau-SENOR FROGS. The girls insisted on going to drink at Senor Frogs. There drinking set off a chain of events that i found amusing. We arrived at the bar at 6:30 and just made it to the ship at the buzzer. The bar is set up for total partying enticing people to dance for liquor shots. My friends got wasted and several guys tried to pick them up. Courtney and Jessica did some booty shakin and once back on the ship they proceeded to got to karaoke with their bathing tops and bottoms still on. You may have seen them dancing and booty shaking that night in karaoke. They could be heard howling in karaoke and on the deck for the deck party. I knew they were going to do this atleast once on the cruise.

 

SUN DECK CHAIR REPORT:We found it very difficult to get three or 4 deck chairs together during the afternoon hours. Im not sure how full out ship was but i think it was close to max capacity.

 

DISEMBARKATION: I was worried about making our 11:30AM flight but i didnt need too. We exited the ship quickly and were at the airport by 9:30. Plenty of time. Good job Carnival!

 

FINAL THOUGHTS: I enjoyed this cruise alot. The Fascination is a good ship offering a good itinerary for a reasonable price. After doing 5 cruises on the Fantasy class ,i think its time for me to try one of the newer ships to enhance my experience even more. Im looking for that extra something now that i had been satisfied with until this cruise. My friends enjoyed themselves alot also although i think Courtney got bored at the end. Another great one Carnival!!

[iluv2havefun]

We will be in Nassau in Sept. Is Senor frogs a bar for adults? I have read that they have great nachos and other food, which my husband,myself and our 5 year old love and my husband and I like a good mixed drink but we want to make sure it is an approtiate place to take our son.

[cruisinsly]

Great review. Thanks for posting it.

[volfan22701]

We will be in Nassau in Sept. Is Senor frogs a bar for adults? I have read that they have great nachos and other food, which my husband,myself and our 5 year old love and my husband and I like a good mixed drink but we want to make sure it is an approtiate place to take our son.

 

 

during the day taking a child should be fine. at night i don't think so. if you go try to get a table out on the deck by the water, and you will avoid any of the craziness that may be going on inside. you will also have a view of all the ships in port. we have enjoyed a drink or two in three senor frogs now, and have not participated in the activities, but it can get pretty wild.

[jpmaximus]

We will be in Nassau in Sept. Is Senor frogs a bar for adults? quote]

 

At night it tends to be more for the adult drinking crowd. During the day should be fine. As stated above just stick to the right side with the tables on the water its away from all the craziness!

[jpmaximus]

Great review. Thanks for posting it.

 

Your very welcome. Thanks for reading it!

[floridacruzin]

Thanks for the review....helps pass the days until i can go again

[jpmaximus]

Thanks for the review....helps pass the days until i can go again

 

Your very welcome. Thank you!

[divinmule]

Thanks for the review. We sail her on the 25th and your review just helps wet my appetite for the cruise to come. :D

[ecpc1302]

Thanks for your review, hope you are willing to answer a few questions. We are sailing on July 11th, I'm planning to take 2 teenage grandkids to Atlantis Aquaventure. Do you recall when you got off the ship and what time the water park closed? Did you have lunch included? Do you have any suggestions for Atlantis? Thank you in advance.

Elsie:cool: