...AND it was wonderful!!! Steve and I went out of Jacksonville, FL for a five day cruise on Carnival. (At the end of the post I will give a full evaluation of our ship and what I think about Carnival.) We were supposed to be on the Carnival Triumph, but we all know what happened to that boat back in Febuary. So Carnival was amazing and worked with us to get us on this ship for the same dates with 25% off and money credit on board. Pretty sweet. AND this ship went to two places we had never been. Although I was excited about our other cruise- it was going to places I had already been and to be honest, I am over going to Mexico. I have been there plenty of times and I am pretty sure I have picked up more than one parasite each time I have gone- so Key West and Nassau, Bahamas were a welcome change!
Above you will see our ship docked in Nassau. Isn't the water pretty?! We had one of those balcony rooms near the back. It was FANTASTIC and I highly recommend a balcony room (more on that later in the post).
This was our first Carnival cruise but our fourth cruise over all. I have always liked the Carnival signature red and blue smoke stack. On this ship the smoke stack was surrounded by cool slides and kid friendly pools. We did not go over there to partake in the slides but it looked cool.
So many neat things could be found on this ship. Our first day was at sea so we spent the day eating, working out in their way cool gym, laying out, eating, napping, reading, eating, getting to know the ship, and did I mention eating?
The first night after our formal dinner we enjoyed late night drinks in the piano bar- so cool. Each table was shaped like a piano and Rob would play any song you yelled out- he was that talented. It was fun.
Like I said- we loved out balcony and spent a lot of time out there- even had room service bring us breakfast one morning so we could enjoy our morning on our balcony. For this cruise, it was completely worth the splurge.
On the top deck we enjoyed golf and shuffle board. I am sad to report Steve beat me in both- BUT I gave him a run for his money in putt-putt. Shuffle board I may or may not have just flat embarrassed myself. I chalk it up to wearing a formal dress when we played- I looked cute though...
The third day of our cruise was spent in Key West. This was perfect because we did not make it all the way down to this part of the Keys on our October trip. Y'all- I LOVED it and wish we had all day there. We were only docked from 7am to 2pm- so we took full advantage of our time. This was the first cruise we did not book a single excursion and we did all the exploring on our own. I am very glad we chose this option this trip.
The Hemingway house was probably my favorite thing we did all trip. If you are ever in the area it is a must.
Want to know a weird fact- Hemingway collected 6 toed cats and their ancestors still live there today. There were cats everywhere and in everything. The cats are allowed to roam at will where ever they please and we found them everywhere.
See the cat on the pillow on the bed? The headboard came from a monastery in Spain. It was beautiful and quite rare due to the fact most beds where twin size back then. Hemingway saw the gate in Spain and had it shipped back to the States because he could not find a headboard big enough for his custom made king bed.
Here are some famous stairs at the house- some famous people have had their pictures taken here- now I can be added to their ranks:). We took a tour of the house and it was totally worth our time.
The whole second floor has a wrap around porch and the house is built on the highest point in Key West- 13 feet above sea level.
Do you see the penny? The penny was thrown by Hemingway at his soon-to-be ex-wife after she had a $20,000 pool put in the backyard during the height of the Depression. She cemented the penny in the ground so others could see she took Hemingway's last red cent. Let it be known she had the pool put in while we was off in Cuba with his mistress and soon-to-be third wife- he had it coming.
The property was beautiful and well taken care of. We wish we could have spent more time there but we had to move on so we could see the rest of Key West.
The Southernmost point of the US was just a couple blocks from the Hemingway house so of course we stopped for a quick photo. Other than that there is not too much to do there.
Ricky's Blue Heaven came highly recommend to us so we partook in lunch at this famous restaurant. (Kenny Chesney likes to eat here when he is in the Keys)
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| We enjoyed our meal while roosters, chickens, and chicks ran around our feet. They also had live music going on and an amazingly unique bar to top off the feel of the whole place. I wish I had gotten better pictures. Again- if you are ever in the area it is worth your money. |
The end of the East Coast Highway 1- kinda cool.
We shopped around for a bit then headed back to the ship for naps, a good jog in the gym, and a late dinner and show. We sat and watched the sunset while we ate our dessert. It was pretty romantic and picturesque- so we captured the moment:).
Did you know they leave towel animals for you each night when you get back to your room- it is one of my favorite parts about coming back to the room at night!
The above guy made me laugh. I refer to him as our 'come hither' towel animal.
And this stingray was the most unique. I have never had anyone do a stingray- he was my favorite.
The fourth day was spent at Nassau in the Bahamas. No excursion- we walked around, laid out at a public beach, and had ice cream at a fun local ice-cream shop.
I always take a picture like the above one when I am at a beach. Not sure why, but I have dozens of them. See the lighthouse way in the background? For a public beach it really was pretty and easy to get to from the port.
I am glad I can say I have been to the Bahamas but it is not a place I am dying to go back to any time soon. If we ever do go back I want to stay at Alantas. That place looked wonderful but the excursions were way too expensive for what you got to do. After we got back on the ship we napped and enjoyed a late dinner.
The food was great and we chose to eat in the formal dinning room each night. We always do that and then eat at the buffet for breakfast and lunch.
On the fourth night we had a late night Mexican buffet around midnight complete with a full Mexican food spread, endless fruit, a pretty cool ice sculpture, and fun desserts. There was also fun music and dancing and limbo.
The fifth and last day was spent at sea. We slept in, ate breakfast in the formal dinning room, laid out, napped, ate a yummy dinner, went to a fun show, and ended the night with Yahtzee and chocolate martinis. We always bring Yahtzee on our cruises. This go around Steve beat me- but I usually hold the cruise ship Yatzee championship- I thought I would share with Steve this trip:).
It was a good trip and sooooo needed. I was not anxious at all about leaving Cora. Both her and I are pretty independent and the time apart was good. Halfway home our plane was re-routed to Dallas due to storms in Houston, so Southwest put us up in a hotel and we got home a day late. That was hard since I was set on seeing Cora that day- but we had a sweet reunion the following morning. Next trip she gets to come with us- and we are already working on the details for that trip!!
So now onto my complete review of our ship- the Carnival Fascination. Overall it was my least favorite ship out of the three cruise lines we have tried. I was a little leery of Carnival starting out- and it had nothing to do with the issues they have been having with their boats breaking down. Carnival caters to more of party crowd so I was prepared for a bunch of partying and the like. Overall that part was not prominent- you can find what you want to find on these ships. I guess my main critique was the age of the boat- it was built in 1994 and then renovated in 2007. You could tell it was an older ship and the layout was just plain awkward. The buffet area was not too impressive and smallish. You had to maneuver decks and staircases to get to bars, lounges, and dining rooms- it was pretty choppy in lay out. The food was good- no better or worse than any other cruise ship I have been on. They had fabulous vegetarian options and lots of variety to pick from in the formal dining area. The buffet was my least favorite- not too many options as compared to other cruises we have been on- but they had a killer pizza area with made to order pizza and hot sandwiches. Cruise entertainment is known to be somewhat corny but as the years have gone on that has gotten better. The entertainment was good but lacking in amount. There were only two shows. All the other ships we have gone on have a new gig every single night.
A couple of cool things we have never had on board a ship- free sushi every night. We partook each night around 5pm since we ate late each night. It was so good. A coffee bar that was very reasonably priced. A candy store- so fun. I am not a big casino person but this casino had fun games to play and we messed around a bit with the games- no luck for us:). I also enjoyed the open lounges they had and we were able to sit and enjoy each others company (talking, playing games, or reading) without feeling crowded. This crowd was definitely more active then other cruises and for the most part I liked it. People watching on cruises it priceless:).
The balcony room was a big perk for us and I would do it again but only if we are taking a cruise with several days at sea. We usually do port windows or inside rooms because we spend as much time off the ship as we can- especially when we have done international cruises. It was a fun splurge for this cruise but I am completely great with an inside room so I can spend money on other things. Since Carnival tends to be the cheapest cruise line, the balcony rooms were very doable. When we take our Alaskan cruise (sometime in our life together) I will absolutely have a balcony room on that ship. This was the most we have spent in our room- due to having two days at sea and a sweet balcony.
So overall- would I do this ship again- probably not. Would I do a Carnival again- sure. Norwegian is my favorite cruise-line and Royal Caribbean is a close second. I hear Princess is pretty great but it is also the most pricey. Next year we are taking out first riverboat cruise so I am pumped about that- I am sure it will be a lot different than a big cruise. So there you go- more than you wanted to know. We love cruising- really we just love traveling but you already knew that. So here is to our next trip.... I am already getting excited.
