We flew to Miami on Sunday for the Monday embarkation to avoid any issues with weather/delays. As it turned out, the weather in New York was mild and we breezed along. We arrived in Miami at about 8pm. I had booked a night at the Miami Springs Holiday Inn Express to rest up for the cruise. The HIE was more than adequate for the purpose. The place was clean and the staff was friendly. I thought that the $200+ charge was pricey for the area and amenities but hey, I wasn't going to spend hours trying to track down a rate that would save a few bucks. They had a breakfast included that I would call continental plus. There was a bit more offered than the typical danish and bagel experience. It was more than sufficient. Kenneth, the night manager, had hooked us up with a "friend" who could provide transportation over to the port. Doral Transportation came over to the hotel at the prescribed time with a clean reasonably new passenger van. The van could have held 6 or 8 people but it was just me and my wife. The fixed cost was $9 each for what turned out to be a hassle free experience (thanks Walter). We had VIP embarkation included with our stateroom and even though we arrived at the port at about 12:15 ish, Carnival advised that we could hop on board immediately. (Their web site advises not to arrive before 1:30pm for a 4:00 pm departure). The VIP embarkation was quite nice. Although it wasn't particularly crowded when we got there, it was nice not to wait in the regular lines. After going through security (a breeze),they ushered us to a cushy first floor office where our documents were re-checked and a correction was made to our account. For some reason the web site accounts seem to have small glitches. For example: I received a gold sign and sail card while my wife received a blue one. We quickly cleared that up at the purser's desk once on board. (My wife was annoyed that I HAD a gold card and hers was blue, what a whiner!). Once on board we did have to wait until 1:30pm to access our stateroom which was a Cat 12 suite on the Upper deck. We passed the time with the first three or four drinks of what would turn out to be many at the Lido deck (poolside) bar and grabbed a quick bite at the buffet. We met a bartender by the name of Vibert from St Vincent's there and he turned out to be our favorite for the duration of the cruise. He was friendly and personable and we had a great chat. The other bartender's weren't either rude or friendly, just somewhere in the middle. This was true for all other bars on the ship. We were sure to throw some extra cash Vibert's way simply because he did a little extra and seemed to care. I did see a couple of passengers at the bar that treated the staff with an attitude. It's no wonder some of the staff can't stand the passengers. If I were behind the bar and had to listen to some of the crap being dished out, someone would be going overboard quicker than you can say "all you can eat buffet". Our stateroom was simply outstanding! The Cat 12 suites are very large and have a balcony of 5 feet by 14 feet with chairs and a small table. The room was spotless and our steward ,Sushi (sp?), did a fantastic job for the duration (he received extra cash as well). The only negative with respect to the stateroom is the step in height of the shower/jacuzzi tub combo. The step in height had to be more than 24". My wife and I are in our early 40's and we are in good shape but it was still pretty comical when we had to get in the shower. I can't imagine how a senior citizen or someone that is in poor condition could possibly do it without breaking something. The stateroom had a small but nice walk in closet and a flat panel TV. There was a sofa and chair in the seating area with an adjustable height table. Cabinets and marble counter space were abundant. There is a nice little make-up stool with appropriate lighting that my wife loved. There is also a small refrigerator built in to the cabinets. It had water and soda inside which they of course charge for. There were different size glasses on the shelving to use (water, wine, etc). In addition, there were multiple lighting options (dimmers, night, reading and such). I can't imagine anyone not loving these Cat 12 suites. My wife and I had to pry ourselves away at the end of the cruise. We especially loved the balcony. We spent a good deal of time there talking, reading and just enjoying the view. We arrived in Key West on Tuesday at about 7:15 am and we were scheduled to leave at 2 pm. I wasn't crazy about the timing (leaving so early and missing the sunset) but what can you do? I guess Carnival has their reasons. We walked around a bit and did some window shopping until 10am when the bars opened. We spent the rest of the time at Sloppy Joe's, Hogs Breath Saloon and Irish Kevin's. All three spots are great places to have a cold beverage and enjoy the atmosphere. We especially enjoyed the bartender's at Sloppy Joe's who aren't afraid to interact with the customer's and tell a story or two. We were having such a good time that we pushed it to the last possible minute before making our way over to the trolley's that would take us back to the ship. Apparently everyone else did the same thing and the line to get on a trolley was pretty long. The trolley folks were efficient however and we were soon on our way back to the ship. You should note that the docking location that Carnival uses is inside a naval installation and you are not allowed to simply walk back to the ship. You must use the trolleys or the Conch Train.

We were scheduled to be in Cozumel by 1pm on Wednesday (leave at 10pm). We were docked by 12:15pm alongside Norwegian Sun and Norwegian Majesty. The Grand Princess was moored nearby and they were tendering. Being a ship buff, I always enjoy the opportunity to check out and photo as many of them as possible. I was in my glory. The temperature was in the low 80's with some passing clouds. I had done some research regarding the local beach clubs on the internet and we decided to try Nachi-Cocum which is probably the southernmost club on the leeward side of the island. I was looking to get away from the crowd's that would be at the more well known clubs. Initially I thought that we would try to get over to the windward side of the island and really go native but I was concerned that we might get stuck there at the end of the day without a taxi. Being that the ship was docked, we were off in a matter of minutes. The business folks at Punta Langosta Pier have smartly set up a little gauntlet that you have to run as you cross over the main boulevard to access the taxi's. There are stores hawking everything from t-shirt's to diamond's and the sales people are sure to come out and tell you that its your lucky day because their deals are unbeatable. After negotiating through the gauntlet we easily found a taxi that could take us down to Nachi-Cocum. We agreed with the driver before getting in the van that the cost would be $15 US for both my wife and I. The ride was about 20 minutes and after a few nerve wracking moments (the driver would see fit to do 110 kph whenever he got a clear shot), we arrived in one piece. He also was sure to get within inches of every tourist on a moped to move them out of the way. After seeing how the local's treat the tourist's on mopeds, I wouldn't get anywhere near one of those things even if they paid ME to do so. Nachi-Cocum is somewhat off the beaten path and the overall vibe is very laid back. All of the amenities are in place although it could use some TLC. There is a very large thatched hut type structure that houses the kitchen, bar and many tables and chairs. The bathroom facilities are off to one side and although they are adequate for a beach setting, they weren't the cleanest bathrooms that I've ever been in. The men's room toilets seemed to be working very slowly if at all and there was a bit of an odor. Quite frankly, I don't get very uptight about that kind of stuff so it wasn't a big deal. We were greeted by the manager who asked if we had made a reservation (we hadn't). Not a problem we were told. We would just have to sit by the pool rather than on the beach until they could free up a couple of lounge chairs. Here's the deal with the cost: You have two choices. You can either pay $50 US per head for an all you can drink and eat thing (including booze) or you can pay $20 a head and work through that money before they start running a tab on the back end. Based on the pricing of the food and drinks, I opted to go the $20 a head route. When I saw the manager get a little uncomfortable that I had opted not to do the $50 a head deal, I knew I had made the right choice. We had many Corona's and XX's (well… I had many, my wife had a few but who's counting?). I also had a burger and fries and my wife ordered the guacamole with chips. The food was surprisingly good and there weren't any unpleasant side effects (if you know what I mean). We wound up going through the initial $20 a head and then we spent another $15 plus tip. We ate and drank plenty and still didn't come close to $100. Quite frankly, I probably would have spent more but the service, although friendly, could be agonizingly slow. The place wasn't that crowded and there seemed to be plenty of staff floating around so I couldn't imagine why it would take so long to bring over a beer. The pool at the club was very nice and had a swim up bar and a Jacuzzi. There were mostly larger groups of people and most had kids with them but as I said earlier, it really wasn't crowded. After a while they gave us a couple of lounge chairs on the beach. The sand is clean and soft at Nachi-Cocum (other beaches in the area appeared to be quite narrow and rocky). The water was extremely calm and clear. There was barely any beach break at all. There is access to things like snorkeling, para-sailing and jet ski's at additional cost. The operators come around and ask once or twice but they are not obtrusive. We didn't partake in any water sports, we were there to get some sun and relax. Mission accomplished. After settling up our tab we asked the manager to call us a taxi and it was there within minutes. Thankfully the return taxi driver was an older gentleman who saw fit to drive within normal tolerances. We got back to San Miguel at about 5:30pm as dusk arrived. There was still a good deal of time left for merriment as the ship wasn't scheduled to leave until 10pm. We headed into Carlos and Charlie's for our first experience there. WOW! What a zoo! The place was in full party mode when we sat down. We ordered drinks and looked at the menu while the in house photographer quickly came over and gave us the hard sell. I shoo'd him away temporarily but he was persistent so I finally bought a photo to get rid of him. We actually had a great time at Carlos and Charlie's. It's not for the faint of heart. There is excessive drinking, drunken tourists everywhere and the hands of the staff roam freely (my kind of place!). The sexy shot girls come around often but aren't too pushy. We ordered some food which was pricey but tasty. If you're looking for a relatively quiet place to have a cocktail and be left alone, this isn't it. We walked by the Hard Rock on our way in and that seemed to be much more sedate. After reluctantly making our way (more like staggering) back to the ship we waved goodbye to Cozumel and crashed for the night. Thursday was a day at sea on our way back to Miami. We spent the day doing a little shopping on board and just sitting out on the Lido deck. Yes, we were drinking again. I take no shame in saying that either! The thought of the cruise coming to an end and being back at work on Monday was too much to bear so I needed to medicate. Fascination is an older ship but with the makeover in 2006, I certainly didn't feel like it was a step down from some of the newer Carnival boats. Because it's a bit smaller than ships like Valor and Conquest there are fewer public spaces but overall it was more than adequate. The other passenger's were a mixed bag of elderly folks, some families, 20 something's and couples. There seemed to be quite a few European's aboard taking advantage of the weak US dollar.

The crew on Fascination were pretty efficient and for the most part they were friendly. I noted a few incidences of rudeness but they were few and far between. I noted far more rude passenger's (both to each other and the crew). What is it about a buffet that makes people act like tiger's attacking a gazelle? Anyway, we prefer to eat our meals at the buffet. We can eat when we want and pick at a couple of different things. Our experience with the dining room on previous Carnival cruises has been very average food that was rarely served hot. The dining staff always seem to be in a race to find out who can get their guest's in and out more quickly. We had a lunch in the dining room on Thursday and that's exactly what happened. The only thing that was missing was a stop watch. The food was underwhelming. Look, I don't go on a cruise for the food so it's something that I tend to overlook. If you are seeking a full blown 4 star dining experience, you won't get it here. Maybe the luxury cruise lines do a better job with the dining experience, I don't know. I still think that Carnival gives the most bang for the buck and their itineraries always seem to work out best for us as well. I have very limited experience with other cruise lines. Having said that, the people that I've spoken to who have been on NCL, Royal Caribbean, HAL and others as well as Carnival can never give me any great reasons to go elsewhere. If the experience was that much better on some of the other lines, I wouldn't have a problem shelling out the extra bucks….. Back in Miami on Friday at 7 something am. Ugggh. We packed up and went for coffee on the Lido deck while passenger's started to disembark. For some reason the CD got on the intercom to advise that the disembarkation was "flying along". When we went to the Promenade deck we found a looooong line of people with their bags waiting to get off. The line did move along at a pretty good clip and we were soon in the customs line. Carnival has revamped their baggage handling facility in Miami from that old musty warehouse thing to a nice clean setup that has a baggage carousel like you would find at an airport. The customs lines did seem to move slowly and all told I would say that we spent the better part of an hour before we were out on the street trying to grab a taxi to the airport. This cruise was the first "real" vacation my wife and I had taken alone together since before we had kids and it was fantastic. Sure there were a few very minor glitches but to focus on those would be silly. We thoroughly enjoyed Fascination, our stateroom, the ports and most of all our time together. I would recommend the Fascination 4 night cruise to anyone. Even with the cost of the cruise, the night at the hotel, the flight and other expenses, I still felt like we walked away with a great value. I've spent over $1,000 for two nights at a bed and breakfast with meals and drinks in Newport, Rhode Island. Cruising is the best value and will be my vacation of choice until further notice.