This was our first cruise, but we have been on more since. My husband and I went with a large group of friends and family.
Jacksonville was a little sketch but the port was nice. I do recommend the Jacksonville Zoo. Embarkation was so smooth I don't remember it.
The Fascination is sort of small, but I thought this was a good thing. It was in September so there wasn't a lot of people on the boat and very few kids.
It was quaint but it got the job done. I enjoyed how somehow an image of the water was displayed on the interior wall in the late afternoon because of the reflection of the light off of the ocean though the window. It was just by chance and science but it was wonderful to me. Our steward was amazing though. My husband brought a 6 pack of Mt. Dew and the steward kept him an ice bucket in there everyday for him. We left a little more tip daily for that. We liked the towel animals and chocolates that they left on the pillow in 2014.
The Half Moon Cay was FABULOUS. PARADISE. We took tender boats to the island and there were sooo many good sturdy beach chairs. We had no problem finding a large group of them with our heads in the shade and our legs in the sun. The waiters from the ship came off and were our waiters on the island. They had a food stand with island BBQ food that was included. The water is a little murky in some lagoons, but most were clear. There were clear jelly fish but they wouldn't hurt you. A man picked one up, handed it to me, and it was super cool. There are cool little fishies to swim with too.
We got our picture made playing drums and straw hats for a tip. Other tourists kindly take other peoples pictures in front of the famous welcome sign. We rode a carriage around the square. That was a little dirty. Then the whole group paid a cabby with a van to take us around the island together. $20 each and he treated us like royalty. He took us to see famous peoples homes, the rum factory, a dried up coral beach, Atlantis for about an hour, CLIMBED A TREE AND PICKED A FREAKING COCONUT and smashed it open with his crowbar. He bought us a unique fruit soda, sang us songs, told us about his kids, took us to a safe restaurant to pee, and pretty much was the highlight of the cruise. He brought us right back to the safe straw market and we tipped him more for being so awesome. He treated us so well because since we were in a large group his fare was HUGE. We could see him innocently bragging to his friends about it. It was sweet. I traded some USD for Bahamanian money in the straw market and got postcards and we left. We had a great time.
It is not the safest place, but the embarkation here runs smoothly. We enjoyed the Jacksonville Zoo.