I must note that prior to this sailing on Fascination we have only sailed Royal Caribbean, nearly a dozen times, so all our comparisons are between Carnival and RCI. I am a travel agent that specializes in cruises, so it is important for me to gain first-hand knowledge and experience on other cruise lines. So, Carnival is our first adventure away from RCI, and we will be trying other lines in the future.

My partner and I arrived at the Port of Jacksonville around 10:30am, so we had to wait around out front for a bit. There were still debarking passengers waiting to be picked up so it was a little chaotic. By about 11am one of the porters asked if we were checking in and if he could take our bags, and we noticed people were entering the check-in area, so we got in line. The line was not long so we were through security quickly. The check-in process went smoothly and quickly, no delays for us. (We heard others on board say they arrived later in the day and that the wait to check-in and board was considerable.) Once checked in they put us in "zones" to await boarding. They started boarding around 11:45am or so and we were on board by noon or shortly after.

The grand atrium is nice, but a little dark for our tastes - black tile, dark accents, and lots of brass, very 80's in dEcor and style, a little gaudy. The cabins would not be open until 1:30pm, so we made our way up to the Lido deck (deck 10) (more on deck labels below) to have some lunch. We found the inside Coconut Grove buffet area to also be dark in dEcor, ceilings are black which made it feel closed in, again gaudy but it was okay. The food in Coconut Grove did not come close to the quality of the food in the Windjammer cafes on RCI ships, nor was the selection nearly as broad, but it was acceptable and we definitely ate our share during the 5-night cruise. Read more