Just returned from my fourth cruise on the Fascination, here's the scoop! Carnival has been making some changes and most have been for the Better! This was our fourth time on the Fascination. The itinerary was; Jacksonville on Sat., Sea Day on Sun., Half Moon Cay on Mon., Nassau on Tues., Sea Day, Wed. and return to Jax. on Thur. We had cabin U-16, a Port Hole cabin. The first thing we noticed was that the room smelled of cigarette smoke! Our steward told us that it would get better when we got underway, which it did, but it never quite went away. We were in this same cabin in Jan. and there was no problem with smoke then, maybe the new smoking rules will cure this when they go into effect in Dec. This was the biggest problem we had on the whole trip, so no big deal! The first change was the menu. They re-arranged the order and selections. Usually on the first night, I would get the barbecued ribs, but they moved them to Elegant Night so you could eat them in your suit. They now have "Comfort Food" and they have "Did-ja" items. So I had Snails and, believe it or not, a hamburger! As usual, the snails (escargot to you culture freaks) were very good. The hamburger was the "Best", and was the only time I ventured away from my old standards! I tried all of the Did-ja's, the Gator Fritters were good, but you only get two so double-up. The Frog legs were pretty good also. Didn't much care for the smoked salmon or the "Study in Sushi". Bait just ain't my style. Overall, I really liked the new menu, and the food was very Good! Our dining staff was exceptional as was all of the crew on the Fascination.

The next change I noticed was the "Superstar Live" karaoke. They have a live band playing and it was a Lot of Fun! I did it every night it was available. The band was the same one that plays for the main shows and was very Good! The shows were great especially the "Far From Over" 80's show. Another change is the Punchliners Comedy Club. I went to the family shows as I'm not into "Crude" The cowboy comedian was very funny but the other one looked like he was struggling to be clean. They still had the talent show but it is now called "Showcase of the Stars". It was a lot of fun and I got me a ship on a stick and a bottle of Bubbly! I liked the changes in the entertainment.

Half Moon Cay was just as Beautiful as everyone had said! The weather was great. We did the Stingray Adventure, and where it is no where near the level of Stingray City in Grand Cayman my DW enjoyed it as this was the first time she had ever done anything like this! It's worth the money. The island barbecue was really good and the only draw-back to the whole island that I could tell was the swimming areas were crowded. As we were leaving there was a thunderstorm, but then there was a rainbow over the island, Cool! Read more