My wife and I along with 10 members of her family embarked on a 5 night cruise on the Carnival Fascination Feb 27th - March 3rd.

We arrived at JAX airport at 11:00am the day of the cruise and utilized Carnival's deluxe coach transportation to the Carnival JAX Cruise Port. The cost is $15 per person each way which is about the same as a private taxi depending on traffic. Watch for the Carnival employee waiving a sign at the airport transportation centre. You do not have to pre-book this, the cost will be added to the on-board account. Arrived at the port around 11:30 and it took over an hour and half plus six requests for picture ID before boarding the ship. Carnival really needs to address handling this. Other cruise lines we have been on have not had this issue. The bottle neck was caused by security scanning. There were two scanners for the regular passengers and one exclusively for premium members. There was also a great deal of confusion dropping off luggage, better co-ordination with employees and security personnel is required. Upon boarding we headed to the Buffet on Lido Deck for lunch. As just about all passengers showed up the same time there were no tables to sit as everyone plunked there waiting for cabin availability.

Our Balcony Cabin E-98 (7th deck) was ready by 1:30. This ship was recently renovated and the balcony's were added during the last re-fit. The cabin was well appointed with a king size bed, plenty of closet space and drawers. TIP: bring a power bar or extension cord as there is only one plug in the vanity area. The bathroom was large compared to other ships we have been on with plenty of space in front of the large sink and shower. Everything was functional and appeared new. The balcony rooms are limited and well worth the nominal extra cost. There is room for 2-4 people depending on chair placement. Read more