My FASCINATION Cruise Review (Oct 3-8)

[jordanaire]

We just returned from our 5-day cruise aboard the Fascination and I'm going to post MY personal opinions of it here.

Pre-Cruise: My wife and I, along with our son (26) and his son (3) flew from Cincinnati to Jacksonville the night before the cruise. I had purchased a hotel room at the Hyatt Place Airport Hotel on Priceline for $40. This was a fabulous hotel! Their shuttle picked us up at the airport around 10:30pm. The beds in our room were very comfortable and the free continental breakfast was perfect for our needs. Although the hotel did not offer shuttle service to the ship, a phone call to a local taxi company solved this problem. It cost us $22.20 plus tip for the 4 of us to be taken to the terminal, which was about 10-minutes away. I highly recommend this hotel to anyone.

Embarkation: We arrived at the terminal around 9:30. After waiting outside the terminal for about 45-minutes, we were allowed to check-in. Being the first Platinum Members to check in, it only took about 5-minutes to get checked in and shown to a seat in the waiting area. The terminal is air-conditioned and very comfortable. We sat here until they were ready to board the ship, which was around 11:30. The four of us were the first to board after the wedding parties.

We immediately went to the Purser's Desk to put down a cash deposit on our Sail & Sign cards (we don't use credit cards at all), then headed to the Lido Deck for lunch. We have always looked forward to the delicious cheeseburgers here, but were a little disappointed this time. The burgers didn't taste the same for some reason. Maybe the seasonings? Not sure. But we only had them twice during the entire cruise. The chicken fingers, however, were very good!

Our Cabin: We were allowed into our cabin around 1:15pm. I had booked our cruise with the PVP we've used for many years, but this time she really messed up with our cabin choice! We had cabin U299 on the Upper Deck. This room shouldn't even be considered a cabin! I found out later that this is the smallest cabin onboard the ship! It had 2 beds, which could NOT be slid together, and 2 fold-down beds on the wall. This was the first of our 15 cruises that I could not sleep in the same bed with my wife! And to top it off...the fold-down beds had a weight limit of 250-lbs and my son goes a little bit over that. So he had to use one of the beds while my wife "slept upstairs" during the cruise, which she didn't like at all.

This cabin is also located directly behind the elevators and beside the elevator motor room! All day and all night, all you heard was the noise from these motors and the vibration from them! It was awful!

The cabin was way too small for the 4 of us. It's made for 2 people only, so you can imagine how cramped we were in there. So BEWARE of booking this cabin!

Meals: The meals were fantastic! Everything we had was delicious, as usual. The only complaint we had was with the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. We ordered it twice and both times it was as dry as a desert! No chocolate sauce at all! At first, we thought the waiter forgot to add the sauce to it after serving it to us. After waiting several minutes, we went ahead and ate it. It was the same way the second time we had it, and so I asked the waiter about it. He told us that it was over-cooked! We sent it back and ordered something else. Other than that, the food was perfectly cooked and fabulous!

Formal night on this 5-day cruise was on Sunday, our first day at sea. While most passengers dressed appropriately, we did see shorts and t-shirts in the diningroom this night! I still can't understand why people still "buck the system" when it comes to following the dress codes, especially when it is stated in the Carnival Caper and announced over the PA system!

Entertainment: We were disappointed witht the entertainment aboard this ship. The Cruise Director, Felipe, was the worst we've had on all of our cruises. He was not funny and his "Woo Hoo" became very annoying by the middle of the cruise. His assistant staff, mostly Americans, acted as though they didn't want to be there. No enthusiasm at all. It was like everyone pasted on a fake smile every morning to get through the day.

The musicians onboard were average, nothing spectacular. The Phillipino band played music from the 50s-60s-70s and 80s and were not too bad. The 2 musicians along the Promenade deck couldn't carry a tune in their back pocket! We listened to them a couple of times, hoping that they would get better, but didn't.

The onstage entertainers were great! A woman named Tia was fantatic and funny, as was the comedian Tony Espisito! The singers and dancers were good and the orchestra too.

As for the activities onboard, this left alot to be desired. There just didn't seem to be enough to do during the day. Trivia was offered a few times, which one group of people always seemed to win. But there seemed to be alot of time when nothing was going on and the cruise became boring to us.

Onboard Staff: We found out very quickly that Platinum status meant absolutely nothing on this ship! The people at the Purser's Desk were rude and inexperienced! The line for Platinum Members was a waste of space, as most passengers could care less that it was reserved for VIPs. When I put my deposit down on our S&S cards with Traveler's checks, not once did they ask for a photo ID. But when I went down to cash a Traveler's check, I had to return to my cabin for a photo ID!

When I asked for assistance for priority tender boarding at Half Moon Cay, I was told that they didn't offer such a thing. But when I returned to my cabin, I received a phone call from the same gal and she told me that I was right and to bring my family to the Purser's Desk for immediate assistance. When we arrived there, she called down to the gangway and told us that "there wasn't a long line there and proceed to the gangway".

When I called the Purser's Desk at 9:00am on the last morning to find out where the Platinum Members were to meet for disembarkation, the lady told me that "they were already underway with Self-Assist debarkation and that we could leave at any time, there was no need to meet anywhere". So we went down to the gangway, presented our Customs Declaration card to the Customs agent and stepped off the ship. Once inside the terminal, a Carnival rep asked us if we had all our luggage. I told her no and showed her my Platinum card. She told me that we couldn't pick up our luggage yet because it hadn't cleared customs yet, and gave me another Declarations card to fill out! We had to sit and wait for about 30-minutes before we could get our luggage and head to the airport.

Oh yeah...I purchased bus transfers aboard the ship at the Purser's Desk the last evening of the cruise for $15 per person. When we got to the bus, the agent there told us that he would have sold us the same transfers for $10 each, with kids riding free! I would have saved half of what I paid had I known this!

Overall Opinion: We've sailed with Carnival 12 times prior to this cruise, so I know what to compare this cruise against. This was NOT one of our favorite cruises by any means. There was just something about it that we didn't like, but couldn't put a finger on it. Maybe staying in the dreadful cabin and having to deal with the Purser's Desk set the tone for the entire cruise. For a first-time cruiser, the cruise was fine. We really didn't have many complaints at all, but it just wasn't what we had expected this time.

PLEASE don't bash me for MY personal opinions of this cruise. I just wanted to let you know how it went for us. It didn't ruin our plans for sailing with Carnival again. In fact, I'm already looking at next year's cruise with them! But this cruise was average as far as I'm concerned, and was without a doubt much better than being at work!

Bill

[Sgt. Jeff]

I appreciate your honesty in your review. We have been on so many of the mega ships in the past few years and have decided to take the Fascination over spring break/Easter. Thank you for taking the time to give your opinions!

[ahoys]

It sounds like the Fascination isn't used to Platinum cruisers. I'd be a bit put off by the confusion that you encountered.

I've been considering the Fascination as a quick trip. Now I'm not so sure I want to try it....

[grandmato4]

Appreciated reading your review. We did this cruise on the Fascination exactly one year ago. It was our least favorite Carnival cruise too although like you said, it was better than being at work and since a lot can be said for a cruise being what you make of it we still managed to enjoy ourselves and had no effect on our future cruises we'll enjoy on Carnival.

[copvet]

As a "seasoned" Carnival Platinum Cruiser (25-overall cruises) and having sailed on the Fascination 3-times this year alone I can honestly say that we have never experienced any inconvenience that was not corrected or "made up for" by the Fascination Staff or Crew. In fact, we consider our cruise on her this past May to be in the top five cruises in our memory.
I do believe that the O/P had some issues that put a damper on their overall experience but like he said "it won't effect my future cruises with Carnival". I, however, highly recommend anyone wanting to take a short cruise to consider the Fascination.
They treat us "Platinum" members like we should be and in fact they treat all the cruisers that we have spoken to with dignity and respect.
We do hope that the O/P and his family never have a disappointing cruise again, especially with Carnival and the soon to be refurbished Fascination.

Wayne

[MemaSue]

Do you remember the name of the band that played oldies? Did you get a chance to hear the music outside the casino? If so was it good..Thanks

[mississauga]

Bill aka Jordanaire, your review was very fair and balanced. You stated your likes and dislikes and since its your review, it's your opinion. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience.

[NCTribeFan]

I wasn't Platinum, but we loved our cruise on Fascination last December. I booked it strictly because I wanted to return to HMC. LOVE that place!

Once again, I'd like to suggest to people that they do their research HERE before they sail. And even before they book. There's a board specifically to discuss cabins. A search there, or a thread asking about the cabin probably would've revealed that there were issues with this particular cabin. Unless it was the only cabin left that would hold 4 people, you probably could've switched and saved yourselves a whole lot of distress.

I haven't been to a show since my Miracle cruise, nearly 2 years ago. I just do so much during the day, and now have late dining, that I usually just go to the casino for a little while after dinner, then to bed. I'm an early riser, so late night shows don't interest me. So I can't address issues with entertainment. I know we loved the band on Miracle at that time, and enjoyed the couple of shows we saw that week.

I thought the food on Fascination was overall very good.

I'm seriously considering booking a B2B for next year after the reburbishments are done. I can see me in an aft balcony.

Is there any way to know when there is to be a crew change? I sometimes wonder if the occasional customer-service issues are because there is a new crew onboard. I think we forget that sometimes there are new crew/staff members and that it takes time for a new team to start working well and to get all the bugs out. But then, I almost never need to visit the Pursers Desk.

[Douglase]

We were on this same cruise and had a great time. My husband does his homework prior to choosing our cabin. It is very clear cabin location & in regards to elevator location. This is not a surprise.

The food was great infact our waiter papa brought seconds each night. My husband had 3 lobster tails on elegant night

A person chooses to be as busy or relaxed during cruising. Its a personal choice. Activities were going on continuely thru out the day.

The ports of call were beautiful. Snorkeling was amazing even with the sharks

For the price, we would do this ship again. Great value for the dollar.

[jordanaire]

I forgot to mention in my review that we had heard that a family of 4 had been quarantined in their cabin the entire cruise with some sickness! WOW...that would be unbearable!

Bill

[jordanaire]

Originally Posted by Douglase

We were on this same cruise and had a great time. My husband does his homework prior to choosing our cabin. It is very clear cabin location & in regards to elevator location. This is not a surprise.

The food was great infact our waiter papa brought seconds each night. My husband had 3 lobster tails on elegant night

A person chooses to be as busy or relaxed during cruising. Its a personal choice. Activities were going on continuely thru out the day.

The ports of call were beautiful. Snorkeling was amazing even with the sharks

For the price, we would do this ship again. Great value for the dollar.

I, too, do alot of "homework" before choosing anything to do with our cruises! With 15 cruises under my belt, I believe that I know what I'm doing. The deckplans do not show what's in the cabin next to the one we were put in! And we normally choose cabins close to the elevators, due to my wife's crippled foot, and have never had problems...until now!

You're right about a person being able to choose his or her activities! This cruise, however, did not offer as many activities to do as the other Fantasy-class ships we've sailed on! There was alot of time lapse between the scheduled activities aboard the Fascination!

Yes, the ports of call were beautiful. Especially HMC! Nassau was its usual busy little city. We just don't care for the people heckling you all the time!

I know that everyone has their own opinion about everything. The purpose of these boards are for people to do just that...express their opinions about their vacation so that others may learn a thing or two before going on theirs. That's what I tried to do...without getting bashed for it! This cruise just didn't measure up to the cruises we've done in the past with Carnival. Will it keep us from sailing with them again? Absolutely not! In fact, we just put down our deposit for the April 4th sailing of the Valor! Our goal is to sail on every Carnival ship before starting over on one we've sailed on before.

Bill