Carnival Fascination

So I am going on a cruise September 9th for 7 days to PR to the Southern Caribbean. I get 5 ports and most are new minus St Thomas. This will be my 6th carnival cruise. Last year I went on the carnival breeze and love it. I have to say cruising on a big ship is amazing and so much fun. Due to my Casino rate my gf and I are going for only 730 bucks total, which is really cheap. The thing that really bothers me, is the supreme lack of things to do on this ship. I am used to having Guys Burgers, Blue Iguana catina, etc, but this ship is really bare bones. A part of me thinks ill be bored. We are a young couple in the early 30s.

So, I am having my doubts, I saw the RCC Adventure of the seas for both of us would be $1,576 and going to Bonaire, Curacao, Aruba and St Maarten, which are all new ports. I have also never tried RCCL, as I have only done Carnival, which really intrigues me..

Am I crazy for thinking of spending the extra $800 for the RCCL cruise? I went to the carnival site and tried the online cancelation and it says ill get everything back, figured id lose the deposit but didn't say that. My best friend thinks im being wacky for spending 800 more for a bigger ship. So im asking my fellow Carnival Fans, what they think please?

My boyfriend and I, also in our 30s, were deciding between these two cruises also. Your casino rate gave you a much better deal than we got but we stil decided that saving the money was worth it and we booked Carnival. There's only one sea day so we figured we wouldn't have to much free time. We stay out at the ports as late as possible. By the time you get onboard, shower, and dinner, there's not very much time left in the evening either. If I were you I'd try to find some reviews and Fun Times to see if there's enough offered to keep you guys entertained. We decided saving the money was worth it, especially when we found out flight costs to PR.

We found the Fascination to be just the right size for that itinerary. There was more than enough to do and since we were in port most days the smaller sized ship didn't seem to matter that much. My review is in my signature if you want to read it. At the time I booked it I could have sailed on NCL Gem for $800 more, which I obviously didn't book (we have been on the Gem and it is bigger and newer than Fascination. I don't regret the decision.).

I have this dilemma as well. Except I am going with my young teen boys. Want to make sure there is enough for them to do on the ship after we get back from the ports.

I am also cruising on the Fascination but over Thanksgiving. I have been to most of the ports before and really enjoyed them. As for the ship being small, it is. Being off the ship at 8 am, back on b4 5pm, after dinner leave not a lot of time . Sea day is a way to just relax and watch the world go by. Shows and casino and it's Midnite. I have been on large ships and for some reason felt rushed. Possibly the long lines to do things on deck are what helped to feel that way.

I posted this on another thread, but haven't received an answer. I thought perhaps someone on here knew...

We are doing this itinerary in October. I have been doing a lot of reading.

We are staying in San Juan a few days before the cruise. Will we be able to check out of the hotel, go to the port and drop our bags and spend the day exploring? If we are carrying on our allowed bottles of wine, can we put them in the cabin?

I have heard several people say they have dropped their wine and then gone into town and gotten two more. When they reboard, do they just tell them that this is their allowed bottles? How does anyone know? Or do they tell you to take them to the table set up and you get it back after the cruise?

I am trying to figure out when to bring on our wine.

thank you!

I posted this on another thread, but haven't received an answer. I thought perhaps someone on here knew...

 

We are doing this itinerary in October. I have been doing a lot of reading.

We are staying in San Juan a few days before the cruise. Will we be able to check out of the hotel, go to the port and drop our bags and spend the day exploring? If we are carrying on our allowed bottles of wine, can we put them in the cabin?

I have heard several people say they have dropped their wine and then gone into town and gotten two more. When they reboard, do they just tell them that this is their allowed bottles? How does anyone know? Or do they tell you to take them to the table set up and you get it back after the cruise?

I am trying to figure out when to bring on our wine.

 

thank you!

You can drop off your checked bags but unless you have FTTF I don't think you will have immediate access to your cabin (which I think are available around 2 or so). I don't know if security keeps any sort of record as to who has brought what aboard but would guess they don't, so I don't think there is anything that would keep you from bringing on two bottles and returning with two more.

We just did that same itinerary back in December and spent WAYYYYYYY more than $730 all together. You are in port for most of the time, there is only 1 sea day. After you come from port, and eat dinner, there is the casino, comedy shows, broadway type show, night club etc. and of course on certain nights there is the deck party. For that price I would take a 7 day cruise to nowhere on the Fascination! I would save RCCL for next time!

Also as a side note- in terms of being a young couple, my husband took me on this cruise for my 30th b'day LOL. Carnival is really the fun ship and they make it fun regardless of the amenities- you'll be fine!

So this site is wrong? It says Fascination has Guy's and Blue Iguana...

http://www.cruisemapper.com/ships/Carnival-Fascination-610

So this site is wrong? It says Fascination has Guy's and Blue Iguana...

http://www.cruisemapper.com/ships/Carnival-Fascination-610

Fascination does not have Guys or Blue Iguana :(

We are going in June, and will be with 2 teenagers and 2 grandparents. We LOVE smaller ships as they don't have all the lines the bigger ones do. The last time we did a similar itinerary, we were on the Carnival Tropicale. 1200 PAX. Because there is so much to see during the day, I won't have any problem relaxing at night, seeing the shows, and be ready to get up and go early the next morning. My teenagers plan to hit the clubs (one is old enough for regular clubs, the other will be in Club O2). We took MANY cruises on smaller ships and have always loved them....yes, even in our 20's, 30's and now 40's.

We have a Royal Caribbean cruise booked for January, and I have looked at some of their posts on CC, and it seems that many are not happy with RCI lately as they are really pushing the nickel and dime stuff.

I would say, go for the cheap cruise, save your $800 and have some awesome excursions.

I guess now I'm confused. What Funship 2.0 amenities does Fascination have, and which ones does it not have?

I always use this site to check on amenities of the ships. Click on the tabs that say "Ships, Stats, CL info, Features, Dining" to see what each ship has.

Fascination has Mongolian Wok but you will also find the generic grill, deli, and pizza besides the buffet. Look at the deck plans to see lido deck layout.

https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/cruiseline.php?line=Carnival

I guess now I'm confused. What Funship 2.0 amenities does Fascination have, and which ones does it not have?

It does not have Guys, Blue Iguana, or Red Frog. It does have water slides, Punchliner Comedy, Hasbro Game Show, Serenity Nights (adults only club atmosphere one night on Serenity Deck), Groove for St. Jude, American Table Menu in dining room.

I always use this site to check on amenities of the ships. Click on the tabs that say "Ships, Stats, CL info, Features, Dining" to see what each ship has.

Fascination has Mongolian Wok but you will also find the generic grill, deli, and pizza besides the buffet. Look at the deck plans to see lido deck layout.

 

https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/cruiseline.php?line=Carnival

This seems to be outdated for Fascination...there's nothing on the deck plans for Alchemy...

I think the Fascination is scheduled for most of the 2.0 upgrades in Feb drydock.

We sailed on the Fascination out of San Juan in March of this year, and absolutely loved it. We have been on the Breeze and Dream (as well as the Liberty and Glory) and was a little hesitant about a smaller ship, but it was amazing. Love the port itinerary of this particular cruise.

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This seems to be outdated for Fascination...there's nothing on the deck plans for Alchemy...

Maybe because there is no Alchemy Bar on Fascination.

Maybe because there is no Alchemy Bar on Fascination.

That would explain it. :confused: I swore I read somewhere that it did. Alas, this ship has less 2.0 features than I thought...kinda surprised it has the itinerary that it does right now then...I'll be cruising it in a few months, and now I'm a bit jealous of the folks who got to take Liberty on the same trip. I was really looking forward to Guys and Alchemy again, as after this cruise it will be a while until my next one. :( Oh well.

That would explain it. :confused: I swore I read somewhere that it did. Alas, this ship has less 2.0 features than I thought...kinda surprised it has the itinerary that it does right now then...I'll be cruising it in a few months, and now I'm a bit jealous of the folks who got to take Liberty on the same trip. I was really looking forward to Guys and Alchemy again, as after this cruise it will be a while until my next one. :( Oh well.

I was told in a different thread about the Fascination that maybe that is why Carnival has paired this ship with this itinerary. The ports on this itinerary is in high demand. A smaller ship with not so many features can be easily sold out just for the ports alone. Maybe that's what Carnival's thinking is.

This will be my first time in 18 cruises with Carnival on this small of ship, but I am still looking forward to this cruise. Mainly for the ports, and with only 1 sea day, I don't think I will be disappointed.

I was told in a different thread about the Fascination that maybe that is why Carnival has paired this ship with this itinerary. The ports on this itinerary is in high demand. A smaller ship with not so many features can be easily sold out just for the ports alone. Maybe that's what Carnival's thinking is.

 

This will be my first time in 18 cruises with Carnival on this small of ship, but I am still looking forward to this cruise. Mainly for the ports, and with only 1 sea day, I don't think I will be disappointed.

Right, I'm in for the ports too...it's always the itinerary that sells me. Having experienced the 2.0 features previously though, I thought most were on this ship, despite it being older. It's OK though, I'm pumped for my vacation.

I was told in a different thread about the Fascination that maybe that is why Carnival has paired this ship with this itinerary. The ports on this itinerary is in high demand. A smaller ship with not so many features can be easily sold out just for the ports alone. Maybe that's what Carnival's thinking is.

 

This will be my first time in 18 cruises with Carnival on this small of ship, but I am still looking forward to this cruise. Mainly for the ports, and with only 1 sea day, I don't think I will be disappointed.

We did this cruise last summer, mainly to see ports we had not previously visited.

When I first told out TA that this was something we were interested in, his first reaction was that this was not a ship we wanted to be on. Later, when we booked it he was much more positive.

We did enjoy the cruise, not only the ports, but the small ship experience where you got to meet people and get to know them. And there was enough to do that we were not bored.

Maybe because there is no Alchemy Bar on Fascination.

I'm pretty sure that I passed the Alchemy Bar several times when we were onboard, I'll have to look at my pictures to see if I have photo evidence (as opposed to a memory like a sieve).

The thing that really bothers me, is the supreme lack of things to do on this ship. I am used to having Guys Burgers, Blue Iguana catina, etc, but this ship is really bare bones. A part of me thinks ill be bored. We are a young couple in the early 30s.

So im asking my fellow Carnival Fans, what they think please?

We just returned from this itinerary where we brought our entire family (kids and extended family...we are also in our 30s). Because this cruise is so port-intensive, we didn't notice that we were missing the bells and whistles of the other ships. We were usually so tired after a port day spent on the beach, touring, or excursions, that the only thing we wanted upon return was a shower and a quick bite (either Lido Deck or room service) and a stop at the bar before taking a pre-dinner nap. We exercised our Cheers program frequently, and all of the bars were fantastic. Evenings were great because there was always something to do. Our kids actually ditched us mid-way and had dinner with their new friends from the kids' club. Our extended family also found their own entertainment after dinner each night. I wasn't a fan of the Divas show, but I did have a great time at the Piano bar with Reynold. I didn't play much in the casino this trip because it was pretty smokey and I abhor the smoke. My husband and my in-laws played and had a great time.

Fascination does not have Guys or Blue Iguana :(

It's actually going to dry dock soon and will have these additions soon after. I went on a cruise without them, and still had a great time.