Carnival Fascination ...

[simoneymacaroni]

I've been on two cruises so far: Carnival Victory and Carnival Liberty. Is there anything I should know about the carnival Fascination? Im going on August 11th. Please give me any tips you happen to have for me. Thank you :):D

[Tapi]

Please give me any tips you happen to have for me. Thank you :):D

 

 

IMHO, you need to go with realistic expectations. While you can definitely still have a very enjoyable time, the experience on the Fascination is a few notches below the experience on the Liberty.

 

She does have a loyal following who appreciate her more "intimate" size and more personal service, and who love her because she's the "local ship", but keep in mind that she's an older, smaller ship, now relegated to short, cheap cruises to the Bahamas from a "drive to" port.

 

 

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[PrincessArlena'sDad]

I've been on two cruises so far: Carnival Victory and Carnival Liberty. Is there anything I should know about the carnival Fascination? Im going on August 11th. Please give me any tips you happen to have for me. Thank you :):D

 

I have a tip for you:

 

Take good care of her! We'll be getting on, as you're getting off, on the 16th.

[GeorgiaMomof4]

We just got off the Fascination on 2/13 and it was wonderful. Like you we had cruised on bigger ships so wasn't sure what to expect but we loved it.

 

I'm actually in the process of doing a review if you want to follow it - here is the link

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1992968

[mousey]

IMHO, you need to go with realistic expectations. While you can definitely still have a very enjoyable time, the experience on the Fascination is a few notches below the experience on the Liberty.

 

She does have a loyal following who appreciate her more "intimate" size and more personal service, and who love her because she's the "local ship", but keep in mind that she's an older, smaller ship, now relegated to short, cheap cruises to the Bahamas from a "drive to" port.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

I ditto what Tapi said.:D

 

While in all honesty we had a great time...it wasn't one of our favorite ships. Would I cruise her again? Heck, I'd go out on a row-boat if I had too; I love cruising that much!:D

[Gypsywych]

We loved the Fascination. So much that we're sailing her again in September. :)

 

Go with an open mind. No Red Frog, no Guy's Burger's, no huge waterworks. There isn't as much entertainment, though you will see the prerequisite Hairy Chest Contest. ;)

She's older, and doesn't have all of the bells and whistles, she's smaller and so easy to navigate. The staff seems a lot happier than other ships we've sailed, and they are awesome to the passengers. The Serenity Deck is truly serene, and the whole ship just has a more intimate feel.

If you want a cruise to just enjoy the ocean and relaxing, she's the one.

[Merrymate]

Has a waterworks. It has 2 twirling slides, right behind the tail on top deck. We have been on her 3 times.

We choose the her for the following reasons: Able to drive to the Jacksonville Port.

Half Moon Cay.

Everyone is so friendly.

Dinner is great.

Waterworks for the grandchildren.

And More.

 

 

 

Will I sail her again? Yes going in May. Just relax and have a good time. ;)

[subieroo]

We loved this ship! The staff was amazing. Be sure to seek out Seksan in the main dining room. Nicest, most caring person I've ever met!

[luvsviola]

We loved her so much we booked the same trip next year in the same cabin.

 

Grand Suite Extended Balcony is worth EVERY EVERY EVERY penny.

 

Kids club staff were amazing, and it is often almost empty.

 

Easy to navigate.

 

The Mongolian Wok is super yummy.

 

Everyone was super friendly, and it is small, so not so crowded.

 

HMC is paradise.

 

FTTF was still nice for the HMC tender.

[rccranbob]

I have been on her 2 times, I love this ship. Easy to get around , never felt overcrowded, best service. My main dining room team on the Nov. 25, 2013 cruise was totally amazing in the Sensation dining room (Mike and his team table 230). We had horrid weather all week rain, cool and high seas with that being said I still had a good time. We were on the Main deck mid-ship had a wonderful steward.

One thing I like to mention I always pre pay my gratuities and add with cash. The first evening I asked my room steward if they knew who prepaid or not and who had tips removed, he told me he did. With a smile on his face, I was told on the previous cruise he had 22 people who removed their tips and did not pay in cash and then thanked me for having paid mine. The next mourning while I was at customer service there were quite a few people removing their tips. On the last night there were even people removing their Bar tips. I just wanted to mention this I have never had bad service on any of my cruises.

[Georgiagolfer]

DW and I have sailed Fascination 5 times, with the last being 11/30. While she is older, she is still in pretty good shape. No specialty restaurants, no aft pool, small slides, no 2,0 upgrades. Being a smaller ship, you will find it easy to navigate. You also will find more of a community feeling, as you will often see the same people. To us, it is a cheap 5 night get away, and we treat it as such.

[skye02]

I just booked our 3rd cruise on the fascination. My kids love the waterworks area and its easy to navigate. While it IS a cheap, quick get away, as others have said, its still a cruise on lovely ship.

[winddawn]

We loved the Fascination. So much that we're sailing her again in September. :)

 

Go with an open mind. No Red Frog, no Guy's Burger's, no huge waterworks. There isn't as much entertainment, though you will see the prerequisite Hairy Chest Contest. ;)

She's older, and doesn't have all of the bells and whistles, she's smaller and so easy to navigate. The staff seems a lot happier than other ships we've sailed, and they are awesome to the passengers. The Serenity Deck is truly serene, and the whole ship just has a more intimate feel.

If you want a cruise to just enjoy the ocean and relaxing, she's the one.

I agree Fascination has a great staff. Likely the best staff overall I've experienced on Carnival. They seem to genuinely care about passengers which makes for a light and enjoyable cruise.

 

I think the smaller ships have a more relaxed vibe too.

[GuitarPlayer]

Been on her a few times, and pretty much agree with Tapi...

 

Here's a nugget of our experience.

 

We did a back-to-back on her in October...First week was with friends, second week was just the two of us.

 

The ship is suited much more toward the second week, because this ship is really a relaxing, get-away-from-it-all, ship. We tried anytime dining on this ship and thought it worked pretty well for the two of us, but we really like the main dining room when traveling in a group.

 

There really isn't as much to do activity-wise as the Liberty, but if relaxation and slowing down is your gig, then she's the one for you. I really enjoyed singing with the show band at "Superstar Live."

 

We are traveling with a group of 26 in May, and chose a larger ship (Magic) because of the more varied (and more of the!) activities available on her.

 

GP

[Naomi John]

Had a great time