Why the Fascination out of SJU

[squierjosh]

They are not charging more for this itinerary than the other cruiselines you mentioned. I spent a solid two weeks reviewing fares and schedules and itineraries, Carnival was always cheapest.

 

This is a premium itinerary. Unfortunately for Carnival, they couldn't charge premium prices for it. The way to address that was by artificially adjusting demand by decreasing supply. With considerably less cabins to sell each week, Carnival can now charge as much (if not more) than its competitors out of San Juan which include Royal, NCL, Celebrity, and Disney.

[squierjosh]

I didn't realize there were so many cork sniffers riding Carnival cruises. Seriously, some of you sound like spoiled rich kids complaining that their iPhone is 6 months old and not cool anymore.

 

Most people don't take advantage of 75% of the stuff on a basic cruise. So having more stuff to not use or have time to use is somehow better? The dining rooms are still elegant with very good food. There's a pool. There's entertainment. There's a spa and gym. You're riding under the same sun, far as I can tell.

 

Everyone should be so lucky to be island hopping in the Caribbean aboard a luxury liner with all these options.

[cmukid87]

I didn't realize there were so many cork sniffers riding Carnival cruises. Seriously, some of you sound like spoiled rich kids complaining that their iPhone is 6 months old and not cool anymore.

 

Most people don't take advantage of 75% of the stuff on a basic cruise. So having more stuff to not use or have time to use is somehow better? The dining rooms are still elegant with very good food. There's a pool. There's entertainment. There's a spa and gym. You're riding under the same sun, far as I can tell.

 

Everyone should be so lucky to be island hopping in the Caribbean aboard a luxury liner with all these options.

 

BINGO! My reasons:

Port heavy itinerary = less time on the ship

Never been on this class of ship and I want to try it

I know I want to sail Carnival and out of San Juan

Time frame we chose it IS the cheapest, which is important for my limited budget.

[Bringonthesun01]

Someone complained on JHs FB page about this and he said "l will have more news on this ship in the future so please stand by". I wonder if she's getting more upgrades or what the "news" could be?

 

We are considering sailing out of San Juan as well. There is only one sea day on the 7 day in 2018 we are looking at so I am thinking we won't have much time/energy for doing much else on the ship if it were a bigger ship. We are all disappointed there is no Guy's though [emoji853]

 

Did he ever give any more information on her? I do not believe I read anything from him about the Fascination. We cruise on her 33 days, cannot wait!

 

We cruised this same itinerary 2 years ago on the Valor, and could not complain about a thing. So when it came time to booking on the Fascination, I can say I was not pleased as it has been many years since I have been on a Fantasy Class ship, but it is not stopping us from going.

[Herfnerd]

Wife and I do like the Fantasy class and the Fascination was the first ship my wife and I sailed on together - to the Bahamas.

 

We love sailing out of SJU - but agree that a larger ship makes it a little more enjoyable. We sailed this itinerary on the Victory for our honeymoon

[First and Ten]

I didn't realize there were so many cork sniffers riding Carnival cruises. Seriously, some of you sound like spoiled rich kids complaining that their iPhone is 6 months old and not cool anymore.

 

Most people don't take advantage of 75% of the stuff on a basic cruise. So having more stuff to not use or have time to use is somehow better? The dining rooms are still elegant with very good food. There's a pool. There's entertainment. There's a spa and gym. You're riding under the same sun, far as I can tell.

 

Everyone should be so lucky to be island hopping in the Caribbean aboard a luxury liner with all these options.

 

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I never understand the "I only sail the newer, bigger ship" poster

 

I get the mindset of if there isn't specialty restaurants or a ship with limited blaconies, you may not sail it. Many of the "older" ships have the 2.0 upgrades and many of the "older" ships have balconies. So why wont you go on them?

 

Are the "older/bigger" poster going to feel the Vista is outdated in 2020 when Carnival launches their "new" ship? They make no sense

Edited September 13, 2016 by First and Ten

[JustCruiseMe]

Yes, I read reviews. And unfortunately I read many reviews that are filled with ignorance and flat out intolerance for other cultures.

 

I wholeheartedly disagree with your comments about placing a "nasty ship" where the "nasty people" are. As you may (or may not) know, Carnival may have the Fascination in San Juan, but more premium cruise lines like Celebrity and Disney, as well as true luxury cruise lines like Windstar have ships sailing from San Juan. I doubt that they decided to base their ships there to cater to the "nasty" people.

 

Which brings me to pricing which is a bigger indicator of what clientele a particular sailing will attract. You price a sailing cheap enough and you will most likely attract a few undesirables who unfortunately are not familiar with the basic concepts of human behavior. This is not a San Juan phenomenon but a phenomenon that you will see at any port of embarkation regardless of whether it's aboard the Fascination or another ship.

 

Your last comment about placing a newer ship where a classier and more mature crowd sails from is a bit comical. Once again, the ship does not make the crowd. Marketing and pricing does.

Well this is to disagree with you Tapi, I am not intolerant nor ignorant. I am typically a very laid back, go with the flow, person and so are my travel mates and I can tell you the people on our PR cruse (dream destination BTW) were rude and obnoxious. They pushed through, they blocked the hallways 3 in a row and you'd have to try to push against a wall single file to get passed. The people in PR tried to rip us off more than once. The people in the shows wouldn't stop yelling so anyone around them to could hear the music. The PRs in club started a protest when the music was switched, after latin music had been being played, to pop. We all said we had absolutely no desire to go back there.

Yolanda

[cruzinlisa]

My first cruise was on Imagination, which is a similar ship. It was very special. I had no expectations or comparisons to other ships. All I knew was that the cabins are teeny tiny, you tip what seemed to be a lot of people, and that the service levels were amazing. And tons of food. It was a great room. We thought we booked an inside but somehow we had a window. We had good food, a good time and fun in ports. We saw a few shows and ate in the MDR every night and sometimes for breakfast or lunch.

Most of my ships have been Conquest class, which is bigger and more amenities but still nothing to compare to these Mega ships out there now.

I guess the newest and possibly biggest ship was Disney Fantasy. The experience was amazing and ship was very nice. I think the experience and service level outweighed the ship though. If the service was the same on one of the smaller ships, I would have enjoyed it also.

My best cruise to date was on Celebrity COnstellation (can you say FREE drink package!!). It was a great time, very good service. We were Aqua class so we had dinner in Blu every night which was good (not phenomenal but good). I heard plenty of people complain about the ship and while it may not have been as nice as Disney Fantasy, it was a beautiful ship. I loved the décor. I would definitely say it was the best cruise, even though it was 5 days and the itinerary was meh and the buffet food was terrible. Service level, décor and amenities made up for it.

 

So, basically what I am saying is the ship is not everything. Some people cruise for the ports, some for the experience, some for the price, others for the ship. If you are cruising for the ship, maybe you need a mall of the seas or one of NCL's "aways." But if you are cruising for itinerary and just looking for a bed, shower and decent food, it fits the bill.

[SanFran522]

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I enjoy Carnival's older ships. We're taking this cruise with my entire family (party of 15) next July and I think the ship will give the first time cruisers a good intro to cruising without overwhelming them.

 

I agree, I love the older ships and the prices. If you are just choosing a cruise based on the price, you might be missing out. I'll be on the Fascination in May out of San Juan and I am so excited. It is a smaller ship and will be easy to get around, because of the itinerary, you won't have much time on the ship anyway, so it really shouldn't matter. I'm not s cruise snob and am more interested in where they are going than on how new the carpet is.

[Big-Will]

Will not cruise out of SJ until this ship is GONE time to retire bottom line !

[Stinger-pr]

Will not cruise out of SJ until this ship is GONE time to retire bottom line !

Too bad you'll miss out on this awesome itinerary for a few more years. She'll be in San Juan at least Spring 2019.

 

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[S.S.Oceanlover]

Same here for October.

 

same here for October 21.:)

 

Bill

[Big-Will]

Too bad you'll miss out on this awesome itinerary for a few more years. She'll be in San Juan at least Spring 2019.

 

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Perfect that when I plan on cruising that Itinerary again thanks for the heads up ! ;)