Safty drill of the fascination what time?

[ibcruiseing]

We just booked for March on the Fascination out of San Juan look like the ship leaves at 10pm, any idea what time the drills would be?

 

 

thanks

[pghsteelerfan]

We just booked for March on the Fascination out of San Juan look like the ship leaves at 10pm, any idea what time the drills would be?

 

 

thanks

 

We've done this itinerary twice (Valor, 2013; Liberty, 2015) and the muster drill was 9:30PM both times. I'm guessing it will be the same on Fascination. Love this itinerary!

[ibcruiseing]

thank you so much!

[jamona2311]

I saw this post and it makes me wonder, will I have to do it twice since I embark in Barbados???

Thanks, Gena :D

[pghsteelerfan]

I saw this post and it makes me wonder, will I have to do it twice since I embark in Barbados???

Thanks, Gena :D

 

My guess, and this is just a guess, is that you'll have one safety drill the evening the ship leaves San Juan since everyone has to attend that one. I have never heard an announcement for a safety drill before we left Barbados. I also just checked the copies of my Carnival "Fun Times" from our Carnival Liberty cruise from September 2015 (our most recent cruise) to see if anything is mentioned. In the edition of the "Fun Times" we received on embarkation day (San Juan), it is listed in the section where all activities and times are listed, and in the 9:30pm time slot, it clearly says, "ALL GUESTS MUST ATTEND......General Safety Briefing". In the "Fun Times" from our day in Barbados, there is nothing mentioned about a safety briefing. As I said, this is just my guess & hoping someone else who has embarked in Barbados in the past can chip in with a definite answer. This will at least get the post bumped for better chance of others seeing it. :)

[jamona2311]

My guess, and this is just a guess, is that you'll have one safety drill the evening the ship leaves San Juan since everyone has to attend that one. I have never heard an announcement for a safety drill before we left Barbados. I also just checked the copies of my Carnival "Fun Times" from our Carnival Liberty cruise from September 2015 (our most recent cruise) to see if anything is mentioned. In the edition of the "Fun Times" we received on embarkation day (San Juan), it is listed in the section where all activities and times are listed, and in the 9:30pm time slot, it clearly says, "ALL GUESTS MUST ATTEND......General Safety Briefing". In the "Fun Times" from our day in Barbados, there is nothing mentioned about a safety briefing. As I said, this is just my guess & hoping someone else who has embarked in Barbados in the past can chip in with a definite answer. This will at least get the post bumped for better chance of others seeing it. :)

 

 

 

Thanks for your answer. I knew you’d respond as you are always so helpful with answers to this itinerary! [emoji847]

 

 

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[pghsteelerfan]

Thanks for your answer. I knew you’d respond as you are always so helpful with answers to this itinerary! [emoji847]

 

 

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Thank you. I do try to be helpful and since we've done this one twice fairly recently, I can usually come up with the correct answer for someone. :) But this itinerary, I call it "St. Somewhere"...my favorite! I've been arm twisting my hubby to do this itinerary again. I hope you have a wonderful cruise and enjoy the fun and scenery as much as we do. :)

[LittleYiaYia]

Steelerfan, I have a question for you. Do you remember what time you were able to check in? We have FTTF and can check in at the first arrival time, but I was wondering what time they open the terminal for arrivals. We have sailed out of Puerto Rico before but on different lines and I seem to remember arriving around 1:PM.

 

We share your passion for this itinerary, it remains our favorite too! Thanks for all your great reviews.

[pghsteelerfan]

Steelerfan, I have a question for you. Do you remember what time you were able to check in? We have FTTF and can check in at the first arrival time, but I was wondering what time they open the terminal for arrivals. We have sailed out of Puerto Rico before but on different lines and I seem to remember arriving around 1:PM.

 

We share your passion for this itinerary, it remains our favorite too! Thanks for all your great reviews.

 

I don't know exactly what time the terminal opens since the earliest we've gotten to the terminal was 11am. As for checking-in...we've actually had it both ways. Short story, we were able to board Valor (2013) early, as in shortly after noon, with no issues and were on the ship by 12:30pm. The next time, Liberty in 2015, we were able to check in around 11:30am. We arrived at the terminal shortly after 11 and there was a line of people to go in and I think people were entering then, at least the line was moving fairly quickly. When we checked in, we found out boarding wasn't going to start until 1:30pm, so we drew the short straw that cruise. All was good though. :) So I'd say normally, yes, you can arrive a little early to check-in, but just don't know exactly how early...unless there is a delay. I don't know how often that happens, but we're 50/50 now. I'll add the details for both below and the reasons why there was a difference, in case you (or anyone else) may be interested. :)

 

I always love when I hear others saying they love this itinerary too. We actually did it on our first cruise, 25 years ago. The itinerary was a little different but still gorgeous. We left out of San Juan and itinerary was: St. Thomas; St. Maarten; Dominica; Barbados; Martinique; Sea Day (that was nice); then back to San Juan. I'd love to see another ship based out of San Juan that went to some of the other islands. I'm glad you enjoyed the reviews and I had fun doing them and reliving the cruises.

 

Here's that LONG answer as two why check-in/boarding were so different on those two cruises:

I forget what the official check in time was for our Valor cruise in May 2013 but through CC, I knew that others mentioned getting to the pier a little earlier and had no problems boarding. We we checked out of our hotel, which was near the airport in the Isla Verde area of San Juan, around 11:45am (for noon checkout) and got a cab to the ship, arriving shortly after noon (5, 10 after?). We were on board with Fun Ship specials in our hands at 12:45pm.

 

For our Liberty cruise in September 2015, which was two weeks after Liberty's engine fire in St. Thomas, we received an email that stated that the check-in for the cruise was 2:30pm - 8:30pm and not to arrive for check-in prior to 2:30PM as seating in the terminal is limited. We never received one of these before our Valor cruise and since I knew you could board earlier, we disregarded that. We were on a social medial roll call and our group decided to meet at the pier at 11am so we could check in at the same time and get an embarkation photo together (which we were still able to do). We had no issues getting into the terminal and checking in for the cruise, but we were told that boarding was delayed and wouldn't start till 1:30pm. So, our group found some nice, comfy seats on the floor :') and passed the time getting to know each other better. It was kind of fun, actually, so we didn't mind. Another part of our group messaged us that by the time they arrived at the terminal, the were no longer letting anyone else inside to check in. It was a madhouse. They ended up going to Senor Frogs for about an hour and then were able to get in line. I do know that while we were waiting in line to enter the terminal before getting in the line to check in, there were still a lot of people from the prior cruise getting off, which is very late. They finally started boarding right before 2pm and we were finally on Liberty shortly after. The thing is, even though Liberty had the engine fire two weeks prior, she was on schedule. I saw her that morning shortly before 5am from our hotel balcony, which should have put her at the dock between 6 and 6:30. After getting home and going through pictures on the computer, I have a picture from our balcony about a half hour after sunrise and I could see Liberty still sitting out there at 6:45am. I didn't notice her when I took the picture, but I was sleep deprived. I've heard a few different reasons as to why Liberty was "held" out there & late getting in, but I don't have any solid facts. The ships usually do get into San Juan early (between 5:30 and 6am) and we have on both cruises. When we were on Valor, we arrived back at the pier in San Juan at 5:30am and Liberty was a little later, but not much. I used the date stamps on the pictures for the time accuracy. Hope this helps! :)

Edited January 26, 2018 by pghsteelerfan

[LittleYiaYia]

Thanks, that does help. I think we will check out at 12:PM and head to the pier. I think FTTF will help with any lines there might be.

 

This itinerary was our first cruise too. 1996 on the Celebrity Meridian. We love Puerto Rico and if we can catch a good deal (and this cruise was and still is) a good deal, we will return as often as possible. Got a great price on airfare now that Southwest flies there. We prefer small ships so we hope the Fascination will not disappoint. We actually cruise for the ports, the ship is just a means of getting there for us.

 

Thanks again for your help. I look forward to your next review.

[tiggerlvr]

Thanks for your answer. I knew you’d respond as you are always so helpful with answers to this itinerary! [emoji847]

 

 

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We boarded the Fascination in Barbados. They had a small staff set up to check our ID, give us our Sail and Sign cards and give us any information we needed. There was a muster for all of us who had boarded in Barbados. Attendance was taken! Then, when we got to Puerto Rico, we had to clear customs and get off the ship for a while. We were told we did not have to attend the muster, however you still got to hear all the announcements!

Have a great trip! Fascination is a lovey cruise ship with really great staff!

[jamona2311]

We boarded the Fascination in Barbados. They had a small staff set up to check our ID, give us our Sail and Sign cards and give us any information we needed. There was a muster for all of us who had boarded in Barbados. Attendance was taken! Then, when we got to Puerto Rico, we had to clear customs and get off the ship for a while. We were told we did not have to attend the muster, however you still got to hear all the announcements!

 

Have a great trip! Fascination is a lovey cruise ship with really great staff!

 

 

 

Oh thank you for your information. It’s so hard to find for the Barbados sailing.

Now that I’ve found you... lol... what time were you able to board? And, did you have to disembark by 10??? Was your room ready ??? Lol sorry! So many questions!

 

 

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[tiggerlvr]

Oh thank you for your information. It’s so hard to find for the Barbados sailing.

Now that I’ve found you... lol... what time were you able to board? And, did you have to disembark by 10??? Was your room ready ??? Lol sorry! So many questions!

 

 

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I recall having a leisurely morning in the apartment we rented for one day and then taking the taxi to board around 11:00. It took a while to get through the boarding process, so we chose to have a relaxing meal since most people went ashore. We ended up playing the Trivia game and won a ship on a stick! When you board in Barbados, they assign you to Your Time Dining. This is not my choice, so I went to YTD at 5:45 and requested to be moved to early dining. While they do hum and ha about it, we were seated as requested at table for 10. Of course, when we got to Puerto Rico we went through the same thing again, and again got moved to the early dining and with the same wait staff! They were wonderful!

[jamona2311]

I recall having a leisurely morning in the apartment we rented for one day and then taking the taxi to board around 11:00. It took a while to get through the boarding process, so we chose to have a relaxing meal since most people went ashore. We ended up playing the Trivia game and won a ship on a stick! When you board in Barbados, they assign you to Your Time Dining. This is not my choice, so I went to YTD at 5:45 and requested to be moved to early dining. While they do hum and ha about it, we were seated as requested at table for 10. Of course, when we got to Puerto Rico we went through the same thing again, and again got moved to the early dining and with the same wait staff! They were wonderful!

 

Thanks, dining was another thing I was wondering about. I would like set dining as Im solo this time.