Talk me into or out of Carnival Fascination in August with my two teen boys...

[frayedend]

A few years back I went on Valor on the Southern itinerary. I really liked it. Calabaza Catamaran in Barbados in particular. My boys don't tend to do much on the ship even if there are lots of activities. So I am thinking that the heavy island itinerary is good for us. Since I'm divorced this is just us boys. So we will be much less formal. We may skip formal night etc. We will only want to do inexpensive beach days (except Calabaza which is a must).

 

But it seems the ship has no movie screen. Does it have an arcade and some shows? It's so cheap (about $2300 for 3 of us interior on deck 11 forward).

 

I have it on hold until midnight so any quick replies appreciated. I could likely do something else out of Florida and save a bit on flight. But it probably all comes out in the wash.

[Gypsywych]

There is an arcade, there are water slides and a pool. Several hot tubs and the Teen Club. There is a big screen on the Lido, but I don't think it shows movies, sorry. The Fascination is one of the smallest and oldest of the fleet. She doesn't have all of the fancy bells and whistles of the newer ships.

She is comfortable though, and the staff is beyond excellent. Because it is smaller you will see better service, better food and not feel overwhelmed by the sheer size. She's easy to navigate and it's easy to make friends because you'll see them every day.

 

She's our favorite. Can you tell? :)

[OceansOfTravels]

I think you'll be fine/ I have not personally cruised on Fascination, but the Southern route from San Juan is by far my favorite itinerary to date, and I loved all of the islands, particularly St.Maarten and Barbados. If you say your teens don't usually do much, then on the sole sea day, they'll most likely be fine lounging on deck going in and out of the pool. I was just docked next to Fascination last week actually and it had a huge waterpark at the aft.

 

I would definitely recommend the itinerary for all of the beautiful ports :D

[sararebekahquinn]

We loved the Fascination. Not sure if this has changed since August 2015, but it did not have Guy's Burgers or Blue Iguana. The water slides were a lot of fun. But everything else is pretty basic.

[frayedend]

Yup, I just paid the deposit. As I said, we'll be on the islands during the day. At night they will sit through the shows with me for the novelty so between that and dinner we'll be pretty busy. This will certainly be a different experience without their mom. I just booked with Gina at Calabaza too and I'm sooo excited. Maybe for the rum punch more than anything. :)

[BNBR]

$2300 for 3 on the Fascination doesn't sound cheap at all for an inside cabin. I guess August is still high season?

[Martini Mom]

Yup, I just paid the deposit. As I said, we'll be on the islands during the day. At night they will sit through the shows with me for the novelty so between that and dinner we'll be pretty busy. This will certainly be a different experience without their mom. I just booked with Gina at Calabaza too and I'm sooo excited. Maybe for the rum punch more than anything. :)

 

My teens boys would probably welcome a cruise where I didn't constantly photograph them like a paparazzi ;). Sometimes guy time is just what they need. :)

[DisneyDatknee]

Like both Carnival and Royal equally, but did you look at the Adventure of the Seas? Lot more to do on that boat.

Edited January 7, 2017 by DisneyDatknee

[frayedend]

$2300 for 3 on the Fascination doesn't sound cheap at all for an inside cabin. I guess August is still high season?

 

It's the lowest price that is before school starts. It does get lower the next week but too late for us. That price is all fees including tips. I compared a lot of options.

 

My teens boys would probably welcome a cruise where I didn't constantly photograph them like a paparazzi ;). Sometimes guy time is just what they need. :)

 

Yes exactly. My boys both said "can we just go to the beach and not the stupid long tours and stuff". They also are considering no formal nights, more buffet and less dining room. All sort of guy stuff. And I won't even go into the photo shop area. LOL

 

 

 

 

Like both Carnival and Royal equally, but did you look at the Adventure of the Seas? Lot more to do on that boat.

 

 

Is that the RC ship going from San Juan? If it is I did look at that (forgot the ship) and it was about $1000 more. Cost prohibitive for me.

[Iluvmyrandr]

I book same ship different month today. I am also single parent traveling with teens. I purchased insurance but I think I can take it off, should I?

[muggo11]

I was a single mom with one teen boy and we went on a cruise or two every year--three on Fascination. He loved the teen club and freedom I gave him on sea days to do anything he wanted as long as he showed up dressed for dinner and didn't get in trouble. He could stay out as long as he wanted, too, but had to be ready to go on our excursions. We snorkeled, zip-lined, kayaked and wind-surfed our way across the Caribbean. We lived in Orlando so it was a cheap getaway. He still talks about those cruises and, now, at the age of 25 has a goal to make enough money to go on one on his own (or maybe pay for ME:)

Sounds like a grand adventure. Have a blast.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[demoiselle]

Fascination had one movie and one tv show playing on loop over the TVs, changing every 24 hours. Hubby and I considered watching Force Awakens, but we're not big movie people so we didn't see what else was playing.

[sparks1093]

Just adding that I think with the port intensive itinerary you'll be fine. I would say though that there is no need to skip elegant night, you can get by with nice shirts and pants and they have some tasty items on those nights (I believe surf and turf was offered the first elegant night). I didn't do a scientific poll or look all that closely but only about 50-60% of the passengers seemed really dressed up.

[frayedend]

Just adding that I think with the port intensive itinerary you'll be fine. I would say though that there is no need to skip elegant night, you can get by with nice shirts and pants and they have some tasty items on those nights (I believe surf and turf was offered the first elegant night). I didn't do a scientific poll or look all that closely but only about 50-60% of the passengers seemed really dressed up.

 

Yeah, I had another thread specifically on this subject (comparing the MDR food to the buffet). All of the time I thought the kids would like to skip MDR and then I asked them. They said the wanted MDR and would bring formal clothes also. I was in shock. But good they are growing up. :)

[sparks1093]

Yeah, I had another thread specifically on this subject (comparing the MDR food to the buffet). All of the time I thought the kids would like to skip MDR and then I asked them. They said the wanted MDR and would bring formal clothes also. I was in shock. But good they are growing up. :)

 

Just when you think you have it all figured out...;)

[Mary Ellen1]

Hi. I responded to your other thread. The outcome of that was actually pretty funny. "Dad! We actually want to do Formal Night." Go figure...

 

Does your itinerary take you to St. Maarten? If so, you have GOT to take them to the airport beach. Maho Beach. http://www.mahobeachcam.com :D

[frayedend]

Hi. I responded to your other thread. The outcome of that was actually pretty funny. "Dad! We actually want to do Formal Night." Go figure...

 

Does your itinerary take you to St. Maarten? If so, you have GOT to take them to the airport beach. Maho Beach. http://www.mahobeachcam.com :D

 

Yeah, we go to St. Maarten. I think Maho will be our destination. We want to spend a lot of time hanging out at the beach. Usually in St. Maarten we've just taken the water taxi over to the beach and stayed there. Maho has always been on our list for the planes but we usually ended up doing the cheapest thing.

 

Any idea on how much a taxi to Maho would be?

[CharlesKru]

Yeah, we go to St. Maarten. I think Maho will be our destination. We want to spend a lot of time hanging out at the beach. Usually in St. Maarten we've just taken the water taxi over to the beach and stayed there. Maho has always been on our list for the planes but we usually ended up doing the cheapest thing.

 

Any idea on how much a taxi to Maho would be?

 

Last time we did it, it was about $30, we plan to go in April.

 

Make sure you leave over a hr before back on board time. It is a long drive, and there is often traffic.

[squierjosh]

We just finished this itinerary a week ago or so. There were enough teenage aged kids, and they all seemed to find each other and keep each other company. It's really all about the itinerary. I had very low expectations for the ship going in, and I was still a little disappointed. Didn't seem like there was much choice for food, and the grill were barely open. The food was not bad, but bland. I liked the pizza, but it was always a wait to get some, and the chef never seemed to be in a hurry to serve it. The shows were just ok. The cruise director is very peppy and tried hard, but there's just so much you can do to get people excited about being on that ship.

 

The one nice thing is that it doesn't take long to navigate the ship, it's so small. It's clean, and the service is great. We were off the ship pretty much the whole allowed time for each port, just to get out.