Back from the Fascination - Family Cruisers

[Crazy4Camping]

WE are scheduled to board between 1:00 and 1:30 on April 8th, Does anyone kn ow if it is possible to board, put stuff in our cabin and then get off again? Also does anyone know if there are fridges in ocean view cabins?

 

Thanks

 

We definitely plan to get on, eat and then go out and explore for a little while before having to be back on the ship. I was very disappointed to find out there wasn't any frig in our oceanview room. It's our first cruise and I assumed the staterooms were like hotel rooms but I found out very quickly that there's NOTHING in most staterooms. No frig, no iron, no coffee, limited channels on the TV, no microwave, limited outlets, etc. Best idea for you is to look at the deck plans and zoom in on your specific stateroom. Then you can find out what it has.

[stargate fan]

We definitely plan to get on, eat and then go out and explore for a little while before having to be back on the ship. I was very disappointed to find out there wasn't any frig in our oceanview room. It's our first cruise and I assumed the staterooms were like hotel rooms but I found out very quickly that there's NOTHING in most staterooms. No frig, no iron, no coffee, limited channels on the TV, no microwave, limited outlets, etc. Best idea for you is to look at the deck plans and zoom in on your specific stateroom. Then you can find out what it has.

Think about your disappointments for a minute:

1) No fridge - Easy remedied by requesting a plastic bucket of ice twice a day from cabin steward.

Want cold bottled water? Put some bottles into the ice and they'll cool down. Prefer other cold drinks? Lido and or room service has them.

2) No iron - there are indeed irons in the laundry rooms on the ships.

Irons can be fire hazards. The differences between a hotel and a cruise ship is that if there is a fire in a hotel, people can evacuate to terra firma. If there's a fire on a cruise ship, there are only a few things to do - go to a life boat or jump overboard into the ocean.

3) No coffee - Coffee is available for free 24/7 on Lido, as well as most hours through room service.

We travel a lot and have stayed in many hotels brands around the world. Very few hotel rooms had coffee makers in them. Most hotels didn't even have complimentary coffee in the lobby. Most trips we had to buy coffee in the coffee shop/restaurant on premises.

4) Limited channels - To each his/her own.

5) No microwave - See #3.

 

6) Limited outlets - Bring a multi outlet extension.

 

Please tell me which hotel has complimentary food available 24 hours a day.

Please tell me which hotel has complimentary entertainment day and night.

(Comedy club, live music, shows, trivia games, etc.)

 

It saddens me to read such negativity about a first cruise before even getting on a cruise ship.

I was going to wish you a great cruise, but I don't believe you will.

Have a good day.

[stargate fan]

So the fascination did not get the USB ports in the rooms after the renovations?

 

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No, she did not.

[stargate fan]

Will the ship be on the same time as San Juan itself?

The ship stayed on San Juan time the entire week of 2/25/18.

[stargate fan]

According to Google Maps, there is a Walgreens and a CVS across the street and about 3-4 blocks East of the port.

This is correct.

My hair mousse lost its propellant (?) so I walked to Walgreen's first then CVS to buy a can after leaving our luggage with porters.

[easyboy]

Thanks for the review!

 

 

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[parkesyau]

I'm back after cruising last week on the Fascination. I enjoyed the cruise and had a wonderful time.

 

A bit about us: we are a family of five, with three active kids (currently 6, 4, and 2). We do one vacation out of the country a year and love adventures.

 

Our cabins: we traveled in a suite that was connected to an oceanview (u69 and u67). Loved the set up. Wish this existed outside of the fantasy class.

 

For the dry dock report: From what I could tell, the only major changes were the addition of the candy shop (pretty and delicious), the sushi place down the hall (looks like a fun pop-up, but didn't seem to be busy) and the additions around the pool (eg Guys burgers and the Blue Catina). The tacos and burritos are so yummy for breakfast and lunch! The ship is still very old and tacky, but that didn't ruin a thing (well except the awful heavy balcony door that nearly took off a thumb). Love the water works slides at the back of the ship.

 

NCL vs Carnival: I love NCL and it checks so many boxes better than Carnival (food, ship store, suite perks, etc). But the Carnivals kids program is amazing. Feeding dinner to our kids for free? Yes, please. In fact, we loved it so much we already booked our next cruise in 2019 with Carnival.

 

Port Reviews:

- San Juan: Sadly still not doing well. The rainforest excursions still can't operate and options are limited. Carnival cancelled its city tour also due to a city event. On our last day, we did a local tour of the old town booked upon disembarking. $30 per person, but littlest one was free.

- St. Thomas: Lots of open air taxis waiting at the port. They charge between $7 - $10 per person, each way. We went to the aquarium (lots of renos, but the kids enjoyed it) and then walked 1 min to Coki Beach. Got a beach chair and umbrella for $10. Great day, gorgeous beach.

- Barbados: Booked directly a catamaran that took us swimming in the ocean with turtles, to a shipreck, and to a beach. Lunch provided. Such a fantastic experience. They did a great job of keeping the kids happy. Also fun that we sailed past the cruise ship. Friends we cruised with went with their kids to the beach and on the submarine excursion. They said the ride to the sub was choppy, but sub itself was fun.

- St. Lucia: Did the cruise extreme rainforest excursion with the eldest two kids. The kids loved the ziplining. Because of their size, we brought their climbing harnesses from home. They worked great and were a bit fit than the kids harness available, however they weren't necessary. The guides were fantastic and our group had such a good time.

- St. Kitts: Beach day. Lots of taxis at the port. We paid $7 per person, with the littlest being free. At the beach we paid $20 for two chairs and an umbrella.

- St. Maarten: Just the adults went and did the flying dutchman. Lots of taxis at the port. It was $7 per person. An incredible and terrifying ride. Got a great video.

 

Cruise hack tips:

- Bring a non-surge protected power bar as there are still only one or two outlets in the cabin; and

- Bring Ziploc bags to bring room service sandwiches off ship.

 

 

Hope this review helps. Never done a review before.

 

Already counting down until the next cruise. Only 350ish days away!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Norwegian Jade - June 2017 - Norway (with a 5.5 yo, a 3.5 yo, and a 1 yo)

Norwegian Jewel - May 2014 - Alaska (with a 2.5 yo and an almost 1 yo)

Norwegian Jade - September 2009 - Mediterranean (pre-kids)

Carnival - April 2007 - Caribbean (pre-kids)

 

 

 

Oh i would never have thought about the zip lock bags good idea thank you for the tip

[ireashmott]

Ah, Event Horizon. Good movie; parts scared the heebie jeebies out of me. I get the sci fi reference - we named our cats after sci fi characters. And, there's my CC name.

 

 

 

Ooh, connecting balcony cabins will be great.

 

 

We sailed Vista, which is sister to Horizon. Admittedly, the ship was a bit different but I LOVED our cruise. We sailed Transatlantic from Barcelona to NYC.

 

 

IMAX was fun. Tip...bring snacks from home. A small bag of popcorn, lunchbox sized bag, was $3.95.

 

We saw Deep Water Horizon one rainy sea day. It was weird...watching a movie about a disaster on an oil platform in the Atlantic while we sailed a ship in the Atlantic. :eek:

 

 

There were lots of things for kids, and adults, to do. Sky Ride was amazing!

 

 

Havana Balcony is definitely on our list for some day. (We're empty nesters, but one Havana Balcony was the same cost as three cruises on other Carnival ships.)

 

Spirit class (Pride, Legend, and Miracle) are my favorites due to their sizes and three pools, though there are fewer passengers.

 

 

 

Ooo three pools?! I like the sound of that.

 

 

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[ireashmott]

So the fascination did not get the USB ports in the rooms after the renovations?

 

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Nope. I did not notice any suite or cabin improvements, but they may have replaced the carpet.

 

 

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[ireashmott]

From my understanding, you can board with your allotted 1 bottle of wine and 12 pack of canned soda, then get off, reload, and re-board.

 

That and the port is an actual port of call for many ships, so you can enjoy the port just like any other stop on your cruise. The last call is 9PM local time, so it sits at dock a lot longer than ships do at other embarkation ports like Port Canveral or Miami, etc.

 

 

 

If we weren't traveling with three young kiddos, we definitely would have gotten off and explored. The port is very close to the forts, some nice architectural features, government buildings, and other city sites.

 

When we did explore on the last day, we enjoyed some coconut gelato in Columbus Square and checked out one of the forts. Would have been nice to sit back and enjoy a drink in the old town.

 

 

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[Crazy4Camping]

Think about your disappointments for a minute:

1) No fridge - Easy remedied by requesting a plastic bucket of ice twice a day from cabin steward.

Want cold bottled water? Put some bottles into the ice and they'll cool down. Prefer other cold drinks? Lido and or room service has them.

2) No iron - there are indeed irons in the laundry rooms on the ships.

Irons can be fire hazards. The differences between a hotel and a cruise ship is that if there is a fire in a hotel, people can evacuate to terra firma. If there's a fire on a cruise ship, there are only a few things to do - go to a life boat or jump overboard into the ocean.

3) No coffee - Coffee is available for free 24/7 on Lido, as well as most hours through room service.

We travel a lot and have stayed in many hotels brands around the world. Very few hotel rooms had coffee makers in them. Most hotels didn't even have complimentary coffee in the lobby. Most trips we had to buy coffee in the coffee shop/restaurant on premises.

4) Limited channels - To each his/her own.

5) No microwave - See #3.

 

6) Limited outlets - Bring a multi outlet extension.

 

Please tell me which hotel has complimentary food available 24 hours a day.

Please tell me which hotel has complimentary entertainment day and night.

(Comedy club, live music, shows, trivia games, etc.)

 

It saddens me to read such negativity about a first cruise before even getting on a cruise ship.

I was going to wish you a great cruise, but I don't believe you will.

Have a good day.

 

I actually know I will in fact have fun because now I know so much more than I did before. I'm just not used to asking for anything. I do everything in my world myself with no help so I guess I have to get used to asking for things! Every hotel I've ever stayed in(not fancy ones-those are the ones that DON'T have things the cheap ones do)has had a frig and microwave in the room as well as a coffee maker, and of course an ice machine for unlimited ice. I also always book those with breakfast included and never pay more than $125/night. My husband is the only crazy person that irons his clothes on vacation lol. As for the "complimentary" food/entertainment it's not "complimentary", it's included in the price, which when all is said and done, this week will cost us about $3000 for 2 people so I'm glad I found these messages boards so I know more about what to expect!

 

I plan to have fun as this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing for us so I plan to make the most of it!! Take care!!

[Aunt Sue]

Does anyone have the menu for the new Bonsai Sushi Express with prices? I understand sushi comes in boxes to go for an additional cost - anyone know how much? Thank you :cool:

[Clarea]

Enjoyed the report, thanks.

[Crazy4Camping]

Does anyone have the menu for the new Bonsai Sushi Express with prices? I understand sushi comes in boxes to go for an additional cost - anyone know how much? Thank you :cool:

 

I recently saw a post about this. I believe the pricing was $1.50 for one or roll for $5.50-$7.50. Pretty much the same price I pay at the store for some.

 

Was hoping this wasn't an extra charge, but as I want to get sushi while on board I will have to suck it up and open the wallet(again)!

[salty dingo]

Thanks for the review. It's nice to hear details about the ship and the ports.

[glittergal1]

you mention taking along Ziplock bags to store food in and take off the ship is this allowed?

[beshears]

Enjoyed your review, and planning to do the Fascination this coming spring.

 

 

You mentioned about bringing zip lock bags to bring the sandwiches from "room service." Good suggestion, but here is my question. Does the sandwiches have to be from room service, or can we do the same thing with a sandwich from the deli?

 

 

Also, I know pretty much of where we will be stopping on the itinerary, but is there any tendering done at any of these stops?