Carnival Fascination observations

[Crazy4Camping]

This was our first cruise.  
Please feel free to ask questions if you haven't been on this ship before and wonder what it is like.  

I liked this ship for our first cruise since it was small enough to learn the layout within a couple days.  

I can't imagine how hard it would be to get around on a larger ship, but I figure if you're used to cruising then it's prob fairly easy as I'm sure they set them up similarly.

Food was hit and miss in the MDR.  Some was sooo delicious and some stuff just tasted strange(like gamey-tasting beef).  The buffet was same quality as any buffet.  Guy's burgers and Blue Cantina both were good and I enjoyed the toppings area to make things the way I like.  The waits everywhere(food and bars)were what you would expect at any buffet/bar at home.  Less total people on a ship means less wait staff so if ten people are at a bar waiting to get a drink and there are only 2 bartenders, then you will wait for a few minutes.  Not a big deal.  Waiting is part of life.  Dinner each night in the MDR took time as many of the people at our table ordered multiple appetizers and main entrees so it took them longer to bring it out.  Between that and the dancing, you won't make a 7:30 show when you are at  a 6pm seating.  Wait staff in the MDR were great, though.  Very nice and accommodating.  

The cruise director, Britnee, was amazing!  Always making important announcements and doing fun stuff like Zumba on the Lido deck.  She and her staff were high energy and very entertaining!  There was always something going on-never bored!

We bought the drink package and enjoyed not worrying about what we were drinking, but if you get the package thinking there's a store to walk into and grab a bottle of vitamin water or iced tea, no such place exists on this ship.  There is a jewelry/smokes/liquor store and another store with souvenirs as well as a candy shop, but that's it.

The fitness center was really nice and if I had more time, I would've taken more advantage of all of it.  I used the treadmill and elliptical machines but never made it to any of the classes or used the showers/sauna/steam room.  Serenity was a nice area too, but usually pretty crowded so getting a lounge chair was rare.

We learned pretty quickly that all the picture taking was quite a money-maker for the ship and just stopped getting our picture taken cause we weren't going to be able to afford to buy them all.  We did buy 3 so that we could get a coupon code for a free Shutterfly album and a luggage tag.  

Our room steward was very nice but we suddenly stopped getting towel animals for a couple days.  I didn't say anything, but my friend I was travelling with said something(they were next door and got them everyday)and he explained he had a "helper".  Helper or not, why no animals and even no ice one of the days?  To me, that's just standard stuff.  He made sure to hang out folding sheets/towels in the hallway the last morning though, no doubt waiting to see what tips he could get.  I tipped twice during the week(after those stopped coming so did the animals so ???) and again upon departure although we had done prepaid gratuities.   The last day(after 2 days without animals and one day with no ice)he left a nice sign wishing us a Happy Anniversary(he asked when we arrived if we were celebrating anything)and left a bucket of ice with a bottle of sparkling cider.  This was a nice touch and made up for the rest of the week but we didn't have time to consume the bottle on the last night so we left it for him to pass on to someone else.

All in all it was a great vacation.  I learned alot about cruising and will def use what I learned to make it even better if we get the opportunity to cruise again someday.  

 

 

[soonernstlouis]

Thanks for the detailed description of the Fascination, Crazy4Camping.

 

We will be on the same ship in September so I’m really interested in folks being as thorough as you are.  Couple of quick questions:

1) Was the disembarkment at each port timely (if you left when first available)?

2) Are you saying the Fun Shop had little to no drinks available?  I am pre-ordering water to the room but wanted ala carte available if we ran out.

3) We have early dining (6pm) too.  So sad to hear you missed shows.  But for me this cruise (my 2nd ever) is about ports and not the ship.  On another site, they referred to the Fascination as a sea Greyhound bus (lol).  Hopefully will be better than that but as long as we don’t get sick on the food & sleep well-the investment into going to 6 islands (incl Puerto Rico) is the payoff.

4) Our grats are prepaid too.  So I’ll definitely wait until the end to decide if more tips are deserved for the cabin steward.

[LittleYiaYia]

Thanks for your review.  I'm glad you enjoyed your first cruise and that you enjoyed the Fascination.  We sailed on her last February and are 6 days from sailing her again.  We prefer the smaller ships and cruise for the itinerary not the ship, so all the bells and whistles of the big ships do not matter to us.  One thing we loved about the Fascination was that we never had to wait in line.  I'm sorry you did not get to make the shows.  We had anytime dining and never had a problem getting in and out in about one hour. 

 

I have a few questions.  How was muster?  Where was your station?  Do they finally have it under control?  It was a mess last year and the staff really needed to get their act together.   

 

13 minutes ago, soonernstlouis said:

early dining (6pm) too.  So sad to hear you missed shows.  But for me this cruise (my 2nd ever) is about ports and not the ship.  On another site, they referred to the Fascination as a sea Greyhound bus (lol).  Hopefully will be better than that but as long as we don’t get sick on the food & sleep well-the investment into going to 6 islands (incl Puerto Rico) is the payoff.

4) Our grats are prepaid too.  So I’ll definitely wait until the end to decide if more tips are deserved for the cabin steward.

 

IMO the Fascination gets a bad rap just because she is an older ship and does not have all the new amenities.  We found her to be clean and well maintained and the staff to be the best we have had in over 15 cruises.  This is the perfect ship for 6 port days and only one sea day.

Edited February 18, 2019 by LittleYiaYia
sp.

[mvaughn11]

Thanks for your review! The information is most helpful. We will be on the Fascination June 9th.

[May1cruiser]

6 hours ago, soonernstlouis said:

This ship was beautiful. 

fantastic crew throughout. 

ports were beautiful.

I do believe this was a busier cruise with less down time since we did excursions at each port. Only one sea day.

Really looking forward to elation in May with more sea days and only one excursion planned.

Quote

 

 

Edited February 19, 2019 by May1cruiser
mis spelling

[Crazy4Camping]

19 hours ago, soonernstlouis said:

Thanks for the detailed description of the Fascination, Crazy4Camping.

 

We will be on the same ship in September so I’m really interested in folks being as thorough as you are.  Couple of quick questions:

1) Was the disembarkment at each port timely (if you left when first available)?

2) Are you saying the Fun Shop had little to no drinks available?  I am pre-ordering water to the room but wanted ala carte available if we ran out.

3) We have early dining (6pm) too.  So sad to hear you missed shows.  But for me this cruise (my 2nd ever) is about ports and not the ship.  On another site, they referred to the Fascination as a sea Greyhound bus (lol).  Hopefully will be better than that but as long as we don’t get sick on the food & sleep well-the investment into going to 6 islands (incl Puerto Rico) is the payoff.

4) Our grats are prepaid too.  So I’ll definitely wait until the end to decide if more tips are deserved for the cabin steward.

I found the getting on/off ship at the ports was easy(we usually left around 9:30 and got back on between 1-2).  It was interesting though that only coming back on the ship in St. Thomas did they ask for photo ID with sail/sign card.  No other port did they ask for anything but SS card.  Yes, I wandered around the Fun Shop with the souvenirs and didn't see a drink cooler.  I may have missed it, but I looked twice, specifically for bottled beverages since we bought Cheers and didn't find any.  Maybe it was in the other shop with the jewelry and cigarettes?  I passed through there but didn't really look hard.  Didn't see anyone with bottled beverages in their hand either.  You can get Perrier or San Pelligrino at the coffee shop or bars.  I believe Rockstar was on the coffee shop menu as well.  We went to later shows the couple days we did shows but just letting people know that if you are at a table full of people you will have to get up and leave if you want to see an early show.  If you haven't done this itinerary, I can give you an idea of what we did in each port.  Let me know!

[Crazy4Camping]

19 hours ago, LittleYiaYia said:

Thanks for your review.  I'm glad you enjoyed your first cruise and that you enjoyed the Fascination.  We sailed on her last February and are 6 days from sailing her again.  We prefer the smaller ships and cruise for the itinerary not the ship, so all the bells and whistles of the big ships do not matter to us.  One thing we loved about the Fascination was that we never had to wait in line.  I'm sorry you did not get to make the shows.  We had anytime dining and never had a problem getting in and out in about one hour. 

 

I have a few questions.  How was muster?  Where was your station?  Do they finally have it under control?  It was a mess last year and the staff really needed to get their act together.   

 

 

IMO the Fascination gets a bad rap just because she is an older ship and does not have all the new amenities.  We found her to be clean and well maintained and the staff to be the best we have had in over 15 cruises.  This is the perfect ship for 6 port days and only one sea day.

Muster was ridiculously easy compared to the descriptions on this forum but things were changed around due to the Superbowl.  Our station "A" was in one of the theaters-I think it was Palace.  We just sat in the seats and listened to the info about what to do in case of an emergency.  When they started the Spanish version, we left.  It was done at a different time than expected cause they were timing it to be during halftime.  For that reason, everyone we asked told us a different time for Muster so we just waited for the announcement to tell us when to go.  Someone went around scanning all the sign/sail cards while we listened to the info.  

The ship seemed very clean but in both of the public restrooms(womens) there were stalls that wouldn't lock/lock was broken.  Also, there was a delay in all the automatic doors so watch out cause one didn't read that I was passing through and closed into my arm-hard. This may be the same on all ships, I don't know, it was just something I noticed cause I generally walk fast everywhere I go and I had to stop for the doors to open and watch out(after my injury)to make sure they didn't close on me. 

There were lines at buffet and stuff but that's to be expected.  I got the feeling that people were there to eat.  I mean, really EAT.  Like it was a contest.   There was never a time(I was usually up from 630 am til 1030-11pm)that people were not eating so yes lines for food everywhere.  Longest wait was the morning I decided to try the omelette area and he went back to scramble more eggs.  Was gone a solid ten minutes.  Also ten people in front of me so that day breakfast took awhile.  Never long line at the Blue Cantina-can't figure that out cause I would've eaten that everyday but wanted to try all the areas so only got that a couple times.  

If you have any port questions fire away!

[LittleYiaYia]

You made me laugh when you made the remark about people being at the buffet to really EAT.  Yes, I get that impression too, I wonder if some people think it might be their last meal?  We never went to the buffet, we ate in the dining room in the morning, so we never saw the food frenzy or waited in line.   We were gone all day in port and did not get back on till all aboard time so I can't speak to the lines at lunch time.  I believe if you want a bottle of water or a soda you have to purchase it from a bar.  I did not see any drinks in any of the shops.  I did see way over priced snacks.  I'm glad to hear muster has improved, I was not looking forward to the same cluster as last year.   

[1illinifan]

We were on this same trip, I thought the ship was very pretty . A lot prettier then some of the others

we

have been on. Muster was easy. Embarking was easiest we have ever been on..We had towel animals and ice everyday, with not tipping till end.We had anytime dining so always made the show. I agree the cruise director was awesome . I loved having buffed out on open deck. We did not have room service menu, asked for breakfast one and they gave that to us, but never saw other menu. The comedy show night before last night caused quite a audience stir , many many people were upset with some of the content. It was not , I repeat not the usual jokes, political , raciest,roasting jokes of any comedy show we had ever been to , and we don’t miss one.We didn’t say anything and left after show but some of the audience confronted the comedian, it was not pretty . So we did not return the next night. I loved the ports, we had been to St Thomas , Puerto Rico and St Marrten several times before. We loved seeing Sr Lucia,St Kitts and Barbados . We thought lines were small and ship did not seem as crowded as previous ships. We have cruised all but new classsss, Vista and Horizen.We thought Super Bowl party was a nice addition.We missed having aft pool but we were so busy with ports , we didn’t spend much time at pool.First time I ever went to a Craft event and I was pleasantly surprised. 

[Crazy4Camping]

4 minutes ago, 1illinifan said:

We were on this same trip, I thought the ship was very pretty . A lot prettier then some of the others

we

have been on. Muster was easy. Embarking was easiest we have ever been on..We had towel animals and ice everyday, with not tipping till end.We had anytime dining so always made the show. I agree the cruise director was awesome . I loved having buffed out on open deck. We did not have room service menu, asked for breakfast one and they gave that to us, but never saw other menu. The comedy show night before last night caused quite a audience stir , many many people were upset with some of the content. It was not , I repeat not the usual jokes, political , raciest,roasting jokes of any comedy show we had ever been to , and we don’t miss one.We didn’t say anything and left after show but some of the audience confronted the comedian, it was not pretty . So we did not return the next night. I loved the ports, we had been to St Thomas , Puerto Rico and St Marrten several times before. We loved seeing Sr Lucia,St Kitts and Barbados . We thought lines were small and ship did not seem as crowded as previous ships. We have cruised all but new classsss, Vista and Horizen.We thought Super Bowl party was a nice addition.We missed having aft pool but we were so busy with ports , we didn’t spend much time at pool.First time I ever went to a Craft event and I was pleasantly surprised. 

Yes we went to late comedy show and I know what you're talking about.  It was over the top and unnecessarily mean to many groups.  The one earlier in the week with a different comedian was funny without being derogatory. 

[TrinaLC]

FYI, towel animals every night is not a standard of service. (Ice however is!!). 

 

There me is no requirement that stewards leave any towel animals, though I think I have always had at least one or two nights. 

 

Your steward probably paid paid a helper to provide that “service” because he or she was too busy doing the rooms to stop and make the animals up. 

 

Enjoy them when you get them but realize that is your steward going above and beyond and potentially even paying a colleague.

 

 

[Crazy4Camping]

On 2/19/2019 at 2:50 PM, TrinaLC said:

FYI, towel animals every night is not a standard of service. (Ice however is!!). 

 

There me is no requirement that stewards leave any towel animals, though I think I have always had at least one or two nights. 

 

Your steward probably paid paid a helper to provide that “service” because he or she was too busy doing the rooms to stop and make the animals up. 

 

Enjoy them when you get them but realize that is your steward going above and beyond and potentially even paying a colleague.

 

 

Please read more carefully.  I stated that the 2 days we didn't get animals or ice are the days he said he had a "helper" and that this helper did not do it.  Since the couple we were travelling with got animals and ice everyday in the room right next door I was led to believe that this was the norm, sorry if it is not.  In addition, I prepaid gratuities as well as tipping 3 times during the week and they did not prepay, also remove them at the end of the trip and then give what they feel is reasonable so this isn't a tip thing.  Since it was our first and only and we were celebrating an anniversary, it was just disappointing because we didn't ask for anything special, only asked for once a day service and please keep ice bucket full so I can have cold water.  

[beshears]

Thank you for your review on the Fascination ship.  We plan to be on it (first time) the 31st of March. Actually being from Kansas City, MO., we are READY for it now, with all the ICE/snow that has piled up around us. 😞

I do look forward to the towel animals, but it is no biggie.  I have never been on any (several) of Carnival ships where we did not see animals almost every night when we came back to our room.

As for the gratuities, yes they are already on the bill.  Normally at the end of the cruise, I go to the Pursers Desk and pick up envelopes, and generally leave a tip for our waiters, as well as the room steward.

For dining, we always do it late, in the MDR.  The reason for this, if we are on a tour, etc., we don't have to rush back to be at dinner at 6:00.  This way we can shower, rest if we want, and then get dressed without be rushed. 🙂

[Qchell]

I have always preferred the smaller to medium ships.  The service seems to be better, there is a less frantic feel to the atmosphere, and it always seems to be easier to find a chair.   (I just wish they had the Tandoori from the Dream Class)

 

If you are looking for bottled non-alcoholic drinks - they are at the bars and the coffee shop has some too.  

 

I'm sorry to hear that about the comedian.  My DH and I tend to enjoy the adult comedy shows and generally don't get offended easily, but on our last cruise we ran into a comedian that took it over the edge and took his jokes well past the point of being funny.  First time we have ever walked out of a show.  I wish we had paid attention to who it was because if it turned out to be the same person, it would be easier to let Carnival know that one of their comedians was taking it too far. 

I can understand about missing out on the towel animal, I know many find them silly and useless, but I always look forward to coming back from dinner to see what we got that evening.  Fortunately, I don't recall ever not getting a new one, so I would assume that was just a fluke.  

 

I do recommend YTD as well.  In 8 or 9 cruises we have only had to wait for more than a minute or so a small handful of times.  Generally we are seated nearly immediately.  Our meals generally move at a decent pace and if you like the social atmosphere of seated dining, typically the tables are close enough to the one next to you that you can visit with your neighbors as if you were at the same table.  We just find YTD easier as we never know when in our day we will be ready for dinner and do prefer to eat dinner in the MDR.  

[CruzerDeb]

Thanks for this Fascination review.  I just booked a cruise on her and can't wait.  I've always had towel animals every night on every cruise I've been on; I wonder if this is another thing they are doing away with?  I look forward to seeing them every night.

[Crazy4Camping]

On 4/4/2019 at 10:39 AM, CruzerDeb said:

Thanks for this Fascination review.  I just booked a cruise on her and can't wait.  I've always had towel animals every night on every cruise I've been on; I wonder if this is another thing they are doing away with?  I look forward to seeing them every night.

Enjoy your cruise!  Irregardless of all observations, I would sail on this ship again!!