Caribbean 2021

[jelomu]

Well as much as my friend and I wanted to book a med cruise...it's priced out of our budget!

 

I like the idea of sailing from San Juan for the Southern cruise. We would even go a few days early to explore. Only thing that I'm hesitating on, it is the same ship as our Eastern cruise 10 years ago. We loved it...but I wanted to see a different ship!

 

Any chance they'll do a ship change for next year?

[MzOhioLady]

I too was looking at sailings leaving from San Juan for next year 2021. But when I looked, it was still the Fascination. Although a lot can happen between now and then so you never know what ships might switch up.

[lacy1101]

We are looking at this itinerary for my husband's retirement cruise in 2021.  Like everyone else, I'm a little disappointed it's on the Fascination.  We have sailed on her before and enjoyed it, but are looking to try different classes.  Until our most recent cruise last month on the Valor (loved it!), we had only sailed the Fantasy class.

[soonernstlouis]

@jelomu

 

Having been on the Fascination cruise within the past 6 months, I usually check in for questions like this.  
 

Obviously what you get on that ship is a terrific itinerary usually at a great price but Fantasy-level accommodations and food options.  If you’ve not looked at Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas this certainly is a comparable debarkment and  similar ports.  Quality is higher on the RCCL but I found price to be higher too.  You would need to choose what fits your budget and expectations. 
 

I don’t try to sell anyone on a ship just because I enjoyed it.  But I also stress how much I enjoyed the Southern Caribbean route and every cruiser should have that on their bucket list.

[kylesplash]

On 2/12/2020 at 12:18 PM, jelomu said:

Well as much as my friend and I wanted to book a med cruise...it's priced out of our budget!

 

I like the idea of sailing from San Juan for the Southern cruise. We would even go a few days early to explore. Only thing that I'm hesitating on, it is the same ship as our Eastern cruise 10 years ago. We loved it...but I wanted to see a different ship!

 

Any chance they'll do a ship change for next year?

 

I booked for 10/2021, I figure with how many stops there are, I might not mind the fascination.  Would be neat if they switched ships, but I'm not holding my breath. 

I did like that the prices were cheaper for the fascination. I booked an AFT balcony room, which I am excited about.

Edited February 14, 2020 by kylesplash

[bakersdozen12]

The Fascination is actually a great ship. And honestly, the ship doesn’t matter anyway on that itinerary. The islands are amazing, and you only have one sea day. Trust me, book it!

[CLS/KAS]

Have done this run 3 times.. twice on the Fascination...sorry, won't do it again till they replace the "love boat"

sailing on the Horizon next week.....WHOLE different class of cruising... I do think the southern run is the best run of all, but as stated a few threads up... booked on RC for Feb '21...at least it's a newer ship...Carnival has new ships coming in each year...lets see what '22 brings...but in the end, if your in the Caribbean... it's ALL GOOD!  

[Sagittarius traveler]

Yeah with the itinerary and having one sea day we booked an interior room and enjoyed it because we weren't on the ship much hahaha.

 

Barbados we were allowed to stay until night and it was during their carnival time which was awesome for us. 

 

Overall I believe when you have port days everyday and one sea day a fancy ship isn't really needed unless you been to those islands.

[vwrestler171]

I wouldn't count on a different ship.  They used to have bigger ships there and had to discount the cruises, so the ships would sail full.  Used to have Liberty, Valor, Victory and now Fascination.  

[Pyrate13]

We've done this cruise on the Valor and the Fascination. We love the itinerary and would love to do it again but, like a couple of others have posted, we won't do it again until they change the ship. We did not enjoy the Fascination at all. Obviously some do and that's fine for them but not us.

[Butterbean1000]

We have been wanting to do a southern from SJ, but are holding off until they change ship's.  The only Fantasy class ship we've sailed was the Fantasy.   We really missed our balcony.  The Fascination is a deal breaker for us.

[jelomu]

Well I booked it last night!

 

the itinerary is so good, very little time will be on the ship anyways😁

 

My choice was between this Caribbean cruise and a Med cruise. The Med cruises are priced pretty good, but the flights, excursions and extra costs make that trip double....someday...

[Sagittarius traveler]

You'll love it because it's a port everyday I hardly attended the shows because the port excursions had me tires haha.

 

Enjoy your vacation.

 

1 minute ago, jelomu said:

Well I booked it last night!

 

the itinerary is so good, very little time will be on the ship anyways😁

 

My choice was between this Caribbean cruise and a Med cruise. The Med cruises are priced pretty good, but the flights, excursions and extra costs make that trip double....someday...

 

[soonernstlouis]

@jelomu

 

Hope you have a great time as we did.  Try to spend at least 1-2 extra days in San Juan before or after the cruise as it’s like combining a destination vacation with a cruise.  And since flights in/out of SJU tend to be higher on Sundays, it would offset some of the extra hotel night’s cost.

Edited February 16, 2020 by soonernstlouis

[kylesplash]

On 2/16/2020 at 8:38 AM, jelomu said:

Well I booked it last night!

 

the itinerary is so good, very little time will be on the ship anyways😁

 

My choice was between this Caribbean cruise and a Med cruise. The Med cruises are priced pretty good, but the flights, excursions and extra costs make that trip double....someday...

Which week did you book? I am on the 10/10/21 cruise.

[RWolver672]

 

Carnival Fascination to Move to Mobile in 2022

February 18, 2020

Carnival Cruise Line today announced that Carnival Fascination will move from its current homeport of San Juan, PR and be based in Mobile, Ala., effective Jan. 16, 2022.

Carnival Fantasy will continue its popular four- and five-day cruise schedule from Mobile through January 2022, at which time Carnival Fascination, will pick up the itineraries. In conjunction with today’s announcement, Carnival Fascination itineraries from Mobile will open for sale later today. Guests currently booked on Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Fascination through January 2022 will not be affected and voyages will operate as planned.

“Carnival Fascination will bring some exciting new features to the Mobile market, including a greater variety of balcony accommodations, a Bonsai Sushi Express venue, the cocktail pharmacy-themed Alchemy Bar and a Cherry On Top sweets shop,” said Fred Stein, Carnival’s vice president of revenue planning and deployment. “We have worked with the Mobile community over the last several years to successfully build demand and create this opportunity for a newer ship to enter the market.”

In the coming months, Carnival is expected to announce plans for Carnival Fantasy. In addition, its deployment team continues to evaluate options to return to San Juan after 2022 with a ship that can resume calls to eastern and southern Caribbean destinations currently served by Carnival Fascination.

 

 

[hockeyguru32]

I also booked this cruise out of San Juan in 10/2021 I have never been on a Fantasy Class only Conquest and up. I booked this cruise for the itinerary and will be a lot of firsts for me