MY DAUGHTERS SWEET 16 on the FASCINATION Review

[Elaine515]

First off, for those of you who missed my original thread....We were on the 4 Day Fascination July 10 - 14th sailing....

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=363109

 

I will start this off by saying WE LOVE CARNIVAL and HAD A GREAT TIME.... Being a Platinum Card Member also doesn't hurt... We cruised with my parents (Platinum Card Members, my husband, myself, my 16 & 12 year old daughters (Platinum Card Members), my in-laws, and three 16 year old "best" friends of my daughter.

 

So, it all started with the surprise stretch escalade limo showing up at the house as the girls were putting their luggage in the car. I said to them instead of putting the luggage in my car do you want to put it in that one? They turned around, the mouths opened, they jumped up and down, hugged and we were on our way....

 

We arrived at the Port at around 12:15 and was immediately escorted to the VIP Room (Platinum Card Members) which was really a nice air conditioned room with tables and chairs. The two Carnival staff members pretty much did everything for us and then personally escorted us past the line all the way to the place where we picked up our room keys and Sign n Sail cards. We then had to wait maybe around 5 minutes to take our pictures and we were in on-board, in our cabins by 12:40. WOW.... The girls room R167 was already decorated with the Happy Birthday decorations I had ordered on line about a week earlier....

 

Our room, right across the hall, R165 was also decorated with Bon Voyage decorations and a letter saying it was courtesy of Carnival Cruise Lines (another Platinum Card Member thing?)... We put our carry on bags down and proceeded to the Lido Deck for lunch. Although it was a full ship, we never once felt crowded.

 

The girls didn't want me to buy them the Soda Cards and not once used the Sign n Sail cards. They drank water, lemonade, ice tea and juice!!! They did stay out until 2:30am but were never apart from each other and had a great time. Met other kids their ages and hung out with them as well. My 12 year old went to the Camp Meet N Greet for the 12 - 14 year olds the first night and also had a great time hanging out with her new friends all week...

 

On Key West we walked up and down Duval St, the girls purchasing around $500 total worth of Coach pocketbooks, purses and even an iPod cover. They had a great time in that store!! In Cozumel we took the 2nd tender from the ship (Again a Platinum Card Member thingy where all we had to do was go to the Pursers Deck and get on the Platinum Card Member line (we were the line!!! and I found out that there were only 10 Platinum Card Members on board the Fascination this week with 6 of them cruising with me). A Carnival Cruise Staff Member again escorted us down a back stairway right to the Tender and we got to bypass the line. We went to Paradise Beach and it was truly Paradise.

 

http://www.paradise-beach-cozumel.net/

 

We were at the beach by 1:30 and at 3:15 we met a couple who were on tender 19 and had just gotten there. Paradise Beach is great.... For $8 a piece, the girls were able to use the trampoline, rock climbing iceberg, water floats, scuba driving equipment and kayaks. They also went parasailing (we were quoted $55 but gave him $200 for the 4 of them and he said ok). The beach was beautiful, clean, fun and the food was good to. The 9 of us ate and drank for $2,000 PESOS!!! ($180 US Dollars).

 

We had a slight problem with the dining room time which we wanted to change. We had to unfortunately call the corporate office the 1st afternoon from the ship after we were told we couldn't change from late to early seating even through as Platinum Members it is noted that you are guaranteed whatever dining time you wanted. Needless to say, after the call to Corporate, our seating time was changed and the next night we got a courtesy bottle of wine to make up for our inconvenience. They even let me pick any wine I wanted from the wine list!!

 

Every night in our cabin, we had baskets of fruit, vegetables platters, bottles of wine, Carnival Cruise Line Totes bags etc delivered to us (again we think a Platinum Card Member thingy). The girls absolutely loved coming back to the cabin just to see what was there!!

 

My daughter celebrated her Sweet 16 on Thursday night and she got a birthday cake delivered to the table.... (again I ordered this on-line prior to leaving but because of the dining room switch I was a bit worried that it wasn't going to get there).

 

The food was good, the staff wonderful and yes, the Fascination is old and you can see it. The ship is cold so if you're planning on cruising on her, bring a sweater of jacket. The casino was absolutely freezing and I actually had to leave the casino a couple of times just to warm up. The Carnival Casino Staff again was wonderful and friendly. As far as the cabins go, the drawers didn't shut all the way, the closet drawers also didn't close, the walls need painting etc but all in all the ship is still beautiful.

 

We were given special tags to put on our luggage and when we got off the ship, the bags were under a VIP Sign away from the rest of thousands of bags.... (again, a Platinum Card Member thingy)....

 

So, all in all I would say this was a very successful birthday present. Everyone had a great time and I would take the girls again in a heartbeat....

 

So, as far as bringing the girls....

 

I got a notorized letter from each parent giving me the ok to take their daughters with me and allowing me to make any medical decisions if necessary.

 

They were given full spending privileges on the sign n sail cards but never once used them!!

 

They were always together. I never caught any of them alone.

 

In total they took about 65 professional pictures of which we purchased 9 of them... The girls told me they had a great time just walking all over the ship taking pictures!!!

 

Only one time did the Room Steward scream, two other Stewards came running and 10 minutes later their room was decent looking again!!! Have you ever seen what a bathroom that 4 teenage girls share looks like????

 

They shared clothes, stayed up talking all night, giggled, laughed and had a great time.

 

They all thanked me over and over and over again and told me they were ready to go again for Danielle's 17th birthday!!!

 

If you have any questions, please ask because this was one of the best cruises we've taken and taking the other girls was a definite plus.

 

Elaine :)

 

07/10/2006 Carnival Fascination Western

03/17/2006 Costa Magic Eastern (never ever again Costa)

09/02/2005 Carnival Fascination Bahamas

03/18/2005 NCL Spirit Southern

3/20/2004 Carnival Triumph Western

3/16/2003 Carnival Spirit Exotic W. Caribbean

08/02 NCL Sun

12/21/2001 Carnival Spirit Southern Caribbean

10/15/2000 Carnival Destiny Southern Caribbean

1/31/2000 Carnival Ecstasy Western Caribbean

10/17/1999 Carnival Destiny Western Caribbean

10/98 RCL Grandeur of the Seas

10/18/1997 Carnival Fascination Southern Caribbean

10/6/1996 Carnival Sensation Western Caribbean

10/7/1995 Carnival Imagination Western Caribbean

10/94 Dolphin IV

11/6/1993 Carnival Celebration

11/1/1986 Carnival Carnivale

 

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[virginiab]

What a delightful birthday treat! Tell your daughter happy birthday from all of us at Cruise Critic.

[katie286]

I'm so glad your daughter's sweet 16th cruise was a success!! We are leaving next month for my daughter's sweet 16th cruise also! Three 16 year olds, One 18 year old and 3 moms and one grandma. We are so excited!! I just spoke to my neighbor who is a limo driver to do the same thing the morning of our cruise! I figure its a great start to the cruise!

I do have a question though...I ordered the Birthday room decorations already, but was told that when I board the ship, to go and order the cake. How did you order it online for the dinner? Did you have it delivered for formal night? My original PVP is no longer with Carnival so I have another one, maybe I should ask her about it. :confused:

[Elaine515]

I'm so glad your daughter's sweet 16th cruise was a success!! We are leaving next month for my daughter's sweet 16th cruise also! Three 16 year olds, One 18 year old and 3 moms and one grandma. We are so excited!! I just spoke to my neighbor who is a limo driver to do the same thing the morning of our cruise! I figure its a great start to the cruise!

I do have a question though...I ordered the Birthday room decorations already, but was told that when I board the ship, to go and order the cake. How did you order it online for the dinner? Did you have it delivered for formal night? My original PVP is no longer with Carnival so I have another one, maybe I should ask her about it. :confused:

 

 

Katie,

 

It was a blast....one of my best cruises ever.... I also ordered the birthday cake right thru the Carnival website but on our last cruise we did order a birthday cake for my husband on-board in the Formalities Shop. So you can do either one. We had Danielle's cake delivered to her on her actual birthday, Thursday, July 13th which was the last night of the cruise and worked out perfectly. If your daughter is on the ship on her birthday, then I would recommend the cake for that day, if not, formal night seems like the 2nd best idea.

 

And if you didnt yet tell them about the limo, DON'T... it was so much fun to see the shock, surprise and excitment on the girls faces when he drove up to the house!!!

 

Elaine :)

 

 

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