Looking for reviews - Fascination

[darjensil]

I have recently booked a cruise on the Fascination and would love to read some reviews about this ship and any excursions taken-thanks for any information.

[ymelancon]

Hi, my name is Yvette and I'm booked on the Fascination this coming August 2 through the 6th. This will be my first time on this ship so I can't give you a review yet, but was wondering when exactly are you going? I put out a roll call last month, but haven't had any replies yet. :)

[2sigs]

I just got back from the 4 day Fascination cruise June 28 - July 2nd. I can try to answer any of your questions. My husband and I went for our 5 year anniverary without our two young children (they stayed with Nana for the week). We had a great time. We loved that there was so much to do at night. We have only cruised one other time on RCL and found that everyone was in bed by 10:00 so we wanted to try Carnival. I must say, even the kids were up past midnight on the Fascination. There was always something to do on the ship. As for the ports, we didn't care for Key West but Cozumel was great! The water was absolutely beautiful and we had a blast at Carlos and Charlies. We opted to do a snorkeling tour in Cozumel earlier in the day(Island Snorkel Adventure) which I would not recommend. Although the guides were very nice and tried to be helpful the tour only takes you a few hundred yards from where the boat docks. We could have walked to the snorkeling location and snorkeled for free. We didn't see anything interesting and were very disappointed since we'd heard that Cozumel snorkeling is supposed to be excellent.

[smceown]

Here is what I wrote after my Fascination cruise this past March:

 

I just returned from the March 29 Fascination 4 night cruise to Key West and Cozumel. This was my second cruise, last year our family of 4 cruised on the Paradise, Western itinerary. I chose that cruise solely based on the fact that the Paradise was non-smoking. I didn’t discover these boards until after I booked that cruise, and really didn’t know anything about any cruise lines except I had heard Carnival was less expensive. I then spent many hours here researching cruising in general and the ports of call we were visiting. Thank you everyone for all the useful information, I learned much!

 

This time I was cruising with my 14 year old daughter. After a long cold Canadian winter I wanted to go somewhere warm as cheaply as possible. I wasn’t fussy about the ship or the itinerary. Working around work and personal commitments I picked which week I was available to go and found the Fascination sailing fit the dates and the price was right for a 1A guarantee.

 

We spent 2 nights in Miami pre-cruise at the Holiday Inn downtown. I had asked for a view of the port and we enjoyed watching the ships come and go. The hotel is fine and I would stay there again. We spent some time sitting by the pool (sun! warmth!) The location is great, right across the street from the Bayside Marketplace. We wandered around there, eating at outdoor cafes on the water and buying the obligatory magnets and postcards. I heard about the Island Queen cruise on these boards so we did that one afternoon and enjoyed it thoroughly. The Holiday Inn gave us one of those coupon books for the Bayside Marketplace and it had a $5 off coupon for the Island Queen. We used a few of the other coupons too, for a discount in some of the restaurants.

 

Monday morning we took the short cab ride to the pier, arriving around 11:20. We got our cabin number from the porter, left him our bags and we were checked in and upstairs at 11:30. We boarded at 12:00, headed for the Lido deck for lunch and the drink of the day (just for me of course!)

 

I knew that the Fascination would be similar to the Paradise – but I wasn’t prepared for the DéjÃ* vu – it is exactly the same! Sure the bars and restaurants have different names and décor – but everything is laid out in the same way. On the one hand it meant we didn’t have to spend time figuring our how to get around the ship, on the other hand, it would be fun to try a different class of ship on my next cruise.

 

After the muster (which actually would be done much more quickly if people would get there when they are supposed to, instead of wandering in when they feel like it and holding all of us up – that is all I need to say about that) our bags were waiting in the hallway so we unpacked. We did not get upgraded which surprised me, and I admit that at first I was a little bit disappointed, but I got over that fast. My daughter liked the room, liked the bunk, and there was lots of room for two of us, even with the bed left down in the daytime at her request.

 

We had a terrific waiter at supper, Carlos from Peru. We were thrilled to see our waiter Gener from the Paradise serving at the table next to us! I couldn’t believe it. It was great to see him again.

 

Unlike many reviews I have read, I don’t find the food outstanding. Some is OK, some is good (however the Chateaubriand was excellent). The quality is not up to going to a really nice restaurant, in my opinion. However since I cook dinner practically every night of the year, having anyone serve me any food that I didn’t cook is a real treat! I thoroughly enjoyed every meal. We had early seating in the Sensation dining room and ate there every night. Breakfast and lunch we had on the Lido deck. Well we sort of ate all day on the Lido deck! My daughter loves the frozen yoghurt, we also enjoyed the fries, pizza, hamburgers and salad bar. Also took full advantage of the free lemonade, iced tea, apple juice and fruit punch. You know what I loved and looked forward to at breakfast? The grapefruit all peeled and sectioned! It’s such a small thing, but such a treat. The omelets are yummy and made to order.

 

In Key West we wandered around for a couple hours but were happy to go back to the ship for lunch and the afternoon. I wanted every possible minute on a deck chair in the sun, I hadn’t see sunshine and warm weather since August. There were 8 ships (8! imagine how many people that is!) in Cozumel so we had to tender in, later at around 5:00 the Fascination docked so we were able to walk back on. The tenders were huge, 350-500 people so it all went very quickly. And since I was drinking a cold beer and eating while I waited what would I have to complain about?! We went to Chankanaab for a few hours. That was really fun, we relaxed on the beach and snorkeled a lot. We watched the dolphins for a while too, very cool – and free! When the black clouds headed in we headed back to the ship. It was pouring rain and we had to wait in a line to get on. We were laughing at how bedraggled we all looked, they should have been taking pictures of us as we got back on as well as off!

 

I was a little worried about smoking on the ship – as I mentioned I booked the Paradise just because it was the only smoke free ship. I cannot stand the smoke or the smell, it bothers me terribly even outside. Thankfully it really was OK. I don’t go to the casino, and I wasn’t frequenting the night clubs with my daughter and those places were probably the smokiest. There is no smoking in the dining rooms or on the Promenade which is where we went for my pre-dinner drinks or to play cards after supper. Other than a smoker sitting close on the deck a couple of times, I wasn’t bothered. I didn’t notice any smoke smell in our room either.

 

I like the diverse crowd that sails on Carnival, there was all ages from very new babies to 75 + year olds. Lots of very young children, lots of partying 20 year olds, lots of families. The kids never bothered me, they were having a good time. I did see a security person ask some kids to get out of a hot tub once. This was definitely more of a party crowd than on the Paradise. The last night I heard a lot of partying in the halls in the wee hours of the morning which was a little rough on my sleep considering we had immigration at 6:30 the next morning. Actually it was so loud at 4:30 AM, I opened the door and went out into the hall to see what was going on, I thought there was a crisis or something. Once I saw it was partiers (very inconsiderate, in my opinion), I caught the door to my room just before it closed and locked me out. That would have been something!

 

I find the games and contests a little annoying, but there are lots of quieter places to go if you want to get away from it. That is a great thing about cruising, there really is something for everyone. I didn’t use the gym (wanted to be in the sun!) but I did run on the track on the sports deck early in the morning. Mostly I read and people watched and ate and drank and enjoyed the sun. What could be better!

 

We didn’t do any formal portraits because I didn’t want to buy an 8 X 10, they are too big. I bought several of the smaller casual pictures and put them in the album that I bought last year. I also bought one the robes and I love it.

 

Overall I thought the ship was in great shape and really clean. (yes there were some stains on the carpet in the hallway where our room was – not surprising considering the traffic and I would imagine a few spilled drinks!) The service was terrific and we enjoyed talking to a lot of the employees and finding more about their countries. There are some really nice people working for Carnival.

 

After immigration for non-US citizens we had breakfast and relaxed in the sun for one last time until our colour was called – we were off the ship by 9:30 so we had a long wait until our 2:40 flight. Embarkation was fine except for the bottle neck that happens when people are coming from the elevator, and the hallway, and the stairs and all trying to get through one doorway.

 

All in all it was a great cruise. We had such a good time and it was very special having that time with my daughter.

 

Home now, at least the snow is gone, but it is still cold here and still no sun.

I guess the only thing to do to get over my post cruise depression is plan the next one!

[darjensil]

Yvette, We are not going until March 21 of next year- I know-- a ways off, but was just trying to find any info on the ship to have everything ready. We have been on 2 other cruises and absolutely loved both. I will look forward to a review from you once you get back.

 

SMCEOWN-thanks for the great review. It was great to read something about the ship from someone.

[robcool]

My DW and I were just on the Fascination in February. A link to the review is below. We had a great time!

[darjensil]

ROBCOOL- For some reason there was no link below on your reply. Could you possibly try it again. I would love to read any reviews on this ship. Thanks.

[K.T.B.]

Thanks for the review, Rob! I, too, have been looking for Fascination reviews/comments. Definitely looking forward to our time on board. :)

[darjensil]

OK never mind Rob- I found a way to your review-sorry!!! Now I gotta go so I can read it. Thanks

[robcool]

No worries. Let me know if you have questions.

[crystallynn]

Yvette...I sent you a reply. I'm crystal and my co-worker kim and I wiill be on your cruise.

[ymelancon]

Thanks Crystal for your reply, but I never received it. Still trying to navigate my way through this website!! I check my thread every other day and it shows no replies to my roll call for the Fascination. Anyway, I'm glad to finally make contact with someone on my ship. I'll be traveling with my sister Diane. I plan on boarding the ship at 1:00 pm. Since you've cruised before, where would be a good place to meet up?

[ymelancon]

Thanks for the reply. I'm really looking forward to sailing on the Fascination this coming August. I'll be sure to give you a "review" when I return home!!!

[ymelancon]

Just got back from Fascination Cruise. I had a BALL!!!! The ship was wonderful and the people were so friendly and just as eager to have fun as I was. There is plenty to do all day, so wear a watch. There are activities planned every 1/2 hour!!! Cozumel was alot of fun. I shopped and then dropped myself in a chair at Pancho Villas for lunch. Cozumel is great for buying jewelry, but take cash and you'll get a much better deal. The drinks were all fantastic!!!! If you like to drink, plan on having at least $200 minimum on your sign and sail account. At $7 a pop, the drinks add up!!! And you don't think about it when you're having a good time. Don't forget to attend Kareoke!!! It's a lot of fun and you'll make some good friends there, too. Let me know how you enjoyed your trip. Till then...

[CruiseMark]

Go here for more reviews and photos than you can shake a stick at! http://cruiseclues.com/shipstips/fascination.htm