Cruise was decent

Carnival Fascination Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

hillaryc472

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 26

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

Verified Review

5 Night Bahamas (Jacksonville Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 11, 2016

Ship: Carnival Fascination

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: M1

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

The cruise was pretty fun. It was very relaxing which was nice for our honeymoon. The room was very nice. The activities on the boat were pretty lame and most of them cost a lot of extra money. The majority of the scheduled activities were shopping or spa related or bingo which all cost extra. The food was decent...there was a very large variety and good availability/hours, but a lot of the food was just okay. It was mushy a lot of the time or bland, but not horrible. The formal dining was okay as well...service was subpar if you have a small and "less important" party of people...the food wasn't anything different from the buffets. Same food just tiny fancy portions. The shore excursions were very expensive and were pretty lame sounding for the most part. And if you check online most of them have bad ratings anyway. We ended up doing our own thing on shore and had a lot of fun with our tour guide we found ourselves for much cheaper!

The boat was nice and pretty clean with fun things like a water slide and a mini golf course.

Overall the most fun we had was staying in our room watching tv. The trip was very relaxing and we made our own fun on the boat and off, but not sure that I would book another cruise on this specific boat.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Variety was great, but food was mushy and bland at times. We had a few good favorites we stuck to

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

Nothing good unless you want to spend extra either drinking, shopping, or buying spa treatments

Entertainment

1 out of 5

Not much entertainment to be had unless you like spending extra on alcohol, shopping deals, or spa treatments

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Great room! No complaints other than the fact that there was a TON of boat noise (we must have been near a mechanical room or something) and lots of staff noise (like housekeeping carts or good carts or something, must have been near a service room as well). But overall it was nice, the bed was great and room was clean and large

Ship tip

Bring games or something to entertain yourself, and make sure you are prepared to pay extra for just about everything.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Jacksonville, Florida

5 out of 5

Nassau, Bahamas

5 out of 5

Really pretty, lots to see and do. We had fun with our tour guide we got on our own (not through carnival). He found us when we got off the boat and took us to see a lot of cool things we would not have been able to see if we had purchased a shore excursion!

Thumbs Up 0

Freeport, Grand Bahama Island

3 out of 5

Unlike nassau, there isn't much to see when you get right off the boat here. There is a small straw market right off the boat but that's it, so be prepared to take a taxi to even be able to see anything here.

Thumbs Up 1

4 Comments

Oceans65 8 years ago

Okay there must be another Fascination out there because the only activities on the ship that cost extra are the specialty dinning areas and Casino. And although a few of the excursions are a little pricey most have a descent rating 3.5 to 5 stars. I normally book my excursions through the ship just for the fact that it will wait if we are running late. I have enjoyed all my excursions so far even the ones i was unsure of. I believe you may have set your expectations of a cruise to what you have seen glamorized on TV instead of just enjoying your vacation/honeymoon. A bigger ship is not going to correct the issues you are having by any means.

Thumbs Up 0

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twinsljo 8 years ago

I agree with the others...bigger ship and newer ship. you were on a very old and outdated ship. I book alot of independent shore excursion companies at lower prices. I have sailed on many Carnival ships but they have made alot of cutbacks in many areas. Congrats on your wedding.

Thumbs Up 0

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sherridunsworth 8 years ago

Try a seven day cruise. Bigger ship and more days often make a big difference.

Thumbs Up 0

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banaford 8 years ago

If you decide to cruise again, pick a bigger ship. I think they have more actitvities. Congrats! Glad you enjoyed it anyway.

Thumbs Up 0

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