Ports of call saved our vacation
Carnival Fascination Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern
7 Night Southern Caribbean (San Juan Roundtrip)
Sail date: June 18, 2017
Ship: Carnival Fascination
Cabin type: Suite
Cabin number: V9
Traveled as: Family (young children)
Reviewed: 7 years ago
Review summary
This was my second time cruising with carnival and the experience was worse than the first time. The ship itself needs a complete overhaul. It is very old and dated but we were able to get past that. For over 2,000 ppl there's only 1 pool and 3 hot tubs. For the life of me I couldn't understand that. The cruise Director Marcello needs additional training on how to talk to his guest as well as on how to keep the guest engaged. He came across as being rude and on a power trip by telling guests it's his show and he can do what he wants. There needs to be more to do onboard other than bingo, the casino, karaoke and art auctions. The musical show needs to be revamped because it also lacked engagement. They did have a juggler onboard that was ok. The DJ catered a lot to the Spanish speaking guests which also caused the rest of the guest to be disengaged. It would have been nice to hear current music instead of just 80's and 90's. During port days if you get off to do excursions PLEASE don't expect to come back to decent food because the lunch buffet with the variety is shut down right as ppl are getting back on the boat so you only have a choice of hotdogs, hamburgers pizza and fries EVERY single day which i find to be unfair. They are cutting back on the amount of foid you can get, you have to practically beg for more. I ask for waffles in the morning and they would only give 1/4 of a waffle and they get mad when you ask for more and they will only give you 2 slices of bacon. There wasn't a HUGE variety to choose from for dinner. They are only allowed to clean your room once per day now instead of twice. I reported that my room which was a suite.was extremely hot and was told that it may carnivals standards. We paid entirely too much to have to sweat at night. The staff was friendlier than the cruise Director. The ports were all beautiful except St. Lucia. Again, had it not been for the ports of call we would have been miserable. After cruising with Royal Caribbean several times our standards were set high and Carnival couldn't live up to them.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Entertainment
Children's Programs
Service and Staff
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
Don't waste your money.
Ports of call
Traveler Photos
26 Comments
seaspray8526405 7 years ago
MHogany 7 years ago
I will be on the fascination at the end of October beginning of November to celebrate not only my birthday, but my fight with cancer (full remission now). I'm not new to cruising (as I cruise every year for my birthday) but this will be my smallest carnival cruise ship. I agree with so many people who stated doing your research about the ship before or while your booking. Hell I do it before/during/after booking. To anitatuitt, you said it yourself. You've grown accustom to th standards of Royal Caribbean. These are 2 different cruise liners. Each ship in the carnival fleet is different, so why you expected the same treatment as RC baffles me.
sailergroom78 7 years ago
kmkerr8 7 years ago
SetexSteve 7 years ago
ColoradoKathy 7 years ago
TNTGreen 7 years ago