Great Itinerary; Most of Crew Were Good; Ship Facility Not as Good.

Item: Carnival Fascination
Rating: 3.6
Author: cherrip

Carnival Fascination Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

cherrip

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 35

Overall rating:

3.6 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Southern Caribbean (San Juan Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 01, 2019

Ship: Carnival Fascination

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: R182

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

I enjoyed the itinerary. If I had a stop in Saint Thomas in the future, I would take the ferry to Saint Johns. I would choose a nicer ship with nicer facilities and more options for activities. The food was pretty good, but not excellent.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

It went pretty smoothly. We had one negative experience with a luggage attendent telling a member of our group they could just send their 1 bottle of wine with the luggage, then it was confinscated.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

We choose 'anytime' dining for our group. This meant that we had a different server team and table almost every meal. Most servers were excellent, but a few I wouldn't have even tipped it a regular restaurant; and I almost always tip 20%. The dining room style was very 1980's even though the ship was built in the 90's. The Specialty Restaurant Crew was awesome, but the Buffet Crew could use some training. Also, the Buffet Crew had a hard time keeping up with the messiness of some of the passengers which likely wasn't their fault.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

Children who were not potty trained were not allowed in the pool or water areas; AT ALL. Children under 42" had very limited use of the Aquatic Areas. There are no activities for children under 2 years. We definitely could have used more activities which weren't just geared at selling merchandise for the grown-ups. The fitness center and spa were subpar.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

The crew made somewhat of an effort, but they were very limited in their abilities.

Children's Programs

3 out of 5

The program seemed ok for children 5-9. We only used it once for 2 hours, as all the children in our group couldn't participate. Children under 2 could join sometimes for an $8.00 per hour fee, but NOT during dinner.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Most crew members were excellent; such as Bojan in the dining room. Some dining room staff were surly. The Aquatics Area Staff were terrible.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

The ship was pretty clean. There were no rampant illnesses onboard. The design could be much better.

Cabin / Stateroom

2 out of 5

The mattress was pretty good. A regular Ocean View Cabin is spacious enough for 2 people, (bathroom definitely 1 at a time), But not adequate for adding even 1 child. Very crowded with not enough storage for clothing etc... There was not shelf in the shower; nowhere to put shampoo etc... except on the shower floor. The bathroom could us another shelf to put toiletries. The room overall could us more shelving/storage and a comfortable chair. Also could use some decorating.