We really enjoyed our trip. We booked San Juan, Puerto Rico and down through St Thomas St Kitt etc on the Fascination for 2020. We did this in the car on the way home!
Embarkation
1 out of 5
Very fast. A new cruiser will feel frazzled
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Restaurants were efficient and the menu had a variety of foods for all tastes. On evenings when we didn’t like the menu we simply went to a reservation restaurant or the buffet.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We did the Skyride and Rope Walk. People of all ages enjoyed them.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
We like loved Cookie! The stage shows were Amazing! The musicians... everyone was awesome. Gerry and the guy in the green jacket (so sorry I forgot your name, deepest apologies).
Children's Programs
No children
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Calvert and his staff were great! No matter what we needed they tried to get it. Every person we met greeted us warmly no matter how busy they were.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Every area was clean despite the passengers rudely leaving food and drinks in the main areas on the floor and even in the elevator. It would be whisked away ASAP.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Very clean. Mattress tends to separate while you’re sleeping but this has happened on other cruises also. A tiny mention to Calvert and he fixed it the best that the situation allowed. Nice clean sheets and cabin, mirrors and windows.
Ship tip
If you get confused about forward (listed as fwd) and aft (meaning the rear or back of the ship) look out the window at the direction the water is going. The water will always flow to the rear or aft of the ship. We have suggested to Carnival for a long time that they put signs in the hallways stating fwd and aft with arrows. Also there are some clocks now, Yea! at the entrance/ exit of the Atrium etc.
We snorkeled with Chukka Excursions. Jawan was GREAT. The water was so rough it was body slamming some of us ladies. Even some men were concerned. That is not the fault of Carnival nor the excursion people, that is Nature. We made it through and have an incredible story to tell. Jawan stayed with me until I was ok and constantly swam among us checking on each of us. My friend got pushed into the coral reef and he took care of her.
We visited a small sort of petting zoo and photo stop with a python, parrots and a tiny money, they hiked a bit to the Blue Hole and it was beautiful. There was an opportunity to swim there.
We did the Turtle and fish swim. While I realize that we are infusing money into this community to help them grow it was very disconcerting to drive past miles of high concrete walls topped with barbed wire fencing. We were told it was not a prison but she wouldn’t tell us what it was and the general consensus was that maybe we were better off not knowing. We drove past 3 trash dumps to get there. Although we were thrilled to see the turtles the water was very dirty with trash and NO bathrooms. We were literally told to urinate in the bushes (which we did not!) I wouldn’t go there again.
We LOVED Aruba! CLEAN, friendly, beautiful, informative driver, nice bus, great beach. We paid $1.00 to use a four star CLEAN ladies room (there is no natural water source so you have to contribute to the water utilization-which I would pay any day ) at the stone bridge. I even inquired as to buying a house there!
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