This is the second cruise on the Fascination for DH and I, and also our second cruise overall in recent years. We live within driving distance to the port, so we drove down the morning of embarkation and parked at the port. After passing the first security checkpoint, you proceed to the line to drop off your luggage with the porters, then to the parking lot where you pay $15/day. Embarkation process with Faster to the Fun was very easy. From the time we arrived at port, to dropping off our luggage in the room was about 30 minutes.

The ship: It is an older, smaller ship and it is showing its age. However, it is well maintained and clean. Any time I passed through a public area that was not in use, there was crew there cleaning floors or wiping down tables. The crew really worked hard to make our cruise a pleasant experience. The music was not overpowering on the pool deck, but surprisingly, it was a little loud in the dining room. My major complaint was that the serenity deck was not patrolled. There were too many people in the hot tub, they were too loud, and their kids came to the deck because they couldn’t get their attention from screaming at them from the deck above. This lasted for 2 ½ hours and nothing was done. Guest services was no help, saying that Carnival is “the fun ship”. So be aware, the serenity deck may not be quite as serene as you think it should be.

The room: We had an Ocean View, category 6B (R132). We stayed in this same room last year, and there were some things that were better this year. The room is very spacious, with room to walk around the bed. We did notice mildew stains around the ceiling, but other than that we were pleased. The hot water left a little to be desired, as it would run hot for 2 or 3 minutes, then switch to cold for about 5. This is probably an issue we should’ve gone to guest services about, but didn’t. The air conditioner was colder than last year, as well. The amenities provided were: a pen, a travel sized toothpaste, 2 bars of soap, breathe right strips, shampoo and shower gel. I was glad that I packed my power strip at the last minute, because my hairdryer and camera battery charger would not fit in the single outlet under the mirror at the vanity. Our room steward, Adrian, was average, but he did quickly fulfill 2 requests for amenities that we had last year, but were missing this year: an ice bucket and a note pad. Other than that, we spoke to him in the hallway if we saw him (he did not speak first). If he had an assistant, we were not introduced. Read more