My wife and I went on the 4 night Fascination cruise to Key West and Cozumel Feb 2, 2004. This was our first cruise, but we'd been talking about going on one for years. Only problem was my wife was afraid she'd get claustrophobic on a boat, get seasick, and/or sink. I was able to convince her to finally do this one because it was only 4 nights and it only cost $299/person for an outside cabin on Empress deck.
My wife an I are 37 & 41, with no kids, fairly active outdoors types, and I'd say we're pretty discriminating when it comes to food and accommodations. We're used to high levels of quality, and usually are willing to pay for it. For this reason, I was a bit hesitant to book Carnival in general, and Fascination in particular (based on other reviews I'd read), thinking Radisson Seven Seas, Holland America, or Celebrity would be more our speed. It's hard to beat the price we paid, though, and I looked at $600 as no great loss if we ended up hating it. Heck, if it was that bad, I'd just get off at Key West, spend a couple days and fly home and still have cash to spare!
So how'd it turn out? Bottom line is we liked it and thought it was a phenomenal value.