We chose this cruise because we had not sailed out of Puerto Rico before and we wanted to go on an eastern Caribbean tour. The ship needs some maintenance and the ship's crew seems tired and not really enthusiastic to be on board. We have taken several other cruises out of various ports (all on Carnival). This is a smaller ship and the talent on board (singers, dancers, and choreographers) seem to be in the "audition" stage to be promoted up to bigger and new ships. They all seemed to lack the verve that we have traditionally found on other ships. For those who desire to take advantage of Carnival Hub - don't bother. It didn't always contain correct information and the "messaging" didn't usually work. We had three people who purchased the messaging and by the end of the week only about 25% of our messages got through. We had already been warned about the data plan being worthless so we didn't even try. There were a few standouts - Dinesh back making pizzas was a real treasure. We weren't really pizza people but the guy's kindness and enthusiasm was infectious. I was surprised that the ship didn't have a cigar bar area (though you are welcome to smoke a stogie up on 11 in a designated "smoking" area. Guy's hamburger bar was perfect. The burgers were made from real beef and they were very consistently great with real fries. We did tour the galley between the two dining rooms and I'm telling you that it was clean and tidy. The debarkation was excellent. We carried our own luggage off and we exited through the tender portals and were off and out on the streets of San Juan in about 10 minutes. Brittany (Cruise Director) was engaging and fun. I do hope that she stays on and moves on up to bigger and better ships. Read Less

We always cruise with Carnival for the value and convenience. We chose this cruise specifically for the ports. This cruise stopped at five ports (St Thomas, Barbados, St Lucia, St Kitts, St Maarten) and since the cruise originated in San Juan, it really became a six port cruise. The Carnival Fascination is an older, smaller, Fantasy class ship but is in very good condition and has the 2.0 upgrades (Guy’s Burger, Blue Iguana, etc). The ship was clean and we had no complaints. We stayed in an interior cabin on Deck 6 (Upper). We chose that deck because it is sandwiched between two decks that were all cabins, thus eliminating potential noise from public spaces. We had no issues with our cabin at all. Very comfortable! Entertainment in the main theatre (The Palace) was well done but was pretty standard Carnival style shows. All of the shows are relatively similar with different themes, like Motown, on different nights. This cruise did feature a juggler, who was very good, and that was different. They also had the HASBRO game show. We didn’t attend that since we had seen it a couple of times previously. The ongoing “Clue” game was a real let down. Rather than giving real clues so you could solve the mystery, they gave the answers at different times and then simply drew from everyone who had attended all of the clue reveals. No skill or deduction involved whatsoever. Four different comedians were on this cruise and were funny, as was the piano bar entertainer. Service throughout the ship was top notch. Carnival employees are always very friend and go out of their way to make you comfortable and welcome. Shore excursions were fun and generally as advertised. I booked two excursions outside Carnival, the rest were through Carnival. I especially appreciate Carnival’s promise not to leave a passenger in the event an excursion is delayed. That’s why I usually book with Carnival. Great cruise! Can’t wait until next year! Read Less

Our cruise was focused around the ports of call. We decided that we would use the Fascination as a floating hotel that took us to a different island everyday pretty much. For that we required a good bed, good shower, good food and good service and a reliable ship and crew. We got and more and that’s why the 4 star rating. When you include the port days that we had then we really had a 5 star vacation but the Fascination can’t get points for great weather and fantastic port days. We had near perfect weather which helped us enjoy our port days and our seaday as well. Private excursions helped us enjoy our days and they were selected to keep us away from crowds of people which was important to us on this particular cruise. Other than 2 pretty disappointing song and dance shows and an enjoyable juggling show we really can not comment on the entertainment onboard the Fascination. We did enjoy Brittney the Cruise Director on board and we heard the comedy shows and piano singer were very good. We would have danced if the bands played in lounges instead of hallways. In front of the casino is a hallway and the atrium is like a foyer. Read Less

We chose this cruise for the ports of call and affordability. I did not take into account how expensive San Juan was for hotels, so it will probably be our only cruise from Puerto Rico. I was impressed with the decor and condition of the ship, given her age. Yes, there is rust that has been painted over and showing through again, but we have seen that even on new ships. We cruise Carnival for the comedy clubs (have also sailed Norwegian, Princess, RC). The comedians were great - the comedy club host Esteban was not very good. We also enjoyed the piano bar and sing alongs in the evening. Food at the buffet and restaurant was just ok - nothing really stood out as good. Dining room service was slow. We did the BOSS tour in St. Thomas, booked through Carnival. It was fun to do one time - probably would not do it again, given the cost. We booked two catamaran cruises on our own. Barbados was with Calabaza and St. Maarten was with Random Wind. Both were fantastic. Read Less

We traveled with a group of 10 ranging in age from 20’s to 60’s. We had a wonderful time and loved the itinerary. Embarking and disembarking were a breeze and much faster than larger shops we have been on in the past. We stayed on the Riveria Deck midship with a large window (4 feet by 3 feet). We dined at the later formal dining but we were able to sneak into the freestyle dining for a night and we will do freestyle from now on. The ports of call were amazing. In St. Thomas we did the Kontiki Boat tour through the cruise line and floated over to Honeymoon Beach on Water Island. In Barbados we had a daypass to the Hilton on the island. We grabbed a cab ride from the ship - about $25 for 10 of us - and spent the day at the Hilton. The daypass got us ocean access, chairs by the ocean, beach towels, lunch, one alcoholic drink, and access to the pool. It was amazing and I would recommend it. In St. Lucia we took a cruise to the Pitons through the cruise ship. After we went to the Pitons on a catamaran we stopped at a private beach with awesome black sand and was able to swim. We stopped at Margot Bay on the way to the shop. In St. Maarten we booked through the ship and took the boat ride to the area where airplanes take off and land at the island’s airport. We used Airport Adventures SXM. The catamaran cruised us along the coast and anchored by the airport. We were able to snorkel, swim under the landing planes, watched the planes take off, had snacks (extra cost) and drinks (extra cost). The boat had a bunch of equipment to play in the water and a landing that lays down from the side of the boat. In St. Kitt’s we took a cab to the Marriott for a daypass. It was amazing and I would highly recommend it. The ocean was beautiful and we were able to swim in the ocean, walk down the beach, and swim in the swimming pool. The food was excellent. We would take this cruise again in a heartbeat. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the itinerary. We made 6 port stops. We also did this cruise back to back, so we would be on for 14 days. When I first got on board, I felt I was going to be disappointed and the two weeks was going to be long. Because it was an older, smaller ship. There were all the amenities as is on the Conquest series. The only difference is the ship is scaled down. Well pleasantly surprised how much more attentive the crew was which made our two weeks fantastic. We were able to get chairs by the pool without anyone reserving. There were no lines for the food. The room steward, our waitress, her assistant and the main dining room hostess, went above and beyond. The entertainment was top notch. The comedy was so, so. With comedy anything can happen. I must say this was one of the best cruises we have been on in a long time. Read Less

This ship should be retired. It is old and the cruising industry has progressed way beyond it. The casino is small and has outdated machines. The heavy smoke throughout the Casino makes the no smoking areas a joke.The Cruise Directer was less than acceptable. Her announcements were garbled and almost never understood. The king bed in the cabin was very uncomfortable. The TV in the room had none of the major (ABC,CBS,NBC ,FOX) networks, You could not check you onboard account using the TV. The Lido buffet layout was poorly designed. The coffee and juice dispensers there were in the way of foot traffic. The daily menus lacked imagination. The food was generally very bland and mostly cold. The only reason for two stars instead of one, was the work ethic and and politeness of the workers. I am Platinum with Carnival. But, I will never sail on this ship again! Read Less

Dying ship, everything either falling apart or not working. It’s sad that they show you fancy videos online but don’t deliver the same product. We had a huge issue with the recreation team and the waterworks area. There video online shows a wonderful water area, but it’s not from that shop even though it’s advertised that way. Our room was dirty on arrival. Every 30 minutes the pool team would hassle our youngest asking if he is potty trained. I understand do your job but communicate with the next person. It was so annoying. Never again carnival. The special needs personnel was great in PR that help our son with Down syndrome on board. Half the recreation items didn’t work and have to for a long time. When we asked the crew they said it hasn’t worked for a long time. False advertising on their website. Sad we been on many carnival cruises, but not again. Read Less

I will start with our demographics: We are regular cruisers ( 10 cruises on different lines). We are in our mid 50's and were travelling with a senior citizen. We are not "picky" cruisers, and understand there are many things that are outside of the cruise lines control. This time is very different. We chose this cruise because of the ports, and the price point. It really was very economical for a 1 week cruise. I will start with the negatives and end on a positive note. This biggest negative for us, and it was a big one- the unruly children. Travelling the first week of December we thought that there wouldn't be many children. It's not that we dislike children, but this was over the top. The children took over the ship and I am not kidding. they were running up and down the halls, jumping in the elevators, pressing all the buttons etc. The two worst areas were the pools/hot tubs and the buffet. The children were running around the pool, jumping into the pools and splashing everyone, The hot tubs were horrible. At one point we counted 19 children in one hot tub. There never seemed to be any parental controls, There was running, screaming, splashing, knocking people over, and that is exactly what happened in the buffet as well. Children were running around, yelling, taking food with their hands, etc etc. I would normally say this falls completely within the responsibility of the parents; however, there were staff that saw all of this and ignored it. The Pool area was chaos- There was a "lifeguard" on duty but he never did or said anything. At one point there were two babies in the hot tub with diapers! This is a health and safety issue. The parents thought it was cute. Carnival you really need to have staff speak up when there is such a violation, and I am certain 19 people ( children) in the hot tub is also against health and safety. This was by far the biggest negative for us. Now for the positives and there were many. 1st we were offered an upgrade a few days before we sailed! What an amazing surprise- this has never happened before, so we took it. It was a balcony ( jr suite) and we are really glad we did. the cabin was the standard balcony size but the balcony was very very small, but that is ok it was still a balcony. Embarkation was excellent- in fact from arriving at the port to being on the ship was maximum 15 mins. It was very smooth. The rooms were not ready until 1:30 so we had lots of time to explore and get lunch. Sail away was not until 8:30 pm as it was from San Juan- it was well done. Muster station ( again beyond what Carnival can take responsibility for) passengers please go to your muster station- I am not sure people realize they if they don't go they literally hold up EVERYONE until they are accounted for. The ship is older, yes, but it is very clean, easy to get around, children not withstanding, and the staff were great. The food was good, and we enjoyed the quality. There was one day in the buffet that the pork carving station was cold pork and a bit chewy- but the rest of the food was fairly good. We ate in the dinning room 5 of the nights and it was excellent. The escargot was really good. The lobster was excellent and our waiter even brought a second plate. As always my favorite is the chocolate melting cake, Ymm. The buffet is smaller than on other ships but had a nice selection. There are the usual's- Guy's burger joint, the Taco station, the sandwich bar, the salad bar, the pizza place and the dessert bar. There really were lots of options. It's not elegant or fine dinning but it was good. We found the food on this cruise better than our last cruise on Norwegian. The entertainment wasn't bad. The dancing shows were ok, but the comedians were excellent. We really enjoyed the many shows per night and there was lots of room in the lounge. Karaoke was good as well. The itinerary is very port heavy which we knew. The only port we were a little frustrated at was St. Kitts. We got off the ship early to catch a cab to Cockleshell beach. We were asked to stay in a waiting area until the cab could fill the van.....it took about 30 mins- so in hindsight wished we had just gone solo in a cab outside the cruise area. Overall it was a great cruise with very few issues. The only negative were the unruly children. I would ask that Carnival look at it's "rules and regulations" around the pool and hot tubs and enforce them- someone is going to get hurt badly otherwise and what we experienced is not consistent with health and safety standards. Read Less

It was one of the best cruises of my life. Crew were very courteous, friendly, and helpful. Ship was clean and the food was better than the last few cruises. The big problem was with the bathroom. The step up into the bathroom was the problem. The step was too high. I can not do stairs. It hurt every time I stepped up into it. Next time I will bring an extra small step to make it easier. Then when it was time to go home, I was told to be in the theater at 7:15 I The morning as I was group 1. At 8:30 they did not know about wheel chairs to get off the ship. Some people did not make their plane. Finally the wheel chairs showed up. The guy who helped me out, had never pushed any one in a wheelchair. I slipped and fell. No big deal. Finally got off. Beauty and Ruth in the casino were very helpful and friendly. The lady who cleaned our room was exceptional. With out asking she cleaned the room twice a day and refilled the cooler with ice, that I brought. I have 10 more cruises booked with Carnival. This ship was just not handicapped friendly with the friendlyest crew. I really enjoyed my self. Read Less