From the moment my boyfriend and I stepped on the ship, to the second we stepped off we were racially profiled! They would hover around us and pace back and forth watching us. They even flagged our bag for the police to check! There was no paraphernalia in our suitcases but some how the dog “smelled” something in our bag so our bags were searched and we were stripped search for one reason only - because we are two young black adults. They were determined to harass us until they found something on us! This was most definitely a case of profiling. Also, the food and service on the boat all around was just nasty. Beware of this Carnival Fascination Cruise out of Puerto Rico as a young black adult! Hands down, the worst experience ive had for a vacation. Will never give any money towards any other carnival cruise ever again! I pay all this money to have a good time and escape from the reality of the world i live in on a day to day basis but instead i was harrassed the whole time and treated with the upmost disrespect ive ever experience in my life. Read Less

Worst cruise boat we have ever been on. Food was absolutely horrendous even in the main. Dining room. Served cold and same very evening. Even the dress up evenings, off which we went to 2...same cold horrible food...I actually lost weight... Our cabin had a engine noise that made it impossible to sleep. We reported it 3 times and then gave up... they do not care They push alcohol on you at breakfast lunch and diner ..every thing costs....nothing is complementary. Bottle of average wine 45dollars in dining room and then 8 dollars to open it...robbery. Entertainment was rubbish...seriously bad This boat caters for mainly American ,Mexican and Puerto Rican people..as Europeans we felt like aliens... Even in the ports the locals do not like this boat as they know most guests are on last minute specials and won't spend a dollar locally. Only saving grace was the ports...some were truly great stops , except st.Thomas and Puerto Rico ....rubbish and extortionate Got off and back on in less than an hour...waste of time We will stick with Norwegian one million times better quality and value. Why virgin holidays uses this cruise ship is a mystery AVoid at all cost Read Less

Food Service Oh heavy plastic cups for beverages!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please: That's UNSANITARY in a ship. Please check the food processing in the buffet Deck 10. Something is not good tasting. Cabin Service The bathroom is very dirty when we arrive. Shower curtain shower sink toilet The cleaning service every day was very poor Cabin We pay for two ocean view cabin for 6 persons the same price for each one. Two of them slept on a folding bed in each cabin. Entertainment and Activities are very excellent. The singer Deck 7 was very nostalgic... The children have very good activities. Oh the photos were marvelous and full of family energy. The photographers too. THE MOST IMPORTANT FOR US: Our daily Catholic Holy Mass was celebrated in an Indian Ritual salon because there's no room for christian people. The best: our boys and girls in dining room service. We love them forever!!!!! Read Less

July 15 cruise Carnival Fascination Chose this cruise because itinerary and availability of sail date fit in with family’s timing with work and school. First time cruise for me on Carnival, but my sixth cruise, and I was apprehensive because of reviews on the Internet. First time cruise for family members, so they had no expectations. Carnival 800 number staff—Extremely professional and helpful Costs of cruise—Reasonable and favorable for families traveling together. Boarding and debarkation—Very well organized and hassle-free. Food—Dining room food—close to excellent; Good menu selections and personalized, when asked. Lido buffet—Average to Very Good; Pizza station was not impressive, but if one wants pizza, it was acceptable. Guy's Hamburger and Taco grill –Excellent Dining room servers--excellent Dining room show time was fun. Staterooms—Ocean view. Pleased. Loved the showers and the beds. Booked two cabins instead of a suite for family so they had two bathrooms and plenty of "space." The bunk beds and a twin served so well for 3/room. Another family of four was placed on a different deck and had adjoining cabins, 2/each cabin. Great. Stateroom staff—Excellent Gift shop—Small, limited merchandise. Disappointed. Entertainment auditorium—Below average. Youth programs—Average Library—average ATM machine did not work in guest services, and no one knew that. My daughter, as well as others, kept calling their banks, thinking the bank had frozen the accounts because of the travel. Finally, she went to the ATM in the casino and had immediate success. She told the front desk and they placed an out of order sign on the lobby machine.Two day needless frustration. We primarily selected excursions with recommended companies from this and TripAdvisor sites. Cosol Tours in St. Lucia--wonderful. I felt we received more than our money's worth. Read Less

I've been on a bunch of cruises before, this had to be one of my favorites! Between the food, the entertainment, the Caribbean sights, I had a fantastic time. I went with a couple of my closest friends, and they were all having a great time throughout the whole trip. Our cabin was really clean, and we all slept like kings. We woke up every day ready to party and ready to explore new lands. The shore excursions were great, and we met tons of cool people. The food was pretty middle of the road, not going to lie, but none of us are picky eaters. The food was a little pricey from what I remember, but I wasn't really too worried about it. The entertainment was great, and the music was super catchy, very danceable. I'm literally still tasting the dessert I had the last night... We were pretty happy to remember that when we got back to our takeoff port, our car wasn't too far at all. I'd definitely rate Instapark thumbs up! Read Less

I have been on many cruises. I have never been on a cruise where I felt as though most of crew members did not care about my well being until this one. The lido deck had very few serving stations. Many of which closed at or before the time we had to return to the ship. This made the choices extremely limited to basically pizza, burgers and/or ice cream at every meal. As if this wasn't enough we had to wait on line to eat for extraordinarily long periods of time. This meant for a half a personal sized pizza we had to wait 15-20 minutes. The tables stayed dirty for long periods of time after guests had finished making it hard to find tables to at which sit. Staff on the lido deck were rude and not helpful when asked for help with problems.When we looked for help at the buffet the senior staff members averted our eyes and gave the appearance of not wanting to help. Our cabin steward was excellent. He was very attentive and took very good care of us. He remembered our names and greeted us with a smile every time he saw us. When I wasn't feeling well he made sure not only to bring me water but asked about how I was doing on the following day The dining room staff was very good and the service was excellent. The wait staff made us feel special. They always greeted us with a smile. The problem however was if you had a late dining room assignment you would not be able to go to the shows because they were at the same time. As an avid cruiser I would have expected the same performance to be made at times that would accommodate all passengers. A passenger should not have to choose between having a wonderful sit down dinner or seeing a show. With this said however with the exception of the comedians, the shows we did see left a lot to be desired. There were many ports of call. Although this was not bad it was tiring. The children's area was more suited to those who wanted to leave their children there while parents went off the ship. It is important to me for my children to see the ports of call as means of education. Each port had a time to return between about 4:30 and 5:00. The children's area closed from 6:00-7:00pm each day for children to have dinner (they could stay and eat for an additional fee). It was important for our family to have dinner together. We had late seating dinner at 8:15 which only allowed our children to stay for a short period of time. We had the option to allow them to return after dinner however after 10:00pm there was an additional charge. Late dinner usually finished at about 9:30 or later which made it improbable to bring them to the children's' area. Overall I would NOT RECOMMEND this cruise to anyone. As an avid cruiser every past cruise experience has left me feeling as if the time breezed by. This cruise left me asking myself when it would be over. Read Less

We love this itinerary, as this was the 4th time we have sailed on Carnival out of San Juan. The islands that are visited are fantastic. Here is my take our most recent cruise to the Southern Caribbean with Carnival. Ship The ship is an older one, but it looked to be in great shape. The crew was always visible cleaning. We didn't feel the ship was too crowded. The layout of the ship was easy to navigate and we never felt far away from anything. Cabin We stayed in cabin E-163, which was an oceanview room on the Empress Deck (7). It was in the middle of the ship and was close to everything. It was adequate for our needs and although smaller that the rooms on the newer ships, we did not feel cooped up at all. Dining The Lido deck restaurants were very good. Guy's Burger's were always ready, as we never had to wait in a very long line. The Blue Iguana Cantina took a little longer, but is to be expected when everything is made to order. The Lido buffett was also very good. Food was plentiful and the lines moved quickly. The Pizza station and Deli station in the rear of the ship had long lines. Carnival should definitely rethink their approach to pizza and made-to-order sandwiches, as the waits were often over 20-25 minutes. We had a late dining seating in the Inspiration Dining Room, and we thought the food was great, and the service was great, but slow. Two hours for dinner service is a little long, Room service was quick and the food was also very good. Entertainment/Activities The cruise director MarQ and his staff were always visible putting on events and having activities. We only attended one musical show, but the Love & Marriage show was great. One of the must-do's is the Booty Shaking Contest in the Nightclub. It is well worth your time to take in that "show" Service Although we were a little disappointed with the speed of service in the dining room, the service itself was great. Our room steward was Yanyan and he was great! Ports The ports are the main reason we took this cruise... for the 4th time. When in St. Thomas, we quickly hopped a cab and ferry to St. John to spend the day at Trunk Bay. This is our spot and we go there everything we are in the USVI. After spending Tuesday at sea, we arrived in Barbados on Wednesday. We made our way to the Boatyard, which is a sandy chair-lined beach with water trampolines, a rope swing, a high dive platform and a very cool little bar. $20 per dult got you entry and included a drink. We had a great time here! On Thursday, we arrived in St. Lucia and took a tour to Jalousie/Sugar Beach with Spencer Ambrose Tours. The entire trip was fantastic. Spencer and his crew are awesome and were great hosts. This tour includes about 4-5 hours at the beach, an authentic Caribbean lunch, and all you can drink (sodas, water, beer, rum punch). On the way back, Spencer showed us some of the sites on the coast and we had a quick stop at Marigot Bay, a neat little harbor that is hidden in a cove. On Friday, we were in St. Kitts. We hopped a cab to the Shipwreck Bar. This bar is on a black sand beach. Be warned, wear flops or sandals, as the black sand beach is very hot. They had excellent food for purchase and their drinks were great as well! The prices are very, very good! On Saturday, we were in St. Maarten. We ventured to Maho Beach... which is the one near the airport to watch the planes come in. We spent our time at the Sunset Bar for a few drinks. We then got a cab to Mullet Bay beach, which was a 5-10 minute ride. Mullet Bay is a great spot with beach chairs and a bar nearby. St. Maarten is still in recovery mode from the devastating effects of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The French side was totally destroyed. On our previous trips to St. Maarten/Sint Martin, we went to Orient Beach on the French side. Our driver said that everything "is gone" on the French side and could take up to three years to completely rebuild itself. Back in San Juan, debarkation was simple, as we chose to self-carry our luggage. Following breakfast, we listened to the instructions and was off the ship in about 20 minutes once our deck was called. Overall, we had a great time, and we will definitely take this cruise again in the future, no matter which ship Carnival assigns to this route. Read Less

We choose this cruise because of all the ports that it goes to. The cabin was ok a little smaller since it is an older boat. The embark and debark went great we did have FTTF and this helped. One of the biggest complaints I have is the food service in the main dining room. It took 2 hours for dinner every time we went. This is just too long especially if you have the late seating. The cruise is out of San Juan, PR. Everything on the boat is catered to Hispanic speaking people which is frustrating for us non Hispanics. There were people from all over the world on this cruise. For all of the others we spoke in English but the PR don't do that and want to be catered to in Spanish. The entertainment was definitely not the best it had been. This Is my 9th Carnival cruise. I am thinking of trying a different line to see if it is any better. The kids on this cruise were very rude and not much parenting going on. They just let their kids do whatever they wanted examples...taking tons of food and not eating it, dropping stuff everywhere, running up and down the halls at all hours. Parents bringing tired crying babies to dinner at night. The room steward Eugene was amazing and very enjoyable. The food has gone downhill a lot over the past years. But I think the most annoying part is the drink staff bugs you to death. If I want a drink I will be sure to flag someone down. Sometimes I was asked by 5 different people in a matter of 3 or 4 minutes if I wanted a drink. Also one of the drink staff asked me in Spanish and I just looked at her and told her I didn't understand. I have done this itinerary twice will not do it again. It is gonna be awhile before I consider booking another cruise and not sure who I will cruise with next time. For the money spent it was pretty disappointing. Read Less

We learned something new on this cruise every day! Our excursions were spectacular--riding horses into the Caribbean, swimming with sea turtles, relaxing on beautiful beaches and touring gorgeous gardens were all highlights. I had no idea that everywhere we looked in Old San Juan we would find an art gallery, museum, or even folk art on the street. We enjoyed meeting friendly people everywhere we went and we were very impressed with the recovery from the hurricanes last year. We met a friendly cat in the oldest Cathedral on this side of the planet, met a friendly iguana in the most spectacularly preserved fort I've ever seen, and met plenty of party animals on the beach near our hotel. In San Juan, the embarkation process went very quickly and the people working there were friendly and helpful. We were able to get a low cost upgrade to an extended balcony room--a first for us--and it was an absolute treat. The room seemed huge and having extra floor-space was a real luxury. On this cruise, our cabin steward Guzti went WAY above and beyond expectations. He and a female friend ended up on the volcanic mud bath excursion with us and they were so sweet and fun! I was a little uncomfortable about chatting with them at first because I wanted them to have fun on their day off or date or whatever, but Guzti seemed to be having a genuine great time and it was such a beautiful day that I think that excursions will definitely be one of my top ten all time favorite cruise memories for the rest of my life. As usual, the food was great--although our room upgrade was dangerously close to all of the 24 hour treats on the Lido. My favorite meal was lobster, which was available on the menu with no extra charge on the first formal night. For some reason they celebrated all of the June birthdays (even mine two weeks ago) with cake and singing in the dining room. Is it weird that having someone sing happy birthday to me was my least favorite part of the trip? I definitely preferred the spa gift card they gave me for my birthday last year, but appreciated that they recognized my big day. The playlist productions were a lot of fun, and the music was generally very good. Ms. Vanessa in the Atrium on acoustic guitar had a beautiful voice and a real knack for recognizing her audience. We took my eleven year old daughter with us on the cruise and she had a great time but totally rejected Camp Ocean and for the first time she showed a real distaste for the main dining room, even though our waiter Vincent was very sweet to her and even went out of his way to greet her outside of the dining room. She is generally an easy to please kid, but I think this particular itinerary was exhausting for her and I will definitely pick a cruise with sea days for our next adventure so she will have time to rest. Read Less

This vacation was my third time on this carnival southern Caribbean cruise , previously on a larger ship , but Fascination is a very comfortable vessel The itinerary is good but the island choices need to be changed adding other places , maybe Grenada ,St.Vincent, the ABC islands ,BVI or the French islands .Dominica is a great addition . Maybe even add a 10 -14 day itinerary.The island stops were all fun and worth the visit especially ST Kitts with the Beulah Mills tour and St Marteen apv tour The Cherry blossom band and Vanessa the guitarist were excellent but shows in the theater need some revamping and should be put on more often , perhaps add some Island flavor as well . MarcQ is an excellent cruise director. The food was fine but needs some more variety , but service in the dining room is too slow,even though the waiters and attendants were always pleasant Our cabin was an interior one, very adequate and well kept,our housekeeper was friendly and attentive Overall it was a good relaxing trip and good value too Read Less