Carnival Fascination Review
Bait and Switch with Cranky Staff on a dirty old boat
Rating by category
Additional details
We originally booked a cruise on the Carnival Victory. A few months after booking we were sent notice that our cruise had been switched to the Fascination - an older and much smaller ship. For the Victory we had carefully planned where our cabins would be - away from noisy mechanicals, etc. When we were switched to the Fascination, we were told we were given comparable rooms. Lies.
When we arrived at our cabin, we found we had been given a cabin with bunk beds in it. We had booked twins configured as a King - which we had, but we had a shelf for bunk beds directly above our heads. Every time we rolled over, we'd bonk our heads. The room was much smaller because the second bunk cut into the space at the end of the bed. When we contacted the desk we were told they had no rooms for us to switch to, but might have one the next day. Which they did... but the process to get to the point where they offered us a switch took constant calls and visits to the customer care line.
When we were moved we were moved to E146, which was the right style of room but directly underneath the scullery. It sounded like people were bowling over our bedroom all night. Talking, clanking, rolling, noisy! Terrible. Comparable room? I don't think so!!!
Cabin Review
Interior
Much better than our original E165. That room SUCKED. Unneeded and unwanted bunk beds made the room cramped and dangerous to clumsy people like me.
In E146 our sink stopped up once. We rarely got things we asked for... BUT...The steward guy kept it super clean and made us really clever towel animals. At night the only temperature of water in the sink was SCALDING HOT. Washing up at night was painful.
Noisy as all hell. Both in the hallway at 6am with weird vacuuming, and above us as staff worked hard preparing food for the day. We were told we were not close to that when we booked - but it was a lie. We were away from noise on the Victory but were screwed by the switch to the Fascination.
Port Reviews
San Juan
Loved San Juan. Everyone we met was happy, friendly, helpful and polite. The city is very clean. Great selection of food and drink. Many sites to see. Both forts are worth seeing. Loved Lupis Mexican food and Mojitos. Stayed at the Sheraton before leaving for the cruise, and it was top notch. I would return to San Juan!!!
St. Thomas
Absolutely stunning scenery. Definitely take the tram to the top of the hill in town to see the port below. Grab a bite at the restaurant up top - generous portions and tasty! We took a cab to see a few sites and go to the beach. Very hilly scary ride - but fun and great photo ops! The driver waited for us at the beach and made sure we made it back to our ship on time. If you want to see Blackbeard's Castle you might be out of luck - it's closed three days/week.
St. Maarten
Our friends had fun on the motorcycle excursion - but we don't have licenses for motorcycles and instead walked around the Dutch side. Mostly just shopping and casinos (they have 15) to be seen - but the island is very lovely. Great beach very close to the cruise port in the shopping area. Cheap drinks. In the afternoon we went to the airplane (MAHO) beach to watch the planes land. Cab ride was posted at $8pp but we managed to negotiate 6pp. The driver waited for us and made sure we got back in time. The water was lovely, and snorkelling reefs are a minutes swim from the main airplane beach.