I've read many reviews about this cruise leading up to our trip. Some were negative and some were positive. Most of the reviews I read had referenced the fact that the Fascination is an older ship. I've been on 3 other Carnival cruises and two Norwegian cruises. The Fascination is just as nice, if not nicer, than any other ship I've sailed on. It is SO CLEAN. At one point, I saw someone cleaning the floor with a toothpick! I also saw cabin stewards steam cleaning curtains and wiping the ceilings. Show me any resort that does that on a daily basis! This was such a clean ship and did not show its age anywhere.

Embarkation in San Juan was simple. Our appointed time to board was 1pm. We arrived to the port around 11:30am and were directed to the 2nd floor of the cruise terminal. There was a very small line. We were shocked to find out that we could board as soon as we checked in. I've never boarded so quickly before. I almost purchased the Faster To The Fun program but opted against it. I'm glad I did. The only thing I had to wait for was our luggage to get delivered to our room later on that evening.

We had cabin M225, which is an oceanview room. It is slightly smaller than other oceanview rooms on other Carnival ships(185 sq ft compared to 225 sq ft). It is a normal size room for any other ship. I brought an over the door shoe rack to store our toiletries in. It hung right over our bathroom door. I recommend bringing one because this ship does not have the larger shelves that some of the newer ships have in the bathroom. It also does not have a hairdryer. My girlfriend brought hers just in case and was pleased she did. The room does have plenty of storage for all of our clothes. We had 4 people in the cabin, 2 adults and 2 children. Read more