We were booked on Carnival Fascination for this week but FEMA leased the Fascination for hurricane relief so we looked for another cruise leaving San Juan on same date. We had been on the Jewel of the Seas before and were not impressed but considering the circumstances we thought we'd try again. Embarkation went smoothly. 2 of the 3 cabins were very good. 1 cabin on level 2 was dingy and smelled like sewer. Dining was just ok. Waiter was very good but slow as we could never get out of dining room before 8pm and we were always one of the first people in. Always late to shows. Had a good comedian but other shows are definitely showing cutbacks. Hard to find ice cream machines open. After shows hard to find any food on board. Having 2 teenage boys a egg salad sandwich or veggie sandwich at solarium just didn't cut it. Had pizza but lucky to get a piece of pepperoni on pepperoni pizza slice. Took a "catamaran" excursion thru ship in Martinique. Boys love to swim and brochure said beach time, could jump off catamaran and was 4 hours long for $94. After a short ride on the big pontoon, we were split into 2 sections and not allowed to get off boat. We were ushered to a dingy basement like area to watch for turtles thru glass windows. The AC was on high blowing right on us. Lady in charge of tour made my husband move and lie in back area as she looked thru window and told us what to look for. 2 people squished into a 2 foot square hole- even elderly- awful. When our time came to get to beach we had 40 minutes... Very disappointing and misleading. We did stop at excursion desk and they totally blew us off. Will stick with Carnival, Celebrity, or may try one of Royals larger ships.
group of 7 in 3 cabins. 1 cabin on level 2 - never again, sewer smell and dingy.
Fun, relaxing beach
Charles gave us a very thorough and insightful tour of the island of St Maarten after the hurricane. We were able to see the damage that the island sustained and the slow recovery process. Very accommodating.