Carnival Fascination Review

3.5 / 5.0
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Not Fascinated With This Carnival Cruise

Review for the Bahamas Cruise on Carnival Fascination
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mk1981
First Time Cruiser • Age 40s

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Sail Date: Jul 2010
Cabin: Ocean View

My husband and I did a lot of research before booking this Carnival Cruise. We felt that it would suit our needs well. We only wanted a quick getaway to unwind a little as this was our first vacation in two and a half years. We researched the ports of call and were very excited to visit Freeport and then go to Nassau and experience the half day snorkeling trip provided by Stuart Cove. We woke up early and drove six hours to Jacksonville so that we could get on the ship as early as possible. We arrived in Jacksonville at 11:30 and that is when the first day of our much anticipated trip became the day from hell.

When we arrived we were told that the ship was delayed due to mechanical issues and we would not be allowed on the ship until 2:30. We asked a Carnival employee who was walking around the parking lot if we should stick around or if we should leave and come back later. She said we should stay because the lots would fill up and we would have to wait in line all over again if we left. SO, we stayed and melted in the hot sun for an hour and a half. Then, another Carnival employee came around telling everyone to leave and come back at 2:30 and if we didn't want to leave, we could get escorted out by the Jacksonville PD. So, we left. I will skip the details of what happened upon our return, but basically we were herded back and forth between the staging parking lot, to the luggage drop off and back to the main parking lot. Every time we were told to go one place, when we got there we were instructed to go somewhere else. I have never in my life experienced such frustration and incompetence in my entire life. Finally, two hours later we were able to board the ship. We were supposed to leave at 4:00 and the ship set sail at 6:37 p.m. Oh, but Carnival gave us a $15 lunch credit to make it all better. Yeah right. At least we were finally leaving Jacksonville and our vacation was beginning.

Just as we settled in and began to relax, the cruise director came over the loud speaker and announced that the entire itinerary had been altered. Instead of going to Freeport on Friday from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m., we would instead spend the day at sea. Saturday, we would still go to Nassau as scheduled; however, we would be leaving Nassau at 6 p.m. instead of 10 p.m. Sunday, we would finally arrive in Freeport, but the new time would be 7 AM to 12 p.m. For our troubles, Carnival was giving a $40 credit. For many cruisers, this would suffice, as we found. Many people apparently booked the cruise and made no plans for on-shore activities and many didn't even know where we were going.

Cabin Review

Ocean View

Cabin 6E

Our cabin was much more spacious than I expected. The oceanview truly was an oceanview. There was a large double window to look out. It was beautiful!

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