Carnival Fascination Review
Fascination was my first cruise and now years later my 13th
Rating by category
Additional details
We drove to Jacksonville from our home in Pine Mountain, GA. We spent the night before the cruise at the Holiday Inn Express on New Berlin Road just 1 mile from the cruise terminal.
The morning of the cruise the hotel provided a shuttle for the guests; you had to sign up at the time of your arrival and were given priority on the shuttle this way. They began running about 10:30 and we were on the 3rd or 4th shuttle arriving at the port around 11:45 a.m. There was a line formed outside and it took us maybe 5 minutes to enter the building. Inside you walked through more lines to get to the x-ray machine, then through more lines to get your sail & sign card and then one more line for your picture. By the time we got on the ship it was 1:15 p.m. and you could go to your cabin at 1:30 p.m. This was one of the longer embarkations for my husband and I in all of our 13 cruises.
Our room stewards took good care of our room and were very pleasant. All dining room staff and other employees were also very pleasant and worked very hard.
Cabin Review
Balcony
We were in a balcony cabin E245 on deck 7. Our location was great; just down the back hall and up a few flights of stairs was the Serenity area, up another flight you were at the Coconut Grove (pizza/deli/bar and buffet)and the pool on the Lido deck. Also, at midship on our deck was Guest Services and a nice lounge/bar.
I love the wide hallways on the Fascination. The cabin itself was on the smaller side, but we had enough space for our clothes since it was just a 5 day cruise. The space between the bottom of the bed and the desk area was very narrow. The bed was comfortable and had a nice comforter on it. The a/c was wierd; you turned a knob on the ceiling above the bed to open or shut a vent - no actual control of the temperature by setting a number.
The bathroom was ok; not much space to store your bath items. I have a hanging bag for my toiletries and there was a hook on the bathroom door I could hang my bag from. The shower was ok in size, but I did not care for the shampoo or the liquid shower gel.
The balcony was an after thought on this ship and a hole was cut from a window to install a small door on to a narrow balcony. There is also a window in the room. Two chairs and a small table are on the balcony.