NOT Fascinated!

[Cruisegirl6]

Just got off the Fascination, been on her a few times and she was my 60th cruise, but the most disappointing. Glad she is leaving Jax soon and being replaced.

 

Still, any cruise is better than no cruise.

[Frank12]

She was OK when we were on her. What happened? Falling apart?

[Cruisegirl6]

Since you asked:

 

1- Lifeboat drill took 1 hour 18 minutes total time

2- I am disabled, live with chronic muscle and joint pain, when they said I had to climb steps I asked if I can take an elevator up and the woman put both her hands up and shrugged her shoulders and said "oh well", you have no choice

3- We had two cabins, we could not sleep at all for two and a half nights...there was this bad constant noise that sounded like a ships horn from a distance, it constantly went on every two seconds day and night, no sleep! We reported it and a ticket was made, a few staff and maintenance came to listen and did hear it, it was also heard in the hallway, also our cabin steward heard it, nobody knew what it was and where it was coming from but constantly kept getting phone calls and letters to call guest services when we heard it, didn't want to get up all hours in the night to get dressed for them to come into our cabin...after two nights of this noise and not being able to nap due to the noise continued during the daytime (night we heard it louder as it was more quite on the ship), when we docked the third day in Nassau we took the opportunity to sleep all afternoon since the noise was gone while docked. This noise got quieter but still hearing it the last two nights.

4- I have to be gluten free, this ship was HORRIBLE for me. I called special needs four weeks before our cruise and they assured me that because we had my time dining they take our cabin number when we enter the dining room which they did, and was told they will provide me with information what I am able to eat, this NEVER happened. I also mentioned the first night to the waiter about my needing to be gluten free...needless to say, his server asked us about dessert I asked what was gluten free he said the orange cake, after eating 5-6 bites I knew it was too good to be gluten free, I asked the waiter he took it away from me but the next day I became ill in more ways than one. Late at night we were hungry I asked the gill server whether the burgers were gluten free two said yes, ate the burger and again next day totally sick again! There was really nothing gluten free on the lunch buffet other than the salad bar with oil and vinegar and the meat carving, unfortunately the last two days the meat carving was leg of lamb which I hate and do not eat, there was only salad for me. I am able to eat potato and rice there was none....

5- We had FTTF, our luggage was always brought to our cabin before we got on but the luggage was not there....needless to say we checked twice the next hour or so still no luggage, at 1:35 we noticed many people (without FTTF) had their luggage outside their doors we still didn't, called up guest services, finally got it later on.

6- Totally disappointed with the Christmas decorations they were nice mostly around the lobby and outside the restaurant was a 5 ft tree....the decorations were not lit and could barely be seen at night with the dim lights, the trees were small, certainly disappointing, nothing compared to the beautiful christmas decor RC has on their ships.

 

The staff ALL were friendly, in fact, we knew many of them and they always addressed us by our first names and all were very friendly, they truly made the cruise nice...also we had the best cabin steward too.

 

Food thankfully we could up charge our meal to having lobster, steak and turf (lobster) or 14 oz. filet mignon, its a good thing because there was hardly anything I can eat being both gluten and dairy free. I had no dessert once...we asked for the same waiter had him 3 nights he always promised me a gluten free dessert but only offered me sherbet which of course I refused its not a good dessert why bother?

 

Any cruise is a good cruise, but this was our most disappointing cruise ever!

Edited December 11, 2015 by lyndamr

[OCruisers]

Sorry but we were not fascinated by Fascination either. :o

[cb at sea]

Burgers have no gluten...they are MEAT! You were probably still ill from the cake you ate.

Edited December 11, 2015 by cb at sea

[Cruisegirl6]

Hi O'Cruisers were you also on the December 5th sailing or another? Sorry it happened to you also

 

cb at sea- The third person I had asked on day three said there were bread crumbs in the burgers, thats gluten and I sure got sick so there were bread crumbs/gluten. It was their regular burgers, I did hear that Guys burgers (not on this ship) do have gluten free burgers.

 

The New Wi- Fi was ok!

Edited December 11, 2015 by lyndamr

[SadieN]

The Inspiration had the same phantom fog horn noise last weekend.

 

How odd about the special diet. Usually they're very good. Did you preorder your MDR meals at embark and the the night before? Thankfully we've had no issues using ATD and special requests.

[Cruisegirl6]

SadieN- Thats odd....you had that noise also, its horrible, I never get another cabin in the back of the ship because of it. I wonder what it is? I know how bad it is kept us totally up and it just didn't stop.

 

They didn't give me the menu's the night before but two nights I had asked for it put in my requests only to find they being ignored totally. We were on the Valor in May, and it was perfect they really took care of me and on the Fascination last year, I beginning to wonder having My Time Dining they don't help me...the other two cruises we had assigned dining, so I gather my time is not good for people like me with special dietary needs, not mentioning my other half has to be sugar free he had no desserts available either!

 

Not only hearing that horn noise every other second day and night in our cabin, but being sick of eating gluten really took a toll on me in so many ways, it was horrible. We couldn't get off in port were so tired loosing sleep two nights and then being sick there was no way I could get off anyways. I am so disappointed with Carnival, oh forgot to also mention:

 

We boarded first having FTTF....we went immediately to our cabin dropped off our bags didn't see our luggage but still headed to the lido buffet for lunch as we haven't eaten a thing yet that day.....we booked up Chef's Table just 20 minutes from boarding to find the first night we were approached and told that the Chefs Table was overbooked and we were cancelled! It was totally unprofessional and disappointing but the worst part was not being able to sleep due to all that noise constantly. Just not a good cruise but the staff friendliness made it not a total disaster.

Edited December 11, 2015 by lyndamr

[Cruisegirl6]

Cbatsea- The cake was the first night the hamburgers were night two and three. It was the burgers because I had three days being ill....I had a burger midnight day 3 and 3 and day 4 was told about the breadcrumbs, didn't have a burger from then on and two days I was good.

Edited December 11, 2015 by lyndamr

[SadieN]

SadieN- Thats odd....you had that noise also, its horrible, I never get another cabin in the back of the ship because of it. I wonder what it is? I know how bad it is kept us totally up and it just didn't stop.

 

They didn't give me the menu's the night before but two nights I had asked for it put in my requests only to find they being ignored totally. We were on the Valor in May, and it was perfect they really took care of me and on the Fascination last year, I beginning to wonder having My Time Dining they don't help me...the other two cruises we had assigned dining, so I gather my time is not good for people like me with special dietary needs, not mentioning my other half has to be sugar free he had no desserts available either!

 

Not only hearing that horn noise every other second day and night in our cabin, but being sick of eating gluten really took a toll on me in so many ways, it was horrible. We couldn't get off in port were so tired loosing sleep two nights and then being sick there was no way I could get off anyways. I am so disappointed with Carnival, oh forgot to also mention:

 

We boarded first having FTTF....we went immediately to our cabin dropped off our bags didn't see our luggage but still headed to the lido buffet for lunch as we haven't eaten a thing yet that day.....we booked up Chef's Table just 20 minutes from boarding to find the first night we were approached and told that the Chefs Table was overbooked and we were cancelled! It was totally unprofessional and disappointing but the worst part was not being able to sleep due to all that noise constantly. Just not a good cruise but the staff friendliness made it not a total disaster.

 

 

We've had many aft cabins on the Fantasy class ships and this was the first time we ever heard any unidentifiable noise. Usually we hear happy drunks.

 

Sounds like the MDR really messed up. We've had no issue with ATD and special diets/requests. We're not GF but have other issues.

Must have been a disconnect who was doing the ordering. Last spring break the Inspiration started having the waitstaff take your preorder. On the Miracle we did special orders at the hostess stand.

Edited December 11, 2015 by SadieN

[Jimmy Geegitz]

Just got off the Fascination, been on her a few times and she was my 60th cruise, but the most disappointing. Glad she is leaving Jax soon and being replaced.

 

Still, any cruise is better than no cruise.

 

Haha love the string title.

[Lil2Angelic]

Hi O'Cruisers were you also on the December 5th sailing or another? Sorry it happened to you also

 

cb at sea- The third person I had asked on day three said there were bread crumbs in the burgers, thats gluten and I sure got sick so there were bread crumbs/gluten. It was their regular burgers, I did hear that Guys burgers (not on this ship) do have gluten free burgers.

 

The New Wi- Fi was ok!

 

Thanks for the heads up on the burgers. They must be using the gluten as a filler now. I wonder how long that's been going on?

[AHS123]

Good to hear you had a nice time.

[nycruiser2006]

I have been waiting for you to return from this cruise, and so discouraged to hear the issues you had!

1) I am interested in embarkation. How was embarkation at the port? What time did you arrive, was there a dedicated FTTF line, etc?

2) What type of cabin were you in and you said you were Aft?

3) Was the casino as smoky as everyone says? Did you have any luck?

Thanks

Edited December 11, 2015 by nycruiser2006

[Tapi]

We've been on the Fascination 4 times and unfortunately the last time was also "less than fascinating", but for different reasons. It was the first time that my wife and I actually discussed taking advantage of the Vacation Guarantee. This cruise was our trigger to venture out and try other cruise lines.

[zqvol]

As a thought to OP, why not buy and keep with you some ear plugs. They will stop all that noise and let you sleep. They are inexpensive and can be found at your local pharmacy.

 

That doesn't excuse the noise or lessen the blame but if it happens to you again hopefully it will allow you to sleep.

 

As to the food issue I have no doubts that your deception is accurate, but I am appalled that Carnival was so negligent as to allow this to happen. As bad as gluten allergies are can you imagine what would have happened if someone went into anaphylactic shock because the kitchen couldn't get a meal correct.

 

Hopefully your next cruise is better.

[LTS1960]

As a thought to OP, why not buy and keep with you some ear plugs. They will stop all that noise and let you sleep. They are inexpensive and can be found at your local pharmacy.

 

That doesn't excuse the noise or lessen the blame but if it happens to you again hopefully it will allow you to sleep.

 

As to the food issue I have no doubts that your deception is accurate, but I am appalled that Carnival was so negligent as to allow this to happen. As bad as gluten allergies are can you imagine what would have happened if someone went into anaphylactic shock because the kitchen couldn't get a meal correct.

 

Hopefully your next cruise is better.

 

 

FYI for everyone, there is no such thing as a gluten allergy, it's a gluten sensitivity or intolerance. The allergy associated would be a wheat allergy which is not the same thing.

[Cruisegirl6]

For those of you with kind words and understanding....thank you!

 

Lts1960- Celiac disease is a real disease, its worse than those who just have a gluten intolerance...gluten triggers an immune response which is not normal. It damages the inside of the small intestines so that it cannot absorb nutrients from food, it can lead to anemia, lead to osteoporosis and raises your risk of lymphoma, which I happen to be included in all of the above ugh lol.

Celiac in children can slow growth and weaken bones, so its just not a sensitivity it can be very dangerous to those with celiac disease.

 

Yes, burgers many times contain fillers, its to add to the hamburger so that they use less meat, a less costly way of making a hamburger. The same goes wth meatballs.

 

Zquol- Although I got ill eating gluten which involved me having constant runs, vomiting and terrible stomach pains, your correct, a person that is severely allergic can go into anaphylactic shock which is the reason why I will write to Carnival this week...just have to figure out who to write it so that it doesn't sit in a computer and not get addressed, I need to make sure the proper authorities read it so they can make corrections.

 

Earplugs, wished I had them but then, I hate to have something stuck in my ear and be uncomfortable, on another note, it would of worked but who ever thought the noise was that loud and always constant?

 

Embarkation at the port was a BREEZE but we arrived at 10:30 early. There was no lines when we entered the terminal and yes, they had a FTTF line and got us on right away. We had 2 and 3 aft balcony on the EmpressDeck. The casino and right outside of it (half the bar allows smoking just outside the casino which is the most smokey spot on the ship) was very smokey in fact, we thought it was the most smoke we ever had on any ship, but it really depends whether or not there are many passengers that smoke or not, its not predictable..also we found it crowded at times with people smoking and other times empty, but they do keep that area of the ship cooler because of the smoke.

We love the casino, they took away a number of slot machines and replaced it with this automated poker table along with other tables. Still enough slots. My other half won a few jackpots nothing big ($750, 550, 250, 275, 300 and $806) as for me I only lost $300 but we played day and night so I did good. They also moved machines around the third day of the cruise to different areas. There was no machine that I would say was loose the entire cruise.

[sjn911]

RE Earplugs....Just a suggestion. I hate to use them too but sometimes a necessary alternative....Sometimes I need them but have tiny slits as ear openings so need something that molds to outside of ear...all other cause terrible pressure in my canal... the best in the planet for me are these silicone Macks that you mold around outside your ear opening to be shut...I use them with a slight opening and closing at movies and concerts alot too..if you can wear silicone go for Macks...and the child ones work on me..even cheaper...most drugstores in US and Canada have them I think...

[LTS1960]

For those of you with kind words and understanding....thank you!

 

 

 

Lts1960- Celiac disease is a real disease, its worse than those who just have a gluten intolerance...gluten triggers an immune response which is not normal. It damages the inside of the small intestines so that it cannot absorb nutrients from food, it can lead to anemia, lead to osteoporosis and raises your risk of lymphoma, which I happen to be included in all of the above ugh lol.

 

Celiac in children can slow growth and weaken bones, so its just not a sensitivity it can be very dangerous to those with celiac disease.

 

 

 

Yes, burgers many times contain fillers, its to add to the hamburger so that they use less meat, a less costly way of making a hamburger. The same goes wth meatballs.

 

 

 

Zquol- Although I got ill eating gluten which involved me having constant runs, vomiting and terrible stomach pains, your correct, a person that is severely allergic can go into anaphylactic shock which is the reason why I will write to Carnival this week...just have to figure out who to write it so that it doesn't sit in a computer and not get addressed, I need to make sure the proper authorities read it so they can make corrections.

 

 

 

Earplugs, wished I had them but then, I hate to have something stuck in my ear and be uncomfortable, on another note, it would of worked but who ever thought the noise was that loud and always constant?

 

 

 

Embarkation at the port was a BREEZE but we arrived at 10:30 early. There was no lines when we entered the terminal and yes, they had a FTTF line and got us on right away. We had 2 and 3 aft balcony on the EmpressDeck. The casino and right outside of it (half the bar allows smoking just outside the casino which is the most smokey spot on the ship) was very smokey in fact, we thought it was the most smoke we ever had on any ship, but it really depends whether or not there are many passengers that smoke or not, its not predictable..also we found it crowded at times with people smoking and other times empty, but they do keep that area of the ship cooler because of the smoke.

 

We love the casino, they took away a number of slot machines and replaced it with this automated poker table along with other tables. Still enough slots. My other half won a few jackpots nothing big ($750, 550, 250, 275, 300 and $806) as for me I only lost $300 but we played day and night so I did good. They also moved machines around the third day of the cruise to different areas. There was no machine that I would say was loose the entire cruise.

 

 

Uhhhhhh......yes I know that Celiac Disease is a disease! I am an RN. I didn't even talk about celiac disease , just the fact that people always use the term gluten allergy when in fact it isn't an allergy at all.

Gluten intolerance is not the same as celiac disease and you have never stated that you have celiac disease so idk what your point is.

[nycruiser2006]

Thank you for the info on Embarkation and the casino. I will be sure to update my experiences when I return on January 16th.

[Cruisegirl6]

sjn911 interesting ear plugs, but hoping I never have that experience again.

 

Lts1960, I do have celiac, thanks for your hard work you do.

 

NyCruiser2006 May you have a perfect cruise, if your not in the aft you shouldn't have the noise problem.

[cruisersunsetbrat]

We were on this same cruise and had similar experience. The muster drill took well over an hour - the longest ever.

 

We ate in the MDR 4 of the 5 nights. Two of those four nights, it took an hour to get one appetizer and another hour to get the entree. We didn't want to wait another hour for dessert!

 

Although our room steward was very nice, we had to ask for a bar of soap, toilet paper and ice. Also, the toilet would only flush once very five pushes, if we were lucky. We left a note asking the room steward to have it checked out. When we came back from Nassau - still the same problem.

 

Called guest services and were told the plumbing crew was overwhelmed and behind in repairs. Talked to room steward later and he admitted that he tried flushing, it worked so he didn't call in a repair. Yes...it works every 5 - 10 tries! Made a trip to guest services where the girl behind the counter called for repair. Half an hour later, a new button was installed and it worked great! The base around the centerpiece was cracked and (we think) not holding pressure. After that complaint, we had a lot of ice, plenty of TP and five bars of soap.

 

It also seemed like not as many activities and more of a "let's sell the pax something...anything!" Example: the night before Nassau stop, there was a flyer under our door, the heading: "URGENT Nassau update." Your first thought is, uh-oh, we won't be making this port stop. Instead, it said something along the lines of "it is imperative that you spend at least two hours shopping in Nassau." Are you kidding me? That's an "urgent message?"

 

The positives: We are platinum so it was easy on, easy off. Never more than one person ahead of us in guest services. Some of the food was great. Most of the wait staff was friendly. The shows that we did see were good.

 

Still, after cruising for 25 years, it seems that things are sliding south at a faster pace. Yes, you "get what you pay for" but we spend plenty on drinks and in their casino. We asked the price of a glass of wine: $9.50. Are you kidding me? No thank you!

 

There's my .02. I'm sure we will cruise Carnival again but we will have to wait until the memory of this one fades a bit...

[Cruisegirl6]

Cruisersunsetbrat hello,

 

Yes, the longest muster drill ever, I believe it was 1 hour 18 minutes long.

 

Our cabin steward was excellent, although somehow the bar soap went missing the third day and a replacement was not given to us that evening, I had to leave a note to the cabin steward for another which he did leave two, but he should of replaced it without my asking. We also were surprised there was no ice bucket and ice and didn't ask for that.

Its a good thing I didn't have the toilet flushing issues because being sick from eating gluten in foods that I was told didn' have gluten made me lets say keep going to the bathroom, I don't know what I would of done if had that problem and its not a minor problem either so I know how frustrating it had to be for you.

 

We also felt the activity level was the least experienced on any past carnival cruises we taken. I didn't receive that letter about shopping in Nassau what nerve to say that to you!

 

I don't think there was ever a staff member that we past in the hallway that didn't say hello or acknowledge us, totally friendly staff for sure.

 

I have to say the brands of wine offered on the ship (excluding the MDR as they had more variety) were HORRIBLE/cheap/inexpensive!!! Most of those bottles of wine are sold in Walmart for 3.99-4.99 a bottle...I love my wine but I could not order any due to they would just give me a headache, its a shame to even see the wine list cut to as low as they can get.

 

We also say we get what we pay for another reason why RC is our favorite over Carnival by far but we shouldn't have to experience issues that we did. We are booked on the Magic for April 30 and having reservations about going and changing to RC Oasis of the Seas (Allure and Oasis is our most favorite ship). I also will continue to cruise on Carnival but perhaps the next cruise we feel the same just need time to get over this one. :cool:

Edited December 11, 2015 by lyndamr

[JAXCRUISER]

What was your aft cabin number? Thanks.