Rare sparks1093 Posted October 10, 2016 #1 Share Posted October 10, 2016 We'll be leaving on Fascination in 6 days on the southern itinerary out of San Juan. If you have any questions about the ship or ports you would like answered let me know before Friday evening and I'll keep my eyes open for the answers that I'll include in my review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telebax51 Posted October 12, 2016 #2 Share Posted October 12, 2016 We'll be leaving on Fascination in 6 days on the southern itinerary out of San Juan. If you have any questions about the ship or ports you would like answered let me know before Friday evening and I'll keep my eyes open for the answers that I'll include in my review. Hi sparks1093 one question to check are there beach towels in the cabin. I leave in 30 days and need to know if i have to pack my own beach towel THANKS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
me-shel Posted October 12, 2016 #3 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Our friends are looking at an Aft balcony. If they're on Empress, can people looking down from Atlantic see into their space? Which ports may be best for beach days - easy access, don't require an expensive excursion and don't leave you missing out on something else exciting? One in our party has some "mobility" issues for lack of a better term (bad knees). He can walk for miles, but probably wouldn't do something like ziplining. Probably a boat ride, maybe not snorkeling. Any ports where pretty much all options are super active or where that might be a bigger issue? I'm curious to see what you do in the ports, and where you stay in San Juan. Pros/Cons of the ship itself being older, smaller, with less updates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sparks1093 Posted October 12, 2016 Author #4 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Hi sparks1093 one question to check are there beach towels in the cabin. I leave in 30 days and need to know if i have to pack my own beach towel THANKS They were in our cabin on Pride but I'll verify they are available on Fascination also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sparks1093 Posted October 12, 2016 Author #5 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Our friends are looking at an Aft balcony. If they're on Empress, can people looking down from Atlantic see into their space? Which ports may be best for beach days - easy access, don't require an expensive excursion and don't leave you missing out on something else exciting? One in our party has some "mobility" issues for lack of a better term (bad knees). He can walk for miles, but probably wouldn't do something like ziplining. Probably a boat ride, maybe not snorkeling. Any ports where pretty much all options are super active or where that might be a bigger issue? I'm curious to see what you do in the ports, and where you stay in San Juan. Pros/Cons of the ship itself being older, smaller, with less updates? I will find out all that I can for you. We are doing St Thomas on our own (walking around and taking the tram ride if we're next to it), Barbados is Harrisons Cave tour, St Kitts Dolphin Swim, St Lucia Whale Watch Tour and St Maarten the Butterfly farm. All excursions were booked through CCL. I read on the Barbados forum that there is a beach 20 minutes brisk walk from the port. Oh, we're staying at the Howard Johnson Pre and Post cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelib Posted October 12, 2016 #6 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Yes to the beach towels in the room. Also towels at Serenity. Was there in May and going back the week after Thanksgiving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sparks1093 Posted October 12, 2016 Author #7 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Yes to the beach towels in the room. Also towels at Serenity. Was there in May and going back the week after Thanksgiving. You're making my homework easy:D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telebax51 Posted October 12, 2016 #8 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Yes to the beach towels in the room. Also towels at Serenity. Was there in May and going back the week after Thanksgiving. Thanks Kelib that is one less thing to pack we also did this cruise 2014 and going back in 30 days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ontheweb Posted October 13, 2016 #9 Share Posted October 13, 2016 (edited) I will find out all that I can for you. We are doing St Thomas on our own (walking around and taking the tram ride if we're next to it), Barbados is Harrisons Cave tour, St Kitts Dolphin Swim, St Lucia Whale Watch Tour and St Maarten the Butterfly farm. All excursions were booked through CCL. I read on the Barbados forum that there is a beach 20 minutes brisk walk from the port. Oh, we're staying at the Howard Johnson Pre and Post cruise. 1. I can confirm the beach towels having been on the Fascination this past August. 2. The Harrison Caves are spectacular. Look for a private excursion and do the price match. I wish I remembered the name of the operator, but a google search should find them. We got an OBC of $35.18 ($15.99 + $1.60) times 2. On St. Thomas there is a butterfly farm that is a walkable distance from the ship and is much cheaper than the one in St. Maarten. Also on St. Thomas, the sky ride is actually cheaper by about a dollar if you book the Carnival tour than if you buy it at the ride. It is also a very walkable distance from the ship. I assume for that excursion, Carnival just gives you the ticket for the ride. Edited October 13, 2016 by ontheweb added last sentence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ontheweb Posted October 13, 2016 #10 Share Posted October 13, 2016 1. I can confirm the beach towels having been on the Fascination this past August. 2. The Harrison Caves are spectacular. Look for a private excursion and do the price match. I wish I remembered the name of the operator, but a google search should find them. We got an OBC of $35.18 ($15.99 + $1.60) times 2. On St. Thomas there is a butterfly farm that is a walkable distance from the ship and is much cheaper than the one in St. Maarten. Also on St. Thomas, the sky ride is actually cheaper by about a dollar if you book the Carnival tour than if you buy it at the ride. It is also a very walkable distance from the ship. I assume for that excursion, Carnival just gives you the ticket for the ride. I think I just remembered the name of the private excursion operator. Try http://www.getyourguide.com Or it might be http://www.getmyguide.com It was cheaper by $15.99. I showed in my above post what it saved and the calculation to get to that number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sparks1093 Posted October 13, 2016 Author #11 Share Posted October 13, 2016 1. I can confirm the beach towels having been on the Fascination this past August. 2. The Harrison Caves are spectacular. Look for a private excursion and do the price match. I wish I remembered the name of the operator, but a google search should find them. We got an OBC of $35.18 ($15.99 + $1.60) times 2. On St. Thomas there is a butterfly farm that is a walkable distance from the ship and is much cheaper than the one in St. Maarten. Also on St. Thomas, the sky ride is actually cheaper by about a dollar if you book the Carnival tour than if you buy it at the ride. It is also a very walkable distance from the ship. I assume for that excursion, Carnival just gives you the ticket for the ride. Great info, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoDidly Posted October 13, 2016 #12 Share Posted October 13, 2016 Find out if the welcome aboard drinks are still free :D;). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sparks1093 Posted October 13, 2016 Author #13 Share Posted October 13, 2016 1. I can confirm the beach towels having been on the Fascination this past August. 2. The Harrison Caves are spectacular. Look for a private excursion and do the price match. I wish I remembered the name of the operator, but a google search should find them. We got an OBC of $35.18 ($15.99 + $1.60) times 2. On St. Thomas there is a butterfly farm that is a walkable distance from the ship and is much cheaper than the one in St. Maarten. Also on St. Thomas, the sky ride is actually cheaper by about a dollar if you book the Carnival tour than if you buy it at the ride. It is also a very walkable distance from the ship. I assume for that excursion, Carnival just gives you the ticket for the ride. Found the same tour so I'll submit the claim onboard since I am closer than 7 days to sailing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sparks1093 Posted October 13, 2016 Author #14 Share Posted October 13, 2016 Find out if the welcome aboard drinks are still free :D;). When was the last time that was in effect?:eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ontheweb Posted October 13, 2016 #15 Share Posted October 13, 2016 Great info, thanks! You're welcome. IIRC, both the sky ride and and the butterfly farm in St. Thomas are on the same street, the one that you get off on when you disembark. In fact the sky ride is practically right there when you get off the ship. The sky ride had a place to drop off tickets bought through Carnival, and as I said before that was cheaper than they charge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telebax51 Posted October 18, 2016 #16 Share Posted October 18, 2016 I will find out all that I can for you. We are doing St Thomas on our own (walking around and taking the tram ride if we're next to it), Barbados is Harrisons Cave tour, St Kitts Dolphin Swim, St Lucia Whale Watch Tour and St Maarten the Butterfly farm. All excursions were booked through CCL. I read on the Barbados forum that there is a beach 20 minutes brisk walk from the port. Oh, we're staying at the Howard Johnson Pre and Post cruise. I read on the Barbados forum that there is a beach 20 minutes brisk walk from the port I think the beach you are referring to is THE BOATYARD we plan on doing this excursion on our November cruise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Je Souhaite Posted October 18, 2016 #17 Share Posted October 18, 2016 We'll be leaving on Fascination in 6 days on the southern itinerary out of San Juan. If you have any questions about the ship or ports you would like answered let me know before Friday evening and I'll keep my eyes open for the answers that I'll include in my review. We did the Fascination when she was put in to replace the Tropicale. Had always wanted to do that itinerary, but not on a "older" ship. SO I jumped at the chance with the swap, a staggering $1599 for an outside room PP, with airfare. Within a year, the fares had dropped to $599. Who knew? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sparks1093 Posted October 23, 2016 Author #18 Share Posted October 23, 2016 Our friends are looking at an Aft balcony. If they're on Empress, can people looking down from Atlantic see into their space? Which ports may be best for beach days - easy access, don't require an expensive excursion and don't leave you missing out on something else exciting? One in our party has some "mobility" issues for lack of a better term (bad knees). He can walk for miles, but probably wouldn't do something like ziplining. Probably a boat ride, maybe not snorkeling. Any ports where pretty much all options are super active or where that might be a bigger issue? I'm curious to see what you do in the ports, and where you stay in San Juan. Pros/Cons of the ship itself being older, smaller, with less updates? I looked at the aft balconies as we walked by on the pier and it looked like the upper balconies cannot see into the lower ones. We found the ship well maintained and easy to navigate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakersdozen12 Posted October 23, 2016 #19 Share Posted October 23, 2016 I know you have just finished your cruise, but do you recall if they had the collectible parrot cups like the one in my avatar? I still need to get a yellow one, and was planning on getting one on my Fascination cruise in a couple weeks. But then it occurred to me that they might not have them since it's an older ship w/o the 2.0 upgrades. Not sure if the older ships have them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sparks1093 Posted October 23, 2016 Author #20 Share Posted October 23, 2016 I know you have just finished your cruise, but do you recall if they had the collectible parrot cups like the one in my avatar? I still need to get a yellow one, and was planning on getting one on my Fascination cruise in a couple weeks. But then it occurred to me that they might not have them since it's an older ship w/o the 2.0 upgrades. Not sure if the older ships have them. We did not see one because we would have have bought them. They had some new fish cups, the blowfish, diso ball and monkey coconut head that I saw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
me-shel Posted October 24, 2016 #21 Share Posted October 24, 2016 I looked at the aft balconies as we walked by on the pier and it looked like the upper balconies cannot see into the lower ones. We found the ship well maintained and easy to navigate. Thanks for the update!! They went ahead and booked the aft so they'll be glad to hear it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sparks1093 Posted October 24, 2016 Author #22 Share Posted October 24, 2016 Thanks for the update!! They went ahead and booked the aft so they'll be glad to hear it. You are more than welcome. Fascination doesn't have bells and whistles of other ship but still delivers an acceptable product. We had a great time onboard.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakersdozen12 Posted October 26, 2016 #23 Share Posted October 26, 2016 We did not see one because we would have have bought them. They had some new fish cups, the blowfish, diso ball and monkey coconut head that I saw. Bummer. But thanks! Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare georgiacat Posted October 26, 2016 #24 Share Posted October 26, 2016 Does the Fascination have self-service laundry? I can't locate it on the deck plans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BNBR Posted October 26, 2016 #25 Share Posted October 26, 2016 My question would be whether it's still floating.... but I guess you already answered that :D Wonder how much long they will keep this thing around. A few more years and maybe it'll be sold to another South Florida Bahamas cruise like Grand Celebration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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