Stinger-pr's fascinating honeymoon, Fascination cruise review- Oct. 16-23, 2016

[Stinger-pr]

Is the other name for that "Sahara dust"? We lucked out with decent clarity and I was so glad to be able to see the different islands. When we were on Valor in 2013, it wasn't that clear. Thanks for letting me know where Rio Grand is. My friend did say it wasn't too far from San Juan.

 

We're about 30 miles southwest of DC...maybe a meet and greet during a weekend? We're not too familiar with the downtown other than where the monuments are located but if you're looking for ideas of things to do outside of the city please feel free to ask. They also have one of the air and space museums (Udvar Hazy Center) near Dulles International (right up the road from us) that has Space Shuttle Discovery on display. We actually got to witness them bringing Discovery in on top of the NASA 747 and got tons of pictures. They flew it over several times since we're in the flight pattern.

I was actually in DC last summer with DD for a week's worth of monuments and museums. We absolutely loved it! So much that this year I'm making the trip with DW. Funny thing is that we found our plane tickets and hotel (we're staying outside of Georgetown near Dupont Circle) so much cheaper for the 4th of July week than any other week during summer. I was even so much cheaper to fly in/out on a Sunday! Go figure...

 

One of the museums I visited was the Udvar Hazy center and will do so again when I return. I'm not sure yet which day I'm taking the trip to the Dulles area since we're taking the Metro and connecting with the bus that takes you right to the museum. Got to check the schedules to see how frequent the bus trips are on weekends but we'll get there. Funny you mentioned the event when the shuttled was transported into Udvar Hazy. Exactly two weeks ago I saw the Smithsonian documentary about that and the events that led to the shuttle being retired, prepped and flown in. It was simply amazing!

 

Oh and yes, the Saharan dust is the common name for the Saharan air layer that crosses the Atlantic and wrecks havoc on visibility and with the health of people with respiratory conditions around these parts.

[Stinger-pr]

Thanks for the St. Maarten review. I have a question, maybe jumping ahead a tiny bit... If I do Self-Debarkation do you think it's possible to get to a flight that leaves at 11:40 AM? I"m almost positive that is the flight we had a few years ago and had no issues. But I'm not 100% sure. Other flights leave much later so I'd rather not wait around, and they are much more expensive.

I'm in the process of putting the finishing touches on our arrival back in San Juan and the debarkation process. Now, although since I live in PR I can't talk about the complete process of transferring from ship to airport but on the other hand I have used this airport a numerous times and the airport is located about halfway between Old San Juan and my home so I can pretty much estimate the time of travel between them. Short answer to your question is YES, you should be ok with an 11:40am flight as long as you do self debarkation. If you do online check in for your flight you should need about an hour to an hour and a half at the most to go through the whole airport process from curb-side to gate (don't forget to find one of the USDA scanners BEFORE trying to check your luggage or it won't be accepted). Travel time from the port to SJU is 15-20 minutes. There's no traffic at that time.

[Stinger-pr]

Lots of useful info on your St. Maarten posts. Hope to experience the same in March.

There are tons of things to do in St. Maarten. Do your research and plan ahead. I haven't done much in this island on either of my three trips because we did so much before getting there that we were "beached-out", snorkeled-out, and a bit burnt out when we got to St. Marteen. But I know these will not be my only cruises on this route and I'll just plan some more for one of the next visits. This time my back played one on me and had to cut the day short. Too bad. Thanks for reading my review and I hope you still enjoy what's left of it.

[SMRIZZSTX]

Question -- 11 pounds of Gouda? Not sure what to do with that much, but going to look into before leaving .

 

 

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[Stinger-pr]

Question -- 11 pounds of Gouda? Not sure what to do with that much, but going to look into before leaving .

 

 

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You don't have to buy that much. Actually, I'll have to check when I get home if it's 11 pounds or a bit less. I do remember there being two different weight wheels. I got the larger ones. I'll get back to you on that one.

It might be a lot of cheese but it refrigerates well (I wrap it in clear cling wrap after every use. I still got 1/3 of the one I kept left in my fridge. Other than the edges are a bit hard (easily taken off) the cheese feels and tastes great. I also saw places where they cut the wheels up into smaller portions as well.

[Stinger-pr]

Day 8: Back in San Juan

 

So the day where we would be kicked off the ship finally came. Even though I had told DW that there would be no more “too early” alarms set, I just HAD to see San Juan as we were coming into the bay. I might live in Puerto Rico but seeing El Morro as the ship passes by just as the sun is peeking out from the horizon is a sight I only get to see when on a cruise and one that gets to me every time. Pictures don’t do this imposing site at these moments any justice. You really have to see it from the sea as well as from the inside to really get the whole picture and realize how big this structure really is.

The bay of San Juan has a different vibe from all other ports. Maybe because it’s much bigger and developed than any of the ports we visited or because everyone’s somber because the trip has come to an end. But one thing’s for sure; once you pas the entrance to the bay, the combination of the different historic and colorful structures, the rising sun in the sky and the tranquil waters (although not even close to the blues and turquoise hues we saw all week) are enough to take your breath away.

The white building above is the Palacio Santa Catalina, AKA La Fortaleza, AKA the Governor’s residence. This is where the Puerto Rican first family lives during the Governor’s tenure. At the lower part of the wall is where part of Paseo La Princesa is located

[Stinger-pr]

Day 8: Back in San Juan continued...

 

One last look at El Morro behind us.

Now, at least for me these restoration works going on in this part of the wall are bittersweet. While I applaud the fact that conservation and restoration work is being done, I’m not sure I’m liking this bleached look on the wall. It might look shiny (bear with me here…) and new, I say it takes away some of the character that the weathered look gives the wall. I do hope they tone it down or at least that they don’t transfer this process to to other structures constructed with similar stone.

Here’s a look at the San Juan USCG docks, or what I like to call “Battleship Row”.

And finally nearing our parking space.

[Stinger-pr]

Day 8: Back in San Juan continued...

 

By the time we started to maneuver into our dock, the sun started to peek out of from behind the clouds.

We were joined in the bay for the first time by the Norwegian Gem which was starting its fall/winter itineraries sailing from San Juan but from the other side of the bay at the Pan American Pier.

When I went back inside I noticed the breakfast buffet in the aft Lido area was already set up with all kinds of yummy goodies.

[Stinger-pr]

Day 8: Back in San Juan continued...

 

This was the grill’s breakfast menu for today:

Now, our official arrival time was supposed to be 7am but in my three cruises, we’ve always came in earlier and this was no exception. By 6:30 we were already dock side and tied up. Around this time, seeing there weren’t really many people up and about, I decided to head over to the Diamonds Are Forever lounge.

A few months back, Carnival had done away with the service of delivering all alcohol purchases from the islands that had been held by the ship during the week to the guests’ staterooms the night before debarkation. Now they set up a collection area where everyone has to go and pick up their liquor. For the Fascination, the designated area was the Diamonds are Forever lounge. I got to tell you…It was one darned heck of a mess!! Even arriving just 30-something minutes after doors opened (and being so early) the line was pretty considerable. It might not seem to be so at first because when you arrive, you might see something like this:

What you don’t see is that there are actually TWO lines inside; one for those on decks 4 and 5 only and another for all other decks. But unless someone comments on this outside or you happen by chance to see the other line, you wouldn’t really know where to stand because the only signage for the lines in on the glass of that DJ station on the center of the picture below.

It was a darned uncomfortable experience since the wait was extremely long. I was on the line to the right in the pictures, the one that didn’t end outside the lounge and was shortest and I still was in there for just over an hour! The fact that everyone was “just woke up” moody and that the air condition felt like it was on low setting (I was almost to the point of being on the warm side) didn’t help the atmosphere at all.

Even when they got to the front, there were people still wondering if they were in the right place.

[Stinger-pr]

Day 8: Back in San Juan continued...

 

After the debacle at the liquor collection area I took our purchases back to the room where DW was already waiting for me. So we changed clothes, and started to pack whatever was left to pack, including putting the cheese and some of the liquor bottles in an empty carry-on bag we had brought for this specific purpose. We weren’t concerned by weight because we don’t have to take a flight back home but did make sure all alcohol bottles were protected, minimizing the odds of breakage. Like I posted earlier, we had decided to leave our luggage out the previous night for Carnival to handle it being taken off the ship.

Debarking is made by zones and they star to call Diamond, Platinun and FTTF to debark first. The time the actual debarkation starts, is really up in the air. Three times I’ve sailed this itinearay something always delays debarkation. If I remember correctly, all three delays have been supposedly due to US Coast Guard inspections (or at least that’s what they say over the loudspeakers). The previous night our steward left luggage tags with zone numbers in the room as usual. Our number was for zone 23 (yey!!) so I knew we’d be debarking later. You are asked to vacate the rooms by 8-8:30am so as we did, we looked for and found our steward in the hallway, tipped him a bit extra and thanked him for…well, doing our room every day and getting ice 6 out of seven nights. We wanted to take advantage of one last breakfast before leaving the ship and….. So did everyone else!! The Lido buffet area was jam packed. You had to stake out tables for minutes to be able to get an empty one. We finally got one near the Pizza Pirate and took turns going to get our breakfasts. After a while, near 9am, they started calling passengers and effectively commence the debarking process. Once the amount of passengers on Lido started to dwindle, we moved to one of the tables on the outside aft part to relax and wait our turn to leave.

This is the ferry that takes you into the city of Cataño, and it’s the one you use to get to the Bacardi rum factory which, is just about 5 minutes from the ferry terminal.

Castillo San Cristobal (fort) seen in the distance from the ship. It’s a nice 10 minute walk from the ship to the lower entrance with just a slight hill. If you opt for the main entrance, you need to walk up a steep street and then a steep ramp to gain access to the fort’s Main Entrance.

Yes… There will be taxis readily available for when you need on after you debark the ship.

[Stinger-pr]

Then came the call we would’ve never wanted to hear. Around 10:30am they called the final zones to debark the ship and we made our way to the elevators looking like Sad Sam plush puppies. We wanted to go straight down to level three so we skipped the buffet area elevators and walked over to the forward elevators. Being on one of the higher levels helped in that when the elevators arrived they weren’t all that full as opposed to when they’re going down. It can be quite a chore to get in one of the elevators to going down to level 3 since they usually come filled to the brim. Some people (us included) take them as they’re going up and just bear the ride up, then down again. This time there was no super long line when we arrived at the gangway and the process was just like going ashore on any island. Until you get inside the terminal and run into this:

The lines to get to the US Customs agents were huge!! Thankfully they were moving along and it took around 30 minutes to get to an agent. We took turns in line to get our luggage as to not waste more time or loose our place in line. BWT notice the three identical pink and black suitcases on the right of the picture? That is why you should always strap something on or mark your suitcases with something distinctive. There was a passenger going nuts because someone had taken her suitcase but she found on, unclaimed, identical to hers. Apparently, someone took the wrong bag with them because they looked alike. Once we reached the USCBP officer, we handed him our IDs and our Customs declaration forms and he sent us on our way. While we were on the “walk of shame” walking away from the terminal, I noticed that they were already letting passengers into the terminal (can’t say about boarding the ship). It was about 11:20am. Once at the end of the terminal walkway we turned right on the sidewalk and waited for our ride. While doing so I caught one final picture of the ship, said good bye, and see you soon.

Here’s looking at you, kid!!

[Hornet441]

Stinger, you mention they call Platinum, Diamond and FTTF for debark first. Is there a separate call for Carnival port excursions? Thanks for the informative review, we sail 26 Feb.

[ohioNCLcruiser]

Wow great review thanks! I'm considering booking this cruise this week. Quick question (sorry if you mentioned it earlier but couldn't find it in the various pages) but did you notice if the casino was dead at night? I'm hearing this ship goes to bed early generally and that the casino is pretty empty most nights. Thanks!

[sparks1093]

Dang, now that your review is done it feels like our cruise just ended again. :( Thanks for letting us enjoy our cruise again through your eyes. For those that sail Fascination and want a quick bite without the crowd at the buffet they do have pastries and such set up in the theater along with coffee, juice and tea.

[itchintocruise]

Thanks for the wonderful review. Great pictures. I have certainly picked up a few tips for our upcoming cruise in March.

[pghsteelerfan]

Just commenting again to let you know I have enjoyed this review as much as your others and I'm actually sad to see that it's over. Next time we do this itinerary out of San Juan, I am getting my tail out of bed early on debarkation morning to get pictures sailing back in. I tried both times prior but when the alarm went off at 5:30AM, I could tell we were already passing the fort from the view of the other strip of land on the right (we've been on the starboard side). On our last cruise, it was still fairly dark so I don't think pictures would have come out. Yours are gorgeous!!!

 

That was definitely a fiasco getting the liquor you purchased. I think I heard that on 6 day/longer cruises, they are/will be bringing back the former policy of delivering liquor purchases to the cabin on the final night. We may consider buying liquor again if this is true.

 

Funny you mention while you were walking through the terminal on your way out after debarking at 11:20AM, you noticed other passengers heading in. On our Liberty cruise, we were those passengers heading in at 11:20 when a mass of others were clearly just leaving....a delayed debarkation that morning as well. We were able to check in, and check-in was a breeze, BUT we had to wait about 2 hours before they started boarding around 2PM. We had some great company though (2/3 of the group we got to know on our roll call), so that waiting wasn't bad. We just pulled up space on the floor right next to security. Valentinebaby1 and her her hubby, JKirkN, were across the street at Senor Frogs, but we finally met them as they were coming up the stairs to teh check-in area. On our Valor cruise, got to the pier at noon and were on Lido with drinks by 12:45.

 

Thank you again for taking the time to do another review. Oh, love that last picture you posted of Fascination. After seeing reviews and how she seems less crowded than Liberty/Valor, I'd love to go on her.

[SMRIZZSTX]

Best review!! Absolutely love all the pictures, information.. thank you so much. Can't wait for October!![emoji924][emoji924][emoji924][emoji568]

 

 

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[HappyCruiser383]

Would you take more cruises please? Loved your review and was genuinely sad when you had to get off the ship.

We'll be sailing May 7th this year.

 

If you had to pick one beach for snorkeling on this itinerary, which would it be? Note- I can't dive so would prefer a beginners beach. Lol

 

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[NYHartChapp]

Thanks for the review, Stinger. Great pics, too. Quick question: we're going to be in San Juan next month and as a native of San Juan, can you suggest any off-the-beaten-path type of things to do, or authentic local restaurants? Thanks in advance.

[vanislandcruisers]

Really enjoyed your Review and Pics....Thanks for taking the time to do this!!!

[hrmkr]

Thank you very much for giving an excellent review. You took 2 tours we are taking (Spencer Ambrose and Thenford Grey) next week. Seeing what we will be seeing is great. Now we know to look for certain stuff that we may have missed.

 

Howard

[easyboy]

Thank you for the great review and for the amazing photos.

[Stinger-pr]

Stinger, you mention they call Platinum, Diamond and FTTF for debark first. Is there a separate call for Carnival port excursions? Thanks for the informative review, we sail 26 Feb.

If you are taking the cruise starting in Barbados there is a call informing those passenger that they are allowed to debark. But other than that, no. You should do the self assist since those are the second group called to debark.

[Stinger-pr]

Wow great review thanks! I'm considering booking this cruise this week. Quick question (sorry if you mentioned it earlier but couldn't find it in the various pages) but did you notice if the casino was dead at night? I'm hearing this ship goes to bed early generally and that the casino is pretty empty most nights. Thanks!

First of all, thank you for your kind words and I'm so glad you enjoyed it. The casino was slow basically every night. It's not about going to bed early since I never went to bed before midnight and there was still a lot of passenger movement around. I did find it odd since I gambled a bit on the Valor and peeked inside on the Liberty and they were much livelier. As far a tables go, locals seem to shy away from them a bit (at least Black Jack), maybe because they have weird odds and rules. Most locals are used to 3-to-2 on Black Jacks and the dealer staying on soft-17 since those are the rules in PR. But even though I saw a lot of slot machines that we have in the island (and I work at a casino so I should know...lol) but not even those were having much action. The "sucker" machines like the cash block, the quarter-pushers and the like were busy most of the time, though.

[Stinger-pr]

Dang, now that your review is done it feels like our cruise just ended again. :( Thanks for letting us enjoy our cruise again through your eyes. For those that sail Fascination and want a quick bite without the crowd at the buffet they do have pastries and such set up in the theater along with coffee, juice and tea.

It was my pleasure to invite you all to our cruise experience. You know I didn't know about the pastries in the theater, though. I guess I'll keep an eye out next time.