Fascination New Years Cruise! Was it Fascinating? A Mini Review

[Spincognito]

Just off our New Years cruise on Fascination! Here are my thoughts and observations:

 

Background- Cruised with my DW, we are platinum, and this was cruise #13 for us (All Carnival). We typically cruise at least once per year but had not cruised since 2016 so it was interesting to see some of the differences from then.

 

 

Embarkation- Wow! We were on the ship by 11:30AM and this was easily the easiest embarkation we ever had. Smooth and simple!

 

Cabin- Were booked originally in an inside on deck 7 but got two calls from the upgrade fairy. The first was a week before the cruise with an offer of a balcony on the Main deck for $550. We said no thanx! Then another call came three days before the cruise with the same offer but for a total of $230. We jumped on that and ended up in M246 which was very “aft” and just about all the way back with just a couple balconies beyond us. The cabin was ready when we boarded and was maintained well by our steward. He kept the ice bucket full and provided the robes we asked for. The only real issue was the balcony door was exceptionally “heavy” and did not close unless you pushed it closed. We do not complain about such things and did not mention it. Also, it was quiet at all times except when docking or departing a port as there are some ship mechanics happening just below the cabin that created some squeaking and banging. No biggie for us as we are early risers.

 

The Ship- She was exceptionally clean and very well maintained for an older ship. The Christmas decorations were still up and looked great. This was our first cruise on this class since cruise #1 on Inspiration so we had forgotten how some of the spaces were “smaller”. Especially the atrium which seemed tiny and had little to no additional seating other than the bar. Also the lack of a true ‘Sports Bar” was a bit of a disappointment to us and to many of the other guests we encountered who were aimlessly looking around for a spot to catch the games. The Casino bar located outside of the Casino had one TV that could only be seen dead center and had the volume turned all the way down. The bartender seemed annoyed when I asked him to turn it up and he only did so to a barely hearable level. Sports is something that many folks can relate to and the ability to rib all the non-Patriot fans is always enjoyable for us! There were some other random TV’s in the Lido dining area that had some sports on so we were able to at least keep updated that way!

 

The Food- It was okay but probably not as good as we have had in past cruises. Food is always subjective and what some like, others hate. We ate in the MDR 4 nights and had some fabulous table mates (despite the fact that they were Chiefs fans!) The service was acceptable but not exceptional. The Prime Rib on NYE was good but not so good later in the cruise. The striped Bass was excellent! Lido food was the usual with a good variety and some things I had not seen before like baked potatoes. The Lido had some long lines but savvy cruisers soon realized the many circular stations in the dining area were serving a good variety of equally good foods, salads and desserts. The pizza line was typically lengthy but if you hit it at the right moment it is always worth it!

 

The Islands- We are beach people so most stops were a simple cab ride to the beach. Boatyard in Barbados, Magens Bay in St. Thomas and Maho in St. Martin all had out toes in their sand. Maho was a first and it was cool seeing the planes but they certainly do sardine you in the chairs there.  We did do one Carnival excursion out of St. Kitts. It was the Fanta-Sea Catamaran trip with Snorkel and Beach stops. It was a blast! Very organized, perfect condition and captain and crew were accommodating . Lunch was served, it was stewed chicken, rice, hot dogs, pasta salad. Adequate I would say. Drinks were included and rum punch (of course) as well as local beer and soft drinks were consumed by all.

 

Chefs Table- We also did the Chefs Table! We had done it once before several cruises ago so we knew what we were getting into which is a lot more than we can say for most of the others who signed up for our grouping! Most were not expecting a three hour, 9 course, foodie type of event and were surprised and even annoyed by it at times! One woman literally refused a few of the courses only because of the way they looked! The Chef was patient with her but I did catch him rolling his eyes behind her at one point! Make sure if you do the Chefs table you understand what it is you are signing up for and then expect an amazing meal! 

 

This was a New Years cruise and our first at this time of year as we typically cruise in April/May or Early November. We are glad we did this as the weather was picture perfect all week and the ship and crew succeeded at throwing a memorable NYE party! I had done some research here of course before going and found most of what I learned about cruising NYE to be true. Most but not all. They did do a balloon drop in the atrium at 11PM but did not advertise that folks could add a wish to a balloon then blow it up and add it to the bunch. Since we read about it here, we seeked it out and were able to add a wish to a ballon. The carnival employee working the balloon table actually told me they did not advertise the wish thing. From what I read here I thought that the fun crew folks were going to grant random wishes to folks whose balloons they popped. What actually happened was only the cruise director went into the balloon frenzy and awarded one huge bottle of champagne to one guest. As soon as the balloons dropped all the guest in the lower level of the atrium simply stomped on them thus accessing everyone’s wishes! It was at this point that I wished I had written some type of comical wish such as “ I wish there was a sports bar on this ship” instead of my wish for a couples massage!

 

The deck party and New Years countdown on lido was a ton of fun! They handed out copious amounts of flashy glasses, noisemakers and fluorescent lights. Live music until 11:45 and  then DJ up until the final minutes of 2018 when the CD got everyone pumped up and hooting and hollering into the New Year! Well done carnival and we look forward to another New Year cruise in the near future!

 

Debarkation- Getting off the ship was equally as easy as getting on. This was our first cruise since they discontinued using the customs declaration forms. When did they stop requiring them and was it just for this itinerary? We waited for them to boot us off which was around 9:45AM as we were staying in PR until an early Monday flight. We stayed at the Sheraton Old San Juan across from the port as we did pre-cruise/ Not sure why we never did on previous crusies out of SJ but we certainly will on future cruises. They were great and being “right there” was wicked awesome!

 

Overall this was just as much fun as all the cruises we have taken! We walked away relaxed (despite the port intensive itinerary) and with new friends from all over the world. In our opinion nothing beats a cruise vacation and we appreciate the efforts made by Carnival to assure we are well fed, well entertained and well tanned! Carry on!

 

Feel free to ask any questions and I will do my best to answer!

Edited January 15, 2019 by Spincognito

[Joebucks]

Sounds like you had a blast! I love the itinerary from the Fascination. It's one of a kind. I also really want to do an NYE cruise.

[helensobol]

thanks for such a great summary of your experience.     Now if only winter would end so I can get on my spring cruise 😉