Fascination

[khewston]

I cruised out of San Juan on the Fascination about 20 years ago.  I can't believe this same ship is still doing this same cruise.  I wish Carnival would replace her with a newer ship.  We no longer choose to sail on the Fantasy class ships.

[TNcruising02]

I'm thinking of cruising out of San Juan this December on the Fascination. The itinerary looks great.  My only hesitations are the size of the ship and flying into San Juan, which appears expensive to do. I think the ports can make up for a any disappointment I find in the ship.  I wish there was a larger ship with this same itinerary.

[jennas_mum]

We were on the fascination last month. Had an awesome time!! Definitely a smaller ship, but clean and well taken care of. Service was great! I really liked the food but was suprised at the people I heard complaining about it. 

 

It is a very port intensive cruise and you are gone most of the day. This is my second time doing this same cruise and would do it again. 

 

Donna

[GTO-Girl]

1 hour ago, khewston said:

I cruised out of San Juan on the Fascination about 20 years ago.  I can't believe this same ship is still doing this same cruise.  I wish Carnival would replace her with a newer ship.  We no longer choose to sail on the Fantasy class ships.

if you want a nice ship out of San Juan look at Royal Caribbean...Freedom of the Seas.  A lot bigger ship that is so beautiful!!  We sailed her 8 times before she left Port Canaveral because we loved her so much!

 

You will thank me later....😁

[khewston]

3 minutes ago, GTO-Girl said:

if you want a nice ship out of San Juan look at Royal Caribbean...Freedom of the Seas.  A lot bigger ship that is so beautiful!!  We sailed her 8 times before she left Port Canaveral because we loved her so much!

 

You will thank me later....😁

We have been on the Explorer of the seas.  It was a very nice ship!

[pjhootch]

We love the southern itinerary, but do not want to do it on the Fascination again.  I miss the Dive in Movies on deck and other things from the bigger ships.  We went a few times when Victory was in San Juan and it was great. My favorite ship.  I like the medium size ships best.

[canes20]

We love Fantasy class. Just went on Valor and she is nice, but still like Fantasy class.

[jennas_mum]

40 minutes ago, pjhootch said:

We love the southern itinerary, but do not want to do it on the Fascination again.  I miss the Dive in Movies on deck and other things from the bigger ships.  We went a few times when Victory was in San Juan and it was great. My favorite ship.  I like the medium size ships best.

 

I think that is the one thing I really did miss, the dine in movies! Nothing beats sitting on deck at night watching a movie!!

 

Donna

 

[purplephenom]

I was really concerned about the small ship before I did this route.  But, we wore ourselves out in port every day, and it was awesome to be able to get back on board and find a chair by the pool deck without any trouble at all.  I did feel there were fewer activities on this ship, but that may have been because of the itinerary, rather than the size of the ship.  The benefit of a fantasy class ship, is that there are barely any lines for anything.  

 

I'll second what was said above- look at Freedom of the Seas.  As far as ports go, I think it has a couple different itineraries it switches between, with at least 1 or 2 ports that the Fascination doesn't go to.  And as far as the ship goes, it has more things to do. 

[Joebucks]

10 hours ago, purplephenom said:

I was really concerned about the small ship before I did this route.  But, we wore ourselves out in port every day, and it was awesome to be able to get back on board and find a chair by the pool deck without any trouble at all.  I did feel there were fewer activities on this ship, but that may have been because of the itinerary, rather than the size of the ship.  The benefit of a fantasy class ship, is that there are barely any lines for anything. 

 

Same experience here

[Bookster99]

On 10/14/2019 at 7:31 PM, TNcruising02 said:

I'm thinking of cruising out of San Juan this December on the Fascination. The itinerary looks great.  My only hesitations are the size of the ship and flying into San Juan, which appears expensive to do. I think the ports can make up for a any disappointment I find in the ship.  I wish there was a larger ship with this same itinerary.

I loed the Fascination, but hated flying in to San Juan. If they are doing the same itinerary they did this summer, you could do the same cruise but fly in and board in Barbados.

[soonernstlouis]

7 minutes ago, Bookster99 said:

I loed the Fascination, but hated flying in to San Juan. If they are doing the same itinerary they did this summer, you could do the same cruise but fly in and board in Barbados.

How expensive was flying into Barbados?  I’d love to do that if taking the Southern route again, but I’m sure it’s even more than to Puerto Rico from the mainland US.  Barbados was my favorite.

 

@TNcruising02 when we booked our September Fascination trip back in January, I was ready to bite the bullet on airfare cost.  But when SWA opened their September airfare (a full month later in February) I was surprised & scooped up round trip airfare from STL for $306/pp.  Quite a deal since that includes 2 checked & 2 carry ons pp.  You will also need to plan (at least 1 night) hotel in San Juan.  I was not willing to splurge the appx $300/night rate to stay right at port at the Sheraton OSJ.  Paid half that in Condado but there are as cheap options in small non-chain hotels throughout the area. 

[purplephenom]

11 hours ago, Bookster99 said:

I loed the Fascination, but hated flying in to San Juan. If they are doing the same itinerary they did this summer, you could do the same cruise but fly in and board in Barbados.

 

If you are considering flying into Barbados, be aware that booking Carnival excursions becomes difficult- you can't do it on the website.  I don't know if you have to call to book, or book when you get on board.  Also not sure if this applies to Cheers/Bubbles or anything besides excursions.  

[ZoeyVictoria]

1 hour ago, purplephenom said:

 

If you are considering flying into Barbados, be aware that booking Carnival excursions becomes difficult- you can't do it on the website.  I don't know if you have to call to book, or book when you get on board.  Also not sure if this applies to Cheers/Bubbles or anything besides excursions.  

For the sailing on 5/3/20, the option to board in Barbados a few days before or after is around $200 more.  I keep checking the price on our cruise, sometimes the (more expensive) Barbados option appears and sometimes it doesn’t.

[Honolulu Blue]

On 10/14/2019 at 7:23 PM, khewston said:

I cruised out of San Juan on the Fascination about 20 years ago.  I can't believe this same ship is still doing this same cruise.  I wish Carnival would replace her with a newer ship.  We no longer choose to sail on the Fantasy class ships.

 

They tried newer ships on this route a few years ago.  I sailed out of SJ on the Liberty and the Valor.

 

P.S.  For those willing to consider Freedom OTS out of San Juan, you should also take a look at the Celebrity Summit, which is seasonal (October-April) and covers the same area from the same port.