Fascination Review - Very Very long
Gordon
feelings and my feeling only. Some may not agree but this is what I
experienced.
Ship: Fascination - Carnival Cruise Lines
Entered Service - 1994
Class Ship: Fantasy
Ports of Call: Miami, Key West and Cozumel
Length of Cruise: Four nights
Date of cruise: November 19, 2001
Number of cruises taken: 15 - 9 on Carnival
Our trip started last Saturday morning with what was to be an 8:25 a.m
flight from Atlanta to Miami on Delta. Due to the fact that a passenger had
breached security the day before, Hartsfield was major chaos on Friday and
continued into Saturday with cancelled flights. We were rebooked on the 9:55
a.m flight which did not take off until 1:15 p.m due to no flight crew being
available. I really felt sorry for a good number of passengers who were
scheduled to sail out of Miami that afternoon on various ships and were very
nervous about making their sailing. They did indeed make their ships but did
cut it close. Needless to say I did not let the late flight bother me. I was
on vacation :)
We decided to stay on South Beach for a couple of days for some pre-cruise
fun. We stayed at the Doubletree Surfcomber on Collins Ave. This is one of
the older hotels that has been renovated in the art deco area. This hotel is
only a couple of blocks away from Ocean Drive and is directly on the beach.
The price here can range from $99.00 a night to over $200.00. IMHO it is not
worth over $100.00 a night. Nice and clean but the size of the bathroom will
get you ready for a cruise ship. Very small. You are paying for location
with this property.
On Monday morning we drove from the hotel along McArthur Parkway and what a
sight on ships row. Seven ships sitting at Dodge Island. Fascination,
Spirit, Norwegian Sea and Star, Grandeur and Majesty of the Seas and the
Europa who was docked on the opposite side of the port. I haven't seen this
many ships in Miami in a long time.
I will now give my ship review in sections and grade each area.
Embarkation: B
We arrived at the Alamo car rental center in front of the RCI terminal at
11:00 and dropped the car off. We caught a taxi across to Carnival due to
only one shuttle running from Alamo and many customers waiting to use it.
The area in front of NCL and Carnival was a zoo due to security and getting
through by car was difficult. Carnival had two ships in port and both had
just finished debarkation. I saw some still waiting to catch busses. Anyone
not familiar with the Carnival dock area, it is down near the cargo area and
has tighter a higher security level and a very poor traffic flow compared to
rest of the port. We dropped our luggage off at the pier with the porters
and went inside. First was x-ray, then check in. Both went very quick. We
had about a twenty minute wait and then boarding started. Carnival has now
implemented the photo system using your sail n sign card. This was a problem
as the system kept going down after about 10-15 passengers having their
photos taken. It took about five minutes each time for the computer to boot
back up. Finally we were on board a little after noon.
Ship: C-
Upon boarding this ship the first thing that I noticed was the smell. This
ship STUNK! It smelled very musty. Like wet carpet that had been sitting
around for a while. After lunch when exploring the ship we came upon a
strong smell of urine on the promenade deck near a ladies restroom next to
the entrance to the Palace Lounge upper level. Later that evening the smell
had been covered by some cleaning solution. I guess someone else finally
noticed and decided to do something about it. We also had a terrible odor
down our hall near the cabin. It smelled like an open sewer. Many complaints
from passengers down our hall about this. The smell never did clear up all
week. You just learned to hold your breath or nose while going down the
hall. Not sure what was going on here but I have never had this type of
reaction on a Carnival ship before.
The ship has a Hollywood theme and looks tired. They have mannequins placed
along the promenade deck. These things need to go. First it is hard to tell
who is who and some are in major need of cosmetic work. Poor Katherine
Hepburn only had one arm. I thought that Elvis was Liberace. After taking
one look I saw kids run away screaming. :) Just kidding but they are scary
looking. Every where you looked the carpets were either very worn,dirty or
both. Again the first time that I have seen this on a Carnival ship and I
was surprised to say the least. I also noticed lamp shades that were broken
and other fixtures that needed repair around the ship. Again the ship just
looked tired. The sad thing is she just had dry dock back in May. I would
have never guessed this by her appearance. This sailing had many families
with kids. I expected this due to this being a Thanksgiving cruise. I would
estimate around 600 kids on board but they were all well behaved with the
exception of them using the pools and hot tubs to the point that you could
not get in them. The outside decks seemed to be in good shape and clean.
Cabin - D
Cabin #U222
Standard outside cabin on the Upper deck. After nine cruises on Carnival I
knew what to expect as far as cabin size. At around 170 sq. feet the cabin
is great for two people. Where this cabin failed was appearance. The bedding
cover was ripped on one bed and the carpet was badly stained and very worn.
Each mattress on the beds were old and looked to have seen better days. They
were lumpy. The cabin smelled like a locker room on the first day (one of
those smells again) and the bathroom shower floor had mildew growing in it
along with the bottom of the shower curtain. Plain nasty.
Entertainment: B+
Carnival still has the best entertainment overall of all the cruise lines
that I have cruised. We did go to most of the shows and they were good. The
two comedians that were on board were ok. I had seen one (Tim Harkelroad)
twice before so I knew what to expect from him. The bands along the
promenade deck and in the lounges were just ok but nothing special. I did
not care for our cruise director Chris. Not very personable. He had a hard
time getting the audience going. He needs some work.
Food: D
This had to be the worst food that I have ever had on a cruise. First I had
requested a table for two-late seating through my TA. This did not happen. I
have cruised enough to know that this is only a request and that it may or
may not happen. I went to the head waiter who was set up on the promenade
deck to inquire about our dining once we boarded the ship. He was an
arrogant sob and that set the tone from that moment on. He told me no tables
were available and he was an ass about it. We were seated at a table of ten
for the 5:45 seating. Too early for us. We decided to eat at the Seaview
Bistro (Coconut Grove Grill) for dinner in place of the dining room,
waiting to see if anything would happen to change our seating .This is also
the room that we ate breakfast and lunch in. The food in this room was
horrible. The first night we had a menu presented with one pasta item and
two to three meat, fish selections. Along with that you had the salad bar,
white rice, steak fries and mixed vegetables as your choice of sides. This
was also the same choice on the second night as the meat selections changed
but the sides did not. I felt like I was back at my high school cafeteria
which I remember having had better food than this. The meat items were
terrible being tough and full of fat. At breakfast they were running out of
food and not any hurry to refill. They would just tell you to go to the
other line and see if they had what you were looking for. The lunches were
ok but again nothing special. I had pizza on two different occasions. Once
it was very good (as I had remembered) and the other time I could not eat
due to the fact that it had set so long and was dry. After eating upstairs
for the second night, I became very angry and went to the pursers desk to
get something done. It worked. By some miracle there was a note in my cabin
that evening stating that a table for two-late seating was available for us
along with a bottle of champagne from the purser with her apologies. Our
waiter stated to me that the table had been empty from the beginning of the
cruise. Again here the food was just not good. The rolls could have been
used as a torpedo as they were cold and hard. Desserts were tasteless and
the entire portion of the main course could have fit easily in the palm of
my hand. The food reminded me of the Carnival food of five to seven years
ago. No taste, poorly presented and very low quality. Not what I had
expected, since I have had some great cruises with this line in the past.
Service was also very poor. I do not like the team service that Carnival has
implemented. Needless to say none of the people that waited on us had their
tips raised on my sail n sign account. Actually I should have taken some
away but I have never done that before. Overall a major disappointment in
this area from Carnival.
Crew: C
I truly believe that Carnival has cutback in many areas trying to get the
bottom line back up in profits. I believe that the crew is being worked
harder than ever and it showed on this ship. Most never smiled and kept
their heads down when passing on the ship. This is not something that I have
witnessed in the past on board their other ships. Low morale is the best way
for me to explain it.
Ports of Call: A
I love both of these ports with Cozumel being right at the top of my list of
all time favorites. I will not go into the ports and what we did but we had
a great time and the weather was some of the best ever with no rain, plenty
of sun and no major heat.
Conclusions:
I have had much better cruises on Carnival in the past and frankly am
disappointed in the product that they have put forth on this vessel. It
looks to me like they are trying to cut corners where they can to get
profits back up. I know like other cruise lines they have been cutting
prices to fill their ships since 9-11 and this may be part of the problem.
By the way, I booked this cruise in July so I did not get this for one of
those cheap last minute specials that some took advantage of. I took a
cruise two weeks prior to the Fascination on the "Majesty of the Seas" and
it was as different as night and day. RCI (my first time with RCI) towered
over Carnival in all areas with the exception of entertainment. After this
cruise I plan to stay away from Carnival for a while. They have some
problems in my opinion and I just did not enjoy this cruise. I was actually
happy to see Friday morning get here and this is the first time that has
happened on a cruise. I have always been a huge Carnival supporter in the
past and with nine cruises under my belt with them I feel justified in
saying that they have some work to do. Maybe it was just this ship and the
management on board. I do not know but they need to get it straightened out
IMHO.
Gordon
Tom & Linda
For Becca's and Tom G.'s sake.
--Tom
Ermalee
what is depicted here. We have also done the Carnival Sensation on the
same itinerary as the GGC2002. It was good then, and I'm sure it will be
even better in January since so many friends and cyberfriends will be on it.
Ermalee <---booked on the GGC2002
You only get one life; live it!
dura...@adelphia.net
Sorry you experience was not a good one. Sounds like the cruise we had
on the Celebration back in 1998 - crew was just as you described.
That was our first Carnival cruise and we swore never again. However,
I am glad we tried again because it was a whole different experience.
Part of my problem with Carnival was due to an attitude problem, which
I have learned to leave at home <grin> and try to enjoy the fact I am
on a ship, not at work and can stare out at the deep blue sea.
I hope you have a better experience next time!
Mary in NC <-----going on the genuine GGC2002 (www.ggc2002.com)
PS - we cruise Majesty of the Seas in May - loved it too!!!!
Gordon
was bad. I will sail with Carnival again but I will wait a while before
doing so. I think that a break with them is needed. As a matter of fact I
E-mailed my TA today and cancelled my cruise on the Paradise for next year.
I think that RCI or Princess is next in line for me. I will start working on
that next week.
Gordon
<dura...@adelphia.net> wrote in message
news:3c003984...@news2.news.adelphia.net...
T.K. Suter
the ship you did. ESPECIALLY the mannequins! they were cheesy and kinda
spooky! My wife hated them. It was my first cruise though and I loved it! But
your descriptions were pretty much right on. We did have a wonderful room
steward though.
T.K.
Kevin and Sue
sue
Len C.
Fascination. I just sailed on her in August and did not experience any
of the 'strange' odor you had and my cabin was also on the Upper
Deck...not saying you didn't experience them on your cruise! Overall I
thought the ship was in decent shape for her age. I do agree the
mannequins on the Promenade were a BIT tacky, but we got some good
laughs from them! I thought the food was average to above average...not
the best, but I have had worse! Entertainment was good IMO and I thought
all the public areas were clean and kept up fairly decent. Cabin on my
cruise was Ok...the bedding and carpets could use a little sprucing up,
but I couldn't care too much since I was hardly in the cabin except for
a shower, few hours sleep and dressing. My cabin steward was the BEST!
He made sure I was always happy with my cabin and anything extra I
requested was always delivered in both a friendly and timely manner...he
got the BEST tip out of any of the employees I experienced on this
cruise! Going on the Pride in January and looking forward to my first
balcony! Will post my review once I return.
Len... :-)