Carnival Fascination Cruise Review
Cruise Line: Carnival Cruises
Cruise Ship: Fascination
Cruise Destination: Key West and Cozumel
Cruise Dates: July 17 - July 21, 2006
Guest Contributor: Glenn
We (there were four of us in our group, were very disappointed in our experience with Carnival in general and the Fascination, in particular. We have previously cruised with Royal Caribbean, MSC and Princess Cruise Lines.
To begin, the cruise was advertised as travelling to Key West and Cozumel.
Instead of Cozumel, which was the prime reason for taking this cruise, we ended up at Galica, where we docked at a gravel pit. There we had the pleasure of lining up for over two hours so we could pay to take a cab into Playa del Carmen. It's true, we could have stayed and looked at the gravel pit for no cost, but call us crazy, this just didn't appeal. Why were we in Galica? According to the purser's desk, Cozumel was closed to cruise lines due to the damage caused by last year's hurricane. Imagine our shock and chagrin, as we had been, so we thought, in Cozumel in March with Royal Caribbean. I guess we just imagined the shops, restaurants and beaches, along with the passengers from the other other half dozen or so cruise ships that were in that day. I realize that itineraries change, but (a) don't lie to me and, (b) be honest in your advertisement. I checked the Carnival website while we were in Galica, and they were still advertising that this cruise went to Cozumel!
We never met our cabin steward, which was unfortunate as the sign in the cabin stated that we were to see him/her for towels to use at the pool.
It's hard to ask someone whom you can never find. We did manage to get towels from somone on deck, but had to repeat this each day as the wet towels we left in the cabin were never replaced.
We had the second seating for dinner as we felt this would allow us more time to relax and enjoy our meal. It was not to be. Each night, barely had we sat down, and the menu would be thrust in front of us and the waiter, who never introduced himself (we never were able to find out his name) would impatiently wait for us to order. No bread, no water just order. We tried to order a bottle of wine the first night. We gave our selection. Then came the appetizers, no wine, then soup no wine, then dinner no wine, then desert at which point our waiter informed us that our selection could not be located. On the second night, we specifically asked if our selection was available and were assured that it was. Unfortunately, once again it arrived with dessert. On not one occasion did our wine arrive so that we could enjoy a glass with our appetizers. Every night, at least one of us received the wrong main course. It was only on the third day, after I had complained in writing to the purser, that we received bread. As for coffee and tea, we had to ask several times, and not once we we able to get a second cup. On all of our previous cruises, we established on the first evening a positive and friendly rapport with our waiter(s) who went out of their way to ensure everything went smoothly. On the Fascination, it was the opposite. Following my letter to the purser, we received a nice letter back, promising that our concerns would be remedied, along with a bottle of wine. The wine was nice, but there was no improvement in service.
We also had an unforunate experience at lunch. We were lined up, about 20 mintes before the end of lunch, at the Coconut Bar and Grill, when were informed that we should move to the other line for faster service. So about twenty of us dutifully moved over to the other side where we were informed that, sorry, it was closed. We explained that it was not closing time and that we had been directed to this side. It was only after several of the passengers became quite assertive and insisted that we be served that we were allowed to continue. By the way, service continued on both sides for at least another thirty minutes, so I guess they just didn't want us to eat?
As we had the late seating for dinner, we would look forward to lounging on deck until about 6:00. On the last afternoon, at about 5:30 we along with a number of other passengers were informed that we would have to leave our shady spot on deck as they were going to hose it down!
My wife had the best line in regards to our treatment on your ship, she descrbed it as a 'cattle call'.
All in all, it was the worst cruise we have ever been on. The 'Fun Ship" was anything but for us.
If you've never cruised before and your idea of the 'high life' is Burger King and the Motel 6, then Carnival will be the cruise line for you. However, if you want could value for your money and a truly memorable experience, I'd look elsewhere.
Cruise Ship: Fascination
Cruise Destination: Key West and Cozumel
Cruise Dates: July 17 - July 21, 2006
Guest Contributor: Glenn
We (there were four of us in our group, were very disappointed in our experience with Carnival in general and the Fascination, in particular. We have previously cruised with Royal Caribbean, MSC and Princess Cruise Lines.
To begin, the cruise was advertised as travelling to Key West and Cozumel.
Instead of Cozumel, which was the prime reason for taking this cruise, we ended up at Galica, where we docked at a gravel pit. There we had the pleasure of lining up for over two hours so we could pay to take a cab into Playa del Carmen. It's true, we could have stayed and looked at the gravel pit for no cost, but call us crazy, this just didn't appeal. Why were we in Galica? According to the purser's desk, Cozumel was closed to cruise lines due to the damage caused by last year's hurricane. Imagine our shock and chagrin, as we had been, so we thought, in Cozumel in March with Royal Caribbean. I guess we just imagined the shops, restaurants and beaches, along with the passengers from the other other half dozen or so cruise ships that were in that day. I realize that itineraries change, but (a) don't lie to me and, (b) be honest in your advertisement. I checked the Carnival website while we were in Galica, and they were still advertising that this cruise went to Cozumel!
We never met our cabin steward, which was unfortunate as the sign in the cabin stated that we were to see him/her for towels to use at the pool.
It's hard to ask someone whom you can never find. We did manage to get towels from somone on deck, but had to repeat this each day as the wet towels we left in the cabin were never replaced.
We had the second seating for dinner as we felt this would allow us more time to relax and enjoy our meal. It was not to be. Each night, barely had we sat down, and the menu would be thrust in front of us and the waiter, who never introduced himself (we never were able to find out his name) would impatiently wait for us to order. No bread, no water just order. We tried to order a bottle of wine the first night. We gave our selection. Then came the appetizers, no wine, then soup no wine, then dinner no wine, then desert at which point our waiter informed us that our selection could not be located. On the second night, we specifically asked if our selection was available and were assured that it was. Unfortunately, once again it arrived with dessert. On not one occasion did our wine arrive so that we could enjoy a glass with our appetizers. Every night, at least one of us received the wrong main course. It was only on the third day, after I had complained in writing to the purser, that we received bread. As for coffee and tea, we had to ask several times, and not once we we able to get a second cup. On all of our previous cruises, we established on the first evening a positive and friendly rapport with our waiter(s) who went out of their way to ensure everything went smoothly. On the Fascination, it was the opposite. Following my letter to the purser, we received a nice letter back, promising that our concerns would be remedied, along with a bottle of wine. The wine was nice, but there was no improvement in service.
We also had an unforunate experience at lunch. We were lined up, about 20 mintes before the end of lunch, at the Coconut Bar and Grill, when were informed that we should move to the other line for faster service. So about twenty of us dutifully moved over to the other side where we were informed that, sorry, it was closed. We explained that it was not closing time and that we had been directed to this side. It was only after several of the passengers became quite assertive and insisted that we be served that we were allowed to continue. By the way, service continued on both sides for at least another thirty minutes, so I guess they just didn't want us to eat?
As we had the late seating for dinner, we would look forward to lounging on deck until about 6:00. On the last afternoon, at about 5:30 we along with a number of other passengers were informed that we would have to leave our shady spot on deck as they were going to hose it down!
My wife had the best line in regards to our treatment on your ship, she descrbed it as a 'cattle call'.
All in all, it was the worst cruise we have ever been on. The 'Fun Ship" was anything but for us.
If you've never cruised before and your idea of the 'high life' is Burger King and the Motel 6, then Carnival will be the cruise line for you. However, if you want could value for your money and a truly memorable experience, I'd look elsewhere.
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