Carnival Cruise Lines - Fascination Review

This was my first cruise on Carnival, but not my last. I have been looking forward to going on a cruise for years. This cruise is for our 25th anniversary. I am booking a cruise for October 2005 on Holiday.

I read the reviews and checked all the sites for information about our ship the Fascination. If a background check could be done on a ship I would have done one. It would have come out as clean as anyone could. I was impressed with the ship, the crew, the food and the entertainment.

We arrived early about 11:30-12 noon. When we arrived in Miami we found our port. Following the instructions downloaded from the computer. That was easy. Parking the car was a breeze. The people that worked outside the port were amazing. They directed traffic very well. We took all our baggage and walked to the port. We went inside and were amazed how easy it was to board the ship for someone who didn't know the ropes. Embarking was easy (fill out that Fun Pass ahead of time helps). We were told to go upstairs and follow...we did. We got our Sign and Sail cards (I still have mine...great souvenir). After that we were told to go and get our picture taken to board the ship! By 1 o'clock we on the ship looking around like the tourists we were. We had lunch first. Checked out our room and luggage was there waiting for us. The room was great! I never saw our cabin steward.

Cabin size was surprisingly spacious. I was thinking tiny and I had enough room for 2 good-sized people. We had an inside guarantee. We had 2 twin beds that the steward put together for us. We had left him a note. I never met him/her. They did their job very well. I was very happy to get 2 towel buddies (I am a big kid at heart and love that type of stuff). The bathroom was small, but it was adequate for what we needed to do in there. The showerhead I wish I could take home with me...it was heavenly! The shampoo and body wash dispensers were very nice. Had a cute gift basket with all sort of goodies in there too.

Entertainment was very good. The shows were song and dance. The music was great and the dancers were very good. I love musicals so this was right up my alley. The comedians that they featured before the evening shows were funny and entertaining. The juggler they had for one of the shows, I laughed so hard I thought my sides were going to split.

The food was the best. I love my food. I liked the selections that they had to offer us. We ate in every place that they had food available. I did not try the room service. We had pizza, sandwiches, breakfast, and the formal dining room. I was in awe that they could do this on a boat and do it very well.

Our ports were great. Key West was ok. It was rainy (and it did stop) and that was not Carnival's fault. You have to blame Mother Nature on that one. It was also a short stay. We would have loved to stay another couple of hours there. Cozumel was the best. I never have been to Mexico. I loved it there. We shopped and then took a taxi to the north part of the island and went to beach the taxi driver suggested. The taxi drivers drive like they trained in New York (I lived there and I know). We enjoyed our time there also wish we had an extra day there. Shop, walk and people watch. Wonderful.

Take your sunscreen. I didn't and was burned, but I was proud of my tan I got from MEXICO!!!

Our day at sea...sure was breezy. I found plenty of things to do...go to the art auction, sipped champagne. Walked the ship, ate, watched the shows and even got up on stage, where I won my very own "24 caret gold ship on a stick". I was happy to get that.

Debarking the ship was like herding cattle, but we did it ourselves. It was much quicker and we even had time to eat breakfast before we left the boat. If you do it yourself you are off in less than an hour. If you didn't we were told it would take much longer.

As you read this you see a lot of "I's", it is because my husband of 25 years is not a sailor and never was. I dragged him kicking and screaming on this boat. I did a lot of the ship alone. He was struck with nausea. He never hugged the porcelain goddess. He had the patch, but it was not successful on him. This is NOT the ships fault. He is just very sensitive. Overall service was beyond wonderful. All the people I came in contact with were polite and helpful. I didn't see anyone on the ship complaining about anything. I loved everything. Book your cruise. Enjoy yourself. Have a blast!! Happy sailing.