Carnival Fascination Back in San Juan After Major Renovation

Carnival Cruise Line’s 2,052-passenger Carnival Fascination has resumed sailing from San Juan, Puerto Rico, after undergoing a multi-million renovation. The dry-dock upgrade followed the ship’s use as emergency housing for FEMA workers in St. Croix after the hurricanes last fall.

As previously detailed by TravelPulse's Jason Leppert, the upgrade included features in keeping with Carnival's Fun Ship 2.0 refurbishments.

The ship now has more eateries and bars as it resumes its year-round schedule of seven-day southern Caribbean departures to St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Thomas and St. Maarten.

The new spaces include the popular Guy’s Burger Joint, a free poolside venue developed with Food Network personality Guy Fieri; the RedFrog Rum Bar, which serves rum-based frozen drinks along with Carnival’s private label draft brew, ThirstyFrog Red; BlueIguana Cantina, a complimentary poolside Mexican eatery; Bonsai Sushi Express, which serves sushi and sashimi; and Alchemy Bar, a vintage-themed “cocktail pharmacy.”

The additions give the ship, built in 1994, many of the popular features introduced on Carnival’s newer ships.

The 70,367-ton Fascination also has a 12,000-square-foot health and wellness center, a Serenity adults-only retreat, a WaterWorks aqua park with a 300-foot-long Twister slide, the Punchliner Comedy Club, Playlist Productions shows, and Hasbro, The Game Show. Family-friendly options include the Seuss at Sea program, a partnership with Dr. Seuss Enterprises, along with supervised activities for kids in three age groups.

For more information, contact a travel agent, call 1-800-CARNIVAL or visit Carnival.com.