Carnival Imagination - 4 day Baja Mexico

I cruised on the Imagination on Jan 1, 2017 for 4 days. Stops were Catalina Island, and Ensenada, MX.

This was our 2nd cruise, the first being a 7-day Caribbean cruise on the Glory. The Imagination is smaller than the Glory. About the main difference is that it did not have the specialty extra cost restaurants.

For the most part, it was an enjoyable cruise. Most issues were things Carnival doesn't control (weather). My few complaints are:

1) The bathroom in our cabin (U117) has a slight sewage smell. You would think that a newly refurbished ship would not have that problem.

2) The magnet holding the main cabin door open was quite strong. I put a paper envelope over it to provide some separation to make closing the door easier.

3) The 110v plug in the bathroom has a device that pushes out plugs. Loose fitting plugs are a problem.

4) There is a Cabin Light switch that is above the bed. When in king-bed configuration, it is easy to hit, which is annoying. I'm guessing that when in 2 twin configuration, it is between the beds.

5) The 220v socket does not have the 2 round plug option (like the Glory did). I did not bring the correct adapter. The 220v looks like a 110v 3-prong, but the prongs are sideways instead of vertical.

6) Temp control of the Cabin consists of moderating the amount of cold air coming through the vent. The air flow is quite noisy, and there is no way to heat up the cabin (air coming out is cold).

7) In the public areas, the handicapped stalls (Men's room, don't know about Women's rooms) have a sink and blow dryer for the hands. A nice touch. However, the blow dryer is right above the Toilet Paper, so after a little while, the TP gets quite wet. One solution is to install a baffle above the TP so the water doesn't blow onto the roll.

8) There are fake 110v/USB sockets at the Internet Stations. It would have been a nice feature - A nice quite place to read and charge my device early in the morning.

10) This cruise seems to be the classic annoying younger party crowed that Carnival is known for (we are in our 50's). The Glory cruise had better behaved passengers. Maybe because it was a New Year's Cruise?

11) Annoyed at how much of the entertainment is risque (comedy, main stage, other shows). Even the early comedy shows that were rated "R" were really "X".

12) I originally booked Early Dining, then Wait listed for Late Dining after friends cancelled. We eventually were confirmed for Late Dining, but no one told the Imagination. Cards and MDR still had us at Early Dining. No problem switching since Early Dining was the more popular choice.

13) I used the Carnival chat app on my Iphone 4s. It kept logging me out without any indication that it had. So, I had to make sure that I kept logging back in to get messages when I was expecting them. It worked fine on an Android 6 phone.

Food was fine, and for the most part, unremarkable. No free lobster on Elegant night. Prime Rib was good, but cut too thin for my taste. I did like the Pizza because it had a thin crust. One person at our table had the $20 Steak and Lobster - Didn't look worth it. The Soft Serve Ice Cream was runny during one of the dinners. The Frozen Yogurt was never working when I tried. There was a Beer Vending Machine. There is a LIDO Buffet that is outside which had much shorter lines than the inside LIDO Buffet.

On our first cruise we were on the Riviera Deck (lowest), Outside Cabin. We liked the lower deck much better for the view. I like to see the waves up close. The Upper Deck you just see a typical view of the ocean.

This 4-day cruise was a mini version of our first 7-day cruise. A lot of the novelty wore off, and it was just more of the same, even the main stage shows. The purpose of the cruise was to relax, so that part was fine (other than the colder weather). Maybe next time I will pick a cruise line that has more "talks" for entertainment.

Thanks for the review. We're going to be on her in August.

Thanks for the detailed report.

11) Annoyed at how much of the entertainment is risque (comedy, main stage, other shows). Even the early comedy shows that were rated "R" were really "X".

:rolleyes: