A fabulous spring break on the imagination

Carnival Imagination Spring Break Trip:

First of all I just wanted to say thank you to everyone on these boards for all the helpful information I received prior to this cruise. Hopefully someone will get something useful out of this review. I am warning you all in advance it is very long :) .

I will start out with a little background information. I went on this cruise with my sister. It is her senior year of high school so I wanted to do a vacation that she would remember but also not kill my bank account. After much deliberating I chose the imagination 5 day western Caribbean mainly on price but also because of the itinerary. I have been to both of these ports before so I knew that my sister would like them. To tell you a little about us….I am 25 and I have been on 3 cruises prior to this one. My sister is 18 and this was her first cruise. Okay enough background on to the review.

The flight:

I had booked myself on a 6am flight out of St Louis on Friday March 17th. This meant that I had to be up at 4 am in order to get to the airport by 5am. I arrived at the airport on time and I was able to walk right up to the check in desk and walk right through security. I was at the gate at 5:10am. I flew on Delta and the flight was very uneventful. They actually give you a choice of snacks instead of the customary pretzels or peanuts. The chocolate chip granola bar was very good. I had a 2 ½ hour layover in Atlanta. There was actually a decent amount to do at this airport. The Atlanta airport is very easy to navigate each concourse is separated by a walkway and also by a train system. The train comes every couple of minutes so you can bounce around the different concourses very quickly. I had studied the airport prior to my arrival there and concourse A seemed to have the best selection of restaurants. There is a food court but both times I was there I wasn’t able to find a table. I had planned on eating at Paschal’s since I heard they had good southern food but it was too crowded so I went to chili’s instead. Chili’s was actually serving breakfast and I had French toast, bacon and coffee. The atmosphere was much more relaxing than the crowded food court. I ate here again on the flight home and had chicken crispers (which I love) and fries. After breakfast a had an hour to kill before my flight. There are a few shops in the airport such as Brookstone and Bath and Body Works. I took the walkway from concourse A to concourse T, where my flight was leaving from, instead of the train to burn some calories. They had an African art exhibit all along the walkway. It was pretty cool and unexpected. It was good for killing some time before my flight. The flight to Fort Lauderdale was uneventful. I spent Friday night with family so I will save you the boring details of that and move on to the cruise.

Embarkation:

This was by far the smoothest embarkation process I have ever been through. I have always tried to get to the pier early but this was the first time that I actually managed to do it and I will never arrive late again. We arrived at the port at around 11:15. My sister’s boyfriend dropped us off at the pier so we wouldn’t have to pay for parking. We dropped off our luggage and went into the terminal. We were able to walk straight up to the check in desk as there was no line whatsoever. I was shocked since this is the first time I have never had to wait in line. The check in process was very easy and since we were both using cash for our sign and sail cards we were instructed how to set this up once we were on the ship. After this stage of check in we were directed to a large room with chairs were a bunch of people were already waiting. We were told that we wouldn’t be boarding the ship until noon but the line started moving after about 15 minutes. We waited in a series of short lines to get our sign and sail cards and then to take the embarkation photo and finally to board the ship. We were on the ship by noon. My sister couldn’t get over how big the ship was she stood in the atrium with her jaw hanging open just staring at the ceiling. Personally I didn’t get that feeling since I have been on much larger ships but it was cool to watch her reaction.

The first thing we did after boarding is go straight to the information desk to set up our sign and sail accounts. We each wanted a separate account and we put $200 on each account with no problems. We didn’t end up spending all of it and we each got a check for around 75 dollars on debarkation morning. Be sure to stop by the information desk when you board because you can get a pocket size ship map here as well as the daily carnival capers. They also have free decks of carnival playing cards if you ask. After this we stopped off at the cabin to drop off our carry-on luggage and went to explore the ship.

The Cabin:

We had an inside cabin at the aft of upper deck. I liked the location of the cabin but I didn’t like the inside cabin and I don’t think I would book an inside cabin again unless it was the only way I would be able to go on the cruise. My prior to cruises were in balconies and I had an ocean view before that. I will definitely be going back to a balcony cabin on the next cruise. I know people say that the only time you are in the cabin is to sleep and eat but I didn’t find that to be the case. I love to lay out by the sun in the morning but by around 3 o’clock I was fried so I went back to the cabin for peace and quite and a little nap. I missed the balcony then as it is very nice to sit and read on the balcony when I want to get away from the crowds and the sun. I also missed the balcony when we had room service breakfast and at night. I always like to sit and watch the water for a while before going to be and I had to go up on deck to do this. Now don’t get me wrong I had a fabulous cruise and I certainly wouldn’t let something like this spoil my vacation but I know for next time that I really love my balcony and it’s worth the extra money for me.

Aside from the fact that there is no window the cabin was great. The beds were in an L shaped pattern which left ample room to move around in. There was plenty of storage space for all of our clothes which was great since I am a horrible over packer. The bathroom was large enough with plenty of storage in the medicine cabinet. The water pressure was very weak but I was expecting this so not a big deal. The shower has no sides to it and this made shaving a very challenging experience. I finally figured out the best way was to prop my leg on the sink. This made a mess of the floor but got the job done.

My absolute favorite part of the cabin was the new carnival bedding. The sheets were so soft and I love that down comforter. The pillows were really nice and soft too. It was definitely the best sleep I have had on vacation. Be sure to bring a travel alarm clock with you so you can tell what time of day it is. Also if you are in an inside cabin bring a nightlight because it gets very dark.

The Ship:

I wouldn’t call this ship beautiful but it is very practical and easy to navigate. There are 3 main decks of cabins on decks 4-6 then all the activities are above you. This is different from other ships I have been on where the cabins were in the middle then evening activities were below and daytime activities above. All of the bars and clubs are on the promenade deck which is very convenient. A nice touch is all along the promenade there are window seats. These are nice for sitting and having a drink before dinner since you can look out at the water. The hardest thing to find was the galleria shops. The shops are located outside the main entrance to the dynasty lounge on atlantic deck. They were hard to find because we usually entered the dynasty lounge from the balcony entrance on the promenade deck.

There is a lot of neon all over the ship but it didn’t bother me anywhere except the horizon court. This place was so ugly. It is very dark with bright green neon on the ceiling. Fortunately there is plenty of outdoor seating so I never had to eat inside the restaurant.

The Food:

After exploring the ship it was time to check out the food. We went to the horizon court for lunch. I really don’t understand how anyone could say they starved on a cruise. I ate a lot and there were still some things I never tried. Of course at times there were items I didn’t care for but I would just get something else. The Horizon Court is where you get buffet breakfast and lunch. They also use it as an alternative dining venue for dinner but I never went there for dinner so I can’t comment about that. We had breakfast 3 of 5 mornings at the buffet. They had basically the same stuff every morning. French toast or pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, ham, potato pucks, oatmeal, grits, cereal, fruit, danishes, croissants, bagels. There was probably more but that’s all I remember. The raspberry danishes were the best and I had to have at least one every morning. We ate in the dining room one morning so I could get eggs benedict. This was ok but a little too formal for my taste at breakfast. I don’t like to take a long time eating breakfast in the morning and that was expected here. The eggs benedict was disappointing. It was served within a couple minutes of ordering which means it was sitting around. The hollandaise sauce was congealed to the overcooked eggs. It wasn’t one of my favorite breakfasts. However, the coffee was the best I had the entire time on the ship it was very good. Also the orange juice was real and not the concentrate that they have in the buffet. This part of the breakfast I really enjoyed. My sister had the pancakes and they looked good. Maybe it was just an off day for the eggs benedict. One morning we ordered room service for breakfast because we had an early excursion. This is very good if you don’t have the time to go to breakfast. They don’t offer hot food but it is good for coffee, OJ, bagels, fruit, etc. The fruit cup was very good. My favorite place to eat breakfast was aft of the horizon court. There are two areas of tables outside that have a fabulous view of the ocean. This was very relaxing and a great way to start the day.

There were many options available for lunch as well. The buffet had two areas. One area had a meat selection along with a few sides that changed daily. The other area was the taste of nations and had selections from a different nationality every day. Some things were the same every day such as potato salad, pasta salad, salad bar and fruit bar. The grill serves hamburgers, hotdogs and fries by the pool. There is also pizza which some people loved. I tried it once and didn’t care for it so I didn’t try it again. For the most part the food for lunch was good. I only ate from the buffet a few times and the other times I got a burger from the grill because there wasn’t anything that appealed to me at the buffet. Some of the buffet options that I remember are roast beef, this was on embarkation day and was so good. Other days they had pork or lamb but I never saw roast beef again. On the last day they had fried chicken and baked potatoes and that was a big hit. There is also the option to eat lunch in the dining room but we never did this. We ordered sandwiches from room service one afternoon and they were very good. The tuna on English muffin was my favorite.

Dinner was my favorite meal of the day. We ate every dinner in the dining room and I really enjoyed most of them. We had the 8:30 seating in the Pride dining room. Before I get started on dinner I don’t want to forget my favorite pre-dinner snack. The sushi bar was the perfect place for a nibble while waiting for dinner. The sushi chef makes all the sushi fresh and the menu changes nightly. They had 4 selections every night. Some were more adventurous than others but I stuck to the normal rolled sushi that I recognized. Two types that I had were salmon and avocado and tuna, cream cheese and avocado. Yummy!! Dinner itself was very good for the most part. The dining room was very elegant but I will never figure out why they have booths. Personally I think booths are very intimate and it is a bit uncomfortable to sit with strangers in a booth. After the first night once I had gotten to know our tablemates it wasn’t as bad but I would have preferred a table. The food was very good to excellent except for the meal on the last night.

I was never disappointed with a meat dish. The first night I had the lamb and that was excellent. The next night was formal night and the much anticipated lobster. I was actually I bit disappointed with the lobster. It was a bit tasteless and chewy. I still managed to eat all of mine plus the rest of my sisters but I didn’t order a second for myself which I have always done on lobster night on previous cruises. The third night there was nothing on the menu that appealed to me so I asked for a filet and a baked potato and got it with no hesitation. It was served with a side of broccoli and it was soooo good. This was my favorite meal of the cruise so I ate it again the next night. I wish I had ordered this again on the last night but I tried the turkey instead and it was inedible. Seriously I could only force down a few bites. I am not sure how they managed to ruin a turkey dinner but they did. I would have ordered something else but I had eaten so many appetizers I wasn’t really hungry anyway. The desserts were also very good. Some of the highlights were tiramisu, grand marnier soufflé, and apple pie. On baked Alaska night we were not given a choice of dessert. Everyone was given the baked Alaska and we were never even given dessert menus to see what else was available. I like baked Alaska but I would have liked to have been given a choice.

One last thing about the dining room that I always find odd on carnival is the singing and dancing that the waiters have to do every night. I think this is unnecessary and the waiters have enough to do without having to entertain at the end of every meal. I also thought the whole colors competition was very silly and I could have done without it.

I tried to get this all tyoed tonight but I have to go to bed so I will try to finish it tomorrow.

Rachel

http://community.webshots.com/album/549008597RHQqaK

I have never tried to post a link on here so I hope this works.

This is too my photos. I also have the carnival capers which I will scan later and add.

You and your sister look like you had a blast. Thanks for trip report and pictures.

Barbara

Pools:

There are two pools on this ship. The main pool has the water slide and the activities and the calypso band. It was very crowded and noisy so I didn’t spend much time here. I much preferred the aft pool with its open views of the sea. The pool is smaller but there are two large whirlpools and plenty of lounge chairs. Lounge chair saving was a huge problem on this ship. On the first sea day we went to the pool after breakfast and saw plenty of empty chairs in prime spots but they were all inhabited by a towel or a flip flop or a bottle or sunscreen. We grabbed a couple of chairs from the stack in the corner and dragged them over by the pool. I am embarrassed to say that I joined the ranks of the chair savers on our last day. I really wanted a chair by the railing so I could have an uncluttered view of the ocean so I got up early and went to get a chair before going to breakfast. I left my stuff on the chairs and then went and had breakfast. In my defense I did return soon after breakfast and used the chairs for most of the day except when we went to lunch and a dance class. I am not sorry I did this since it was the only way to get a really good spot. There are another two whirlpools in the spa which I will talk about next.

The Spa:

I really enjoyed the spa area. There are two whirlpools and they are hotter than the whirlpools on deck. There is also a sauna and a steam room which was very relaxing to go in before getting ready for dinner. We were the only ones in the sauna or steam room while we were there. This area is free to use just walk through the spa like you are going to the exercise room. The exercise area was large and well equipped but I never went in it except to take a picture.

Entertainment:

This was one area that I was disappointed in. The evening shows were very good. There were two main production shows with the dancers one was shout and the other I forget what it was called but my sister and I enjoyed both of these. The welcome aboard show was good and showed the dancers as well as the cruise director and his staff and a comedian. There were two comedians this week. There were supposed to be three but the last one didn’t make it on the ship in Jamaica. The first comedian was very funny especially the midnight show. The second comedian was just ok. A lot of people walked out of this show and I thought about it but I think it is rude to walk out in the middle of a performance so I stayed. The last show was the passenger talent show. I didn’t go see this so I can’t comment on it. Personally I think it is a cop out to have guests perform for an evening show. It just means that carnival doesn’t have to pay another performer to do a show. They had karaoke a few nights but the times tended to conflict with dinner and our shows. We didn’t get out of dinner until 10 pm then there was usually a show at 10:30 and the karaoke only lasted until midnight. We went one night and signed up but we never got called to sing. The Shangri-la lounge had a very good band that played a variety of music including rock. This was my favorite spot for dancing as it was usually not too crowded. My only complaint here was the band didn’t play long enough. They usually ended at around midnight. The only place to go late at night for entertainment was the disco. I tried to go here twice but it was so crowded that you couldn’t move on the dance floor. They also played mostly rap and hip-hop which I don’t like. Both times I was there they were playing the really dirty hard core rap type songs such as the one that contains the words “skeet, skeet, skeet”. I think you all know what song I am talking about. UGH!! I really don’t like this type of music but it seemed to be all they played. Even the night that was supposed to be “retro” night they started playing the modern music after an hour. I got there at midnight and the retro party was supposed to have started at 11. They were playing some retro stuff when I got there but soon changed to more modern music. I asked the DJ to play “I love rock n roll” by Joan Jett and he refused. He said they were done playing the retro music. I would have enjoyed the disco a lot more if they played more of a variety of music but considering how packed it was the few times I was there my opinion is in the minority.

The lido deck party was fun but the actual festivities only lasted about 15 minutes. This started at midnight and consisted of a few line dances and such as the chicken dance and the electric slide. I thought they would have done a limbo contest or something but they didn’t. They did leave the music playing on deck after the party was over and it was fun to dance under the stars. On the last night of the cruise I didn’t want to go to bed early but after midnight there really was nothing to do except go to the disco which I tried again and left after about ½ and hour. So I ended up walking around the top decks and drank coffee in the aft horizon court outdoor seating area and watched the wake of the ship.

Excursions:

Grand Cayman:

I am sure most of you know this is a tender port. This ship doesn’t give tender tickets like other ships I have been on. Instead they put an announcement in the capers giving instructions for people with early carnival excursions and that general tendering began at 9am. Well this didn’t work for me because I had to meet Captain Bryan’s tour between 8:30 and 8:45. Turns out this wasn’t a problem at all. We just walked down to deck 3 and followed the signs to the tenders in the middle of the ship. We were able to walk right off and onto a waiting tender. The tender trip only took about 5 minutes and we had no problem making the quick walk to Captain Bryan’s. This excursion was a lot of fun and I would highly recommend it. We went on the morning 2 ½ hour tour on the Hannibal and there were less than 20 people on our boat. This is much better than some of the ship excursions I saw that had well over 100 people on board. It is a catamaran which I like better than the motor boats and they put the sails up and sailed back to the ship after snorkeling. There is plenty of room to lay out in the front and get some sun on the way to the stingrays. This was my second time going to stingray sandbar and while it is a definite must do for anyone who hasn’t done it I think I will do something different the next time I am here. The guide was very good and we all got to hold, kiss and feed a sting ray they called Lola. We stayed here about ½ hour then went to the snorkel site. The water was a little rough which made the snorkeling a work out but it was still fun. After the excursion we got dropped of in downtown and decided to just stay there and look at the shops instead of going to the beach as I had intended. This turned out to be a good plan since it took awhile to shop since my sister was on the hunt for a stuffed stingray. We finally found a suitable one in a drugstore of all places. They also had many other souvenirs such as the little marble turtles and they were cheaper than the gift shops. I was also able to get a strawberry pastry here that was very good. We headed back to the ship around an hour before the last tender so we were able to miss the crowds heading back to the ship.

Jamaica:

In this port I chose the Sundancer yacht cruise ship excursion because I wanted to take a boat to Dunn’s river falls. I chose this one because it was early enough to allow plenty of time for margaritaville in the afternoon. This excursion was a lot of fun. There were only about 10 people on the boat and it was a double decker yacht so there was plenty of room. This was the early excursion though we saw the later excursion getting off as we were preparing to get back on after the falls and it was packed. They served fruit punch on the way to the falls and played calypso music. There were ladies asking to braid your hair and sell jewelry but they weren’t pushy and a simple no thanks sent them on their way. When we got to the falls we were told to join with another group for the climb and then we all had to do that human chain thing. This is the only thing that I don’t like about Dunn’s River Falls. Personally I would rather have my hands free to help me balance or to grip onto rocks while climbing. If I were to fall I wouldn’t want to drag others down with me. I did end up letting go of the person in front of me so I could use me hands. I would definitely recommend doing this to anyone who is in fairly good shape but be aware it is a difficult climb and I have heard of people getting hurt. The thing I like best about taking a boat to the falls is you get to skip the craft area on the way out of the falls because you exit at the beach. On the way back to the boat we passed two men who tried to sell us drugs. One was quite subtle he said “want to party like Bob Marley” as he passed us. We just shook our heads and kept walking so it wasn’t a big deal. The sail back to the ship was very wavy and the boat was bouncing around so much that you couldn’t even stand. They did give out rum punch which was mostly rum with a splash of punch. I am not a big drinker so I gave mine to someone else. When we got closer to port the water calmed and we did some daces up on the top deck that was a lot of fun. We got dropped of at the main dock area.

After the excursion we planned to head to the island village and margaritaville. We ended up wasting a lot of time because we listened to someone’s directions and turned left and walked along the water for a ways. This took us to some shopping but the stores weren’t very nice and there were a lot of people asking us to buy things and if we needed a cab. It took us awhile to figure out how to get to the island village and it turns out if we had just kept going straight from the dock it was on the right. Oh well I will know better for next time. I really liked the island village all the shops were very nice they may have been more expensive then the other shops but I don’t like to haggle or feel pressured so I preferred to shop here. There is one store with really lovely sarongs for only $16 dollars so the pricing isn’t too bad. We went to margaritaville for lunch and I had a cheeseburger in paradise and a strawberry margarita. I had found some coupons online before the trip and they were accepted with no problems and both me and my sister had the strawberry margaritas. I just wish I had more time here because there is a lot to do with a pool and Jacuzzi but we didn’t have time to take advantage of all this. We did go to the beach for a little bit after lunch. Be sure to get a wrist band from the hostess because you will need it to sit on the beach. The beach was ok a little small and kind of dirty by the waters edge but the water was nice once you got past this. After this we went to a few more shops and then went back to the ship. Our ship was docked at the far pier so we took a taxi back for $2 per person. All in all it was a very nice day just wish we could have had more time in this port.

Conclusion:

This cruise was a lot of fun although it was too short. I would have liked to have been on a 7 day or longer. My sister is now a cruise addict just like me. Now I need to start planning for the next cruise. I am sure I left stuff out but I am tired of typing and you all are probably tired of reading. If you have any questions just ask and I will be happy to answer them.

Sadly, your wonderful review will not garner much attention on these boards because you had a good time and had positive things to say about Carnival

Great review and pics!!! I completely agree about the lobster... trying to cook lobster for 2000, it's just not going to be THAT good. I love lobster, so I tend to avoid it on the ship...

Sounds like you girls had a great time!! It's hard going from a balcony to anything else, but the balconies/suites on the older ships are SO much higher than they are on the newer ships, I go with oceanview... it's tough, you just have to spend more time up on deck :D LOL!!!

Thanks for taking the time to post your review!!!!!

Awesome review and pics! We're going on Imagination in Dec and reading this is exciting!

Glad you had a good time.

Great review. This is one of the few Fantasy class ships we have not done.

We will have to get around to her one day soon.

Glad you all enjoyed the review I had a lot of fun writing it. When I was researching for this cruise it was hard to find a lot of information on this ship so I am happy to help. Let me know if anyone wants the capers. If so I will scan them and post them to webshots. Just don't want to take the time to do it if nobody wants them. I am already looking into another cruise for december this time on a larger ship with more balconies.

Rachel

Thank you so much for your balanced and detailed review!

Yes, please scan the capers.

I know that I had a couple people ask me recently about this cruise specifically, so I'd like to direct them to your review, and the capers would also help them.

You'd also be helping a lot of newbies that find their way here...

Thanks again.:)

Curt Jerome Wild

Carnival Imagination Spring Break Trip:

 

First of all I just wanted to say thank you to everyone on these boards for all the helpful information I received prior to this cruise. Hopefully someone will get something useful out of this review. I am warning you all in advance it is very long :) .

I will start out with a little background information. I went on this cruise with my sister. It is her senior year of high school so I wanted to do a vacation that she would remember but also not kill my bank account. After much deliberating I chose the imagination 5 day western Caribbean mainly on price but also because of the itinerary. I have been to both of these ports before so I knew that my sister would like them. To tell you a little about us….I am 25 and I have been on 3 cruises prior to this one. My sister is 18 and this was her first cruise. Okay enough background on to the review.

The flight:

I had booked myself on a 6am flight out of St Louis on Friday March 17th. This meant that I had to be up at 4 am in order to get to the airport by 5am. I arrived at the airport on time and I was able to walk right up to the check in desk and walk right through security. I was at the gate at 5:10am. I flew on Delta and the flight was very uneventful. They actually give you a choice of snacks instead of the customary pretzels or peanuts. The chocolate chip granola bar was very good. I had a 2 ½ hour layover in Atlanta. There was actually a decent amount to do at this airport. The Atlanta airport is very easy to navigate each concourse is separated by a walkway and also by a train system. The train comes every couple of minutes so you can bounce around the different concourses very quickly. I had studied the airport prior to my arrival there and concourse A seemed to have the best selection of restaurants. There is a food court but both times I was there I wasn’t able to find a table. I had planned on eating at Paschal’s since I heard they had good southern food but it was too crowded so I went to chili’s instead. Chili’s was actually serving breakfast and I had French toast, bacon and coffee. The atmosphere was much more relaxing than the crowded food court. I ate here again on the flight home and had chicken crispers (which I love) and fries. After breakfast a had an hour to kill before my flight. There are a few shops in the airport such as Brookstone and Bath and Body Works. I took the walkway from concourse A to concourse T, where my flight was leaving from, instead of the train to burn some calories. They had an African art exhibit all along the walkway. It was pretty cool and unexpected. It was good for killing some time before my flight. The flight to Fort Lauderdale was uneventful. I spent Friday night with family so I will save you the boring details of that and move on to the cruise.

 

Embarkation:

This was by far the smoothest embarkation process I have ever been through. I have always tried to get to the pier early but this was the first time that I actually managed to do it and I will never arrive late again. We arrived at the port at around 11:15. My sister’s boyfriend dropped us off at the pier so we wouldn’t have to pay for parking. We dropped off our luggage and went into the terminal. We were able to walk straight up to the check in desk as there was no line whatsoever. I was shocked since this is the first time I have never had to wait in line. The check in process was very easy and since we were both using cash for our sign and sail cards we were instructed how to set this up once we were on the ship. After this stage of check in we were directed to a large room with chairs were a bunch of people were already waiting. We were told that we wouldn’t be boarding the ship until noon but the line started moving after about 15 minutes. We waited in a series of short lines to get our sign and sail cards and then to take the embarkation photo and finally to board the ship. We were on the ship by noon. My sister couldn’t get over how big the ship was she stood in the atrium with her jaw hanging open just staring at the ceiling. Personally I didn’t get that feeling since I have been on much larger ships but it was cool to watch her reaction.

The first thing we did after boarding is go straight to the information desk to set up our sign and sail accounts. We each wanted a separate account and we put $200 on each account with no problems. We didn’t end up spending all of it and we each got a check for around 75 dollars on debarkation morning. Be sure to stop by the information desk when you board because you can get a pocket size ship map here as well as the daily carnival capers. They also have free decks of carnival playing cards if you ask. After this we stopped off at the cabin to drop off our carry-on luggage and went to explore the ship.

 

The Cabin:

We had an inside cabin at the aft of upper deck. I liked the location of the cabin but I didn’t like the inside cabin and I don’t think I would book an inside cabin again unless it was the only way I would be able to go on the cruise. My prior to cruises were in balconies and I had an ocean view before that. I will definitely be going back to a balcony cabin on the next cruise. I know people say that the only time you are in the cabin is to sleep and eat but I didn’t find that to be the case. I love to lay out by the sun in the morning but by around 3 o’clock I was fried so I went back to the cabin for peace and quite and a little nap. I missed the balcony then as it is very nice to sit and read on the balcony when I want to get away from the crowds and the sun. I also missed the balcony when we had room service breakfast and at night. I always like to sit and watch the water for a while before going to be and I had to go up on deck to do this. Now don’t get me wrong I had a fabulous cruise and I certainly wouldn’t let something like this spoil my vacation but I know for next time that I really love my balcony and it’s worth the extra money for me.

Aside from the fact that there is no window the cabin was great. The beds were in an L shaped pattern which left ample room to move around in. There was plenty of storage space for all of our clothes which was great since I am a horrible over packer. The bathroom was large enough with plenty of storage in the medicine cabinet. The water pressure was very weak but I was expecting this so not a big deal. The shower has no sides to it and this made shaving a very challenging experience. I finally figured out the best way was to prop my leg on the sink. This made a mess of the floor but got the job done.

My absolute favorite part of the cabin was the new carnival bedding. The sheets were so soft and I love that down comforter. The pillows were really nice and soft too. It was definitely the best sleep I have had on vacation. Be sure to bring a travel alarm clock with you so you can tell what time of day it is. Also if you are in an inside cabin bring a nightlight because it gets very dark.

 

 

The Ship:

I wouldn’t call this ship beautiful but it is very practical and easy to navigate. There are 3 main decks of cabins on decks 4-6 then all the activities are above you. This is different from other ships I have been on where the cabins were in the middle then evening activities were below and daytime activities above. All of the bars and clubs are on the promenade deck which is very convenient. A nice touch is all along the promenade there are window seats. These are nice for sitting and having a drink before dinner since you can look out at the water. The hardest thing to find was the galleria shops. The shops are located outside the main entrance to the dynasty lounge on atlantic deck. They were hard to find because we usually entered the dynasty lounge from the balcony entrance on the promenade deck.

There is a lot of neon all over the ship but it didn’t bother me anywhere except the horizon court. This place was so ugly. It is very dark with bright green neon on the ceiling. Fortunately there is plenty of outdoor seating so I never had to eat inside the restaurant.

 

The Food:

After exploring the ship it was time to check out the food. We went to the horizon court for lunch. I really don’t understand how anyone could say they starved on a cruise. I ate a lot and there were still some things I never tried. Of course at times there were items I didn’t care for but I would just get something else. The Horizon Court is where you get buffet breakfast and lunch. They also use it as an alternative dining venue for dinner but I never went there for dinner so I can’t comment about that. We had breakfast 3 of 5 mornings at the buffet. They had basically the same stuff every morning. French toast or pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, ham, potato pucks, oatmeal, grits, cereal, fruit, danishes, croissants, bagels. There was probably more but that’s all I remember. The raspberry danishes were the best and I had to have at least one every morning. We ate in the dining room one morning so I could get eggs benedict. This was ok but a little too formal for my taste at breakfast. I don’t like to take a long time eating breakfast in the morning and that was expected here. The eggs benedict was disappointing. It was served within a couple minutes of ordering which means it was sitting around. The hollandaise sauce was congealed to the overcooked eggs. It wasn’t one of my favorite breakfasts. However, the coffee was the best I had the entire time on the ship it was very good. Also the orange juice was real and not the concentrate that they have in the buffet. This part of the breakfast I really enjoyed. My sister had the pancakes and they looked good. Maybe it was just an off day for the eggs benedict. One morning we ordered room service for breakfast because we had an early excursion. This is very good if you don’t have the time to go to breakfast. They don’t offer hot food but it is good for coffee, OJ, bagels, fruit, etc. The fruit cup was very good. My favorite place to eat breakfast was aft of the horizon court. There are two areas of tables outside that have a fabulous view of the ocean. This was very relaxing and a great way to start the day.

There were many options available for lunch as well. The buffet had two areas. One area had a meat selection along with a few sides that changed daily. The other area was the taste of nations and had selections from a different nationality every day. Some things were the same every day such as potato salad, pasta salad, salad bar and fruit bar. The grill serves hamburgers, hotdogs and fries by the pool. There is also pizza which some people loved. I tried it once and didn’t care for it so I didn’t try it again. For the most part the food for lunch was good. I only ate from the buffet a few times and the other times I got a burger from the grill because there wasn’t anything that appealed to me at the buffet. Some of the buffet options that I remember are roast beef, this was on embarkation day and was so good. Other days they had pork or lamb but I never saw roast beef again. On the last day they had fried chicken and baked potatoes and that was a big hit. There is also the option to eat lunch in the dining room but we never did this. We ordered sandwiches from room service one afternoon and they were very good. The tuna on English muffin was my favorite.

Dinner was my favorite meal of the day. We ate every dinner in the dining room and I really enjoyed most of them. We had the 8:30 seating in the Pride dining room. Before I get started on dinner I don’t want to forget my favorite pre-dinner snack. The sushi bar was the perfect place for a nibble while waiting for dinner. The sushi chef makes all the sushi fresh and the menu changes nightly. They had 4 selections every night. Some were more adventurous than others but I stuck to the normal rolled sushi that I recognized. Two types that I had were salmon and avocado and tuna, cream cheese and avocado. Yummy!! Dinner itself was very good for the most part. The dining room was very elegant but I will never figure out why they have booths. Personally I think booths are very intimate and it is a bit uncomfortable to sit with strangers in a booth. After the first night once I had gotten to know our tablemates it wasn’t as bad but I would have preferred a table. The food was very good to excellent except for the meal on the last night.

I was never disappointed with a meat dish. The first night I had the lamb and that was excellent. The next night was formal night and the much anticipated lobster. I was actually I bit disappointed with the lobster. It was a bit tasteless and chewy. I still managed to eat all of mine plus the rest of my sisters but I didn’t order a second for myself which I have always done on lobster night on previous cruises. The third night there was nothing on the menu that appealed to me so I asked for a filet and a baked potato and got it with no hesitation. It was served with a side of broccoli and it was soooo good. This was my favorite meal of the cruise so I ate it again the next night. I wish I had ordered this again on the last night but I tried the turkey instead and it was inedible. Seriously I could only force down a few bites. I am not sure how they managed to ruin a turkey dinner but they did. I would have ordered something else but I had eaten so many appetizers I wasn’t really hungry anyway. The desserts were also very good. Some of the highlights were tiramisu, grand marnier soufflé, and apple pie. On baked Alaska night we were not given a choice of dessert. Everyone was given the baked Alaska and we were never even given dessert menus to see what else was available. I like baked Alaska but I would have liked to have been given a choice.

One last thing about the dining room that I always find odd on carnival is the singing and dancing that the waiters have to do every night. I think this is unnecessary and the waiters have enough to do without having to entertain at the end of every meal. I also thought the whole colors competition was very silly and I could have done without it.

 

I tried to get this all tyoed tonight but I have to go to bed so I will try to finish it tomorrow.

Rachel

That was a great review.

Great detailed review! Would you tell me where you picked up your Margartiville coupons? thanks!

bluecruisin:

If you go to the margaritaville caribbean website look for the icon that says find the lost shaker of salt. You have to find the salt which is usually on the shopping pages like t-shirts or glassware. Once you find the shaker click on it and it will bring up a coupon. You can print as many coupons as you want but you can only use 1 coupon per person.

Rachel

I am trying to scan the capers but for some reason my scanner is not working properly. So I need to wait for my b/f to get home and figure out what is wrong. I will try again later tonight.

Rachel

Thanks for this great review!! My friend from work and I are sailing on this ship in just TWO WEEKS!!!! This review just makes it even more exciting!!!! Your pictures were great also......the best I have seen here!! Any more pointers would be appreciated. Thanks.

Thank you for your great report. It was very refreshing this week!

Cruisinkitten - that was a great review, thanks for posting it.

cruisecastle - if you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all.

labtech:

- the biggest pointer I have is to get to the ship early if at all possible. You can get on at noon and it is really neat to be able to explore the ship before it is filled with people. Plus you can get so much done. I was able to explore the ship, have lunch, recieve my luggage, unpack, and go to the pool all before the muster drill. In the past I had arrived around 3pm and was always in a rush. This was almost like getting an extra day.

- Be sure to grab a map of the ship from the information desk when you first board it was very helpful and I always carried it with me.

- If you like sushi definately try out the sushi bar. It is only open for a few hours around dinner time but it is so worth it.

- Just go with a good attitude and you will have a blast.

If you have any questions I will be happy to answer them. I am so jealous wish I was going back on the ship. Have a great cruise :D

CrusinKitten, Thank you for your review I have been trying to find reviews on the imagination for a few months now and the few that I have seen where full of complaints which made me a little uneasy about my cruise on 4/20. I'm starting to get excited again.

Cruisinkitten - My family & I will be on the Imagination 4/20 also and I can't remember from the last time - is the pool open when you get on the ship? If not, then we will probably embark later and do something the kids will enjoy in the morning, like an airboat ride. My son would love to see some gators (and have some gator on a stick:o).

Thanks for the review!

cruiserjul:

I didn't go straight to the pool area after boarding so I am not sure what it was like before I got there but I got up there at around 1pm and it had water in it. If you take a look at my pictures there are a couple of the main pool area and that was at around 1. I don't remember seeing anyone in the pool that early but then most everyone went straight to the food upon boarding. We used the pool at around 3 or so so I know it was open then. Have a great cruise :D

Rachel

cruisinkitten....you have been such a big help....thanks for all the insight....we will be staying Friday night very close to the port and checkout is 11am so we will be there early.........oooooh I can't wait....14 days and counting...4-15 can't get here fast enough!!!!!!!

Thanks Kitten..what a great review! I loved your pictures...you and your sis are so cute and you look like you are having so much fun...wow what memories!

Super grad gift and girly time ...love it :)

You have given me good ideas, so the whirlpool in the "spa" area is open to all the guests?? nice

also I plan to check out the more 'remote" areas rather than right by the pool...

I like appetizers a lot so plan to select those carefully, and will also consider the "steak and potato" option maybe instead of that 'tom turkey" ?

I am also booked on the sundancer, am hoping we dock at main pier as this is the only ship in ochos port according to the site where it lists them...so keeping fingers crossed

from what I read, the sundancer *or the cool runnings are good options at the falls since they sort of let one bypass the shopping area/parking lot ?? I like stuff more simple and sort of "easy" so i hope this is good

I also have the coupon printed out for margeritaville haha

After the sundancer I plan to go to the shopping village and check it out!

thanks again...any other tips appreciated...what meal items are good or bad helps too :) I like the steak option

thanks

Cheri

Imagination May 8-13 Grand Cayman/Ochos Rios

thanks for the review cruisinkitten!!! my mom and I sail on the Imagination in less than 5 weeks now!

Can't wait for those Capers!!!