Just Returned from Imagination

[FrannyK]

Just got back yesterday, had a great time as usual. Weather wasn't the greatest, in fact ship left a few hours late on Saturday due to flight delays because of storms along East coast. Quite a few of these latecomers arrived without luggage, such a shame. Saturday night and Sunday were very rough seas and many people, including my husband who has NEVER been seasick, were very sick. There were quite a few people who missed formal night because of it. My husband made it to dinner thank goodness. By Monday people were feeling better and it calmed down some but we missed Grand Cayman, mainly because of high winds, so we had another sea day and Carnival credited everyone's account $25. All the missing luggage was supposed to be delivered in Grand Cayman so those people were pretty upset I'm sure. Tuesday was a nice day in Jamaica, we took the ship's White River Tubing excursion ($59 per person) since we had toured Dunns River Falls on another cruise. We really enjoyed it, very fun! It was the first time we've ever taken a ship excursion instead of going on our own, we just felt more comfortable that way in Jamaica. We were surprised the souvenier shops in Jamaica were so expensive, it would have been cheaper in GC! Rum cakes in the ship's store were $14, but $28 in Jamaica??? Weird. Wednesday was a really nice sea day, beautiful weather again although a bit windy. I went to the Win A Free Cruise Bingo, as I have never missed one in all our cruises, and can you believe I WON the free cruise!!! Unbelieveable. We are so excited! Thursday we took our time and disembarked about 9:15. Took a cab ($24 + tip) to the Miami airport and paid $25/person/USAir to get on an earlier 1130 flight instead of 2pm, it was well worth it to us. Apparently you only fly "stand-by" if the flight is already booked and this earlier flight wasn't booked, in fact it was half empty so we could stretch out.

 

This was our second trip on the Imagination. Observations: The ship was very clean and in excellent shape. All the carpeting, in public areas and our hallway and cabin (Riviera deck #178) appeared to be new. Some scratches and chips in the cabin furniture, to be expected. Bathroom in decent shape w/basket containing his/hers razors, chewable rolaids, dried cranberry fizz drink?, Ponds night cream, sugarless gum, mouthwash and toothpaste samples. The shower had two dispensers: Dove cucumber/melon shower gel and Dove shampoo. Dining room food wasn't as WOW as we remembered, seemed to lack flavor and the portions were definitely smaller. The buffet, which we don't usually care for, was improved with good presentation and variety. The grill and pizza place remained good. There seemed to be less bar staff around the pool, we usually had to go up to the bar to get a drink instead of being served. No trouble w/chair saving that I noticed. Lido deck games were very entertaining as usual. Piped in music on Lido deck got a little monotonous. Band was OK. Pool towels--you have two nice thick pool towels in your cabin, you can bring these to the pool but don't loose one or you'll have to pay for it--OR--you can go to the towel hut by the pool and sign out some thinner towels (IMO the paperwork for this is ridiculous and takes forever, in fact the same paperwork has to be filled out to get a darned basketball!). We noticed people in jeans and shorts and sneakers in the dining room (we had late seating) for dinner which IMHO looked out of place. Formal nite only a few tuxes, mostly suits for the men, a few men didn't even wear a jacket or tie. The ladies were dressed appropriately. Not many kids on this cruise. The internet cafe was not working properly, apparently it is very slow or doesn't connect at all when it is windy or rainy because of the satellite it uses so don't waste your money in bad weather. I was promised a credit (I paid $27 for an hour and it only worked 10 minutes in 5 days) and it was never credited and when we paid our bill the internet manager conveniently was unavailable. Now I'll have to deal with customer service to get it credited, good luck. The other staff on the ship were very helpful and friendly except for the pursers desk which gave us incorrect information on three separate occasions. They seemed to be tired and cranky this cruise which may be due to all the complaints about missing GC, the lost luggage people, seasickness, etc.

 

Overall we had a great time, met some new friends, relaxed and enjoyed. I felt Carnival lagged a bit this cruise but the circumstances were not always under their control. We will be sailing Carnival again of course for our free cruise :) but I'd like to try Celebrity or Princess at some point to compare. Any questions, just ask.

 

FrannyK

 

Costa Riviera 1985

NCL Seaward 1987

Carnival: Fantasy 1/2000

Sensation 2/2001

Imagination 1/2002

RCI Explorer 6/2002

RCI Monarch 4/2003

Sensation 2/2004

Imagination 2/2006

[cruisinkitten]

Thank you for the review I havn't seen anything lately about the imagination. I finally got my sister to agree to go with me and I am going to book the imagination on monday for spring break. Soo excited. I see you have been on RCCl explorer of the seas was it hard to adjust to being on a smaller older ship or was it still nice? Also did you notice what types of dance music they had in the evenings? Any rock type bands? Thanks

[mom2eli]

Was there a blow dryer in the cabin?

[mfs2k]

Congratulations on winning the cruise!!!! Very exciting for you Im sure

[FrannyK]

Thank you for the review I havn't seen anything lately about the imagination. I finally got my sister to agree to go with me and I am going to book the imagination on monday for spring break. Soo excited. I see you have been on RCCl explorer of the seas was it hard to adjust to being on a smaller older ship or was it still nice? Also did you notice what types of dance music they had in the evenings? Any rock type bands? Thanks

 

The best dance music they had was at the Illusions Dance Club on Promenade deck, good DJ and they also have live music, although we didn't see any the times we stopped in. It was very busy and fun at night. Yes, the Explorer is an incredible ship---my favorite so far. But, I think you will still enjoy the Imagination--it's not as crowded, easy to get around, the cabins are a bit larger, dining room food a bit better, poolside activities better. I think the only thing you will miss during spring break is the Solarium (adults only) pool on the Explorer. Even though there were only a few children on our cruise, they seem to fill up the hot tubs. Of course there is no ice show or Johnny Rockets or special pay-restaurant but you'll have all the food you need. I'm sure you'll have a great time, it's fun to experience different ships. ENJOY!

 

FrannyK

 

Costa Riviera 1985

NCL Seaward 1987

Carnival: Fantasy 1/2000

Sensation 2/2001

Imagination 1/2002

RCI Explorer 6/2002

RCI Monarch 4/2003

Sensation 2/2004

Imagination 2/2006

[FrannyK]

Was there a blow dryer in the cabin?

 

There are no blow dryers in the cabin. Bring one and you can plug it in in the desk area (the outlet in the bathroom is only for electric razors).

 

FrannyK

 

Costa Riviera 1985

NCL Seaward 1987

Carnival: Fantasy 1/2000

Sensation 2/2001

Imagination 1/2002

RCI Explorer 6/2002

RCI Monarch 4/2003

Sensation 2/2004

Imagination 2/2006

[smceown]

Thanks for the info FrannyK. From pictures it looks like the Imagination does not have a bar in the Atrium, is that right? (same class of ship, the Paradise did, the Fascination did not)

 

Is there a small ensemble that plays Classical music anywhere on the Imagination?

[DebbieICU]

THanks for the review as not many people review the ship.

 

Too bad about the weather and missing GC- my husband gets seasick and I do have lots of meds for him but I pray for calmer seas and good weather.

 

Where was our room on the boat- we are on the Upper deck.

 

The pool seems small by pictures - how is it?

 

Thanks -

 

Debbie

[FrannyK]

Thanks for the info FrannyK. From pictures it looks like the Imagination does not have a bar in the Atrium, is that right? (same class of ship, the Paradise did, the Fascination did not)

 

Is there a small ensemble that plays Classical music anywhere on the Imagination?

 

No, actually the Imagination and Facination are identical since they are the same class ship, the Paradise is a slightly newer different class ship. So, the Imagination, like the Facination, has no Atrium bar.

 

Yes, there is either a small ensemble or piano player that plays some classical music at varying times at the Dream Bar and Pinnacle Club (Promenade Deck) and Mirage Bar (Atlantic Deck).

 

BTW, for those of you who are interested in emailing home, the package offered at the Internet Cafe (Empress Deck) was $27 for one hour. THE PROBLEM is it all works through satellite SO if there is rain or wind, like we had half of our cruise, the internet never connects. I will have to jump through hoops to finally get a credit on my bill (internet only worked 10 minutes and I paid for 60). So, if your weather isn't looking too good for your cruise, I wouldn't waste my money.

 

FrannyK

 

Costa Riviera 1985

NCL Seaward 1987

Carnival: Fantasy 1/2000

Sensation 2/2001

Imagination 1/2002

RCI Explorer 6/2002

RCI Monarch 4/2003

Sensation 2/2004

Imagination 2/2006

[FrannyK]

THanks for the review as not many people review the ship.

 

Too bad about the weather and missing GC- my husband gets seasick and I do have lots of meds for him but I pray for calmer seas and good weather.

 

Where was our room on the boat- we are on the Upper deck.

 

The pool seems small by pictures - how is it?

 

Thanks -

 

Debbie

 

As for the weather/seasickness, I didn't bring any meds since my husband has NEVER been seasick throughout 8 cruises. I went down to the Pursers Desk and they had two meds: Dramamine and another type pill (can't remember name, it began with Med.......). They told me Dramamine worked better if you take it before you get REALLY sick like my husband was so I gave the the "Med...." which didn't really help that much. We ran into some people who told us the pills didn't help them either so they went down to the Doctors office and were given a shot and felt fine an hour later. Don't know what the shot was and I'm sure there was a charge (pills at purser's desk are free), but I thought that was good info to know for next time.

 

I don't know your cabin number but Upper Deck is two decks above where our cabin was. You have cabins above and below you on Upper Deck so you can be assured of quiet which is nice and you are only two decks below the dining room. We had always paid extra for a 6D to be on Empress Deck because we didn't want to be "low" on the ship. This time we just got a 6A on the lowest deck (Riviera) and to tell you the truth I'm sorry now we paid extra each cruise to be up higher. Riviera was nice and quiet and I could tell no difference from Empress at all. I guess the only disadvantage to being on a low deck would be if the elevators weren't working and we never ran into that.

 

The Lido deck pool is not huge and is salt water of course but it's no smaller than any other ship we've been on. There's a nice bench all around it and this time of year you'll have no trouble finding a lounge chair. There is another pool and jacuzzis on rear Verandah deck which is very nice too.

 

FrannyK

 

Costa Riviera 1985

NCL Seaward 1987

Carnival: Fantasy 1/2000

Sensation 2/2001

Imagination 1/2002

RCI Explorer 6/2002

RCI Monarch 4/2003

Sensation 2/2004

Imagination 2/2006

[FrannyK]

Forgot to mention we carried on a bottle of white wine, red wine and a bottle of champagne in Miami, no problem at all. I also wrapped up a small bottle of scotch (for my husband) in bubble wrap and two baggies and placed it in our checked luggage since you can only carry on wine/champagne (no liquor). The scotch made it safely as usual.

 

We don't smoke anymore but we noticed the only smoking areas were in some of the bars and outside on one side of the Lido deck. There used to be ashtrays in the hallways by the elevators, no more.

 

Tips are charged automatically on your Sail and Sign account. My husband likes to give our cabin steward an extra $20 the first day and our waiter $20 and assistant waiter $10 extra the last evening. Our cabin steward made us towel animals and chocolates on our pillow every night. There are no arrangements made for tipping for the kid counselors but I would definitely take care of them too if I had brought the kids, they certainly deserve it.

 

Photo gallery: We bought two pictures, one 5 X 7, one 6 X 8, they were $6 and $7 which I thought was reasonable. I had read before we went all the pictures are now 8X10's and $20 each but that wasn't true in our case.

 

Keep in mind the ship's shop prices and the spa prices all drop the last full cruise day.

 

You can't beat your husband in ping pong after 3 Miami Vices LOL.

 

FrannyK

 

Costa Riviera 1985

NCL Seaward 1987

Carnival: Fantasy 1/2000

Sensation 2/2001

Imagination 1/2002

RCI Explorer 6/2002

RCI Monarch 4/2003

Sensation 2/2004

Imagination 2/2006

[allison61]

My good friend just came back from the Imagination yesterday also. I haven't spoken to her yet, but this was her 1st cruise so I hope the bad weather didn't turn her off cruising! We are supposed to do an "all girls" this fall.

[DebbieICU]

FrannyK,

 

Thank you for all the info and for taking the time to reply.

 

More questions if I can- did you dine in the Formal dining room every night- we have 2 kids with us and they don't want to do that every night which is probably ok with us. Did people get very dressed up? We don't have alot of xtra $ at this time and I haven't found the right black dress for formal night but I have a dress that I've worn to weddings that should be ok.

Did ou do any massages at the spa- if so how was it- may purchase one for DH as its' his birthday on the 15th-

 

Thanks,

 

Debbie

[FrannyK]

FrannyK,

 

Thank you for all the info and for taking the time to reply.

 

More questions if I can- did you dine in the Formal dining room every night- we have 2 kids with us and they don't want to do that every night which is probably ok with us. Did people get very dressed up? We don't have alot of xtra $ at this time and I haven't found the right black dress for formal night but I have a dress that I've worn to weddings that should be ok.

Did ou do any massages at the spa- if so how was it- may purchase one for DH as its' his birthday on the 15th-

 

Yes, we used the dining room every night for dinner, it's more of a treat for me to be "served" rather than being the "server" I am at home :) And my husband prefers to sit back and enjoy his dinner rather than navigating the crowd, carrying his plate. On cruises we took our kids on, the kids actually prefered the dining room because you have the same waiter each nite and he made a fuss over them and took care of all their needs, remembered all their likes/dislikes, rather than fending for themselves at the buffet. Plus, they got to meet other people at the dining room table rather than eating alone or w/us each nite. I don't know how old your kids are but I'm assuming you would opt for early seating in the dining room, rather than late, which tends to attract more kids and families and therefore is a somewhat more casual crowd. We had late seating and we noticed quite a few people in shorts, sneakers and jeans for dinner. I would think a dress you could wear to a wedding would be fine for formal nite. All the women looked nice and had on church dresses to dressy pant suits to short cocktail dresses to long formal gowns. Only a few men had tuxes, most had on suits/ties, some sport coats with or without tie.

 

We didn't get to the spa at all so I can't comment on it.

 

FrannyK

 

Costa Riviera 1985

NCL Seaward 1987

Carnival: Fantasy 1/2000

Sensation 2/2001

Imagination 1/2002

RCI Explorer 6/2002

RCI Monarch 4/2003

Sensation 2/2004

Imagination 2/2006

[binsweet007]

Glad to hear some word from the Imagination. I will be sailing on 3/4 with 3 of my friends...I have a few questions for you.

What was the temperature like on the ship?

Is there free water (in bottles) with the lemonade and other free drinks?

Did you have to use the ships iron at all?

 

Thats for taking the time to let us know about your trip...We are very excited for this is our first cruise (my 3 friends are in Boston and are looking forward to the nice weather after the snow storm they just received)

 

Thanks again:)

[FrannyK]

Glad to hear some word from the Imagination. I will be sailing on 3/4 with 3 of my friends...I have a few questions for you.

What was the temperature like on the ship?

Is there free water (in bottles) with the lemonade and other free drinks?

Did you have to use the ships iron at all?

 

Thats for taking the time to let us know about your trip...We are very excited for this is our first cruise (my 3 friends are in Boston and are looking forward to the nice weather after the snow storm they just received)

 

Thanks again:)

 

The temperature inside the ship was cool. If you get chilly easily I would bring a light sweater or shawl for dinner. If your cabin is too cool for your liking, your cabin steward can adjust it for you. On deck in March you will have beautifully warm weather I'm sure.

 

There is free water in the dispensers on Lido Deck that contain lemonade, apple juice, iced tea and fruit punch. If you want bottled water, which is in your cabin, you'll have to pay for it. I think it was $3.50/bottle. If that's too pricey for you, you can always buy one and keep refilling it at the dispenser. Some people bring their own insulated water bottles and fill them at the dispensers.

 

Actually, I brought a travel iron but never had to use it. In the past I've had the ship press a few things for me and the price wasn't too bad. The ships laundry has a special the last couple of days on board-I think it was $7 for as many underwear and bathing suits as you can stuff in the plastic laundry bag. The self service laundry machines are On Empress deck by cabin E2 and Upper Deck by cabin U164, there is laundry soap and softener available there. I've never been to the self-service but I assume that's where the irons are.

 

BTW, I forgot to mention the SUSHI BAR (on Promenade deck by the casino), it is open 5-8:30 every night but formal night. You can eat it at the tables or take it back to your cabin. It was good (4 offerings each night) but there is only one sushi chef so you usually have to wait in line. The first night is a good night to hit the sushi bar because no one realizes it's there yet :)

 

I can relate to the snow, we have over a foot here right now!

 

FrannyK

 

Costa Riviera 1985

NCL Seaward 1987

Carnival: Fantasy 1/2000

Sensation 2/2001

Imagination 1/2002

RCI Explorer 6/2002

RCI Monarch 4/2003

Sensation 2/2004

Imagination 2/2006

Bingo FREE Carnival Cruise! 2006/2007

[rya222]

FrannyK, How was it getting off and on the ship?

[FrannyK]

FrannyK, How was it getting off and on the ship?

 

Our flight to Miami was rerouted because of turbulance so we didn't get to the ship until 12:30. We were shocked there was NO ONE in line at the port! We checked in, picked up our keys, dropped our bags in our cabin and went up to Lido for lunch and a drink by 1pm.

 

Our original flight home left Miami at 2pm so we had breakfast in the dining room and then lounged in our cabin leisurely until about 9:15. We were listening for our color luggage tags but never heard our color announced. So, we just went down to the gangway where there was a short line, went through imigration, and grabbed our bags in the terminal (weren't many bags left by that point). Headed outside and grabbed a cab ($24 + tip) and got to the airport about 10am. We checked in for our 2pm USAir flight and asked if we could change to the earlier 11:40am flight--it costs $25/person. It was well worth the $50 to be home a few hours early.

 

I will say the people who chose self-debarkation can get off the ship first (7am or so) but have to take all their luggage with them and the elevators are not working at that point so it seemed to be a giant hassle w/all that luggage on all those steps between decks IMHO. If you have an early flight they let you off first anyway so I really don't see the point.

 

FrannyK

 

Costa Riviera 1985

NCL Seaward 1987

Carnival: Fantasy 1/2000

Sensation 2/2001

Imagination 1/2002

RCI Explorer 6/2002

RCI Monarch 4/2003

Sensation 2/2004

Imagination 2/2006

Bingo FREE Carnival Cruise! 2006/2007

[hlb76]

Glad you enjoyed Imagination. We sailed her back in Jan. It was our first cruise and loved it all. Camp Carnival is great on the ship my 5 year old never wanted to leave. I also loved the staff and the ship but the dining room food was ok I do agree. But anything I do not have to shop for cook or clean up after tastes great. My kids ate with us every night in the dining room. I bought they black and khaki slacks at old navy $10-15 a matched shirts for each night. They liked dressing up. For formal they wore black slacks white shirts and ties and fit in just fine. I was also not happy to see the under dressed people in the dining room lido deck was only up 2 more decks.I am almost teary eyed thinking of our trip and wanting to go back. I wish I would of won the free cruise but can't complain my hubby won the slot tournament. We aslo has a few nights of rough seas but made all ports. Thanks for bringing back fond memories and glad you had fun.

[mom2hac]

Glad to hear she's still in good shape...she was my "first" and is my most frequent/favorite ship. I don't like mega ships! Really has me ready to book a "quickie" now!

 

Jen

[wasup254]

If you carried on your luggage, can you disembark the ship at any time? we are local couple and we need to get to work on the mOnday after we get off the ship. We are not going to check in and luggage, but carry on.

 

Thanks

Marlene