Carnival's Imagination~Imagine a Ship for Built For Fun In The Tropical Sun
Written: May 07 '07 (Updated May 09 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great party atmosphere, well organized, good sized rooms for a cruise ship...
Cons: Very smoky casino....I'm not at sea right now
The Bottom Line: Many activities for young and old alike. Food was pretty good, super comfortable beds, being at sea! Public areas were always being cleaned and polished
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| ifif1938's Full Review: Carnival Imagination |
They don't call it them "fun ships" without a reason….
We just returned from a 5 night cruise on Carnival's "fun ship" Imagination and let me tell you, we had fun! And, a few surprises…The biggest surprise was the fact that the ship exceeded all our expectations…. I had doubts from the beginning about taking a cruise on this ship because its one of the older ships in Carnivals vast fleet, though it had undergone a complete renovation a few years ago, but those doubts soon disappeared after being greeted in the friendliest manner from the first moment we stepped aboard, found our stateroom, saw how roomy it was, how well organized it was and looked out our big picture window…well, there wasn't much to look at while still in the port of Miami, but we knew that would change as soon as we set sail.
But first we had to go through the banalities of cruising…We live in Miami so we only had a short half hour drive to the port, no airport hassles, or other traveling inconveniences, well, parking did cost a bit more than I remembered, $75.00 for the 5 days, but I guess that's to be expected…before we parked one of the ships porters took our luggage and the next time we saw them, they were sitting outside our cabin, just a short while later.
Boarding the ship was easy, there were three stations of security where we had to show our passports and tickets, these were all handled efficiently and quickly…we gave a ships agent a credit card and in turn we were given an ID "sea and show" credit card which was all we needed for the rest of the trip to purchase anything on board or to get back on the ship after leaving when in the ports of call. As a matter of fact, cash is not needed at all except for the casino or when on the islands.
When we first decided to take a cruise we weren't sure just how long we wanted it to be due to some health issues I've had recently… From past experiences we knew 3 and 4 day trips were just too rushed but we weren't sure if we wanted the longer 7 day trip so when it was suggested to us by the representative at AnchorsAway.com that we might like a 5 day cruise and then were informed about the itinerary for this cruise and the very reasonable price, we thought it would be ideal.
We really liked the idea of only stopping at two ports and spending the rest of the time at sea. No rushing everyday to get on tenders or to get off the ship, just relax and sail away, sleep in and as late as you like and do whatever your little hearts desire for those days. We also liked the idea of the two islands on this itinerary, Grand Cayman Island, someplace we had not been to before and Ocho Rios, Jamaica…it had been a few years since we were in Jamaica and, when we had been there in the past, we had always enjoyed that very laid back Island.
As I always have in the past, I enjoyed so much when the ship slowly made its way out of the port, through Government Cut, showcasing the beautiful homes on the islands on both sides… Miami's skyline and Miami Beach's sun kissed shoreline never looks lovelier than from a ship as it sets sail out of the bay and into to ocean.
Our stateroom
We were on the Empress deck, very well located near the internet cafe area and elevators, so a very convenient location.
I was pleasantly surprised at the size of the room…We had requested a king bed, two twins together, and that is what we found, unlike another ship we had sailed on years before…There was a rubberized large pad on the bed to put your luggage while unpacking so the bedding wouldn't get dirty…great idea we said. Then the luggage fit perfectly under the bed and was out of the way…The room was painted in pale pleasant shades of peach and gray, with a bright painting on the wall above the bed...two lights on the wall above the beds for reading as well as one over a table, on the other side of the room under the satellite, closed circuit TV which was on the wall above. Pretty big screen for a ships cabin I thought...there were two newly released movies offered each day as well as programming that came from TV stations in Colorado...(We couldn't figure out why Colorado). That corner table served a twofold purpose, one, it was storage for the life vests we hoped we would not need, second, it was a great place to keep some of our things…The only problem with that table was that I had to climb over it to get into bed, since I slept on the side nearest the window, my choice since I loved looking out the window at the water slowly passing by...a little inconvenience but not much. On the same wall was another small table and chair…this proved perfect for the room service tray we called for everyday for our morning juice and coffee… (You could have room service whenever you desired, which was convenient for those mornings we wanted breakfast in a hurry when leaving the ship early for our excursions).
On the other side of the room, was a desk/dresser, then a closet with plenty of space for our clothes in the drawers as well as hanging…There was a safe, which you slipped one of your credit cards though for your own personal code and safely...no one else could get in there unless they had that card...I loved that, to be able to put our valuables, passports and other incidentals away, without worry. The closet also contained 2 white fluffy robes.
The bathroom, just opposite the closet, was big for ship standards, had a nice size shower stall with a movable showerhead that could be moved up and down to benefit any persons height...it could also be used as a hand held shower… there were two liquid soap dispensers, one was filled with Dove facial soap for those tender pink sun-exposed faces and there was always plenty of hot water…The water pressure was good but not great…There was a good sized sink with plenty of room to keep your toiletries and other incidentals with a full sized medicine chest above. There were plenty of hooks on the walls to hang bathing suits or whatever…Everything was spotlessly clean. Plenty of fluffy, full sized towels rounded out this very well equipped bathroom …oh, and, as an added touch, on the sink, in a large shell, were some goodies, 2 razors, a candy bar, a few Olay facial samples and 3 packets of 1000 milligrams Emergen-C…Guess they didn't want anyone to get sick. In addition, 2 large beach towels were left in the room each day.
Side note: There was a video showing on TV demonstrating the best way to avoid that Noro-virus that has affected cruise ships recently, something I was a bit concerned with, and the best advice they gave was to wash your hands very frequently…I had brought a small bottle of CloroxAnywhere Hard Surface Sanitizer with me and sprayed the remote control, the doorknobs, the phone and a few other places in the room…They don't call me germ phobic for nothing..;)
And I mustn't forget about the bed… What an extremely comfortable bed!! So much so that, if you wanted to, you could buy one of these Carnival Comfort beds as well as the pillows, the sheets and the cozy down comforter, (they left us a brochure with the prices). The service in the room by our steward was excellent. I had brought two six packs of Perrier on board, since I love to have a glass of bubbly water every night before going to bed to take the meds I have to take and also because I'm always thirsty in the middle of the night. Our steward always left us two ice buckets filled with ice, so I could keep one or more bottles cold at all times…another thing I enjoyed each night, when we returned to our room, was the bed turned down with a few chocolates on the pillow and the cutest towel animal creations laid out on the cover…so popular are these little towel creatures that there was a class on how to make them, should you want to do that when you returned home and there was a book for sale with all the instructions you need...I just took a picture of each one.
After our first day at sea, as we settled in for the night on that most comfortable bed, with the soothing gentle feel of the ship moving beneath us, hubby told me, he was very impressed with the ship and it had so far exceeded his expectations, I felt the same way, and that feeling continued throughout the entire cruise.
Every evening upon our return to the room there was a very handy newsletter on the bed, with information about the activities on board the next day and the ports we would be visiting, very handy, indeed.
The Ship's Imaginative Design
The Imagination seemed to revolve around the large circular Grand Atrium….And what a sight that was. Not as garish as I had expected, though it did have neon lighting, I thought the design was just spectacular…Polished brass everywhere, the beautiful spiral staircases and two glass elevators always on the go….Looking out onto the atrium from those elevators was quite a sight. On each level you could see exactly where you wanted to go with lit up signs leading to whatever direction or deck you were headed to…each deck had four elevators, two on each side and the wait was never too long. Though I did go up and down more stairways that I have in a long time…
There were three outdoor pools though one was the busiest and biggest with two Jacuzzis, one on each side…There were four more Jacuzzis on the ship as well…This bigger pool had two sides, with a large slide in the middle leading into one…
This pool seemed to be where all the action was since there was a small platform above the water with contests and activities going on though-out the day, this is a "fun ship" after all….even with all this going on it was never hard to get a few lounge chairs to sit on.
Nearby was the Horizon Bar and Grill with outdoor seating at the very busy bar…Just inside was the buffet which always seemed to be open, serving from two sides of the large room so there was never a long wait in line...The menu changed daily but you could always get burgers and hotdogs as well as a variety of salads, and usually a carving station with huge variety of sides to go with whatever meat was being served. It was nothing fancy but not bad either… Oh, and always a dessert display that boggled the mind and sweet tooth….There was also a soft ice cream machine and a drink station with lemonade, coffee, tea, or apple juice available...I thought this could be expanded upon to offer more of a choice of cold drinks but since that would cut into their sales of sodas I guess that won't happen too soon.
This was also where the late night parties and festivities took place, always with food, food and more food. One night they had a Mexican fiesta which was a great deal of fun with dancing and contests galore…oh, did I mention the food?
The other two pools were smaller...one seemed to be for the children on board and the other was quieter, a great place to sit, look out over the sea or read a good book.
For quiet times or if you needed something to read they even had a small cozy library with board games you could play with but not too many books.
We enjoyed walking around the ship looking out at sea while discovering all the quiet nook and crannies as well as the many facilities available to all…from a miniature golf area to the well-equipped gym which caught our eye but we never did use it or the Spa which looked just delightful though the only time we thought we might want to have a massage they were booked...There was also a terrific padded jogging track for those who didn't want to gain those few pounds from all the good food, constantly available.
Speaking of which,
The Food Experience
They say this is a "Total Choice Dining" cruise, with meals available whenever you wish in the Horizon Grill…Those were always buffet style…there is also a 24 hour Pizzeria, Vittorio's Café, which offered delicious pizzas and a good variety of them…for an added small fee there was a premium coffee bar and desserts…for more formal dining, there are two dining rooms, the Spirit and the Pride...you have to choose before hand if you want the early or late seating. We chose the later option to avoid being tempted by the late night buffets.
We were assigned the Spirit, which was a lovely room, bright and colorful. Again all that shiny brass accenting everything…The service was very good, with a friendly Maitre'd who greeted us each evening and servers always willing to bring you as much food as you could possible want…as far as the food goes I would rate it about a 7 sometimes an 8, they had great soups and appitizers! The selection was good though I think could have been better, but there was always a meat and seafood offering and vegetarian entrée, one night they had lobster tails, I ordered two entrees, (you can do that)…They also offered Spa Cuisine, for those who didn't want to gain that extra cruising weight. The other dining room was called the Pride…and for an added kick, they had some sort of contest as to which dining room had the most spirit, the red or blue…we were the Red! And won. Though I'm not exactly sure what that was all about.
I must say I wasn't thrilled with the Eggs Benedict I had for breakfast one morning, the yolks very over done but the grits were great…That's a pretty strange combo isn't it? They did serve excellent strong coffee.
For those who wanted a drink, any kind of drink, alcoholic or not there were waiters and servers everywhere you went, whether outside by the pools, or at any bar, nightclub or showroom...You can never get thirsty on that ship as long as you are willing to pay for it! The prices weren't too out of sight either.
Let the fun and games begin
The Imagination is not one of those huge ships that are being built today, but it seemed big enough for us, with so many things to do, I can't imagine what it must be like on one of those mega ships…We had a ball going to all the shows held in the Dynasty lounge, the main show room…This lovely two story lounge/showroom is located toward the front of the ship, on the Promenade deck where much of the action takes place, you can shop in one of the small stores, have a drink in one of the many bars located either on this deck or just below, try your luck in the casino then settle in for a great show…we ended up each night in the Dynasty lounge since we were so impressed with the dancers, singers and comedians featured there each night…The shows were so professionally performed, directed and put together we almost thought we were in Vegas… only a bit smaller in scale of course.
This was also the lounge where the cruise director, (a really funny and helpful guy), gave out information about upcoming events, had a slideshow about what excursions were available and where we met the first day for our practice emergency run to the lifeboats…
It was also where bingo was played and where the Captain's cocktail party took place…(That was formal night, the only time people dressed up and some really dressed to kill…not me though, I just wore something a bit less casual that I usually do). I guess you could call this showroom the heart of ships entertainment facility …But the other bars located nearby were very attractive too and very well appointed …There was one room with a sushi bar that started serving at 5 P.M. another, a piano bar, there was a disco, and even a special room for teen entertainment…yes, something for everyone to do and have fun…."The Fun Ships" carnivals slogan, and it seemed very true wherever we looked or spent our time.
But it was the casino that drew us in quite often and the private poker table hubby enjoyed. The casino is small though it did contain quite a varied selection of gaming tables, some blackjack, a few craptables and only one Roulette table, my favorite...I dropped a few dollars there but hubby made up for that on our last night...there was a good variety of slot and poker machines…I played a little quarter poker, but only broke even…The only problem was that, as it got later in the evening, the smoke just filled the room and made it almost unbearable for me…by that time I was ready for the showroom. The casino is one of the few places on the ship where smoking is allowed, it was also open all day during the days we spent at sea.
The only thing I wasn't too impressed with was the Galleria Shopping Mall and Duty Free shops…not much of a mall, there was the tourist/gift shop, with T-shirts, and other assorted goodies to bring home…they didn't have many items for children though and that disappointed me since I wanted to buy some goodies for my little grandkiddies. There was a liquor store that did have some good deals but the duty free shop didn't thrill me with their prices on cosmetics or perfumes…they did have some nice watches though and now that I think about it I'm sorry I didn't buy the one that caught me eye…maybe next time!
Excursions
Even though this review is almost the length of a book it wouldn't be complete without some information about the excursions offered, and there were many for both islands…The prices varied but were mostly on the high side, I'd say over $50 and up to $200 a person for nearly anything you might want to do, everything from swimming with Dolphins, to horseback riding on the beach, *sigh*, what I wanted to do but couldn't…in Jamaica there were many tours to Duns River Falls, combined with other activities and many varied snorkeling adventures, even a trip to visit Bob Marley's home…On Grand Cayman it was the Stingrays and snorkeling excursions that caught my eye and we had a terrific time during our little adventures….More to come about that in another review!
The Imagination really did impress us in many ways unexpectedly and even though it's not a new ship or a mega ship, it certainly did entertain and surprise us…with 14 decks, over 900 personal and carrying nearly 2000 passengers it can't be considered small though. The renovation it had undergone a few years ago, has made it appear newish and was sparkling clean everywhere we ventured….The people working on the ship were friendly and helpful, I found no exception to that at all…the facilities were great each and every one of them, and the food was pretty good, the shows we saw were superb and very impressive.
This is not a fancy or ritzy ship but it's no slouch either...there were passengers in every age group, from young families to older folks and it seemed quite a few young singles. All who seemed to be enjoying themselves in one way or another….I know we had quite a lot of fun on this Carnival "fun ship!!! The only caveat, it was over all too soon!!
Happy and Safe Travels
This is an entry into Beastiegirls Summer fun Write/off to be found here
Recommended:
Yes
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