Carnival's Imagination - View from a first time Carnival cruiser
Written: Jan 24 '01 (Updated Jan 24 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good value, lots of things to do, large cabins
Cons: Only two ports of call, no open seating at dinner
The Bottom Line: Although not the newest and largest ship out there the Imagination was a good value. The cabins are spacious and the food is good.
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| travelon's Full Review: Carnival Imagination |
In the morning, in the evening, ain't we got fun! Don't you miss those Kathie Lee ads? On January 13th, 2001 I cruised on Carnival's Imagination from Miami to Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios. This was my second cruise (see my review of Celebrity's Galaxy) and my first on Carnival. We flew down to Miami the night before. This allowed us to get to the port just as embarkation was beginning. As soon as we arrived a porter took our bags and kindly suggested that if we want to tip do so now. We then walked over to the check in area. It only took about 15 minutes to get our keys. Your Sign and Sail card, which is your ship's credit card, will be waiting in your cabin. We went to lunch and looked around the ship. Our bags appeared about five hours later.
The ship
We had heard through the grapevine that Carnival ships were like Las Vegas and they were right. There are lots on neon and. splashy colors. If you are looking for an elegant Titanic like feel look elsewhere. The ship contained the standard amenities; three pools, whirlpools, Spa, exercise room, tons of lounges and bars, showroom, and three dining rooms. There were only a few shops. You can search the Internet for the low, low price of 75 cents a minute! The casino was much larger than the Galaxy's and seemed to have more action. Stay away from the slots, as they are set very tight. As a professional librarian I was appalled by the lack of books in the Curiosity Library. They could have filled up all the bookcases for a few hundred dollars at any library book sale. But I digress. The highlight of the ship is the five story glass and neon Grand Atrium. Stand at the top and look down. Really neat. The ship was pretty clean but showed a little more wear and tear than the Galaxy.
The crowd
There were people of all ages and the average age was lower than on the Galaxy. Most people were couples. There also appeared to be a lot of family groups. I would say there were 100-200 kids. The crowd was more blue collar than on Celebrity.
Cabin
We had an inside cabin in the Main deck. It was very spacious with a good-sized bathroom. Bring your own shampoo, as they do not provide any. There was plenty of storage for our clothes. The TV reception was poor and they kept playing cable channels that had no news. What about the big three networks? There were no music channels. You can order room service and book shore excursions through the Funvision system on your TV. The air conditioning had no temperature control, just a dial. We turned it up at night to block out the noise in the hall so it was a little chilly. I don't know if it was the people or the construction but we heard more noise in the hall than on the Galaxy. Unless you are a very heavy sleeper, or totally drunk, sleeping past 8am is difficult because of the cabin stewards in the halls, announcements, and people going to breakfast. The cabin steward was good and left folded towel animals on our bed at turndown.
Dining
You will be assigned to one of two dining rooms for diner. As far as I could tell the smallest table was for six. The food at diner was excellent but I would have liked more ethnic choices. The service was good until the last night when for some reason it fell apart. We wished they had open seating so we could visit with more people. You also have the option of going to the casual restaurant for dinner. The dinner is sit down with a salad bar. Most people went to the buffets for breakfast and lunch. These were mostly good but you may encounter lines. They supposedly have a 24-hour pizzeria but it is closed at breakfast. Never made it to the midnight buffets. You can also order from the limited room service menu.
Entertainment
Carnival is known for being more fun and it definitely had more activities that Celebrity.
There is bingo, trivia games, contests, a galley tour, karaoke, and of course lots of late night dancing and partying. The Captain's reception before the formal dinner was really nice and had free drinks and big band music. Did not make it to any of the late night parties. They had the obligatory Las Vegas style reviews, which were pretty good. One show had a magician and although we were sitting in the second row we could not figure out how he did the tricks. They also have comedians and a skit with four passengers and the cruise director.
The ports
Grand Cayman
You have to tender into Grand Cayman, as they do not have a dock big enough. Had no major lines for the tender. Grand Cayman is safe to walk around and has some tourist shops and hundreds of banks. The island is flat and not that scenic; most of the attractions are under the water. You can snorkel or swim with stingrays. We took a van for three dollars to Seven-Mile Beach and paid $2.00 per person to use the beach in front of a hotel. You can walk to more expensive hotels from there. By the way, the hotel rates in Grand Cayman are outrageous. The hotel we walked to was small and dumpy and costs over $300 per night!
Ocho Rios
Jamaica was lush, mountainous and green. We took a tour of Shaw Park Gardens and Dunn's River Falls. The gardens were lovely but we had the tour guide from hell.
I swear he said "Don't worry, be happy " one hundred times! We just looked at each other and laughed. We were then taken to two shopping areas, which were cordoned off, from most Jamaicans. There was only a small amount of hassling but it was a total waste if time. Our next stop was Dunn's River Falls, which was very crowded. We did not climb the falls because we did not want to end up in the hospital. You can swim at the beach and watch others.
The end
The last day they let us stay in our cabins until 10:00am but you can tell the cabin stewards were itching for us to go so they could start cleaning. I threw on some clothes to go to breakfast and when I returned to take a shower the bathroom had been cleaned and my little bottles of shampoo were gone so I could not wash my hair. I hated to do it but I messed up the newly cleaned bathroom. Embarkation went smoothly once our color was called. Remember not to pack all your clothes in your suitcases the night before.
The cruise directors always have stories about someone who had to leave the ship wearing nothing but a towel.
To sum it up
We had a good time and the cruise was a great value. If you are looking for an elegant, refined atmosphere and peace and quiet this ship is not for you. They next time we want to go on a ship that has more restaurants and open seating
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
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Epinions.com ID:
travelon
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Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 1 member
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