JoKen1

I was wondering if anyone has been in this room and has any pictures. Not sure if it will be a good room or we should switch it.

Is it true they allow smoking on one side of the ship outside? If so, which side is the smoking on? I want to be on the other side.

Thanks!

The day after we got on board I went to ask about this and they allowed me to pull it out. They gave me the cash with no problems. I left some on my account, just in case we purchased anything. We ended up leaving about $20 on the books. Wanted to see if they really send a check for the amount left on there like they said they would.

However, if you have $5.00 or more, they won't send it to you. They claim they donate to charity. Personally I think that is wrong to do without your permission but I guess since they tell you that's what they are going to do it's up to you make sure you get all money out if you really want it.

So far we have not received a check for the amount still on the account. We got off the ship on the 21st of Aug so it's still pretty early.

To the OP, thank you for sharing your experience.

I'm sorry it was not a better cruise for you!

I do want to say that I WAS ON THAT CRUISE (Sunday, 8/17 thru Thurs. 8/21) and had a FANTASTIC TIME!

 

We all see and taste things differently. That's what makes us unique.

I thought the food was wonderful....all over the ship. And believe me, I ate a lot!

My cabin steward on the Empress Deck was one of the best I have had in 26 cruises.

 

Sometimes there were so many things going on that I couldn't get to them all.

 

I had late dining in the Spirit Dining Room, table for 10 and we ALL thought the service and food were excellent.

 

Just wanted to give MY opinion on MY Imagination Cruise. IT WAS AWESOME!

 

Hope your next adventure is a good one!

I'm happy you enjoyed your cruise.

We had early dining in the Spirit Dining Room, table for 11. Eight from my group and three ladies we didn't know before.

We did not eat there for one night.

Would you mind telling me what things were going that you were unable to get to. I find it odd that you were so busy you couldn't get to everything yet, we had times where we were just sitting around talking because there wasn't anything we wanted to do or see that we had not already seen.

Perhaps you did more things at the bars which of course we were unable to do since we were with young girls age 13.

Though we did go early one night to the piano bar sing along. Where the singer was singing off key and he said it was because he was hung over from the night before. This was the first night on the ship.

Also, we didn't sit in the bar but out in the hall way area and listened to the "guess the tv songs". We played along but really it was mostly just the adults as most of the shows were older and the girls either weren't alive when they were on or didn't watch the shows.

Honestly in the end it's not a matter if you had a good time or not or if you were disappointed or not. You were there for the girls and if they had a good time that's all that matters.

 

If you didn't have a good time, sorry. Better luck next time. I just hope the girls, who were the main reason for the trip had a blast. I'm thinking they did and all the trivial stuff didn't matter to them in the least.

 

Happy cruising.

 

 

.....................................................

Carnival Pride 7 day Mexican Riviera: September 2008

 

Carnival Inspiration 4 day Mexican Riviera: September 2013

 

Carnival Miracle 15 day Hawaii: coming October 2015

Yes they did have a good time. Yes I did have a good time. How many times do I have to say that just because we were disappointed in the ship doesn't mean we didn't have fun. We took it all in stride and made the best of what we had.

OP thanks for your review. I wasnt impressed with the food either. The pasta on the lido for the first day lunch was pretty good though. Food in the dining room was not all that good and it was served cold. Did you all go see the family comedian shows? They were pretty good I thought.

Yes we did see the family comedian one night. He was funny and I hear when he did the adult only show he was super funny. I didn't a chance to see him because I was with the girls but the other two adults in my group went and loved him.

Glad to know several others didn't care for the food either. Funny how the people who were not on the ship seem to take exception with my review even though they were not there. But hey, to each their own.

Wow! I went on the same exact trip and had a blast! I'm not a huge drinker at all so that's not it. I've been on a few Disney cruises also so I'm not new to cruising. I really liked the food, we had fun on deck, we liked the show we saw, and the staff and service was great! Everyone was so friendly and helpful.

 

I couldn't believe your report but we all have different expectations and preferences.

 

 

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Yes I guess we do. Since I had never been on Carnival I expected it would be pretty much the same quality as the other cruise lines. So if I expected to much it's only because all the other lines were pretty close in quality.

If you go mostly on Carnival then perhaps you knew what to expect and therefore were not disappointed.

What a bummer you could not have a good time.

 

How about the fun: pool; serentiy deck; DJ's; sports such as the miniture golf; ping pong; waterslides; and poolside games.

 

How about the entertaiment: lounge shows; karaoke; live bands; comedy club; casino; bingo; trivia; arcade; internet cafe; and youth activities.

 

How about the food: deli; grill; pizza; ice cream; lido buffet; mongolian wok; sea day brunch; Taste Bar; sea day brunch and room service.

 

I have been on cruises with kids, adults young and old. I have been on small and large Carnival ships on short and long cruises. I have experienced young and older cruisers all finding something fun to do and finding food to enjoy. Yes Carnival is not on the higher end as a cruise experience but it is still an excellent cruise experience.

 

A pity you did not have a good time. It is a shame considering all the fun things and eating options I listed.:cool:

Hmm, I don't think I ever said we didn't have a good time. Being disappointed in a ship is not the same as not having a good time. We did have a wonderful time.

A fun trip is more about the company and the outlook of the people. We did not sit around complaining. In fact, as I said, we didn't even bother to complain. We made do and continued on with our trip.

I don't expect everyone to agree with me but I really didn't expect people to get so rude and nasty (not saying you are) because I personally didn't care for the ship.

There are many different types of ships out there and something for everyone. The Imagination is not the idea of a ship I would enjoy to go on again. I would rather put my hard earned money on a ship I like. I was really hoping to like the ship as it was my first time on Carnival but I didn't. I was very disappointed in compared to other cruise lines I've been on.

That being said, I didn't say there was anything wrong with people who do enjoy that line/ship. Yet many here seemed to think because we didn't like it my kids and I were spoiled, hard to please, a complainer and so on.

That is so not the case.

If we were, we would have spent our trip complaining and expecting things to be changed. I don't expect things to be changed. The cruise line is how it is. I just prefer a different type of cruise and therefore will not be going back on Carnival.

For those who said I should go back and read my post again, well I did just that and wouldn't change a word. Perhaps they should go back and read what I wrote and see that while I was disappointed I still had a good trip and so did the girls.

And to note to the post I quoted... still new to this forum and don't disagree with what you said... definitely would have had activities very planned

Well you can only plan so much. Since we didn't know what was being offered every day it was not something we could really do. We did make a list of the things the girls wanted to enjoy and made sure we got that all in.

So we did plan as best as possible. As you know going on any trip with a troop, you must be able to plan things very well or you will never take a 2nd trip. LOL

We love to travel and always plan things but always leave time to fit in unexpected things too.

Just took the four night cruise on Imagination and they did have it. But you may wish to order a few as they were super small. I don't eat them but one of the people in my party did and said not only were they small but they were rubbery too.

Don't worry about it at all. I just got back from this trip and we had a blast both in Catalina and Ensenada.

We didn't book an excursion through the cruise line as it seemed to be to costly for what you were getting.

In Catalina we wanted to go snorkeling so we did. It didn't cost a penny either. Had a blast!

In Ensenada you will be picked up at the ship by buses and taken over to the shopping areas.

On those buses they offer all the same tours at much less price and are very careful to get you back to the ship in more then enough time.

You will be on the same tour as the people on the ship only you will have paid much much less.

We did a city tour and our guide was Jesus. He was wonderful. So full of knowledge and was great about telling us where to shop and which streets/locations to stay away from that were not safe. Not that they would kill you there but that you could end up getting drunk and end up back at the ship with tattoos and teeth missing. But he was making a joke about that. They were more places that had topless/nude bars and things like that.

They were not taking anyone to the blowhole as they were having some kind of protesting going on up there and they didn't feel it was safe to bring tourist to.

But as far as running into anyone that didn't seem safe we had no problems with that. Everyone was super friendly there and very helpful.

So my advice is to get off the ship and have a great time.

Having different tastes (sometimes more discerning tastebuds) doesn't make one spoiled. Some of the food on Carnival (and some on each cruise line I've been on) is genuinely bad. It's all a matter of personal tastes, which comes down to opinion. But why you would think this makes the girls spoiled escapes me.

 

ETA: Read the OP a little closer - the specific foods you mentioned as not being liked by the girls are the ones she said they did enjoy.;)

 

 

 

I was in Brownies in the 1980's. We took a trip to King's Dominion and rode roller coasters all day. I don't think we were working on a badge. Just having fun together. I still have fond memories of that particular trip to an amusement park I had been to before and many times since. Not everything Girl Scouts do have to be about badges.:rolleyes:

Thanks for your post. The first person who understands. Seems like most people on here think if everyone doesn't love every cruise ship and trip they must be lying or something is wrong with them.

Many people in the MDR were complaining. In fact on the 3rd night the table next to us caused such a stink they got the head person to come talk to her and her guest.

So it wasn't just us and the other three people that were at our table.

Personally I find it hard to believe that the 11 people at our table all have such picky taste that EVERYONE found the food in there to be bad. I believe the food really wasn't good.

I wondered how this would go. I'm not surprised you had a bad time. Maybe next time take the girls camping.

What does this mean? Why were you not surprised? Have you been on this ship before?

We go camping often. But we also take a big trip once a year.

No I don't personally think a four night cruise is a big trip but the girls did as they had never been on a cruise before (except one girl).

So thanks for your input but we will continue to take our trips as long as the girls continue to want to and can earn the money to go.

"The adults did not drink as we were with girl scouts and it's not allowed"

 

Sounds like you should have ordered a few stiff drinks when nobody was looking. :D

 

I have had a couple bad things happen on a cruise but not as much as this.

 

"Other then the hamburgers, pizza and nachos we didn't enjoy anything they had to offer. So we ended up eating only a side dish and then getting a sandwich through room service.

 

Hated how the MDR served family style. There were 8 of us but we still had three women at our table with us. They felt the same was about the food. One night they had a side of mushrooms, one night several plates of tomatoes and cheese and one night only bread.

 

We weren't much better. Eating soup and dessert."

 

Sounds like you and the girls must have lost a lot of weight with all the food being bad. Did you complain at GS or just on here? I bet the girls had a blast as long as they didn't hear the adults sitting around complaining the whole trip.

No I don't even drink. One of the adults I went with does once in awhile but not a heavy drinker. I just brought up the drinking because I knew someone would say we should have had a few drinks to lighten up.

I have had a few things go bad on other ships too but like you, never had so many things as on this one.

I don't know if anyone lost weight but I doubt it. Hamburgers, pizza and sandwiches late night are not the best for losing weight. Plus when we were off the ship we ate good food.

No I didn't complain to girl scouts. Why would I? What do you expect them to do? I don't understand why you asked that.

I didn't complain while on the ship either. If you go back and read my post you will see we made the best of everything while on the ship. But that does not mean I wasn't disappointed in the cruise. You can be disappointed and still have a fun time.

Which ship did you sail on?

Imagination or the inspiration?

At the beginning of your post you say the inspiration but on your cruise list you have the imagination

Sorry I always get the two mixed up. We were on Imagination. The four night one that left on a Sunday and came back Thurs.

I wonder what badge the girls were working on during the cruise?? Otherwise if not .then I don't see the purpose of the trip?? I agree that 4night cruises are usually the "boozy" ones. It is hard to believe that there was no food the girls would eat.

 

Sorry it didn't work out. Maybe a camping trip would be better next time.

Please read my replies above as to what they learned. They did not work on a "Badge" but girl scouts is not only about badges. It's about so much more.

We go camping too. We do lots of things in our troop. We are very active. They always learn something on every trip we take. But, they also have lots of fun too.

This isn't a diss but I can't imagine girl scouts going on a cruise. Boy times have changed. My daughter was in girl scouts and we took them to a park for a picnic. She would have definitely migrated to your group.

My troop are teenage girls and every year we plan a trip to go on.

They have to do the planning, earn the money and learn something on each trip we go on.

We went to San Francisco two years ago. Last year we went to Washington DC and this year the plan was to go to Hawaii but they fell short of earning the money to go so the plans were switched to go on a cruise.

They didn't have enough for a long cruise or even to go to another state as that would mean they would have had to earn more money for the airfare and hotel for the night before the cruise.

They learn to plan, budget, reach goals or how to make changes when those goals are not met.

On this trip we learned about the Mexican country, history, food, customs and holidays.

In Catalina they learned about the different fish they saw while snorkeling. They also learned the history of Catalina as well as trivia like how the buffalo got on the island.

So each trip, while lots of fun, is also a learning experience.

However, it does take a lot of time and work and most leaders and troops are not willing to put in the effort it takes to go on these trips.

You would be surprised but some troops travel the world.

Next year we are going to New York and when they are about ready to leave high school we are going to Paris.

These trips also help the girls to want to stay in Girl Scouts as most girls drop out when they are teens as many people don't feel it's "cool" to be in girl scouts as a teen.

My troop is proud of being in girl scouts. They all do well in school and really live by the girl scouts rules of helping others, doing good deeds, respecting people and themselves. They are not perfect but they all do their best.

I'm very proud of these girls.

Short, cheap, 4 night cruises on older, smaller ships are not truly representative of the best that any cruise line has to offer, whether its Carnival, Royal, Princess, or any other. In addition, Carnival is a budget-minded cruise line. You can't go expecting Holland America, or even Royal Caribbean. You can have a great time on Carnival (we have, many times), but you need to go with REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS. That's why I cringe any time that someone recommends one of the older Fantasy class ships to a first timer as if they're about to sail on the Queen Mary 2 in a Queens Grill Suite! These recommendations set up the first timer for failure. :(

 

About the cabin beds not set up properly, some wear and tear throughout the ship, the quality of the food, the amateur entertainment, and even the whiff of sewage smell, these are all common complaints, but some people can easily overlook them, while others can't. If you are more discerning, and find it harder to overlook when things are less than perfect, Carnival may not be for you.

I have been on several ships before and never expected the Imagination to be like some of the higher class ships. I just expected it to be better then it was.

The beds not being set up wasn't that big of a deal. If you read my post you will see we just moved people around to fit the beds. I just expect that when you book three people to a room you would have three beds and the rooms that you book two should have two beds. I've never had a problem with the beds on any other cruise I've been on. I can understand them having the beds pushed together but with two girls in a room they should have made them into two beds rather then assume we were a couple because we traveled together.

Also, if you read my post you will see we did make the best of it. We did over look things and that is why we didn't complain. I was just letting others know what our trip was like so they would be ready for things that can/did happen.

Did any of the girls try Camp Ocean?

They had planned on going. We had all the paperwork filled out but we went by three times and either no one was there or the room was being used by little kids.

The girls finally decided they were happy just being together and didn't want to bother trying to get signed up any more so they skipped it.

The girls NEVER complained about the cruise. They all get along great and would be happy sitting in the room all night together talking and laughing.

Sorry I have not been back to reply to everyone but I've been super busy. I just read everyone's remarks, comments and had to laugh at how some of you just "assumed" things or changed my words around.

So, I'll try to respond to everyone here.

Isn't the Inspiration 4 day notorious for being the "Booze Cruise?" Not a cruise I would have taken a bunch of little girls on.

Gee, I don't really know if it's notorious for being a "booze cruise" but before I went I came on here and asked and was told it was more family that went on the four day trips.

We could not take a longer trip because we had to deal with the budget the girl scout troop had. Since they didn't earn enough to go on a longer trip the girls decided to go for the shorter one.

My complaints are not about this being a Booze Cruise any way. In fact, there were very few people who drank more then they should have.

Got back last week from taking my girl scout troop on their first cruise. We just did the 4 night one on Inspiration to Mexico.

I've been on several other cruise lines and loved each one. This was my first time on Carnival Cruise Line.

This was by far the worst ship! The worst trip!

We got three cabins. Each one had the worst smell of sewage in the bathrooms. So bad that it made you sick to go in there!

Our rooms were all mixed up with how many people in each room. They didn't have the beds made out right in some, in others we had extra beds taking all the room and in another one we didn't have an extra bed at all.

But, rather then complain, we made due and moved the people around to fit the rooms.

The food was so bad we couldn't decide where to eat. Not because we were trying to pick the best food but rather the least of the worst.

Other then the hamburgers, pizza and nachos we didn't enjoy anything they had to offer. So we ended up eating only a side dish and then getting a sandwich through room service.

Hated how the MDR served family style. There were 8 of us but we still had three women at our table with us. They felt the same was about the food. One night they had a side of mushrooms, one night several plates of tomatoes and cheese and one night only bread.

We weren't much better. Eating soup and dessert.

The entertainment on board wasn't great but it was entertaining and gave us something to do at night. However, they had only two shows and then they showed them over and over.

So we were left to listen to music or swim. Both got old before the trip was over.

The adults did not drink as we were with girl scouts and it's not allowed. Perhaps that is what one needs to do on this ship to make it fun???

While we were not really even looking forward to getting off the ship as it was only going to Catalina which is 26 miles from where we live and we have been there many times and to Ensenada which I heart was a dump.

However, both stops ended up being the highlight of our trip. The girls went snorkeling and then we went shopping in Catalina and had some yummy ice cream.

In Ensenada we had a blast! We didn't book an excursion on the ship as nothing sounded like it was worth the money. However, we did take a city tour and had the best tour guide, Jesus.

He took us to where the rich politicians lived and we had a lovely view of the whole city and our ship from up on the hill. He also taught us a lot of the Mexican customs, history and celebrations. We made a stop at an old casino that is now a location for celebrations.

When we got back we enjoyed a free buffet lunch that was included with the price of our tour. Then we headed off on foot to shops and thanks to Jesus we knew the streets to stay off of.

Everyone in Mexico was super nice and many joked around with us. We got wonderful deals and everyone came home with treasures.

The sea day on the ship turned out to be a very long day as there wasn't much to do. We had already done everything offered. But the girls wanted to go swimming once it got dark out. So I took them. The other adults ended up going to the Casino. One lost money but my sister ended up winning several hundreds of dollars. That of course made the trip a bit better.

The ship is old and needs to be updated. Several lights were burned out in the lounges, the sound system in some of the locations were so bad you couldn't even understand what was being said. Bingo cost $20 for ONE game!!!

Now I can only assume that other Carnival ships are better but to be honest, I'm not sure if I want to risk my money to try out an other ships. I already know I love the cruise lines so I'm thinking it's best to stick with tried and true ships that I know are nicer.

I was really hoping to love Carnival and went on this trip with an open mind.

Even most of the staff wasn't that friendly. Not mean or bad but not very friendly like other lines where they know your name after the first night and bend over backwards to make you happy. Many didn't smile, say thank you, your welcome or anything.

We went to a tea and I don't like tea so I asked for a glass of ice water. Well the way the guy acted was like I asked for a glass of gold. He rolled his eyes, made such a big deal that he had to go get it from the back. Then he took so long that we were all done with the food and everyone finished their tea.

I could go on and on but why? I think you get the idea. It wasn't up to par.

However, we still had lots of laughs and made the best of what we had to deal with.

It was the first cruise that I and the other adults was happy to see end. That's pretty sad.

I got a few price reductions for my upcoming cruise. They put it as an OBC. I will not be using it on board for anything. Tips are paid, don't gamble, don't drink, no excursions are being taken. Don't want any spa treatments.

So can I get cash to use at the locations we stop at?

Someone said something about getting cash out at the casino. What do I have to do in order to get the cash to use?

Thanks!

Do you play with cash while at the casino or do you still use the S/S card? Also, if you use cash, can you get cash from your OBC?

I have OBC from price reductions. Is there a way to get cash for that as I doubt I will use it on board.

Thanks!

Going on a short 4 night cruise to Ensenada Mexico this weekend. What's the dress code in the MDR?

Do people dress nice or do they wear jeans/shorts? I know there is one dress up night but I'm talking about the other nights.

Thanks you guys! You have all the answers and I love all the help that comes from this group!

Taking my girl scout troop on a cruise and was wondering what to tell them about how much to tip for room service. Can it be charged to the room or do they have to pay that in cash only?

Thank you everyone!