Freestyle Fans Try a Funship: Imagination Review 1/2 - 1/6/2012

[spacepotatoes]

Since we missed out on getting portraits on Elegant Night, we decided we’d try for some tonight if we could. We got all dressed up, though I didn’t wear my Elegant Night dress. In any case, we made it to the MDR when it opened this time and were able to get a table for two. Kind of. It sat two, but we were inches away from a family of 5 and right up against the waiter’s station so it was anything but private. I have to say, this is a really frustrating aspect of MDR dining on Carnival. I understand why it is this way but I’m not a fan of the set up. We made the best of it every time we ate there but it wasn’t comfortable, and I wish we didn’t have to make do. This is the one area where NCL completely stands out above their competition.

 

Our wait team tonight was ok, probably the friendliest we’d had out of all of them but that’s not saying much, unfortunately. Service was still pretty slow and again took just under two hours. To start, DH had the chopped handpicked field greens and I made the regrettable decision to try crab cakes for the first time. Now, I’d never had crab cakes before so I had nothing to compare this to but I do know a few things about sea food. One of those things is that if it smells fishy, it’s probably not good. I could smell this app coming so that should have been my first clue. It also tasted fishy, which probably should have been my second clue. I ate as much as I could of it, but it just didn’t seem right.

 

DH and I both had the bourbon and honey glazed roasted spring chicken for the main. This was very good, we both liked it. DH especially liked the pave potatoes that it came with. I liked the grilled veggies. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the smell/taste of those crab cakes out of my system so I only managed to eat half of my main course. In reading people’s reviews, they always mention how accommodating the servers are and if they see that you haven’t touched your food, they make sure there’s nothing wrong or offer you something else. Our servers didn’t even bat an eye. Just removed it and took our dessert order, no concern or questions asked. I’m not even sure they noticed, to be honest. Realistically, it’s not like there’s anything they could have done. I wouldn’t have been able to eat anything else anyway. And I know that with YTD, you don’t get that same rapport with the servers but this just seems to me like a basic level of service that should exist, regardless. Even in land based restaurants, the server will ask about it when they see half of your meal still left on your plate.

 

For dessert, DH had the Baked Alaska. Apparently, he’d never had it before and didn’t know what it was so he ordered it out of curiosity. He didn’t really like it. There was nothing wrong with it, it just wasn’t to his taste. I told him he could have just asked me what it was and I’d have told him not to order it. Men, sometimes :rolleyes: I just wanted something light so went with the tropical fruit plate.

 

It was almost 8 at this point and we had a tight schedule so we were off and running. First stop was the Fun Shops. They’d been giving away raffle tickets, one for every $50 spent in the shops, for a chance to win $100 of spending money in the shops. Since I’d make a purchase earlier that got me 2 tickets, I wanted to see if I was a winner. Sadly, no. Shocking, I know! :D

 

From there, we booked it to the Xanadu Lounge for the family friendly comedy show. We got there a little late but people were very good about sharing booths where there was room. Our fellow passengers really were a great bunch this week! We caught the last bit of Carl Rimi’s act and just as we thought from the first night, he was terrible. We might have missed something from his act on Key West night so maybe we just didn’t “get it,” but he was not at all funny to us. He kept repeating that his life was a shambles and he was clearly not feeling well, so it was kind of uncomfortable to watch. Eddie Capone followed him and was much, much better. Apparently, Eddie has performed on all of the ships in the fleet and it does show that he is a seasoned performer.

 

I think the comedy finished up at about 8:30. The production show wasn’t scheduled to start until 8:45 so we figured hey, good time to squeeze in some portraits! We had to walk along the Promenade to get back to the Dynasty Lounge anyway and that’s where the backgrounds were set up so it worked out. We posed for two different backgrounds but only one of them ended up being purchase-worthy. The set taken by Josipa were great. She was a real pleasure to work with. They didn’t have anyone doing portraits on the stairs but we took what we could get!

 

In the Dynasty Lounge, the show was Shout. It was really similar in concept to a show we saw on the Norwegian Sky called Soul Rockin’ Nights, though the execution was a bit different and the production more elaborate. It was a fun show. They had a bit of a technical problem with the set that caused a delay in the middle of it so the show ran a bit late.

 

The adult comedy show started at 9:45, so we had to take off a little bit early and make our way back to the Xanadu Lounge. Eddie Capone was up first this time, thankfully. He does adult humour the way it should be done – adult topics discussed with humour. Not a lot of unnecessary cursing just because he can and not being raunchy just because he can. Those things are usually not funny. We had two favourite bits of his, one was The Sopranos meets Carnival Cruise Lines to bring you mafia style cruising, onboard the Carnival Assassination. He became a mafia style cruise director and they played the mood music in the background as he read off the day’s activities onboard the Assassination. It was really well done. The other one was a dig at the Phillipino crew and their tendency to flip the “f” and “p” sounds when they speak English. He had this whole thing about getting a “farking ticket” that turned into a huge tongue twister. I just hope he gets along well with the Phillipino crew members, because otherwise, he better have kept a close eye on his drinks after that! :eek:;)

 

We didn’t bother to stay for Carl Rimi’s act. He promised he was “way better dirty” but we didn’t care to find out! We went to check out our portraits instead since they were ready by now. They were running a special on this night where you got 4 free wallets when you bought the 8 x 10. We took advantage of that.

 

Finally, it was time to head back to our cabin and start packing. If you’re at all familiar with the layout of this ship, you’ll know that we just spent the evening going from midship all the way forward, then all the way aft, back to forward, aft again, then back to the atrium. I wasn’t kidding when I said we hit the ship running! We were really determined to get the most out of those last few hours.

 

While we were packing, I decided it would be a good idea to get a printout of our account to double check. I headed back up, saw the long line at Guest Services and kept on walking. There are two kiosks (that I knew of) where you could check your S&S account yourself. The one in the atrium also had a line but there’s another one on the Promenade, somewhere near the Formalities shop. I made my way up there and found that the ship was in full party mode. There was salsa going on and people were dancing up a storm. I don’t know where they go the energy, maybe they had the same motivation we did earlier! It looked like a lot of fun, but I was ready to get some sleep since we had to meet for our excursion at 7:45 the next morning. I didn’t end up sleeping much that night, I wasn’t looking forward to having to go home!

 

Our last towel animal:

 

 

Last Towel Animal by adomokos, on Flickr

 

 

Tomorrow: Disembarking and The South Beach Experience excursion

[Almost Packed]

Thanks, Almost Packed :)

 

While I work on the last part for today, the DH wanted me to be sure to tell you all that he loved the free lemonade at the buffet. On NCL, iced tea is the only option. Up here in the Great White North (ok, Great Rainy North at the moment), our iced tea is sweetened so the stuff on the ships does not appeal to us at all. I found the lemonade a bit too sweet, actually, but the DH just loved it.

 

i'm a southern girl, and we like our ice tea sweet too. but i can't stand the "fake" tea that have on the Carnival ships-out of the fountains. so i usually will grab a tea bag and steep my own. then by using splenda, i can sweeten my tea. splenda dissolves super easily and then i have a perfect glass of fresh "brewed" sweet tea. i carry my mug on board with me and have ice tea all the time.

 

Did NCL have brewed tea or was it tea out of the "soda fountain" ?

[GranysT]

Thanks spacepotatos, really enjoying your review. I especially liked your grouping all your pics together. I just read another review where they also had that option, and I really really like it. Having to click on every picture one by one, is tiring and time consuming. Being able to enjoy them all at once is terrific. Glad you had a great cruise.

[spacepotatoes]

I'm sorry everyone, I haven't been feeling too well these last couple of days :( My body just can't seem to decide whether it is sick or not. I will try to finish up later tonight or tomorrow.

 

i'm a southern girl, and we like our ice tea sweet too. but i can't stand the "fake" tea that have on the Carnival ships-out of the fountains. so i usually will grab a tea bag and steep my own. then by using splenda, i can sweeten my tea. splenda dissolves super easily and then i have a perfect glass of fresh "brewed" sweet tea. i carry my mug on board with me and have ice tea all the time.

 

Did NCL have brewed tea or was it tea out of the "soda fountain" ?

 

We've tried adding sweetener to it, too. NCL has the fountain stuff, very similar to Carnival.

 

Thanks spacepotatos, really enjoying your review. I especially liked your grouping all your pics together. I just read another review where they also had that option, and I really really like it. Having to click on every picture one by one, is tiring and time consuming. Being able to enjoy them all at once is terrific. Glad you had a great cruise.

 

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures and review :)

[spacepotatoes]

FRIDAY: DISEMBARKATION

 

Well, this it, our last couple of hours onboard :( Our spring break cruise last March was the same length and it felt satisfying but this one really felt too short. We weren’t ready to go home yet! Because we had to meet our excursion group early, we were up disgustingly early (6:30 AM on vacation? Yuck!) and made it to the buffet just as it opened. It was not busy at all, I think we were one of the first ones there. Next time, we might consider room service instead but we didn’t know that room service was available on disembarkation morning. Turns out, it is! The buffet was similar to the previous day - eggs were still runny and the bacon was still greasy. There was a breakfast quiche, though, that was really tasty. While we ate, we watched the sun come up over the aft of the ship as we pulled back into the Port of Miami.

 

Our flight home wasn't until 3:30 so we had booked a post-cruise excursion through Carnival. As instructed on our tickets, we went to meet at the Mirage Piano Bar at 7:45. We found a lot of other people waiting already, but no Carnival staff around. Eventually, someone came and handed out stickers but still gave no instructions or direction. That person came back again later and led us off the ship as a large group. I think we were among the first group of people off. But again, no instructions as to where to go or what to do once off the ship. Shore side staff told us where to go when we asked them. This could have been better organized. Aside from that, disembarkation was very easy. We took our luggage with us so we didn't have to worry about baggage claim, which we heard got backed up as some people were late getting onto our bus because they were stuck waiting for their bags.

 

On the bus, we were grouped with the people going to Jungle Island and being dropped off at FLL. When I heard that, I got a little nervous about how this was supposed to work but it all turned out fine. The Jungle Island group was dropped off at the park first, then we continued on to South Beach. Our guide, Juan Carlos, was perfect. He loves his hometown and is very knowledgeable about its history. We had a narrated tour as we drove into South Beach, this took about half an hour. Once we reached Ocean Drive, we were dropped off and had three full hours to walk around and do whatever we wanted. I was expecting more time on the bus so this was a very pleasant surprise! It was a beautiful morning, easily the best weather we’d had on the entire trip, so we totally loved this. We walked along Ocean Drive for a while and then back to the drop off point along Collins Ave. We checked out the beach, did some hopping, and had a quick deli lunch before getting back on the bus. We headed back to pick up the rest of the group at Jungle Island, then we were on our way to the airport.

 

 

South Beach by adomokos, on Flickr

 

 

House of Versace by adomokos, on Flickr

 

 

Ocean Drive II by adomokos, on Flickr

 

 

Tropical Deco by adomokos, on Flickr

[spacepotatoes]

The bus dropped us at MIA at 1:30, then continued on to FLL. When you book this excursion, the Carnival description says that it’s recommended for people with flights after 2:30 out of MIA. I’d say if your flight actually is around 2:30-3:00, this is cutting it too close. Our flight was at 3:30 and even we were pressed for time, partially due to our own poor coordination and partially due to the ridiculous setup at MIA.

 

We had been wearing shorts and t-shirts for the morning but didn’t want to wear those home. Detroit isn’t quite as warm as South Beach :eek:;)! We decided to change when we got the airport and packed away our morning clothes. We weighed our suitcase and realized we were now a bit overweight, so we had to do some rearranging. This part was our fault, totally. We should have just changed on the plane or layered or something. We headed up to check in and drop our bags just before 2:00. What came next was totally poor organization on the part of MIA.

 

At any other airport I’ve ever been to, the check in area for international flights has been separate from the domestic check in. Not so at MIA! And when you have a plane load of people about to fly to Amsterdam at the same time that a plane load of people is flying to Detroit, this results in a very long, very slow moving line. People on the Amsterdam flight had tons of luggage to drop off and it was taking forever to get anywhere. Checking in was easy since there were plenty of kiosks available. I think people just didn’t realize that they had to do that because the line for baggage drop was winding past the kiosks and with no signage for them, it was hard to tell that the kiosks had nothing to do with the line. I felt really bad for people who’d been standing in that line for a while when an agent asked to check their boarding pass and they realized that they had to go get one.

 

At 2:40, we were STILL in that line and hadn’t gotten far. Our flight was supposed to start boarding at 2:50, so we were more than a little stressed at this point! An agent finally called our flight and pulled us out to the front of the line so that we could get to security. We made it to the gate just as they started calling boarding zones. It was a very nerve wracking process but it all worked out. I've read here that logistics as MIA are poor but I never knew what people meant by that. Totally get it now! Next time we have to fly out of MIA, we’ll be much better prepared for this.

 

So that brings me to end of our cruise play-by-play. All in all, we had a really good time and enjoyed the new experience that Carnival was for us. Coming up later on today, I will be posting some miscellaneous thoughts/comments and some more comparisons with NCL that didn’t fit into my review.

 

Thanks again for reading along :)

[Almost Packed]

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. Loved the info regarding the Carnival excursion at the end. that's a great insight.

 

Great pics too btw.

 

 

thanks again!

[4lifeinnh]

Great review spacepotatoes! My elderly mom and I want a 4-5 day cruise in April but ncl doesn't offer one except to Bahamas. So we're looking at the imagination. You don't say much about the ship itself. Did you spend any time on the serenity deck? Did you think the ship looked worn out? Was your stateroom clean?

Would you sail her again or do you prefer ncl?

Thanks for the input and thanks for the detailed review!

[spacepotatoes]

Great review spacepotatoes! My elderly mom and I want a 4-5 day cruise in April but ncl doesn't offer one except to Bahamas. So we're looking at the imagination. You don't say much about the ship itself. Did you spend any time on the serenity deck? Did you think the ship looked worn out? Was your stateroom clean?

Would you sail her again or do you prefer ncl?

Thanks for the input and thanks for the detailed review!

 

I touched on a couple of these a bit in my review but I will talk more about the ship itself in my general comments. Hoping to get those posted soon!

 

To address your specific questions:

 

The only time we really got to spend on Serenity was embarkation day. Other than that, there were either no available loungers or it was just too windy and we stayed in. I think it was Cozumel morning that we were looking for loungers and couldn't get any. There are chairs in Serenity, though, that are up against the wall underneat the Lido overhang so they are shady all day. There were lots of those still available but we didn't want them.

 

The ship looked like it was great shape! The decor is dated but everything is in very good condition. We loved our stateroom and our steward always kept it spotless.

 

We prefer the whole Freestyle approach that NCL has but that would certainly not prevent us from sailing Carnival again. It sounds like you are comparing this to the NCL Sky. We've sailed that ship too and they are very similar but if we had to choose which one to do again, we'd probably go with the Imagination. The itinerary is just more interesting. Carnival in general has a lot more short itineraries to choose from. We'd love to do the Sky again but the itinerary is not that exciting.

[spacepotatoes]

Great review! Just did a b2b on the Imagination in December and have booked another for April. Did you see Desi the bartender at the Atrium bar? She rocked. :)

 

Sorry, cruisin*tigger, I just realized I missed your question! We didn't get anything from the atrium bar so I don't know if Desi was there.

[spacepotatoes]

There are several things that didn't really fit any one particular place in my review that I wanted to make sure I covered so I'm just going to throw those in here!

 

Embarkation - I already mentioned that NCL doesn't have the kiosks and that they take the ship card photo before you get onboard. There's one more difference that we noticed, that we thought NCL actually did better. When you step onto an NCL ship, there is music playing and there are crew members gathered around dancing, clapping, and welcoming you onboard. It's a really energetic, upbeat, fun way to start a vacation and sets a great tone for the cruise. We missed that on Carnival.

 

Buffet Layout - My review mentioned that we found the buffet layout confusing. We got used to it by the end of the cruise but we still disliked it. They have the salad bar in the middle of the buffet area and then other stations scattered in various places around the room. In between the different stations are the tables. Because of this layout, no matter where you are seated (unless you're outside), you are beside a walkway and there is a constant flow of traffic by your table. I know buffets aren't meant to be a relaxing place to eat but it is kind of irritating to constantly have someone walking right by, especially when people stop and chat right there so you've got their behinds right over your food. :rolleyes: I can't speak for the entire NCL fleet but on both ships we've been on, they had much better traffic flow. All of the action stations were concentrated in the centre and there were seating sections along the sides, so there was better separation.

 

Toiletries - there was a thread recently about the "Toiletry Roulette" on Carnival so I thought I'd share what goodies we found in our bowl. There were two samples of Arm & Hammer toothpaste, a pack of Ludens throat lozenges, a couple of Splenda packets, and two Jergens lotion samples.

 

Showtime in the MDR- I totally forgot to mention the crew performing during dinner! I was really looking forward to this because NCL doesn't do anything like this. On the first night, we were seated just before showtime and it was pretty amusing to have a waiter say "I'll be back to take your order. First, I have to dance!" :D They did "Low" that night. It was alright. On the last night, they did "Leaving Our Fun Ship" which was cheesy but really nice. I like this tradition! NCL has their own farewell song that they do during the Farewell variety show on the last night but they don't do it on every sailing.

Sea Sick Meds - on Cozumel morning, the first timer couple that sat with us at breakfast mentioend that they got sea sick meds from the Front Desk the previous night. It was a small packet of Meclizine and they were charged $3. Just in case anyone's curious what the going rate is.

 

Smoking - We noticed smoke more on this cruise than on our previous two. About two days in, we figured out why...we kept crossing the Lido on the smoking side :rolleyes: Once we trained ourselves to walk on the other side, problem solved! We also noticed it sometimes while were sitting in the Promenade but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from, maybe the Casino? It wasn't a huge deal, we're just not used to it. I have no problem at all with people smoking in designated areas, I'd just move if it bothered me. But Carnival might want to consider some better air filtration in that area since it does tend to linger. We smelled it once in our stateroom hallway as well, on the first or second day, but never again after that so someone must have pointed out that it's a no-no to smoke in your stateroom now. I think that before all of the mass market lines changed their policies, NCL was a bit stricter about it in indoor spaces. That might be why we didn't really notice it.

 

There are a few more things I want to comment on but I didn't write these up in advance and I need a break :) I'll finish this up tomorrow. These are the things I was planning to address:

 

- atmosphere/dress code vs. NCL

- officers/senior managers around the ship

- food comparison with NCL

- photographers compared with NCL

- entertainment compared with NCL

- ship layout and condition in general

 

Let me know if there's anything else you want to know about!

[teetee6263]

Thanks for the great review & especially for including the South Beach Experience. I'm trying to decide if I want to do this since our return flight isn't until 9pm out of FLL & haven't heard much about it. The only things that trouble me are the 7:45 disembarkation & that I will still have approx 7 hrs to kill.

[spacepotatoes]

Thanks for the great review & especially for including the South Beach Experience. I'm trying to decide if I want to do this since our return flight isn't until 9pm out of FLL & haven't heard much about it. The only things that trouble me are the 7:45 disembarkation & that I will still have approx 7 hrs to kill.

 

If your flight is that late, it may be worthwhile to just rent a car for the day and return it at FLL when you're ready. If you go to South Beach, though, it may be tough to find a place to park unless you get there fairly early.

[spacepotatoes]

Ok, let's get this thing done, shall we? :D

 

Hair dryers - Totally forgot to mention this when I was writing about our stateroom. There are no hair dryers in the cabins on this ship. I didn't know this so I called Guest Services to ask about it and they said I had to request one from our room steward. It would be delivered when I needed it. I asked Ketut for one when he came to introduce himself before muster and it was in our room by the time we'd returned to get ready for dinner. Ketut left it there for the week, so it was not an issue. Just strange to have to call for one.

 

Atmosphere/Dress Code vs. NCL - In general, both lines have a fairly casual atmosphere. What I found interesting was that NCL has a more relaxed dress code, on paper, compared to Carnival but onboard, Carnival passengers are more casual. For the record, what people wear around the ship or to the MDR for meals doesn't really bother me (except baseball hats at the table, I'll admit that's a pet peeve) nor does it affect my experience. It just seems silly that Carnival has a policy, they even put up a sign at the MDR entrance every day saying that proper attire is required, but they can't be bothered to enforce it.

 

Officers/Senior Management Around the Ship - I've read several reviews by people who tried NCL for the first time and were pleasantly surprised to see officers around the ship, interacting with the passengers. On our Sky cruise, the Hotel Director was on the gangway when we came back from port welcoming everyone back on. The Food and Beverage manager would come around the MDRs and see how things were going. We didn't see officers doing this on Carnival but there were several occasions that we did notice managers in the buffet, keeping an eye on things, checking in with the staff, and occasionally helping to bus tables or whatever was needed.

 

Food - I have to agree with what most of the comments on these boards say about food between Carnival and NCL. We had no issues with the quality of the food on Carnival (except those crab cakes :eek:) but NCL is a bit better when it comes to the buffet. In the MDR, Carnival has the edge for us. There were always options that interested us and they were more tasty. NCL can sometimes be bland in the MDR. The desserts, as I mentioned earlier, were more consistently good on Carnival as well. We missed having the specialty dining options, so we'd like to try a ship with the steak house sometime.

 

Photographers - I briefly touched on this at the start of my review, but it was something that held true for the entire cruise. The photographers were always professional and never pushy. We actually enjoyed stopping for photos because it was so relaxed. On NCL, they can be very aggressive and can make it really difficult to get off the ship in port without posing with one of their tacky mascots. We didn't miss that at all! Both of our families have said that the portrait we took on this cruise is their favourite of the three.

 

Entertainment - The type of entertainment and activities were very similar between the two lines but on Carnival, it felt like there was a lot more of it. There always seemed to be something going on and the entertainment staff had a really good rapport with the passengers, they were fun to watch. We loved the Punchliner comedy club, NCL doesn't have anything like this. They do have comedians, and some ships have The Second City improv (which is awesome), but it's not the same. The one production show we got to see was more elaborate than a similar show we saw on NCL but it's hard to really compare since we only saw the one. NCL didn't have as much of a cheese factor, though ;)

 

Ship Layout/Condition - Considering that this ship debuted in 1995 and was last refurbished in 2007 (thanks, Wikipedia!), it is in excellent condition. The decor is dated but no obvious signs of wear and tear, and the crew was always working on something. There was some painting going on one day and one of the windows in the Promenade got replaced on another. We also really liked the layout. It was always easy to get where we wanted to go. On the Sky, we often had to go up or down one deck, then back up or down to get to some places. I'm not sure we ever completely figured it out! I really liked the Water Works, and I'm disappointed that I never got to try the water slide. They closed it on the sea day because of the wind :(. The only thing we didn't like was that there was no deck where you could completely walk around the ship, outside.

 

Overall, we had a great time and would love to cruise Carnival again. The Victory does my dream itinerary and I've got my eye on the Valor for this same time next year. One way or another, I'm sure we'll be back. Yes, there were some things we felt NCL did better but none of them are deal breakers. We just love cruising and right now, both of these lines fit what we're looking for in a good cruise experience :)

[Noreno]

Thank you so much for your detail review I truly enjoyed it. Also awesome pictures. I love your Flickr. You have a good eye for art. We are now more excited for our cruise after reading your review whoohoo!!!

[spacepotatoes]

Thank you so much for your detail review I truly enjoyed it. Also awesome pictures. I love your Flickr. You have a good eye for art. We are now more excited for our cruise after reading your review whoohoo!!!

 

Aw, thank you! I'm glad it was useful. Have a fantastic cruise :D

[tweetylori]

Well, it took me pretty darn forever, but I finally found your awesome review! THANKS! So entertaining! We did have completely different experiences at times, but isn't that what cruising is all about?

[Rottweiler Puppy]

Awesome review. Very balanced and easy to follow. Thanks for taking your time to post it.

[Rottweiler Puppy]

I forgot to mention, your username reminds me of this.

[cruisingbajan]

Nice review. We are considering doing this identical cruise in August.

 

Any tips or tricks?:)

 

Thanks

[newdestination]

I enjoyed your very well written review. Thank you for taking time to write it!

[KirkWN737]

Thanks so much for the great review. The wife and I are thinking about taking an Imagination cruise in late 2012 or early 2013. Since it's so close and we had a great time on her back in 2008. Thanks again!

[spacepotatoes]

Thanks, everyone! I'm glad you enjoyed it :)

 

Well, it took me pretty darn forever, but I finally found your awesome review! THANKS! So entertaining! We did have completely different experiences at times, but isn't that what cruising is all about?

 

You bet! It's so interesting to see how things change from one week to the next.

[spacepotatoes]

I forgot to mention, your username reminds me of this.

 

LOL! I've never seen that one before.

 

Nice review. We are considering doing this identical cruise in August.

 

Any tips or tricks?:)

 

Thanks

 

Here are a couple that I can think of right now:

 

• The Behind the Fun tour is awesome! If interested, sign up as soon as you board since space is limited.
  
• Caesar salad exists, just behind the pizza counter where you can't see it!
  
• Avoid peak times in the dining room if you have Your Time Dining. If you want to see the waiters sing/dance, you need to be in there around 7. I'm guessing they do the late routine around 9, but not sure.
  
• If you want to check your onboard account, avoid lines at Guest Services by using the kiosks. They're big blue ATM-looking things, one in the atrium and one on Promenade. There might be more, those are just the ones I found.
  

[Avril]

Lido II by adomokos, on Flickr

 

 

Atrium by adomokos, on Flickr

 

I just wanted to say, thanks for your review and pics!! :D I love your pics, awesome!! :D I'm taking my boyfriend on his 1st cruise on the Imagination and these are perfect to show him what the ship looks like (love the new pool area and atrium bar)!! :D The last time I was on Imagination was my 1st cruise in 2003 and it's so cool to see all the changes they've made in the years since!! Thanks again, I really appreciate it!!!! :D