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

[spacepotatoes]

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

 

Thank you! Sorry about the delayed response, I'm blaming it on Canadian Thanksgiving ;) I'm glad the review and pics were helpful. Have a fantastic cruise!

[cruiseclues]

Thanks for your photo review and your comparison. :):):):)

[cjdixon4]

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

 

 

Hey, can you tell me where your luggage was held while you did the post-cruise tour?

[spacepotatoes]

Hey, can you tell me where your luggage was held while you did the post-cruise tour?

 

It was all stored on the bus.

[cooncat_mom]

Thank you for the excellent review. The Imagination is an evil, evil ship! In 2009, DD & I did this ship & itinerary, and it hooked us on cruising!! The ship, although small, is by and large delightful, there was a good mix of newbies and repeaters (and quite a few had done this ship and itinerary 3 times or more!), the ports are friendly and easily do-able even without excursions; and like you, we enjoyed it so much. Thanks for bringing back great memories!

[mikel24m]

Great review thanks for posting !!

 

We just booked the Imagination to Key West and Cozumel. You sold me on the behind the fun tour :) We were just at Mr Sanchos in October and I think this is what we will be doing in Cozumel

 

We have been on a lot of cruises but never a short one so we don't know what to expect, trying to cram so many things in and not miss anything

[Socref124]

 

 

 

Comparison with NCL: The biggest difference was in the dining. We prefer NCL's Freestyle approach to Carnival's Your Time Dining. They really are not the same.

 

OK, it's been a long time since we did NCL, 10 years this October. When we were on NCL I think Freestyle was just getting started. There were several specialty restaurants but I thought the main dinning room was traditional with set times. What is better with Freestyle than ATD?

When we were on NCL you had to have a reservation for a specialty restaurant. No reservation, they would set you up with one but you couldn't eat right away even if the restaurant was half empty. We just started doing ATD and prefer it to set times. So what is the difference?

I appeciate your help.:D

[Socref124]

Now that we've tried YTD with Carnival, I'm kind of tempted to try fixed dining to see if it's that much better. The only thing holding me back is that we'd really prefer to have a table for two and I don't think they can guarantee that with fixed seating.

 

Getting a table for two is easy. When making your reservatiion with a Carnival PVP or your travel agent, just tell them you want a table for two at whichever dinning time you choose. Then, when you board your ship, go to the Maitre d and ask about your table. If it isn't a table for two ask for one. If it is a table for two, no problem.

You can usually talk with the Maitre d in the main dinning room starting around 1:30 on embarkation day.

DW and I prefer to be seated at six tops so we can meet different people. :D

[spacepotatoes]

OK, it's been a long time since we did NCL, 10 years this October. When we were on NCL I think Freestyle was just getting started. There were several specialty restaurants but I thought the main dinning room was traditional with set times. What is better with Freestyle than ATD?

When we were on NCL you had to have a reservation for a specialty restaurant. No reservation, they would set you up with one but you couldn't eat right away even if the restaurant was half empty. We just started doing ATD and prefer it to set times. So what is the difference?

I appeciate your help.:D

 

These days, you can make reservations for the specialties but on the majority of ships, it's not an absolute necessity unless you want to go to Teppanyaki. On Epic and Breakaway, I'd say it's better to have reservations.

 

We prefer the Freestyle setup because they have a lot more tables for two or four, rather than mostly tables for larger groups like ships with traditional dining. These tables are spread out throughout the MDRs, just like they would be in a regular restaurant. On Carnival (and on HAL, where we had the open seating option last year), most of the 2-tops are within inches of each other so there is not much privacy. Also, because NCL is completely Freestyle, you can go to either dining room. On the other lines, you're restricted to the one designated for Anytime Dining and those seats are limited.

 

Getting a table for two is easy. When making your reservatiion with a Carnival PVP or your travel agent, just tell them you want a table for two at whichever dinning time you choose. Then, when you board your ship, go to the Maitre d and ask about your table. If it isn't a table for two ask for one. If it is a table for two, no problem.

You can usually talk with the Maitre d in the main dinning room starting around 1:30 on embarkation day.

DW and I prefer to be seated at six tops so we can meet different people. :D

 

Thanks, we'll keep that in mind for a future cruise! Our Liberty itinerary has some late port days so we're sticking with YTD for this one.

[spacepotatoes]

Great review thanks for posting !!

 

We just booked the Imagination to Key West and Cozumel. You sold me on the behind the fun tour :) We were just at Mr Sanchos in October and I think this is what we will be doing in Cozumel

 

We have been on a lot of cruises but never a short one so we don't know what to expect, trying to cram so many things in and not miss anything

 

Have a great time! :D

 

The cruise felt short for us because we were laid up that one night, so we felt like we missed out on part of it. When we did the 4 day on the Sky, it was fine. Just don't get sick ;)

[mikel24m]

These days, you can make reservations for the specialties but on the majority of ships, it's not an absolute necessity unless you want to go to Teppanyaki. On Epic and Breakaway, I'd say it's better to have reservations.

 

We prefer the Freestyle setup because they have a lot more tables for two or four, rather than mostly tables for larger groups like ships with traditional dining. These tables are spread out throughout the MDRs, just like they would be in a regular restaurant. On Carnival (and on HAL, where we had the open seating option last year), most of the 2-tops are within inches of each other so there is not much privacy. Also, because NCL is completely Freestyle, you can go to either dining room. On the other lines, you're restricted to the one designated for Anytime Dining and those seats are limited.

 

 

 

Thanks, we'll keep that in mind for a future cruise! Our Liberty itinerary has some late port days so we're sticking with YTD for this one.

 

If you need any ideas for ports or any questions about the Liberty we cruised pre and post 2.0 and not sure if your doing eastern or western but we have done Western on Conquest class ships 4 or 5 times and we have some good private tour operators :)

[spacepotatoes]

If you need any ideas for ports or any questions about the Liberty we cruised pre and post 2.0 and not sure if your doing eastern or western but we have done Western on Conquest class ships 4 or 5 times and we have some good private tour operators :)

 

Thank you! We're doing the Eastern. I'm looking into Godfrey's Tours in St. Thomas, plus shopping on our own. San Juan will be exploring on our own. Still trying to decide about Grand Turk. This will be our first time doing any of the Eastern ports, we're excited!

[mikel24m]

Thank you! We're doing the Eastern. I'm looking into Godfrey's Tours in St. Thomas, plus shopping on our own. San Juan will be exploring on our own. Still trying to decide about Grand Turk. This will be our first time doing any of the Eastern ports, we're excited!

 

We have done this itinerary too.We rarely do ship excursions but if you can afford it I would for sure take a look at the champagne catamaran to St. John through Carnival ,I think it was $89 pp when we did it .They take you via bus to a nice catamaran ,you sail over to St. John ,have snorkel and beach time on an almpst empty beautiful island and on the way back they have unlimited rum punch/champagne and cheese/ bread/crackers.Its was one of our favorite excursions ever

 

San Juan what we did was walk off the ship and they have a bunch of tour operators. The further you walk the cheaper they get. We paid $10 pp for a tour and they dropped us off in town to look around and shop/eat then we walked back to the ship

 

Grand Turk This is another cheap day. We did http://www.jacksshack.tc

 

Its a little hike up the beach but its a nice little beach bar husband and wife owned/operated with nice cheap strong drinks ,great jerk chicken and away from all the crowds from Margaritaville.Their is a free shot coupon on the website to print out if you decide to go :) Have fun