Imagination Review 08/27 (post Isaac)

[hftmrock]

This will probably be a long post so bear with me. There is the good, the bad and the ugly. I will try to remember most and will answer any questions anyone has

 

Embarkation - this was as much of a nightmare as it could be. Partly due to Hurricane Isaac and partly due to Carnival. We recieved email, texts and calls telling us that the ship will start letting people on from 4:30 - 7:30pm instead of 11am - 3:30 and we will depart at 8:00pm. this was sent on Sunday. We understood this and knew there would be some changes and expected this. They also said they are switching the itinerary from key west --> Cozumel to Cozumel --> Key West. The times were similar so it really didnt affect anything. Then Monday morning we get a text that told us that the docks had to be inspected and that was not going to happen until 2pm on Monday so the embarkation would be delayed and they are not sure how long. By 2:30pm we called and they did not have an answer. By about 3:30 we called the Port of Miami and said everything was fine and the Imagination was set to dock at 4:30. We called Carnival for an answer about it and they actually told us that embarkation would begin at 4:30pm (the old news). I told her several times that she is definately incorrect and it took a while for her to believe me enough to check with the someone who would know and she confirmed that I was correct and they would not embark at 4:30 but still had no time. Since we knew the ship was docking at about 4:30, we took a chance and got there about 6pm. On the way we got a text saying that embarkation would begin at 8:00pm - 11:30pm and we would sail at midnight. We were also told we would get a $25 credit per person for dinner since it would be so late. When we got there, the line had several hundred people and we asked if there was a VIP line and they told us the VIP line was inside and everyone was on the same line outside. So, we got to the end of the line and waited. I overheard some people talking about being VIP and was told to ask at the front of the line to see if there was another line. On a hunch I followed them to listen to the conversation (making sure my family stayed in the line). The same guy that told me there was only one line on the outside of the port checked with someone else and they told this other family to stay in the front of the area and as soon as the VIP area started to move they would go inside. Well, I looked straight at the guy who tole me to go to the end of the line and questioned him and he told us that we should come up too because he will make sure we went on the VIP line as well when it was available. By about 8:00 there was about 20 people waiting for the VIP line to free up and no one had started going on the ship yet. The problem was that they were still having people leaving the ship from the last cruise. To make matters much worse, the people that missed their flights had to get off the ship and go back into the port (pushing their way through the line) and get vouchers for a hotel stay. There were easily a few hundred people going through the lines getting vouchers and coming back out (the same 1 door) with all their luggage. This continued until about 9:15pm. Then one of the Carnival people started shouting that if you want to be let on, you have to get on the regular line and no one would be admitted without being on that line. The people that were told to wait up front for VIP boarding were quite upset and when they started questioning him he backed off of this for the VIP people. By 9:30pm they started letting people in. The VIP people in front of us made a b-line to another door and we followed them. It was quite a mad house and people were lined up for hours and were really pissed off. Once we got passed the doors we got in the VIP lounge pretty quickly and was on the ship before 10:00pm. I really felt bad for the people on the line that probably waited a few more hours to get onto the ship. We were sitting down to dinner in the dining room at around 10:00 and we could start to relax. My BIL had a tank top on and they told him that he couldnt wear it in the dining room. He had another short in his bag so while he was a little annoyed he did put on a sleeved shirt. 15 minutes later they changed that policy since everyone was outside in the hot sun and they let anyone in the dining room no matter how they were dressed which pissed off my BIL... but we were on and ready to try to enjoy the vacation. Also - while we recieved a letter stating they were refunding 1 day (pro-rated) from the cruise for everyone including tips. I think that was VERY generous and could not complain.

 

We were on the way to Cozumel and about halfway there they made an announcement that we would ONLY be going to Cozumel and would no longer be able to go to Key West. This bothered me because they waited so long to tell us. we were on the Ship for 24 hours. I am sure they knew that we would not make Key West earlier on because nothing changed during the time we were on the ship. They refunded the port charges and refunded anyones excursions in Key West. They didnt make Cozumel longer so all we got was more sea day time. My MIL and BIL had plans to meet relatives in Key West so they were a bit annoyed.

 

The cruise itself was pretty nice even under those conditions. The food was good, our waiter Roland was very nice and even though we have anytime seating we requested him every time. We ate early and never had to wait on any line. The Grand Suite was very nice and our room steward was very nice as well. My only complaint was the shower head was very low and did not reach to my head (I am not that tall (5' 10")). When I tried to stretch the shower head up to my head the water pressure would totally stop. So we had to stoop low to wash our hair and face. Other than that, I could not really complain about anything. Cozumel was nice and we had a good time. I will post pictures later.

 

Disembarkation - this was better that embarkation but still had an annoying part to it. We decided to self disemark and we told we had to meet in a area with our luggage and we would be escorted off first . We had luggage tag number 1 so if we did let them take our luggage we would be one of the first but decided we would just get our stuff and go. So, the annoucements started coming.. We were on the Upper deck and waited for that announcement. First was the top deck self embark... they the empress deck to self embark... then... for some reason they started anyone with tags 1 - 5 to start to disembark... ummm hello... what about self disembark for the other floors. All the suites are on deck U and they were not allowed to self disembark before the tags 1 - 5??? Ummm errr... ok, but that was annoying.

 

If anyone has any questions, Just post it and I will do my best to answer it. I will post some pictures later too.

 

While my BIL and MIL will not cruise with Carnival again due to this experience.. I believe part of it was not Carnivals fault and some was and would be willing to give them another chance under better circumstances if the price and itinerary is to my liking.

 

~hftmrock

[diamondgirl54]

Sorry to hear about all the problems with your cruise. That hurricane sure did mess things up for alot of people. What time did you actually get off the ship. I am sailing on the Imagination and need to get off early to catch a plane. Thank you....Mary

[hftmrock]

Sorry to hear about all the problems with your cruise. That hurricane sure did mess things up for alot of people. What time did you actually get off the ship. I am sailing on the Imagination and need to get off early to catch a plane. Thank you....Mary

 

 

we got to the lounge area at 8am and didnt get off until about 9:15. I know that doesnt sound so bad but they started with the regular tagged folk before even getting halfway through the self disembarking folk.

 

If you dont self disembark, you might not get off the boat until 11 depending on the tag number you have

[laumicmah]

Thanks for posting. Sorry that you had these issues. I hope we don't on the cruise I just booked for 8/5/13 (same cruise as yours). What dining time did you have and what dining room were you in?

[QUIGONATOR]

How many nights did they have comedians on the boat? Was the waterworks are onboard in working order? Another poster had mentioned it was out of service on their cruise! Also did this ship have a deli & what area of the boat was the pizza located?

[hftmrock]

How many nights did they have comedians on the boat?

 

We saw one but did not keep track to see if there was more so I am not sure.

 

 

Was the waterworks are onboard in working order? Another poster had mentioned it was out of service on their cruise!

 

 

it was working. I didnt use it but did see others using it

 

 

Also did this ship have a deli & what area of the boat was the pizza located?

 

it has a deli. the Pizza is on the Lido deck

 

http://www.cruisecheap.com/ships/carnival-cruises-carnival-imagination-deck-plans.html