Just got off Imagination - Any Questions?

[jaxonvol]

My girlfriend and I sailed to Key West and Cozumel this past weekend. I will be writing a full review soon, however I thought there may be some upcoming cruisers that may have some questions. This board was a tremendous resource for me as I planned our cruise, therefore I am trying to return the favor. By the way, we had a great time and met some wonderful folks. Ask up...

[vrpraz]

Hi jaxonvol

 

I am booked for imagination on June 16th. I am looking forward to reading your review. This will be first cruise for myself, husband & son .. & dh & dsc first flight on commercial airline :eek: So it is a very exciting time for us !! :D

 

My first question is how clean is this ship? I have read several reviews some good some bad but I think some were years old.

 

Also is there enough things on board for a 16 yr old to enjoy ?

 

Thanks

[Busymomof4]

Looking forward to reading your review. We will be cruising on the Imagination this October.....5 night to Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman. We sailed on the Sensation last October and the kids loved it. I think they are hooked on cruising!:D

[shipcafe]

My girlfriend and I sailed to Key West and Cozumel this past weekend. I will be writing a full review soon, however I thought there may be some upcoming cruisers that may have some questions. This board was a tremendous resource for me as I planned our cruise, therefore I am trying to return the favor. By the way, we had a great time and met some wonderful folks. Ask up...

 

Jaxonvol : Thanks for posting! I will be sailing on the same itinerary one week from today! . . . Looking forward to any feedback that you have on the ship, condition, entertainment, any "not to be missed" activities. Post a reply in this thread when your review is complete and I will flag for it to remind me that there is an update. Welcome home!

[Buttonlover]

I was on the Imagination and it was very clean. The crew was cleaning something all the time from vents on the outside to vacuuming the stairs. We loved the Imagination!:)

[Busymomof4]

I was on the Imagination and it was very clean. The crew was cleaning something all the time from vents on the outside to vacuuming the stairs. We loved the Imagination!:)

 

Bottonlover.... Any suggestions for shore excursions? We will have 3 families going this October. The kids range in age from 9 to 17.

Thanks!

[Albgoblue]

I was on the Imagination for the May 14-19 cruise (awesome time) and the weather channel indicated that a big storm was blowing in for the next cruise, which I assume was yours. The storm looked like it was going to miss your itinerary but was heading straight through Grand Cayman and Jamaica where we had been. The sea on our cruise was extremely smooth, and I was wondering how yours was affected by the storm, if at all.

[Albgoblue]

I'm jealous that you are going on the cruise next week. We just finished ours last week on the Imagination. What a great time. As far as activities not to miss, it all depends on what you like to do. You will get a list of activities daily, which lists everything that happens the next day. Scan through that in detail. We enjoyed everything but spent our days on deck drinking fruity drinks and our nights at dinner (late seating), at the disco, at the comedy show, the casino, and at the piano bar (the guy was funny but not for the under 18 crowd). Just walk around and check things out and you will find what you like. A lot of people really liked the Karaoke, though it's not really my thing.

 

Say hi to Putu (the best drink server on the ship) and Gusti our crazy but professional headwaiter in the Dining room. Have fun!

 

 

[marlaj4]

I'm on the same sailing as shipcafe.

 

Is there anything out of the ordinary I need to remember to bring?

 

What were the drinks of the day?

 

I can't wait to go!

[cruisin25]

We are going on the Imagination in a few weeks. I am eagerly awaiting your review. I have read several bad ones and am hoping to hear some good news.

 

I've read that the service is bad, the ship is not very clean, people smoke everywhere, and that the food is not as good as other cruises. This is my first cruise and I was hoping for a GREAT experience.

[jaxonvol]

Don't have time yet to write full review (will try this weekend), however let me answer some of the more pressing concerns. The ship was immaculate - everywhere you looked someone was cleaning. The food was excellent, as was the service. Both my girlfirend and I are professionals who travel quite a bit for our jobs, therefore we do get to stay and eat in some nice places. I would rate the service on the Imagination to be better than any 4 star hotel I have stayed in, and the food was excellent as well. I have to admit that I have had a better filet at Ruth Chris's, however it was at $75.00 a pop. Overall, the food was much better than any restaurant in my local area - definitly an upgrade to an O'Charlies or a Red Lobster. I too had some concerns about the Imagination due to reviews on this board, however they were quite unfounded. The Imagination is actually the #2 rated Carnival ship as for customer satisfaction (the Holiday is #1) according to the Carnival Capers. Also, we did not take any shore excursions, instead choosing to take in things at our own pace.

[BettyB2]

Looking forward to your review as I am trying to decide on an older ship, shorter cruise for spring of next year.. CANNOT WAIT!

 

I'm on the same sailing as shipcafe.

 

 

I am so jelous....wish I was sailing in 7 days.......:( yes, I am pouting

[shipcafe]

Say hi to Putu (the best drink server on the ship) and Gusti our crazy but professional headwaiter in the Dining room. Have fun!

 

In which bar does Putu work?

[CruzTigger19]

I am sailing on July 28th to Key West & Cozumel. Which night is the "formal" dining on the Imagination 4-night trips?

 

Thanks,

 

CruzTigger19

[flyin]

I was on the Imagination for the May 14-19 cruise (awesome time) and the weather channel indicated that a big storm was blowing in for the next cruise, which I assume was yours. The storm looked like it was going to miss your itinerary but was heading straight through Grand Cayman and Jamaica where we had been. The sea on our cruise was extremely smooth, and I was wondering how yours was affected by the storm, if at all.

 

My family of 6 just returned (after an additional 3 day stay in Ft. Myers/Sanibel Island)

from the May 23 cruise to Grand Caymen/Ocho Rios.

 

It was our first time on a cruise and overall I enjoyed myself but probably

won't go on another cruise, and certainly not on a "fun" ship...not my

idea of fun. But the staff overall was courteous, the food ok to very good,

the ship clean. Our ship was jammed with "plus sized" persons who loved

to stack 2 or 3 plates on every trip through the buffets, but again

to each their own. Just not for me, between that and a few folks getting

rip roaring drunk ( one fellow laying in the glass elevator for quite a while

out cold until someone got him off finally ). Embarking/Debarking went

smooth, our cabins were the "lowest" (Riviera) but though we had 3

people in them, we managed ok, they were clean and the housekeeping

did neat things with the towels. The showers were just so-so.

The dining room was nice, but our waiters left a lot to be desired. Everyone

else seemed to have great waiters but ours (both the main waiter and

the assistant) were just ok. It took the assistant (who brought the refreshments)

the entire week to figure out that we liked to have coffee

at the same time (or even NEARLY the same time) as our dessert.

That's just one example. But the food itself was good to very good.

The buffet lines were a bit puzzling, often very crowded (Horizon) due

to the carving / omelet station holding up the entire line whether or not you wanted it.

Our omelets were usually excellent, but one cook (one time) was bad.

The other strange thing about the buffets is that the organization was just "off".

The "fixings" for things were before the actual thing and caused

confusion for everyone (again slowing down the entire line).

Ah well, minor nits I suppose.

 

That all said, we did the reef/stingray snorkel trip on Grand Cayman.

The snorkeling was just fair compared to what I've done in Hawaii

and Key West, but the stingray city was fantastic. The weather could

not have been any better. Smooth sailing, beautiful sun the entire trip.

 

In Jamaica, we did the Dolphin swim which was outstanding and also

the Dunns River Falls which is not to be missed.

[flyin]

We are going on the Imagination in a few weeks. I am eagerly awaiting your review. I have read several bad ones and am hoping to hear some good news.

 

I've read that the service is bad, the ship is not very clean, people smoke everywhere, and that the food is not as good as other cruises. This is my first cruise and I was hoping for a GREAT experience.

 

Let me add a few things:

 

1. the ship overall was spotless

 

2. we had folks smoking in our hallway, and there were 2 cabins that

purchased marijuana in Jamaica and insisted on smoking it in their cabins

I guess that's what happens when you have a room on the "bottom" deck :(

 

3. if your ship is crowded with party folks (this is a fun ship) you will run into both issues as well as drunks... not a lot of them, but enough to be

annoyingly bothersome to someone who doesn't drink or smoke. Note

my own son (on the trip) smokes and drinks and I can tolerate folks who

do both in a reasonable and considerate fashion and most were...

just saying there will be SOME on a crowded ship who view it as their

way of living to excess.

 

4. I generally don't eat at 4 star hotels as I find them overpriced for the value of service they offer (having travelled on business that's my impression) but I do appreciate quality food. That said, OVERALL the Imagination food service is very good, but you will run into some "clunkers" (which is either a bad dish, or a bad cook, sometimes both) on the ship. But note that there is enough variety on the ship that you're bound to find some very good food. I just hope you have different servers for your formal dining room than we did. Most folks seemed to get better service than us, and NO it's not "sour grapes". Perhaps I have bad breath or something :)

 

5. The entertainment I found to be ok. The band in the dynasty lounge is excellent. The singers we had were just ok. The female was excellent but the male singer either was sick, or their regular singer called out sick, because he was awful (of course being a family with 3 of us who sing didn't help)... out of tune, singing the WRONG tune etc. But the rest of the production was good. Kind of like an imitation of an Atlantic City casino show. The pool side entertainers were ok for the first 1/2 hr, then it seemed like they ran out of songs, as they seemed to re-sing about 3 of them over and over and over and...

 

-- Rob

[Busymomof4]

That all said, we did the reef/stingray snorkel trip on Grand Cayman.

The snorkeling was just fair compared to what I've done in Hawaii

and Key West, but the stingray city was fantastic. The weather could

not have been any better. Smooth sailing, beautiful sun the entire trip.

 

In Jamaica, we did the Dolphin swim which was outstanding and also

the Dunns River Falls which is not to be missed.

 

Who did you do the tours through? We were thinking of booking on our own instead of using the carnival excursions.

Thanks!

[flyin]

sorry, but I can't remember the names of the outfits.

 

On Grand Cayman, I know for a fact you can book a trip

to Stingray city right at the first building by the shuttle

boat pier, and I know that will cost you less. You can probably

book everything you want right there for less than the excursion

cost and I'd have no problem doing that if I went there again.

 

On Ocho Rios, however, I think you'd have a tougher time

getting a good deal. There were a LOT of very aggressive

(not dangerous, just aggressive) local merchants trying

to get you to buy/do/go-to things. I felt better about booking

the tour from Carnival there.

 

One side note on Jamaica. At the Dolphin place [ digression: which was

the same place used by everyone from our ship for

"Dolphin Encounter" "Dolphin Touch" or "Dolphin Swim" they

just charged you different for whether you were "there", were

going to stand on a platform and touch the dolphin, or get

in the water and swim with the dolphin(s) (which is what

we did, there were about 6 or 8 dolphins working at a time,

each group of 8 folks had their own dolphin and their own trainer

and assistant... well run place: end-of-digression] my youngest

daughter had her entire head braided for $40 US, and my eldest daughter

had half her head braided for $20. Another lady on our ship saw my

eldest daughter's hair and said she had half her head braided and paid

$80 US !! So watch out in Jamaica, man.

 

-- Rob

[cruisenewbie1]

I am sailing on the October 1st with a stop in Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman. I used to live in Jamaica in the mountains above Ocho and am going to be taking a private tour up there to relive old memories.U r the 1st people I have met who will be on the ship then. Look forward to sailing. :D

[big_duck]

bump

[shipcafe]

I just got off of the Imagination yesterday morning. Loved it ! . . . Anyone with additional questions, feel free to drop a question in here and I'll try to monitor as I catch up on my "normal life"! :)

[vrpraz]

shipcafe, i am leaving in 9 days on Imagination (1st cruise) ..yes this is exciting time for me. . did you go key west-cozumel?

[shipcafe]

Hello,

Yes we sailed to Key West, Cozumel, and then had a day at sea. I think it's just the best combination of ports for a short cruise . . . !

[awsmrn]

Shipcafe: will you be posting a full review and pics. We sail her in September.

[shipcafe]

Shipcafe: will you be posting a full review and pics. We sail her in September.

 

Hello!

Per the photologues on my web site (much like that of the Carnival Spirit), I will be posting a full ship photologue of the Imagination as soon as possible. I took well over 300 photos on this trip! !