Imagination 3/4day B2B review

[shonuf]

A little background on us, both seniors, retired, moved to Florida last year in order to be able to drive to multiple cruise ports. About the same time that we moved, Carnival announced FTTF and the shortcut to Platinum status (10 cruises vs. 75 days at sea). At the time we moved we had 5 cruises with Carnival and as soon as we got settled in, we booked the 4/3 day B2B on the Imagination. In the past we had nearly always had a suite or at least a balcony but decided to try an outside.

 

We had a wonderful cruise; met lots of nice folks. Since we didn't have a private balcony, we hung out on the Lido, Serenity deck, etc. Didn't leave the ship in Nassau, been there, done that too many times. Did the Chef's Table twice, once on each leg of the cruise. Afterwards, felt it was one of our best cruises ever. So now we had 7 cruises under our belts.

 

In January, we sailed the Paradise out of Tampa. Loved Tampa, sailing under the Sunshine Bridge is amazing. Liked the Paradise but liked the Imagination better. Didn't bother to get off the ship at Grand Cayman or Cozumel. #8 out of the way.

 

2 days after returning from the Paradise, we had a flood in our house so were distracted a little for a while. Long story short, house is better than ever and we were ready to go for the Platinum.

 

We knew that Chef Russel from the Imagination was on leave until the first week in April and really wanted to sail with him again so booked trips #9 & #10 for the end of April. Hoping to miss both Spring Breakers and kids out of school for the summer.

 

For those of you looking for a very comprehensive review with lots of photos, teetee6263 has a very good thread. Search "Imagination Review". Her perspective is of course very different from ours. Just two different versions of the same cruise.

 

This time we did the 3 day first, to get it out of the way. We really don't ever want to go back to Nassau and the crowd on the 3 day is not quite our "cuppa tea". Lots of bachelor/bachelorette groups. At least one wedding party.

 

Since we would turn Platinum on the second leg of the cruise, we had Priority on our boarding pass and luggage tags. We parked at the Premier Garage downtown and boarded the shuttle at 10:45. Upon arrival at POM, we were directed to the Captain's room and did our check-in there. Last trip we had purchased FTTF and were sent to the VIP line in the main room. We were given our Platinum cards and sat for about 5 minutes before we were escorted to the security photo area and allowed to board. I know there are many threads about this but what I understood was that if a ship offered FTTF, that Platinum rooms would also be ready upon boarding. We found our cabin easily but discovered it was not ready. We placed our carry-ons in the closet and headed for our favorite table on the Lido deck, DOD in hand by 11:20 a.m. We didn't see our steward until later in the evening. Another recent thread topic was answered when we saw that we had an ice bucket. We requested ice for both that and for our small cooler that had my meds in it.

 

Our steward was nice but didn't always get to our cabin in a timely manner. In fairness, most of his cabins were in the hallway around a corner so I think he didn't always realize we were up and out. I did start leaving the hanger on the door for him. I told him the first night we didn't need towel animals.

 

We decided to try "Your time dining" just to see if we liked it. Have always done traditional and had really good tablemates and some really bad. YTD was in the Pride dining room and the first two nights we were seated at the same table with Luis as our waiter. We determined that we had been on the Conquest at the same time a few years ago. Yusef, the maitre'd, took very good care of us, stopping by the table every night to see how we were and if we needed anything. Service was a little chaotic the first night but I expected that. We went in by 7 each night and were escorted to our table (for 2) immediately. We didn't find the arrangement crowded and only overheard our neighbors because they were very loud.

 

The only show we saw was the last half of "Shout". We had seen the show previously and hit there just in time for the best part, IMHO. The next best show was sitting in the Lobby by the S&S kiosk on the last night and watching the people go into "sticker shock" as they printed out their bills. Carnival no longer delivers your statement to your cabin so you can go to customer service or use one of the kiosks on board. Unfortunately, we saw several people whose response to seeing the size of their bill was, "I ain't paying no $34.50, they said I didn't have to!!!!" One young man, in utter shock, got on his cell phone (we think he was calling home to have money put in his account). Wait til he sees his cell phone bill!

 

Monday morning we met in the lobby at the appointed time for our B2B exchange only to find that there were still 500 passengers on board. We had to wait for them to depart. Finally we were escorted into the terminal, and back on board. Back to the cabin to stow the passports and back to our favorite table on the Lido.

 

Part two to follow.

[battchief1]

Thanks for the review. Looking forward to more

[SwellBee]

I would love to do a b2b someday. Great review, I can't wait to read the rest.

[amcjeep4life]

We're doing a sort-of-B2B. 5 of us will be on the 4 day Imagination, then a day off to gather the rest of the cruise family, then 12 of us are off for an 8 day Breeze! Can't wait to hear what you did on the 4 day. We tend to be a laid back group.

[mykindaparty]

We just booked b2b on imagination in Sept. can't wait!!!

[shonuf]

Back to the Lido to our favorite table for people watching. More children on board than I would have expected during the week and lots of skin tight outfits that were never designed to be so.

 

The last few cruises our cabin's lifeboat station was "F" which is on the Lido by the stage. This muster drill was better than last October's which was basically a joke. The cruise staff member got on the mike and told everyone repeatedly, "No talking, no drinking, no cell phones". It seemed to help somewhat. The instructions were given in English and Spanish and were still hard to understand. Since it was starting to rain, they didn't require the people in other locations to come up to the Lido to their lifeboat stations. Time for Sailaway!

 

The Fun Times had listed adult sail away on the Serenity deck with live music. We thought we'd give it a try. Since it was raining, most everyone crowded into the chairs under the cover leaving nowhere to put the musician(s). We were seated next to a couple about our ages and I turned to the lady and asked, "Are you enjoying your trip so far?" Boy, that was a big mistake!!! She replied that they hated everything about the cruise----too many kids running around (she said they wouldn't be allowed to do that on NCL), hated the food, the ship was dirty, and the staff they had encountered was so unfriendly as to be rude! She said they normally sailed NCL and I wanted to ask, "Well, why aren't you on the Sky?" I suggested they get off at the first opportunity and return home. Got up and left and vowed to stay away from her, she wasn't going to rain on my parade! Told DH that if they were our tablemates that night, we'd ask for another table.

 

This leg we had selected traditional dining, early. We went to dinner in the Spirit dining room and met our tablemates, 2 couples from Florida. The other 4 chairs never were taken. Luckily bad attitude lady wasn't one of them!

 

Day 2: Key West

Up early in time for the sunrise. As we approached the Navy Pier we saw the strangest looking vessel we'd ever seen. It was an HSV, High Speed Vessel, contracted to the Navy. It just looked mean!

 

We docked at Pier B so a quick walk down the dock to do some shopping. A stop at Del Sol for gifts for our granddaughter and off to find a T-shirt from the same shop I bought one in last fall. We found the shop but they had completely changed their inventory so no purchase. Back on board by about 10 a.m. and up to the Lido for a drink.

Elegant night tonight, got dolled up a little, went for a cocktail and dinner. Went to the show “Living in America”. Not great but something to do. Skip was the CD for this cruise as he was on last October’s. In October, Skip was the CD for the 4 day and then turned it over to Willie Lee for the second part. We liked Willie better than Skip. This time Skip was in charge for the whole trip but Willie was onboard for the 4 day in preparation to take over next cruise. On our way out of the theater, Squishy, asst. CD, took us over to where Willie was and we had a nice chat. He said that we were the first repeat cruisers that he had had. Desiree, the female singer in the show, can really belt out a song. David, her male counterpart, suffers by comparison. We were told that the cast was new to the ship.

 

Day 3: Cozumel

Ship docked in Puerta Maya, our favorite dock, home to Pancho’s Backyard. There were only two ships in town, the other a Disney. In the afternoon, we walked through the duty-free zone and went to Del Sol where I bought myself some color changing nail polish. (Bought GD some in Key West and decided I’d try it too!) Went to Pancho’s, a long-time favorite) for drinks and guacamole. We were joined by one couple from our table. Back to the ship for a nap and a special dinner. After dinner up to the Lido to watch for pier runners. Sailaway was right on time even though there were some late arrivals.

 

Day 4: Sea Day

Tried to pace ourselves food wise as we had scheduled Chef’s Table for that evening. Came back to the cabin after breakfast to find the “Get your stuff and get off” info on the bed. What a bummer! Spent some time on the Serenity deck but felt like we had gotten all the sun we needed so mostly in the shade. Had lunch in the MDR. Since we knew Chef’s Table would occupy most of our evening we did most of our packing.

 

There were 8 of us for Chef’s Table and when we entered the Galley with Chef, it was nice to see Alina would be serving us as she did last fall. Unfortunately, one of the guests way over-indulged in the wine and champagne and became sloppy drunk during dinner. I felt bad for his wife who was clearly embarrassed by his behavior. The other woman at the table also seemed like she’d been overserved. I don’t know if these people had started their party early or what but it did affect the tone of the evening.

At the end of the dinner, we looked out the doors of the Library and noticed our tablemates from the Spirit dining room waiting for us to exit. Hugs and e-mail addresses were exchanged and we called it a night.

 

Departure Day:

Awake even before the alarm and up to the Lido to watch our approach into Miami. As we were Platinum, we were asked to meet in the Xanadu lounge at 8 a.m. and we would be escorted off the ship in group 1. Disembarkation was very smooth and after a short wait for our shuttle, we were in our car and on our way by about 8:30.

 

A stop in Naples at Trader Joe’s completed our shopping.

 

Part 3: The Overview

[shonuf]

Part 3- The Overview

 

Parking- Premier Garage in downtown Miami with covered parking, $8 a day, very convenient.

 

Check in at POM-Had Priority Boarding, access to VIP lounge, was on board with drink in hand within 35 minutes of leaving the parking garage.

 

Platinum Perks vs. FTTF- We were Platinum but our cabin wasn’t ready when we boarded. No biggie. Got our gifts, priority disembarkation, got the dinner assignments we requested.

 

Weather- Wonderful, except for a light rain during sail away on the second leg of the cruise. The seas were extremely calm except for a couple times when I felt the motion. Even at night when they sped up, the only thing I felt was the vibration of the engines.

 

Ports- Nassau, didn’t leave the ship, been there, don’t care to go back. Key West and Cozumel, been there too many times to count. We go for the cruise, not the ports.

 

Food- Not really a fan of buffet/steam table food so can’t really comment on most of that. Great hamburger from the grill and good chicken tenders. Most days had a salad and a burger or chicken for lunch. Had one breakfast and one lunch in the MDR, only got a bagel and cream cheese for breakfast, thought the waiter was going to faint. “That’s ALL you want?” he asked repeatedly. DH had the eggs benedict which he enjoys but he forgot to ask for the hollandaise sauce on the side. He doesn’t like it put under the salamander. For lunch, we both got the steak salad and really enjoyed it. For dinner, the prime rib is our favorite and we both enjoyed it. One night I only ordered a baked potato for dinner and the waiter’s reaction was the same as the breakfast waiter. I guess they are used to people ordering more than they can eat, not the other way around. Only had the WCMC one time but it was lovely as always as was the Grand Marnier soufflé. The only bad thing about doing a 3day/4day is that the first three days the menu is the same. The fourth night, we did the Chef’s table.

 

Chef’s Table- This was our third time to do it and Chef Russel didn’t disappoint. I know some people say they can’t eat and drink $75 worth but it’s more than the food and drink, it’s an experience. Side note: We went to a chain Italian restaurant for dinner the other night. It was happy hour and we got two glasses of wine and two plates of pasta. Dinner was $50 for the two of us. I vote for Chef’s Table every time. Dinner was served in the Library which is lovely but there were teens goofing around outside the door making a lot of noise and Chef had to go out and talk to them. The music from the break dancing in the lobby below was also a disconcerting note. Maybe they could do that at a different time or perhaps after dry-dock there will be a better location for the meal. Even a screened off area in the Pride dining room would have been better.

 

We only played trivia a couple times, won a SOAS, aced the genius test, saw a couple shows, had a few drinks (a couple too many the first day!) Mostly we sat on deck and read and watched the beautiful ocean go by. Did a lot of people watching and boy were there some sights.

 

In spite of what bad attitude lady said, we found the staff extremely friendly, the ship clean, yeah we found some rust spots but at our age who doesn’t have a few, the food good, (no one looked like they were going hungry).

 

Special thanks to Chef Russel, Hotel Director Guna Chellam and Maitre’d Yusef. They made this the best cruise yet.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for taking the time to do a review!