A Flying Cruiser and the Imagination: A Review - Miami December 2-6

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Hello folks. I just completed a 4-day Carnival Imagination sailing out of Miami last week and figured I would post a review of the experience. This was my 10th Carnival cruise and my second CC trip report.

 

 

I obviously wanted to get my platinum status grandfathered in before the end of 2013 and the rules for reaching platinum changed so I jumped at this. I secured a few days off from work and found a very, very good rate for a 6C ocean view cabin on Main deck. I was supposed to travel with a friend of mine and we had been planning this trip for a while but he had to cancel at the last minute due to some stuff out of his control so I asked my mom (also a platinum with over 15 cruises) to go and she of course said yes. I did only book this trip about 5 days before the sailing, which is what I believe they call the pack and go program so I had to take care of a lot of pre-cruise stuff in a very short time. The rate for ocean view on this ship was only 10 dollars more per person than interior so I figured I should just take the ocean view. It was nice, in a good location.

 

So, I have the trip booked and it is time to cruise. Let me begin the fun review.

 

 

DAY 1: TRAVEL DAY

 

 

So, obviously this cruise left directly after the huge post-Thanksgiving travel rush and that should make travel difficult. It wasn't that busy though. More akin to a typical Sunday. I got a flight out of Newark (EWR), which offered the direct, nonstop to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) that I needed. We checked in and got our seat assignments at departure time and took off from EWR with absolutely no problem at all. The flight was good but took a very long time due to headwinds enroute, followed by chaos at FLL. We landed in moderate rain, and I have to make note that that airport can be an absolute circus on a busy day. We had to wait for a half an hour for an open gate, while taxiing all over the ramp areas to make way for other planes that were leaving or coming in. They are working to modernize the place but it right now it just often times has trouble keeping up with demand.

 

 

Anyway, I waited until we landed to book our hotel LOL. I had stayed at the LaQuinta Airport hotel before, and so I knew it was a nice place and moderately priced. Of course, if you book a hotel day-of-arrival, it won't be as cheap as if you got it ahead of time but whatever. I got a nice room for about a hundred, and I would recommend this place to travelers flying into FLL and leaving out on a cruise the next day. The staff is more than accomodating, and there is a shuttle to the airport. The only drawback is that it is not near anything. In order to go out to eat somewhere, you have to walk about a mile through very desolate areas or get a ride. No stores like a Walgreen's to take care of the pre-cruise soda and wine purchases in the area. The hotel van driver will drive people to the restaurants if he has the time however, so you really don't need to call a cab.

 

 

We went to an exotic and unique restaurant called TGI Friday's in a nearby shopping center for dinner. We got 15 percent off our total bill by showing our hotel room keys so we opted to go there instead of a 50s-style diner next door. I hadn't been to a TGIF in a long time, so I had to have some Jack Daniels grill and I got a nice rack of ribs and some sesame jack chicken strips. We also shared some szechuan pork potstickers. Pretty decent meal. Called van driver, got ride back to the hotel and planned our transportation to the port of Miami, where the cruise would be leaving from.

 

Dealt with ALL-STARS transportation, which I had booked in the past when I cruised out of FLL so I knew they were a reputable company. It cost $27 a person to go to the port from the hotel, but only $15 to go back to FLL airport after the cruise. If you book more in advance I think you can get transportation each way for $15. Courteous drivers and very punctual. After planning the transportation, I went to bed and in the morning, I would be a PLATINUM.

 

 

DAY 2: EMBARKATION DAY

 

 

So, cruise day is here. I got up, got ready and packed, got a little continental breakfast in the hotel lobby and checked out. The driver picked us up at the hotel at 1115, and we were on our way along with about 6 other people with a final destination of Miami cruiseport. We were the only ones traveling on the Imagination today, as there were numerous other ships in port as well. We talked about random stuff with the driver and other pax during the 40-minute ride down I-95, and got dropped right off at the front door. We checked in with our pre-printed PLATINUM boarding passes and quickly went thru security screening. We were then directed to the Captain's Lounge, where we finished the checkin process and got our sign and sail cards. WOOOHOOOO!!! I am now officially a Carnival Platinum Flying Cruiser.

 

 

So, we made our way up to the ship and boarded into the main atrium where we went right to the cabin and dropped off our carryon bags at approximately 1215. Being a platinum does have its perks, huh? :D We met our cabin steward, Wendell, who was adequate during this cruise and took care of our cabin needs throughout the week. After this, we went right to the lido for lunch. I hit the mongolian wok, which has become my favorite lido food option since trying it out on the Sensation in October. Got chicken and szechuan noodles with peas and corn in a stir fry. Only downside is that the lines can get LONG at this place. Plan a good half hour to 45 minutes during peak busy times. It is also only open between 1200 and 1500 on average. I also got some roast beef and red skinned mashed potatoes for my mom from the rotisserie station, right next door. I also got my bottomless bubbles card and my first coca-cola with only a little ice at this time.

 

 

After lunch, I just sort of walked around and made any last minute phone calls and texts before shutting down my phone. I must say that Miami is just unlike any other port for embarking. Maybe it is because my very first cruise 7 1/2 years ago left from here, but I have a certain soft spot for this place and the awesome view you get of Miami and surrounding areas. I of course, had to get a few pictures. Once again, I have pictures but have not organized them yet but hopefully can add some into the review at some point.

 

 

By 1530, crewmembers began to ask everyone to go to their muster stations for the safety drill so I went to mine and we did the drill. I had mentioned this before, but Carnival really is very serious about these things now. Very thorough and we had actually powered away from the dock just as the drill was wrapping up about 1615.

 

 

I always go to the sailaway party, and so I went up to lido and waved bye-bye to the locals in South Beach and to the Miami rush-hour traffic for a few days along with other pax. So, we are now at sea. Sunset this night was FABULOUS. I watched it from lido with a mug of Carnival hot chocolate in hand as we sailed about 10 miles away from the coast. Even the local Miami TV news, which we saw on our cabin tv before dinner, was commenting on how awesome it was. Good start to the voyage.

 

 

I got ready for dinner, and as always, we booked the late seating in the Fantasy dining room for this trip. We got a much better table assignment on this cruise than on our last one, which always makes things more pleasant. We were seated with four other people - a newlywed couple and a husband and wife from Pensacola who were on their first cruise and celebrating his birthday. We met our wait staff, led by Leo, who has been with Carnival a long time and hails originally from the Philippines. He was very good at his job, as were his assistant waiters.

 

 

This evening I ordered a shrimp cocktail for my appetizer, which was good as usual. Just steamed and deveined shrimp with cocktail sauce but always good. It is usually offered every night on Carnival. For entrees, I ordered a flat iron steak, medium rare and the beef brisket. Although the flat iron steak is not a premium cut of beef, they do their best to prepare it and it was pretty good. The brisket was excellent and tender, as it usually is. The bar man, Sergei, was on it all cruise long as well. He asked me what I would like just once at beginning of the cruise, and each night he kept my glass full with coca-cola throughout the duration of dinner without me even having to ask. Dessert was what else? WARM CHOCOLATE MELTING CAKE of course. We explained the legend of the wcmc to our newbie Carnival cruising tablemates as well. They got a kick out of that and tried it for themselves each night afterwards.

 

After dinner, I usually go to the welcome aboard show and comedian but this time, I just elected to chill out in the lido hot tub for a while. It was not as hot as on the Sensation but it was ok. When it closed up at midnight, I got a ginger ale and a late night hotdog along with some hot chocolate and went to bed. We were scheduled to get to Key West at 0700 (!) the next morning.

 

 

It is not almost 0200, I am tired and have to brave the cold and snow tomorrow at work, so I will pick this up whenever I get a chance but hopefully this was a good appetizer so to speak for the rest of the cruise review forthcoming.

 

 

Any comments or questions about the ship, feel free to ask. Happy cruising!

[HGVGuy]

I get giddy every time I see a review for the Imagination. 13 more days til we set sail!!

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

After being very busy the last few days (gotta make money so I can pay for cruising lol), I am back with the next part of my review of the Imagination. I had very many good things happen on this trip along with a few not so good ones. I will document each and give a fair and honest assessment. So, here goes.

 

DAY 3: KEY WEST

 

I have been to Key West a few times in the past so this was nothing special to me. We arrived super early, 0700 to be exact. There is only room for one, maybe two ships at Mallory Square, in downtown, and the Sunshine (IIRC) was already there. So we had to park at the Navy Yard, which is off to the side and a 10-minute tram ride away from anything. It was a nice day however, temps in the 70s and bright sunshine to enjoy. Also, if you like planes, they buzz right over the ships on final approach to EYW runway 9 all morning long. Everything from 737s to Cessna 182s. Kinda cool.

 

We got up about 1000, got breakfast, and got off the ship. There is a free trolley that takes you into town, so we hopped on and rode into the city. We then strolled through Key West a little bit. Same old stuff. I did stop by a place I had been to last year, which is called Red Fish Blue Fish. It is a seafood place, near Mallory Square, and it also has good margaritas. Didn't have time to go in there today though, due to our scheduled 1330 departure time. Stopped in the CVS to get a few things, and saw the sights for an hour or so.

 

Dont get me wrong, there is plenty of stuff to do there. I had just done a lot of it already on past trips and it was a very short day there so I had little interest to do it again. I would recommend the conch train tour however, and it is cheaper if you buy it in port at their office than if you get it from Carnival. I promise you it will not sell out.

 

In the past I also have done the hop on, hop off tour and the trolley that takes you on a guided tour around the entire island. The old part of Key West, where downtown is, has the southernmost point and MILE 0 of US Route 1, which is a neat tourist destination. A cool place to see also, is the Hemingway house and Sloppy Joe's bar, where he used to hang out. It also shows you the original Pan Am headquarters, the post office, courthouse, etc.

 

Quick facts about Key West. Its original settlers found lots of skeletons on the island, thus giving it the name Bone Island. The original inhabitants did not believe in burying their dead. It has nothing to do with its geographical location. It is not even the westernmost key.

 

Anyway, we rode back to the ship about 1215, as everyone had to be back onboard by 1300 and the last shuttle left Mallory Square at 1230. It is quite a ride back to the ship and make sure you leave the ship with photo id and shipcard. It is a Naval base and they are very strict about access and no photos of the ship can be taken while on Navy land.

 

Once back onboard, I dropped our goodies from CVS off at the room and went to lunch at where else, but the mongolian wok. Today they had mussels, calamari, along with chicken to go with the rest of the offerings. The line was insanely long however. Ii got my food and a drink and went back to watch the sailaway from the back deck that overhangs the serenity area.

 

It was here that I checked CC and read that the dining room experience was being changed for the worse by Carnival. Lousy news but it is what it is I guess. After checking email, texts, voicemails and looking at some news video clips on my new S3 phone, I watched us sail away from EYW. Glassy smooth seas. After this, I went upstairs to do a few laps on the sports deck track and play mini golf. It is nearly impossible to play mini golf when the ship is moving as the winds on that top deck make it very hard to even stand sometimes. It was no coincidence that I was the only person on the course LOL.

 

I actually took a short nap when I went back to the room and played a few dollars on the 18cents a pull (I mean penny) slots. I had some fun with this, but at the end did lose $5. I walked around the ship some more and then got ready to go into the hot tub at sunset. I ended up talking about baseball and NFL stuff with a few people from Atlanta for a while, then we all split up and went our separate ways and I got ready for dinner.

 

Mind you through this, I have had about a half dozen mugs of hot chocolate, sometimes with ice cream added, sometimes without. I love Carnival hot chocolate. I must say that the decor on this ship is similar to other ships in the category and not over the top or too glitzy. I did notice there was rarely a wait for an elevator either. That was a pleasant surprise as often times, elevators can take forever to get to your floor.

 

So, we go to dinner. Two of our tablemates from the previous night did not come to dinner this evening or any other evenings, as they instead chose the lido dining buffet option. We did see them numerous times throughout the cruise, and we always said hello. It was formal night tonight. I of course, got my soup and bread and ordered ribs and lobstah for my main courses. The ribs were decent on this sailing. My mom got prime rib and this time it was a little better than in the past, she said. Dessert was the usual WCMC for me and for our other tablemates, who I had mentioned were now hooked on the stuff :D I believe this was the evening they danced and sang 'that's amore'. Our server, Leo was very into it. He has fun at this job and it shows.

 

After being one of the last to leave the mdr, I walked around the promenade some and then we went to the comedy show at 2330 in the aft lounge. Tonight's performer was Jorge Solano. I thought he was pretty funny. Here, I got a punchliner as the featured drink. Pretty good, for $10 it is a very blue mix of liquors and the strongest drink I had anywhere on this entire vacation.

 

After the show, I went upstairs to the lido buffet, got typical midnight food including hotdogs, burgers, fries and a little pepperoni pizza and hot chocolate. About 0030, I went back to the cabin for the night and went to bed. Tomorrow is Cozumel and a late 1300 arrival, so time to sleep in.

 

Next up, day 4 and Cozumel so stay tuned. I will try to get that put together later this evening. Hope you have enjoyed so far.

Edited December 13, 2013 by FlyingCruiserNJ

[kcwingwalker]

Enjoying your review...........thanks for sharing:)

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Enjoying your review...........thanks for sharing:)

 

Thanks for reading. This is only my second cruise review since joining CC but I had read quite a few before that and I have to try to keep up to a high standard others have set. I like to write and share my experiences for others because trust me, I have learned quite a few new things about cruising thru fellow cruisers here. I am actually about to type out my third segment of the review, about the Cozumel day so stay tuned.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

So, here is cruise day number three and overall day number four of my voyage. Today, we went to Cozumel, Mexico. I had some good to great experiences and some that just made you shake your head in disbelief and even disgust on this day. Here goes.

 

DAY 4: COZUMEL, MEXICO

 

Today, we docked in Cozumel, Mexico. It was a late 1330 arrival, so even I was awake and moving about the ship when we parked at the Carnival-owned pier. LOL. I got up around 11 IIRC and went to the late risers breakfast. I got the normal breakfast fare, including an omelet and there was very little wait to get it cooked. Most people had already done breakfast I guess. Almost as soon as I got my omelet however, they were setting up for the mongolian wok and lunch. Yum...

 

I got my mongolian wok close to 1230, and though there was a wait there, it was only about 30 minutes today. No problem, as you always have a chance to meet new friends while waiting in line. I met a few cool people this time, and I actually saw them later in port and we shared a few laughs. Today they had pork, beef and chicken. I got beef and pork to go along with noodles in szechuan sauce. What else? It is good.

 

About 1330, we slowed down and parallel parked at the pier. It is really cool to see the docking process unfold from the lido deck. The ship parks, the dock crew ties the ship down and they set up for people to come off and do their excursions. We were parked at the same pier as the Aida Bella, which thru my research is a German line that is also owned by Carnival Corp. More on this ship and a few of its passengers later......

 

I showered, changed, and we got ready to go out and explore Cozumel. I had been here a few times before to this port, and to be honest, the immediate port area is just designed for cruise ships. It was rebuilt a few years ago after a major hurricane destroyed the old one. Some of the views from here are pretty breathtaking. This time I decided to venture out onto the island a little and I am glad I did.

 

We hung around the shopping area and checked out some of the places we would go to an early dinner at when we returned from exploring. I had been to a place called Pancho's Backyard a few times in the past and while it is very good, I wanted to do more this time. I walked down the main street a little to explore but there is not much to see there. Mostly people trying to sell jewelry and rent scooters.

 

So I went back and we decided to take a city cab tour of the island. In Cozumel, the city-licensed cabs transport people for a flat and set rate to various points on the island and the prices are clearly advertised on a sign in the pickup area. We were going to go to Chaakanaab (spelling) beach but we were told that although it is nice, it is like $20 just to get in. Scratch that. We decided to book a 2-hour cab tour instead, and the price for that is $70 for up to four people. Unfortunately, it was about 1500 local time when we decided what we wanted to do and by then, nobody else wanted to begin a tour due to the early December sunset. So the tour just ended up being my mother and myself, but I believe the tour we got for $35 a person was still worth it.

 

We first went through the downtown, then into some industrial and residential neighborhoods in Cozumel. It is an island of 90,000 people, and is a very safe and fairly prosperous island. Our driver explained some local issues with us and we kind of answered questions each of us had about each other's countries. Pretty cool. We told him it was below freezing where we are from when we left, he laughed. It never gets below 70 or so in Cozumel. It was actually hot today. I would say it was in the low 80s, variable cloudiness but lots of sun. He also showed us the vacation home that the Mexican president stays at a few times a year, I thought that was neat.

 

We then stopped at a few landmarks and got pictures, and were on our way off to the other side of the island. There is a highway that runs all the way around the island and that is the route we took. We passed the area where the ferry to Cancun and the mainland boards and drops off and found out a lot of people commute back and forth a half hour each way for work and other things. We also passed a farm that grows plants that are used to make tequila (:cool:) and he explained some of the cultural stuff that happens on the island to us. He said that the uninhabited back side of the island actually gets closed off at night, and based on some of the remote areas we saw, it really isn't a great idea for people to go back there after sunset anyway. He told us that there are crocodiles on the island and at night, they cross the roadway to go from the lagoons and ponds into the ocean. He was not lying either. We saw a few of them just chilling in a pond right by the side of the road. There is a very noticeable police presence everywhere on the island and I felt very safe the entire time we were there.

 

We continued to go along the roadway, and saw a few more cool places. There is a rocky cliff that sticks out into the sea and a little gift shop at one point, and we checked it out and of course I got my picture taken out on the rocks. There is also a horse-riding area back there and as a joke when we got back home, I texted a friend who trains horses that I thought she would maybe like to check it out sometime. She quickly told me that she knew what place I was referring to and had been there before already LOL! I will hopefully get pictures of all this stuff posted here one day when I can get the pictures organized and posted somewhere that I can link to here. Lots of people rent scooters, bikes, and jeeps here and they really do not go that fast so we spent quite a bit of time dodging these as we drove around the island. Our driver explained to us that there are a lot of police on the south end of the island, because it is in such a remote area that even local cell towers cannot reach them with the signals. In case people run into trouble down there, there would be no other way to communicate with help to come get them.

 

I found it interesting that all that uninhabited land is federal land, owned by the Mexican government and they really won't sell out to anybody for any reason. We were told for example that Donald Trump wanted to build a resort there years ago and was turned down. lol There was also a turtle farm there, but it required a day pass to get in and it was so late in the day that we would have never had time to explore it anyway. We did get to see where a lot of the ship excursions go if we ever decided to do one in the future.

 

We made our way back toward the port, and it was getting dark and was close to 1700 local time. We passed a lot of all-inclusive resorts and a few state-run beaches, including Chakanaab. We got back a little after that, thanked and tipped the driver well and were on our way back to the port.

 

Here, things got interesting. There is an area where a local band dressed up in traditional Mexican clothing plays music all day long. There is a pier behind that with neat views of the ship and the sunset behind. I posed for a picture here and a few people from the Aidabella kept getting in the way and blocking the shot. We politely asked them to stop but they pretended to not understand what I was saying. I guess they did not understand facial expressions and body language with very basic English sprinkled in. Whatever. I could have just forgotten about it but when we were walking back to the ship after hanging out in the port area, another group from the same ship was acting completely ignorant to us as well. It began to seem like it was a trend. Again, whatever. Some people just have no interpersonal skills. I wouldn't let that ruin my day however.

 

We had a choice of Three Amigos or Fat Tuesday's. Of course, the donkey out front of Three Amigos drew me in and I just had to get a picture taken beside it. :) So, we went in there. I would not recommend this place. Lousy atmosphere and not the friendliest staff. I got a 24-ounce drink of the day, I don't even remember what was in it but it wasn't really very good. I also got nachos which were pretty decent. The place was not crowded at all either. I dunno if Fat Tuesday's was any better but it could not have been worse.

 

All pax going back to a cruise ship have to go thru a large duty-free shop on the pier before getting to the ship, but I did not buy anything. We only travel with carry-on bags and I had absolutely nowhere to store any stuff to bring back to the USA. Not to mention liquids are banned in carryon bags by TSA so I declined to buy anything.

 

I got a few pics taken on the pier with the ship in the background but they did not come out too well due to the light contrast being too much between the dark and the lighted ship. Oh well. I have to say there is something special about being able to watch sunset behind your ship and then re-boarding at night with the ship all lit up. Really cool. We got back onboard a little after 1930.

 

Tonight was anytime dining for everyone due to the late port day in Cozumel. We were not set to leave until 2200. We were seated at a ten-person table and our tablemates were pretty nice. We talked about what each of us did for a living, how many cruises we have been on, where we have gone, etc. Pretty seasoned cruisers at that table. I ordered minestrone soup I believe and jerk pork/fried rice and fried shrimp for my entrees. They were OK. The usual I guess. I got my wcmc for dessert and of course, had a few sodas with dinner. Interestingly enough, I did not get a fruit plate at all for dessert on this sailing. I usually do but I was just too full after dinner each night to eat one. We left the mdr about 2200 and just hung out on the promenade for a while until the deck party began.

 

I watched the sailaway from the Cozumel resort and played a little mini golf on sports deck until it got too windy to play. After we were away from land, I elected to hang out in the hot tub on lido this evening along with a few dozen other people rather than participate in the center of the festivities. I got the best of both worlds tonight. Got to relax in the hot tub and be around a party! After they closed it down at midnight, I hung out with a few tacos and some hot chocolate on lido until they pretty much closed down the lido for the night at about 0100. Carnival should do more things like deck parties as they are fun and I know they bring in revenue through drink sales, etc. They are also great promotional material for Carnival. Think party atmosphere. Fun. Food. Late night. All staples of Carnival's business model. Anyway, after the party I went back downstairs to the room and went to sleep. Tomorrow is a sea day. I also had a few things that are complaint-worthy that happened to me on the sea day but I will talk about them later. It is late, I had a busy day today, and have to again brave another snowstorm at work tomorrow. Snowstorm number three and it is not even officially winter here yet. Wow. Hope you are enjoying so far.

Edited December 14, 2013 by FlyingCruiserNJ

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

I have finally gotten a chance to post the rest of my Imagination review. What a bad run of weather we have been having up north. Barely any snow last two winters and three so far this month with another one expected tomorrow. Talk about payback. Anyway, this is day four of the voyage, a day at sea and day 5 of my overall vacation.

 

DAY 5: FUN DAY AT SEA

 

Today was a lazy sea day. As usual on sea days, I slept in till 10-ish. It is neat to wake up with a nice view out the window of the very calm, blue sea outside. After checking the funtimes to see what I wanted to do that day, I figured out my plan. About 1200 we went to the seaday brunch and as usual we cashed in our free drink coupons. I got a twilight zone, which was ok. Nothing special. I liked the Miami Vice I got on my last cruise more. I surely liked the punchliner special from the comedy club a few days earlier even more.

 

For my meal, I got some sort of lemon pepper roasted chicken. It was decent. Had never had it before. Afterwards, my mom went off to look at the picture shop and gift shop. I have some serious complaints about the gift shop.....

 

I went upstairs and got what else but the mongolian wok. The line was not bad today but there was plenty happening on the lido behind us so the wait did not seem bad at all. The hairy chest competition is always funny to watch. I think the winner got wine and a ship on a stick. Anyway, I enjoyed by mongolian wok and got some carved turkey and mashed potatoes from the rotisserie and just hung out for a while. I played a little mini golf for a while on the sports deck but quickly bored of that so I went back downstairs at about 1500 and just chilled out and peoplewatched on a lido deck chair. Plenty available on this day. If there is no other entertainment, watching humanity in action is always entertainment enough. I hung out there for an hour or so and then went back to the cabin for a short nap.

 

I wanted to do the sports trivia in one of the promenade lounges at 1700 and guess what, I never made it. I did not want to wake up from my nap. lol. So I missed that. Oh well. I checked out the waterworks but did not bother with that either since I had been on the Sensation a month prior and it is basically the same thing on both ships. I did go into the serenity hot tub, however. I watched sunset and hung out with some fun-loving people in the hot tub as we were enjoying the last day of our voyage.

 

After we all left about 1800 to go our separate ways, I stopped by the lido buffet and got some hot chocolate and a pre-dinner snack. I got a little fish and a crab cake. It was very good I must say. I still am not a fan of the lido buffet though. I understand it serves a purpose for some but it just is not for me. I prefer the sit-down service in the main dining room. Afterwards, I walked around the ship a little and went back to the cabin to pack and get ready for dinner.

 

When I got back my mom was packing and told me she was very angry at the terrible service she had received in the gift shop. She usually purchases stuff for gifts for her grandkids/my godchildren and was doing this when she noted a price discrepancy with an item at checkout. Instead of resolving the situation professionally, the clerk, Marley, began to verbally chastise her about the prices of items and refused to attempt to come to a resolution. In Carnival gift shops, similar items of often differing prices are placed together or at least in the same display area. I suppose Carnival hopes that people don't check the prices of stuff they buy and just pay whatever they ring up as on the register without questioning anything. Not this time. Anyway, she was very unhappy about that and made it known. I understand sometimes there is confusion but don't make it worse by making the customer out to be the bad guy in front of everyone else in the store. Apologize for the confusion, be firm about the price being the price with no adjustments, and move on.

 

Anyway, we went to dinner at 2015 for our final supper of the cruise. We saw our friends from the first two evenings at our table and talked about our Cozumel experiences. They had never cruised abroad before so they were telling us about what their impressions of a foreign country were, which was neat. They liked Cozumel and the cruise overall I think.

 

I got bean soup and another crabcake for my starters. I noticed Carnival does not serve saltine crackers with soup. Did they ever in the past? I cannot remember but it is kind of notable that you don't get them even though you do get a nice piece of bread instead. They were good. I got honey chicken and broiled salmon, garnished with a lemon wedge and coca-cola for dinner. I took care of our bar man, Sergei, with a little extra tip. He did a great job all cruise. I got my wcmc for dessert, along with something I had never seen before on Carnival. It was called a red wine pear or something like that. It was a pear cooked in red wine. Pretty good if you ask me and I talked with our server about how good I thought it was.

 

Anyway, we talked to our tablemates a little more and about 2200 we said our goodbyes and headed out. Notable on this trip is that the mdr staff did not do leaving on a jet plane this evening. Not a big deal to me but I wonder why they did not do it. I think they did oppa gangham style or something else instead.

 

After dinner, I hung out on promenade a little and listened to music from the live cover band they had in front of the casino. They were ok.

 

At 2330, the last comedy show of the cruise was scheduled. The performer was Percy Crews. I did not think this guy was funny at all. He had very few original jokes and used the audience making fools out of each other and themselves as the entertainment. Maybe that is funny to some but not to me. Jorge Solano a few evenings before was way better. The crowd was pretty small this evening too. I guess most people were pretty much done with the cruise by this point and just wanted to go to bed early.

 

We headed up to the late night buffet one last time to get some burgers, dogs, hot chocolate and soda, and afterwards, finished packing and got ready for the end of the cruise in the morning.

 

Last but not least, the final day and my comments and observations are up next.

[Isasprings]

Nice review.....

You can tell that the imagination is my favorite ship so sad is

leaving MIA:)

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Up now is the final day of this cruise. Debarkation and the return journey home. Also included will be my observations and comments about the ship, ports, overall experience. I have quite a few. Notice I am very outspoken about stuff I have strong opinions about.

 

DAY 6: RETURN TO MIAMI AND TRIP HOME

 

So, this is day 6 and the final day of the journey. As usual, we park well before it is actually time to get off the ship. Well, except for today. We parked at the port of Miami about 0700 or so in my estimation, but for whatever reason we were not cleared until quite a while later. I got cleaned up, dressed, and got my stuff together to leave and we were out by 0820. We hung out on the lido deck and got breakfast. I checked the local weather and the weather at home and checked my messages while we sat over breakfast. I got my guava juice and ham/sausage/bacon/potatoes/eggs for breakfast. Not bad. They do have people metering out everything at the buffet now, not just bacon. Whatever. I guess it is more sanitary...it probably cuts down on wasted food also...

 

We did self assist debarkation, as we only had a carryon bag and a few personal items so even though we were group 1 to get off, we left at our leisure. The ship was not cleared by CBP until probably about 0830 and then debarkation began. However, the process went very quickly. Lots of people did self assist on this journey. And with the coming dining changes, more people will in the future seeing though as there is not as much of a need for nice clothes for dinner. Erhum, anyway...we were off by 0900 and cleared by customs. About half the ship was off by then as well. I do think Carnival has improved their debarkation process in recent years. It seems to run more smoothly these days.

 

We had our return on All-Stars transportation pick us up about 0915. The driver was nice enough, and we along with a van full of cruisers headed back to FLL. It was a nice day in Miami. The traffic on 95 south going into the city was bumper to bumper. :eek: Not so bad going north. Typical rush hour stuff and if you are from a big metro area you are used to it. Back to reality.:mad:

 

We got back to FLL at 1000 or so and checked in for our flight back to EWR. Cleared security by 1015 and just had a while to hang out while we waited to fly home. Well, the weather back home wasn't exactly cooperative. Our early afternoon scheduled flight was affected by a ground delay program to the NY area due to rain and low ceilings/wind so we had a few extra hours in Ft. Lauderdale. Again, peoplewatching is a fun hobby also and there was plenty of that to do there that afternoon.

 

We went to a food court and I got some sweet and sour chicken and rice lunch dish which wasn't all that good if you ask me. Especially not for almost $10. But it was food. We finally boarded our flight and headed back up north. Again, we had to hold upon entry into the airspace due to arrival sequencing and all that but we landed in the cold rain around dinnertime. Vacation was over.:mad: We waited at the airport before driving home in rainy rush hour weather (think traffic and roads that resemble parking lots) and got home later that evening. Overall, it was a decent little getaway that got me to PLATINUM.

 

OBSERVATIONS/COMMENTS

 

So, now is the editorial part of my cruise review. I like to point out what I thought of various parts of the overall experience so others can get an idea of what they are like for future reference. So...

 

First of all - the embarkation at Miami is pretty good. It is their headquarters so it should be their best facility. They got us through the checkin process quickly and assured we were taken care of until we got onboard. Debarkation was good and orderly as well.

 

Our cabin service was average. Our room steward, Wendell, was adequate and did the minimum required throughout the cruise. For whatever reason, we always have to get the beds separated when we cruise as they are always set up as one king instead of two doubles. That was taken care of on embarkation day after we pointed it out. But, for example, I use a lot of soap to wash my hands, etc in the cabin because I like to always have clean hands. lol But when we used our first miniature bar up after the 2nd day, we never got any more. And we rarely saw our steward to ask him for more. They should see things like that on their own while they clean and take care of them. I can get over that, as I know they are very busy folks and they do try to do a good job.

 

The main dining room staff was pretty good as I mentioned a few times earlier in the review. One of them had butterfingers and kept dropping and breaking dishes pretty much every night, :D and broken plates tend to send little flying daggers everywhere... no major injuries that I know of but it was funny nonetheless. The quality of food in the dining room was average and I did like the extra throw-in of the red wine pear the last night. The anytime dining was ok on Cozumel day but I still like the traditional format.

 

The entertainment was ok. The fun patrol or whatever they are called now was pretty lively and seemed to like their jobs. They always got the deck parties hopping pretty well. I cannot even remember the names of the captain or the cruise director, so I guess they were neither great nor awful. Jorge Solano in the comedy club was very good, and Percy Crews was not. It all depends on what type of comedy you like, so maybe that would be perceived differently by different people. The live bands on promenade are always good and were again this time. I did not even bother going to any main theater shows this time, so who knows if they were good or not. When they got rid of the live pit music on a lot of shows I sort of began to tune them out. Hasbro is a waste of time to me and the love and marriage show might be entertaining if I wasn't single. Maybe in the future I could participate in that. Some day. The club was not really a happening place on this trip. I don't usually go to the clubs but I pass by often going from one venue onboard to another and usually look in to see what is up. Not many people at all in there on this sailing.

 

The decor and layout of the ship is better on the Imagination than even on other Fantasy class ships. The elevators are coordinated pretty well to get you where you need to go quickly and without too many delays. The decor is cool but not over the top glitzy. Good enough for me. It is easy to get from one end of the ship to another here also. No going up and then down and then back up to get to the dining room. lol The rooms were of decent size and quality, and the room temperatures were usually in the comfortable range. There was always an open seat somewhere on the lido for lunch and breakfast as well. On some ships that is a problem but not here. I think some of it might be that I don't think the ship sailed full but oh well.

 

The ports of call were OK but the timing was kind of stupid for Key West. I understand that you need to leave there early to get to Cozumel as it is far away but leaving by 1300 means you miss pretty much everything that the place offers. I had been there before so that was not a big deal to me but I know others had a big problem with it. Perhaps they should have done a sea day, Cozumel, and then Key West on the return to miami but what do I know. We had done that on a sailing out of Canaveral before and although you have to go through CBP and ICE stuff, it still allows you a full day there and in Cozumel. Cozumel was pretty good. The locals were friendly and accomodating, and the weather and tour we took was good but Carnival corp could do a better job of getting better food options in their little village at the dock. Three Amigos was pretty bad.

 

Overall, I give this trip a passing grade but there are a lot of things that Carnival can improve on. Their gift shops need work both in product placement and presentation but in customer service. Big time. Bad and rude customer service can really hurt business. On some ships they are great and in some others it is horrible. On this ship it was awful. It was a bummer reading CC while in Key West and seeing that they were getting ready to change the dining for the worse. Sit-down dinners on a cruise are a big highlight of my cruises and if they are going to curtail them and radically alter them, well then... As I have been saying in other conversations on this site, I do not like it and the company can only cut so much before their product becomes not as desirable or as good a value anymore. I really hope they don't ruin the really outstanding brand that they used to have and still do have in many areas.

 

So, that is my review. If anyone has any comments/questions, etc, go for it. And hopefully I can get some pictures attached to this review (and my Sensation review from October) at some point also. Happy cruising everyone.

Edited December 17, 2013 by FlyingCruiserNJ

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Nice review.....

You can tell that the imagination is my favorite ship so sad is

leaving MIA:)

 

Thanks. I think they said that this ship is going out to the west coast but maybe I am wrong about that. Glory is actually my favorite Carnival ship but obviously it is in a different class than the Imagination.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Just a couple Key West photos I took separately from my main camera that have been rounded up and uploaded already.

 

This was the conch train tour I had mentioned. It leaves every few minutes from Mallory Square and is very reasonably priced. Long tour, it stops in a few different places during the route around town, and the drivers are very informative and friendly.

 

 

This is Red Fish Blue Fish in Key West, right near Duval Street and not far from the port. I had gone there last year, and their conch fritters and margaritas are very good. I snapped this shot while we were on our very short port day this time around.

 

More to come.

Edited December 17, 2013 by FlyingCruiserNJ

[cruiseclues]

Another good photo review...thanks. :):):):)