Two GAPearl reviews in one! Imagination 3 day 11/15 & Sensation 3 day 12/12- PLATINUM

[girlscruise2011]

The San Juan to Miami portion? I've been looking pretty hard at it myself. I was kind of writing-off Carnival for my late 2014 cruise but, DAT ITINERARY.

 

Wow, what a great itinerary that is and it just so happens to sail over my birthday ;)

 

GApearl, great review as always and if your on this ship, it may just influence my decision to sail. You certainly have a great time and I would definately love to sit and have a drink with you.

 

Keep up the good work and Happy Sailing :)

[gapearl]

The San Juan to Miami portion? I've been looking pretty hard at it myself. I was kind of writing-off Carnival for my late 2014 cruise but, DAT ITINERARY.

 

Yes, DAT ITINERARY is something else! Four new islands for me! I've tried to make a mock booking, and it will let me do that, but when I click on the learn more link to get the port times, I get an error message. That makes me think this itinerary isn't set in stone yet. I need to figure out a way to make this work!

 

Wow Kim, awesome reviews as always. I actually sailed on both the Imagination and Sensation this fall, albeit on opposite weekly rotations if I can remember. I also kind of added in my Imagination trip a few weeks ago to take my 10th cruise and get grandfathered in as a platinum. So did a lot of other folks. Right now the fares are just too good to pass up, especially if you have a flexible schedule as I do.

 

It is interesting to see another platinum traveler's perspective on each ship. I can say that the Sensation seemed to be more of a party ship. Both were fun however, and the food was the standard Carnival offerings. On the entertainment front, I can say both were OK but the comedy can be hit or miss on Carnival. It was generally good on each of my cruises. The live music on promenade was awesome each time. Carnival really needs to realize that good to great live music can turn an average atmosphere into a totally awesome one and put more of it onboard their ships going forward.

 

Port-wise, the Bahamas is the Bahamas. Been there, done that. A good short getaway but not the most desirable port of call if you ask me. I do like Freeport more than Nassau, although Nassau has way, way more history and things to do.

 

All in all, these are good long weekend getaway ships and the value one gets when cruising on them is still really hard to beat.

 

Also, I have to say it. You are an awesome storyteller and writer. I have taken the time to read all of your reviews and they are the best. I like to write and storytell, so I know what good writing is. Your reviews got my attention when I was reading through the boards one time and saw that someone else had been on the southern caribbean sailing out of San Juan. I had taken that same cruise last September, on the Victory and wanted to see how someone else's experience compared. Well, your summary of the complete experience was fabulous. That was one of the best overall cruise itineraries I have ever had. I can't wait to read the rest of your review of this latest adventure.

 

Yes, the fares have been great the last couple of months. I paid less than $400 with taxes for both cruises, with no single supplement! I love the comedy but don't really like the shows at all. I did notice some live music at night. I really enjoyed Nassau, even though many people don't. Thanks for responding and taking the time to read all my reviews! :)

 

 

Wow, what a great itinerary that is and it just so happens to sail over my birthday ;)

 

GApearl, great review as always and if your on this ship, it may just influence my decision to sail. You certainly have a great time and I would definately love to sit and have a drink with you.

 

Keep up the good work and Happy Sailing :)

 

Maybe we'll all get to see each other onboard! Have fun on the Valor next month! I hope you have as much fun as I did. :)

Edited December 24, 2013 by gapearl

[gapearl]

 

 

 

 

 

[gapearl]

Friday, 12/13

Day 2- Nassau

 

I had a MASSIVE headache when I woke this morning.

 

Breakfast. :rolleyes:

 

 

I tell you, I sure am dedicated to the gym. As much as I wanted to run, that just was not happening. I walked for 20 minutes and did a few weight machines. That was it. I think I did good doing even that. We weren't due in until 12 noon, but we got in to port early at 10:45 am and were let off the ship at 11:15 am.

 

Some pictures I got from my window as we were pulling into port.

 

 

Here comes the Epic.

 

 

 

We were right next to the Disney Dream.

 

[gapearl]

 

 

The plan was to head to Cabbage Beach, and if I didn't like it, I'd just take a taxi back to Junkanoo Beach. I bought round trip tickets for the water taxi for $4 each way. That sounds more fun than a regular taxi. I should have just bought a one way ticket. Don't buy round trip, buy a one way in case you decide not to take the ferry back. The "tickets" were nothing more than scraps of torn paper with the date and initials. We had to wait about 20 minutes for the ferry to fill up a little more and we were off.

 

 

 

The ferry had a guide that was this loud, annoying man. I mean he was LOUD. He was yelling so loud when he talked, omg. I felt bad for the girl sitting right under him. If it had been me, I would have had to ask him to tone it down or be moved. Did I mention he was loud? I really wanted him to stop talking. He pointed out a couple of celebrity homes and talked about Atlantis, but I could have done without his commentary. Then at the end, he was very aggressive in asking for tips, saying things like I have a lot of kids or I'll come back to you if you weren't getting money out. I left him nothing. $2 will not break me, but it's the principle. I'm not going to give you money for a service I never wanted or asked for, and didn't even enjoy when you gave it to me anyways.

 

Me on the water taxi.

 

 

View from my seat as we were leaving.

 

 

 

[gapearl]

More pictures from the water taxi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gapearl]

The ferry over to Paradise Island was about 10, maybe 15 minutes. Upon arrival, I spotted a bar and ordered a Bahama mama for $7. It was made with fresh fruit and was very good.

 

 

 

I thought Cabbage Beach was close by from the ferry, and I was wrong! It was about a 20 minute walk. When all was said and done, it took me an hour to get here from the time I purchased my ferry ticket.

 

Paradise Island is so pretty! It was a very nice walk.

 

 

 

The sign says beach access. There were a few signs along the way, but not many. I had to ask a couple of locals if I was going the right way.

 

 

Keep going!

 

[gapearl]

I stopped for a few minutes at this little pond on the way.

 

 

 

 

 

I cut through this little area....

 

 

And finally made it to the beach!

 

[gapearl]

I had done my research and knew Cabbage Beach had rough water. I wasn't planning on swimming, but just laying out soaking up sun and working on my tan, cause you see I'm so pale. haha :D There were a few people selling these unlimited drinks in a coconut for $20 for the day. I passed. There were a couple of places to get a beach massage and locals coming around to sell sarongs and chairs. None of them bothered me too much. I said no thank you and they kept it moving.

 

Here come lots of Cabbage Beach pictures.

 

Massage area. I think it was $35 for 30 minutes.

 

 

 

There were a couple of tables to get your coconut drinks.

 

 

 

[gapearl]

Here I am.

 

 

 

Rough waves.

 

 

 

 

There was not a lot of sun and the waves were making it a little chilly. I wanted to last for a few hours since it took so long to get here, but I couldn't. I just wasn't feeling it. After an entire 30 minutes, I packed up so I could grab a taxi over to Junkanoo Beach to save the rest of my day. I know I'll have a good time there and there are no waves so it won't be so cold. I think Cabbage Beach was a great beach and could have been a nice place to spend the day, but the big waves made it way too cool to be comfortable, especially with so little sun. I would come here again, but maybe in the summer, not the winter.

[gapearl]

I skipped the water taxi because they only ran every 30 minutes, but on no set schedule, plus there would be the 20 minute walk back to the ferry as well. There were plenty of taxis waiting to take people back to the port for $4. My driver was an older man with no teeth whose taxi was a beat up old, stinky, hooptie of a van with nonworking seatbelts and a duct taped steering wheel. I should have gone to another taxi because that vehicle was terrible. He said he was going to wait a few more minutes to fill up his van. I was in the front seat and about six more people came in the back, yet the driver was still waiting. We really couldn't fit anyone else in there, and if we did it would have been really crammed. We kept waiting and waiting and getting pretty impatient. Eventually the dad of one family got out with his family and was signaling for another driver to take them now, and I got out with them. We had been waiting at least 20 minutes. At that point, our driver realized he was about to lose money finally agreed to leave.

 

This man drove soooooooo sloooooow. I swear I think I saw a little old lady on her Hoveround pass us. He proceeded to try and give a tour, and he was even more awful than the "tour guide" on the ferry this morning. "This is where the Atlantis employees park. This is the gas station. This is the ice factory. This is an old boarded up house." OMG. Someone please take me out of my misery and SHOOT ME NOW. :eek: We eventually made it back to the ship and dropped off everyone, and I stayed on to go to the beach. It was Friday afternoon and traffic was really bad. I wish I had gotten off at the ship and walked because I could have made it in 10 minutes, and this drive took 20. This man was still wanting to ramble on, pointing out random useless landmarks I could care less about. I was trying to be nice, but I was really cranky. I felt bad later, hoping I wasn't mean to him.

 

So I finally made it to Junkanoo. I used the restroom and went to a little stand for some jerk chicken. It was a huge plate of food and only $6. I took it down to the beach to enjoy but had to hurry up and eat it. There was a flock of birds that started getting a little too close for comfort and eyeballing my food, lol.

 

Jerk chicken for lunch. Really good, and spicy!

 

 

The little yellow hut in the middle is where I bought my food.

 

 

View of the ships from Junkanoo Beach. I always thought Epic was a cool, interesting, unique looking ship. Well seeing it in person, right here is where I realized it is, indeed, an ugly ship.

 

 

Beach selfie.

 

[gapearl]

I made one more attempt to get some rays, but the sun just wasn't cooperating. It would peek out for a few minutes then disappear behind a cloud. After about 20 minutes of that, I said forget, and went to my favorite little tiki bar.

 

 

When I walked up, I recognized everyone there and they all remembered me as well from my last visit 3 weeks earlier. One guy working asked if I worked on the ship, lol. One of the guys working there, Kyle, and I got to talking. I didn't realize immediately he was one of the owners (and he's only in his mid 20's). Kyle is a Nassau native, and I met one of the other owners that was also hanging out, a guy from Canada that left the cold behind for warmer weather. Can't blame him! I was like Kyle should I get another KMA? He was like you didn't learn your lesson last time? Good point. I opted for a milder rum punch, and he bought me a pina colada after that. I spent the next couple of hours there just hanging out with a drink in my hand.

 

I ended up behind the bar dancing. I was walking around taking drink orders too. lol I wouldn't mind moving to the Caribbean and running a tiki bar.

 

 

The girls behind the bar were playing nothing but Beyonce for a while. All the ladies had a bonding moment singing together when "The Best Thing I Never Had" came on. haha There was a group of guys from St. Lucia that were crew on NCL Epic. They got soooooo excited when I told them I climbed the Gros Piton. One of them said he's climbed three times. They brought a lot of energy and were a lot of fun.

 

 

Me with the bartenders.

 

 

Me with Kyle on the left and another waiter on the right.

 

 

Sadly around 5 pm, I headed back to the ship before it got dark. Kyle and I exchanged FB information to stay in touch. I would love to do the 3 day overnight in Nassau itinerary again soon. If I do, I'll definitely be coming back to Junkanoo Beach and hanging out at the tiki bar to spend the day. The St. Lucia crew from the Epic said they come here every time they're in Nassau. That should tell you something. It's fun place with good food, good drinks, good service, and a good atmosphere. :)

[gapearl]

Some pictures from my walk back to Sensation.

 

 

 

Yeah, that's an ugly ship.

 

 

Christmas and holiday decorations were everywhere.

 

 

Anyone know what's the purpose of these?

 

 

[gapearl]

 

A Carnival costume.

 

 

 

 

 

[gapearl]

Unlike last time, I easily made it back to the ship (sober lol), and I made it to elegant night tonight! Fred was there wearing a nice suit, looking open casket sharp. Denise was back and her partner Jessie finally made it too. Unfortunately no one else came. Jessie was still feeling seasick and didn't touch her food. Poor girl, she was pretty bad. Fred said he didn't get off the ship in Nassau, but stayed onboard and spent $300 getting pampered in the spa. He was a rather quiet man. Most of the table conversation was between me and the other girls. We would try to engage him so he wouldn't feel left out, but overall he never said too much.

 

Strawberry bisque.

 

 

Farfalle with turkey and peas.

 

 

Our waiters sang that's amore for us and a few couples got up to dance. When the shot of the night waiters came around, Denise and I had one again. It was limoncello, and we both agreed it was AWFUL! You do get to keep the souvenir shot glass. I have a little collection of them at home.

 

 

[gapearl]

After dinner, Jessie went back to her room and Denise and I went to check out the Curves show. The singers were really good! However the show itself was cheesy. This is not a family friendly show. The girls wore Vegas style costumes, including thongs. We stayed about 20 minutes. There was a deck party tonight. I thought it started at 10:30 pm and went at 10:45 pm to an empty lido. Turns out the party didn't start until 11 pm, but I never went back.

 

The lido deck before the deck party and the Mexican buffet getting set up.

 

 

 

 

 

I hung out in my room until the 11:45 pm comedy show of Kelly Terranova. He's no Happy Cole (my favorite Carnival comedian), but he was really funny. After the comedy show, I headed to the club to see what was happening. I wasn't feeling it all night. The DJ played mostly rap and hip hop, a lot of it being from the 90's and 2000's. I like rap and hip hop, but not ALL night! He played some reggae for a while and then a couple of Spanish reggaeton songs. Finally, I thought he was going to start mixing up the music genres a bit, but nope. When he was playing his short reggae and reggaeton set, I requested Limbo by Daddy Yankee, one of the top reggaeton songs this year. He said he was going to get it on soon but he never did. The music went back to really bad rap. Even though I was ready to leave, I stayed a while longer hoping the club would get better. Instead, I got more and more annoyed with the music as well as with this guy that wanted to dance and would not take no for an answer. I wasn't interested and he was so persistent. I was like since you don't understand no in English, I guess I've gotta say it in other languages. Nao, geen, ne, hindi, nicht, nei, nulla, nu, dim, pa gen okenn. I've got google translate and can do this all night! Ok no, I really didn't say that to him, but I wanted to. LOL Men, if you ask a lady to dance, and she says no, hold your head up high and just walk away. :cool: I left at 2:30 am, bummed I didn't have as much fun as I usually do and wishing I had left an hour earlier. I went back to my cabin and ordered my favorite late night grilled cheese sandwich. Room service at that hour normally takes only about 15 minutes, but tonight it took 45. I was almost asleep when it arrived.

 

 

I'm going to try to get this finished tonight!

[Windy56]

I howled when I read your "looking open casket sharp"! I have never heard that expression before and with your permission will use it in the future! Very funny! I have been reading your trip reports in the last few months and have enjoyed them so much. I mean what's not to like? A poster with a terrific upbeat personality, an eye for detail and who offers great travel advice for the ports. I am a very appreciative reader, let me tellya!

 

My husband and I are doing the B2B on the Breeze in the middle of February. We are middle aged, (don't you love that term- sounds like you are straddling the teeter totter of life), and love to social dance, as in ballroom rhumba, cha cha, foxtrot. Do they have a live band and venue for this kind of dancing on the ship,

Kim? I was too lazy to go back to your Breeze thread to ask this question. Forgive me!

 

Have a wonderful Christmas and of course, many, many more fun cruises in your future!

 

Warmest regards,

Cathy

[April29]

Yes, I love your new hairstyle.

 

It really suits you.

[Patty421]

This is the first time I've read a review about a ship that I'm not going on but I loved your Breeze review so much that when I saw your name again with another review I subscribed right away. You seem to have so much fun on your trips. I wish I could mingle in with strangers the way you do. You meet so many great people. I am shy and could never cruise alone. Thanks for keeping me entertained. :)

[seannyice81]

Yes, DAT ITINERARY is something else! Four new islands for me! I've tried to make a mock booking, and it will let me do that, but when I click on the learn more link to get the port times, I get an error message. That makes me think this itinerary isn't set in stone yet. I need to figure out a way to make this work!

 

:)

 

Day 1 San Juan -depart 10pm

Day 2 St Croix 8-4

Day 3 Martinique 10-6

Day 4 Grenada 8-4

Day 5 Dominica 8-4

Day 6 Sea Day

Day 7 Grand Turk 9-5

Day 8 Sea Day

Miami

 

Have a Merry Christmas!

Edited December 24, 2013 by seannyice81

[angelofsin]

Those four shots weren't all mine. Goodness, no! lol I met a few cool people, but really didn't truly click with anyone that much this trip. The vibe was a little off, for some reason. KA is the show at MGM. That's the one I want to see next. I've spent way too much time out in Vegas myself the last couple of summers. :D As far as shoes, I have like 60 pair of shoes, all with really high heels. It's not about comfort for me, it's about looking cute. haha Stay tuned to read about Nassau.

 

Am I reading this right?! did you really say 60 pairs of shoes?! as in 6 followed by 0?! I thought only my second mother was that excessive in her shoe purchases. I had to laugh when you were ranting about the impromptu tour guides and how loud and terrible they were.. granted when i was in the Bahamas they were pretty entertaining.. maybe what I find entertaining is not in line with the consensus.

 

No KMAs this time?? you seem to make friends rather easily.. I hate when i want to party and the DJ seems to be tone death and cannot grab the vibe of a room. Dude really had his persistence meter on way high.. while I am generally not afraid of rejection being turned down that many times might just hurt my swag just a little.

 

cannot help but notice the tatoo.. maybe i missed it the first few reviews but you mind telling me what the tatoo is because my eyes cannot seem to make it out?

[Cruisecrzy3]

You and MikeyA53...in the top five reviewers.:cool:

 

 

 

Absolutely agree!!

 

Kim....love, love, love. I so look forward to your reviews, as many do. You are indeed, a gem. Thanks for sharing your adventures with us. ;)

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Yes, DAT ITINERARY is something else! Four new islands for me! I've tried to make a mock booking, and it will let me do that, but when I click on the learn more link to get the port times, I get an error message. That makes me think this itinerary isn't set in stone yet. I need to figure out a way to make this work!

 

 

 

Yes, the fares have been great the last couple of months. I paid less than $400 with taxes for both cruises, with no single supplement! I love the comedy but don't really like the shows at all. I did notice some live music at night. I really enjoyed Nassau, even though many people don't. Thanks for responding and taking the time to read all my reviews! :)

 

I have never done a solo cruise before but I actually almost did this last time on the Imagination due to a friend having to back out at the last minute. I found a replacement in time though. Lol. I definitely would consider it in the future now if the price and itinerary was right. Seeing how much fun you seem to have cruising solo has absolutely shown me that it can be fun and I might just try it myself someday.

 

The comedy really is hit or miss but it really all does depend on what type of comedy you are into. What is funny to one person may not be funny to the next person. The comedy club usually is the place to be in the evening though. I actually gave my reviews of all the comedians I saw on my last two cruises in my trip reports.

 

The food is ok in general on these ships but honestly the lido specialty options are the best. I just love the wok. And wcmc. :D you and me both. I plan on making a batch of it for dessert on Christmas. I even get it with the two ice creams now although I did not know you could also order it with butter pecan.

 

The senor frog's in Nassau isn't as nice as the one in freeport. I went to both and although the views are better at the Nassau one, it isnt as much fun. The new straw market is a lot nicer than the old one which iirc, was destroyed by a fire. The little wooden boxes down by the water are new and no, I don't know what they are for. My biggest complaint about Nassau is that a lot of the people there are too pushy and not friendly enough to the visitors as they should be. It is a nice place otherwise.

 

And hey, btw...you wouldn't be the same Kim that I think I briefly met one day last summer when you came through PHL?

Edited December 25, 2013 by FlyingCruiserNJ
typing on my phone is harder than it looks

[tranquilreign]

Great itinerary from San Juan!

 

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Forums mobile app

Edited December 25, 2013 by tranquilreign

[DarthGrady]

This is an EXCELLENT review!

 

It's funny, we had two near misses on both of these cruises. I was on Enchantment OTS on 11/16 as she was "backing that aft up" to the pier in Nassau. I was also on the Carnival Ecstasy for the 12/12 cruise, so we were port neighbors yet again. Small world no?