The Imagination's a wonderful thing! FlyingCruiserNJ's Complete Photo Review 1/18/15

[dcandme13]

Still following :) Im going on the Inspiration on March 13th for just a 3 day From LB... to Ensenada...a sea day and back..I hear this is basically the same ship and Im a first timer so love getting info from reviews like this...

 

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[sjn911]

Thanks for your nice comments FlyingCruiserNJ...I just think it is so cool you came form so much further for this little cruise and yup..I do not envy you all this big one..we had about 3 here where I am in those rockies you flew over..earlier in year and now it is uncharacteristicly melted off and warm in lower valley floor here...

 

It is hard here and was awful when my dad ranched..but in the East Coast cities..nowhere to go too with more people getting stuck..and so many more people trying to commute when you really can't sometines awhile....my am radio was all about it..stay safe and warm regardless.

 

I think like you do..what was big and coming out when i was your age (55 here) is now vintage LOL..and small for mass market cruising and worth appreciating..Sarah

Edited January 28, 2015 by sjn911

[Jamman54]

Thanks Jamman! I do love reading your reviews as well. This is the second time I have cruised from the west coast, and my Norwegian Jewel Alaska journey will be from Seattle this coming May. It is a little different but it is surely just as much fun and I liked the new ports we visited. Seeing the same Caribbean ports time after time does get old after a while. As an aside, I see you're from North Jersey. How did you guys make out with this "blizzard of the century?" We got a total of about an inch and a half of snow. I think NYC got like 8 inches. I know Massachusetts and far eastern LI got a lot, but it is funny how the ones they hype end up being nothing and the real bad ones come seemingly out of nowhere.

 

We only wound up with about 6 inches. I would rather they predict a lot and get less, then have them predict 3 inches and get 3 feet!!! :D

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thanks. I just booked a few days ago, but I've never booked a guarantee before. Hoping it works out well

 

I've never had a problem with a guarantee cabin. I do pack n go all the time and to me, an interior cabin is an interior cabin. I really can't see much of a difference, especially if I'm cruising solo. Then space and even cabin location mean little because I have no problem getting around and anyplace isn't too far from the action on the ship. They also have always assigned my cabin prior to sailing so I know what to expect before boarding. Best of luck to you and honestly, with the great rates you can get thru pack and go guarantee, you really can't go wrong.

Edited February 1, 2015 by FlyingCruiserNJ

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

I ca definitely tell you're from the east coast :). I grew up on the west coast and the first time I spent an extended time on the east coast (Philadelphia) I couldn't figure out what people were talking about when they said they needed to find a MAC machine. Haha.

 

Enjoying your review. At this point I stay on the ship during the stops at Avalon and Ensenada. I may check out the restaurants you mentioned. Thanks!

 

Yeah, I realized a lot of people would have no idea what a MAC machine was, to the rest of the world it's an ATM. LOL. Just like jimmies are ice cream sprinkles everywhererywhere else and wooder ice is Italian ice everywhere else. Philadelphia and the Delaware valley definitely has its own language for many things.

 

I didn't do a lot of research before this cruise so we just sort of explored on our own but it was nice and we made good choices for eating and drinking I believe. I liked the uniqueness of Avalon. There are plenty of other bars and restaurants there to choose from also. But I'm glad we got off the ship and explored, rather than going on an organized excursion. Plenty to do and see there for sure. Thanks for following along!

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Still following :) Im going on the Inspiration on March 13th for just a 3 day From LB... to Ensenada...a sea day and back..I hear this is basically the same ship and Im a first timer so love getting info from reviews like this...

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Forums mobile app

 

Thanks for reading and I'm glad you learned something. A seasoned cruiser like myself has found out plenty about cruising and ports from reading reviews here also. Have fun on your first cruise, hopefully it will be a fun and memorable one and be sure to let us know how much you enjoyed it.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thanks for your nice comments FlyingCruiserNJ...I just think it is so cool you came form so much further for this little cruise and yup..I do not envy you all this big one..we had about 3 here where I am in those rockies you flew over..earlier in year and now it is uncharacteristicly melted off and warm in lower valley floor here...

 

It is hard here and was awful when my dad ranched..but in the East Coast cities..nowhere to go too with more people getting stuck..and so many more people trying to commute when you really can't sometines awhile....my am radio was all about it..stay safe and warm regardless.

 

I think like you do..what was big and coming out when i was your age (55 here) is now vintage LOL..and small for mass market cruising and worth appreciating..Sarah

 

I do like to travel as much as possible and see new places and since I'm lucky enough to be able to go away whenever I want, I figured I will take advantage of it. I'm cruising from Seattle, to Alaska again in May, although that will be a lot longer sailing. We might get snow again tomorrow but not much and after last winter, the lack of snow this season is nice. Although it has been very cold. Yeah, the fact that cities and congested suburbs don't have much space to put snow when it falls is a problem. I know that after every storm, either my driveway or car if parked on the street, or both, is hopelessly plowed in. That part sucks and when its cold, it doesn't melt much or melts and refreezes at night. I do enjoy the smaller ships though and although the big ones are nice, so are the small classic ones. Thanks for reading along and hopefully I can get to the rest of this review pretty soon.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

We only wound up with about 6 inches. I would rather they predict a lot and get less, then have them predict 3 inches and get 3 feet!!! :D

 

Yeah, that last storm happened, just further east than expected. I find it funny when they predict nothing and we get a bad storm. That's usually how it works, lol. We will see with the storm that is headed this way tomorrow. The less shoveling I have to do, the better.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

OK here it is folks. After a long absence between daily cruise summaries of this 4-day adventure, I am finally back with the third day’s activities. Today was a sea day, and was very uneventful until later in the evening. But, without further ado, let me talk a little about this day and add a few observations about the ship and amenities.

DAY 3: SEA DAY

Today was a sea day. Remember, we were out at the club until late the night before and thus, we both elected to sleep in late and not take part in morning activities. Surprisingly enough however, I did not have a hangover at all and I drank way more the day before than I will drink in 3 months time. Not a bad thing…. M of course was fine but partying is one of his favorite pastimes, so he is used to that kind of thing. Nonetheless, I got up a few times throughout the morning, and checked the room TV to see our progress towards Ensenada….

And of course, I had mentioned that I didn’t bother looking at my funtimes from the night before, so I didn’t know that today was not Ensenada day but rather a fun day at sea. LOL. Not bad as that means we didn’t really miss anything. On a side note, it took all cruise to get used to being 3 hours behind east coast time with tv programming and all. It was neat going to sleep at 0430 and watching the morning news from Miami, where the satellite feed Carnival comes from however. The previous evening, I had sat down before dinner to watch NCIS and of course it didn’t occur to me that we were watching east coast tv, while on west coast time. In other words, I missed it and watched the 2300 news instead. Now I know how west coasters feel when sports are broadcast from the east coast. It is just not something you can really get used to.

So, once I figured out that we were not going to Mexico this day (and looking at my funtimes that I had placed on the countertop next to my bed without reading the night before) I finally called M a little before 1200 and told him I was headed to the dining room to get my seaday free drink. He went up to lido and hung out by the pool with breakfast (which he said was better than the day before) and waited for me to get my drink and meet him for lunch. The people in the MDR were cool when I explained to them that I wanted to just get a drink, that I didn’t want to get fed there as I was meeting my friend upstairs for lunch and they got me my funship special. I waited in the piano bar for a few minutes for my drink to get delivered, and headed upstairs. It didn’t look like the mdr was too busy either. If anyone has read my reviews, they know that I think the system for the free drink on seaday for platinums is flawed and should be revamped. UPDATE: Carnival has updated the program, to where anyone below platinum no longer gets a free drink, rather gets one of those big Crystal Geyser bottles of water that they have in the cabins for free. Mind you, platinums will get both now. I like that idea. I know having water available on the cabin for late night needs or early morning is nice, and I would never pay 5 dollars for it. Many think it is a cutback but really, no. The cost of giving people free drinks is probably about the same as providing all returning guests a free large bottle of water to Carnival. Many will disagree but that is my opinion. Then again, I am a platinum so I get both now, but still.

Anyway, I stopped by the ice carving station to watch the beginning of the demonstration and got a neat picture. I do not remember what the sculpture was but it was pretty crowded on lido. Now, today was the worst weather day of the whole cruise. Based on maps, we were moving extremely slowly, only about 7 mph or 6.3 knots, a hundred or so miles off the Baja coast. The water must be pretty cold here, as there was a chilly breeze and it was very overcast all day. Most people had sweatshirts on lido. Not a pool day for sure. I don’t spend much time in the pool on a cruise but did not go in the lido pool at all on this cruise. M didn’t either although he did hit the hot tub at least once that I know about. Also, as a note, I have never seen birds follow a ship all throughout its sailing. We had some sort of pigeons who spent the entire cruise flying around the outside of the ship. Interesting.

After checking out the carving, I went over and got some Mongolian Wok for myself and M. I explained the phenomenon of the Mongolian wok to him and he told me what he wanted and held a table for both of us on lido. I got noodles with Szechuan and some pork, and he got veggies with noodles, chicken and black bean sauce. He said his was good, so was mine and honestly, the wait was no longer than 15 minutes to get your stuff cooked. After I got done in line it did get a little longer though. They have three woks going at all times and they are really efficient in how they work. They keep things moving. Definitely try the wok if you never have, it is great and worth any wait there might be. I also got a soda to go with my food, after finishing my funship special, and we watched the Groove with St. Jude that they were doing up on stage. M made a donation to the St. Jude Hospital and got one of the t-shirts in the closest size that would possibly fit him, lol. He didn’t want his though, so I took it and the shirts are nice.

After lunch, M went back to take a nap and I headed off to wander some and played some mini golf on sports deck. The course was semi-challenging on this ship, and I shot a pretty lousy round to be honest. But it was fun. You can just pick up a putter and ball without going to the towel hut now, and that is convenient and fine. However, if you aren’t going to put it back when you are done, don’t use them at all. I don’t understand what is so difficult about that concept. I almost tripped over a few putters and balls on the carpet between holes, just dangerous and careless. Show some consideration for your fellow cruisers ya know. Anyway, after that, I headed downstairs to the casino for a little while and put another $20 on my s/s card and played for a while. I stopped after I got down to $10 and figured I would give it another shot later on. I went back to the cabin for a nap around 1600 and got up in time to go to the hot tub again around 1800.

While in the hot tub, I met some interesting people. I did meet a nice young lady from LA (originally from Dallas she said) who had moved to the LA area to pursue a career in photography, and she and a few other people I talked to in the whirlpool were friendly. Unfortunately she had left to go to dinner around 1930, just before M arrived to Serenity to see what was up. Too bad, I could have had a wingman to help me out by talking to her friends who were there. Oh well. I think I saw her around a few other times later in the cruise, not sure though. Anyway, around 2000 I went back to the cabin to get ready for dinner and met M at his cabin as he was waiting so we could head up to the mdr.

We went to dinner around 2030 and I got beef barley soup I think for my app and penne mariscos and sweet and sour chicken and chow mein noodles, a new American table addition. I had gotten penne mariscos for the first time on my last cruise as an app, and liked it so I got it again as an entrée this time. Penne with gravy, grated cheese on request, with sausage and shrimp. Really, really good. And so was the chicken. I am very particular about sweet and sour chicken, as I have had some really good, some really bad and of course make the best recipe myself at home and have high standards. This was acceptable for me. For dessert, I got wcmc as always, and M got some sort of pie which he said was good. I also got a chocolate pudding and marshmallow parfait, which was also a new addition and was not bad at all. There is a discussion about the new American table going on elsewhere on CC, and my overall opinion is that it is better than I expected it to be, based on preliminary information. I don’t get the bottle of wine on the table. Someone said they are for sale, but I am not going to buy some red wine simply called “AMERICAN TABLE.“ I mean, yeah. My only complaint tonight was that it took forever to get a soda delivered to the table on request and it took a while to get another pitcher of ice water after the first one ran out. Overall, it was good. We got Alfonso again tonight as our server and the mdr was not too crowded. The ship’s magician came around tonight and did some tricks at our table that I am still trying to figure out to this day. I am sure there is an explanation but I can’t come up with one. Maybe it is just….magic. Haha.

 

Tonight was the 2300 Mexican deck party and buffet on lido deck, so no comedian. We hung out on lido and we were both full from dinner, so I just got one taco and a little bit of fruit and we of course drank some, as M needed to do some serious catching up to get to his daily drink limit. He seemed to be into the Mojitos. Simple but he said they were very good. He also got quite a few Fosters oil cans, which really are a good value. 25 ounces of beer, without cheers, it costs like $7-something. They also had the ice sculpture from earlier posted next to the buffet line, but I didn't get a picture of it and I cannot remember what it was. The deck party wound down around 0030, and we went downstairs to the casino bar to drink some more and hang out. 0200 came and things started to slow down, but neither of us were ready to retire yet and so we went to the only remaining lively venue on the ship….the club of course.

The club was a little more happening tonight and we drank some more and the same general cast from the night before was hanging out on the dance floor. There were a few very nice looking girls hanging out and dancing, but I didn’t go for it although there didn’t seem to be too much competition for me. M got on my case for it and told me I was letting another chance slip away, but whatever. I was tired and it was after 0300 by that point. They were going to be closing up soon anyway. The entertainment director from before, Noelle, made what I assume was an after-hours visit to the club to unwind some and of course M danced some with her. Arrghhhhh. LOL. He wouldn’t play wingman to help me out all day but the second I stepped out for a minute, he got in on all the action. Anyway, he said she was a very personable lady and I do have to say, she was very enthusiastic and a good representative of the Carnival fun image. Anyway, we literally closed the place down tonight sometime near 0400. They played "closing time" as is standard for bar and club closings everywhere. LOL. Some conversations you have with your friends about stuff from decades ago when you are both buzzed can be funny. Anyway, shortly after leaving the club, we both retired to our cabins, and called it a night. My steward left a cool towel animal with my sunglasses as a decoration, that was really cool and cute. I again went to sleep while watching the morning news in Miami, and got to sleep around 0500. Yeah, we had fun tonight. I told you the day got better as the hours got later.

So, that is it for Day 3, and tomorrow is Day 4: Ensenada, Mexico. I have some fun stories to tell from here, coming up in the next installment. I hope you enjoyed, and happy cruising!

Edited February 4, 2015 by FlyingCruiserNJ

[Steamboat Holly]

I love your review!! I have been on this same cruise 2x. It's so easy and relaxing, and for us, very easy to get to. It's true that the Cubs used to have spring training on Catalina. I read that the curse supposedly started on Catalina Island. They haven't had their spring training there for years though. I look forward to reading the rest of your review!

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

I love your review!! I have been on this same cruise 2x. It's so easy and relaxing, and for us, very easy to get to. It's true that the Cubs used to have spring training on Catalina. I read that the curse supposedly started on Catalina Island. They haven't had their spring training there for years though. I look forward to reading the rest of your review!

 

Thanks for reading and I am very glad you are enjoying my review. I have been on this ship twice also, although I sailed from ports 3000 miles apart, LOL. I thought the process of getting from the airport to ship and back was very smooth, we got back to the airport with plenty of time before our flight home and the drivers were friendly and informative and the vans were clean and in good condition. I figured the thing with the Cubs was in the past, as it would just be a nightmare to move everything out to the island just to play a few spring games. But Avalon is awesome, and both M and I agreed it was our favorite port on this cruise. The one shop/museum has a lot of Cubs merchandise and artifacts from the last century posted up for everyone to look at (and possibly purchase) and I thought that was cool. I finally have a chance to sit back and write the rest of this adventure up today, as I have done enough overtime this week to almost pay my May NCL Alaska cruise off in cash but I am looking forward to getting it done. I should have it posted sometime early this afternoon. Stay tuned and thanks again for following along with my adventures!

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

It’s been a long time, but I am finally ready to get back here and continue this Imagination review. Featured now is Day 4 of the cruise, which was the last full day, and included a visit in Ensenada, Mexico. So, here goes.

DAY 4: ENSENADA, MEXICO

As usual, due to the late night the night before, neither of us were up for the 0800 arrival to Ensenada, Mexico. That was fine though, as we were scheduled to be here until sometime around 1700 this afternoon. They say the early birds get the worm, but late risers are more rested and less grumpy because they aren’t as tired all the time. Lol. Even when I had to be up very early every day, I hated it and much prefer being a night owl. Anyway, M called me a few times around 1100 but I didn’t answer and didn’t get up. Finally, around 1200, he came to my cabin and banged on the door until I got up and opened it. Haha. I got cleaned up and changed and we met up on lido for an early lunch before getting ready to head off the ship in Ensenada. I got a burger and a dog and some Mongolian wok, as the wok would be closed when we got back on the ship later on. NOTE: I missed Caribbean lunch day at the buffet, and I never do that. It just never occurred to me to check out the buffet all cruise long, as there is so much else to choose from even on a ship this small.

So, M headed back to his cabin to get some sunscreen (he didn’t really need it today but still, he takes that stuff seriously as he should) and I walked around on the sports deck to get some panoramic views of Ensenada from a high vantage point. Some pretty pics here and will post shortly. We met near the pool again sometime near 1300, and were off the ship shortly after, on Deck 3. I would say the temps were around 70 today, mostly sunny although with the breeze it did cool down considerably later, closer to sunset and sail away. More on that later. Ensenada is a regular port with a dock, which means no tender, which is good. Almost no line to get off at that point. Cool. Most of the people going on excursions get off the ship very early, before 1000 and those of us just along for a leisurely stroll through town trickle off the ship at our own schedule later in the day. Some people were getting back on the ship as we were getting off though. We again passed the photo op guy at the end of the gangway, as neither of us were interested in buying pics on this sailing and we made our way past the little shops and makeshift bars in the port area, to the taxi stand.

As with Catalina Island, we did little research on this port prior to sailing but I had heard of the bar Papas and Beer, which supposedly is the most popular bar in town. We got a taxi bus that took us from the ship to the bar district, which cost us $5 for the both of us. Not bad. However, if you are capable of walking long distances, the ship is within walking distance of the bars and you really don’t need to ride the shuttle. My mom had been to Ensenada in the past and wasn’t impressed with it, and she said she had done some sightseeing tour which wasn’t bad. We were not interested in excursions today, so we just went off on our own. We got there before 1400 and I got a couple Long Islands at Papas and Beer, along with I believe, a Dos Equis and M got a few beers as well. The bill wasn’t too bad at all and it was a nice atmosphere. Papas and Beer does have semi-reliable wifi, and I logged on for a few minutes to check on the weather back home and to check our flight back home for the next day. It did kick me off once, but I got right back on. I didn’t use any phone calling or data though, I am sure you get charged more if you use those options.

It wasn’t incredibly crowded here, but it was fun. The entertainment was interesting and funny and so was the dude named Pancho, who did a routine for everyone to see. Of course he got a few bucks from us as tip, that’s how those guys make their money. The street that Papas and Beer is located on is a very busy one, with lots of shops, restaurants and bars located all along it. Quite a few 7-elevens here as well along with a Pemex station, which must be a nationwide gasoline company in Mexico. I have also seen Pemex stations in Cozumel. We headed out around 1500, and were going to head to another bar on our way back. We walked along the street that meets at the intersection right out front of Papas and looked for another bar. There were a few but we didn’t go inside any of them. Our original plan was to go back and get the shuttle to the ship where we were dropped off but those plans changed.

As we walked down the street (I forget what it was called) every store you pass tries to sell the little blue pills to everyone who passes by. I tried not to laugh and politely declined every time but LOL. I have heard stuff like that (pharmaceuticals) is WAY cheaper in Mexico. I had no interest in any of that stuff though, and we kept walking. After about 5 blocks, we could see the whale tail just off to the right and decided instead of walking back to the van drop point, we would just walk the half mile or so back to the ship on our own. I would say that although it is in no way upscale, I never felt unsafe walking though town and the people were friendly and the buildings and businesses were well maintained and it was a nice experience.

When we got back to the main waterfront street a few minutes later, we saw the festival that was going on in the city park that we had passed on the way out to the bars. I don’t know what it was all about, but there were thousands of people here of all ages, and the traffic around it was severely restricted by local police, who were running traffic and crowd control all around it. Does anyone know what the event was that we saw? We stopped in a 7-eleven along that same street for a minute, and were back on our way to the ship. By this time it was around 1530 so it was time to head back to the ship. Now, here you can see the poverty of the place. Lots of young children panhandling and trying to sell people little trinkets out of a box, all along the little pathway right up to the port entrance. Although it is a tourist area, there is a lot of poverty here that you don’t necessarily see if you stay in tourist areas. But it is like that pretty much anywhere you go, no different. We went back through the passport checkpoint and security, which is pretty extensive here and that’s good. It took a good 15 or so minutes to get back through the checkpoint and once through, we checked out some of the duty free stuff and I got an Ensenada magnet from one of the little shops they had set up in the duty free area. The duty free area is pretty much the standard that you see in many ports of call. Nothing too notable there.

So, around 1600 we re-board and head upstairs to the lido deck, to get a late lunch and drink some while we wait for sail away. We were parked next to the Crown Princess today, and they left about a half hour before we did. M noted how much larger and newer the Crown looked and I explained that it isn’t state of the art, but anything you see will be bigger and newer than what we were sailing on today, LOL. I then told him about the Oasis and the coming Vista, and unless you see these ships side to side, it is hard to wrap your mind around how much bigger and more modern those things really are when compared to this vintage vessel. I got a few Angry Orchards (17 oz can) and I can say that I have acquired quite a taste for these after trying one out before my Breeze cruise last year. M got a couple Mojitos and Fosters oil cans and we waited for sail away. We watched the last few pier runners make the ship and listened to the accompanying announcements for Passenger X to call guest services if you are onboard and watched the Crown Princess sail away into the sunset first. It was getting chilly here and I refused to admit I was cold. LOL. It had probably dipped into the 50s by now though, as the sun had set behind the mountains here on Baja California.

After the approximately 1700 departure, I headed to the casino to lose my last 10 bucks and M went back for a short nap and to pack some. Amazingly, I was actually up to $46 on the penny slots at one point but I didn’t feel like cashing out at that point as I was enjoying myself. I ended up back at exactly $20, where I started and headed off to meet with M at the casino bar, drink some more Angry Orchards, and headed off to the hot tub one last time. The whirlpool wasn’t too crowded tonight and I didn’t stay in too long but just long enough to relax for a while. After that, I went back to the cabin to pack some, leave a tip for my room steward, and headed to dinner around 2000 or so. We got Alfonso and his crew for one last night and I got frog legs for appetizer and St. Louis spare ribs and a medium-cooked flat iron steak for my entrees. Awesome. I like that they have the ribs on a different night than the formal night now, and the steak was again very good. I also got one last wcmc for dessert and after we watched the waiters sing “leaving on a funship,” we tipped and thanked our waiters and were out of the mdr.

We listened to the cover band play on promenade some, and planned on going to the 2330 show of Smiley Joe Wiley, as a final event on this cruise. I went and lost my last $20 in the casino and went to look for M, but he disappeared and went into the lounge before I did and blended into the crowd so I ended up watching the last show by myself but it was decently attended and he was funny and serious at the same time. I really like how he did his last show. It was crude and funny but he ended his show by just telling everyone in attendance to appreciate life and each other and his story and why he feels the way he does now. Really nice touch and he was one of my favorite all-time Carnival comedians. One hundred percent genuine and heartfelt. We also saw him a couple of times just meandering about on the ship and each time we saw him, he took the time to talk about all kinds of stuff with anyone who came up to him. Nice guy.

After the show, we headed back to the casino bar to watch the last hour or so of live music onboard and to finish up drinking for the cruise. They played requests and really got the crowd involved. It was a lot more fun than I expected it to be and they were really good. They played all kinds of hits and the last hundred or so diehards who were still up at that time were loving it. The only thing they didn’t do is play Metallica, which was constantly being requested. Including by me. But overall, great band, and experience. Finally, around 0200, we headed back to our cabins and I finished packing, and with that, the cruise was pretty much over. I watched the morning news at home and heard about the lousy weather east of the Mississippi and found out that it had snowed some more at home. Argh. Headed back to that soon. I got to sleep around 0300 and left the tv on the bridge cam, as usual, to see our progression overnight. Incidentally, this was also the only time during the cruise where we traveled at a moderately fast clip. Our speed was showing around 14 knots all throughout the night, and only being a hundred or so miles from Long Beach, we would be back there early most likely. A good thing I guess. I lined up all my towel animals and got one last picture, and headed off to sleep.

Well, that’s it for DAY 4, DAY 5: DEBARKATION AND TRAVEL HOME/OBSERVATIONS AND COMMENTS is coming up relatively soon and I hope you have enjoyed my adventures. Thanks for reading.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Pictures of Ensenada, taken from the top deck of the ship. Nice place. Huge Mexican flag in the port area. Can be seen for miles around.

 

 

 

The Crown Princess from the top of our ship.

 

Long Island Iced Tea at Papas and Beer. Yeah, I also got a Jagerbomb here. Not bad.

 

 

Pancho the performer.

 

 

Outside deck at Papas.

 

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Outside Papas and Beer.

 

Our ship as we were approaching the entrance to the port area, taken from the little pathway that leads to town. Nice little area here.

 

 

Sunset in Ensenada, taken from outside on the lido deck. Almost ready to leave for Long Beach.

 

The Crown Princess on its way out. They were ahead of us the entire way back up the coast, as we could see them all night in the distance. Nice pic here.

 

 

My last dinner. Ribs and steak. I have to say the American table is not as bad as I thought it would be. I will discuss this later.

 

 

Our wait staff dancing in the main dining room, singing "leaving on a fun ship." Some of them get into it more than others.

 

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

One last warm chocolate melting cake. It was pretty good each night although it was a little too melted one night. Alfonso brought me the wcmc "mickey mouse style" one night, without me asking (two ice creams). Interesting to say the least.

 

My towel animal family. I do this on every cruise and usually the stewards kind of get it when I put my animals on the windowsill, that I want to keep my towels all cruise and they don't touch them until after I leave on the last day.

 

And that is it for Day 4. I will be wrapping this up once and for all later tonight. Comments and questions welcome.

[dcandme13]

Besides the MDR and Lido Buffet what are some of the other food options that are included in your fare? You mentioned passport check area once reboarding the ship in Ensenada, so we should carry our passports with when we get off to explore? I thought I had read just an S&S card and ID were ok when getting on and off in port ( I do have a passport, just inquiring on keeping it onhand VS keeping in room safe)...Ironically I had a dream last night I was at papas and beer and left my purse hanging on the back of a chair or something....talk about a restless night LOL.

[erewhon]

Thank you for your great review and for sharing your photos.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Besides the MDR and Lido Buffet what are some of the other food options that are included in your fare? You mentioned passport check area once reboarding the ship in Ensenada, so we should carry our passports with when we get off to explore? I thought I had read just an S&S card and ID were ok when getting on and off in port ( I do have a passport, just inquiring on keeping it onhand VS keeping in room safe)...Ironically I had a dream last night I was at papas and beer and left my purse hanging on the back of a chair or something....talk about a restless night LOL.

 

Room service is 24/7 and free although you really, really should tip the delivery guys and pizza is also 24/7. Besides that, there is the Taste Bar, on promenade deck, but that is only open for a few hours on the cruise. They also have a Deli, which is open pretty late most nights and they have cold sandwiches, etc, made to order. This being a smaller ship, that is really all there is available as this ship doesn't have any of the specialty places like Guy's Burger Joint or Fish and Chips, Blue Iguana Cantina or Tandoor but I guarantee that even without these places, it is impossible for anyone to go hungry on the Imagination or any other ship.

 

I mentioned it more as a place where the check your documents, but you are correct that they do not require passports. I got through with just my driver's license and ship card although I always bring my passport off the ship with me when I go to a foreign port because you honestly never know what will happen. But if you are not comfortable bringing your passport off the ship with you, I don't think you would have a problem getting back on the ship without it. Plus, my room safe never worked the entire time onboard, so I had to kind of stash my valuables all over the cabin, so they weren't just sitting out in the open although I didn't have any issues with stuff missing or anything.

 

Funny about Papas and Beer. M and I agreed that although it was nice, I have been to better Margaritavilles and we had much more fun in Avalon. The service and atmosphere was fine though. I generally know it is time to cruise again when I start having dreams at night that I am 6 days into a 7-day cruise and not only am I sad about the cruise being over soon, but I am horrified that I had realized that we went an entire cruise without visiting the MDR even once! LOL.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thank you for your great review and for sharing your photos.

 

Thanks for reading. I appreciate the kind words. I am going to try to get to the last part of this review sometime tomorrow. I wanted to do it tonight but it's late and I'm too tired to do it. I hope everyone likes the photos, as it brings the entire review to life.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

And, here is the last and final part of my Imagination cruise review. As is usual with debarkation day, things can get a little hectic and it is melancholy, because the cruise is over and it is back to reality for everyone. So, here is my summary of Day 5/travel home and some general observations and rating of the overall cruise vacation experience.

DAY 5: DEBARKATION, TRAVEL HOME AND GENERAL COMMENTS/OBSERVATIONS

I think the hardest part of debarkation day is not getting off the ship, rather it is waking up early. At least for me. I took care of as much packing as possible the night before and at around 0800 I just simply got cleaned up and changed and packed my sleep clothes from the night before and got ready to vacate the cabin. I made one last check to make sure I didn't leave anything behind, and called M to see where we were going to meet up. I was out of the cabin before 0830, and the stewards were working hard to get all the cabins turned for the next group of cruisers who would be coming on later in the day.

Of course, this being M's first cruise, he had no idea how the debarkation process went, so he just kind of followed my lead on how to get through the process. Of course he thought I was going to meet him at his cabin and I thought I was clear that I was going to go up to lido to get breakfast and he should meet me there. Of course he called me to ask why I never showed up at his cabin at around 0845. Whatever. I didn't feel like dragging all my stuff all the way to the front of the ship then back again to get fed, but eventually we got everything squared away and we sat down with breakfast from the lido buffet.

Breakfast was the normal ham, bacon, eggs, sausage, pancakes, juice, etc. I talked M into getting food although he wasn't too hungry, because we probably wouldn't get anything else substantial until we arrived back in Philly later that night. So, of course he agreed and we were full when it was time to get off the ship. We double checked that we had our customs slips filled out for inspection and waited for them to call self assist debarkation.

The ship was cleared and self assist was called at approximately 0900. We headed down to the deck 7, and lined up for debarkation. Since this was such a short sailing, I would say up to 2/3 of the pax on this ship used self assist and the line was pretty long. It moved fast though, and we were off by 0930. Actually, the longest wait was once we were on the gangway, leading back to the customs hall. There was a bit of a backup there, and once we were back into the little bubble, the line was split into US and non-US residents. The line for US residents moved fairly quickly, but the line for non-US residents was taking forever. Understandable, but I had never seen a cruise with so many non-US residents onboard before.

A pic of the ship we just left, taken from the gangway while we waited for the line to move some.

 

We both got through customs and immigration quickly, but neither of us had anything that we bought outside the USA to be inspected. I had thought since I lived on the other side of the country, that it would draw extra questioning but the immigration officer was fine with the answers I initially gave him and we were both on our way, a little after 1000. For this being a small port for Carnival, the debark process went pretty smoothly.

We walked outside towards the shuttle pickup area, and met with the van driver dispatch person at the curb. When we rode out to the port, the driver told us we did not have to make a reservation for the return, to just show up and we would be good to go. I would suggest doing so however, because people who had apparently made reservations filled up the van that was there and we had to wait for the next one to show up at around 1015, for the ride back. We had a nice discussion with a few cruise first timers, and they said they enjoyed the experience and would do it again as we rode back towards LAX. The traffic was not bad here, but of course we got to ride in the HOV lane, because we had enough people in the vehicle to do so.

We got back to LAX at around 1045, and paid and tipped our driver and were on our way. We checked in exactly 2 hours before our flight, and were through security around 1115. I have to say that the terminals in LAX are ridiculously cramped. I mean, I know they are doing construction work to modernize that airport, but there is one restaurant for a terminal with over a dozen gates for starters and it isn't exactly that good. Also, there is nowhere to sit, seating in the boarding area is insanely limited.

We had to wait until after the flight before ours boarded and left, so we could get seats remotely close to our departure gate. Our flight boarded on time and we were out of the gate and airborne about 5 minutes after pushback. The flight was uneventful and it was neat to see how quickly the sun sets when you are flying away from sunset at 39000 or whatever feet and almost 500 knots. LOL. I got a few nice pics of us flying over the mountains and great plains states and after a quick stop somewhere in the midwest, we were on our way again to PHL and landed a little early, around 2230 local and with that, the vacation was officially over. Back to reality the next day, jetlag and all. But it was a fun cruise.

Pics of us over the mountains and plains and of us finally arriving back at home sweet home.

 

 

 

So, that wraps it up. Hope you enjoyed and finally, some observations, comments, criticisms and my overall rating of the cruise.

The booking and checkin process was OK, but just know that if you book through a third party as we did, Carnival cannot touch your reservation in any way until when you check in and if there are any issues, it can be a pain to get that fixed. Overall, checking in and boarding was fine. Very friendly and helpful staff and boarding was quick and easy.

The ship and staff were for the most part, good. Most seemed happy to be on that ship, and to work for Carnival. Made us feel pretty welcome. I have to say that they need to upgrade their lido televisions as the tvs we were watching on lido at the bars were pretty bad quality. Also, put some better tv channels in the cabins. Come on, what they have is just bad and even though you don't cruise to watch tv, it still is nice to be able to chill in the cabin and watch some news and your favorite Tv shows and sports from time to time.

My room steward was adequate, although I only saw him once. I only needed him to go through and clean once a day and I am sure he appreciated that, LOL. The cabin itself had a ripped up desk counter but I really am not bothered by stuff like that. The cruise was gotten for so cheap, I would have probably not minded being in a maintenance closet, LOL. The safe never worked and that was a bit of an inconvenience, but it worked out fine due to me being smart about not leaving valuables and the like sitting out in the open for anyone going through there to see.

The food and dining was good. AMERICAN TABLE REVIEW HERE. I read about the American Table when it first came out and the reviews were horrific. They have, to their credit, fixed a lot of the problems and this being my first time experiencing it, it was not bad and I actually appreciated the variety it provided. The menu is changed up slightly, new and good additions like sweet and sour chicken on there and no more ribs on the same night as prime rib and lobster, but they also took away a lot of good, classic desserts like cherries jubilee and the Williams pear. There is a tradeoff with everything I guess. The cranberry bread they have is good now too. Overall, I don't have a problem with the American Table, it was fine. We also did anytime dining, and while it was my first time doing it, it was fine. We got to pick the same waiters every night and although I still like the assigned seating times, ATD is not a no-go for me. The lido food was fine as well and the lines were not long at all. Your standard lido food fare.

The ship was clean, and the entertainment was good. Smiley Joe Wiley was a great comedian and appears to be a really good dude overall also. Chas Elstner was a pretty good performer also, but not as good as Smiley Joe. The club was fun, and the casino was as well. The house band was great as I discussed earlier.

Ports of call were nice. Ensenada was just OK, but Avalon was a nice place to go to. Fun, quaint, tranquil, plenty to see, nice people, good food and drinks. It was weird traveling so slow most of the cruise, but since everything is so close together there, it is necessary I guess.

Cheers, although I didn't get it, worked fine for M. He got his money's worth and it didn't seem to take him any longer to get his drinks than if he was paying per drink. Unlimited soft drinks are also included with Cheers and I had no problem getting sodas quickly with my Bottomless Bubbles program either.

Overall, although I had been on this ship before and knew what to expect, cruising from California was a new thing to me and I enjoyed the experience. I would give this cruise a good rating and would recommend it to anyone who wants to get a quick getaway from everything for a while or who is cruising for the first time and isn't sure if they would like it or not. I think M liked it and said he would cruise again, but only if we went from a port closer to home, such as Florida. Either way, he and I had fun just hanging out and seeing some new things.

So, that wraps up another FlyingCruiserNJ review, hope you enjoyed and learned something about the ship or its programs or the ports of call and questions and comments are certainly welcome. Happy cruising all!

[Jamman54]

Thanks for the review. Well done!!

[Steamboat Holly]

Very nice review!! Thanks!

 

Sent from my ZTE_N9511 using Forums mobile app

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thanks for the review. Well done!!

 

Thanks for following all the way through Jamman! I can't wait to read your next review also. They are so enjoyable to see. I'm looking forward to my next cruise on NCL in May to Alaska, and although it is not Carnival, hopefully some of the folks here venture over to the NCL forums to check it out when I do it. It will be epic, with lots and lots of pics, I promise. Anyway, I can't wait for spring. More snow and 2 degree low here with -20 windchill and no end in sight. Cruise reviews do help get us all through these winter months.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Very nice review!! Thanks!

 

Sent from my ZTE_N9511 using Forums mobile app

 

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed reading it.

[cruiseclues]

FlyingCruiserNJ, thank you for your interesting photo review...glad to see one from the west coast. :):):):)