Imagination review part 1: 07/24 4 day sailing

[SpideyHulk24]

Okay, so here is my official review of the July 24th sailing:

Cast: Me, DW, sons 3 and 8, Mom and Dad, Aunt and Uncle

Cruise: 4 day western: Key West, Cozumel, Day at Sea

Day 1:

We live here in Florida so getting to ports in the state is pretty easy. This was our first cruise out of Miami, so we decided to head out 1 day early, spend time sight seeing and get ready for our wonderful cruise. We drove about 3 hours to Miami and arrived at about 10 a.m. I have a cousin who lives in Miami so we went and spent the day at her house as she has a pool and wanted to bbq. After spending the day there, we left her house at about 4 p.m. and went to our hotel. We checked into the Miami Hyatt Regency in Downtown. WOW! Is all I have to say. This hotel is truly 4 stars. The rooms do not face the bay, but the location is literally minutes away. There was only one downfall here. PARKING FEES!!!!! We paid $28 dollars for parking at the hotel. There are a few parking garages in the area, but they are pricey as well and did not feel safe. After settling into the hotel, we decided to go to Bayside to do some shopping. We got some great deals at the Disney store for the kids, Bath and Body works, FYE and other shops. The kids wanted to ride the carousel and the train so we did that for them and then let them do the mini bungee jump attraction for the kids. They had a ball. After this it was about 8:30 p.m. so we had dinner at Bubba Gumps. I have to say the food here was not bad, but it was nothing to write home about. We spent a lot of money and I personally did not feel we got value for what we paid. I would have rather eaten at Chili’s or one of the other spots at Bayside. After dinner, we headed to the hotel as tomorrow it was time for our cruise!!!!!!!

Day 2: Embarkation:

We woke up around 9 a.m. and checked out of the hotel. My wife loves this little caribe cafe by the airport, so we drove for an amazing Cuban breakfast. This place was wonderful and only 10 minutes from the port. Breakfast was $3.99 and you received a cup of Cuban coffee (AWESOME) eggs, bacon, ham or sausage, potatoes and Cuban bread with butter. Quite the deal and soooooooooooooooooo gooooddddd!

After breakfast, we drove back to the port and arrived around 10:30 a.m. I dropped the bags, the wife, kids and the rest of the family off at the terminal and parked in LOT C. After parking, the shuttle dropped me off back at the terminal and my family and I checked in. It was awesome. So well organized and everyone was so helpful. I was expecting a bad experience based on what I had read on the boards, but it was great! We were in zone 10 for boarding and were on the ship by 11:45. There was a fraternity on our ship (600 guys) and boy did they like to party, but they did not interfere with anyone’s vacation experience. They were friendly and there to have a good time like the rest of us. Once on board, we were not allowed to drop off our bags so we headed straight to the Lido for lunch. I had a wonderful salad and pizza, while the kids had burgers and fries and my wife had a salad and rotisserie. The food was awesome as usual. After lunch, we went to SPA carnival to make our appointments. My wife wanted her hair done for formal night and I wanted a massage on our sea day. After our appointments, we headed to the room to meet our steward. Ketut from Indonesia was great. We got to the room and had chocolate funships waiting for the boys, cookies for me and chocolates for the wife. I also ordered the strawberries for my parents and aunt. Our room was E171 and it was great. After seeing the room, we wandered off to Camp Carnival for a viewing of the area, but it did not officially open until after sailaway. We did some more sight seeing and then headed to the room as we had the 6 p.m. dinner in the Spirit dining room. Dinner was awesome. I had tilapia, my wife had steak and everything was just great! That night I ordered a birthday cake for my aunt so we had that and warm chocolate melting cake! It was to die for! After dinner, we went to the Illusions disco for the family Welcome Dance party. It was lots of fun! After that we went and saw Living in America. Great show…alittle long, but still great. After that, signed the boys up for after hours sitting and the wife and I went to the Xanadu Lounge for Karaoke, drinks and dancing. After such a busy night, we went to get the boys at 12 a.m., and hit the sack.

Tomorrow, Key west! Stay tuned!

[jessandpaul]

Great review so far!!! Looking forward to hearing about your adventures.

[mom2girls]

Great review! Did you tell the front desk at the Hyatt that you needed the sticker for the discount parking? I don't remember how much I paid, but I don't think it was that much.

[Wags67]

Hi SpideyHulk24:)

I am enjoying your review so far...can't wait for more...

[SpideyHulk24]

i did tell them about the parking, but they said it was for the garage. It did not feel safe, so we ended up parking on site.

[mom2girls]

I didn't realize there was any parking except in the garage that is next to the Hyatt. Did you end up using the valet?