Carnival Imagination Reviews

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My wife and I went on this cruise because my cousin was getting married. We originally booked a grand suite and two weeks before the cruise they called and offered us an upgrade to the Penthouse Suite. Needless to say we were pretty excited to have an upgrade and after researching the size of the room we knew we were in for a good time. The lady I booked with promised specific amenities and an escort to the room since it is not listed on the deck plans. When we got to the port to embark with the VIP checkin we were promised, they could not find our reservation. They sent us on the ship with guest passes and told us to speak with guest services once aboard. Guest Services was unable to do anything for us because their computers were not uploaded yet. This was not the way I wanted the vacation to start. We ported in Key West the second day and both my wife and I were flagged trying to leave the ship. They told us that we would again have to speak with guest services because our cards were not working (the ones we had just gotten from them the previous day). If the cards weren't working, why would they tell use to leave and deal with it later? This was the classic game of pass the buck we had experienced since we had gotten on the ship. The same thing happened when we attempted to return to the ship with the cards again not working. It was at this point I called Carnival directly since working with guest services was getting me nowhere. From that point on we did not have any problems with the cards, but due to the many we had up to that point, my wife did not enjoy the rest of the cruise. The food on this cruise was also the worst I have ever had and the service in the dining room was terrible. The servers were hard to find and seemed to not care about the experience of the cruisers. They are automatically tipped on the sail and sign account and you can tell they are not trying. One thing that irked my wife was the fact that her water glass was continuously empty (I didn't really get why that was so annoying, but she's a woman and I wasn't going to argue). Room service was helpful but slow. Orders would take up to an hour to reach our room and the food would be cold. Also whenever we called guest services for anything they were rude and acted put-upon that we needed something. The promised pool on the Serenity deck was a joke! Two hot tubs...combined those wouldn't even equal one pool. The only dancing club on the boat did not cater to everyone and was surrounded by security each night (we didn't go in). My wife had been talking about the shows she had seen on previous cruises and I was looking forward to seeing them. We went to one and did not go back. It was terrible! We fell asleep! The male singer couldn't sing and they kept yelping. I can go to karaoke to do that. The main entertainment for us came from counting everyone who left the show. The good points: Our room was always cleaned in a timely fashion. Our room steward was like a ninja. The bartenders in the Xanadu lounge were friendly and helpful and we enjoyed the piano bar. The room we were in was amazing but the problems that came with it made my wife wish we had stayed in our original cabin. My wife had cruised with Carnival before and stated at that point she would not go on another cruise with them but because of the wedding we decided to go for it. Big mistake. If you are looking for something with a little more class and something focused on customer service, do not cruise with Carnival. Never again!

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This was my 8th Carnival cruise. I haven't been in a couple years.I took a Royal Caribbean and Norwegian for my last two cruises. I find myself coming back to Carnival because it is a "fun" ship. I will start off to say the embarkation process was smooth. I stayed at a Comfort Suites in Miami Springs pre-cruise. I stayed because they had transport from the airport and to the cruise port. The hotel was nice, new and clean. Don't book the same transport company to take you home. KSA. They made us wait in the sun for well over an hour and then dropped us off on the wrong side of the terminal. I would recommend by hire the first shuttle you see when you get off the ship. They run you $10 per person. The port experiences were great. We did the Key West bar crawl. Funny tour guy, Beau. Drinks were great and strong. In Cozumel we did the beach buggy snorkel. Be sure you have someone who is good at stick shift. In the description they say they have automatic available. They don't. The drive was an experience to be sure since I haven't driven stick in about 15 years. The fish were amazing and lunch was good. They took us to a hut for shopping and drinks. The people will bargain with you. Stick to your guns about what you want to pay. The sellers will come down to your price. The service on Carnival, sadly to say, is slipping. The My Time Dining option is not good. It takes much longer to complete your meal and causes you to miss the shows. It takes forever for them to clear your plates and forget it if you want more bread. It doesn't come. The food was cold much of the time. The drinks were watered down. The choices for the higher end cuts of meat and seafood were much less available. The highlight of the cruise was the Chef's table. They only seat 12 people per cruise. It is $75 but was worth it. It was a 7 course tasting menu with wines and champagne. It included a picture with the chef, a magic show table side and the most amazing short ribs I have ever tasted. The chef was funny and gave us a tour of the kitchen and some inside information about how the food service works. Carnival cut out the part for returning cruisers. This was a disappointment as it is usually a highlight of my cruise. The comedy show was amazing. The live music was great. We also enjoyed tea time. For first time cruisers, it is still a good deal but for Carnival veterans, you may be disappointed by this cruise.

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We are first time cruisers and this was a good deal. We read others reviews about embarkation and got to the ship at about 2:30pm for a 4pm departure. We checked in online which allowed us to breeze right through and go straight to our room. We carried on our luggage which also allowed us to not have to wait for it later. Room: We booked E244 aft oceanview. We were told it was a little larger. We were really surprised at how clean and comfortable it was. I still brought Clorox wipes and wiped surfaces down. I checked for bed bugs and found everything spotless. The pillows and comforter were down with a nice duvet cover. The bathroom was spotless as well. There were 2 nightstands, a chair, and a small stool that was under the vanity. There was also 3 large closets with plenty of hangers and 4 large shelves. Zaw, our porter was discreet but very helpful. We did give him a tip at the beginning of the cruise and he made sure that our ice bucket was always filled, our towels replaced, and our bed always fresh. He remembered our names and called us by name every time we saw him. He and the room was wonderful. Above us was the crew smoking area so we did not hear any noise except one morning. I wasn't sure where it came from though. There was some banging and I did hear some talking. But again don't know where it came from, but it didn't last long. The shuddering that I had read about in aft cabins was very nominal. We did feel some slight shuddering and rocking, but it was like being in a low vibrating bed. We missed it after we left. We slept like babies every night. The ship tv had a few local channels and 2 movie channels. The only few downsides were that there was no clock except for the tv and there was no instructions for the wakeup call. I called the front desk and there was no answer. Note: your cell phones will not work for clocks because for some reason they go all crazy even on airplane mode. The ship slips a day planner and agenda under the door each day and the night before departure with the debarkation procedures included. The other was that the potable water to brush your teeth and face was disgusting. It left the worst aftertaste in your mouth and it smelled terrible. I ended up using bottled water to brush my teeth.

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The imagination was a much better ship than the previous one we went on 11 years ago. Alot has changed. The food was better but the portions are little smaller. Embarkation: Miami's port was nicer than Cape Canaveral. We got there at 11:00 and it was busy. about 45 mins in line to check in. Then the Gangway was shut down for about 15 mins due to "high winds"?? Wished it went faster. Coming home was a quick process. Ship: We kept busy on the ship and always found stuff to do. We were not the type to lay around the pool all day. I did alot of research leading up to this cruise and had some concerns about this particular ship. But for the money we spent, it was great. The ship was very clean. The staff was great. Still cannot figure out why they have so many lounges. Most of them were always empty. The night club was always empty and so was the Piano bar. I actually talked tot he Piano man for a while and he said they are looking to revamp the Piano bar on all ships to include a more "fun" dueling piano and singalong type of style. Since the Piano bar was empty, that's pretty much the style we got. We requested songs and sang along. So that was fun. Room: We had an interior room. No frills. The bed was comfy and water pressure good. Not sure what else to say about it. I did feel like the cabin was damp, something I did not like. Also, when you stepped onto the bathroom floor, you could hear water sloshing around. So I wonder if there was a leak in the drainage of the shower. Out steward brought us anything we wanted and was quick about it. However, I did have one issue with Room Service. I asked for a wine opener and it took 45 mins for them to come down. But I spent the time unpacking, so it wasn't a total loss. Oh, bring an alarm clock. Time deprivation hits hard core when you can't easily figure out what time it is. Entertainment: The first show "Living In America" was poor and I was actually falling asleep. The guy singer was not great but the Girl was. The live band mixed with recorded instruments gave an odd sound to the whole show. You either got to go all the way with a live band or none at all in my opinion. So we decided to skip the following day show. The two comedians were great and had no complaints there. And of course the love and marriage show was funny. The piano guy was awesome. He knew the most obscure songs. My wife requested Rocky Raccoon by the Beatles. He knew the piano without issue, but stumbled on the lyrics. It was funny. Shopping: For me personally, I hate the shopping on board. But I followed my wife through them. One big tip, show up for all the giveaways. There are not that many who show up and your chances are good for getting free stuff. My wife won a $100 spa credit and a free necklace. You have to put up with their sales pitch before the giveaway, but it was always short. The thing I liked least would have to be the Photos. They had stations setup everywhere. And the poses they wanted you in were so posed and faked. I just didn't see the point. Food: The food in the dining was always good. The buffet was just ok; most of the food was cold, pre cooked somewhere and kept in large cabinets. Pizza was far better than our previous cruise. It was hot and fresh. We did not get a chance to try the Deli counter or Sushi bar. The burger station was also good. Room service was prompt and the food hot. The waiter on the first night was not all that good socially. But was prompt. Our second and third night waiters were great, funny and very professional. Fun: We did not get to try everything, like the water slides and Live music. We only hit the serenity deck to hop in the hot tub for a little bit after our excursion. I do have to say that deck is nice and we would have spent more time there if were not drinking so much and dancing on the Lido. We saw alot of families and kids there. Most of the time they hogged the main hot tubs and pool. Didn't bother us since we could go to the serenity deck. Had no issue finding chairs either. Excursion: We did end up booking through carnival, only because the forecast included rain the entire weekend, and we did not want to get stuck not getting our money back from a private charter. We did the sail and snorkel. We actually went to the same location as Flying Cloud. Since I'm a Floridian, I was not impressed with the snorkeling. I saw the same things I would see if I went to the beach. But the sailing was fun. I would not do it again. So in conclusion, this cruise was great. We had fun, drink, danced, saw some good entertainment and ate well. I believe you make what you want out of a cruise. We had fun despite any negative issues that came up, because we wanted to have nothing but fun. If you want a more laid back, pampered type of atmosphere, then this budget cruise is not for you. This is about cheap, fast and party. Not bad for $245 pp. Our next cruise will include a balcony and if I can afford it, one of the new bigger ships of Royal Caribbean. Nothing against Carnival, just want to experience the giant ship.

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I had to write a review about this cruise, i did some research before booking and read some review about this ship, i guess it all depends on the person and what you expect. I cruised before with Royal Caribbean and i must say, this ship does not compare but i went with an infant so my fun was very limited to the Pool back then she was only 2 1/2 years. This time it was only my boyfriend and myself kind of a fun/romantic gateway NO KIDS!!! it worked out perfectly. Embarkation it was super fast even though there was a lot of people, we had done the Sail In registration online which i recomend and there was no held up on the line, once we took our picture we were on Cruise heaven... Music, drinks, food were awesome!!! The Lido Deck has a very good variaty of food, from hot dogs, hamburguer to turkey and chicken. You must try the WOK station, food to die for very very good!!!! Inside there is more food, buffet style (Caribbean, Sandwich Station, Pizza, Ice cream, Desserts, Fruits, Salads) all you can think of they have and is open most of the day.

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