fun cruise by
Noreen R. from Hillsborough, NJ
Sailing date: Sep 2008 Pros:
anything you want, you can get
Cons:
trying to find locations of different shops, restaurants, etc. even on the same floor
very clean ship, nicely laid out, but hard to find where to go for some things.
Ship Quality i just feel i wasted alot of time trying to locate places even if i was on the right floor
Dining/Food i tried every type of food and restaurant and never once came away regretting any of it - even the foods i had never tried before!
Stateroom Quality i was really impressed with the size of our stateroom and the fact that i very seldom ran into our steward, but every time i returned to my room, i saw it had been cleaned up. and the towel animals were terrific!
Ship Staff Quality every employee i came in contact with had a smile and a hello for me. our waiter always remembered our name and us. our steward was always accessible without being under our feet and our rooms were spotless! every bar waiter was right there for me without hovering over me.
Entertainment & Activities lots of things to do and i think something for everyone. i thoroughly enjoyed the shows, the caino, etc. and i really liked the fact that i only had to carry my one card to get everything from money to gamble with, purchases on board, as well as entry to my room. i was also impressed with the security of the card - name only - no room numbers.
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Cozumel, Mexico had an absolute blast there. we had lots of time since the ship docked in the afternoon and was there til late at night. easy enough to go back and forth from ship to shore - absolute bonus! i had so much fun in town that i forgot i wanted to see the ruins! next time i'll do that (if i can get out of Senor Frog's)
Don't Miss: Senor Frog's was so much fun! the people were so accommodating and friendly!
Key West, Florida i have been to key west before but i still enjoyed roaming around the shops and soaking up the atmosphere. next time i will do sme excursions or tours too but i wish we had more time there.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Far exceded our expectations by
Seasoned travelers from Cleveland OH
Sailing date: Mar 2008 Pros:
Onboard experience
Cons:
Ochos Rios
We are first time cruisers in our 50's with two college age kids. Very experienced worldwide travelers. We live in the Midwest and needed warm weather. We had heard so many mixed reviews from almost everyone we spoke to about all the cruise lines so chose Carnival and the Imagination because it fit perfectly with our Spring Break times and the itinerary promised the best chance of warm weather.
This experience FAR exceded our expectations and we are researching another cruise - probably on Carnival.
As the time for the cruise approached we began to wonder if we were making a mistake.
Would we get sea sick? - We did not and saw and heard of nobody who did either.
Would we be bored? - There was not enough time or energy to do everything we wanted to.
Would there be lots of annoying children? - We barely saw any children, and none were misbehaving or unhappy. Camp Carnival obviously did a very good job as about 600 of the 2000 passengers were under 17.
We are not smokers, but it was easy to avoid as smoking is only allowed in designated areas.
The ship is so big that if one area was too noisy, windy, sunny....... there was somewhere else to go and be comfortable.
Ship Quality The whole ship was "white glove" clean with staff constantly making sure that everything was constantly sparkling clean and smudge free.
Dining/Food We were expecting the typical catered food. We were wrong! Every meal was superb, with many outstanding choices.
We did not want to dine formally, but went the first night and loved the service, our amazing wait staff Edita and Ni Wayan and incredible food. The all day buffet and 24 hour pizza, Panini and ice-cream and frozen yoghurt was wonderful too with really great selections that changed daily.
Stateroom Quality Our cabins were immaculately clean and cabin stewards were always available for extra towels. We always had plenty of hot water. Shampoo and shower gel, cakes of soap, toothpaste and razors were provided and replenished when needed. We chose not to have our staterooms made up every day.
Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & Activities The entertainment at night was top class. Incredible dancers and singers, two very funny comedians and a talented and amusing juggler kept us entertained every evening and our kids were further entertained by the late late night shows.
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George Town, Grand Cayman Beautiful island, clean city, friendly, helpful people. See as much as you can!
Don't Miss: Stingray City Snuba - this excursion was wonderful. Professional, efficient transportation, careful instruction and an amazing experience underwater with the stingrays.
Ocho Rios, Jamaica Dirty, disorganised city, pushy people and peddlars, lots of dishonest people trying to scam tourists. Be VERY careful and listen to any advice given by the cruise director. ONLY take a ship sponsored/recommended excursion. Dolphin Cove beach is worth a visit for a peaceful swim, snorkel and the dolphin and stingray interaction. Dunns River Falls was disappointing and dangerous. Too crowded and commercialized. One woman in the group behind ours broke her foot and medical assistance was poor. Water shoes are essential. (Bring your own) The falls have certainly undergone cement enhancement!
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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WOW! Had A Great Cruise by
A Traveler from Cleveland, Ohio
Sailing date: Jun 2007 Pros:
Ship was beautiful, very elegant felt like Royalty!
Cons:
Hard to remember which way was which, we were always getting lost
We were not sure Carnival was the cruise ship for us. You see I took my two daughter, 34yrs & 17 yrs. We found out there was a wonderful blend of age groups. We were pleasently surprised that another mother and her two older sons were seated at our dinner table of six.
Had heard some negative feed from people prior to sailing about Carnival being nothing but a "party" ship. They were wrong. It is a "FUN" ship. We were never disturbed when we retired to our cabin. Noise was always at a minimum.
The ship, itself, was immaculately clean and very well maintained. They personnel were extrodinary. It was our first time but won't be the last! Would I cruise Carnival again? You bet I would!!
Dining/Food The dining experience was terrific. Our waiter A.J. was absolutely the best. Dinner was a very enjoyable time for all of us to sit and compare notes with the others seated at out table regarding the things we did that day and the things we planned to do tomorrow. We were never rushed. The food was really good BUT did would not rock my world so to speak. 4 Star in my book but not 5 star.
Stateroom Quality I was pleasantly surprised by the size of our cabin. There were three of us and I was fearful of how much room we'd have in out stateroom. It was very comfortable. The rooms were arrange very efficiently and although there were not as large as a regular hotel room might be but it was very omfortable. Also want to add that I have a real problem sleeping in other than my own bed but the pillows, sheets and comforters were great. Had a good night sleep every night!!
Ship Staff Quality Perfect! What can I say..... they attended to our every need and in a very timely manner.
Entertainment & Activities We really enjoyed they theater shows, there is a whole lot of talent there. The comedians kept us laughing and the singers and daners kept us clapping. Bravo.
A couple of scheduled events were late to begin or canceled because of coflicks...the towel folding lesson for instance
Children's Programs
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Calica, Mexico By far it was favorite, favorite place. We did the jeep excursion onland. AWESOME!! We enjoyed every minute of it. We had two great tour guys. I'd definitely recommend this land excursion. The beach visit was great, the Mexican food was delicous, the cenote was unbelievable!!!!!
Don't Miss: The cenote
Key West, Florida I enjoyed Key West, however, we scheduled the catimarn & snorkle land excursion which we all really enjoyed. I was not to happy that we had to wait so long to get started though. I have a real physical problem with standing and it would have been nice for benches to be provided. Then after a busride to the boat we were schedule to snorkle on we have to walk at least a quarter of a mile to bet to and from it. It would be nice if they would have a better discription of what type of activity is involved. We knew there would be swimming but did not realize there was so much walking. Some of us old people can swim like fish but can't walk worth a darn!....ha,ha,ha
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Bummer--only one port due to illness by
A Traveler from Hillsborough NJ
Sailing date: Mar 2007 Pros:
I liked the service and staff.
Cons:
The one excursion we got was terrible. Poor organization and not as advertised.
I liked the staff, food and service. The room was big enough for two and comfortable.
We had to miss a port (Grand Cayman) because someone got ill and we had to go all the way to Key West. That left 4 of 5 days on board, which became boring for us and our kids.
When we finally got off, our excursion was poorly organized and we were not given what was promised. I was extremely disappointed in this since it was our only day off the ship.
Ship Quality Very nice staff and service.
Dining/Food Nothing spectacular, but quite good overall.
Stateroom Quality Older, but well maintained and large enough for comfort for 2 in the room.
Ship Staff Quality I was disappointed with the captain not getting us another port to go to. A $25 credit per person did not make up for missing the best port in the itinerary. The excursion desk promised to call back about our excursion misadventures, and never did.
The wait staff, housekeeping were all very good and I was very happy with them.
Entertainment & Activities The night time entertainment was below what I had seen on 3 other cruise lines. We only went one night--that was enough for us.
The "fun ship" wasn't so fun with 4 of 5 days on board.
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Ocho Rios, Jamaica They took us snorkeling off the beach at the Falls--a total waste of time. We were snorkeling in the sand as the waves broke.
The Falls must have had 500 people on them at the same time. The guides left you and we were left to our own resources to climb. Considering there was a 70 year old man with our group, that was a mess.
I had been to the Falls before and loved the climb. But with our ship and a RC ship in port, there were just too many people at the same time.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Very Disappointed!!!!! by
Rose M from Toledo, Ohio
Sailing date: Sep 2006 Pros:
Live Band playing Calyso music
Cons:
itineraries were changed 3 times
After carefully planning for my 1st anniversary, I choose to take my first cruise upon the Imagination. I was very excited about getting to Ochos Rios and Grand Cayman. As we boarded the ship, we were told of the change in the ships plans. We would be sailing to Bahamas vs Grand Cayman, and Ochos Rios. I was devastated. They gave us a spill about the "ships propulsion" What ever the case they knew this before we boarded the ship. After changing the schedule several more times, eventually, and basically,Carnival took us on a cruiseship maintainance run to Freeport! I am a very dissatisfied customer, and needless to say, Carnival Cruise ruined my plans for my anniversary and made my first experience cruising a "nightmare."
Ship Quality
Dining/Food
Stateroom Quality very dusty, mirrors were dirty
Ship Staff Quality
8 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
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A Horrilble Start to our Cruise!!!! by
albert from Jersey
Sailing date: Sep 2006 Pros:
The services of the Dining room/Cabin stewarts
Cons:
Late minute change in Cruise Itinerary! Carnival Rep. greeted us we a poor attitude such as take or leave it!
I have been cruising for 15 years (about 17 cruises total). I have cruised with Carnival 11 time never been checked in vip. In the last 10 months, I have taken 3 cruises with Carnival and twice i have been forgetten as a past guest. I have missed out twice on the Past Guest Party. On 9/30/06, the Carnival Imagination changed our 6 day cruise Itinerary going to Jamaica and Cayman Island with Bahamas so there ship can get repaired and maintanced. Carnival should give us a full refund or free cruise. If they do not comply, I will never cruise with them again
Ship Quality
Dining/Food
Stateroom Quality
Ship Staff Quality Check in was a night mare!! Welcome crew behavoir was very cocky and rude making it the worst welcome and cruise ever.
Entertainment & Activities
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George Town, Grand Cayman Carnival never made it!!!
Ocho Rios, Jamaica Carnival never made it!!!
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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the Carnival Cruise experience by
wilma d from new orlenas
Sailing date: Jun 2006 Pros:
schedule
Cons:
waiting to get off the ship
Overall the ship was clean and well appointed. We had an issue with the bags of linens sitting in the hallways, evidently there wasnt storage for them and when we complained were told thats what they had to do. The food was average, the dining room service was excellent. The worst was the waiting to exit the ship, there just isnt a fast way to get 2500 people off a ship quickly. Carnival is what it is, if you want the least expensive cruise and have a specific time to travel like we did they have a cruise available.
Ship Quality
Dining/Food The wait staff in all the venues we tried were always well trained.
Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & Activities
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Calica, Mexico We took one of the land tours and were taken to a tourist trap of a shop, the guide insisting he had to stop there. On the way back he really badgered for tips.
Don't Miss: The sipp didnt have much time in this port, nothing to see if you just gett off.
Key West, Florida We just ambled around on our own and enjoyed the town itself.
16 out of 20 people found this review helpful.
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