Imagination Review 11/11/06 - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

pwkenner · 11-20-2006, 04:58 PM

We arrived in Miami on Friday night and stayed at the La Quinta on LeJuene Road. No problems with the hotel, great prices, free shuttle to the airport and port transfers and free continental breakfast. Only minor issue was the noise from the planes, but the rate, transfers and breakfast made up for this. As a note, when you arrive at the hotel and sign up for the port transfer, make sure they write down the number of travelers using the port transfer service. Family of 31 from Arizona had a minor issue, because the front desk only put down the room numbers and not the number of travelers, so this added to their port departure time and other airport pickups, but they made it in plenty of time.

Embarkation- We left the hotel around 10:15a.m. and arrived at the port around 20 minutes later. We dropped our bags with the porters, took some pictures outside and started the embarkation process which went smoothly and quickly. We had a 1:30p.m. boarding time, but we were on the ship and at lunch by 12:00p.m. The stewards were still preparing the rooms, but they let us drop off our carry-on without any problems. Shout out to Paulson my room steward for doing an excellent job. I went to the Pursers desk to check my on-board credit and everything was in order.

First Impression-Getting the hang of the layout of the ship was easier than we thought. Everything was in tip top shape. There were no real signs of wear or date and any maintenance issues were being handled promptly. I wonder how many gallons of paint and pieces of marble these guys use on each cruise?! The staff was always on top of things and was constantly cleaning and polishing without getting in way or really being noticed. My stateroom E100 was just the right size. I spent some time in one of the suites, WOW. I’m going need to save some extra money for next year. The staterooms and public rooms were better than expected.

Dining- We had no problems with any of the meals. Standard American style breakfast foods in the morning. We ate all our lunches at the Pool Grill or in the Horizon Grill. No complaints here either. Try the grilled salmon or tilapia, jerk chicken, burgers, pizza, fried rice, sausage and rigatoni and fried chicken. For desert at lunch, the ice cream was plentiful, but try one of the rich chocolate deserts. We had dinner in the dining room several nights and at the Horizon Grill several nights. The dining room servers were superb. Shout to the Pride DR waiters Loreto and Svetlana. The staff engaged you in conversation and were truly genuine. The best part was the DR staff signing and dancing, with the passengers joining in. What a great time. The Captains Dinner was spectacular! Seeing nearly everyone dressed up was a night to remember. And those who didn’t get dressed up were not made to feel inferior. Everyone had a really great time. Too bad my pictures of this night were lost by the airline, but that’s a story for later on. Forget the soda cards. Bring your own or there's plenty of juices that you don't have to pay for.

Activities- Onboard activities were ongoing for just about any taste. A dozen different types of bingo, Deal or No Deal, Millionaire, the Newlywed and Not So Newlywed game. Try some of the different information sessions (Tour Talk, Shop Talk, and Debarkation Talk). All were very informative and will save you some grief. The nightly productions were awesome and the comedians were really funny!

Grand Cayman- Upon some friend’s advice I decided not to do much here, just stroll around town, take in the sites and get something to eat. Nothing much in town, just a lot of shopping. Took some great pictures though. Stay away from Senor’ Frogs it’s overpriced! Three drinks, a burger and two chicken strip meals $100.00 US. Something about the US Tax?! Another couple paid $38.00 US for a “Salad” Bowl with no drinks, be warned!

Ochos Rios- Shout out to Stedman of Juta Tours/Taxi. As informed, the local tours here are half the price of the ship. The government licensed taxis were right outside the pier gates and the price is arranged before you start. Twenty dollars for each passenger for an Ochos highlights tour. Dunn’s River is an additional $15.00 dollars each. Highlight locations include Fern Gully Rainforest, shopping, free beach time and Dunn’s River. Whatever you want to do, however long you want to do it. These guys make it happen without the fuss of being in a large group. In Ochos Rios, haggle, haggle, haggle. No price is written in stone. Check out the 8 for $19.99 T-shirt shops. Great prices on everything from souvenirs, booze, coffee and jewelry. The prices are much cheaper than in the Caymans

Self Debarkation - Quick and painless, even if you have a million bags. We were off the ship, through Customs/Immigration and on the pier by 8:30a.m. Overall my first cruise was great. I can’t compliment the entire staff enough on a great job. See you guys next year.

gottabecruisin · 11-20-2006, 08:14 PM

Awesome review!

djgifford · 11-20-2006, 08:45 PM

Excellent review...thanks for sharing!