Review of the Carnival Imagination

Carnival Imagination August 10 thru 14, 2009

written by MD11F posted on 25/10/09

It's over 2 months since I took this cruise with my dad, and I just didn't have the time prior to this to write this review, hence the reason for being so late.

I booked this cruise, a 4 night Western Caribbean sailing just 11 days before, so the wait was not agnonizing. Our itinerary was Miami, Key West, Cozumel, Fun Day At Sea, Miami. I drove my vehicle to the Port Of Miami, parked in the parking garage and walked over to the Carnival Cruise Terminal where I met my dad. I had dropped him off in front of the terminal, got a crewmember with a wheelchair and then left to park the vehicle.

We went through security first, then proceeded to the check-in area. Since my dad needed wheelchair assistance, we were given priority at check-in, presented the required documents, got our Sail & Sign Cards and headed upstairs to the boarding bridge. There was a brief stop to take my embarkation picture(dad did not want his taken). We then proceeded to board the ship, inserted our S & S cards in the security computer, had our ID picture taken with that famous chime, and away we went to the Lido Deck 9 for lunch as the cabins were not ready until 1:30 PM. It was now 12:25 PM, and we were onboard the Carnival Imagination.

The Carnival Imagination entered service new on July 8, 1995 with Carnival, and at the time was known simply as Imagination. She was built at Masa-Yards, Helsinki, Finland, is 70,367 tons, is 855 ft long, carries 2,658 passengers at full guest capacity(2,054 based on 2 per cabin), has 926 total Officers and crew, and 10 passenger decks. The Imagination has a set of dual stabilizers, 3 bow and 3 stern thrusters, individually controlled twin rudders, and 6 diesel-electric engines. Her sister ships are the Carnival Fantasy, Ecstacy, Fascination, Inspiration, Sensation, Elation, and Paradise. The Fantasy was the first in this class of ship delivered in 1990, while the Paradise was the last in this class delivered in 1998. The Elation was also delivered in 1998.

The vessel underwent a multi-million refurbishment between Oct, 2007 and Nov, 2007, during which time the staterooms and suites were refurbished, including new bedding, carpet, furniture, lighting and wall coverings, and the creation of adjoining staterooms. The Art Auction Gallery was created in spaces vacated by the Photo Gallery on the Empress Deck(7), while the Photo Gallery was relocated to a more prominent location on the Promenade Deck(8) around the Atrium. The Evolutions of Fun, a Waterworks Aqua Park, Serenity Adults Only Retreat Area and a Resort Style Pool Area were all part of the enhancement of the ship during refurbishment, as were many other areas including the Spa, Card Room, and relocation of the Childrens Playroom area, plus a Teen lounge based on the Club O2 concept.

Lunch was very good in the Lido Buffet. The only drink after breakfast in the buffet area is lemonade, unless you order a soda or other drink from the bar. By the time we were finished having lunch, it was time to head down to our cabin as it was now after 1:30 PM.

Our stateroon was an Oceanview with a large picture window, Category 6E on the Empress deck 7. There is a flat panel TV mounted on the wall a few inches from the window in just the perfect position to view it from our bed. There were sodas and bottled water together with an ice bucket on the table top. The in-room telephone was a very sleek wall mounted device.

When we got to our stateroom, the only thing left to do was to vacuum the carpet. Now, I understand why this was not done as yet, since I myself was part of a group of travel agents on a weekend Familiarization tour of Carnival's ships, so the cleaning crew is hindered a bit because of travel agents crowding the corridors and there was a group of agents that Monday touring the ship. It was not a long wait before we were able to enter our cabin, and our luggage arrived shortly after. I unpacked both suitcases, then left to have our dinner time changed from Early to Late seating, which was easily accomplished. We then roamed the ship a while actually seeing most of the vessel before the Muster Drill and taking lots of pictures.

The Muster Drill on these ships is conducted similar to that on the Princess ships, only difference is they actually take you to the lifeboat after demonstrating the correct way to don the lifevest and other announcements. As soon as the Drill was concluded, we pulled away from the pier and we were underway out the channel to the open Atlantic Ocean. Next stop after returning the lifevests to our cabins was the Lido Deck for the sailaway Party.

The sailaway Party was a typical affair with Soca and Reggae music plus other tunes, beer, rum punch, and other alcoholic drinks available and of course, dancing. As might be expected, the ships videographer was present recording the event for the cruise DVD which I did purchase at the end of the cruise. I was eager to hit the Fun Shop Store, so we made our way there and I bought some Tee shirts which were on sale as well as 2 baseball caps with the ship's name on them.

Next, I got ready for dinner, my dad was too tired, so he stayed in the cabin and slept while I headed to the dining room after a nice shower, and clean clothing. I arrived in the Spirit Dining room to my assigned table to find all the others already seated. I greeted them all and they were all very friendly, and chatted before our Server, who was herself very friendly and is Russian, came with the menus. These were a great set of table mates I must say.

As usual, dinner was great, I had dessert, a cup of Expresso, and we got up and left the table after chatting a bit more. I headed back to my stateroom, and my dad was still asleep. He awoke a short time later, hungry, so we went to the Lido deck and I ordered two slices of Pizza for him, one for myself then fetched him a glass of lemonade. He enjoyed the pizza, which tasted great. I ordered two more slices of Veggie pizza, had a piece of cake and soft serve yogurt with dad, then we left and walked around some more. By this time it's after 1:00 AM. We headed to our stateroom and turned in.

Now, I did mention that I had a cup of Expresso, right? Well, I had a hard time sleeping that morning, and Key West was our first port of call in just a few hours, and at 4:00 AM, I was wide awake wondering why I couldn't sleep. Well, I finally did fall asleep and I awoke at approximately 8:00 AM. The ship was docked in Key West. We got up, showered, dressed and headed up to the buffet for breakfast. We had egg white omlettes, whole wheat bread, orange juice and harsh browns plus a cup of hot chocolate. While having breakfast, it dawned on me why I had a hard time falling asleep, it was the Expresso that I drank late the night before. Never made that mistake again.