I've been on vacations around the world, but this was my 1st cruise. I wanted to do something local, w/ a destination that I'd be OK to only get to explore for a day. I've been to Ensenada before, so the 3-day trip on Carnival's Imagination was perfect for me.
If you've been on a cruise before, then this summarizes my holiday trip: staff was amazing, food was great, entertainment was outstanding, it was a great deal for a short trip with one destination.
If you haven't been on a cruise before, here's what you can expect on this ship:
My husband booked the trip "last minute" (about a month in advance). We had a choice between a 3 day trip (Ensenada) in December or 4 day trip (Catalina Island & Ensenada) in January for just a little more$$. The 3 day departed on Sat. evening (5 pm) and returned Tues. (9 am). We checked in & received a card that you keep on you during the entire trip. They will swipe this card if you want to buy drinks, spa services, etc - the credit card you have on file is billed at the end, but you can check/pay your balance at any time prior to that at guest services.
We checked out our room (M12 - 5th Floor - Main Deck). Marvin was the staff person in charge of cleaning our room 2x a day, folding our towels into animals & leaving chocolates on our pillows before bed. He greeted us by name as we walked up, and every time he saw us through the week, he made sure to say "Hi Amy! Hi Casey!" and ask us how we were doing. This was amazing!
Our bags were at our room before we were & an itinerary for the ship's daily activities was next to the room service card with 24 hour menu options & a breakfast card if we wanted breakfast delivered to bed. We went to the lobby bar and my husband purchased a soda card ($6/day for unlimited soda). I wanted the alcohol card, but it works out to $170 for the trip, and that's a per person charge - both people in a room have to purchase it. So that didn't work for us. We each brought a bottle of wine onboard anyhow, so I only ended up buying a couple of drinks each day.
We went shopping and I bought a gorgeous Citizen watch for my husband for Christmas. There aren't a lot of shopping options on the ship - only a couple small stores. They also have a gym which I went to the first morning (Sun.). I had sprained my ankle on Friday before departure, so I wasn't able to run on the outdoor Olympic jogging track, but they have a nice padded track w/ ocean views. We played mini golf & bean bags while on board but never found time for ping pong. We would have like to go swimming but the small pool was freezing - this was the only kind of disappointing part of the trip, but my injured foot was afraid to swim anyhow. My husband went on each of the 2 waterslides. We never had a chance to get in the hot tubs because they were always swarming w/ children, but we stayed warm by basking in the sun on the lounge chairs around the different decks.
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| Fitness center |
At night we enjoyed music at the piano bar with great singing and fun! Comedians Russ Nagel & Will Marfori kept us laughing during the family shows and especially at the late-night adult-only shows. We sat through a little karaoke and even danced along to the amateur singing (but did not sing ourselves). At night we hit up the dance club and I hobbled about on my sprained foot as best as I could to a packed dance floor with great songs. I won a prize on the game Hasboro game show!
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| Pianist |
Tea time on Monday was awesome! It took place in the piano bar & we were served hot tea, cakes, cookies, and cucumber sandwiches. The Taste Bar opened up small plate samples at night time. Neither of these were anywhere near as amazing as the dining hall options. We choose open dining rather than an assigned dining time. Food was incredible w/ an extensive menu & service was better than you'll find anywhere else. We made friends with the tables around us & said hi to our dining partners all weekend long. The food doesn't stop there. A wonderful buffet with terrific fresh salad ingredients, grilled fish, beet salad, cauliflower and blue cheese, or hot dogs, grilled burgers, etc was available at night. Pizza with a thin crust and tons of topping options was available 24 hours a day, as was the soft serve ice cream (& room service). Everything was delicious. Iced tea & hot tea were free in the buffet hall.
Staff all over the boat had smiles on their faces and were extremely accommodating through the whole trip. 16 hour work days, for 7 months on/2 months off - can you imagine how hard that would be?! And to keep a smile on your face every day while youre away from home.I have so much respect for their team, who made my trip extra special. These employees come from all over the world and they really made us feel like VIP.
Booked thru Last Minute Cruises - $299 each, plus $36/day tips, $17/day parking in Long Beach - next time (later this year!!) I'm inviting all my friends to come w/ us! Can't wait to return!
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