At the beginning of December, we went off on another cruise. We have been back over a week, so I am late blogging about it, but I figure better late than never.
This was different from our other trips because it was a short trip and we traveled with family. My sister and her husband drove to our house on Friday and the four of us embarked on a 2 day drive to Miami Saturday morning. It was a no-rush drive, since the ship was not scheduled to leave port until Monday afternoon. With 3 drivers, we took 3 hour shifts and drove 9 hours each day. Sunday night we checked into a hotel and met my sister's son and his wife for dinner at Outback. Late Monday morning we all boarded the Carnival Imagination for a 4 day cruise to Key West and Cozumel.
We had never cruised on Carnival before. Reviews we read or heard were not as good for Carnival as other lines we have cruised with, but we were keeping an open mind. After all, it was only going to be 4 days. So here is my impression of the cruise.
Check in was pretty easy, although there was a lack of signs telling us where to go. We went to 3 different check-in counters before getting one that could check us in and even that turned out to not be the right one. The agent was helpful and took care of us anyway. The other 4 in our party did not have as good luck. Two of them use wheelchairs, so they had to go to a special line. Their reservations were made together, but they wanted charges to go on separate credit cards. The agent had trouble handling this and it took at least an hour for them to check in.
Once on board, we met in the buffet. We secured a table for 6 and called the others to tell them where we were. The only problem was, ship employees insisted on helping with the wheelchairs and wouldn't go where the occupants requested. They were pushed to a table at the back of the buffet area before this "aid" left them and they could proceed to find us. Sometimes it's better not to have help.
it was pretty easy for us to find our room, but I heard other passengers who were confused by the deck labeling system. Decks had names and the first letter of the name was used to identify the deck in the elevator, along with a number and this seemed to confuse some people. The Imagination is a relatively small ship, so you can't get lost for long.
We were disappointed with the theater. It is set up more like a lounge than a theater - way too flat. There aren't very many seats that you can see the stage well from. It didn't matter much because the talent of the performers was also below what we experienced on other ships. The bars were good though and although we didn't try it, the others in our group enjoyed the casino.
In room TV was good, so we opted for that over the shows. One problem was that, if you are in your room you cannot hear ship announcements and they don't broadcast them over a TV station like some ships do. The only way to hear an announcement was to open the door and by the time we were able to do that the announcement was usually over. I guess they don't expect passengers to be in their rooms much. That might be true in the summer, but for this December cruise it was too cold to sit by the pool.
Key West and Cozumel were fun. We enjoyed exploring the port and shopping a little. The other four rented a car and drove around Cozumel exploring ruins and had a good time. Getting on and off the ship was easy, but there were way too many photographers. Most ships we have been on have one or two photo op stations at a port, but at Cozumel I counted 8. Photographers were also more apparent on the ship. They came to the dining room every night, making the rounds twice the first night. In addition, there were numerous backdrop photo spots all over the ship. Definitely overkill.
Disembarkation was one of the easiest ever, thanks in part to the port of Miami. This is the first cruise port we have disembarked where the luggage was on a carousel instead of just lined up by color on the open floor. It made it much easier to find and retrieve our luggage. The other nicety was that customs and immigration were handled by one agent instead of separate stations. From the time our number was called to leave the ship until we walked out the terminal door was definitely less than half an hour. We were on the road driving north by 9:30AM.
As my nephew's wife said, Carnival is the Walmart of cruises - discounted and no frills. We had a good time, but I wouldn't want to be on a ship like that for a long cruise. The food was OK, but nothing special. The room attendant made nice towel animals for us, but there wasn't any personal service. The dining room waiters had too many tables, so they didn't have time to provide personal service, but they did their jobs well. If you just want to drink, gamble and swim in the pool or hot tub, this may be fine, but if you want a little more from your cruise experience, you'll be disappointed in Carnival.
The drive back north was pleasant. We did the same thing, 2 days, 9 hours each, in 3 hour shifts. My sister and I played Scrabble much of the way. Once back at our house we invited them to stay another day and help us decorate for Christmas. This was a big help, especially in passing boxes of ornaments down the stairs in relay fashion. After completing one 7 ft tree and getting our 12 ft tree 75% done, we took them out for the best ribs in the area.
Over all, this was a fun week. We really enjoyed the time with family, It probably wouldn't have mattered where we were, good times with family are something to be cherished.
