This is one time that a cruise actually taught me a valuable lesson: never let someone else's opinion sway your own.  We had always heard about Carnival's "reputation" (rowdy, party boat with lots of drunks, etc), and we felt that we this type of cruise experience would not be our cup of tea.  But, after 17 cruises, we decided to try them.  After all, it was a 3-night cruise so how bad could it possibly be?  Wow, talk about misconceptions!  We had an incredible time!

Since we live in Florida, it is relatively easy for us to jump on a cruise ship for a 3-nighter.  We have done the Majesty of the Seas twice and the NCL Sky once, so we thought to try Carnival's Imagination.  What a great choice!

EMBARKATION: Quite smooth actually.  Since we drove to the port, we dropped off our luggage at the terminal and then parked our car.  $20 a day for parking is not my idea of a great way to start a cruise, but I already knew it was expensive so I was prepared.  Still, $20 a day?  That's pretty steep.  The whole process of going through security and registration took less than half an hour.  Finally, time to get on board! Read more