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This was a first-time cruise for my wife and I and we took it in conjunction with our 18th wedding anniversary. We wanted a short, 3- or 4-day cruise to either Bahamas or Bermuda. The Carnival Imagination fit the bill perfectly and offered a great price. At the time we booked, I offered my wife the option of taking our two teenagers with us or leaving the kids at home and going for a higher-end stateroom. She chose wisely and opted for a lovely cabin on the Veranda deck with a private balcony.
The stateroom was very nice. It was large, with one of the most comfortable king-size beds I've ever slept in. It had a sofa, heavy marble coffee table, and desk. There was ample closet and storage space. A flat-screen TV hung on the wall and received several stations, such as CNN, even at sea. Several channels linked to the ships' close-circuit system so you could see what it was going on at several places around the ship. I had my laptop computer with me, so we purchased an hour of internet time. The internet service was reliable all over the ship, including our stateroom, but not as fast as what we were used to at home. The private balcony was small and really needed to be about 6-12 inches wider than it was to comfortably move on it but it had two deck chairs and a little table. We could look over the railing and look down into the ship's bridge from our location, which was kind of cool, especially at night. Our cabin steward, Adi, was absolutely great. He was very friendly and responsive, remembered our names, and brought us anything we needed very quickly and efficiently.
There were plenty of organized activities available from trivia contests to sing alongs but we spent a lot of time just reading and watching the ocean go by. Besides of our cabin balcony, the Promenade deck was great for both of those activities during the day and was one of my favorite spots on the ship to just sit and watch people going by. The Serenity, adults only retreat, at the stern of the ship was fantastic. Great deck chairs, hot tubs not overrun with kids--just a nice, peaceful atmosphere. The shops on board the ship offered very good prices and if I had been in the market for such things as jewelry, duty free cigarettes and liquor, etc, I might have purchased some. As it was, we just bought some hats and t-shirts for the kids.
The cruise director, Karl with a K, was consistently entertaining and was almost everywhere. He's no doubt used his quick quips and cheesy jokes countless times but he made them seem fresh and he has one of the hardest jobs around: trying to make sure everyone in a very diverse group of people has a good time. The nightly shows on board in the Dynasty Lounge were entertaining and very professional. There was different show each night, a Salute to the States and Shout. The same performers were in each show. I don't often go to variety shows like this but I was amazed and impressed by the sheer physicality and level of effort these performers put into these shows. I lost count of the number of costume changes these guys and gals had to do for each show, but they were definitely on it. The singers were outstanding.
We had "Your Time Dining" and it was great to have that flexibility. We ate several meals in the Pride Dining Room and had great service from the waiters and staff there. They readily accommodated our seating preferences. The food in the Pride dining room was excellently prepared with sensible portion sizes, which was a big help for those of us trying to watch our weight. The Pride Dining Room was more formal than I'd like but it was calmer and better than the alternative: we simply weren't as impressed with the Horizon/Seaside Bar and Grill. It certainly wasn't the doing of the staff there; it was mainly the sickeningly large amount of food being wasted by our fellow passengers who were helping themselves to far more than they could reasonably expect to eat. This wasn't "exotic" food that they'd likely never tried before and found they didn't like, but things like burgers, hotdogs, fries, etc. I can't help but wonder what kind of image this kind of wanton waste creates of Americans for the crews who work on board these ships? Crews that come from developing countries where many people still live in poverty and hunger? Sermon's over. Just think about it.
Overall, the Imagination was a great ship, with a crew that was dedicated to serving everyone. Everyone we encountered on the crew was consistantly friendly and hardworking, even the guys scrubbing the decks.
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