For our third cruise, my wife, 15 year old son and I went on a quick four day cruise on the Imagination. This was our second cruise with Carnival (the first being a disastrous Spring Bahamas cruise). We were reticent to take the cruise because of our poor first experience with Carnival. Unsupervised teens made it unbearable. However, I am glad to report that this cruise was markedly better.

First of all embarkation was quite orderly. We arrived via a shuttle from Dollar Rent a Car (we had spent the previous two days with family and visiting the Everglades (the Everglades is well worth a visit). We arrived at noon and were on the ship within thirty minutes. The only glitch is no one was available to take our luggage, so we had to take it on board ourselves. Since our cabin would not be available until 1:30, it was a minor inconvenience. We spent the time at the pool, eating lunch from the Horizon grill. The pool did not have any water in it during the first afternoon. The hot tubs were available.

Our inside cabin was, well, an inside cabin. We had a double bed with a roll away for our son. Though cramped, it was totally suitable for the short four day cruise. The tv had CNN, networks stations out of Denver (not sure why Denver), some ship stations, and three movie stations. The movies included the most recent Harry Potter, Up, and GI Joe. I should note that the daily newsletter was not quite accurate regarding the specific movies. ON the ship,ESPN Desportes was also available. The cabin steward, Carl, was quite professional and efficient. Read more