Carnival Imagination Review

5 people in a stateroom

Review for the Mexican Riviera Cruise on Carnival Imagination
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luzandrob
First Time Cruiser • Age 50s

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Additional details

Sail Date: May 2018
Cabin: Interior

We wanted to do something with our two college grads and our 17 year old son as well that would be fun as a family and different from other things we had done. I had always wanted to go on a cruise, but I worried that my wife would not like it and I did not want to be in stuck on a weeklong cruise if she hated it. A three day cruise did not require lots of days from work and it sounded like a good trial cruise.

We purchases FTF and it was totally worth it. People were getting upset when I would walk to the front of the line at Guest Services. Debarkation was a bit better as well.

The food was so-so. I would describe it as Casino food. It looked amazing, but tastes a bit plasticky. We ate a ton of it and I'm sure gained some pounds. It was fun eating and not worrying about where we would eat etc. Having your room, restaurants, entertainment, etc all travel with you is interesting and cool.

Cabin Review

Interior

Cabin 4E

We knew it would be small, but it was fine. We had 5 adults in the room and we fit fine. I tried to find photos and reviews on a cabin for 5, and could only find a few. So here is mine. Hope it helps if you are planning to try this yourself. I researched a lot of ideas and many were helpful. I had the stewards divide the bed into single beds, which they did not do from the outset even though I requested it in the choices online. Once we got this done, we put one bed under the upper bunk on the TV side wall. The other bed went along the back wall and under the TV. This left room for the trundle bed along the wall under the other bunk and next to the vanity. We had room to move around in the middle of the room. We brought the hanging shoe rack with clear pockets and used a smaller one that we hung on one of the hooks on the wall next to the bathroom. These pockets were also clear. This made a huge difference as there is not much desk space and all the little things that would normal clutter up the desk and be lost were easily found and put away. The closet space was adequate and the drawer space was ok. We used toiletry bags that we hung in closet and took in bathroom when we went in. This kept junk from piling up in the bathroom, which has very limited shelf space. The shower was large enough and had great water pressure and was hot immediately. I brought magnets and a shower curtain to block off the room for privacy and changing purposes. We found this not needed as the closet doors serve to block vision enough that one can change in room, one by the closets, and another in the bathroom as needed. We never felt that we were waiting our turn to be able to get ready. Also, I thought that the Room Steward would have to come and unlock the bunks each night, but this was not the case. We could lower them and put them up as we so chose, which was nice. I did not expect much from the room as it was an interior room and we had 5 people, but I was pleasantly surprised and it outdid my expectations.

Port Reviews

Los Angeles

The parking was very close. Follow the signs that say "drop off passengers" and that is where the porters are. You go to the far side of the garage and enter on the bottom of the garage nearest to the terminal. Drop off your suitcases with the porters and tip them. Then proceed out of the garage and make a sharp left turn to enter again and park. The new terminal is super efficient. We walked on as fast as we could walk with zero lines. We did have FTF, but the others seemed to be doing the same thing. We were on board by Noon. Debarkation not so smooth, but this is not Carnival's fault, it is due to the US Customs people.

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