This was my 15th cruise, 6th on Carnival, and second time on the Imagination. It was my husband Chuck's first time on this ship, and 14th cruise. We are 43 and 56 and live in the Chicago suburbs. We booked this cruise less than 3 weeks before sailing, as Chuck had been working a lot of overtime and felt like he needed to get away before our next booked cruise in November. Although we could have chosen another ship and/or cruise line, some friends of ours were getting married on this sailing and we decided to surprise them. Our documents arrived just one week after we booked and although the air from Chicago to Miami was a bit higher than what we usually pay, it was not unreasonable.

We arrived at the Miami airport at about 10 am and were at the port before 11. As we walked in, we were asked if we were part of the wedding party, and I explained that we were there to surprise the bride and groom. Regardless, we were escorted to a special check in room for the wedding guests. As we were waiting to check in, the groom spotted us, with a somewhat surprised look on his face. He told us that his wife to be had a suspicion that we might show up, but wasn't sure. She didn't see us for awhile, despite walking past us twice! After we checked in, I snuck up behind her and asked if she was having a rough morning. I had already heard that they had a few mishaps that day, and knew she was kind of frazzled. Yes, she was surprised, as she thought that if we were to come to the wedding, we would have shown up the night before.

The previous cruise did not disembark as planned, as we later found out that 3 or 4 people were unaccounted for and the INS would not clear the ship. I think we finally got onboard at about 12:30, much later than the wedding party had planned, as the ceremony was supposed to take place at 1pm. Carnival moved back the wedding for them, to 1:15. We had just enough time to check out our cabin, M39, outside on main deck forward, and go upstairs to the Lido deck for a quick lunch. The buffet was plentiful and the salad bar, my favorite. After eating, we went to the Shang Ri La lounge for the wedding. There were about 43 family members and friends present, and us. Although the bride showed up a little late, the wedding was pulled off without a hitch, and was beautiful. The bride wore a light colored Hawaiian dress with flowers down the side, and the groom wore a matching Hawaiian shirt with white slacks. The groomsmen and bridesmaids wore the same, with a black background. They all looked great! A small reception was held afterwards with canapEs and drinks. In my opinion, Carnival did a great job organizing this wedding. Read more