M
MRuppert
Guest
Imagination, 3/10/08, 5 nights from Miami to Grand Cayman and Jamaica
Twelve traveling-- 3 first-time, 2 second-time, 1 third-time,
1 fourth-time, 2 fifth-time, 2 sixth-time, and 1 tenth-time. Ages ranged from 22 to 84.
I offer this information to show that the range in age and the level of experience has much to do with your cruise experience. It was my first platinum status cruise on Carnival and from the very beginning in Miami, it really DID make a difference for us. We checked in at 11:15 and were on board and dropped off our carry-on bags by 11:40. It took longer to arrange us for our embarkation photo than it did to check in!
What a ball from the beginning. Those of us who have cruised the most, especially me, get so excited before the cruise that it’s contagious and everybody catches it! My husband has a problem with sea sickness, but the gods were watching us the entire cruise and the seas could not have been calmer – okay they could have been, but they didn’t need to be! He dutifully applied his patch and decided to make the best of it. He never suffered any upset and really found out how much fun it is to cruise when you feel great!
My oldest son was married in late February so he and his new wife (her 1st cruise) had ten family members along on their honeymoon! We didn’t bother them when we didn’t need to and they were happy we didn’t. They had a wonderful time and a great first-time experience at cruising for her. They DO plan to go again.
We are all related, either by blood or marriage and really enjoyed having a round table for 12 in the dining room. Paris, 1st seating. The food was either particularly good this cruise, or we just enjoyed the experience with each other – in any event, no complaints about the food in the dining room or at the buffet. Our head waiter and his assistants were friendly, efficient and really went out of their way. We asked if crème brulee would be offered this cruise (no) – but on the last night, they surprised us with it special made. How wonderful of them! A super dining experience for all 12 of us.
We had three Suites U101, 103, 107 and an oceanview U155. I must say, the refurbishment made a huge difference in the cabins, the furniture looks wonderful, the all-marble bathrooms are shiny and beautiful, and we had plenty of space. Great job Carnival. Ah, the balconies in the morning…
The one comment I would like to make about platinum status is that since my 9th cruise, I could not wait until I had my platinum sail & sign card and we all ooh’d and aah’d when I got it. Everyone had to touch it – it was as good as getting a 24-carat gold plastic ship-on-a-stick! I’ve never had one of those much-coveted awards, but now I have something that I can enjoy every time I cruise in the future.. I was always greeted by name, received something special in the cabin every day, and even a few passengers commented that they hadn’t seen one – could they look at it up close! I encourage everyone to take a couple of shorter cruises to build up your history and enjoy the special perks. They really did a great job making me feel special.
We enjoyed a fun ship day at sea with the family exploring the ship, the pools, the new, beautiful Serenity Deck for adults, the water slide (that even the most middle-aged of us enjoyed!), the games, the PIZZA, the buffet, the casino (in case you see any butts lying around the ship in the future, they belong to us!), the drinks, the ice cream …
We arrived in Grand Cayman (along with 5 other ships!) and tendered at 8 am for our shore excursion to snorkel with the stingrays. I will say that for having 6 ships in port, Grand Cayman has a very efficient system of tendering. We never actually felt the crush of people, and some of the ships in port were HUGE. It says a lot about how much they value our presence in the islands. How beautiful the stingrays are – a few people that wouldn’t go because of the Erwin experience – really missed out on a grand time. They are so tame and they look like a great migration towards the boats when you first arrive at the sand bar. We got to touch and kiss them, and enjoyed the trip immensely. Quite the experience. DO IT.
Jamaica – now here’s my problem. Jamaica has a questionable reputation and this trip didn’t help. The port is one of the ugliest places there is to greet thousands of visitors I have ever seen. It smells awful and you are herded from a space that isn’t meant to hold more than a couple hundred. One lady was run over by one of the taxis. And I do mean run over, broke both ankles. Note to Jamaica – there will come a day when NOBODY will want to get off the ship. I am a very tolerant, patient person. I don’t complain about the small stuff, and I rarely complain about the big stuff. All 12 of us booked the Bamboo Beach Club and Dunn’s River Falls adventure. The Falls were great, everyone loved them. (Some of us didn’t climb, but all the kids did.) Took some great pictures – a lifetime of great memories.
HOWEVER, the rest of the time there was awful. The beach was advertised as: unlimited drinks, Jamaican food, beautiful beach, thick-cushioned lounge chairs, tents, a personal host or hostess to ‘cater to your every whim’ (you kinda know where this is going, don’t you), regional dancing, music, and more fun than you can fit into one day! Interpretation is everything, I suppose…The drinks were sweetened with cane syrup or something none of us liked, God knows (maybe) what the heck the substitute for the mint in the mojitos was (tarragon maybe, but definitely not mint), the punch (ick), the lemonade (ick, ick) (on a happier note, the beer was good), the food was gross, none of us ate it – believe me we tried, but it was just the worst island food I’ve ever tasted. I won’t even go into the thick (interpretation – smelly) cushioned chairs. We didn’t complain – just kept saying ‘no thanks’ and returned to the ship the first chance we had. They asked us to fill out a comment sheet, I said as politely as I could, “you don’t want me to fill one out.†Just not a very good experience at $90 per person. I would just do the Falls in the future, never mind the beach thing. I don’t recommend it. We were harassed at every chance, not nice Jamaica, especially for the first time visitor!
The rest of the cruise was time well-spent with family. Half of the family lives in Tampa and the rest of us in north Florida so we don’t get to visit as much as we would like. We ALL plan to take another trip together as a group. We love Carnival and the Imagination was even better than we had imagined! I LOVE TO CRUISE!!
Twelve traveling-- 3 first-time, 2 second-time, 1 third-time,
1 fourth-time, 2 fifth-time, 2 sixth-time, and 1 tenth-time. Ages ranged from 22 to 84.
I offer this information to show that the range in age and the level of experience has much to do with your cruise experience. It was my first platinum status cruise on Carnival and from the very beginning in Miami, it really DID make a difference for us. We checked in at 11:15 and were on board and dropped off our carry-on bags by 11:40. It took longer to arrange us for our embarkation photo than it did to check in!
What a ball from the beginning. Those of us who have cruised the most, especially me, get so excited before the cruise that it’s contagious and everybody catches it! My husband has a problem with sea sickness, but the gods were watching us the entire cruise and the seas could not have been calmer – okay they could have been, but they didn’t need to be! He dutifully applied his patch and decided to make the best of it. He never suffered any upset and really found out how much fun it is to cruise when you feel great!
My oldest son was married in late February so he and his new wife (her 1st cruise) had ten family members along on their honeymoon! We didn’t bother them when we didn’t need to and they were happy we didn’t. They had a wonderful time and a great first-time experience at cruising for her. They DO plan to go again.
We are all related, either by blood or marriage and really enjoyed having a round table for 12 in the dining room. Paris, 1st seating. The food was either particularly good this cruise, or we just enjoyed the experience with each other – in any event, no complaints about the food in the dining room or at the buffet. Our head waiter and his assistants were friendly, efficient and really went out of their way. We asked if crème brulee would be offered this cruise (no) – but on the last night, they surprised us with it special made. How wonderful of them! A super dining experience for all 12 of us.
We had three Suites U101, 103, 107 and an oceanview U155. I must say, the refurbishment made a huge difference in the cabins, the furniture looks wonderful, the all-marble bathrooms are shiny and beautiful, and we had plenty of space. Great job Carnival. Ah, the balconies in the morning…
The one comment I would like to make about platinum status is that since my 9th cruise, I could not wait until I had my platinum sail & sign card and we all ooh’d and aah’d when I got it. Everyone had to touch it – it was as good as getting a 24-carat gold plastic ship-on-a-stick! I’ve never had one of those much-coveted awards, but now I have something that I can enjoy every time I cruise in the future.. I was always greeted by name, received something special in the cabin every day, and even a few passengers commented that they hadn’t seen one – could they look at it up close! I encourage everyone to take a couple of shorter cruises to build up your history and enjoy the special perks. They really did a great job making me feel special.
We enjoyed a fun ship day at sea with the family exploring the ship, the pools, the new, beautiful Serenity Deck for adults, the water slide (that even the most middle-aged of us enjoyed!), the games, the PIZZA, the buffet, the casino (in case you see any butts lying around the ship in the future, they belong to us!), the drinks, the ice cream …
We arrived in Grand Cayman (along with 5 other ships!) and tendered at 8 am for our shore excursion to snorkel with the stingrays. I will say that for having 6 ships in port, Grand Cayman has a very efficient system of tendering. We never actually felt the crush of people, and some of the ships in port were HUGE. It says a lot about how much they value our presence in the islands. How beautiful the stingrays are – a few people that wouldn’t go because of the Erwin experience – really missed out on a grand time. They are so tame and they look like a great migration towards the boats when you first arrive at the sand bar. We got to touch and kiss them, and enjoyed the trip immensely. Quite the experience. DO IT.
Jamaica – now here’s my problem. Jamaica has a questionable reputation and this trip didn’t help. The port is one of the ugliest places there is to greet thousands of visitors I have ever seen. It smells awful and you are herded from a space that isn’t meant to hold more than a couple hundred. One lady was run over by one of the taxis. And I do mean run over, broke both ankles. Note to Jamaica – there will come a day when NOBODY will want to get off the ship. I am a very tolerant, patient person. I don’t complain about the small stuff, and I rarely complain about the big stuff. All 12 of us booked the Bamboo Beach Club and Dunn’s River Falls adventure. The Falls were great, everyone loved them. (Some of us didn’t climb, but all the kids did.) Took some great pictures – a lifetime of great memories.
HOWEVER, the rest of the time there was awful. The beach was advertised as: unlimited drinks, Jamaican food, beautiful beach, thick-cushioned lounge chairs, tents, a personal host or hostess to ‘cater to your every whim’ (you kinda know where this is going, don’t you), regional dancing, music, and more fun than you can fit into one day! Interpretation is everything, I suppose…The drinks were sweetened with cane syrup or something none of us liked, God knows (maybe) what the heck the substitute for the mint in the mojitos was (tarragon maybe, but definitely not mint), the punch (ick), the lemonade (ick, ick) (on a happier note, the beer was good), the food was gross, none of us ate it – believe me we tried, but it was just the worst island food I’ve ever tasted. I won’t even go into the thick (interpretation – smelly) cushioned chairs. We didn’t complain – just kept saying ‘no thanks’ and returned to the ship the first chance we had. They asked us to fill out a comment sheet, I said as politely as I could, “you don’t want me to fill one out.†Just not a very good experience at $90 per person. I would just do the Falls in the future, never mind the beach thing. I don’t recommend it. We were harassed at every chance, not nice Jamaica, especially for the first time visitor!
The rest of the cruise was time well-spent with family. Half of the family lives in Tampa and the rest of us in north Florida so we don’t get to visit as much as we would like. We ALL plan to take another trip together as a group. We love Carnival and the Imagination was even better than we had imagined! I LOVE TO CRUISE!!
