Since it has been a while since I have posted anything on my blog, I figured I would look back and reflect on a cruise that I took with my family back in December of 2009. Although trying to keep the postings current; I would be remiss if I did not write down my experiences on the Carnival Imagination.
The Carnival Imagination is one of the lines older, original fun ships. And although she is long in the tooth compared to today’s standards and the many ships I have recently sailed on; she still was instrumental and groundbreaking for her day, and features found onboard other ships nowadays are attributed to Carnival’s bold approach.
Upon boarding her in Miami, we found that the check-in process was a little more hectic than I am accustomed to, and the placement of the welcome aboard picture area led us to hastily bypass happy first time cruisers posing for their memory photos in a polite but direct manner. It is not that I do not enjoy or even purchase pictures from a cruise line; it is that Carnival has made it a priority on their ships to have a photo op around every corner on every public deck. But quickly after that, we found our way up to the buffet on the top deck and after a nice lunch, we felt less rushed and ready to begin our weekend getaway.
Our stateroom was an inside cabin that although a little tight with two adults and two preteens; we felt that it was big enough for the short weekend we would need it for. The bathroom and shower was actually a decent size and the room layout was quite adequate as far as space goes. The room was well attended by our steward and in reality; I was completely satisfied with the arrangements.
Since we were traveling with some other friends, we chose to eat in the main dining room for all our dinners. The wait staff were efficient and pleasant but seemed somewhat preoccupied and in a rush. This sentiment quietly disappeared by the end of the cruise; but I would tend to think it would re-surface upon the next cruise guests that would occupy our table on future sailings. As for the food, we felt it was overall quite good and had very few items that required any attention. This went equally for the buffet and 24 hour pizza, also, although my son did not care much for the sushi, and I did not care for the hamburgers. Overall, most of the dining available was more than adequate for a short cruise of this nature.
We had one stop in Nassau which was way too long in my opinion, and we chose to go to Ft. Charlotte to see the old garrison and rummage around in her catacombs. This is an interesting part of Nassau’s heritage with many different nationalities involved with its creation and destruction as well as the strife and conflict that were part of its history. After a good hike up and down a rather tall hill at the fort, we headed over to Arawak Island to get refreshed with a couple of Bahama Mamas, some conch fritters and cool conch salad which in my book were quite authentic and tasty.
One tip though, when noting the bus number that takes you from downtown to the fort, make sure you are heading back to the pier and not away from it. As we found out after hopping on and traveling about twenty five minutes in the opposite direction, we were the only ones left on the bus with a few other ladies that did the same thing. As we finally circled around and were heading back to the pier, a couple of highlights were gained in this error; we got to see quite a bit of the island, the bus driver was happy to point out some interesting areas and include some local history all while in the comfort of air conditioning and it only cost us around $6 for all four of us. Of course a few extra dollars were thrown the bus driver’s way for his efforts and entertainment.
Back onboard the Imagination, we ate, listened to music, watched my wife win and then lose with the slots while I was enjoying the Craps table like always. The kids had all made friends and kept busy with the big slides on the aft of the ship while the rest of our friends went to the nightclub or shows that cruise ships are known for. After a full day at sea, hanging out on the top deck watching people and the football games on TV, we got ready for one more night of fun before we would arrive in Miami to switch places with a new ship load of passengers.
Overall it was a great time, the ship was a little dated and the neon glitz Carnival is known for got a little too old for my liking; but we had a fun cruise and a nice weekend getaway. I guess that is why they are known as the FUN SHIPS!
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