Carnival Imagination and Carnival Sunshine - My Back-to-Back Photo Review

[Banditswife]

I am only up to pg 12, but thoroughly enjoying your review. I'll be back tomorrow to read some more. Now I understand why you haven't been as active on the roll call for the April 5th cruise- you've been busy putting this together. Looking forward to your Dream Repo review.

[bibbysnow]

Still enjoying your great review!!

[tncruisergurl]

While on the Carnival Victory one of our stops was St. Thomas - We booked an excursion through Carnival for Magens Bay & Blackbeards Castle. We woke up late and missed our 8:30am scheduled excursion. Not to worry the Manager from the Shore Excursion asked if we wanted a refund or they get us our own open air taxi. It worked out great we had an open air taxi all to ourselves. We had a lot of picture stops along the way to Magens Bay Beach. When we got there it was simple breathtaking. The water was crystal clear and we could see small fishes which my 7 year old was trying to catch. We were there for 2.5h hrs and when we were done our open air taxi was waiting for us. My hubby got a lot of cool pictures of Mangooses chasing each other around by the dumpster. At Blackbeards Castle there were a lot of cool picture stops. Got to see a Humming Bird up close and personal. The 99 steps was fun and the Brittania House was cool. it was super hot so the kids jumped in the pool to cool off. We toured at our own leisure, when we were done we walked around the town view some local shops and we went on a pirate ship back to the Cruise Ship. This was included in the price for the excursion.

 

Grand Turk:

While on the Carnival Breeze we visited Grand Turk. This was my mom's favorite stop as it was on her birthday. We bought a beach day/island tour excursion. Our tour took us to Grand Turk's Sea Salt Windmill it was interesting the kids enjoyed it. Before heading to the beach we tour guide drove around showing us key spots of the island. The island is pretty small. We finally made it to Pillory Beach. They had a bar where you could also order some snacks and of course facilities to change as well as restrooms and showers. The water was crystal clear. We paid $10 for a beach chair. My hubby is a swimmer so he ventured off and spotted some kind of fish that resembled a Baracuda. There was another couple that mentioned they spotted one so he wanted to share in their experience. I wouldn't of ventured off. We instead found some locals with horses that offered a tour for $60 for the 4 us. It was lovely to go horseback riding on the beach. Even more incredible for the horses to go in the water with us. I was super scared so I got off and tagged along especially after falling off the horse with my 8 year old. My mom enjoyed this experience on her birthday. We stood at the beach for 2 hours and back we went to the cruise port for some shopping , pictures, a little swim for the kids at the pool by Margaritaville and some great beach photos with Carnival super close in the background.

 

On the Carnival Breeze we also made a stop at Nassau, Bahamas on this day it happened to be my son's 8th Birthday. Of course he wanted to visit Atlantis. So we booked the Atlantis Beach Break excursion. With this excursion we had access to the beach,were able to tour the Aquarium and we even got to go into all the pools. Lunch was included and it was pretty good, service great. My hubby had gone to Atlantis on our first cruise abroad the Carnival Sensation and we also went to Atlantis for the day but we got the excursion that included the waterpark and swimming with the Dolphins which was the best experience ever. During that cruise we rented a Jetski for $45 without incident. This time around my son wanted to be adventurous on his birthday and wanted to get on a jetski with my hubby and my 12 yr old daughter. Off they went on a jetski super excited, I ran back to the beach chair so my mom could a chance to ride with my hubby. When we got back to where I left them my hubby on a jetski with some guy but my kids weren't with him. I was freaking out and going ballistic. It turns out the jetski they were on flipped over and shortly after sunked. 2 different jetski operators showed up and my kids were on the other side of the beach. I was relieved when i saw them running to me. Even more relieved that they weren't scared and were telling me about their adventure. My 8 year old was calm and relaxing out in the ocean doing backstrokes while my 12 year was calling for help and telling my 8 year old not to splash his feet to avoid drawing attention to possible sharks. My hubby on the other hand was worried about the kids safety and of course my reaction onshore. We hung out at the beach for a little while and then headed to the pool and enjoyed the rest of the scenery in Atlantis. If you want to enjoy Atlantis including the Waterpark the cheapest way to do it is booking a room at the Comfort Suites. You check in and check out the same day they give the people in your group Wristbands for complete access to Atlantis. A lot of people on cruise critic do it. This works for a group of 4 and I believe it's $50 for an additional person staying in the room. Comfort Suites is across the street from the Atlantis. People in the Bahamas aren't too friendly and certain areas aren't to safe. Then again people here in NYC aren't friendly and a lot of places aren't safe you just have to be cautious of your surroundings. Other than that my son enjoyed his 8th birthday in the Bahamas on the Carnival Breeze. My daughter feels as if my son was a little bit of bad luck because while he was on the horse with I feel and of course the Jetski incident. Did I forget to mention while was holding his hand walking to the Camp Carnival, I got knock in the head with the automatic doors. Maybe we should have stayed far away from him LOL :D I don't think we'll ever rent Jetskis every again. We'll stick to relaxing in the beach no more water motor sports. LOL :eek:

 

Wow thanks for all the info! I'll look into those!

[Jotravelnut21]

You will love Carnival. At least I know I do. I went on my first Carnival cruise in 2005 on the Carnival Valor. I haven't cruised with another cruise line since then. I will only cruise with Carnival.

The Carnival Imagination is a Fantasy class ship. We love this class of ship. I love the layout. Very easy to get around.

Be sure to visit the Serenity area on Deck 9 aft. It is very relaxing. The Imagination also has two of the best shows that we have seen on any Carnival ship.....Divas and Epic Rock

 

Hi Brianna

Will definitely check out deck 9 and the shows. We saw the Blue man group on our last cruise which was fantastic (and the only good thing about NCL)

 

Can I ask you, have you cruised to Mexico?

The food looks good.... am I right in saying there is more than one complimentary place to eat? and I was shocked to hear you say it was possible to take on several cans of soda (coca-cola) without being charged.... Is this right?? or was it just your cruise??

 

All advice gratefully received!

Jo:)

[wrigley80]

Hi Wrigley! I'm on the Dream 4/5 cruise coming up. Cant wait to meet you and Dad! This is our first Carnival cruise and really looking forward to it. Started looking at this review to see your take on Sailing out of NOLA and got hooked even though we're not sailing these ships. So I read the whole thing and looking forward to more.

 

Have you been on the Dream before and written a review? Would love to read that. So I'm hooked now and waiting for more. It is actually helping me to get to know Carnival better! Thanks! E

 

 

Ooooo a fellow Dream cruiser. We have never been on a cruise longer than 7 days so we are looking forward to the 9-days. Wow so this is your first Carnival cruise and you decided on a 9-day itinerary. That's awesome. You won't be disappointed with Carnival.

 

We have never cruised on the Dream. This will be our first time on a Dream class ship. I will be doing another review of this cruise when we return home.

 

Can't wait to meet ya in 75 days. Have you been over to our roll call??? Will you be coming to the pre-cruise meet and greet at Fishlips on Friday night

[wrigley80]

I am only up to pg 12, but thoroughly enjoying your review. I'll be back tomorrow to read some more. Now I understand why you haven't been as active on the roll call for the April 5th cruise- you've been busy putting this together. Looking forward to your Dream Repo review.

 

 

Thank You Annette. I will try to be more active on the roll call. Between doing this review and starting the new job I've been pretty busy.

 

Only 75 days to go. My dad and I are excited to cruise on the Dream. This will be the biggest ship that we have cruised on. Is it time to bring up the suitcases yet??

[wrigley80]

Still enjoying your great review!!

 

 

Thank You. There is still more to come so don't go anywhere....hehe

[wrigley80]

Hi Brianna

Will definitely check out deck 9 and the shows. We saw the Blue man group on our last cruise which was fantastic (and the only good thing about NCL)

 

Can I ask you, have you cruised to Mexico?

The food looks good.... am I right in saying there is more than one complimentary place to eat? and I was shocked to hear you say it was possible to take on several cans of soda (coca-cola) without being charged.... Is this right?? or was it just your cruise??

 

All advice gratefully received!

Jo:)

 

 

We have never cruised to Mexico. But what were you wanting to know.

 

We have only ever had one bad meal on a Carnival ship and that was the Meatloaf. Don't order that.....it's awful. There are a lot of selection a during dinner to choose from.

 

And yes you are correct. There are multiple places to eat onboard.....the Deli, the MDR for lunch, pizza, lido marketplace, the grille, Mongolian wok, the rotisserie.....all these places I mentioned are complimentary.

 

And yes you are able to carry on one 12-pack per person onto the ship. This can be a 12-pack of pop, water, Gatorade, juices. This has to be with your carry-ons because it will be checked when you go through security. Each bottle/can has to be less than 20 ounces

 

If you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask

[jesron1269]

Fun review. Next Carnival cruise my kids really want to try either the Breeze or Sunshine. Looking forward to the rest of it.

[Jotravelnut21]

We have never cruised to Mexico. But what were you wanting to know.

 

We have only ever had one bad meal on a Carnival ship and that was the Meatloaf. Don't order that.....it's awful. There are a lot of selection a during dinner to choose from.

 

And yes you are correct. There are multiple places to eat onboard.....the Deli, the MDR for lunch, pizza, lido marketplace, the grille, Mongolian wok, the rotisserie.....all these places I mentioned are complimentary.

 

And yes you are able to carry on one 12-pack per person onto the ship. This can be a 12-pack of pop, water, Gatorade, juices. This has to be with your carry-ons because it will be checked when you go through security. Each bottle/can has to be less than 20 ounces

 

If you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask

 

I have to laugh!... What is that old saying British and Americans, separated only by a common language!

 

I'm afraid Gatorade is a complete unknown to me, I imagine by 'pop' you might mean coca cola?, we measure liquids/bottles in milliliters so I can't visualise 20 Ounces and as for Meat in a Loaf :eek: Lol

Yes, you have to laugh :D

 

We are stopping at Ensenada in Mexico and I just wondered if you had any tips on what to see etc. I'll try one of the other forums but any tips on Imagination would be good.

Jo :)

[wrigley80]

Fun review. Next Carnival cruise my kids really want to try either the Breeze or Sunshine. Looking forward to the rest of it.

 

 

You won't go wrong with either ship. We haven't been on the Breeze but I have only heard positive things. The ropes course on the Sunshine is a really great addition to the ship.

 

I hope you continue to enjoy the rest of my review

[wrigley80]

I have to laugh!... What is that old saying British and Americans, separated only by a common language!

 

I'm afraid Gatorade is a complete unknown to me, I imagine by 'pop' you might mean coca cola?, we measure liquids/bottles in milliliters so I can't visualise 20 Ounces and as for Meat in a Loaf :eek: Lol

Yes, you have to laugh :D

 

We are stopping at Ensenada in Mexico and I just wondered if you had any tips on what to see etc. I'll try one of the other forums but any tips on Imagination would be good.

Jo :)

 

 

I just totally laughed out loud at work. My boss just looked at me strange....haha. I forgot that you're from the other side of the pond.....haha

 

Gatorade is a sports drink. Many athletes drink it over here during games and practices. Can't help ya with the milliliter to ounces conversion. My suggestion is just bring cans....haha

[Banditswife]

I have to laugh!... What is that old saying British and Americans, separated only by a common language!

 

I'm afraid Gatorade is a complete unknown to me, I imagine by 'pop' you might mean coca cola?, we measure liquids/bottles in milliliters so I can't visualise 20 Ounces and as for Meat in a Loaf :eek: Lol

Yes, you have to laugh :D

 

We are stopping at Ensenada in Mexico and I just wondered if you had any tips on what to see etc. I'll try one of the other forums but any tips on Imagination would be good.

Jo :)

 

OMGosh, you had me rolling on the floor laughing out loud. Especially the meat loaf comment. We silly Americans make a main dish of ground meat with other stuff added to hold it together & then bake it, usually slather it in ketchup. Wrigley80 is correct- Carnival's version of this is awful. And yes, it is funny that we Americans & Brits speak the same language, yet each version of English can be quite different. Enjoy your cruise- you must be doing the Hawaii cruise- it is on our wish list.

Edited January 20, 2014 by Banditswife

[xplnusa]

We are stopping at Ensenada in Mexico and I just wondered if you had any tips on what to see etc. I'll try one of the other forums but any tips on Imagination would be good.

Jo :)

 

Jotravelnut,

 

I was just in Ensenada back in October and it was a lovely town with great people. When we got off the ship we took a little bus into town $3pp round trip. While on the bus they told us about tours that they run. We opted to go down to La Bufadora (if you can get Tony Gonzalez for your guide all the better, I've been friends with him ever since the trip and keep in touch with him). Going down there was a great time we were off the ship early. After getting back from La Bufadora we walked around town a little and did some shopping and had a blast. This was with my 6 year old son we were on a father son trip.

 

Don't miss the taco's while you're off the ship get some awesome lunch!

[xplnusa]

Bri,

 

I'm like you, sea days are my favorite and I would love a 7 day cruise to no where! I'm kind of surprised to see that you picked the Dream's repo over the Sunshines. 11 Days and only 4 ports, talk about heaven!!! I haven't booked it yet but I'm really hoping to because we could celebrate our 13th anniversary while on the cruise.

 

Heath

Edited January 21, 2014 by xplnusa

[Gon2hwe]

Ooooo a fellow Dream cruiser. We have never been on a cruise longer than 7 days so we are looking forward to the 9-days. Wow so this is your first Carnival cruise and you decided on a 9-day itinerary. That's awesome. You won't be disappointed with Carnival.

 

We have never cruised on the Dream. This will be our first time on a Dream class ship. I will be doing another review of this cruise when we return home.

 

Can't wait to meet ya in 75 days. Have you been over to our roll call??? Will you be coming to the pre-cruise meet and greet at Fishlips on Friday night

 

I've been on the roll call and the other group. A 9 Day is kinda long but I'm really looking forward to it.

:D

[wrigley80]

OMGosh, you had me rolling on the floor laughing out loud. Especially the meat loaf comment. We silly Americans make a main dish of ground meat with other stuff added to hold it together & then bake it, usually slather it in ketchup. Wrigley80 is correct- Carnival's version of this is awful. And yes, it is funny that we Americans & Brits speak the same language, yet each version of English can be quite different. Enjoy your cruise- you must be doing the Hawaii cruise- it is on our wish list.

 

See I'm not the only one....the meatloaf is horrible. I'm not even sure my dog would eat it. We had meatloaf for dinner tonight in fact ;)

[wrigley80]

Bri,

 

I'm like you, sea days are my favorite and I would love a 7 day cruise to no where! I'm kind of surprised to see that you picked the Dream's repo over the Sunshines. 11 Days and only 4 ports, talk about heaven!!! I haven't booked it yet but I'm really hoping to because we could celebrate our 13th anniversary while on the cruise.

 

Heath

 

It's funny you say that because when we were looking at the 9-day repositioning cruise we were also looking at the 11-day on the Sunshine. At the time the 11-day was almost $700.00 more plus we would have just been on the Sunshine and we wanted to try a different ship.

 

Our ports on the Carnival Dream are Aruba, Ocho Rios, Cozumel, and Grand Cayman. We won't get off the ship in Ocho Rios so that is like another sea day.

[wrigley80]

I've been on the roll call and the other group. A 9 Day is kinda long but I'm really looking forward to it.

:D

 

Good....Yeah we are excited to try out a 9-day cruise :p

[Gon2hwe]

I just totally laughed out loud at work. My boss just looked at me strange....haha. I forgot that you're from the other side of the pond.....haha

 

Gatorade is a sports drink. Many athletes drink it over here during games and practices. Can't help ya with the milliliter to ounces conversion. My suggestion is just bring cans....haha

 

Gatorade is not made from alligators either. LOL! The Florida Gators football team invented it to prevent dehydration. Just didn't want the brits to think we're all barbarians here.:eek:

[wrigley80]

After we watched the Monday Night Football game we walked up to the Serenity Deck. When the Carnival Sunshine was first going through the refurbishments and the photos of the Serenity Deck were released that is what sold me on cruising on the Carnival Sunshine.

 

Quiet spot on Serenity

 

The beautiful pool and waterfall on the Serenity Deck. Is this beautiful or what??

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite things to do onboard was late at night I went up to Deck 12 and I laid in one of the clamshell chairs under the stars. It doesn't get much more peaceful than that

[wrigley80]

That is the end of Day #2 onboard (Monday)....our next day onboard was another day at sea and we had a big day on Tuesday. We had a meet and greet private cocktail party on Tuesday afternoon. We had a huge group with a bunch of wonderful people.

 

If you have any questions about the planning of our meet and greet party don't hesitate to ask.

 

Ok now on to Day #3.....

[wrigley80]

I like sleeping with the blinds open so that I know when the sun is starting to come up......

 

Whoa....I beat the sun coming up. That never happens

 

 

 

 

We like to decorate our cabin door. This was our theme for this cruise. It was "Our Road to Platinum" with pictures of all the different ships we have been on

[wrigley80]

The following pictures in this post were from the area right before you head out on Lido Deck. It is a tribute to the Carnival Destiny and it shows the transformation from the Destiny to the Carnival Sunshine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be sure to check out these pictures from both the Carnival Destiny and the Carnival Sunshine

[wrigley80]

That is all for tonight. I gotta head to bed early tonight. I will be back on tomorrow to post our pictures from our wonderful meet and greet party. It was a blast and you will see why :p :D