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

[wrigley80]

Enjoying your review very much. I now want to go to Key West. Guess I'll to plan another cruise. :D

 

 

Thank You. Key West has that kind of effect of people. And it gives you another reason to plan a cruise

[wrigley80]

I have read this entire review up to here as I was also on this sailing and yes, the sunset that evening was absolutely stunning. I sat up on lido getting a pre-dinner snack and drinking hot cocoa :cool:, enjoying the sailaway party and had to go outside to watch it. Just fabulous and glad you got a picture. I think I got one on my digital, before the battery I had in it gave out. If I come across it I will post what it looked like from my vantage point. Even the local Miami tv newscast that was on the cabin satellite feed was mentioning how cool it was.

 

 

 

I also remember the floatplane. I wish I got a picture of that but I did get to watch a British Airways 747-400 on approach to Miami around the same time, with the city skyline in the background. That was cool as I am sort of an airplane geek. The coast guard guys seemed to be having fun but I don't remember them ever having the machine gun mounted on the nose of the boat while they escorted ships out of the local waterways like they did that day. Kinda interesting. But the weather was good on sailout day. The night before sucked but I kinda documented that in the trip review I posted a few weeks back and I am sure you also know this.

 

 

 

Anyway, we are platinums (my mother and I) and we got onboard at 1200 and dropped our stuff off in the room at 1215. I am not even sure if the cabins were "officially" open yet but our room was ready at that time and we met our steward, Wendell. He was just OK.

 

 

 

Did the cc meet and greet ever happen on this cruise? I participated in the roll call and there was talk of it happening but I never made it if there was one.

 

 

 

I am loving this review so far and cannot wait to read the rest.

 

 

Thank You. Yes I remember you from the roll call. A meet and greet never took place. And if it would have I would have missed it because I was too busy watching that beautiful sunset. That's awesome that Miami news mentioned the sunset. It was beautiful and as we were sitting out there I told my dad this was going to be a memorable sunset.

 

We were in the Platinum lounge and we were escorted onto the ship around noon. We had a great time on the Imagination. I hope you did as well.

 

I hope you continue to enjoy the rest of my review

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

This was during the Welcome Aboard show. They also did a preview for the Divas show.

Now we have seen a lot of Production shows onboard Carnival ships over the years. Some have been really good and some have been really bad.

There were 2 shows onboard the Carnival Imagination......Divas and Epic Rock. They were AMAZING......by far the best shows that we have ever seen onboard any Carnival cruise. They had each show twice and we went and saw both of them each time. I can't say enough good things about those shows. Everyone sings and dances. If you are onboard the Imagination.....don't miss these shows

 

Our cruise director, Skip Lyons, is getting a little frisky during the show

 

After the show we decided to head back to our cabin because we knew that we would be having an early morning. The ship docked in Key West at 7:30 am and we wanted to be off the ship right away

 

The elevator area on Deck 7

 

When we got back to our cabin the pig was waiting for us

 

When we got back to our cabin there was a surprise waiting for us from the Cruise Director Skip Lyons and John Heald

 

 

I didn't go to any of the shows. I actually just chilled out in the lido hot tub and went to bed early the first night. We had the late dining and our wait staff was the truth. I am extremely mad that they are cheapening the main dining room experience both in quality of food and presentation but in the appearance of the restaurants themselves. That rant is for another time though. The food was pretty good all cruise long.

 

You got strawberries?!?!?! lol. I know they usually don't do them on 4 day trips but that is awesome that you got them. What did you think of the new platinum gift backpacks they have now? I think they are the best item they have offered for the program in a long time. Thumbs up there.

 

I had totally forgotten that Skip Lyons was the cruise director. I remembered the names of the comedians but not his name so I guess he was neither great nor awful. I also thought the super-early arrival and departure in Key West was a waste of a port of call day. I had been there before so it wasn't a big deal for me to miss a lot of the afternoon stuff there but some people had never been there and were bummed. The weather was decent there though for the 2 hours we had on land.

 

Still loving this review and re-living my platinum cruise. Thanks for posting. I will post some of my own pictures sometime if I ever get around to putting them on photobucket. I had whale of a time trying to figure out how to post pics from there at first also as I had taken a few on my phone and uploaded them as soon as I got home. It just takes some getting used to and then it's easy - I think.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thank You. Yes I remember you from the roll call. A meet and greet never took place. And if it would have I would have missed it because I was too busy watching that beautiful sunset. That's awesome that Miami news mentioned the sunset. It was beautiful and as we were sitting out there I told my dad this was going to be a memorable sunset.

 

We were in the Platinum lounge and we were escorted onto the ship around noon. We had a great time on the Imagination. I hope you did as well.

 

I hope you continue to enjoy the rest of my review

 

I know there weren't that many cc people onboard that sailing. Maybe on a future cruise we can all meet up and hang out for a while. I have seen some fantastic sunsets both on land and at sea and that was up there with the best of them. I also checked in at the plat lounge around 1200 and got right onboard. We might have crossed paths in the boarding area at some point. :D It's cool that you cruise with your dad though. I usually cruise with my mom, as she loves to cruise as much as I do and it is some of the best quality time I get to spend with her. I had a pretty good time. There were some really crappy things that happened but for the most part, it was a good experience.

[Sheebah]

Thanks so much!

Great photos.

We are jumping on imagination in a few weeks from the west coast of Ca. When it repositions over here :-)

 

 

 

Carnival Miracle video tour:

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Back to the Review.....Who Missed Me :p

 

Another one of our favorite places to visit in Key West is the Key West Pretzel Company. If you like soft pretzels....you have to visit this place. Their pretzels are too die for

 

The Key West Pretzel Company is on Lazy Way Lane. Its basically right around the corner from Kermits Pie Store

 

You can get a soft pretzel plain, with just salt, or you can get one with some oooeeeyyy goooeeeyy goodness

 

Here I come with our pretzels

 

I chose the oooooeeeeyyyy gooooeeeyyy goodness pretzel. This was a pretzel sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and then had vanilla and raspberry drizzle. It was sooooo yummy

 

I have never had a pretzel from Key West. I am from the Philly area, after all. Those ain't pretzels you are showing. They are something resembling pretzels but I digress. Just kidding - they do look tasty. I remember the key lime pie shop from a previous trip there a few years ago. That is right in Mallory Square right? Have you ever gotten a coconut with a hole drilled in it, and a straw to drink the water out of it? I was at the southernmost point with my cousin once and she got one from the guy who was selling them out of a wheelbarrow I think. They were like $5 a piece but she said it was actually pretty good. Did you get to see the MILE 0 sign at the end of US 1? Apparently that sign has to be replaced often as tourists like to um, steal the sign for themselves as a souvenir.

Edited January 6, 2014 by FlyingCruiserNJ

[wrigley80]

I didn't go to any of the shows. I actually just chilled out in the lido hot tub and went to bed early the first night. We had the late dining and our wait staff was the truth. I am extremely mad that they are cheapening the main dining room experience both in quality of food and presentation but in the appearance of the restaurants themselves. That rant is for another time though. The food was pretty good all cruise long.

 

You got strawberries?!?!?! lol. I know they usually don't do them on 4 day trips but that is awesome that you got them. What did you think of the new platinum gift backpacks they have now? I think they are the best item they have offered for the program in a long time. Thumbs up there.

 

I had totally forgotten that Skip Lyons was the cruise director. I remembered the names of the comedians but not his name so I guess he was neither great nor awful. I also thought the super-early arrival and departure in Key West was a waste of a port of call day. I had been there before so it wasn't a big deal for me to miss a lot of the afternoon stuff there but some people had never been there and were bummed. The weather was decent there though for the 2 hours we had on land.

 

Still loving this review and re-living my platinum cruise. Thanks for posting. I will post some of my own pictures sometime if I ever get around to putting them on photobucket. I had whale of a time trying to figure out how to post pics from there at first also as I had taken a few on my phone and uploaded them as soon as I got home. It just takes some getting used to and then it's easy - I think.

 

 

OMG.....you missed the shows. They were amazing. The best that I've seen on any Carnival ship.

 

We had anytime dining and the first night we had wonderful service so we stayed with the same wait staff for the duration of the cruise. They were very attentive. And were so accommodating when we wanted to try another appetizer or entree. We don't have any complaints about the food. It was always warm and there was a good selection in the MDR and on Lido

 

We received Strawberries from John Heald. A week or so before the cruise I had asked John a few questions about the Imagination on his Facebook page. We love the new platinum gifts. A very good choice. We used ours in Cozumel and they came in very handy when you had wet towels.

 

Happy to hear that you can re-live your platinum cruise through my review.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[wrigley80]

Thanks so much!

Great photos.

We are jumping on imagination in a few weeks from the west coast of Ca. When it repositions over here :-)

 

 

 

Carnival Miracle video tour:

 

 

Thank You so much. You will love the Imagination. A friend of ours is doing the Panama Canal cruise on the Imagination from Miami to Long Beach

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[wrigley80]

I have never had a pretzel from Key West. I am from the Philly area, after all. Those ain't pretzels you are showing. They are something resembling pretzels but I digress. Just kidding - they do look tasty. I remember the key lime pie shop from a previous trip there a few years ago. That is right in Mallory Square right? Have you ever gotten a coconut with a hole drilled in it, and a straw to drink the water out of it? I was at the southernmost point with my cousin once and she got one from the guy who was selling them out of a wheelbarrow I think. They were like $5 a piece but she said it was actually pretty good. Did you get to see the MILE 0 sign at the end of US 1? Apparently that sign has to be replaced often as tourists like to um, steal the sign for themselves as a souvenir.

 

 

Yes those are Pretzels.....are they are amazing. They may not look like a traditional pretzel but who cares they taste delicious.

 

No we always go to Kermit's Key Lime Shoppe which is on Elizabeth Street. We have never tried the coconut but on our past trips to the Southernmost Point I remember seeing the guy who sells them down there. He pushes the coconuts in a shopping cart.

 

Yeah we have seen that sign and taken pictures of it numerous times. Never tried to steal it but I'm sure it happens. We've also seen that sign when it is covered in decals

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[GAMOM4]

I have never seen the Pretzel shop - so it is down by the Kermit's that is on the corner close to the wharf? We had Key Lime Pie (by we I mean me..my husband wouldn't try it) from there on our first trip to Key West ... and since then we have done 2 of the Pub Crawls and we are right there next to Kermit's when we go to the bar at the Wharf....I will have to look for the pretzel shop the next time.

[GAMOM4]

Which Panasonic Lumix camera do you have....after you posted that I was trying to find one....I have a camera that is not very old it is an Olympus and worked fine on my cruise in November.....but somehow the button that works the zoom came off it (don't know how or when...just that it was after the cruise..thank goodness) but anyway now I have to buy a new camera

[wrigley80]

I have never seen the Pretzel shop - so it is down by the Kermit's that is on the corner close to the wharf? We had Key Lime Pie (by we I mean me..my husband wouldn't try it) from there on our first trip to Key West ... and since then we have done 2 of the Pub Crawls and we are right there next to Kermit's when we go to the bar at the Wharf....I will have to look for the pretzel shop the next time.

 

 

Yeah the Pretzel Shop is on Lazy Way Lane. If you're standing on the sidewalk looking straight at Kermit's. Look to your left and you will see a street (it's basically an alley and it's one way). The Pretzel shop is the second business in. They don't open until 11:00 am. We didn't find out about the Pretzel shop until our 3rd time in Key West

[wrigley80]

Which Panasonic Lumix camera do you have....after you posted that I was trying to find one....I have a camera that is not very old it is an Olympus and worked fine on my cruise in November.....but somehow the button that works the zoom came off it (don't know how or when...just that it was after the cruise..thank goodness) but anyway now I have to buy a new camera

 

 

It is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20. I just got up and looked at the model number on the camera. It has 8x optical zoom with 14 megapixels.

 

I've had it about 4 years now. It has been a great camera. It has definitely had a workout when were on a cruise. I take anywhere between 1,000-1,500 pictures each cruise.

 

This cruise vacation with having 2 cameras I took almost 1,700 pictures

[poptart]

Wrigley I'm enjoying another great cruise with you and your dad! Thanks for putting it together.

 

Sent from my SM-T310 using Forums mobile app

[wrigley80]

Wrigley I'm enjoying another great cruise with you and your dad! Thanks for putting it together.

 

Sent from my SM-T310 using Forums mobile app

 

 

Thank-You. It is always fun to put the review together

[wrigley80]

I'll be back later on today to continue posting photos of the review. It is -18 below here today with -45 below wind chill and now to top it off we have lost electricity. Whoa Boy it's starting to get cold in the house

[hlb76]

I love your Key West pics. We have to get back there. We have only made it there once. We took the kids Jet Skiing. It was AMAZING but I do feel we missed so much more but gives us a reason to go back right?

[Hmdecor]

I'll be back later on today to continue posting photos of the review. It is -18 below here today with -45 below wind chill and now to top it off we have lost electricity. Whoa Boy it's starting to get cold in the house

Stay warm Wrigley! Hope you get your power back soon! i'm enjoying your review very much and can't wait for the Sunshine review to follow as we sail in May on sunshine.

[oneboysmom]

Once again, thanks so much for doing this review! As said, we're doing the exact same itinerary, and now I can't wait to go to Key West. I think I'll actually rent one of those electric scooters since my Dad can't walk all that much. Do they give you a map of where you should go? I know you've been there several times, so you know where you're going. How would I go about knowing every where to go?!? Your sunset pics are amazing...may I copy a couple for my screen saver on my computer?

I hear you about the weather, we just had 25cm dumped on us last night and freezing rain on top of that. Its pretty cold too and not looking any better for the next couple of days.

So, when you move to KeyWest, let me know and I'll come and rent a room off you for the winter months!!

Thanks again!!

[2 cruzen]

Thank You so much. You will love the Imagination. A friend of ours is doing the Panama Canal cruise on the Imagination from Miami to Long Beach

 

 

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Do you have the dates for that cruise?

[sc4125]

I'll be back later on today to continue posting photos of the review. It is -18 below here today with -45 below wind chill and now to top it off we have lost electricity. Whoa Boy it's starting to get cold in the house

 

 

Okay now I officially feel bad for being such a wimp. It will be dropping down into the 30's in central Florida tonight & I've been complaining all day. How do you guys do it??? I honestly don't think I could survive that kind of COLD.

 

 

BTW enjoying your review - waiting for the Sunshine - we're looking at booking a May cruise on her out of Canavaral.

[sjn911]

Great review Wrigley..just love you two and your sharing your good times, so glad you could make it a double cruise...Sarah

[New2Cruising24]

Yikes, that's cold, try to stay warm! Maybe looking at the pics of the nice warm days from the cruise will help - here's hoping for you :)

 

Thanks for the review, it's great!

[wrigley80]

I love your Key West pics. We have to get back there. We have only made it there once. We took the kids Jet Skiing. It was AMAZING but I do feel we missed so much more but gives us a reason to go back right?

 

 

Everyone has to see Key West at least once....or twice. Jet Skiing is one thing that we have never done in any of the Caribbean ports but we will definitely try it sometime.

Any reason to go back to Key West is ok in my book

[wrigley80]

Stay warm Wrigley! Hope you get your power back soon! i'm enjoying your review very much and can't wait for the Sunshine review to follow as we sail in May on sunshine.

 

 

Thank-You. We are still without power. It's been almost 4 hours now. The temperature in our house has went from 74 to 56 degrees. If it's not on by 6:00 we are headed to a hotel.

 

The Sunshine review portion will be coming if we ever the power back on