Just back from Imagination 3 night to Ensenada

[tensixmom]

Hi everyone. First of all thanks for all the help you've given me on these boards over the last several months. This technically wasn't my first cruise, but since my first one was over 12 years ago I felt like a newbie!

 

I know Imagination isn't a ship most people ask about but perhaps this will help someone else out.

 

We wanted a brief and inexpensive honeymoon so being the brilliant person I am, we chose a "booze cruise" that departed on St Patrick's Day, of all things! Not my smartest move (we are in our early 40's and are not big drinkers) but we still had a lot of fun.

 

The room: A few weeks ago the "upgrade fairy" called and I got talked into upgrading to a junior suite with an obstructed balcony. We ended up in V38 and boy was it ever obstructed! Oh well. It was lovely to be able to open the door and experience the fresh air, although we were generally too chilly to go out and enjoy it. The doors stay open on their own (I know leavin the door open is a topic of discussion here) so we turned off the a/c and enjoyed it as often as we could. I was up on deck 11 forward, and while I was worried about the movement, I have to say it didn't bother us at all. Of course we had calm seas and I don't think we could have been that far off the coast, so that may have had a lot to do with it. However, I would not hesitate to book that location again.

 

The room itself was fine. Super comfortable bed and pillows, adequate storage, and a shower that was actually larger than I was expecting. I thought it would be a tiny corner triangle one and it was a very livable rectangle.

 

We had a very kind room steward (Gemma) who took good care of us. I swear she must have freshened the towels 3 times a day. Technically we were in a suite so I am not sure if that is standard for all guests or if it was a perk of being in a suite.

 

 

The ship: I have to say I am not a fan of the decor. Many of the ceilings in the lounges and such were black, which to me made those areas very dark. I can't recall whether the other ship (a Royal Caribbean) was like that, but i did find it rather oppressive on this ship.

 

The food: We ate dinner in the Spirit dining room each night. The food was fine... we did not do any of the upcharge meals and I felt it was all adequate. Nothing thrilling but not bad at all. My husband (it still feels weird calling him that!) was feeling adventurous and tried the escargot on the last night. I could not bring myself to do it.

 

The buffet was very adequate in my opinion. I especially liked the already peeled and sectioned oranges and grapefruit in the mornings as the main reason I don't eat those much is the difficulty of making them edible. The Mongolian wok was very popular and tasty. We ate there twice for lunch.

 

The staff, particularly the bartenders (we each had 2 or 3 drinks per day) and the bar wait staff in the various venues, were.... flat. No smiles, no evidence of personality. Not a huge fan.

 

The activities: We played bingo the last day for the first time (and won enough to offset our room charges, which was a nice treat) and stayed for Hasbro the game show, which was a lot of fun.

 

We saw both "Divas" and "Epic Rock." Both shows were entertaining but not fantastic, but I think the performers (same cast for both shows) worked hard and most of them looked like they were having fun.

 

Robin from England was the cruise director. The assistant cruise Director was Laura, also from England, and the comedy show director, Katie, was also from England. That seemed odd to me!

 

We enjoyed the comedian, Dwight Slade, on the first and last nights. Did not see the other comedian.

 

There was a cover band (After School Special) that we would have liked to have heard more of, but they were (in my opinion) poorly placed at the bar closest to one of the casino entrances, and I could not deal with the smoke, so we really didn't hear too much of them as a result.

 

We did not get off the ship in Ensenada so I can't comment on that at all.

 

Husband traveled with a birth certificate and license and I had my passport card. No issues there.

 

Disembarkation: I THINK since we were in a suite, we got to disembark among the first. We chose to carry our own luggage and were told we could go into one of the lounges at 0715 to wait. We barely made it there at 0715 and we essentially came in and then immediately left again. Thankfully there weren't many people ahead of us in the customs line so it was super fast and easy.

 

I think that's it. Thanks for reading! I will try to answer any questions if anyone has any.

 

Oh.. we had wanted to do the chef's table but i missed my chance to do it ahead of time and they were sold out by the time we got on board. I will plan better in the future. And after talking with a fellow passenger, I decided that in future I will also do the "Behind the Scenes" tour or whatever it is called on other cruise lines. Should have planned that better, too. Live and learn!

 

I think next time we are going to try Princess. My husband went on a Princess cruise several years ago and we think the overall atmosphere might suit us better.

[SadieN]

The Imagination is exactly as you say. We prefer her sister, Inspiration also out of Long Beach, but her decor is truly Farcus at his finest. The Miracle is a Spirit class and does 7 day cruises. Completely different atmosphere than the 3 dayer on a Fantasy class.

 

There are several comparison threads Carnival v Princess.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your report.

[GradUT]

Thank you for your report. It's refreshing to read an "eyes wide open" review of this ship/itinerary. I am anticipating a fun 4-days when we go to Catalina and Ensenada in August.

 

And best wishes on your marriage!

[joeyancho]

Try Princess, you will love it. A much better overall experience.

[Keith1010]

Thank you for the writeup.

 

Keith

[Clarea]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[oohlalailicious]

Thank you for the review. I am getting ready for my first cruise in Sep. Also on the Imagination to Ensenada. I am excited and nervous. Is there anything you recommend doing or staying away from?

[Fla Mike]

Thanks for your review, the Imagination was our favorite short cruise ship when she was based in Miami.

[elliair]

Thank you for the review. I am getting ready for my first cruise in Sep. Also on the Imagination to Ensenada. I am excited and nervous. Is there anything you recommend doing or staying away from?

 

IF you like wine, I recommend the wine tour. They will take you to two different wineries. The first one serves cheese and bread with different samplings of wine. You will also get a free bottle of wine (if there's two of you, that's 2 bottles of wine). The second winery is nice and we sat out side where we sampled the wine. They made pizzas and we had some of that with the wine. After boarding the van, the driver takes you on a tour of Ensenada. If there's time you can get off the van and go shopping. However, there's plenty of shopping right where you get off the ship. BTW, the wine tour we thought was reasonably priced for what you get.

 

If you don't want to do the wine tour, you can walk down to the main road. To the left will lead you to down town for shopping and bars. The only place we found to use the restroom was at McDonalds. To the right of the main road, walk right and across the street. Directly in front of you is a large building which once was a casino in the 20's and 30'swhere famous people such as Lucille Ball, and Al Capone hung out to gamble and drink. You can take a self-guided tour or you can book one from the ship. Save your money and self tour. Off of the building is a bar and a patio where vendors sell their wares. There's a man and his wife (Mr.Robinson) who sells the really nice aluminum colored magnets. We always buy one from him whenever we go to Ensenada.

 

If you don't want to walk to town, the shops where you exit to go downtown is a good place to sit and people watch while sipping on a Margarita or Bloody Mary. There's a man there who serves up the best margaritas. He's pours liberal amounts of booze in the drinks and they are reasonably priced.

Edited June 21, 2016 by elliair

[Island2Girl]

Thank you for the review. I am getting ready for my first cruise in Sep. Also on the Imagination to Ensenada. I am excited and nervous. Is there anything you recommend doing or staying away from?

 

Go get you Wiki Whacked at Luau Larry's on Catalina! Just at the end of the pier where you arrive or leave.

[cincicruisers]

Congrats on your marriage and thanks for posting your review.

[oohlalailicious]

IF you like wine, I recommend the wine tour. They will take you to two different wineries. The first one serves cheese and bread with different samplings of wine. You will also get a free bottle of wine (if there's two of you, that's 2 bottles of wine). The second winery is nice and we sat out side where we sampled the wine. They made pizzas and we had some of that with the wine. After boarding the van, the driver takes you on a tour of Ensenada. If there's time you can get off the van and go shopping. However, there's plenty of shopping right where you get off the ship. BTW, the wine tour we thought was reasonably priced for what you get.

 

If you don't want to do the wine tour, you can walk down to the main road. To the left will lead you to down town for shopping and bars. The only place we found to use the restroom was at McDonalds. To the right of the main road, walk right and across the street. Directly in front of you is a large building which once was a casino in the 20's and 30'swhere famous people such as Lucille Ball, and Al Capone hung out to gamble and drink. You can take a self-guided tour or you can book one from the ship. Save your money and self tour. Off of the building is a bar and a patio where vendors sell their wares. There's a man and his wife (Mr.Robinson) who sells the really nice aluminum colored magnets. We always buy one from him whenever we go to Ensenada.

 

If you don't want to walk to town, the shops where you exit to go downtown is a good place to sit and people watch while sipping on a Margarita or Bloody Mary. There's a man there who serves up the best margaritas. He's pours liberal amounts of booze in the drinks and they are reasonably priced.

 

I love wine! Thank you for the advice. =)

[oohlalailicious]

Go get you Wiki Whacked at Luau Larry's on Catalina! Just at the end of the pier where you arrive or leave.

 

Yummy! Thanks for the tip. :p