Imagination Post-Refurb w/Photos, Daily Vlogs, Menus & Fun Times

[john91498]

Did you or your husband try the flat iron steak in the MDR? Reason I ask is because on my cruise on the Imagination a few years ago the steak was grilled. But a few months ago on the Miracle, the steak was braised which I didn't care for. Just curious if they are still doing grilled on the Imagination.

 

Thanks

[CakeGirl]

I'm really enjoying your review of the Imagination. My family and I sailed on her in May before the upgrades. I can't wait to get Guy's Burgers when we sail on her in January. Your pictures had my mouth watering.

[MarcyAthanBucy]

Thanks again!!!! 21 more days for us!!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Sheebah]

Did you or your husband try the flat iron steak in the MDR? Reason I ask is because on my cruise on the Imagination a few years ago the steak was grilled. But a few months ago on the Miracle, the steak was braised which I didn't care for. Just curious if they are still doing grilled on the Imagination.

 

 

 

Thanks

 

 

I'm sorry, we didn't try the flat iron! I would agree with you- braised is fine for pot roast but not steak!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Sheebah]

I'm really enjoying your review of the Imagination. My family and I sailed on her in May before the upgrades. I can't wait to get Guy's Burgers when we sail on her in January. Your pictures had my mouth watering.

 

 

Thank you! I think the renovations are amazing. The pool deck looks great and everyone loves alchemy bar!

Guy's totally exceeded my expectations.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Sheebah]

Thanks again!!!! 21 more days for us!!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

Nice! Happy dance!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Sheebah]

Thanks for showing us a view of our up coming cruise! We are so excited!.. gonna be there ourselves in May of next year.. 200 days or so..

 

 

But who's counting! You'll have a blast.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Sheebah]

Hey all,

I'm still working on the last day review and photos but great news - the full ship video tour is done!

 

Here's a link:

 

 

All the new spots can be seen in the video- Guy's, Blue Iguana, the new bars!

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Spiritfire777]

But who's counting! You'll have a blast.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

LOL! Right!?? .. Well I am.. We went on this same trip a year ago but on the Inspiration.. Looking forward to our trip on this new refurbished ship... I LOVE Catalina.. :)

Edited October 21, 2016 by Spiritfire777

[CJHAN]

Nice review. I love your YouTube channel as well.

 

Sent from my SM-G935P using Forums mobile app

[Sheebah]

Nice review. I love your YouTube channel as well.

 

Sent from my SM-G935P using Forums mobile app

 

 

Thank you!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Sheebah]

LOL! Right!?? .. Well I am.. We went on this same trip a year ago but on the Inspiration.. Looking forward to our trip on this new refurbished ship... I LOVE Catalina.. :)

 

 

Oh cool! I imagine they are almost identical except Cherry on top. Let me know!

I love Catalina too- big draw for us.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Sheebah]

After my family woke up, we headed to seaday brunch, which was SO tasty. Seriously, don’t miss the filet mignon and eggs. It’s free filet mignon!

 

Here are the menus:

 

 

 

The cesar was good, but if you don’t like anchovy flavor, skip it:

 

 

Hubby’s fave- Huevos rancheros:

 

 

My fave, steak and eggs with béarnaise:

 

 

My son’s fave- fruit loop crusted French toast- and the bad mother of the year award goes to….? Me!

 

[Sheebah]

And YES, you can have cheesecake for breakfast, errr, brunch:

 

 

Here’s a last look at how CLOSE together the tables are in the MDR- sheesh! I felt bad for some of the couples who sat near us through the week, and probably didn’t want to hear our brunch conversations:

 

[Sheebah]

The weather on the last sea day was unseasonably warm, again! I heard it was 108 on land that day, in LA. Not all that normal for late September. But the chill of the seabreeze made for a GREAT day of exploring the ship’s outdoor areas, and we roamed for hours, taking photos and enjoying the last day.

 

 

There’s an awesome spot, just up the steps where the promenade deck ends, forward, to take in the views, and have your titanic moment:

 

 

This is something I’ve never seen before on a ship! A little poo area for the service dogs on board- we saw at LEAST two on this trip:

 

 

Here’s a look at the disembarkation packet that makes us all depressed on the day before our cruise ends, right? Ugh.

 

[Sheebah]

My plan today needed to include Alchemy Bar, which despite being my favorite of the new 2.0 enhancements, I had not visited on the whole cruise…whaaat?

 

So, pre-dinner, we headed over and had the pleasure of meeting the amazing alchemist, Michelle, who, as we found out, lives not too far from us in California when she’s not on contract. I always love the lighted menus, and while deciding what to order, we watched her concoct for a while. Tonight was “design your own” martini night, so I filled out the cute little form and requested a gin-grapefruit-lavender mix, which turned out to be fab! You’ll see a lot more of this, and the custom drink I ordered, in the vlog in the next post entry, including video of the drinks being prepared.

 

 

 

The day was flying by, and we headed to the Pride dining room for our last dinner experience. The menus looked okay, but weren’t my favorite from the cruise. The salmon cake and flatbread were GREAT, and are pictured below:

 

 

 

 

[Sheebah]

After dinner, we made the sad walk back to the room to pack up to leave- no!!! Our final towel animal was this sweet heart, which made us a little blue, as we’d loved getting to know our cabin stewards throughout the cruise:

 

 

We packed our bags, and hit the sack early, in preparation for a relatively early debarkation. Instead of taking advantage of the 7:15am self-carry which was included with Faster to the fun, we slept in a little and did normal disembarkation, which was SO smooth and timely. We thought it was a nice touch that Donkey, the cruise director was saying goodbye to passengers as they left the ship. That turned a lot of sad faces into smiles.

 

It was a wonderful cruise, and the ship is incredibly well maintained. The staff and crew are friendly, attentive and have SUCH high energy for a ship that turns over every 3-4 days. While a 4 day jaunt isn’t the most relaxing vacation, we totally recommend it, and would do it again.

 

Here’s our day 4 vlog:

http://www.cruisetipstv.com/carnival-imagination-day-4-vlog/

 

And a link to the full ship tour, ICYMI:

 

Thanks for following along!! Questions welcome.

[MarcyAthanBucy]

Thank You!!! 10 days til we sail!!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Sheebah]

Thank You!!! 10 days til we sail!!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Whohoo! Wishing you good weather!

[Sheebah]

Hi everyone,

We finally got all the menus scanned and uploaded. Here ya go for MDR, American Feast, Room service, Alchemy bar and SeaDay brunch:

 

http://www.cruisetipstv.com/carnival-imagination-menus-download/

[Sheebah]

And here are the fun times:

 

http://www.cruisetipstv.com/carnival-imagination-funtimes-newsletter-download/

[MarcyAthanBucy]

Question... are there hair dryers in the cabins... started packing and didn't know if I needed to pack mine or not... thanks... 3 more days!!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Sheebah]

Question... are there hair dryers in the cabins... started packing and didn't know if I needed to pack mine or not... thanks... 3 more days!!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

No hair dryers and no fridges unless you're in a suite!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[MarcyAthanBucy]

No hair dryers and no fridges unless you're in a suite!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

Thanks... we are in a suite... [emoji7]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Sheebah]

Thanks... we are in a suite... [emoji7]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

There should be a hairdryer in the drawer. If you're in a grand suite, this room video should be very similar:

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums