Imagination Thread Only!

[LHP]

A question to all the recent cruisers of the Imagination. Does anyone have copies of there capers from your cruise? We are cruising on Feb 25th and would love to see any if you have them. Also menu's from the dining room. Thanks!

 

 

Here is a link from some Capers from November 2007. Not the newest, but will give you an idea!!

 

 

http://www.webshots.com/search?query=Imagination+%2BCapers&new=1&source=chromeheader

[LHP]

Another question for Imagination Cruisers. Does anyone know if they have a Texas Holdem Table on the Imagination? :confused:

 

Yes, they do have the Texas Hold Em table.

 

You will have a wonderful time. Drew is the soloist on the Promenade. He is really good. Steve in the piano bar is a hoot. Melvin is the karaoke host and he is WONDERFUL. *(can you tell I am into karaoke) Tell him "Lady Elton John" said hi!!! (I was Elton John in the Legends Show. They think the first lady to do his part.) :D

[Charming01]

We sail on Saturday, so I will post a review and some pics of the Western itinerary when we get back.:)

[mikil321]

Bragstar! Thanks once again for sharing your wonderful photos of the imagination cruise.Looks like you had fun? Anyway! I have a quick question for you seeing you seem to be the last one off her! I would like to attempt to book a cabana on Half moon Cay for my elderly parents so they can have some comfort. I know from what I have read and seen on maps that there are ONLY 10 Cabanas and Im sure there will be a mad rush to the shore excursion desk for these...My question to you is? What time could you possibly remember the shore excursion desk being open at on embarkation day????? What time were they letting people onto the ship.Carnival posts on their site embarkartion starts at 1:30 for the port of Miami BUT I have heard people getting on before then. Any help on this mattter would be greatly appreciated Thanks Much Mikil

[LHP]

Bragstar! Thanks once again for sharing your wonderful photos of the imagination cruise.Looks like you had fun? Anyway! I have a quick question for you seeing you seem to be the last one off her! I would like to attempt to book a cabana on Half moon Cay for my elderly parents so they can have some comfort. I know from what I have read and seen on maps that there are ONLY 10 Cabanas and Im sure there will be a mad rush to the shore excursion desk for these...My question to you is? What time could you possibly remember the shore excursion desk being open at on embarkation day????? What time were they letting people onto the ship.Carnival posts on their site embarkartion starts at 1:30 for the port of Miami BUT I have heard people getting on before then. Any help on this mattter would be greatly appreciated Thanks Much Mikil

 

We just sailed on the Imagination with Bragstarr and they are just as delightful a couple as her pictures portray!!!

 

We usually arrive at a port around 11:00am and are generally eating lunch on Lido by noon. A fellow Roll Call member did get in line EARLY and got one of those cabanas. They literally "camped out" as soon as they arrived on the ship. You will embark on Empress at the Atrium right where the Shore Excursion Desk is.

 

If I get a change to talk to him, I will ask him what time he got in line. I think he was second in line for the cabanas.

 

They loved them. We "visited" for just a minute to take a look around and they are very nice.

[Socref124]

Find Samson on the Lido deck If you take care of him he will take care of you. You will not be unhappy. They did make some nice changes since we sailed her in 2005 but other than the water slides, new hall ways, moving camp carnival, adults area and a few more things. It was still the same ole ship. but we loved her all the same.

 

Just home and off the Imagination. We found Samson and took care of him and he definately took care of us:) . A great guy. Our room Steward was Zoran and he was absolutely fantastic:) . The best room Steward we have had so far. The water works area was great. We really loved the slide. The rooms were decent and the hallways nice. We felt the dinning room food was good but the Lido deck buffet was always cold. The deli wasn't up yet but it should be in the next week or two. The evening shows were good. The female lead singer has one heck of a voice. The gym was very good and overall we had a really good time. To bad it had to come to an end:( . Now we have 68 days till our Carnival Freedom cruise:D ...Can't wait...

[hlb76]

So glad you found Samson. We owe a lot of our good time to him. If you know what i mean. He really took care of us in HMC. Plus he was just a nice guy and never pushy like some waitors where.

 

We got a Cabana just fine we got to the port about 2 i think and the desk was open my husband walked right up and got a cabana no problem. This was back on 1-28-08. I have heard theuy can sell out fast and have heard that they dont sell out at all. Think it depends on time of year as well. The day we where there we did not even turn on the AC it was comfortable without it. Very overcast day so did not need it to block the sun either.

 

Have a great trip

[nixnutz]

We just sailed on the Imagination with Bragstarr and they are just as delightful a couple as her pictures portray!!!

 

We usually arrive at a port around 11:00am and are generally eating lunch on Lido by noon. A fellow Roll Call member did get in line EARLY and got one of those cabanas. They literally "camped out" as soon as they arrived on the ship. You will embark on Empress at the Atrium right where the Shore Excursion Desk is.

 

If I get a change to talk to him, I will ask him what time he got in line. I think he was second in line for the cabanas.

 

They loved them. We "visited" for just a minute to take a look around and they are very nice.

 

Hello "Cruise Mom"!!

 

To answer the OP's question about Shore Excursion desk--We boarded the ship at 12:30pm and the Shore Excursion desk was open. As soon as you board the ship, the Purser's desk and Shore excursion desk will be right in front of you (just as Linda said). DW and I knew we wanted a cabana and we heard that they go fast, so we immediately got in line. We were the second group to book.

 

On a side note--The cabanas were not sold out for our cruise...not sure why, but there were a bunch of empty ones on the day we were in HMC. If you know you want a cabana, I would go straight to the Shore Excursion desk when you board. Don't take any chances...

 

Also, we were under the impression that they wouldn't let you pick which cabana you wanted, but we discovered that this wasn't true. We got to pick our caban from the list. We went with #7, which is right in the middle. If we ever go back, we're going to do that again, but I'll probably pick cabana #4 or #5 this time.

 

the higher the number on the cabana, the farther down the beach you'll be. If you want complete seclusion and no chaos, pick the last cabana (I think it's #15), but be prepared to walk. It's away from EVERYTHING.

 

The reason I'd pick #4 or #5 next time is because they're close enough to the action, but far away from the chaos. From #4 and #5, you can hear the reggae band playing at the bar. There's lots of people for "people watching", but it's not over-crowded with people.

 

Cabanas #1 and #2 are the first ones from the tender pier. The majority of people set up their beach chairs here, so this is where the majority of the "chaos" is going to be.

 

If you like the constant flow of people and a crowded beach, then rent #1 or #2.

 

If you want ABSOLUTE seclusion, then rent #15.

 

Everything in between has varying levels of seclusion and chaos....

 

Good luck!!

[nixnutz]

Forgot to mention....

 

My "cruise mom" (Linda) is a PLATINUM cruiser, so she was among the very first to board the ship. I was sitting in the port area, with a #11 boarding group card, watching Linda, David and DJ board the ship at 11:30am from the VIP lounge....:rolleyes:

 

We got on within the hour, but her being on and eating by noon is a perk reserved for platinum guests and guests who booked a suite. If you get to the port around 11:00am, you should be in one of the first several boarding groups, which means you won't be far behind the priority boarding groups (platinum and suites).

 

I still love her though.... :D

[LHP]

Forgot to mention....

 

My "cruise mom" (Linda) is a PLATINUM cruiser, so she was among the very first to board the ship. I was sitting in the port area, with a #11 boarding group card, watching Linda, David and DJ board the ship at 11:30am from the VIP lounge....:rolleyes:

 

We got on within the hour, but her being on and eating by noon is a perk reserved for platinum guests and guests who booked a suite. If you get to the port around 11:00am, you should be in one of the first several boarding groups, which means you won't be far behind the priority boarding groups (platinum and suites).

 

I still love her though.... :D

 

 

Thank you Son for those kind words!!! :D

 

We did have the best group ever on that cruise. Have fun in Belize!!!

 

Folks : if you look at Bragstarr's pictures, nixnutz is Frank Sinatra and he was THE BEST. We were on the next cruise as well and the dancers were still talking about what a fabulous voice he has!! At karaoke, he sang Bon Jovi...BETTER than Bon Jovi.

 

His lovely wife is like my husband when it comes to karaoke....they tolerate it only because we love it. She was a sweetheart about all the time we spent there.

[mikil321]

LHP, hlb76 and nixnutz! Thanks to all of you for answering some of the questions I had about the cabanas but no one could answer this one? Is it true or false that anyone renting a cabana on Half moon Cay get to tender off the ship first??? Anyone know this? Nixnutz could you try to answer this next question? You claim in your post that Cabana #15 is the most secluded? I was under the impression and seeing Maps of half Moon Cay that there are ONLY ten cabanas. Have they built more???? Thanks much to all again and lets keep this great informative thread going Mikil

[hlb76]

Yes we made it on the first tender off the ship. Not sure if all cabana folk did or not but they always take the VIP's and then the one w/ booked excursions through carnival. It was complete chaos when we got to the island. The line to check in for you excursion was crazy. You really do not need to unless you want a ride to your cabana. After doing this once I will next time just find the beach and head to my cabana.

 

We had #2. We really enjoyed that. Yes there where a lot of folks in beach chairs in front of us but they did not bother me. We where very close to bathrooms and the food shelter. We could here the band with out it being overwhelming like on the lido deck.Close to the bar not that we needed it cuz Samson was so wonderful to us. The kids could walk down to the play area with out me worrying too much. We where also close to the rental of water toys. We never used that. My biggest complaint was they dropped the ball on our drinks and snorkel gear. We got there and there was one set of snorkel all of our snacks and no drinks. The drinks was handled right away. We repeatedly had to ask for snorkel gear finally at about 1 pm we had had enough and went to the renatl place and got it our selves. I did not ruin our day but I was dissapointed that after repeatedly asking to have it delivered it never was.

 

As far as how many Cabanas they have I thought I read 12 somewhere. I never counted and to tell the truth we never left the cabana area any further than to the water or the food. I had planned to explore the island but never did. Guess I just have to go back then right?

[nixnutz]

LHP, hlb76 and nixnutz! Thanks to all of you for answering some of the questions I had about the cabanas

 

You're welcome...

 

but no one could answer this one? Is it true or false that anyone renting a cabana on Half moon Cay get to tender off the ship first???

 

It's true...more or less...:rolleyes: If you rent a cabana, you get "priority tendering"...what does that mean exactly?-- The people who are supposed get priority tendering are early tours (for our trip it was the 9:15 am excursions), cabana rentals and anyone who sneaks onto the early tenders, even though they're not supposed to. People can be so selfish...

 

Bottom line is that it's really not necessary to be first off the ship. The tendering at HMC is quick and efficient. When we go back, I'm going to wait to tender until the third or fourth tender. By that time, there will be no line. There will be no stress from rude people who are butting-in and we'll only miss 10-15 minutes on the island....big deal.

 

Seriously, there's this "I have to be first for everything" thought process among passengers and I don't get it. There were people sneaking into the line as we made our way from the lounge to the tender. They didn't have an early excursion and they didn't rent a cabana, but they HAD to get off the ship...I really don't get it.... :rolleyes:

 

Anyone know this? Nixnutz could you try to answer this next question? You claim in your post that Cabana #15 is the most secluded? I was under the impression and seeing Maps of half Moon Cay that there are ONLY ten cabanas. Have they built more???? Thanks much to all again and lets keep this great informative thread going Mikil

 

I don't recall the exact number of cabanas, nor do i know if they built more. Whatever is the highest numbered cabana on the list, will be the farthest from all the chaos. I think Heather is right....there are only 12, which would make sense. The people who picked their cabana before us took #6, which would put it right in the middle (prime real estate)....we weren't sure if we wanted #5 or #7, but we settled on #7.

 

HTH....:D

[nixnutz]

My biggest complaint was they dropped the ball on our drinks and snorkel gear. We got there and there was one set of snorkel all of our snacks and no drinks. The drinks was handled right away. We repeatedly had to ask for snorkel gear finally at about 1 pm we had had enough and went to the renatl place and got it our selves. I did not ruin our day but I was dissapointed that after repeatedly asking to have it delivered it never was.

 

I agree with this 100%. We had a similar problem with ours, but it didn't ruin our day either. None of our snacks or drinks were there when we arrived. Snorkel gear and floaties were there, but no grub. The grub didn't get to us until about 11:00am.

 

Not a huge deal, until the stewards came at 1:30pm and were trying to take the grub away. We were scheduled to be in port till 6pm...what's the big rush??? Then they came back at 2:30 pm and again at 3pm. We finally gave them what was left of the food and told them not to bother coming back for the cooler until 5pm. (They had asked if we were finished with that too...:mad: )

 

They came back for the cooler at 4:30pm, so we pulled the remaining drinks out and carried them back onto the ship. We were tired of them pesting us. It wasn't a big deal, but we rented the cabana to relax and they were rushing us...didn't like that at all.

[mainer208]

For the poster with questions about the cat 11/12 cabins, we sailed the Fascination last March which had been updated. The cat 11 rooms were lovely - new bedding, flat screen TV, etc. Even though you have a balcony, it is definetely smaller than on the newer ships. We had a cat 8A on the Glory and the balcony was good sized. On the Fascination, we couldn't sit forward in the chair and stretch your legs out. We just turned our chairs diagonally and had more room. A balcony is wonderful but it is different from the newer ships. Also, absolutely no privacy...people walking around everywhere especially on Verandah deck.

[sammynobrains]

What was everyone wearing in the dining rooms for casual night? How casual were they?

[dolphinwyo]

We are sailing on Monday - anyone have any specific thing they want to know, pictures of anything, etc., that I can report back? Our ports are Grand Turk, Half Moon and Nassau. Traveling with kids, will plan on utilizing the entire ship - from the kids camp to the casino - so let me know if you have any questions. Otherwise, I will report back in March!:)

[popsec]

I did a search but nothing came back. Are there hairdryers on the Imagination now?

[bragstarr]

There are limited hairdriers available from your steward on Imagination but they are pretty crappy. Bring your own. One of our CC members did not know this, blamed it on her husband (who had been the one who was posting, and according to her, he should have told her) and he came to my cabin door nightly with the request to borrow mine! It got pretty funny.....the hairdrier sometimes occupied a seat at dinner, as we were at the same table.

 

Re: Casual dress--I saw the spectrum. DH actually wore jeans a couple of nights with his deck shoes, which he has never done on a cruse, although he wore a pullover collared polo. I did see people (young) in jeans and sneakers and even decent t-shirts. No shorts, that was observed. As for women, anything short of shorts (pun intended) pretty much went, as long as it wasn't raunchy looking.

[popsec]

There are limited hairdriers available from your steward on Imagination but they are pretty crappy. Bring your own.

 

Thanks!.......and one last question......is the cabin key card seperate from your S & S card?

[bragstarr]

Thanks!.......and one last question......is the cabin key card seperate from your S & S card?

 

Everything is separate. It's a royal pain in the butt. One card for your sign and sail. Separate key card (outsized, which makes it more inconvenient) for the door. Then you need another swipe card for the safe (my husband and I had saved ones from a hotel, which had the same coding since it was the same door), although technically you could hide that in the room). I have no idea why they didn't retrofit everything to work off of one card when they redid the ship. Make the safes the keypad type and make the sign and sail the door key too. This was something I had both on Royal Carib and NCL. I guess retrofitting everything would have cost too many bucks!

[popsec]

Everything is separate. It's a royal pain in the butt. One card for your sign and sail. Separate key card (outsized, which makes it more inconvenient) for the door. Then you need another swipe card for the safe (my husband and I had saved ones from a hotel, which had the same coding since it was the same door), although technically you could hide that in the room). I have no idea why they didn't retrofit everything to work off of one card when they redid the ship. Make the safes the keypad type and make the sign and sail the door key too. This was something I had both on Royal Carib and NCL. I guess retrofitting everything would have cost too many bucks!

 

Thanks....I was hoping they changed that when they redid the ship. It's the same thing on the Fascination and it's a royal pain. We just use a grocery store card for the safe and hide it in the cabin.

[dolphinwyo]

When you rent the cabana at HMC - do you tip the waiters that bring you drinks, food, etc., to your cabana, or is that included in the rental, tips on board, on your S&S per drink they bring? If you tip them in cash, how much, and when? At end of day, or each time they come by with something? Thanks for the heads up. Getting ready to get out of here!!

[sammynobrains]

bragstarr - thanks for the dress code info

 

dolphinwyo - I'm on your ship! I keep saying, "next week this time...." :D Come to the Roll Call forum.

[COMET MOM]

IS ANYONE SAILING 4/7/08?:o