Imagination 8/11-16 Review with pictures

[cjkumbaya]

I am really enjoying your review - what a great job! Your cruise looks fantastic - my Mom, 2 sisters & niece took a girls cruise about ten years ago - it was great! Looking forward to more!

[pitchersmom02]

.....when we got back on board we showered and headed for one of our favorite places....the sushi bar....

 

 

 

the sushi bar is located on the Prom deck just outside the Casino.

it was open from 5p-8p and each day had 3 different choices of sushi..

you could ask for any combination or as we did just ask for a "double"

the soy sauce, ginger, wasabi and cucumber were self serve..you could also purchase beer or saki..

 

this was also the night of the past guest party..so we had a fun night ahead of us...we had decided not to go to the show..although we love the shows we wanted to hang out and enjoy all the parts of the ship

 

 

DD#2 and BFF ..

 

 

the 3 DD's and BFF all enjoying sushi....and what a view of the water..

 

another view..and as you can see BFF has a diet coke...

we used our soda cards all the time. They were well worth the $$, and the waiters never seemed to mind if all you ordered was soda. As a matter of fact anytime we ordered from a waiter and we were in a location for a while they would automatically bring us refills...

 

....well now that we had our fill of sushi It was time to head to the Past Guest Party...as we were all past guest's BFF as well we had recieved our invitations the night before..they stated that they would be collected at the door...

 

...off to the party....

[pitchersmom02]

..we arrived at the Past Guest party...it was held in the Dynasty Lounge..and was not too crowded..they did collect our invitations at the door..BFF and I went first the DD's were going to follow...

we were also given our past guest pins...

 

 

Freddie stopped by our table...

 

again at the party there were free flowing drinks...we had a great waiter who kept the glasses of bubbly coming..and there were sweet/sour meatballs, and salmon on crackers...

 

there was the usual video from the CEO thanking all the returning guests and the parade of ships ..everyone clapping for the ships they had been on..I luckily got to clap 5 times....Jubilee, Legend, Libery, Imagination, Imagination...my BFF was on the Fascination....

 

...as the party wound down we still had time before dinner so we headed back up to the Prom deck...there we found DD's still at the sushi bar..they never made it to the party..so we decided to just hand out with them until it was time to head for dinner..I really love that time on the ship, when you can just sit back and watch the goings on...

 

 

 

 

DD# 1 showing us the correct way to use our chop sticks..

 

 

 

 

 

DD#3 ..all smiles...what a great vacation this is....

 

 

finally someone takes a picture of me...:)

 

 

It was soon time to head to dinner....we just loved going to dinner, we looked forward to sharing the days experiences with our table mates...

 

...and of course the next day we arrived at Half Moon Cay..and we had rented a cabana ..so we really were looking forward to that..

[shortstop95]

What a wonderful review so far, can't wait to hear the rest. We are going on the Imagination on September 22nd!! The itinerary we are doing is Key West and Cozumel. We haven't sailed on the Imagination, but we have sailed on the Paradise and the Elation. In November we are going on the Splendor and we go to Grand Turk and Half Moon Cay haven't been to either of those places. We now know what we should do in both of those ports.

[lfresa]

Thanks for the pics, we were on the same ship at the same time. The picture with your daughter outside of the sushi bar has a picture of my sons friends ( dressed is white with a white hat ) in the background. My son and his friend were always out there playing cards.

[pitchersmom02]

I remember seeing a group of boys playing cards...I thought it was a great way to spend time on the ship....:)

[pitchersmom02]

....our next port was Half Moon Cay...we had a very long port day..but of course I wanted to get in every minute possible..it is also a tender port.

 

there is Half Moon Cay....

 

 

 

we had rented a cabana..BFF has very fair skin and has had some skin cancer on her face...

 

So having learned that you need to book the cabana on board,we were in line at the excursion desk right away and booked the pink cabana...I had this very cabana once when we were on another crusie line(HAL )..

 

The cost of the cabana is $199..it comes with 4 sets of scuba equipment, and 4 floats,It also has 4 large bottles of water, 6 soda's of your choice. Chips, dips, veggies, fruit..

the cabana also has 2 lounge chairs, 4 chairs ,table, has a fan and a/c , refrigerator, shower

 

we were scheduled to arrive early and as we had a cabana we would be on the first tender...otherwise you had to arrive in the Dynasty Lounge and get a tender #.

the DD's wanted to sleep later so we told them to meet us a the pink cabana..

BFF and I had breakfast in the dining room again..as the tenders did not leave until soon after 8...

after breakfast we packed up the beach bag and off we went to wait for the tender..

 

there were not too many people waiting and as we were on the first tender I knew we would be there soon..

 

finally they led us to the tender..I expected a smaller boat kind of like a life boat..those were the type of tenders I had been on in the past.but it was a 2 level open boat..and held alot of people..maybe 150 or more so I knew it would be easy for the girls to get off later..

 

BFF and I on the tender...

 

 

there were passengers in their cabins watching us all get on the tenders..

 

 

we are on our away....

 

 

 

 

our ship behind us..as we head to Half Moon Cay..

 

we arrived in just a few minutes and were sent to the excursion desk to check in for our cabana...

when we checked in we were told to head to the open air bus and we would be driven to our cabana...we had to wait for it to be full...not very long.but it was HOT already..the sky was blue and the sun was strong...I was very glad that we had that cabana..

 

If for reason you did not get a cabana , you could rent a clam shell, which is a blue canavas tent like cover. It has 2 chairs with it. I have heard that although it provides shade it is hot as there is not much breeze..

 

If you are willling to walk down the beach ...(it seems as if only those with

cabanas get a lift...)...you can find a spot under a tree with some shade...

 

 

so we arrive at our "pink cabana"

 

 

 

 

 

more to come.....

[dreaming-a-way]

do you know how mean you are??? You left us hanging...AGAIN!!!

[pitchersmom02]

....we settled into our cabana..we were very glad to be there. It was very hot and the sun was strong..

we had a beautiful view of the ship and wondered when the girls would arrive.

 

 

we were able to see the tenders go back and forth, there were 2 tenders and each held about 150 ..so it did not seem as if it would take any time for the girls to get there..

 

When we arrived our food/drink was just being delivered, there was a small refrig and we put the perishable food inside.

 

we purchased the beer ..all the rest was included.

 

 

we had a really good location with this cabana, the rest rooms were right behind us to the left and the walkway up to the food hut to the right..

..speaking of food...a bar-b-que was available from 11-2 or thereabouts..

 

we decided to try and wait for the girls before eating..

 

we spend the time snorkeling , floating on the floats, reading and eating the fruit/veggies..

 

as far as the snorkeling goes it was really not the best...but the water was clear and it was fun, but if you are expecting alot of fish,coral you will be dissappointed .

 

 

about 11:30 the DD's arrived and as they were very hot they went right to the water..to hang out..

 

 

 

you can see the 3DD's at the line ..the water out there was over my head, they are strong swimmers..if you go out past the line a lifegaurd will come by and ask you to go back in...boats for various excusrions are out beyond the lines....

 

 

stay tuned for lunch......

[Weeziblu]

I am absolutely LOVING your review! I can't wait to see/hear more! Keep it coming.... pleeeeeze!

[pitchersmom02]

Welcome to Our Cabana

 

 

 

 

 

.....the girls came in from the water and just at that time our table mates stopped by what we had come to call "cabana pink" ..out friends were happy to get in out of the heat...we had enough room in the shade of the cabana for the 9 of us..we offered our guests food and drink ...they hung out for about 30 minutes and than the girls all went up to get food..

 

the DD's all promised to bring us back some food...we waited and if you can believe it they came back with nothing..:confused: .needless to say we were disappointed ..but they told us the sand was so hot that they had to run up and back and did not think they could carry food and run..they went barefoot

 

well ..no big deal we all went up to get food..and yes they were right the sand was hot...so FYI..wear something on your feet...

 

the food hut was large with a # of serving stations...there was hot dogs, hamburgers, cold salads, cookies, drinks..

It was not the best food ever ...but it was OK..we also knew that there was sushi waiting for us when we go back...

 

..our table mates stayed a while longer and than headed back to the ship..

 

the girls went back to the water and BFF and I read and slept..

the DD's soon came to say that DD #1 and 2 were heading back to the ship...DD#3 wanted to stay and have me go in the water with her..

 

so DD#3 and I took the floats and laid out in the water for an hour or so..

although the most relaxing hour I can think of...I burned like a lobster in the areas where I had little or no sunscreen...

 

 

DD #3 and I floating and burning ....

 

 

at about 3PM we had about as much sun as we could take...and decided that we needed to get out of the sun and head back to the ship...we had a sun filled day at Atlantis the next day....

 

so again we bid our cabana and Half Moon Cay a fond farewell and headed back...we did not have to wait at all for the tender..

 

 

waiting to get back on the ship....

 

next port of call.....Nassau and Atlantis....

[GaryWT]

The memories...

 

I thought one benifit of the cabana was they would go get lunch for you and bring it to you? I guess I read that wrong.

 

It was a beautiful day that day. We were on the first tender as well and I started the day with a nice walk down the beach. The Russian dancers/gymnists were practicing and taking photos on my return trip.

[Charming01]

Left hanging again?:o :)

[GamerMom64]

Great review! How do I subscribe to this thread? Anyone know?

[KandCsailing]

Great review! How do I subscribe to this thread? Anyone know?

Thread tools under the page numbers near the top right.

[linnylu92]

We were also on this cruise. We enjoyed every minute. We rented the purple cabana at Half Moon Cay and it was definitely worth the money. Your day in Grand Turk sounds fun. We did the Ultimate Snorkeling that day and Atlantis when in Nassau. Love your review and can't wait for you to continue!

[mom2girls]

Thread tools under the page numbers near the top right.

 

I learned something new today. :) I thought the way to subscribe to a thread was to post to it. Now, I know that's not the only way.

[shortstop95]

Thread tools under the page numbers near the top right.

 

KandCsailing,

 

We were on the Liberty with you on 9/23/07. I see you are going on it again in September, you must like the ship.

[pitchersmom02]

...our final port of call Nassau...

 

I have been here a number of times before and never really enjoyed the port..

This time thanks to these boards we were going to spend the day at Atlantis via Comfort Suites.

 

I booked comfort suites months early and about once a week I would check the site ...Choice Hotels ...and any time the price went down I rebooked. I checked under each category for which I was eligible for a discount...AAA, military, ..my final cost was $200 for 4.

 

We had 5 of us and I was not really sure how I would work that out ...

a few days before we were to arrive I checked at the excursion desk to the possibility of getting a single ticket. I really did not want to go on the water rides but wanted to hang out with my family.

 

The excursion desk personal e-mailed Atlantis and were told that I could purchase a beach break ticket and than I could have access. I was hesitant about spending $80..so I decided to hope for the best when we arrived..

 

we arrived early into Nassau and were off the ship at about 8:30 AM..it is a long walk from the ship to the cab area...We were lucky to ride in a cab with another family who were doing the Comfort Suites and as luck would have it they only needed 3 of their 4 tickets and they kindly allowed me to purcahse one from them...my problem was solved ..

 

the cab was $4/PP each way..as an FYI it took a full hour from when we got off the ship to the time we sat down at Atlantis...

the check in was easy ..they knew we had no intentions of using our room and I am not sure we would have wanted to anyway it was a long walk..

We did not have to bring towels ...

we got our passes and than at a towel station got our wrist bands..

the girls were hot so we stopped at a pool for a dip than we made our way to the water park...the place is so big..

 

we found a great place to hand out..again it was sunny and hot

 

 

we were in a good location..rest rooms close by ..entrance to lazy river , food and other water slides....

 

again the ground was HOT so wear water shoes or flip flops...

BFF and I made our way to the lazy river, the DDs went to a slide..

the lazy river is about a 20 minute circut...and it is anything but lazy..there was a wave area, and rapids....you had to be in a raft, either single or double,...they can be picked up at the numerous entrances and exits....there were life vests available and I suggest for young kids or wek swimmers you wear one...I saw a family with a baby flip over in the wave area...

anyway the lazy river was awesome....I loved it ..as this was the only water ride I would go on it was great ..I did it 3 seperate times..

 

 

while the DD's and BFF went on other water slides I sat by this wonderful pool and read.

 

 

the water was surprisingly cool and refreshing...

 

what a way to spend a day..

 

 

DD's waiting in line for the slide...

 

DD #2 and BFF...

 

now a few things to know about Atlantis...food and drink are very expensive...$4 for a diet coke and BFF and I were shocked when we could not use our soda card:confused: .

 

There was an outside bar-b que and fast food stand with hot dogs, hamburgers, nachos, fries, etc. it was very pricey ..but as we were spending the entire day we had little choice...and also most of the places are credit card only ..no cash...

 

...the rest of the day....up next ....

[KandCsailing]

KandCsailing,

 

We were on the Liberty with you on 9/23/07. I see you are going on it again in September, you must like the ship.

Like the ship, but in love with the itinerary. We almost booked on Mariner of the Seas and then took another look at Liberty. Half Moon Cay, St. Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk. St. Thomas we've been too but didn't see much and the rest are new to us. We didn't plan on going on the Glory twice in a row and then Liberty twice. At least we don't get lost on board.

I tease DH that we will have trouble next time because we have to pick a new ship.:p:D

[KandCsailing]

DD's waiting in line for the slide...

 

We were at Atlantis in 2006 (just walking around) before this section was built.

Is that the girls under the center top section? This thing looks huge!

[Brenda33]

How long were the lines for the slides and/or lazy river?

[pitchersmom02]

yes those are the girls...and yes it is hugh...there is no real wait for the lazy river , you just have to wait for a vacant raft to float by, but as people are getting on and off that is not an issue. the doubles seem harder to come by than the singles..

 

I did not go on the slides but the girls did not say the lines were particularly long. They went on every slide at least twice and did the lazy river 2 or 3 times..and we did not feel like all we did was wait on lines..

 

They said the slides are fun but a little scary ...in at least one of them you are in the dark for a time. DD #1 has a water proof camera that takes video and she took it on and watching it I was glad I did not go on...

 

On one of the slides you can watch when they exit and float thru the shark tank..it looked cool from the outside and they said it was awesome from the inside...

[w8ing2cruz]

I took my daughter on this cruise in May to celebrate finishing two years of college (any excuse will do). This itinerary was the best I've ever seen. We too rented a golf cart on Grand Turk - if you go again you need to stop at Bohio Resort on Pillory Beach - it is so beautiful! Half Moon is simply fabulous for sun lovers. We spent a little time at the 'Wish I Could Stay Forever' bar. We always do a catamaran snorkle in Nassua and then stop for a quick one at Senior Frogs. I would choose this intinerary in a heartbeat - the ship doesn't matter. Looks like you had a great time with your girls!!

[dixnew]

this is by far, the best review i have ever read on cc, i hate that it is coming to a end.