Carnival Imagination

It was announced last night during dinner service that Carnival Imagination was rated #2 out of 24 ships in the Carnival fleet in the following categories 1. Friendliness of crew 2. Quality of service and 3. Quality of food. #1 may be true but #3 left me absolutely gobsmacked. That head chef and his staff are imposters. Also, the maitre ‘d gave our assigned seats away the first night to a group who must have bribed him. Carnival’s compensation to us when we complained? A free bottle of cheap wine, the screw on cap kind.
Carnival is the Walmart of cruises. If you go in with low expectations, you’ll be fine. Don’t expect Princess or Royal Carribean level of quality in anything.

Well, the old girl has seen better days. Heck, she’s seen better decades.
We booked a four day Mexican cruise to Ensenada on the Imagination, knowing that Carnival is sort of the «McDonald’s» of cruise lines (cheap, quick, and not very fancy), and I must say, that’s a pretty apt description.
The boat is just way, way overdue for a total overhaul. Everything looks like 1990’s Vegas. For example, they have shiny gold topless Sphinx statues adorning the whole ship. There are hundreds of them. Donald Trump would probably call it classy, but even allowing for the hideousness of them in the first place, all the poor nipples have been rubbed free of paint so the plastic shows through. It’s beyond tacky – to a point where we just laughed.
There is an abundance of fluorescent and neon light, the carpet is atrocious, and everything looks like it needs a good wipe down with Pine Sol.
The entertainment seems to revolve almost exclusively around drinking. There are many, many bars. We saw a few shows, but they were unimpressive – on par with a high school talent night.
The food was fair, kind of hit and miss, but there was plenty of it.
The staff was mostly very friendly and seemed to work very hard. I feel bad for the long, long hours they put in. If you go, please tip generously; these guys get worked like dogs.
We stopped on Catalina, where we kayaked, and in Ensenada, where we visited the Bufadora landmark. Both ports of call were fun and we appreciated getting off the ship and away from the Sphinxes.
So overall, it’s a cheap vacation, and a quick getaway, but I can’t call it fancy or fantastic. Two stars.

My family & I recently went on this ship to Ensenada. Overall we had a good time, but could have been better. The reason why I say that is because last year we went on carnival miracle & was much more nicer & way bigger. Anyways, this boat is older & smaller. We watched shows, went to the comedy club, the food wasn’t all that great in the dining room, so I asked my husband for us to leave & just go to the buffet, I enjoyed my sandwich there lol !!! Ensenada is not pretty at all, we just ended up walking to where the shops are at, it took us about 20 –30 mins to get there walking, there were buses but they would only take us to downtown. There’s not alot of shops on carnival imagination though. I will still be cruising with carnival but just not on the imagination.

I have gone on several cruises, all being on Carnival cruise ships. Just so happened, I’ve been on the Imagination twice. The Superbowl cruise left out of LB, Ca and traveled to Ensenada, Mexico several years ago. The ship at that time offered lots of entertainment. There was a club every night with great music. There was karaōke, comedy and magic shows. You could find various types of entertainment that was suitable for all ages.
The second time I was on Imagination was two years ago when I traveled to the Bahamas. The ship had changed a little and wasn’t as up to par. Like others said, a couple of the bathrooms were stopped up or out of order. I always get a massage on all of the cruises, but yes, the price is ridiculous. Food the first time was better than the second. The daily options in the buffet area were mediocre and I got tired of getting pizza around the clock! They also need to do much, MUCH better with drinks. I understand paying extra for alcohol. But they need to provide something better than tea, watered down lemonade, and the nasty water. Sodas would be nice!
Some upgrades definitely need to be in order. You can find good deals on cruises if you book early and go through a travel agent. Or… take the risk and book at the last minute. Most of the time, the ship is trying to sell out and will either jack up the price or lower them to fill the ship.

As stated by others, the ship was in poor repair and dirty. The food was the worst I have tried on any cruise. Food was being served cold, overcook or not fresh. the service was so slow that all the lines were backed up and you had a very long wait to get served. I did do a last minute booking on the ship to spend 3 days with my grandson. I remember it being a bargain price, so I guess you get what you pay for? However my grandson loved the slide and kiddie carnival.

This cruise SUCKS! You get what you pay for! The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten! There was only one dance club, 2 or 3 restaurants. The activities were so lame! The buffet SUCKED served basically the same food every night. The quality bites. worst part is they rip you off! Book your excursions off the boat MUCH CHEAPER! The Spa is a complete rip off. They charge you double or triple. One thing i hated is they charge you gratuity upfront before you board. per person per night. THEN when you buy drinks, food, actives they charge you gratuity AGAIN. Will not book this cruise again.

Would NOT recommend this ship to anyone.
MOLD in our bathroom.
The staff was very rude.
Very disappointed in this ship.
The rooms were dirty.
The shows were terrible.
The food was not the best that i get on Carnival.
Im pretty well at a stand still on this review.
Just dont go on this ship. Dont waste your money, much nicer Carnival ships then this.

My fiancé and I just got off this ship and I have to say we were absolutely amazed. The only thing I have negative to say is the dining seating is not my favorite !!! We were treated as royalty and everyone on the ship was very accommodating… The absolutely best bartender was Haneman from Indonesia and he was a riot and knew what we want are number and our likes with in a matter of hours. The customer service was amazing. We will continue to sail on carnival we experiences like these.

My wife & I took Imagination out of LB on 4 night Ensenada cruise last month. Overall good = food pretty good; while as everyone says drinks pricey I was surprised the were consistently pretty stiff. Reason why only 2 stars =
1. only pool on board heater broken so was ice cold entire trip so no one used it. That’s unacceptable for a cruise in my book.
2. Charged a gratuity fee of ~$ 50 per night to eat in nice restaurant and they won’t let you leave boat till you pay = scamy/​rip-​offish

I liked this ship and I had a great time on it!
The crew was amazing. The food was great. The entertainment was amazing. The rooms were pretty good for being interior lower deck rooms.
I love that they finally put the nix on the damn deck chair/​flip flop saving chaos! Luckily there were always plenty of chairs open & right by the pool.
The ship wasn’t so big we missed everything but that didn’t still prevent us from getting lost! Lol
The ship was always clean. Our room was always tip top.
One issue we did have was the elevators had an awful stench!!! It was so disgusting we always just sucked it up and took the stairs. The drinks were a little pricy but that was expected.
Only other issue was we weren’t in port very long for both key west & Cozumel but we still had a great time.
Overall it was a great cruise & well worth the great price we paid for it.
I would cruise again with carnival!!!

Went on a 3 day cruise with Matchbox Twenty & The Goo Goo Dolls 12÷6−12÷9÷13. It was an AMAZING experience. It was my first cruise and I was not disappointed. The staff was great, the food was good, the performances were out of this world! I had an interior cabin and I have no complaints. Our steward was amaze-​balls! I swear he was just waiting for us to leave the room so he could go in and get it ready for us. I will definitely take another cruise with Carnival.

Maybe my hyper-​inflated review is from the fact that this was our first cruise and didn’t know what to expect. Or we just got a lucky staff onboard (most of who we talked to were new in their contracts).
Our rooms were always very clean, and I constantly saw staff cleaning bathrooms, decks, windows, railings, etc. during all times of the day. If you are not a party/​get drunk every night type, this might not be the boat for you. My boyfriend and I did drink a lot, but we did not hit the night clubs, so after comedy was over (which were pretty funny) and the tiny pool was closed, our only real option to do was hit the casino or see some of the cover bands (which were just ok).
However, I will agree that boat is not exactly beautifully designed, with tacky neon lights on the interior. The food wasn’t all that great either. Breakfast was dreadful, lunch was hit or miss, and dinner often ripped you off with portion sizes (my boyfriend got one crabcake for an appetizer one night, but you can always ask for more) and we also severely hit or miss. However, the wait staff was great and very attentive.
We did love our excursions to Key West and Cozuzmel. Word of advice for both: skip the bs $ 50 trolleys, etc. You can get a bike rental for $ 10 and it’s maybe a mile walk to the southernmost point and Hemingway’s house in Key West. Also? We port at 730, yet nothing opens until 10 am, so unless you are doing a more adventure excursion, don’t feel the need to rush off the boat. Cozumel is gorgeous, but beware if you do the Passion Island excursion if the «open bar» entices you. Their pre-​made drinks were severely watered down or hell, didn’t have alcohol at all and the food was pretty mediocre, so get a real Mexican meal once you get back to port!

Okay, so this was only our fourth cruise, and our second with Carnival. We have to say we were not really impressed with the ship, the food, or the shows, though we did receive good service.
The ship was definitely not the newest in the fleet, but you can read all that information when you schedule your cruise, so there is not really much to complain about there. Still, while we were getting off the boat, all the water faucets on the ship were turned off. Not convenient or sanitary if you use the restrooms!
The food was not what we’ve come to expect on cruises. Can you say American cheese? No real cheddar to be found. We’re not expecting them to use Tillamook cheese, but let’s get past the processed stuff. And that’s just the beginning of the disappointment with the food. I’ll spare you the details.
The shows were well executed, but uninteresting. And a little too «adult.» They didn’t have but a couple I would bring my mother to.
The service, however, was very good. We also had a problem with smoke from cigarettes being vented into our rooms. While their fixes never fully addressed the problem, they discounted our already inexpensive cruise.
The ports and excursions? Meh.
While I won’t ever repeat this cruise, I will consider cruising with Carnival again, mostly based on our first cruise with them.

Just wanted to briefly sate what happened to my wife and I on our resent cruse to Mexico.
1. On second day, we found the pink lip stick and blood stain on our blanket. Only moments after they had cleaned our room.
2. On the third day we went to our resort retreat but it did not match what we picked on line.
3. on the forth day we found a towel with a brown spot after the room had just been cleaned.
4. Costumer service was lacking the whole trip. Most of the crew seemed uninterested and annoyed when you asked for help. Almost never was a hello or a smile.
5. Right before we departed we discovered our luggage had been damaged. The wheel had been broken off. We had a early flight and no time to stop at guest services. When we called at the air port we were told there is nothing they would do.
Most of other complaints in other reviews are right on. we would not recommend this to anyone. Keep shopping for a different cruse line.

Ok here we go. Six month ago my wife and I went on a cruise Royal Caribbean to be more precise. Although I loved it I said I would never go on a cruise again. A month ago we found this great price for a Carnival cruise and decided to repeat the experience. Well we were wrong, their buffet was horrible raw and cold food, dirty dishes and facility’s everywhere. The people who works there seems to be in a bad mood all the time. Our first day we went to the A la carte restaurant what a horrible mistake, first our food took over 45 to be served, the people who where with us at the table was the worst we complaint about and didnt get any actions take so we had to ask to be moved to another table. The cruise is old and dirty, but I guess you get what you pay for. We were excited about the adults only area since the one in Royal Caribbean was amazing well guess what it was nothing else that a bunch of chairs in a common are of the ship no bar, no pool no anything. Next time we decided to go on a cruise now we now better not to choose the Carnival Line

Where do I begin. Me, my husband, my son, and a friend of his from high school went on this cruise as a celebration of my son and his friend graduating from high school. Needless to say, we were a little apprehensive with all the crap that’s been in the news about Carnival but we figured everyone has issues at some point. You can’t knock it til you’ve tried it. Well, we tried it and it was HORRIBLE. We are not cruise «experts,» my family and I have only been on 1 cruise prior to this and that was on Royal Caribbean in March 2012. (By the way, it was fantastic!!)
WE were supposed to cruise from the Miami port with stops in Key West and Cozumel.
1 — My son’s friend was denied boarding. He was born in another country but has been a citizen since he was 3 – 4. His passport had expired in May. When we spoke with the Carnival No-​Service Rep AND our travel agent, they both told us all he needed was his driver’s license and his original birth certificate. His parents sent off for a renewal with the hope that it would make it back in time for the cruise anyway. It didn’t. Long story short, we got there and Carnival told us his BC & DL were not acceptable and that his expired passport would have been sufficient to travel on because they still honor it for cruises for 10 years past the expiration date. WHAT?! WTF! His parents had to come and get him while we sailed away. (By the way, his monetary portion of the cruise was forfeited even though we brought what Carnival told us to bring)
2 — The food on this ship sucked and the staff all behaved as though they were being held captive and forced to work without pay (rarely did any of them say hello or even smile when passing us in the corridors). We didn’t «meet» our room attendant until the 3^rd day (remember this is a 5 day cruise) and that was because we passed him in the hall and asked if he was our attendant. Even the server at dinner was beyond rude. Example, a new family was seated at our table on the 2 – 3 day and they asked us what was wrong with the waiter. WTF!
3 — The ship was dirty. None of the common areas seemed to be kept clean. (All the bronze railings were smeared with fingerprints constantly.) Never saw anyone actually cleaning the common areas. The common area bathrooms were always filthy and one of the elevators was broken for the entire cruise. WTF!
4 — The people acted like someone left the gate open and they escaped. Example, during the dinner «show» where the waiters are supposed to do a dance or whatever (which they didn’t, they just stood around looking angry) the music was playing and a guy at a table behind ours stood up and starting dancing, cool no problem, then he pulled down his pants and exposed himself. WTF!!! No one made him leave or anything.
I won’t go on and on about all the other crap because this review is long enough already. Bottom line is I will NEVER… EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER sail on another Carnival cruise.

I’ve been on three Carnival Cruises and I will never ever ever ever ever ever get on the Imagination or any older ship again. I thought I could deal with old and I can but I can’t deal with old and dirty. The Imagination puts the dirt in dirty. Upon check in I found lots of little black hairs in my bathroom and on my «clean» sheets. Tons of mystery stains around my grand suite U111 and dirty public areas, hair all over the lido deck, crap stuck to the glassware, bad service. Just don’t do it! Book on a newer ship!