Carnival Imagination – 7/29/18 Through 8/2/18 – Observations and Opinions

Observations and Opinions

That certainly was a lot of information to digest for a 4 night itinerary. Even so, I’m sure that a month from now, I’ll remember something else that was surely relevant that has already escaped my addled mind. And while I’ve given a detailed account of what we did on our trip, I didn’t include any aggregated observations. Hopefully, this post will help in those areas.

 

Arriving, Parking, and Embarkation

 

Arriving at the port, parking and embarkation were a breeze. In spite of the ongoing construction on the 710 Freeway exchange to the port areas, we encountered no problems. As noted before, just follow the signs for the Queen Mary until you reach the parking structure. I have heard some rumblings of late that the parking structure isn’t available until 11:30 AM. We did not encounter that and we easily found a parking spot right at 11 AM. With the arrival of the Carnival Panorama in 2019, I could see that parking could become an issue, though my understanding is that there are currently plans to add to the available parking at the port. If you plan on driving to the cruise terminal, make sure that you account for L.A. area traffic, especially if your cruise departs during the work week, when traffic volumes increase. Though anymore, it’s hard to tell the difference in some areas between a weekday and a weekend.

 

We purchased FTTF and we walked right into the terminal and were immediately checked in with no wait at security. To me, this is a golden experience. The terminal seemed appropriately staffed and Carnival must be doing something right with the staggered check-in time process. We had a short wait inside the terminal before anyone could start boarding. Once on board, we were able to access our room and pick up our Sail & Sign cards immediately, once we inquired with a friendly face. I did hear from another cruiser recently on the Imagination that they were not able to access their room immediately, even after inquiring with a staff member. This is clearly contrary to published materials for FTTF and I would imagine that they had a legitimate complaint if they chose to follow up with the appropriate staff. It was nice having our bags dropped off in our cabin, S&S cards in hand and on the Lido Deck with a cold drink to watch everyone else make the mad dash to the buffet or to the bar with their boarding documents in order to purchase a drink.

 

Excursions

 

When we first booked the cruise, I didn’t have high expectations for the two ports of call. Neither particularly interested us and I had been to Ensenada 23 years ago, and I wasn’t overly impressed. Well, the two Carnival booked excursion we chose changed my mind. The Taste of Catalina tour was as good as almost any excursion I’ve ever taken on a cruise. The wine country tour in Ensenada was also a good quality excursion and we both enjoyed ourselves. I always felt safe and our tour guide made us feel like we belonged as part of their community. Great hosts. When we go back to Ensenada in 2019, for the Panorama’s inaugural cruise, I’m confident we’ll find something equally interesting to do.

 

The Ship

 

We had sailed on the Imagination in 2013. Since then, she did receive the Funship 2.0 upgrades. I was hoping that some of the other areas had been refreshed as well, but it just wasn’t the case. I enjoyed the relatively small size of the Fantasy class ship and definitely see the market value of the Imagination and other smaller ships. But there are some things that Carnival could definitely address to make the experience on board more pleasurable.

 

The first observation is that as much as I wanted to overlook the occasional sewage smell, we simply could not. I had already mentioned that it was a constant presence in our cabin bathroom. I know enough about plumbing to know that often this type of smell can be eliminated by simply running water down a dry drain. This didn’t seem to help. The smell could also occasionally be noticed in other areas of the ship. We noticed it at least twice on the Lido Deck near the pool and Shani noticed it one evening in the Pride Dining Room. It was never a constant presence anywhere, other than our bathroom, and it didn’t prohibit us from having a good time. But I cannot deny it was there. I can understand that someone more sensitive to olfactory nuisances could have their experience negatively impacted by this experience. I also know this issue not limited to the Imagination or Carnival ships.

 

While on the subject of smells, there were a few places on the ship that had a distinctive mildew smell. It was detectable in the Karaoke lounge the first night we were there, though not overpowering. However, one of the Carnival Fun Shops smelled like a damp basement. Again, it didn’t prevent us from buying a tote bag in there and it certainly didn’t prohibit us from enjoying our trip, but it was certainly there.

 

The Cabin was in good shape, though there is debate between Shani and me as to a dark substance at the top of the shower. She was concerned it was mold though I thought it was remnants of some glue residue from flashing that may have been there at one time. The bed was very comfortable and the bedding was as fine as some 4 and 5 star hotels we’ve stayed at.

 

The furniture in some of the public spaces have definitely seen better days. Of note, a couch in the Alchemy Bar and the seats in the Piano Bar had obvious signs of wear and patching to repair. It is also difficult to discern what was Carnival’s unique, festival like decor from the outdated and the gilded all too much of it. The areas that did receive attention during the last dry dock looked fabulous. The pool area, outdoor Lido bars and eateries and the Alchemy Bar (with the exception of the aforementioned couch) were all a visual pleasure.

 

I just unleashed quite a few words critical of the Imagination, but let me tell you what is right about her. There is a simplistic beauty in the Fantasy class ships. It has all of the things a cruise ship should have and the ratio of passengers to public spaces is just about perfect. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, there are public spaces that shine and the addition of Guys Burgers and the Blue Iguana as included food options was wonderful. In addition, the crew does a fine job as stewards of the old girl. They were constantly cleaning and tidying up in the public spaces.

 

There are some that think Carnival should give up on the Imagination. I can understand where those opinions are coming from and the industry trend is certainly pushing for bigger, newer and better ships. But I think the Imagination has a role to still play in the cruising world and I would LOVE to see Carnival invest some TLC in an effort to update her so she can continue to fill the 3-5 day cruise fix on the West Coast.

 

Food

 

As cruise lines spend more money in expanding additional fee dining, it is not totally unexpected to see the quality of included food options take a hit. I also know that it’s not limited to any particular line. I have accepted that this is the reality that cruisers are going to experience and I see no alteration of the current course the industry is taking. If you want higher quality food, you’re going to have to pay for it. There is something to be said for the a la carte experience as it can keep overall prices from soaring, putting cruising out of reach for many people. On top of all that, you will typically not find entrees made to order in the main dining rooms. So many steak dishes are prepared, X number of chicken dishes and Y number of fish dishes are made en mass and shuttled off to the hungry hoards waiting in the dining room. So, it didn’t shock me that the food on the Imagination was hit and miss. As a rule, I would steer clear of choosing items that rely on the kitchen to prepare a dish to an exact standard (think steaks cooked to a specified temp, reaching the optimum resting time for certain cuts of grilled/roasted meats, etc.) and stick to more forgiving dishes (think soups, baked dishes like lasagna, etc.). While not foolproof, I think it will lead to a more pleasant culinary experience.

 

Service

 

For the most part….BRAVO! When everything is done for you, every moment of the day, expecting service perfection is a challenging ask. You are going to run into individuals who would otherwise provide a memorable, positive experience, if not for a monkey wrench in their day. In a short amount of time, it’s very difficult to discern the true grouches from those who are just off their game a little bit. With the exception of being disappointed in the lack of attention from our room steward (he didn’t do anything wrong, but he didn’t interact with us once and we only received turn down service the first night…when we tipped him a $20 up front in addition to our prepaid gratuities) and one stone faced server in the Piano Bar, the staff we interacted with were a bright spot for our experience. For comparison, Nobody does service like Disney, but the staff on the Imagination really had to make me stop and think about the small differences between the two experiences. Of course, the likes of Camilo and Margo go a long way towards the personalized experience that so many cruisers have come to expect over the years. In no small part to their efforts, the Imagination receives high marks for service. We did our best to provide both Camilo and Margo with some extra compensation that they so obviously deserved.

 

Miscellaneous

 

– Cabin E75 – We booked late, just a month out. Shani is prone to motion sickness, so we really wanted an Oceanview room, midship. There just weren’t many available options left. Our Carnival PVP steered us away from a room directly underneath the Piano Bar, but we still would have to settle for a room under the Library, just off the Atrium. For the most part, there were no noise issues. We would here activity in the Atrium until around 10:30 – 11:00 each night, but it was nothing that couldn’t be drowned out with a white noise application. The final two nights of the cruise, we did hear a brief bought of significant noise from some furniture being rearranged in the Library at around midnight. It woke us up one night, but as mentioned it was brief in duration and we fell right back asleep. I don’t believe it would ruin anyone’s trip, but if you can avoid being under a public room and further off the atrium, we would encourage you to do so.

 

– FTTF – We hate standing in lines. The disease of privilege I suppose. For us, the modest charge for this itinerary was very much worth the expense.

 

– Cheers Package – We probably broke even. We are not heavy drinkers, but in the right environment (i.e. on a cruise ship with nowhere to go) we can put a few away. Couple that with the fact we enjoy wine with dinner, and it can add up. We definitely got our money’s worth on Embarkation day and the At Sea Day.

 

– Demographics – There were a lot of families and there were several celebratory and multi-generational groups. It didn’t have a booze cruise vibe, though people were certainly enjoying themselves. Carnival definitely offers a good time bent on their activities and we found that some of the shows we wanted to see just started too late for us (i.e. the more adult oriented comedy shows). Maybe we’re older than we think we are or maybe we purposely chose to not over do the experience. Anyway, we would have had no issues bringing our 11 year old daughter along with us, and often caught ourselves telling each other, “She would enjoy this!”

 

– As you would expect, there is a marked smoke presence near the casino. With it’s location, opening up to the Promenade, it made hanging out in that area unattractive to us. It’s a shame, because there was a stage with live music in the Dream Bar area. We’re former smokers and may be a little extra sensitive to the smoky air.

 

– We enjoyed the Piano Bar and the group interaction it facilitates. We spent two evenings in there. I wasn’t too keen on the list of Carnival approved songs as I believe it led to more of a scripted repetitions of certain songs instead of an organic evolution based on the make up of the crowd. Again, we still had a great time.

 

The big question that remains…Would we take this cruise on the Imagination again. Our answer is nuanced. It depends, just as us deciding to take this cruise was dependent on a couple of factors. If the timing and situation is right, we probably would consider it. If Carnival gave the Imagination some extra love she deserves, it would probably increase the likelihood we would choose this trip again. We have a lot of other places we want to go and because we’re still limited in opportunities to travel, It will most likely be a while before we find ourselves considering another spin on our old friend. Of course, if you put Matchbox Twenty and the Goo Goo Dolls back on as our cruise directors…that all changes!

 

While this concludes my unsolicited offerings, we would be more than happy to answer any questions or engage in any philosophical discussions about the Imagination. Thank you for letting us share a little piece of our experience and we both hope you all have many more enjoyable voyages ahead of you, including on the Imagination!

Carnival Imagination – 7/29/18 Through 8/2/18 – At Sea Day And Debarkation – Do We Have to Leave?

This morning, we awakened without an alarm. I really like those mornings. We got ready and headed to the Pride Dining Room for the Seaday Brunch. We didn’t order room service coffee this morning, so we didn’t waste any time getting there. I chose the Steak and Eggs, as I had read on Cruise Critic (www.cruisecritic.com) that it would be the best steak I would get on board, without ordering from the Steakhouse ($20 upcharge) selection at dinner. Shani ordered pancakes along with sides of scrambled eggs and link sausage.

Steak and Eggs

Indeed, the breakfast filet was the best piece of beef I had on the cruise. It actually tasted like steak. I won’t claim it was the best filet I’ve ever had, but it was pleasantly satisfying. My eggs were fried hard as requested and were tasty. I was a little disappointed in the home fries, not because they weren’t tasty, but rather because they were merely a combination of three different types of french fries. Visually, it looked like leftover scraps. All in all, I enjoyed the meal.

Shani was afraid that she had ordered too much food, but when the small serving of pancakes arrived, she realized the worry was misplaced. The meal was good, but don’t expect a huge order of pancakes if you go down that route.

After breakfast, we changed into our swimsuits and headed to the Lido Deck to attempt to find a couple of loungers. By this time, it was around Noon. We did a full reconnaissance of the available loungers and were surprised to see many available, though the ones closest to the pool and shady spots were all spoken for. We settled in just behind the stage and we would stay there until late afternoon.

It was quite a pleasant and relaxing day. While there was too much activity to nap, Camilo soon found us and we sipped away at our Twilight Zones and Ting Mojitos, as we watched various Lido activities take place. We missed the hairy chest contest (no big loss) but were present for the Thriller dance class (taught by one of the Imagination’s stage performers) and the ice carving demonstration. The DJ kept the tunes going and there were several line dancing opportunities for the more extroverted of cruisers.

After soaking up our share of the sun, we went back to the room to shower before dinner. We also started with requisite task of packing for tomorrow’s return to reality. We debated the rest of the evening as to whether to self-assist (carrying our own luggage off the ship) or have our luggage ready in the hall by 11PM for assisted debarkation.

We made our way to the Pride Dining Room once again, prior to catching the Epic Rock Show at 8PM. Because of the early show and the fact that we didn’t eat lunch due to a later brunch, we arrived at the dining room right at 6PM. Tonight, there was a slight line, though it was mainly due to several large groups ahead of us. The line moved quickly and again, we were waiting in line no more than five minutes. As we waited, we enjoyed the acoustic guitar/singer at the Atrium stage, one deck below. There were two of these acts on board, taking turns at the various small stages on the ship.

Again, Camilo was eagerly waiting for us. We were sat at what had become our standard two top table as the dining room was quickly filling up. It seemed like a lot of cruisers had the same idea we had this night for an early dinner. In fact, one of Camilo’s other regular couples were a little later getting to the dining room this evening and Camilo’s section was already full. They were another similarly aged couple, free of their kids while with their grandparents, from Western Massachusetts. Their kids were actually on an Alaskan cruise with the grandparents and I couldn’t help but wonder why they didn’t go on that cruise as well. Alaska was just awesome. I digress, Camilo quickly swept in and informed the other head waiter that the other couple was his and that he would be taking over the table. There was no pushback!

Tonight, we both ordered the beef tenderloin for dinner. The filet I had that morning gave me an optimistic feeling for what was in essence, the same cut of meat. I wasn’t wrong, as again it tasted like steak. As with the filet, there is no attempt to claim it was excellent, but it certainly was pleasant, especially considering the prior night’s dinner experience.

Tonight was another wait staff show night. As dinner was concluding, all of the servers began their parade around the dining room, hoisting tonight’s featured Baked Alaska around with them to the song Gonna Fly Now (Theme song for the Rocky movies). After the parade, Camilo and the other servers performed a couple silly songs and dances. While in danger of being corny, everyone was smiling and laughing along at our new friends dance moves, or lack thereof.

Again, our interactions with Camilo and Margo were the highlight of the day. We spent some time earlier during dinner, before the huge rush, getting to know Camilo and eagerly soak up stories about his family. His wife was actually one of the two bartenders at the Atrium Bar. I can only imagine how this might take the edge off of being on a ship for months at a time. I also relish these human connections as it provides me with a healthy dose of perspective and provides me with the essential reminder that the world, in fact, does not revolve around my little slice of Earth.

Atrium Bar, from Deck 8. Little did we know that Camilo’s wife was tending bar!

Camilo wishing us goodbye with a song.

Camilo and Kadek grooving to Uptown Funk.

Shani and Camilo

Shani and Margo. Margo wasn’t quite the socializer that Camilo w as, but that uninhibited smile says everything I could think to describe him.

We finished dinner just after 7:30, after both having the Baked Alaska for dessert. We were sad that we wouldn’t see Camilo or Margo again before debarkation. We were even sadder knowing that tomorrow meant heading back to the real world after almost a week of having our every whim catered to. But, it’s the balance required to make these trips so sweet.

We headed to the Dynasty Theater at about 7:40, with the Epic Rock Show starting at 8. We were the second group in line and waited about 10 minutes for the theater to open. This would be the only stage production we would catch this cruise and the Epic Rock Show received good reviews on Cruise Critic. The show started with a young guitar player coming out and playing solo riffs from an assortment of popular rock anthems. He played well and was faithful to the original recordings we are all familiar with. He was enjoyable to listen to.

The show was…well, we weren’t terribly impressed. We love rock and enjoy all of the songs played, but we just weren’t impressed by some of the arrangements. It wasn’t bad, but we thought it was less than epic. To each their own.

This would be an early night, knowing we had to get up and moving the next morning and I had a 6 hour drive ahead of me. So, we returned to our cabin to finish packing our suitcases. We decided to have our luggage picked up prior to debarkation. We knew we still had to pick up several bottles of wine and we wanted to cut down on the items we were carrying off of the ship. In retrospect, we would have been perfectly fine with the self assisted debarkation.

We got a decent night’s sleep and awakened in time to grab breakfast in the Pride Dining Room, prior to picking up our wine and heading to the FTTF waiting zone, which was located in the Dynasty Lounge. I ordered an omelet while Shani went with the Port Day Express. My omelet was really good and we both had enough coffee to get our minds focused for the journey home.

The alcohol pick up was located in one of the lounges on the Promenade. I was expecting a rush of people, picking up their finds in Ensenada, but we either out waited the big rush or there just wasn’t a lot of alcohol purchased in port. We claimed our haul and transferred it to a tote we purchased in the Fun Shop, to make it easier to carry off. Off we went to the Dynasty Lounge while we waited for the zoned debarkation to begin.

The wait in the lounge was quiet and comfortable. We had Zone 2 and soon the announcement was made for zones 1-6 to head to the Atrium and off to the gangway. Once in the debarkation line, we were off the ship within five minutes (common theme and the small waits were very welcome). We made our way through the terminal and quickly located our luggage.

On our way out of the luggage area and to the Customs line, we came across the group of porters. We didn’t really need assistance and we were prepared to carry everything out to the garage ourselves until the following proclamation was made by the porter supervisor…

IF YOU USE A PORTER, YOU CAN USE THIS EXPEDITED CUSTOMS LINE WHERE THERE IS CURRENTLY NO WAIT!

Thank you very much! Porter hired! For the price of a tip, we proceeded directly to the special Customs line and boom! We were out of the terminal and back to the garage! Soon, we paid for parking ($80 for the 4 day cruise) and were on the road back to Phoenix.

That’s the review of our trip. We did really enjoy ourselves in spite of some less than perfect hiccups. My next post will focus on some miscellaneous items and any things I may have inadvertently left out. I will also spend some time with my overall observations and opinions. I hope this helps anyone thinking about taking the Imagination on this short itinerary, or any cruise for that matter.

Carnival Imagination – 7/29/18 Through 8/2/18 – Day 3 Ensenada, Mexico – Bring Me To Your Wine

Today we woke up, docked in Ensenada. Our excursion today was a trip to wine country, 45 minutes Northeast of the city, another Carnival arranged tour. Check in time was 11:15, so we had another morning of sleeping in and not being rushed. This morning, the alarm was set for 8:30 and coffee was requested between 8:30 and 9:00. Of course, the knock on the door came at 8:15. Hey, at least it was a consistent strike zone (My obligatory baseball reference).

Today, we would grab breakfast burritos from Blue Iguana, the Imagination’s taco and burrito bar. There was no line and we settled in at a nice, shady table on the Lido Deck, with a view of Ensenada. It had been 23 years since I had seen Ensenada and I have to say the city had definitely grown! Ensenada is an industrial port and at first glance, maybe not the most scenic of stops. But, the surface is often misleading.
After our burritos, which were certainly worthy of a positive review, we headed back to the cabin to freshen up prior to heading off the ship to check in for the excursion.

Once off the ship, we quickly located our guide for the day, Irma. Irma instructed us to wait in some nearby shade until the other cruisers checked in. Irma informed us that we would be small group of six today, as most people chose the earlier excursion time to beat the heat. We’re from Phoenix, so heat be damned!

Soon Irma led us to a full sized tour bus for the trek to Valle de Guadalupe, the heart of Ensenada’s wine country. We were introduced to our driver, Felix, and we were off. Heading through the city, I was definitely impressed with how thriving the community appeared, compared to my last visit. Irma kept us engaged the entire trip and was a real delight. Again, it was abundantly clear how proud Irma was of her home. Irma made us feel like we belonged there in that moment, and that’s a good sign of great host.

Our gracious host, Irma

On the bus and ready for some wine!

Before we knew it, we were in Guadalupe. The drive was pleasant, with vineyards everywhere, mixed in with groves of olive trees. The scenery reminded me a lot of drives through central Arizona.

Our first stop was Vinos L.A. Cetto, Mexico’s second largest wine producer. The winery was thoroughly modern yet small enough to be charming and inviting. Irma introduced us to our guide for the winery tour (I believe her name was Ariceli). She soon led us to the fermentation facility and barrel room, where the wine is aged. She gave a thorough explanation of the wine making process, the winery’s different brands and how each brand and variety were made. The smell in the barrel room was absolutely decadent, with the combination of the vino and oak barrels. Shani was in heaven and was literally hugging the large oak barrels.

After the tour, we were brought into the tasting room. Officially, we were to taste six wines, 3 whites and 3 reds. The reality is we sampled a lot more. Ariceli, with Irma’s help, soon got to know each of our preferences and was bringing us each what she believed we would enjoy. Both were very knowledable and were really able to hone in on our tastes. I could go on and on with the whole experience, but it’s unlikely anyone wants to read that much detail. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and we left buying 4 bottles of premium wine, on top of the free bottle we each received. We also bought a couple of bottles of the locally produced olive oil, which we enjoyed during our tasting.

Ariceli, our awesome guide at L.A. Cetto

L.A. Cetto fermentation room

Vino L.A. Cetto

True love

Premium French Oak Barrels

Preparing for the first pour.

The next winery on our stop, was Casa Dona Lupe. This is a much smaller, boutique winery just down the road from L.A. Cetto. The initial reaction was very positive. The property is less industrial, perfectly rustic and completely charming. The property includes an outside tasting area, an Aztec cultural demonstration and a retail space inside. In addition to wine, Casa Dona Lupe produces a variety of jams and marmalades, tequila liqueurs, salsas and such. We received cards to taste 6 different wines and provided with homemade chips and a variety of salsas, as well as a flatbread pizza with a Mexican twist.

There was a significant decrease in the quality of wine tasted from L.A. Cetto. Dona Lupe is a small winery and is attempting to make the jump to a larger commercial producer. Let’s hope that they continue to hone their craft as they prepare for their next steps! I sampled four different red wines prior to resigning to the delicious edible options provided for us. The one highlight from the wines that I tried was their honey wine. It pretty much tasted like liquid honey and was of equal quality as good apple and ice wines that I’ve experienced. It is certainly a dessert wine and wouldn’t be enjoyable as a traditional 4 or 6 oz pour. It is intended to be sipped from a 1 to 2 oz serving, after a meal. Don’t try a traditional, full mouth taste of this stuff as it is super sweet. Given the sweetness, the alcohol content couldn’t have been very high either.

The highlight of this stop was definitely the atmosphere and the food element. We tried a pineapple/coconut marmalade that was absolutely delicious and we ended up buying a jar of that. We also picked up a couple bottles of Mexican vanilla for Shani’s baking exploits. Before leaving, Irma arranged for us to also sample two tequila liqueurs. The first was a macadamia nut tequila liqueur and the second was a tequila creme liqueur. Both were absolutely delicious. We were tempted to buy a bottle, but we just couldn’t nail down a practical use for it in our house. It was certainly purchase quality though if you appreciate liqueurs.

Soon we were back on the bus with Felix and Irma, headed back to the city. The trip back involved less interaction with Irma, but that was just right. Everyone had sampled a good bit of wine, been out in the heat of the day and probably stayed up a bit too late the night before. We sat back and enjoyed the ride through the Baja California countryside on the way back to Ensenada. As we got back to town, we had the option of being dropped off at a local marketplace or be returned to the ship. One couple decided to be dropped of in town. By this point, we had a near full box of wine along with bottles of olive oil and vanilla. Irma assured us that we could check our box in at the Marketplace where they would hold it while we shopped, but ultimately we decided to head back to the ship to drop the off the loot. We could then walk back down to town and search for my main objective of the Ensenada stop…a carne asada street taco. Well, we got on the ship, in the air conditioning, and that was all she wrote. It was back to the cabin for a nap before tonight’s festivities.

Casa Dona Lupe

After a good, uninterrupted nap, we got ready for dinner and headed back to the Pride Dining Room. As we had become accustomed, we were eagerly greeted by Camilo and seated in his section. Tonight’s appetizer for Shani was the beef and barley soup while I chose the smoked chicken quesadilla. We decided to forgo wine tonight, in favor of lighter cocktails, as consecutive days of red wine consumption at our age can get a little heavy on the digestive system. Here, I discovered, that you cannot order a double cocktail with the Cheers program. You have to wait 5 minutes after your last drink order to be served an additional shot. I thought it may not be possible, but I gave it a shot anyway. Shani is infinitely smarter than I am and suggested I sip a little off the top of my cocktail and wait 5 minutes before ordering an additional shot of liquor. Brilliant I tell you. I definitely married up.

Appetizers were delivered. My wife’s soup was set before her and Camilo set a bowl of the soup in front of me as well. As he did, I could see the acknowledgement in his eyes…I didn’t order the soup. Quick witted and without skipping a beat he said, “Your appetizer will be right up, please enjoy this soup to warm up your stomach.” Smooth. I didn’t even know I needed to have my stomach warmed up. All these years of what I thought was successful eating and I’ve been doing it wrong! The soup was decent, though Shani noted that she suspected the beef was last night’s prime rib. Hey, we can appreciate frugality. My quesadilla arrived. It was more chicken and black beans between the grilled tortilla and not much queso…but it was still pretty tasty.

Shani ordered the roasted loin dish for dinner while I went with the veal parmesan. The entrees arrived and we dug in. This is when we hit our first and only real food snafu. The beef loin was just not good. It had an unrecognizable taste and texture. I tasted it and concurred. She decided to ask Camilo for something different. Nothing else on the menu jumped out at her, but the port of call selection that night was street tacos. Well, who doesn’t love a taco. Camilo was awesome and made Shani feel good about her decision. In no time, she had tacos in front of her. I even gave a thumbs up for the carne asada in the taco, as it was better than I expected it to be. Again, the service from Camilo and his team made dinner one of the highlights of the day, even with the food challenge.

After dinner, we decided to catch the PG version of the other comedian on the ship, Lowell Sanders. We didn’t specifically choose the PG version, but that’s what was scheduled for the 8:30 time slot. Lowell’s show was more traditional stand up than Stanely Ullman’s and we both enjoyed his material. It was relevant and not as PG as I anticipated it was going to be, though it certainly wasn’t obscene.

The piano bar wasn’t open tonight for some reason, so our go to spot for the later night wasn’t available. We walked the promenade after the comedy show, noticed the karaoke lounge was full and roaring, but it didn’t really catch our fancy this night. We hit the fun shops, caught a couple minutes of the Hasbro game show and decided to act our age and get an earlier jump on sleep. Tomorrow was our sea day and we planned on sleeping in, without an alarm.

Next up, At Sea Day!

Carnival Imagination – 7/29/18 Through 8/2/18 – Day 2 Catalina Island

We had set an alarm for 8AM. This would allow me time to partially wake up, dress and be ready for the room service server when they arrived between 8:00 and 8:30 with our coffee. I like to be dressed prior to their arrival so I don’t waste their time standing in the hallway, while I stumble across the room in some frantic scavenger hunt for appropriate clothing to open the door. Without context, this could be mistaken for some sort of an attempt at interpretive dance on my part.

At 7:45, I heard the knocking on the cabin door and proceeded to scramble around the room in various stages of dress in order to answer the door. It really must be a sight to see, if it’s anything like how I feel. I probably managed to mumble a few coherent words to the server, but I’m entirely unsure about this. Oh well, nothing a good cup of coffee can’t fix.

After enjoying our coffee, we showered and headed back to the Pride Dining Room to enjoy a leisurely breakfast. I ordered the Port Day Express (eggs, bacon, sausage and hashbrowns) while Shani ordered the Broken Egg Sandwich. My breakfast was prepared well and was on par with you standard breakfast joint’s fare. Shani really enjoyed the Broken Egg Sandwich. After eating, we returned to the room briefly to freshen up prior to making our way to the tender to the pier in Avalon.

We booked our excursion through Carnival and received our excursion tickets in our cabin the night before. The tickets instructed us to head directly to Deck 3 for our priority tender, instead of the normal Deck 4 for standard tendering passengers. This was a definite benefit as there was still a considerable tender line at 10:45 AM. We boarded the tender, and took the quick trip into the pier. We didn’t need to check in for our tour until 11:30, so we had about 20 minutes to walk around town and soak up the atmosphere prior to the excursion.

Avalon is a quaint little seaside community and it definitely has an artisan tint (though not necessarily on the surface…more to come). The harbor was full of boats this time of year, from small sail boats to a couple of large, luxury yachts. There is a man made beach right along Crescent (or Front) Street, the main street through town. This tiny sliver of shipped in sand was full of families enjoying the Mediterranean type weather. We were both impressed with how charming Avalon was.

We made our way back to the excursion check in and waited for our other tour members to arrive. We chose the Catalina Food Tour, offered through the ship. We would spend three hours eating our way through 6 different establishments. We learned that there would be only two others joining us for the tour and informed this was really good as we could take a more relaxed approach to the tour. The other two passengers were a mother and teenage son from the Bay area. They were very nice and we were soon led into town to meet out guide, Lili.

It was apparent very quickly that Lili took her job very seriously. She informed us that between eats, she would tell us about Catalina’s rich history. It was clear she was proud of her community and was well studied on the history of the island. As a history buff, I could definitely appreciate this.

Our first stop of the day was at Steve’s Steakhouse, a quaint venue upstairs from another eatery (which would be our last stop of the day). Upon ascending the stairs, we were met by none other that Steve himself. Lili gave us the story of Steve’s family on the island and outlined his philanthropic work as a leader in his community. We were quickly sat at a table and informed of what we would be sampling: Curry Tomato Soup, Fried Shrimp on a Bed of Spicy Thai Sauce, and a Polynesian Marinated Prime Skirt Steak.

It was all simply delicious. The soup had just enough curry to give it a noticeable bite, without overpowering the creamy tomato flavor. The shrimp was a generous butterflied portion, fried to perfection and the skirt steak had been marinating in the sweet Polynesian sauce for 24 hours. We were off to a great start.

Avalon Harbor

My Harbor Master

Steve’s Steakhouse – Curry Tomato Soup, Fried Shrimp on a Spicy Thai Sauce, and Polynesian Marinated Skirt Steak

Our next stop was Lloyd’s of Avalon, a tour brochure ready candy shop just down Crescent Street from Steve’s. Seriously, imagine a seaside candy store with freshly pulled taffy and Lloyd’s is what will come to mind. Lili let us know that we would be trying some freshly pulled taffy, pulled right in front of us, as well as an apple pie flavor candied apple. Sure enough, one of Lloyd’s staff members pulled a fresh glob of taffy right in front of our eyes…one by one. This batch was peppermint and was still warm. It was decadently delicious. We were then given two large slices of the candied apple and we walked to a shady spot on the waterfront to enjoy the treat.

We were each given a bottle of water as well, which was a much needed refreshment as it was beginning to get a little bit warm. The apple was also very good and tasted very similar to a slice of apple pie. Of interest, a young, married brunette taffy puller from Lloyd’s named Norma Jean Dougherty was noticed by a Southern California photographer in 1944. Shortly after, Marilyn Monroe would take the nation by storm.

Our next stop was the Catalina Island Coffee & Cookie Company. We were each given a sample of their dark chocolate pistachio cluster, as well as a sugar free cinnamon iced tea. The chocolate, while a small sample, was as excellent. A perfect combination of sweet, bitter and salty in each bite. The tea, while being sugar free, was a great balance of sweet and spicy, tasting similar to a red hots candy. I would assume the tea was sweetened with stevia, as it certainly had a sweet flavor, but wasn’t overpowering at all. I don’t usually enjoy such beverages, but I really enjoyed this. Another winner!

Our next stop was Coyote Joe’s, a Mexican restaurant set back slightly on a side street from Crescent Street. I’ve lived in Arizona my entire life and have eaten more tacos than I could ever count. We have some of the best Sonoran Mexican food in the world, outside of Sonora, Mexico. I like tacos. I eat a lot of tacos. I’ve never had a potato taco until stepping into Coyote Joe’s. I admit, I was skeptical at first. However, after the first bite into this crunchy/creamy deliciousness, I was hooked. This will be replicated in our home! The creamy mashed potatoes inside the crunchy, fried corn tortilla is absolutely genius! We also were given our first alcoholic beverage of the tour, a John Daly (tea, lemonade and vodka). Those who did not drink were given the non-alcoholic version, an Arnold Palmer. I’ve never had a John Daly before, but it was also delicious while still refreshing. In other words, it was dangerous! We’re 4 for 4 so far!

Distracted by Taffy

Lloyd’s of Avalon

Crescent (Front) Street

Fountain on Crescent Street with Original Catalina Tiles

Four eateries down, two to go. Our next stop was for some seafood at Bluewater Avalon, oceanfront on Crescent Street. The atmosphere was just as you would expect from a seaside seafood restaurant. Pictures of some of the storied, local big fish catches adorned the walls. Here we were served a clam chowder and a fresh prawn with a cocktail sauce. Shani grew up in an Orthodox Jewish household and therefore never acquired a taste for shellfish. Instead, they served her a beautiful grilled artichoke. The clam chowder was some of the best I’ve ever tried and I’ve spent some significant time in New England, with some great chowders! The prawn was ok, though I’m not a fan of cold shellfish. No shrimp cocktail for me. Shani really enjoyed the artichoke, the first she had ever tried. We were also served 4 oz pour of an Italian Pinot Grigio. Shani and I don’t drink a whole lot of white wine, but this extremely affordable wine had just enough sweetness to make it not obnoxiously sweet like a riesling or other dessert wine.

Our final stop was at the eatery downstairs from Steve’s Steakhouse, Maggie’s Blue Rose. Maggie’s is a tad bit more upscale Mexican food restaurant, different from Coyote Joe’s more casual atmosphere. I knew from a little research on Catalina Island that Maggie was in fact, Steve’s wife. He runs the upstairs, she runs the downstairs. As soon as we entered, we were greeted by non other than Maggie herself! Great first impressions for both Steve’s and Maggie’s. We were soon seated at a table and brought a chicken enchilada covered in a creamy poblano sauce as well as a grilled achiote marinated skirt steak and a sample of a coconut margarita (think pina colada made with tequila). It was excellent! The skirt steak had one of the best beef flavors I’ve ever come across. I made sure to have Lili tell Maggie that her skirt steak (though undoubtedly sourced from the same buyer) kicked her steakhouse husband’s around the block a time or two (they were both great, really). For me, Maggie’s skirt steak was the highlight of the tour.

By the time tour ended, our stomach’s were completely satisfied. We were really happy we chose this excursion and we would unabashedly recommend this tour to others. I truly believe that food is Catalina’s fine art. We visited six establishments, but there were a myriad more that looked equally satisfying. The food we had was interesting yet familiar and prepared very well! I was unsure what to think about Catalina before visiting, but I’m now a believer.

It was now a little after 3PM and the tender line to get back to the Imagination was looking pretty long. For those familiar, the tenders docked at pier 5, closest to town. The line at a little after 3PM was all the way back to the basketball courts, as you enter the main part of town. The last tender was scheduled for 3:45 for a 4:30 sail away. But, the line moved really quickly and at around the half way point, we were in the shade. Back to the boat for our second night of fun!

We returned to our cabin with the intention taking of a little nap before getting ready for the cruise’s only elegant night. This afternoon is when we learned exactly how thin the cabin walls were. The cruisers in the cabin next to ours, on the stern side, returned to their cabin shortly after we did. As we were just drifting off to sleep, we could here their amorous activities begin. We learned far more about our neighbors that afternoon than we ever wanted to know. Just when we thought they were finished, round 2 commenced. The bought lasted 3 rounds, ending in what we assume was the young man succumbing to a TKO. We managed to grab a few minutes of rest none the less.

We got ready for dinner and headed to the Pride Dining Room once again, this time around 6:30. We didn’t dress up for dinner really. Shani wore a flowing floor length dress and looked stunning of course. I went with khakis and a nice, black resort style shirt. Neither of us wanted to bring semi-formal wear on this short trip, though we’ve certainly done so on longer, more formal cruises. There was a little line this evening but we waited no more than 5 minutes to check in with the hostess. We were easily accommodated and sat in Camilo’s section once again.

Neither of us were not quite hungry this evening, but we knew we needed to eat something or we would be miserable later in the night. I ordered the clam chowder as my appetizer and Shani had the pasta fagioli. My chowder, while good, certainly did not stand up to the chowder I sampled at Bluewater earlier in the day. I still ate it all. The fagioli was decent, though Shani was pretty sure it was derived from the prior night’s navy been soup.

We both ordered the prime rib for dinner. The slices were pretty thin, but we were both good with this since neither of us were starving. The flavor was ok but it certainly was not the best prime rib we have had. We finished the meal with another round of the melting chocolate cake. The service from Camilo and Margo was once again the highlight of the evening.

After dinner, we again walked the promenade to see if anywhere was buzzing with activity. We ended at the Xanadu Lounge just after 8PM and decided to find a comfortable seat for the 8:30 comedy show. This show would feature comedian Stanley Ullman’s PG material. We actually sat next to the mother and son from our earlier excursion, so we had a nice conversation meeting the rest of their family.
The show was ok. He relied heavily on participation from several children in the audience. The children were the highlight of the show. I got the idea that Stanley was funnier than what he gave us that evening, but he kind of lost us with some comments about how moms should not work, instead staying at home and raising children. He was not trying to be funny at the time. I thought I would have to restrain my accomplished, working wife who is the best mom a guy could ever wish his wife to be, but she showed exquisite restraint.

After the comedy show, we headed back to the piano bar for another night of sing along fun. The night started off a little slower but by the time we were done, the place was packed and loud! We made it to about 11:30 this night, before heading off to bed. It was another great day all in all. Tomorrow we would be in Mexico and have another great day to talk about.

Next up…Ensenada, Mexico

Carnival Imagination – 7/29/18 Through 8/2/18 – Embarkation Day Part 2

After enjoying a few drinks, we decided to grab a bite to eat. We first walked through the buffet, which was serving Italian inspired dishes. The buffet was predictably crowded. Nothing looked overly appealing and after a swing by the dessert selection, we fixed on burgers at Guy’s. This is a burger joint designed and inspired by celebrity chef, Guy Fieri from Diners, Drive Ins and Dives fame. We did not eat at the buffet once this trip, so I can’t offer too many words on that experience.

There was no line at Guy’s and we walked right up to the counter and placed our orders. Within seconds, we had our burgers and fries and headed to the toppings bar. There was a decent selection of toppings available. I chose bacon, sauteed mushrooms and a smidge of ranch dressing while Shani went with more traditional fixings. The mushrooms were an awesome addition! We found a shady spot and enjoyed the meal.

I also over enjoyed the ketchup for my fries, and was wearing some on my shirt before I was done. Scientists should study me, as I seem to have some magnetic tomato sauce properties that have to be useful to some scientific body of research.

My Burger

Ketchup Magnetism

The burgers were good. Several steps above McDonald’s or Burger King and maybe just shy of Five Guys quality. It was right up my alley though! We never saw a huge line at Guy’s the whole trip. They do a really good job of moving people through. This would be our only stop as we were off the ship the next two days at lunch time.

After eating, we swung by our cabin in hopes that our luggage had been delivered, so I could change shirts. Our luggage was indeed waiting for us in the hallway, at around 1:30. Priority luggage delivery is another perk of FTTF. We unpacked and I retrieved a fresh shirt. We took a few minutes to unwind and refresh ourselves before heading back out to explore.

We took a quick tour of the promenade deck and checked out Cherry on Top, the ship’s candy store. This was new since our trip in 2013. The selection was limited, given the small size of the shop, but it would surely be a hit with the younger crowd. We would pick up a package of gummy funnels for our daughter before we left the boat.

Cherry on Top

We also checked out the Alchemy Bar, which is a re-themeing of the prior Xanadu Lounge bar, at the end of the promenade deck. It is a classy look, almost out of place on the ship. I would have enjoyed hanging out here one of the evenings, but the place was dead the entire cruise.

We proceeded through the Xanadu Lounge, home to Punchliner’s Comedy Club at night. Out the back is one of two ways to access the Serenity Deck, reserved for guests 21 and older. The loungers have padded cushions and there were two additional hot tubs. When we arrived, there were only two other people out there. We decided to make this our home until it was time for the muster drill. It soon became busier and it was not quite serene by the time we left. Also, there is no bar in the Serenity area and servers were few and far between. Definitely bring a beverage with you.

The Queen Mary from the Serenity Deck

Soon it was time for our muster drill. We were muster station A, which meets in the Dynasty Lounge, the ships main theater. We were thankful that muster was inside, with comfortable seats and did not include marching up to our lifeboat station as it did in 2013. It was relatively painless and we were soon off on our merry way.
After the drill, we headed back to our cabin to freshen up prior to dinner. After refreshing, we headed up to Lido to catch the end of the sail away party, which began at 5:15. This is funny, because we wouldn’t sail away until around 6:30. At 6:00, when we stopped by, the party was apparently over. So, we decided to head off to the dining room!

Upon returning to our room to get ready for dinner, we noticed there were only 2 bath towels in the cabin. Shani uses 2 by herself with each shower, so we would need more each time the cabin was serviced. We had yet to meet our room steward, so I left a nice note asking for additional bath towels, along side a $20 bill. We pre-paid gratuities as well, so I was hoping this would go a long way to ensure a happy cruise.

We left for the Pride Dining Room, the forward dining room used for Your Time Dining, Carnival’s version of unassigned dining room times, as well as the sea day brunch. We tend to dine early at home as well, with a school aged child and early bed times, so our arrival a few minutes past 6 PM worked out well for us. There was a very short line to check in. We quickly gave the hostess our room number and asked to be seated with Camilo. I humorously mentioned the he loves us, hoping to elicit a giggle from the hostess. She just shook her head at me, very clear that she:

1. did not find me funny or;

2. thought I was an idiot.

Shani often responds the same way to my attempts at humor. Anyway, we were seated with Camilo, who enthusiastically greeted us. He had a section of an 8 top, a 4 top and three 2 top tables. He and his team did not seem stretched too thin and were on top of everything service related the entire cruise.

We soon had wine, a large bottle of water, as well as a bottle of Pellegrino. Shani enjoyed the Pellegrino each evening, an unsung perk of having the Cheers package. We were introduced to our Assistant Servers, Margo and Kadek. The whole team was awesome, but Margo immediately connected with us. Along with Camilo, Margo made our dining experience a highlight of the cruise, even when the food itself couldn’t quite shine as bright as the service.

I chose the Navy Bean soup to start while Shani went with the Tomato Soup for our appetizers. Both were pretty good and we both were eager to try the flat iron steaks we ordered. I also ordered the fried shrimp, sans the fried rice the entree came with. Margo was eager to take care of the request and we enjoyed our wine while we waited.

Navy Bean Soup

Creamy Tomato Soup

Our entrees arrived timely and we wasted no time digging in. Now, we are not food snobs by any stretch of the imagination. I would choose chicken fried steak just as often as I would order a prime filet. Well, the flat iron steak was a miss. The flavor was decent but the texture of the steak was rubbery. It wasn’t inedible, but we didn’t order it again. The fried shrimp, on the other hand, was good.

Flat Iron Steak with Fried Shrimp

We ordered the Melting Chocolate Cake and the Caramelized Phyllo with Caramel Cream for dessert. Both were pretty good with the Melting Chocolate Cake edging out as the winner. We ordered it for dessert each night, with exception of the last night. All in all, it was pleasant experience. Camilo brought us each a glass of wine prior to heading out for the evening.

We returned to the the cabin briefly, to drop off the water bottle from dinner. It was nice to always have a bottle of water in the cabin. We then set off to see what was happening on board. We walked the promenade to check things out. Eating dinner early, a lot of ship activities hadn’t kicked off yet. The Alchemy Bar was empty, so we settled in at the karaoke bar to check out the talent prior the the piano bar opening at 9:30.

The karaoke started off slow, being dominated by a handful of guests. There were a few talented folks. I believe they may have intimidated a few would be singers to start off. Well, it only took the first karaoke risk taker to get the party started. By 9:15, when we left, the venue was packed and the queue to sing was growing.

We left to check out the piano bar. The premise is for the crowd to sing along with the piano player, to some all time piano bar classics. It was a lot of fun and the glasses of wine kept coming. E, the piano player, would invite those that could handle some solo singing up to the mic to help him out. Soon the crowd, and E, were exerting some peer pressure and we had a few people get up and sing along solo. By the end of the night, even my introverted wife was up there singing along to Brown Eyed Girl and 9 to 5. My wife is never more beautiful than when she is having unmitigated fun. We managed to last until midnight before heading back to the cabin to retire for the night.

Upon returning to the cabin, we were greeted with a turned down room, a towel animal and extra towels. Our steward, Benny, left his card, but we still had not met him. We never would. We turned on our white noise app on my phone, set out the room service door hangar asking for morning coffee and fell asleep.

Our excursion on Catalina Island the next morning wasn’t starting until 11:45, so we requested the coffee between 8:00 and 8:30, allowing us to enjoy our coffee prior to heading to the dining room for a relaxed breakfast.

Next up…Catalina Island!

Carnival Imagination – 7/29/18 Through 8/2/18 – Travel and Embarkation

Day Before Embarkation
Today was put the offspring on a plane by herself day. I have to admit, I was extremely proud of the kiddo. I was waiting for her to get to the gate and chicken out. But, she handled it much better than Mom and Dad did.

She marched right down the jetway, confidently turning for a wave goodbye!

After her plane was in the air, we high tailed it to the garage to make our way to Seal Beach, where we would be staying the night.

For those who have never made the drive from Phoenix to the L.A. area, it is perhaps the ugliest road trip any person could take. You won’t find this stretch of I-10 on any postcards, that’s for sure. But we made the trek with no incident.
As previously mentioned, we chose to stay at the Hampton Inn in Seal Beach. The hotel mainly serves as a temporary home for those visiting either the Naval Weapons Base, or nearby Leisure World. The hotel was safe, clean and quiet. Hampton Inns are part of the Hilton brand, and usually deliver on a quality, budget friendly experience.

This location was decent for nearby food options, from steakhouses to a Subway right across the parking lot. Target was just down the road a mile or so, just in case we woke up the next morning and realized we had forgotten anything. It had been a long day and we were excited for sail away day in the morning. It was an early to bed night for us.

Embarkation Day

There are a lot of things that can be said of me. None of those things are related to me being a morning person. Well, this morning I couldn’t make it past 6:30 AM. The mattress was a little too firm for my liking. I’ve had five shoulder surgeries and I am definitely more comfortable with a softer mattress. Throw in the fact that I could smell the complementary breakfast in the lobby, and that was all she wrote. I may not be a morning person, but my stomach definitely is.

So we decided to grab a small breakfast and copious amounts of coffee, and leisurely caffeinate ourselves to the point that we were functional human beings. We went back to the room, showered and repacked for the trip to the port. The Hampton Inn met expectations, even if I didn’t sleep that well. It is near enough to Long Beach to be a pre-cruise hotel option, if you plan on parking at the port.

We purchased Carnival’s Faster to the Fun, which allows cruisers priority access to some elements of the cruise. For this short cruise, it was around $50. We had a Noon check in time at the port. We had read prior reviews that mentioned getting on earlier than your scheduled time was doable in Long Beach. We decided to get to the port at around 11.

Getting to the cruise terminal was easy enough. The 710 Freeway ends at the port. There was a lot of construction going on, and that perhaps would slow things down if you were traveling during the work week. We followed the signs for the Queen Mary. There was limited signage for the cruise terminal and nothing that mentions Carnival until you arrive at the parking structure. If you’re unfamiliar with navigating the port, just focus on the Queen Mary signage.

The parking garage was easy to navigate and find an open spot. We parked on level 2, closest to the terminal and walked to the porters on level 1 of the garage. There were plenty of porters available. Luggage drop off was easy, we tipped our porter and started walking to the terminal. There were three queues at the entrance to the terminal ( too early/too late, FTTF/priority and on time). Nobody was standing in the outdoor queues. We went to the FTTF line and were immediately greeted and directed to a friendly staff member who checked our passports and boarding documents. In less than a minute, we were directed to the FTTF waiting area. It is right near the Captain’s Lounge. There were a handful of cruisers already there.

Selfie Time!

Within ten minutes, they boarded about 10 Diamond/Platinum members and we were told we could head down the gangway! We were on board by 11:30. Once on board, we immediately wanted to drop off our carry-on bag in the room. To me, this is one of the top benefits of having FTTF, to have your room available once you board. We were in room E75, right by the Guest Services desk, where you board the ship. We soon noticed that the hallway doors were all closed, preventing guests from heading to their cabins. A quick question to the first smiling face we encountered and we were told we can simply open the doors and access our room.

Cabin E75 is an Oceanview category. As previously mentioned, the Imagination only has balconies for their suites. We didn’t feel a suite upgrade was worth the cost point for this cruise, so Oceanview it was! The cabin was indeed ready, with our room cards affixed to the cabin sign. The room is small of course, but had plenty of storage with three closets and four drawers attached to a small writing desk with mirror. There was even a small hair dryer in one of the drawers and a good 20 or so hangers. The room was clean, if not dated. We had a similar cabin for our 2013 sailing on the Imagination and it was just the same.

Cabin E75

Even though the room decor was basic and dated, the room was in decent condition. The chief complaint was a noticeable sewage smell in the bathroom. However, when the bathroom door was closed, it was not detectable in the rest of the room. The cabin is an adjoining cabin to E77, but this was not an issue as our aft neighbors were quiet. Our other neighbors are another story for a later post!

After dropping off our bags, we proceeded directly to the Lido deck for our first vacation beverages at the Red Frog Rum Bar. Shani ordered a Ting Mojito and I ordered a Blue Hawaiian. The bartender asked if I had ever had a Twilight Zone. I had no clue but after he explained it to me, I was game for trying. It’s basically a pina colada with blue curacao. The Ting Mojito was grapefruit vodka, simple syrup, Ting soda and fresh mint. Shani loved them…I thought it tasted like grapefruit juice with grass clippings. She thought mine was too sweet.

We found a few loungers by the pool and proceeded to people watch while enjoying our drinks. No sooner than our glasses were empty, a waiter stopped by to assist in locating us additional libations. His name was Camilo. Camilo soon became fast friends with us (read Shani…people just talk to her). Before he left with our order, Camilo said he loved us (read Shani…guys just love her) and insisted we ask for him as our waiter in the Pride Dining Room each evening. Much more on Camilo to come!

Nobody in the pool at Noon.

Twilight Zone and Ting Mojito

Camilo

Next up…Embarkation Day, Part 2

Carnival Imagination 7/29/18 through 8/2/18 – Pre-Cruise Activity – En Vino Veritas

Pre Cruise Continued

4 Days Out

We were inching, ever so slowly, towards our sail date. I want to lay out a few other details related to the cruise. As mentioned, Shani is the vacation planner for the family. And, she is damned good at it too! There is a twisted excitement she experiences when she creates a spreadsheet, to map all of the details out for each trip. I would cry if I was required to complete such detailed planning. On the flip side, I have been known to forget to pack various important items. The polarity is one of the things that that makes “us” work.

On Saturday morning, we would be loading the child, two cats (heading to their own feline vacation) and all of our luggage in the car and head out on our trek. After dropping off the four legged family members, we would head to the airport to ship the offspring off to Massachusetts. As soon as she was in the air, we would beeline it to the car, for the drive to Long Beach.

Originally, we had planned on waking up early on Sunday, for the drive to the port. It’s a six hour drive to Long Beach and we would want to board the ship as soon as possible. Well, waking up that early on the first day of vacation didn’t sound fun at all. It was time to find a place near the port to stay Saturday night!

After quite bit of research by Shani, we settled on the Hampton Inn in nearby Seal Beach. We planned on parking at the port anyway and none of the stay and park hotels near the port could beat the deal she found for the Hampton Inn. It was a 30 minute drive to Long Beach at the most, so that would work just fine.

2 Days Out

Today was our last day of preparation! All of the laundry was done and it was time to stuff everything into our luggage. We were checked in online, boarding documents had been printed and passports were ready to go.

Even though we had purchased the Cheers package, we would be carrying on a bottle of wine each. Carnival allows you to bring a 750ml bottle of wine each in your carry-on luggage. This would be in case we found ourselves in the cabin, not wanting to venture out to a bar. If we didn’t open them, we would just bring them back home with us.

The Lozen, pictured above, is a red blend from a local Arizona winery, Arizona Stronghold. Their wines can be found in some stores, mostly regional, but this blend can only be purchased at their winery. So, if you ever find yourself in Cottonwood, AZ and you enjoy wine, pick up a bottle (or case). You won’t be disappointed. The If You See Kay (sound it out) is one of our go to house wines. It’s also a red blend. My wife and I enjoy wine.

Next up…Putting the child on a plane!

Carnival Imagination 7/29/18 through 8/2/18 – Why This Cruise?

Why This Cruise?

“S” would not be joining us on this cruise because she would be leaving the day before departure to spend a week on Cape Cod with her grandmother. Which brings us to the purpose behind choosing this cruise. We had a little over a week of child free time and the ability for both of us to take time off of work. “S” has been eager to take a solo trip to the Cape and this was the year she was ready. So, on the Saturday before the cruise, we would drive her to the airport for her first unaccompanied flight, and immediately head for Long Beach for the cruise. I will admit, it took a long while to become comfortable with putting our only child on a plane by herself for a cross country flight.

When my Shani and I were discussing what to do with our newfound freedom, we kicked around a few different ideas. Being in Phoenix, both Rocky Point, Mexico and San Diego are viable beach drives. We’ve done both in the past. Rocky Point is an extremely affordable and relatively safe alternative to the crowds and high prices associated with San Diego beaches. We quickly ruled out San Diego due to a short booking window available. This left Rocky Point and we started researching and pricing out some options.

During the planning, Shani brought up a great point. Once in Rocky Point, there’s just not much to do, especially in the main resort area of Sandy Beach. Sure, you can find some great food and sit on the beach, but entertainment can be hit or miss. Shani had a spark of an idea…what about a cruise? The preliminary research was promising. For roughly the same price for a 3-4 night stay in Rocky Point, we could catch the 4 night Carnival Imagination sailing for that week. We would scratch the beach in favor of deck chairs (fair trade for me, as sand ranks as one of the most annoying substances on earth, right behind glitter) and gain a lot more entertainment options. Long Beach is only an hour longer of a drive from Phoenix than Rocky Point, so no problem there.

So, we booked the cruise just over 30 days out from the sailing! This would be our fourth cruise together and the fifth overall for each of us. Neither of us had great first cruise experiences. I sailed first in 1995 on the Carnival Jubilee, to the Mexican Riviera…well, that was before Hurricane Flossie decided to visit the same area. I ended up with 6 days at sea and a stop in Ensenada, Mexico. My early 20s self had determined that cruising just wasn’t for me. Shani had a general dislike of what seemed like the cattle herd mentality on a Royal Caribbean cruise during the same time frame.

Fast forward to 2013. We both enjoy the bands Matchbox Twenty and the Goo Goo Dolls and learned that they would both be performing on a chartered cruise out of Miami in December of 2013 on…the Carnival Imagination. We both figured it would be a low risk/high reward trip to catch two of our favorite bands in a rather intimate surrounding. Well, we had a blast. Talk about the entertainment factor! The Imagination was already an older ship, but it was certainly serviceable for the purposes of the trip. We left making new friends, a $500 bar bill and a more open mind on the concept of cruising. It’s amazing what nearly 20 years of maturity and perspective does for a person.

The next few years saw two more cruises. The first, a 2014 family cruise to Alaska with “S” and my Shani’s mother, Paula, on the Disney Wonder. WOW! This was a great experience and we both started to realize that there was more to cruising than we had once thought. It’s really what you want to make of it. If you want to drink a bucket of beer by the pool, you can. If you want a quieter, more family like experience, you can. Just do your research and choose the right cruise for you! In 2016, we sailed without the “S” on Norwegian’s Pride of America in Hawaii, for our 10th wedding anniversary. WOW! Both were absolutely amazing experiences. As vacations were being planned, we threw around the possibility of a British Isles cruise and a Western Caribbean cruise. Each were put aside for other travel opportunities, but cruising remained a viable option that we knew we would return to eventually.

So, it was back to the Carnival Imagination! This time, with the Cheers (unlimited alcohol, bottled water, specialty coffees etc.) package! We knew she received the Carnival Funship 2.0 upgrade since we had sailed in 2013 and we were excited to see her afterwards. We next performed what, to us, is a critical step in planning any trip or vacation…level setting expectations. Specific to this trip, since sailing on the Imagination in 2013 we had sailed:

1. On a Disney ship; and
2. In a suite on the Pride of America, with an extra-large balcony, butler and a slew of suite perks.

We had sailed to Alaska and Hawaii, arguably two of the world’s most beautiful destinations. This 4 day cruise on the Imagination was…well, not that.

We had done our research and knew that this cruise offered a different experience. It was a rare chance to be a couple for a few days, perhaps even feel like a younger couple while we were at it. It was shorter and neither of the ports necessarily elicited much excitement. The Imagination has only 3% of its cabins with balconies, all of them suites. While the service reviews are impressive, there would be no butler or separate dining for suite guests. There aren’t even any specialty dining venues. But that was part of the beauty of this cruise. It’s about as close to all-inclusive as you can find in today’s cruising world. We ran it by our checklist:

1. Are we working? Nope. Good start.
2. Does DW have to prepare any meals? Nope!
3. Do I have to clean the galley? Negative.
4. Will there be a moody pre-teen, imp following us around that we are compelled to take care of? Again…it’s checking the boxes.
5. Do we have to use a year’s worth of our daughter’s college tuition to take the trip? No, this is extremely affordable.

We booked an Oceanview cabin because of the lack of balcony options, but we certainly were not caught by surprise with this tidbit of information. Consider our expectations level set.

One Week Out:
Since booking 30 days or so out, the cruising spark had been ignited to a point that we had not experienced before. While doing our research for the upcoming sailing, we joined roll calls on various cruise related forums, looked at every single picture of the ship, as well as re-familiarizing ourselves with the deck plans of our old friend. One curious nugget of information, Carnival was building the brand new Panorama, set for a 2019 delivery, and she would sail full time out of Long Beach. As one of the only ports within driving distance for us Phoenicians, that was great news. Well, it wasn’t long before the Shani decided she wanted to celebrate her 50th birthday on the Panorama in 2020. But, of course that wasn’t enough. We wanted to be on the inaugural sailing in December 2019. Booked and booked. Major kudos to our PVP Nicholas with Carnival for his patience during the whole process.

The weekend before the cruise, we ran our errands in preparation. A few new items of cruise wear, a power strip without surge protection (surge protectors are not allowed on cruise ships as they can pose a hazard), a travel sized Downey Wrinkle Release (No irons or other devices with heating elements, fire is bad news on a ship) and a few other necessities. Not much else to note other than on the Sunday before the sailing, our air conditioner went out late at night, heading into one of the hottest weeks of the Phoenix summer to that point. So, we are lucky enough to have a company who will respond within hours (usually, it takes days to have someone repair your air conditioner in the dead of summer). After a long night, we had it repaired at 4:30 in the morning. We used this as validation that there would indeed be NO all-nighters on the upcoming cruise. This cruise couldn’t come at a better time. The upcoming days would be spent wrapping things up at work enough to allow us to leave the country for a week, copious amounts of laundry and making sure that the family was all set for two separate trips on Saturday. Much more to come in the next installment!