Pleasantly Surprised...to Say the Least.
Carnival Imagination Cruise Review to Mexico
4 Night Catalina & Baja Mexico (Los Angeles Roundtrip)
Sail date: September 16, 2018
Ship: Carnival Imagination
Cabin type: Oceanview
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 6 years ago
Review summary
We had done a AMA Danube River cruise a couple of years ago, but never an open ocean cruise, so for my 70th birthday 'bucket list' activity we did the Carnival LB-Catalina-Ensenada not expecting to have nearly as good a time as the AMA cruise and were delighted to be pleasantly surprised in many ways. Here is a list of all our Pleasant Surprises: 1) Quick hassle free embarkation (no 'fun' express purchased). 2) Upgraded from interior to ocean view. 3) Roomy cabin. 4) Exceptionally comfortable bed, pillows and comforter bedding. 5) Maintenance / cleanliness of the ship. 6) Free coffee/pastry room service in the morning. 7) Quality of food and service in the Pride dinning room. I Made, our head waiter made it a five star experience. 8) Quality and production value of the shows 'Divas' and 'Epic Rock' kudos to the two lead female vocalists. 9) Catalina. I'd been there 35 years ago and boy was it run down. Today it's a gem !!! 10) Lack of school age children, we specifically booked when they're in school. 11) Overall happiness and professionalism of the entire staff and crew. 12) Ability of Carnaval to offer something for every age group from three to Baby Boomers. 13) Debarkation. Quick and painless with early group taking the shuttle to LAX and arrived with time to spare for our flight home three hours after 7:00 am docking. In sum, we had a GREAT time, at a very, very affordable price!!! Best value trip we've ever taken. Thank you Carnaval. Not so Pleasant Surprises: 1) Ensenada. If you've been to Mexico, say Cancun, or Los Cabos, stay on the ship there is nothing to see. If you've never been and want to see what a 3rd world country looks like, by all means 'enjoy' the experience of hawking, amputee begging, pre-school begging, and starved feral dogs. My wife 'a good Catholic girl', cost us twenty-five bucks unable to pass up a single beggar --lol. Anyone who does the LB-Ensenada, without stopping in Catalina is just plain stupid. We got off long enough to buy a bottle of Tequila and some emergency antibiotics and then headed back to the ship asap. One of the comedians made the comment to be sure to give him a high star rating so he'd be assigned to a bigger ship so he wouldn't have to go back to Ensenada, which got a thunderous laugh. 2) Early morning debarkation liquor pick up. Took twenty minutes standing in line at 6:00 am to pick up our Tequila. All the booze was grouped haphazardly on three tables and the three crew members assigned to finding the right bottles were having a devil of a time. I'd suggest more tables/crew and/or a better alphabetical/cabin room system of retrieval. 3) Buffet food. Why anyone in the world would 'eat' at the buffet, when they could 'dine' at the Pride is beyond me. If I had to pick one of the offerings it would be the Mexican. I have no idea why everyone raves over the greasy Guy's burgers.Embarkation
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Children's Programs
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
Dine at the restaurants, rather than eat at the buffet.
Ports of call
Long Beach (Los Angeles), California