Not as bad as some people say...

Item: Carnival Imagination
Rating: 4.5
Author: LiaMaddox

Carnival Imagination Cruise Review to Mexico

LiaMaddox

Contributor Level: Second Mate

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Reviews: 4

Helpful Votes: 150

Overall rating:

4.5 out of 5

4 Night Catalina & Baja Mexico (Los Angeles Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 24, 2019

Ship: Carnival Imagination

Cabin type: Oceanview

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Fun for kids of any age. Not the ship for you if you’re looking for peace and quiet.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Arrived at 10:30am at port. Was on the ship within 30 minutes.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Dining room, guys burgers and Blue Iguana was amazing. Not Michelin by any means but my family and I enjoyed the foods. Took 1 star off because buffet wasn’t good. Food was dry and didn’t taste fresh. Stick to Guys burgers or blue iguana for quick food. Loved blue iguana for breakfast.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Dr Seuss story time & Hasbro show we’re entertaining for me and my kids. 4 yr old loved the water slides and arcade. They are kept clean and I appreciated the staff that enforced the rules at the pool.

Entertainment

As much as I would have loved to, Didn’t spend much time around loud music. The Dj at the pool was great. He played fun music for all genres

Children's Programs

5 out of 5

4 year old loved Camp Ocean. He asked to go a couple times.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Our Steward Putu was great. He remembered all of our names and kept our room nice and clean.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Contrary to reviews that claim the ship is dirty, I felt the staff did a great job at keeping it clean. Every part of the day you saw staff cleaning public areas and they were always greeting guests

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Cabin is a bit tight. We had 2 adults and 2 kids. We managed and still felt comfortable, but I can’t imagine having 2 older children in the cabin.

Ship tip

Take it for what it is, enjoy and relax. Carnival Imagination is not meant to be luxurious or quiet. We were on the 4 day cruise so we didn’t run into many party people.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Long Beach (Los Angeles), California

5 out of 5

No excursion. We embarked at Long Beach. For visitors there are a lot of eateries and shopping, walking distance away (not an easy walk, fairly long but you can see it from the port). There arent any convenient stores close by to run last minute errands, so stop by a CVS or grocery store during your drive in. Or hopefully your Uber or shuttle will make a stop for you.

Thumbs Up 4

Catalina Island, California

5 out of 5

Small and quant. Lots of tourists visiting for the day and from cruise. Small beaches there so bring your swimsuit in case it warms up. Temp may say 65 degrees F but remember that 65 always feels warmer in the dry west coast weather. We didn’t eat at any restaurants as nothing caught our eye but we had an Açaí bowl and kids had icecream, perfect for beach island feel. If you get the chance definitely do the golf cart rentals. Props to Island Golfcart (it’s closest to the pier). We got 3 hours for the price of 2 (valid on select days). I thought 3 hours was a bit much, but after making some stops to check out some places we ended up using all 3 hours. They will prorate you if you return earlier than 2 hours. In turn, they will charge you even if minutes late (which I think is fair)

Thumbs Up 4

Ensenada, Mexico

3 out of 5

Please don’t waste your $ on the topless bus tour excursion. We thought we’d see some beautiful sites before being dropped off in downtown. However, it was a disappointment. They showed us buildings outside the shopping area, pointed at the houses on the hills, a coffee shop and a wine store. Then dropped us off in the shopping area. The nice part of the tour was the guide and bus driver. They are a great pair that keep us laughing. Next time I’m going to try the La Bufadora tour.

Thumbs Up 2