4 Night Catalina & Baja Mexico (Los Angeles Roundtrip)
Sail date: October 06, 2019
Ship:
Carnival Imagination
Cabin type: Oceanview
Cabin number: R181
Traveled as: Large Group
Reviewed: 5 years ago
Review summary
Loved Edgar Rivera. Guy's Burger Joint was tasty. Buffet was good but not spectacular. Enjoyed the dining room "showtime." Filet mignon in dining room was yummy. Latte in main dining room was excellent. Latte in Pride dining room during brunch was not. (Why?) Service in Pride was slow and without smiles. I visited only during brunch, so I cannot speak to whether this was the same during dinner. Kids liked the water slides. Ice cream was liquid half of the time, but they seemed to also like that anyway. Why was the pool closed on the sea day? That was a disappointing ending. Overall, I would say we got what we payed for, but next time I may elect to pay more and receive more - possibly on a different line.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Food was decent. Upgrades to steakhouse selection were better than other offerings.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Compared to other cruise lines, I found options to be more limited. Would have liked to see more for older kids (8-14). Also, similar activities were offered at the same times, i.e. slot tournament and bingo. That being said, Mel and Carlos were fantastic. I loved their energy!
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Mixed reviews here for me. I found the musical shows (theater shows) to be lacking. The live musical performers (acoustic, etc.) were not bad. Edgar Rivera was excellent. His show was the favorite of everyone in our 11 person party - from kids to seniors.
Children's Programs
4 out of 5
Our kids had fun the first time they visited. After the second time, they were over it an did not want to return. I still rate 4 stars because I observed kids club staff holding fun activities during times my kids were not present. They could simply have been tired on second visit.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
We received excellent service from the following: Nurdi (steward), Min (casino cocktail server), and Dee (casino dealer). 5 stars easily for the three of them. Those not mentioned ranged from adequate to either overwhelmed or disinterested. Again, his is an area where other lines have done a better job, in my experience.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship was fine.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
The room was nice and had enough space. I would have been happier with a foot or two of space between the cot and our king bed, but we were able to make due. Nurdi kept the room well maintained and was attentive at all times. He was also careful not to discard anything we may have still wanted to keep. I appreciated that effort.
Ship tip
Understand that you get what you pay for. This is a great cruise for the cost but not as many bells and whistles as some other options. Also, sometimes service has room for improvement.
Catalina Island was beautiful. y kids loved the little beach which was uncrowded and very enjoyable. The lines to board the ferries was incredibly disappointing. May not be an easy way to avoid the wait but setting expectations would have been appreciated.
Really enjoyed the baby lions, etc. Shopping was OK at first. Overall, I would probably skip this port if I were on a future cruise which included this as a stop. I would instead take advantage of low crowd level on the ship.
I found the process to be organized but slooooow.... My best guess is Carnival only has so much control over how quickly things move, and getting through customs takes as long as it takes. I do not hold Carnival responsible for this, but if there were any way to expedite the process (safely, of course) it would be great.
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