by Jason Leppert
Last updated: 10:00 AM ET, Wed September 14, 2016
Part of what makes Carnival Cruise Line so successful is its consistency of product across an impressively large fleet of 25 ships, and the Fun Ship 2.0 initiative was initially implemented to begin rolling out some of the brand's newest features to its older ships, the latest of which is the Carnival Imagination currently in dry-dock.
Already, the Carnival Imagination had the likes of the WaterWorks aqua park, Playlist Productions performances, Hasbro The Game Show, The Punchliner Comedy Club, seaday brunch, The Taste Bar and more when I last sailed onboard in 2014, but most of these were software inclusions. Now, the ship is getting hardware improvements beyond a mere figment of the imagination.
To bring more "Fun for All, All for Fun" as Carnival's motto promises, the company is first bringing two of its favorite eateries to the ship, at the pool deck: Guy's Burger Joint and BlueIguana Cantina. The former is, of course, the immensely popular complimentary gourmet burger bar from Food Network personality and celebrity chef Guy Fieri, and the latter is the other free burrito and taco bar. Think Chipotle at sea but even better thanks to shrimp as an optional filling to make a surf and turf burrito all your own. Both venues feature extensive toppings bars as well.
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Additionally, the BlueIguana Tequila Bar counterpart and RedFrog Rum Bar will drop by poolside for signature rum- and tequila-based drinks as well as Carnival's house ThirstyFrog Red beer. Another watering hole set to be added is the Alchemy Bar "cocktail pharmacy" where mixologists "prescribe" cocktails like Forty is the New Twenty and The Restorative Basil Drop.
Literally adding the Cherry On Top is the confectioner of the same name where guests can plan celebrations and purchase bulk candy, custom apparel and special gifts and novelties.
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"Carnival Imagination provides a convenient, value-packed West Coast cruise option and with these new enhancements we're making this fantastic ship even better," said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. "With three year-round cruise ships sailing from Long Beach, Carnival is the number one cruise line in Southern California and the investment we're making to enhance the Carnival Imagination further bolsters our leadership position in this important market."
The Imagination is currently undergoing its redesign scheduled to finish on Sept. 25, 2016, following which it will then continue to offer its year-round three- and four-day roundtrip cruises to Baja from Long Beach, California. The three-day sailings embark on Thursdays and visit Ensenada, Mexico, and the four-day ones depart on Sundays and stop at Ensenada and Catalina Island.
Besides the Imagination, Carnival Cruise Line also deploys the Carnival Inspiration and Carnival Miracle from the Los Angeles area on other three-/four-day Baja cruises and seven-day Mexican Riviera cruises respectively.
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