While browsing for flight bargains,  I saw that Spirit Airlines was starting service from Niagara Falls, NY to Ft Lauderdale.  We had traveled to Florida many times before, but mostly to the northern and central parts of the state.  Spirit was offering limited seats for non-stop service at the unheard of price of $38.00 RT.  I decided to buy first and ask questions later.

Having found great bargains in hotels in the Orlando area in the past, I was very surprised at the higher prices in the South Florida area.  Our first inclination was to rent a car and head north to familiar areas from our past jaunts.  We were and, still are to some extent, traveling on a shoe-string budget.

Then a few ads for cruise lines caught my eye, and I saw 4 nights on the Imagination for $169.00.  This was less than hotel prices, and included so much more.

We had never cruised before, and knew virtually nothing about what was involved.  We found dates that coincided with our "locked-in" fight schedule and made the reservation.

We arrived in Ft Lauderdale at 5:00am and took the first available shuttle to the Miami Cruise Port.  When we first saw the ships, we were amazed at the size!  We had never even seen one of these ships before, except in brochures.  We were way too early, and very tired from the red-eye fight.  We had to wait outside until about 10:30am before we could get into the customs building, and then to the Carnival waiting area.

When we boarded, and able to get to our stateroom, it was time to crash!  My wife attended one welcome meeting, but I just attended to mandatory muster station/lifeboat orientation.  We would certainly arrive a day earlier if we did this again, as our first night found ourselves just too exhausted to enjoy.

We were off on our adventure.  First stop was Key West.  It was a fun day, and our excursion was just the tram ride.  You could do a lot on foot, and there were plenty of offerings from local guides in addition to the cruise line excursions.

The second, and only other stop was Cozumel.  We chose the snorkeling excursion.  It was organized well enough, but the reef was dead.  It was a marked contrast an earlier snorkeling experience in the Virgin Islands.  If I did the same itinerary again, I would stay on the ship at Cozumel.

The SHIP EXPERIENCE:

We enjoyed all of our evening meals in the dining room, where service was superb.  Each meal was on par with what you would expect to pay at least $35 p/p in a typical similar restaurant in any US city..  Our head waiter was Miguel, an older gentleman originally from Haiti.  His service, and that of his team, was unparalleled.

For breakfast we chose room service - again superb. 

Lunches were mostly at various buffets, none of which I could fault in any way.  Quite a nice variety.

The entertainment was near top-notch - lots of energy and enjoyable.  The comedian was a crowded venue, but all was worthwhile.

Our staterooms were clean and well attended, and had all we needed.  In another review, I read about  there being only one electrical outlet.  We have packed a "double plug" and may bring a power strip in the future.

NEGATIVES:   They were minor and could be avoided.  First were the pictures.  In the future, I will just decline and enjoy our own photography.  There are never-ending contrived "Kodak Moments", and then pricing that seemed to me to be a rip-off.

The other were the drink solicitations, but for me one or two drinks are enough for the whole cruse.

The overall experience was 5 star.  We were very impressed by the service and the food.  Somewhat astounded to read some negative reviews, as our experience couldn't have been more POSITIVE.