Day 5 – Sea Day

Our last day aboard the Imagination was a sea day. After breakfast, we headed to the “Serenity Deck”, which is the adults only section with lovely padded lounge chairs. Unfortunately, it was overcast and cool so we only stayed about an hour. Andrew was able to get in a few more runs on the waterslide before it started to rain and we had to move inside the ship. We spent the rest of the morning in the library reading and waiting for the rain to pass. We had a light lunch at the buffet and then Andrew went to the cabin to relax and I went to the gym for a few hours. The day didn’t clear up much so the rest of the afternoon was a lazy one.

At 6:30 pm we headed out to the atrium bar to meet for our Chef’s Table booking, something new being offered by Carnival at an additional charge. We were greeted by the Chef du Cuisine, Luis, and the other 10 guests in our party. We were given a tour of the galley, treated to a series of wonderful appetizers and champagne, and then escorted to the library for our private dinner. To say dinner was amazing would be a gross understatement. There were 7 courses: beef carpaccio, calamari, tomato and poblano bisque, Mediterranean salad, Chilean sea bass with lobster foam, filet mignon, and finally a dessert trio. All courses were accompanied by bread and wine and each was more delicious than the last. We posted some pictures but, although the presentation was breathtaking, they also don’t do the food justice. We were given a group photo, a signed copy of the chef’s cookbook, and copies of the menu for the evening. The company was also wonderful and we spent nearly 4-hours total eating, drinking, chatting, ooh’ing and ah’ing.

After dinner, we waddled back to our cabin to pack up our suitcases. You have to put all your bags that you want taken off the ship outside your door by 11 pm the night before you disembark. We’re now packed up and, except for the fact that we’re still groaning from our large meal, ready to hit the hay. Tomorrow morning we’ll get off the ship, pick up a rental car and drive back to Ft. Lauderdale to board the Miracle for the second leg of our adventure!