Miracle to Alaska 6/25/2013 Review

Miracle June 25th – July 2nd 2013 North to Alaska

I decided to start this review before I even get to Seattle to get on the ship. I think part of the whole experience is the anticipation you have prior to going.

 

This is our first cruise. We decided to take this cruise last October, so I was beginning to feel that our time to cruise would never get here. I have been so excited I log on to carnival everyday just to see my countdown clock, how happy it makes me to see the number of days getting smaller. I also read all the forums, the Funtimes and a couple of others.

 

3 dear friends are joining us for this cruise, they all think it is pretty funny that I have done so much research, but for me that is part of the fun. Okay, we are 4 days out, we are packed (I think, may need one more bag check). I took the advice of some off the forums, I packed, waited a couple of days and then went through the bag and took out about ½ of what I had in there. The only problem is, that I have done a little more shopping and have added some things, so I guess another inspection and purge might be in order.

 

Packing for Alaska is a little rough in that you have to have stuff for every type of weather. We live in Tucson, Arizona and even looking at a coat this time of year when the highs have been well over 100 degrees can make you want to pass out. I wasn’t planning on even taking a bathing suit as I am not a big fan of public hot tubs, and figured the water would just to cold, but…..then Carnival had to have pictures of the waterslide on the front of their webpage and now I really want to try out that slide.

 

When we booked the cruise our life was pretty steady nothing exciting happening and the cruise was the biggest thing we had to look forward to. Then along comes February and my dh receives a job offer that is just too good to pass up, we thought we would just be here (Tucson) a couple more years and he would retire, but…….So, now we are packing to go on the cruise, packing up our home to move out of state, have our home on the market, DHs 91 yo mother is also moving with us, so we have also been getting her ready to move too. It has been insane. Our two adult children and their families have moved away in the past couple of months too, so now we were a little worried about who was going to take care of the pets, 2 dogs and 2 cats; our daughter in law is going to come down and stay at the house with our 5 yo grand-daughter whom we call hurricane, and take care of all of them. The house is still on the market and being shown to prospective buyers, which means she (dil) has to have the house show ready, and when notified get the dogs in the car and leave for 30 -60 minutes, so what is the big deal about that you ask, did I mention that my daughter in law is deaf…..No, I don’t see anything going wrong at all.

 

Monday June 24th – Seattle

We are staying at the Hyatt place downtown Seattle. It is a very nice room and the view from our window is wonderful the space needle is right there.

 

We used Seattle Shuttle from the airport to the Hotel and Brandon was our driver, there were 3 of us and the cost was $38 plus we gave him a $10 tip. Brandon was great he was a great tour guide pointing out all the points of interest along the route. Another great thing about Seattle Shuttle, they pick you up right outside of baggage claim, no need to go across the street to the “islands” where the other transportation services are.

 

We wanted to see pike street market, but it was closed by the time we got there; so we ate at the Seabar. It was quite good, but a bit pricey, dinner for 3 with only one glass of wine was 167.00 now, granted we had 2 appetizers and 3 entrees. It was tasty but could have had more.

 

Tuesday June 25th

 

Good Morning. Wow it is finally here, we actually are going to board the ship today. I am so excited I actually think I am vibrating.

 

We had Seattle Shuttle pick us up at 10:00 and went straight to Pier 91. A skycap or luggage handler was right there to assist us, this was great but…he told us that he would even take our carry-ons, we explained that we had wine and water in our bags, he assured us that it would be fine, he would take care of all of it, (wine did not make it, was confiscated) lesson learned DO NOT let them take your carry-on if you are bringing the allowable amount of wine.

 

We walked right in, right up to the counter, processed in, got our first photo, then waited to board, only had to wait about 45 minutes, we were in zone 2, we were on the ship by about 11:45. Woo Hoo. Straight to the Lido Deck for a little lunch.

 

I went to Chopsticks and it was fine, nothing amazing but took care of my hunger and was tasty. Tried a couple of deserts and the Chocolate Mint Cake took the blue ribbon over Lemon Cake (too sweet for our taste we like our lemon desserts to be tart) and Caramel Cheesecake, which we thought was bland.

 

Explore the ship time we went all over the place and thought we had seen just about all of it, NOT, only saw about 1/3 of the ship, but that is O.K. gives us more to discover.

 

Had dinner at Nick and Nora’s, OMG it was amazing! The service was spectacular and the food was just amazing. I forgot my camera, I am sorry, no food porn from Nick and Nora’s, I think we might go back so I will try to remember the camera. I had the surf and turf with the Lobster Bisque as my starter that bisque was superb. For desert I tried the chocolate sampler, it was very good,, DH had the cheesecake, it was HUGE and very good. Nick and Nora’s worth every penny.

 

Tried the bingo, it was fun didn’t win anything, went and hit the casino for a little while.

 

The captain had warned us that he was going to be picking up speed and boy of boy, did he. Seas were a little rough, felt like I had one too many drinks, hadn’t had anything except a couple of glasses of wine with dinner. Got back to the room, took some Bonnine. Stepped out on the balcony and loved the sound of the water rushing by. Had a good night’s sleep.

 

Wednesday June 26th

 

We woke up at about 6:30 we had room service ordered for between 8:00 to 8:30, so I threw on the room robe and down to the Lido deck to snag some coffee.

 

It was a bit rough all night, thank god for Bonnine it sure saved my bacon. Spent the day looking around the ship, went to the shops for the $10 sale, what a joke, we watched them change signs from 2/$20 to $10 each and people actually thought they were getting a great deal enjoyed watching that for just a little while as it was too crowded.

 

Watched the cooking demonstration by Nick and Nora’s that was very interesting and am happy I was able to get those recipes. After the demo we watched the Ice sculptor that was amazing and he was able to do the face of an Indian Chief in only 17 minutes, we really enjoyed that. It is time for a nap and then our first Elegant Night.

 

Elegant night was very nice, we didn’t dress over the top, but we all looked nice. Food was very good I had the Prime Rib and the lobster, yummy. Of course for desert had to have the warm melting cake. Loved it all.

 

We decided to do the adult comedy show, we watched both shows and thought the first comic was much better than the second one he just didn’t have a lot of energy. One thing I didn’t care for is that the first comic kept going on about being a Christian, I just don’t think that is the appropriate place or time. But, overall he was very funny, especially when he had a guy from the audience get up and learn how to this gangster, walk, dance thing to impress his lady. I had tears running down my face I laughed so hard.

 

Won a little in the Casino, they really need to get some updated games in the casino they are kind of tired. I played one that I swear that every time you push the play button it says “Loser”, not very encouraging.

 

Off to bed, Tracy Arm is tomorrow.

 

Thursday, June 27, 2013 – Tracy Arm

 

Wow, the captain had stated that once we got into the passage sometime during the night that the water would be calm and we would have much smoother sailing he wasn’t joking, the water was like glass. Beautiful!!

 

Got up around 7 and while I was waiting on our room service coffee I was standing out on the balcony and saw a pod of Orcas swimming next to the ship, they were going the opposite direction. Being on the 6th deck, they looked small, but they were gorgeous.

 

The Pilot for Tracy Arm came on board right below us, which was very interesting to watch.

 

What can I say about Tracy Arm other than BEAUTIFUL!!! This state is absolutely breathtaking. Saw a lot of Sea Lions; it was as if they were on every iceberg, no matter the size. If you saw a brown dot on the water, it was more than likely a Sea Lion. It was a lot of fun to see them. We saw a bald eagle around 4:30 and then that was it for any animals.

Had dinner in the MDR, finished with WMC. A little time in the Casino an then off to bed. We have our first excursion tomorrow

 

Friday, June 28th – Skagway

 

How cute is this little town?! Getting off the ship for our excursion was quite easy. I booked this through shoreexcursions.com, we are off to meet Dakota Fred and see the Porcupine Creek Gold Mine. If you are a fan of the show on Discovery called Gold Rush then this tour is for you!

 

We loved it, our tour guide/driver, Holly Jo was great; she showed us all around and was very familiar with all the people on the show and where some of them even lived, we slowed down by the Schnabel's if John’s truck had been there we were going to stop and say hi, unfortunately that was not the case so off to the mines we went.

 

We got to meet Dakota Fred and Melody, he was a much different person than how is displayed on T.V. Holly Jo was great about giving us all the back stories. We didn’t get to see the “Glory Hole” as the mine inspectors were on site so that really limited what we could do and where we could go. Got to meet some of the shows crew they were all very nice too.

 

We panned some of the tailings with the help of Melody and we all had a little gold in our pans. On the way to the mines we saw a Moose, how cool is that; got some good pictures of him too.

 

Holly Jo drove us around the old fort before we returned to the Ferry and the Ship.

 

Dumped all the stuff in our cabin and headed into town for a little retail therapy. Downtown Skagway is very cute, we just loved it. There is a smart bus service that is $5 for the entire day and you can go all over town.

 

The guys got a little tired of me going into every store just to look and touch things so I finally gave in and returned to the ship.

 

Time for a nap and then to dinner in the MDR. It was great as usual, then a little time in the Casino and off to bed for another busy day tomorrow.

 

We had so much fun on this excursion that instead of doing the rental car in Juneau we all decided to do the Mendenhall Glacier and Whale Watching Excursion through the ship.

 

Saturday, June 29th – Juneau

 

The Mendenhall glacier was amazing and we got some great pictures. The whale watching was a bit of a bummer as they loaded three busses full of people on to one boat; we were the third bus to get there so no chance of a window seat. We stood out on the rear deck and got to see some pretty good whale action. At times it was very difficult to get pictures as people came out when the sightings were announced and pushed and shoved their way up to the rail. But, I still loved seeing the whales.

 

When we go again we will book through a private company that doesn't take so many out. Something to keep in mind is that all of the companies that do these trips are governed and have to stay a prescribed number of feet away and can only stay with any particular whale for a set amount of time. We did move off and the whale followed us so that was ok. What I am trying to say is not to expect whales right up next to your boat. Invest in a good camera lens to get the really good pictures. Hubby used a 300 mm lens for these but was wishing we had splurged on the 500.

 

Before returning to the ship hit the little shop right next to the boat to pick up a few more little gifts for the grandkids. Then it was time for a nap before dinner in the MDR.

 

Sunday, June 30th – Ketchikan

 

I just loved Ketchikan, it is so quaint and the shops all look so cute.

 

I was so excited to get here, planned to go zip lining with one of our friends. I wanted to do this to face my FEAR of the edge. I say edge as I am not bothered to be up high as long as I don’t get near the edge. I also don’t like rides that leave the ground or go really high, picture a double Ferris wheel, yeah, I won’t be on that thing. Probably not even a regular Ferris wheel. So, off we go and I am so excited, I am going to do this.

 

We get to the base station where we get our harnesses and helmets on woo hoo can’t wait, although I am getting little butterflies in my tummy. They went through all the instructions about where to place your hands and how to brake. Keep in mind I had this fantasy in my head about gliding along and being able to look out and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

 

We go to the warm up platform and Zip across to the next platform, It was a bit rough getting off the platform and dangling from the cable, but it does go really fast. Made that one, Now to the second one, it is a bit higher and a bit longer, I go zipping along and forgot for just a second where to place my hand for braking, got it straightened out, but just that little mess up caused me to come in “hot” or too fast and I basically stubbed my big toe on the landing steps and either broke it or jammed it really bad.

 

By now those little butterflies are a freaking flock of pigeons and I just can’t bring myself to step off the damn platform, now I know the sling would hold me, hell I had already done it twice but I was almost to the point of hyperventilating plus other things, did I mention I have IBS and it doesn’t like stress. I felt really bad as I was holding up the rest of our group to the point that the guide on the next platform and the one on my platform were both cajoling me into going. I finally did it and came in fine.

 

They told me that this was the last place I could stop and they could get me down; as any further and we would be too deep in the forest. They made sure that I understood that the next lines were going to be higher, longer and faster,, Yes, I took them up on the offer of stopping.

 

Oh hell, now I have to be taken down by ropes 80 feet to the ground. OMG I thought I was going to have a freaking coronary, but I finally did just go after inching my way down to the very edge, and it wasn't so bad. I actually enjoyed this way more, it was slow and I actually got to look around at my surroundings.

 

I would recommend not taking this excursion if you are afraid of the edge. I should have paid more attention to the name “ZIP lining” as that is exactly what you do, zip rather quickly above the forest, this is by no means a leisurely glide, it was fast and you have to remember where to keep and put your hands.

 

I am sure there are some of you who will say I gave into my fear, but you are oh so wrong; I compromised with my fear, I did it and know if I HAD to do that to save mine or a loved one’s life I could do it, but won’t be doing it again for fun; I can officially mark that off the bucket list.

 

When I found my husband, who did not go, I was shaking like a leaf and needed to sit down and I could have really used a strong drink but had to settle for a Pepsi.

 

Got back to town and enjoyed walking along Creek Street, it is so very cute. Unfortunately there were 4 ships in this day so moving around was a little rough; but I loved it just the same.

 

I am pretty sure you know what is coming next; nap and dinner in the MDR, I really earned my nap today

 

Monday July 1 2013 – Victoria Canada

 

Early dinner tonight as we will arrive in Victoria this evening and we want to make sure we don’t miss dinner, as usual it was great.

 

Today is Canada Day, the same as our 4th of July, Happy Birthday Canada.

 

Well, getting off the ship was a bit of a drag, Canadian Customs are a real pain in the fanny and take their dear sweet time.

 

We decided to do the Butchart Gardens excursion and per our instructions we went to the Main Lounge to await our debarking instructions. After only a few minutes we were all lead to a hallway on the 2nd level, we all thought we were getting off then, but no, we were going to be in this very cramped, stuffy, hot line for about 30 minutes or so. Fortunately everyone kept a good sense of humor about it all and we did finally get to get off and in the cool air. We boarded our bus and headed off to the gardens.

 

Our tour guide/driver was quite good and told us a lot about what we were seeing, and answered all kinds of questions people had about the area and about Canada in general. After about a 30 minute or so bus ride we arrive at the gardens.

 

OMG this place if absolutely beautiful, we took so many pictures, we were practically jogging through so we would have enough light to get as many pictures as possible. Hit the gift shop with only 20 minutes to spare, this was probably a good thing as there were so many cool things in here, if I had, had more time I would have spent a ton.

 

The only negative about this excursion is that there was only 1-1/2 hours for the garden, not nearly enough. I want to go back and spend at least 4-5 hours just exploring and admiring all the beautiful plants and water features. Victoria is a beautiful city and worth exploring.

 

Back to the ship, dropped off all of our wonderful finds and met up with our friends to share our excursion stories, they took a cab to the Parliament Building to watch the fireworks and experience Canada Day. I think we had the better experience.

 

Played in the Casino for a little bit, then went to bed. One thing to keep in mind; when everyone is pretty much coming back at the same time to the ship, the Lido Deck will be crowded, very crowded with everyone having a late night snack or whatever the lines were really long and we were thankful that we were able to find a seat.

 

Tuesday July 2nd - Seattle

 

Oh No, they are actually going to make us get off the ship….but we don’t want to go….Debarkation was smooth and took no time at all. We stayed the night in Seattle at the Hyatt Place Downtown again so we were in no hurry what so ever.

 

We used the Seattle Shuttle again and they were just great. Went to Pike Street Market, wow, what an experience, it was a beautiful day in Seattle and this of course brought everyone out from under their rocks so it made for a very interesting mix of people all down in that area.

 

We had lunch at Athenia’s in the Market Dh had a Cheeseburger and I had Halibut in a lemon butter sauce, it was so very good, I wanted to lick the plate.

 

All in all this was an amazing trip and we are now officially hooked on cruising. We are joining my sister and her family in January to do the Eastern Caribbean and are trying to decide between Alaska again in June/July or 13 day Panama Canal in August. DH wants to do the 13 day as he just wasn’t ready to get off the ship and thinks that maybe after 13 days he might be ready.

I loved your review! We're headed there in about 29 days and like you, we can't wait. We're flying in on the same day - I know, I know, but we have trip insurance so I'm not worried. I hope you didn't break your toe, and you talked me in to not going on the zip line excursion. I've been instructed by my doctor to never hit my head again.:eek:

GREAT review for my taste. We do not get to go on this one until August 2014. We booked it in April.

 

I have been in the market for a good camera with a GREAT lens.....Only have a 50mm now....I have to find a good camera store where I can touch, feel and ask a ton of questions, but those type of places are history now.....

 

We are going on our 3rd Eastern Caribbean in 2 months out of Port Canaveral....they have 2 ports we have not been to (Grand Turk and Puerto Rico).

 

Wife wants to see the Panama Canal, but heck, once you see the trees and roof tops, after 30 minutes, to me, that would get old.....

 

Again, appreciate your write up and enjoyed your humor....:o

Wife wants to see the Panama Canal, but heck, once you see the trees and roof tops, after 30 minutes, to me, that would get old.....

 

We did the Panama Canal last year and it was really amazing. We went on Princess and it was worth every penny. We're planning another Panama Canal cruise when they get the new canal finished.

Loved your review and boy, do I know what you mean about everything changing between the time you book a cruise and the time you take it!

We're on the 15-nt Miracle cruise to Hawaii in Sept. and I'm anxious to know how you liked the ship. What type of cabin were you in? Was the food in the MDR pretty good? Any recommendations?

Hope all goes well with your move.

We were in a balcony cabin #6247, the room was fine for us. We actually spent quite a bit of time there as we had such a wonderful view. We loved the food in the MDR, we ate there every night except one which was the night at Nick and Nora's. I tried all kinds of things the only thing I didn't care for was the Red Snapper, it was just to strong of a fish taste for me. I am more of a Halibut, Mahi Mahi sort. Service in the MDR was great. We did Your Time Dining as we had no idea when or if we would want dinner every night. Our room steward was great, but then again we are rather tidy so there wasn't a lot he had to do in our room. Hope you have a great time.

We're also from Tucson and leaving in 7 days for our cruise on the Miracle. Thanks for your review.

 

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DH and I are also from Tucson and headed for the last Alaska cruise of the season in September! Love the review so far.

 

 

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I just camp across this post today as I was trying to recall if I had been to Vancover or Victoria. When I looked on my cruise history it did not list the specific stops but I came across your blog when I did a google search. I was on the same sailing you were so it was nice to see someone elses take. It also makes me want to go back to Seattle and Alaska :-)

 

Happy Cruising!

Thank you for your review!

 

 

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Excellent review, thanks!