Miracle Thanksgiving Cruise Review with Photos

[merlot1024]

Wow, I'm off to a rough start with posting this review. I apologize for the test message earlier. I am having a hard time - but I think I've got it now. :)

 

We booked our Carnival Miracle Thanksgiving Cruise way back in January. While I waited, not so patiently, I visited Cruise Critic many times and read many reviews. Those reviews were such a great asset to me that I hope I can return the favor to someone. :)

 

The Cruisers: This was my 4th cruise (3rd on Carnival) and I am cruising with my 17 year old daughter, her best friend (also 17) and her mom. I have left the husband and younger daughter home for this trip. We are attending the wedding of a friend. I have done the 3 and 4 day Carnival Mexico cruises but this is my first 7 day cruise, my first time in Cabo, and my first time in Puerto Vallarta. To say I was excited would be a huge understatement. There are 35 people sailing for this wedding and I know we are going to have a great time.

 

Pre-Cruise: We drove down on Saturday and stayed at the DoubleTree Hotel Maya in Long Beach. I highly recommend this hotel. It is lovely, right on the marina, and has views of the Queen Mary and the Carnival ships. There is a nice walking path (we saw raccoons in the evening), a free shuttle that takes you downtown, and fire pits with great chairs for lounging and enjoying the view. Our rate also included parking for the week and a shuttle to the cruise terminal!

 

[merlot1024]

Time to Cruise: Because we are part of a wedding party we get to board the ship early. Our party begins leaving for the terminal at 9 am. We have priority boarding and the bride is the first one on the ship about 11 am. The wedding is held in the chapel and the reception is held in Sam's Piano Bar.

 

The chapel is small and very nice. I do not have pictures, other than of the wedding, of the chapel.

 

I cannot think of a better place on the Miracle for a wedding reception than Sam's Piano Bar. It was such a nice setting. There was a lovely display of food and a constant flow of beverages.

 

 

 

Beautiful martini glasses with fruit, champagne flutes with fresh vegetables and dip, deviled eggs with caviar, chicken brochettes, spring rolls, stuffed mushrooms, lamb empanadas, and chicken nuggets. These are just a few of the delicious appetizers we had at the reception. Everything looked incredible and the food was delicious. We never waited for cocktails as they were coming around and serving us throughout the reception.

 

After the reception we went to our cabins to await the muster drill and sail away. The bride and groom went with the photographer and took photos around the ship. I have seen the photos and they are spectacular. He did an amazing job of taking photos of them in many different areas of the ship.

 

The wedding was really fantastic!

 

The Cabin: Our friend, and fellow wedding attendee, is a travel agent and cruise lover. She helped us select a cabin and she did an amazing job. We were in cabin 7178 which has an extended balcony. There were 3 chairs on the balcony but room for another. The room included 2 twin beds, a sofa bed, and an upper bed. With 4 of us ladies it was a tight fit but we weren't spending a lot of time in there anyway. Too many other things to go see and do! :D

 

Here are a couple of photos from the balcony.

 

 

And the sunrise in Long Beach when we returned

Edited December 4, 2013 by merlot1024

[ccruisequeen]

Time to Cruise: Because we are part of a wedding party we get to board the ship early. Our party begins leaving for the terminal at 9 am. We have priority boarding and the bride is the first one on the ship about 11 am. The wedding is held in the chapel and the reception is held in Sam's Piano Bar.

 

The chapel is small and very nice. I do not have pictures, other than of the wedding, of the chapel.

 

I cannot think of a better place on the Miracle for a wedding reception than Sam's Piano Bar. It was such a nice setting. There was a lovely display of food and a constant flow of beverages.

 

 

Beautiful martini glasses with fruit, champagne flutes with fresh vegetables and dip, deviled eggs with caviar, chicken brochettes, spring rolls, stuffed mushrooms, lamb empanadas, and chicken nuggets. These are just a few of the delicious appetizers we had at the reception. Everything looked incredible and the food was delicious. We never waited for cocktails as they were coming around and serving us throughout the reception.

 

After the reception we went to our cabins to await the muster drill and sail away. The bride and groom went with the photographer and took photos around the ship. I have seen the photos and they are spectacular. He did an amazing job of taking photos of them in many different areas of the ship.

 

The wedding was really fantastic!

 

The Cabin: Our friend, and fellow wedding attendee, is a travel agent and cruise lover. She helped us select a cabin and she did an amazing job. We were in cabin 7178 which has an extended balcony. There were 3 chairs on the balcony but room for another. The room included 2 twin beds, a sofa bed, and an upper bed. With 4 of us ladies it was a tight fit but we weren't spending a lot of time in there anyway. Too many other things to go see and do! :D

 

Here are a couple of photos from the balcony.

 

 

 

That lower building next to the blue tower is the condo where I live. I saw you leave!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[merlot1024]

Hmm, I have more to post but it is telling me I can't post more photos. Anyone know the way around that?

[minniegidget]

Looking forward to your review. I am sailing on the Miracle next Nov and love reading the reviews. Did you go swimming at the beach? How was the weather?

[merlot1024]

Looking forward to your review. I am sailing on the Miracle next Nov and love reading the reviews. Did you go swimming at the beach? How was the weather?

 

Hi! Thank you for reading...I loved reading all the reviews while I waited which is why I want to give back.

 

We swam in Puerto Vallarta and went jet skiing in Cabo. The water was so warm. We enjoyed that very much.

 

The weather was absolutely perfect. The days we were in port were warm but not humid or hot. Coming back home, on our last day at sea, it was actually cold. Not too many people up on deck that day.

[ccruisequeen]

Hi! Thank you for reading...I loved reading all the reviews while I waited which is why I want to give back.

 

We swam in Puerto Vallarta and went jet skiing in Cabo. The water was so warm. We enjoyed that very much.

 

The weather was absolutely perfect. The days we were in port were warm but not humid or hot. Coming back home, on our last day at sea, it was actually cold. Not too many people up on deck that day.

 

When was the past guest party?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ccruisequeen]

Hmm, I have more to post but it is telling me I can't post more photos. Anyone know the way around that?

 

Post them in separate posts. As long as there are no more than 7 per post you should be ok

 

 

 

 

 

 

[merlot1024]

Let's talk about the food. If there is one thing I have learned from this board it's that you all like the food porn.

 

 

 

Dining: We have early seating in the Bacchus Dining Room. This was not one of my favorite areas of the ship as it's just a little too showy for me.

 

 

 

We were seated at table 225 with friends who were also attending the wedding. I loved dining with this family and getting to know them better.

 

 

 

We all fell in love with our waiter, Sumartha (Su). Our entire wait staff was nothing short of amazing. 2 nights in and they figured out we ladies like coffee with our dessert and that I am the one who likes decaf. We never had to ask again. Our daughters loved, loved, loved Su. They would see him up in the buffet area and he would smile when he saw them. He got them up and dancing during the dinner shows and was a fabulous performer during the shows. He was very animated and so friendly.

 

 

 

I am sorry to tell you that you will not see Su on the Miracle again for awhile. He was heading home the same day we were because his wife was due to have a baby any day. I am so glad he extended his time on the Miracle for 2 weeks because he was an absolute joy to meet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Food: I'm picky, I own it. I don't like fish and I am not an adventurous eater. That being said, I made a pact with myself that I would try new things and be open minded.

 

Night One: I had the Cream of Sun Ripened Tomatoes Soup and loved it. I thought this was very tasty. For my meal I had the Chicken a la Grecque. It was quite good. The picture makes it look like a green blob but it had a good flavor.

 

 

 

 

 

Dessert? Well of course I had to get the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. It just might be one of the most talked about desserts. People either love it or hate it and that was certainly true in our group. One member had it every single time, others hate it. I found it to be delicious although it was quite rich. I never could eat the entire serving and some nights a couple of bites was all it took.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My daughter is not a fan of chocolate so she opted for the Orange Cake. Her face lit up when they delivered it because it looks like those orange wafer cookies. She had high hopes for it. The cake is an orange sponge cake with a low calorie orange crème. Oh boy! She was so disappointed! She said it tasted like the fluoride you get at the dentist. We all sampled and agreed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next morning was a sea day so the dining room was serving the Sea Day Brunch!

 

 

 

I ordered the Caesar Salad which is far superior to the Caesar salad served at dinner. There were huge croutons, that everyone immediately grabbed for, and huge shavings of parmesan cheese. My only complaint is that the dressing is a little weak and lacks flavor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For my main entrée I had the Huevos Rancheros. Oh my! This was delicious. I can't say enough about it. The chicken was tender and flavorful.

 

[merlot1024]

CCcruiseQueen-- thank you for the help. I had smilies in there and did not realize they counted as pictures. Silly me!

 

We did not attend the past guest party. I believe it was on the first night and I heard it was incredibly busy. Another guest told us that on our last day.

[Keith1010]

Thanks for sharing all of this.

 

Keith

[mbmbird]

YUMMY! The Huevos Rancheros is my favorite. :D

[ccruisequeen]

Looking forward to the chocolate chip pancakes and chocolate dipped churros

 

 

Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

[merlot1024]

A few more food pictures and then we can move on to more of the ship. :)

 

 

Seared Fillet of Redfish. I did not care for this. Admittedly I do not eat fish but this was described as having a lemon caper sauce. It had very little flavor and was quite disappointing.

 

Braised Short Ribs: Delicious!

 

Thanksgiving salad with chestnuts. This was very good. It would be a great addition to the menu.

 

Filet Mignon with a short rib (part of the Thanksgiving menu)

 

That's probably enough for the food :). We also had the Funnest French Toast with Froot Loops (very dry), Chilled Creamy Bing Cherry Soup (good-tasted like melted Cherry Garcia ice cream), Tiramisu and Cappucino pie (both very good), Grand Marnier Souffle (way to eggy, did not like).

[merlot1024]

Port Days: Our particular sailing went to Cabo San Lucas for two days and Puerto Vallarta for one day. I had never been to either locale.

 

In Cabo we had booked the Dolphin Swim at Dolphin Discovery. Dolphin Discovery is about 30 minutes outside of Cabo San Lucas in San Jose del Cabo. We were an hour late into port so we had to hussle out there for our excursion. We found a taxi ($55 one way) to take us. When we got there the good people at Dolphin Discovery told us they would take us back for free. If you book an excursion check with them because they may come get you for free.

 

Dolphin Discovery is in an area that is really being built up. There are resort hotels going up all over the place. It looks like an area worth exploring more.

 

Despite our late arrival they still honored our reservation. We were in a group of 8 and had a fantastic time. We did a dolphin hug, the dorsal tow, the foot push, dolphin kiss, and then got in a kayak and the dolphin jumped over the oar we held out. I highly recommend Dolphin Discovery. They were so nice, took great pictures (I had to pay extra for this), and provided a great experience. We did not book this through Carnival--watch for specials and you can get a great deal.

 

We had to wait about an hour until they were ready to take us back after our Dolphin Swim so we hung out at a little restaurant on site. It's called the Container. This kitchen is an old shipping container and the tables are all outside looking over a marina. We shared a steak nachos, quesadilla, and beer.

 

Here are a couple shots from Dolphin Discovery and The Container Restaurant.

 

 

 

 

 

The next day in Cabo we took the water taxi to Medano Beach. This seems to be the place to hang out and drink. We went to Mango Deck and there was a lot going on. It is definitely a party atmosphere with lap dancing (clothed), contests where a guy and a girl go out in the water and switch swimsuits, so if you like that type of entertainment you'll enjoy Mango Deck. They have 2 for 1 drinks. It made for great people watching.

 

My daughter and I rented a jet ski here along with her friend. We had a blast, it was the first time we had done that and we enjoyed it so much! It was $50 for 1/2 hour.

 

When you are on the beach there are tons of locals trying to sell you stuff. They will bargain so don't pay full price.

 

Here's one thing to note: we were told the water taxi would be $6 each round trip. We paid our money and the man took us to the boat dock. Once there we learned there would be an additional charge. An "access fee" to get in a gate to the boat. We had spent all our dollar bills and it was supposed to be $4 for us. We got them down to $2 because that is all we had (except bigger bills). Our boat driver was awesome and came back for us a couple hours later at the time we asked.

 

 

And finally - a bar with swings.

 

[merlot1024]

BEAUTFUL CABO at night on day 1:

 

 

 

See this tender boat? These are the people that missed the last tender boat at 3:15. It's now after 4:15 and they are just getting on the ship. I don't advise this as people on deck watch and shout "You're late!"

 

And finally, after two wonderful days in Cabo we set sail just in time for some gorgeous sunset views.

 

This Princess ship was in port with us today. The day before we shared the port with a Norwegian ship.

 

 

 

[2 cruzen]

Thank you, bringing back nice memories. DH and I did Cabo on the Spirit, but was on Miracle for an 8 day with friends. Gotta love that purple dining room, haha. Btw, you can never have too many food pictures. :D

[ch27088]

My family and I took the Mexican Rivera cruise on the Carnival Pride back in 2008. It was a great cruise and we loved it. My question to you is...on your cruise it looks like you spent two days in Cabo, is that correct? That's wonderful, wish they had done that back when we went. Glad you had a wonderful cruise and thanks for sharing your review with us.

[4hunters]

Great review so far! :) We've done the Cabo PV itinerary on Splendor three times and loved it. We also stay at Hotel Maya before every one of our cruises out of Long Beach.

[fuzzmane]

Agree 100% about the Hotel Maya. We stayed there in Jan 2013 before our cruise to Hawaii for 2 days and it was awesome.

[merlot1024]

My family and I took the Mexican Rivera cruise on the Carnival Pride back in 2008. It was a great cruise and we loved it. My question to you is...on your cruise it looks like you spent two days in Cabo, is that correct? That's wonderful, wish they had done that back when we went. Glad you had a wonderful cruise and thanks for sharing your review with us.

 

 

Yes, we had two days in Cabo. The itinerary must change because I believe someone who went a few weeks before had two days in Puerto Vallarta.

[SweetpeaOne]

Nice review, and wonderful pictures. Thanks for sharing.

[pppiglet]

Very nice report. Please post more. We are going next Feb. and will have 2 days in PV and one in Cabo. Been there before, but not on the Miracle so love to read trip reports on it. And more food pictures if you have time. :)

[tonit964]

Thanks for the review! We were on this cruise also.

[tonit964]

When was the past guest party?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was held on Friday from 4:15 - 5:00, although we did not attend.

 

One thing I was not aware of, it is for VIFP gold and higher, so those on their 2nd cruise, which my older two kids were, did not get an invite.