Miracle Review: Nov 15-22, 2014 Mexico: Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta

[Kobayashi]

I recently returned on a Miracle Cruise sailing from 11/15/14 to 11/22/14 to Mexico. Our itinerary included stops to Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta in addition to three sea days. This was only the second sailing to Mazatlan by Carnival this year (the first was on the Miracle’s cruise the week before) marking the cruise lines return after a three year absence. As a result, there were no recent reviews about any of the ship’s excursions to the city making this truly a voyager’s adventure!

 

In addition, the Chef’s Table had just switched to the new menu on the previous cruise. The dance staff was transitioning to a new set of performers as the previous staff was in the final cruise of their contract. There were three performances for this sailing and the new dance team would perform one of those three and by the next weeks sailing they would perform all the shows.

 

Another noteworthy topic was the propulsion system on the Miracle. In the weeks prior to this sailing there were posts mentioning this issue. I had the opportunity to sign up for the Behind the Fun Ultimate Tour which included stops to the engine control room and the bridge. The engineer mentioned the Miracle was running heavy on the starboard engine and lighter on the port side engine. This was due to an issue with one of the bearings. As a result, the ship never sailed more than 20 knots throughout our cruise even though the ship’s top speed is 22.5 knots. The manufacturer (ABB) of the engines recommended this course of action and weekly reports were being sent by the Miracle crew. The engines would be reviewed and/or replaced during the Miracle’s scheduled dry dock in March 2015.

 

Cabo San Lucas was still recovering from Hurricane Odile that hit the city less than two months ago. Many of the hotels, shops and restaurants had reopened but many more were in the process of rebuilding after a devastating blow through much of the area.

 

Our weather was perfect throughout our cruise and port stops and the seas were calm. We had experienced some swaying the first day as we were leaving Long Beach due to high winds. Otherwise this was a pleasant sailing experience.

 

The highlight of the cruise for me was a one-on-one discussion with our Cruise Director, Troy Linton during the last night of our cruise. We were both eating at the steakhouse and he invited me to sit and talk to him. I asked him questions about Carnival and his job as a cruise director.

 

Finally, I enjoyed the layout of the Miracle. Even though there were a lot of people on the ship it never felt as if it was crowded. The ship is sectioned off into different areas as opposed to one big open space. There were often times I felt as if I was the only person on board, even in the public areas.

 

So with all this said…….on to the full review! Hope you enjoy the adventure!

 

Our ship the Miracle:

 

 

Our destination Mexico:

 

 

Fun Facts about the Miracle:

 

 

Our Cruise Director Troy Linton

http://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/A-Day-in-the-Life--Cruise-director/

[Kobayashi]

I’m a solo cruiser and purchased my cruise six weeks prior to sailing from my PVP (personal vacation planner) that has helped me with my previous bookings. I’m new to cruising but use online forums to learn as much as I can for various interests. Thanks to Cruise Critic I was better prepared for this cruise than my previous sailings. I only discovered FTTF (Faster To The Fun) for this cruise and had the Manage My Cruise site up while at work and would check availability of the FTTF excursion about a dozen times a day. Finally after a week I was able to secure a pass. For those that wonder if FTTF is worth the extra $50 here are some of the advantages. Please note I’m a solo cruiser that prefers packing light and will always use self-assist for embarking and disembarking. For this cruise I packed what I thought I needed then removed ½ of the items and decided to do laundry during the cruise. Even with all of this, I will definitely be purchasing FTTF again for future cruises.

 

This was placed in my cabin upon embarkation noting the benefits of FTTF while on the cruise. I’ve blacked out the meeting points and phone extensions. I found myself stopping by Guest Services on several occasions and went to the dedicated line for Diamond/Platinum/FTTF and never had a long wait.

 

 

This letter was placed in my cabin prior to our port stop in Cabo San Lucas which is a tender port. If you purchased a shore excursion you can depart earlier rather than waiting to leave the ship.

 

 

This letter was placed in my cabin the night before disembarkation noting where to meet.

 

 

After all the research and preparations were made, the day of the cruise finally arrived. I had previously signed up for our roll call and had driven to LA the day before our sailing. The five day weather outlook for our cruise was very promising and didn’t disappoint!

 

[Kobayashi]

I arrived at the Long Beach Terminal around 10:45 a.m. and the parking lot was full. I had previously arrived after 2:00 p.m. for prior sailings and never had a problem parking. It took about 15 minutes to find a parking spot on the fourth floor. What I would soon discover is the passengers on the previous week’s sailing had only begun to disembark and many of the cars in the parking lot belonged to them.

 

Upon entering the terminal area I immediately spotted the check in line and noticed the amount of passengers waiting. Fortunately I asked an employee where FTTF check in was located and after completing the health questionnaire I returned to her and she directed me to a dedicated line for FTTF. Once an agent was available I was immediately allowed to check in bypassing the long lines. At this time it was 11:15. Unfortunately, the guests from the previous week were still disembarking and we weren’t allowed to board until 12:45. The waiting lines began to build up but it was a nice day and I was about to embark on a seven day adventure so I thought about the Lion King – Hakuna Matata!

 

 

 

 

Finally Carnival crew members began allowing certain zones to embark. Next we had to make our way through the passport check, the security check, the stop for photos, up the escalators and then we finally made it to the spot where we heard the familiar sound that our vacation was about to begin – the dinging noise made by your sail and sign card when a crew member allows you on board!

 

 

 

[Kobayashi]

Here was our ship’s position and a copy of the Fun Times for our first Day:

 

 

 

[Kobayashi]

Here’s a review of my cabin. I was able to secure an 8D category at the 8B category price. However, I still had to pay 200% of the cabin since the single supplement fee wasn’t waived for this cruise. Prior to my cruise I had marked King Size bed in my check in details. Fortunately, my luggage had also arrived. My cabin steward was Benjapol (Ben) from Thailand who has worked for Carnival for 25 years. His wife was working on another deck and she has been with Carnival for 12 years. Ben had one more contract and would retire soon after. Prior to my cruise I had purchased thank you cards and had delivered one to Ben the last night of the cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kobayashi]

 

[Kobayashi]

One of the letters left in my cabin was a shore excursion cancellation notice. This was for the Rhythm of the Nights in Las Celetas at Puerto Vallarta. This was the only shore excursion I had purchased prior to the sailing. There were 31 reviews on the Carnival site for this excursion and all were rated 5 stars. This was the one event I was looking forward to attending. What I later found out is the original itinerary had us in Puerto Vallarta from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Two weeks prior to sailing another member from our roll call informed us the sail times had changed to 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. The excursion times for Rhythm of the Nights was 5:15 to 8:15 thus putting us behind the updated scheduled departure time of the ship resulting in the cancellation of the excursion. However, during our cruise our scheduled port time for Puerto Vallarta was adjusted backed to the original schedule and unfortunately it was too late for Carnival to reschedule Rhythm of the Nights. Oh well. I guess I’ll just have to rebook this same sailing in April to attend this excursion. I’m also including a copy of the Fun Ashore. Please note the additional discount that Carnival offers if you book more than one excursion. I was able to save an additional 15% for booking three excursions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kobayashi]

 

 

 

 

After reviewing the documents in my cabin I placed my valuables in the safe and began my tour of the ship. Our roll call’s meet and greet was scheduled soon in the City Conference Room. Unfortunately I didn’t take pictures during this event but it was great meeting everyone that attended. Thank you to all that organized this event!

[Kobayashi]

The first stop was the Fun Shops (please note I’ve included some pictures that were taken during the cruise to group these images together so in case anyone was wondering why the Fun Shops were open during embarkation day prior to leaving the port) . The first two days of the cruise there was an additional 15% discount offered. For some items, the prices were still higher than Amazon. For other items, this was a great deal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kobayashi]

 

 

 

 

 

[Kobayashi]

One of my tour stops included the laundry room. The Miracle has several locations on board for self-service laundry. The machines are commercial grade and require quarters rather than a sail and sign card. The cost is $3 dollars for washing, $3 dollars for drying, $1 for laundry detergent and $1 for drying. The total for one load is $8. Quarters can be obtained from guest services or the casino. The washing machines have approximately a 40 minute cycle and the drying machines are 45 minutes. There is also the ship’s option. I did laundry on Wednesday while most were still in Puerto Vallarta to avoid peak times like a sea day which would be the day after our PV stop.

 

 

 

 

 

[Kobayashi]

Sunday - Sea Day

 

This was our first day at sea. Here is our ship’s position as well as a copy of the Fun Times.

 

 

 

[Kobayashi]

First up is the Sea Day Brunch. Steak and Eggs! I was one of the first in line and when they began seating the staff placed me at a long table by the window. Great conversations with fellow passengers!

 

 

 

 

 

After breakfast it was off to the lounge to attend the presentation by our cruise director for some tips about our cruise and port stops.

 

 

[Kobayashi]

The next event I attended was the cooking demonstration at Nick and Nora’s Steakhouse hosted by our assistant cruise director. The steakhouse wait staff passed along free samples of items that were on the menu. Unfortunately my pictures weren’t high quality as I was using my cell phone throughout the cruise so I don’t have any decent food pictures to post.

 

 

 

 

[Kobayashi]

After the cooking demonstration I decided to attend the first of three art auctions hosted by the staff of Park of the West. As soon as you attend one event and register your name and cabin number you’ll receive invitations throughout the cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kobayashi]

The evening’s dinner was the first of two elegant nights. Everything from business attire to neat casual was worn and allowed in the dining room. So the second elegant night I ditched my sport coat. Again the food pictures I took were of poor quality so I didn’t include those images – a new camera is on Santa’s list for this year! However, I did capture some images of warm chocolate melting cake and Crème Brule.

 

 

 

 

[Kobayashi]

Monday – Cabo San Lucas

 

We’re on our way to Cabo San Lucas with an expected arrival time of 12:00 p.m. Here is our ship’s position as well as a copy of the Fun Times. At this point we’ve travelled 771 nautical miles.

 

 

 

[Kobayashi]

Upon our arrival tender boats started to appear. I had a FTTF pass but didn’t use this since I had reserved an excursion that would allow me to disembark earlier. Unfortunately in the words of our cruise director, “normally there are tenders waiting for people, in this case there were people waiting for tenders.” Since I had a starboard balcony I could see off in the distance the issue that would delay the tendering process. Two additional cruise ships were also anchored – one from Princess and the other from Celebrity. Prior to reserving my cruise with Carnival I had considered sailing on Princess out of San Francisco since this is my hometown and this was a similar itinerary and sail date with the Carnival sailing out of Long Beach. However, I decided to reserve the Carnival sailing as the Princess package would have cost me almost $1,000 more. That was the Princess ship I would’ve been on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kobayashi]

Now off to Cabo! Disembarking off the tender boat.

 

 

 

 

[Kobayashi]

I booked the Coastal Highlight Sightseeing Tour. It was great to tour a Glass Blowing Factory and by pure luck we got to see the Mexican Flag being retired for the evening. Other than that, let’s just say the next sailing to Cabo I’m booking my own adventure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kobayashi]

Our time to Cabo was limited due to the lack of tenders so back to the Ship after a short stop:

 

 

 

 

 

[Kobayashi]

I had dinner reservations at Nick and Nora’s at 6:45 and was one of the only guests at that time. Prior to my reservation I received a note in my cabin asking me to reconfirm. I had previously read the food on the third night of the cruise was the worst so I intentionally reserved this night as well as the last night of the cruise. Jeans were allowed for non-elegant nights. After my meal I had considered reserving a third night but passed on that option. In retrospect, I wish I would have.

 

Tonight I ordered the NY Strip. The last night of the cruise I ordered the surf and turf. I had requested the spice rub on the NY Strip and Filet. I’m not a food connoisseur but those two meals were probably the two best steaks I have ever tasted! My next sailing on this cruise I will reserve at least three nights at Nick and Nora’s. I realize the steakhouse is a $20 option in the MDR but for the additional $15 the experience, atmosphere and appetizers were well worth the additional cost.

 

The steakhouse advises at least two hours for the experience. Even as a solo cruiser, knowing the menu prior to my arrival and one of the only tables that night, my dining experience lasted at least 1 ½ hours. I took pictures throughout the meal but found the image quality to be less than ideal so I have limited pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

[Kobayashi]

Tuesday – Mazatlan

 

Here is our ship’s position as well as a copy of the Fun Times.

 

 

 

[Kobayashi]

I elected to reserve the Mexican Show, Sightseeing and Shopping Excursion. I also reserved a similar excursion for Puerto Vallarta. Of the three sightseeing tours I booked in Cabo, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta, this was by far my favorite. The port at Mazatlan requires shuttles to transfer guests from the ship to the port entrance. The shuttles are constantly running. Here are some pictures of guests lining up for their tour buses. A picture of one of the shuttles is pictured in the background of the second image.

 

 

 

The first stop along the tour was to a church. Next to the church was a shop similar to Macy’s. I stopped in to take some pictures and several employees greeted me in Spanish and asked me several questions. Unfortunately, six years of academic textbook Spanish didn’t quite prepare me for conversational interaction.

 

 

 

[Kobayashi]

Here are some pictures driving along the coast in a double-decker tour bus. Part of the excursion was a stop to see “cliff divers.” This is actually a family that dives off a high tower into the ocean. There are members of the diving group that go around asking for “tips for the divers.”