Carnival Miracle/ Carnival Legend to Hawaii

[Nic6318]

My DH and I are doing this trip in January and am hoping you will share more about your trip. For me, it is overwhelming trying to figure everything out. For instance: Is there a certain Luau you would recommend compared to the others? What kind of Hawaiian themed activities did you experience? Any info on the islands would also be nice (what you found worth your money and what you didn't), etc... Thanks!

 

Hi

 

I really can't stress enough checking out the Hawaii port of calls thread. Once you get an idea of some things that interest you google each island to find their attractions. The internet will also get you familiar with the various tour operators. You can then come back to this site to see what kind of experiences people have had with each.

 

What I did is make a list of all the things that I would be interested in doing for each port. There were only 5 Hawaii stops. Some of the things that I wanted to do could be done at multiple ports so there was some options if timing was not going to work somewhere. Eventually you have to make choices because you will likely be able to only do/see only one or two things at each stop. Even when we rented a car we were still limited by time. Once you have decided what you want to do you will have to evaluate which things you would need to book ahead.

 

have a great time

[NOSaints1]

I just want to make sure I'm picking the right ship, right price, than I can study the ports.

[leenieweenie]

There was a naturalist on board on the way over who gave talks everyday in the main showroom about all the Hawaiian Islands and their history and the people of Hawaii etc. Very interesting and informative. She also had tour recommendations and shopping info for each port. Very helpful. There were arts and crafts such as making leis and learning to play the ukulele and hula lessons and one morning she had a class for the ladies on how to wear the Hawaiian sarong in many different ways. Very nice.

We did all our excursions thru the ship and just had to pick what we thought sounded fun to us. We did the luau at Germaines-it was right on the beach outdoors and it was fantastic. We had one bad tour in Maui but it was because we had a poor guide who only wanted to talk about herself and not about the sights. We still enjoyed the scenery but it could have been better. We were refunded a part of the cost when we complained to shore excursions. What was important to us was to see Diamond Head, see whales and see waterfalls and lava. We managed to see all of them so we were happy. There are so many excursions offered by the ship, just find ones that meet your interests. You really can't go wrong--you are in a tropical Paradise after all!!! One thing we didn't have time to do was go in the water at a beach on any of the stops. if I had it to do again, I would have made a beach day on one of the islands and just relaxed there. We packed so much into the short time we had that we were exhausted by the last port. Luckily we had lots of sea days to recoup on the way home.

[SadieN]

I just want to make sure I'm picking the right ship, right price, than I can study the ports.

 

 

The ships are sisters. They go to the same Hawaiian ports.

 

It boils down to --- do you want to do a 15 day RT cruise OR a 10 or 11 day one way cruise. Many will spend a day (or several days) in their departure port to lessen the chance of missing the ship.

 

Which is right for you?

Edited August 24, 2015 by SadieN

[NOSaints1]

When is the Legend/Miracle getting the American Feast/American Table?

[sweethart9510]

We did the Miracle 15 day to Hawaii last January. We were very lucky to have smooth sailing both going over and coming back. the Miracle is one of our favorite ships but we sailed on it before the drydock, so can't speak to any new improvements on it. The food is good and we greatly enjoyed all the Hawaii themed activities on our way to the islands. All the islands were wonderful and each different in their own way. However, I must agree that seeing the islands on a cruise just doesn't give you enough time to see everything! You must make choices and sometimes be disappointed that you miss something you really wanted to do. Definitely do a luau, it was a highpoint for us,we loved it. It was a great cruise and we had a wonderful time on the ship but we wouldn't cruise again to Hawaii.

 

 

 

Hello! I was wondering what room did you have? I'm wanting to do this cruise and was wondering if rooming on the 4th floor would be too loud? Thanks [emoji5]️

[Cushing985]

When is the best time to go, for weather, crossing the Pacific?

 

I'm not sure there is a "best" time to cross over the Pacific. When in the Navy we made a trip to Hawaii on a destroyer in April. Half way across (from San Diego) we were diverted a bit to look for a sailboat that became disabled in a storm (we were the only helicopter equipped ship in the vicinity). While in this same storm I wondered if the ship could handle the seas. We did sustain a lot of damage and everyone (including the Captain) was seasick. We never did find the sailboat.

 

A few years later my wife and I did the same cruise on the Spirit during the same time of year (April) and for the most part, the seas were calm. If seasickness is an issue I would recommend getting an outside cabin on the lowest deck and amidship. We did on our cruise because my wife can sometimes get a bit sick and our cabin was her sanctuary on the "rough" days.

 

You also asked about the expenses...my wife was born in Hawaii and I spent 9 years there (over the years) so we were both very familiar with the islands. I can tell you not to use Carnival excursions...not because they're inferior to others but because of the expense. Google excursions and you'll find plenty of private excursions to choose from. We rented cars on every island with the exception of one and found they were inexpensive if you knew where to look. Again, Google is your friend.

 

We did do a Carnival excursion on one island only because it was a tender port (Kauai?) and Carnival sponsored excursions have priority).

 

If you have never been to Hawaii I would recommend going on a cruise there as it hits all the major islands. Find your favorite island and then go back for a land vacation.

 

Would I go on another Carnival cruise to Hawaii? Oh, hell yes! We enjoy sea days so that isn't an issue and your fellow passengers onboard tend to be mature and settled (AKA seniors).

[mpdog42]

For Americans, I recommend no greater place than a Visit to Pearl Harbor.

Plan to get up early, also a Trip to Punchbowl National Cem. is a must!!!''

 

Mike

US ARMY

[cruznjan]

I know Carnival is only in U.S. Dollars and being from Canada it kind of sucks. What're the ships like, the food and if there's enough dining options with rotating food in the Buffett, i know the entertainment lacks on Carnival. What new features did it get in drydock if any, is it better to sail out of BC or Long Beach and if you've been to these islands in Hawaii, is it ad beautiful as we could imagine.

 

We recently returned from the Hawaii cruise on the Miracle. We sailed out of Long Beach. We had smooth sailing except for the last two sea days on the way back when the sea was kind of rough. The ship is nice, easy to get around. New features are the Sky Box sports bar, the Alchemy bar, the Red Frog Pub and the Cherry on Top candy store. There was a wide variety of food in the MDR and the buffet. Overall we thought the food was hit and miss, mostly good. The islands are all beautiful, and each one has its own character. We only went to one show. The Phantom theater was too cold. We didn't go to the comedy shows. We just pretty much chilled in our cabin in the evenings.

[mumofsons]

Ok here is some information on a Hawaiian cruise either Miracle or Legend are great ships - they are spirit class ships so they are longer and not as wide as some of the others. I would highly recommend an obstructed view balcony - the farther back on the ship the better - the life boats obstruct the view and the first three lifeboats are higher than the last ones so book those. You get the luxury of a balcony and less price.

We left out of Vancouver and I will tell you it was one of the best ports for leaving out of. Quick and of course we Canadians are very friendly! The first couple of days are cool but soon you will be in very warm weather. We went mid September and caught a BC lions game the day before we left. Yes you have five sea days to get there but it seemed we had a lot of activities we could do. We also had a very large cruise critic group and had planned activities which were fun and we even had three tables of cruise critic-ers that ate dinner together each night - it was the best cruise we have been on. I think you get a good taste of the islands and yes you don't get to spend a whole week on each island but for us we enjoyed what we saw and have things that we might do if we ever go back on a land adventure. Our cruise critic folks even organized excursions so it ended up being a lot cheaper on each island. The one and only excursion we did through Carnival ended up being the one we would not ever do again and I even complained about it so there you have it. If you have a good group of people there are lots of things you can organize and it seemed no matter where we went we always saw cruise critic friends which was nice.

I don't love flying so I would not enjoy the flight to Hawaii but I sure loved cruising there :P!

If you have any questions let me know if I can help you with them I will

April