Carnival Miracle Review 9-26-15 Sailing

[Richjoxyz]

Carnival Miracle Review 9-26-15 to 10-3-15

 

We just finished our Carnival Miracle sailing. It was a nice trip with great weather. Here’s our quick review:

 

Pre-Cruise:

My wife and Mother in Law stayed in Palos Verdes with friends for a few days. I flew in on Friday. This was my first time flying into Long Beach airport and it was great. It’s a small airport. I exited the plane and used steps down to the tarmac, walked through the terminal to a covered outdoor baggage claim turnstile, and then called my wife. To my surprise, I could see her sitting in the car about a 100 feet away on the street! I grabbed my bag and rolled over to the car.

 

We went to the Long Beach Marina and had dinner and beers at the Yard House. They have a great beer selection, about 100 beers on tap. We made our way to Costco and picked up some wine and then went to our friend’s home for the night. The next morning it was time to head to the ship.

 

Boarding:

We arrived at the port around 11:00, dropped the bags with a porter, and parked in the garage. We checked in at Priority and stayed in the air conditioned waiting room. We have been platinum for a couple years. Boarding was delayed as they claimed the escalator was not working in the terminal. It seemed to drag on forever, we waited for about one and a half hours. At 12:30 they allowed boarding.

 

Priority was not handled well at all. They simply said we could board and asked us to walk over to the boarding lines. The problem is that many people had crowded all the boarding areas. There was no roped off area for priority. The Carnival reps were yelling “priority only”, but there was no way to get to the front of the crowd. We finally boarded and were on the ship around 1:00.

 

Cabins:

We had two cabins, 7106 and 7108. This was a great setup for us. 7108 is the forward most balcony and it has a connecting door to 7106, an inside room. We had two bathrooms, and lots of space. One balcony was fine for the three of us, and Mom enjoyed her private room, as did we. No complaints about the rooms at all. Our service was great all week.

 

Boarding Day and Sea Day 1:

Boarding day was the norm, get on board, go to the buffet, and have a drink of the day. It tasted like cough syrup with an umbrella, but who cares! We unpacked, went to the drill, and to the dining room for dinner. Dining room food was very good, and our service was also very good.

 

Sea day was also very relaxing. We went to the gym and then had the Sea Day Brunch. Somehow the morning turned to afternoon and I sat on the balcony with my DW and DMIL and cracked a bottle of wine. They did their nails while I drank wine and watched the ocean. The weather was calm, clear and perfect. We went to dinner and again the food was good and service was good.

 

Cabo:

Cabo was great! We used priority tender to the marina, and took a water taxi to the Sand Bar. We had beer and taco’s, and had fun in the water. It was HOT! The water was clear and a little too warm. It was hard to cool off. Later we took a taxi to the Monkey Business bar, rumored to have the best margarita in Cabo. They use all natural ingredients, no mix, and 100% blue agave tequila. They were great! I asked a Mariachi to sing for us. He played and sang while we drank margaritas and tasted tequila. We went to a local taco joint around the corner and then back to the ship. Went to 88 Keys production show after dinner. Not impressed, it was a little too karaoke like, and too many lasers flashing in my eyes all night.

 

Mazatlán:

Man, it was super-hot again. We got an air conditioned cab and asked to go to El Cid. He drove right by the El Cid and said the El Cid Marina has a better beach. Whatever, I just went with the flow. We arrived at the El Cid Marina. It was really nice, with a big open air lobby, and great view of the marina. No beach in site! We walked through the lobby and down to the marina. I noticed a sign pointing to the water taxi that goes to the beach. We took the water taxi and walked around a little path and there was the beach! There we lots of palapas, big ones! The nicest I have seen. One palapa provided shade for three loungers. We grabbed one and started ordering drinks. Little did we know but we had crashed the Carnival Beach Excursion and drinks were free! I tipped heavily and drank ice cold beer all day. Each Carnival excursion would come and go with limited time at the beach, but we stayed all day. Caught a cab back to the central shopping district, had some local tacos, and went back to the ship. Had one last margarita at the pier shopping area while DW and DMIL shopped. We went to dinner and again the food was good and service was good.

 

Puerto Vallarta:

Okay, did I say it was HOT! Man, was it hot. We went to the Krystal Hotel near the port, stayed in the pool all day, and then walked back along the beach to the ship. We were going to go inside, shower, change and then go to the Malecon. We made it to the bar at the port and called it quits. DW and DMIL shopped a little, I drank a couple beers. The Malecon will have to wait. We went to dinner and again the food was good and service was good. I went to the casino and lost a couple hundred bucks.

 

Sea Day 2 and 3:

Sea day on Thursday was a day of rest. Four days of hot humid weather, drinking, and Mexican tacos had caught up with me. This was a chill out day. However, DMIL had bought a bottle of pink wine, so we opened it and went to dinner. After dinner we went to the 80s show. It was much better than the 88 Keys in our opinion. Sea day 3 was the last day. No explanation needed. However, I did attend the new Platinum party, and they allowed the non-platinum spouse to attend. I also managed to win some of my money back from the casino

 

Highlights:

The ports were great. We usually do the Caribbean, but I would do Mexico again in a heartbeat. I think I would go in November to see the heat go down a little. The dining room food was very good, as was the service. Room steward was very good. Connecting rooms with two bathrooms was good. Comedy shows were good. Ship was in good shape and very nice.

 

Not so good:

Our only real complaint is the lack of variety in the buffet and brunch. It was always the same food and just not a lot of yummy flavor. We always get full, but we are not saying yum yum, I have to have more of that. Celebrity and HAL have much better food in our opinion. And the entertainment has been reduced to the lowest they can provide. There is not anything upscale or surprising on Carnival. The whole fleet is completely predictable with regard to entertainment and food.

 

With all this being said, we are booked on two more cruises with Mom, and she likes Carnival, and we like Mom so Carnival it is. We had a great time and I would recommend this ship to anyone not expecting high end services and entertainment. I suggest Carnival management consider upgrading the Carnival experience, rather than the continual downgrades.

Edited October 5, 2015 by Richjoxyz

[joeyancho]

Did you go to sea day brunch?

[Richjoxyz]

Yes, a couple times.

[joeyancho]

Was it good? We are taking this cruise in a few weeks. Have cruised this itinerary many times but never on the Miracle. Did they use the American table menu or the old menus at dinner? How much did the Krystal charge to use the facility? Did you eat there? Thanks.

Edited October 5, 2015 by joeyancho

[Richjoxyz]

They did not use the American Table menus.

 

The Krystal charged $6 Dollars per person to use the pool and facilities.

 

Food in the dining room for dinner was good, but during the brunch wasn't that great. The steak was cooked well done when asked for MR, the eggs benedict were very dry, like they had been sitting a long time.

[JLee1973]

I didn't think PV was as hot as Cabo or Mazatlan.

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[Richjoxyz]

I think you are correct. Cabo was very hot! Luckily there was an air conditioned restaurant upstairs right at the end of the pier. We went in and cooled off a little before the water taxi to the beach.

[tandemcruzr]

the eggs benedict were very dry, like they had been sitting a long time.

 

The secret to egg's benedict is to order them with "sauce on the side" -- that way, they are made fresh and don't sit under the warmer lights which dry out the eggs and the sauce. (Wife's secret.) :)

[riclop]

Thanks for your review.

[vwrestler171]

Do you know which day they did the Invicta watch sales?

[southbayer]

I know what you mean about it being hot down there... I'm going in mid November and hope it gets cool by then.:cool:

[LaFrimaire]

We'll be in these same two cabins in March 2016 with the kids. We picked it for the set up. Was there enough space in the cabin? I heard it doesn't have a couch, but chairs instead. Could you relax and lounge about? Also did you feel a lot of ship motion being that far forward.

Sounds like a good cruise overall. Hopefully the food will be upgraded with the new menu.

[uprivermama]

We'll be in these same two cabins in March 2016 with the kids. We picked it for the set up. Was there enough space in the cabin? I heard it doesn't have a couch, but chairs instead. Could you relax and lounge about? Also did you feel a lot of ship motion being that far forward.

Sounds like a good cruise overall. Hopefully the food will be upgraded with the new menu.

 

I would love an answer to this too--we just booked for summer on this itinerary and this will be my first cruise this far forward. Thanks in advance, and I enjoyed your review!

[Richjoxyz]

We'll be in these same two cabins in March 2016 with the kids. We picked it for the set up. Was there enough space in the cabin? I heard it doesn't have a couch, but chairs instead. Could you relax and lounge about? Also did you feel a lot of ship motion being that far forward.

Sounds like a good cruise overall. Hopefully the food will be upgraded with the new menu.

 

The arrangement worked out very well. The cabins are the same size as all other cabins. The couch is missing to allow for the door to open. We were able to arrange two chairs against the bathroom wall with the small table in between, and another chair next to the door opening. The door opened into the inside cabin. The result was a nice seating area for three with a table, view to the balcony and still room to walk between cabins. We used this seating more than we ever use the sofa. I was worried about not having a sofa but this was just as good, if not better. It was great having two bathrooms, privacy at night, and two living spaces by day. No complaints.

 

Yes, I did feel a little more motion. I just learned to accept it. I prefer the relative calm of the lower deck mid ship cabins.

Edited November 7, 2015 by Richjoxyz

[CatieM80]

Hi Rich,

 

How did you like the new platinum party? How is it different from the past parties where all returning guests were invited?

 

Thanks for the review!

[SadieN]

We've done the Platinum/Diamond party twice on the Miracle.

Held in the afternoon in Mad Hatters the last sea day. The lounge was full the first time (it was a casino cruise) and barely half full the second.

 

Bar waiters had drinks ready to go or you could order most anything. Puny pork sliders, sushi roll, shrimp quiche and a black bean thing were served.

Several contests- name the ship, name the stripe, how many candies in the bag and one other.

The winners received a small plaque and photo as did the Most Traveled guest.

The band from the Red Frog Pub was there to entertain us.

Edited November 21, 2015 by SadieN

[CatieM80]

We've done the Platinum/Diamond party twice on the Miracle.

Held in the afternoon in Mad Hatters the last sea day. The lounge was full the first time (it was a casino cruise) and barely half full the second.

 

Bar waiters had drinks ready to go or you could order most anything. Puny pork sliders, sushi roll, shrimp quiche and a black bean thing were served.

Several contests- name the ship, name the stripe, how many candies in the bag and one other.

The winners received a small plaque and photo as did the Most Traveled guest.

The band from the Red Frog Pub was there to entertain us.

 

Thanks Sadie!

 

That sounds nice! Our upcoming cruise on the Miracle in January will be our first as platinum guests, so I'm especially excited for it.