Miracle 8/10

[dbrucern]

Just returned late last night from Seattle, overall it was a wonderful cruise and everyone of the Carnival employees were smiling, welcoming us back and would do anything to help.  Service was a little off in the dining room and Steakhouse but we attributed this to a lot of new employees still working on their groove. They always were apologetic and smiling.  Weather was definitely different from when we went two years ago the same week which was in the 72 - 80 degree weather range. Skagway was wet, cold and very windy (45knots) which prompted cancelations of excursions.  The sun came out in Juneau and Ketchikan and were very nice days.  I can highly recommend Discover Alaska Whales, small ship that only takes 20guests.  Great narration and the whales did not disappoint, it was like they knew it was show time and just amazing, one came up and jumped out of the ocean right beside our boat and created us with a welcoming bath.  Just amazing (this is run by Gastineau Adventures).  Our only disappointment was we did not receive the $100 OBC for not cancelling our cruise even though I had the paperwork in hand.  Guest Services faxed to corporate and we received notification that it would not be honored.

[JaniceB]

Thanks for your report

[gaunerdog]

Thanks for the info.  We are supposed to leave on the August 24 sailing.  Can't wait.

 

[woodey]

I am on the Miracle right now and having a great time...

and Yes to the new staff everyone is friendly but unsure of what they can and cant do ...i have heard alot of let me ask my supervisor..but overall a very good cruise so far

[nwcruiselover]

It’s good to hear the good reports from the 8/10 and 8/17 cruises.  I’ll be on the 8/24 departure next week and am sure looking forward to it!

Edited August 19, 2021 by nwcruiselover

[Elaine5715]

I was also on the 8/10 sailing.  They were NOT enforcing arrival appointments.  My group had 10:30 am and many folks ahead of us had much later appointments so embarkation was a mess.

The town folks at all port stops were very appreciative of cruising dollars returning.  It was a pretty great cruise

 

[nwcruiselover]

1 hour ago, Elaine5715 said:

I was also on the 8/10 sailing.  They were NOT enforcing arrival appointments.  My group had 10:30 am and many folks ahead of us had much later appointments so embarkation was a mess.

The town folks at all port stops were very appreciative of cruising dollars returning.  It was a pretty great cruise

 

Sorry to hear about the embarkation mess.  Glad you had a great cruise though.

[dbrucern]

11 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

I was also on the 8/10 sailing.  They were NOT enforcing arrival appointments.  My group had 10:30 am and many folks ahead of us had much later appointments so embarkation was a mess.

The town folks at all port stops were very appreciative of cruising dollars returning.  It was a pretty great cruise

 

True no one ever asked to see our arrival appointment time our group was also scheduled for 10:30 but the line went quickly and we could walk straight on. We were on the ship by 11:15.

Edited August 19, 2021 by dbrucern

[DEL67]

I was also on the 8/10 sailing.  True, the weather wasn't great, but none of the days was a complete washout.

 

The staff varied from experienced to obviously new, but all were friendly and helpful.  The ship was clean and comfortable.  The food varied, but for me was in general a bit bland.  I thought that the shows were good, especially the first, 88 Keys.

 

We did not pre- book anything for Skagway and the first tour companies we stopped at did not have anything of interest to us because I did not have a passport (its being renewed.)  However while we were shopping we found another company at the Alaskan Fairytales store on Broadway that said I could use my birth certificate and photo id for the Summit tour.  The tour was a great photo opportunity and our driver/guide provided a lot of interesting information about Skagway, the gold rush and the area in general.  In addition, we got lucky because the sun came out so the visibility was much better than on the earlier tours.  

 

We had booked a ship float trip in Juneau,  However it was cancelled at the last minute so onshore we found a whale watching tour with Juneau Tours which was great.  We saw quite a few whales, the staff was friendly and knowledgeable and the boat was clean and comfortable and less than 50% full.

 

For us, the highlight was a kayak tour that we booked online with Ketchikan Kayaks several months ago.   We not only got to go kayaking, but also saw a sea lion, harbor seals and bald eagles and learned about the local marine life from our guides.