SF to Alaska - Carnival Miracle 7/25/22 to 8/4/22

[jsparents]

Greetings:

 

I wanted to do a small (we will see) review of my experiences with the above cruise.  I will not be able to compete with Saint Greg or Jamman54 (both post great reviews), but thought it would be beneficial to someone who is considering sailing out of SF. 

 

BACKGROUND:

 

This was our 4th cruise with Carnival and our 10th cruise overall.  Previous Carnival ships include Sunshine (2013), Breeze (2015), and Horizon (2021).  We have previously sailed to Alaska in 2005 so we sort of remembered what to expect.  Sailing was DW, and both my kids (13 & 15).  My kids have sailed once before,  but were newbies to Carnival.  Also joining us were some friends that we met on the Sunshine and have since sailed six times with.  

 

We live approximately 90 miles from the port and this was our first cruise that we were driving to the port.  It was cheaper for us to get two balcony rooms with $800 OBC for 10 days than to fly to Seattle and sail for 7 days.  I enjoy being on the ship so was happy to get a longer cruise for less money.  Our friends flew in from the Midwest and got to see California.  

 

This cruise like so many others was booked 2 years ago, but canceled due to COVID.  We did not attempt this cruise in 2021 due to Canada still being up in the air about their borders so we had an adults cruise on the Horizon which was awesome.  We sailed two weeks before Carnival implemented the negative test to sail order so this year it was going to be interesting.  We ordered the COVID tests from eMed in February to make sure I was prepared since I knew they would not expire in 2022.  

 

Since we had over two years to plan, we thought we had things down.  Our excursions were booked in September, 2021 since we basically rebooked them from 2019.  

 

LET'S GET READY:

 

Our friends arrived on Saturday, 7/23/22 and we planned to have a swabbing party followed by celebratory drinks.  I surely needed a drink after all the tests were done.  It took us 3 hours to complete six tests.  We had issues getting onto eMed's site to complete the tests.  The first two tests were easy, but then we were unable to connect.  As I was stressing about why I could not get on, I remembered previously reading on this great site about people having issues using the same device to take multiple tests.  We used new devices and found no issues.  So six tests using six different devices later, we were done.  Of course, all NEGATIVE.  This sure is stressful as you sit there and stare at the test to make sure there is only one pink line. 

 

CHECK IN:
 

We had a check in time of 10-10:30am.  We left for the port at 8:00am anticipating getting to the port about 9:30-9:45am.  I would drop the luggage and the rest of the family off and go park.  I parked at the location suggested by Carnival/port and it could not have been easier.  For those considering it, https://sfport.com/maritime/cruise#tab-12453-pane-2 is the parking website.  You fill out a Google Doc and they contact you for payment.  You can only book parking within 60 days of sailing.  I filled the form out exactly 60 days out and was contacted within 1 day for payment. Super easy. The parking garage is a 5 minute walk to the port on a flat surface.  It was $220 for the trip which is a decent rate for SF, or at least I thought. 

 

 

Traffic was a little thick as it was Monday, but it is always thick in the Bay area.  We arrived at 9:45ish and there was already a line to get in.  No biggie, I was there with plenty of time to spare.  The excitement built as we got closer and kept looking for the whale tale.  Finally, we saw home.

 

 

 

 

[basicprincess24]

Following along! We'll be on board the Miracle in a couple weeks for a quick cruise down to Ensenada, so I'm looking forward to hearing about your experience on the ship. 😄

[jsparents]

I would say there were about 300 people in front of us to get in.  The Terminal opened about 10:20am and it was a slow, but not too slow process.  Masks were required to enter the terminal and an employee was walking through the line telling everybody.  

 

I had used Verifly and ArriveCan and was ready to show both.  When we got up to the front of the line, we showed identification and boarding passes.  I asked if they needed to see my Verifly and they asked if I had used it and told them yes.  They did not ask to see it or any other documents.  We then went into the Terminal.  

We went through security and I asked if I had to remove by wine (had two bottles) from my backpack. I was asked how much I had, but did not have to remove it.  I was told that I would have to remove it before I boarded the ship to show employees, but never had to.  

 

After going through security, we stood in line to show more documents.  Once in line with only 5 people in front of us, I noticed that Terminal 27 is the smallest Terminal I have ever sailed out of.  I noticed they had a priority line and an area designated for suites, Platinum, and Diamonds members.  The rest of the seating area was only for about 300-350 people.  We checked in and were told to go sit down. 

 

We were in the terminal and through security in about 20 minutes.  We sat down for about 30 minutes and they called priority to board about 11:20am.  Our friends had a later check in time and after visiting the first group of employees they entered another line.  They were only in that line for 5 minutes and joined us.  

 

We had A4 boarding.  After the priority, they called A1-A4 within two minutes.  We walked up with nobody in front of us to board and were told to stop.  We did not have the correct documents.  They told us that we had to go to the second line (the ones our friends went to) to check in.  We told them that the first employee checked us in and told us to have a seat.  Either way, we went to the second line where they looked at the same documents again (no Verifly) and we were ready to go. We were on board at 11:35ish.  

[CabinBoy2020]

Thanks for your report.  I'm looking forward to hearing about the cruise.  I'm on the Miracle right after you.  If you have a chance, can you please tell me your impressions of the Alchemy Bar?  Thanks and have a great cruise! 

[jsparents]

So as you can see above, this is not my first cruise.  We have a routine. Once on board, straight to Red Frog for a drink.  Then muster and then a refill followed by lunch.  We entered and were immediately directed to go to muster.  We bypassed this and stared towards Red Frog.  Our friends who had boarding group C4 boarded only 5 minutes after us and went straight to muster.  We bypassed Red Frog and went to muster which was two minutes and super easy.  After that, we started towards Red Frog.

 

This is the first Carnival cruise that we did not have Cheers.  I thought was since the kids were with us that we should act like semi-responsible adults.  When we entered the Red Frog, there was nobody there and I noticed that Happy Hour started at 12.  It was 11:55am so I said I'll wait a few minutes.  There was only one bartender and she said she was a helper, but could still make us our drinks.  

 

At 12:00, we ordered our drinks.  Now you must understand that we know our Red Frog drinks.  We drink them every cruise and even attempt them at home (not as good).  I watched as the bartender grabbed gin and vodka for my drink.  I was in disbelief as I was in a rum bar so what should be in my drink but rum.  I then watched her grab Blue Curacao and add it.  I finally had to say something and she stopped what she was doing.  I told her my drink did not have those ingredients.  She then started making DW'S drink which again was not the correct ingredients.  She poured the drink and it was the wrong color and DW pointed it out.  She started to argue that it was correct when the usual bartender arrived.  She confirmed the ingredients with him and gave DW the drink.  She remade my drink which was still the wrong shade of color.  Our friends ordered their drinks which were also the wrong shade.  We took our drinks which were not tasty and started to the Lido deck. 

 

Once at the Lido deck, we decided the drinks were not tolerable and went to Red Frog Bar and had them remade which were perfect and tasty.  We were now on vacation.  A Guys Burger later and we were relaxed.  

 

The sad thing is that we normally spend a lot of time at the Red Frog Pub during the cruise, but the drink was so bad we never went back. 

 

Below are a few photos from the upper decks.

 

 

[jsparents]

SAIL AWAY:

 

We left on time, 4:00pm.  This was my first sail away where we would go under a bridge.  I knew where to be and was on Deck 9 - Lido forward.  Our friends wanted to be in the aft to see the bridge with a wake.  I have to say, it was awesome.

 

It seemed as we got closer to the bridge, everybody came to where we were. I couldn't blame them, but my plan was to book it to the aft for photos, but it was too crowded and people were slow moving.

 

 

[jsparents]

CABIN:

 

Cabins were ready about 1:30pm, but we cheated and walked in about 1:10pm.  We were towards the aft, Cabin 7311 and 7317.  Our friends were 4 cabins down, 7333.  I don't have photos of the cabins as you can find them on the internet and I forgot take any.  

 

About our cabins, perfectly fine and Francis our stateroom attendant was awesome.  This ship is 18 years old and does not have the fancy engines, Azipods, thrusters etc. as the new ships.  I knew this going in which was fine.  There was a constant noticeable motion on this cruise though no matter what the condition on the sea.  It was more noticeable northbound going into the wind.  I was never sick, but just felt the ship rock more than any other cruise I have been on. This is something to consider if sensitive to motion.  Another thing, we sailed in a lot of fog.  Due to this, the ships horn would blast every two minutes.  I could hear it while in my stateroom and wondered how loud it was towards the front/mid of the ship.  

 

SHIP:

 

The ship felt crowded when we boarded, but never again.  Lines were existent if you were at the buffet when it opened, maybe 20 people deep.  If you waited ten minutes, there were only three people in front of you.  The omelet stations were slow even though they only had two -three people in line. I found they would only cook one omelet at a time even though then had three burners.  The wait was tolerable though.

 

The ship was clean and smelled clean when we boarded.  The ship is scheduled for dry dock in a few weeks, but I felt was still in good condition.  I never found anything that made me gasp about the condition.  Staff was always cleaning or painting. 

 

DAY 2 & 3 - Sea Days

 

After leaving SF with beautiful weather and whales in the channel, we awoke to fog and cooler temperatures.  Like I said above, we were rocking.  I expected cooler weather so it was not like it was a disappointment.  We hung out and participated in a few activities on the ship. One of the new ones was called Carnival Caper which was like playing the game CLUE.  This activity lasted the whole cruise and was a family fun activity.  We also participated in the Gold Rush which was like a scavenger hunt for gold nuggets. These activities were something to do and fun.

 

During the cruise we attended comedy shows by all four comics, four shows from the Playlist cast, and played trivia and bingo. I would say the comedians were okay.  Because we had the kids, we went to the PG shows. Two of the comedians seemed to struggle to keep the show PG.  It was painful.  While all were funny, it was felt the two struggled for material.  

 

The Playlist productions we saw were 88 Keys, Heart & Soul, Getaway Island, and 80's Pop.  I would say 88 Keys was the best, but have to say I could do without all the dancing.  It seems IMHO that the dancers were trying too hard.  I don't see anything wrong with allowing a singer or two singers just sing with no dancing.  I also felt the music was louder than the mics for the singers which drowned them out.

 

The other performers that performed almost every night consisted of three violinist,  two other groups that were made up of one male/one female, and another band that played at Red Frog that we never saw.  All groups were great and we really enjoyed them. 

 

[Joe817]

Loving your review so far! Good job & thanks! 👍

[jsparents]

13 hours ago, CabinBoy2020 said:

Thanks for your report.  I'm looking forward to hearing about the cruise.  I'm on the Miracle right after you.  If you have a chance, can you please tell me your impressions of the Alchemy Bar?  Thanks and have a great cruise! 

Alchemy Bar was really good size and the bar tenders were great.  Plenty of different types of seating to listen to live music at night.  The thing I did not like was its location.  It was located Deck 2 aft.  People going to the dining room had to "walk through" the Alchemy Bar.  If you were sitting at the bar, no problem.  But if you were sitting elsewhere and were watching the band play, people kept walking in front of you.  Even after the dinner rush, people are constantly walking between you and the band.  

[jsparents]

ICY STRAIGHT POINT:

 

We were scheduled to port from 2-11PM.  We pulled into port early.  The weather was foggy upon arrival.

We had scheduled a Whale Watching with Glacier Wind Charters, https://www.g-wind.com/.  I found this tour company after reading reviews on Cruise Critic and from watching YouTube reviews from ParoDeeJay, 

 

 

 

The above video is from their most recent visit, but the one I watched was older.  They must have liked them so much that they used them again.

 

When we schedule our tours, we usually do not like to book through the Cruise Line.  This is because we like small tours and usually can save a little bit of money.  This company has small tours with only two boats.  One boat holds six people and the other holds thirteen.  Both boats are the same design, just different in size.  The company is family run with Captain Shawn and his son, Captain Casey.  Captain Shawn's wife, Teresa is the one that picks you up at the port.  We were able to book a tour for just the six of us.  The boat had plenty of room for us to roam around on.  Captain Shawn was very friendly and did his best to find whales.  We saw plenty of whales and wild life just no bears.  I would highly recommend this tour if looking for a whale watching tour at this port.

 

Finding Teresa was super easy and a two minute walk.  When we exited the ship, there was a partially covered walkway that leads to the Adventure Center.  We were told to exit through Door 2 and follow the signs to the Excursion Hub.  After exiting the building, it was only a two minute walk to the Excursion Hub.  There was covered areas to wait.

 

Before we got to the Adventure Center, we spotted our first Bald Eagle in the trees.

 

[jsparents]

Teresa arrived approximately 10 minutes before our scheduled pick up.  The drive from the Excursion Hub to the dock was 5 minutes.

 

 

Before we left the property, we found more wildlife.

 

When we arrived the dock, Captain Shaun was waiting for us.

 

 

We got on board and after a safety briefing, we were off. It was about a 30 minute ride out to the spot Captain Shaun wanted to take us.  There were only three other boats in the area.  It did not take long before we found what we were looking for.

 

 

 

 

[txcruiser1234]

Especially love that last pic with the streams of water coming off the tail! Awesome.

[jsparents]

This was our scenery for about two more hours along with sea lions and otters. Even though it rained the whole time, it was well worth it in my opinion.  Teresa was waiting when we arrived at the dock and drove us around Hoonah so we could see the town.  

 

When we got back to the port, we decided to ride the gondola for the scenery.  The gondola was closing in 15 minutes, but it is only an 8 minute round trip so they let us on.  It was a nice, relaxing ride.  

 

We took some photos and were back on the ship about 8:00pm.  

[jsparents]

JUNEAU:

 

The next day rolled into Juneau.  We were very nervous because we had a helicopter tour scheduled for 10:30am and the amount of fog we saw the day before would mean no flying.  We woke up as we were almost to Juneau and boy we were not happy. It was very foggy. 

 

 

 

We got ready as we had not received any confirmation of our excursion being canceled.  We went to breakfast and at 9:00am, we received the call that our excursion was canceled.  They told me that it had been a tough July and they had not flown for the last three days.  

 

Now we were panicking about what to do.  This excursion was a helicopter ride up to the glacier and then dog sledding.  We did the same tour in 2005 and wanted the kids to experience it.  One of my children loves dogs so all that matter was seeing animals.  We were booked it down to the excursion desk after the phone call and thank goodness someone was there.  We were able to book a Summer Dog Camp.  It was not what we wanted, but it conquered one of our goals. 

 

Like I said before, we normally don't book excursions through the ship, but we were in a bind.  It worked out perfectly as there were only six of us on the tour.

 

 

 

The drive was about 20 minutes to the camp.  5 minutes on paved road, and 15 minutes on a dirt road.  The scenery was awesome.

 

 

When we arrived, the dogs started going crazy.  All these dogs want to do is run.  This camp had 190 dogs from 4 different mushers.  We learned about the history of the dogs and the Iditarod.  When it was time for a ride, the dogs were going crazy.  Below is the cart that the dogs pull.  It weighs about 500 pounds empty.  The dogs had no issues pulling a full cart.

 

[jsparents]

We were off.

 

The ride was about 20-30 minutes.  After the ride, it was puppy time:

 

 

They had three puppies that were three months old that got plenty of attention from my kids.  There was another liter that was only two weeks old, but we did not get to hold them.  We were able to stick our fingers through the fence and pet them.

 

 

The tour was about 3 hours which was not enough time for my kids to play with the dogs.  I was thankful that we were able to do something.  

 

[jsparents]

Here is a closer photo of the waterfall and snow/ice block.  This photo gives a better idea of how thick it is.

 

 

 

 

After getting back into town we walked around and then had an adult beverage and some small snacks at the Red Dog.

 

After some fun, we walked around and then headed to Tracy's for some legs.  Yum.

 

 

 

When we pulled into port, it was the Disney Wonder and us.  Holland America arrived later.  So by my estimation, approximately 7500 people give or take in the port.  As we arrived back in town from the dog excursion, Odyssey of the Seas was pulling into port.  Once docked, the city sure did shrink in size.  There were people everywhere. I was glad that we pulled into port so early and were able to get things done early.

 

The line at Tracy's took about 30 minutes.  Below is a photo from on the ship.  When we were in line, the line was back to the brown building in the lower right of the photos, probably 50-75 people deep.  The line did move and we found a table with no problem.  The King Crab was awesome.  I know that it is not King Crab season and was previously frozen, but when in Rome.

 

[jsparents]

The weather cleared up a little bit in the afternoon.  I could see planes and some helicopters flying, but there was still a low ceiling. I think it was about 5:00pm when the below photo was taken.

 

 

 

It was nice that the rain or low clouds had stopped.  We sat on our balcony and enjoyed the scenery and wildlife.

 

 

We heard from several people that had gone whale watching in Juneau and they said it was awesome.  I was told they saw lots of whales to include Orca.  I obtained a video for a full breach by a whale.  I am not sure if the video was from Juneau or Icy Point Straight. If I can figure out how to upload a video, I will post it.

 

  

 

 

 

 

[jsparents]

SKAGWAY:

 

As I said earlier, this cruise had previously been booked in 2020 and we rebooked all the same tours.  I paid a deposit for a 7 hour tour in Skagway that would have crossed into Canada and was ready to make my final payment the first week of June.  I sent an email asking how to make the final payment with no response.  I called/texted the owner with no response.  I attempted contact via Facebook and finally got a response two weeks later.  I was told they were not doing any tours in 2022 and they were sorry that they forgot to inform me.  I was not happy, but got my money refunded. 

 

I rushed to find another tour and found a sightseeing tour that went into Canada through https://www.skagwayprivatetours.com/.  I saw that they had a limo van and contacted the company.  I was told they were booked, but had another tour guide that had a van that held six.  We booked it, even though it was only a four hour tour.  Our tour was supposed to be from 7:30 to 11:30am.

 

We found out that we would dock, but have to tender to shore due to the rock slide.  The rock slide occurred in June and I was not happy that Carnival waited to inform us of this the day before.  The first tender for non-Carnival excursions would be at 8:00am.  I reached out to the tour company and they said it was no big deal, what a relief.  

 

We pulled into Skagway and guess what, fog.

 

 

We were on the first tender after the Carnival excursions.  We were on shore at about 8:10am.  We found out tour guide Lenny and we were off.  We had a short tour of town and they headed for the Yukon with several stops along the way for photos.  The tour was four hours and just the right amount of time.

 

 

As we entered the Yukon, two things changed:  the weather and time zone

 

 

 

And once we returned to Alaska the weather welcomed us.

 

[cruisingguy007]

We are on this ship in a few weeks to Ensenada and were wondering about unlisted food options. I saw some pictures of a small seafood shack type place and another eatery near lido marketplace. Are there some additional eateries, besides the lido buffet, that are not listed on the Carnival main page? Thanks. 

[cruisingguy007]

One more quick question, did they have the embarkation discount at the Red Frog Pub? 

[jsparents]

Lenny recommended eating lunch at Skagway Brewing Co and said the onion rings were the best he ever had.  We had a variety at lunch from a reindeer dog, hamburger, and fish and chips.  All were excellent and the onion rings were some of the best if not the best I have ever had.  We wondered around town after eating and then walked back to the ship.  The walk was 10 min or so on a level ground.

 

We got to the dock as the train was letting people off.  We got on a tender at just the right time. 

[jsparents]

3 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

One more quick question, did they have the embarkation discount at the Red Frog Pub? 

To both your questions.  Red Frog discount given and they had Happy Hour everyday from 12-2.  Unfortunately, we did not go back after the first day.

 

On the Lido is Bonsai Sushi and a Seafood place.  Both are upgrades.  My friend got sushi and said it was good.  I don't eat sushi so I can't comment.

 

The Seafood place had crab and shrimp along with Clam Chowder Bread Bowls. 

[cruisingguy007]

15 minutes ago, jsparents said:

To both your questions.  Red Frog discount given and they had Happy Hour everyday from 12-2.  Unfortunately, we did not go back after the first day.

 

On the Lido is Bonsai Sushi and a Seafood place.  Both are upgrades.  My friend got sushi and said it was good.  I don't eat sushi so I can't comment.

 

The Seafood place had crab and shrimp along with Clam Chowder Bread Bowls. 

 

Thank you so much, enjoying your review/photos! 

[jsparents]

TRACY ARM:

 

We had booked the Tracy Arm Glacier Explorer excursion through Carnival to get off the ship to get closer to the glacier.  If you are not familiar with this, the excursion can be found under the embarkation port excursion options, https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions/san-francisco/tracy-arm-fjord--glacier-explorer-117021.  Ours was located under the excursions for San Francisco (1st day).  If sailing out of Seattle, it's the same way - https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions?q=:featured:port:Seattle%2C+WA&sort=featured&page=0.  I knew this excursion usually sold out so we booked this excursion the same day I booked the cruise.  If you are considering this excursion, don't considerate it.  Just book it, as you will not be disappointed.  Here is why:

 

1.  This is the only excursion offered in Tracy Arm

2.  The boat gets WAY closer than the ship will

3.  As stated in 2, there is still no guarantee the cruise ship will sail into the fjord

4.  You get a real sense of just how big the glacier is 

 

The Captain of our excursion boat said he was surprised at how far up the fjord the ship came, but said it was still approximately 1 mile away. He even said there was talk of the ship not coming into the fjord due to the weather.  We were also told by the Naturalist on board the ship, that even though our itinerary was for Tracy Arm, there was a possibility that we would sail into Endicott instead if the ice was bad.  We were fortunate enough that we sailed into Tracy Arm.

 

There are two sailings, one at 7:30 and one at 10:30 (times might be a little off).  We had the earlier excursion.  Not sure which is better.  The weather was foggy and then cleared up and then was foggy again.  Not sure what the weather was like for the second tour.  I will say, there is a huge temperature difference from the ship deck to the excursion ship deck.  As you get closer to the glacier, you can feel it.  Plus it was raining for us which was not the best, but added to the nature. 

 

We sailed into the south glacier first and then the north.  It was about a 30 minute ride to get to the glacier.  There is a huge, visible difference in size between the two.  We saw calving at both.  You are so close that you can hear the ice cracking.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jsparents]

First Glance

 

2nd Boat went to the north glacier first.

 

 

 

 

We moved to the north glacier. With the boat in the photo, you get an idea of the size of it.