Rock712

April 12th on the Splendor.

Ok , here's my .02 worth of opinion. First , as a long time Disney fan and annual passholder with several trips a year , I had the same objections when they came out with the wristbands. Now , after about a year in having one , I absolutely love the convenience. No digging for cards or keys. I think this would be especially nice when on a warm weather cruise and pockets might be at a minimum. As many have pointed out , they are not welded to your wrist , they are easily removable for whenever you don't feel like wearing.

as far as being worried about screaming tourist when in a port , I'm pretty sure that the locals , especially the criminal element , are going to be able to distinguish between the locals and the hordes of tourists descending from the ships at dock. Hmmm ... lets see , it's a pasty looking family covered in suntan lotion , carrying bags / and or backpacks , taking pictures of everything , but hey , I don't see one of those tell tale wristbands , so they must be locals.

I'm sure that years ago , when the ships stopped handing out keys and started handing people S&S cards that everyone was up in arms. No way , not going to carry around a piece of plastic with all my info on it that anyone can steal.

We sailed this past June and used the Luggage Express Option. Put your luggage outside the door the last night of cruise and you don't see it again until your destination airport. We were off the ship and on the Carnival bus within 45 minutes of docking and was sitting at the airport at 09:30 for our scheduled 12;30 flight. The day we flew there was no issue with long lines at security , but looks like that might have been the exception and not the norm.

Just booked a cabana for our 04/12 sailing on the Splendor. Cost is $229.00 for the entire day. You can book online , and that reserves you one of the 15 cabanas. When you get aboard , you go to the excursion desk and it's first come / first serve on picking the actual cabana you will have. They're all in a row , with # 1 being the closest to all the facilities and 15 the farthest , but definitely more quiet and away from the crowds. On our last trip to HMC we had # 9 , and thought it was a perfect location. Far enough away from the crowds , but close to bathroom facilities and an easy walk to everything else.

Hopefully can get some help on a question I have. We have a cruise booked for May. Have already paid the deposit of course , but have not paid the balance. There is a chance we may have to change our plans. According to Carnival website there will be a penalty of $700.00 at this point if we cancel. If I decide to change , is that money gone , or can I just apply it to another cruise. We wont be cancelling to get our money back , just cancelling that particular cruise and then booking another one in it's place.

Would like to use the Luggage Express on our upcoming November cruise on Magic. Does this work with Southwest airlines?

We just used Luggage Express in Seattle for our Miracle cruise , flew Southwest , and it worked like a charm. Great service , made things a breeze at the airport

We purchased the soda cards last month on the Miracle and if you hand the bartender your tumbler they will fill it.

If you haven't made a firm decision yet , I give the Hampton Inn Downtown a big thumbs up. We stayed there pre-cruise a month ago for three nights and it is a wonderful location. Very nice neighborhood with several restaurants witihin walking distance. The Space Needle and additional attractions around Space Needle is an easy 5-10 minute walk. At the Space Needle you can catch a 5 minute monorail ride into the heart of the downtown area , and from the station it's a 5-10 minute walk to Pikes market and the waterfront.

The hotel itself is very nice and the staff was great. We had a standard room and it was very spacious , modern , and clean.

I love to plan trips. In heaven right now , planning three different trips. In the fall we're going to the mountains , right after Thanksgiving heading to Disneyworld for our annual Disney Christmas trip , and then returning to Alaska next May on the Legend. My wife laughs at me because she's total opposite. She would just throw a couple things in the suitcase the day before and say " lets go and wing it "

Really enjoying your review , thanks for taking the time to post. We were on the 06/25 sailing and I agree with a lot of your points. We also had an ocean suite midship on deck six , loved the suite , big difference for us was that our cabin steward , Roy , was excellent. One of the best we've had so far. I also agree with your points on the buffet , especially times everything open. Also , on our cruise trying to find a table , especially for breakfast and lunch was a madhouse. People just circling with their trays waiting for a table. We also did the small boat in Tracy Arm and loved it.

Thanks again for the review , especially the pictures. Bringing back a lot of great memories

Great report. We were on the 06/25 sailing and like you had a wonderful time. We also had Dick and Anita Little front and center in our Welcome Aboard show and I wondered why John does it every week , but after thinking about it he's like any other entertainer , if it's funny , keep doing it. If you didn't know any better and bought into it , it was very funny. It is a nice touch to give them sail and sign cards with those names. One thing that does give it away though is that usually the people picked to go on stage for the Welcome aboard show become " stars " for the rest of the cruise and you end up running into them once or twice during the week. After that first night , we never saw Dick or Anita again.

Glad you and your family had a great time. We're going back next year on the Legend.

We've been to AK twice now , our first trip was on Princess with a landtour , and our recently completed cruise was on Carnival. Honestly , we had a great time on both Having said that I might give Princess the slight edge due to itinerary. Granted , this year Carnival did the shortened itinerary due to ship issues , but doing the landtour and then one way sailing thru the inside passage on Princess was spectacular versus the two " sea days" on Carnival.

But again , it's a very slight edge. As a matter of fact we are considering going again on Carnival next year on their first sailing in May which is an 8 day that includes more of the inside passage and both Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm.

Also , remember , no matter who you choose , a lot of your experience is going to depend on the weather , no matter which line you choose. On our cruise last month we were blessed with fantastic weather at every port. Clear & sunny days , not a drop of rain. So we had a great time with Carnival.

Pre-cruise , on a tour in Seattle , we talked with some folks that had just returned from a Princess cruise , and they had terrible weather , cold and rainy the whole time , and they were not happy with Princess.

So , in the end , I agree with most people in that Carnival might not be the "best" option , but if you take everything into account like possible cheaper flights into and out of Seattle , can you handle Tue-Tue- itinerary , Platinum perks , Carnival's better price , etc. , etc. they are in my opinion not in any way shape or form a " bad" option.

One last thing , here's another vote for Victoria. We had a great time there. We did a tour of the city and Butchart Gardens and we really enjoyed it. having seen it , would have been sorry if we had just stayed on the ship.

Did you book Tracy Arm while on the ship or via e-mail? Did you get your tickets the same time as your other excursion tickets?

How did you get from the ship to the airport?

I booked the Tracy Arm excursion on line. You send them an e-mail and they send you an e-mail back confirming. It will not show up on your Planned excursion list on Carnival.com. We received our tickets along with all other excursions tickets in room first night of cruise.

We used a Carnival Transfer to get from ship to airport. Very easy. As soon as you walk out of door from clearing customs , the buses are lined up just a very short walk. Plenty of Carnival agents to direct you to correct bus. Bus will then drop you at correct airline doors at airport.

One thing I also left out of my original report was Luggage Express. This is a service Carnival now provides so that if you're flying out same day as cruise end , for a $20.00/pp fee Carnival will give you luggage tags and boarding passes. You put your tags on luggage and set outside door last night of cruise and you don't touch it again until you arrive final destination. also , you have your boarding passes , so when you get to airport you go straight to security and your departure gate , no other check-in required. WE did it and worked perfect. Loved not having to deal with the luggage at the airport or check-in

Thanks .. we have the 11 am booked ...

was it easy getting on and off ... for someome who is 75 ?

On our excursion it was very easy , just like taking a normal step. In addition , there were a several crewman standing right there to steady you as you stepped from the ship onto the excursion boat. I noticed they were holding everyone's arms as they went across , male and female , young and old.

We just came off a week on the Miracle , and it was a total mix of people , young and old ,many , many multi-generational families. It definitely was not the same " party " atmosphere you have on the Caribbean sailings , but I thought there was plenty to do for all ages every day. There was a good mix of nature talks , bingo , trivia , art auctions , productions shows ,karaoke , etc. etc. There were definitely more daily activities then when we sailed Princess on our first AK cruise.

Hey everyone,

 

I'm going on the Alaskan cruise with Royal Caribbean July 18th, 2014 and I need help deciding which excursion to take in Skagway, Alaska.

 

I'm conflicted between the Laughton Glacier Wilderness Hike and White Pass Railway (SK60) and the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari (SK 22). Has anyone been on either one of these excursions who could help me decide which would be the best one?

 

I'm more or less in physical shape so the SK60 hike doesn't seem to intimidating for me and I think it would be fun to hike through the Alaskan wilderness up to the Laughton Glacier. However, the SK 22 consists of a boat ride and canoe ride where its possible to see marine life. I'm already going on a whale watching tour (in Juneau) so I won't be missing on the whales if I don't do the SK 22.

 

Also, does anyone know how often a restroom will be available for either one of these tours?

 

Thank you,

 

-NolenTheNole 2015

If Royal uses the same vendor In Skagway as Carnival , and I'm pretty sure they do , it's an outfit called Packer Expeditions , and they were fantastic on our hike a couple of weeks ago. We did the Whitepass Rail and Glacier exploration hike , and our guides on the hike could not have been more informative and helpful. It is a beautiful hike to the glacier with some fantastic scenery and photo ops along the way.

As far as the restrooms , there is a restroom aboard the rail cars , there is a restroom at the border crossing area , and then once you actually start the hike Packer has built a very clean and well maintained bathroom about 1-1.5 hours into the hike , maybe a little past the halfway point , right before you make the final climb to the ice-field

Here's my review of the Miracle

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2066155

We were just there on the Miracle 06/24 - 07/01. We were in Tracy Arm on the 26th , Skagway on the 27th , Juneau on the 28th , and we had beautiful weather and sunshine 2 of those days , and in Juneau it was cloudy , but nice the whole day. The locals and guides at every stop were amazed by the weather at every stop. Pre-cruise , we were in Seattle and met some people on a tour that had just finished their week in AK , and they said it poured at every port they were in. So , I really think you have to be prepared for both and then it's just luck of the draw

bob - yes , absolutely on the Tracy Arm Excursion. It just gives you so much better of a perspective and view of things while in Tracy Arm. The Miracle is limited due to size and amount of ice in water. On the day we were there the boat we were on for the excursion went right up to the face of the glacier. The closest the Miracle made it was 3 miles away. Also , the smaller boat will pull right up to the shoreline on either side to view wildlife and scenery. In a couple of cases we pulled right up to the base of waterfalls. I found the smaller boat to be very comfortable. There are a ton of seats inside w/ large windows for viewing , or plenty of room on the outside decks to move around and take pictures. I really think doing it gives you the best of both worlds. We entered Tracy Arm At 11:00am , with a scheduled departure of 6;00pm. We got on the Explorer right at 11;00 and were back on the ship at 2:30 , so we were able to enjoy Tracy Arm from both perspectives

Well , we've run through the whole trip. Debarkation was just as good as embarkation. We walked out of our room at 07:40 , and at exactly 08:00 we were on the transfer bus leaving for the airport

Here are some final totally random thoughts that came to me as I was looking back through some pictures and notes.

Thanks for sticking with me and reading through everything. it's been my first attempt at a trip report and I tried to make it as interesting as possible. it's actually been fun to re-visit a lot of the experiences we had through the week and I hoped you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it

So , in conclusion , and in no real order .......

ITINERARY - Much has been made and written so far about the Miracle's change of itinerary this season. For us personally , missing those 5-6 hours in Ketchikan did not make a difference at all. The extra time in Juneau and Victoria was nice and we took advantage of the extra time in both ports. The one thing we did miss this cruise versus our first cruise to Alaska was cruising the Inside Passage. Carnival's itinerary which includes two sea days versus cruising on the Inside Passage definitely less scenic. The had plenty of activities to keep you busy on those sea days , but the scenery would have been nice

SERVICE/CREW - We found the crew in general to be great during our week on the ship. Our cabin steward , Roy , was fantastic. Any crew member we encountered was always friendly , smiling and helpful. No complaints at all about the crew.

HAMPTON INN - DOWNTOWN SEATTLE - If your looking for a reasonable price hotel in a good location for pre or post cruise , this is a great choice. Central to everything a very friendly and helpful front desk staff

UNITED LIMO - SEATTLE - When I checked on transportation to/from airport in Seattle , and to/from hotel to pier , I found out there is somewhere in the neighborhood of a million or so towncar services in Seattle. It's ridiculous trying to decide one over the other. Finally called hotel and asked it they had any recommendations and they hooked us up with United Limo. They turned out to be reliable , on time , responsive , and reasonable price. Cheaper than a cab . Would not hesitate to use them again

That's all I've got. If your planning to cruise Alaska on the Miracle this year and you want to know something I haven't mentioned post something here and I'll be happy to answer. Hopefully you'll enjoy the experience as much as we did !!!!!!

It's time for the star of the show , which on any cruise to Alaska is going to be the ports and the beautiful scenery everywhere you look. Here's a recap of the stops we made and our excursions. One thing about this cruise was that we were blessed , I repeat , blessed, with perfect weather at every port. The only day it was even overcast was in Juneau , and that was actually perfect because we were on the water on a whale watching tour and the cloudy skies made for better pictures.

TRACY ARM FJORD - Beautiful scenery everywhere. We did the Tracy Arm Explorer excursion. A smaller boat comes right up to the ship , you get on that boat which enables you to get much closer to the shores on each side to view wildlife , waterfalls , icebergs , etc. It takes you right up to the face of the glacier. The Miracle can only go as far to the glacier as the ice will allow , which on the day we were there ended up being 3 miles . Dress warm , it can really get chilly on the decks of the ship or even just standing on your balcony.

SKAGWAY - In my opinion , if you go to Skagway , you've got to do one of the versions of the White Pass Railway. There are several different tours , some combine rail and bus , some combine rail and hiking , and some do just the rail alone. Whichever you choose , it's historic , it's scenic , it's fun. Whichever one you choose , you will still have time afterwards to explore the town of Skagway , which is also great fun. Seeing as how the wife and I are on this health kick right now , we opted for the White Pass Rail and Glacier Exploration Hike. Or , as I like to refer to it , The Wilderness March of Death. Actually , it was a lot of fun due to the guides we had, Carnival contracts with a company called Packer Expeditions to lead the hike and their guides were fantastic. They have several guides for each tour , and pretty soon after the hike begins they determine who is fast , who is medium , and the slower hikers , and the guides split up and split the groups up so everyone is hiking at a pace comfortable for them. After riding the train for approx. 1.5 hours up into the mountains , you get off the train and hike approx. 4-5 miles to Laughton Glacier. From start to finish we climbed approx. 900 feet in elevation. The trail is well maintained , but very rocky in some places. Neither my wife or I are experienced hikers , especially in elevated situations , but we were able to move at a pace very comfortable to us The beautiful scenery along the way was well worth the effort. After hiking back down to the same point you started , you get back on the train for approx. 45 mins to 1 hour back into Skagway.

JUNEAU - In Juneau we did the Whale Watching and Rainforest Trail Excursion. Started off with bus ride to Mendenhall Glacier area and a 1 hours hike on a very well maintained trail , basically flat the whole way , through the surrounding forest and ending right at the lake fronting Mendenhall Glacier. Many opportunities for some great photo's. After Mendenhall your back on the bus for a short ride to the harbor where we boarded a small , 16 person boat for whale watching. Here is where the magic started for our group. Anytime you go out on a wildlife tour , especially one like this where the wildlife you're looking for is under water , it can be hit or miss. We left the dock and did see a couple of humpback whales within the first half hour or so , but then the capt of the boat got a report that Orca's had been sighted farther up the bay , so off we went. On the way we came across some doll porpoises , which look like little miniature orca's , that ran along side the boat for 15-20 mins , jumping in and out of the water. it was fantastic. When we got to the area of the Orca sightings , we didn't see anything for about 10 minutes , and then the magic happened. One minute nothing , and the next minute we were surrounded. They were all over the place. We spent the next hour drifting along and moving with them as they swam through the bay. I was in the open bow of the boat along with another woman and her young son. At one point a group of 4 whales started swimming right towards the boat. They dove under the water and then one surfaced 1-2 feet right in front of us. I could have literally reached over and touched it. I had the presence of mind to fire off some pictures of this huge creature right there within arms reach. The other three dove right under the bow and surfaced together right on the other side. Everyone , including the capt was speechless. She claimed that in all of her years doing this she never had one whale , much less four.approach the boat like that. I can honestly say that in my 54 years that one hour , standing outside in the little bow area of that boat , moving along with that group of whales was one of the coolest things I have ever done. Several times she completely killed the engine and we just drifted and you could hear them communicating with each other. After the tour was over we had plenty of time to explore the shops of downtown Juneau and then an easy 10 min walk back to the ship

VICTORIA , BC. - Another beautiful day of weather. Did the Butchart Gardens and Victoria Highlights Tour. Basically a bus ride around the city and then 2.5 hours at Butchart Gardens. If you like flowers , especially roses , you have died and gone to Heaven at this place. I'm not a big look at the flower kind of guy , but even I enjoyed it. Really nice relaxing way to finish up the last full day of the cruise.

Looks folks , it's a Carnival ship - you've really got too work hard to be bored. I do agree with some other reviews that it doesn't have the same event every minute pace of some Caribbean cruises , but there was still plenty to do day and night .

Here was some of the top things we experienced ....

CD John Heald - I know he gets slammed here on Cruise Critic , but we really like the guy. Sure , a lot of his stuff is trying to sell Carnival merchandise , tours , future cruises ,etc. Have you ever been to Disneyworld. Why do you think every ride end in a gift shop. They don't make money by getting you there , they make money by having you spend it once you get there. I know he does the same routines over and over. Surprise , during the Welcome Show one of the "random" people picked to go on stage was named Dick Little and his fiancé was named Anita. John laughed and acted like it was the first time it had happened. He's a comic. That's what they do. They entertain. I'm betting 90% of the people sitting in that theater had never heard the " Dick Little " routine , they thought it was for real and they had a good laugh about it. If your an entertainer , mission accomplished.

Production Shows - Saw two shows , and they were both very good. One show was standard song and dance , one show a tribute to the Beatles. Enjoyed both

Punchliner Comedy Club - Saw the same comedian two nights in a row - Al Ernst. The guy was hilarious. Did a different show both nights. Very , very entertaining. His adult show was definitely not for the kids , but also was not hardcore or offensive

Bingo - I know they say it's like throwing money away , but on the $1000.00 bingo my wife and I both were 1 number away. Didn't win , but could have. Kept us entertained

Casino - usually not much of a Casino person. The one on the Miracle seems smaller than others , but hey , spent about 2 hours there when wife was in the spa , and walked out $400.00 ahead , so no complaints here.

Speaking of the Spa , wife tried the Spa on two different occasions for the first time this cruise and she loved it. She said the service was great. she did the whole manicure and hair thing the first day and then on the second sea day went in for the whole Earl Scheib fender to fender makeover and massage.

There's a ton of stuff I'm leaving out , trivia games , miniature golf , yoga, karaoke , art auctions , etc. , etc. Like I said , entertainment and activities not an issue on this ship. There seemed to be something going on all the time for all ages

NEXT UP - DOES THIS SHIP GO ANYWHERE ??

Ok , so we're on a cruise which is basically a 24 hr eat-athon , so lets talk about the food. One disclaimer when I talk about food. My wife is a foodie , Wants to know about all the ingredients , how it's prepared , etc. etc. As for me , I have 2 requirements. 1 No longer moving , 2. Cooked. Meet those two requirements and I'm good.

So let's talk about our food experience on the Miracle.

The Steakhouse - run , don't walk , but run to do this. The meal was fantastic. Best $35.00 value out there. Great selection , fantastic service. Everything your looking for in a good meal.

Chef's Table - Did this as a birthday present for my foodie wife. She will say it was the best experience on board. My thoughts were hoping that the Lido was still open to grab a sandwich afterwards. Seriously , if you're into fine dining , this is your meal. The whole thing is led by the Miracle's head chef , Dias. He gives you a complete tour of the galley , explains how they prepare and push out food for over 3000 guests and crew every day , and then escorts you into a private dining room for the meal. The meal itself consists of a couple of small appetizers while in the kitchen area followed by 7 courses of what the hell is this in the dining room. All I know is that after every course was served and the chef explained how it was prepared I looked at my wife and she looked like she had just been served another two bites worth of heaven , so good enough for me. ( P.S. - by the time dinner was done the deli was closed on Lido , but thank God for the all-nite pizza. )

Seaday Brunch - served in MDR. Great Selection , food was great , service was great.

Lido breakfast - standard breakfast buffet food , good , plentiful , but not great. Problem I had with breakfast was finding a table. Unless you were there as soon as they opened , you're circling with your plate looking for a table. If you even looked like you were close to finishing , people started jockeying for position around your table waiting for you to get up and leave. It was bad.

Lido Lunch. - ate lunch on Lido twice , both on sea days and it was basically a repeat of breakfast . No problem with food , but too many people , not enough tables.

MDR dinner. - Only ate dinner in the MDR twice , and both nights service was ssslllooowww. The waiters themselves were very efficient and friendly , so no problem with the staff , but it took forever for each course to get there. Also , was not overly impressed with the menu each evening. Not a great range of choices. Once the food got there it was good , no complaints there , and maybe they were just having a bad week because we've never had this issue on a Carnival ship before

Lido deck dinner. - Ate on the Lido buffet three nights for dinner. Food was standard cruise ship buffet food. Not fantastic , not bad. My issue with the Miracle is the way the Lido is set up for dinner. The food is split up amongst several different stations all over the deck.. The other ships we've been on basically has everything in one area. Maybe it makes for shorter lines at each station , but in my mind you just don't combine buffet dining with an aerobic workout walking back and forth to get everything on your plate. Seating at dinner not an issue because you don't have the same volume of people up there eating.

NEXT UP - IS THERE ANYTHING TO DO ON THIS SHIP ???

Vrock - we arrived at the port just a few minutes past 12:00

Nybumpkin - We asked at the front desk of our hotel about tours to Mt Rainier and they told us there was a brochure in the rack for a company that does tours. It's called Tours Northwest. I checked them on Tripadvisor and they have a good rating , so we gave them a try and they were great. Picked us up right from hotel , very clean and modern tour bus that held approx 25 people ( I think there was 22 on our tour ) . They have several different tours , we chose the full all day version. We were the first people they picked up that morning at approx. 0700 and then made about 4-5 other stops to get people , then off to Mt. Rainier. Made a couple of bathroom stops and 1 stop to pickup food , made several stops along the way to takes photo's and go on short hikes , and then 2 hours at Paradise , which is where the visitor center ,restaurants , etc are located for the mountain. We were back at the hotel at approx. 04:30 - 05:00. It was a great day. The bus driver was a wealth of info about the area , geography , etc. The scenery was fantastic. If you're looking for a tour to that area give them a try.