Miracle Review: Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta (overnight), April 2015

I recently returned from a seven night cruise on the Carnival Miracle that sailed from 4/18/15 – 4/25/15. There were two port stops along the way – Puerto Vallarta (overnight) and Cabo San Lucas – along with three sea days. There were 2,275 guests (467 gold, 110 platinum and 5 diamond VIFP members)*. There were 912 crew members representing at least 35 nations totaling 3,187 people on board*.

The Miracle is part of the Spirit Class of ships from Carnival. One of six ships launched from 2001 to 2004. Two ships went to Costa Cruise Lines and four went to Carnival Cruise Lines. The Miracle was recently in dry dock in March 2015, exactly four weeks prior to this sailing. The Miracle received several of the Fun Ship 2.0 upgrades including Alchemy Bar, Cherry on Top, Hasbro Game Show, Playlist Productions (80’s Pop to the Max, Getaway Island, 88 Keys and Heart of Soul) and Red Frog Pub. The Miracle is still using their current dinner menu and is scheduled to adopt the new American Table Menu in late 2015 when the menu is expected to launch fleet wide.

In March 2013 the Miracle departed New York City for its new year round homeport of Long Beach, CA. The Miracle replaced the Spirit for the Hawaii and Alaska itineraries as well as replaced the Splendor for the Mexico Riviera cruises. Both the Spirit and Splendor were repositioned elsewhere. The Miracle made its last Alaska sailing in September 2014 to sail exclusively on the Hawaii and Mexico Riviera itineraries.

The Miracle shares the Long Beach terminal with the Inspiration and Imagination (both Fantasy Class Ships). The Imagination and Inspiration both alternate the same 4 night/3 night Catalina/Ensenada itineraries. The Miracle has the longer six and seven night Mexico Riviera sailings and 15 night sailings to Hawaii.

The top speed of the Miracle is 22.5 knots using two azipod propulsion units from ABB (ASEA Brown Boveri). Prior to the March 2015 dry dock the Miracle was having propulsion issues and was running heavy on the starboard engine and lighter on the port side engine as recommended by the manufacturer**. As a result, the Miracle would rarely sail more than 20 knots during that time**. This issue has since been corrected and the Miracle is once again able to sail at top speed.

Cabo San Lucas was still recovering from Hurricane Odile that devastated the area in September 2014. This was a category 4 storm and due to the damage inflicted to the area the name Odile has been retired from the list of future hurricane names. However, there has been much progress since tourism is the mainstay of the local economy and many hotels, restaurants and attractions are now operating. Whales and dolphins could be spotted during this time of year as the ship approaches Cabo San Lucas.

The seas were calm and we had a smooth sailing despite 50+mph wind gusts in some areas. The last health inspection in November 2014 the Miracle earned a perfect CDC score of 100. Our cruise director was Cory Rodgers. For those that are horologists, Cory is a watch guy.

Now…..on to the ship review. Hope you enjoy the adventure!

Our Ship – Miracle

Ship Classification – Spirit

Miracle Fun Ship Facts

Our Itinerary

Our Weather Forecast for the Trip

* Source – Guest Services for guest and staff count. Cory Rodgers during the VIFP party for gold, platinum and diamond members count.

** Source – Miracle engine control room crew during the Behind the Fun Scenes tour in Nov 2014.

I had previously sailed a similar itinerary last November and as a solo traveler I paid 200% of the cruise fare. Four weeks prior to this sailing I found an offer for an in-state resident at 150% of the cruise fare for a category 7A balcony cabin. The total price including taxes, port fees and prepaid tips was less than $1,000. A category 7A cabin is an obstructed view room. Here is a summary of the Carnival room categories for the Miracle:

Here is the deck plan for the Miracle:

My cabin was located on the Upper Deck:

This is the image that Carnival shows as my room which was very accurate. My actual room picture is found further in this review.

Immediately after booking this cruise I began to look for an FTTF (faster to the fun) pass. I would check several times a day for a week and was able to secure a pass three weeks prior to sailing. There are six specific benefits of FTTF for the Miracle out of Long Beach. The first is priority check-in and boarding. Here are the additional benefits once on board.

Here is a picture of the Long Beach terminal at 11:00 a.m. A lot of passengers had already arrived and were standing in line. The check in area is located behind the Captain’s Lounge. The FTTF line and check in process took less than five minutes. Once checked in you make your way through the security check point, past the embarkation photo’s, up the escalator, through one more checkpoint with your sail and sign card, on the gangway and then finally on the ship!

I was on the ship by 11:45 a.m. and the hallways to the guest cabins were closed off as the cabin stewards were still preparing the rooms. However, there was a sign posted inviting platinum, diamond and FTTF members to enter through the doors notifying us that our cabins were ready. So I walked through the doors and found my cabin was ready. I met my cabin steward Sofyan on the first day and rarely saw him during the cruise but my cabin was always cleaned twice a day. Here is a picture review of a 7A Obstructed Balcony cabin. The images provided by Carnival matched the room.

Cabin Review Continued:

View from the Balcony

Here are copies of some of the documents left in the cabin.

Good to Know Facts and Room Service Menu

Liquor Order Form

This wasn’t included in the documents but can be obtained from the Fun Shop.

Fun Ashore Excursion List

Fun Ashore Continued:

Let’s begin our tour of the ship with the Alchemy Bar

Alchemy Bar Drink Menus

Art Gallery

Prior to dry dock the Art Auction was held in Jeeves Lounge which has since been converted to Red Frog Pub. The current art auctions are held in the Gotham Lounge outside the Atlantic Conference room. The Park West staff is trying to secure a spot in the Mad Hatters Lounge for future art auctions. Until that time, seating space is limited.

There is usually a “guess the price of the artwork.” The current artwork is by Peter Max and is a painting of the Statue of Liberty. I didn’t attend the last art auction to note the actual price but the guess is between $30,000 and $38,000. You need to be present to win after filing out a form during the cruise. However, once you fill out the form you can expect invitations from the art team. The prize for coming close to the price is generally a couple of free pictures.

Atrium Pictures

Casino

Cherry On Top

Coffee Bar

There are two coffee bars located on the ship. The Fountain Head Coffee Bar is located on Promenade Deck 2 Forward. The other coffee bar is located on Lido Deck 9 Aft next to the Pizza Pirate in Horatio’s Restaurant.

Dining Room Pictures

Dining Room Pictures Continued:

Dining Room Menus

Breakfast

Sea Day Brunch

First Night’s Menu

Second Night’s Menu – First Elegant Night

Dining Room Menus Continued:

Third Night’s Menu

Fourth Night’s Menu

Fifth Night’s Menu

Dining Room Menus Continued:

Sixth Night’s Menu – Second Elegant Night

Last and Final Night’s Menu

Fun Shops

Fun Shops Continued:

Gatsby’s Garden

Gatsby’s Garden is located on Promenade Deck 2 Forward and allows you to walk from the forward to the aft of the ship uninterrupted by stairs or elevators. This layout is one of the great features of the ship and Gatsby’s Garden is rarely used.

Gymnasium

Laundry Room

There are several locations on board for self-service 24 hour laundry. The machines are commercial grade and require quarters rather than a sail and sign card. The cost is $3 dollars for washing, $3 dollars for drying, $1 for laundry detergent and $1 for drying. The total for one load is $8. Quarters can be obtained from guest services or the casino. I brought a roll of quarters with me along with fabric softener as I had previously sailed the Miracle and was familiar with the laundry requirements. The washing machines have approximately a 40 minute cycle and the drying machines are 45 minutes. There is also the ship’s option. A copy of the laundry fees is included in this section. I did laundry on Wednesday morning while most were still in Puerto Vallarta to avoid peak times. The location of the five launderettes:

Deck 1 Riviera: adjacent to midship elevator lobby

Deck 4 Main: adjacent to aft elevator lobby

Deck 5 Upper: adjacent to aft elevator lobby

Deck 6 Empress: adjacent to forward elevator lobby

Deck 7 Verandah: adjacent to midship elevator lobby

Library

Night Club

The Chef’s Table is hosted in this venue. For our sailing the Chef’s Table was held on the third and sixth nights. You can read a copy of my Chef’s Table review with the new menu from my previous sailing on the Miracle here: