Miracle Mexican RivieraCrusie 12/1-12/7 Review with Pics

Good Evening!

We just returned from our cruise to the Mexican Riviera aboard the Carnival Miracle from 12/1 to 12/7/2013.

This is my first attempt including photos - wish me luck!

First a summary:

• Overall - we had a great time. There were 8 of us, and we were celebrating a 50th Birthday!
   
  
• Food was good - some was fantastic, some was just so so - depending on what you like or do not like. We had differing opinions on the same dish from various members of our group sometimes. Proving that food is subjective!
   
  
• One food related item that bears mentioning is The Chef Table. This was amazing! I highly recommend it.
   
  
• The aft wrap vista suite spoiled us. Seriously spoiled us. This room was FANTASTIC.
   
  
• Weather was great. Coming back to 10 inches of snow and 15 degree temps was not!
   
  
• Activities abounded, there was always something to do. You can be as busy as you want to be.
   
  
• The one thing that made me roll my eyes a few times - was communication, or lack there-of by Carnival - throughout the cruise. Anybody can have an off day - - but there were many instances where logistics and communication was lacking. Nothing huge, and nothing that impacted the experience in any major way - but several moments of: What the heck? I'll include details below.
  

I do have the Fun Times and will scan them tomorrow. I don't have any of the schedules from Camp Carnival. If you want the Fun Times - send me an email to: michfish30@gmail.com and I will send them out to you.

Good Evening!

 

We just returned from our cruise to the Mexican Riviera aboard the Carnival Miracle from 12/1 to 12/7/2013.

 

This is my first attempt including photos - wish me luck!

 

First a summary:

• Overall - we had a great time. There were 8 of us, and we were celebrating a 50th Birthday!
   
  
• Food was good - some was fantastic, some was just so so - depending on what you like or do not like. We had differing opinions on the same dish from various members of our group sometimes. Proving that food is subjective!
   
  
• One food related item that bears mentioning is The Chef Table. This was amazing! I highly recommend it.
   
  
• The aft wrap vista suite spoiled us. Seriously spoiled us. This room was FANTASTIC.
   
  
• Weather was great. Coming back to 10 inches of snow and 15 degree temps was not!
   
  
• Activities abounded, there was always something to do. You can be as busy as you want to be.
   
  
• The one thing that made me roll my eyes a few times - was communication, or lack there-of by Carnival - throughout the cruise. Anybody can have an off day - - but there were many instances where logistics and communication was lacking. Nothing huge, and nothing that impacted the experience in any major way - but several moments of: What the heck? I'll include details below.
  

I do have the Fun Times and will scan them tomorrow. I don't have any of the schedules from Camp Carnival. If you want the Fun Times - send me an email to: michfish30@gmail.com and I will send them out to you.

BEST cabins in the fleet - IMHO!! ;) :D

All of us were coming from Salt Lake City to Long Beach. 4 of us drove, the other 4 flew.

Those that drove left on Saturday. Our initial plan was to stop somewhere around Vegas or Barstow then drive to Long Beach early Sunday morning. Several friends warned us of crazy traffic between Las Vegas and L.A. on Sunday's - and we were sufficiently scared that we decided to do the whole drive in 1 day.

I am glad we did........even on Saturday, the traffic just south of Las Vegas was absolutely RIDICULOUS. We didn't think about this being the Saturday following Thanksgiving - and the impact that would have on traffic.

Needless to say - it was a LONG day. But we were glad to be through it and not have to worry about timing on Sunday morning.

We stayed at the Hotel Maya - very close to the cruise terminal. This hotel was fantastic! Beautiful, clean rooms, great view if you are on the waterfront side, and fantastic service!

Here was the view from our room - yes, it was dark when we arrived!

Looking forward to hearing more. I would love to see pictures of your cabin.

I woke up early! Too excited to get on the boat. Immediately I opened the patio door in the room and ran out in my PJ's - to see if I could see the Miracle. And I could! Nice sunset too! Look carefully in this pic - you see the Queen Mary - but look closely and you can see the Carnival tail just behind it! Woo Hoo! We have a cruise ship!

Now - some breakfast at the hotel, and head to the cruise terminal. Nobody in our party ever did get an email with embarkation information. I knew we could board earlier than 1. We went over at 11 - probably should have waited a bit longer.

2 of us had priority boarding due to the suite, the other 6 had FTTF. Things were very disorganized at 11 - - signs for FTTF to head over to the Queen Mary. I knew to look for the priority building - we found that and got in line. It moved VERY slowly. It was pretty cool outside, but they were loading ppl into the building and asking us to wait to be called. It was freaking HOT in there. It seemed to be pretty disorganized inside and several ppl were having issues with the cards being printed and were issued temporary cards.

After check in - we were told to go back outside and more or less over to an area for priority boarding. Problem was - it wasn't signed well, and it was on the other side of those waiting for regular boarding - causing confusion for all.

We ducked under the rope and were immediately told this was for priority boarding - I told the woman we were part of priority boarding. Fortunately - I had extra copies of my cruise documents - because she didn't believe me and wanted to look.

OK - eventually they got the security process started and the line started moving. Head upstairs where a guy is directing traffic. He closes off one area and tells us to start a new area - assuring us that he would be opening it up at the other end. Then he left. . . . . . . . the group of us realized this after a bit and we moved to the original area - but then regular check in ppl were arriving too - there was no crowd management or direction going on up there at all - it was kind of a cluster!

OK - we made it on board - and met up with the FTTF members of our party - 2 of which had to check in at the Queen Mary, and 4 of which were turned away from the Queen Mary and sent back to the priority boarding building.

Like I said in the beginning - things that make you go hmmmmm.........

A stop on Lido for some lunch, and because we assumed the room wouldn't be ready - and we were trying to get the group together.

Then - we just headed to the rooms - - - we were all clustered on deck 8 - aft section, almost next to each other. I was in the aft wrap around Vista Suite - # 8268. I may never be able to be in any other type of room again! This room was FANTASTIC!!!

Meet our deck - which we got to know very well!

Good Bye Long Beach!!!

I'm so excited to see and read more. We are going on Mach 8th. I don't understand why our ship leaves on a Saturday. Weird.

Mom and Sis you cruising with you and arrived later. By that time all the FTTF pax were sent somewhere 'else'.

I've heard that the last several Priority embarkations have been absolute nightmares. Many pax were getting in there 10th cruise by the end of the year to become Platinum. Add to that all the suite pax and current platinum/diamond pax and it becomes a nightmare. Also Long Beach is the only 'game in town' for Carnival on the West Coast. I haven't heard any of the East Coast/Gulf ports having capacity problems.

I'm so excited to see and read more. We are going on Mach 8th. I don't understand why our ship leaves on a Saturday. Weird.

Miracle does both 6 and 7 days out of Long Beach, you must have a 7 day with 2 days in Cabo.

Thanks for starting this review, looking forward to the rest.

Enjoying your review.

Keith

Thanks for writing!

Hope they get the process worked out better for FTTF before our cruise in April!!

Looking forward to reading more, I am considering taking this cruise in a few months or so

Thanks for writing!

Hope they get the process worked out better for FTTF before our cruise in April!!

I wouldn't worry about it - though there were some kinks in the embarkation process - the 3 rooms that had FTTF were absolutely thrilled with it. You get on with the priority passengers in the beginning, and if you arrive after boarding has begun - you are escorted through as a priority passenger, getting easier access to customer service came in handy a few times, and those that got off in Cabo said the priority tendering alone made it worth it!

Rather than talk about dining and the ship each day - I'm going to make some general comments here . . . . .

The ship was decorated for Christmas and Christmas Music was mixed in with the other music playing on the ship common areas.

The ship decoration is pretty flashy anyway, so the holiday decorations don't stand out too much.

Dining impressions:

With the exception of 2 nights, we ate dinner each night in the main dining room - late seating. The food was good, we looked forward to discovering the choices each night - except the 11 yr old who latched onto the fried chicken and just kept ordering that! Of course - there were some dishes liked more than others - and within our group of 8 - that varied. I have a LOT of food pictures - but will try to only show you the interesting items.

Most mornings, we ate breakfast in the dining room as well. Less hectic and it was a chance to talk and enjoy each others company.

On the last day - I tried the crazy French toast. To my surprise - it was really very good!

The Lido is set up well - instead of a long buffet, there are different stations. I was not impressed with the salad bar - not much variety at all as far as things to put on your salad. I missed beets!!!

On the plus side - there is an already mixed portion - things like cole slaw and potato salad, and each day a (for lack of an official term) salad of the day. I enjoyed checking what that salad was each day. The beet and fennel root was my favorite!

Each day - one of the sections featured food from a specific country - it was fun to check out that each day as well.

I discovered the deli on day 2 - you can get a bagel and lox type sandwich there - which I LOVED! Also - they have a "Menu" but you can also mix it up and ask for a particular bread or toppings too. My favorite (2nd to the bagel) was corned beef on a "roll".

Now pizza - - - I tried the pizza - the arugula and prosciutto pizza - it was AMAZING! It usurped the bagel from the deli as my favorite thing on Lido.

The décor in the main dining room was not my favorite. I know its supposed to look like grapes - but to me - it looked like the room where aliens hatch in some scifi movie.

It made for some funny jokes!

If anybody wants pictures of a specific entrée that is served - I probably have it - just let me know. Our group was well trained - each night - after food was served - nobody touched their dishes until the cameras were passed around!

This day was a relaxing day! Did some ship exploring, and some serious time on the balcony. I was in an aft wrap vista suite - it became the hang out for our group. When we were in the room - we just threw the deadbolt so people could come and go. Even though our group had 2 other balcony cabins - the balcony in the suite was the most popular - we could all be out there at once.

We did ask for the divider to be removed between us and the extended balcony room next to us - and were initially told it would be - but that never happened. On day 3 - we were finally advised that it could not be - because there was no place to clamp it open. This was another one of those moments where better communication would have been helpful vs. the visit to guest services and 3 phone calls it took before we were advised it could not happen.

We saw a couple whales today - really far off. We went through a big pod of dolphins and they were jumping around all over.

It was quite warm for us - but we were coming from winter! People were in the pools and it was bright and sunny!

The drink of the day cup was my FAVORITE today!!!!

Here was a little collage I did of day 2 as well:

I love that cup! Have to get a couple on our February cruise. :)

Day 3 started out - as did ALL days with a visit to the coffee bar for a latte. I'm a coffee snob (actually I just like a little coffee with my milk - so lattes are easier and less embarrassing) - I admit it! And I enjoyed my latte each day.

This morning - we arrived at Cabo. It was a tender port. Pulling into the inlet where we anchored was amazing. You go past Lands End and get a great view of the arch - both coming and going. Here are some pics arriving and departing.

One group went exploring on their own. Another went snorkeling, and another went to a place called The Mango Deck. It was my nephew's first chance to get a drink with his dad. He researched where to go in Cabo - - - Dad wanted to go to Cabo Wabo. Nephew had friends that recommended The Mango Deck - so they headed that way - they really enjoyed themselves, fun, drinking games, and food, then a water taxi back. The snorkelers saw some fun fish - mom chickened out - so the 11 yr old was the only one that did any actual snorkeling.

Tendering was bad. Super super super slow - there was limited time in this port - we were there from 9 to 4. It took until well after noon before all the tendering groups had been called. This was where FTTF really paid off. One hint - you don't have to stand in the line to get a tendering # - - just head on over to the tender and they walk you right on to the next tender. There was some frustration on board for those that spent hours waiting to get off the boat and lots of apologies from the cruise director for the delays.

I stayed on board and enjoyed my 2nd most favorite drink of the day container, some snoozing and reading on the Serenity deck and a relatively quiet boat. This was the day I discovered the pizza!!!

It was also 86 degrees! A fact I felt necessary to post on Facebook to taunt the people back home who were enjoying a really large snow storm!!!

This ship doesn't have any of the 2.0 upgrades right?

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Upon boarding - I got a pleasant surprise - the email I had submitted to John Heald's blog, requesting a reservation at The Chef's Table made it somehow! I never did hear back - so I had pretty much written this experience off! Lack of communication in my favor!!!

The Chef's table started at 6 - after we had already left Cabo. We headed down to the atrium to meet our group and we were escorted to the galley, where we met the chef.

We had a brief tour of the kitchen and a demonstration showing how the warm chocolate melting cake was made.

The most interesting portion of the first part was finding out how the chef goes about determining how much food is needed, and what the process is that he goes through to get it all ordered and aboard the ship. Wow!

We were served starters and champagne as well during the kitchen tour.

Next - we were escorted to where we would eat - which was, surprisingly, in Dr. Frankenstein's lab!!!! The table was on the back-lit dance floor and it made for an impressive site!!!

We had a fun group and we all enjoyed talking to each other, and talking to the staff and the chef! There were 7 courses served - and it was simply amazing! Items I had heard of - but never thought I'd ever try, and many things I had never heard of, or never heard of prepared that way!

I included a picture of the menu below, as well as a collage I did with pictures of each item we were served. Again - trying not to bore you all with pictures of food! I do have full size pictures of each of the items if anybody wanted to see something specific!

At the end of the evening, we were presented with a picture of our group, a copy of the menu, and the recipie for Warm Chocolate Melting Cake! We were also stuffed beyond belief! 2 suggestions on The Chef's Table. First - Do it, it is amazing. Second, pace yourself - so you can eat the dessert at the end!!!

This ship doesn't have any of the 2.0 upgrades right?

 

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Some but not all. It had an update last year. It has the Serenity Deck (which we loved) and the newer buffet design, but no Guy's or the Frog place - I forgot what that is called . . . . . . . . . It has a water slide - though I didn't see many people on it.

We arrived at Puerto Vallarta around 9ish in the AM. Again, the group split up. Most went to an all inclusive beach excursion, and a couple stayed on the boat.

Those that went to the beach had a great day - and the 11 yr old managed to bring back a LOT of the beach sand with him!

I stayed on the boat, and got off after the crowd and walked around a little. There is a "flea market" just a couple blocks away - I went over there - and was asked continually to come into each shop and buy stuff - - - with the promise of "almost free" and "Mexican a/c".

The day was quite warm - 85 or so, and very humid. The balance of the day was spent on serenity or on my balcony.

Red rope holders used as "art" in the small park adjacent to the port:

Puerto Vallarta from the balcony:

Each of several trees nearby hosted hundreds of the loudest black birds I've ever heard:

Sunset over PV:

Sea Day - lots of hanging on the balcony and serenity. We also participated in several trivia events - one of us even won a ship on a stick!!

This evening - we went to Nick and Nora's to celebrate birthdays! We were travelling with some friends that happen to be twins and the whole purpose of going on the cruise was to celebrate their 50th!!!

We really enjoyed Nick and Nora's - though strangely, we had the most service related problems during that dinner. Everything was handled well and quickly remedied, which we appreciated. Specifically one of the steaks was served very cold, and the server did not come back for quite awhile after delivering food - so it was awkward. Those eating their food before it got cold, but the one sitting waiting to return his plate. Once we were checked on - a new steak was delivered post haste. At dessert - one of the decorations from the plate was dropped on my head - just the chocolate decoration - not the whole plate! Everything was moving kind of slow - we were advised to allow 2 hours for dinner. But it ended up taking 3.

Still - we had fun with each other and the food was wonderful!

I had the best dish of the whole cruise there - - - a starter sent to the table compliments of the chef. It was a mushroom truffle latte - and I could have eaten them all night!!!

THE biggest slice of cheese cake ever:

Strip:

Apple dessert:

During dinner - we heard the code summoning the medical response team to a location. Later that evening - just before midnight, the cruise director came over the intercom into all locations - the cabins, the comedy clubs mic was silenced for the announcement, everywhere it could be heard: A passenger was gravely ill, and was there an anesthetist or anesthesiologist on board? Someone walked out of the comedy show - to a round of applause, hopefully he was responding, or someone else did.

Shortly after - the boat started moving VERY fast.

Fairly early in the morning, we were updated on the condition of the ill passenger. She needed to be evacuated and we were moving as quickly as possible toward San Diego - to get in range of a helicopter that the Coast Guard was sending.

Just before noon, another update - we were within range of the helicopter - about 250-300 miles from San Diego and the passenger would be airlifted soon.

The Serenity deck was cleared - that is where the passenger would be airlifted from and everybody was asked to stay away, and those with aft balconies were asked to stay inside.

We were in the cabin when the helicopter arrived - and it was RIGHT over our balcony. We were inside anyway - but no way would you want to be out three - the wind generated was so strong the windows were shaking and our deck chairs were moving around.

The dropped the basket with the Coast Guard person - then circled the ship for a few minutes, I assume they were getting the passenger prepared, and then the helicopter came back in and picked up the basket with the passenger.

I hope she was able to get the care she needed quickly enough. I saw in the news article after I returned that she was sent to a hospital in San Diego - but it did not mention anything else.

A couple from our party happened to be going on the Behind the Scenes tour this day - they were not allowed to go to a couple of the places because of the emergency going on, they were told that initially the decision had been made to divert to Puerto Vallarta to evacuate the passenger, and the boat turned to go that way, but the plan changed and it was determined to get within range of a Coast Guard helicopter and get her to San Diego that way instead.

Later that day, we went down to the theater for bingo and the holiday show. The holiday show was a lot of fun. Lots of holiday music, and the children from Camp Carnival had been working on music and participated as well.

We had birthday celebration #2 at dinner - and the long lost cake was located. I had requested a cake to be delivered to the twins room on their birthday - it never showed up. The next day I checked and apparently those are delivered to the dining rooms. Even though I had been told it would go to their cabin. It made its way to the dining room for our last night and we sang and enjoyed it then.

We had FTTF on the Miracle in October and it was seamless...sorry you all had problems. Oh my gosh, I am so glad I've never had an aft wrap, I'd never want to go back to a regular old balcony! Beautiful!

Debarkation was another place where communication was lacking..... First, those with FTTF were not given tags for Zone 1. Nobody in our party had to be off the boat early. One group checked on the FTTF priority debarkation and was advised they should have received zone 1 tags, and it would be taken care of. They did get their updated tags quickly, but since they were in the car with us, waited for us anyway.

Once our zone was called - we headed down. This was chaos. No signage, and vague direction as to where to go. When we got off the elevators, some of the doors had been closed, we walked way around to the next section, which was the other side of the closed doors, and we could see the off ramp and security. Very few passengers were there - it would have been easy enough to let us through, but no, we were advised we had to go outside (I should mention it was about 40 degrees and snaining (you could see the rain was trying hard to become snow) so going outside was less than amusing - when all the had to do was open the rope thinger, but ok - we went outside - no signs as to which way we needed to walk around the boat to get to where ever it was they wanted us to head. One of the other lost passengers went back in and had to ask. Then we walked around and right back to the other side of the rope thinger. That was pointless and a little annoying!

In Cabo - there were signs all over the place with arrows and directions - yet none at all for debarkation? And couldn't someone be positioned near the elevators to provide a little direction? And how about an arrow or person near the doors to the outside we were directed to?

The walk through the snain from the boat to the terminal was just depressing. LoL

We got in our car, and headed to Vegas. We had already made the decision NOT to drive straight through to Salt Lake City. Good thing we did - because southern Utah was hit with a freak storm this day and the pass between Mesquite and St. George had to be closed - for the first time EVER!

We stayed at The Rio and watched Penn and Teller. That was a great show to catch and we were pleased the timing all worked out!

And now - back to reality, and back to work tomorrow!!!!!

We had FTTF on the Miracle in October and it was seamless...sorry you all had problems. Oh my gosh, I am so glad I've never had an aft wrap, I'd never want to go back to a regular old balcony! Beautiful!

Within minutes of walking into the cabin - we said the same thing: We are now in so much trouble for all further cruising, as a regular old balcony will no longer be enough!

Those aft wraps are absolutely amazing! Funny enough, it was sheer dumb luck that we happened to go with that room. I did not know about how great they were when I made the reservations!!!