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Miracle to Alaska quick review


wildcat68
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We sailed from Seattle to Alaska and back on the July 22 Miracle trip. I don't usually write reviews but here goes a quickie. We had a suite #4237 which made embarkation a breeze. We got on the ship around 11:30 and got to our room around 1:30 after having lunch on the Lido and a beer out back by the adults area. The Thirsty Frog is a decent ale style beer but as some had warned, we had to pay $1 Seattle Tax, actually probably a Washington state tax. We didn't buy any other drinks prior to sailing well under way and the tax left and so only the gratuity was charged after that.

 

The room is a Vista Suite and has the big wrap around balcony. We found this to be very comfortable and the two bottles of Scotch I had ordered were there when we arrived. (no extra tax, but some had indicated we would be charged) The room had a couple of issues when we got to it. The TV in the sitting room would abruptly lose all volume with no adjusting. Then the volume and the TV would not adjust or change channels. We reported this and it was fixed ASAP and worked fine after that. The other issue (mid week) required the changing of a light switch as the light in the dressing area started cycling from off to bright all by itself. Again, this was reported and fixed quickly. As most will agree, the room was quite nice and spacious and the balcony was used during the Tracy Arm Fjord day a lot.

 

The food. We had not been on a Carnival Cruise for several years. My impression is that the quality of the food has deteriorated since our last one. Fewer Choices, more "mundane" choices but certainly a decent choice. We ate all dinners in the MDR and had assigned seating. The crew we had was excellent, the MD sings every night and does a nice job, the food was served timely and tasted fine, but, it just wasn't as elegant, nor the quality I remembered from previous cruises on Carnival. Our last several cruises had been, Holland America, Wind Star, and Seabourn. The food was better on each of these with my order of preference for food, Seabourn, Holland America, Wind Star then Carnival. The Lido Buffet was usually crowded, the food was usually tepid at best if it had sat on the steam table very long, I had brunch in the MDR on a sea day and could barely chew the steak with the steak and eggs selection. The egg was waaaaaay overcooked and was ordered over medium. My DWs Eggs Benedict was not good at all. Would not go out of our way to go back to that.

 

Cruise director was John Heald and he did a nice job. The VIFP returning social was good and the drinks flowed as much as most people would like (read, needed!). The Casino was not as forgiving as I would have liked but that is a personal flaw!

 

The Ship. I thought the ship was well groomed and maintained. The Starboard prop wake was consistently less than the Port side. Some have mentioned engine trouble. I have no idea if this was due to a problem or just the way it is. Remember we were on the stern and observed it often, but the ship moved along fine with more vibration than I would have expected, but, we were on the stern so maybe it should vibrate more.

 

Shore excursions. They are pricey on this voyage. We decided to spring for the Steam train in Skagway as my wife really wanted to do that one. There was a derailment the day before so all train excursions were cancelled. Carnival handled it well and refunded nearly immediately with the report from shore. Nothing they could do. Did not do the Tracy Arm excursion but we did have a spectacular (partly sunny) day for that and it is very pretty.

 

Over all. We got a tremendous deal on the room and really loved that. The days of being mesmerized by the cruise experience are past for us. We enjoy much of it but don't walk around with anxious anticipation of the next "activity". The value was certainly there and the Alaskan Cruises are really weather dependent. We had extremely calm seas, saw lots of whales, saw some Harbor Seals on mini ice bergs, saw a Black Bear foraging for food. The ship was managed professionally and the crew was friendly and hard working. Our next cruise will be with another line, but, the price will no way be as good value as you get on Carnival. Other than the food, and we eat more than at home, but about 1/10th what many ate, the experience was great. I gained 5 pounds!

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Thanks for the review! Sounds like a nice time. I agree that things can sometimes be underwhelming if you've cruised a lot...

 

Yes, previous poster: foghorns can make you question your sanity after 48 hours with a cabin on an upper deck.

 

Signed, someone who was on a Glory B2B to Canada/New England last year with most days BLAAAAAHHH foggy BLAAAAHHHH :eek:

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We only had one day that I recall the foghorn. They did explain over the PA that the laws required them to sound the horn a certain number of times per minute. I don't recall it being a problem but if you were on an upper deck it could bother you. Better safe than sorry.

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