Miracle to Hawaii 9/18/14 to 10/4/14 with pics

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

My husband, J.R. & I cruised to Hawaii on the Miracle September 18-October 3rd to celebrate our 30th anniversary. We booked our cruise April 17, 2013. I never book that early but I wanted one of the bowling alley balconies (7258) since we would have so many sea days.

 

We were supposed to leave from Vancouver & have five sea days, then six days on the islands with an overnight in Maui & then four more days at sea on our return to Long Beach. Unfortunately we received this letter April 16, 2014 from Carnival with an itinerary change for our cruise & we found out we would have an extra sea day on the way back & our overnight in Maui was cancelled. :( The letter stated...

 

"The Carnival Miracle is experiencing a technical issue that is only impacting the ship's maximum cruising speed with a reduction from 21 knots to 18-20 knots (depending on wind & sea conditions). Rest assured all safety systems and hotel services are operating normally.

The repairs will be completed during the ship's scheduled dry-dock in early 2015. Until then, some itinerary modifications will be required for the Alaska and Hawaii cruises this summer and fall.

Therefore as a result of the reduced cruising speed, I'm sorry to say we are forced to cancel one of our days in Maui. Additionally, we've modified our days and times in port."

 

Carnival offered us a $50pp on-board credit & a 25% discount on a future 2-16 day Carnival cruise or the option to cancel the cruise (within three weeks) for a full refund plus any non-refundable transportation costs.

 

We were obviously disappointed with the itinerary change & I will admit we did consider being stuck at sea due to the propulsion problems but we decided to trust ‘our’ Miracle having cruised on her three times already plus we got such an amazing deal on our cruise & will definitely take advantage of the 25% off another cruise.

 

So we (me since I am the cruise planner) scrambled to try to rebook all the private excursions we had already booked. The date for Honolulu did not change. If it had that might have been a deal breaker for us since I booked tickets to the USS Arizona the minute they became available & they sold out quickly. Luckily it all worked out & everybody we worked with on all the islands did their best to accommodate us & make this a cruise to remember.

 

I did not plan to write a review on this cruise because it is almost my ‘busiest time of the year’ but guess what I brought home with me from our cruise?!? A blood clot in my right leg so I have extra time now while I sit with my leg propped up! :eek: Note to self, wiggle way more on a long flight which is what my doctor said is the culprit. Normally that is an easy thing for me to do as I am a Type A personality but I was stuck in the middle seat between J.R. & a rather large man & we had flight delays & then about an extra hour on the runway & then a four hour flight so I was way more ‘still’ than usual & my leg was not happy. Anyway I know to move around a lot more on future flights so it was a lesson learned.

 

Since I did not plan to write a review I did not jot down as many notes as usual but I have all the Fun Times & a Ton of pics!

[nybumpkin]

I'm looking forward to your review and pictures. We visited Hawaii 30 years ago and I'd love to go back. We did an Alaska cruise on Miracle this past summer - had an aft wrap balcony, and you could tell from the ship's wake that the propulsion on one side was weaker than the other. Thanks for sharing your review!

[golfadj]

Thanks for the info we are going there on Miracle in two months.

 

Hopefully the problem has been fixed by now.

[Taters]

Looking forward to your review and pics! We are sailing back-to-back on Miracle beginning 11/29/2014... 7 night Mexico followed by 15 night Hawaii. Can't wait!

 

Cheers,

 

Annie

[Gold Mine Gal]

Ha ha Juli, can't wait to see all the pictures of our fun and sharing all the embarassing tidbits!! :eek: Your cruising buddy!

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

I will start out by saying our trip starting with two days in Vancouver & our 16 day cruise was WONDERFUL & I never knew 18 days could fly by so fast. An eight day was the longest cruise we had ever done before & J.R. was a little worried about 10 sea days but we enjoyed every minute onboard the ship due in part to all the wonderful new friends we made through our roll calls.

 

I contacted Carnival about six weeks before our cruise to set up some activities for our roll call. I spoke with Jessica Gonzales, the Miracle Event Planner & she was an absolute doll to work with. We exchanged many calls & emails before our cruise & she gave me a list of the planned activities on the Miracle for our sailing & she set up our Cash Bar M&G, Cocktail Party & sea day LCR games around those.

 

The big day we had been planning for since April 2013 finally arrived & we had a 6:00AM flight out of Nashville to Vancouver with an hour layover in St. Paul. I got a killer deal on Delta for $147pp. We had two of the smoothest flights we have ever had & I took that as a good omen!

 

We arrived in Vancouver a little before 11AM & took a cab to the Blue Horizon Hotel. It was a beautiful day & since they were calling for rain the next two days so we wanted to go to Grouse Mountain since I had read not to go if it was overcast. Our room was not ready yet so we stored our bags at the hotel & raced to catch the free shuttle at Canada Place to Grouse Mountain. We got to the free shuttle at 12:45 & got in line. Luckily someone in front of us told us we had to get tickets first. We tried to get tickets but the 1:00 shuttle was already full & the next available shuttle was not until 3:30. The free shuttle is on a 1st come 1st serve basis. We did not want to wait that long so we hurried down the street to catch the Seabus.

 

Everyone we encountered in Vancouver was so friendly. The attendant at the Seabus saw us trying to figure out the ticket machine & he came out of his office & helped us. We did not have Canadian currency so we had to put the tickets on our credit card. We rode the Seabus from Waterfront Station, located adjacent to Canada Place, to the Lonsdale Quay & connected with Bus #236 to Grouse Mountain. The Seabus was about $2.50pp & I think the bus was $2.75 pp.

 

Here is a link for Grouse Mountain…

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&sqi=2&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.grousemountain.com%2F&ei=adM6VPepDojLgwSC5oAY&usg=AFQjCNF1ZMNCyzKQps_kMufJnXipuF99Mg&sig2=OrOLZysmVD8y0tl_o3qpdQ&bvm=bv.77161500,d.eXY

 

We bought tickets for the Peak Experience that included the Chairlift Ride. The tickets for the two of us were $96.50. This is the tram that takes you to the top.

 

We enjoyed Grouse Mountain especially the Lumberjack Show. We had been told the Birds of Prey Show would still be going on but it ended the weekend before. The views were spectacular & we walked a LOT at Grouse Mountain. I was surprised at how ‘unstable’ the footing was with dirt paths up & down hills & a lot of loose rocks. It would be very easy to turn an ankle there if you were not careful. The ziplines looked like fun & we decided if we ever go back we will try them.

 

This guy almost made my heart stop when he climbed up this pole & started goofing around up there. I have 'great respect' for heights!

 

 

 

Edited October 12, 2014 by Cool Breeze Cruiser

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

 

It started getting a little overcast later in the afternoon so we could still see pretty well but our pics didn't turn out so wonderful.

 

You have to take pics of the bears!

 

 

[SadieN]

Thank you for your review.

 

We are leaving on the 18th--- Hawaii RT out of Long Beach.

 

Did the ship have any mechanical problems? Just need to figure out how many flashlights I should bring.;)

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

With my 'great respect' for heights I tried not to look down! The couple in front of us in line had a great idea & offered to swap cameras with us so we could take pics of each other.

 

 

 

 

 

We spent several hours at Grouse Mountain & then tried to get on the free shuttle back to Canada Place but you have to have the ticket that showed you rode it there so we took the bus & Seabus back to Waterfront Station & walked back to our hotel.

 

Juli

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

We loved the Blue Horizon & would definitely stay there again. The location is PERFECT with restaurants, bars, drug stores & a liquor store within easy walking distance & the staff is all very helpful & made us feel welcome. The room was large (although the bathroom is small), the bed comfy & there was a mini fridge & microwave & free wifi . We were upgraded to the 27th floor for our anniversary & the views were spectacular with a view of the city & the harbor. We didn't think to take pics of the view from the room though until the 2nd day when it was overcast.

 

 

The next day was very overcast with off & on showers so we walked down to Hornby Street to catch the Aquabus to Granville Island. I think it was $5.50pp roundtrip. We saw a sea lion playing in the water by the Aquabus. It was a short ride to Granville Island where we had a delicious breakfast & spent an hour or so exploring. It is like a smaller version of Pike Market & they had the most picture perfect fruits & vegetables & a lot of locally made crafts & jewelry. They also had a wonderful musician playing & I thought it was taped music when I first heard him.

 

 

 

We caught the Aquabus back to the other side & we decided to walk along the seawall to Stanley Park. We saw this huge sea lion posing for pics in the water.

 

A photo op by the first beach we came too.

[Zarabear]

Tuning in! We board on Saturday for our trip to Hawaii! Super excited! <3

 

 

~Zara

[Flytko]

Very nice so far, Vancouver sounds like fun.

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

Vancouver was beautiful.

 

 

 

 

We wanted to rent bikes & thought we would find them on our walk along the seawall so we walked & we walked & we walked until we were in Stanley Park! We decided we needed a break (& a drink) so we stopped at place overlooking the water, the Cactus Club at English Bay. The portions looked huge so we split the blackened chicken & it was delicious especially after we had been walking all day!

 

Back to our mad search for bicycles! Nobody we talked to seemed to know where to rent bikes & I could not believe in all my research I did not know where to get them. We finally stopped someone riding bikes & they told us the bike rental places were on Denman St so we had to backtrack about 4 blocks before you get to the park & go back up towards our hotel. We had a Cruise Critic pre-cruise dinner that night & it was getting late by the time we got to the rental places but we had come so far to get the bikes that we were going to rent them regardless of the time! :D

 

There are several rental places to choose from with varying prices. We rented ours from Stanley Park Cycle. The doorman at our hotel told us they would give us a discount if we told them we were staying at the Blue Horizon & we received a 10% discount. Two bike rentals with helmets came to $17.95 for two hours with the discount.

 

Finally!!! We wanted to do the six mile loop around Stanley Park.

 

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

 

Grouse Mountain in the background.

 

 

Even with all the photo stops on the six mile loop we took we made it back to the bike rental place in exactly one hour! We turned in our bikes & walked the few short blocks back to the hotel to get ready to meet some of our new friends at the pre-cruise dinner.

[bobthehammer]

Yeah I have been waiting for a Hawaii review ... we sail on 12/6 ... can't wait to read more

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

I'm looking forward to your review and pictures. We visited Hawaii 30 years ago and I'd love to go back. We did an Alaska cruise on Miracle this past summer - had an aft wrap balcony, and you could tell from the ship's wake that the propulsion on one side was weaker than the other. Thanks for sharing your review!

We did Alaska on the Miracle last summer too. We are following her from coast to coast! :D

 

Thanks for the info we are going there on Miracle in two months. Hopefully the problem has been fixed by now.

I don't think the problem will be fixed until drydock but it did not hinder our cruise in any way.

 

Looking forward to your review and pics! We are sailing back-to-back on Miracle beginning 11/29/2014... 7 night Mexico followed by 15 night Hawaii. Can't wait! Cheers, Annie

Wow! What a looong cruise you have planned. I am envious! Even after our 16 day cruise they had to drag me off the ship kicking & screaming ON our 30th anniversary! It went by soooo fast!

 

Ha ha Juli, can't wait to see all the pictures of our fun and sharing all the embarrassing tidbits!! :eek: Your cruising buddy!

I miss 'my little Rae' hugs! J.R. does too! I will refrain from posting some of our 'funny stories' although there is one involving 'the Captain' I have to share! I think I floored him when I called yesterday until I called you 'Little Rae & him 'the Captain'! Hugs!!!

 

Thank you for your review. We are leaving on the 18th--- Hawaii RT out of Long Beach. Did the ship have any mechanical problems? Just need to figure out how many flashlights I should bring.;)

I live by the Boy Scout motto of 'Be Prepared'. :D Other than waking up on our last sea day before we arrived in Hawaii to the ship stopped dead in the water & a plane whizzing past our balcony we had no problems. But that is a whole different story & had nothing to do with mechanical problems. I will get to that story soon.

 

Tuning in! We board on Saturday for our trip to Hawaii! Super excited! <3~Zara

Lucky you! I will try to hurry! :D

 

Very nice so far, Vancouver sounds like fun.

It was beautiful & we always have fun when we are on vacation!

 

Yeah I have been waiting for a Hawaii review ... we sail on 12/6 ... can't wait to read more

The Hawaii part is coming up soon. Still having a hard time with my leg sitting still for long so I will get to it as soon as I can.

 

Juli

[bobthehammer]

hope your leg is ok ... that is scary

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

I agreed to set up the pre-cruise dinner for our CC roll call having no idea it would be so much harder to do in Vancouver than some I have set up in the states. I originally planned on having it at Cardero's but I called & they did not take reservations for a group over 10 people after 6PM. We had planned to have our pre-cruise dinner at 7PM on the 17th as some were flying in that day or had plans until later in that day.

The lady I spoke with at Cardero's suggested their sister restaurant the Sand Bar because they have a private room that holds up to 22 people but they have a minimum charge of $1000 in food & beverages so that was not a good option.

A lot of the restaurants in Vancouver require a deposit or minimum spend &/or tack on group gratuity charges for groups over ten people.

And then we found the Revel Room & Genni, the group coordinator there was a gem & after umpteen emails we knew where our pre-cruise dinner would be! For anyone interested in hosting a pre-cruise dinner at the Revel Room here is one of the many emails Genni & I exchanged...

 

"Hi Juli and thanks for your interest in Revel Room! We do have space on the 17th and would be delighted to host you and your guests.We do take large reservations, and no we don't have a minimum spend required. Please do pass on to your guests though that due to our zoning (we are licensed as a restaurant rather than a bar) all guests are required to be eating when

consuming alcohol.

No need for a credit card - we do that on weekends for bigger groups as we tend to book out, but for a Wednesday night we are more relaxed and you have given us plenty of notice so it's not a concern.

No problem to do separate cheques and we don't apply an automatic gratuity, I have faith in our staff that they will do a good job without forcing our guests to tip!

I think we'll be a great venue for a group like yours - our owner is American and loves to show off all his vintage collectibles around the space. Also on Wednesdays we have live music from 7-10, a Texas swing/rockabilly group who play lots of 50s and 60s tunes. You'll have a great time.

So I'll put a hold on space for up to 30 and you can drop me a note in a week or so as plans firm up and then we'll double confirm a few days before folks arrive in Vancouver.

Happy planning to you and we look forward to welcoming you to Vancouver!

Kind regards,

Genni."

 

It was a great fit for our group! Here is a link to the Revel Room's website...

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.revelroom.ca%2F&ei=8Q47VLLUF9WVgwStoIKADA&usg=AFQjCNGOBNgOe__R2zEZFPRFFI-WDYyvNQ&sig2=-GRXRHYsq7catEdJeksI9g&bvm=bv.77161500,d.eXY

 

The menu was diverse & affordable. It was a great atmosphere, good food & excellent service. Our group had almost the whole upstairs & it was great having our own space to get to know each other & they had a band playing downstairs to keep us entertained. We met so many wonderful people that night that I know will be lifelong friends & made our cruise so memorable!

 

Of course J.R. & I had to stop & dance to a few songs before we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our cruise to HAWAII the next day!

 

Some of our former cruise buds from our Freedom cruise who live in Vancouver joined us even though they didn't get to cruise to Hawaii with us.

 

It was so wonderful to finally meet my 'apparently lost at birth sister' & her wonderful hubby Mitch. Lynn & I had been exchanging emails/texts with for months & months about our cruise & excursions.

 

Genni from the Revel Room was amazing to work with! It was raining so I had to let my 'craziness curls' do their own thing especially since we walked there (imagine that)!

 

And we really enjoyed the band!

[dfmeeks]

My next booked cruise is the Liberty to the Southern Carib. But I've always been curious about this itinerary so I'm excited about following your review!

[pbmsmile]

I wish I had the freedom to cruise on non- teacher holidays! This sounds like a wonderful cruise so far..thanks for the view!!

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

I'm really looking forward to the next installment!

Just home from visiting my dad & about to add more. I wish I had taken more notes than I did as it already seems like a lifetime ago!

 

hope your leg is ok ... that is scary

Thanks. I should be fine. It was pretty serious but we caught it early. I just posted so others would know to wiggle a lot on long flights! :D The first thing my doctor asked me when I told her about my leg was if I had flown recently.

 

My next booked cruise is the Liberty to the Southern Carib. But I've always been curious about this itinerary so I'm excited about following your review!

Hawaii was on our bucket list & we loved every minute of it but the Southern Caribbean has a special place in our hearts & we can't wait to go back in Jan/Feb.

 

I wish I had the freedom to cruise on non- teacher holidays! This sounds like a wonderful cruise so far..thanks for the view!!

It was a wonderful cruise especially with all the incredible new friends we made. The sea days were soooo much fun! :) I don't know if we will ever go back to Hawaii though since the Caribbean is so much easier & cheaper for us & we love it just as much. That being said we are so glad we got to finally go to Hawaii.

Juli

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

We had planned to store our luggage at the Blue Horizon & explore Vancouver more since we had already been on the Miracle three times & sailaway was not until 5PM but it was overcast & dreary when we woke up so we checked out of the hotel & took a cab to the Miracle, our home away from home for the next 16 days! :)

 

We could have easily walked to the ship & we did walk to the pier several times during the two days before but we had two suitcases & two carry-ons so we jumped in a cab.

 

A porter came to the cab to get our bags & J.R. handed him a $5. I handed him another $5 & said, "take good care of our suitcases". :D He said, "your suitcases will be in your room shortly."

 

We went in to the terminal & had to sit in the customs area for about 30 minutes as they said the lines were to long inside. There was not a lot of rhyme nor reason to the rows they were picking to go in but it passed quickly & the Agent there was funny & entertaining.

 

As soon as we got into the Carnival area we were whisked right through & were on the ship in minutes!

 

 

We headed straight to our 'bowling alley' balcony & it was every bit as wonderful as I thought it would be! :D I could live in that cabin!

 

I started unpacking our carry-on & looked outside the door & all of our luggage was there. Yay! I don't know if it was luck of the draw or the extra tip I gave the porter but I was super excited to have all of our bags so soon so we could unpack & not have to go back & keep checking for them.

 

The first thing I did was put our door sign on our cabin door that I had made at Vista Print. It was a surprise for J.R. & I didn't let him see it until we got there & he got all teary eyed. No wonder I love that guy!

Juli

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

Let me go ahead & show off 'our' balcony. It will be hard to cruise without it again! It is cabin 7258 & is an 8K. It is the same price as the other extended balconies.

 

 

 

The only concern I had when booking this cabin is that if you look straight down there are lifeboats two decks below which did not end up bothering us at all. I would book this cabin again in a heartbeat!

 

[champagne123]

We did the 15 day cruise out of Long Beach on the Splendor (before the Splendor and Miracle switched places) last year....and spent an additional 10 days in CA.

 

Very interested in your point of view.

We loved, loved, loved the sea days and never felt it was too much. Made many friends and always kept busy or lazy....which ever we decided to do for the day..lol.

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

 

The 'other' part of our cabin.