Just off Carnival Miracle- The Review I always wished for

[Addocdmommy]

Ok…this review turned out really LONG! Hopefully someone will find some value in it! Below I give my thoughts on the Miracle, Cabo San Lucas and Las Caletas in Puerto Vallarta. If I missed anything, I will try to answer any questions that I can!

 

My family is 2 days off the Miracle. I spent a lot of time searching for helpful reviews while planning our trip, so I’m going to attempt to offer one up here myself now. Rather than giving a boring chronological diary of our vacation, I’ll attempt to just break down each component and tell you all that I would have wanted to know before our trip.

Some perspective: We are a family of 4 from Kansas. We have 2 boys, ages 9 & 11. This is our 4th Carnival cruise (first on the Miracle and first out of the west coast). We love cruising. It works well for our family as we have ample time together and apart and a good balance of excitement and relaxation. I did a fair amount of research prior to our trip, and I’ll admit I was a little worried about this trip based on some of the other reviews. We cruised on the much larger and newer Freedom last year and had our best vacation ever. Read on and I’ll tell you where I was pleasantly and unpleasantly surprised.

 

I’ll start with embarkation day. As we had never sailed from Long Beach before I had no idea what to expect. We had a fairly early flight into LAX (my preferred airline does not fly into Long Beach) and I was dreading the sight of LAX based solely on its reputation. We have used the very expensive Carnival transport in the past, but this time I made a reservation with Super Shuttle ,which was about ¼ the price for the 4 of us. No regrets here! I highly recommend a private shuttle service vs. the Carnival ground transportation. We had no trouble with the airport on arrival. We barely saw any of it. We were at Long Beach terminal well before expected.

 

Most of the operations at Long Beach terminal were outdoors, partly under a tent. We had Faster to the Fun, which I 100% recommend if you are able to get it. I would have paid 2-3x what this cost. Worth every cent for us. It was about 11am when we arrived and no one was embarking yet, but check-in was in full swing. There was a significant line, which I was very grateful to not have to stand in. We cut the line with our FTTF and waited approximately 0 minutes! After check-in, we had some time to kill since FTTF would allow us to cut the next line as well. There are 2 little shops there at the terminal for you to browse and make some last minute purchases (hats, sunscreen, medication, snacks, sunglasses, etc…) and a few photo ops. The only option for food if you just can’t wait is a taco truck…my family all agreed it was delicious. When the time came for embarkation, we were through security in only a few minutes and were probably one of the first 150 people on the boat. I have to tell you that I LOVE that sensation of stepping onto our ship. I don’t know what it is. The smells, the mood, the thought of not having to answer to, plan for or account for anything for days…this feeling is one of my absolute favorite things! The internet had me terrified of embarkation day. I had read claim after claim of Long Beach terminal being the absolute worst. I completely disagree. It was the easiest time we’ve ever had. (Possibly FTTF is to thank??)

 

Muster drill was as necessarily annoying and boring as always. This is a good time to try to visit with some of the people around you. We met a cute honeymooning young couple on their first cruise with whom we shared some cruising tips and they returned the favor with a valuable line cut a few days later! Plus, it just helps kill the time. Another one of my favorite things about cruising is how pretty much everyone is up to talking with strangers and making new friends.

 

Staterooms are about the same wherever you go, so let’s get this out of the way. For the first time, I let go of my tightwad ways and sprung for a balcony room. In the past, I have never wanted to spend the extra for a balcony. My logic ranged from “You aren’t supposed to spend much time in your cabin anyway” to “If we can’t stay in an interior room, we can’t afford to go”. Well, now I know that I was so wrong. First of all, an interior cabin is super tight for a family of 4. When they drop those bunks out of the ceiling, there’s not even any airspace to move around. Obviously the balcony is the draw of the balcony cabin. But, aside from that, there is just SO MUCH more space. Don’t get me wrong…it’s not my master bedroom at home by any means, but there is a “sofa” that converts to a bed and the extra bunk is over the sofa. There is some extra floor space and even a small table. It also seemed like there were a few extra cabinets and some extra storage as well. The bathroom is the same: Completely functional, fine for one person, not for two and effective but tricky to shave your legs. Aside from the extra space, my family just really enjoyed having this balcony room. Many days, we were completely spent after dinner. I remember past cruises where we had absolutely nothing left in us, but pushed so hard to avoid giving up the day and holing up in our interior cabin. This time, when we were tired, we just went back to our balcony cabin and rested. Sometimes even caught a second wind…or just fell asleep to the sound of the ocean. So going forward, our logic is “You will want to spend more time in your cabin” and “If we can’t afford a balcony, we can’t afford to go”!

 

Now, the Miracle itself. I will preface with 2 points: (1)we cruised on a newly remodeled, huge ship last year and I was prepared for us to be let down…maybe even bored on this somewhat smaller boat (2) I was less than excited based on the other reviews of this ship and was actually disappointed after I booked and wished I had done more research before.

Here’s the thing: The Miracle was great. I had no complaints and I just don’t know what all the terrible reviews were about. Maybe some of them were first time cruisers? Or first time Carnival? Of course, the décor is gaudy and overdone! Of course, some items on the buffet are awkward texture and appearance! Of course, the shows are put on by amateur performers and are super cheesy! That’s just how cruises are! We know that and we embrace it. Honestly, if you are put off by this kind of thing…Carnival is not the cruise line for you. Some of the food is “ick”, but the good news is that there’s always something else for you to try and you are bound to find something you like. The staff will pretend to be your best friend…that’s their job. If it hurts your feelings that they might be “faking it”, then you should stay home and work on a relationship with your banker or your neighbor.

 

The shows: Standard for Carnival. They were the same shows we saw on a different ship last year. We only bothered this year with the one we missed last year. They are entertaining, but not worth a 2nd look. We did go to the Hasbro Game show again just because my kids wanted a chance to participate (they did not get picked again.)

 

The food: Standard for Carnival.

Breakfast: Buffet is available until around 10am. Omelet bar is available every morning as well as a hot grill breakfast (eggs, bacon, sausage, waffle, pancake, etc…) and a continental breakfast (pastry, breads, fruit, cereal, etc…) There is also a breakfast in the dining room where you can order from the menu if you have time and patience.

 

Lunch: This is where you will find the most self-service options. It goes on for hours…most of it from around 11 to around 3pm. (1) Salad bar-I actually liked the salad bar…or maybe the idea that I was eating a vegetable even if it was covered in ranch and bacon bits (2) Themed buffet-Sometimes Italian, sometimes American. This varies daily and is just a selection of hot food…meats, carbs, veggies, etc… (3) Chopsticks-The small Chinese section. I’m pretty simple when it comes to Chinese and some of this was too exotic for my taste (I don’t do any seafood and very few veggies), but I did like what I had. There is a little sauce area at the end and the hot chili sauce is delicious! I went back several times for just some fried rice with this chili sauce. (4) Carnival Deli has a selection of hot & cold sandwiches. I mean, they are sandwiches…meh sandwiches. Nothing special, but if you just want a simple sandwich, this is a good option. (5) Off the Grill is on the Lido deck and has something to please everyone. Made to order burgers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches. Also pretty good chicken strips, fries, kraut, chili, nachos and a big vat of cheese sauce. No one can lose here (unless you are confused enough to try and diet on a cruise). It’s perfectly American. (6) Pizza Pirate- Open almost 24 hours has a decent pizza. It’s a thin crust. People seem to love this pizza although I find the sauce to be a bit watery. I prefer the Quattro fromaggi which doesn’t have any red sauce. For me, the pizza is just ok, but kids and picky eaters will eat it up. (7) Sweet Spot is a dessert bar that has several selections that vary each day. Beware that cruise ship cheesecake, while not terrible is NOT the cheesecake you are used to. It’s very gelatin-like and most of the time, I just ate the crust because that part was delightful. The cakes are just cakes to me. My most favorite dessert from Sweet Spot was the “Citrus Neapolitan” which was a layered sort of custardy, flaky pastry.

 

Dinner: My family tries to eat dinner in the main dining room every night. We just think the food and atmosphere is better there and I like to have this time for us to be together, debrief and chill out. One of my kids had the steak and fries every single night. My older child has terrible taste and ordered from the kids menu most nights. Chicken nuggets, cheeseburger, PBJ are available every night if you have a picky one like me. 7 Nights x 3 courses x 4 people (some nights we ordered multiples) = just under 100 dishes brought to us in the dining room and there were about 5 that we turned our noses up and left on the plate. If you choose not to eat in the dining room, you will be limited to (1) The hot food buffet (2) The Carnival Deli and (3) Pizza Pirate (4) Sweet Spot

 

The Staff: Hit or miss…again standard for carnival. We were not particularly excited about our dining room staff. They were friendly, accurate and effective, but we didn’t make “friends” with them as we have on other cruises. Our room steward, Ronaldo, on the other hand, did make friends with us. We saw him several times daily and he always called us each by name even when it was down the hall, far from our cabin. The kid looked forward to seeing him in the evenings and telling him all about their day and showing him their wares. He did well to appear to be their honest to goodness pal. Our cruise director, Saffie, was fine, but this was her last cruise so I won’t waste anytime with details that don’t matter.

 

Activities: No different than we are used to seeing. As with most cruises there are some things that I enjoy and others that I just don’t understand. I also wish that I could be a cruise director because I just know that I could do so much better with the schedule. It seems like there is always some time where there are like 4 things we want to do, but can only be in one place at a time. And then, there are like 4-5 hour windows where we are just wishing there was something going on. But there is always the pool or just relaxing in the sun or shade. I had a good book this time so downtime didn’t bother me much. I will complain about the trivia though…I like to play some of the trivia they have and, I generally try to get to any that strike my interest where I think I will can win (TV theme songs, 80s music). But here’s the thing: all the trivia is done on the honor system. They ask questions and you write the answer. They are self-graded and whoever has the most right wins and there is a customary tie-breaker as needed. My problem is that I’m a huge dork and a stickler for rules and fairness and I can never win because everybody cheats! I know…I’m that girl. I’m usually not, but this just irks me. I want one of those freaking plastic trophies!! I know I have earned them several times only to have them stolen from me by some dude-bro who flirted most of the answers out of the bored housewife beside him and then confused the entire tie-breaker round with a “running man” dance-off to win the affections of the host and the 24 karat plastic ship on a stick! That was my win!! I’m the huge dork here and I rightfully won that stupid useless trophy and you stole it with your shenanigans. But, I digress…

 

Camp Carnival: My kids like camp. They always make new best friends. If you have kids of camp age, I encourage you to send them some time within the first day or two. Even if they are reluctant, some kind of bribe may be in order. Kids make friends easily, but they are usually super shy to the idea. Every kid here is alone (discounting siblings) and wide open to a new friendship, but they don’t realize that every other kid is in the same boat. If you can convince them to go for just an hour or two early on, they will likely be begging to go back the rest of the week. At my kids ages (9&11), I let them sign themselves in & out subject to a few of our own family rules. Camp is great if you just want a bit of time without the children, but for us, it’s just a means to my kids making friends that they will enjoy both in & out of camp through the week.

 

Misc ship notes: The ship was clean, in good shape and really enjoyable. We did not really notice it being much smaller. It was noticeably less crowded, which we appreciated. We did not miss the dive-in movie from our previous ship at all. We did miss the Blue Iguana Cantina that was on the Freedom, but not on the Miracle. The only other odd thing I will mention about this ship is some of the décor is what some might call ‘risque’. I wasn’t bothered by it myself, but there are several places where the art is like naked angels. I’ve seen the style before…don’t know what it’s called. My youngest boy pointed it out several times and just commented that it was so weird.

 

Ok, on to ports:

Cabo San Lucas: Our ship spent 2 days here. We did set sail overnight and come back the next day so that the casino and duty free shops could be open. I understand that you can choose to stay in Cabo overnight, but you do have to let Carnival know of your plans to do so. I wouldn’t recommend it, but that’s just me.

We were not enthused by any of the excursions offered by Carnival for this port. I generally purchase the Carnival excursions because I appreciate the authenticity of them. I like knowing that Carnival knows where I am and if I am late getting back, etc. I don’t mind paying the extra (even 200+% for the peace of mind). But, there was really nothing offered by carnival that I was willing to pay the asking price for. So, we took our chances in port as I read that so many others had. And it paid off.

When you get off the ship be prepared…you will be inundated with hawkers. They are overwhelming. One minute you are just walking along taking photos and suddenly there are 40 Mexican men yelling at you about what you want to do today. We did not yet have our bearings so we bypassed them all. (Note: There are a lot of overwhelming locals in Cabo, they are on you about every few seconds. But, almost everyone of them is responsive to “Gracias No” or “No thank you”.) We ended up bumping into a fella named Cruz. He’s just one of the many vendors that will set you up with activities. If it’s allowed here, I will highly recommend him. He did us well and we felt like he was fair and trustworthy and was always where he said he would be even though we paid him a significant amount of cash in advance for several things. The name of his “gig” is “Land’s End…uh…something or other”. He has a stand in the row right when you get off the pier. His is next to the ice cream stand and every day we saw him he was wearing a straw hat with a Quiksilver logo on it (my husband had bought the same hat the day before off the ship and Cruz tried to buy it off him!).

Here is our example of our local tour vs. the one we could have gotten from Carnival: We had decided that we wanted to try Parasailing and then, with Cruz’s help, opted into a taxi tour of Land’s End and then just some beach time. Carnival’s parasail excursion was $100 pp, the Land’s End tour was $35 pp, and any of the beach day with lunch/drinks excursions were about $80-100pp. (We would have paid Carnival ~$700 for our day.) All said and done, we paid Cruz $250 cash and charged $72 at The Office.

To be fair, the parasailing was one and done (they even pick up/drop off customers from taxis WHILE pulling a parasailer…this would never go over in America!), no bells or whistles, no flair, minimal hospitality. And the beach was a public beach, like the pier loaded with vendors…less than a minute between declining them.

But, we did enjoy our day. The tour was nice and interesting. Land’s End is beautiful (my husband was less impressed than me, just calling it “some rocks…big deal”). My kids enjoyed seeing the sea lions, the caves and the Pelicans. The food at the Office was great. Being from Kansas, I can really appreciate eating steak Tacos on the beach in Mexico with my toes in the sand. This was probably my favorite day.

The next day, we were on a tighter budget, so we just let Cruz line us up a water taxi back to Medano beach. We wandered around for a while and settled in at Andromeda Divers club. It was early enough in the morning that we got a nice “table” and loungers near the water. They’ll let you stay as long as you want if you are eating/drinking. We bought beers, 2 for 1 pina coladas, sodas and chips/guac (so good!!). We spent about $60 there for the day on top of our $40 taxi which I thought was pretty good for the 4 of us. The menu at Andromeda Divers Club was not as fancy as some of the other places. It was simple with some sandwiches, wraps and tacos. But, the restroom was clean, the service was great and they let us use their Wifi all day.

I loved Cabo, it was right up my tourist alley.

 

Puerto Vallarta:

We did book an excursion through Carnival here. We chose the Las Caletas Beach Hideaway based on all the amazing reviews. My husband said this was his favorite spot, although none of us were very impressed with Las Caletas overall. The boat ride there is about 40 minutes and the crew did a great job entertaining and keeping a drink in hand. Once we got there, the food was great. (If you do this excursion, be careful not to eat a big breakfast because you will eat as soon as you get to Las Caletas.) The beach..was ok. It was pretty rocky and I found it difficult to navigate into the water. But, that’s not their fault, I guess. There are quite a few things to do here. Kayaking, paddleboarding, snorkeling, etc…but we ran into a problem. JELLYFISH!! They were everywhere! Now, after my initial freak out, someone told me that these were not the jellyfish that sting and I believe that now since there were so many and I didn’t see anyone stung during the day. But, I’m pretty skittish with wildlife and even moreso with sealife so after my first encounter, I didn’t spend much more time in the water. The other thing worth mentioning about the beach is that they make EVERYONE wear life vests in the water. I understand why, but I also found it kind of annoying.

Since my oldest son and I were averse to jellyfish and were avoiding the water, we decided to do the kids adventure canopy. This was great for my son. He got to play with some monkeys, ride a burro up a mountain and zip line down. He loved it! I, on the other hand, just wished I had known in advance that I was going to have to PULL my 100lb son and this burro up a mountain, through a Mexican jungle in my flip flops and swimsuit. Ugh!! I would rather do P90X. It was cool and I don’t regret it, but I just wished I would have dressed accordingly and carried some water.

There was another area that I think we would have really enjoyed but didn’t because my kids didn’t meet the 14 y/o age requirement. They had a cool adventure park that had a crazy waterslide that came down a steep mountain and then shot you up into the air before dropping you in the ocean. Plus a zipline over the water and one of those cool pillow things that I always wanted to do where you sit on the edge of this humongous pillow and someone jumps on the other side and launches you into the water. Maybe someday…

All in all, this excursion was ok. I can see why some people found it amazing and perfect. We probably would have if not for the age requirement we didn’t know about and the creepy jellyfish.

 

Too long; Didn’t read: The Miracle is a great ship. Don’t be fooled by other reviews. Cabo is great if you know what you’re doing. Las Caletas in PV might be for you, or it might not.

[Momofshan]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for a PERFECT review! I think you and I would get along great - you don't sweat the small stuff, you appreciate a cruise for what it is, you're funny (I'm a rule follower too...trivia cheaters may send me over the edge, lol!), you don't look for things to complain about, and you are completely fair in your assessment of food, activities, the ship, ports, etc. etc.

 

Cruising is what you make it - if a person can't have an excellent time on a floating hotel with literally endless opportunities to eat, relax, party, have fun, enjoy the scenery, visit with friends/family/strangers, I really cannot relate to that.......

 

As the self-appointed cruise director for the June 2017 Miracle cruise with 20+ friends and family - I appreciate this review! We are already planning to book Las Caletas. :)

 

Cheers!

Edited June 13, 2016 by Momofshan

[mlipreston]

Thank you for your review!!!!!

[Laurie S.]

Miracle is a great ship! We were on her in February and heading back in August. We only sail on Spirit class ships and get an aftwrap balcony with the separate rooms. Can't wait to get back on her and go diving at the ports.

[SadieN]

Thanks for the review. We've sailed on the Miracle and done variations of this itin many times.

 

Bit of advice--- don't sail the Pride (one of Miracle's sisters). She's decorated in old world paintings ;).

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[riffatsea]

Thank your for writing!! Your review was great!!

The only thing I object to is your idea that everyone cheats at trivia!!

We go on the Miracle every year since we live in California and we like trivia. We have won a ship on a stick sooo many times that this last year we didn't play at all.

We have NEVER cheated!!

I am sorry that you have not won yet. You are allowed to form a team so perhaps that would help you next time?? Don't give up!

[oneteeny]

I highly highly highly recommend the steak house for dinner on at least one of the nights. So very worth the $35 per person charge.

[65stang]

Thank you very much for this review. My family and I will be sailing on the Miracle in a few months and like you I am looking for as many reviews as possible. I agree some good and a lot bad. Well I'm not a complainer and I just love getting to have a vacation with my family so unless it is so horrible that it truly ruined my vacation sure I would complain, however, most of these people just get upset about the smallest things and allow that to set their tone till the end and ruin their own vacation. I have spent far too many years of not being able to take a vacation with the whole family so we make the best of any situation.

I wholeheartedly agree with you about the kids club. Our son still keeps in contact with several kids he met in the teen club last year and our 9 year old daughters best friend to this day is a boy she met in the club a year ago. They skype and play online games together quite often.

 

How were the activities for the kids club the week you went?

Do you by chance have a copy of their schedule for the week that you could post or send? Just so I have an idea. Especially since it appears that your kids are the same age as our youngest.

If you can think of anything else about your time on the Miracle I look forward to reading about it. Again thank you for the review.

Edited June 14, 2016 by 65stang

[TJinWA]

Thank you for a great human perspective view review - you should get the trophy for it! We are on the Miracle to Hawaii 15 days Jan 14 - can someone tell me if the Sweet Spot is in the Lido Deck Buffet or The Fountainhead Cafe? The deck plans don't show it and the dining options don't show The Fountainhead Cafe.

[swaninwa]

Perfect timing as hubby and I will be on the Miracle (for our 2nd cruise!) in a few weeks. Excellent review! Thank you!

[Beave8920]

What a great review! Heading out on the Miracle in a few weeks and although 15 Carnival cruises under our belt, we've never been on the Miracle.

 

I quit reading most of them because of all the whining - but like you, we are "go with the flow" kind of people, so your review was right up our alley!

 

Now I'm ready! :D

[Ratdoggie]

Thank you for the great review. Do you remember where the tender docked in Cabo, or any landmark or specific stores that were nearby? We are meeting family who are staying in Cabo on the day we will be there (Jan 31, off the Miracle). They have asked me if the tenders will be coming in by the marina or the mall. I have no idea what this means, but it would help us in finding each other.

 

Thank you!

[VASOXFANN]

Thanks for the review! We're taking the same cruise next month, and we can't wait!

 

Do they do the afternoon teas on Miracle?

[ileys]

Thank you for the great review. Do you remember where the tender docked in Cabo, or any landmark or specific stores that were nearby? We are meeting family who are staying in Cabo on the day we will be there (Jan 31, off the Miracle). They have asked me if the tenders will be coming in by the marina or the mall. I have no idea what this means, but it would help us in finding each other.

 

Thank you!

Here is where you would emerge after being dropped by the tender:

 

Dropped Pin

 

https://goo.gl/maps/dYU8v6NLBFo

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Forums mobile app

[louanne93]

Thank you for the great review. Do you remember where the tender docked in Cabo, or any landmark or specific stores that were nearby? We are meeting family who are staying in Cabo on the day we will be there (Jan 31, off the Miracle). They have asked me if the tenders will be coming in by the marina or the mall. I have no idea what this means, but it would help us in finding each other.

 

Thank you!

 

We took this cruise in August and are going again in March. In August the tenders came in by the marina.

[Ratdoggie]

Thank you, that is very helpful!

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[easyboy]

Thanks for the feedback.

[crusing48/51]

thank you so much for your review. DH and I will be on the Miracle in December, sailing to Hawaii, and your review really helped us.

 

Happy Sailing!

[Computer Nerd]

We met a cute honeymooning young couple on their first cruise with whom we shared some cruising tips and they returned the favor with a valuable line cut a few days later!

 

I stopped reading at this point. :(

[jefffrompawpaw]

I stopped reading at this point. :(

 

 

You missed a fabulous review. I hope I never run into you on a cruise. From one post and your board name I can tell you aren't a fun(but you probably think you are).

[gtaylor]

I share Computer Nerd's concern about this.

 

I also have a problem with it.

 

gary

[Computer Nerd]

You missed a fabulous review. I hope I never run into you on a cruise. From one post and your board name I can tell you aren't a fun(but you probably think you are).

 

Ditto. :rolleyes:

[crusinpsychRN]

I don't geet the upset.

[sanmarcosman]

I don't geet the upset.

You may when the people cutting in line are doing it in front of you and you've been standing there for some time.