Normal 1

The tepidarium, aroma steam bath, oriental steam bath, laconium are the varying temperature steam/relaxation areas in the Spa only on Dream Class, Splendor, and Vista. Also includes the Thalasso Pool, (fancy hot tub). These areas are included for passengers in Spa cabins or they sell a set number of cruise long and day packages.

I have not sprung for the extra cost items so no experience. They do still have normal Saunas available at no extra charge.

Glory has Guys Burgers. Splendor has Thalasso and 'fancy' tepidariums, etc. like the Dream Class. Splendor was last dry docked March 2016. Glory to go to dry dock Feb 2017.

Splendor has a great combo group called FUNtology. Excellent tunes!! Chloe Lodo was CD last month. Really enjoyed her. I liked Splendor (lots of Pink and all). Thought the crew was great and Ship was well maintained.

Was on the Glory this past March and can't recall who the CD was. Was my 2nd time on her. No complaints. LOVE Guys!!! Really had hoped Splendor would have had Guys added when in dry dock so we could partake!

I would sail either one again in a heartbeat!!

For 2017, the Miracle is doing a 'Journey's' Cruise in September RT from LA including Glacier Bay.

Could be they are tracking the popularity of this to determine if a similar event in 2018 should be offered.

I am very interested in the 2017 Journey's event but not sure I can talk the hubby into it....

I was also on the 10/6 sailing. Elegant Nights were first Sea Day and Grand Cayman day (switched from Cozumel due to Concert).

I have to disagree with other posters. I thought the Ship and Crew were some of the best. I turned Platinum and found our room steward and MDR waiter to be very friendly as well as the servers in the Casino. Thought CD Chloe was Great. Staff in Steak House were fun and friendly also. Agree the group FUNtology was EXCELLENT. the Casino Manager Daisy was fun also.

Would have liked to have watched Carnival Quest the night they had it but started at 11:30 and we had an early excursion the next day.

Saw the Captain out and about on a regular basis and he always seemed very pleasant to passengers and crew.

There are only a few ships that will allow 5 in a cabin. Dream Class have Deluxe Ocean Views that will do so. 2 upper bunks, 1 lower single (bolsters come off the couch to become bed), 2 lower twins/king.

These cabins also come with an extra bathroom (sink/and tub/shower combo). Helpful when showering each day. Not sure if any Dream Class ships 'do' a 5 day. Could be the 'smaller' Fantasy class will accommodate 5.

I personally would not want to try to do 5 in a balcony. Consider doing 3 in a balcony and 2 in an inside across the hall. may not be that much more.

Good luck.

You can also order room service (most items free). They have yummy chocolate chip cookies and chocolate cake.

The nominal charge for the goodies at the coffee shop are worth it. Love their cheese cake and oatmeal raisin cookies.

We used the Crowne Plaza in 2013. Stayed 4 nights pre cruise and did not rent a car. Walked and used public transport for everything.

I am a IHG.com rewards member and took out their credit card and made a small purchase. Had enought points to stay for free.

Enjoyed our stay there.

We have been cruising for about 6 years. Have done about 9 cruises with Royal Caribbean during that time. Royal has priced me out for fall break and we're looking at Carnival Dream out of New Orleans. Reviews are mixed and I'm not reading much positive or finding many thorough reviews with ship info.

 

It will be myself, DH, Dd 10, and Ds 7. Our oldest daughter is getting married the day before the cruise and I just want a week at sea to recover.

 

Help reassure me this will be a comparable experience.

I have sailed both Royal and CArnival. I find them to have many similarities.

I have sailed the Dream and she has some great things to offer. If you are getting 1 cabin for the 4 of you, do get a deluxe ocean view. These are 220 sq ft cabins but have 1.75 bathrooms. The typical bathroom with a shower and a 2nd bathroom with a sink and tub/shower combo. Very handy when 4 need to get ready for dinner.

Go with an open mind and enjoy. You will be on a cruise...embrace the good and ignore the negative!

Seeking input from Miami experts. Will be staying at Hilton Cabana mid-October 1 night post cruise. Expect to mostly relax and enjoy the beach.

Looking for suggestions for close reasonably priced restaurants. 3 of us like seafood, 1 does not. I define reasonable as $25 or less for an entrée.

Also, is there a Starbucks or such nearby where we could grab a bite for breakfast or are we better off waiting to get to MIA? We need to be at MIA about 8 a.m.

Thank you for your help.

we see they got the FTTF plan where you pay 59.95 to bypass the lines but wonder if is worth it or not we didn't use it last time we cruised has anyone ever used it?

We have FTTF for March 5. (I will be platinum after this cruise). For us, FTTF is worth it. HMC is our first Port and is a tender port. FTTF gets priority tendering. We want to get off quickly to get a clam shell.

We also like to board early and have access to our cabin. The quicker we get on board, the quicker the cruise begins!:D

Only you can decide of it is worth it. We used it last year also when we drove to port and wanted to get started on the long drive home.

Port of Miami - effective a couple weeks ago, Carnival implemented an assigned time embarkation. You need to go to the on-line check in page and select a time. If you arrive at port prior to your time, you will not be permitted to enter the terminal. Even if you have FTTF or are Platinum+, you still select a check in time.

I am cruising March 5 on the Glory and received an email from, Carnival announcing this change and instructions to select a time. This change is for ALL Carnival sailings from POM.

Was just announced by John Heald today effective tomorrow.

We drove from Central IL to POM last March. We DID get a surpass and activated it on the road. The screens at the tolls will show invalid or such for the first few days of use. (I wasted an hour on the phone confirming all was fine). DO NOT exit on International Drive for lunch! Was crazy busy. The Oasis Plazas have good food options.

I did the automatic reload option on the surpass tied to my credit card. Had no issues and in September we traded cars and submitted via the website for a refund of unused funds. This was prompt and easy also.

I95runs parallel to the Turnpike in several spots and seems to frequently have more traffic. The $25 or so In Tolls was worth it to us not to have to deal with the heavy traffic.

Navigating to the port was easy with good signage. Parking at POM is $20 per day but is covered and secure and quick/easy access after the cruise to get back on the road. Many locals suggest caution if considering offsite parking.

We did the last 2 sailings of the season in 2013 on Carnival Miracle and got both Tracy Arm and Glacier Bay. first week was round trip Seattle and the 2nd week was Seattle to Vancouver. We did 4 nights pre cruise in Seattle and 3 post cruise in Vancouver.

Agree with others on doing the small boat tour for Tracy Arm. That was amazing. I actually preferred the South Sawyer Glacier to the one in Glacier Bay. More Blue ice in South Sawyer. The day cruising in Glacier Bay was a full day of fabulous, breath taking scenery. Hard to look away was so great.

We had unusual fantastic weather for the 3 weeks we were in the area. All the locals were commenting on this. Mornings were cool but warming tot shirts most afternoons. Layers were a must.

For us, the 2 cruises worked. Husband is a home body. was not sure I would ever get him to agree to another cruise so we wanted to be sure we saw as much as possible. Being in each port twice allowed for that. we knew we wanted to salmon fish and did so twice. Even late in the season we did well and shipped a lot of fish home.

can't predict weather so just be prepared. My favorite excursion was Carnivals Railway and Laughton Glacier hike in Skagway. when we do Alaska again, I will repeat this excursion!

How/where did you get this rate? I've been stalking for a while trying to get it for March below $250. Thanks!

Looks like Friday, March 25 has a rate of $134. That is super cheap for this hotel! I belong to the IHG Rewards Club and would recommend that as a quick way to get free or vastly reduced nights.

That is an excellent rate for March. There is no beach nearby downtown Miami. a cab to south beach will be about $25 each way. A 5 minute walk from the IC is Bayside Market Place with a number of restaurants and shops, etc. There is also a Walgreens or CVs across from Bayside for last minute items.

As I recall, there are several tour operators around Bayside and may include a hop on hop off tour to South Beach. If you do make it to South Beach and any of you are history buffs, there is a very nice (and free) holocaust memorial just a few blocks from Lincoln Road (one of the main drags in SB).

I will be staying at the IC in March (using Reward Nights) and this will be 2nd time there. nice Place.

We were almost in the same situation but the airline changed the arrival time from 10:00 p.m. Until 11:30. I was able to change to MIA for no additional fee. I had done some research and found John's Car Service. For $85 (this includes tip), they will pick up at FLL and drop at most Miami hotels. just Google their name and FLL to find their site.

We used the Country Inn and Suites in 2013. Very nice property with excellent pool area. Adjacent to a gas station for filling up.

What I really liked was the 'cruise parking lot' was immediately in front of the hotel. Thought this reduced the possibility of vehicles being tampered with. (they also kept their fresh cookies well stocked throughout the day/evening)

Our itinerary is that of Tracy Arm Fjord, Skagway, Jeneau, Ketchikan & Victoria BC. Are you saying that you don't get to see great glacier views? I would be so disappointed. Do you have any pics you could share perhaps?

I did a review of our back to back with several pictures. Search this forum for Miracle alaskan B2B to see it. I am on my IPad so copy/paste is difficult. As others have said, head to the Alaska port pages and you will find a lot of info. Weather will be a crap shoot. Check out your roll call also. Chances are good that there will be veterans there who can answer questions.

You have plenty of time to research. I used the Carnival excursions to get an idea of what was most popular at each port then used trip advisor and Google searches to see what independent operators were available. i would suggest reserving excursions sooner rather than later as many book up quickly.

Hotel Suggestions - If you travel frequently, are you members of any hotel chain rewards club? I belong to the Holiday Inn (Intercontinental Hotel Group) rewards club and get points for all my stays. I even took out their credit card and after the first use, 'got' 50,000 points. That was enough to 'get' 4 nights free at the Crowne Plaza Downtown Seattle. The CP was a fabulous hotel centrally located and easily walkable to most sites. You can join most chains clubs on-line (and will then get emails, etc. to take out their credit cards)

The SeaTac airport is a ways from the City so you may consider taking their train to downtown (easy and inexpensive). Lots of information on doing this on the Home Ports portion of these pages. Seattle is a wonderful city with lots of things to do. Consider a couple days here if you can. We did:

Sailing in July, you will have Tracy Arm Fjord as opposed to Glacier Bay. Do seriously consider the Small Boat Excursion (Exclusive Carnival Tour) for this. The small boat does 2 trips and pulls along side the Ship. The first group gets on (it is a double decker boat) and off you go to get up close and personal to waterfalls, the Sawyer Glacier, etc.

We 'did' the last 2 cruises of the season in 2013 so we got Tracy Arm and Glacier Bay. Both are fabulous in their on way. The Glacier Bay day was a day long glide through smooth as glass waters with fabulous scenery along the way.

The Ship will get near the Sawyer Glacier on Tracy Arm day but the small boat gets much closer. I liked the Sawyer Glacier as it seems to have more of the 'blue' coloring than the glacier from Glacier Bay.

Be warned.... Alaska excursions are expensive. The excursion we enjoyed the most was at Skagway. We did the narrow gauge rail and hike to Laughton Glacier. It was an all day excursion and fabulous - Got to walk on the toe of the glacier. Requires hiking several miles some over rugged terrain. This was a Carnival excursion and does take the entire day.

Do plan your excursions in advance. Not like Caribbean where there are a large number of locals 'selling' excursions dock side. (Alaskan Port pages have a ton of information).

The dress on Alaskan cruises is more casual than Caribbean cruises. You will see a lot of jeans. And, my husband was always quick to point out those men wearing 'logo' t-shirts and jeans in the dining room. (I made him wear polos and dockers dinner)

You will want to have layers for the port days. Short sleeve t-shirt, light weight fleece, medium weight and/or water repellent jacket, hat/gloves. A warmer 'north face' with a dollar store or Disney type rain poncho works too.

It does tend to be rainy (southeast Alaska is considered a rain forest) so be prepared. Hiking boots are not necessary (unless you have them already) but 2 pairs of tennis shoes are a good idea in case one gets wet. Crumpled up newspapers stuffed in shoes helps tremendously if they get wet. Pack a few days papers and you are set.

Take plenty of SD cards or such. I took more than 3000 pictures. Simply amazing scenery.

Holler if you have specific questions. You are sure to get lots on input.

I had an 18 year old H.S. Senior (girl) in 2012 when we cruised. The Club 02 Director DID allow exceptions as the demographics on this sailing was a light load in the 15-18 range. They also allowed in a couple almost 15 year old kids who were in H.S. As others have stated, many times the 15 and up kids use the area outside Club 02 to meet up and hang out.

I was also active on our roll-call and knew several families with kids in that age range (including one of the 14 year olds...). We had an informal meet and greet after muster drill so the older kids could meet early in the cruise. Via the roll call, we also chose some of the same excursions so the kids had others their age for port days.

I completed several surveys and mentioned having something for the 18-20 year olds early in the cruise so they can meet. Glad they are trying this again. When my DD was 19, there was a Meet Up for 18-20 in the Fun Times but she was the only one who showed up. Seems now they are putting invites in the cabins on day 1. For those with kids in this age range, please encourage your kids to attend these events. If the activities are not utilized, they will be discontinued.

And, if your son wants to just hang with you... enjoy the time with him. Time passes so quickly after H.S.

I used them once a couple years ago with success. Keep an eye on them to be able to 'join' for free. They run this promo a lot. Would not pay to join.

Not sure about better. When we sailed from Port Canaveral in 2013, we stayed at Country Inn and Suites and used their parking package (believe over spring break it was $160 for the night and included 7 days parking). Rather than use their shuttle service to get to the port, we cabbed it. With 3, was about the same cost as paying for the shuttle. Our cruise was actually delayed on the return and we were a day late returning to the hotel to pick up our van. They did not charge any additional.

Country Inn and Suites had a nice breakfast that was included and a very nice pool/hot tub area if you like that sort of thing. The area for cruise parking is directly in front of the hotel and well lit so felt comfortable leaving my van there. If you choose to park at the port, it is $15/day and you pay for day in/day out. Meaning a 7 night cruise will be $120.

The hotel was convenient to access restaurants and gas stations.

I am still seriously considering a suite or condo on an upper floor after reading lots of reviews. I know we want to go to Bayside Market Place because (believe it or not, and yes we are from the midwest) we really want to eat at Bubba Gumps for the 1st time!

What is the best way to get there from Doubletree? If the weather is good, wouldn't mind walking 15 or 20 minutes. Is there any freebie transportation that won't take us around town for half an hour before delivering us there? Best to take a cab?

There is a people mover free tram system that has a stop just a block or so away. We used it when we stayed at the Marriott next door to Doubletree. We did take a cab back to the hotel after dinner at Bubba Gumps. As others have noted, there are dining options in the lower level that is shared with Marriott. A 10 minute stroll north on Biscayne Blvd is a deli/bakery type place called The Daily Creative Food Company. they had very yummy breakfast items there. seemed to be a local place and I learned about it here on these boards.

Happy Birthday and enjoy your cruise.

I'm glad you mentioned this one. I went and looked at it online and now I want to go back to Alaska just to do this! What port did you do this excursion from? One thing I read says Juneau, but another said it wasn't from a port but they took you right from the ship.

Will second the Tracy Arm Explorerer Adventure. It is NOT from a port. The ship will stop so the double decker Explorer Boat can come along side and load passengers. The Boat travels faster than the Ship but both go the same direction. After a couple hours, the Boat returns the first load to the ship and picks up a 2nd load. The Boat can get up close to shore where the Ship can't. Fabulous time.

Also, on the Alaskan itinerary, in Skagway is the Laughton Glacier Hike with Train. This is an all day excursion including 8 miles on the narrow gauge RR. You deboard train and begin hike to the glacier. Company provides day packs and lunch/snacks. You actually get to walk on the glacier. It is a FABULOUS experience. Not too rigorous for those in moderate shape. Some chose not to hike all the way to the glacier (my husband one of those due to knee issues). The last mile or so was rocky and a bit tough. Guides are with you all the time.

When we reboarded train (the train that dropped us off continued on its merry way), there were several passengers very concerned they would miss the ship due to lateness. They were fellow Carnival passengers and we assured them that the 20 in our group were on a Carnival excursion and we were certain the Ship would not leave us. We were about 30 minutes late getting back to the ship.

The glacier hike was the hi-light of our B2B in Alaska. Alaska is expensive. Anything involving air transport is more so. This excursion allowed us to get up close and personal with some of the beauty of the area. Cost was $250 each but well worth it for an all day excursion including food/snacks.

Everyone should do Alaska at least once. It is beautiful. We spent 2 weeks on the ship and I would jump at the chance to do it all again.