SoCalKJ

http://www.lascanadas.com/en/Canopy-Tour-Zipline-in-Ensenada-Baja-California.php

Get off the ship early enough and you won't need to worry about getting back on time. The tour guides do this ALL the time...there are at least 4 Carnival stops a week (2 Inspiration/2 Imagination), Princess hits there once or twice...who knows who else? The point is, you can trust the tour - just don't wait until after noon to test their reliability!! :D

I've gone twice now and it's fun & affordable. You can take the $2 shuttle bus into town and where it lets everyone off, you can book the tour right then and there. If you want to add a visit to the Blowhole/Outside Flea Market for the combo tour, it's about $50 and you'll be back in plenty of time to catch your ship. I've added a link to the website where the adventure tour is to give you an idea. This place is way cool! I would even camp there if the opportunity arose! :)

http://www.lascanadas.com/en/Canopy-Tour-Zipline-in-Ensenada-Baja-California.php

Enjoy!

It's definitely on our "MUST DO" (again) list. :)

Dang! Y'all have really awesome, LONG, vacations! I'm lucky I could break away from work for a week (I'm a wedding DJ...booked this one LAST SUMMER...as far in advance as possible) in the middle of my busy season. We loved Alaska when we went in 2011, but first week of May vs. middle of July?! No question we HAD to go again! :)

7/8 - Fly LAX to Seatac - we're Platinum so we are kinda cool and have priority embarking. :rolleyes:

7/9 - Day at Sea

7/10 - Tracy Arm Fjord - probably sit in a hot tub on the Serenity Deck and give thanks to God for His amazingness!

7/11 - Skagway - Hopefully a Green Jeep rental (email reservation pending)

7/12 - Juneau - Gold Mining and Salmon Bake

7/13 - Ketchikan - Undecided...we went fishing last time...not sure if we want to repeat...it was about $550 for our own boat for 4 1/2 hours, 3 rock fish and a biased, right-wing, homo-phobic, overly-opinionated captain. :(

7/14 - Victoria - is there even time to do anything?

7/15 - Debark - cry - stop at Pike's Market for some Salmon Chowder and drown our sorrows - shuttle back to Seatac and fly home.

Compared to everyone else, ours is piddly. But we're excited anyway. :D

Thank you for sharing the link to this review on "the other thread", I just finished reading and again, laughed many times. I love the "potty mouth" ship on a stick...wonder if that would work for me? LOL!!!

 

We moved from CA to PA when I was 10, so the Steelers became my favorite team. I can't believe you found a Steelers pancho in Mexico! We were on a cruise to the Western Caribbean in March 2006, right after the Steelers finally won their 5th (one for the thumb) Superbowl after their dry spell. I had on a championship Tshirt and there was a couple on the cruise in the buffet line with us for breakfast who were wearing the same shirts the day we were in Cozumel and we ended up exchanging names and talking to them. After we got back on the ship (Miracle) after our Cozumel stop, someone asked my DH if he was the one who traded his Steeler championship Tshirt to one of the vendors in Cozumel for a $70 Mexican blanket. Wasn't us so the guy who asked told us what he'd heard. After he told us about it, we were asked a few other times if it was us. What happened was that another man who had the same shirt on was with his wife in a shop in Cozumel and his wife loved the blanket but couldn't see spending $70 for it. The man selling it was a huge Steeler fan and told her and her DH that he would love to do an even trade of the blanket for the Steeler shirt and he'd also be willing to throw in a Tshirt that her DH could wear instead of going shirtless. They took the deal (I'm pretty sure those shirts were only about $15.00 and were still available on-line). The next day, we ran into the couple that we'd seen in the buffet that had the same shirts as me and I asked if he was the one who made the trade. He laughed, told us it WAS him then asked if that story was all over the ship and I told him we were approached by three others asking if it was us. He said he got a deal and would just get another one when they got home.

 

You're an awesome singer! Love the videos. Enjoyed the review, especially since Mother Nature gifted us with between 6 and 8 inches of snow between last night and this morning. :)

There's a pretty decent variety of sporting stuff in Ensenada...although the Steelers stuff is, no doubt, a little pricier than the CA teams. I'm not a huge fan of any of our teams (Raiders are just synonymous with gangs, Lakers are a bunch of spoiled, overpaid exhibitionists, uh...guess that leaves the Giants, A's and the Clippers...not much else, unless you wanna include hockey hype...LOL!). I just couldn't get over how douchey the one guy was. Believe me, never feel guilty in Ensenada when you wanna power-bargain there and they try to turn on the sob story! Although I do think $70 for a (even the heavier quality) blanket was too high. Could've gotten 2-3 and a couple t-shirts for that! (Well...in Ensenada...LOL!!)

6-8 inches of snow is only cool if it's melting as it's dropping, right?! I went to visit Seattle Feb. 7-10 and it was gorgeous and sunny (albeit C-O-L-D!!)...my plan was to drive down to Portland and visit my Dad before I flew home. Nope. Worst snow storm in 47 years he's lived there! I saw on the news people snow skiing downtown in the streets...that would be the only way I could get there (Sadly, I don't snow ski.)

Thanks for the vocal kudos. :-)

We're on the Miracle in July and have a 14-hour stop in Skagway. In 2011, we booked the Rail Adventure and the Dog Mushing excursions and this time we just want to do our own thing. I reserved a car with Avis and figured with gas, it'll be hella-cheaper and more adventurous this way.

So...I'd love some ideas from those who have previously rented a car in Skagway. Where to go? What to see? What to do? Where to eat? :confused: :)

Yeah. They had us walk through that first market area where everyone goes through and then across the street to a fountain where you wait for their van to pick you up. There's a place inside the market where you can check-in or call to make sure you're directed to the right area and they know you're waiting. :-)

Check out http://www.paradiseoceansports.com for amazing water excursions. They're not through Carnival, but they're cheaper and guaranteed. We used 'em in Nassau and would use them again in a heartbeat!

This was my Platinum Induction Cruise from 11/2013. Not as long or as detailed as Bahamas, but for those who need a good chuckle, what the heck, right? :)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1948887

We were on Miracle for an 8 day to Panama before it moved to the west coast. It is the same class as Spirit. I love the secret garden hallway in the front of the boat. Didn't find it until day 4 or so. The only gaudy thing about Miracle is the very purple dining room. :eek:

 

 

 

You need to go on Breeze..guarantee you will go down the slides more than twice. :D

The Breeze, eh?

Will do some research! :-)

Thanks, I was just about to ask. :D

You're very welcome!

I always love a good "Inspiration"-al review, having been on her several times. I totally understand about the boarding delays after the ridiculous weekend cruises: SO MANY people go on that cruise with the intention of getting as stupid as possible (I know, firsthand: search the Kickball Cruise from hell posts!)

Can't wait to read more!

BTW...I was born in Portland. :-)

Funny that you mention diving to the bottom of a swimming pool searching for coins, we did that too! I was born in CA (San Jose) and lived there till I was 10. The high school pool was open in the summer for recreational use and on Friday's they'd have races for ribbons and when the races were done, they threw coins in the pool for us to go after. I came home with almost $2.00 once and you'd have thought I hit the jackpot. LOL!!!

 

We did book another last minute cruise for April and are going on Liberty to the Western Caribbean this time since it's been awhile that we've been there. We are really looking forward to it. It's sunny and about 70 today but we may get another six inches of snow tomorrow night into Monday. It's been like a roller coaster this winter. I hope you have a wonderful cruise to Alaska, that will be beautiful and also one we'd like to do someday. Saw in your signature that it's Miracle you'll be on - love that ship and great layout and it doesn't seem as crowded for some reason. We did a Western Caribbean on Miracle in 2006.

That's cool! I was actually born in Portland, Oregon (didn't live there long...moved around A LOT) but lived in NorCal (Fairfield) from ages 4-12. We'd go to the public pool all the time! Happy days!

I've not been on the Miracle yet. I booked the Junior Suite (have some regrets, but can't get out of it now) and I'm really looking forward to this getaway: both my & DH's birthdays fall during this cruise so it's gonna be awesome. We did Alaska on the Spirit in 2011...I think they're in the same class...but it'll be cool to explore what makes the Miracle unique. The time CANNOT seem to speed up though....I booked this last June when the rates/itineraries were first posted. So, I suppose 113 days is better than 400+! :-)

I just saw the link to your review that you posted on another thread and since winter is still around and I'm freezing my "you-know-what" off and dreaming of warm sunny beaches, I took an hour and a half to read it and just finished. I missed it when you originally posted because we didn't have any cruises planned...yet...and hadn't spent too much time on CC due to the upcoming holidays and all the fun preparations. We booked Valor (Southern Caribbean) on Jan. 15, 2013, for a sailing in May 2013, two days after the last post and then spent my CC time researching the Port of Call boards. I have to say I loved your review and the way you write, I laughed out loud more than once, actually quite a few times. You're pictures were also great and I love the ones of HMC. We were in HMC in May 2010 and could not get over how pretty it was there. We didn't do any snorkeling since the water was so clear that we didn't think we'd see much. I did find one small, "beached", sand dollar down at the far end by the rocks and made it home. That same cruise also went to Grand Turk, where I found a beautiful sea urchin...that broke less than a minute after I found it when the wind kicked up and took it right out of my hand, smashing it when it landed on the rocks. Again, great review and thanks for sharing the link.

You're very welcome!! Thanks for reading! I've written a few reviews, but man! They're work!!

About HMC snorkeling...there are so many amazing views under the water! It was like being a little kid again and diving to the bottom of a swimming pool searching for coins! I broke more sand dollars in HMC than on the way back!

I wanna go back! Those bigger multi-colored family cabanas were under construction when we were there, so I'm sure those would be a hoot for a larger party to rent!

Hang in there with your winter! You'll be on your next ship in no time! Alaska is our next one!!

Thanks for attaching the link to your review. I just spent an hour and a half reading it then had to commented on it. I LOVED it and LOL'd more than once...quite a few times actually. I really love how you wrote it and enjoyed all of your pictures too. Winter is still here, so I needed that "cruise fix" break.

Thank you so much!! I've only written a few, but that one was seriously an ordeal! LOL!

I'm pretty much a nobody around here, but I had a lot of fun contributing this one. I hope someone enjoys it. :)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1742125

Pride in 2004 out of Long Beach to Puerto Vallarta, Cabo & Mazatlan.

Hubby and I have (surprisingly) done well on the EBT's on the Inspiration...but after it came out of dry dock in November, those tables came out, too.

Are any of them on the Miracle?

I've got a Junior Suite on the Miracle in July. For $25 more, I'll take the Owner's Suite! :-)

You're missing out on the intrigue and mystery of not knowing whether it's day or night, sunny or rainy, etc. because of all those other overrated features...like having a larger room...with a window, a door and outside balcony.

But, whatever. :D

In all seriousness, good call with the upgrade...that's a great deal...especially for one person!

Temperature is all relative isn't it. We are in the 40s this week, but we were -20 over the weekend! :eek: all the kids are at recess with no coats. My Mom puts a coat on when drops below 60 degrees. She lives in Phoenix. :p

That's hilarious!! I'm like your Mom! Sometimes in the middle of a hot summer, my hands and feet are freezing while the rest of me is warm. I have become kind of a wussy living in Southern California...when it drops below 70, I pack a sweater! LOL!

How long after you made reservations did you get your conformation? I just made them but the web site is acting up.

I made the reservation at about 2:30 am (I'm a LATE BIRD!) on February 26th and got an email confirmation later that same morning (9-ish).

Push! Push! Push! Push! Push!.......endlessly pushing the shampoo dispenser for enough that will bring a little lather!! I don't mind using it...heck, we pay enough for the room...but I ALWAYS bring conditioner! :-)

By the way, I picked the night of my husbands's 42nd Birthday. I just won't tell them, because he ABHORS strangers singing the gratuitous b-day song...LOL!!!

I went to "Manage Cruise" section on Carnival.com and went to a section that said Steakhouse by onboard activities/excursions/etc. There's an email address to email your reservation request and what night/time and they'll email you back. I'm pretty sure it's $35/person and it'll be charged to your S&S account.

I've gotten my confirmation, so I think the sooner you act, the better your chances.