Joker440

Here's an article about your medical evacuation:  https://www.foxbusiness.com/fox-news-lifestyle/carnival-cruise-ship-passenger-airlifted-coast-guard-180-miles-cape-cod-massachusetts 

I'm not aware of any certain hours.  But you use your room card to pay for soap and the machines.

I just paid $7 for a pack of Marlboros at the bar last week. Plus the 15% automatic gratuity. :)

We just got off the Splendor Saturday. They delivered the alcohol to our room around 7pm Friday night.

My last two cruises on the Miracle out of Long Beach this year, I purchased 4 cartons each time. I declared them on my form. Wasn't "invited" to visit with CBP and wasn't charged any duties.

We ate at the food truck in February and it was great. Saw people getting HUGE breakfast burritos. We did carne asada fries and some tacos. You get lots of food for a very reasonable price. We will be eating there again this Saturday before boarding the Miracle. :)

Look at Deck 9 Forward. http://www.cruisecritic.com/carnival-miracle-deck-plans/dp/?shipID=295&deck=9

Just picked up four of the $500 cards for my cruise on 6/25. Nice little $200 savings.:D:D:D:D:D

We were in 8177 last year. Could hear them moving around chairs at times. It wasn't bothersome to me. But I could sleep through just about anything. Headed back in 4 weeks and we got a balcony on deck 7 this time.

My bounceback card says at the bottom that we will receive the DOU card since we earned over 5000 pts.

I keep getting a message that the coupon has expired. Meh.

Of course, I forgot things as I covered the cruise. All told, we received the following complimentary items during the cruise:

-Bottle of wine at steakhouse for booking on the first night

-Steakhouse dinner from the casino host

-Two bottles of wine at dinner

-Dozen cookies

-Chocolate dipped strawberries

-Bottle of champagne

-Two souvenir cups from Premier Cruise

-Bluetooth speaker

-Two free cruise certificates

The casino staff were very attentive during the cruise. We were regularly greeted by name. They constantly asked if we needed anything.

The Drinks on Us card was very nice. I learned on Thursday that you can order top shelf drinks. I switched to Grey Goose based drinks. I was warned just before bedtime I was receiving drink number 14 for the day. Apparently there is a 15 drink limit each day.

I had a few notable wins in the casino. There was the original $1800 on the first night. One of the nights I went up around $1000 on multiple machines. Finally, I had the $750 win on the Cleopatra Keno.

We have already booked another cruise. This time we are taking our two DD's, as well as a single mother friend and her DD. I upgraded to an extended balcony for DW and I. The other four are sharing an interior real close to us. Since booking, my in-laws and a bunch of other people have made reservations. We have 7 cabins between us, and 15 people. We picked the June 25 sailing back on the Miracle.

I can't think of anything else off the top of my head. I would be happy to answer any questions you have.

Happy Sailing! :cool::cool::cool::cool::cool:

Saturday morning I woke up as we were entering Long Beach port. I went up to deck 10 and watched as we pulled up to the pier. After watching for a while, I started to walk back to our room. Some guy stopped me and asked how my eyesight is. I told him it wasn't bad. He pointed to the pier and asked what he was seeing. I looked and saw a big raccoon. It looked like he had something in his grasp and was fiddling with it. I kept watching to see what he had scavenged. After a while, it appeared what he had found was a female raccoon and they were making baby racoons. Interesting :)

We were in no hurry to get off the ship. Our flight wasn't until 2:25 pm. We ate a leisurely breakfast and hung out on the Lido deck. We finally left the ship around 10 am. The line through Customs moved pretty fast. They asked if we had tobacco or liquor. I was a little above the allowance on both. I had 2 1/2 cartons of smokes and 2.2 liters of alcohol. This was no problem and the Customs officer waved us through.

We took a taxi to the airport and waited for our flight. We had nice weather and arrived in Sacramento a little early. We called the hotel shuttle and hitched a ride back to our car. The drive home was pretty quiet and I ultimately ended up in my own comfy bed.

to be cont.

Woke up Friday to significantly less motion. We got up and had breakfast in Horatios. We walked around the ship, checking things out. I didn't like the thought of getting off the ship the next day.

We ended up in the casino. At 10 am, there was a Premier Slot Tournament. Both my wife and I entered, and did horribly. From Noon to 3 pm, there was a Fireball raffle. At 4 was a Snowball Raffle. Finally, at 11 pm they had the Free Cruise Raffle. Remaining consistent, my name was not called for anything again today. We played for a while. DW did okay, but I was just treading water.

We ate dinner in Bacchus. The waiter said the casino had sent another bottle of wine. Once again, we enjoyed the food and wine and said our final goodbyes to the dining room staff.

After dinner, we went to the comedy shows. I forget the first guy's name, but he was really funny. The second comedian was Rondell Sheridan. I will generally chuckle at really good jokes. These guys had me laughing out loud. Both were very good.

After the shows, I returned to the casino to donate more money. DW went to the stateroom to change her clothes. When she returned, she told me we each had received a complimentary cruise from the casino. Mine was for an Oceanview and hers was for an interior. I guess they want us to come back. After playing for a while, we retired for the evening.

To be cont.

Sorry for the delay. Thursday morning I woke up feeling like I was floating above the bed. A moment later, it felt like I was being pushed down into the bed. Then floating. Then sinking. So I got up.

I went up to Deck 10, thinking we had some choppy waters. I looked around and saw not a single whitecap, minus our wake. I talked to an older guy who was a Vietnam Vet from the Marine Corps. I remarked that there was quite a bit of movement, considering the water looking pretty smooth. He told me we had hit some swells. He explained that we were close enough to the shore to feel them. He continued there are ocean currents underwater and they were hitting the ocean floor and being redirected upward.

I looked toward the front of the ship. Initially, I saw sky, then water, then sky, then water. The ship was rocking pretty good. I only felt it when walking. I actually didn't mind the movement and it reminded me that I was on a cruise.

I made my way down to the casino to see what was going on. I played for a bit before hitting $750 on the Cleopatra Keno machine. I spent a good portion of the day there without hitting anything else of importance.

At 10 am, there was a Snowball Raffle. From 12 pm to 3 pm was a Fireball Raffle. From 10 pm to Midnight, there was a Hot Seat Promotion. If you were thinking my name was called, you were wrong. :) But we still had a fun time.

When we returned to our room, there was a black box on the bed. I opened it and found a very nice Bluetooth speaker bar. It was all charged and ready to go. We listened to some music before going to sleep.

To be cont.

I'm guessing you have to be invited to participate in a Premier cruise? If so, how do you qualify? It sounds so fun!

 

 

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I think you qualify based on your casino activities, although I'm not positive. The offers show up in my VIFP account.

do you remember who was priemer host? dis they offer other perks exept steak house dinner? like spa treatments....also cld you pls write what was on sea days after all ports.

Did you get all fun casino events as soon as you went to your room? also Drink on us card?

The host was Daiana Nastase. She was all over the place :)

I just finished a Premier Cruise. Both DW and I received comped rooms. We are headed back in late June.

Wednesday morning we woke up and we were already in PV. The plan for the day was to grab a taxi to the Malecon and just see where the day took us. We got off the ship, walked outside the port and looked for a taxi. The first guy wanted to charge us $5 each. From reading Cruise Critic, I knew this was too much. I walked to another taxi and told him I would pay $5 for both of us to the Malecon and he agreed.

Our first stop was the Cheeky Monkey. We were here last year and enjoyed the food, view and dollar beers. Everything was just as we remembered. We had the beef nachos and a couple of Coronas.

We then walked along the Malecon. We stopped at a couple of shops and bought some gifts. Stopped at a couple of restaurants for a refreshing cold beverage. Found a taco stand and ate a couple of tacos. Enjoyed the beautiful ocean views from a few different vantage points. Basically, we enjoyed a nice, slow day exploring. We stayed out and about until about an hour before boarding time.

Back on the ship, the Premier Cruise activities were a Snowball Raffle at 10 pm and "Take it or Leave it" at 11 pm. This was similar to the TV show "Deal or No Deal". Once again, my name wasn't called.

To be cont.

The title of the last post showed it was for Tuesday. Cabo was actually Monday. Oops.

Tuesday morning, we pulled into Mazatlan. This was our first time here. I watched from the Lido deck as we pulled into the port and turned around 180 degrees. Seems like the front of the ship got awfully close to the pier during the process. Whomever was in control of the ship did a really good job.

As they were tying us off, the CD announced there was a new excursion just added to the list. It was the Hop On-Hop Off bus tour of the city. We originally planned to see the city on our own, but this tour was only $25/pp. We bought tickets and made our way off the ship. We were shown the way to the bus. It was a double decker open-top bus. We climbed up top and took our seats up front.

After about a half hour, our guide, Carlos, boarded and took his seat next to us. He told us there were three stops during the tour. You could get off at any of these stops. Busses run every half hour, so you wouldn't have to wait very long when you were ready to resume the tour. We rode the bus for an entire trip around initially to see where we wanted to get off. The stops are in the historic downtown, the Golden Zone, and the area with the cliff divers.

The historic downtown has a very old church and plenty of shopping opportunities. The Golden Zone is mostly for shopping and eating. It is newer than the downtown. The cliff diver area is a misnomer. They don't jump off a cliff, it's more of a man made concrete structure.

The second time around, we got off in the Golden Zone. There is a jewelry store at the stop. We went inside and DW purchased a nice silver necklace and pendant. The prices were very reasonable. I also felt more secure buying jewelry from a store with security as opposed to a vendor on the beach :) We ate at a restaurant recommended by Carlos (Margaritas) and enjoyed the food. After a little more shopping, we caught the next bus.

We then rode to the "cliff divers" area. A young local climbed to the top of the structure and studied the waves. His assistant explained to us that he had to wait for the right wave, as the water is very shallow. After a short time, the young man jumped and executed a perfect dive. These guys do this for tips. It was amazing how many people watched the entertainment, then about ran over each other to get out of there before the performers asked for a tip. We gave them a token of our appreciation, then got back on the bus and rode back to the ship. There was a shopping area where they dropped us off. A cold beer helped us through the vendors.

Back on the ship, we rested for a little while. We skipped the regular dinner because there was a Mexican Buffet advertised that evening in Horatio's. We went to the casino for a bit. There was a Snowball raffle at 8 pm, and Cash Pong at 11 pm. Again, my name wasn't drawn for either. We still had fun and enjoyed a few free drinks with the included Drinks on Us card.

Around 11:30, we went to Horatio's for the buffet. It paled in comparison to the food we had been eating on shore. I think we ended up grabbing a couple slices of pizza. After that, it was bedtime.

to be cont.

If there was any negative portion of this cruise, it was today. We chose not to get FTTF because the Premier Cruise was supposed to include priority embarkation. The only other benefit would be priority tender service in Cabo. Since we didn't have FTTF, we ended up being in group 14 for the tender. It took over two hours to get over to the port. I know, first world problems. It wasn't bad enough to disrupt our vacation.

We took the tender to the port and ended up walking around the whole marina. We stopped at a small restaurant (forgot the name) and had a nice cold Corona. We continued walking until we happened upon Baja Brewing. I got the sample flight of 7 beers. There wasn't a bad one in the group. We eventually made it around to Medano Beach. We went to The Office and enjoyed nachos and a couple more beers.

We then took a taxi back to the port and did a little shopping. Then it was back on the tender to the ship. We went to our room and rested a little while. I called the steakhouse to confirm our reservation for 8 pm.

Since we had eaten at The Office, neither of us were starving. I opted for the 14 oz New York steak with baked potato and shrimp cocktail. DW had lobster again, along with a baked potato and shrimp cocktail. The server informed us that the casino was also providing a bottle of wine to enjoy with our meal. I opted for the Frei Brothers merlot and found it to be quite enjoyable. Both of us were absolutely stuffed. They placed two slices of cheesecake on a plate for us to take back to our cabin and enjoy later.

In the casino, there was a snowball raffle and hot seat promotion. Again, I didn't win anything. After playing for a while, we returned to our stateroom for the night.

to be cont.

I was pretty sure they were supposed to let us on, but it wasn't worth arguing. We are returning in June. I may try again.

Woke up Sunday and returned to the casino after my morning coffee. Turns out there was coffee, juice, and pastries in the casino. I played for a while, but didn't hit anything big. We took a break and strolled around the ship. Had lunch on the Lido deck. There were three Premier Cruise activities this day: a snowball raffle, Fireball raffles, and a luck card drawing. I didn't win anything. Later in the day we returned to our room and found chocolate dipped strawberries and a bottle of champagne from the casino.

We ate in the MDR this night as it was Cruise Elegant night. We both had the lobster and it was fine.

To end the night, I returned to the casino. One of the hosts came up and asked how I was doing. She then asked if we would like to eat in the steakhouse the next night. Of course I agreed! We chose 8 pm since it was a port day and I didn't want to hurry back. Kept playing for a little while, then went to bed.

to be cont.

On Friday, we drove to Woodland, CA, and stayed the night at the Hampton Inn and Suites. We chose this hotel because they offer a Park and Fly option. The room was reasonably priced and cost just a few dollars more than leaving our car at the Sacramento airport for a week. The room was spacious and clean, and the area seemed to be nice.

We got up at 5 am and got ready to go. The shuttle took us the 20 min to the airport. There was no line at the JetBlue desk and we got our boarding passes within minutes.

We waiting downstairs until about 45 minutes before takeoff. By the time we snaked through the TSA line, they were boarding our flight. We walked right on the plane and settled in for the arduous one hour, three minute flight. It seemed we ascended to our cruising altitude, then immediately began our descent. I hate flying, so this was fine with me.

Upon arrival at the Long Beach airport, we gathered our checked baggage within ten minutes and hailed a taxi. The taxi cost around $30 to the port.

It was about 9:15 when we arrived at the port. We were first in line to check in. They said it would be a couple of hours until boarding.

We walked to the Queen Mary to take a look around. The person standing outside the door told us only hotel guests were allowed to enter. I thought anybody could walk around the inside, but I didn't want to start out our vacation with a fight, so we walked away. We went to the taco truck over by the ship and had a little snack while we were waiting.

Shortly after, we saw that Platinum, Diamond, FTTF, and a couple wedding parties were boarding. We took our place in Zone 1 and waited our turn. It didn't take long before we were walking through the metal detectors and getting our embarkation photo taken. After that, we walked across to the ship.

The Premier Cruise information stated that we would have priority embarkation. I had asked before we boarded and nobody seemed to know what I was talking about. We went straight to the casino to see why. Of course, there was nobody from the Premier Cruise to answer my question. So we went to the RedFrog Pub. Turns out we were the first ones there. We got a free beer and they took our picture. You can see it on John Heald's FB page. :)

We walked around the ship until time for the muster drill. That went pretty smooth. Afterwards, we went to the cocktail party. They described all the raffles and special events that would occur during the week. There must have been at least 10 waiters walking around with drinks. We never had an empty glass! Margaritas, sex on the beach, and other tropical drinks.

During the party, we missed the sail away. The casino was open, so we cruised around and played for a little bit. It was quite busy, but I wasn't surprised. A combination of Premier Cruise and the initial opening of the casino was responsible for this, I'm sure. I watched as a couple of casino employees finished setting up four new machines, Wonder 4. The four games are Panda, Wicked Winnings 2, Buffalo Deluxe, and Miss Kitty. They told me the machines would be ready soon.

I previously made reservations for Nick and Nora's. We have never been there, and I wanted the free bottle of wine. I had a shrimp cocktail, 18 oz Ribeye, and baked potato. My DW had a ceasar salad, lobster, and baked potato. The food and service were excellent. Although pretty full, we ordered dessert. I had the selection of cheeses and she had four little dishes of chocolate yummies. I will say, the cheeses were all very strong flavored. We only consumed half the bottle of wine. They stored the rest for our dinner in the MDR the next night.

We returned to the casino. After a little while, DW went to the room to go to bed. I worked my way over to the new Wonder 4 machines and took a seat. I started playing and was winning, so I increased my bet a couple of times. While betting $6/spin, I got the bonus on the Buffalo screen. I ended up hitting a bunch of buffaloes with three wilds in the center columns. As the multipliers revealed, I got 4x on the first wild. The second then revealed 4x. The third then revealed another 4x. That comes to 64x my win! It was a little over $1800.

It took a while, but a casino employee and supervisor came over. They gave me a voucher for the win, pending my return with ID from my cabin. I tried to convince them I was Canadian, but they weren't buying it :)

After obtaining my winnings, and also getting the $400 that was part of the Premier package, I went back to the cabin and deposited the $2200 into our room safe. I finally made it to bed.

to be cont.

Greetings everyone. We just got home last Saturday after a weeklong Premier Cruise on the Carnival Miracle. I searched the forums prior to sailing to see what to expect, but didn't find much information. I'll run through some of the high points of the cruise. If you came looking for pictures, you'll be disappointed. We really didn't take many this time.

We sailed the Miracle for the first time in April, 2015. That was right after the dry dock and the few upgrades. I have pictures from that cruise if you want to see a certain area.

We booked this cruise back in October/November of 2015. It was just my wife and I this time, so we opted for an interior room (7169). Since we are only in the stateroom about 5-6 hours each day, we felt it would be sufficient for us. We were right. Plenty of room for two people. We paid around $1300, including port charges and taxes.

to be cont.