Freeway1

2 minutes ago, CodyMiles1994 said:

Suites receive a higher level of service.

such as?

have done 13 Carnival cruises since 2003 and never heard of this

Also in Mazatlan as well

my wife uses a transporter wheelchair and we have walked there many times on cruise stops in PV

Just back from the Breeze I did not find the ship to be anything special. Have been on the Miracle three times and plan on spending Christmas on her this year. We have found her to be the right size ship for us. I would not run from her

We are on the Breeze sailing on Sunday, its now a 7 day cruise to Freeport and Nassau. We are sorry that we will miss Key West but our best wishes go out to all who call it home. May your lives return to normal soon

7 on Breeze and 104 on the Miracle

we were there in February no sign of any bridge

John H on his page today!! They were hoping for repairs to be made to dock but as that will not happen by time Miracle arrives They have changed it to a Fun Day at sea. It would appear that Carnival have know the situation for many months. But who knows A sea day is better than being in the snow that I am looking at right now

Great Review, we were on this cruise with you, in fact we were at Bubba Gumps in the early evening just after you I guess. We are doing two journey cruises on the Miracle starting January 16th. Once again really like the review

we were on the Miracle last month in Cabo and they did not use the lifeboats, private tenders There was a Princess ship in at the same time and they were using lifeboats and private tenders

34 days

34 days

We have been to Roatan twice on RCCL on each occasion we saw the Carnival ship turn around and head back to sea. Carnival apparently constructed the facilities on Roatan and must have known there were likely to be problems with docking. Then again maybe they did not

We did Tracey/arm on the Star in 2011 and thought it was exceptional. We did Glacier Bay on the Pearl last year and found this cruise to be even better. What ever you chose you will enjoy Alaska!!

Definitely possible and the walk is probably just a few blocks, all paved.

Thanks for your reply, we are looking forward to being there in February

Which direction are you going? We went last month on Star Atlantic to Pacific.

Some people call that east to west but actually the canal runs north & south.

 

We also had an inside cabin. My husband stayed in the cabin for the first lock and had the tv on the bow camera so saw the opening of the lock that way. He had a much better view than I did since even at 6:00 am the bow area was very crowded. I gave up trying to see from deck 13 bow and went down to deck 7 promenade opposite the Atrium since that way it was easy to walk through it from Starboard to Port. We had the other lock on our port side so could see ship in that lock. From Promenade deck it was easy to see the locomotives helping our Panamax ship through the lock.

A narrator had come aboard about 6am and started his narration at 6:30am.

It was broadcast in all the public areas as well as on tv channel for staterooms.

His name was Ed and he was excellent. While we were crossing Gatun Lake he did a slide show and Q&A in Stardust at request of Candi our Cruise Director.

It is a good idea to walk around ship watching from different areas. You can also watch from Moderno on deck 8 starboard. Although that is a restaurant by night it is a games room by day and there are excellent viewing windows there.

 

I had purchased from Amazon.com the book Cruising the Panama Canal 1914-2014 by Richard Detrich and found it extremely helpful since besides the history it has a chapter for Atlantic to Pacific transit as well as a chapter on the other direction so you know exactly what you are seeing for each direction.

 

Since we were going Atlantic to Pacific the last things we saw were on port side: Bridge of Americas and then skyscrapers of Panama City in distance. I'd gone to Blue Lagoon on deck 8 port side for a hamburger and had a wonderful window view since very few people were eating there then (4 pm).

 

Although most transits from Atlantic enter the first of the Gatun locks by 6:30am we were delayed by the local bridge traffic so it was 7:30am before we started into the first lock. It was 5pm when we finally entered the Pacific Ocean so it is definitely an entire day transit.

 

Regarding the ports: we did not take any excursions because of my husband's mobility problems. Seemed as if every tour, even the bus ones, involved a certain amount of walking. And although he is fine at his own pace, he can't keep up with a group. In Cartagena we took the shuttle to the nearby terminal where there is a nicely shaded garden area with tables. After photographing the flamingoes in the nearby enclosure we purchased a fruit drink, then paid $3 for an hour of wifi, sat at one of the tables, connected our iPad to the wifi and spent an hour catching up on emails and posting some photos on hubby's Facebook page for his spread out family, including those in Australia. When our Internet time was up we continued sitting there, enjoying the shade and greenery, chatting with each other and with some of the crew members at nearby tables who were also on their iPads or laptops. Then we took the shuttle back to the ship.

 

In Puerto Chiapas the thatched roof terminal is close to where the ship docks. If you walk all the way through it, on the other side are tour shuttles to town and other nearby areas. We didn't take any. Instead we stayed in the terminal to sit and watch the costumed dancers for about an hour, then their small band played. The band and the dancers are in a sunken area with chairs all around the top walking area, so easy to see. There are small shops on two sides and I bought some souvenirs there while hubby stayed sitting to watch the band. Then we returned to the ship. At ship's departure the dancers danced near the gangway so I watched from the promenade deck.

 

In Huatulco the pier is a very long walk but then there are shops and a bar not far from the end of the pier. Puerto Vallarta also has a nearby shopping area if you aren't doing an excursion.

 

For entertainment aboard ship if they have the Elements program at the end of the cruise, don't miss it. It is in Stardust. IMO the best seats for it are middle of the theater, preferably those from deck 6 entrance.

 

There were several live music groups who were really good and I spent time listening to them in various venues at various times.

 

I'm not a chaise lounger so for shipboard activities, besides spending hours reading, I went to the cooking demos, the Q&A sessions, and the lectures. I enjoyed all of them. Hubby took part in the casino tournaments and had a great time at those, winning champagne for being in Blackjack final and Slot final and winning some cash at one of the Texas Hold Em tournaments.

 

I recommend having at least one dinner at Le a Bistro ($20 per person). The food is excellent. I loved their mushroom soup, the steak, the pork medallions, and for dessert the Napoleon and the profiteroles (I asked for and promptly got a second serving.) As Platinum members my husband and I each had a voucher for dinner for two. But after using those vouchers for two dinners we ate there a third time, paying for it ourselves. That is how much we liked it. We also enjoyed our dinner in La Cucina. Delicious food and good service.

We didn't do Moderno simply because we've eaten at an upscale churascaria in Rio de Janeiro and after that wonderful experience nothing else could compare. But you might want to try it since it gets good reviews.

 

No matter what you do you will have a wonderful time. I wish you the smooth seas and sunny days that we had, especially for your transit day.

You mentioned taking a shuttle in Cartegena is it possible to walk to the area you described, wife uses a wheel chair. Thanks

Bill,

 

I've followed your journey from the beginning and enjoyed every minute. You've done a brilliant job, many thanks for sharing your experience with us. My wife and I are doing the West to East route with NCL in February next year, stopping at several ports you have visited. Your posts have made us even more excited at the prospect. Thanks again and all the best!

There is a roll call for your cruise, check it out and sign up

Thank you very much for the last two weeks, you have done a fantastic job. We go in the other direction in February and are really looking forward to it. Enjoy your last day at sea.

what ship is he on now???

Great Video, now we have to wait five months to see the real thing. Thanks