My first Carnival cruise (on the Miracle)

Try #2 - I thought I submitted a review a week ago but since I haven't seen it, I'll try to post it here and hopefully get back to answer any questions.

My husband and I have been on a total of 13 cruises. One with Norwegian, 5 with Princess, 6 withRoyal Caribbean and most recently, our first with Carnival. We traveled to the Mexican Riviera on theMiracle with 5 other couples to celebrate my sister’s 60th birthday.We’d hesitated to try Carnival in the past due to what we perceived as a reputation as a party cruise, but that was not at all the case.

EMBARKATION

Our flight from Seattle to LAX and Lyft ride to the port got us there about 12:30. It was just under $60 for a Lyft Plus which fit four of us with all our luggage. We’d purchased FTTF so basically walked right on, but probably didn’t need it as there wasn’t a big crowd at all. However, one of the Carnival workers did say it was really crowded just before we arrived. We went right to our room though it was a bit confusing at first becausewe had to go through some closed doors with signage saying that we shouldn’t enter yet. Thanks to something I read here, I went ahead through the door and to our room which was ready for us. So far, so good.

CABIN

We had a balcony cabin on deck 6 which was pretty typical but I liked the layout better than either RCCL or Princess. Seemed to have more storage and the bathroom seemed a bit larger with plenty of shelves on either side of the sink. Rather than a solid door, the shower just had a raised lip on the floor and a shower curtain. I was initially skeptical of this, but it worked really well and the shower actually seemed roomier than other cabins we’ve had. We didn’t see our room steward until later that evening and he asked if we wanted our cabin serviced in the morning, evening, or both which was new to us. We asked for both. We also requested extra pillows, robes and ice which was kept full the entire week. We’d prepaid gratuities, but gave our steward a bit extra when we left the following Saturday.

SHIP

I’d read that the ship décor was over the top and I agree –but I really loved it! The ceilings on this ship seemed really low compared to others we’ve sailed but we got used toit. As others have said, she is showing her age, but then so am I. J I wish I knew how many people were onboard because other than the buffet and Serenity pool area at certain times,the ship never seemed crowded at all. Incredibly, we didn’t have any problem with people saving deck chairs and even scored a cabana at the Serenity and sun deck a couple of times. We enjoyed the Serenity area but the waterlooked pretty murky there.

ENTERTAINMENT

I thought entertainment was a bit lacking compared to RCCLvespecially. No live bands at the pools –only DJ music. We went to one of the production type shows early in the cruise and it was pretty awful. The singing was off key and the dancing wasn’t very good. They did have a guitarist and another duo that switched off between various venues throughout tthe week and they were at times not bad. I’d really wanted to check out the piano bar but we never did get to that. We did enjoy several different comedians who did both PG and R rated shows. The entertainment was very family oriented with more kids involved invarious activities like the Hasbro Game Show.

FOOD

To us the food, especially the dining room experience,seemed a step down from Princess and RCCL. The dining staff was pleasant but they seemed extremely rushed. Maybe they have more people to serve than other lines. I did like that they staged the food behind a long counter rather than at stations in the middle of the dining room. The buffet was pretty typical. I loved the thin crust pizzaand I thought the hamburgers from the grill were quite good. My husband is gluten free due to celiac disease and it was nice that they had options for that though the buffet staff attimes seemed to have a hard time identifying which items he could eat. We ate at the steakhouse the first night for my sister's birthday. The food was good and the service outstanding. Since it was the first night, I asked about free or discounted wine and they gave us 3 bottles of wine for the 12 of us which I thought was perfectly fine.

PORTS

Surprise! Carnival emailed 3 or 4 days before our cruise us to let us know that they’d changed the order of the ports! They said it was to provide a better shore experience. Ihad booked a private sailboat excursion in Cabo for the 12 of us so called immediately and they were able to accommodate. This was the highlight of our port activities. We’ve been to Mexico several times previously so didn’t book any excursions in the other two ports. In Mazatlan, we walked the blue line to thehistoric area. We were appreciative of the English speaking guides and security along the way. We went to see the cliff divers and then hired a pulmonia for a 1 hour drive and he dropped us off at the ship. In PVR, we walked along the Malecon and on to Los Muertos then took a taxi back. It was extremely hot and humid. I wouldn’t normally go to Mexico this time of year but it was my sister’s birthday.

DISEMBARKATION

FTTF really paid off here. This was the fastest, easiest disembarkation of any cruise we’d been on. They informed us that if we were taking our own luggage off, we should meet in the Bachus dining room at 8:15. We decided to go down early and wait there to try to avoid the usual elevator congestion and as soon as we arrived, about 7:45, they said to go ahead and leave. We were probably some of the first 50 peopleoff the ship. Called a Lyft and he wasthere in 2 minutes!

While we definitely enjoyed this cruise and would encourage others to try it, especially families, we'll probably choose other lines for future cruises...but you never know!

Sorry about the formatting. I should have reviewed the copy/paste from word but have now tried to edit.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. Thanks for the detailed feedback.

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Terrific review/trip report.

Keith

Thanks for taking the time to provide your thoughts on your first Carnival cruise. I am glad you enjoyed it.

I think Carnival provides a pretty good value for dollars spent.

Happy sailing.

Did you receive your sail and sign cards at check in or after you boarded in your room mailbox? I leave in 5 1/2 weeks and was curious if this new system was in place.

Candi

Totally agree with your review.

Did you receive your sail and sign cards at check in or after you boarded in your room mailbox? I leave in 5 1/2 weeks and was curious if this new system was in place.

 

Candi

We received our cards at check in and had to present them again when we boarded the ship. I haven't heard about the new system you mention but would be interested to learn more.

Thank you for doing a review of your cruise.

I agree with your thoughts about Miracle, although I don't think we ever adjusted to decor. :)

Thank you for the review!

Thanks for your review. We go on the Miracle out of Tampa Jan. 27th for my birthday. Haven't been on Carnival since 2002.

Just an FYI...your FTTF has nothing to do with carrying your own luggage off at debarkation. That is priority for everyone. FTTF does give a choice to choose an early debarkation number, but if carrying your own luggage, it's the same for everyone.