Allison & David's Honeymoon Adventure/ Carnival Miracle's Maiden Alaska Voyage

[ucfalli]

Day 13: Ketchikan, Alaska Continued

 

When you first get into the water you initially feel the coolness, but you acclimate very quickly. You feel the cold at the areas on your face that aren't covered. Besides that my body overall felt warm and my feet were warm. My hands (along with David) started to feel cold towards the end (my hands always get cold first).

 

You snorkel along the coasts and stop every so often to look at the creatures they pulled up for us to see. There were starfish everywhere, saw little jellyfish ( they don't sting), some fish, and lots of other creatures. I saw more aquatic life then I have seen previously on any snorkeling trip in the Caribbean. Plus we saw a seal for a moment when we first got in!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lots and lots of starfish everywhere

 

[ucfalli]

Day 13: Ketchikan, Alaska Continued

 

Sea urchin

 

Sea Cucumber

 

 

 

All different types of starfish

 

 

 

 

[ucfalli]

Day 13: Ketchikan, Alaska Continued

 

 

Snorkeling...

 

 

Vibrant!

 

 

 

This was a small guy!

 

 

All done!

[ucfalli]

Day 13: Ketchikan, Alaska Continued

 

Since we were a smaller group and ahead of schedule they gave us an option of snorkeling longer..... we all decided that we were all ready and wanted to warm up. They had warm water in the back of one of the vans that you could pour onto yourself when you got out. I utilized it also to clean the salt off my waterproof camera. After the quick drive back we began the process of getting out of our wet suits. Surprisingly, they are much easier to get out of then into. They have an outdoor shower you can rinse off with (soap for you hair/body).

 

After changing, they had hot tea or hot chocolate to warm up with. We were back to the ship in no time. They also had a coupon at the shop for free glass with your beer that David wanted, so we headed over to Fat Stan's to redeem it (was right by the lumberjack show).

 

Surprised this was David's first Alaskan beer

 

 

Was a good idea grabbing the beer. When we were dropped off at the boat, everyone was trying to get back on. When we went back, there was barely any line. There was an employee right before us who got chewed out by security (he was almost 10min past the employee all aboard time).

 

 

After showering we got ready for our second formal night. This was my favorite night of the cruise. The scernery was beautiful and the weather was amazing. I was comfortable outside in my sleeveless dress. We sat outside drinking wine and enjoyed the scenery during the sail away.

 

 

 

Edited May 22, 2013 by ucfalli

[GA Sharon]

Amazing pictures! I am so glad YOU did this excursion. I enjoyed it so much that perhaps I should pay you for viewing the pictures. Who knew you would see all those sea creatures? Again, thank you so very much!

[travelingmamma]

Hot chocolate is up on the lido at all the drink stations, right by the coffee and hot water for tea. Just grab a mug and fill up.

 

I don't know if Carnival heats their pools (on every Caribbean cruise the pool usually feels very cold too me.) But the pool in the covered area is warmer then you would think because it's like a greenhouse in there. All that glass warms up the space. It's a nice spot to go outside and not be freezing. There were never more then 1 person in the pool on the cruise. On our last day that covered pool for some reason was closed and the outside pool was open (there were a few brave people in there).

 

Most people frequent the hot tubs.

 

The spa tub is free. It's located between the gym and spa (you can see it from the gym). There towels right there. The showers (rain shower head and jets) in the spa are free to use as well as the sauna. They are both located in the locker rooms.

 

I appreciate the response back. You are outstanding! I would have never thought to snorkel in Alaska, but that looked really cool!

[ucfalli]

Amazing pictures! I am so glad YOU did this excursion. I enjoyed it so much that perhaps I should pay you for viewing the pictures. Who knew you would see all those sea creatures? Again, thank you so very much!

 

 

Thanks! We were very happy we did the snorkeling. Definitely a highlight of the trip....Glad to share :D

[ucfalli]

Day 13: Ketchikan, Alaska Continued

 

We saw a lot of bald eagles with the binoculars during sail away. Once again not nearly enough zoom with the camera. The picture below is cropped, so some image quality is going to be lost.

 

 

There were a few bald eagles in these trees. You can see what 250mm gets you from the boat. They blend right in.

 

 

 

 

 

[ucfalli]

Day 13: Ketchikan, Alaska Continued

 

 

Coming to pick up the pilot. Amazing how they get from the cruise ship to the boat without stopping!

 

 

 

We left this sunset view for the show "Ticket to Ride". This was my second favorite show behind the "Dancing in the Streets" show on the dream. The only part of the show that I thought was horrible was the animation part. There is no need for it and the graphics are just really bad. It's a fun vibrant show and they get the audience involved with glow sticks at the end.

 

We took some quick formal shots before dinner:

 

 

Our tradition is always getting one picture on the staircase, have done so on each cruise.

 

[ucfalli]

Day 13: Ketchikan, Alaska Continued

 

Glitzy decor in the dinning room

 

 

Loved our table location

 

 

The escargot in the MDR have nothing on the ones in the steak house

 

 

Best meal in the MDR, the Basa Filet. Delicious!

 

I think David got the beef every night..

 

 

 

The Baked Alaska finally appeared on the menu!! Been waiting the whole cruise to try it. I've seen it before on the menu but didn't know what it was, so always passed on it. I saw an Alton Brown episode about a year ago where he made Baked Alaska and realized that I was missing out! Only makes sense to first try it in Alaska...it was just as delicious as I hoped. I can't wait to have another one again.

 

[ucfalli]

Day 13: Ketchikan, Alaska Continued

 

Time for Dancing!

 

 

Maybe I don't recall. But I don't remember them dancing every night on the previous cruises we had with Carnival. I don't mind the dancing, but I think something like every other night would make more sense. :rolleyes:

 

After dinner we saw both comedy acts: Stanley Ullman & Carl Faulkenberry. I liked Carl much better. Stanley wasn't really my type of humor. David like him though.

 

Ended the night at Frankie & Johnnie's. Music Unlimited was playing different hits from the 50s and 60s. I even managed to get David to dance a song with me :D. Frankie & Johnnie's is great spot of live music. Good way to relax and enjoy the night.

 

This guy was waiting for us in our room. He likes the banana.

 

 

 

[ucfalli]

Day 14: Sea Day

May 6th, 2013

 

Today was our last day (boooo!). We slept in late and lost an hour today due to setting the clock back. Looked outside and the weather was perfect...clear skies!

 

We headed to brunch today, so we could use our free drink coupons. Worked out since we went late in the morning. I am not a big alcohol drinker and when I do drink, I prefer later in the day. Got the breakfast burrito and ordered a side of the fries. I really liked it and would order it again.

 

We decided to try the churros. Worst thing I had on the whole cruise. I couldn't even eat them and I hate wasting food. They were hard as a rock. I don't know if I am more critical because I have had the real thing in Spain. No, sorry they were just bad. I don't know if they are always like this.

 

 

We ordered our drinks right before we left. I decided to try a Kiss on the Lips and David got a Pina Colada. We took our drink back up to the room and enjoyed them on the balcony.

 

 

 

We went back up to the lido at lunch time to check out the chocolate buffet. We got some items from the "chocolate" fondue. The fruit was good and I actually like the cheesecake for the first time in the lido. Just wish it was real chocolate. More like water flavored chocolate. The pink and yellow things are marshmallows. I hated them. I know others like them.

 

 

David knew I was missing Poko and drew her on the plate for me :-)

I wonder who cleaned up the plate though of it......

 

 

 

[ucfalli]

Day 14: Sea Day

 

We decided to finally do a round of mini golf. It was actually quite warm today and we could of done without our jackets. The one round of mini golf actually turned into two because we tied on the first round. I won on the second round!

 

The funny thing is.. that he had no idea what he had done. I didn't even pose him!

 

 

 

In rating the mini golf on the Miracle, it was the most boring (decoration wise). I like my mini golf with extra cheese. But they did have the golf balls and clubs out for anyone to take. First time we didn't have to go to the lido and check them out with our sail & sign pass. A++++++ on the Miracle for this.

 

 

Yes there were people sun bathing today! This was the first day the main pool was open and the covered pool was closed.

 

Even have mountains in the distance on a sea day

 

 

Hopefully don't need this...

 

 

Then we got the dreaded picture shopping out of the way. I think we have actually gotten quite good at narrowing down what we want to buy. I then went into the shops to get a Miracle postcard (I get them on each ship) and they were sold out. Lesson learned, buy them early in the cruise....(we were having too much fun!). Instead I bought the postcard booklet of the boat. Kinda funny cause you can tell all the photos are from before the dry dock. Serenity isn't even on there.

 

Decided to get lunch. We just did hotdogs and hamburgers. Ate at the covered pool area. It was actually hot in there today, even with no jacket. So we made sure to find shade. Had to of course grab some soft serve after. This was only my second time having the soft serve. I usually eat it at least once everyday!

 

 

We decided to go back to the room. I read for a little bit on the balcony in shorts and a t-shirt (never thought that would happen on an Alaskan cruise) and then decided to take a nap. What a perfect sea day :-).

 

Woke up to the fog horn blasting every 15 min. I don't know what happened. But we went from clear skies to complete fog.

 

 

[ucfalli]

Day 14: Sea Day

 

Decided we might as well start with the packing. Did what we could and got ready for our last night. The CD did a second blues brother show in the Mad Hatters Lounge that we went over to see before dinner. The band sounded great, but we didn't really care for the show overall. He didn't even wear sunglasses!

 

 

Was a portabella mushroom salad I think... was ehhhh

 

Yep, more fish, the mahi mahi

 

Last night :-(

 

 

 

Ended the cruise watching the comedy of Carl Faulkenberry again (not too crowded) and taking one last stroll though the Gatsby Gardens. Oh yes, also the dreaded final packing.

 

Edited May 23, 2013 by ucfalli

[texasnana]

Great review....:)

[ucfalli]

Day 15: Debarkation

May 7th, 2013

 

 

We are back in Seattle. Had a view of the space needle and downtown from our balcony. We woke up way too early (6am) and grabbed some breakfast up at lido. Then finished up packing and grabbed our stuff to wait on deck 3. Wasn't crowded at all. I think most people were waiting till they were kicked off the boat.

 

 

We were did self debarkation. We arranged for Already There Town Car Service to drive us to the airport. I wanted everything to go smooth since we had an 11:20am flight. There weren't any other good options. It was either before noon or flying out at midnight. Debarkation was only 5 min behind with calling the zones.

 

The only part we didn't like was that when you left, you had to walk all the way out around and the through the shops when you debarked. Hard to explain. Was very peculiar.

 

Getting off the ship was a breeze. Was the easiest debarkation to date. At Port Canaveral, there is always a bottle neck at customs. Here there were no lines at any point. We just walked and only stopped for a brief moment at customs.

 

We called Already There and it only took them only 5 min to come pick us up. Once again, we highly recommend them. We had a nice Russian driver who was very friendly and talkative. In no time we were dropped off at U.S Airways at SEA-TAC.

 

Very brief wait to check in our luggage and then we breezed through security. Can't believe I am saying this but even the TSA staff at SEA-TAC are more friendly. By far my favorite airport (decor, staff, and food places).

 

After all that fretting, we were at the airport and all checked in 2 hours before our flight! Everything thankfully went smooth. We grabbed some sandwich's for our flight since we knew we would only have a very short layover in Phoenix (all direct flights left at midnight).

 

David was kind enough to give me the window seat on the way back...I didn't realize this was a scenic flight! I have never flown over the west coast.

 

Leaving the airport:

 

 

 

 

 

Everything went smooth with our next flight and we got back into Fort Lauderdale a little after 10pm. Poko at first wouldn't come out, but when she did we couldn't get her to stop meowing and rubbing against us. All back to normal.

 

We drove back the next day to Orlando...home sweet home....

 

and let the wanderlust for our return to Alaska to begin!

[Bucky3]

Just want to thank you two more times! It's been a real pleasure looking forward to your posts every day. You're going to be missed here - can hardly wait for your next trip. I had to LOL when reading about your l-o-n-g day and evening in Ketchikan. At our age, I can't imagine getting in all that you did on that day! The snorkeling excursion looked like fun - Ahhhh - to be young again! May your future hold many more adventures as you travel on. THANK YOU !! I bet Poko is once again a very happy kitty!

[ucfalli]

Just want to thank you two more times! It's been a real pleasure looking forward to your posts every day. You're going to be missed here - can hardly wait for your next trip. I had to LOL when reading about your l-o-n-g day and evening in Ketchikan. At our age, I can't imagine getting in all that you did on that day! The snorkeling excursion looked like fun - Ahhhh - to be young again! May your future hold many more adventures as you travel on. THANK YOU !! I bet Poko is once again a very happy kitty!

 

 

Your welcome! Yep they were long days...I think you feel it at the end of the day at any age ;)

[ucfalli]

Overall Final Thoughts:

Things worked out in the end and I was happy we went to Alaska. Carnival delivered us an amazing honeymoon after all the tribulations we had. David often catches me searching for future cruises (especially Alaska). We don't have a future cruise set, but I am hoping that we do something either for our anniversary or (double cross my fingers) a one way Alaska next summer on RCI or princess.

 

We were the only cruise ship in port for all of our ports. That was great and worth sailing so early in the season. I can't imagine how busy Juneau gets!

 

The main problem with sailing so early in the season was that we didn't see much wildlife (bears particularly) and winter was still evident in most ports (which is actually a good thing to see as well).

 

For all those out there who have Alaska on their bucket list. I 100% think it's worth it to save up and do less other vacations in order to do Alaska. It was probably on our 2nd day of the cruise when I said to David.."now this is what a cruise is suppose to be". To me it's not just about getting away, I am all about the destination as well. The scenery of Alaska delivers.

 

Be sure to pack for wetness. There is no normal for Alaska and you are likely to get a mix bag. Where you are traveling to is a rainforest climate. We made sure to have weather proof jackets, pants, boots, and something for my camera.

 

If anyone has any further questions on Alaska feel free to ask!

The Cruise Final Thoughts:

 

Miracle is my favorite ship so far on Carnival. I really liked the theme and the decor. Makes the newer ships look a little boring to me now. I also liked the layout on the Miracle. Didn't have any abnormal floors where you couldn't get from one end to the other with either going up or down. I did however find myself forgetting about the piano bar and a couple of other spaces.

 

The only times we experienced crowding was before the MDR opened and in the Mad Hatters Lounge. All the comedy shows get very crowded and they don't tell people to leave between shows like they did on the Dream. We also felt the crowds with debarkation in Ketchikan and in glacier bay (one reason why a balcony is worth it.

 

We had our best room steward and wait staff on this cruise as well (except during breakfast). The staff really worked well together.

 

We enjoyed all our excursions, but like you saw in Juneau, always have a plan B!

 

Also something new for us on this cruise was the new program they have for photos, Pixels I believe it was called. With every so many photos that you purchased you got a "free" item. We got a free pictures of the Miracle and a mug with our purchases.

 

Food:

The steak house and chef's table are both worth the extra money, if either fit your budget.

MDR was like it normally is. Food was decent but there were a couple of nights that not much on the menu interested me. I wish Carnival would stock local fish in Vancouver before they left (they can't add any new food after initial debarkation). Very odd to be eating Atlantic salmon when you right in the middle of prime fishing!

 

Also I didn't like the lunch and brunch times (not early enough), I think my internal clock was a little messed up from all the time changes.

 

Thank you for reading!

 

 

[Kirasha]

Thank you again for the wonderful review and pictures. I have three very social cats and they'll be in the same situation when my husband and I cruise next year. They will be the only thing I'll worry about while we're gone. I'm glad Poko is back to being a happy kitty.

[AmberCascades]

Wow, look how gorgeous you both are on your wedding day! Thank you for the "tour". I really enjoyed your photos and commentary. Alaska is on our bucket list and we are going in August. It will be our first holiday away together in 23 years (not counting all the family vacations to the cottage and driving holidays with the kids). We were supposed to go away for our 20th! Anyway, I wish you both a long, happy and adventurous life together (and make sure you take "away holidays" more often than once every 23 years.) :)

[ucfalli]

Wow, look how gorgeous you both are on your wedding day! Thank you for the "tour". I really enjoyed your photos and commentary. Alaska is on our bucket list and we are going in August. It will be our first holiday away together in 23 years (not counting all the family vacations to the cottage and driving holidays with the kids). We were supposed to go away for our 20th! Anyway, I wish you both a long, happy and adventurous life together (and make sure you take "away holidays" more often than once every 23 years.) :)

 

Thanks!

You guys deserve it, just don't go another 23 years till the next one ;)

[ucfalli]

Thank you again for the wonderful review and pictures. I have three very social cats and they'll be in the same situation when my husband and I cruise next year. They will be the only thing I'll worry about while we're gone. I'm glad Poko is back to being a happy kitty.

 

It's most definitely the worst part of vacations.

Hopefully they help more to keep each other company :D

[poolwife]

Loved reading your review and seeing your pictures. Always wondered what it looked like that early in the season. I really hope you both get to go back again at a later time. The third week in June has worked out really well for us.

 

Go up the Klondike highway out of Skagway again and really see Emerald Lake. It is a gorgeous jewel. Wow! All that snow on the highway. You would see a difference but I guess you enjoyed seeing all that snow being you are from Florida. I have never seen Skagway with that few people on the streets. Looked weird and a bit eerie.

 

Hopefully, next time you go to Ketchikan you can go to Misty Fjords also. So beautiful.

 

Well, thanks for sharing. Also, the next time consider flying to Anchorage and do some land touring before getting on the ship and sail southbound. We took a week just touring around slowly the Kenai Peninsula. So much to see and enjoy and take a Kenai Fjords tour of at least 6 hours. You will see glaciers, seal, otters, puffins and lots of whales. Also, stop at the Alaska Wildlife Refuge.

 

We enjoy renting a car in Anchorage and driving around doing what we want when we want and on our last trip we returned our rental car and then took the train from Anchorage to Seward on the morning of embarkation. Been to Seward several times but have never taken the train. Truly one of the most scenic train rides you could have go on. The train does not follow the road so you do see different scenery.

 

Well, so happy you had such a good time and hopefully it wet your appetite to return to Alaska. I wish I could go every year to just look at that gorgeous scenery.

 

Oh, one thing I forgot - if you do rent a car and drive to Homer or Seward, be sure and make a stop at Summit Lake. The restaurant there has good food and the scenery of Summit Lake is just gorgeous.

[ucfalli]

Loved reading your review and seeing your pictures. Always wondered what it looked like that early in the season. I really hope you both get to go back again at a later time. The third week in June has worked out really well for us.

 

Go up the Klondike highway out of Skagway again and really see Emerald Lake. It is a gorgeous jewel. Wow! All that snow on the highway. You would see a difference but I guess you enjoyed seeing all that snow being you are from Florida. I have never seen Skagway with that few people on the streets. Looked weird and a bit eerie.

 

Hopefully, next time you go to Ketchikan you can go to Misty Fjords also. So beautiful.

 

Well, thanks for sharing. Also, the next time consider flying to Anchorage and do some land touring before getting on the ship and sail southbound. We took a week just touring around slowly the Kenai Peninsula. So much to see and enjoy and take a Kenai Fjords tour of at least 6 hours. You will see glaciers, seal, otters, puffins and lots of whales. Also, stop at the Alaska Wildlife Refuge.

 

We enjoy renting a car in Anchorage and driving around doing what we want when we want and on our last trip we returned our rental car and then took the train from Anchorage to Seward on the morning of embarkation. Been to Seward several times but have never taken the train. Truly one of the most scenic train rides you could have go on. The train does not follow the road so you do see different scenery.

 

Well, so happy you had such a good time and hopefully it wet your appetite to return to Alaska. I wish I could go every year to just look at that gorgeous scenery.

 

Oh, one thing I forgot - if you do rent a car and drive to Homer or Seward, be sure and make a stop at Summit Lake. The restaurant there has good food and the scenery of Summit Lake is just gorgeous.

 

Thanks! This is exactly when and what I want to do the next time we go to Alaska (there will be a next time!). Thanks for all the information, it is very useful. :D