Review - Carnival Miracle/Mexican Riviera 9/5-12

[dkmarionaz]

My husband and I sailed on the Miracle to the Mexican Riviera from Sept 5 - 12. I've always found reviews helpful so I thought I'd throw mine in the ring...

 

We have each cruised once before -- once on Celebrity (10 years ago) and once on Royal Caribbean (20 years ago, on this same Mexican Riviera itinerary). This was our first Carnival cruise.

 

We live in Phoenix and drove over on Friday, September 4. We stayed at the Best Western on Long Beach Blvd. It was an older hotel but for $175 or so it was worth it for the night to be able to be close to the port on Saturday morning and to be able to park our car for the week. It was an older hotel but clean. The shuttle driver from the hotel to the port on Saturday morning was very nice. Dropped us right near the entrance with our bags.

 

We purchased Faster to the Fun (FTTF). Without a doubt -- worth every single penny. We arrived at the terminal about 11am and were on the ship about noon. The line to check in was LONG -- felt good to walk on by!

 

We made our way to the Lido deck to grab some lunch first. We got to our room by 1:30p and our bags arrived about 2:30p.

 

We had an issue with Guest Services properly applying some amounts to our Sail and Sign card -- long story but we should have had $1,000 -- they only showed $583 or something and it took two freakin' hours to get it straightened out. It was simple math, and a simple issue -- I had the backup, emails, etc for all of it -- but it took 2 hours to get someone to really help us, and it was only after I got forceful did I find someone that would actually listen to me. I was nice through it all, but sure was frustrated!!

 

Our room was 8178 -- great location, mid-ship, near the elevators but not too close. Extended balcony was really nice to have. Room was spacious -- I'd read so many reviews about lack of space and bringing hanging organizers and such. That must be for the inside cabins because we had more than enough room. Hanging areas, shelves, six shelves in the bathroom -- all plenty for the two of us. Small fridge, safe, comfortable bed. Ernesto was our cabin steward -- very nice. We would come back in the afternoons and take a nap before heading to dinner -- when we got back, he'd already been in and out leaving our towel animal and Fun Times for the next day.

 

I'd read about bringing a (new, wrapped) extension cord but he shared if he found it, he'd have to confiscate it. We used it each night (CPAP machines) but put it in the closet each day and it wasn't a problem.

 

We made reservations at Nick & Nora's Steakhouse for the first night to get our free bottle of wine ;) I'd read nothing but GREAT reviews. We had an 8pm reservation. We arrived at 7:50pm and were promptly seated at the first table at the top of the stairs -- and then forgotten and ignored for 20 minutes. It was crazy -- people walked by us, we walked about our server, and either got grunts or shoulder shrugs... Finally, at 8:15p -- we walked out. Told by the manager why we were leaving, and she apologized and said she'd call us the next day to make it right. This was Saturday night and by Tuesday morning, I still hadn't heard anything. It was still bothering me -- it was our anniversary and that was supposed to have been a nice dinner on Saturday night... I called again and the head of the food & bev dept called me personally, apologized for the service and invited us back. We decided to give them another shot and went that night. It was amazing -- they apologized profusely (sounds like something was going on among the servers and we were caught in the middle of it). We had an amazing dinner, they honored the free bottle of wine from Saturday night, made us a special dessert for our anniversary and brought two glasses of champagne and when it was time to pay -- they'd comped the entire bill because of the issue we'd encountered. They even delivered chocolate covered strawberries to our room for our anniversary. What started out as a really bad first impression ended on a very positive note -- I'd definitely recommend the Steakhouse for at least one night. We ran into the food and beverage manager a few times over the cruise and he was always very kind, came and shook our hands, asked how we were enjoying the cruise, etc.

 

The dining room food, for the most part, was also very good. Years ago on Royal Caribbean, I remember being in awe of Cherries Jubilee being set aflame tableside -- and while there was nothing like that, it was good food with good staff. If you can, request Carlos -- he was wonderful. He's been on ships for 26 years and will take good care of you. There was another really great guy -- I forgot his name, but it sounded like Sexy and that's what he went by ;)

 

As for the Lido deck food -- it was all pretty good to decent. Nothing to write home about, but it didn't suck ;) Pizza was a bit greasy for my taste, but the salad bar was good, we liked the Deli and the breakfast options were good.

 

Entertainment -- The Flying Scotsman (Chris Matthews) is NOT to be missed. He's just amazing. He's also the lead singer in a few other productions including 88 Keys and was just fanstastic. We liked all of the productions at night except the Beach themed one -- my husband fell asleep. Comedy Club was fun -- we made a few of the 18+ shows and laughed our asses off. GOOD stuff ;)

 

The band in the Red Frog Pub -- Designated Divers -- was a ton of fun. Versatile, talented, great. We really loved the RFP too -- spent a lot of time there. Lancelot, one of the bartenders, was so kind -- talkative, told us about his family, his 21 years on ships, etc. And knew how to make a mean drink ;)

 

There was a female "artist" named "Wonder" -- saw her a few times and honestly, she was horrible. We also sat next to her at dinner one night -- she was with a passenger -- but we could overhear part of their conversation and she was very critical of the experience of being a musician on board, critical of the passengers, etc. She was in the RFP one night -- Designated Divers was playing, they took a break and she stepped in -- and half of the place left. I mean -- it was really bad.

 

Cory Rogers, the Cruise Director was on his way out -- I think we were his last cruise (?) -- and I believe Saffie is the new CD. She was fun, spunky, cheerful and lively -- I think she'll be great when she does take over.

 

Debarkation was a breeze, again thanks to FTTF. Highly, highly recommend -- we were sold out at 2124 people and only about 30 FTTF were sold -- so easy. We ate breakfast in the dining room at 7:30am, were off the ship at 8:45am, through Customs and to the hotel (after a long wait for the shuttle driver) by 10am and on the road to Phoenix by 10:05am. If we hadn't had FTTF, we wouldn't have gotten off the ship until after 9:30am.

 

All in all, a great cruise, great memories -- and we booked our next cruise this afternoon ;)

Edited September 14, 2015 by dkmarionaz

[dezertcruzer]

Thanks for the great report. We're also from the Phoenix area and we're going to be on the Miracle in April. We did the same itinerary 4 times on the Splendor, but we've done some other cruises from other ports since then. We're eager to get back to the Mexican Riviera again and on a ship we haven't experienced before.

 

I'm glad the food and beverage manager took care of your issue. We've always found Carnival to step up to the plate whenever there was an issue.

 

I appreciate your evaluation of the different entertainment options. Hopefully we won't get too sleepy too early each night and we'll get to enjoy some of them!

[Bsbllmom]

Thank you for the great review. Sounds like you had a wonderful cruise. I love Miracle and the crew. I'm so sad that Cory is on vacation until December. My next cruise on the Miracle is in November. I really hope Saffie is the CD for our cruise. She is so much fun. Lancelot is the best. I hope he is there in November too. We spent a lot of time at the RFP and had a blast. I'm glad you had a great time.

[riffatsea]

Thanks for writing! I am glad you enjoyed your cruise despite the bumps in the service areas! We have been on the Miracle quite often and service in all areas of the ship has always been wonderful so I was glad to read that your problems were finally resolved!! It was quite shocking to hear about them!

We like Cory a lot and wonder who'll be on when we cruise in March 2016?

[Taters]

Thanks so much for the review. We were on Miracle for 22 nights last winter (7 night Mexico followed by 15 night Hawaii) and loved this ship! Sailing again in late January and can't wait.

 

I was so relieved to hear that the staff at Nick & Nora's made it right for you, but what an ordeal in the first place! Shouldn't have happened.

[Laurie S.]

Did they have a Legends or talent show?

[Derbie]

My husband and I sailed on the Miracle to the Mexican Riviera from Sept 5 - 12. I've always found reviews helpful so I thought I'd throw mine in the ring...

 

We have each cruised once before -- once on Celebrity (10 years ago) and once on Royal Caribbean (20 years ago, on this same Mexican Riviera itinerary). This was our first Carnival cruise.

 

We live in Phoenix and drove over on Friday, September 4. We stayed at the Best Western on Long Beach Blvd. It was an older hotel but for $175 or so it was worth it for the night to be able to be close to the port on Saturday morning and to be able to park our car for the week. It was an older hotel but clean. The shuttle driver from the hotel to the port on Saturday morning was very nice. Dropped us right near the entrance with our bags.

 

We purchased Faster to the Fun (FTTF). Without a doubt -- worth every single penny. We arrived at the terminal about 11am and were on the ship about noon. The line to check in was LONG -- felt good to walk on by!

 

We made our way to the Lido deck to grab some lunch first. We got to our room by 1:30p and our bags arrived about 2:30p.

 

We had an issue with Guest Services properly applying some amounts to our Sail and Sign card -- long story but we should have had $1,000 -- they only showed $583 or something and it took two freakin' hours to get it straightened out. It was simple math, and a simple issue -- I had the backup, emails, etc for all of it -- but it took 2 hours to get someone to really help us, and it was only after I got forceful did I find someone that would actually listen to me. I was nice through it all, but sure was frustrated!!

 

Our room was 8178 -- great location, mid-ship, near the elevators but not too close. Extended balcony was really nice to have. Room was spacious -- I'd read so many reviews about lack of space and bringing hanging organizers and such. That must be for the inside cabins because we had more than enough room. Hanging areas, shelves, six shelves in the bathroom -- all plenty for the two of us. Small fridge, safe, comfortable bed. Ernesto was our cabin steward -- very nice. We would come back in the afternoons and take a nap before heading to dinner -- when we got back, he'd already been in and out leaving our towel animal and Fun Times for the next day.

 

I'd read about bringing a (new, wrapped) extension cord but he shared if he found it, he'd have to confiscate it. We used it each night (CPAP machines) but put it in the closet each day and it wasn't a problem.

 

We made reservations at Nick & Nora's Steakhouse for the first night to get our free bottle of wine ;) I'd read nothing but GREAT reviews. We had an 8pm reservation. We arrived at 7:50pm and were promptly seated at the first table at the top of the stairs -- and then forgotten and ignored for 20 minutes. It was crazy -- people walked by us, we walked about our server, and either got grunts or shoulder shrugs... Finally, at 8:15p -- we walked out. Told by the manager why we were leaving, and she apologized and said she'd call us the next day to make it right. This was Saturday night and by Tuesday morning, I still hadn't heard anything. It was still bothering me -- it was our anniversary and that was supposed to have been a nice dinner on Saturday night... I called again and the head of the food & bev dept called me personally, apologized for the service and invited us back. We decided to give them another shot and went that night. It was amazing -- they apologized profusely (sounds like something was going on among the servers and we were caught in the middle of it). We had an amazing dinner, they honored the free bottle of wine from Saturday night, made us a special dessert for our anniversary and brought two glasses of champagne and when it was time to pay -- they'd comped the entire bill because of the issue we'd encountered. They even delivered chocolate covered strawberries to our room for our anniversary. What started out as a really bad first impression ended on a very positive note -- I'd definitely recommend the Steakhouse for at least one night. We ran into the food and beverage manager a few times over the cruise and he was always very kind, came and shook our hands, asked how we were enjoying the cruise, etc.

 

The dining room food, for the most part, was also very good. Years ago on Royal Caribbean, I remember being in awe of Cherries Jubilee being set aflame tableside -- and while there was nothing like that, it was good food with good staff. If you can, request Carlos -- he was wonderful. He's been on ships for 26 years and will take good care of you. There was another really great guy -- I forgot his name, but it sounded like Sexy and that's what he went by ;)

 

As for the Lido deck food -- it was all pretty good to decent. Nothing to write home about, but it didn't suck ;) Pizza was a bit greasy for my taste, but the salad bar was good, we liked the Deli and the breakfast options were good.

 

Entertainment -- The Flying Scotsman (Chris Matthews) is NOT to be missed. He's just amazing. He's also the lead singer in a few other productions including 88 Keys and was just fanstastic. We liked all of the productions at night except the Beach themed one -- my husband fell asleep. Comedy Club was fun -- we made a few of the 18+ shows and laughed our asses off. GOOD stuff ;)

 

The band in the Red Frog Pub -- Designated Divers -- was a ton of fun. Versatile, talented, great. We really loved the RFP too -- spent a lot of time there. Lancelot, one of the bartenders, was so kind -- talkative, told us about his family, his 21 years on ships, etc. And knew how to make a mean drink ;)

 

There was a female "artist" named "Wonder" -- saw her a few times and honestly, she was horrible. We also sat next to her at dinner one night -- she was with a passenger -- but we could overhear part of their conversation and she was very critical of the experience of being a musician on board, critical of the passengers, etc. She was in the RFP one night -- Designated Divers was playing, they took a break and she stepped in -- and half of the place left. I mean -- it was really bad.

 

Cory Rogers, the Cruise Director was on his way out -- I think we were his last cruise (?) -- and I believe Saffie is the new CD. She was fun, spunky, cheerful and lively -- I think she'll be great when she does take over.

 

Debarkation was a breeze, again thanks to FTTF. Highly, highly recommend -- we were sold out at 2124 people and only about 30 FTTF were sold -- so easy. We ate breakfast in the dining room at 7:30am, were off the ship at 8:45am, through Customs and to the hotel (after a long wait for the shuttle driver) by 10am and on the road to Phoenix by 10:05am. If we hadn't had FTTF, we wouldn't have gotten off the ship until after 9:30am.

 

All in all, a great cruise, great memories -- and we booked our next cruise this afternoon ;)

 

Thanks so much for the review! Could you tell us what you did in the ports? I am glad you had such a great time. We head out 10/3. Really looking forward to some fun.

[dettlja]

Did you park at the hotel or the pier? We are driving from Phoenix to cruise the Miracle the first week of November. My first time driving and first time out of long beach. After 5 cruises in a row out of Miami I'm nervous to drive around a port I don't know. If it's anything like Miami, driving will be a suicide mission LOL

[losijon]

Also from the Phoenix area cruising on the miracle in April. I have cruised this same itinerary once before on the pride.

 

Thanks for the review.

[losijon]

Did you park at the hotel or the pier? We are driving from Phoenix to cruise the Miracle the first week of November. My first time driving and first time out of long beach. After 5 cruises in a row out of Miami I'm nervous to drive around a port I don't know. If it's anything like Miami, driving will be a suicide mission LOL

 

 

Long beach area is easy. Just set the GPS up and go.

[Richjoxyz]

I parked in the Long Beach garage once and it was easy, just stay to the right when entering the port. The garage is very close to check in. I have parked further away at target.

[SadieN]

Set your GPS to the Queen Mary on Queens Blvd.

It's one of the easier ports. There's only one ship at a time.

Parking at the pier is $19/day (ouch).

Edited September 15, 2015 by SadieN

[rnoli32]

Thank you for sharing a review of your trip! Will be on the miracle in February.

[dkmarionaz]

The port was really easy to find. We stayed at a local Best Western that, for about $170, included our stay Friday night -- and parking for the week. It was an older hotel, but clean, good shuttle service, etc. Worth it, IMO.

[welldone60]

Google Golden Sails hotel, Long Beach. Around $150 with shuttle and parking. Have not stayed there yet but have it booked for our next cruise.

[elliair]

Google Golden Sails hotel, Long Beach. Around $150 with shuttle and parking. Have not stayed there yet but have it booked for our next cruise.

 

We have stayed there a couple of times and it's a good deal to park your car there for the week (free of charge), and they pay for the taxi to and from the port. It's clean, there's a restaurant and bar at the hotel. We would stay there again if we ever drive to the port again.

 

OP, we're leaving on the same cruise Saturday. We're going to Disneyland first with our son and DIL. We've done this itinerary many times. We liked the Miracle and have an aft cabin - our favorite end of the ship. We also plan to book the steakhouse the first night, so it's good to know your experience. I hope it doesn't happen to us, but Carnival usually makes it right and it sounds like you made out.