Our 15 day Carnival Miracle Journey Cruise to Hawaii

[chocolate melting cake]

Final Port, Hilo...

 

Well, I'm embarrassed to say we skipped this port. The ship stopped. It looked appealing. But we were tired. Maybe if we had planned an excursion in advance we would have had the gumption to get off the ship but we hadn't. We did not feel like figuring anything out. Initially, we planned to do a tour and see volcanoes here. Next time we will.

 

But what we did do was explore the near empty ship in detail. It was fun!

 

Our view of Hilo

 

 

 

I've been following your review with interest. We took this cruises in October. If you ever have some time, and want to see Hilo and another view of the cruise, check out our "photo album" below.

OUR 2015 HAWAIIAN CRUISE

Edited January 17, 2016 by chocolate melting cake

[S.C.]

Nice review looking forward to the rest!

[imaboo]

Loving every second of this Suzie! So glad that you did a review. It brings back some great memories. You guys were a blast to hang out with. :)

 

Some of your comments made me giggle. I remember running into you all at that beach. It was pretty rocky, and um...rustic. The shave-ice was mighty good though!

 

I love that pic of Shon taking a picture of the ocean at dusk. That one is worth framing!

 

Great pics of the Luau too!

 

Patiently waiting for the rest of the review...ok, well only sort of patiently ;-)

[lazydayz]

What a great review. Sounds like a wonderful cruise.

[sunshine002]

Really enjoying your review, thanks for sharing.

[shonandsuzie]

 

 

 

I've been following your review with interest. We took this cruises in October. If you ever have some time, and want to see Hilo and another view of the cruise, check out our "photo album" below.

OUR 2015 HAWAIIAN CRUISE

That is super cool! I love the format you did it in. I do not have a flicker account but maybe I should get one. so that I can be creative like that, too.

Thanks for sharing!

[Taters]

I love your review! You two look like a lot of fun!

 

Question: Did the Marriott on Kauai charge you a fee for a day pass? If so, how much? We'll be there in May on the Legend and think that this would be our best option for Kauai.

 

Thanks bunches!

[ebonniekins]

Now that some of our post vacation depression has lifted (and Shon finally uploaded tons of vacation pictures from his i-phone for me) it's time to share Shon and Suzie's fabulous Hawaiian journey cruise vacation details. This will likely be a long review because the trip was amazing! and long!! and the aforementioned tons of pictures that we took.

 

About Us:

We are Shon and Suzie from Michigan. We've been on a lot of cruises and we're not totally loyal to any cruise line. We just like good deals, good people, good ships and good itineraries. We are super laid back, pretty silly and although we've been together forever, we're in love like we just met. ;):)

 

 

About the Cruise:

This was our DREAM cruise. 15 days on Carnival Miracle from Long Beach, CA to Hawaii and back. Our sailing was November 28- December 13, 2015.

 

 

(TBC)

 

I just read the first post and I am already hating it!! LOL! I love you both tons.

[ebonniekins]

Some may say we are crazy for this but we flew out of DTW on Thanksgiving morning for this cruise. We left work, the cold and the holiday drama behind and went to find something much more fun to do! Actually, our flight on the holiday was perfect because the airport was empty. Security had absolutely no lines for us. And if that's not enough, alcohol was FREE!!! on our flight (Southwest Airlines) due to the holiday. The travel day is super long going from Michigan to California so we really were pretty exhausted (and buzzed....) by the time we arrived at LAX.

 

 

 

 

 

We met some of our cruise friends, CeCe and Gary, who were also on this cruise at the airport and shared a rental car to Long Beach. We all stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Long Beach for 2 nights pre-cruise, which was perfect. When we got to Long Beach, we searched for dinner (not an easy task since many of the restaurants were closed for the holiday, btw). After dinner, we had no energy left in our bodies so we went straight back to the hotel and fell asleep before our heads hit the pillows good.

 

I highly recommend this hotel. It's surrounded by things within walking distance to see and do. Even the aquarium in right next door. We requested a room facing the cruise ships but once we were in the hotel, we noticed that the opposite side had a beautiful beach view that would have been perfect, too. This hotel's pool area is beautiful and I wish we had spent more time lounging out there during our stay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent Friday going down to San Diego, which was also on our list of places we really wanted to see. Luckily, Gary and Cece are originally from the area so they were excellent tour guides.

 

 

OMG Why didn't you guys tell me you were staying at the Hyatt?!! I stay there every year for my tradeshow in Long Beach and could have definitely hooked you up. Even better if my girl Cynthia was working at the Starbucks there I would have made sure she took extra special care of you guys just because!! Grrr!!! Now I am really now liking this post.

[ebonniekins]

After several lovely drinks, we called a Uber and headed back to the ship. Uber worked really well in Hawaii. They are literally instant and the people we met driving them were so cool and friendly. Our trip back to the ship was a quick 20 minutes and we went inside to get rested and ready for the luau.

 

Our roll call was awesome! And one member, Deb, put together this luau. She arranged the whole thing for the group and even reserved a big bus to take us all. In the end we had like 80 people in our luau group. We are so thankful for her!!!!

 

The bus picked us up right at the spot where regular cruiseship excursions were leaving from. The drive from the port to the luau was probably 45 minutes. We saw so much that we wished we had more time to explore. The little town where we went was adorable. It was a walkable village with lots of super cute shops. You could have spent a whole day right there. But when we drove up to our destination, Wow! It was dreamy. This was all-inclusive and prepaid. It was $115 a person, I think.

 

We were greeted with cocktails by beautiful women and handsome men dressed in grass skirts. They led us to our tables and gave us a quick tour. It was perfect. The set up was; tables surrounding a grass stage, the waterfront in front of us, cultural stations along a path so you could stop and learn about things that interested you, and a buffet and bar behind us. The waitstaff brought us drinks and appetizers and made sure we were comfortable. Very attentive.

 

During dinner there was the luau show. The sun set as we sat there. There were fire torches. It was just beautiful. We were there for hours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See those smiles and seeing you guys with Cece and Gary makes me miss you even more!!

[ebonniekins]

Well, that was anticlimactic so we decided to go find a waterfall to walk through. Our GPS said there was something super cool close by. So off we go....

It didn't take too long really and we saw the zoo and a college (can you imagine going to class in HAWAII???) and some interesting neighborhoods and then the sign said waterfall this way>>> So we went up a winding road to the top and--- hmmm. Not what we were expecting. A small office with maps to walk through nature and yes, there is a waterfall miles in. But in the secretary's words, "not a big one". No thank you! I had on white. It was a bad plan. We hadn't researched. Just no. So Shon ventured off alone determined to do the thing we came this far for. Gary and Cece went to do the shorter nature trail. I sat on a bench and played Candy Crush on my phone. OK?! And at this point I hated Honolulu or Oahu or wherever the heck I was! When Gary and Cece came back, we laughed- alot- in the car's air conditioning and ventured out to save Shon (who I was sure was eaten by snakes!). SHon was exhausted but he did see a lot of amazing things and a WATERFALL!!! Yay! I was so happy to find him alive though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

YAY Shon!

Boo Susie!!

YAY Shon!

 

LOL

[ebonniekins]

More Kauai and the Marriott Resort:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The up to the minute weather report was one of my favorite photos!! Love it!

[shonandsuzie]

I love your review! You two look like a lot of fun!

 

Question: Did the Marriott on Kauai charge you a fee for a day pass? If so, how much? We'll be there in May on the Legend and think that this would be our best option for Kauai.

 

Thanks bunches!

Sorry. We didn't get a day pass because the trolley driver told us we could just walk behind and go for free. The beach is public. If we planned to use the pool area we would have gotten a pass and if we go back we will for sure.

 

Have fun! :)

[wajowander2011]

Thanks for a great review and articulate descriptions (and pic's.) We're considering the same cruise later this year. Joe

[kayjo]

Thanks for your review. It is fun to read a review from such a positive person. Not sure if I could do 15 days- the longest I have done is 8 days and I felt like that was about my limit! Too much rich food and lack of exercise- 5 sea days in a row would seem like a lot. Glad you liked Hawaii. We did Pride of America and really loved all of the islands and the fact that we did overnights in 2 of the ports, so didn't feel rushed.

[Taters]

Sorry. We didn't get a day pass because the trolley driver told us we could just walk behind and go for free. The beach is public. If we planned to use the pool area we would have gotten a pass and if we go back we will for sure.

 

Have fun! :)

 

Thank you! I will look more into the day pass. The hotel looks gorgeous!

[gapearl]

Great review! I've only been to Hawaii once and share some of your feelings about Honolulu. Yes it's beautiful but it's like NYC on the beach, very commercial and touristy. I would love to return to one of the other islands one day. I don't think I could last for 15 days on a ship. It looks like you guys had a lot of fun! :)

[cruznjan]

Now that some of our post vacation depression has lifted (and Shon finally uploaded tons of vacation pictures from his i-phone for me) it's time to share Shon and Suzie's fabulous Hawaiian journey cruise vacation details. This will likely be a long review because the trip was amazing! and long!! and the aforementioned tons of pictures that we took.

 

About Us:

We are Shon and Suzie from Michigan. We've been on a lot of cruises and we're not totally loyal to any cruise line. We just like good deals, good people, good ships and good itineraries. We are super laid back, pretty silly and although we've been together forever, we're in love like we just met. ;):)

 

 

About the Cruise:

This was our DREAM cruise. 15 days on Carnival Miracle from Long Beach, CA to Hawaii and back. Our sailing was November 28- December 13, 2015.

 

 

(TBC)

 

Hi guys. It was great cruising with you! Looking forward to your review.

[cruznjan]

Awesome! Plus we had the best roll call group ever!

[shonandsuzie]

Awesome! Plus we had the best roll call group ever!

True!!!!!

And we all almost got super paid at the slot pulls.

 

 

I plan to finish this review today. I have lots to talk about for the rest of the sea days!

[shonandsuzie]

So, how many sea days are too many sea days? I could never have too many sea days. Shon on the other hand was maxed out at 3 in a row. He felt like he needed something else to do by then. (Even the dancing didn't hold him over ;)) I am so content on the ocean. I can sit and look out at the waves and nothingness forever, I think. The idea of all of those nautical miles between me and anything I "have to" do..... pure bliss.

 

On our sea days, we really enjoyed our cruise director, Chloe. She was so approachable and exciting every time we ran into her--- which was a lot because she also stayed visible during our whole cruise. Many times, a cruise director doesn't make much difference to me. There have been a few times where we really liked the cruise directors but generally, it's neither here nor there. On a cruise with this many sea days, it is paramount that the cruise director be excellent. Chloe did not always have the easiest audience (picture lots of grumbling entitled people looking for reasons to be mad...) but she stayed cheerful and kept trying to involve everyone in the activities and shows. I loved her (and her hugs!) and we took lots of selfies with her for the selfie contest she held. She came to our roll call get together and really participated. She did not just stand at the front and then skip out. She talked to us individually and tried to get to know our personalities. She also was a lively leader

for the deck parties! One of our best memories is her on her stomach doing push ups after hours of dancing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shonandsuzie]

There could have been more choices in activities each day. I am not sure how much participation they would have had but it would have been fun to have more options in the early afternoons. Usually there was 1 thing that we were kind of interested in but many times on our cruises we feel like there are "so many choices and so little time". We were never over booked this cruise, in a not so good way - if that makes sense. Some things are hard to describe and I wish I had taken a picture of one of the daily schedules to show what I mean. It's just unusual to have so few things that we are interested in seeing or doing each day of a cruise. And as I said, I enjoy just being but for those who like to do more, there wasn't enough to do.

 

So summing up our Journey cruise to Hawaii....

 

FABULOUS!! and WOW!!

 

A lot of frequent cruisers on board

 

Great cruisecritic roll call group!!

 

Not enough daily activities on sea days

 

Journey = Same thing as a regular cruise

 

Wish I was on one now!!

 

 

.... And we'd be glad to answer any questions or hunt down any of our pictures for any of you that would like.

 

 

[RoperDK]

Thanks for your great review! We have been thinking about doing the 15 day roundtrip Hawaii cruise and your review is most helpful.

 

Dawn

[imaboo]

... I wish I had taken a picture of one of the daily schedules to show what I mean....

 

Your wish is granted. I just uploaded the FunTimes from our cruise to my Dropbox for anyone who would like a copy :)

 

Here's the link -> https://goo.gl/dXrXTt

 

P.S. - You don't have to log in to get the files, just close the login box when it shows up.

[shonandsuzie]

Your wish is granted. I just uploaded the FunTimes from our cruise to my Dropbox for anyone who would like a copy :)

 

Here's the link -> https://goo.gl/dXrXTt

 

P.S. - You don't have to log in to get the files, just close the login box when it shows up.

Thanks Deb! Awesome!