grimsgirl13 Posted September 14, 2016 #1 Share Posted September 14, 2016 Hello fellow cruisers! My family (7 of us) are going on the Nov 5th sailing to Mazatlan, Puerto Vallerta and Cabo San Lucas. It is my 3rd cruise but 1st on the Miracle and this itinerary. I thought it would be fun to hear from all of you that have done this already. :-) What was the best and worst part of the cruise/ship/itinerary? What would you (I know it is your own opinion but I still would love to hear it) recommend/not recommend doing if you were to go again. I am looking forward to all the suggestions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffatsea Posted September 14, 2016 #2 Share Posted September 14, 2016 We have taken this cruise many times! It is our once a year Mexican "honeymoon". Puerto Vallarta is our favorite port as it offers many possibilities and is a lovely tropical setting. DH does not like tenders so Cabo is his least favorite port. It is on the edge of the desert in Baja California but many folks love the water activities there. Be aware that the Pacific is colder than inside the Sea of Cortez. Mazatlan also has lots of water activities. We prefer walking on the blue line(actual line painted on street) which leads to the main square and the main market. We like to walk and look at local things and then bargain for a pulmonia(open air taxi) to take us to a few places like the lighthouse and the cliff divers. Everyone likes different sorts of activities so your family will have to choose what fits you best! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missileer Posted September 14, 2016 #3 Share Posted September 14, 2016 We have sailed on the Miracle on this route about a dozen times and will be with you on the 5 Nov sailing. Mazatlán is our favorite port but all three are fun. In Cabo I recommend the glass bottom boat tour to "lands end". Buy it on the beach. Takes about and hour. If your budget allows I recommend a night in the Miracle's Steakhouse. It is superb and we try to go one night on each cruise. Enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cabokalz Posted September 14, 2016 #4 Share Posted September 14, 2016 We will be sailing the Miracle to Hawaii in the next 30 days. This will be our first time out of 5 Carnival cruises sailing the Carnival Miracle, and our first Hawaiian cruise, well except for when I was in the US Coast Guard standing helm and watch every 6 hours sailing from Guam to Hawaii on the Cutter Basswood LOL... Really looking forward to this one but don't know anything about the Miracle. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimsgirl13 Posted September 14, 2016 Author #5 Share Posted September 14, 2016 We have taken this cruise many times!It is our once a year Mexican "honeymoon". Puerto Vallarta is our favorite port as it offers many possibilities and is a lovely tropical setting. DH does not like tenders so Cabo is his least favorite port. It is on the edge of the desert in Baja California but many folks love the water activities there. Be aware that the Pacific is colder than inside the Sea of Cortez. Mazatlan also has lots of water activities. We prefer walking on the blue line(actual line painted on street) which leads to the main square and the main market. We like to walk and look at local things and then bargain for a pulmonia(open air taxi) to take us to a few places like the lighthouse and the cliff divers. Everyone likes different sorts of activities so your family will have to choose what fits you best! Thank you so much for you input. I appreciate it ! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimsgirl13 Posted September 14, 2016 Author #6 Share Posted September 14, 2016 We have sailed on the Miracle on this route about a dozen times and will be with you on the 5 Nov sailing.Mazatlán is our favorite port but all three are fun. In Cabo I recommend the glass bottom boat tour to "lands end". Buy it on the beach. Takes about and hour. If your budget allows I recommend a night in the Miracle's Steakhouse. It is superb and we try to go one night on each cruise. Enjoy. That is great that we are on the same sailing! We were thinking about doing a night in the Steakhouse. I think we just may! The glass bottom boat sounds like fun. I will look into it for my and DH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimsgirl13 Posted September 14, 2016 Author #7 Share Posted September 14, 2016 We will be sailing the Miracle to Hawaii in the next 30 days. This will be our first time out of 5 Carnival cruises sailing the Carnival Miracle, and our first Hawaiian cruise, well except for when I was in the US Coast Guard standing helm and watch every 6 hours sailing from Guam to Hawaii on the Cutter Basswood LOL... Really looking forward to this one but don't know anything about the Miracle. Sent from my iPad using Forums I hope you have a blast! DH and I are talking about Hawaii as our next cruise. I hope we can do it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cabokalz Posted September 14, 2016 #8 Share Posted September 14, 2016 We definitely will be trying the steakhouse, as this Hawaii sailing is in celebration of our 40th Anniversary and Mother-in-law 80th birthday, and she wants to go zip lining in Hawaii...LOL... 80 years old mind you... Plan on doin everything we don't have time for otherwise on this one... Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pulledporky Posted September 14, 2016 #9 Share Posted September 14, 2016 See Riff's comments above. About the same for us. Absolutely love PV. Perfectly happy walking the Malecon and old town. In Mazatlan after the blue-line walk we'll grab a pulmonia for a quick 30 minute putt around town then get dropped off at the water taxi. Take it to Stone Island and walk down to Lety's for a shrimp lunch. Cabo? meh. Desert meets the surf, it's just not our thing. We will indulge on beers and tacos tho. There is no worst part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimsgirl13 Posted September 14, 2016 Author #10 Share Posted September 14, 2016 We definitely will be trying the steakhouse, as this Hawaii sailing is in celebration of our 40th Anniversary and Mother-in-law 80th birthday, and she wants to go zip lining in Hawaii...LOL... 80 years old mind you... Plan on doin everything we don't have time for otherwise on this one... Sent from my iPad using Forums That is awesome! Good for her, I hope she has a fantastic time zip lining! Happy anniversary to you and birthday to MIL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimsgirl13 Posted September 14, 2016 Author #11 Share Posted September 14, 2016 See Riff's comments above. About the same for us. Absolutely love PV. Perfectly happy walking the Malecon and old town. In Mazatlan after the blue-line walk we'll grab a pulmonia for a quick 30 minute putt around town then get dropped off at the water taxi. Take it to Stone Island and walk down to Lety's for a shrimp lunch. Cabo? meh. Desert meets the surf, it's just not our thing. We will indulge on beers and tacos tho. There is no worst part. Thank you! I like the beer and taco idea and I know DH will too!!! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinecliff76 Posted September 14, 2016 #12 Share Posted September 14, 2016 I love the Spirit class ships, they never seem overly crowded. The Steakhouse is awesome. Prepare yourself for the UGLIEST Main Dining Room at sea. It has a wine/grape theme and it is just revolting. I wish they would have remodeled it when it went for dry dock recently. Puerto Vallarta is my favorite stop, just take a taxi to the Romantic Zone and you will be in the middle of everything. Shops, restaurants, bars, beaches. It is a tourist town that maintains a lot of Mexican Heritage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SadieN Posted September 14, 2016 #13 Share Posted September 14, 2016 Sailed on the Miracle many times. Never notice the MDR grapes. It's the silver pillars that get me. Cabo by Land and Sea is a good overview. So is the tour to Todos Santos. PV the big tours are the Pirate Ship and the overview tour that takes you to the cathedral and the area where Day of the Iguana was filmed. Mazatlan can hire a Pulmonia just outside of port for about $20 for a two hour tour. Lots of good info on the Ports of Call-Mexican Riviera board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louanne93 Posted September 15, 2016 #14 Share Posted September 15, 2016 (edited) My husband and I just did this cruise in August. Let me first say, I LOVE the Miracle! The CD is great! But, the Assistant CD, Alex is by far the best we have ever encountered! He is AMAZING! If you have ATD, Tucker and his team are also amazing! In Cabo, my husband and I did the AI The Rui. Loved it. Food and service were fantastic. We went to Stone Island in Mazatlán. This is one of our favorite places. We took a water taxi over for $2 round trip. We walked through the island with the locals and hung out where the locals set up shop to sell items on the beach. We stayed at Las Vernos for the day. Ernesto took REALY good care of us. In PV, we were scheduled to go to Las Caletas which I heard is "The Best Day Ever". But it was pouring out so we opted to take customer service up on their offer of a refund. We hung out on the ship and had "The Best Day Ever!" No matter what you do, you can't go wrong with the Miracle. Service is top notch! Edited September 15, 2016 by louanne93 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimsgirl13 Posted September 15, 2016 Author #15 Share Posted September 15, 2016 I love the Spirit class ships, they never seem overly crowded. The Steakhouse is awesome. Prepare yourself for the UGLIEST Main Dining Room at sea. It has a wine/grape theme and it is just revolting. I wish they would have remodeled it when it went for dry dock recently. Puerto Vallarta is my favorite stop, just take a taxi to the Romantic Zone and you will be in the middle of everything. Shops, restaurants, bars, beaches. It is a tourist town that maintains a lot of Mexican Heritage. LOL... The ugliest huh? I can't wait to see it! The romantic zone sounds fantastic!! Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimsgirl13 Posted September 15, 2016 Author #16 Share Posted September 15, 2016 Sailed on the Miracle many times. Never notice the MDR grapes. It's the silver pillars that get me. Cabo by Land and Sea is a good overview. So is the tour to Todos Santos. PV the big tours are the Pirate Ship and the overview tour that takes you to the cathedral and the area where Day of the Iguana was filmed. Mazatlan can hire a Pulmonia just outside of port for about $20 for a two hour tour. Lots of good info on the Ports of Call-Mexican Riviera board. Thank you, that all sounds great!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimsgirl13 Posted September 15, 2016 Author #17 Share Posted September 15, 2016 My husband and I just did this cruise in August. Let me first say, I LOVE the Miracle! The CD is great! But, the Assistant CD, Alex is by far the best we have ever encountered! He is AMAZING! If you have ATD, Tucker and his team are also amazing! In Cabo, my husband and I did the AI The Rui. Loved it. Food and service were fantastic. We went to Stone Island in Mazatlán. This is one of our favorite places. We took a water taxi over for $2 round trip. We walked through the island with the locals and hung out where the locals set up shop to sell items on the beach. We stayed at Las Vernos for the day. Ernesto took REALY good care of us. In PV, we were scheduled to go to Las Caletas which I heard is "The Best Day Ever". But it was pouring out so we opted to take customer service up on their offer of a refund. We hung out on the ship and had "The Best Day Ever!" No matter what you do, you can't go wrong with the Miracle. Service is top notch! That is good to know and makes us more excited to go on the Miracle! DH and I love being on the ship so your "Best Day Ever" sounds good to me! Thank you very much!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosefloater Posted September 15, 2016 #18 Share Posted September 15, 2016 Cabo? meh. Desert meets the surf, it's just not our thing. We will indulge on beers and tacos tho. There is no worst part. In Cabo, we like to eat at Las Guayamacas. It's catty corner from the swap meet in town. Real mexican food, not touristy food like at the marina. Then diwn the street to the paleta (mexican ice cream) store. Op - in PV, grab a cab on the street at the gas station. The cabs in the pirt charge about double the fare. In Mazatlan, grab a taxi or pulmonia outside the gate. Go up to the church and the mercado. If you want to go to the beach, go over to Stone Island. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louanne93 Posted September 15, 2016 #19 Share Posted September 15, 2016 Sailed on the Miracle many times. Never notice the MDR grapes. It's the silver pillars that get me. Cabo by Land and Sea is a good overview. So is the tour to Todos Santos. PV the big tours are the Pirate Ship and the overview tour that takes you to the cathedral and the area where Day of the Iguana was filmed. Mazatlan can hire a Pulmonia just outside of port for about $20 for a two hour tour. Lots of good info on the Ports of Call-Mexican Riviera board. Funny story about the grapes... They were originally PINK! When the ship was first built the grapes were pink, and the owner came on and said he wanted it changed before the first sail. I think they had a weekend to take all the grapes down and paint them purple. Every worker on the ship was painting the grapes (lights)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Shoes2Go Posted September 15, 2016 #20 Share Posted September 15, 2016 The MD might be ugly to many, but it just tickles me every time we go in! What's really surreal is, on Journey cruises, the Gala Buffet is set up in this wild place. It overwhelms the senses! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLee1973 Posted September 15, 2016 #21 Share Posted September 15, 2016 We will be sailing the Miracle to Hawaii in the next 30 days. This will be our first time out of 5 Carnival cruises sailing the Carnival Miracle, and our first Hawaiian cruise, well except for when I was in the US Coast Guard standing helm and watch every 6 hours sailing from Guam to Hawaii on the Cutter Basswood LOL... Really looking forward to this one but don't know anything about the Miracle. Sent from my iPad using Forums A fellow black hull Coastie. I was in the Woodrush in Alaska and we sailed her to Hawaii. Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLee1973 Posted September 15, 2016 #22 Share Posted September 15, 2016 I love the Miracle I'll be on her for the fourth time in about 3 weeks. She is the perfect size not to small but never feels crowded. Had a great Serenity area and the Red Frog and Alchemy Bar are great places to hang out. Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimsgirl13 Posted September 15, 2016 Author #23 Share Posted September 15, 2016 In Cabo, we like to eat at Las Guayamacas. It's catty corner from the swap meet in town. Real mexican food, not touristy food like at the marina. Then diwn the street to the paleta (mexican ice cream) store. Op - in PV, grab a cab on the street at the gas station. The cabs in the pirt charge about double the fare. In Mazatlan, grab a taxi or pulmonia outside the gate. Go up to the church and the mercado. If you want to go to the beach, go over to Stone Island. Thank you so much for all the tips!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimsgirl13 Posted September 15, 2016 Author #24 Share Posted September 15, 2016 Funny story about the grapes... They were originally PINK! When the ship was first built the grapes were pink, and the owner came on and said he wanted it changed before the first sail. I think they had a weekend to take all the grapes down and paint them purple. Every worker on the ship was painting the grapes (lights)! Hahahaha... that is too funny! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimsgirl13 Posted September 15, 2016 Author #25 Share Posted September 15, 2016 I love the Miracle I'll be on her for the fourth time in about 3 weeks. She is the perfect size not to small but never feels crowded. Had a great Serenity area and the Red Frog and Alchemy Bar are great places to hang out. Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk We look forward to hanging out in them all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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