Review: Miracle Journeys cruise to Hawaii (Oct 19 - Nov 2) with pics!

[TrqoisWtrs]

Enjoying your review.

 

I was on the Big Island in 2017 and we did a bike tour up to the active lava.  We were told about the church - it needed to be moved from the path of advancing lava.  Glad to know it survived the recent lava flows in 2018.  We had rented a house (red arrow) on the Kapoho Tide Pools and it was amazing.  Great snorkeling and at the very end of the island - we walked along a new sidewalk they had installed, along all these newly built homes.  Was super sad to find out that the lava had taken its toll.  But guess its a chance you take when you build there.

Edited November 16, 2019 by cruisin*tigger

[thenexus2k]

Sea days! 

     I like sea days, especially sans children. I know some people do not want to be in the room and prefer being on deck, or out and about, but I actually enjoy relaxing on the balcony with a good book. I was actually able to finish off five books on this cruise. We actually slept part of one night under the stars on the balcony. That’s not to say that we spent the entire time in the room, as we did spend a good deal of time out experiencing the ship. We caught several sessions of various trivia. Caught the lecturer's shows on star navigation and camera usage. We played Clue. We caught the morning show with our cruise director Chloe (who was great by the way). My wife got more familiar with her barista, and I tried unsuccessfully a few more times to catch a poker game. They had a “throwback” day with eighties dress and a midnight buffet. My wife experienced a little melancholy on the first day as we were beginning our journey home, but got over it quickly after I pointed out that we still had seven days before boarding a plane and heading home.  

   The most notable of the sea days was the fourth one, as it was Halloween. Passengers really went all out with their costumes. I really had to wonder how some people managed to get their elaborate costumes on board with a restriction of luggage space. For our part (and I SWEAR this was my wife’s idea), she was dressed in a pumpkin sweater with black shorts, and I wore a t-shirt that said “PETER! PETER! (I’m with pumpkin)”. Many got the joke and it garnered both laughter and a few disapproving stares, each reaction equally satisfying to me. I unfortunately did not get a picture of us in costume, but several of our fellow passengers did stop us to take our picture. If any of them happen to read this and can post, I would be thankful.  

 

Here's my attempt at a panorama picture of our balcony, using the lecture's tips:

 

 

 

Ensenada 

     After the sea days, it was time for a day in Ensenada. My mindset, one that I am sure is shared with many, is that Ensenada is just a port added to fulfill the requirement of a foreign port, and not all that special. That aside, I was pleasantly surprised by our experience here. The day began with a little bit of excitement as it was announced that we were being met by the Mexican Navy who were delivering medical supplies for a passenger with a bit of a medical emergency. 

 

 

 

 

     After a late breakfast, we went to the theater to catch the end of Clue and Chloe’s talk on the disembarkation process in Long Beach. Chloe mentioned that the shops on board would close once in Ensenda and would not reopen. Due largely to my wife’s shopping, we were in need of additional luggage, so we hit the shops to buy a wheeled Carnival duffel bag. While in the shop, I happened to look out the window and catch the sight of 20 to 30 dolphins that were jumping out of the water alongside the ship. We rushed out of the shop, and outside on to deck 3 to watch.  

 

    After buying the bag, we headed back to the room to pack a little, and relaxed on the balcony to watch the ship pull into port. This is where we were treated to the second sea life event of the day: sea lions. You could hear them before you could see them. We first caught sightings of them lounging on the buoys in the bay, and then once at the port, there was a large group of them on the rocks. It was really neat to see –at first. By the end of the day, a group of about 50 had gathered near where the ship was tied, and had to be chased off. The sea lions constantly “barked” their disapproval at our presence. Seriously, it was constant and loud.  Even as we left port that night, you could hear their barks echoing from miles away. You know how when you leave Vegas, you can still hear the sound of slot machines a day later? I swear I woke up the next morning in CA and could still hear their bark echoing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

in the lower left corner is the little port shop.

 

     Getting on land was quick and easy. There is a little shopping area that you walk through when you come into port. If you are going no further, feel free to shop. Otherwise, I would recommend waiting to buy anything as I found prices to be slightly higher than you could find in town, and you will always have a second chance on your way back on board. For a nominal fee (I *think* it was $4 for both of us), we had round trip bus tickets into town. The bus brings you right into the heart of town where there is plenty of shopping to be had. One store had a vendor in it that was intent on proving everything was “real leather” by taking a lighter to it. There was a part of me that was morbidly curious if he would start a fire in the store. After leaving the store with some nick-knacks, a small leather clutch, and a hand-made bag with the “Patriot” logo on it (my wife isn’t perfect and was born in Maine so I am just happy that she now uses the letter “R” properly and we no longer have to go to the “bah” for a drink), we stopped at a McDonald's for some bottled water and to use the free Wi-Fi.

 

   We then walked down the street passed a park where they were having a day of the dead celebration, then back to our bus pickup.  There were a couple of street vendors there that were a tad pushy. One saw my wife’s new Patriot bag and tried to sell her a bracelet with the logo. The price started at $5, then kept going down to $1. I finally found a dollar and handed it to my wife. She tracked the vendor down for the bracelet, and all of a sudden it was $5 again. We left with naked wrists.  

 

     Once back on the boat, it was time to start the sad process of packing. We grabbed a late, light dinner up on lido (double bacon BLT!), watched from the balcony for a bit, then headed for bed.  

 

 

 

Reminds me of Detroit when viewed from Windsor: actually kind of pretty when viewed from across the water and no sunlight...

 

 

Next up: Debarkation in Long Beach 

 

 

 

Edited November 16, 2019 by thenexus2k

[Sillyjilly]

I was on this cruise too. It was the most relaxing cruise I've ever taken. Weather was perfect.

I've done this itinerary before, but this one was the best.  Have another one booked for 2021. I love the Miracle.

[heffy2]

Great review!

[grandmarnnurse]

Great review! And beautiful pics! Your internal clock is like mine. Although I am retired, I awoke for many years at 4:30 before commuting to my position as a nurse manager on a cardiac floor.( I was always there by 6:15 to make out the assignment, etc) And now, my body still can’t adjust to retirement even after 4 years, and I wake up by 6-6:30, and in bed by 10pm. Lol! When we cruise, we are yawning by 9pm, and struggling to stay awake. I don’t think we’ve ever attended any late night deck parties. We just can’t stay awake! Lol! 

[bluefins]

Everything about your review (the writing and pics) is awesome!!   Thank you!

[thenexus2k]

15 hours ago, Sillyjilly said:

I was on this cruise too. It was the most relaxing cruise I've ever taken. Weather was perfect.

I've done this itinerary before, but this one was the best.  Have another one booked for 2021. I love the Miracle.

 

Awesome! Would you say I've been accurate? Am I forgetting anything? (entirely possible)

 

15 hours ago, heffy2 said:

Great review!

Thanks!

14 hours ago, grandmarnnurse said:

Great review! And beautiful pics! Your internal clock is like mine. Although I am retired, I awoke for many years at 4:30 before commuting to my position as a nurse manager on a cardiac floor.( I was always there by 6:15 to make out the assignment, etc) And now, my body still can’t adjust to retirement even after 4 years, and I wake up by 6-6:30, and in bed by 10pm. Lol! When we cruise, we are yawning by 9pm, and struggling to stay awake. I don’t think we’ve ever attended any late night deck parties. We just can’t stay awake! Lol! 

Yeah, I am grateful for the day of sleep for the reset and I am not sure how the days on Hawaii would have gone otherwise. 

 

11 hours ago, bluefins said:

Everything about your review (the writing and pics) is awesome!!   Thank you!

 

Thanks!

[jimbo5544]

Great start to your review.  Can’t wait to do this Journey cruise, glad the weather was only bad for a day.

[thenexus2k]

Long Beach

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Originally, we had flights for 12:30 PM out of John Wayne airport (Santa Ana). We received an email several months prior from American saying that our flight had changed to a 7:45 AM departure. Doing some quick math in my head, I was able to determine that would not work. We called American and had our flight switched to Sunday. I usually prefer a “buffer” day before going back to work, but it did give us an extra day of vacation. 

 

     I see questions asked a lot on this board regarding if they can make X flight at Y airport. I will not answer this for you. What I will do is give you the timeline that we experienced. We decided to carry our luggage off ourselves, and had priority since we were in a suite. We left our cabin at 7:42 AM and headed for the designated meeting place (the main theater) on deck 2. We had to wait a little bit for an elevator that wasn’t already full, but we eventually made it to the theater entrance where disembarkation had already started.  We kind of snuck in the line that was already leaving the theater and waiting for the elevator to take them up to deck 3. I kind of felt bad about cutting the line a bit, but I just didn’t want to haul the luggage up the steps, into the theater, then back down more steps on the other side. Apologies to fellow passengers.  

 

     The line moved rather quickly and we were off the ship in no time. Customs may have been as easy as I have ever seen it. No declaration forms or anything. The Official just looked at our passports, asked us our birthdays, and waved us on through. Once outside, we called an Uber that quickly met us just inside the parking garage and headed off to our hotel in Santa Ana. By 8:25 we were passing the exit for the Long Beach airport. By 8:45, we were being dropped off at our hotel which was right next to the John Wayne airport. (34 mins/$38.12) 

 

     We were staying at the Holiday Inn near SNA. We were hoping that they would be able to hold our bags until check-in, but they did one better and were able to check us into our room early. We dropped our bags off in the room, and went down to the hotel restaurant to grab some breakfast.  

 

     You may think that our vacation was over at this point, but we had one more thing planned. We had purchased tickets on the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner to San Diego. It is an Amtrak train that runs from north of Los Angeles, all the way down the coast to San Diego. We booked business class tickets online (I think it was around $80 for the both of us). We called an Uber from the hotel (18 minutes/$9.03), and boarded the 10:45 train at the Santa Ana station. The train takes you right along the coast, and gives many views of beaches and coast line, the impact I admit would have been more if I hadn’t just spent two weeks on a balcony in the middle of the Pacific. By 12:30, we were pulling into the train station in downtown San Diego.  

 

     We walked about a mile, passed the convention center, and into the “Gaslamp district”. We explored a bit, and ultimately found our way to the Hard Rock hotel, grabbed a shot glass, and called an Uber to take us to the San Diego zoo (14 minutes/ $10.60). The zoo in San Diego is fairly large, and we were a bit tired. Fortunately for us, they have a double-decker bus tour included in the price of the ticket. The bus tour lasted about 45 minutes and covered the bulk of the park. Afterwards, we walked around to view a couple exhibits that we wanted to get a closer look at, and called an Uber to head back to the train station. (14 minutes/$11.30). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     An added advantage of upgrading to business class is that you can change your tickets for free. We were originally on the 9:30 train, but since we were early, we changed to the 5:30. The ride back took a little longer, clocking in at 2 hours and 20 minutes, but the train does have Wi-FI and offered a pretty impressive snack package. Once back at the station in Santa Ana, we called an Uber back to our hotel (15 minutes/$8.43), ordered a pizza, and crashed for the night. In the morning, we got up, got our bags in order, took the hotel shuttle to the airport (SNA is a great alternative to LAX), and had a rather uneventful flight home. 

 

 

Finals Thoughts: 

 

     Buy a travel luggage scale. I purchased mine on Amazon for $6, it fits in my carry-on easily, and worked beautifully. I was able to load our bags up to the 49 lb mark, and adjust accordingly in the comfort of our hotel as opposed to the awkward clothing shuffle that you occasionally see take place at the airport ticket counter.  

 

     You start the cruise on PST. On the sea days out to Hawaii, they set the time back one hour a night for three nights until you are on Hawaiian time. On the way back, they set it forward an hour a night for three nights until you are back on PST.  

 

     What people say about using the casino to cash out is true. We had a $300 OBC. I had loaded up $100 on my S&S to use for poker which sadly went untouched. I eventually cashed out in the casino. Our final bill to the credit card was $45, but I had $100 cash in hand.  

 

     The Miracle itself was a wonderful ship, everything was clean, and the crew was extremely friendly. Though the cruise was sold out, it was never crowded outside of embarkation day.  The lines were almost always short for everything. We only had to wait for YTD once, and it was a short 15-minute wait. Lines for the Deli and pizza were rarely over 4 to 5 people deep. The only line that I saw longer was for the omelet station. We didn’t even have much trouble getting laundry done, which surprised me given the length of the cruise. The cabin steward (Nat) was friendly and provided wonderful service. I loved the Miracle and look forward to sailing her again. 

 

     That’s it for me! I started this as a way to give people some answers, tips and guidance on their own vacations, but it has kind of turned into a cathartic diary that I can use to review details forgotten as life starts to muddle the memory. Thanks for letting me ramble. If anyone has any questions, I would be happy to answer.  

 

Next up for us: The Spirit to Alaska, summer of 2020.  

 

 

Edited November 17, 2019 by thenexus2k

[jimbo5544]

Nice review, thanks for doing it!

[Joebucks]

Thanks for the review. Two months ago, I took my first ever trip to Hawaii (non-cruise), seeing Oahu and Kauai. What a beautiful place. I definitely want to go back (cruise). I really liked the one that stops in Honolulu....

[#55worktoplay]

That was a great review. 
 

I learned something new about the Amtrak to San Diego that is great to know and I won’t forget that if I ever get West again.  It may not be too far in the future I have a free cruise on NCL and wouldn’t mind doing the Mexico route.  It’s just that long flight that holds me back which isn’t really long but for me it is.

 

Thanks for sharing your journey.

 

I look forward to  your Alaska trip, assuming you will write another journal. 

[WNcruiser]

Thanks for the thorough review. We are booked on this cruise next year and were curious about the extra “Journeys” features as it will be our first Journeys cruise. 
 

Can you describe what extra things they did? 80’s throwback day, galley tours, etc. Also was there any Hawaiian ambassadors on board that gave lectures on Hawaii, the ports, etc. Thank you for additional information. 

Edited November 17, 2019 by WNcruiser

[Funsize0313]

Thanks so much for this review!!!

[lennythenose]

Great review!  The timing was perfect as our next cruise is the Panama Canal on the Miracle in February.  It has been several years since we were on the Miracle and I am enjoying reading positive reviews since she is headed to dry dock following our cruise. I usually ignore the naysayers about mist things anyway but I’m happy you enjoyed the ship. 
 

One question about your experience.  How do they do YTD with one dining room?  We haven’t been on a ship with only one since YTD started. We prefer assigned but I was curious how it works. 

[thenexus2k]

4 hours ago, #55worktoplay said:

That was a great review. 
 

I learned something new about the Amtrak to San Diego that is great to know and I won’t forget that if I ever get West again.  It may not be too far in the future I have a free cruise on NCL and wouldn’t mind doing the Mexico route.  It’s just that long flight that holds me back which isn’t really long but for me it is.

 

Thanks for sharing your journey.

 

I look forward to  your Alaska trip, assuming you will write another journal. 

 Your welcome! I do not know your situation, but if time is not an issue, you can always take a train across country as well. Some good views to be had.

4 hours ago, WNcruiser said:

Thanks for the thorough review. We are booked on this cruise next year and were curious about the extra “Journeys” features as it will be our first Journeys cruise. 
 

Can you describe what extra things they did? 80’s throwback day, galley tours, etc. Also was there any Hawaiian ambassadors on board that gave lectures on Hawaii, the ports, etc. Thank you for additional information. 

 

Best I can say is that all the classes is the main thing I believe they added to the cruise. Aside from the star navigation and camera classes that I mentioned, there was some hula and ukulele lessons as well. On one of the port nights (Maui I believe) they had a hula show in the main theater (we were out on land). The throw back day was one of the sea days on the return. I think they did some extra games by the pool, different service in the MDR, and the midnight buffet. 

 

3 hours ago, Funsize0313 said:

Thanks so much for this review!!!

 

You are most welcome! Have fun on your cruise!

 

48 minutes ago, lennythenose said:

 

One question about your experience.  How do they do YTD with one dining room?  We haven’t been on a ship with only one since YTD started. We prefer assigned but I was curious how it works. 

 

The MDR is a two floor room on the back of the boat. YTD enters at the entrance on deck 3. You just walk up to the stand and tell them you are there. We only had to wait one time and they gave us a pager. We just waited right there at the alchemy bar, but only had a 15 minute wait. 

[mommio]

What an enjoyable review.  Thank you.

[grandmarnnurse]

6 hours ago, #55worktoplay said:

That was a great review. 
 

I learned something new about the Amtrak to San Diego that is great to know and I won’t forget that if I ever get West again.  It may not be too far in the future I have a free cruise on NCL and wouldn’t mind doing the Mexico route.  It’s just that long flight that holds me back which isn’t really long but for me it is.

 

Thanks for sharing your journey.

 

I look forward to  your Alaska trip, assuming you will write another journal. 

I take the Amtrak train all the time to visit my daughter in North Dakota. Not sure where you live, but we take it out of Buffalo, NY. We switch trains in Chicago, the the train we are on that takes us to Minot, ND goes all the way to Portland, Oregon. I see you are from Canada, but not sure where. There are stops all across the Northern part of USA, and Buffalo is right near the Canadian border, as is Minot, ND (about 1 hour from Canada). 

[#55worktoplay]

58 minutes ago, grandmarnnurse said:

I take the Amtrak train all the time to visit my daughter in North Dakota. Not sure where you live, but we take it out of Buffalo, NY. We switch trains in Chicago, the the train we are on that takes us to Minot, ND goes all the way to Portland, Oregon. I see you are from Canada, but not sure where. There are stops all across the Northern part of USA, and Buffalo is right near the Canadian border, as is Minot, ND (about 1 hour from Canada). 

Thanks. Buffalo is about 5 hours West but I think Amtrak leaves from Montreal I will make an enquiry.

[ccgreen]

On 11/15/2019 at 8:53 AM, thenexus2k said:

 

About that. Quick editor's note (my wife). The tickets were NOT $1. They are free, but there was a $2 processing fee for doing it online (which is where I got the $1 per number from)

 

Have fun and enjoy!!!

where do you get these tickets? I'm searching, but can only find tours. 

[Funsize0313]

Thanks for the review!!! Soon it will be my turn.

[snookie1]

Thank you so much for your very comprehensive and enlightening review.  We are doing much the same cruise on Jan. 15th.  I was a bit concerned since I had heard a while ago that the Miracle was due to go into dry dock this fall, which would mean we would get a newly decorated ship!  Now I am hearing February.  I read some people complained about rust and mold; this did not seem to be your experience, was it?   Of course, we will have an ordinary veranda room, but as long as the room is clean and not musty smelling, we will be happy.  We tend to like smaller ships; not as crowded or chaotic.  Did you have trouble finding empty chairs by the pools on sea days?  What was the weather like on sea days?  Warm enough for shorts, or cool enough for long pants?  Is there a lot of humidity in Hawaii?  I don't do well with humidity, but it is best to be forewarned!   I am trying to pack as little as possible!

Were there formal nights in the MDR?  Did you go to those?  I would love to not have to bring a suit for my husband nor a fancy dress for myself, but we do love having dinner in the MDR.   

We are doing the same Fire and ice excursion on Hilo; you have really made it sound wonderful!

Happy Alaskan travels!

[thenexus2k]

16 hours ago, ccgreen said:

where do you get these tickets? I'm searching, but can only find tours. 

 

My wife got them on recreation.gov

 

[thenexus2k]

 

14 hours ago, Funsize0313 said:

Thanks for the review!!! Soon it will be my turn.

 

I wish I was going with you!!

 

14 hours ago, snookie1 said:

Thank you so much for your very comprehensive and enlightening review.  We are doing much the same cruise on Jan. 15th.  I was a bit concerned since I had heard a while ago that the Miracle was due to go into dry dock this fall, which would mean we would get a newly decorated ship!  Now I am hearing February.  I read some people complained about rust and mold; this did not seem to be your experience, was it?   Of course, we will have an ordinary veranda room, but as long as the room is clean and not musty smelling, we will be happy.  We tend to like smaller ships; not as crowded or chaotic.  Did you have trouble finding empty chairs by the pools on sea days?  What was the weather like on sea days?  Warm enough for shorts, or cool enough for long pants?  Is there a lot of humidity in Hawaii?  I don't do well with humidity, but it is best to be forewarned!   I am trying to pack as little as possible!

Were there formal nights in the MDR?  Did you go to those?  I would love to not have to bring a suit for my husband nor a fancy dress for myself, but we do love having dinner in the MDR.   

We are doing the same Fire and ice excursion on Hilo; you have really made it sound wonderful!

Happy Alaskan travels!

 

I never saw any rust or mold, I thought the ship was wonderful! The crew seemed right on top of everything. On Lido, they were always there to clean tables (once I even saw a guy get up to get a refill, and the staff had cleaned his table before he got back - and he wasn't done eating). The only "problem" we had was we had one light bulb come on in our cabin halfway through the cruise and we couldn't find out which of the 19 switched turned it off. I tried removing it with a towel, but it singed the towel, it was so hot). Maintenance came quickly and determined there was a short and fixed it.

 

For me, the ship never, ever felt crowded (outside of embarkation day, and even that wasn't too bad). Even during the one long line to get off in Honolulu, it didn't seem crowded (and I have a touch of claustrophobia). There were always a ton of open chairs around the pools, maybe a couple of times the loungers in the lower half of serenity were full. 

 

As for weather, October and January *might* be different. It definitely got warmer the closer you got to HI, but it was always comfortable to wear anything (I wore both shorts and pants and was comfortable either way). As for humidity, it depends on your tolerance I suspect (here in Ohio, we are humid even when it snows....), but it varied from island to island. The only time I had any sweat from humidity was in Hilo where it rains all the time, but even that was less than I am used to at home. 

 

As for the formal nights, I am with you. This may upset a few, but I do not want to pack or wear a suit on vacation. There were 3 formal nights. For the one we went to (and even the steak house), I wore dress khakis and a nice button down collared shirt and no one seemed to care.

 

Have fun!

[farmerbear]

Thank You so much for your review!  My wife, Daughter and Grandson will be sailing on Jan. 17, 2020 from San Diego.  While my wife is not so much into the pool, the rest of us live in the water.  I know you said the pools were drained and netted on day 1, we've seen that several times, but were you or were others swimming during the swim days and what was the air temps?  Thanks!