Carnival Miracle San Francisco to Alaska

[msbmommy99]

I have gone through most of the 2019 and 2018 cruise reviews and Ports of call San Francisco. I do not see anything for the Carnival Miracle from SF to Alaska. Is this a new route for Carnival? I have several questions about this cruise if anyone has cruised SF to Alaska before.

 

How are the sea days as far as waves and sea sickness? We have cruised several times and didn’t have an issue except for the Disney Cruises because the ships are smaller. We didn’t get sick but we could feel the movement more.

 

How close to shore will the ship be going to Alaska? Will we be able to see land?

 

Will there be someone (naturalist I think they are called) who will give ideas and information about the ports during the sea days?

 

What does it mean when the itinerary says cruise Tracy Arm Fjord?

 

We will have our 15 year old son with us. He loves wolves and anything to do with wolves. Is there somewhere in Juneau, Skagway, Hoonah (Icy Straight Point) we are more likely to see wolves than others?

 

 

 

 

 

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[Budget Queen]

4 hours ago, msbmommy99 said:

 

I have gone through most of the 2019 and 2018 cruise reviews and Ports of call San Francisco. I do not see anything for the Carnival Miracle from SF to Alaska. Is this a new route for Carnival? I have several questions about this cruise if anyone has cruised SF to Alaska before.

 

How are the sea days as far as waves and sea sickness? We have cruised several times and didn’t have an issue except for the Disney Cruises because the ships are smaller. We didn’t get sick but we could feel the movement more.

 

How close to shore will the ship be going to Alaska? Will we be able to see land?

 

Will there be someone (naturalist I think they are called) who will give ideas and information about the ports during the sea days?

 

What does it mean when the itinerary says cruise Tracy Arm Fjord?

 

We will have our 15 year old son with us. He loves wolves and anything to do with wolves. Is there somewhere in Juneau, Skagway, Hoonah (Icy Straight Point) we are more likely to see wolves than others?

 

 

 

 

 

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I have sailed Alaska  a few times  to/from San Francisco.   You are on water-  so yes you certainly can encounter,  rough sailing.   Be prepared and expect it.   Then if you have smooth sailing by some chance, then a bonus.     This routing has ships sailing way out,  from land.   in transit to Alaska.     The inside passage-   is scenic sailing.    I have been on the Miracle-   it's not a "large" ship.   

 

Yes,  in the past,  Carnival -  has shined on their naturalists.    They do give a few programs,  and do narrations of Tracy Arm.   But don't really give "port" talks.     That is done by Shore Excursions.   

 

Cruise Tracy Arm-  means exactly that.     That is your scenic glacier sailing day.   This Arm does have limits, and  Endicott Arm can be substituted instead.   

 

You are in the wrong area for wolves.  They aren't seen on the Inside Passage.    They are a rare sighting  in Denali.    I've only seen them a couple times.    

[CruiserBruce]

Its a new route for Carnival, but Princess has been sailing it for a number of years. Other cruise lines can do it once or twice a year as well.

 

As mentioned, seas can be rough any where, any time. Fact of life, if you are on a ship, and have a problem with sea sickness,you need to be prepared. Generally, seas will be calmer further from land, (but nothing is etched in stone) so you don't want the ship sailing within sight of land. In the Inside Passage areas, you will be close to land.

 

Disney Wonder and Carnival Miracle are almost the same size ship, and are pretty middle of the road in size of ship...both in the 80K ton size range. The size of ship matters little in how you feel the ocean.

[rkacruiser]

I have not sailed to/from Alaska out of San Francisco, but I have sailed on Carnival Miracle in the Caribbean.  I enjoyed my cruise and liked the ship.  I would sail on her again if the opportunity arose,  

[wolfie11]

Is this a one-way or round trip?  It seems a waste of good Alaska time if round trip, as four of your days would be spent far from shore up and back.  
 

I have seen wolves numerous times in SE Alaska but mostly from small boats in Glacier Bay.  I did see one once from a cruise ship with binoculars.  The most consistent wolf sightings are in Denali.  If you are in Anchorage I highly recommend visiting Wolf Song of Alaska.

[Donald]

San Francisco is a great (and expensive) port to sail from.

But it is not such a great port to take a 7-day Alaska cruise from.

 

Anti-pollution laws on the West Coast force cruise ships to sail far from land on the way up to and down from Alaska, allowing them to burn cheaper fuel.

Typically you will have foggy, windy, rainy, choppy weather for 2 days going North, and 2 days going South. That’s 4 days of a 7 day Alaska cruise with no hint of Alaska.That leaves you with just 3 days to see something of Alaska.

 

Taking a 7-day Alaska cruise from Vancouver also starts and finishes in an expensive city - arguably nicer and safer than San Francisco.

One hour after leaving the pier in Vancouver, the ship is surrounded by mountains and forests, heading for the inside passage - where it is nice and calm, quiet, with lots of wildlife and postcard views.

Sailing on a 7 day Alaska cruise from Vancouver gets you 7 days of an Alaska experience.

[Glaciers]

We had considered the SFO round trips to Alaska on Princess but were turned off by the initial 2 sea days and the potential of rough seas.  Norwegian has a 9 day round trip out of Seattle with a dandy itinerary that is much more appealing.

[disneyochem]

We have cruised out of SF to Alaska a couple of times (10 day cruises).  We are very fortunate that the rough seas don’t really bother us and that we love sea days.  That being said, we didn’t find the seas that rough—in fact, we had table mates who were surprised it was so calm and stopped taking medication!   Both trips were in late May/early June.

 

We live close to SF so love any cruises from our “home port!”  We’re taking the Sun Princess out of LA next July (14 day) for a couple of reasons—ports (Prince Rupert, Sitka, ISP) which we usually don’t get to from SF, and going with family members who live in SoCal.  Just a quick trip down for us as opposed to a longer trip up to Seattle or Vancouver.

 

Princess did a nice job with infusing the cruise with the Alaskan experience—music, nature talks, history, arts and crafts, lumberjacks and axe throwing, carving of a totem, dances, Libby Riddles, puppies in the Piazza(!), specialty drinks and food.
 

 We have taken the 9-day trip that Norwegian offers (left Seattle, disembarked in Vancouver).  That was a very nice trip as well—I would highly recommend that cruise.

 

[my kids mama]

I would like to follow this thread, as we are booked out of San Francisco to Alaska for May of 2021.  We are also on the Carnival Miracle. Please let us know what you found out. 

[rkacruiser]

19 hours ago, my kids mama said:

I would like to follow this thread, as we are booked out of San Francisco to Alaska for May of 2021.  We are also on the Carnival Miracle. Please let us know what you found out. 

 

Have you checked CC's Carnival and Carnival Roll Call Message Board for information?  That may provide more information about your specific cruise than this Board will.  Just a suggestion.  

Edited October 13, 2020 by rkacruiser

[Glaciers]

If the Carnival Miracle hasn't done an Alaska trip from San Francisco you may want to check out the reviews for Princess who have been doing it for a while. There are many.