Another California Adventure! – Baja Mexico & Mexican Riviera aboard the Miracle & Panorama (with pics) – October 2021.

[Jamman54]

1 hour ago, Hogladyrider said:

@Jamman54...Spirit class is our favorite class of Carnival ships, wish they had more!

 

Not a big fan of the HUGE ships, too many passengers, too crowded, we don't find it relaxing, but hey different strokes for different folks!

 

We agree with you on the Spirit Class. We'll be on the Legend for a B2B next year. 

 

1 hour ago, jbhcw said:

CC won't let me like any posts!  But so happy to see your review...as usual wonderful pics....and great narrative....lived in Long Beach a million year ago....looks a lot different now!   Can't wait for the rest of the review...Thanks!!

 

Welcome aboard once again, and thanks for your kind words! 

[JRL81]

7 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

 

We're loving your review as well. Can't wait until you get on board! 

It’s coming up quick!!! Going to make my way there shortly I don’t want to be early and stuck standing across the road 😂🤣😂

[Jamman54]

Day # 6  (October 14^th)  -  We head to Belmont Shore.

 

Do I have to say it? It’s another beautiful 70 degree sunny day here in Long Beach. Neither of us was hungry for breakfast, so we just hung out and worked on the pictures for the review.

 

Our plan for today was to head down to Belmont Shore, which was a little more than three miles away. We didn’t want to go too early, as the shops and restaurants wouldn’t be open, so we figured on leaving around 11 am. Now, knowing that it’s beyond the shuttles so called distance limit of one and a half miles, and already knowing how we could get there otherwise, we played our ignorance card with Alex. “Hey, Alex! What’s the best way to get down to Belmont Shore? To which he replied, “I’m not busy, I’ll be happy to take you there!” Worked like a charm! Of course we tipped him well, and we knew he would be off duty when it was time to come back, so we would have to make our own way back to the hotel. So that’s how we made it to Belmont Shore!

 

 

Patti was already primed to check out the shops and do her picture tour, so I immediately went to my go to place in Belmont Shore, Panama Joe’s…..

 

 

Patti eventually made it down to Alamitos Bay, which appears to be a haven for kayakers and paddle boarders…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

Patti continues to check out Alamitos Bay…..

 

 

 

 

 

Patti has made it out to the Belmont Shore Beach, which looks out into the Long Beach Harbor…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Here are a couple more shots from the Belmont Shore Beach…..

 

 

 

Patti begins to make her way back to the center of town…..

 

 

 

 

Patti takes some shots of the flora and fauna…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Patti makes it back to Panama Joe’s…….

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s me at the bar!

 

 

We have a drink or two together and then order a late lunch. Patti had a salad…..

 

 

I had an order of buffalo chicken bites and a double cheeseburger. They hit the spot!

 

 

 

We decided to catch the bus back to the Hilton. Here is where we will catch the 3:20 pm # 121 Passport bus…..

 

 

It takes about 45 minutes for the bus to get us back to the Hilton, as opposed to the 20 minute shuttle ride we had this morning. However, the bus was clean, it dropped us off right on the corner by the Hilton, and only cost $.60 for Seniors, and $1.25 for adults. Not a bad deal. We went back to the room for the night, and started getting ready for tomorrow.

 

Coming up next:  We board the Carnival Miracle!!!

[SenatorsFan]

Patti's pictures of the Long Beach area are beautiful! What a gorgeous spot. I've been to OR and WA but not down to CA and hope to see it someday. 😍

[Jamman54]

31 minutes ago, SenatorsFan said:

Patti's pictures of the Long Beach area are beautiful! What a gorgeous spot. I've been to OR and WA but not down to CA and hope to see it someday. 😍

 

Thanks Heather! You need to do a California cruise some day! 

[Jamman54]

Day # 7  (October 15^th)  -  Welcome aboard the Carnival Miracle!

 

It’s yet another beautiful sunny day in Long Beach, but today the temperatures are going to be in the 80’s! That’s perfect for our sail away later on today. It’s almost time to go…..

 

 

We completed our packing and left our room at 9:45 am. Checking out was a breeze, and soon Alex had loaded our luggage into the shuttle and we were ready to go. Here’s Alex and the shuttle…..

 

 

As we were driving over the bridge to Carnival’s Terminal, we got our first glimpse of the Miracle waiting for us…..

 

 

We had a 10:30 to 11:00 check in time. Alex dropped us off at the luggage drop off around 10:10. After handing off our luggage to Hardy the porter, who was probably wondering why we had three big bags for a three day cruise, we got in line…..

 

 

No sooner had we gotten in line, the doors opened. It went very quickly. First, is the health screening where they checked your vaccination cards and covid tests. Next, you go through the security screening, and then to the actual check in lines. We are all checked in and ready to go!

 

 

The Captain’s Lounge, which used to be used for all priority members, is now only used for Suite guests. That means we had to sit with the commoners.  Here are some views inside the Carnival Terminal while we wait to board…..

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

At 11:00 am they began boarding with the Suite guests. Then they called for those in boarding group A01. That’s us!

 

 

So, up the ramps we went until we reached the lobby up top. They were set up to do the embarkation photos, so we did ours…..

 

 

Next, we went through the line to do the facial recognition photos. That done, it was time to head across the walkway to the fun…..

 

 

We are crossing the walkway over to the Carnival Miracle, our home for the next seven days…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We entered the ship on Deck 3 mid ship. Looking down to the Deck 2 Metropolis Lobby and Bar, we see that “Patch” is aboard for Halloween….

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Once on board, crewmembers are doing their best to convince guests to head directly to their muster stations to check in. I believe that this is a very good idea, and was our plan from the beginning. Here we are heading aft on Deck 3 going through the Gotham Lounge….

 

 

 

We are assigned to Muster Station “D” which is all the way aft on the port side of the ship. There we were scanned in…..

 

 

 

We then watched a crewmember demonstrate how to put on a life jacket. This process took all of five minutes. I don’t understand why everybody doesn’t just get this out of the way. The way to do it is not allow charges to the account until it was done.

 

 

 

While we were out there, we watched two Catalina Express ferries pass by each other….

 

 

Anyway, now that you have checked in, boarded, and completed your muster drill, I can show you today’s paper Fun Times.....

 

 

 

You will be happy to know that we were able to remember to get them for every day, on all three cruises, for your viewing pleasure. We used the Hub App exclusively though.

 

To be continued…..

[kelkel2]

Following along! I’ve been waiting for this one since I was following along with Greg’s and saw you guys were on the same cruise! I love living vicariously through your cruises. We have just over a year to go for ours. 

[Jamman54]

19 minutes ago, kelkel2 said:

Following along! I’ve been waiting for this one since I was following along with Greg’s and saw you guys were on the same cruise! I love living vicariously through your cruises. We have just over a year to go for ours. 

 

Glad to have you aboard with us! we'll keep you company until it's your turn to go! 

[Jamman54]

From here we will head up to Deck 6 and check out our cabin…..

 

 

Platinum and Diamond members are allowed to drop off their carry on bags, but not to linger…..

 

 

We are in cabin # 6246. Our Sail & Sign cards are waiting for us….

 

 

This is our home for the next seven days…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the typical Carnival bathroom…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Here is the only information left on the desk….

 

 

Here is some good to know information for those that want to know…..

 

 

 

We aren’t going to linger, so we hop on an elevator to Lido Deck # 9 to check out the lunch options. This area is called Horatio’s Lido Restaurant. Here is the man himself, Horatio Hornblower, keeping an eye on things….

 

 

Here is the Bonsai Sushi Express…..

 

 

The Pizza Pirate, open 24 hours…..

 

 

The Salad Bar…..

 

 

 

The Carvery and today’s Comfort Kitchen menu…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[peteandpris]

Yay! So excited to read yours and Patti's review, Thank you.

[Jamman54]

1 hour ago, peteandpris said:

Yay! So excited to read yours and Patti's review, Thank you.

 

Glad to have you aboard! 

[MalGee64]

Great review, Jeff. Thoroughly enjoying as usual. I am interested to see how smoothly the COVID testing routine for b2b cruises is handled on changeover day. Cheers mate 😄👍🍻🍻🇦🇺

[Jamman54]

16 minutes ago, MalGee64 said:

Great review, Jeff. Thoroughly enjoying as usual. I am interested to see how smoothly the COVID testing routine for b2b cruises is handled on changeover day. Cheers mate 😄👍🍻🍻🇦🇺

 

Hey Mal! Glad to see you drop by. Hope all is well down under. As you will see, the COVID testing went well for the B2B portion, but not so good on the S2S. There's a teaser for you there mate! 

[Jamman54]

Here is one of several beverage stations…..

 

 

This is the Sweet Spot…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heading forward on the starboard side of Deck 9, we come to the stairs up to Nick & Nora’s Steakhouse…..

 

 

 

Out to the Ulysses Main Pool area we find the Red Frog Rum Bar….

 

 

Patti and I are enjoying our first drinks of the cruise…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

We’re feeling hungry, so Patti goes to get a turkey wrap at the Deli, and I head over to Guy’s Burger Joint…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

After eating Patti heads up front to the forward Siren’s Pool and hot tub….

 

 

 

The life jacket station……

 

 

Ping pong anyone?

 

 

Patti next heads aft on the port side of Deck 9. Here is the Blue Iguana Tequila Bar…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[cruisingguy007]

Jelly, wish I was there. Can't wait to cruise again 😭. Great review though, I shall live vicariously; have a great cruise!

[Jamman54]

21 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

Jelly, wish I was there. Can't wait to cruise again 😭. Great review though, I shall live vicariously; have a great cruise!

 

Thanks for following along! 

[Jamman54]

Patti continues with her tour. Here is the Ulysses Main Pool, hot tub, and towel hut…..

 

 

 

 

Continuing aft on the port side of Deck 9, she comes upon the Blue Iguana Cantina…..

 

 

 

 

 

Just aft of the Blue Iguana Cantina you’ll find a hand washing station and Swirls…..

 

 

 

To be continued….

[Jamman54]

Continuing aft she heads back into Horatio’s Lido Restaurant and checks out Chopsticks. They serve Asian cuisine and the menu changes a bit each day…..

 

 

 

 

Further aft is the Deli…..

 

 

 

 

 

Heading all the way aft you will find Serenity…..

 

 

Here is the Serenity Bar and Towel Desk…..

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..