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

[Jamman54]

We went to check out the buffet. Much of what was being served in the MDR was available here…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Patti and I have our plates….

 

 

 

After dinner we walked around the ship for a while, had a drink at the Lobby Bar, and then decided to call it a night. When we got back to our cabin we saw that our door had been decorated by our room steward…..

 

 

Here is our first towel creature of the cruise. Our steward made his towel animals very small…..

 

 

We also received our invitation to the Diamond event tomorrow….

 

 

Good night!

 

Coming up next: A nice relaxing day at sea!

[sanmarcosman]

10 hours ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

Wow. That Bacchus MDR is..... something else. 😮

It's the gaudiest in the fleet 🙂 

[Webecruzindh]

We were on the jetty by Shoreline Village taking some pictures of the Miracle before your sail away.  We sent you some texts but you didn’t answer.   Must have been a pretty good nap!  😎

[aztekpm]

I just love your and Patty's reviews, so detailed, I'm living vicariously and patiently 🙂

 

I waited to book until next Oct, will be on the Legend for the partial Panama Canal cruise. Between the COVID requirements and the border, was too afraid to book earlier. I might look at something in May should I get another good offer now that the border is open and things appear to be fairly stable.

[Jamman54]

7 hours ago, Webecruzindh said:

We were on the jetty by Shoreline Village taking some pictures of the Miracle before your sail away.  We sent you some texts but you didn’t answer.   Must have been a pretty good nap!  😎

 

I needed that nap because I was very tired. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! 😁

 

5 hours ago, aztekpm said:

I just love your and Patty's reviews, so detailed, I'm living vicariously and patiently 🙂

 

I waited to book until next Oct, will be on the Legend for the partial Panama Canal cruise. Between the COVID requirements and the border, was too afraid to book earlier. I might look at something in May should I get another good offer now that the border is open and things appear to be fairly stable.

 

Thanks for following along! Hope you get to cruise in May. 😎

[Linda the Book Lover]

I love the review and all of the pictures! Oh how I loved the pictures! We will be on the Miracle also reporting to Muster Station D. Yep, we will be going there first and getting it out of the way! 13 days!

[peteandpris]

Great review love reading and seeing the great pictures that Patti takes. Thank you.

[Jamman54]

9 hours ago, Linda the Book Lover said:

I love the review and all of the pictures! Oh how I loved the pictures! We will be on the Miracle also reporting to Muster Station D. Yep, we will be going there first and getting it out of the way! 13 days!

 

Thanks for following along! In 13 days you'll be experiencing it for real. Enjoy your cruise! 

 

1 hour ago, peteandpris said:

Great review love reading and seeing the great pictures that Patti takes. Thank you.

 

Thank You!!!  Much, much more to come! 

[Jamman54]

Day # 8  (October 16^th)  -  Our first sea day of this Adventure!

 

We were up at 6:30 am to a beautiful day. The ship is moving very slow. The seas are calm and the temperature is in the 70’s. Here’s the view from our balcony looking forward…..

 

 

Here is the view looking aft…..

 

 

We were treated to a beautiful sunrise over the mountains of Mexico…..

 

 

 

 

 

Here are today’s “Fun Times”…..

 

 

 

A little later we head to the Sea Day Brunch in the Bacchus Dining Room…..

 

 

 

This was an epic fail as far as picture taking was concerned. We forgot to take pictures of the menu, or what we ordered. I promise we’ll get it right later on in the review! But for those interested, Patti had an omelet with wheat toast and the breakfast parfait. I had three eggs over easy with brunch potatoes, sausage, bacon, and an English muffin. Of course we didn’t forget to take a picture of our free brunch drinks …..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

The next item on the agenda today was the Diamond event. We had a little time to kill, so Patti stopped to get some pictures that she forgot to get yesterday. This is the Joker Card Room, located on Deck 2 forward…..

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the current ship map. You can see we’re just cruising around at 7 knots off the coast of Ensenada…..

 

 

The Diamond Event was held at Sam’s Piano Bar. There were only nine Diamond members on this weekend’s cruise. The Senior Officers greeted us as we walked in…..

 

 

There wasn’t any mingling amongst the guests as usual, so we sat down at a table, and some of the officers took turns visiting the various tables. This is Rajkahn who is the Bar Manager…..

 

 

We talked at length with Captain Paparo, and Sammi the Entertainment Director…..

 

 

 

This is Jacques the Guest Services Manager, and Thelma who is the Hotel Director….

 

 

The event lasted about an hour. There were plenty of drinks and snacks, but they didn’t take a group picture like they normally do…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

It was almost time for the Groove for St. Jude event, so we made our way up to the Lido Deck. We stopped to check out the offerings in Horatio’s for lunch. Here are the Comfort Kitchen and Carvery menus, along with some of the dishes…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

A variety of cakes was available at the Sweet Spot…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

 

[Jamman54]

There’s always Guy’s Burgers…..

 

 

 

It’s time to Groove for St. Jude. Cruise Director Jen Baxter and DJ Silk are running the fun…..

 

 

 

 

Plenty of t-shirts and teddy bears for the price of a donation…..

 

 

 

Grooving for St. Jude…..

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Afterwards, we went to the Casino to get our free $25 in Fun Play. In August, on the Horizon, they gave us Fun Chips to use at the tables. If you were a slot player, they would put the $25 in your player’s bank. Here on the Miracle, they gave us cold, hard, cash!

 

At this point we split up. Patti went up to the Deli for lunch, and then made her way to this afternoon’s Bingo session. I played blackjack for a while, breaking even, and then went up to Chopstick’s for lunch. Here is the Chopstick’s menu and some of the dishes…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Patti has made it to Bingo…..

 

 

Jen holds a Q & A session on stage before bingo starts. This will be her last cruise, as she is going on vacation. We will have another Cruise Director on Monday…..

 

 

Here is Jen with Bingo Host Aussie Neil…..

 

 

 

Patti didn't have any luck at bingo today. 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Patti met up with me at the Red Frog Rum Bar where she treated herself to a Mocha Chocolate Getaway…..

 

 

 

I’m having fun with my buddy Orlando…..

 

 

We then went back to the cabin to relax for a while before dinner. We were treated to a gorgeous sunset…..

 

 

 

 

Afterwards, we went up to Horatio’s for tonight’s dinner…..

 

 

These were our plates…..

 

 

 

After we ate we took a stroll around the ship. Take Two was playing at the Atrium Bar…..

 

 

We stopped at Alchemy for a drink…..

 

 

 

Letz was playing the guitar there…..

 

 

 

Patti made her way back to the cabin to read, and I went to the Comedy Club to watch Joe Marlotti whom I enjoyed, before calling it a night. Here is tonight’s towel creature…..

 

 

Coming up next: Covid testing and our day in Ensenada.

[nybumpkin]

Jeff, I finally caught up. Looks like they removed the vintage photos in the seating areas along decks 2 and 3 - too bad, I really liked them.

 

Enjoyed your Long Beach review. We visited back in 1988 when BIL was in the Navy based in San Diego. I told DH my one wish for the trip was to drive up to Long Beach and visit the Queen Mary - so we did. Back then the dome housed the Spruce Goose, Howard Hughes' enormous wooden plane that flew exactly once. (It's now in Oregon.) Hope they come up with the funding they need for QM.

 

Thanks so much for your review and Patti's pictures!

[tinkr2]

All right. All caught up. My son and I took a trip to LA a few months back and rode the ebikes all over the beach area and shops. You took a picture of the shop we rented from.

Wow this ship is a little crazy. That dining room is some kind of colorful. I'd forgotten what the full on Farcas ships looked like.😛Ill be on her for New Years.

Is there still an Indian section and salad bar on the buffet?

[princess76021]

On 11/4/2021 at 11:48 AM, Jamman54 said:

Ahoy, Cruise Critic family! My beautiful wife Patti and I have just returned from another California Adventure. This time we did a B2B for a total of 7 days on the Carnival Miracle to Ensenada and Catalina, followed by a 7 day cruise to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo san Lucas on the Carnival Panorama. We also spent some time exploring Long Beach and Los Angeles pre and post cruises. We had a fantastic time, saw and experienced a lot of new things, and met a lot of fellow Cruise Critic members. We are so excited to bring you all the action that we hardly know where to begin!

 

So let’s begin at the very beginning. I’m going to call this section “How to build a California Adventure”. Around two years ago, shortly after we returned from our first California Adventure, where we cruised on the Carnival Inspiration and Carnival Splendor, we decided that in 2021 we would head back out west. We would make the Carnival Panorama the focal point of our return. At that point we hadn’t cruised on a Vista Class ship before so this would be our first. (It turns out that we did cruise on the Horizon this past August, but that was a last minute deal that we couldn’t refuse). Now, when to book? We normally cruise in the April / May or September / October time frames. Being retired now, we avoid the spring break, summer break, and holiday peak times, which are more expensive and crowded. We decided on October 23^rd, as we could get an awesome deal on a Havana interior cabin, and enjoy the Havana experience for ourselves.

 

Next, we wanted to book a cruise on the Carnival Imagination, as it was the only Fantasy class ship that we hadn’t been on. We decided on the October 18^th 4 day sailing to Catalina Island and Ensenada. And then the pandemic came. In July 2020 it was announced that the Imagination, along with the Fantasy and Inspiration would be scrapped. It was then announced that the Carnival Radiance, and her Cruise Director Lee Mason, who we like, would be replacing the Imagination in Long Beach. Since we enjoyed her sister ship Carnival Sunrise so much, we decided to add the October 15^th 3 day sailing to Ensenada and create a B2B. They also moved us from the ocean view cabin that we had on the Imagination, to a balcony cabin. They gave us the same balcony cabin for both legs. Now, fast forward to February 2021, when the announcement was made that the Radiance would not be ready until at least November. They also announced that the Carnival Miracle would now be taking over the Radiance’s cruises from Long Beach. Now, we had to decide if we wanted to keep the bookings. Since we love the Spirit class ships we decided to keep the bookings, and our PVP made sure that we had the same balcony cabin for both legs. So that’s how we booked the Imagination, and wound up on the Miracle!

 

The next step in the process would be to book the flights. When booking on United the earliest that you can book is 11 months out. Because we are both tall with bad legs and feet, we need to fly Business Class. We find that you can get exceptional Business Class rates if you book them as soon as they become available. After that, the prices sky rocket. Most people that flew Business Class with us on our flights paid two or three times the price we did! To get our VERY good rates, we had to fly out the morning of October 9^th, and return the evening of November 1^st.

 

Now that we know our flight dates, we could go ahead and book our hotels for before, between, and after our cruises. Because we are Hilton Honors members we booked the Long Beach Hilton for the six days before our Miracle cruises, and also for the day before our Panorama cruise. We stayed here the last time and loved it, and the location, as it is close to everything we want to see. Post Panorama cruise we booked the LAX Airport Hilton for three days, giving us time to explore Los Angeles before flying home. We didn’t book any sightseeing tours for Long Beach or Los Angeles prior to flying out, preferring to wing it as we went. So that’s how we planned this California Adventure.

 

This is going to be a looooong review so be patient with us. Patti took well over four thousand pictures during this adventure, so I have a lot of sorting, cropping, and re-sizing to catch up on. Even though I took my laptop with me and worked on the photos from time to time, there’s no way I could keep up with Patti’s itchy shutter finger! As of today, I have completed the Long Beach and Miracle portion of pictures, and will work on the Panorama and Los Angeles portion daily until I am finished. For those that are wondering, our go to camera is the Canon PowerShot XS720 HS, and our water camera is the Fuji FinePix XP60. We also have to catch up with life, work, and such, so we may not post anything for a day or two from time to time, but just remember, we have not ever not finished a review.

 

As usual, our reviews start and end at home and cover everything in between. I know that some people like to get right into the cruise stuff and I understand that, but when doing these reviews we want to re-live the whole vacation, not just part of it. So, the cruise stuff may take a few days to get to, but once we’re on it, we’re on it!

Our format will remain the same as our past reviews with a day by day account. As always, there will be many, many pictures with plenty of explanations and details. We strive to make you feel that you are cruising right along with us. So, grab yourself a DOD, hop on board with us, and join the fun!

 

To be continued…..

getting my drink!!  i'll be right back,  you know i'm ready for this cruise 🥰

hugs

nicki

[sanmarcosman]

11 hours ago, nybumpkin said:

 Looks like they removed the vintage photos in the seating areas along decks 2 and 3 - too bad, I really liked them.

I liked those photos as well. History just isn't cool to the incurious I imagine. 

[Jamman54]

22 hours ago, nybumpkin said:

Jeff, I finally caught up. Looks like they removed the vintage photos in the seating areas along decks 2 and 3 - too bad, I really liked them.

 

Enjoyed your Long Beach review. We visited back in 1988 when BIL was in the Navy based in San Diego. I told DH my one wish for the trip was to drive up to Long Beach and visit the Queen Mary - so we did. Back then the dome housed the Spruce Goose, Howard Hughes' enormous wooden plane that flew exactly once. (It's now in Oregon.) Hope they come up with the funding they need for QM.

 

Thanks so much for your review and Patti's pictures!

 

Hey there! Thanks for following along once again. A lot more to come! 

 

17 hours ago, tinkr2 said:

All right. All caught up. My son and I took a trip to LA a few months back and rode the ebikes all over the beach area and shops. You took a picture of the shop we rented from.

Wow this ship is a little crazy. That dining room is some kind of colorful. I'd forgotten what the full on Farcas ships looked like.😛Ill be on her for New Years.

Is there still an Indian section and salad bar on the buffet?

 

Glad to have you along for the ride! No Indian section, but there is a salad bar in Horatio's Lido Buffet. Enjoy your New Years cruise! 

 

10 hours ago, princess76021 said:

getting my drink!!  i'll be right back,  you know i'm ready for this cruise 🥰

hugs

nicki

 

Glad to have you aboard Nicki! 

 

Edited November 11, 2021 by Jamman54

[Jamman54]

Hey Gang! Tonight will be all about the prep work, so I'll be posting quite a bit tomorrow. See you then! 

[sfaaa]

Great review. Keep it comin'.

[Webecruzindh]

Looking forward to the continuation of the review.

[Jamman54]

On 11/10/2021 at 8:20 PM, nybumpkin said:

Jeff, I finally caught up. Looks like they removed the vintage photos in the seating areas along decks 2 and 3 - too bad, I really liked them.

 

On 11/11/2021 at 7:47 AM, sanmarcosman said:

I liked those photos as well. History just isn't cool to the incurious I imagine. 

 

Are you talking about these? 

 

[sanmarcosman]

4 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

Are you talking about these? 

Yes, and thanks for the memory. Are they still there? 

Edited November 12, 2021 by sanmarcosman

[Jamman54]

31 minutes ago, sanmarcosman said:

Yes, and thanks for the memory. Are they still there? 

 

Thankfully, yes they are!