Miracle Review Part 4 Ports Of Call

[halos]

Ok,

So most of what I read about these ports was pretty accurate. The Bahamas are nothing special. I guess that I am just not an island person. They all seem the same to me. The next cruise we'll be a bit more adventurous, I think. I am really hoping to take a 15 day Panama Canal cruise within the next 2 to 3 years...maybe even throw one or two short cruises in between now and then...

 

Port Canaveral:

We got off the ship and hopped on one of the vans that were waiting to take people where they wanted to go. The port itself is very nice and I'd wager that boarding at this port is probably a lovely experience.

We got in the van and asked to be taken to Coco Beach. Carnival did offer many more excursions than I thought at this port...there were excursions to Disney, Sea World and Universal, as well as the Space Center. All (park excursions) were very expensive and if you consider the time it takes to get there and back, and the lines you'll be standing in when you get to these parks, it certainly didn't seem worth the trip...so we just got off (I'd have rather just stayed on board in hindsight) and went to Coco beach which is a nice beach, but no different than any other east coast beach. If we had been on the gulf side of Florida, getting off the ship and going to a beach would have been worth it...this was not (to me anyway. I live 6 miles from a beach so if you are a person who lives in the middle of the country and doesn't get to a beach very often, disregard my comments there, because it would be worth it for you). The van ride was $3 each way per person. We went to the beach, stayed for about 3 hours. My youngest DD got fried despite wearing a 45 sunblock, the rest of us fared well wearing a 15 or less. My poor youngest has skin like a porceline doll...she says she has skin like an Albino...she may be more accurate in her description.

We were off the ship by 9, were back on by 12:30. The ship was mostly empty for the remainder of the day...BOY was that awesome!!!!

 

 

Nassau:

We did Blue Lagoon.

A lovely little place. The snorkeling was not all that great...wouldn't do it again. Plusses were the hammocks in the shade, which were a great touch and the drinks were very good!!

The problem with Blue Lagoon was the confusion and disorganization getting off the ship and waiting (it seemed forever) to walk through the port and get the ferry over there....all in all I wouldn't do that excursion again. It was good doing it once, but isn't worth a second time. If that comment seems vague then I guess my recommendation is...find another excursion.

 

 

Freeport:

For our Freeport excursion, we did the Snorkel and this time it was awesome!! Getting there was a LOT easier. We snorkled off a boat out in the ocean as opposed to off the beach (like at Blue Lagoon).

The water was a bit rough that day, but we had such a ball and my DH and I were one of the last people out of the water. We actually saw a sea turtle as well as thousands of beautiful fish. The water was crystal clear and it was just a great way to spend the afternoon. The only issue I had with this particular excursion was that it seemd a bit too short...another hour would have been nice.

 

 

The rest of our time on this cruise was fun days at sea...and they were. We really had a great time on the ship!!

 

More to come....... ;)

[Brneyznfl]

Great review, I am enjoying read it. You guessed correctly, Pt. Canaveral is a great port to embark at. Very pretty and organized. I put it in in the two best embarkation ports with Tampa being first and I'm comparing this to New Orleans and Miami...ugh! :eek: