June 2018 - 7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip) Cruise on Celebrity Equinox
giampapa
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Joined 08/2016
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Helpful VotesPast cruises
August 2016 - 7 Night Mexican Riviera (Los Angeles Roundtrip) Cruise on Carnival Miracle
Not what we booked but still enjoyable.
Carnival Miracle
Sail date: August 06, 2016
Not what we booked but still enjoyable.
First let me say that I would not recommend to friends booking this itinerary in August or possibly even late July when storm activity begins to appear. The captain had to change the itinerary due to a tropical storm that closed the port of Cabo San Lucas for three days. We (myself, wife and two sons, 18 and 20 years old) were looking forward to 2 days in Cabo but only got most of one day from 7am to 2:15pm. Instead we spent about one-and-half days in Puerto Vallarta, arriving at noon the first day, overnighting in PV and then departing at about 3 or 4pm the next day. The ship's Shore Excursion desk did a remarkable job attempting to rebook about 2,000 shore excursions. The captain also did a great job avoiding choppy seas, giving us mostly smooth sailing.
A highlight of the cruise was the Las Caletas Beach excursion at Puerto Vallarta. We really enjoyed the beach, the warm water and some optional activities (the Seal/Sea Lion encounter and a massage). The food and drinks were outstanding. We've been on 15 cruises and my wife commented that this was the best cruise excursion we ever experienced. In Cabo, my wife and 20-year-old son did the Dolphin Swim and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Carnival did a great job of keeping passengers entertained while at sea. We especially enjoyed the comedy shows. There were typically two or three or more nightly, PG family shows and the R+ (18 and older) beginning at 9pm and later. All were great! During the 7-day cruise, Carnival brought in 4 comedians so there was always fresh material.
A downside of the cruise was the rudeness of some passengers. While the vast majority of passengers are polite enough, we found that parents with young to pre-teen children were rude. Any rudeness by their children, either intentional or inadvertent, was either ignored, condoned or even defended and encouraged by the parents. These parents seem to feel that any form of self-expression by their children should be acceptable to all. In Cabo, the ship departure was delayed by over an hour waiting for two very late passengers who waved to everyone "greeting" them as they finally arrived aboard the tender.
Cruise tips
Long Beach (Los Angeles), California
We stayed at the Long Beach Hilton on their park and cruise package. Comfortable and convenient. The next day we were shuttled to the nearby cruise terminal. When we returned, we tried calling the Hilton for pick-up but they never answered the phone so we had to Uber back to the hotel. The front desk explained that something was wrong with their phone system and comped us for the Uber fare. Otherwise, excellent service.
Las Caletas Beach Hideaway is a really enjoyable excursion. The Best of PV & Shopping Tour needs improvement in its itinerary.
Enjoyed the dolphin excursion here and lunch. Not much time left for anything else since we had to board the tenders by 2:15pm.
Carnival Miracle
There is only one outlet in the cabin so if you have multiple devices to plug in, we would recommend that you bring an outlet strip.
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First let me say that I would not recommend to friends booking this itinerary in August or possibly even late July when storm activity begins to appear. The captain had to change the itinerary due to a tropical storm that closed the port of Cabo San Lucas for three days. We (myself, wife and two sons, 18 and 20 years old) were looking forward to 2 days in Cabo but only got most of one day from 7am to 2:15pm. Instead we spent about one-and-half days in Puerto Vallarta, arriving at noon the first day, overnighting in PV and then departing at about 3 or 4pm the next day. The ship's Shore Excursion desk did a remarkable job attempting to rebook about 2,000 shore excursions. The captain also did a great job avoiding choppy seas, giving us mostly smooth sailing.
A highlight of the cruise was the Las Caletas Beach excursion at Puerto Vallarta. We really enjoyed the beach, the warm water and some optional activities (the Seal/Sea Lion encounter and a massage). The food and drinks were outstanding. We've been on 15 cruises and my wife commented that this was the best cruise excursion we ever experienced. In Cabo, my wife and 20-year-old son did the Dolphin Swim and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Carnival did a great job of keeping passengers entertained while at sea. We especially enjoyed the comedy shows. There were typically two or three or more nightly, PG family shows and the R+ (18 and older) beginning at 9pm and later. All were great! During the 7-day cruise, Carnival brought in 4 comedians so there was always fresh material.
A downside of the cruise was the rudeness of some passengers. While the vast majority of passengers are polite enough, we found that parents with young to pre-teen children were rude. Any rudeness by their children, either intentional or inadvertent, was either ignored, condoned or even defended and encouraged by the parents. These parents seem to feel that any form of self-expression by their children should be acceptable to all. In Cabo, the ship departure was delayed by over an hour waiting for two very late passengers who waved to everyone "greeting" them as they finally arrived aboard the tender.