We traveled on the Carnival Miracle for the 7 night Mexican Riviera cruise. It was a whole new experience for us! Everyone on the ship seemed to go above and beyond and took pride in their work. The Las Caletas shore excursion was the high light of our trip, it is not to be missed! The other ports were disappointing to us and lacked an authentic feel. And the heat and humidity were ridiculous!!! On the ship, the food was fabulous and we enjoyed the "my time dining" every night. As first timers, we didn't realize this meant waiting 30-50 minutes each time but now we know. I was very impressed with they gym and would have liked to have used it more than 3 days. It was a very busy place in the mornings! Our steward struggled to remember our names but his dedication and demeanor were endearing--a shout out to Katut (sp?) we enjoyed him and our towel animals very much. The comedy shows were great, and we loved the ship parties led by the asst. cruise director. All in all, a very memorable time for my husband and I, and our 4 children (16-25 years).
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
It was amazing to see people eat continuously throughout the day. This process is very impressive and Carnival pulled it off with quality and professionalism.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Impressive agenda.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Lots of comedy shows, trivia, dancing, great agenda.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Katut, our steward was very professional and engaging. Juan Carlos in the dining room was excellent and friendly. The cruise director and assistant cruise director (Cory and the girl with the pink streaks in her hair) and Nate did an excellent job. Everyone is impressively trained and gets an A+ for professionalism (I'm in the customer service management) even when faced with unruly tweens, drunken frat boys, rednecks. I will never forget what a great job every single person did to make my experience the best it could be. Even the busboys were infallible. Way to go, people!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
There was quite a bit of sound coming into the room from any evening show held in the Phantom theater. These shows went well after midnight. I didn't sleep well (so much excitement) so this exacerbated the problem. We chose the least expensive rooms so this comes with the territory. We didn't hear noise from any adjoining rooms, the thermostat was very responsive, the water pressure in the shower was great. Loved our steward Katut!
Ship tip
Don't buy the Cheers card....because you are also paying for the days that you're in port, presumably enjoying excursions. You're better off getting pitchers, or maybe even abstaining from alcohol for a day or two!!! There's nothing like being drunk while traversing the ocean waves...
Get away from the port area as quickly as you can, I regret we didn't do some research first. We figured Cabo was famous for fun so why not play it by ear? We snorkeled the El Arco/Lover's Beach area and paid for a local captain to take us there good choice (5 min). Saved a lot of money vs. booking through official site but the hawkers are overwhelming and annoying. Water was absolutely filthy and in the evening when we got back onboard that was the water which filled the pools (my swimsuit turned brown). The fact that I inadvertently swallowed some grosses me out to no end.
We did the "Hop on Hop off" bus tour ($25pp). The best part is that we were able to see some of the authentic town, as we drove through it. Kids got quite a kick out of the tour guide saying, "And over here we have the Walmart," while failing to mention interesting landmarks. We all would have enjoyed this stop much more had we not been sweating buckets and then walked around in soaked clothes all day. Thank God for the final stop, where there was a nice hotel, reasonable food, pool and BEACH.
Las Caletas all the way! Sure it was expensive. But the service and the destination were TOP notch. We booked this ahead of time as the reviews were so good. Cruised around town afterwards in a taxi (gouged by driver, set price ahead, do your research) ended up at a nice beach which reminded me of any beach town in US. Trinket shops and chain stores, nothing special. Thought the mercantile next to the ship was the most worthwhile, and the vendors so very pushy, and eager to take $$. Again, we sweated buckets--even the Mexican people were complaining about the heat this time of year.
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