Lots of fun with a few snags

Carnival Miracle Cruise Review to Mexico

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 53

Overall rating:

3.6 out of 5
Verified Review
Carnival Miracle

6 Night Baja Mexico (San Diego Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 06, 2020

Ship: Carnival Miracle

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8142

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

We had so much fun in this cruise and really loved it. We did not love Ensenada. I’ve been on over 10 cruises and never could understand why cruises stop there. If you do stop there, go to la bufadora and then get back on the ship. It’s truly not worth the stop. The food was the biggest bummer on this ship. Buffets were not good, except for the lido grill. Ice cream machines were very frequently out of ice cream and 3/4 hot chocolate machines broke down (the last day they finally added packets for you to mix in yourself, though). The waiters in the main dining room seemed maxed out - no matter what time we went. They had no assistant waiters. Main dining was a good 2 - 2.5 hour experience and was hard to get a drink or refill. They seemed unhappy and often got our orders wrong and then took another 1/2 hour to get it right. Sometimes half our table would have their meals and it would take 25 minutes for the rest of the table to get theirs. Our kids hated going there, so often we would take them to the lido grill to eat, then they could go to the kids club or hang out in the room while we ate. That food also wasn’t amazing (except for the filet Mignon) and was often lukewarm. Entertainment was pretty good! We enjoyed the nightly shows and the comedians. I appreciated the ratings for the comedians so I knew which ones were ok for kids. The pool was freezing ocean water and was mostly empty the whole time. Hot tubs were so nice and we loved them.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
Buffets were not good, except for the lido grill. But the main dining room was so incredibly slow that you often had no choice. Waiters there were so overworked with no assistant waiters and often got orders wrong.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5
We didn’t participate in many, but the ones we did do were great.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
Shows were so fun!

Children's Programs

Kids never went

Service and Staff

2 out of 5
Waiters were slow and overworked, so they seemed really unhappy and snippy. Room service came once a day from around 5-6 and wasn’t very thorough.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

Don’t go for the food and you’ll have a great time.

Ports of call

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

5 out of 5
Loved Cabo! We visited an all inclusive resort for a day and did some snorkeling. It was amazing and beautiful.

Ensenada, Mexico

1 out of 5
Ensenada is an armpit. I never knew why ships stop here. It’s dirty and stinky with very few good excursions.

Disembarkation

4 out of 5
Good, though they never notified early disembarkers of when it was time. We just saw people getting off so we joined.
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3 Comments

1ttat1    4 years ago

We did an excursion in Ensenada and had a great time

louandkat    4 years ago

Ensenada is a working industrial port. You have to leave the town in order to get to the good stuff (kinda like San Pedro in LA)....the winery's at Valle de Guadalupe, the beaches and seafood north and south of town are amazing. Unfortunately, ships only dock for a few hrs which obviously doesnt give u any time to explore👎

bobduck1993    4 years ago

So glad that you enjoyed Ensenada!

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