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If you’re out to find new legends, flip directly to the RedFrog Pub®, featuring not only a mythical mascot, but actual drinks — plus Caribbean atmosphere by the gallon. Your heroic journey down the Green Thunder waterslide is a saga you’ll recount for ages. Bonsai Sushi™ proves that you needn’t teach a man to fish for him to enjoy delicacies from the sea. And once you’ve had a look — not to mention a taste — at the certifiable cocktail magic of Alchemy Bar®, you still may not believe your eyes. And over time, this ship has become even more deserving of its nameplate. The trade-off for having the best that Carnival has to offer at your fingertips is that some indoor venues come off being tight on space.
Indispensable Items to Pack for a Carnival Cruise Vacation
Experience a whole enchilada’s worth of rich culture and fun on a cruise to Mexico. Each port — including favorites Cozumel, Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta — contributes its own distinct local flavor to the mix. There are more than 20 shore excursions you can book when you buy your cruise or while you are on the cruise ship.
Best Cruises to Mexico
There are lots of spots in both sun and shade to relax and enjoy the views of the Pacific ocean. If there’s one thing about cruises, it’s that you have lots and lots of choices and you’ll certainly never go hungry! I’m sure if we did a longer cruise, there would be more family time, but with just three days my son opted to hang with the other teenagers on board. As I shared above, my husband and I found that our son wanted to hang out with the other teens and for the most part planned his days and nights around the club. To enter the terminal, you’ll need to provide a boarding pass and a passport because it’s an international cruise. So if you’re interested in a fun cruise for a weekend getaway, and are interested in what Carnival has to offer, this post is for you!
The Ship Is Brimming with Onboard Venues and Specialty Areas (But They're Tiny)
During our day in port, we chose to explore the town on our own. We’ve visited Ensenada and the wine country many times, so we enjoyed visiting a local museum, lunch at Muelle 3 and strolling through town. There is so much to do on the Carnival cruise and with a three-day cruise, we found we spent very little time in our room and preferred lounging at the pool to the stateroom. When you cruise out of Long Beach with Carnival, you’ll depart via the Long Beach Cruise Terminal, which is the busiest port in North America with ships docking five days a week.
At Alchemy Bar® we make drinks into art, while the laid-back RedFrog Pub™ has "Caribbean cool" down to a science. And up in SkyBox™ Sports Bar, we've combined luxury-box comfort with the up-close view from the 50-yard line. When we say that Carnival Miracle takes you to another world, we mean that in every sense. Not only does this ship visit stunning destinations, but features incredible onboard spaces inspired by elements of fantasy. Escape from reality as you take in a show at the Phantom Lounge or a dance at Dr. Frankenstein's Lab. To lose yourself in a song, find your way to Sam's Piano Bar.
This is a fun itinerary for a weekend getaway, but after experiencing a 3-day cruise, we all agreed that we’d love to try a longer cruise. Between the teen club for my son and all the fun things to do onboard, there just wasn’t enough time to experience it all plus enjoy some downtime. It is a super fun way to spend a weekend and what my husband and I found out, is we truly had a vacation.
Catalina Island
Cruise Critic is not a booking agent and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Rates are in USD and valid for US and Canadian residents only. When you book with one of our partners, please be sure to check their site for a full disclosure of all applicable fees as required by the U.S. Couples, solo cruisers, families and friends could be found throughout the ship. Radiance is perfectly set up to appeal to partiers, sun bathers, day drinkers, night owls and quiet folks, all just looking for an easy and fun escape. The main pool area is one of the most popular spots on the cruise during the day.
Get to Know Carnival Miracle
Carnival Opens New West Coast Cruises, Including New Ship - Cruise Hive
Carnival Opens New West Coast Cruises, Including New Ship.
Posted: Thu, 05 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Carnival Miracle Extended Balcony Stateroom - Check out a room tour of an extended balcony stateroom on the Carnival Miracle. I can't say enough about the service in the main dining room of the Carnival Radiance. He had been eye-balling the barbecue menu the past few days and knew just what he wanted. I need to work on making baked beans similar to what they had they looked so good. I am not sure how many Carnival Cruise Ships we have been on but this breakfast was epic!
Day 3 Ensenada, Mexico
When we sailed with Carnival we were on the Imagination ship, but the Radiance is the newest ship in their line for this weekend cruise. Between the buffet, main dining room, three specialty restaurants and six eateries, there's no shortage of places to eat on Carnival Radiance. And we love that, in typical Carnival fashion, the majority of the onboard eateries are included in the price of the cruise. That said, expect long lines during peak times for popular spots such as Guy's Burger Joint, BlueIguana Cantina, Pizzeria del Capitano, and Big Chicken. Spa Cloud 9 rooms are located at the forward of the ship, on Deck 10 (Panorama Deck) and Deck 11 (Spa Deck), giving guests close access to the gym, spa and thermal suites. One downside to the otherwise clutch location of these rooms is that port side Cloud 9 Spa rooms on Deck 11 are located directly below the ship's Camp Ocean kids club.
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THE 6 BEST Disney Cruises to the Mexican Riviera (with Prices) 2024 & 2025 on Cruise Critic.
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There was a couple of people in front of us waiting to scan their cruise card one more time and then we walked down to Customs. John told me he would happily stay onboard for the next few weeks to enjoy these views. The sun is shining so we ended up spending a couple of hours on our balcony watching the world go by. While it is barely 60 degrees it feels like heaven compared to the icy temperatures at home. Seeing the prices for some of the liquor makes me think about booking another cruise when I am running low on things just to stock up again. I have to tell you that sea day brunch on the Carnival Radiance was the best we have had on any Carnival ship.
It took less than 3 minutes to watch how to put on a life jacket and have our names checked for attending the safety drill. If you are not in the best of shape be prepared to take your time. It is not a long walk but the incline makes it a little more fun.
One of the great things about the Carnival Hub App is you can sign in anytime and see which restaurants and bars are currently open. After exploring the ship we ended up stopping by the Java Blue Café for a chai tea and blended coffee. One of the things I love about the Carnival Drink Package is it includes the Java Blue Café. We woke up to the sun streaming into our stateroom and a seagull sitting on the balcony railing looking in on us. Once on the ship, we were able to head directly to our muster station.
Don’t be confused — the Baja California peninsula is actually in Mexico, and cruises to Mexico are a great way to explore this area. Getting there’s a snap, because it’s just south of California (California, USA, that is) and it’s all just a short trip when you cruise from Los Angeles. While the region features a geography not unlike SoCal, it’s a different world… one that attracts American expats, and especially retirees, who call coastal resort towns like Ensenada their home. Cruise to Baja Mexico and enjoy Ensenada’s beaches before hitting the fashionable shops of Avenida Primera for new jewelry… duty-free, of course.
I can't wait to make a creamsicle cocktail, The Twilight Zone Cocktail, and a Sunburn Cocktail when we get home. Since we have been to Catalina Island before and are trying to enjoy as much ship time as possible we decided to spend the day relaxing on the ship. We are so excited to check out the updates to this ship and enjoy spending 4 days away from the ice and snow we have had in Spokane. Mexico might be right down there, but it exists in another world entirely.
We felt like we had to push to get the most done to get the value for the price we paid. Now we realize that for us the value is in relaxing, having meals taken care of, having time together without the interruptions that happen on land. One thing we have realized is how differently we cruise now compared to when we started 12 years ago. 25+ cruises later we are much more focused on relaxing and savoring the small moments versus running around all over trying to do it all.
Expect to hear running and stomping nightly until the kids club closes late into the night. Follow our social media and blog for the latest cruise and travel news, including our best vacation deals. We managed to pack everything just in time to enjoy an epic sunset from the balcony. I have to tell you we are madly deeply in love with the Premium Vista Balcony Stateroom we booked. Since we were near the aft pool bar we ended up relaxing with some epic tropical cocktails.
