Just off the Miracle....Review

Just off the Miracle on Sunday……Oh how reality bites!

We arrived at the port at 10:45. Check in was easy and we were quickly into the waiting area. We are minor smugglers, and didn’t have any issues getting on board everything we needed. Everything was carried on. We had wine, water, soda, beer, and some alcohol. They never asked to look into any of our carry on bags. We also had a couple bottles ordered and delivered to our room thru the bon voyage dept.

They started boarding around 11:30. We quickly made our way to our room and asked if we could drop off our bags prior to the room being ready. No problem at all, and we were having lunch on Lido deck by noon.

Our stateroom was 8232, aka the bowling alley balcony. The room was great and the balcony huge. Loved the location towards the aft, by the elevators and stairs, and one floor up to either the Lido buffet, or aft pool. We found the room to be very quiet, and never heard any noise from above the entire cruise.

We saw our cabin steward twice the entire cruise. This was very different from prior cruises, where we almost became friendly with our stewards. We would leave him notes, and he always did what we asked, which was keep a small cooler filled with ice, replace our water bottle, etc…. Our room was kept in perfect shape all cruise so no complaints, just different.

We had late seating in the Bacchus dining room. We found the first nights dinner to be our least favorite, but every other night was great. We did have an issue with our head waiter. He never spoke to us, and would barely look at us. And no it wasn’t just us, we spoke with other tables he was serving and they said the same thing. His 2 assistant waiters were great, had lots of personality, and did most of the work. Overall our service was great, again just different than what we have been used to.

We had dinner one night at Nick & Nora's steak house. Well worth the $$, and the service and food were amazing.

On our first sea day we had a Cruise Critic meet & greet, which was attended by approx 50 people. We had prepaid for a 1hr open bar. Its funny how fast you can drink when a clock is ticking. This was followed by a cabin crawl/poker run where we visited 8 different types of staterooms.

Our first stop was in Grand Turk. After exploring the shops and Margaritaville, we walked down the beach to Jacks Shack. We knew we were in the right area because a lot of crew members were there as well. This was our spot for the day! Nice beach, friendly service, great rum punch, and food!

The Dominican Republic was next. Our least favorite stop, and one that we have been to on prior cruises. Took a quick trip to Altos De Chavon, then to a local shopping area, then back on the ship by lunch.

On to Aruba. We were lucky enough to reserve Bully for a private tour. Amazing!! Booked a 3hr tour, that went 4hrs with no additional charge. If you get the chance to use him you won’t be sorry. He had a sign with our name on it waiting for us when we got off the ship. He bought us drinks and pastries along the way…..I could go on forever, just book him!

Curacao….We were able to reserve a group tour with everyone from our CC group. Other than the AC not working great, this was a nice tour as well. Saw a few island highlights, including the liquor factory, beaches, and caves, along with a lunch stop at a beautiful resort.

Finished with back to back sea days heading home.

We loved this class of ship. This was our first “Spirit” class ship. It never felt crowded. The lido deck was easy to navigate. No problems finding deck chairs, even on sea days.

We did the galley tour which was interesting, and informative.

I’m sure I’m leaving a lot out, so if you have any questions, ask away. Other than the casino kicking my___. It was a great cruise!

Hi David and Catherine...

Nice review...short and sweet :) Glad to see you enjoyed the Miracle as much as I did. Same sentiments about La Romana - too bad Catalina Island was changed :( LOVED your balcony !

We too were home Sunday, but I didn't walk in the door until after 9pm which made for a very long travel day.

It was a pleasure meeting both of you :)

We leave Dec 12, 2011 and will visit these ports.

:D:D:DThanks for the review

leedm

Glad that you had a good cruise.

Thanks for your review! DH and I sailed on the Miracle in March 2010 to the Caribbean and really liked the ship. As you said, it never felt too crowded. Would love to sail her again someday. Glad you had a nice cruise. :)

Good Review. I can't wait to sail her again in May :-)

Do you have any pics of the bowling alley balcony??

What port did you leave from?

Thanks for the review - do you remember the name of the resort in Curacao that you stopped for lunch?

We did the same itinerary in Nov, and we too, used Bully. He is awesome and takes you to places Carnival excursions don't. He also extended our tour by a few hours and didn't charge us extra. By all means, book him if you can.

from out on the range...

Thanks for the review, glad you had a great time.

Kirk

What port did you leave from?

We left out of Ft. Lauderdale

Thanks for the review - do you remember the name of the resort in Curacao that you stopped for lunch?

If I heard it I would remember.....It was located at the western tip of the island.

Thanks for a great review - we are so excited for our upcoming trip; we have booked an aft cabin as well although we have never cruised the Spirit Class.......

We have all of our Islands figured out with the exception of Curacao; we just can't seem to figure out what we want to do - does anyone know how I get ahold of Bully?

Thanks for commenting on the Steakhouse, we will be visiting one night and its nice to hear how great it is - we have enjoyed them on the other ships :D

Any pictures you want to share

If I heard it I would remember.....It was located at the western tip of the island.

Was it Blue Bay Resort?

If I heard it I would remember.....It was located at the western tip of the island.

Hi David! The resort was Kura Hulanda.

good review. I can't wait to sail her again in may :-)

 

do you have any pics of the bowling alley balcony??

Im not sure how to make the pic larger, but this was taken on our balcony during our cabin crawl. I think we had 26 people on the balcony.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise! We love the Miracle...have sailed her the last 2 years with another coming up in May (different itineraries out of NY). We'll be doing your itin next Nov on the Breeze!:)

Isn't that balcony awesome?? We had it last year and this year we have 7258 below it:D

I found a larger photo...

Im not sure how to make the pic larger, but this was taken on our balcony during our cabin crawl. I think we had 26 people on the balcony.

 

 

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Hi David & Catherine...

Could I bother you to email me this pic :)

Since My mom, step dad, aunt and me are front and centre, it would be a great souvenier. email address is hoovers dot haven at hotmail dot com

Thanks so much ! :) Kathryn

We did the same itinerary in Nov, and we too, used Bully. He is awesome and takes you to places Carnival excursions don't. He also extended our tour by a few hours and didn't charge us extra. By all means, book him if you can.

 

from out on the range...

I would really appreciate it if you would let me know how to book a tour with Bully.

Does he have a van? We are leaving Monday (Dec. 12) on the Miracle and have the same itinerary as yours. This will be our second time on the Miracle and first time to Aruba, Curacao, etc.

Thanks!

I would really appreciate it if you would let me know how to book a tour with Bully.

Does he have a van? We are leaving Monday (Dec. 12) on the Miracle and have the same itinerary as yours. This will be our second time on the Miracle and first time to Aruba, Curacao, etc.

Thanks!

Bully has a large air conditioned van which holds 5 people comfortably.

Hi David & Catherine...

 

Could I bother you to email me this pic :)

 

Since My mom, step dad, aunt and me are front and centre, it would be a great souvenier. email address is hoovers dot haven at hotmail dot com

 

Thanks so much ! :) Kathryn

On it's way to you...........

Thank you! Do you recall approx. how much he charges per person?

We are leaving Jan 5th out of Ft. lauderdale and headed to St. Martin, St. Lucia and St. Kitts and I am sooo excited. Your review has me more anxious than ever to go. Glad you had a great time.

Thanksfor the review.

Did you do Altos De Chavon privately? If so did it cost anything other than transportation to get there?

How did you like it?

Thank you! Do you recall approx. how much he charges per person?

He doesn't charge per person. The rate was $45 per hr. Worth it!!!

You can do any type of tour you want.

Enjoy!