Day 1 LOW-KEY Lunch - WHERE?

Almost every ship has "that hidden place for lunch" for day 1. For example, the Italian restaurant on the Breeze...the place that's kind of "out of the way"...quieter than the LIDO buffet...

So...on the MIRACLE....WHERE is THAT place?

I'm looking for a nice quiet space to eat....a bit away from the crowds, with my husband and my parents (over 80 years old) to set a wonderful calm tone to our cruise.

We will be able to get to our cabins right away, which is good because we won't have to worry with carrying our luggage...but...still in search...

Any ideas?

Unfortunately the Miracle doesnt have any specialty dining so Lido is pretty much it for embarkation. That being said if you are boarding early you should be able to find a spot. Just off the Miracle from May and wasnt terribly bad. Enjoy your cruise I really liked the Miracle and didn't really miss the specialty restaurants like I thought.

You can take your food out to the adult only pool in back. Also, the sandwiches in Lido are tasty and most people don't notice it in the back for a few days so might be less crowded.

There is a nice grill aft on the Lido deck, serving burgers, dogs, chicken sandwich, and a few other items. I actually like the burgers at the Grill much better than guys. They actually had some meat to them, not squished

Call me crazy, but we’ve made it a habit to eat lunch ashore before we board the ship. It truly sets the tone for a very relaxing embarkation day.

We find a place near the port and have lunch around 11am, when lunch crowds are still thin. Sometimes we have the restaurant to ourselves. After that, we proceed to the port. We’ve also learned that the later we check in, the shorter the embarkation line. There are times when we’ve walked into the terminal and gone straight to the check in counter with nobody ahead of us.

Once onboard, cabins are ready for everybody which means that all the passengers, with their carry ons, clogging the lido, lounges, buffet, and other common areas, have proceeded to their cabins. We walk right onboard. No standing in lines, no waiting for elevators, no fighting the crowds.

Lastly, I know that it costs extra to eat ashore, but in my humble opinion, for those looking for a quiet and relaxing embarkation day away from the crowds, it’s well worth it.

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You can take your food out to the adult only pool in back. Also, the sandwiches in Lido are tasty and most people don't notice it in the back for a few days so might be less crowded.

There are several tables in the Serenity area.

For us it’s not that spot, but that time.

Have a nice breakfast at the hotel that will hold you over till they announce the rooms are open for all.

Then the buffet is wide open.

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Call me crazy, but we’ve made it a habit to eat lunch ashore before we board the ship. It truly sets the tone for a very relaxing embarkation day.

 

We find a place near the port and have lunch around 11am, when lunch crowds are still thin. Sometimes we have the restaurant to ourselves. After that, we proceed to the port. We’ve also learned that the later we check in, the shorter the embarkation line. There are times when we’ve walked into the terminal and gone straight to the check in counter with nobody ahead of us.

 

Once onboard, cabins are ready for everybody which means that all the passengers, with their carry ons, clogging the lido, lounges, buffet, and other common areas, have proceeded to their cabins. We walk right onboard. No standing in lines, no waiting for elevators, no fighting the crowds.

 

Lastly, I know that it costs extra to eat ashore, but in my humble opinion, for those looking for a quiet and relaxing embarkation day away from the crowds, it’s well worth it.

 

 

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That is our plan for our next cruise, we won't be buying FTTF and honestly getting on early last time really wasn't worth it. I figured we could be a bit more leisurely in leaving the hotel, and find somewhere for a late breakfast/early lunch and hang out, thinking about trying one of the waterfront places at PC where you can see the ships from. Sounds like a more relaxing start to a cruise than the rush to get on the boat just for an extra hour.

Tapi is spot on. Embarkation and debarkation on Miracle was a bit of a disaster. We had a suite so had most of the FFTF perks but wanted early room access and the special guest services line. So I got it (and I generally love it). It was not worth it. Debarkation took over 2 hours of standing in line. By noon during embarkation, the terminal was at capacity and they locked the doors and wouldn't let anyone else in, despite our priority status. I didn't look but I suspect it was closer to 12:30 before they let the first passengers on board (and that is because the prior debarkation was just as slow as ours ended up being).

That said, a good quiet place if you want to be inside is on deck 2 (I think). There are a bunch of comfortable chairs with little tables near the red frog pub. But like Tapi said, your best bet would be to eat lunch on shore and arrive closer to 1:30 and then go hang out in the red frog pub.