Miracle Review Oct 19-27 2009

[Lydia B.]

I am enjoying your review. Sorry to hear about the credit card fiasco. Look forward to what you say about the islands. Three quick questions:

1. What evenings are considered dressy?

2. Did you notice if the ship offered high tea in the afterrnoon, I loved this on the Legend and they had live music.

3. did the ship offer any crafts classes on sea days?

Thanks so much, Lydia

[TakeMeAway1001]

I am enjoying your review. Sorry to hear about the credit card fiasco. Look forward to what you say about the islands. Three quick questions:

1. What evenings are considered dressy?

2. Did you notice if the ship offered high tea in the afterrnoon, I loved this on the Legend and they had live music.

3. did the ship offer any crafts classes on sea days?

Thanks so much, Lydia

 

1. 1st & 3rd sea day

2. Yes I did notice it on some a days at 3pm, however I don't have the capers with me to check if it was everyday or just a few days. I will check when I get home.

3. Yes I do remember them announcing crafts during the cruise but again I would have to check the days when I get home.

[TakeMeAway1001]

You guys clean up real nice. i guess I missed that.

 

I can't believe you got all this done already , We really enjoyed meeting you guys and had a wonderful time . Hope we can do it again sometime. We will probably book the new Iten for next Oct with alex and tanya .

 

Good luck in life guys and with such great attitudes you will go far.

 

Tom

 

Aww thanks :o Yes the dressing up was short lived, dinner and then right back to change for us :)

 

We enjoyed meeting you two as well, it was a real nice cruise and the great company made it even better.

 

We would love to do it again, I will have to work on getting Jay to let me book another one after our Dream cruise in June but it will give me something to do :D

[TakeMeAway1001]

Thank you for the review. I look forward to reading the rest of it. I am sorry to hear about your toubles and your dd. I hope she is ok.

 

Thanks, DD is doing ok but she isn't all that keen on driving any time soon, her nerves are shot.

Thankfully we heard from the police that she won't be cited and that she wasn't texting which was my worst fear.

 

I am looking forward to getting home today and working on some more of the review, work just isn't cutting it today :D

[NJCruiser23]

Great review so far! Can't wait to hear more. Makes waiting until July almost bearable. ALMOST! LOL. Hope your DD feels better soon. I don't blame her for being a little nervous. I also hope you get your CC situation resolved. It really stinks that you come home from a great vacation and then have that to deal with. Good Luck.:)

[FlaMilkman]

Our family was on the Miracle this past January and loved it so much that we are booked on her again this upcoming January.

Seeing those pictures brings back great memories and just wets my appetite for our next cruise.

Thanks, keep up the great work and hopefully everything works out with your credit cards!!!

[NCTribeFan]

I'm enjoying the review. I can't wait to read some from the Western itinerary, as that's what we're doing in December.

 

I had originally booked an aft on Deck 5 but moved down to Deck 4 after reading about how hot it can be on the upper aft balconies.

 

So sorry to hear about the credit card thing. I won't be using my Citi card (which I have had for about 15 years and use for everything and then redeem points for Carnival certificates) because they just sent me a notice telling me my interest rate was going up to 24.99% :eek:

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

[TakeMeAway1001]

I'm enjoying the review. I can't wait to read some from the Western itinerary, as that's what we're doing in December.

 

I had originally booked an aft on Deck 5 but moved down to Deck 4 after reading about how hot it can be on the upper aft balconies.

 

So sorry to hear about the credit card thing. I won't be using my Citi card (which I have had for about 15 years and use for everything and then redeem points for Carnival certificates) because they just sent me a notice telling me my interest rate was going up to 24.99% :eek:

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

 

We rec'd the same letter yesterday, we're going from 9.99% to 29.99% :eek:We spent a long time on the phone with a supervisor only to be told there is nothing they can do, they are suffering economically :mad: That's the way they reward their loyal, on time paying customers, how sad! I won't rant about it cause it just drives me nuts, off to do the 2nd sea day :)

[salty dingo]

We rec'd the same letter yesterday, we're going from 9.99% to 29.99% :eek:We spent a long time on the phone with a supervisor only to be told there is nothing they can do, they are suffering economically :mad: That's the way they reward their loyal, on time paying customers, how sad! I won't rant about it cause it just drives me nuts, off to do the 2nd sea day :)

You don't have to accept their terms. There is a procedure where you can opt out of the new terms. They will not let you make any more charges, but who would want to at that interest rate.

 

You can continue paying hte balance off at the old rate for as long as you want and then either get a new credit card or switch to a debit card. If you carry a balance a debit card will proably work better for you anyway. Good luck!

[TakeMeAway1001]

I just wanted to apologize for the time it's taking me to get the review out, it's time consuming and DH and I share the same computer and he doesn't understand why my review should come before his estimates.

 

Wednesday October 21st-2nd Fun Day at Sea

 

Today we were thrilled to see the sun shining and after a quick breakfast we made our way to the Aft/ Adult pool area for a chance to get some sun. We had no problem finding a seat and spent a few hours in the sun before I realized I was frying so we headed out to shower and get some lunch. Today I found the Asian Corner and enjoyed sampling some of the dishes, DH stuck to his sandwiches and we found a nice seat by the window and enjoyed watching the water.

 

DH wanted to check out the casino and I wanted to try to get a message off to the kids so we both ventured off into different areas, this was the first of many times experiencing horrible internet service. I know it’s not guaranteed and they do specify it can be slow but I purchased a 100 minute package and it took me over twenty minutes to sign on and this happened quite often throughout the cruise but there wasn’t really anything that could be done so I dealt with it.

I was able to get a message to the kids so I was happy. I wanted to try the Tea Time today but I couldn’t convince DH to try it with me so I skipped it and decided to get ready for our Cruise Critic Roll Call Cocktail Party which was at 4:30pm.

 

This was organized by Alex & Tanya

two members of our Roll Call and it was a huge success. A few months prior to our cruise we discussed this and almost everyone on our Roll Call was interested, Alex & Tanya collected $11.44 from everyone that was interested and Carnival let us know right before the cruise the time/date/location of our private party and it ended up being in the Piano Bar which was just the right size, it was so nice to see so many people turn out for it. Some of our Roll Call also had a gift exchange as well during the cocktail party and while I didn’t participate in that it was a huge success. The hour went quick but the bartender did a great job turning out drinks for us, I would recommend this to others who have a large Roll Call since it was a great ice breaker. Thanks again to Alex & Tanya for all the coordination on this.

Here are a few other pics of our party~

The hour went by fast but I managed to get quite a few drinks in, maybe too many, sorry these three pics got squished together and a few people lost their heads but for those of you interested in having one of these you get the idea, it was well worth it!

[TakeMeAway1001]

After the party it was off to get ready for dinner, it was another great meal. After dinner I stopped in the Atrium to get a Mojito from the Mojito Fiesta set up and then we paid the casino a little visit and waited for the early show tonight which featured Female Impressionist Karen Grainger and she was wonderful, a truly talented lady. After the show we walked around a bit and went to the piano bar, I am not sure but I think I heard Peter say this was his last week on the Miracle, if it is it’s too bad because we enjoyed him. We stayed up long enough so DH could get a burger from the late night Bistro and after seeing the food I decided I would have something too and got a burger and some fries, not a good idea so late at night since my body isn’t used to eating that late let alone fried/greasy food. Off to bed and it was another night of barely remembering hitting the pillow.

 

I am off to scan in today's capers, be right back!

[TakeMeAway1001]

 

 

Behind the scenes tour information/click the page to view larger

I would love to do another day however I have to give up the computer for the night. Tomorrow....St Maarten :)

[salty dingo]

A few months prior to our cruise we discussed this and almost everyone on our Roll Call was interested, Alex & Tanya collected $11.44 from everyone that was interested and Carnival let us know right before the cruise the time/date/location of our private party and it ended up being in the Piano Bar which was just the right size, it was so nice to see so many people turn out for it.

That's great you all had a cocktail party. Our roll call is also meeting in Sam's Piano Bar but it will be earlier - 11 am to noon, and not catered. Still, it's free, so even the non-drinkers should be able to attend. I do like the cocktail party idea, and I think $11.44 is a really good deal for an hour of open bar. I know I would drink my money's worth in 10 minutes!

[TakeMeAway1001]

That's great you all had a cocktail party. Our roll call is also meeting in Sam's Piano Bar but it will be earlier - 11 am to noon, and not catered. Still, it's free, so even the non-drinkers should be able to attend. I do like the cocktail party idea, and I think $11.44 is a really good deal for an hour of open bar. I know I would drink my money's worth in 10 minutes!

 

It was fun and I think well worth it, I think we had at least 44 people show up so I would say it was a success :)

 

Have a great night, I will be back tomorrow~

[johnlcruise]

I'm really enjoying this. Reliving our cruise experence with our group that was on board with you.

You are doing such a great job. Looking forward to reading the rest.

John

[framerman]

I was wondering how you got Captain Morgan in the cabin legally? How much was it? We sail next week - I am so excited and waiting for the rest of your awesome review. We are doing the same ports. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this!! I might have more questions _ I hope you don't mind.

Patty

Call the Bon voyage dept and ask for it. They just don't advertise its availability. n Something like 40 bucks per bottle.

[NCTribeFan]

Not to hijack this, but the thing with not accepting the credit card changes is that it closes your account. I have about $40,000 credit limit and if they close it, it will mean my credit rating will take a huge hit. I will probably decline their kind offer of the increased interest rate, pay the fee to transfer the balance to another card, and leave it open at the new rate but just not use it. Of course, there is no guarantee that the other card won't do the same thing. :mad:

 

I love the idea of the cocktail party. I think we have close to 50 people talking about a Meet & Greet, so maybe I'll suggest this.

 

Looking forward to the next installment. Oh, and you two absolutely do not look like you're old enough to have kids you need to check in with!

[TakeMeAway1001]

Not to hijack this, but the thing with not accepting the credit card changes is that it closes your account. I have about $40,000 credit limit and if they close it, it will mean my credit rating will take a huge hit. I will probably decline their kind offer of the increased interest rate, pay the fee to transfer the balance to another card, and leave it open at the new rate but just not use it. Of course, there is no guarantee that the other card won't do the same thing. :mad:

 

I love the idea of the cocktail party. I think we have close to 50 people talking about a Meet & Greet, so maybe I'll suggest this.

 

Looking forward to the next installment. Oh, and you two absolutely do not look like you're old enough to have kids you need to check in with!

 

The whole thing with the cards is scary, I hate that DH & I have worked so hard to get where we are and we are very responsible with our credit yet we feel like we are getting punished for being a good customer. I am sure this type of situation will be par for the course with most CC companies soon :(

 

I cannot say enough good things about the cocktail party, it was a lot of fun and reasonably priced. I know not everyone drinks but those who weren't interested just came to the other "after muster" gathering on sail away day that we had. I think the turnout for the cocktail party was the best M&G I have experienced in six cruises.

 

Thanks for the compliment, my son is 22 and I still worry about leaving him alone but DD is great at filling me in on any issues, lol :)

 

I am looking forward to getting our day in St Maarten posted tonight, I will be back later on.

[TakeMeAway1001]

Thursday October 22nd, 2009- St Maarten

Today we were woken up around 4:00am by a “bright star” alarm, I wasn’t sure what it was for but of course my heart was pounding and I couldn’t get back to sleep. We heard from others including some staff that a passenger was feeling ill. I laid in bed for another hour and finally decided to get up and pack our bag for our day in St Maarten, this is the one stop where we had nothing lined up so we weren’t in a hurry to get off the ship. I went to go out on to the balcony and saw the RC Freedom of the Seas coming in behind us.

It looked like it was heading straight for us

Another pic as it got closer

 

DH finally got up and we made our way to the Lido for breakfast and literally walked off the ship when we were done, no lines at all.

 

We took the water taxi and walked around the area where it drops you off, most of the stores were closed so we just walked around.

 

There is a lot of construction going on at the port and I wanted to post a sign on the project but I am at my pic limit in this post so hang on a minute...

 

 

[TakeMeAway1001]

Port Construction

 

 

I contemplated taking a taxi to a nice beach but we ended up chatting with Miguel who works the beach area right by the Blue ***** Bar

Miguel offered us two chairs & umbrella and a bucket of five beers for $20

We told him we were going to take a walk and come back and we set out to the Guava Berry Emporium for our GB Colada and to check out the shops

 

 

[TakeMeAway1001]

While were were walking we only met one pushy person who literally tried to corral us into her store but we somehow managed to get around her and she moved on to the next person

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We weren't too interested in shopping on this trip and for some reason we didn't even buy any souvenirs, we just enjoyed a nice relaxing day.

[TakeMeAway1001]

We decided we were going to take Miguel up on his offer for the beach spot and made our way back to his area.

The guys working this area were very nice and accommodating, I am sure this wasn’t the best beach but it worked out well for us.

 

 

I enjoyed the warm water and the shells were everywhere and I found some really nice ones.

 

 

There were a handful of women walking around selling bags and wraps and one lady who asked me at least a half dozen times if I wanted my hair braided but it wasn't too bad. We really enjoyed the quite time and I spent the majority of time in the water and I am glad I didn't have any other real opportunities to swim at a beach during this cruise.

 

After a few hours we decided to have lunch and walked up to grab a seat at the Blue ***** Bar and sat at a pub table facing the water and listened to the band play on the boardwalk area.

We ordered Conch with three different dipping sauces and for an entrée we both ordered grilled chicken sandwiches that were very good.

After lunch we made our way back to the beach and enjoyed the rest of the day. On our way back to the water taxi we stopped for one more Guava Berry Colada and we were off to go back to the ship.

 

I took this picture on the walk back to the water taxi

 

 

We had a great day in St Maarten, I really like this port and can't wait to go back in June

[jzldy101]

I was on this Cruise and though this was my 17th cruise this one was different from the rest, everything was good the entertainment with lawrence at the deck party to malcolm the cruise director, food , breakfast ,lunch,dinner my favorite was the shopping St. Maarten is my all time favorite shopping of them all but things were good and as always as always love to cruise and are forever wanting to go again soon

[TakeMeAway1001]

Once back on board we showered and headed out to take some photos around the ship while it was quiet, there are quite a few so I put them in a webshots album so if you would like to take a peek just click on this picture~ Enjoy, I have to start scanning the capers for this day and I will be back to post them with a wrap up of the evening.

[Lydia B.]

Your review is like a great book a real page turner! I know doing this kind of thig is time consuming and we all do thank you. Lydia of Ohio