Just back from the Miracle

[patrice1]

Just back from the Miracle and since the reviews have been done many times, I will only do a general review.

Background: DH & I are in our 50’s and this was our 11th cruise, our 5th with CCL. We booked cabin 4228, an aft wrap – our first and definitely not our last – over 1 year ago.

Cabin: What can I say besides awesome? We adored this cabin. Having separate rooms so DH could watch a football game one pm & I could nap in the other room was perfect, or watching the wake from bed in the morning – OH! And the dressing room! And that balcony was absolutely panoramic. I spent soooo much time out there this cruise. The steward was attentive, but we rarely saw him. Cabin was clean and during our cruise they did major cleaning of the balconies. We have no bath tub at our house & I was really looking forward to soaking in a jetted tub. Unfortunately, the water was brownish and the jets didn’t work. I didn’t notify anyone of this, because I felt it wasn’t that big a deal, but I will now that we’re home so that they can fix it for future cruisers.

Food: The quality of the food was mostly what we remembered. Standouts were the Caesar salad dressing which we have loved every cruise & finally got the recipe from the Chef – unfortunately it’s for 320 people but I know a chef who can adapt it, so we were happy – the salmon, the prime rib and anything from Nick & Nora’s. We both did notice this cruise, however, that some foods actually lacked flavor & seasonings, particularly on the Lido deck, but also occasionally in the Dining Room. We only had the melting cake once this cruise and it was too much melting and not enough cake. Also, the Bitter & Blanc, the Souffle and the bread pudding were all the same and not really as advertised, ie: not really bread pudding. But, no worries, we had plenty to eat and were pretty much full by the time it came around anyway. We ate twice at Nick & Nora’s and on a long cruise like this again, we may do it 3 times! We chose carefully this time and did not leave feeling overly full. I know it’s a steakhouse, but the dover sole was awesome! We loved everything there.

Service: In the dining room, we had “Your Time” and we are soooo happy CCL has done this. All our servers were wonderful, remembered us after one time even if we got their section only once 5 days before. Service was excellent. One evening I lost an inexpensive ring while wiping my hands. The ship was rocky & it rolled away so that we couldn’t find it. Two nights later, the waiter we had that evening found us to say he’d found my ring & brought it to me. We left a small extra tip each evening as we would not have the same wait staff all week. I know there are many who don’t enjoy the singing and dancing, but we do. There is a new song, too, from “Slumdog Millionaire” that they did one evening. Our waiter that night was from India and his performance was so much fun. He performed every gesture and movement perfectly it totally reminded us of the movie and we enjoyed it thoroughly.

All the bar servers and waiters were awesome. We particularly enjoyed the staff at the Gotham bar – Sandeep, Jing and Jo Ann. We also enjoyed the company of other passengers who, like us, went there each night before dinner.

The spa staff were very good, as well.

Entertainment: I don’t care what anyone says, “Ticket to Ride” is the Best. Show. Ever. It’s the only cruise production I want to see again. “Music Unlimited” are talented & fun and we saw them a few times. We were disappointed in the Piano Bar and felt the new fellow, Rick, while very talented, just didn’t understand the concept and we did not return. The piano players and guitarists in the different lounges were all excellent. Slots were tight all week and didn’t even come close the one time I played 7-game Bingo.

Fellow cruisers: Being a mid-week cruise after school has started, we knew it would be an older crowd and it was. There were some chair hogs at the pool, but the ones that bothered me were the ones who saved 4 in the sun and 4 in the shade. Geesh! Still, plenty of chairs to be had almost anywhere. No lines at lido except for the salad bar – they really need one more salad station. People seemed very friendly & polite, at least from what we saw.

Ports: We did some shopping on St. Maarten, went to a beach resort on St. Lucia and took a private tour with 4 others on St. Kitt’s. They were all fine.

Overall, we had a wonderful time. We relaxed, recharged and savored our down time. We both read quite a bit (I finished 4 books! Gotta love that Kindle) and feel it was a vacation well spent.

[lilbit]

How is the Miracle itself as a ship? Looking at the virtual tours seems way over the top decor although I still booked it for November 2010.

[CrusinCyndi]

Hi Patrice:

 

DH and myself will be in this cabin February 2010. Do you have any pics? Were you pleased with the balcony? I hope they fix the tub before I get there! Did you have much movement back there or noise from the wake? Where did you leave from ? (Port)

[luv2cruz44]

Hi Patrice,

 

A large group of us are considering the Anytime dining option. Can you tell me what time you usually went to dinner? Were there times where it seemed busier? Could you have sat in the same section each night if you wanted? Thank you. This was a good overall look at your cruise and even though I've been on the Miracle before and our cruise is well over a year away, I still like to have as much information as I can get.

[gail811]

Uh oh.....another aft wrap convert! We had the opposite wrap on our Miracle cruise in March and agree, best cabin/balcony combo to be found!

[*Luv2Cruz*]

Thanks for the review and glad ya liked it!:D We're going for the first time with a CC Group and May and can't wait!:cool:

[steveNcindy]

We did some shopping on St. Maarten, went to a beach resort on St. Lucia and took a private tour with 4 others on St. Kitt’s. They were all fine.

 

Thank you for the review.

 

Just wondering what Beach Resort you went to on St. Lucia and any info you could share would be appreciated (cost, distance from port, quality, etc).

[LUPY48]

Thanks for the review. We have 4237 booked for our May cruise.

[Chelseaprincess]

Patrice,

Thank you for the review. We will be on the Miracle in December:p. We have also asked for Your Time dining and want to hear more about it.

I also have a question about afternoon tea. Do they offer it? If yes, where and on what days? Have you tried it?

Thanks,

Chelsea

[lenny2948]

It's great to have the review, we booked an Aft balcony for the November 11th cruise, hope to see some of you then.

[kgm0612]

How is the Miracle itself as a ship? Looking at the virtual tours seems way over the top decor although I still booked it for November 2010.

 

I'm not the OP, but I LOVED this ship when I sailed her back in March. Of the 4 Carnival ships I've been on, the Miracle is by far my favorite one!

 

Karen

[patrice1]

How is the Miracle itself as a ship? Looking at the virtual tours seems way over the top decor although I still booked it for November 2010.

 

We didn't mind the decor. We rather liked the stairwell glasswork and the elevator doors. We even thought the Bacchus grapes were fun. It is a bit "Farcus gone wild", but it grows on you.:D

[patrice1]

Anytime & Teatime:

We went anywhere from 7PM to 8:30PM for dinner. You can request the same server, but it may affect your wait time. If there are no tables immediately available, they give you a buzzer which goes off when a table is available. We never waited more than 20 minutes, and that was on Elegant night when the DR is busier. No worries, the Gotham bar is just outside the DR, has fabulous staff & dinner time entertainment that was very good.

We never made it to teatime. We said we would and just never made it. It's 3PM every sea day - on this cruise there were 4 - in the Jeeves Lounge.

[patrice1]

Thank you for the review.

 

Just wondering what Beach Resort you went to on St. Lucia and any info you could share would be appreciated (cost, distance from port, quality, etc).

 

We don't know the name, unfortunately. We had origionally planned to do the day pass at Sandals Resort, which is $110/person. When we figured it out that morning we realized it was alot of money for a short time on the beach. We had already booked a driver via email before we left and after he picked us up that morning, we asked him to recommend a beach with chairs & services and he took us. We never asked the name, but he knew everyone and made sure we were taken care of. The beach was lovely, the drinks good and the food awful.:p He picked us up at exactly the requested time and took us back to the ship. Popo, our driver, was $50 for both of us RT, there was no fee except the chairs & umbrella were $20 and we paid for our lunch and drinks. It was about 15-20 minutes ride from the ship.

[patrice1]

Some cabin pics:

 

 

[patrice1]

And some more:

 

 

 

 

[patrice1]

And the balcony:

 

 

[CrusinCyndi]

Thanks for the pictures Patrice!

[tulsacubfan]

Patrice - want to share the caesar salad dressing recipe?!?!?! Maybe after your chef friend breaks it down for less than 320~!

[Illinoisgal]

Hi I have one question I hope you can answer. What was the ship time vs Island time now that daylight savings time has occured. Im thinking if we arrive ship time it will now be one hr later island time?

 

Ps we leave next week and we have the aft wrap 3 decks up. I cant wait thanks for the pics!

[patrice1]

Hi I have one question I hope you can answer. What was the ship time vs Island time now that daylight savings time has occured. Im thinking if we arrive ship time it will now be one hr later island time?

 

Ps we leave next week and we have the aft wrap 3 decks up. I cant wait thanks for the pics!

 

All 3 islands were 1 hour ahead of us. Just remember a watch - our iphone adjusted to the location, so even that was 1 hour ahead!:o

 

You will love, love, love the cabin!

[patrice1]

Patrice - want to share the caesar salad dressing recipe?!?!?! Maybe after your chef friend breaks it down for less than 320~!

 

Sure will! Give me a couple of weeks, tho!;)

[Illinoisgal]

All 3 islands were 1 hour ahead of us. Just remember a watch - our iphone adjusted to the location, so even that was 1 hour ahead!:o

 

You will love, love, love the cabin!

 

 

thaks you so much! We have private tours scheduled at all 3 ports so Ive been trying to figure it out!

[NJCruiser23]

Patrice,

 

We are going in July and will be in the same cabin and the one next door. Cant wait. Thanks for the review and great pics.:)

[dttampa]

We will have this cabin on the Miracle in Jan/Feb 2011. Thanks for the pics and the review.

 

Last year we had an aftwrap on the Pride. I too thought the tub didn't work but my steward showed me how to get it to work. You have to fill the tub WAY up to almost overflowing to get it going. That's all there is to it. When he showed me, I thought for sure if it was that full and then I put my butt in it, it would overflow, but it didn't.

 

Thanks again!