Carnival Miracle 3/20/2010 - Simply Fantastic

[gaelan]

DW and I just got home from our 3/20/2010 sailing on the Carnival Miracle and in a word it was simply "Fantastic". Ship, crew, food, weather and ports of call in Colon, Panama, Peurto Limon, Costa Rica, and Belize.

 

This was our fouth Carnival cruise in a year and the best. We loved the Miracle. Having sailied on the Legend, Glory,& Libery before the Miracle is a smaller more personal sized ship. The Miracle is not as beamy nor as tall as the others, which makes some of the walk-ways a little more tighter, but with fewer people not an issue. The ship layout is easy to maneouver around with only one dining room in the stern. Lots of little cozy hideaway spots on the ship and ample deck space to get away from the 3-pools if you wish. On this score there were 2 pools on the lido deck level, one with a retractable roof...never needed and an adults only pool on deck 3-stern with bar, hot tub and plenty of space. Crew were friendly and approachable...our cabin steward Sami was a gem....always full ice bucket and how he knew when we left the cabin...and then clean up, I will never know. We booked a balcony on deck 7 starboard. The balcony was the largest in all our trips and easily sat four people with chairs and table...I don't recall booking a larger blacony but the extra space was nice. Only negative about the ship was that on the Lido deck around the pool area, the furnishings and decor are a little tired and mabe out dated. It would not take much to really upgrade. Otherwise the ship was imaculate in cleanliness and with geat decor. After the Miracle, I think the smaller ship is the way to go and not sure a trip on the Dream would compare??

 

Food was exceptional in the MDR, Lido and Nick and Nora's the supper club. The asian buffet on the lido was superb....but you would have to love garlic and spicy...some of the best asain soups. The MDR offered a number of new offerings than previous cruises and there was always plenty of good selections. There were more soups this time both hot and cold which made for nice variations. Nick and Nora's redeemed my faith in that Carnival can do a good job in the supper club. Our past experience on supper clubs were Legend (excellent), Glory (poor) and Libery(poor). Good service, food and wine and a nice pace....can't ask for more.

 

The shows were also some of the best, except for one comedian both PG-13 and R shows which were a bomb. The tribute to the Beatles blew us away with high enery, great music and choreography.

 

On our port of calls, in Colon we took the Carnival tour through the Panama Canal, a 7-hour trip which bused us about 50 miles to the Pacific side where we boarded a ferry and went through Mia Flores and San Miquel locks and part way into Lake Gatun........awesome. The tour is well run, a little crowded on the boat but once you get going not really noticeable, and with great information,facts and history.....a little pricey but you do get your moneys worth. In Peurto Limon, we took a tour with Oscar Brown, which included a variety of sightseeing options, including a tour of a Delmonte banana plantation (if you think your job is tough go see what these folks do for a living..... ) and a boat canal tour through part of the rain forest. In Belize we did a snorkling tour with Cool Breeze Tours/Hamerhead Water sports to Caye Cauker and Stingray alley. After a 40 minute boat ride you get to what has to be some of the cleanest waters and untouched coral reefs you have ever seen. A second stop at Stingray alley to play with the rays was followed by a great lunch on Caye Caulker....which was fanatastic...and then a 40 minute ride back to the tender in Belize City...... perfect weather and a delightful day. I highly recommend this trip as well.

 

Happy to answer any questions

 

Gaelan

[patrice1]

While we had a different itinerary, we totally agree with your Miracle assessment. We had the added advantage of the aft wrap suite and could not have enjoyed a cabin or ship more!:D We keep telling ourselves, "Soon, soon...."!:rolleyes:

[CeleBrat]

Thanks for your review. We are leaving in 5 days on the Miracle, the same itinerary, and nearly the same cabin (4150, instead of 4140).

 

Can't wait!

 

CeleBrat

[7777777]

Just curious if the Miracle has a adult only deck.

If it does, where is the location?

thanks,

[VickiD59]

Welcome home Gaelan, and thanks for your review. Going on my first cruise this July, on the Miracle and I can't wait. I love reading all the reviews about her. I find everyone's opinions very consistent, they all love this ship. It's great to hear.

[happycruiser1960]

Thanks for the great review. Miracle reviews are few and far between and I really appreciate you taking the time to post. Welcome back and I look forward to being on the Miracle in December for my 50th!!

[emksb]

Thanks for the review. On her in May, in room 7172. What room where you in? How was the bars/casino? Wanna do the Supper Club, could you tell me a little about that.

 

Thanks again for the review and have a nice day.

[Dave_&_Lisa]

Thanks for the review. We are sailing her on 1/14/11 and really looking forward to it!

[gaelan]

I hope I answer your questions, but if I miss one let me know. Our statetoom was 7023 starboard side. The cabins do not go above deck 8 as on other ships so no cabins on the Lido or higher decks. There is an adult only deck area on the stern.....I am trying to recall now what deck maybe 5-6, will have to consult my ship guide to confrim. It has a pool, hot tub, bar and plenty of space for shade and sun and tables to sit around and eat etc. On the bars and casinos, we are non-smokers so stayed out of the casino so really cannot comment. There were plenty of nice bars Frankenstien's (goofy name) stands out becausse it had great music and dancing. Finally Nick & Nora's the supper club was very nice. It is an upscale restaurant that specializes in steaks but offers some seafood. The service is very good and all the food is premium quality. For example they will make you ceasar salad table side from scratch and serve.....the desserts are excellent and they have a very lovely cheese cart. We were four and really enjoyed the slower pace, more sophisticated environment and great food and wine..... plan at least a 2-hour time frame....some people don't like to dine for this long....you can always go to your favorite fast food when you get home. You will pay $30/person which in my mind was worth it. Reservations can be made on line in the your trip on the Carnival web-site and a menu is also availabe for review. One note is that they typically are not open the first night and towards the end of the cruise they get busier. When you emabrk you typicall will find one of the crew with the menu and taking reservations.

 

Cheers

 

Gaelan

[racingraysswimmom]

Late in getting my review of the same March 20th Miracle Cruise so I thought I'd piggy-back on this thread.

 

We really loved this ship. Thought that this was our best spring break cruise to date (Celebrity Century, Costa Atlantica, Carnival Destiny, Costa Mediterranea, Carnival Glory, Carnival Liberty.)

 

Embarkation at 2:45pm. It was empty and we got on quickly. Stayed too long pre-cruise at hotel and dropping off car at FLL and taking car rental shuttle to port was a mistake. The shuttle bus was slow (we had a horrible driver) and dropped off at all other ships before the Miracle at Pier 21. Then there was a traffic jam. My advice is just take a cab from airport and save yourself any additional stress.

My daughter had her carry-on luggage searched, but she had nothing that was confiscated. We did see alot of booze on a table next to the carry-on search area. Some in our group put their one bottle of wine in their checked luggage instead of carry-on. Their luggage was searched and their bottle confiscated.

 

Rooms were ready since we arrived late. Dropped off carry-on's and proceeded to Lido Deck for lunch. Plenty of food available and choices.

 

Met with CC Roll Call after Muster Drill: aft pool area. It was fun to finally put a face to the screen name. Thanks!

 

The Ship:

Thought the Miracle was in pretty good shape. Saw some worn areas but nothing that I thought looked shoddy. It was clean however after lunch at the Lido area main pool, dishes weren't removed from deck and piled around for hours. Bar service came around alot, but they did not remove dishes only bar glasses.

We absolutely had no complaints about our dinning room staff or food. Our table was 101 Bacchus Lower Level at 6:00PM. Our food was tasty, hot, and cooked to our liking. We had no trouble finding something to enjoy each day and every menu. Our waiter Kristian

Krivicic was outstanding. This was his first week as a waiter and he really worked hard to give us fantastic service. This week he celebrated his 22nd birthday away from family and friends, so we all sang to him that evening. I think he enjoyed all his tables and he always had a huge smile on his face. The bar service waiter was attentive and always stopped by to check if our table was interested in beverages. We did not eat at the specialty restaurant "Nick & Nora's" because we really enjoy the MDR food.

I have shellfish allergies so the menu would be too limiting for me or worth the extra cost. We ate at the Seaview Bistro one night when we just wanted to nap after a shore day. The food was similar to the MDR menu so we did not feel like we missed out on a great dinner.

We did find that we had trouble deciding what to get for lunch with so many choices. Carnival does a great job in providing a variety of venues.

We ate Breakfast with Room Service (always on time), Lido Deck, and MDR. No problems and enjoyed them all.

 

Went on the Galley (Kitchen) tour with Maitre D'. Really enjoyed seeing food prep areas. Maitre D' was engaging and did come around to tables to check on how we enjoyed food/service. The dinning room staff did sing/dance afew nights. Songs/dancing was different than last year. Must admit I did miss the "Hey Baby" dance & song from prev. cruises.

 

Our 8B Balcony stateroom 4175 was a great location, convenient to everything. We had no trouble navigating around this ship. Our Room Stewart "Budi" was also excellent keeping us well stocked with ice/towels and a well cleaned room. We were in and out at all different times, as well as having our Do Not Disturb sign out at various times for stomach virus issues. When that sign was off the door and we stepped out of the room, we returned and that room was perfecting clean. He was never hanging around or anxious to get us out of the room to do his job, yet he worked around our schedule which was not easy to follow! My only complaint was that our room was alittle too cool for me. We did have someone come check our thermostat and they said that it was working properly. That air conditioning NEVER shut off even though it was on the lowest setting( could not shut it off), and also when the Balcony door was open (which had a sign that the air would shut off when open). It ran 24/8!

We did ask Budi for a blanket and that helped me during the night. I know that I am probably the only person that does not like a cold room on a Caribbean cruise.

 

Activities onboard were very much like previous Carnival ships. We still enjoy the deck games and get a laugh out of the usual contests. Thought the CD Josh or "Big Sexy" was OK. We have noticed that the CD job is not quite the same as in cruises long ago. On last yrs. cruise (Liberty) I thought the CD was obnoxious so this was a big improvement for us. The Shows were good, some repeats from last year, but generally good entertainment. We found the comedians were funny so to each his own. We did not gamble in the Casino mainly because smoke bothers us. We rather enjoy the outdoors ( 5 sea days) and also found so many other activities with our group (14). Music around the Lido was good some days and not so good others. We did enjoy one of the Musicians/Vocalist that did alot of oldie's music. The Duo that performed island music was pretty bad, but it did not prevent us from staying in our deck chairs.

 

Used the Spa area for work outs, Yoga classes, and Free Seminars. We also used the running track for walking in the early AM. Noticed that the miniature golf area's needed cleaning each day we walked. We used the spa area/track on 5 sea days. Some in our group used the salon for massages, haircuts, and manicures. All seemed satisfied with their appointments.

 

Disembarkation: We were in group 21 since our flights from PBI were around 4:30pm. We waited at the Lido Buffet area for them to call our group. Very easy and quick. Customs was a breeze. The dogs were walking thru the luggage and in the customs line.

Took 1 hour to get car rental shuttle bus to FLL. Since Miracle is at last pier, they pick up at all the other piers and by the time they reach pier 21, the busses are full. We waited till finally one bus came to our pier first and then went back to other ship pier. We were in no rush to get to airport, but if you needed to get car, this would be a problem.

 

All in all, we loved the Miracle and their staff. I would do this 8 day exotic western caribbean itinerary again especially on this ship.:D

[crznbeachbums]

Thanks for your review. We are leaving in 5 days on the Miracle, the same itinerary, and nearly the same cabin (4150, instead of 4140).

 

Can't wait!

 

CeleBrat

 

We are leaving the 31st on the Miracle in cabin 4140. Please tell me there is nothing wrong with this room that you are in 4150? We will be neighbors!