Just back from the Miracle ~review~

[medic-marine]

It was a great 8 day exotic cruise overall. First time cruisers with Carnival, but not 1st timers. The flight with Delta was right on time. Once we arrived to Ft. Lauderdale the Carnival crew was there waiting for us. We opted for the shuttle since this was our 1st time there. We had to tote our own luggage to the bus, which was different from our experience with RCCL. None the less they greeted us with smiles and got the cruise off to a good start. Once we got on board we where pointed in the direction on the food and told to relax until our cabin was ready. The "drink of the day" began to float around and it was delish!! There is also lots of beautiful artwork around the Miracle. Once to our cabin we where greeted by our maid. Very friendly and learned our name very fast which I appreciated. The next 2 days where ship days. We went to dinner (late dinning)

every night where they had entertainment at the end of the meal. That was a nice touch. Lots of kids on the ship but not many in late dinning. The room service menu was a bummer!! Not much of a choice, and when I asked for something a bit different (fries) they didn't do it. With RCCL i'm sure they would have. Lunch and breakfast was ok. Nothing special to mention there.

1st port~ Panama Canal. We did the CL001 tour with my friend Mario. It was a GREAT experience. Our guide was Alex. He had lots of knowledge and was very passionate about his country and the canal. We took about a 30min hike into the woods at the end was the beautiful sea. GREAT pineapples along the way. Stopped at the canal to end the tour. We got to see 2 ships pass while we where there! It was a great excursion. I would highly recommend My Friend Mario!! Once you get off the ship there are LOTS of people offering private tours. I would be hesitant about that!! My friend Mario has LOTS of options and is much cheaper than the ship is offering!!

2nd port~ Costa Rica~ We toured with Eduardo Humphreys at your lucky tours. This was another WONDERFUL excursion. He kept the tour very upbeat and made sure we all felt comfortable. Prior to the cruise he kept in contact with me keeping me excited about the upcoming vacation. We did zipline at Cedar Valley. This was OOO sooo much fun!!!!!! The folks at Cedar Valley enjoyed what they do and kept us zipping right along. We visited a banana plantation which was very interesting. I got to hold a sloth!!!!!! Ended the tour at a local restaurant by the beach. I also highly recommend your lucky tours with Eduardo. His prices are by far much better than the ship is offering!! Two thumbs up for this excursion

 

3rd port~ Belize. We did horse back riding with Carnival. The horses are very well trained and the guide was great. It was a bit far from the port and it was tendered. After riding we wanted to go back to the city. We didn't want to spend the rest of the afternoon at the pool. They would not take us back early. So we had to stay there for 2 more hours. We asked for a cab. That was $30 per person. By the time the cab made it out to the farm it would have been almost time to go back. That was very upsetting!! So we decided to just stay there and walk the trails...soo not how I wanted to spend my afternoon. There looks like lots of shopping to be done on this port. We got back to the tender with only 30 min before last tender back. I picked up a few things and headed back :(

 

The shows on board where ok. If you have small children I would be careful to take them to some. The dancers for most of the shows have on very little clothes. The night club Frankenstein was ok...when the dj played the right songs. He would get into his own little grove and clear the club out.

 

I could go on and on :)

If you have any questions don't hesitate....I have LOTS of pics on facebook :)