Review 6/24 Miracle Sailing......awesome trip!

[eh24fan]

Glad to see a review... albeit a short one :( for the SJ, StThomas, GT run. Most all the Miracle reviews have been for the Nassau, HMC, GT itinerary.

But c'mon..was that it? Iis there nothing else you can share with us .. somethin.. anything... those few paragraphs were just a tease. Sailing in two weeks and I need something to get me through :rolleyes:

Question- We are also a group of 12; were you able to all sit together at one table for dinner? I keep hearing differing opinions on whether they can accommodate a party of 12 at one table or we'll need two tables of 6.

 

We were on the Miracle on the 4/29 sailing and we had a group of 12 as well. We were all together at one table, next to a window! We had table 108, which is to the right on the first floor of the Bacchus. Our waiters were Aleks and Yra. AWESOME table and waitsaff!

[WillieD13]

Oh.....You will have a great time. Grand Turk is awesome. The pool area is really beautiful and fun. I wasn't thrilled with the beach area. Well let me clarify....Sitting on the beach looking out beautiful. We went into the water near where the clam shells are. When you enter the water ....very uneven and rocky....I mean like old giant dead coral or something. I have heard it gets smoother down a ways but i didn't go.

I really loved this place though....

Have a great trip....this ship is seriously awesome rides smooth and quick.

 

The rough bottom was another thing my mother mentioned, take water shoes.

[Poohb]

We were also on the 6/24 cruise; our first on Carnival. The shows, food, staff were very good. Unfortunately Carnival will now be at the bottom of our cruiseline list. Their coffee was horrendous. My DH is a massive coffee-holic and never found a good cup. I purposely didn't pack a jacket or shawl. The ship was very chilly most of the time; we think they upped the temps in the last 2 days to a more comfortable level. The evening venues; piano bar, Frankensteins, Frankie/Johnnie's were all very loud. The music was pretty good but we couldn't spend much time in any of them because of the volume..I should have brought ear plugs. The assortment of activities during the day were good, for what was available. We did a lot of breakfast, lunches in the MDR; very relaxing. The pools-deeper sections- were very small. At night there were parents with little kids, even in diapers in the adult only hot tub - not smart. We had a <laughing> extended aft balcony. The balcony was tiny and there was only one 'sling type' blue chair with a bent, crooked leg and 2 hard chairs taken from by the pool. The stateroom attendant said they had no other chairs available. We're guessing that the 'floor area was 'extended' by about 3 feet but since the glass barrier and railing tip in, that area is unusable except for placing the tiny table in this wedge area. We did self assist debarkation, it was very smooth and well planned. We arrived (& departed) NYC from Penn station. The taxi to the port was $10 (use 8th Ave. taxi stand) and $9 on the return to the station. Very reasonable.

[katiel53]

I

Surprised how many local people in San Juan did not speak English....

 

 

I guess I am confused by your statement. Puerto Rico is a Spanish speaking island and unless the locals planned to go to the US or have reason to learn the English language, they probably wouldn't speak English. (I do realize some learned English in school too.)

 

It would be like going to the USA and being surprised at how many local people didn't speak Spanish.

 

 

Thanks for the review as we are going on Miracle and October and it sounds like a great ship.

[hill6]

Glad you loved the Miracle. We rated our cruise on her in May as the best one we have taken. A number of us from the CC Group are sailing her again next May.

[VickiD59]

If you are going to Grand Turk with 2 ships in Port...rent a cabana....especially if you can't take the sun all day.

Oddly enough, for our 7/18 sailing we are the only ship in all three ports for the days we're there :D. Embarking in NYC there will be 3 ships :eek:, so we are planning for chaos.

[VickiD59]

Regarding the group of 12, we had our travel agent set up two tables next to each other. One table of 7, and the one next to us was set up for 5. We switched around from night to night. They were round tables. I think the most they can fit at one table (rectangular) is 10.

Thanks again for the review, and the info above :)

[luv2gonow]

Glad you had a terrific time. We've sailed her twice. Her sister ship, the Pride, was the source of our cruising addiction. It is true you really do not feel crowded on this ship, they disperse people well. Sun worshippers have two decks to lounge and the pools are the only areas crowded. If it was too noisy for us we hung out at the atrium bar or on our balcony. That's the nice thing about cruising you can be roudy or quiet. All the Spirit class ships get great reviews, Carnival really made a crowd pleaser with this class of ship. I prefer the caribbean itinerary over the bahamas, but my fave is definitely Bermuda. Shows are great, theater is very comfortable, food is fabulous and your cabin is impeccably clean. what else could you want except for someone else to pay for the trip for you

Exactly.....I wish i could figure that one out:D

The rough bottom was another thing my mother mentioned, take water shoes.

Yes...but also very uneven....older people unsteady would have trouble. ahem....my mom walked in and at first the sand is like quick sand....fell down and couldn't get up...lOL.....we had a good belly laugh.

We were also on the 6/24 cruise; our first on Carnival. The shows, food, staff were very good. Unfortunately Carnival will now be at the bottom of our cruiseline list. Their coffee was horrendous. My DH is a massive coffee-holic and never found a good cup. I purposely didn't pack a jacket or shawl. The ship was very chilly most of the time; we think they upped the temps in the last 2 days to a more comfortable level. The evening venues; piano bar, Frankensteins, Frankie/Johnnie's were all very loud. The music was pretty good but we couldn't spend much time in any of them because of the volume..I should have brought ear plugs. The assortment of activities during the day were good, for what was available. We did a lot of breakfast, lunches in the MDR; very relaxing. The pools-deeper sections- were very small. At night there were parents with little kids, even in diapers in the adult only hot tub - not smart. We had a <laughing> extended aft balcony. The balcony was tiny and there was only one 'sling type' blue chair with a bent, crooked leg and 2 hard chairs taken from by the pool. The stateroom attendant said they had no other chairs available. We're guessing that the 'floor area was 'extended' by about 3 feet but since the glass barrier and railing tip in, that area is unusable except for placing the tiny table in this wedge area. We did self assist debarkation, it was very smooth and well planned. We arrived (& departed) NYC from Penn station. The taxi to the port was $10 (use 8th Ave. taxi stand) and $9 on the return to the station. Very reasonable.

 

Yes coffee bad except for expresso in MDR. You have to go to the coffee bar and pay for a good cup of coffee. Bought a double expresso with a back up black coffee every morning;) Which line has good coffee. DCL had horrible coffee as well. I did self assist debarkation. OMG I was off the ship at 8:40 unbelievably smooth.

[luv2gonow]

I guess I am confused by your statement. Puerto Rico is a Spanish speaking island and unless the locals planned to go to the US or have reason to learn the English language, they probably wouldn't speak English. (I do realize some learned English in school too.)

 

It would be like going to the USA and being surprised at how many local people didn't speak Spanish.

 

 

Thanks for the review as we are going on Miracle and October and it sounds like a great ship.

What I meant was this. When you are catering to a majority English speaking crowd and you work a street stand 30 steps from the ship....I thought English might be more prevalent. No worries though just an observation...everyone was friendly and my "subway spanish" got me by just fine:D

Glad you loved the Miracle. We rated our cruise on her in May as the best one we have taken. A number of us from the CC Group are sailing her again next May.

I can now really see why everyone gives such great reviews of the Miracle!!!

Oddly enough, for our 7/18 sailing we are the only ship in all three ports for the days we're there :D. Embarking in NYC there will be 3 ships :eek:, so we are planning for chaos.

You are sooooo lucky. The Victory was in port when we left. Easy on. I don't know how many terminals there are. Traffic will be fun though:rolleyes:

Have a great trip:D

[nibor12]

Our family group of 13 youngest being 11 months old just returned from a cruise on the Miracle. This was my second time on the Miracle and she is a beautiful ship and the decor is awesome. We ate every night in the MDR. Ten of us were at a table and four in a booth near the table and the baby in a high chair. The service in the MDR is fabulous and the food was subperb. The children ages 12, 11, 8 and 5 spent time in Camp Carnival and Circle C this is a wonderful service offered by Carnival the children had a blast.

 

Entertainment on the ship was non-stop and enjoyed by all. The Jazz Band, comedy show and the DJ in Frankeinstein's Lounge had us moving to the beat.

 

Grand Turks was crowded due to the two ships and all of the excursions were booked. The island is beautiful and the water is pristine. Since a couple of us visited Magen's Beach in St. Thomas before We opted for a 45 minute taxi ride to Sapphire Beach. It was well worth it just beautiful.

 

We hated for the trip to end.

[katiel53]

What I meant was this. When you are catering to a majority English speaking crowd and you work a street stand 30 steps from the ship....I thought English might be more prevalent. No worries though just an observation...everyone was friendly and my "subway spanish" got me by just fine

 

Thanks for explaining. I think your "subway spanish" is way more than I could do.

[luv2gonow]

Our family group of 13 youngest being 11 months old just returned from a cruise on the Miracle. This was my second time on the Miracle and she is a beautiful ship and the decor is awesome. We ate every night in the MDR. Ten of us were at a table and four in a booth near the table and the baby in a high chair. The service in the MDR is fabulous and the food was subperb. The children ages 12, 11, 8 and 5 spent time in Camp Carnival and Circle C this is a wonderful service offered by Carnival the children had a blast.

 

Entertainment on the ship was non-stop and enjoyed by all. The Jazz Band, comedy show and the DJ in Frankeinstein's Lounge had us moving to the beat.

 

Grand Turks was crowded due to the two ships and all of the excursions were booked. The island is beautiful and the water is pristine. Since a couple of us visited Magen's Beach in St. Thomas before We opted for a 45 minute taxi ride to Sapphire Beach. It was well worth it just beautiful.

 

We hated for the trip to end.

Exactly....In fact...I was wishing the Miracle did the reverse of the Carribean Princess....and stop in Bermuda on the way home. This was such a great cruise. How was Sapphire....was there bathrooms, food, any floats for rent...AND...was it easy to get a taxi back??

Thanks

Thanks for explaining. I think your "subway spanish" is way more than I could do.

 

My pleasure.....funny....I grew up in Brooklyn...and one can really learn some spanish just reading the subway signs:)

[nibor12]

Exactly....In fact...I was wishing the Miracle did the reverse of the Carribean Princess....and stop in Bermuda on the way home. This was such a great cruise. How was Sapphire....was there bathrooms, food, any floats for rent...AND...was it easy to get a taxi back??

Thanks

 

 

My pleasure.....funny....I grew up in Brooklyn...and one can really learn some spanish just reading the subway signs:)

 

Sapphire Beach had restrooms, food and a few vendors. I did not see any floats for rent. We asked the taxi driver to come back for us at a specific time which he did. :)

[OldRockr1]

You really got me fired up this morning! 29 days and we are out to sea!

 

The family and I did the Christmas Cove snorkle last July. Great time. Now my son want to be a Jimmy Buffet beach bumb/pirate!

[spanky]

We were on this Miracle cruise as well...we saw your husband win the free dinner at the past-cruiser party...that was a nice little gift. Of course I was hoping they would pull my invitation :)

 

I thought the temperature was very comfortable - usually I am very warm, especially in the theater but there seemed to be a nice, cooler temperature around the ship. What Poohb said about the coffee is true...it sucked...and considering we had to listen to her husband complain about it for for 8 nights - just kidding...

 

 

I too was on this Carnival Miracle cruise out of NYC. Had a blast. I actually cried last night when we were saying bye to our head waiter and his assisant. It was wonderful. I hated to leave. My husband won the free dinner to Nick and Nora's as a result of our invitation to the party for past cruisers. It was a beautiful night. We had a seat by the window and watched the sunset. The food was fantastic, not only at Nick and Nora's, but everywhere on the ship. We were with a group of 12 (all family). All our rooms were next to each other on the 4th deck. We were all amazed how smoothly everything went when our zone was called this morning to leave the ship. Can't say enough great things about the whole experience.

[ifiteverstopsraining]

Our family group of 13 youngest being 11 months old just returned from a cruise on the Miracle. This was my second time on the Miracle and she is a beautiful ship and the decor is awesome. We ate every night in the MDR. Ten of us were at a table and four in a booth near the table and the baby in a high chair. The service in the MDR is fabulous and the food was subperb. The children ages 12, 11, 8 and 5 spent time in Camp Carnival and Circle C this is a wonderful service offered by Carnival the children had a blast.

 

Entertainment on the ship was non-stop and enjoyed by all. The Jazz Band, comedy show and the DJ in Frankeinstein's Lounge had us moving to the beat.

 

Grand Turks was crowded due to the two ships and all of the excursions were booked. The island is beautiful and the water is pristine. Since a couple of us visited Magen's Beach in St. Thomas before We opted for a 45 minute taxi ride to Sapphire Beach. It was well worth it just beautiful.

 

We hated for the trip to end.

 

 

 

We'll be on the Miracle in 4 short days... cruising with 14 family members including my 8 month old son. Thanks everyone for getting me even more excited!!!

[SASA13]

Thanks for the review. I can't wait ---59 days and counting.

[NJ04SS]

Does this ship have an indoor pool, or like the victory, a sliding cover over a pool to make it "enclosed"?

[rcoaster809]

I'm glad you had a good time! Do you remember if Music Unlimited is still on the Miracle? If not, what "Music" band is on now?