Miracle 8-3-10 Review...Just Got Home

[OldRockr1]

It was a great trip in almost every respect. I plan on writing my in depth cynical New Yorker review over the next few days but I figured I would work backwards a bit.

 

Debarkation was fairly painless, albeit a bit unorganized. We were off by 9:15 and in a cab within 30 mintes. We made the 10:17 train back to Babylon out of Penn Station so life was great. I hate the last day of a cruise so this is now out of the way. Back to the good stuff later on today.

[suebart112]

Hey neighbor, I'm in Islip! We were on the miracle in 2004 and had a great time. (We're leaving next Sunday on the Freedom.)

 

Hope you had a great cruise!

[freddymale]

I sailed her last year, and going again in sept..can't wait to read the rest of your review

[OldRockr1]

So me and da wife left the house around 9:20 for the glorious 90 minute ride into the city. It should only take about an hour but it was rush hour (it always is rush hour on Long Island). After not too much hastle a buddy dropped us off at the terminal at about 10:50. So far so good.

 

We ripped through security and checked in without a wait. We were in zone 2 for boarding and we had a short wait. Plenty of seats and the AC was cranking. So much easier than Miami!

 

We quickly boarded, grabbed some excursions and then headed up to the lido deck for a bite and the first drinky drinks of the trip. Sorry if this offends but da wife and I like a cocktail on occasion.

 

By 1:30 were were in our cabin (4172 port side balcony) and our bags arrived by 2:30 or so. My bag had a note in it. Apparently my bottles of tonic looked suspicious so they searched. Everything was ok and I was not sent to the naughty room (a word of caution to all you smugglers). We brought on two bottles of wine and ordered a bottle of Stoli from Bon Voyage. We were ready to go. After the safety drill it was up on deck for the sail away.

 

If you have never done it you need to sail out of NYC. Blows Miami away in terms of sight seeing and I live here! By Lady Liberty and under the Verazano Narrows and out to sea!

 

I am going to cook dinner for the family now. I'll try to get back later with more.

 

[OldRockr1]

I was going to do this as a day by day review, but I think I will break it up by topic. Let's start with the food...

 

Horatio's Buffet on the Lido Deck

Like other Carnival ships the buffet is very good. I especially liked the layout of this one. Lots of stations minimzed the lines. The deli was great as was the Asian influenced food. Good burgers, crappy hot dogs. Breakfast was good, if a bit repetitive. But hey, how many ways can you make eggs?

 

A word on the pizza. It is perfectly fine...if you didn't live in NY!

 

Main Dining Room

The food was consistently excellent in the MDR. Hot food was served hot and cold was cold. Nothing, and I mean nothing, came out at the wrong temp. Mad props to the chef and wait staff. The chef btw likes spice, which is ok with me, but it may be a bit much for some folks. Overall the experience was excellent and our table was changed to a 2 person at the late seating as requested.

 

Nick and Nora's

One word...awesome! Just a fantastic meal. You will leave full and I mean beached whale full. A meal of this quality far exceeds the measly $30 charge.

 

The Booze

Pricey by some standards. About the same as most local bars in my area. Who cares? You're on vacation. Monkey Head anyone?

[OldRockr1]

The Miracle is indeed a beautiful ship. The decks are laid out in a manner that makes it easy to get around. The ship itself is very clean and in good shape. My other Carnival cruise was on the Liberty so I can make a few comparisions.

 

1) The pools are smaller on the Miracle and there is almost no shade. Da wife and I are in the neon white club (my daughters idea) and we burn easy. I need to get some shade time if I am going to stay out for a long time and it just wasn't possible.

 

2) Chair hogs seem worse on the Miracle. There are just less spots.

 

3) As a reformed smoker it was a bit rough in some public rooms. The casino was awful and the smell spread a bit outside. Too many bars allowed smoking compared to what I remember on the Liberty. I can deal with it most of the time, but every once in a while is gets to me.

 

4) The rooms were standard Carnival. Spacious and our steward kept everything clean and organized. The balcony rocks. I am never going back!

 

The ship is great and the staff is superior to my other cruises. Just friendly and helpful. I think I prefer the Liberty for the boat itself but the staff, food and service were better on the Miracle. I would sail on either again in a heartbeat.

 

A word about motion...the Miracle moved quite a bit more than the Liberty. It is much narrower and this did seem to show at points with respect to motion. I took Bonine each day (I get seasick) and was fine the entire trip. Thursday night we were rockin' and rollin' in the middle of the night and I just kept on sleeping. I would wake up, roll over and the motion never bothered me.

[DeeT]

Lovin' your review! We're leaving on the Miracle in 16 days!!!!!!

[VickiD59]

We just came home on the 26th and I'm wishing I was back on the Miracle. Loved it loved it loved it! Keep it coming... I love reminiscing thru your review :D

[CrusinCyndi]

I have sailed on the Miracle 2 times. She is awsome! Will be sailing on her sister ship the Pride in October 2011...can't wait to compare

[OldRockr1]

This was a weak spot for me. You have to know me to understand how important music is in my life. The shows were just awful. I missed them on the Liberty for the most part so this was my first exposure to Carnival Showtime!

 

Welcome Aboard Show: Missed it

 

Ticket To Ride: Just a total mess. I was cringing. The dancers pretty much were out of step (why are there dancers for this anyhow) and the singers were marginal. Music Unlimited as the Beatles at the end was just sad.

 

Big Band Show: Missed it

 

Generations: Terrible. Just terrible

 

Legends: Like watching a train wreck.

 

Rockin' Guitar With Del (lounges): Didn't rock at all.

 

The Guitar Dude (Don't remember his name): Can't sing

 

Piano Bar (Richie): Da wife and I liked him quite a bit. Spent several evenings before dinner and a few nights in the piano bar with him. Worth your time.

 

Music Unlimited: Just not very good.

 

Folks, I may be a bit harsh her but I have thousands of CD's and records not to mention a packed iPod and I see around 50 concerts a year. I have experienced music. This for the most part was not good.

 

Trivia was fun. Karaoke was painful but that is the joy of this particular type of train wreck.

 

Cruise Director & staff: We are not big on the Lido stuff so perhaps this was good for all. Malcom was fine and even sometimes funny. His "silent movie" skit was pretty good. The rest of the staff works very hard and seemed to do a good job. Just one question...is Buttercup a name that any man wants to be referred to as??? Hmmmmm? Just sayin'.

 

Without a doubt this area was the weak spot for me. To be fair it does not make or break my cruise. We are not big party people and you won't find us shaking our bon bons on the lido deck! A little good music is all I need. Can it be that hard to find?

 

Don't flame me too bad on this. Just one OldRockr's opinion.

[stampinrobin]

The Miracle is indeed a beautiful ship. The decks are laid out in a manner that makes it easy to get around. The ship itself is very clean and in good shape. My other Carnival cruise was on the Liberty so I can make a few comparisions.

 

1) The pools are smaller on the Miracle and there is almost no shade. Da wife and I are in the neon white club (my daughters idea) and we burn easy. I need to get some shade time if I am going to stay out for a long time and it just wasn't possible.

 

2) Chair hogs seem worse on the Miracle. There are just less spots.

 

3) As a reformed smoker it was a bit rough in some public rooms. The casino was awful and the smell spread a bit outside. Too many bars allowed smoking compared to what I remember on the Liberty. I can deal with it most of the time, but every once in a while is gets to me.

 

4) The rooms were standard Carnival. Spacious and our steward kept everything clean and organized. The balcony rocks. I am never going back!

 

The ship is great and the staff is superior to my other cruises. Just friendly and helpful. I think I prefer the Liberty for the boat itself but the staff, food and service were better on the Miracle. I would sail on either again in a heartbeat.

 

A word about motion...the Miracle moved quite a bit more than the Liberty. It is much narrower and this did seem to show at points with respect to motion. I took Bonine each day (I get seasick) and was fine the entire trip. Thursday night we were rockin' and rollin' in the middle of the night and I just kept on sleeping. I would wake up, roll over and the motion never bothered me.

 

Thanks for the review! Can you or anyone else who has recently sailed the Miracle talk about the smoke issue. Yours is not the first review I have read this about.

 

I don't like smoke, but my husband is very intolerant of the smell. Are we going to be sitting on those little couches on the Promenade area and smell smoke? Are we going to smell it while we are eating outside on the Lido deck?

 

The ship gets such good reviews, but I am a bit worried about this issue. I'd appreciate thoughts on this matter.

 

If it is a big deal we will book a different ship, but I hate to miss all the wonderful ports we are headed for..........

 

Thanks

[OldRockr1]

It was only really bad in the casino for me. I could smell it as soon as I got near either entrance. The rest of the time is was a non-issue for me personally. I quit 4 years ago and am pretty sensitive to the smell and it really only got me there. Just as well as the machines pay poorly and the table minimums have increased beyond my range. Smell in the bars was very light in my opinion. Hope this helps. I will say that the smoke smell was less evident on the Liberty with the exception of the casino area.

[spacewoman]

I have sailed on the Miracle 2 times. She is awsome! Will be sailing on her sister ship the Pride in October 2011...can't wait to compare

 

 

SAME SHIP DIFFERENT DECALS I call them. Pride was our first cruise. Have sailed Legend and the Miracle twice. Few different names on board with buffet, casino, etc. still the same ships. Nice for the familiarity though. You'll love the Pride

 

Kathy

[steveu44]

This was a weak spot for me. You have to know me to understand how important music is in my life. The shows were just awful. I missed them on the Liberty for the most part so this was my first exposure to Carnival Showtime!

 

Welcome Aboard Show: Missed it

 

Ticket To Ride: Just a total mess. I was cringing. The dancers pretty much were out of step (why are there dancers for this anyhow) and the singers were marginal. Music Unlimited as the Beatles at the end was just sad.

 

Big Band Show: Missed it

 

Generations: Terrible. Just terrible

 

Legends: Like watching a train wreck.

 

Rockin' Guitar With Del (lounges): Didn't rock at all.

 

The Guitar Dude (Don't remember his name): Can't sing

 

Piano Bar (Richie): Da wife and I liked him quite a bit. Spent several evenings before dinner and a few nights in the piano bar with him. Worth your time.

 

Music Unlimited: Just not very good.

 

Folks, I may be a bit harsh her but I have thousands of CD's and records not to mention a packed iPod and I see around 50 concerts a year. I have experienced music. This for the most part was not good.

 

Trivia was fun. Karaoke was painful but that is the joy of this particular type of train wreck.

 

Cruise Director & staff: We are not big on the Lido stuff so perhaps this was good for all. Malcom was fine and even sometimes funny. His "silent movie" skit was pretty good. The rest of the staff works very hard and seemed to do a good job. Just one question...is Buttercup a name that any man wants to be referred to as??? Hmmmmm? Just sayin'.

 

Without a doubt this area was the weak spot for me. To be fair it does not make or break my cruise. We are not big party people and you won't find us shaking our bon bons on the lido deck! A little good music is all I need. Can it be that hard to find?

 

Don't flame me too bad on this. Just one OldRockr's opinion.

That was about as funny and ACCURATE as it gets. Try going on the same cruise 3 years in a row and watching the same thing over, and over, and over.

[Scarlett824]

Loving your review so far! Hubby & I sailed on the Miracle in May and are planning to cruise her again in 2011.

 

Like you, music is a very big part of our life. I thought all the shows were pretty much lame and we walked out on Ticket to Ride. It was like a high school musical. We are Beatles fans and were looking forward to this show so we were disappointed. Our "Rockin Guitar" guy was Bill. He was really good. I guess he left, too bad. And I forgot our piano guy's name, but it definitely wasn't Richie. I couldn't stand him, I'm glad he's gone. I haven't had much luck with the piano bar in my past 3 cruises. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for next year.

 

ITA agree about sailing out of NY. AMAZING! And of course I agree about the pizza as well. :D

[hunniebee724]

Thanks for the review! We leave on Thursday, and I'm sooooo excited!

[ECUPirateFan]

Thanks............I go in September. Dissappointed to hear about the shows reviews.

[smeck]

Thanks............I go in September. Dissappointed to hear about the shows reviews.

The only show I didn't like was Generations. Remember your not on Broadway or in Los Vegas where you pay well over $100 for a decent ticket.

[OldRockr1]

The only show I didn't like was Generations. Remember your not on Broadway or in Los Vegas where you pay well over $100 for a decent ticket.

 

I have to say that I am generally not impressed by these review shows. Far too corny under the best circumstances and these are not the best circumstances! If you are sailing the Miracle these are the shows you will get when you cruise. They load on the sets when the ship is built and then do not change them. I was told that it reuires significant dry dock time to do this and it is easier and more cost efficient to just change the itinerary. The casts rotate every 6 months so you may have seen better perfomances when you sailed in the past.

 

Like I said, this is one man's opinion and perhaps I am spoiled living close to the center of the universe! I have had the joy of seeing virtually all of my music faves over the years so any type of cover is tough to tolerate when done poorly.

 

Ticket to Ride is just insulting to Beatles fans in particular and rock fans in general. It's just so...embarassing is the best word for it. I'm no kid (48) and I have seen some other revues that were tolerable but this stuff is a waste of time at best and often times painful to see and hear. I had some high hopes based on earlier reviews but that ship sailed quickly.

 

After three cruises I am left to think that those with real talent just won't put up with the lifestyle that is required. It didn't seem too rough to me though. I was told (took the Behind the Fun Tour and spoke with the Dance Capt.) that they rehearse 2 hours each sea day. He likes to give them off during the day when in port. I saw them each shore day at Jack's Shack, The beach at HMC and in an internet cafe/bar in Nassua. The "life" doesn't look too bad! Entertainers probably have it the best onboard.

 

Like I said earlier, my opinion.

[OldRockr1]

Da wife and I have been to 2 of the 3 stops so just a few quick comments.

 

Grand Turk - we zipped right by Margarittaville (took a few pics) and headed down the beach to Jack's Shack. We had a blast. Cold Presidente's, rum drinks, great food (the jerk chicken was really good), reggae, a better beach (no rocks) and Jack and Janet behind the bar. What's not to like?

 

Half Moon Cay - you forget how nice this is. The sand and water are perfect. It's kind of a "Disney" beach. I can't take the heat for that long and the food is only so-so boat food. Given my druthers I would take Grand Turk and Jack's Shack. But that's just me...I guess I am a Barfly!

 

Nassau - We did the Blue Water Snorkle and Beach. Great, great trip. Some of the best snorkling we have done. The reef and fish were spectacular. We also went to a beach on some island. Very, very nice. The rum punch and Kalik beer didn't suck either. Personally I never need to go to Atlantis but we are in the minority as most folks did. We also walked around by the straw market area. Shops with the same crap as every port. Senor Frog's was a very young crowd (what's the drinking age? 12?) so we split. Ended up having a few more Kalik's in a very empty Hard Rock.