Carnival Miracle Cruise Feb. 23rd to Aruba....short review

[bubbles1209]

Tuesday, Feb. 22nd

 

We left our hometown of Augusta, Ga after I got off work at 3:30. We were on our flight headed for Atlanta at 6:10 p.m. We arrived in Atlanta on time, and caught our connecting flight to Fort Lauderdale. We were schedule to land at 10:26 p.m. I was excited about getting there because we were meeting our former PVP for the 1st time. She worked for Carnival for a couple of years, and helped booked several of our cruises, we stayed in touch with Laurie over the years, through e-mails & fb, and I was excited to meet her. After landing and on our way to baggage claim, she had left us a voicemail saying she was on her way to pick us up from the airport. We were all so excited to finally meet one another. We got to baggage claim, and there she was! We got our luggage, and headed to the Holiday Inn Express, where our pre-night hotel stay was booked. We checked in, dropped our bags, and I was surprised to see that our hotel was right next to Extended Stay Hotel, where my friend Kelly that I met on the same ship 3 years ago happened to be staying for the night. I looked up the number & gave her a call. They were pretty much tucked in for the night, so we agreed to see each other the next day onboard the ship. The 3 of us headed to an Irish pub down the street to have a few drinks and get to know one another. We were already getting along great, thoroughly enjoying one another's company.

I grabbed a bite to eat, and had 2 vodka cranberries. When I came back from the restroom, dh had ordered me another drink :eek: I was gonna draw the line at 2, but there's no sense in wasting money! ;) I finished that drink, and it almost finished me! I'm not a drinker by any means. I always tend to drink more on vacation than the rest of the entire year. We started walking back to the hotel, it was 2:30 in the a.m. Poor dh, can you imagine trying to keep 2 women in check that's had too much to drink? He did it though, we all arrived back safe & sound. Laurie had to call her dh to pick her up & take her home..........at 2:30 in the a.m. Hope that didn't cause trouble! After a bit, he showed up, and us fast made friends said good-bye, and off to bed we went.

 

Wed. Feb. 23rd

 

We had set a wake-up call for 8:30 a.m. I was up before the alarm clock went off, wishing I was still asleep. I had planned on getting up & having breakfast before heading to the ship. That turned out to be a NO. My head was hurting so bad, that when I turned back the covers to get outta bed, I said shhh, not so loud. I got dressed, went down for some coffee, went outside for some air. Got back up to the room, got a shower, and before long we were grabbing a taxi heading for the port. We were there between 10 and 10:15. They took us right on in and directed us to have a seat in a waiting area. We did, then proceeded to check-in, which was smooth & quick. It was fun to watch it go from practically no lines, to nothing but a long line of people waiting to check in. To people watch & see the excitement was fun. Finally around 12, we were called to board. They had given us these numbers to board by, I think it was 1 or 2 that we were given, but we weren't allowed to board until after special needs people and VIP were allowed. We were up on the Lido before 12:30 grabbing a bite to eat. We spent the rest of the day chillaxing, did the necessary muster drill, no lifejacket required, ran into our friend Kelly and met her friend Deb, and exchanged cabin numbers. I fell asleep for a short nap while watching the sunset out of our balcony window as we were drifting away from Fort Lauderdale. Woke up to check out the anytime dining, which we kind of liked, although we only went 3 nights outta the week. Then just spent some time in the casino, and off to bed.

 

Thursday, Feb. 24th, Sea Day

 

Today was a sea day, and the only plans we had were for the CC Meet & Greet at 2:00. We were running a few minutes behind but met some new friends, and enjoyed chatting with them for a little bit. We had all agreed on leis to recognize one another by, and I had on a hula skirt to boot just for fun. Why not, I'll never see most of these folks again. We just spent this day doing our own thing. I made a spa appt. to have an updo done to my hair, as this was the 1st formal night. It cost me around $60 to have done, but she did a great job. We went dancing after dinner and enjoyed our evening.

 

Friday, Feb. 25th, Grand Turk

 

We had no plans here except to see how the port has changed since we went back in 2006. When we were there last, the only thing there was Margaritaville. Now, there's all kinds of shops, plenty of lounge chairs along the beach, and yes, Margaritaville is still there. We browsed the shops, I was looking for a long white skirt with a matching top to wear in Aruba for a surprise dinner at a restaurant called Passions on the Beach. I had made the reservation before leaving home, and planned on surprising DH with dinner and a sunset. Found the outfit I wanted, then we ran into our friend Kelly, and our new friend Deb, at Margaritaville. We had a drink or 2, enjoyed the entertainment they had going, and just relaxed. Headed back for the ship about the time the Princess ship arrived in, and before ya knew it, we were off on our way, headed for Catalina Island in the Dominican Republic.

 

Sat. Feb. 26th, Catalina Island

 

In this port, we tendered in via the lifeboats. To me, it was an adventure in itself, as I have always wondered what they look like on the inside. Now I know. The water was rough while getting on the tender from the ship to the lifeboat due to the waves they were causing when they came in. It was a little intimidating, but we made it safe & sound. The ship had a bbq on the island, grilled hamburgers, hotdogs, etc. There was sandcastle building, volleyball, conga line, etc. We didn't go until around 2:15 or so, and the lunch was done when we got there, we just enjoyed lounge chairs, a beer, and a swim in the ocean. R&R. nothing like it. We got on 1 of the last tenders back to the ship around 4 or a little after, everyone was to be back onboard by 4:30. Relaxed & spent time in the casino after dinner, and just enjoyed the rest of the night. There were excursions at this stop, we just elected not to take any.

 

Sunday, Feb. 27th, Aruba

 

I was excited for this port, because of the surprise I had planned, and was worried as we arrived because it was raining. We had a tour planned, Best of Aruba Island tour. They started cancelling water excursions right off the bat, but ours was still on. We enjoyed this tour, we got to see the Baby Natural Bridge, California Lighthouse, an Aloe Vera factory (not all that). I had e-mailed the restaurant early in the morning before we left trying to adjust our time for our reservation as the time on the ship is an hour behind island time. When we returned from the tour, it looked as though a storm was coming, and we elected not to even try to go to the restaurant. I told him about the surprise coming back onboard from the tour, because it didn't look as though it was gonna happen. I checked my e-mail after we elected not to try & go, and it wouldn't have done any good anyway as they had closed the restaurant due to the weather. Oh well, I meant well. He slept, I roamed the ship, and that was about it. Rained the rest of the night which was disappointing as we were there until 10 that night. It was Sunday, no shops were open. The weather truly suited the mood of the day. Now I see why they give trips to Aruba away on game shows, everywhere in town close to the point was very commercial....hotels, bars, shops, and dirty.

 

Monday, Feb. 28th, Curacao

I heard nothing but good things about this port. We slept in and just wondered around the shops for a while and killed a little time. We didn't feel too much like exploring, and had nothing planned. None of the excursions they had for this port interested us, so we just kinda stuck close by the ship. Not much to tell here, sorry, but we did enjoy our time here.

 

Tuesday, March 1st, Sea Day

 

This was the 1st of our last 2 sea days before getting home, it was also

elegant night again. We just messed around, catching some rays on the pool

deck, playing the slots........Kelly taught me how, and just getting much

needed R&R. We dressed up, went to dinner, then to the disco, supposed to have been oldies night, 50's...........was more like 40's? DH said this was old when he was young, and he's 62. That should give you an idea. I'd never heard of the songs they were playing. We left, it was deader than a graveyard in there. Played the casino a bit more, and headed off to bed.

 

Wed., March 2nd, Sea Day

 

Nothing exciting to tell here, more rest & relaxation. Got a hot stone massage at the spa, put me back $169, but worth it. I didn't care, it's vacation, I'm there to be pampered. Enjoyed the rest of the day, packed early to get it over with, and enjoyed our last time onboard.

 

Thursday, March 3rd

 

We were on the 4th deck in an aft balcony cabin, our luggage tag number

was 21. We were off the ship by 10 to catch our 12:45 flight home. All went well, were home by 8:30 after the layover and running to the store to pick up a few necessities before coming home.

 

Had a great time overall. Came back to the cabin 1 afternoon to find the room steward, several security guys, and the sound of a smoke alarm going off in the cabin right next door to us. You could definitely smell smoke. I didn't say anything, I went into our cabin to get what I had come for, and left. I figured with all of that security, we were safe, so I just kept on keeping on. We ran into the room steward later that night, and he told us that what had happened was that the people in that cabin had brought one of those power strips that you plug into the wall that allows you to plug in multiple things at one time, and that it had shorted out, because the ship's outlets are not designed to give out the correct wattage for those things. So please people, don't bring 'em! The smell of smoke was gone within a short time, just glad they caught it in time. Will be glad to answer any questions that I can, and I will be posting a link with pics probably sometime tomorrow..........this is the first few days off I've had since the cruise, and I'm still in the process of uploading them.

[tmt218]

Sounds like ya'll had a great time. I am wanting to do a Southern Carribean cruise. Looking at the Victory and the Miracle. That dinner on the beach sounded nice. Sorry you were unable to do it. Maybe next time. Gives you an excuse to go back.

How was the weather? Besides the rain in Aruba. Was it HOT or just right? I am trying to decide if Winter or fall would be better to go. Looking at Feb or Oct. I know October is still hurricane season and I woould be so disapointed if we didn't get to go where it was schedule.

Thanks for the review!

[iluvdoxies]

Sorry Aruba weather didnt cooperate with your plans. Now you have to do a do-over :)

[Prairie_Gal]

Sounds like you had a great cruise despite the weather hiccup. I have looked at that itin, but decided on the Victory (might still change my mind, I do love sea days).

[PROCRUISE]

Love short, concise, positive reviews. Thank you!

[bubbles1209]

Love short, concise, positive reviews. Thank you!

 

Your welcome, and thank you! :)

[bubbles1209]

Sounds like ya'll had a great time. I am wanting to do a Southern Carribean cruise. Looking at the Victory and the Miracle. That dinner on the beach sounded nice. Sorry you were unable to do it. Maybe next time. Gives you an excuse to go back.

How was the weather? Besides the rain in Aruba. Was it HOT or just right? I am trying to decide if Winter or fall would be better to go. Looking at Feb or Oct. I know October is still hurricane season and I woould be so disapointed if we didn't get to go where it was schedule.

Thanks for the review!

 

Your welcome, and thanks for taking the time to read it! I love doing reviews, I get to re-live my vacation! :D Now we're booked for the Dream on June 4th :D Hadn't been home but 1 week and just had to book another, now I'm in my happy place planning & researching!

 

For me, the weather was great......windy this trip though, a little to windy even for me. I had to purchase a sweater onboard because at the lido deck, they left the sliding doors open all the time, and the cold air from the air conditioning was coming straight out on you on top of the wind we were already having. For me temperature wise, it was just right. I'm from Georgia, and my idea of HOT, is 102 with a heat index of 110.:eek: It was in the 80's in the daytime, and mid to low 60's at night, so just right for me. :) Aruba was the only real weather hiccup we had, yes, we did see more rain off & on, but nothing steady, typical caribbean showers.

[bubbles1209]

Sorry Aruba weather didnt cooperate with your plans. Now you have to do a do-over :)

 

Dang it! :eek: I hate it when that happens!:mad: Now I have to re-book, re-plan, and go allllll overrrrr againnnnn.:eek: :D ;)

[fdwt994]

We just got off the Miracle today. Had a nice time, the Miracle is a pretty, extremely well maintained ship.

 

I found Curacao the least favorable port, there were tons of smokestacks from a nearby oil refinery (?) spewing tons of thick black smoke into the air all day long. Smelled the place an hour before we docked. However, all was not lost, the area around the dock is nice to walk around with nice restaurants / shops.

 

LOVED Grand Turk.

 

I can't believe it's over! :(