Balconies on Miracle

[Dennislee2]

Hello,

 

I'm getting closer to booking on the Miracle for a January '06 cruise. What I'm unsure of is the balconies on the Miracle. I don't want to have obstructed views, but I'm not sure how much some of the rooms are set back. I'm pretty flexible of anywhere on the ship, I just want a balcony to see and enjoy. I'm even thinking about the aft cabins. Any ideas on pros / cons about the rooms above the life boats? Are the bigger balconies worth the inconvenience of not looking down into the water vs. the lifeboats? I was on the Victory and even though the balconies aren't big, they were big enough for my wife and I.

 

I'll take any advice, pictures, etc. about the different balcony options. Also, an inside cabin somewhat close is a plus, but not necessary.

 

Thanks in advance to everyone!!!!

[MamaMicki]

Hello,

 

I haven't been on the Miracle yet, but we are going in December. I too am a little confused about this. I think the staterooms that have obstructed views of the life boats or have you looking into them are color coded on the deck plans with strips. Not positive about this. I would just book a room while loooking at the deck plans to make sure you're not anywhere near the life boats. Or call Carnival and see which stateroom they recommend. Well, Happy sailing. Take Care!!

[montekat]

If you want to have an unobstructed view, don't go with an extended balcony. They are set back several feet and make it difficult to see forward or aft, depending on where the protruding balconies are located. I have had both, and will not book the extended balcony again. The extra few feet is not worth it.

[madelinerose]

We stayed in a Category 8A, Cabin 5269, and it was great! No obstructions whatsoever. Next cruise is aft with a huge balcony! ;)

[Danyelle_]

We booked an extended balcony #5131...Doesnt look like it would have an obstructed view..I am confused...it looks like it is the protruding balcony, not set back....Am I missing something Montekat?

[pshaze]

Danyelle,

 

Some of the extended balconies on the Miracle are in the recessed part of the ship. The one you booked is towards the front, and is not recessed. We stayed in 6263,6237, and 6269, which was an extended balcony, that was in the recessed part. I didn't like the obstructions to the view. :( Here is a picture from our balcony.

 

http://community.webshots.com/scripts/editPhotos.fcgi?action=showMyPhoto&albumID=324547169&photoID=324557109&security=xRodub

 

We could not see down because of the lifeboats and could not see the front or back of the ship.

 

Pam

[pshaze]

Oops, I don't think that link will work.

 

Try this

 

http://community.webshots.com/photo/324547169/324557109xRodub

 

Pam

[Puzlelover]

Hi DennisLee,

 

We just returned from the 4/10 sailing on the Miracle. My husband and I had originally booked an unobstructed view on the Panorama Deck but several family members decided to join us. Since we had booked the last available cabin on that deck, we moved to the Upper Deck where we could all be together. Those cabins had obstructed views. We were told you would only see the top of the lifeboat and would have a clear view out but would not be able to see the deck below. We thought that would be fine BUT I can tell you that all obtructed views are not equal. My sister and B-I-L had a relatively clear view in cabin 5180. They only saw the top of the front of the lifeboat. The rest of our family was in cabins 5176, 5182 and 5184 . All views were quite obstructed. We looked out on a large pulley that holds the lifeboat as well as the cab part of the lifeboat which is much higher. Also, there were plastic blue bags hanging from a rope that extended past our view. (I apologize for not being able to give you a better description. I don't know the proper names ). We spent very little time on our balcony so it didn't matter that much to us. We really enjoyed the light it offered. Also, you did have a view, albeit obstructed. We had a drink on our balcony late in the evening before retiring for the night and I enjoyed standing on the balcony before breakfast in the mornings. I would say if a balcony is terribly important to you, it's probably worth it to book an unobtructed view. I think the difference in cost was only around $90. I did not get any pix of our balcony but if anyone in my family did, I will post them for you. Hope this helps.

 

[dot]

We are booked on the Miracle for June 12th We booked a Guaranteed Unobstructed Balcony Cabin on 8a. We were just upgraded to 8I on the Panorama deck. It is cheaper to book this way but you must book a unobstructed balcony. We saved a couple of hundred dollars and then got a really great upgrade.

The balcony is the only way to sail. It took us 6 cruises to find this out and I would not sail again without one. Having coffee in the morning on your balcony is like heaven.

[Dennislee2]

We are booked on the Miracle for June 12th We booked a Guaranteed Unobstructed Balcony Cabin on 8a. We were just upgraded to 8I on the Panorama deck. It is cheaper to book this way but you must book a unobstructed balcony. We saved a couple of hundred dollars and then got a really great upgrade.

The balcony is the only way to sail. It took us 6 cruises to find this out and I would not sail again without one. Having coffee in the morning on your balcony is like heaven.

 

 

Hey Dot,

 

That sounds awesome, great job! May I ask how you got the upgrade? Did the prices go down and they upgraded you or how did that happen.

 

Thanks in advance for any info....

[Chan_T]

We booked an extended balcony #5131...Doesnt look like it would have an obstructed view..I am confused...it looks like it is the protruding balcony, not set back....Am I missing something Montekat?

 

My DH and I just got off the Miracle on Sunday (review will be coming soon) and had cabin #5131. The view was not obstructed at all. We could look both forward and back with no problems. Our balcony extended out farther than the balconies to the right of us and the balconies to the left of us were the same size.

 

If Meynardo is still the cabin steward, tell him that we said hello. He was great!! He checked on us often to see if we needed anything. We actually stayed in the cabin late one morning and he called to ask if it would be okay if he cleaned our cabin later that afternoon (as they work morning and afternoon hours). Of course, we said yes. It was really nice of him to call and ask...he could have just left.

[dot]

Good morning:

I am not really sure how we got such a great up-grade but we think it was because we booked guaranteed balcony 8a unobstructed and they probably sold out of those so they had the option to move us around and we got lucky and got all the way up to 8I. We would probably do it again. It really worked out great. We did save a little money and that is always nice. If you do it this way just besure you book Unobstructed view. Dot

[qzbean]

Look at the deck plans on the Miracle for the extra-long balconies. I know there are some classified as 8G and 8I...there may be others as well. We sailed last year and booked #8232 on the Panorama Deck. Because it was next to both a storeroom and a bank of elevators, our balcony was 30 feet long...3 times the length of a regular balcony.

 

Some of these cabins are Handicapped, but some are not. Your Travel Agent will be able to distinguish for you. The risk of booking a Handicapped cabin is that if a Handicapped passenger books after you and they need your cabin, you will be moved.

 

I had read on the boards that a cabin next to either a storeroom or an elevator might be noisy, but we didn't hear a thing. And even if we had, that balcony would have been well worth it! It was certainly worth the $40-$50pp difference between an 8A and an 8I!! We had two full size longe chairs, 2 regular deck chairs, and a table, with plenty of room left to spare.

 

We just booked the same cabin on the Legend this summer!

[dot]

9zbean, our cabin# is 8166-do you have any idea what kind of balcony we might have?

[qzbean]

Dot-

 

It looks like an 8I from the legend on the Carnival website. It's mid-ship on the Panorama Deck, in the recessed portion of the ship, but as it's in the middle of a long stretch of recessed cabins, your view will be unobstructed.

 

Carnival Cruise Lines - Deck Plan

[Danyelle_]

CTyler..

Can't wait to read your review! We aren't going until Nov 6 :(

[ardie42]

dot,

we have cabin 8165 on the same cruise week as you!! I am so excited!! We will have to get together. I can't remember from the roll call board...are you taking any children? Our teens are on the same floor but at the back of the ship.

[dotshub]

dotshub here. no kids with us this time. we have cruised many times with our 3 daughters and grandson, and even soninlaws. but this cruise is just the 2 of us.

woohoo!

:)

[dot]

Hi Ardie, We are not sailing with our adult kids this time. It's just the old folks but we are fun. I am so looking forward to meeting you. Maybe we can get together for a "Drink of the Day"Sunday. We are planning on arriving by 10:00AM (right after we take the kids to breakfast-they are dropping us at the port-. What time are you arriving at the port? Are you staying Tampa the night before? If so where?How old are your girls? I should know this from reading this thread. Sorry Old age (haha) So glad we are going to be neighbors.

[dot]

qzbean-Thanks for that info- that is a great way to see where the cabin is. The book is so small. Again-thanks

[ardie42]

dot,

we are staying at a Ramada or Days Inn (Yuck I know but I work for the same company and get super discount) the night before. We planned to get there around 10:30 or 11:00. Our son will room with us but the girls are all the way down the hall. I will tell them to walk quietly in the halls but there is a bank of elevators near their rooms. They are so excited. We definately need to meet for a drink of the day. Only 53 days left. We are from Pittsburgh PA and are driving to Tampa. We are leaving on Friday morning and will take 2 days so it's not too much time in the car.

[ELLIETAM]

Hi CTyler:

 

Welcome back from Miracle and glad to hear that you had a great cruise. We have booked this exact cabin on our cruise in this coming August, and looking at the deck plan from Carnival's brochure, this cabin seems to be longer than cabin #5133 next door on the right. The length of cabin #5131 is equivalent to the length of #5133 plus the length of its balcony (which is 4' in the case of a standard balcony cabin). Am I reading it right? Since you indicated on your post that your view is not obstructed at all from your neighbor on your right. Having 4 in a cabin, we would definitely appreciate the extra footage inside our cabin! Looking forward to your confirmation of my insight. Thanks.

 

Eli

[01Sweetpea]

Hi DennisLee,

 

We just returned from the 4/10 sailing on the Miracle. My husband and I had originally booked an unobstructed view on the Panorama Deck but several family members decided to join us. Since we had booked the last available cabin on that deck, we moved to the Upper Deck where we could all be together. Those cabins had obstructed views. We were told you would only see the top of the lifeboat and would have a clear view out but would not be able to see the deck below. We thought that would be fine BUT I can tell you that all obtructed views are not equal. My sister and B-I-L had a relatively clear view in cabin 5180. They only saw the top of the front of the lifeboat. The rest of our family was in cabins 5176, 5182 and 5184 . All views were quite obstructed. We looked out on a large pulley that holds the lifeboat as well as the cab part of the lifeboat which is much higher. Also, there were plastic blue bags hanging from a rope that extended past our view. (I apologize for not being able to give you a better description. I don't know the proper names ). We spent very little time on our balcony so it didn't matter that much to us. We really enjoyed the light it offered. Also, you did have a view, albeit obstructed. We had a drink on our balcony late in the evening before retiring for the night and I enjoyed standing on the balcony before breakfast in the mornings. I would say if a balcony is terribly important to you, it's probably worth it to book an unobtructed view. I think the difference in cost was only around $90. I did not get any pix of our balcony but if anyone in my family did, I will post them for you. Hope this helps.

 

 

Puzlelover - I have a few questions for you.... We have cabins 5179 & 5181 for our 7/3 cruise. Were you able to have the balcony partions opened?

 

Also, I have heard conflicting info, the lifeboats.... do the come up to the TOP of the railing or the BOTTOM of the railing?

 

Thanks!

[balconyview]

hi, jumping on band wagon here, we're also going on the miracle in 01/06 and have a rear balcony, 5268. this is our second cruise and we can't wait! i know poeple above us can look down, but does it take real effort and leaning or does it just take a glance from the railing above us? what about at night, are there outside lights?

[etluv2cruise]

Puzlelover - Can you let me whether it is cabin 5176, 5182 or 5184 that looks out on a large pulley that holds the lifeboat? We will be in cabin 5182. We picked this cabin, becuase we think that it is good to be in between 2 lifeboats, so that we can look down at the water with no obstruction. You mentioned about the plastic blue bags hanging from a rope that obstructed your view, are these bags in front of cabin 6182? What cabin(s) balcony(ies) are these bags in front of. Any information that you can provide me regarding these cabins is deeply appreciated.