Just off the Carnival Miracle 7/31/05 - Long Review

[jgbulls]

Carnival Miracle 7/31/05

 

This was the family’s 3rd cruise, 2nd on Carnival (Triumph Western Carib. 2003) and one prior on RCL Explorer (Eastern Carib. 2004)

 

Pre-cruise - We flew into Tampa on Saturday (direct flight from Phoenix) and we started off a little rocky. A 2 hour delay in Phoenix (plane mechanical problems), 20 minutes to circle Tampa due to lightening, and an extra ½ hour waiting for luggage due to the storm. That’s where the most negative part of the trip ended. We stayed at the Woodfin Suite Hotels with a cruise package....$149 for a 2 bedroom suite (a townhouse type set up) with pick up at the airport, transport to the dock and pick up at the dock a week later all included! They pulled up to the airport terminal as I walked out with the family and our many bags!

 

Hotel was very nice with a nice “continental-type” breakfast thrown in the next morning. We walked over to the Bahama Breeze restaurant ½ block away for dinner. http://www.woodfinsuitehotels.com/tampa/specials/index.cfm

 

Embarkation: We took the 20 minute ride from the hotel to the port at about

11 AM. Arrived at the port, dropped the luggage and proceeded to the check-in desk. We saw some average sized lines but nothing in comparison to the Port of Miami. We were through in 20 minutes or so and waited about ½ hour for our number to get called to board. Decided against the approx. $35 soda card and bought 4 bottles of diet coke from the vending machines in the waiting area and carried them on board with our carry-ons.

 

Cabin: Our cabins were 8104 & 8106. Our two sons took the inside cabin, and we took the balcony. It was the most forward cabin on deck 8. It was a very nice size. It was our first balcony and we loved it. They say you can’t go back inside once you have had a balcony and this may be true. (we didn’t use it as often as we thought we would but it was still a nice retreat.) Our cabin steward Amor was great - we saw him often as it appears he was working 24/7. He was there for extra ice and always went out of his way with towel animals which was very entertaining and he was very appreciative as well. The cabins were always kept clean.

 

The ship was very clean, the staff very friendly, and there was no problem with the smokers which kept to their assigned areas. Lots of kids as well but we didn’t spend a lot of time in the pool areas on deck 9 as we preferred to limit our “sun-time” to our excursions. Mark Hawkins, the cruise director was a pistol. Sometimes he was a little over the top, but he was funny and entertaining, while letting you know what was going on.

 

Dining Room - We had dinner every night in the Bacchus Dining Room. We were at table 320 and our wait staff was Ricardo and Wartoyo. They were very good - our water glass was filled at all times and again they were very attentive. The food was usually very good, hitting excellent on several nights. The desserts, likewise, were also good on most nights and excellent on others. We did all order filet mignon or chicken on the one night when nothing on the menu appealed to us. This was done with a smile and fast and friendly service that we had come to expect during the whole cruise.

 

 

Grand Cayman – We tendered into port without any fuss or delay and aside for some rain on the way back to the ship it was a beautiful day! We booked our snorkeling adventure with Captain Marvin on-line which is our 2nd time with him. Two snorkeling stops (sites were the Barrier Reef and the “Aquarium”), followed by Stingray City! We saw an eel, a small shark and some beautiful fish! It was terrific. http://www.captainmarvins.com/index.htm This allowed an hour for shopping before returning to the ship. (We had also visited Hell the last time we came through Grand Cayman)

 

Costa Maya – Honestly, this port didn’t do much for me. There was some shopping and drinking at the port, a long with a salt water public pool. We took a bus to the beach ($3 each person by bus– cabs not allowed to take passengers from dock) and had to wait a 1/2 hour for this. My 2 sons and I had a ½ hour massage at the beach ($20), looked around, took some photos and headed back. Cabs were $6 total to get back. Bought a few items, we shared a “yard-long” frozen drink at the bar, and headed back to the ship.

 

Belize – along with Grand Cayman, the highlight of the trip. First time here and with the help of these cruise critic message boards, chose the river cave tubing adventure as our excursion. There were several vendors that stood out and we went with Yhony from cave-tubing.com. We had no problem getting off the boat. We wanted to get on a tender to get to shore as quickly as possible to beat the rush. We met up with Yhony outside of terminal 1. He had our names and we left within 10 minutes of arrival with a several groups that totaled about 25. The bus was air conditioned. Our main guide, Junior and his assistant, were very friendly and knowledgeable. There was even a 3rd “guide in training” that came along. The drive was as promised about 1 hour long, and the last 7 miles were very very bumpy, also as promised. We did some sightseeing along the way. We were the first group to get to the park! The walk was only about a half hour and you are in the caves about an hour and a half. The water was cool and refreshing and was a wonderful experience for all of us. We were given tubes, lamps that you placed on your head, and we had our waterproof camera in hand. There were some mild rapids and otherwise, we enjoyed locking the tubes up in a train formation and we just floated down river. The caves were dark and interesting as well. Now here’s a catch where you can see the customer service this group provides and relies upon - this cave tubing group does not ask you for payment until the end of the trip when the bus returns you to port. (They need to be paid in cash at this time) We got back to the tourist village with more than hour until the last tender. Did some shopping and this is where we bought several wood carvings as well as t-shirts, shot glasses, etc.

 

 

Cozumel – This was our 2nd time to Cozumel and coming off the heels of Belize, we were hesitant to book another excursion, although the snorkeling was supposed to be great. We did the Mayan ruins that last trip. We slept in, ate breakfast and got out about 11 AM. (This is a 14 hour port of call) We shopped the port and took a cab downtown and shopped some more. My son was on a quest to find a deal on a high-end watch he decided he had to have and he got it! More tourist stops and mementos, with gifts as well. A comic on board mentioned the curious number of vendors selling blankets in Cozumel, which also struck me as funny. A lot of vendors were also pushing cigars, jewelry and crafts. We headed back to the ship for a late lunch, had a nap, early dinner and never headed back off the ship.

 

 

Entertainment – we enjoyed several of the shows, including comedians and a hypnotist. The Miracle dancers put on a nice show as well. Overall, several shows were lacking. I was looking for something a little more current and there were a lot of performances with themes of the Beatles, the 40’s & 50’s and some jazz. Bingo was a group effort on 4-5 occasions at $20 a pop. No winners here. The casino was a big hit as we enjoyed some family gambling as my 2 sons (18 & 20) can play on board ship. Some winners and losers here as well.

 

Debarkation – all I can say was it was a breeze – we planned a leisurely departure as our flight was not until 5 PM. We had a formal dining room breakfast. Stayed in our cabin until 9 AM. Made our way down and waited in a 10 minute line to get off the ship. My main complaint if any was it was too easy. I didn’t call the shuttle fast enough and we had a 35 minute wait. Tampa was hot and muggy. Shuttle with the hotel worked out great. America West wouldn’t take our luggage until 1 PM so we were stuck at the airport for 6 hours. It worked out fine as we read, talked and made some phone calls. Couldn’t head up to the cabin for a nap mid-afternoon however!

 

Overall, it was a terrific cruise and we had a great time. We found the size of the Miracle to be a non-issue (smaller than the 2 prior ships) and we loved the fact that it is only 2 years old! Bottom line – every cruise line and ship does something better than the next and some don’t measure up. In this case, the Miracle performed well and any shortcomings will be difficult to remember after this post.

 

Any questions, yell.

 

JG

[NJKerry]

Great Review!! Thanks!!!

[Doug910]

...Thanks for the review. Very well written. Glad you had a great time!

[kyle316]

great review!

[Gym Girl]

Loved it! Wish I was there!!

 

Betsy

[swiss]

We were on the Miracle in June with our three kids, 21, 18, 15 and had a great time. Its a wonderful family ship! Glad to see that you thought the same.

[Stella_Illuminata]

Great review! You really covered alot in good detail. I'm glad you and your family had a wonderful time!