just off the Miracle....12/4 to 12/11

[xeena]

quick comments:

 

wonderful ship, great cruise....easy embarkation and debarkation....we were off the ship by 8:50 am and home before 10 am !! (we live north of Tampa)

 

three things i would have liked to know prior to sailing:

 

internet access easy in Cozumel, Costa Maya and Belize !! cheap internet available just off the ship....

 

phones: needed a "local" phone card in Grand Cayman $6 for 15 min right off the ship, Singular got reception there...I could get Verizon reception only in Belize and Cozumel (i did sign up for international calling prior to leaving....$4/mo and cancellable any time !)

 

there are launderettes aboard.....i did one load mid week...would have brought my own laundry soap if i knew and packed a few less things !

 

more to follow

[momofzeke]

Can't wait for the rest!

[Love-to-ride]

xeena, We're thinking of going on this cruise oct.2006. Which ports do you dock and which do you tender? One person in our group will be in a wheelchair. Thanks

[David14259]

internet access easy in Cozumel, Costa Maya and Belize !! cheap internet available just off the ship....

 

Can you elaborate on this any? Were these internet cafe places?

 

Glad you had a good trip, I'm leaving on the Miracle in...13 days!

[jamieac]

We also had a ball we were with our two girls 2 and 5.. I want to go back!!!!

[xeena]

love to ride: we docked only in Costa Maya....the rest were tenders. Coz dock destroyed and i dont think they will be repaired anytime soon !

 

David: in Belize, we walked outside the dock area into town and saw a library (scary one) that had no books (that we saw)....BUT internet high speed for $1 for 1/2 hr

In Cozumel there were several places in town....paid $2 for 15 min

Costa Maya....high speed right in the shopping area by docks...also $2 or $3 for 15 min. i cant remember exactly and it was only a few short days ago !!

In Grand Cayman we didnt use it this time (no time) but they have a nice library in town that i used 2 years ago when there....i assume it is undamaged. short walk from where you tender in.....just ask for directions

 

internet on board even with your own wireless laptop was very expensive ! i think it's a rip-off....i could wait till we arrived in port.

 

the only thing is timing... in GC we did the sting ray excursion and also snorkeled right near the docks for free at Eden Rocks....so no time for the library too ! the other ports we did things on our own so there weren't time constraints.

[MamaMicki]

Hi Xeena,

Thanks for giving us information. We are leaving in about a month and I have heard the tender times for gettting back on the ship can be kind of long. Did you experience any long wait times on the islands for the tenders? I am glad you had a great time. Thanks again. Take Care!!

[xeena]

mama....nope, not anything really long.....Coz used very large tenders and they took a bit to fill up, but the waits werent bad at all....it was nice to be at an actual dock in Costa Maya though ! the ease of just walking off the ship can't be beat....have a great cruise....it's a nice ship.

[CorbinCatFan]

We're going Sunday. How did they work the tenders? Was it first come first served? Were there long lines to get off the ship?

 

Thanks in advance.:)

[xeena]

if you had an early excursion you got priority...but if you werent determined to get off right away, we found that by waiting about an hour we had no real wait. only longer time was in Coz where they had very large tenders. never had a problem getting back to ship either.

 

you will really enjoy the ship....big but not crowded....well maintained, nothing looked tired or dirty. must have had elves during the night....spiffy all the time.

so much to do if you wanted to do....and places to be quiet when you wanted that too. we really had a good time....enjoyed our first balcony .

 

they were very relaxed with bringing your own wine aboard....i had one box of wine all week....had drinks before dinner on the balcony ....brought a glass to dinner occasionally and also to Frankie and Johnny's to listen to the band. they were never pushy about ordering drinks where you were....all in all a very nice atmosphere. this was our first Carnival in a while, last few had been on HAL and we were eager to compare experiences. can truly say we liked both.....HAL beds are a bit nicer and the entertainment on Carnival a bit better....

 

boy i went on there didnt i? have a great time !!

[MamaMicki]

boy i went on there didnt i? have a great time !!

 

Oh please do go on. I am sooo excited about this cruise. We have 2 adjoining staterooms and I think it is going to be great. The more you can tell us the better. I wait every week for the reviews to come out so that I can get my few minutes of living vicariosly through other cruisers. Thanks for answering all of our questions. Take Care!