Miracle 12/25/05 - 1/1/06 Review!

[David14259]

Hey Guys,

 

I'm back from the Miracle, it was great! Left on Christmas, got back on New Years Day! We had a few...interesting...events, along with some great new holiday features. I'm way too tired to post the full review tonight, so stay tuned for tomorrow's post for all the juicy details.

 

P.S. The real point of this post...please ask any Miracle related questions you have now, and I'll try to answer them in my review.

[David14259]

< Reserved for Review >

[cruisinjules]

Hey David! Welcome back...I am looking forward to your review. How was the weather? What show onboard was your fave and which one should be skipped? Where is the best spot onboard, fairly adult & quiet, to catch some rays? How was the tendering?

[FuzzyMelton]

My wife and I and another couple leave on Sunday 1/8 aboard the MIRACLE. What stands out that we need to do? How was the cruise director and staff? What were the shows and were they worth going to? What did you do in Costa Maya? Basicaly looking for your recommendations.

[Tluvs2talk]

FuzzyMelton, My Husband and I as well as my Cousin and her friend will be sailing on the Miracle on the 8th. We have a roll call started.

 

 

Teri

[popcorngal]

Hi David! Can you tell me which dock you tendered in to in Cozumel? Was it downtown or way south? We'll be there in just over 2 weeks and trying to get my ducks in a row! Thanks for your help!

[walkswife]

I'm traveling on the Miracle with 5 teenagers in March....any advise for me on this particular ship?

[dh Chrisva]

Hi cruising on the Miracle Christmas 06 would love to hear the deatails of the Christmas Activities and if the ship was decorated etc..

 

thanks

[lee55golf]

Also just back from Miracle 12/25/05 Cruise. It is a great ship layout, and food was very good. We were very diaappointed with two things. Very little danicing later in the evening except Frankensteins if you like very loud rap music. The only Ballroom dancing we found the entire week was Captains reception for a couple of songs. Frankie and Johnnies open for a couple of hours each night (mostly rock and roll) and that's about it for the dancing. We walked around Friday night at 11:30 and no Clubs open. They have a beautiful Club, Mad Hatters but mostly used for Kareoke. The other problem was lack of activities for teens, club sometimes open only for 1 1/2 hours then maybe a movie. Many kids sitting around ship saying they have nothing to do. Other cruises had club open for teens most of the night. We were on the Glory last Christmas and it had some many more activities all day and night for everyone. Not sure if this is a change in the industry or just not the right ship for us.

[momofzeke]

Hey, David! Anxiously awaiting the review....;) I'm curious to see what you did in Belize. Trying to decide what to do there. Rest up and then get crackin' on the review! :p

[DqALEX]

Hi David Im glad you had a great time. We were on the Miracle last year and had a great time. That was the best cruise I have been on yet. We are going on the Triumph the last week of January, I hope it is as good as the Miracle. I am thinking about going on the Miracle again over New Years. Was the Ship full over Christmas???

[David14259]

Well, I guess there is a time limit on editing messages.... so my grand 'reserved for review' post idea has failed...

 

Anyways, I'll start with trying to answer some questions:

 

cruisinjules-

-Overall the weather was good. Xmas night, we had 50mph winds and the ship was rocking quite a bit. It had cleared up by morning. Saturday night returning to Tampa, we had extremly thick fog, but that didn't really affect anything, other than the fog horn sounding every couple mins for most of the evening.

-The shows were good, I skipped both (3?) of the late night adults only comedian shows, so I can't tell you much about those. The family comedy shows were funny, although the hypnotist at the end of the week was only fair. The vegas shows on formal nights were about what you would expect...fancy costumes, music, dancing, singing. Good, but nothing really amazing/wonderful.

-Favorite spot onboard? Indoors there are several pretty quiet areas, I don't think you'll have trouble finding one. The best quiet spot outdoors would have to be the adults only topless deck. Never actually saw anyone topless there. Besides that the aft deck pool and hot tub are adults only, so that area is much quietier than the main pools.

-Tendering was no problem at any of the ports.

 

Fuzzy-

-You'll love your trip, its a great ship. The cruise dir. and staff were good, plenty of activities and variety. See above for the shows. Costa Maya was my favorite port! We rode the ATVs. I believe its called ATV and Beach Adventure. It was awesome! The beaches there are beautiful, there is tons of shopping near the pier, or in adjacent villages. The travel talks given on the Miracle did an excellent job of informing us where to go for the shopping away from the pier. Also in the area off the pier are several excellent restraunts and a large outdoor theater with shows going on most of the day. The biggest advice I can give is about Belieze. Book a tour!! It is still a 3rd world country, and you really don't want to try to see it on your own. Belize City is pretty bad, the best thing to do is to get away from it on a tour, either to the ruins, or to a beach. (Stay away from the 'Belize City Tour", however going on a tour that is something else bundeled with the City Tour is fine.)

 

popcorngal-

-In Cozumel we tendered in to where the old pier used to be...I believe its called Puerta Maya or something like that. Its about a 5minute taxi ride from downtown. You get a good view of the sunken pier on the way in on the tenders...that must have been some storm! The area around the pier and the downtown area have been rebuilt. Once you get away from those areas, you can still see the devistation of the storm.

 

walkswife-

-5 Teenagers? My advice... call it off :) Really though, there were quite a few teen activities. Keep in mind though, that most of the clubs, including the disco, are 18+ after 11:00 every night. I don't think they'll have a problem finding things to do.

 

dh Chrisva-

-There were a lot of Christmas/New Years activities. We had special menus on Xmas and New Years eve in the dining room. The ship was covered with trees and other decorations. There were 1 or 2 christmas shows, including a visit from Santa and gifts for the kids. New Years Eve was a huge party, free champaign. Live TV of Times Square on the Lido Deck, live music, big light up '2006' neon signs, and free hats, horns, and noise makers for everyone. The ship also had daily Menorah lightings/services.

 

lee55golf-

-Yes, I didn't see much Ballroom dancing either, but I disagree on the clubs open at night, it seemed to me there were plenty. The disco mostly played current music, but they had many theme nights/times such as salsa, or disco, etc.

 

Phew....time for a break.

[lnew1gd1]

Hi David,

 

We leave on the Miracle 2/12/2006. Can't wait! Our first Carnival Cruise. Anxiously awaiting your review. Reading every review we can find about this ship.

 

How was your cabin? Which one did you stay in?

 

Looking forward to hearing more from you.

[David14259]

I was in cabin 6146, which is a 8D (I think) Balcony. It was very nice, and a very quiet location.

[popcorngal]

Thanks for the info David! Am looking forward to your review. Sounds like the cruise was great!

[David14259]

Sunday-

 

Leaving from Tampa was a breeze. Much faster than I remember the Conquest being this past summer. Got on the ship, had lunch, found out we had been assigned the wrong dinner time and had no problem getting it changed. Got into our room, 6146, a 8D Balcony, unpacked, and went exploring. Being Christmas, we had a special menu for dinner that evening. I think I had the prime rib...excellent. The dining staff was wonderful! After dinner there was a special Christmas show in the main theater and that evening is when the fun started. What fun you ask? Oh just the 50+ mph winds coming from the NW as we sailed through the gulf. It was quite a night, especially for the cleaning crews around the ship. Didn't do too much else besides try to keep dinner down.

 

Monday-

The wind had calmed down by morning, and since today was a day at sea, we spent the day on the deck, playing bingo, losing money in the casino, and still tried to figure our way around. Monday night was the first formal night, excellent food in the dining room again, and good entertainment afterwards. The photographers had all their usual backgrounds and several holiday ones set up for pictures, the bands were in Christmas mode for most of the week. (Yes, by Saturday I was getting pretty tired of the Xmas music.)

 

Tuesday- Cayman Islands

Tendered in, no problems there. Went on the Butterfly Farm and Beach Adventure Tour as we had done the Stingray stuff on our previous visit. If you've never been to the Cayman Islands, the String Ray tours should be top on your list, but the Butterfly farm was neat also. The butterfly farm is basically a large garden enclosed by netting with hundreds of caterpillars, cacoons, and butterflys inside. Your guide spends the first half of your time there talking about the different species, the metamorphorous stuff, and other interesting tidbits of butterfly information. The rest of the time you're free to wonder on your own, take pictures of the butterflys, or just sit on benches and relax. After the butterfly farm you're taken to a nearby beach, where you're free to swim, shop, or enjoy the bar/restraunt.

 

Wednesday- Cozumel

As the pier was destroyed in this summer's hurricanes, we tendered into Cozumel. The tenders drop you off right at the end of the pier...or where the pier used to be I should say...its now under a few feet of water. The shopping area at the end of the pier and the downtown areas have been rebuilt, but many areas away from these spots still show substantial damage. We did the Mexican Folkloric Show and Shopping Tour. The show was pretty cool, lasted about 45mins in an airconditioned theater, mostly people dressed in native costumes dancing, singing, and playing cultural music. After the show you're free to shop downtown and use your taxi voucher to return to the ship for free, at your convience.

 

Thursday- Belize

In my opinion, the worst port of the trip. Belize, and moreso Belize City where you tender into is still a 3rd world country. I do not recommend trying to explor Belize on your own, or even trying to find a tour once you get there. Book a tour with Carnival and get away from Belize City. There is plenty of shopping around the pier, but as the armed guards and large iron fences suggest, its not wise to go beyond the terminal areas on your own. So, book a tour for Belize, do some shopping around the cruise terminals, then get back on the ship.

 

Friday- Costa Maya

Best port of the week! You get off the ship and walk onto an actual pier, its wonderful. We arrived just after the Carnival Valor, who had been following us most of the week, and had to parallel park the Miracle on the other side of the pier. At the end of the long (yes long, there are even trollys that carry you the length of the pier) pier there is a large shopping/restraunt/bar/pool/entertainment area. There is enough to do that you probably could spend most of the day here. There is a large pool free to swim in, a large outdoor theater with (free) shows and entertainment going on most of the day, plenty of shopping opportunities, and several bars and restraunts. We went on the ATV and Beach Adventure tour. I highly reccomend this!!! It was amazing, the highlight of our trip. There were 15 people in our group, along with 2 guides. After a quick safety and instruction talk, we were off. For the first 5 or 10 minutes, we stuck to paved roads, but then the remainder of the journey we road on dirt and sand. There were quite a few pot holes and bumps along the way, but it was quite a bit easier than true off roading. We stopped at several spots to learn a bit about the people there, and to photograph a wild monkey in a tree on the side of our path! After quite a while of riding the ATVs, we stopped at a private beach for an hour and swam in very calm water...there is a reef out about 300 ft from the beach that catches most of the waves. After the swimming/shopping/free drinks we were back on the ATVs and headed back to the pier village. Friday was our 2nd formal night, excellent food and entertainment as usual.

 

Saturday- New Years Eve

Our 3rd, yes 3rd formal night and Day at sea. There were plenty of new years eve activities, culminating in a huge countdown party on the lido deck. Another new menu for the dining room this evening...the chefs had a LOT of extra work this cruise. Excellent food again! Saturday night the fog rolled in and most of the evening we got to hear the fog horn blasting every few minutes. Luckily the fog lifted around midnight and we got some sleep.

 

Sunday-

Apparently a fuel tanker of some sort was blocking the channel back to the pier we left from in Tampa, so we had to park at a pier several miles away. All things considered, it still went pretty well. We got off at the new pier...it looked like it was used for loading/unloading container ships, and were put into busses for the 10 minute ride back to the original pier where we picked up our luggage and headed to the airport.

 

More review to follow...as soon as my fingers heal.

[Joeci]

Hello everyone, David thanks for posting, we love reading all the reveiws, though we still have 6 mos before the Miracle I'm already excited, our first balcony #4223 can't wait, thanks again.

[I&MsMom]

David: Thank you so much. What a wonderful review. We just booked the Miracle last night for the 2/19 sailing (President's week!) I'm a little concerned about traveling during a holiday week. We've always traveled during off-peak times before. How did you find the Miracle during Christmas week? Even if there are hundreds of kids (we have 2 of our own!), it'll still be much, much better than being stuck in the northeast!

[Carnival Queen]

David: Thank you so much. What a wonderful review. We just booked the Miracle last night for the 2/19 sailing (President's week!) I'm a little concerned about traveling during a holiday week. We've always traveled during off-peak times before. How did you find the Miracle during Christmas week? Even if there are hundreds of kids (we have 2 of our own!), it'll still be much, much better than being stuck in the northeast!

 

Hi there! Just noticed you will be sailing the Miracle during President's Week. Have you been on the roll calls board at all? Haven't seen anyone on in a long time for our sailing, although you know the ship will be full this particular week. In any case, we are sailing the Miracle again President's week (we sailed last year the week before). We absolutely loved it, so we're bring along our 16-year old son this time and two other couples (one with a 16-year old boy). Hope to see you on the roll call boards . . . :)

P.S. Just read that you just booked this cruise last night - on wonder you haven't been on the roll calls board!!! Will answer any questions you might have. How old are your kids?

[I&MsMom]

Carnival Queen: Thanks for the warm welcome. I actually had checked out the roll call board and noticed there hadn't been any postings in over a month. I intended to drop by and say hello now that we are officially booked, but I've been too busy researching shore excursions...

 

Our son will be 7 and our daughter just turned 3 - first time on the Miracle! By all accounts, it's a great ship, and we can't wait! Glad to hear you liked it so much the first time you are doing it again...See you on the roll call board.

[twortman]

This is our 4th cruise, but the first on Carnival. Do you know if the Miracle has a basketball court, tennis court or movie theatre? Also, do you know if they offer free soft serve ice cream? These were some of my kids favorites from previous cruises.

 

Thank you for all the info you have already given on the Miracle.

 

Terri

[JEREME]

Hey, David! Anxiously awaiting the review....;) I'm curious to see what you did in Belize. Trying to decide what to do there. Rest up and then get crackin' on the review! :p

We went cave tubing in Belize and had a blast with x-treme tubing.com. we booked on the comp. and had no problems. if you have any more ques. about the adventure e-mail back and I can tell you more???

[beansatw]

Do you know if the Miracle has a basketball court, tennis court or movie theatre? Also, do you know if they offer free soft serve ice cream?

 

Basketball court? Yes, but small.

 

Tennis court? Not that I ever saw.

 

Movie theater? No, but they did show a movie one day in the Phantom when we cruised last January.

 

Free soft serve ice cream? You bet. :D Be sure to hit it up on the afternoons when they also offer toppings - they had probably close to 20 different sauces, cookies, sprinkles, etc.

 

Have fun!

[Johnny Cruiser]

Thanks for the great review David. We're sailing the Miracle on Feb 12 as well. Speaking of the pier in Cozumel. I gather Fat Tuesdays is gone? Did they rebuild it? Anywhere you would recommend just to sit out a have a few Coronas?