It’s a MIRACLE! Pirate’s Review of the 11/3/18-11/11/18 Sailing

[pirate4me2]

Ok that’s it for tonight. Tomorrow I will try to wrap this puppy up!! Have a good night all. 

Edited November 16, 2018 by pirate4me2

[n6uqqq]

We were on your cruise and not too far from you in rooms 7258 and 7297. I like Roatan the best since there was literally no one hounding us to buy stuff!

[pirate4me2]

12 hours ago, n6uqqq said:

We were on your cruise and not too far from you in rooms 7258 and 7297. I like Roatan the best since there was literally no one hounding us to buy stuff!

That balcony looks AMAZING!!!!!!

[n6uqqq]

2 hours ago, pirate4me2 said:

That balcony looks AMAZING!!!!!!

 

It is indeed and the same price as a regular extended balcony on the Miracle. This is why I love Spirit class ships and try to book them. I don't need the crowds or the bells and whistles of the newer ships. I always book a year plus in advance so I can snag one of these balconies. There are only 3 non handicapped ones available per spirit class ship and 3 handicap ones. 

[shpshootr]

What a great review! Thanks for posting all of this, love all the pictures! I'll be on the Miracle in December and this has me even more excited, love the tip for the happy hour pitchers with out the ice for later, I'll definitely be getting some of those!

Cheryl

[watermelonqueen99]

Enjoying your review!

[pirate4me2]

7 hours ago, n6uqqq said:

 

It is indeed and the same price as a regular extended balcony on the Miracle. This is why I love Spirit class ships and try to book them. I don't need the crowds or the bells and whistles of the newer ships. I always book a year plus in advance so I can snag one of these balconies. There are only 3 non handicapped ones available per spirit class ship and 3 handicap ones. 

I will have to check those out for my January 2020 cruise on the Legend. Thanks for the tip!!

 

1 hour ago, shpshootr said:

What a great review! Thanks for posting all of this, love all the pictures! I'll be on the Miracle in December and this has me even more excited, love the tip for the happy hour pitchers with out the ice for later, I'll definitely be getting some of those!

Cheryl

Thank you for reading, I hope you have a fantastic cruise!!

 

10 minutes ago, watermelonqueen99 said:

Enjoying your review!

Thank you! I love reading your reviews, you have a great writing style. I am always cracking up when I read yours. 

[pirate4me2]

Are we really already to our last port stop on this cruise? How did this vacation go by so fast???

Today we are in Grand Cayman, a favorite port for us. Since we got up kind of late (8:50) and the priority tender meet-up was at 9:45, I had to deal with breakfast from the Lido deck again. Bleck, I really miss those Blue Iguana breakfast burritos, these fake “eggs” are not cutting it for me. The bagel was ok, although the cream cheese tasted more like butter. Heck maybe it was, I was pretty sleepy and could have grabbed that by accident, although I swear the sign said cream cheese. After I smothered it all in hot sauce it was edible. 

We got to the Red Frog Pub right at 9:45 and had just maybe a 10 minute wait before they took us down to catch a tender boat. The ride was short, about 5 minutes, and we set off to walk around town and do some shopping. My father loves the shirts we have gotten him from Grand Cayman, so I wanted to get him a few more for Christmas presents. The man has yet to take a cruise (stay tuned, April 2019 he sets sail for the first time! There will be a review!) but he proudly wears the shirts we have gotten him ALL THE TIME. When people ask him about where Grand Cayman is and how he likes it he just gets this deer in the headlight look.

[pirate4me2]

After we had walked all around downtown and had gotten a few shirts for Pops we decided to eat some lunch and get some drinks at Sharkeez. I know it is a chain restaurant around the Caribbean, but I have ate there 3 times now (once in Nassau, and twice in Grand Cayman) and really like it. The food is always good, and the drinks are always strong. I will say that in Grand Cayman it is really expensive, but heck we are on vacation and can splurge a little bit. I ordered the shrimp tacos and a Rum Punch, and Chris ordered wings and a Cayman Mama. The tacos were freaking amazing, and the Rum Punch really had a kick to it. I didn’t try Chris’s wings but I did try his drink and oh my….next time I will order the Cayman Mama!

[pirate4me2]

We finished our lunch at 12:45 and began our trek to meet up with our excursion. We had booked a tour with Captain Marvin’s to go to Stingray City, and I was feeling a wee bit anxious over this one. Didn’t these creatures kill the crocodile hunter? And I am going to willingly get into the water with them?? Have I lost my dang mind?!?! We got to their office and paid ($40 per person for the Stingray City and 1 snorkel stop tour) and then had a quick bus ride to their dock. Once we boarded their boat that would take us to our doom….whoops, I mean destination…we had a nice 30 minute ride to Stingray City. The crew were very friendly and the captain even let one of the kids drive the boat.

We reached the sandbar and the crew gave everyone a little info regarding the rays. When you get into the water they said, shuffle your feet, don’t step, that way you won’t step on the rays and make them angry. Uh, no problem here, I don’t want to tick off a big old ray that will stab me! They told us that the stingrays were use to visitors coming and that they knew we would be feeding them and that they were friendly. Sure they are…they want food…but what if I don’t feed them a good enough offering and they decide to kill me?? This is insanity! 

Against my better judgement I slipped into the water. Oh my Lord, here they come! I may or may not have frozen in place and been THAT person that squealed when a ray glided against me. Then it was like a swarm of them came at me. OH MY GOSH, IT’S THE STINGRAY ARMY COMING TO ATTACK! They brushed and glided against me and one even flapped up it’s side like a bird flapping its wings…it was a cool but crazy experience and my heart was racing the whole time.

I was doing Ok until one ray decided to turn its butt to me and I saw the long tail part, and it clicked that the tail held the barb. I know the ray was not being mean, but I freaked at that point and jumped back on the boat. People were laughing at me, but I ain’t no fool! Them stingrays can KILL you man! I sat on the edge with my feet dangling in the water (there is no way a stingray is going to want to suck my toes up as food, they stink man!) and one of our guides was crazy enough to PICK UP a stingray and bring it over. He asked if I wanted to pet her. Well sure buddy, you’re the crazy fool holding her and she can’t hurt me. Oh my….stingrays are SO SOFT. I can’t even begin to describe how they feel, I was expecting them to be slimy but they aren’t! I could look into her eyes and it was just a surreal experience. 

I decided to ease back into the water again at Chris’s encouragement and I stayed in for a bit until they began feeding the rays the squid. I passed on feeding them…I heard they suck it up and that if you touch your body after holding the squid you can get a hickie from the stingrays coming up and sucking on you. No thanks! Of course the stingrays smelled the food and it became a frenzy with TONS of them coming into the area, and I got a bit anxious. What if they get aggressive and start fighting over the food? I’m outta here! I got back on the boat and watched the feeding frenzy.

The Stingray City stop ended with them taking photos of you with the stingrays. A guide would let you hold the ray, kiss it (if you’re crazy enough to! They say it’s 7 years good luck if you kiss a stingray, I will take my chances of having whatever luck is tossed my way, thank you very much) and get a “back rub” from the ray. I waded back into the water and dodged the stingrays to stand next to Chris while he was INSANE enough to do all that. We didn’t purchase any photos, as I got plenty on my phone. 

We stayed for about 30-40 minutes total at the sandbar, then we headed for a short 5 minute boat ride to the snorkel stop. I don’t snorkel, every time I try I somehow end up sucking in water and almost die, so I just hopped in to swim. Chris snorkels though and was so excited over all the fish he saw. We stayed there for about 15 minutes, and then it was time to head back to the ship.

[pirate4me2]

[pirate4me2]

[pirate4me2]

I had been anxious over our excursion time, as the last tender back to the ship was to leave at 5:15. The tour says it last about 3 to 3.5 hours, so I felt that with the later tour that we did we would be cutting it close, but I also figured that Captain Marvin’s has such a good reputation and they depend on keeping it that way. I had wanted to do their earlier excursion but Captain Marvin’s office said we would not be able to check in in time. They assured me that they would get us back to the ship, so I finally agreed. I am happy to report that they had us back to their office at 4:30, and we were able to catch a tender back to the ship with plenty of time.

Once back onboard we cleaned up and changed for dinner. We went to the MDR right as they opened at 5:45 and requested Wii Wii again. She gave us both a hug and started joking with Chris immediately. To get things started, I ordered a Spicy Chipotle Pineapple Martini, which is was great.

 For my appetizer I asked for the roasted pumpkin soup and a Caesar salad. The soup was amazing, I am going to see if I can find a copycat recipe for at home. I decided to be brave and ordered the fish fillet from the port of call menu as my main. That was a mistake, it was just downright gross in my opinion. The table next to us laughed at my face when I tried it, and one of the guys agreed that it was a really odd texture and just not good. It was a sea bass, and it sounded good on the menu but just….No. Wii Wii asked if everything was OK and I felt bad asking her if I could get the chicken milanasea instead, but she said it was no problem. She ran back to the galley and had it for me in just 3 or 4 minutes. It was delicious. Both Chris and I finished the meal off with the cheesecake, which was really, really good.

[pirate4me2]

We finished dinner and walked around the ship to see what was happening, and ended up at 80’s Pop to the Max. This was the last show for the Playlist Cast onboard, and they gave it their all. Good job!!

After the show I decided that I should probably begin to pack up some, so I headed back to the cabin to do that and read a little. Tomorrow was our last day onboard the Miracle, booooooo!

[pirate4me2]

It’s our last day of the cruise, and I am not ready!!!

We got up at 8:30 and headed to the MDR to enjoy one last sea day brunch. We ended up sharing a table with 4 other people and had a lovely conversation. I got the fruit platter with no cottage cheese, and it was good, and I got my beloved eggs benedict (no meat), and they were yummy as well. My side of chicken sausage was off though, it was like that batch had no spices put in it. The grilled tomato was also a fail, it had no flavor whatsoever. We enjoyed our meal though, and during our brunch we even looked out the window and saw a waterspout!  It was a good last morning onboard.

[pirate4me2]

I headed back to the room after we ate to spend some time on the balcony and finish the awesome book I had brought along. I stayed there right up until the Diamond and Platinum Reunion party, which was at 5. It was located in the Madhatter’s Ball (comedy club), and we decided to change into dinner clothes so we could go eat right afterwards. We knew we would need some food to soak up our drinks hahaha! I have to say though, in the eight reunion parties I have attended this was the worst one for bar service. It was like pulling teeth to get a bar waiter to come over to us! The couple sitting next to us even commented on it. We waited maybe 15 minutes to finally get our order. I got a Funship Special (always yummy!) and when he came back around I asked if I could also get a Mai Tai (REALLY strong!) and I decided I wanted to try a drink I have never tried before, a Mojito. I have to say that I was not impressed with the Mojito, I am glad it isn’t a drink I paid for. I drank maybe half of it and called it good enough. I hate to waste alcohol….

[pirate4me2]

After the party ended we walked all the way aft for our last dinner with Wii Wii. Chris got his picture taken with her, and we promised to say good things about her in our post-cruise survey. I got the caprese as my starter, and it was delicious as always, and I got the cornmeal crusted chicken, which was also delicious as always. To top my meal off I decided to try something new, the baked Alaska that Chris loves. For me it was a letdown, not something I would order again. Sorry baked Alaska fans, I am not part of your club.

As we were finishing dinner the magician came over to our table and spent 15 minutes showing us tricks. Can someone please explain to me how he made extra cards appear in my bra? Seriously, he did it twice….we would count out cards, then he had me stuff them in my bra, and then he would have Chris draw a card and the number that was on that card was the number of extra cards that magically appeared. I don’t understand it! I feel violated…

[pirate4me2]

We headed back to the cabin after dinner to finish packing, and we called it a pretty early night. We watched a movie on the TV and that was the extent of our evening. Tomorrow we would be violently thrown back into the real world. Can’t I somehow hide and stay onboard? Pretty please?

[Burtonair01]

Where do you go to get your passport stamped? Did you do this at every port??

[pirate4me2]

12 hours ago, Burtonair01 said:

Where do you go to get your passport stamped? Did you do this at every port??

This was our first time getting it stamped, so I’m not sure if other ports do it or not. It was right in the port area, I want to say it was near the craft market area.