Just off Miracle- Honestly not what I expected...great trip, but not what I expected

[Kartz125]

Hi Everyone!

Just got home from my 7 day Miracle cruise out of NYC. I have a lot to say about my first cruise a lot of good things and unfortunately: a lot of areas for improvement. More to come in the AM when I am awake enough to submit a full review.

Angela

[serene56]

Im sorry that your first cruise was not what you expected. Please tell us what you expected and what you recieved.

 

I know when we took our first cruise my SIL was very uspet because she thought there was a mall onboard since she heard about all the stores. Needless to say - it ruined her cruising experience.

 

why did you not opt to take Carnival up on its vacation gaurantee and get off at the first port of call that way you would have got back your money.

[JudyAL]

OP did not say they did not have a good time. Why jump to conclusions?

[serene56]

ahem-- didnt jump to any conclusion. Only asked if the cruise was not up to their expectation then asked why they didnt take the guarantee and get off.

[cricket]

Wow, I am interested in hearing about your cruise , since normally first cruises are considered the best, because it is usually the one we have the fondest memories of. I do understand though that you had a lot of good things on the cruise, so I bet it has to do with boarding and the processing end of it, because new cruisers don't always expect the types of things that occur during the boarding process. Glad you made it back safe and hope you write your review soon!

[sls]

Couldn't you just wait until you could write the review to post.

 

sls

[derf5585]

As "they" used to say **Film at 11**

[MrPete]

....definately a candidate for one of the top ten most annoying posts for 2004.

[imsulin]

Let's give Kartz a chance to post a detailed review, OK? This is a new ship, and I'd be interested in reading another review. Thanks, all!

[Brneyznfl]

As "they" used to say **Film at 11**

film at 11 definition of film at 11 in computing. What is film at 11...

[/url]

"film at 11 - (MIT, in parody of US TV newscasters) 1. Used in conversation to announce ordinary events, with a sarcastic implication that these events are earth-shattering. "ITS crashes; film at 11." "Bug found in scheduler; film at 11."

 

 

2. Also widely used outside MIT to indicate that additional information will be available at some future time, *without* the implication of anything particularly ordinary about the referenced event. For example, "The mail file server died this morning; we found garbage all over the root directory. Film at 11." would indicate that a major failure had occurred but that the people working on it have no additional information about it as yet; use of the phrase in this way suggests gently that the problem is liable to be fixed more quickly if the people doing the fixing can spend time doing the fixing rather than responding to questions, the answers to which will appear on the normal "11:00 news", if people will just be patient."

 

:D :D :D

[MoonBaby]

Well, I was on the Miracle on the 6/12 cruise and had a FANTASTIC time!!!! I am working on my review. The only big negative...the NYC Cruise Ship Passenger Terminal, which is NOT Carnival's fault. What a nightmare!

[sls]

can't wait for your review Moonbaby.

 

sls

 

Destiny 12/2004

Sensation 5/2004

Holiday 1/2004

Conquest 11/2003

[roscoesdream]

can't wait for your review Moonbaby.

 

sls

 

Destiny 12/2004

Sensation 5/2004

Holiday 1/2004

Conquest 11/2003

 

we all want to read it now, but 2 add my 2 cents no one should be flamed just for voicing an opinion, so please ease up on this poster

[MoonBaby]

I don't think it's anyone's intention to to flame the original poster. It's just to leave everyone hanging kind of wondering exactly in what ways the cruise didn't live up to expectations! Enquiring minds want to know!

[imsulin]

....definately a candidate for one of the top ten most annoying posts for 2004.

 

 

Well, I don't know what your idea of "flaming" is, but the above quote certainly isn't welcoming, and doesn't offer anything beneficial. Maybe the OP will get back to us. Maybe he/she won't. I say give the OP the benefit of the doubt. Thanks.

[sls]

we all want to read it now, but 2 add my 2 cents no one should be flamed just for voicing an opinion, so please ease up on this poster

 

I was just telling Moon baby not the original poster that I wanted to read her review. That's not flaming the original poster. Maybe you should take your own advice.

 

sls

 

Destiny 12/2004

Sensation 5/2004

Holiday 1/2004

Conquest 11/2003

[serene56]

The reason that its an annoying post is the poster shouldnt have said anything at all until they were rested and ready. To come on here and say they were disappointed witht heir first cruise...a new ship to boot then leaves us hanging just is not right. I am sailing on the Miracle and I want the good the bad AND the ugly so I know what I too should expect.

 

I dont think things are flaming.

[sls]

Serene,

 

I've been hearing lots of bad things about the port of NYC not the Miracle. I've read lots of good reviews about ships crew.

 

sls

 

Destiny 12/2004

Sensation 5/2004

Holiday 1/2004

Conquest 11/2003

[Kartz125]

Foremost- I did not mean to cause such a stir, or such an "annoying thread". However, here is a quick review...

Embarkation: Was a nightmare out of NYC. The Miracle was late arriving from the previous cruise and while everyone was there trying to board, people were still getting off, finding their luggage, hauling cabs, and getting REALLY annoyed. It was chaotic. But, once through the mess, and into the right line (which we had no clue for 2 hours where we should have been waiting), getting aboard was a breeze.

 

First View- Let me just say the Miracle is amazing, absolutely beautiful! I was astonished by all of the elaborate detail. The Atrium was the most attractive space to be in and on most nights, we hung out there before dinner.

 

The Room- We had a balcony #4182. Plenty of room for 4 people, and plenty of closet space. I was suprised at the size and ability to move around without hitting things or each other. The beds we SOOOO comfy! The temperature was just right and I loved the fact that we could adjust to our liking. Plus- the shower was great, a bit tiny, but gave a great cleaning. The temperature of the water could also be adjusted to you taste.

 

Bacchus Dining Room- Okay, here is where I began to get dissapointed. After reading posts and listening to many people rave about the service and personal attention that they recieved in the dining room, I was super psyched about meeting our wait staff and enjoying meals of a lifetime. However, this was not the case. Our two waiters had difficulty with English which made way for huge communication barriers at dinner. I felt rushed and thought that the questions that I had were burdensome. In one instance, when I had asked about a certain dish, the waiter said "Would you mind letting me speak, and then maybe your question would be answered." Whoa- not at all friendly. Plus, while ordering, he would walk away mid-order for no apparent reason and then come back, but not to me, and finish with the table. On three seperate occasions I had to flag them down to finish my order.

 

The Food Was Great! Putting the service aside, the meals were delicious! You could order what you wanted, even though I recieved a few eye rolls (I am not kidding or exaggerating). Later I will post my favorites.

 

Room Steward- He was the man! I often asked for xtra blankets, pillows, when the men had to have the room at zero. After 2 nights, there were extra's everynight when I got home. Plus, he made the greatest towel animals! The room was always spotless and he was always interested in our days and what we were doing for dinner and entertainment.

 

The Lido Deck- Hmmmm. We had great weather, so that made everything great. I baked in the sun all three sail days. Finding a spot to bake in the sun was another story. I had promised myself that I would not be up at 7 saving chairs. However, on the first sea day, I could not find any where to sit by any of the 3 pools lower or upper levels. I finally found a spot around noon that allowed me to be in an area where I could hear the music being played and a short distance to the pools. EVERYONE saved chairs. A blanket here, a book there, a lingering sneaker. This was frustrating. I was tempted to rise with the birds and save chairs, but I did make the best of what I could and got up around 10 and pondered what was avaliable. The little things were not gonna get me. They had great entertainment in the Lido with Horatio's resturaunt 10 feet away. You literally had to roll me off the ship.

The only thing was that there were three pools and they truly were kinda small. Luckily there was one pool that was adults only which was nice. There were over 900 children on the Miracle when I sailed, so being In a pool was an adventure if you could get in.

 

Nick and Nora's- We did the supper club and it was the most amazing dinner I have had in a long time. I could not even have dessert bc I was so full. Unfortunaltely, our waitress this time was also having trouble with her english and was obviously not happy to be there waiting on us. Even the couple behind us commented on her demeanor. Putting her attitude aside, this was a nice experience. Compliments of the chef kept coming and the food was just top notch. We were there 2.5 hours and enjoyed it all, except our waitress. We even trie to make her at ease, make her laugh, nothing worked and she would not even fake a smile, a little upsetting to me.

 

Entertainment- The cruise director Todd was great. All the ladies loved him! My boyfriend was making fun of me by the end of the trip bc I wated to do all the activities he was hosting. Well, he made things fun, and was always smiling and having agreat time. Honestly, about 20% of the staff actually looked and acted like they liked their job. Anyways, Todd was a blast and a ladies man. He made a sincere effort to talk with all that he could and wated to see everyone having the time of their lives. I saw both Vegas style shows with the Beatles Tribute topping everything. It was great! I was jumping up out of my seat dancing and singing. The Casino was greast as well. My best friend and I spent some time there, but stopped once we began losing money...no thanks. The guys we went with lost hundreds and cried about it the whole time. There were several comedians that were hysterical and they did do R-rated midnights shows that were hysterical. There were also activities that included guests which were interesting. The first night one of my ship mates jumped right up on stage and there he stayed every chance he could get. It was fun.

 

Port Canaveral- Excursions for this port were pricey, so we diecided to just take a cab to Cocoa Beach for the day. It was really nice...and HOT! We rented chairs to lay in ($7) for the day and played in the ocean. After enough sun we headed up to the resturaunt on the beach ( the name has slippe me right now) and enjoyed crab-cakes, coconut shrimp, and fresh lemonade- HEAVEN! We then went and did some shopping at Ron-Jons. A great day and it only cost us $10 per person for cab round trip.

 

Nassau- A beautiful port! We decide that we wanted to spend the day at Blue Lagoon and do some snorkling ($35). A short boart ride there, and we were in paradise! This tiny, private island had everything from dolphins to sting rays to hair braiding. The water was clear and warm. I discovered the most colorful and amazing sea life during my self-guided snorkling session. I highly reccomend this excursion, I was literaly in paradise. Plus, we went to Senor Frogs and had a great dinner and fabulous drinks. The workers there loved us and made sure we went back to the ship stumbling hhehehhee.

 

Freeport- We got there a 7am and had to be back on ship by 12:30. So with that in mind, my roomate and I got uparounf 9:30 and headed shopping. We took a taxi to the international shopping area and bought all of our souveniers.

 

Yellow Brick Road- the shopping area on board was great. I took advantage of all their gold and slver deals throughout the week. The jewlery selection was supurb.

 

Bars and Lounges- I fell in love with the Mad Hatter's Ball. The room was just soooo cool, and the bartender in there was the nicest guy of them all. He chatted with us every night and we were clad to have finally made a friend with someone who worked on the ship. I loved the karaoke the had every night! I also like Sam's piano bar- the pianist had a love for life and his job and this was eveident by the way he could draw in the crowd. We were always laughing and singing while at Sam's.Frankenstein's was the 16+ disco bar. Mind you I had to carry my ID with me everywhere on the ship cause I was having such a hard time with people believing that I was 24. Frankenstien's was a little much for me. All of the 16 , 17, 18 year olds on the ship were there and wanted drinks to be bought for them, a tad annoying. The music was great, but It was difficult beig 24.

 

I will write a more detailed review in the days to come. I wish that this cruise had met my expectations, or maybe my expectations were too high. I just left there thinking that the staff hated their jobs and the majority of those that I encountered were truly rude. Language barriers were also abundant. I tried to make light of the situations at dinner...knowing that the volumes of people they have to serve must be hard, but then I stopped trying. I had a kind attitide and demeanor for the most part, but there were times that I was angry and hurt by how I was being treated. Even when I tried to adress the situation, the woman who was supposed to help was rude.

Moreover, i felt as though many of the guests had attitudes that were less than desirable. There are thousands of people on Miracle. Running into and bumping in to people id going to happen especially at the pool and in Horatio's. People were getting So angry! I witnessed this one woman tell this other woman off cause she got in her way.

I guess I thought I was going to be surrounded by warm and welcoming staff and by those that loved thier jobs and were earger to help you enjoy your stay. Don't get me wrong, i did come across a few that were a delight to be around- The SPA staff mostly. However, the amount of those that were miserable was disheartening.

Now, all of this is just my opinion of what I went through this week, and no one else's. By being honest, I do not want to riffle any more feather's than I alrwady did by not posting this fast enough.

 

HAve any questions- feel free to ask!

Angela

[Kartz125]

Didn't realize that people got so worked up on this board, This is supposed to be a friendly place to chat about cruises and what not. Comments like these and others in this thread give me second thoughts about wanting to even visit this site anymore. It is sad really, and excuse me for being such an unpleasant and rude poster... how dare I not have ALL the proper information ready and avaliable as soon as I sit at my computer after 8 days at sea....

[Brneyznfl]

Angela, I'm sorry some of your expectations didn't turn out like you hoped. I'm a pretty easy going person but if I had experienced what you did from the waiter in the dining room, I would have been mad too. There was no excuse for your waiter's rude behavior towards you. Did you by chance get to talk to the Maitre'd about this? If your waiter had done that to me, I would have gotten out of my chair and hunted down that Maitre'd . As far as the crowds, that would have gotten on my nerves too. That's one reason I don't cruise in the summer. I sailed on one time in June and another over New Years when there were LOTS of kids and I said never again. :eek:

 

If overall you liked cruising, give it another chance. Your experience on another cruise more than likely will be totally different. Trust me, rude staff aren't the norm. I've cruised quite a few times. I have had great staff most of the time. Yes there have been times some were indifferent or didn't interact and just went about their business but fortunately haven't encountered (yet) any who were downright rude.

[Kartz125]

I will DEFINATELY give cruising another go- We are already planning for next year. This was just once experince, unfortunately my first, but there will be others. Thanks for the positive feedback.

Angela

[mconthehighseas]

Kartz - there are over 100,000 people on this board. If you don't like one thread, you go to another. Believe me, there are a lot of wonderful, informative and supportive people on this board. I am sorry you had a bad experience with the service on your cruise, and that there were some unexpected reactions to your initial post. If you go back, you will see that some of the "good guys" were here on this thread saying to give you some slack.

 

I thought your review was thorough, and very fair. While most of your cruise seemed like a great time, you go on a cruise to be pampered. Otherwise you could have flown to one of the places on your itinerary, and tried different restaurants every day there. So bad or indifferent service can really color your whole trip, and that's what your review shows. But I've never been on a Carnival ship, so some people will tell you not to trust me. ;)

[MrNobody]

Angela, Thanks for the review/info on the Miracle. Don't let other posters comments deter you from returning to post again or enjoying these boards. You did a good job and I enjoyed your post as I'm sure many others did also.:) ...Jake

[voyagerfl]

I also enjoyed your review.....the good and the bad.

 

I think this type of behavior is becoming more common place. Many of the crew members don't seem as happy as they used to.

Anyone can have a bad day...and hopefully we can understand that.

But you know what....that type of behavior is not acceptable in restaurants at home either.

 

 

I'm not sure why. Is the workload getting even worse or are the staff becoming more americanized and not so willing to put up with the Long Long hours they work.