Thanksgiving on the Miracle

[okikio]

After reading about the ship for months on CC, the Miracle lived up to its expectations and more. This was my 9th cruise but first with Carnival having cruised with NCL on the Southward (I'm dating myself), the Norway and the Dream (or nightmare!) and on RCL's Grandeur. Carnival made this an excellent trip for myself, my wife, my two daughters who are graduating from college and high school, my son in law and my parents. This was the DD's graduation gift for all their hard work and ours!

 

It is well documented about the decor on the miracle, and it is a bit eye opening. However, it does grow on you with the exception of the dinning room which I believe is over the top in gaudy. They did tone down the so called grapes from pink to mauve, but just the overall decor was a tad much and should be rethought. The ship is very well laid out with most of the activities being restricted to three decks. The Lido deck on level 9 has all the pool activies along with Horatios. Horatios was nicely set up, but I do recommend that you check out all of the stations prior to ordering so you don't miss out on anything. The other two decks located on level 2 and 3 included all of your bars, shopping and the casino. It was easy to get from one end of the ship to the other without having to go from one level to the other. Being Thanksgiving week, there were a ton of kids on the ship, however with all the different bars/rooms there were enough activites to keep them occupied and we did not see them that often. Also, with over 2000 people on board, everything was well spread out to where you were not overwhelmed by large crowds with the exception of waiting to get into the dinning room. Lastly, the ship was extremely clean and well kept even though you rarely saw anyone cleaning up.

 

Our cabin was on level 8, port side forward with an extended balcony. This was our first time with a balcony and will never go back. It was nice leaving the door open using a bungy cord and have the fresh air in while relaxing. There was plenty of room and was not noisy at all. The only noise we heard were the chairs from the lido deck above being dragged around while we were out on the balcony. Our cabin steward was very nice and did a great job cleaning up our mess.

 

Entertainment was hot and cold. The Beatles ticket to ride tribute was fabulous and should not be missed. The comedians and other entertainers were okay for the most part, but nothing spectacular. The legends talent show was good because it was not your typical cruise talent show. It took the best talent and had a theme to it along with the dancers from the shows. The Blues Brother's review was very entertaining and Chris the cruise director did a great job with this.

 

The food was great! There were plenty of options in Horatios so there was always something new to try. The dining room food was also good. It's always nice when you can order a couple of entrees so you can test something and have the tried and true steak as a backup. Unfortunately, both entrees were good and I paid for it by the end of the cruise. We did not take advantage of Nick and Nora's because we wanted to spend time with the whole family together, but what we heard from other people it was very nice. Our waiter and assistant did a nice job, but they were not very out going so there is not much to say here. On our last cruise on NCL we had the freestyle dinning which we really hated. It was nice to have the same waiter each night who at least recognized us by name and knew what types of drinks we liked with dinner.

 

The ports of call were okay, but we enjoy the eastern carribean much better than the western carribean. This was my first time back to Grand Cayman in over 25 years, so it has really changed. We were not able to dock at the usual place due to high seas, so we stopped on the other side of the island and tendered in. This was the one excursion we had booked in advance which was the wave runner tour to stingray city and rum point. Due to the high seas, it was cancelled so we just walked around town for a while. We have some great pictures of the waves crashing over the seawall in town. We had been to Belize on our last cruise and was not impressed, so we just did some shopping at the dock. In Cozemel we also did shopping downtown while the kids went to paradise beach. The kids loved paradise beach and highly recommend just going out there on your own. The last port was Costa Maya which was just a shopping port. We did take a taxi to Mayahaul which was a relaxing fishing village where you can eat and drink pretty cheap. You can also get a 1/2 hour massage on the beach for $20 which we took advantage of which was nice.

 

Getting on and off the ship was a breeze. They really have a good system down in Tampa. From the time we arrived at the dock to the time we got onto the ship was less than a 1/2 hour. Getting off the ship took even less time once they made the announcement that you can get off. It's amazing how everyone can't wait to get on the ship and then they can't wait to get off at the end.

 

Overall I would highly recommend the Miracle to anyone. A cruise can be whatever you want it to be. We went for some very needed rest and relaxation and this was accomplished and we can't wait to book our next cruise.

[dutchiegirl6]

Thank you for posting such a nice review. We leave on the Miracle in 4 days, and I'm really getting excited. :D I'm glad you had a good trip.

[psblin99]

Thank you for posting such a nice review. We leave on the Miracle in 4 days, and I'm really getting excited. :D I'm glad you had a good trip.

 

And I will be getting on when you get off on the 24th. Save me some fun!

[01Sweetpea]

We really enjoyed the Miracle. Thinking about doing her Eastern route from NY next year!

[pegsue]

Great review! Me along with DH & DD will be on the Miracle May 11th. I think the third cruise after dry dock for a couple of months. We can't wait! I was wondering what room you were in? Were in 8169, I know gotta love the numbers! Our first cruise we did the Cayman's, Coz. and Jamica. I loved Jamica. Now we will do San Juan, St. Thomas and Tortolla. I think we will just wing it in these places, beaches, shopping and drinking!

[chitown cruisers]

For all of you that love the Miracle or who are going to love the Miracle in the near future.....

 

.......if you feel the need to book another, join us October 22, '07......... Out of Ft Lauderdale....2 sea days, St Maarten, St Kitts, St Lucia and 2 more sea days.......

[Sandi149]

Thanks for the review. Glad to hear that you had a great time. :D I'm looking forward to sailing on her next June.