Miracle "Special" Cruise, 12/17/07

[NCTribeFan]

Carnival Miracle, 12/17/07, Special 7-day Eastern Caribbean

 

OK, here goes nothing! Background: I’m a single female, mid-50s; DD is a college student, age 21. This was our 6th cruise, 5th on Carnival. I’m a Carnival “loyalist” only because their product fits my budget (I went to college late in life as a single parent and am still paying off my student loans while putting DD through school, so, yes, I’m on a budget), and I believe they truly provide very good vacation value. This was my biggest ship yet. Our first cruise was little Jubilee; 2nd was RC’s Nordic Empress (now Empress of the Seas). Both of those ships are in 45,000 gross ton range. Next came 2 Fantasy and Elation (all Fantasy class ships at 74,000 gross tons).

 

Sunday, 12/16, Durham to Fort Lauderdale:

 

I didn’t think we’d have any problem with our flight down, since it just shuttles back and forth to and from RDU & FLL. Well, got to the check-in counter at about 2:45 only to find our 5:05 flight had been backed up until 6:35. Oh well! I was more worried about the high winds (small Delta Connection flight with about 55 seats). I had real problems when we started our descent into FLL. Seems we came down very quickly (had been cruising at about 35,000 ft) and several passengers, me included, had severe ear pain. I’d been fighting a cold for the prior week, but didn’t feel like my head was particularly congested. Anyway, we landed and I couldn’t hear anything. It was like I was in a soundproof bubble.

 

Called the LaQuinta, Hollywood, from the bank of phones in the baggage claim area. Took about 20 minutes for the shuttle to arrive. Checked in and let the girl at the desk convince me that a shuttle at 12 was plenty early. Wish I’d insisted on 11 (more on that later). Elevators by the desk not working, so hauled the luggage all the way down the hall to the elevator at the back. Up to room 318. Pretty nice. Hallway carpets looked like they needed a good shampooing. Walked down the hall to get ice, but that machine wasn’t working and, of course, the elevators there weren’t working. So, back down the hall, up a level, all the way down THAT hall to the ice machine, and reverse. Still, not a bad place for the $85 we paid. I don’t know that I’d want that hotel at $150.

[NCTribeFan]

Monday, 12/17, Fort Lauderdale, Embarkation Day!

 

I was up at about 7:30. Breakfast buffet pretty feeble. And it was COLD outside! Beautiful sun but very windy and cool. Got DD up and she went down to eat while I rearranged the cases so we had a carry on with the essentials.

 

Downstairs for the shuttle at 12. It took at least 15 minutes for the driver to load the luggage. Off to the port. First stop, Celebrity. Couldn’t off-load the couple because the driver couldn’t get to the right area because of the trucks. Finally got rid of them, then we had to stop at the RC ship that was across from the Miracle. Then had to drive up to off-load the rest of us. Saw the VERY long line outside the terminal. Thankfully, it moved fairly quickly, but we didn’t board until about 2:30. Considering that we were starving, we didn’t have the time to explore the ship prior to muster drill, as I’d planned. Next time, I will leave early for the ship and not let anyone talk me out of it.

 

 

 

My first look at Horatios and I must agree with some who have said it was fairly confusing. I’m used to a buffet that has 2 main lines, not 4, so I was rather going around in circles for a bit. Then I couldn’t find DD because I was looking for a table near the wrong pool entrance. Roast beef was OK but garlic & cheese potatoes was excellent. Iced tea (even with lemonade in it) was pretty awful.

 

Change dining time from early to late. No problem (other than our 1 table mate; lots more on her later). Ordered 2 DOD in the regular cups. Pretty strong!

 

Muster Drill: quick and fairly painless. Straight to muster station (unlike Elation last year where met in the lounge then up to the lifeboats). Then to our Meet & Greet. Two of our group were on leg 2 of their Back-to-Back and had left lime green leis in our mailboxes so we could identify each other. Sorry I didn’t get to meet Froufie and her clan from Canada, or Bigcraig and family from SC.

 

Well, we pulled away from the pier and the wind was COLD! We went down to our lovely extended balcony stateroom (7192) and tried sitting on our balcony, but we were freezing. Went in and got our bathrobes, which we put on over our clothes and sat for a while and read.

 

Went down for sushi and into Maguire’s to check out the sports. Unfortunately, they only ever showed 2 events at any given time. We watched Real Madrid and relaxed for a little while. Dropped a few dollars in the slots and won not a single quarter. Not a good start. Thankfully, the week ended on a little higher note. Up to dress for dinner, then waited in the Gotham lounge. Had a mojito, which I thought had way too much mint in it. Some of the orchestra members where there playing jazz. MUCH better than Buster Freeze, who was there the rest of the cruise. In to see the notorious Bacchus Dining Room and meet our table mates.

 

OMG. I’m sorry, folks. But the dining room is every bit as hideous as many have said. I’d convinced myself that the purple grapes wouldn’t be so bad, but they were. And we were at table 305, facing forward, so we only had a tiny portion of the room in our field of vision. Anyway, table mates were a solo cruiser (Alice) with a platinum card and a hideous, huge orange hairdo. Plus, a couple from near Jacksonville, FL, (Debbie & Jerry) and their friend, a solo cruiser (Geoffrey) who was suffering from the effects of his seasickness patch and was sleeping, so missed our first dinner. I was a little surprised when Jerry jumped up and pulled out my chair for me. This was their 1st Carnival cruise. As the week wore on, I got the impression that they weren’t all that impressed, but they were much too well-mannered to state that.

 

I had the smoked salmon appetizer and the lamb. Both were very good. DD had the steak which was way overcooked. I thought the crème brulee was too sweet.

 

We were in our wonderful Carnival beds by 11 pm!

[NCTribeFan]

Tuesday, 12/18, Nassau, The Bahamas

 

I woke up and peaked out to see the million-dollar houses and boats on that little strip of land across from the port in Nassau. It was still cooler than last year, but was considerably warmer that it had been in FLL. We didn’t get off to a very early start (DD is not a morning person; gets that from her father, obviously!). Had breakfast in the dining room. I don’t even remember what I had.

 

So we set off, ran the gauntlet of tour drivers and vendors outside the terminal and headed for Fort Fincastle. By the time we arrived, I had decided it wasn’t very cool out after all! From there, we headed down the Queen’s Staircase and wandered on down back toward Bay Streeet. We didn’t actually follow the walking tour at all, so we didn’t see any other “sights” but did enjoy ourselves. Through the straw market, then to Starbucks for a caramel frappuchino. Watched Celebration back into the dock, then strolled back to the ship. We sailed about 30 minutes late. Amazingly, there were still people just taking their time and strolling back to the gangplank after the time we should’ve sailed.

 

 

Ordered room service for the first time ever. I got the roast beef & brie on baguette and DD got the portabella on focaccio; a couple cups of hot tea; and a beer. And lots of potato chips (I’d been dieting and had craved chips for weeks). It was all very tasty.

 

I received a call from the vet’s office where I was boarding my dogs (not my usual vet because I’m so stupid I’d forgotten to reserve space for them). My old dog (15-1/2) had a herniated disc a few years ago and his mobility isn’t the best. They were worried that he had hurt himself since he wasn’t moving very well. They also said they thought they felt a mass in his abdominal area and were going to do x-rays. My sister was my emergency contact (she breeds and shows them), so I called her and she said she’d talk to them and handle it all. We agreed that we didn’t want anything invasive done, considering the dog’s age. So, I had that to worry about the rest of the trip.

 

I also had to go to the purser’s desk because they said my credit cad had not been activated for my S&S account. I have no idea what happened at check in because I definitely gave her my card and had filled out the info prior to boarding. No sushi because it was formal night and they had the appetizers at the Captain’s Party, I guess. Dinner: I had the mushrooms (nice), the chilled strawberry soup (also nice), and the prime rib (rare enough but a little stringy). Glass of white wine with the meal and the cheese plate for dessert. We were joined by our tablemates’ friend (the single English gentleman). Went to the Generations show, which was pretty entertaining. Not impressed with the female singer, though.

Walked into Sam’s to check out Larry, the piano guy. I’d read some pretty brutal reviews, but recently read that he wasn’t THAT bad. Sorry, but he was beyond THAT bad. He was awful. Terrible voice. I honestly wonder if people just have no ear for music, so anything that someone plays or sings sounds good to them! I cannot tolerate someone who is off key. Went to Frankie & Johnnies to hear Music Manila. OK, they aren’t perfect but they were so cute! We wanted to steal the bass player and bring him home with us! Some of our Roll Call folks were there and we danced until the band was done for the night. I went to bed; DD went to the disco, where she said there were lots of young folks but no one was dancing!

[NCTribeFan]

OK, I'll try to make the photos a little larger.

 

Wednesday, 12/29, At Sea

 

Got up and went up for breakfast. Found the station and had an excellent ham, cheese & mushroom omelet prepared by George.

 

It was a bit warmer, but still very windy. After breakfast, I grabbed a chair back on the aft deck by the Orpheus pool, settled in to read, and it immediately started to rain. Sat at a table by the bar for a while, then down to the cabin to wake DD. Back outside and got in about an hour of sun and reading. It clouded over again and was quite chilly without the sun (it was probably in the upper 70s). So we went back down to the cabin, bundled up in the bathrobes, and read on the balcony. Unfortunately, while it was cool, our cabin (port side) didn’t get any sun. Called room service for hot tea and cookies (you get real cups with room service).

 

 

 

Showered and changed for dinner. Got our sushi and watched more footy in Maguire’s. Had a couple of blue margaritas from the special bar setup in the lobby. Won about $150 in the casino, had another blue margarita and headed for dinner. We had run into our 3 tablemates (the Floridians) that morning and they informed us they were going to eat at Nick & Nora’s that night. We did NOT want to be alone at the table with Alice, so I called but was told they were full.

 

 

Alice wasn’t quite as obnoxious (maybe because the audience wasn’t as large), and we had a nice meal. Had the French onion soup, DD had the ribs, I had the free range chicken, which was very good. DD tried the chocolate melting cake and I had the cheese plate. I’m just not much of a sweets person. Back to the casino, where I cleared about $90, then to bed.

[chitown cruisers]

keep it commin........Larry was BRUTAL!!!!!! Glad I'm not the only one who thinks so.

[NCTribeFan]

Thursday, 12/20, St. Thomas, USVI

 

OK, so I set my alarm using my cell phone. Duh! It automatically changed to their time zone, and I was up an hour earlier than intended. We didn’t realize this until we went down for immigrations and discovered we were there an hour early. DD didn’t appreciate my error! Whoopsie!

 

So we waited and waited, and were some of the first to clear. Headed down to disembark (our tour was scheduled for 9 am) and were informed that no one would be leaving until EVERYONE had cleared. This is not what I’d read from prior passengers. So, we sat on the stairs and waited. But they evidently did let us off, because we only waited another 10 minutes or so.

 

It was raining hard before we pulled in to port, but that didn’t last long and we had a beautiful day on a beautiful island.

 

 

Papa Bear of Air Force One Tours was there waiting for us. Everyone on the tour was from our Roll Call group (about 12 of us) plus a couple from the NCL ship. A couple of people didn’t show (maybe the time difference messed them up). He drove us into town and dropped us off to shop. I immediately got lost looking for the Pissarro gallery. Pissarro’s my favorite French Impressionist and I was so glad I actually remembered that he was born in St Thomas. Ran into Papa Bear and he walked us down to the entrance of the gallery. Unfortunately, they had only a couple of prints from his time there prior to his permanent move to France. Still, it was pretty cool to be in the building where he was born and where his family had their shop.

 

 

 

 

DD dragged me into a jewelry store (I don’t wear jewelry and think these places are all alike). Next thing I know, I’m handing over my credit card. I’d bought her a tiny blue diamond ring last Christmas and we found a necklace with a small (about .2 carat) solitaire for what I thought was a good price. Taking her on the cruise was her Christmas present, but I figured I’d cleared enough at the slots that I could buy her the necklace.

 

 

Stopped for an ice cream, then back to the bus. The NCL couple had gone on their way (they had to be back on board early; we didn’t sail until 8). But we added Calvin, a solo cruiser we’d met earlier. So he joined our group. Papa Bear set off on the island tour portion. We stopped several times. By the time we reached Mountaintop, I was absolutely starving. Got a slice of pizza each and the required Banana Daiquiri. I’d heard they were very strong, but we couldn’t tell. It was delicious, but I expected more from my $7.50. We even stopped at his house and met his dog, Scoobie.

 

 

 

 

We finally reached Sapphire Beach. Unfortunately, it was after 4 pm and they wouldn’t rent us any snorkel equipment, since they closed at 5. So we just got in the water for a bit, then I left DD swimming and headed to the bar for a beer (a Dominican brew that was pretty tasty).

 

 

It was dusk as we returned to the ship.

 

 

Dinner was not impressive. DD’s filet wasn’t even close to being Medium Rare (more like medium well) and was tough. She sent it back and the 2nd one was slightly better. Mine was supposed to be rare, but was at least medium rare and was tough and stringy. The Englishman’s veal parmesan was inedible. It was, by far, the worst dinner I’ve ever had on a cruise. Rather disappointing.

 

Spent about 15 minutes in the casino winning nothing, so went to bed.

[NCTribeFan]

Friday, 12/21, San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

I would’ve been off the ship much earlier, and I totally missed pulling into port (would’ve been nice, because we were on the correct side of the ship, for once). Had breakfast and headed into Old San Juan. Quite a warm morning. Grabbed the sample of frozen something with alcohol and headed out. Found the Tourist office, got a map (I’d printed out a ton of stuff and brought it all with me). Got on the trolley just outside the office and headed up to Ft. Morro. Paid the $3 pp entrance fee and spent quite a long time wandering around.

 

 

Headed back into town and walked down to La Bombonera for lunch. What a great place! We were seated upstairs by the railing and sat there and watched the activities. We both had ham, egg and cheese sandwiches with fries. I just didn’t have room to have a mallorca, but they sure looked tasty!

 

 

Walked down to Fort San Cristobal, but didn’t tour it. Strolled back down to the waterfront and sat on a bench for a while. Back to the terminal, and had to taste every free sample of alcohol available! Sat on the balcony and watched the people strolling back to the ship although we should’ve sailed already. All I can say to these people is, “who the hell do you think you are that you hold up everyone and everything and just take your sweet time strolling back?” Seriously. I really wish these people would be left behind. The lack of consideration shown just astounds me.

 

 

This was 2nd formal night and past-guest party. Better drinks and hors d’oeuvres than on first formal night. At dinner, the chateaubriand was just OK. Only available in MR & MW, and the MR wasn’t very rare.

 

Went to see Ticket to Ride. I enjoyed the documentary footage prior to the show more than the show itself, but I was a very impressionable young girl when the Beatles appeared on the scene. They had a profound impact on me.

 

Nothing much to do (no Music Manila that night). Won about $150 at one of the $0.25 Wheel of Fortune slots. To bed at 1:30 (that’s late for me!).

[NCTribeFan]

Saturday, 12/22, Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Islands

 

Well, we got our Horseback Ride and Swim, again. DD really had wanted to snorkel, but they were full. I still don’t understand why only a fraction of the excursions for Puerto Rico and Grand Turk were available online for us to book prior to sailing. There were tons of things to sign up for once onboard. We’d booked all our excursions online last year. Anyway, by the time she decided what she wanted to do, it was too late to sign up for snorkeling.

 

I was up early enough to watch us pull up to the dock (except I was on the wrong side of the ship again). Had my “2nd breakfast” when DD got up. We were with the 12:30 excursion and headed across the tiny island (we’ve done this excursion on our past 2 cruises). It takes a while to get the horses and people matched up, but we were finally seated and off on the trail ride portion. This was a little shorter than in the past, which was fine with me, because we ended up spending more time on the horse in the water. We’d actually put that in our comments last time, so maybe Chukka actually reads those! Again, the bareback in the water part is just great. It is SO much fun!

 

 

What isn’t fun is that I’m still sore. When you only ride once a year, those muscles don’t get much of a workout!

 

Rather than over-paying for a mediocre lunch at Margaritaville, we went back on the ship. Not much open at 3:15, so I went to the deli and DD went for pizza. I got a Rueben and a smoked salmon & cream cheese on bagel. Yum. Both very good. Pizza not so good.

 

Back down to the beach for a short swim. Walked around the shops and DD bought a couple of Pirate shot glasses for friends (she’s a student at ECU, and their mascot is a Pirate).

 

 

It was finally Beef Wellington night. After the past couple of beef meals, I was a little wary. But it was very nice. Tasty & tender.

[NCTribeFan]

Sunday, 12/23, At Sea

 

Well, here we were, on our final day on board the Miracle. I was already starting to suffer from PCD!

 

I was up by about 8 and had my usual ham, cheese, and mushroom omelet prepared by George. Ate outside by the Orpheus and sat and read. Went down to get DD out of bed and we sat and read some more. Quite a lot of movement up there and very windy, again. Very warm sun, though.

 

Went to lunch in the dining room, since we hadn’t done that. DD had a sandwich with portabella mushrooms, cheese and arugula, while I had the fish & chips. Didn’t look like much, but tasted very good. Looking out the window, it was easy to see that we were indeed in 7-9 ft swells.

 

Decided it was be a good time to win a BMW, so I sat at the 2 cent slots for a while. Lots of wonderful noises which makes you think you’re winning a fortune only to find out it was really $6.42!

 

 

Dressed for our final dining room experience, went down and had our sushi and watched some tv in Maguire’s.

 

DD had prime rib and I had the roast quail. Both were good. I had about ¾ of a bottle of wine to finish, which I did quite easily!

 

Off to Frankie & Johnnies one last time to dance to Music Manila with our 3 tablemates and one of our Roll Call friends. More wine!

 

I decided I had to try the slots one last time, too. After winning a pretty nice pot at the $0.25 Wheel of Fortune, I moved over to a $1 machine. Fed in about $150 (it goes quickly at the $1 machines), and hit a pretty good pot. When I decided to cash out, it came to $899.50!!!!

 

Let’s just say, I left with about as much cash as I when I arrived, but I didn’t use a whole lot of cash in the ports. But since most of that cash had been intended for the casino anyway, I’m happy. Normally, I come home with almost nothing!

[NCTribeFan]

Monday, 12/24, FLL to RDU

 

We were given #11 tags. We’d thought about doing self-assist, but when I saw all those people dragging those stupid cases around and trying to cram into the elevators, I was glad we didn’t.

 

Went to the dining room for breakfast and wished we’d gone to the Lido deck. My omelet wasn’t nearly as good as those George had made me all week!

 

Back to the cabin to grab our remaining items and back up to Lido to sit with a cup of tea and wait for #11 to be called.

 

It didn’t take long at all. I should’ve gone to the purser and asked to switch to a higher number. We were in no hurry. While we were waiting, I kept hearing them call the name of our obnoxious red-headed tablemate to go to the purser’s desk to settle her account.

 

After self-assist, we were in the 2nd group called and reluctantly headed down to Deck 2 to disembark.

 

The lines kept moving steadily and we were at the airport (taxi cost $14.90), checked in, and at the waiting area for our gate by 10:45. We were so sleepy and bored. Had an uneventful flight home (2:20 Delta Connection flight 6091) and were back in the house before dark.

 

 

No food here, of course, and no plans for Christmas. I think I’ll spend the day searching for cruise #7!

[NCTribeFan]

And now for some other thoughts…

 

The décor: I really don’t have a problem with Carnival ships. I rather liked Elation’s décor. I’d read so many wonderful things about the Miracle and seen photos and thought she looked rather lovely. What hit me one night, though, wasn’t that the décor was too loud or too bright, it was that it was just too much!

 

Take Horatio’s for instance. I understand the concept, but is it necessary to have the little statue of the guy over every single booth and between every single window? There were hundreds of that thing in the buffet.

 

Same with the grape motif in the Bacchus. It isn’t so much the purple grape lights, it is the fact that there are THOUSANDS of them! And the ugly silver champagne flute thingies! Same with the blue lights hanging from the ceilings. And the weird alien silver pointy things in Frankie & Johnnies!

 

If there were just SOME of these things to set the tone and the theme, it would be fine. There’s totally NO NEED for thousands to get the point across. More is not always better!

 

Entertainment: our nice tablemates (first time Carnival cruisers, probably mid-to-late 50s, HAL & Celebrity cruisers mostly) complained about coming out of the theatre after a show and there not really be much of anything to do! They had hoped there would be lots of fun things to do on a Carnival cruise at night. If you didn’t want to gamble, or sit in the sports bar, or force yourself to listen to a guy in the piano bar who can’t sing, or go to the disco where the 20-somethings were sitting around not dancing, there was often little or nothing to do! That’s crazy!

 

The layout: I’m used to the Fantasy class ships, where the cabin decks are all lower and the “activities” decks are all higher. Having the 2 decks with the lobby, casino, bars and dining room lower and then having to go up from deck 3 to deck 9 to get to the pool deck and buffet seemed a little strange. I certainly got my workout climbing from deck 2 to deck 7 and back and forth a couple of times a day! Burn off those calories! I also still believe it would be wonderful to have deck chairs on the Deck 3 outside promenade. It’s so nice out there and the only way to take any advantage is to stand there. There’s nowhere at all to sit. Other lines DO have chairs on those decks and, yes, there are the muster stations, so it can be done.

 

Booze: I brought all of a pint of Captain Morgan’s and didn’t even open it until we had re-boarded in San Juan. It just wasn’t worth the effort. I just don’t drink that much. Strength of mixed drinks seemed to vary.

 

Coupons: I used 2 coupons out of the booklet – the buy one, get 10% off 2nd bottle of wine. I got a red and a white which took care of dinner. We also used the coffee coupon. I left them in the safe with a note for the steward to leave them for the next passengers.

 

Service: left a note for our cabin steward (Errol) to leave ice am and pm. Saw him twice the entire week. Cabin was always cleaned/straightened. Dinner service, we had Dennis as our head waiter (Phillipines) and Obonwon (lovely girl from Thailand) as our asst. waiter. Both were good, not excellent, but nice and friendly. George at the omelet/deli counter was the best. Mentioned him on the comment card. They really pushed the drinks on embarkation day but not the rest of the time. Bar service was fine everywhere.

 

Passengers: Not a huge number of kids, but there were some, and as they often do, they made a lot of noise for the number of bodies. After the first day, I saw security chase them out of the adult pool. I informed a few young girls that it wasn’t necessary to screech at each other when they were standing two feet apart. I’ve become very sensitive to the fact that a huge number of the American public seem to feel that they must bellow at each other, no matter that they are sitting or standing without touching distance of each other. And the louder they bellow, the louder everyone around them must speak to be heard. It’s obnoxious and totally unnecessary. Stop shouting, folks! It doesn’t make you important. It doesn’t make you special. It makes you obnoxious!

 

Cabin: Having our first balcony was nice. It was a bit too cold when we were in the shade, and once we headed back north and had the sun on our side, it was a bit too hot. Not a lot of breeze on those extended balconies (they are recessed a bit). The view was beautiful, though. I’m just not sure I’d spend the extra money. It would depend on the itinerary. The menus that were on the TV did not match what was actually served! I suspect they didn’t update the menus for this special cruise and what they were showing were the menus for the “regular” sailings.

 

Plastic: I’m a hot tea drinker and I detest tea from a plastic mug. No matter how hot the water or how many times a mug is washed, once coffee has been in it, it always has a faint smell/taste of coffee. It ruins hot tea. Tea needs to be brewed in porcelain. Anyway, I had to have my tea so drank it anyway.

 

Entertainment: Never went to karaoke. Never saw the lounge it was in. I’ve already commented on Larry. Already commented on the fact that there were nights when the late night entertainment options were very few. Buster Freeze was pretty awful, too, as well as the guy in the casino. I admit I’m picky when it comes to music. I expect someone who is being paid to play and sing to be decent, at a minimum. They’re supposed to be professionals. As a whole, the musicians were pretty bad. The orchestra and string trios were good. The rest were embarrassingly bad!

 

Attire: Where we were seated, we saw very little of the dining room (table 305, upstairs, near the front of the room, by the window). The men at our table wore tuxedos on the 1st formal night, but just (very) nice suits on the second. Everyone at our table dressed nicely for dinner, even on the “casual” nights. Most men were in suits on formal nights. I don’t recall seeing anyone in the dining room dressed really casually on formal nights. But on casual nights, many were very casual. Didn’t see any shorts in the dining room, though. Only saw a couple of people in Horatio’s in swimwear without coverups.

 

Food: breakfast was pretty good, especially the omelets. Scrambled eggs were horrid. Chicken sausage was pretty gross. Lovely bacon! I don’t do pancakes or French toast but DD liked the pancakes. For lunch, we didn’t do any of the various “country” buffets. I never made it to the grill for a burger & fries. Deli was good, but having people in line ordering 3 and 4 sandwiches really slowed it down for the rest of us. Never did the salad bar, either. Only dessert I had in Horatio’s was the peach cheesecake, which was quite nice. Cookies & brownies that we got with our tea from room service weren’t very impressive. Sushi was just ok, and they definitely need more than one person. It was slow even when the line was short. For some reason, one night, the line was way past the door to the lounge and people were in line for nearly 30 minutes! Starters and salads were good in the dining room at dinner. As already noted, the entrees were mixed. I was disappointed in most of the steaks, as they had been excellent last year on the Elation. Good flavor, for the most part, but not as tender as they could have been. Even when the dinners were good, it was difficult to enjoy to the fullest because of Alice. At some point, we just decided we weren’t going to the supper club, even though we’d had some disappointments in the dining room. Our “good” tablemates weren’t very impressed. They thought the space was too large for what was supposed to be an “intimate” supper club. They didn’t like the musical duo (thought the female singer was dreadful) and that it detracted from the experience. I just decided I didn’t want to spend that $60.

[NCTribeFan]

And now, about my tablemates…

 

We’ll never know who we were intended to dine with, because we changed from early to late seating. The three folks from Florida were very pleasant without being overly friendly and prying, while the other woman, Alice, was truly my worst nightmare.

 

This woman complained from the time she arrived at the table on the first night. She was loud and obnoxious. Everything was about her! She refused to call the waiter by name (Dennis, not so difficult is it?). She called him Boy or Bubba. Loudly. She shouted at him to bring things. She shouted at the asst waitress when she tried to pour her iced tea. She butted into the conversations of the people at the booth next to us. She proclaimed, several times, that she was originally from Texas and everyone in her family was large and loud. Why would anyone think that’s something of which to be proud? Or that she insisted on a wheelchair to board (when she was perfectly capable of walking) just because she didn’t LIKE to walk (and it got her onboard faster).

 

She loudly griped that people were coming into the dining room on casual nights wearing jeans when the people next to us were wearing jeans. She complained about her cabin vibrating and arguing with the purser that there couldn’t possibly be vibration on the 6th floor! The engines are way below that! Didn’t matter that there was an air conditioning unit in the wall! And how they made her walk (gasp!) to the dining room and wouldn’t bring her a hot meal. (Remember, she’s platinum and knows that dining room meals aren’t delivered to cabins), yet she got up and danced with the waiter once. She told us she received a bottle of champagne because she complained enough and was going to bring it to dinner to share, but decided she’d drink it all by herself in her cabin. She ordered two starters and two entrees and often two desserts every night. Our neighbors informed us that when she’d arrive prior to the rest of us, she’d gossip about us to them. She speculated that my daughter was really my girlfriend and that the others were a romantic threesome. To us, she speculated that the three at the neighboring booth were a romantic threesome. She bragged that she got all sorts of goodies and discounts and gifts because she complains about everything. Loudly. She was a complete and total ass. I’m going to write to Carnival to make sure that they know that this woman is a fraud and to totally ignore any complaints she may have made, especially about the staff.

 

On Saturday night, the woman across the aisle from her, who’d been staring at her in astonishment all week, came over and told DD that she just wasn’t going to be able to leave the ship without telling her what she thought. We’d sort of assumed that they were some redneck-types from Alabama or Tennessee judging totally by appearances. Obviously, that’s not the thing to do, and we all know it. Turns out she’s a cardiologist from Charleston, SC. Hah. Appearances can certainly be deceiving, can’t they?

 

Also that night, the two gentlemen at our table left after the entrée just before the waitstaff singing and reappeared when we were halfway through dessert with red roses for all the ladies at both tables!

 

Compare the three Floridians to Big Mouth Alice. Men who rose whenever a female arrived or left the table! Introduced themselves and knew everyone’s name from that first introduction. They made polite conversation. They were cultured. They had manners. They were ideal tablemates! They couldn’t stand Alice, either, but were too polite to be anything other than pleasant to her.

 

If we hadn’t liked those three so much, we definitely would’ve asked to change tables. Oh, and on the last night, the doctor from the next table did come over as they were leaving, told the 5 of us how much she’d enjoyed being seated next to us and how we had helped make their cruise enjoyable. Then she turned to Alice and very politely informed her that she was the most obnoxious and demanding and miserable person she’d ever had the misfortune to meet and that she felt she needed psychiatric help! LOL. She’s my hero!

[NCTribeFan]

All in all, it was a great trip. The itinerary was excellent, the weather wasn’t perfect but was pretty darned good and a whole lot better than in a lot of parts of the country. The food was good, for the most part. The people were friendly, polite, and pleasant, for the most part. While it wasn’t perfect (nothing ever is!), I’d certainly recommend the Miracle. Of course, you won’t get our itinerary, but I would think the usual 8-day cruise would be wonderful.

 

And now it’s time to start my search for the next cruise!

 

I've loaded all the photos on Webshots. Here's the link...

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/561883926TFbdDo

 

DD hasn't loaded hers, yet. When she does, I'll post that link, too.

 

I'm going to post an abbreviated review on the main Review page.

[popcorngal]

Thanks for the detailed review! We love the Miracle and can't wait to meet her again in a few short weeks!

[asader83]

Thank you so much for your review. I appreciate you taking the time to write up your experience. It sounds like you had a lovely time, and it's made me that much more excited for my trip next week.

 

I'm also horrified and so sorry that you had to deal with that poor excuse for a human being, Alice. What a nightmare! It sounds like you and your tablemates were gracious, regardless of her classless behavior. I also applaud the cardiologist from the neighboring table who stood up to her and (hopefully) put her in her place. God help me if we get stuck with that on our vacation.

 

Again, thanks for the review, and welcome home! Have fun planning the next one!

asader83

[molme]

Very nice review. Enjoyed reading it. We have sailed on the Legend, which the Miracle replaced, 3 times and love the eastern much better than the western on the 8 day trips.

[mariemorgan]

Great Review!

[cathyoo]

thanks for the great review. I hope the food and the piano singer improve before Oct when I sail the Miracle.

[sunrise2]

Welcome back! Thank you for taking the time to write your review so quickly. I was looking forward to reading it. Loved the necklace. My husband is a real steak eater so I will warn him about the possiblity of how it may be hit and/or miss. We will be sailing on the Miracle 5/17/08 and I am really looking forward to our trip! First time for a balcony!

[runcassrun_07]

That is a great review along with all the your pictures. I was on the Miracle the week before you and loved looking at your review with pictures making me smile and remember all the fun the Miracle was. I loved the pictures of the horses in the ocean especially.

We had terrible weather and many sick on our cruise but still had a fabulous time. We listened to the Music Manila too and thought they played great.

Was your waitress Ubonwan from Thialand? She was such a nice waitress we had in the Lido during breakfast every morning.

 

Thanks,

Cassandra

[SAAdds1]

What a great review! Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed report.

I checked your pictures. I was hoping to see a picture of Alice! Her behavior is exactly why I rarely complain to service persons. I just would be horrified if someone thought I acted in that manner. Unfortunately, anything that is said to the Alice's of the world do nothing to change them or their behavior. The fact that she gets items for free is the reason why she will continue.

Thanks again for the terrific cruise report.

[Sandi149]

Hey NCT....great review. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. I knew you would. :D Your tablemate Alice sounds totally horrible. Kudos to that doctor for telling her off. I think I would have also....LOL

[PaulMedik]

NCTribeFan,

 

Thank you for sharing your experiences and your pictures! :)

[NCTribeFan]

No photos of Alice. Everyone will know her if they see her, though. She's as tall as me (5'10") and quite large (not obese, just a large woman) with huge Texas orange/red hair! She's definitely someone that stands out. Between Alice, the poor entrees, and the lack of entertainment, I doubt that the Floridians will return to Carnival, which is a shame. We need more folks like them sailing Carnival and fewer like Alice.

 

Yes, Ubonwan! I wasn't sure how to spell her name. She also did the drink cart in Horatio's in the morning. Lovely girl.

 

 

I'd mentioned prior to sailing that a couple of our Roll Call folks were doing a back-to-back and were on the week prior to us. That 1st week was her 33rd cruise and she'd never had problems but had to take Bonine for the first time ever. I'm so grateful we missed Olga!

 

A couple more thoughts: motion in the cabin...

 

This was by far the highest up I'd ever been, and although we were fairly midship, there was considerably more motion on Deck 7 than lower down. The interesting thing was that it felt almost like a ratcheting-type of movement. Say, you're at 12 o'clock, and it would "tick" over toward 1, then tick back over toward 11. It wasn't a smooth rolling motion. I highly recommend the ginger & Bonine combo to anyone who suffers from motion sickness. The fact that I never even had to put on the wristbands was fantastic. It was so nice to not have to deal with that queasiness!

 

The bathroom: quite a bit of space and more shelf space than on the Fantasy class ships. We had enough room for all our toiletries. The amenities were much less, though. We only had 2 little tubes of toothpaste, 2 packs of shampoo/conditioner and 2 samples of Bounce. I left a note for Errol asking for razors and he left 2 ladies razors, so there are other things available. We got all sorts of lotions and skincare and pain meds on Elation last year.

 

I'd thought of something else but now I can't remember what I was going to say.

 

CWcruisers (the folks who did the B2B) know Music Manila fairly well. One night, they were talking to them and I heard them discussing that the band would be moving to another ship and sailing from the West Coast. CWcruisers are from San Diego and were encouraging them to try to get assigned to Elation.

 

We haven't done Western since our 1st couple of cruises, so I'm thinking about Legend for next December. I really want to book Victory our of San Juan (all ports; no sea days), but I know it would be exhausting. Of course, that would give me a good reason to stay a couple of extra days in San Juan.

 

My problem is we don't know yet if DD will be graduating next December. If she is, commencement is 12/14.

 

I'll see if I can get DD to post her photos to webshots later today.

[mprucha]

Sorry your tablemate Alice made your meals worse! She sounds like a nightmare! I'm hoping I never have this person at our table because I don't like people who are hypocritical or say things about others for their own amusement so I don't think she and I would get along.

 

We love the Miracle and can't wait to go back on her in May! Sounds like you had an off night with food cause we ate tons and didn't find anything that wasn't done exactly the way we asked. I was surprised how cold your cruise was at times on the balcony. We love sitting out on balconies and are both very cold natured so we love things warm. The only time we were cold was leaving out of and getting back into NY city in May last year.

 

Ok, headed to look at your pictures!