Miracle Review Ready 5/9/08-5/17/08

[4kidsplusty]

we will be going on our first cruise aug of this year. it will be on the miracle. i loved reading your review and going to your site. I was wondering how people were dressed on casual nights,since they changed what you could wear.We have 4 children 18,17,15,8 i know the girls will want to wear sundress i was wondering if people wore nice shorts with polos? any info you have on what people wore to dinner on your past cruise would be abig help:D

[Griswolds]

Thanks for the review! We are sailing 6/10/08 and can not wait!!

 

I must admit I got really excited when I read there is a 80's party! Is this something they will be doing on all their sailings now? I may have to pack some extra hold Aqua Net!!

 

Having never sailed out of NYC the embarktation process is scaring me. We plan to arrive early but I get the impression (from many posts on this site) that our experience could be anywhere between painless and horrific.

 

Also a bit concerned about rough waters. Its gotta be bad when they cancel events! We're sailing with 9 first time cruiser that may throw me overboard if they end up sick. We already bought Bonine and ginger so Im hoping even if there are rough seas we'll be OK.

 

One more question, are there actual dealers in the casino or is everything automated? Even the poker games and roulette? (please tell me they have roulette!).

[hill6]

Thank you so much for your review. I can't wait. Only six days left.

[DottieMay]

Hi, I was on this cruise also and enjoyed your review. But there is 1 problem I had with it. While this was my 9th CC I am not yet a V.I.P and people should know that unless you are a V.I.P your embarking will be a different story. Us regular guest can expect a different experience. My wife and I arrived at the pier at 12:15 pm. We were told to stand on the left side of the room along with other guests. We stood there till 2 pm. Not one word from the people working for CC on why the long wait. A little info would have went a long way, if only one carival employee had been nice enough to explain to us that the ship got in late and they were having computer problems it would have went a long way. It not like they dont know why there is a hold up. So folks if you are NOT V.I.P DO NOT EXPECT TO GET ON LIKE THIS. I found out from a crew member this ship is often late getting into ny. And this starts a domino efect. When we finally got off the boat I felt sorry for the hundreds of people waiting to get on. I went up to a couple and asked them if they were told they would be getting on late and they said the could not get a straight answer for any CC workers. I also must say that the whole building where you meet the boat is a joke. It is a ugly colorless,cold looking waiting area.I am surprised CC does not make whoever runs that place clean it up an give it a coat of paint.

 

This was pretty much our experience as well. Once again, we really had a wonderful cruise - but, embarkation and debarkation were a nightmare.

[MonaCK]

Hi, I was on this cruise also and enjoyed your review. But there is 1 problem I had with it. While this was my 9th CC I am not yet a V.I.P and people should know that unless you are a V.I.P your embarking will be a different story. Us regular guest can expect a different experience. My wife and I arrived at the pier at 12:15 pm. We were told to stand on the left side of the room along with other guests. We stood there till 2 pm. Not one word from the people working for CC on why the long wait. A little info would have went a long way, if only one carival employee had been nice enough to explain to us that the ship got in late and they were having computer problems it would have went a long way. It not like they dont know why there is a hold up. So folks if you are NOT V.I.P DO NOT EXPECT TO GET ON LIKE THIS. I found out from a crew member this ship is often late getting into ny. And this starts a domino efect. When we finally got off the boat I felt sorry for the hundreds of people waiting to get on. I went up to a couple and asked them if they were told they would be getting on late and they said the could not get a straight answer for any CC workers. I also must say that the whole building where you meet the boat is a joke. It is a ugly colorless,cold looking waiting area.I am surprised CC does not make whoever runs that place clean it up an give it a coat of paint.

 

 

 

Well... I do know that as of the 5/25 sailing, the miracle will be supposedly berthing at the newly refurbished pier. So hopefully if we have a long wait on Sunday, we will be looking at freshly painted walls. ;)

[CrusinCyndi]

After reading some of the info about the embarking/disembarking situations, I am starting to get a bit concerned...we are set to go on the Miracle 06/02/08 sailing and our return trip is to Newark Airport at 1:45pm, as we catch the plane for Chicago..I am beginning to wonder if we will make our plane in time...we booked through our air thru Carnival (some will probably say was a mistake) and now I am wondering if Carnival would let us be one of the first off of the ship, we are not taking our own luggage off the ship, but maybe we should ? I just hope we can make our plane in time.

[MonaCK]

After reading some of the info about the embarking/disembarking situations, I am starting to get a bit concerned...we are set to go on the Miracle 06/02/08 sailing and our return trip is to Newark Airport at 1:45pm, as we catch the plane for Chicago..I am beginning to wonder if we will make our plane in time...we booked through our air thru Carnival (some will probably say was a mistake) and now I am wondering if Carnival would let us be one of the first off of the ship, we are not taking our own luggage off the ship, but maybe we should ? I just hope we can make our plane in time.

 

 

If you booked through carnival, they will definitely let you have priority debarkation.

[CrusinCyndi]

I sure hope you are correct...one other question for anybody please, when the ship docks in San Juan, does it dock port or starboard? When it docks in St.Thomas, does it dock port or starboard? When it docks in Tortola, does it dock port or starboard? We have a balcony cabin on the port side and I am just curious..Thanks for any input

[DottieMay]

Cyndi, I don't know if it's the same every time - but, as I recall, on the May 9 trip:

 

San Juan - Starboard

St. Thomas - Starboard

Tortola - Port

[KatSt]

After reading some of the info about the embarking/disembarking situations, I am starting to get a bit concerned...we are set to go on the Miracle 06/02/08 sailing and our return trip is to Newark Airport at 1:45pm, as we catch the plane for Chicago..I am beginning to wonder if we will make our plane in time...we booked through our air thru Carnival (some will probably say was a mistake) and now I am wondering if Carnival would let us be one of the first off of the ship, we are not taking our own luggage off the ship, but maybe we should ? I just hope we can make our plane in time.

We have a 1:55 flight out of JFK. I was wondering the same thing. I am Platinum so I get VIP debarkation, but if self assist takes hours, I'm not sure that we'll get off the ship in time.

[DottieMay]

You would have been hard-pressed to guarantee those flight times on May 9-17 sailing... our ride got to the pier at 12:00 and waited almost 2 hours for us... and, that was just to get out the door of the terminal. Once again, a little bit of communication would have gone a long way - but, they never gave us a clue what was going on or why...

[4kidsplusty]

I sure hope you are correct...one other question for anybody please, when the ship docks in San Juan, does it dock port or starboard? When it docks in St.Thomas, does it dock port or starboard? When it docks in Tortola, does it dock port or starboard? We have a balcony cabin on the port side and I am just curious..Thanks for any input

how do you know if your cabin is port or starboard? we r in 5277 on the miracle in aug. what is the difference between the 2. is 1 a better view than the other:confused:

[mprucha]

There are issues with the communication however part of the problem isn't carnival's. The port authority in NY handles the pier so Carnival demanding they paint the place isn't going to happen because for one Carnival isn't the only cruise line coming in and out and secondly because the Port Authority isn't going to take orders from a cruise line. Unfortunately they are use to hearing complaints on many issues (the port authority) and are tough skinned. And cruise ships aren't the only type of ships that use the piers so beauty isn't always their first concern I doubt....unfortunate but true. Does it look like a big warehouse...yes it does but it's a big empty warehouse used by NY city in a crowded busy area on the water for multiple types of boats and ships including cargo, etc.

 

Would it be good for some kind of updates from a carnival employee (possibly someone from their purser's desk or the cruise director) to keep people updated......it would be a definite plus almost more on debarking than on embarking. Most important especially for new cruisers is to not go into the trip looking for problems or letting it ruin your experience. You go on a cruise to relax and have fun....you don't want to stress yourself out on the way on or on the way off.

 

Anyone planning an early flight should always consider the time it takes to get on and off as a possible problem as well as the MANY flight changes and cancellations from the flight industry. Anyone that read our post on the "all things miracle" regarding our flights home would see how many changes can take place in just one day. Recommendation.....always, always, always try to fly in early and fly out late or even better, fly in the day before and out the day after a cruise.

[4kidsplusty]

we will be going on our first cruise aug of this year. it will be on the miracle. i loved reading your review and going to your site. I was wondering how people were dressed on casual nights,since they changed what you could wear.We have 4 children 18,17,15,8 i know the girls will want to wear sundress i was wondering if people wore nice shorts with polos? any info you have on what people wore to dinner on your past cruise would be abig help:D

mprucha i was wondering if you could help me with this question thanks

[Quench]

Thank you very much for taking the time to write another great review! I have a few questions: Did you book your air with Carnival? Were the quality of your meals consistant with last year? Was the Miracle the only ship at the terminal during embarkation? And did you take any pics of the Tea Time? Thanks!

[mprucha]

4kidsplusty, on casual nights you tend to see people dressed all sorts of ways. There were some women in dresses or dress pants, some in jeans with nice tops, some kids in little sun dresses or in jeans and tops. I will warn you that the dining room was very cold for me this year. We had the late dining time and maybe our table was posititioned under a cold vent but I had to bring a jacket with me each night. In fact, on both formal nights I was wearing long beautiful formal dresses and I had to wrap something around me the first night and went to the gift shop to buy a shawl to match my dress the second night and was still cold.

I tended to wear nice pants with pretty tops on casual nights, nice earrings, etc. The first night most people wear things they wore to get on the ship unless they have already gotten their luggage or if they brought an outfit onboard with them. The first night and last night of the cruise tend to be cooler because you're headed out of and back into NY.

I'll be posting some pictures of us online and I'll make sure and send you some of what I wore on some casual evenings. I don't remember seeing many people wearing shorts and polos this cruise. My email address is on my website since they don't like us to post our email addresses on cruise critic so if you want to see the pictures sooner, just email me and I can scan them in to you sooner! Hope this helps!

Quench,
No, we booked our flights through the airline. The problems we had wouldn't have been prevented even if I booked through carnival because the problems were involved with the fact that with the fuel costs going up they want the planes filled so all the airlines are cancelling and rescheduling or combining flights multiple times a day to make sure they are full when they take off.

I did feel the quality of the meals was very good and met last years standards.

No, the Miracle was the only ship in port the day we embarked.

Yes we did take a few pictures of tea time but they aren't posted yet. I took a few last year as well so I'll try to pull those for you. When are you traveling?

[AAAAmerican]

An easy way is too look at a drawing of the deck plan..

PORT is always looking Forward and towards the BOW (Front) on the Left Side as in ..Leaving Port....

Starboard is the Other Side (Right).;)

That comes from they had used Boards to step up on to use in Navigation... thusly Stars..Starboard....

:cool:

View is a personal choice as well where the ship is positioned to come and dock in Port...

[quote name='4kidsplusty']how do you know if your cabin is port or starboard? we r in 5277 on the miracle in aug. what is the difference between the 2. is 1 a better view than the other:confused:[/QUOTE]

[deuceguy]

Anne,
We also had some problems getting off the ship but it in no way changed what was a great cruise and a great time. It was nice meeting all the bloggers at the M&G.
I think most of the problems debarking were because of our late arrival from the rough seas(which no one could do anything about).
It was fun watching people trying to walk around the ship in the rough weather. When a ship that big moves like that I'm glad we were not on anything smaller.
Frank :)

[CANBRFAN]

[quote name='ccamp']really great review! We are booked on the Miracle June 9th this year. We have been on the fantasy class numerous times, the Destiny and the Glory but never the spirit class and never out of New York. I am getting nervous about all the rough waves talk out of New York. I get seasick and take bonine daily.

Is it rougher leaving out of NY and will it be like that in June also?
Thanks
Carroll[/quote]
Are you sure you're booked June 9th? We are booked on the 4th :)

[MonaCK]

[quote name='CANBRFAN']Are you sure you're booked June 9th? We are booked on the 4th :)[/QUOTE]

You're actually booked on the 2nd - don't show up on the 4th or you'll miss the ship!

[CANBRFAN]

[quote name='MonaCK']You're actually booked on the 2nd - don't show up on the 4th or you'll miss the ship![/quote]
Ha! You're completely right! I can't take all this excitement! My 25th is on the 4th.... Always a good idea to proof read before you hit "submit reply"....:o

[SheriNtexas]

Thank you so much for the great review! I can't WAIT for the updates to your site! I will be taking my first cruise on Miracle October 20th and I have cabin #6260-my FIRST wrap!! I am cruising solo and plan on spending a LOT of time on that balcony!! look forward to seeing your pics and video as well! :)

[Quench]

[quote name='mprucha']4kidsplusty, on casual nights you tend to see people dressed all sorts of ways. There were some women in dresses or dress pants, some in jeans with nice tops, some kids in little sun dresses or in jeans and tops. I will warn you that the dining room was very cold for me this year. We had the late dining time and maybe our table was posititioned under a cold vent but I had to bring a jacket with me each night. In fact, on both formal nights I was wearing long beautiful formal dresses and I had to wrap something around me the first night and went to the gift shop to buy a shawl to match my dress the second night and was still cold.

I tended to wear nice pants with pretty tops on casual nights, nice earrings, etc. The first night most people wear things they wore to get on the ship unless they have already gotten their luggage or if they brought an outfit onboard with them. The first night and last night of the cruise tend to be cooler because you're headed out of and back into NY.

I'll be posting some pictures of us online and I'll make sure and send you some of what I wore on some casual evenings. I don't remember seeing many people wearing shorts and polos this cruise. My email address is on my website since they don't like us to post our email addresses on cruise critic so if you want to see the pictures sooner, just email me and I can scan them in to you sooner! Hope this helps!

Quench,
No, we booked our flights through the airline. The problems we had wouldn't have been prevented even if I booked through carnival because the problems were involved with the fact that with the fuel costs going up they want the planes filled so all the airlines are cancelling and rescheduling or combining flights multiple times a day to make sure they are full when they take off.

I did feel the quality of the meals was very good and met last years standards.

No, the Miracle was the only ship in port the day we embarked.

Yes we did take a few pictures of tea time but they aren't posted yet. I took a few last year as well so I'll try to pull those for you. When are you traveling?[/quote]

Thanks for your quick response. My cruise is August -- this year!!!!

[4kidsplusty]

[quote name='mprucha']4kidsplusty, on casual nights you tend to see people dressed all sorts of ways. There were some women in dresses or dress pants, some in jeans with nice tops, some kids in little sun dresses or in jeans and tops. I will warn you that the dining room was very cold for me this year. We had the late dining time and maybe our table was posititioned under a cold vent but I had to bring a jacket with me each night. In fact, on both formal nights I was wearing long beautiful formal dresses and I had to wrap something around me the first night and went to the gift shop to buy a shawl to match my dress the second night and was still cold.

I tended to wear nice pants with pretty tops on casual nights, nice earrings, etc. The first night most people wear things they wore to get on the ship unless they have already gotten their luggage or if they brought an outfit onboard with them. The first night and last night of the cruise tend to be cooler because you're headed out of and back into NY.

I'll be posting some pictures of us online and I'll make sure and send you some of what I wore on some casual evenings. I don't remember seeing many people wearing shorts and polos this cruise. My email address is on my website since they don't like us to post our email addresses on cruise critic so if you want to see the pictures sooner, just email me and I can scan them in to you sooner! Hope this helps!

Quench,
No, we booked our flights through the airline. The problems we had wouldn't have been prevented even if I booked through carnival because the problems were involved with the fact that with the fuel costs going up they want the planes filled so all the airlines are cancelling and rescheduling or combining flights multiple times a day to make sure they are full when they take off.

I did feel the quality of the meals was very good and met last years standards.

No, the Miracle was the only ship in port the day we embarked.

Yes we did take a few pictures of tea time but they aren't posted yet. I took a few last year as well so I'll try to pull those for you. When are you traveling?[/quote]
thank you for your response.i can't wait until our cruise gets here. have been reading your site.very impressive:)

[babywewe]

Loved your review! I was on the Miracle the sailing before yours. The ship was late the day you got on because of very bad fog. I woke up at 2am, looked outside to find a blanket of heavy fog. We went VERY slow all night.
Our last night was very rocky. The first two days of our sailing was no so smooth (but not rough).