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Just Back from Miracle ...

sargejenn

By sargejenn,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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sargejenn

sargejenn

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Greetings all! We just returned from the Miracle out of Baltimore. Since we were hurricane-free we sailed to Key West, Nassau, and Freeport. Loved the ship and will be glad to help with any questions about ports, activities on the ship, etc.

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BCMom

BCMom

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We will be sailing on the Miracle in 27 days! I was wondering who the current CD is on the Miracle? Did you enjoy your cruise? How gaudy was the dining room decor? We heard it was terrible!. How was the dining room food and the Lido deck buffets?

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sargejenn

sargejenn

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Replying to everyone's questions ... have been doing laundry all day!!

 

BCMom: The Cruise Director is Mark Hawkins. My husband and I both thought he was a genuinely funny guy. Make sure you check his shoes everyday ... don't ask, let it be a surprise! :)

 

The decor in the Bacchus dining room is truly way over the top. Beware the grapes! But you get used to it. The rest of the ship is beautifully decorated in terrific taste.

 

The food in both the dining room and the casual restaurant is quite good. Lots of selection and always hot/cold as appropriate.

 

Lahoban: We booked a 4A guarantee and were upgraded to a 5A outside cabin with door (no balcony) obstructed view. Since we were anticipating an inside cabin, this was a treat. We were behind the lifeboats but happened to be right between two so we could see the view pretty well. I don't know any specifics on the teen programs but we had not realized how many young people were on the ship until the last night (no specific activities scheduled for them) so both Camp Carnival and the teen program must have been pretty darned good since the kids and teens were nowhere to be found during the week!

 

MysticalBlues: Formal nights were Monday (at sea day) and Friday (Freeport day). There were spa specials each day - on Saturday they had 3 mini-treatments for $60. Can't remember what the early prices were on those treatments but sounded like a pretty good deal. They give massages poolside for $1 a minute ... not as private as the spa rooms but about half the price! Baltimore is in the 60's now ... but it still felt cool after 88 degrees in Nassau!!

 

We had a terrific trip and thought the Miracle was beautiful. I hit a Straight Flush in Three Card Poker (40-1 payoff) so I really liked the casino!! :)

 

We brought a 12-pack of Diet Cokes (packed in luggage), a 20-pack of Bud Light (packed in luggage), and 3 bottles of wine (in carryon) with no issues. Tipped our cabin steward and he kept a collapsible cooler filled with ice all week long.

 

Bring a room freshener or plug-in .... room must have had a smoker before us so we were glad we brought one.

 

You will all have a great time!

 

Phil and Jennifer

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cyndepet

cyndepet

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Welcome back Phil & Jennifer - sounds like you guys were probably the first ones back in Freeport. Was it in pretty good shape? Did you do any excursions or just hit the beach (or stay on the ship). We'll be on board in 6 days! Thanks!

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Charles4515

Charles4515

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Welcome back Phil & Jennifer - sounds like you guys were probably the first ones back in Freeport. Was it in pretty good shape? Did you do any excursions or just hit the beach (or stay on the ship). We'll be on board in 6 days! Thanks!

 

Freeport was devistated. I was on the same sailing. I took a taxi ride to the International Bazaar and there were still power lines down. Lot of shops closed. Many excursions were cancelled because the weather was bad in the morning. I booked a snorkeling excursion that was canceled. I would recomend that you book an excursion if you want to do something at Freeport.

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Charles4515

Charles4515

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Lahoban: We booked a 4A guarantee and were upgraded to a 5A outside cabin with door (no balcony) obstructed view. Since we were anticipating an inside cabin, this was a treat. We were

Phil and Jennifer

 

Interesting. I was on the same sailing and also was upgraded from a 4A to a 5A with the French Doors too.

 

I have to say I don't agree about the ship being beautiful. I thought the Atrium was ugly. The dining room decor as awful. The color combinations were not that good. It is a shiny new ship but I did not care for the decor.

 

The pool areas are terrible. There are no shaded areas for lounge chairs only tables. Only three outdoor hotubs. (there is an indoor one in the spa) One hot tub by each of the three pools. Only the aft, the adult pool one was not always full of small children. There were more children than I expected it being a school week.

 

This was the smokiest ship I have ever sailed on. Bad. And I don't get why they have an open cigar bar just outside the dining room.

 

The buffet food was great. The dining room food was pretty good.

 

The crew was very good.

 

It was a very nice cruise, but I did not care much this ship.

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sargejenn

sargejenn

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I have to say I don't agree about the ship being beautiful. I thought the Atrium was ugly. The dining room decor as awful. The color combinations were not that good. It is a shiny new ship but I did not care for the decor.

 

The pool areas are terrible. There are no shaded areas for lounge chairs only tables. Only three outdoor hotubs. (there is an indoor one in the spa) One hot tub by each of the three pools. Only the aft, the adult pool one was not always full of small children. There were more children than I expected it being a school week.

 

This was the smokiest ship I have ever sailed on. Bad. And I don't get why they have an open cigar bar just outside the dining room.

 

The buffet food was great. The dining room food was pretty good.

 

The crew was very good.

 

It was a very nice cruise, but I did not care much this ship.

 

Charles:

 

Sorry you didn't like the Miracle. While I agree that the Bacchus Dining Room looks like someone poured Pepto Bismol all over it, I thought the rest of the ship looked great. The decor had lots of warm colors and lots of wood and stone, especially in the spa and the Horatio Restaurant.

 

We moved our lounge chairs around as the sun moved and found plenty of shade when we wanted to get out of the sun. "Only 3 outdoor hot tubs"? How many more would we need? We used the indoor hot tub in the spa most of the time and found we had it to ourselves. But then again, we did not want to be in a hot tub in the sunshine ... too hot. To each his own ... it's all good.

 

I too was very surprised at the number of children on the cruise. Didn't really notice so many until the last day - guess they ran out of Camp Carnival activities. But they were better behaved than I have experienced on past cruises. Not sure how a parent justifies taking a child out of school for a week for a cruise, though.

 

Crew was absolutely terrific and I was pleased with the food as well.

 

Jennifer

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sargejenn

sargejenn

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Welcome back Phil & Jennifer - sounds like you guys were probably the first ones back in Freeport. Was it in pretty good shape? Did you do any excursions or just hit the beach (or stay on the ship). We'll be on board in 6 days! Thanks!

 

Cyndepet: We stayed on the ship in Freeport. We overslept (too much partying and gambling the night before and forgot to set our wakeup call!!). The weather was a bit dreary and we just decided to pass. I do understand from other passengers that there was quite a bit of visible damage.

 

Jennifer

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SusiQ

SusiQ

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We just got our cabin assignment for the Miracle the week of Thanksgiving. Cabin # is 4149. The description we found is obstructed view with French Doors. Can you open these doors and is this what everybody talks about using a bungy cord for?

 

QUOTE=sargejenn]Replying to everyone's questions ... have been doing laundry all day!!

 

BCMom: The Cruise Director is Mark Hawkins. My husband and I both thought he was a genuinely funny guy. Make sure you check his shoes everyday ... don't ask, let it be a surprise! :)

 

The decor in the Bacchus dining room is truly way over the top. Beware the grapes! But you get used to it. The rest of the ship is beautifully decorated in terrific taste.

 

The food in both the dining room and the casual restaurant is quite good. Lots of selection and always hot/cold as appropriate.

 

Lahoban: We booked a 4A guarantee and were upgraded to a 5A outside cabin with door (no balcony) obstructed view. Since we were anticipating an inside cabin, this was a treat. We were behind the lifeboats but happened to be right between two so we could see the view pretty well. I don't know any specifics on the teen programs but we had not realized how many young people were on the ship until the last night (no specific activities scheduled for them) so both Camp Carnival and the teen program must have been pretty darned good since the kids and teens were nowhere to be found during the week!

 

MysticalBlues: Formal nights were Monday (at sea day) and Friday (Freeport day). There were spa specials each day - on Saturday they had 3 mini-treatments for $60. Can't remember what the early prices were on those treatments but sounded like a pretty good deal. They give massages poolside for $1 a minute ... not as private as the spa rooms but about half the price! Baltimore is in the 60's now ... but it still felt cool after 88 degrees in Nassau!!

 

We had a terrific trip and thought the Miracle was beautiful. I hit a Straight Flush in Three Card Poker (40-1 payoff) so I really liked the casino!! :)

 

We brought a 12-pack of Diet Cokes (packed in luggage), a 20-pack of Bud Light (packed in luggage), and 3 bottles of wine (in carryon) with no issues. Tipped our cabin steward and he kept a collapsible cooler filled with ice all week long.

 

Bring a room freshener or plug-in .... room must have had a smoker before us so we were glad we brought one.

 

You will all have a great time!

 

Phil and Jennifer

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Ted

Ted

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What time did you arrive for embarkation? What time were you on the ship?

 

We drove into our first line in the port area at 12:30 and were in our cabin about 2:20. The embarcation method was quite different from when we went out of Baltimore previously on Celebrity. While the Carnival method was not bad, we thought the Celebrity way was easier.

 

On Carnival, we waited in the car in a long line, drove up directly beside the ship, and dropped off luggage with no help (we were instructed to remove our luggage from the car and put it in a bin by ourselves, although I assumed that assistance would have been available for those who needed it), but with no tip apparently expected. You then drive over to the parking area, wait till a full size bus fills up, go back to the ship, and then wait in another series of lines to register and board. Not the best or easiest embarcation we have had, but nothing to really complain about either. It appears intentionally designed to delay you for relatively short periods at a number of stations, rather than holding you for a long time at one place, as has so frequently been the case for other embarcations. Other than at the luggage dropoff, staff were plentiful and helpful.

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Charles4515

Charles4515

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We drove into our first line in the port area at 12:30 and were in our cabin about 2:20. The embarcation method was quite different from when we went out of Baltimore previously on Celebrity. While the Carnival method was not bad, we thought the Celebrity way was easier.

 

I have done both the Celebrity and Carnival embarkations and agree with your comments. I think the Port of Baltimore made the change and not the cruiselines. That is what the shuttle bus driver said although who knows if that was accurate. I arrived at 11:30 and was on board at 1:00. Probably a little faster because of the earlier arrival.

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Charles4515

Charles4515

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Charles:

 

We moved our lounge chairs around as the sun moved and found plenty of shade when we wanted to get out of the sun. "Only 3 outdoor hot tubs"? How many more would we need? We used the indoor hot tub in the spa most of the time and found we had it to ourselves. But then again, we did not want to be in a hot tub in the sunshine ... too hot. To each his own ... it's all good.

 

 

Jennifer

 

The new ships I have been on had more hot tubs so that is what I am used too. This was my first Carnival cruise, but my 17th cruise overall, so I tend to have certain expectations and I notice details.

 

As for the indoor hot tub. I avoid those as there can be bacterial problems with hot tubs in enclosed areas.

 

http://www.nationaljewish.org/news/rosentm.html

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