Miracle 1/24/09 as it happens...

[GOTTA CRUISE NOW]

Sorry I'm behind with my updates, guys! I know you understand...;)

Tuesday 1/27/09

1st port of Call:St. Maarten

This was our 4th time in St Maarten. It's one of our favorites. We like the beach, and we like convenience... This is the perfect spot for both. You can walk into town, which is about a mile... or you can ride the water taxi all day for $6. Hmmm... TOUGH choice! Yeah, it was the water taxi. (for me, anyway)

 

A side note...

They are building another cruise pier in St Maarten, so soon we'll have more people in port every day...

 

The town of Philipsburg is quaint and has a European feel to it. The shopping is great. You can get great deals there... But I am ahead of myself here. I got off the ship 1st and went to the beach in Philipsburg. (You can see the ships from the beach) I got 3 cushy lounge chairs and an umbrella for $15. They were offering a bucket of 6 beers for $11, but I had brought my own "sustenance" so I didn't get any.(a bottle of white tea w/ peach flavor with some peach schnapps added in... YUMMY & refreshing!) I hung my flame colored coverup from the umbrella so my Brother & SIL could find me. It was VERY windy so it looked cool blowing in the wind. We also had the use of the hotel's rest rooms and changing rooms if needed as well. The most annoying thing were the women trying to sell hats/ towels/ beach bags/ jewelry....whatever. I don't mind if they come by and ask you ONCE if you would like to buy something. But after the 5th time of the same lady asking you to buy the same thing it is TOTALLY annoying. I have to say I started to get a bit surly. "No. Not interested. NO!!!" To which she mumbled as she walked away..."You suck." LMAO!!!!! :DFrom that point on, I just pretended to be asleep. They would STILL stop at the end of my lounge chair & try to show me their "wares"!!! (I would peek out from my almost closed eyes)"AAAaargh!!! :eek:

 

By noon I was done sunning. I had been there since 9:30 AM. I went & got a 99 cent beer and sat on a bench along the street to watch people... one of my favorite pastimes. And guess who comes to sit next to me to have a coke break? One of my hat-selling friends! Oy! :rolleyes:

I took the water taxi back to our pier. I thought I'd get a beverage and wait there for my family to come back. I got a mango-strawberry concoction. When you tip them they ring a bell and add another shot of liquor. I was reading my book, watching people, waiting for my family... and getting toasted. Mmm Hmmm... There was a short burst of rain and the entire plaza scattered like ants. It was really funny.

 

Got back on board. Had my siesta nap. I love those. I'm going to miss them when I get home. But I'm not going to think about that yet...

We watched the other ships leave. Decided to skip the dining room for dinner. I had calzone. EXCELLENT. They had pizza & misc other things.

 

Went to the casino. Didn't do very well, but was only using the penny machine, so didn't mind so much...:p (I'm so cheap!)

 

Went to bed!

[GOTTA CRUISE NOW]

OH, and i dont understand this part...

 

i thought they had a show after each seating..early and late? on our last cruise they had a show around 8pm for the early seaters in the dinning room ad then one at 10pm for us late seating crowd in the dinning room?

 

-David.

 

Same here when i was on her in July they had a late show. When we were going in for dinner they were going in to the show and then we would go to the late show after out dinner.... I still have my capers and yes.. there was always two shows!!

 

 

The main seating is at 6 PM. Their show is at 8:45 PM.

 

The late seating is at 8:15 PM. Their show is at 7 PM.

 

I've had the shows like this on the Glory 2 years ago, too. MUCH prefer dinner & a show. NOT show & dinner. Just my personal preference...:cool:

[enjoyinglife]

Sunday, 1/25/09

"Fun day at Sea" I

Oh, man! We did a whole lot of NOTHIN'!!! How great is that?

 

It was overcast most of the day. Decided not to go to the pool because it was still kind of cool. So... I blogged, we ate, played a trivia game in the Phantom Lounge, we ate, we read, we ate, played the slots for a while, went to the Captain's party, ate dinner! Prime Rib!! Mmmmmm.... And (one of my favorites)Pumpkin Soup! By this time we were stuffed and were going to forego dessert... when the cherries jubilee started calling my name...."Missi...Missi...MISSI!!!" So I just HAD to answer! The show was one we'd seen before, so we went and watched a movie on my laptop, then went to bed. I love vacation! Wish you were here, yet?;)

 

See ya (sort of tomorrow!

 

Missi

 

i am not a soup person, but I love the pumpkin soup, and the mango soup, and one cruise had cherry soup, the minestrone soup. Just put me on the ship and I am ready for their soups...and chocolate melting cake...cherries jubilee too...:D:o:D:o

[Ltrain4775]

what was the band playing in frankie and johnies? Are they still doing ticket to ride show and the frank sinatra tribute. Thanks in advance for the answers and taking the time to answer.

Lonnie

[sports-mom]

This is a great review... :) almost like we're there with you.

Hope your having a great time.

 

How is the weather at the ports. Warm enough to swim?

[bills blasters]

Just book the miracle two days ago, with the same schedule. Can't wait to hear the rest of your review. Make sure and post pictures when you get home.

I am anxious to hear everything I can about the Miracle.

Great Job.

[pmoniz]

GOTTA CRUISE NOW - sounds like you're having a blast! The Miracle's a great ship. You wouldn't happen to know if Amanda is still on board? I know vague - she was in entertainment and did the trivia games, bingo, lido games, etc.

[pawags45]

How many formals are they having on your 8 day cruise?

[mstea]

ARe there blow dryers in the room..:)

[GOTTA CRUISE NOW]

i am not a soup person, but I love the pumpkin soup, and the mango soup, and one cruise had cherry soup, the minestrone soup. Just put me on the ship and I am ready for their soups...and chocolate melting cake...cherries jubilee too...:D:o:D:o

 

 

Mmm.. Me too! The only thing I didn't have was the cherry soup... forget why. Mustv'e been something else that sounded better that night. I remember debating about it though...;) I adore the pumpkin soup. I was a little disappointed this time. Only a little. Seemed a little runny... IMO, of course!:cool:

[GOTTA CRUISE NOW]

what was the band playing in frankie and johnies? Are they still doing ticket to ride show and the frank sinatra tribute. Thanks in advance for the answers and taking the time to answer.

Lonnie

 

Sorry. Didn't get to Frankie & Johnnies.:(

They are still doing Ticket to ride and a tribute to the beatles.

 

AVOID the guitar guy. UGH! My cat sings better. No, really he has a pretty nice voice for a cat...

 

The Lido "band" (2 guys)were pretty bad, too. I'm a singer, and there's nothing that annoys me more than a bad singer. I had to leave the pool area yesterday because the 1st guy sounded like he was trying to pass a stone, and the 2nd guy was so nasal I was ready to pass him a tissue and say "BLOW!". (I didn't, though)[i have my standards}:rolleyes:

 

I did like the piano guy in the atrium, and the piano bar chick was decent, if not a little quirky... but so am I, so I won't hold that against her!;)

[GOTTA CRUISE NOW]

This is a great review... :) almost like we're there with you.

Hope your having a great time.

 

How is the weather at the ports. Warm enough to swim?

 

Yes. The weather is GORGEOUS! In fact, i just realized I have a "sunglass tan"!!! You know, where you have the white streak on your face where the arm of your sunglasses usually goes?:rolleyes: I am so cool.:eek:

Yeah. Right.

[GOTTA CRUISE NOW]

GOTTA CRUISE NOW - sounds like you're having a blast! The Miracle's a great ship. You wouldn't happen to know if Amanda is still on board? I know vague - she was in entertainment and did the trivia games, bingo, lido games, etc.

 

Sorry. Not sure! The entertainment crew is awesome, though!

[GOTTA CRUISE NOW]

How many formals are they having on your 8 day cruise?

 

2 formals. They call them "cruise elegant" now. Whatever. They're less stringent about the dress code, it seems. I saw a wide range of styles represented.

[GOTTA CRUISE NOW]

ARe there blow dryers in the room..:)

 

YES!! I was very happy to find this seeing as I forgot mine! (We didn't have them last year on the Imagination) It's not the STRONGEST, but it works fine for my hair...

 

 

I will try to post for Wed & Thurs reviews tonight before I go to bed. (SORRY, guys!)

 

HINT: We saw DOLPHINS!!!!! BABY dolphins!!!!!:D

[Cruzin Ave]

We are booked on the miracle over Thanksgiving doing the the same itinerary can't wait!!

I was hoping you will be able to post your Capers after you get back! We love to look at them ahead of time!! I hope you enjoy the rest of your vacation!!!

 

Ave

[Weeziblu]

More, please! :D

 

Loving reading your review and look forward to hearing about the rest of your trip!

 

Baby dolphins??????? :eek:

[bills blasters]

Patiently waiting..........................................

[mstea]

I can't wait to read more......I'm on the edge of my seat....with interest...

I wonder why ?? ;)

 

Has nothing to do with sailing in SINGLE digit days....:D

[gargoyle999]

I can't wait to read more......I'm on the edge of my seat....with interest...

I wonder why ?? ;)

 

Has nothing to do with sailing in SINGLE digit days....:D

 

I'll wave to you as you are getting off! :D:D

[GOTTA CRUISE NOW]

Wednesday 1/28/09

2nd Port of Call: St Kitts

So I guess I should have done more research on this port... Other than shopping, you pretty much had to do an excursion to do anything here. We had decided not to do any excursions this cruise, so we ended up shopping.

 

We had fun though. There are monkeys on this island. Don't know why, but they have shirts & stuff about the St Kitts monkeys. As we were walking around we come across these guys with pet monkeys. They put them on you and you use your cameras to get pictures. For a price, of course... 2 pics/ $5. We each had them done. On one picture you hold them, then they put them on your head. FUNNY! They all have these tiny little diapers on! The one that I had was a Mama. She had 2 babies clinging to her! They were SOOOooo cute! If you reach out towards the babies she "shoos" your hand away. A good Mama, she was!

 

So we shopped in the town and handed in all of our raffle tickets. Got a free beer from one of the jewelry stores, and liquor samples from another store... Headed back to the ship.

 

I have to say that this was probably the windiest port we've ever been to! And we've been to a few! I don't know if it's because of the mountains, or it was just the weather... but it was WINDY!!! Watched one guy's hat blow off as he was walking on the pier. He tried to catch it, but it ended up "in the drink". He was hanging over the edge... Looked like he was tossing his cookies!

 

Went to dinner. Bianca, our waitress asked us about our day. We told her about the monkeys... she was like "Ewwww!!! You shouldn't touch them. They are dirty. Some of them have LICE!!!" Great. So we're going to get lice now? Yikes! We didn't, but it was one of those scary/ funny moments...

 

Hung out for a while after dinner. Went to see the comedian in the Mad Hatters Lounge. Wasn't sure what to expect... When they say Adult Humor, I get a little scared. Sometimes they're just too much, if you know what I mean... But this guy was funny. He did overuse the "F" word IMO, but he was good. They should have held in the big lounge, though. It was standing room only. BIG crowd.

 

By this time, my bed was calling me....I listened!

[GOTTA CRUISE NOW]

Thursday 1/29/09

Fun Day at Sea #3

Went shopping after we we were out to sea again... nothing new there. Went out onto deck 3 to watch the water for a bit. Saw this fish swimming near the surface and pointed him out when he came up and jumped through the air! He was about3 ft long maybe? Thought at 1st it was a small shark by the fin on his back when I realized it was a baby bottle nosed dolphin! Then we saw another one, then we saw a couple of bigger ones, too! They were swimming and jumping in the air. It was SO cool!!! After a couple of minutes we outran them, of course. But that just made my day! LOVED it!

The Brother & SIL wanted to do the Galley tour, and so did I. We met in the Phantom lounge. I thought maybe there would be 20-50 people TOPS... Holy Cow! The whole lower level was FULL! Listened to Frankie the

Maitre D' (sp?) give some facts about the Galleys and the restaurants on board, then everyone was to follow him to take a tour. I wussed out. Way too claustrophobic for that... people pushing and crowding in... NOT for me. Gar & Mar loved it, though. I have to say this is the BEST Maitre D' we've had before... Many times you don't even see them until the last day when they have their hands out for the tip envelopes! We have seen Frankie EVERY DAY. And he actually pitches in to help! We saw him up on the Lido deck helping to clear tables a few times. He also stops to talk to everyone and has a great sense of humor. I definitely WILL give him a tip!!!?

Went to the Lido pool & enjoyed sitting along the edge and reading. That is until the band started singing... They played okay, but the voices? Oy! The voices!

Tonight was our 2nd "cruise elegant" evening. Nothing on the menu spoke to me, so I ordered the flat iron steak. This was the BEST meal I've had so far! It was cooked to perfection, ands came with potatoes, and carrots. Savored every bite! Had apple pie a la mode for dessert.

Went to karaoke...Closed it down! Had a great time... Exhausted, went to bed.

[GOTTA CRUISE NOW]

Friday 1/30/09

3rd Port of Call: Grand Turk

This was our 2nd time here. We were here last February on the Imagination. They were hit by a hurricane since then. You still see some damage to some of the buildings. Roofs missing, windows missing. But they are working on it. Slow. Carribbean style. Work 5 minutes, take a 5 minute break... ANYWAY... they added a Flowrider next to the pool. $29 for a half hour I believe. No. I wasn't about to do it. Fun to watch others, though. We hung out by the pool at Margaritaville. The weather was PERFECT. I got burnt. WE got burnt! Nothing like sitting on the edge of the pool drinking a Margarita. A LETHAL Margarita... I was feeling no pain.

Bought a couple of bottles of rum in the duty free shop just off the pier. Cheaper there than on the ship. $8/ bottle. I got coconut & mango flavored. Mmm Mmm...

Got back to the ship. There was an ambulance on the pier. I'll talk about that later...

Ordered room service and went to the Mad Hatters Lounge & watched "Dirty Dancing". LOVE that movie...

Went to the front of the ship for our 4 PM push-off. Waited for a while, then Brent came over the PA to say both the Crown Princess and us had 2 guests that needed medical attention. Grand Turk has only 1 ambulance, so we had to wait while they took the patients off 1 at a time. He asked for us to be patient... They opened up the casino in port to keep the natives from getting too restless.

It was now time for the Past guest party. We went, of course. Enjoyed our free drinks & the usual movie. Did NOT win the prize. Never do...

So we go back up to the top to watch what's happening... watched the ambulance come and go twice. Decided it was time to get ready for dinner. Felt us push off after 7 PM. Three hours late. Deep down I was hoping we would have to extend our cruise. You know, like we wouldn;t make it back to Florida until Monday... Wishful thinking!

Went to dinner, then went to the casino... Went to bed. ZZZzzzzzzzz.........

[Mary49]

Hi, sounds like you are having a blast. Have you gone to Frankie & Johnies? What band is there? Is it Music Unlimited and how are they? I will be back in May. My 3rd trip on the Miracle. Thanks for the info. Mary49

[mstea]

let me know what nights you would recommend going to the supper club?

sounds like your having fun... !!!! YEAH...

is your ship crowded...I think ours is almost sold out... just a few left...like under 5...:(

thanks for your answers..

Barb