Miracle 7/27-8/3/09 - Review

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

This was our first time on any Carnival cruise, and it is probably one of the best cruises we

have ever been on. It was so good, that I booked the same week on the Miracle for next year and the same cabin, the minute I walked into my house. Before I start writing the review, I will let you know that I will not be comparing cruise lines, but cruise ships we have sailed on. I believe that each cruising experience is individual to a specific ship, because of the crew that works on the ship, and not to the cruise line.

 

 

As you can see from my signature, we are not loyal to any cruiseline, but when we find a ship we like, we stick with it. We booked the Carnival Miracle because it fell during a week which we had to take vacation and because it sailed from NY. We were not expecting much -- boy were we wrong!

 

After reading all the reviews, we decided to book one of the coveted aft balconies. WOW! is all I can say. The room itself is smaller than some other suites we have booked. Our cabin stewards kept our room exceptionally clean. However, the balcony makes up for this. What spectacular views. We greatly enjoyed it at night watching the stars, moon and, one night at 1:00 a.m. even saw a whale playing in the moonlight! It's such a wonderful perspective to be able to see everything at once and not just one side of the scenery.

 

Since we were in a suite, we had VIP embarkation. This was awesome! There was a separate room with refreshments, and once the ship was ready, we were the first ones escorted onto the ship. Since the rooms weren't ready yet, we went up to Horatio's for lunch. Since we were one of the first on the ship, we did not have any problem finding a table by the window. Food selection was excellent.

 

We have sailed on several occasions to Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and Grand Turk, so I won't be saying much about that, unless anyone has specific questions. Two things I will say, we did the St. John Catamaran champagne tour in St. Thomas and it was wonderful. Since we had been to PR several times and had done most of the tours, we decided to take the Baccardi tour. This was a waste of time. It's basically a 45 minute infomercial.

 

Now for the Miracle.

 

This was one of the BEST cruises we have taken. The service was outstanding. Our waitress Bianca and assistant Samuel were the best ever. Everything was efficiently served, with very little wait time and anything we needed was immediately served to us. The food on the Miracle was exceptional! The service and food was as good as the service and food we had on HAL's Noordam. We were also pleasantly surprised that the dress code was observed in the dining room. When it wasn't, we saw the Maitre'D turn people away from the dining room.

 

The ship itself was exceptionally clean. Crew members were always out and about cleaning continuously. Not your traditional ship decor, however, we really enjoyed the whimsical Mad Hatter, Frankenstein's Law, and other themed rooms.

 

We normally would go up to the pool aread around 7-7:30 a.m. every morning to have breakfast and get a chair near the pool so we could watch our DS. Although we did see a few chair hogs, it wasn't as bad as we had seen on the Crown Princess. Chairs were still available near the pool until about 9:00 a.m. However, we did hear a lot of people complaing about how there weren't any chairs available -- not surprising when they arrived at 1:00 p.m.! LOL. The mid-pool has a sliding glass roof. However, on the first and second day out, when it was raining, DH asked an officer if they would be closing the roof. The officer replied, "we only close it in port." What's the point??? When in port there are very few passengers on the ship. They should have closed it when it was raining.

 

Camp Carnival counselors on this ship were outstanding! Our 9 year old DS said that it was

his favorite kids club by far. Up to now, his favorite was the one on the Crown Princess. He especially enjoyed the "3:30 a.m." challenge. For an extra fee, on the last formal night of the cruise, the kids can stay in Camp Carnival until 3:30 a.m. They then walk each child back to their cabin. Ofcourse, DH stayed up to make sure he got back to the cabin safe, and he did.

 

We chose to do self-debarkation, and I must say, the crew on the ship has this down to a

science. It was the best, least stressful debarkation we have ever experienced. We were off the ship and in our car at 8:30 a.m. and home by 9:30 a.m.

 

I am sure I am forgetting a lot of stuff, but this is already getting long. Please feel free

to ask any questions.

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

Be sure not to miss the Barman. He has two shows and also entertains in the dining room and each table. He is amazing with card and other tricks. The two production shows were also amazing and not to be missed.

[TakeMeAway1001]

Nice review, thanks for sharing :)

[cjkumbaya]

Excellent review - glad you were pleasantly surprised! We really enjoyed the Miracle last year. Thanks for sharing!

[SusieQusie]

Thanks so so so much for that review. Not only are we leaving on the Miracle in 8 days (8/12), but we also sailed on the Crown Princess (2 summers ago)!

 

I am very happy to hear how pleased you were with the Miracle. Although I am absolutely positive that I am going to have a wonderful time, I worry that some of the others in our party of 8 might do too much comparing of Princess and Carnival. Again, it's nice to hear that you have sailed on both and that the Miracle pleased you so much.

 

Generally speaking, how did you find the crowds on the ship? It didn't sound like you had any issues with crowds at all. (I tend to worry about this a little more because it is an August cruise - really the only time we can go.)

 

I love to dress-up a little for dinner every night (at least a cute sundress or nice capris) and I bring a "nicer" dress for the Elegant nights. Did your husband wear a suit on these nights? The guys in our group all wore suits last time, but they were curious if a sport jacket and tie would be sufficient this time around. (Either way will be fine with us - I'm just curious what you actually did and saw as far as men in the MDR on Elegant night.)

 

I'm very jealous of your aft cabin/balcony. That must have been absolutely WONDERFUL! We've got 3 connected balconies plus 1 inside room on the Verandah deck. I'd love to know your opinion of the Carnival Miracle cabin/extended balcony versus the Crown Princess cabin/extended balcony (Caribe deck), but I guess you can't really compare apples to apples for me here - Lucky you!!!

 

Also, my husband was absolutely IN LOVE with the gelato that you could buy on the Crown Princess. I know that Carnival has the free ice cream 24/7 (which personally makes me very happy). Do you know if they have gelato available anywhere?

 

In general, we thought the food on the Crown Princess was wonderful. Does the Miracle food stack up? How about the desserts (sometimes the Carniva desserts don't get such great reviews.)

 

Did you go to the Nick & Noras (the pay supper club)? We didn't try the Crown's version, but we're thinking of trying it this time. It ALWAYS seems to get rave reviews and most people think it's worth the extra $30 per person.

 

Did you bring any wine to the dining room? Were you charged the corkage fee?

 

Can you walk totally around the ship on an outdoor deck? Did you use the waterslide? For some reason, not many people seem to mention the slide in their reviews. I'm hoping my kids (older teens) will really like that.

 

I'm sure I'll come up with more questions.........Sorry I have so many - just answer anything you feel like addressing! Do you have any special little tips or hints you might want to share?

 

THANKS AGAIN!

[LUPY48]

thanks for a great review. I have aft-wrap 4237 booked for next May. Really looking forward to it. Where do you live on the Island? I'm in Commack.

[Janchris]

Thanks so so so much for that review. Not only are we leaving on the Miracle in 8 days (8/12), but we also sailed on the Crown Princess (2 summers ago)!

 

I am very happy to hear how pleased you were with the Miracle. Although I am absolutely positive that I am going to have a wonderful time, I worry that some of the others in our party of 8 might do too much comparing of Princess and Carnival. Again, it's nice to hear that you have sailed on both and that the Miracle pleased you so much.

 

Generally speaking, how did you find the crowds on the ship? It didn't sound like you had any issues with crowds at all. (I tend to worry about this a little more because it is an August cruise - really the only time we can go.)

 

I love to dress-up a little for dinner every night (at least a cute sundress or nice capris) and I bring a "nicer" dress for the Elegant nights. Did your husband wear a suit on these nights? The guys in our group all wore suits last time, but they were curious if a sport jacket and tie would be sufficient this time around. (Either way will be fine with us - I'm just curious what you actually did and saw as far as men in the MDR on Elegant night.)

 

I'm very jealous of your aft cabin/balcony. That must have been absolutely WONDERFUL! We've got 3 connected balconies plus 1 inside room on the Verandah deck. I'd love to know your opinion of the Carnival Miracle cabin/extended balcony versus the Crown Princess cabin/extended balcony (Caribe deck), but I guess you can't really compare apples to apples for me here - Lucky you!!!

 

Also, my husband was absolutely IN LOVE with the gelato that you could buy on the Crown Princess. I know that Carnival has the free ice cream 24/7 (which personally makes me very happy). Do you know if they have gelato available anywhere?

 

In general, we thought the food on the Crown Princess was wonderful. Does the Miracle food stack up? How about the desserts (sometimes the Carniva desserts don't get such great reviews.)

 

Did you go to the Nick & Noras (the pay supper club)? We didn't try the Crown's version, but we're thinking of trying it this time. It ALWAYS seems to get rave reviews and most people think it's worth the extra $30 per person.

 

Did you bring any wine to the dining room? Were you charged the corkage fee?

 

Can you walk totally around the ship on an outdoor deck? Did you use the waterslide? For some reason, not many people seem to mention the slide in their reviews. I'm hoping my kids (older teens) will really like that.

 

I'm sure I'll come up with more questions.........Sorry I have so many - just answer anything you feel like addressing! Do you have any special little tips or hints you might want to share?

 

THANKS AGAIN!

 

Since I have been on the Miracle and am sailing again on the 20th I thought I would answer some of your questions. We book an extended balcony and my daughter whom is in the next room from us will get the balcony divider open, therefore making for one long balcony which is awesome. I find the food to be excellent and my son who was on the Crown Princess and then sailed with us on the Miracle honestly thought the food to be better on this ship.

 

Nick and Nora's is a wonderful dining experience and worth the $30 pp charge. Try and get a reservation and I do not think you will regret it.

 

Enjoy your cruise.:)

[Janchris]

Thanks for your review and so glad the food as well as the staff were still as good as I remembered 2 years ago. I am so looking forward to boarding her again on the 20th.:)

[hill6]

Nice review. We agree that the Miracle is the best ship. We have her booked again for next May. Can't wait.

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

Actually the Miracle is about the same size as the Crown Princess, but with a 1000 LESS people. That was one of the things I didn't like about the Crown. We really didn't have any issues with the crowds even though the ship was full and we had over 700 children on board.

 

I talked my DH out of bringing his tux and he only bought his suit. He did say that next time he would probably bring the tux. We saw many men wearing tuxes, specially on the first formal night. However, the majority wore suits. We also saw many with sports coats and ties, so this would be fine. Sun dresses and capris are fine for all the days except for formal, that's basically what I wore.

 

Sorry, I can't let you know about the cabins. We had a suite on the Crown and here. Both were about the same size with the separate bedroom. But the wrap balcony won hands down here.

 

I don't know if they have gelato. All I know is that my DS always had an ice cream cone in his hand when by the pool!

 

Personally, we both liked the food on the Miracle better. The only thing that was better on the Crown was the pastas. The desserts were also better on the Miracle.

 

We did go to Nick and Nora's the night we were in PR. Not too many people there and we had exceptional service. YES, it is really THAT good. We did go to the Crown Grill when on the Crown and this was just as good. The lobster bisque soup was wonderful. DH was afraid of going for the 24 oz porter house stake and instead opted for the surf and turf. It is well worth the $30 dollars. The presentation and attention to detail, as well as the food is amazing. We did make our reservations online at the Carnival website and they confirmed it with us both via e-mail and also by calling our cabin once on the ship.

 

No we did not bring our own wine, so not sure about corkage fee. They do have a nice selection of wines on board.

 

Yes you can walk around outdoors on the promenade deck 3. However, it's not a wrap around promenade, which means you cannot walk all the way around. At a certain point you have to turn around.

 

My DH and DS did use the water slide a few times and greatly enjoyed it. It is only open from 12 - 4:00 p.m. If there is bad weather or high winds it will be closed.

I'll try and remember little tips, but here are a few I learned about here on these boards:

 

Go to the Casino to have your S&S card punched and get a free laynard. If you play cards, go to the front desk and request a free deck of cards.

 

I hope I answered your questions and please feel free to ask any others you think of. You will have a wonderful time.

 

P.S. forgot to mention that DH is very particular about service and ships and he really enjoyed the Miracle.

[fig414]

It's an amazing thing about Miracle. It is seriously loved out here on a regular basis. It's amazing yet not surprising.......

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

thanks for a great review. I have aft-wrap 4237 booked for next May. Really looking forward to it. Where do you live on the Island? I'm in Commack.

 

You WILL be hooked just like we are now! We are in Floral Park.

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

Other things that I remembered. There was security all around the ship, specially by the mid pools. Children were told not to jump in and run around the pool. I must say that the minor problems we saw were not with the children, but with rude drunk adults, but these were very few. We saw officers all over the ship inspecting every nook and cranny for cleanliness. Also, the adult pool in the back did not have any kids in it at any time we were there. We did enjoy the adult pool and jacuzzi one night, which was wonderful since they keep it open until about 10:30. The aft pool area is also a great gathering place for the men who were there almost every night playing the giant chess set.

[fig414]

And I grew up in Floral Park

[Vitamin_Sea]

Glad you had a nice time. Were looking to get on the Miracle in July!!

[nybumpkin]

LoveMyBoxer, nice review! We disembarked the day you sailed, and we thought ours was a great cruise as well.

 

SusieQusie - The guys would be fine with a sport jacket/tie. On our sailing, there were some tuxes (my DH and sons among them), a lot of suits, a lot of jacket/tie combos, and some slacks/collared shirt combos.

 

Didn't see any gelato. They had it near the coffee bar when we sailed Victory last year, but there was no gelato at the coffee bar on Miracle.

 

Deck 3 goes around the outside all the way around except at the bow of the ship. There it's enclosed - it's listed as "Gatsby's Garden" on the Carnival deck plans. But you can walk through Gatsby's Garden and exit outside on the other side of the ship. They did the "On Deck for the Cure" walk on this deck.

 

The waterslide was open the last two sea days on our cruise - it was closed on at least one of the first sea days due to weather. My youngest son loved the slide, and while I was waiting for him I saw lots of older teens (adults too) who really liked it a lot. It was crowded, though.

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise!

[*Luv2Cruz*]

Thanks for the great review!:D We're going with a CC Group in May and can't wait!:cool::cool:

[matt082600]

Great Review Luv2Cruz! We too are sailing 8/12 and can't wait!! I am so happy that your son enjoyed Camp Carnival, hopefully our sons will too.

 

My only question, was there a smart casual night? I know there are two "elegant/formal" nights, but the last time I sailed this itinerary on the Legend I believe we had at least one "smart casual" night (sport coats and slacks for men, no ties). Just trying to make sure I have all the proper "duds"!

[SusieQusie]

Thanks to everyone for their responses to my numerous questions. Everyone is getting me even more pumped to be on the Miracle! We leave exactly one week from tomorrow (Wednesday) - yay!!!!!

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

Great Review Luv2Cruz! We too are sailing 8/12 and can't wait!! I am so happy that your son enjoyed Camp Carnival, hopefully our sons will too.

 

My only question, was there a smart casual night? I know there are two "elegant/formal" nights, but the last time I sailed this itinerary on the Legend I believe we had at least one "smart casual" night (sport coats and slacks for men, no ties). Just trying to make sure I have all the proper "duds"!

 

I don't remember seeing a smart casual night. We generally dress up for dinner. DH always wears dockers and shirt (without ties on non-formal). The only night we saw people with jeans and shorts at dinner was the last night.

[bleuiz]

The Miracle was a great cruise....

The only night we saw shorts was the first night (but I found the dining room to be cold and usually had a sweater)

For most nights, people were dressed in casual clothing....dockers.....jeans with collared shirts.....I wore capris or long pants with a blouse.....

I did see some people in tshirts/jeans but not many....

Elegant night....most people were dressed nicely....

[CruisFran]

LoveMyBoxer;

Happy to see all these positive reviews on the Miracle. We will be sailing on her, from New York, this October. We also have VIP embarkation. Can you tell us what time they started boarding?

Thank you

[djwood24]

Great Review!!!

[firefly4423]

thanks for sharing!

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

LoveMyBoxer;

Happy to see all these positive reviews on the Miracle. We will be sailing on her, from New York, this October. We also have VIP embarkation. Can you tell us what time they started boarding?

Thank you

 

I believe it was between 11:45 and 12:00