Carnival Miracle Review
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I confess that I had to wait a week before writing my review of our 12-3 to 12-10-06 Carnival Miracle cruise to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize and Costa Maya. I needed to step back from it all and get some perspective. You see, our experience was neither the miracle for which I had hoped, nor the disaster all vacationers fear. It was, in fact, much like life; a mix of magical fantasy and utter frustration, of the exquisite and the ugly. It started with the greatest of highs and ended with the greatest of lows with a great mix of experiences and emotions in between ...
I traveled with my husband and my folks from the Brandon area, all who had cruised before. I was the wide eyed cruising virgin. Being so labeled, I was prepared for long embarkation lines and the shock and awe that the ship was sure to instill in my over stimulated pre-vacation heart. What I found instead, were long but stunningly efficient lines operated by friendly port personnel that took about 30 minutes from beginning to end. I also found myself decidedly underwhelmed by the Miracle itself, I think, because I had done so much research and looked at so many pictures beforehand, that I already knew the ship by heart. That begs the question, is a Cruise Critic member truly a virgin cruiser? After all, I had the duct tape, the clothespins and thought I was prepared for every scenario, or so I thought, LOL. But I digress.
The ship was immaculate, our room (8219) on the Panorama deck spacious and very well designed, with lots of storage, particularly in the bathroom. It had plenty of shelves and drawers and places to put things, even for my husband who packs enough luggage for two girls! The decor was not as gaudy as I had been led to believe, but it did not seem cohesive from area to area. What does the Mad Hatter have to do with Orpheus or classical art, for instance? But, while not miraculous, it's fantasy, so who cares? Not me, I was there on vacation, not to critique interior design! To me, the ship was just a form of transportation from port to port. If it was comfy, clean and uncrowded with some stuff to do, I was happy. I was not disappointed.