THE BACK STORY: I am a Crown and Anchor member which is Royal Caribbean International's (RCI) customer loyalty program. My wife and I have done 3 cruises so far, all with RCI. I enjoyed cruising with RCI very much. When my wife informed me that she booked us on a Carnival cruise - I winced. I was used to the luxury and pampering on RCI ships. Was I going to get that kind of treatment on a Carnival cruise? After all, isn't Carnival a big party boat that caters to people that don't want the hoity toity treatment? Isn't there food second rate? Aren't there ships slightly more luxurious than a WWII battlewagon? Answers: No, no, no. I am hereby dumping my loyalty to RCI and giving it to Carnival. Here's why: Party Boat?: Yeah, you're going to have fun on this ship - lot's of fun. Their catchphrase is "The Funship" and they really mean it. Hoity Toityness?: It's all there if you want it and not there if you don't. Food: I was impressed with the food on RCI ships - so much so that I was really looking forward to bashing the food on Carnival to prove to my wife that we should have stayed with RCI. Oops, my bad! The food at dinner was undeniably better than RCI and served with the same care and service I got on the previous cruises. The breakfast and lunch choices were hugely better than the similar fare on RCI. New York restaurant quality Indian, Chinese, Italian, etc... You won't find that in the Windjammer. They even had a sushi bar. FREE (well, not really) SUSHI?? I ate raw fish until I couldn't eat any more. Nick and Nora's supper club was WELL WORTH the $30 per person charge. You MUST do this at least once. Can you tell I really liked the food? Battewagon: My bad, again. The Miracle was simply beautiful. The thought and detail that was put into the theme of the ship (fictional characters) was amazing and well done. Until you get to the Bacchus dining hall, however. It was a little bit TOO well done. Imagine someone staining everything in sight with red wine and then putting in purple lighting - it's too much. CRUISING DURING HURRICANE SEASON: Rule number one - When cruising in hurricane season, be prepared for your itinerary to be changed. We had never cruised at this time of year before, but my wife used this as my birthday gift and my birthday is August 30th. I knew the risk and did not expect to see the original ports of call from day one as I was keeping an eye on hurricanes Gustav and Hanna. Miracle was supposed to go to San Juan, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and Grand Turk. Gustav slipped away to Nawlins for some cajun food and we were left with Hanna. She just couldn't make up her mind on where she was going next. Neither could the captain. The captain changed the itinerary to avoid the storm as best he could and our first stop was Port Canaveral, Florida. OK, not a beautiful Caribbean island, but Florida does have a few tourist spots. Next, we went to Freeport, Bahamas. Winner of World's Ugliest Port. Not much to say except that the Carnival cruisers (Carnies?) hi-jacked the pool facilities at the Westin/Sheraton resort - thanks guys! Our next port was a jaw-dropper to me and a reason to mutiny to others - Newport, Rhode Island. Quaint town, nice shops. I'd like to see it when the leaves change. I easily can since I live only 3 hours away! This was the major sticking point to some of the other guests, some from Connecticut others from Massachusetts. Big deal, my vacation was the ship itself - did I mention that the ship has great food? THE MUTINY: Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups. As their numbers increase, their collective IQ decreases. Such is what happened on Miracle shortly after the announcement of Newport RI as being the next port of call. A mob collected at the Pursers desk shouting for a refund and the captain's a**. The captain has certain responsibilities: Keep the passengers safe, keep the crew safe, keep the ship safe, see to the passengers wishes - IN THAT ORDER!! I was in no mood to see 20-30 foot breakers crash into the ship so some moron could go on their excursion. After the ship set course back north, the seas got much calmer and so did the passengers. However, that didn't stop the stupid ones from removing the service tips from their Sign and Sail account. What did the cabin steward or the waiter do to you to deserve such treatment? If you are trying to save a buck by sailing in PRIME hurricane season, you must be prepared for this. If an itinerary change is the WORST thing that happens to you, count your blessings - Ike just killed 80 people that were on dry land - do you think a cruise ship would fare much better? Ever see The Poseidon Adventure?

SUMMARY: I had a great vacation. The mystery of where we were going next only added to my enjoyment - I would have been happy with 8 days at sea! Carnival has a new loyal customer. Just keep up with the great food and service. Did I mention that they have great food?