Carnival Miracle Review
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August arrived and the hurricanes were raging. We had been looking forward to the Carnival Miracle because my wife of 25 years had surprised the family with an aft balcony. Naturally, we all breathed a collective sigh of relief when we sailed in between hurricanes. This cruise was our second on Carnival. The first was the Victory to Canada in August of 2001. We sailed on the Norwegian Dawn in February of this year and were expecting the same "new ship experience". This is not a comparison study of two cruise lines. Freestyle cruising only works on NCL's newer ships. Carnival still has the traditional seating arrangements, We picked late seating and didn't feel rushed. As a family of four we also didn't sit with strangers.
The embarkation, as usual and expected, is not the smoothest nor efficient because of the New York security issues and crumbling infrastructure of the piers. I cannot blame the cruise lines. They are working with what they have. As the popularity of cruises increase and I have witnessed this over the course of six cruises, some solution will have to be found to accommodate all the overcrowding. We pre-registered over the internet and it does save time. You are in the system and gives you an opportunity to spend less time with the boarding agents who are always polite and cordial. After the "fun cruise" boarding picture and then the required ship picture, we boarded the most beautiful,ornate,detailed and slightly funky ship we have ever seen.
Before I forget, my children ,a 24 year old girl and 16 year old boy, were impressed. They had sailed on other cruise ships but this was a sight. We were on the ship in a reasonable amount of time. Post 9/11 security is a reality we cannot avoid nor change so just grin and bear it. It was going to be awhile for the luggage to get to the room but we wanted to see the room first. I missed getting the expression on my children's faces when they realized they were in the correct room with a balcony. I was equally surprised. Complain all you want about Carnival they do have the largest rooms around. Has anyone been on the NCL Sea? You will agree.