Carnival Miracle Review

8 day Miracle from NYC

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Carnival Miracle
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omarchs
10+ Cruises • Age 50s

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Sail Date: May 2011

Long time cruiser (10+Celebrity, 10+ RCCL, multiples on NCL, Holland, Princess) who finally tried Carnival.I am in my mid 40's and traveled with mom and we wanted a quick and easy getaway from NY since we live in the tri-state area.We booked an Ocean Suite 6185 since it wasn't much more than a regular balcony cabin and we were afraid of long embarkation lines since we are used to priority boarding on other lines due to our frequent cruising.We arrived around 11:30am and we were shown to a private check-in area and we were on the ship within 15 minutes of entering the terminal.ROOM:Rooms were available at 1:30. The suite was very nice with a double-wide balcony and an extra large bathroom. Bon Voyage items were already in the room when we arrived. Very surprising that suites had no extra perks beyond the embarkation, but room was still worth the extra we paid. Cabin stewards were fantastic and was very impressed how quickly the steward and assistant knew our names.DINING:We had the your time dining and I wasn't a big fan of how it was executed. We usually went to dinner around 6:45-7 each night and we had to wait 30-45 minutes on at least a few nights if you wanted to sit by yourself. It quickly became apparent that there were too many people and too few waiters for the upper side portion of the dining room for the your time dining. NCL does a far superior job with anytime dining since they have done it for so many years.Food was average. Selections weren't the greatest and it was the ugliest dining room i have ever seen! They could have served 5 star food and it would have tasted like McDonalds having to look at all these glowing purple grapes in the dining room. Waiters were always excellent and knew your name immediately. Drink service was sporadic.Buffet was always crowded for food. Decent selections. Seating relatively easy in the am, but tough at lunch. Nice to have trays for the food rather than getting third degree burns with just hot plates.We ate at Nick and Nora's one night. Gorgeous setting at the top of the ship Food was inconsistent for the $30 fee, but I have rarely found the speciality restaurants on ships to be that big a deal.SHIP:Great to have a mid-size ship with three pool areas. The pool on the rear of the ship had a very small pool, but a huge deck area with plenty of chairs. The main pool areas were quickly overrun by kids so we stayed on the back of the ship all week. Bar service wasn't overly aggressive compared to other lines. Drink prices are higher on average than other lines and I thought the size of mixed drinks were much smaller than other lines. You needed to get a double for $3 more to get a real size drink.The ship was immaculate and in great shape. There were plenty of lounges on the ship. I missed having a forward observation lounge at the front of the ship, but a very nice gym/spa used this space here. Enough shops to give a little distraction. A fairly large casino that focused more on tables than slots and it was the first time I have seen an entertainer right in the casino at night. Decor in the lounges was very hit or miss.ENTERTAINMENT:There were three production shows that were all very good and Ticket to Ride was exceptional. Additional performers in the show room were average. Separate comedy club was great and they had 4 different comedians over the course of the cruise doing multiple sets each night. Lounge performers weren't great and we never saw the pool band since we never sat by the main pools were they performed and they didn't pipe in the music at the back pool.PORTS:Stopped at Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay and Nassau. We just walked over to Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville and spent the day at the pool. Lots of flies attacking you there, but great fun and nice lunch. Half Moon Cay is the nicest private island I have ever been to. Powder sand beach, plenty of chaise lounges for everyone and a very extensive lunch barbecue and plenty of covered seating areas for lunch. The Captain Morgan bar in the pirate ship on the beach was a nice touch and Captain Morgan was a gracious host!! Nassau was just Nassau. I would be happy to not see it on another itinerary. I have tried doing most things there and I don't like the beach since you get hounded all day by the locals. Made a quick trip to the temporary straw market and had a few drinks at Senor Frogs and partied with a bunch of fun people from Canada.PASSENGERS:Wide mixture of age groups. Majority of people were very friendly. Most people were dressed up on Elegant Nights.DISEMBARKATION:We had priority departure and waited in Frankie and Johnnie's lounge and we were off the ship by 9:15 and grabbed a cab quickly to Grand Central.OVERALL:We were pleasantly surprised with Carnival. It provided great value for the money. Service was comparable to so called premium lines despite having fewer staff. Food was on par with NCL, Princess and RCCL. Very nice ship although strangely decorated in places. Would definitely travel on the Miracle again out of NY and already booked on the Breeze next year to Europe.

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