Let me start by telling you this was my 10th cruise and my husbands 7th and our 6th Carnival cruise. We cruised with 2 other couples and we are all between 40 and 60 years old. I'm a little partial to Carnival but for a good reason, they offer the best deal for the money you spend! Their food is always good and the entertainment outstanding.

Until the Miracle we have always been quite satisfied with our other Carnival cruises, but the Miracle surpasses all other ships we sailed on including the Pride which use to be our favorite. We even did the Pride 2 times -- once in Florida and the other time in California. We felt the Miracle was extremely clean, friendly and the food was excellent. The Beatles show was outstanding. It was like "old home week" for us because the Captain and our waiter and a lot of the crew had been on the Pride when we first sailed her out of Port Canaveral in 2002 when she was brand new. I asked our waiter where the Prides original Maitre d' was and she said he had retired. That's too bad because he was a great Maitre d' and he really kept his staff busy entertaining us. He even sang a few songs himself. Anyone who took the original Pride cruises out of Florida know what I'm talking about.

This was only a 3 day cruise, but it gave us time to get away with friends and relax and also to see the Miracle. For 2 of our friends this was their first cruise and I know it won't be their last. They are already talking about another one in the spring. We booked a balcony guarantee through Carnival and were upgraded to the Panorama Deck with an extended balcony. We were quite happy. The first timers were upgraded from an inside cabin to a obstructed balcony, which they said was great. I thought that was a great upgrade for first time cruisers. Read more