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This was our second trip on the Miracle. Our first was last year and our itinerary was changed at the last minute and we never got to go to Panama - so I thought we should try again. 
This gives me a great chance to make comparisons. Firstly 8 days on a cruise ship is great. It is not too short, not too long and we seem to have had a much longer vacation than before. 
We had flown to FL from England via Atlanta and although this took ages, it was smooth and comfortable thanks to Delta and the three of us saved over £350 rather than direct with Virgin to Miami. 
We arrived a couple of nights early and chilled at the Hilton FL Beach. A fantastic pre-cruise choice. We also got to see Lionel Ritchie live at the Hard Rock. Sail On! 
Boarding the ship was a nightmare! Last year we sat in seats and were called up in batches. Excellent. This year we stood in line, shuffling like penguins for nearly 2 hours in 80deg+ heat. Not great for some of the more senior citizens, but more about that later! 
Balcony cabin was great, although we did feel the movement of the ship more on deck 8 than last year on deck 5, but it wasn't a problem. Our room steward Arif was superb and looked after us very well. 
The Miracle is a great ship. A bit garish perhaps but the people flow really well and you can always find places where you are practically on your own. 
Food is good at the buffet, better in the sit-down and superb in the Nick & Nora's Supper Club - which should revert to being a steakhouse and move up market. Not everything has to be downscale Carnival. We had Anytime dining and enjoyed it. However after the Austrian couple, the Gay Canadian couple and the Swiss lesbians, we decided that the crew had the Brits down as being the least 'redneck' of their guests and asked to dine on a table for two. I don't have any prejudices, it just makes conversation and finding common ground a bit difficult. Everybody was perfectly pleasant. 
Ports of call. Panama was everything I expected. We did the Canal Tour. it's lengthy and probably not for kids. My 13yr old was bored, but that's only because the kids camp on the ship is awesome and he makes dozens of friends that he's always sad to leave behind. The docking port is well-named as Colon. It really is the sphincter of the world and I would advise moving swiftly on. 
Costa Rica was next. A beautiful country with great people. It says a lot when a Central American country doesn't have an Army! We went white-water rafting and it was glorious. Not for the older or infirm as it was a hazardous trek to the boats and getting out at the bottom on a causeway of giant boulders in wet shoes was a magic act. However, blasting along a fantastic river on a red hot day in the central American jungle is something I will always remember. I got a bit enthusiastic at paddling so thanks to my crew member Kelly for keeping me in check. Limon is a far nicer port and we had a wander around and shopped. 
Next up was Belize, the only Port we have seen before. i went ashore early with my son for a bit of shopping and then we joined afternoon Snorkel and Beach Break. We met some great people - Penny & Terry and Kelly came too. My wife and son roped Kelly and Terry into a spot of canoeing and I enjoyed the private beach chatting to Penny. The snorkeling was good but visibility wasn't the best as the day was cloudy. I'm not a good swimmer and it took me a while to get my confidence back, but can't wait to go again. The guides and tuition was excellent. 
I had forgotten how good the Belize rum punch is. By the time we got back to the Miracle, the entire boat was singing and other trippers gave us jealous looks that they hadn't come with us. The security staff joined in the signing as we re-boarded. i can honestly say that this was the most fun day of the ship - and here is my only complaint. 
Carnival has an image as the Fun Ship cruise line. It is aimed at families and younger people and is supposed to be loud, outgoing and tolerant of high spirits. Last year it was. This year I have never seen so many walking frames, motorised scooters and gallons of blue rinse in my life! Where were all the young people? We found 50 on our Belize tour but that was it! 
All of the crew and table staff commented on it. The brilliant asst maitre'd was incredulous at the average age of his guests. The ship was quiet at night and we sought out the Karaoke bar as the only place to have a laugh and see some talented people sing. 
It turns out that Carnival offered some fantastic deals to over 55s and Florida residents, so guess what? The boat was filled with Florida residents over 55! I enjoy the company of old people - some of my best friends are old people as the saying goes. But this wasn't the place for them. Use your marketing to steer them to HAL or Princess instead. Otherwise your younger or more outgoing crowd will defect to Ocean Village or Norwegian instead. 
as a result of this profile, shipboard activities were lame. The cruise director Malcolm was good and individually very funny, but the activities on the ship were mediocre compared to last year and ultimately that's what he's there for. 
Saying all that, we'll book again. Probably even in 2010 when the Miracle changes itinerary. I took the Behind the Fun tour which other CC members have commented on and it was brilliant. Actually worth the $95. I met the Captain and chatted with him for ages, most of the other officers, the head chef and grabbed the chance to serve my drinks waiter with a drink whilst he ate lunch - much to the amusement of his mates. 
We'll be back Carnival. Do take take not to confuse your brands and keep the differentiation. If you want a quick solution a free glass of Belize Rum punch every night would liven things up. 


Who took the Fun out of Carnival?

My boyfriend and I got back from the Carnival Miracle on 12/23/08. We sailed on 12/15. We had booked the cruise about 4-5 months in advance, and had been anticipating the trip, counting down the days! We were very disappointed when we got to the port in Fort Lauderdale. A lady handed us a paper and said that there was a new itinerary. We were supposed to be going on a cruise to Panama, Costa Rica, and Belize. Apparently, there was some type of problem with the ship's propulsion and it could not go as fast. We learned that we would be going to Costa Maya and Cozumel Mexico, Belize, and Roatan. I felt horrible at the moment because I pictured my cruise to be one thing and now I had to readjust almost everything. Plus, my boyfriend was really looking forward to ziplining in Costa Rica. The kicker to the story is that as compensation, Carnival offered a $25 shipboard credit to each passenger. I felt like this was completely inadequate and a real slap in the face. That's like two FunShip drinks! 
We decided that we would try to make the most of the trip despite the changes. After all, we weren't at home or at our jobs, and it was time to relax. We had previously sailed on the Valor. The Miracle is slightly smaller than the Valor, although not by much. It carries a fictional character theme, and this is evident throughout each of its decks. Some of the ships highlights are Frankenstein's Lab (the disco), the Phantom Lounge (where they have the shows), and the atrium (at the top of this space there are a set of plexiglass stairs that lead to the supper club...it is truly scary to climb these stairs and look down!). In general, the ship was everything I expected from a Carnival vessel. Not too fancy, kind of gaudy in certain areas, but generally clean and inviting. On this cruise, we opted for an obstructed balcony room. I was worried about what this would be like, even though the guy from Carnival sent me a picture prior to the booking. The obstruction comes from a lifeboat that is situated about four or five feet below the balcony. Hence, you can't look straight down, but you can look out onto the water. We hardly even sat on the balcony, and basically just wanted to be able to have some fresh air and some daylight (last time we had an inside cabin and always felt like we were in a cave). The stateroom was comfortable and not too small, but I hate the way Carnival decorates its rooms (with coral pastel colors). They just look kind of dated. Our cabin steward was very friendly and always left really cool towel animals on our bed. 
The food on this cruise was good. In the dining room, there is a nightly menu with starters, main courses, and desserts. Try the warm chocolate melting cake. It is a Carnival staple and it's very good. Some of the main courses were so-so, but in general I really enjoyed eating there. They had some good steak, fish, and pasta dishes. On the lido deck, there are several buffets with different types of food and it is very hard to resist trying everything. Be prepared to gain a few pounds. They have burgers with all the trimmings, Asian food, traditional American, some Mexican, and even sushi. Juices and lemonade are always free, but you will have to pay for soda. 
Now for the ports of call. Costa Maya and Cozumel were not much to look at from the ship. There was a hurricane in 2007 that did some significant damage, so both ports are in the process of revitalization. In Costa Maya, we took a two hour, air-conditioned bus ride to Kohunlich, an ancient Mayan site. I have always wanted to see these types of structures, and I am glad that we did this tour. The guide was very nice and informative. There are many opportunities for great pictures. 
In Cozumel, we decided to fork out a lot of money for the rare chance to swim with dolphins. We did booked it through Carnival. This excursion took place at the Dolphinaris facility, which was very nice. We got to kiss and shake "hands" with the dolphins, and even got to ride them. They also gave us some free time to just swim around and pet them. The only negative thing that I can say about this excursion is that they charged a whopping $45 dollars for TWO photos. They put them on a picture CD for us...but I thought that for that kind of money, they could have put all of them on the CD for us...they took so many good ones! 
Belize is a tender port, meaning that we didn't dock right next to the island. Instead, tender boats come to the ship and transport passengers to the mainland. We decided to go snorkeling that day. Our excursion picked us up right from the boat and took us out to the reef, so we never really got to see much of Belize City. Snorkeling was pretty amazing though and there was a lot to see. Afterwards, we went to a private island and spent some time on the beach. It was beautiful. I definitely want to go back to Belize and see more. There is supposed to be a really cool shore excursion called the Lost World Canopy Tour where you get to zip line through the trees. Unfortunately, we waited too long and this tour sold out. 
Roatan was our fourth and final island stop. We weren't sure what to do that day, so we got off the ship and figured that we'd find our way to a beach. We were greeted by several taxi and tour operators, and they sort of hounded us until we asked to step aside for a minute to think about where we wanted to go and how much we wanted to pay to get there. We talked one driver down to $10 per person to go round trip to a beach called West Bay. I am so glad that we went there. It was really gorgeous, and such a nice spot to just lay in the sand and relax. They made some good margaritas at the bar, too! One of the girls that we met on the cruise also went there and said that the snorkeling was amazing. 
All in all, the cruise was very nice. We like cruising because you can meet so many different people from all over the world (both crew and fellow passengers). It's a great way to see different parts of the world. Carnival is a fine cruise line if you are not overly critical or don't care about the utmost in sophistication. The staff definitely has the FUN of its guests in mind and they work very hard to make the trip memorable. I just wish we had gotten more compensation for the change in itinerary. 


Not sure if it was a Miracle, but it was fun:-)

Riga

Carnival Miracle Review 
I cruised the Carnival Miracle June 12-20, 2007 with my husband, parents, and two family friends. Overall we had a great time. 
Embarkation: This is the second time that we have cruised out of New York City. Though this time embarkation went far better than the last time, it still takes far longer than many other embarkation ports. We got to the pier around 1:15. Porters were outside to take our luggage the minute we pulled up, which was fantastic. We waited about an hour total to have our tickets checked, our pictures taken, and get on the ship. 
Cabin / Ship DEcor: We originally booked a guaranteed inside cabin and were lucky to be upgraded to an obstructed view balcony cabin, number 5157. We have never had a balcony cabin, so we thought we had died and gone to heaven. We were not able to see out when we were sitting on the balcony, due to the lifeboat, but when we stood up we could see fine. Our cabin felt much bigger than several other cabins we have had in the past. The ship dEcor was a little crazy. I didn't think all of the rooms tied in to a common theme, but everything was nicely decorated. My favorites were Frankenstein's Lab, the Mad Hatter's Ball, and Maguire's Sports Bar. The dining room was done with a grape theme and was interesting, to say the least. This is the first ship that I have been on that uses the lower decks for lounges and bars and the higher decks for cabins. I am guessing this was to make room for more balconies. I liked using the lower floors for common areas; you felt the ship's movement much less on the lower floors. 
Staff / Service: We had fantastic cabin and dining steward/stewardesses. Our cabin was always clean; no matter what time we awoke. Both of our cabin stewards (Ling and I Made) called us by name the entire cruise, from day one. Our dining table (number 238) also had wonderful service. Karolina was our head waitress and she was always attentive and helpful, but she is leaving for a well-deserved vacation in a month. Biljana was our assistant waitress. She also did a nice job, but became ill the last few days of our cruise. Chayaya took over for Biljana and was very pleasant, as well. Kelly took care of our drink orders for dinner and she was fantastic. We all had soda cards, as we do not drink. In our experience when a bartender sees the soda card, they get the original then stay away. Kelly was amazing. She had our sodas on the table waiting for us when we got there, and she would come back several times throughout the meal to check if we needed refills. 
Entertainment: Brent Mitchell was the cruise director. He was okay, but we did not see him very often. You heard his voice far more than you saw him. There were four social hosts, Jennifer, Brandon, Julie, and Allen. They were seen often throughout the day, and did pretty good job with their activities. The ship did have a lot of activities going on throughout the day. We played almost every game of trivia that was offered, and managed to win a few of them. The ship also had their own rendition of Family Feud, Millionaire, and several other fun games. The nighttime shows were average. I thought the singer/dancer shows were okay, not as good as some of the other ships that we have been on. The only show we didn't go to was the Welcome Aboard show, because we were too tired. 
Lido: The Horatio Restaurant on the Lido deck far exceeded my expectations. Though it was a little crazy and hectic at times, the food was far better than any other Lido buffet. I also liked that they did a "taste of nations" and featured a different type of cuisine everyday. 
Ports: San Juan - My husband and I did the Bioluminescent Bay Kayak tour in San Juan. This was an adventure. It was a pretty long drive, though a lot of traffic, to get to the bay. Our driver was great and told us the history of the island while we were driving. Let me start off by saying that my husband and I have never kayaked before. We had a TOUGH time. I think I was a little panicked by how dark it was, kayaking through the mangrove. It got a little chaotic at times, with tons of kayaks coming and going. Other kayaks kept pushing us into the tree roots, which we were warned were not snakes! When we finally got to the bioluminescent part of the bay, we were amazed. It is well worth seeing, though if you have never kayaked before I might not suggest doing it in the dark for the first time. 
St. Thomas - This was my second time in St. Thomas and I absolutely love this island. We booked a tour with Godfrey and he was fabulous. He picked us up at the ship at 10 and took us on a tour of the island. Then he dropped people off at their beach choice for two hours. Then he dropped everyone off in town for two hours of shopping. He was fantastic and I would recommend him again to anyone. 
Tortola: My father and I did "The Baths" tour in Virgin Gorda. It was about a 25-minute boat ride to the island of Virgin Gorda, then a 15-minute bus ride to "The Baths." Once you get to the Baths, you have to walk down a 350ft trail to the beach. The trail is rocky, and can be a little tough in places. Once at the beach, you can either snorkel or take the Devil's Bay Trail. They recommend that you be physically fit to take the Devil's Bay Trail. You have to stoop to get through some areas, use a rope to climb up a rock, take several ladders, and wade through some water. One guide joked that this was the "Indiana Jones" part of the tour. Once at the other beach, you will see it is worth it. There were probably only 50-60 people there and the water was gorgeous. We did see quite a few fish, and had a great time. 
Disembarkation: Incredibly easy. We did the self-assist and were off the ship about 10 minutes after they made the self-assist page. 
All in all, we had a wonderful time. I think a cruise is what you make of it, and we definitely made the most of the Carnival Miracle. 


Carnival Miracle - Eastern Mediterranean

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