Sailed from NYC on 9/11 to Bermuda. This was our 11th cruise and 4th on Carnival. Previously we have sailed on Sitmar, RCCL, and Celebrity. We love cruising! There is no better value for the dollar than a cruise. All cruises are different, ships are different, staffs are different. That being said, there is some comfort in the expectation of, "Different ship, same stuff." The weather cannot be controlled so there is no reason to comment on it. POSITIVES: Carnival has the largest staterooms by far of any of the other lines we have cruised. We selected a balcony cabin on desk 8 (of which I knew better). This deck is immediately under the pool deck and sure enough we were awakened at 5:00am each morning by the sound of tables and chairs being moved around above our heads. Excellent room steward. Carnival not only has 24-hour pizza, they have 24-hour soft serve ice cream and frozen yogurt. The other lines we have traveled do not, and in fact RCCL seems to always have trouble keeping their machines running even when they are opened (6 cruises - same issue). The ship had a comedy club that hosted 4 different comedians throughout the cruise. Three were excellent and 1 was just plain bad. Other shows were up to par with RCCL. Carnival does have small launderette's on the ship that other lines do not have. This is great if you need to iron something quickly. You can also do your own laundry of you have enough quarters. NOT NECESSARILY NEGATIVE - BUT BE AWARE Food quality was good throughout. The Main Dining Room (MDR) selections were a bit disappointing as far as creativity, but that may be a sign of who cruises Carnival and their preferences. Buffet food was normal, but poolside food was very, very good. Best hot dog I have ever eaten and the tortilla chips were home made right on the ship - excellent. Pools were very tiny, but there were 3 of them. Carnival does not enforce the no saving deck chair policy. Celebrity does a very good job of this - Carnival could learn a few things. Carnival also does not enforce their dress code policy in the MDR. Lots of ratty shorts, flip flops and the like - even on more "formal" nights. Again, they could learn a bit from Celebrity ( I witnessed a man being turned away from the MDR on Celebrity based on his attire). We were very disappointed with the live music. The poolside band were 2 uninspired musicians playing guitars to recorded music. There were 2 piano players, and 2 one-man bands. One of them, Tony Ray, was excellent but spent most of the cruise in the smoke filled casino were no one cared. The one night we caught him out we danced the entire time to his music. The show band was very good but did not play outside of the shows. It would have been great to have them playing dance music since most of the cruisers were over 40. We are used to 3-4 man bands playing anything from jazz-to-salsa-to-ballroom. You will find the ship very clean and the staff friendly. The ship architect should be fired, because you will also find some of the ugliest decor on the 7-seas. Overall this was just a so-so cruise. Was it the worst we have ever been on? Yes. Was it bad? No. Did we have a nice cruise vacation? Yes we did. Most of what is cruise is, is what YOU make of it. Read Less

What a wonderful and awe inspiring beginning to our cruise! Thanks to the "powers that be" we were privileged to have the best seats in the house for viewing the spotlight beams blazing into the sky in remembrance of those who so tragically lost their lives on 9/11. Travel and Embarkation: Smooth sailing from start to finish. We drove from RI straight down 95, took the Henry Hudson Parkway south (9A south)straight to the pier. We recommend going straight to parking an not to the drop off point. Baggage handlers are at the parking lot to help. We processed through at about 1130 and got aboard at about 1230. Went to eat and dropped our stuff off at 1330. Cabin: Superb! Clean and more than enough room for the two of us. We really enjoyed the balcony. The steward from Indonesia was efficient--probably the best we have ever had. Food: Not a clinker in the bunch. The last time aboard I had little success with the beef dishes. This time was just the opposite. All meals, to include appetizers and desserts were great. I just can't figure out why people can't find something they like on the menu. The menu was extensive and varied. If you don't like something, send it back and try something else! The wait staff was superb and was the Maitre 'D. I also recommend getting one of the wine packages. It's a great deal if you enjoy wine. Entertainment: The juggler was great! The ventriloquist was not, but not for lack of effort on his part. I just didn't get fired up. Ticket to Ride was great as was the Generations show. One of our production shows got cancelled due to Maria. I didn't watch the comedians--way past my bedtime. Physical plant: The crew went out of their way to keep up with all of us messy folks. No complaints from us on cleanliness or availability of necessities. They took good care of us. Read Less

First of all, our sail date was out of NYC on 9/11/11, so I was a bit unsure how the feel would be in the City. But, all was well. Appeared to be just another day at the Pier. Embarkation was very smooth. We arrived about 11:30am. When we got to the line, we sailed right through as the attendant opened up another line at the same time we arrived. Once checked in, we were a bit confused where to go and ended up entering the ship before our zone was called. But, no one stopped us, so for us, it was a convenient mishap. Entering the ship we went right for a drink assuming it was too early to see our cabin. There were no signs or anything to let you know when it was best to go to your cabin, so we waited about an hr, then went, and it was ready. We were pleasantly surprised at the size of the room. One of the biggest balcony staterooms we've had on any ship so far. Plenty of closet and drawer space and even a roomy bathroom. Our attendant Daniel Lopez was AWESOME, super friendly and always had a smile on his face. We called him The Ninja, because even if we only left our room for a bit, when we came back our room had already been cleaned!! As for the ship itself, we found it to be a bit small for our liking. Now, I will say we may have felt that way because our last cruise was on the Oasis of the Seas which is the one of the largest and newest ships out there. I also didnt realize at the time of booking that this was a spirit class ship and a bit older. Which was evident in the decor. There was a mildew smell on the lower decks, in fact at one point toward the end, they had the casino closed off for shampooing the carpets. The food wasnt much to our liking either. We're not much for the whole dressing up deal, so on previous cruises we've always pretty much stuck to the buffets for breakfast and dinner. After trying the buffet for 2 days, we couldnt stomach it anymore, so attempted the dining room for dinner. The 1st nite was the very best. Had the sweetest lobster ever, desserts were nice and the staff very attentive. We did the My time dining and had no wait time. On nights there after, food was bland. We often didnt finish any of our appetizers or dinners. Now, I will say, the staff were very concerned and often offered us other options, but we're not big eaters anyway so we would decline. Due to this experience, we were very looking forward to our night out at Nick and Nora's. But, disappointed once again. For the $30.00 per person cost, we werent impressed. I originally wanted the surf and turf, but it was a very small lobster that came with that option. When I asked if I could have the bigger lobster they told me it would be an additional $30.00. So I opted for just the larger lobster tail and no filet. I actually found the lobster I had in the main dining room a couple days before was much sweeter and a larger portion. Although the ambiance, location and view are the best on the ship!!! It didnt appear there were many activities during the day. After the 1st two days, we were a bit bored. The 2 pools were extremely small, and the people would go to the pool area very early, save seats, then not utilize them much of the day. The 2 jacuzzi's were full all the time. When we finally did get to go in one, it wasnt even hot. The attendants by they pool were exceptional. Always there and quick to return with our drinks. I found it funny though, that not many people hung out at the bars on the ship decks. That's where we had normally met up with new people on past cruises. It may have been because there was not much room since the decks chairs were so close by. Or many times, there was no bartender. Also the decks where the pools were located were super slippery. I saw several people fall over the course of 8 days. And heard many older people complaining about the conditions. They had staff trying to keep the area's dry, but to no avail. They should definitely look into this hazard. Our port of call was Bermuda and we loved it. (Tropical storm Maria and all.) We preferred to be off the boat and stayed on the island as long as possible. Horseshoe Bay is beautiful and Swizzles is a must. They have the best battered fish sandwich I've ever tasted. A trip to Hamilton is good is you like to shop. We had the best ever sushi at a place called Yashi. If you're a sushi lover, GO!! Back to the ship- Entertainment-I'll be honest we didnt see any of the shows in the Phantom theater. Didnt really appear to be any that we cared to see. However, we love, love, loved the comedy shows. We were a bit put out though, since this was the only entertainment we liked, we tried to stay for a 2nd show with another comedian, but were pretty much strongly advised to leave and let other's attend the 2nd showing. I can understand their request to a point, but felt we should have been able to stay if we wanted. (BTW, Shawn, the asst cruise director was a hoot as the host for the comedy shows). Stores were nice, prices pretty good. Everyone was pretty friendly except for the officers and security staff. Never smiled, never said hello. I was actually pretty surprised at the considerable presence of security on this ship. I thought it was because of higher security due to 9/11, but when I inquired, was told this is the way it always is. Maybe because it's the fun ship and it get's rowdy? I can say this was a very low key and keep to yourself kind of crowd. Or maybe the high security kept everyone more subdued. The best day we had on the ship was the last Sea Day. We took the Behind the scenes ship tour. We went to the bridge and met the captain and crew, where we were able to have group and individual pictures taken. Viewed the galley and crew eating areas, engine room, backstage of the phantom theater and spoke with a few crew members. It was an exceptional tour and a true highlight for us. Just a friendly reminder, dont take your cell phone or camera on this tour, you will be searched before the tour begins. Debarkation was smooth!!! We were off the boat by 9:am. Sad to say, it will probably be a while before I would try another Carnival Cruise. They kept saying this was the "fun ship", but I didnt see it or feel it. For the budget cruiser or 1st time cruiser it may be a different experience. Read Less

When it was time for Sail-Away, we all ended up by the smoke stack. The lights came on, and we watched as they lit up the sky as dusk turned into darkness. A bagpiper walked the decks as he played patriotic songs, and other melodies. It was a beautiful and moving moment, as Captain Alcaras stopped our ship in front of the Freedom Towers. Their red, white, and blue made the depature out of NYC more memorable. As I stood there, with the other Cruise Critic Members, and said silent prayers for those who perished, as well as the families who were left behind, I realized that I was lucky to be such a huge part of a rememberance of 9/11.I don't have any complaints about our cruise. The entertainment was great. I do give the person who was the juggler credit, as he had a few near misses, and played it off very well. That was at the later show. The other memorable entertainment was our Cruise Director, Malcom in the Middle's Silent Films Cast. He chose audience members to participate. The two shows we saw were very exciting. They were also very funny. I give them a lot of credit for having the guts to stand up in front of strangers, and making us all laugh.The Meet and Greet went well. The Cruise Critic Members all enjoyed themselves. The bar staff in Frankie and Johnnie's Jazz Lounge were wonderful, and served us with drinks throughout the one hour open bar. I must admit, they were also one of the reasons why I love Carnival. They really make the atmosphere a positive one. It's so nice to see their friendly and smiling faces, when they're so far away from their home, and family and friends. I never got tired of hearing them say, "Good Morning." I usually am the cherry one in the morning, even without coffee. It was nice to see so many happy people, who were working on the ship.The other events that the Cruise Critic Members had scheduled were a Cabin Crawl, where everyone went from one category to another, an independent trip to the Blue Hole Caves, and last but not least, a Slot Pull, where everyone loads their money into a slot machine, and they each get five pulls, at around $15 per person. We did miss meeting the NCL Gem Cruise Critic Members, as they got rerouted to Florida and the Bahamas. I missed having their ship in the dockyard with us.We were in the lovely Maria's path, and had a lot of gail forced winds, with a lot of water splashing up onto the pier. I didn't want to stay on the ship, or in the room for that matter. So, I wandered through the dockyard, and ran into some fellow Cruise Critic Members, who had the same idea. The staff and crew did their best to make sure that we were all safe getting on and off the ship. They all told us to be careful, and watch our steps, as they were genuinely concerned for our safety. A few of us ended up getting splashed with water from the ocean, as it came up on the pier. Another couple were standing by the edge of the water, on the pier, and ended up almost getting blown into the water. I'm so glad that wasn't George and me.The food was tasty. We never complained once about the quality of the food. We had Your Time Dining, and were always seated promptly. A couple of times we were handed pagers, but it didn't bother us one bit. We were glad to have the extra time to wander outside, and wait for them to beep us when our table was ready. The waiters and waitresses were wonderful as well. I was so glad that the Matire 'D was there to say hello to us. He didn't just pop up on the last night of the ship, with his hand out for the money. We were very pleased that he took the time to go out of his way to say "Hello".Captain Alcaras is a wonderful person. The Cruise Critic Members and I presented him with a plaque and a coin. The plaque had a picture of NYC's skyline, with the two lights that light up the sky. It reads "10 Years Later We Will Always Remember, 9/11 We Will Never Forget". The coin has the State of New York on it. They put it in the display case, where the stores are. It's all the way at the end, near the stairs and the water fall, heading towards the front of the ship. The stores are at Midship.I am very pleased that Captain Alcaras, the NYC mayor's office, The Port Authority, and the Carnival Administrators, all went out of their way to make our delayed sailing a reality. I'm especially thankful for the one and only, Cruise Director, John Heald, for keeping us posted as the details progressed. If it weren't for the wonderful staff who worked tirelessly to pull this off, the delayed sailing wouldn't have been successful.Also, thank you to all of the Cruise Critic Members in being instrumental in planning and setting up all of our activities. It's been a wonderful cruise. I am very glad that I was able to share some fond memories with my fellow Cruise Critic Members. If it weren't for all of you, we wouldn't have had the successful cruise that we all enjoyed and participated in together. Read Less

This was our 13th cruise - our third on Carnival. We chose this cruise because of the price, the timing, the embarkation port, and the itinerary - three days in Bermuda. We were very impressed by the way Carnival made note of the 10th anniversary of September 11 - not only did they gain permission to delay sailing and, in fact, brought the ship to a dead stop just off of Manhattan, so that we might pay our respects at Ground Zero at twilight, but they brought on a bagpiper to play appropriate musical selections as we were alongside. It was a moving experience, marred only by the loudly-inappropriate NYC-based family who kept prattling on with inane discussions about anything but the topic at hand, as they kept elbowing me and my husband at railside. We had an extended balcony cabin, forward midship portside, Empress deck. It was a spacious room, tastefully decorated. My husband missed having a second row of drawers on one side of the vanity, which was taken up by the minibar/fridge. I appreciated having a third closet with deep shelves for storage. This was our first balcony stateroom and, while I enjoyed being able to sit outside quietly reading a book from time to time or watch the sunset, we suspect our cabin choices in the future won't be bound by the experience. The "Carnival Comfort Beds" are a little soft for our tastes -- but then again, we prefer firmer mattresses. We could not have asked for better service from everyone we had the pleasure to interact with - Miastra and his assistant steward were absolutely flawless; our dinner service team, Edwin, Donald, and Ladislau, equally so; and the many requests we made of the maitre'd, Drasko, to adjust table assignments and acknowledge special occasions were met with smiles and alacrity. The casino staff we worked with for our Roll Call slot pull; the internet cafe manager, who credited us with extra minutes for promotions even if we signed up early to keep in touch with inlaws caring for a sick pet; and the friendly folks at the purser's desk who graciously helped with extra quarters for the laundromat and handing off an errant rental cell phone accessory bag to the port agent . . . every person we interacted with was gracious, smiling, and service-oriented. The Lido menu was straightforward with no surprises nor disappointments. Alas, we cannot say the same for the new dining room menu, which greatly restricts the variety of dishes offered each evening, as well as the widely-varying quality of said meals. One table-mate had to send pot roast back as it was tough as shoe-leather; the 'tiger shrimp' was really not what we expect to see in terms of size -- the servings of seafood, especially, seemed less than generous. However, we never left the table hungry - we just wished we had had more options from which to choose. We cannot comment on the shows, as we choose late dining and rarely make them; the new comedy club was a nice option —- my husband said that the comedians were passable, but the emcee went a bit overboard (no pun intended) in setting the "R-Rated" context of the performance by being overly crude (much more so than the comedians themselves). We were impressed by two performers, however; Dave Fulton and The Miracle Orchestra, along with their vocalist, Crystal, were a pleasure to hear; and Taylor, the petite auburn pianist/vocalist who often held court in the Metropolis atrium, was delightful. This was our second trip to Bermuda and we thoroughly enjoyed it, even as one day was full of rain and wind due to Tropical Storm Maria. We made the most of it, though - spending time at the National Museum of Bermuda (formerly the Maritime Museum) and falling upon a one-time deal at DolphinQuest because of cancellations from the weather, that ended up being the highlight of our trip. We heard from other Carnival cruisers that they found Bermuda too expensive for their tastes in terms of 'cheap souvenirs', but for us, we enjoy the unique pieces of pottery, jewelry, perfume, and other experiences that make the island what it is. We were very grateful that Carnival chose to head to Bermuda instead of heading south as Maria made up her mind which way to go, but there was no mistaking the rough seas reminding us that bad weather was beside us. We also had two medical disembarkations - one via helicopter that diverted us to outside of Norfolk the first morning of our sailing; the second, as we were readying to depart Bermuda that delayed sailing. Neither impeded our ability to arrive on time, but it did impress upon us how important travel insurance is. And, thanks to the tropical storms along the coast, the ride back was quite the adventure. In summary, I would say that if haute cuisine is not your highest priority, Carnival is certainly a fine way to travel to Bermuda and back. The excellent service we received and spacious cabins definitely makes up for the lackluster menu offerings in the main dining room. . . . and the lengths to which Carnival went to recognize the 10th anniversary of 9/11 will not be forgotten by us. Read Less

This is our second cruise on the Miracle and the ship is starting to show her age. The staff was wonderful and the captain kept us updated on the weather events due to Maria. The storm hit the second day in port with Maria 150 miles west of Bermuda. There was alot of wind and rain; you were not allowed on open deck. The crew added many activities for the majority of cruisers who stayed on the ship and did not adventure into port. The ship rocked and rolled on our return to NY. Every day at 4:00 PM, for approx. 15 minutes, our cabin smelled like grilled onions. We questioned guess relations and they stated that it was due to the outside air return in the AC system. Strange people that we are, we started to look forward to the smell every day. Our biggest complaint is the dinner menu and the food in the main dining room. The selection is limited and the quality of the food poor. (except for the bread and rolls which were great). The fish choices were either over or under cooked. The flat iron steak was tough and the fried chicken was dry and all crumbs, no chicken. Your best dessert selection is at the buffet at lunch. The deli and the grill were also good. The comedians on the return to NY were FUNNY! Read Less

I did a very detailed review with about 250 photos of the ship, Bermuda & the food, glorious food. You can find it on the Carnival boards titled "Fantastic Miracle to Bermuda, 9/27 LOTS of photos & food porn warning". A quick overview, we had an OS cat 11 cabin that was great. Good steward & lots of room. Enjoyed the whirlpool tub & double sinks, as well as the dressing area with vanity & extra storage space. The closets in the dressing area were showing some wear & tear, they were super hard to slide open & closed. Food was good to very good. There were few disappointments. The steakhouse food was excellent, but a word of warning... the NOISE/music from the atrium bar rockets up into this otherwise perfect restaurant. Its the reason we didn't go back at least 1 more time. Room service food was decent and so was the lido deck food. Overall my food expectations were exceeded. Service was spotty in the dining room, especially at the two MDR lunches we tried. However, overall, I would rate the service as GOOD. The ship was gorgeous & clean. The entertainment was OK to Good in the main theater, I enjoyed Ticket to Ride the most. We LOVED the Punchliners comedy club, we saw about 7 shows there & thought they were all at least funny, if not hysterical. Bermuda is Bermuda, gorgeous as always, our favorite port of call. Lots of pics in my review. Embark & debark was organized & efficient. A great time & a great value for your cruise dollar! I highly recommend this ship! Read Less

This was my first ever cruise, and we booked with Carnival because we got a good deal from my mother's friend who is a travel agent, and she was booking a group cruise, and if we booked with her, it was much cheaper, so for our family vacation, we decided to go to Bermuda, which was a 7 day cruise, and we were docked for 3 days in Bermuda, which I thought was nice, you got to spend more time on the island than on other cruises. EMBARKATION:We arrived in NYC at 11:30 am, the boat was scheduled to start boarding passengers at 1:00 pm. We got a ride from a relative, so parking was not necessary for us, and we went inside the terminal, and we got out boarding passes and we went through customs and security and got our room keys/sail and sign cards in under 20 minutes. We only had to wait to board the ship for about 10 minutes, and Carnival even opened the gang plank earlier so people didn't have to wait in the waiting area. The rooms wouldn't be ready until 1:30, so we all went to the Lido deck, and they already had a beautiful buffet lunch prepared, it was delicious, and we walked around the Sun Deck and explored, and by the time we noticed, it was already 2:00, so we went to our rooms. The rooms we got were Interior rooms, they were beautiful, I saw no need for a balcony or grand suite when everything was already in the room, and it was not cramped at all, and it was clean and beautiful!We had 2 fun days at sea, where we went to shows, which were beautifully done, very nice entertainment, except the one comedian I saw, every other joke was about bestiality and masturbation, he really didn't amuse me, but the show times were SPECTACULAR, we saw "Generations", "A Ticket to Ride", and some singer, I forget his name, but he was awesome! The entertainment was beautifully arranged.Meals at the Bacchus Dining Room were exquisite. The food was absolutely amazing, everything was hot and cooked and just tasted delicious, and there were tons of options for you, no one went back to the cabin hungry!The staff were just marvelous. Everywhere you went, they ALL send hello and how is your day, and it was just wonderful. We had a waiter, his name was Pande, and he treated my family like gold, we always requested him, he knew all of our named, knew my grandmother liked hot tea with her meals, and knew what we were all getting for dessert. We also had an assistant waitress, Mirjana, and she was WONDERFUL, she was very nice, and we called her my cousins' girlfriend, she was just wonderful. The bar tenders knew what we wanted to drink as soon as we came up, the staff I give an 11 out of 10. They were phenomenal, and I tipped everyone I saw, they deserved it!And another thing, the boat was CLEAN. There was absolutely NO DUST anywhere I went, the carpets were stain free, the chairs and couches and tables were always polished and smelled brand new, the beds and sheets were never dirty, I did not have one single complaint about the cleanliness of this ship, even the decks did not have one speck of sand or dirt on them, the windows were streak free, it was just amazing how hard these people worked.Our cruise director, Malcolm "woo hoo" was very informative and funny and always involved with cruise activities and very friendly, we were never left in the dark about anything, he always announced changes in the itinerary (which never had periods of time without activities) and he was just amazing throughout the whole cruises. The assistant cruise director, Leslie "Sparkles" was very helpful too, she helped throughout the cruise, and she was amazing all throughout Disembarking too. DISEMBARKATION:My family and I chose the self-assist program, which was carrying out your own luggage, and it worked out wonderfully. As soon as we docked back in NYC, we were called, and it was only a small line that went by very quickly to leave the ship, and it was great. It only took about 15 minutes to get off the ship and terminal and back onto land. Overall, this was a wonderful cruise for my first time. The boat was immaculate, the staff was impeccable, ALL of the food was to DIE FOR, and it was just an amazing experience for me, I wish I lived on that ship it was so nice! Read Less

This is my 5th cruise, 1st one with Carnival. The wait service and room service was excellent. Our balcony room was spacious and had lots of storage space. The wait staff worked hard and provided top service. The food was good. I enjoyed my meals but my husband only enjoyed some of his meals as some were so-so bland. The dinning room has too many purple grapes, but the dEcor doesn't take away from the experience. There were many lounges; very nice. The entertainment was good on average. The hypnotist and comedian were fun but the musicals were just ok. We did not encounter any rowdy groups- an unwanted reputation I'm sure Carnival wants to shed. Not too many young couples without children. A various group of people ranging from seniors to families with children. I'm sure the boat is filled with children during school breaks. The trip had its frustrating moments. The ship didn't arrive in NYC until 6pm; 6 hours late. Embarkation was frustrating. We had a low number and still didn't get on ship for 2 hrs. We left NYC 5 hours late. I'm sure to make up time we sped it up. With already rough seas, the speed probably didn't help the extreme rockiness. Of course the weather is beyond Carnival's control. The mid-level staff/mgt did not impress us. The cruise just did not flow very well. It took 25 minutes to get off the ship and 30 minutes waiting in line to get back onto the ship. They only had one security gate working. It was so frustrating. This is my third cruise after 9-11 and the other lines used several security gates waiting 5 minutes tops. We also waited an additional 20 minutes for dinner seating at 8:15. Don't know why. Happened only once, thankfully. We asked a question at the excursion desk on board and her answer was "It's my first day, I don't know. You'll have to ask the info desk on the island itself." Not acceptable. The info desk on the island was really only a place to buy transportation tickets; another 20 minute wait. It was not a tourist info desk. Finally, the pursers desk also gave us wrong disembarkment information and it affected our transportation arrangements. Also, the excursion trips were so expensive. We traveled to Aruba in Jan 2006 and the same kind of trip cost $45 less per person (a two hour sunset sail). Maybe it is due to economics or maybe due to Carnival. I don't know. Overall, it is hard to not have a good time on a cruise. We still enjoyed our vacation; however, I do think it is our last Carnival cruise. If you have had top quality cruises, you will be disappointed with Carnival. Read Less