We just returned from the Carnival Miracle May 6-14, 2012 sailing. We left from NYC for eight nights with stops in San Juan, St. Thomas and Grand Turk. There were two days at sea on each end. We are seasoned cruisers in our mid 40s and this was our fourth time on the Miracle since 2008 so I will touch on a few key things. We had an aft balcony cabin and DD and her friend (both 23) had an obstructed balcony cabin. Their cabin was 5176 and was hardly obstructed at all. We live in Jersey and made it to the port in about an hour. Check in was quick and we waited maybe 25-30 minutes to board (Zone 8).

The Serenity Area is a large waste of space in my opinion. There are large round chairs that two can sit in but they take the room of 3-4 chairs. They also had hammocks inside pergolas that took up a lot of room too. On more than one occasion, folks were laying on the pool deck on their towels as no seats were available. There were couches that sat six that on more than one occasion I found folks napping across the whole couch making it useless to others. The chair hogs were out there on a daily basis very early (before 9 am), not surprising considering that they took away about 50% of the prior seating in addition to making the area non smoking. I find the area being non smoking a bit ridiculous as you drove "adults" away from the "adult" area of the ship and forced them to smoke in an area that is open to children. I do not smoke but it did not make sense to any of us.

The staff was tremendous. We did not see anyone who was not smiling or who did not greet us with a smile. We had a crew member remember us from two years ago. A few crew members stand out. Our cabin steward Ardita was great. Our room was spotless and he took care of any requests immediately. Ernesto in Frankie and Johnnies was about the best bartender I have ever met. INengha was a drink server on the Lido Deck and he took great care of all of us and knew our favorite drinks after the first day. Read more