Carnival decided to reposition my favorite ship from NYC to the West Coast...so a year ago, when I learned of this sad news, I had to book this rare treat of a 10-day! A little about myself: I'm a solo cruiser with a cruise history of 25 past cruises on Celebrity, Norwegian, one on HAL, 13 with Carnival (6th time on the Miracle). I cruise 2 or 3 times a year, usually out of NY.

Embarkation day for us had a storm brewing, and it definitely impacted our first couple of days. I'm from the Hudson Valley of NY so I drove to the port. I dropped off my luggage with the porters, drove around & then back up to park at the pier ($350) because it's extremely convenient to do so.

Check-in was a breeze & we were boarding before noon. I went up to Lido, had a light lunch, & happily met up with friends with whom I had cruised before. It was freezing cold that day! After braving the cold for as long as we could stand it, I invited everyone to my cabin, ordered a couple of bottles of wine & we chatted until they called the muster drill. The muster drill went quickly & smoothly & then we were on our way! Read more