9/10/2006: This was my 27th cruise, and my fifth with Carnival. It quite easily falls into the 'Top 2' of all I've done so far. It was near perfection from start to finish, and my only concern now is that future Carnival sailings (five future ones booked) will have a hard time living up to the new expectations created by Carnival Miracle.

EMBARKATION: Drove over from my Orlando home that morning, and the only unnerving situation of the entire day was the news report on the radio as I was arriving at Port of Tampa. An underwater earthquake had just occurred in the Gulf of Mexico, off the Florida coast, south of Tampa. In other words, right where I was about to begin my voyage. Oh, great! Getting luggage checked by the porters, and then parking in the garage across the street was quick and easy. Showed ID to several people and after the second in a row asked, "What, traveling alone?" it felt a bit awkward. Queued up with the rest to get paperwork completed, and that was simple as well. The friendly lady at the desk even noticed that I'd have a birthday during the cruise, and wished me a Happy Birthday, which I thought was a nice personal touch. Nobody anywhere was mentioning the earthquake, because it was less than an hour since being reported, and I didn't want to say anything and cause a situation, so I stayed quiet. I skipped the embarkation photo opportunity and headed directly onto the ship. Everyone had clearly been told rooms weren't ready and to go eat on the Lido until notified. Seems a good number of passengers began a week of "selective hearing" right there on Day 1, and began pouting that they couldn't access their stateroom. OK, folks, I'm determined to have a stress-free cruise week, so I'm going to pretend I don't hear you at all. Food on the Lido (Horatio's) was very good, with excellent presentation, and friendly service. Considering that many people were all arriving at the same time, with the same eating plan, the lines were a bit longer than the rest of the week. That was anticipated as well. I quickly headed to Nick & Nora's to make supper club reservations, hoping that I'd not be in too long a line, or find out I was too late to get reservations. Was totally shocked that there was only one couple ahead of me, and figured I must be in the wrong place. That's when I first met Evi, who assisted me so kindly with reservations for two nights. Began eating my lunch in Horatio's, and it dawned on me that if N&N reservations were that available, I should do at least one more. Oh, by the way... the goat cheese pizza in Horatio's is yummy!! Happened to notice another place a few feet away where passengers could book N&N, and that's when I met Sheetal, who quickly arranged additional seatings, and answered my questions about menu selections.

CABIN: When cabins were ready I headed to mine fully realizing that it was listed as an obstructed-view outside stateroom, with floor-to-ceiling French doors. The room was immaculate and the view was only slightly obstructed, allowing me to see clearly between the two life boats. How lucky is that? The floral arrangement that had been ordered online was exactly like the picture, and it looked fresh every day of the cruise. Mine at home don't do that, so big bonus. I met my cabin steward, Watchanan, who was a gem throughout the entire week. She memorized my name immediately, and we chatted like friends for 7 days. The other steward, John, was equally as wonderful, and the two of them made the perfect stealth team - getting SO much done without being seen. The one and only time she knocked on the door while I was in, she seemed so embarrassed, and I laughed saying it was perfectly fine. I couldn't have asked for better on any cruise. Not sure why I decided to do a ship tour, but I'm glad I did. The social hostess (Louise) gave some great info and tips, and it gave me a chance to meet a few passengers whom I'd see again throughout the week. Read more