- Background Information:

We are professionals (me 49, she 45) with two teenagers (18 & 16) who have traveled widely in the US and Canada, Europe and the West Indies (often to the Abacos in the Northeastern Bahamas where we have been vacationing for about 10 years). Abaco is about the furthest thing you can get from a cruise. There are only about 250 people on the whole island we visit (getting there costs more than this cruise) where we have a place (Man-O-War Cay) so cruising with around 2,000 is very different. We have cruised before getting our Abaco property and always loved it despite the crowds. I did however intentionally avoid the new super-massive RCL ships as I really do not want to do anything with 6,000 people; 2,000 on the Miracle is plenty. We were in Jamaica for our 20th anniversary back in May and saw the Oasis; what a sight. I'd love to tour the ship but embarking, dining or doing anything with 6,000 doesn't sound appealing. My brother is an executive with what is usually described as a "much more upscale and expensive big ship line" and he questioned my choice of Carnival at first but the reasons (and research, mostly on CC) leading to my choice of this ship proved true. I hoped that the food would be "better" than RCL and hopefully as edible as Disney, it was (far superior "Lido" food than either). I hoped there would be lots of teenagers on a Carnival Christmas Cruise so that my high school kids were happy, there were. I thought that I would really enjoy an Ocean Suite on Carnival for less $ than a regular cabin on RCL or Disney, I did, it was great. I wanted an itinerary that had at least two islands I'd never visited and that were interesting. We live at the Beach and I do not need purely beach ports of call. All in all, we were thrilled. My brother told me to keep my expectations low, I did, but we would cruise Carnival again in a heartbeat. We met several families who have cruised the Miracle over and over and I get it. After 6 days you know which way to turn when you exit the elevators.

- Hotel Info (N/A) Read more