Miracle Review 4/25 from Baltimore

[lnd331]

First, let me say that the Miracle is an amazing ship! I have been on the Pride and was not nearly as impressed with that ship as I was with the Miracle.

My husband and I left on the April 25 sailing from Baltimore, which I was told was the first Carnival cruise to ever sail from Baltimore. So, I guess we were a little part of Carnival history. We were thrilled that Carnival has finally come to our hometown and hope that they bring more ships up north next year (hint hint wink wink Carnival). We actually ended up on the elevator with the captain one day and he told us that he thinks more ships are coming even though nothing has been annouced.

Anyway, to my review. We booked a 7A guarantee and were upgraded to an 8H, cabin 8200, which was midship on the Panorama deck. This location was perfect! It was midship directly under the lido buffet. This was the first guarantee I have booked and maybe Lady Luck was just on my side, but I was very impressed with this upgrade and location. Our room steward, Oswald, was fantastic! He is the first person on any of my 5 Carnival cruises to ever learn our names.

We had the late dinner seating, table 349 in the Bacchus Restaurant. Ioan and Olga were our waiters and they we exellent as well. Ioan is quite the comedian. I thought all of the food in the dining room was excellent and maybe it was just my imagination, but it seemed to be better than my previous cruises. The lido buffet had tons of choices and I have got to kick the habit of eating 6 meals a day!

The decor of this ship is amazing. I personally liked it better than any other ship I have been on. Some people may find it gaudy, but I think that the outrageousness just adds to the fun. The Mad Hatter's Ball is just crazy, with giant rabbits jumping out of the walls. Dr Frankenstein's lab is another interesting room, with a huge Frankenstein on the dance floor and I loved the gargoyles on the legs of the tables and bar stools. These were my 2 favorite rooms, but the entire ship was wonderful. There were 3 pools on lido deck, the aft pool being adults only. Since I don't have kids yet, that was my favorite place on the ship. There was also a children's pool on the spa deck.

The activities on this ship also seemed much better than any other ship I have been on. Again, maybe just my imagination but I really enjoyed this ship more than others in the past. The shows were fantastic. I did not see the first show, Generations, but Ticket to Ride in fantastic and a must see! Even if you don't like the Beatles, this is a great show. There was a hypnotist one night and he was a hoot. There was a juggler, a sword swallower, several comedians. The talent show and the crew skits were hilarious and so was the crew comedy improv. We like the piano bar and spent a good bit of time there. Greg, the piano man is an exellent pianist. That was always a good time. The karaoke is always interesting to watch and Dr Frankenstein's was rocking until dawn. There is always something to do on this ship and if you are bored, something is wrong.

As for the ports, we chose this ship because it was sailing from Baltimore and not really because of its itinerary. We have been to Key West before and we did the Duval crawl this time. Key West is an interesting town and we had a good time. Probably drank too much, but it was fun. It would have been nice to have more time here. I have been to Nassau before, but my husband has not. We chose to go to Blue Lagoon, which was a great day. Very relazing. Coming back we were bombarded with everyone trying to sell us anything they could find to sell. I was asked 30 times in the 5 minute walk back to ship if I wanted my hair braided. Nassau is just as I remembered it from my last visit 6 years ago. I personally did not like walking around town during the day and everything in town closes at 6 except for Senor Frogs. I don't understand why we were in port here until midnight. The only place to go was Senor Frogs and everyone from the ship was going there. We decided to stay onboard and go to the deck party. We had booked the snorkel tour in Freeport, but it was cancelled because of the wind. So we walked around the shops in port and went back to the ship. There isn't much to do there and a lot of people stayed on the ship this day.

Even though I wasn't impressed with this itinerary, the ship itself really made for an excellent vacation! I would sail the Miracle again in a heartbeat and hope that Carnival does send more ships north to Baltimore. It was so nice not having to fly anywhere! It was definitely a different experience sailing in the Atlantic versus the Caribbean. The ship was really rocking some nights and if anyone is prone to getting seasick, make sure you take something. I still feel like I'm rocking and I've been home for a day.

Anyway, let me know if you have any questions. I envy anyone who is sailing on the Miracle and am ready at a moment's notice if you need someone to carry your bags!!!!!

Lauren

Celebration 7/99
Destiny 4/01
Pride 4/02
Destiny 3/30/03
Miracle 4/25/04

[robcool]

Thank you for the review! I appreciate it!

--------------------------
"Semper Gumby" - Always Flexible
12/01 - Victory (Victory Review (http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=560))
2/04 - Fascination (Fascination Review (http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=969097554&m=55610437&r=91010067#91010067))

It's a Miracle! Cruising on the Miracle 12/12/04!
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( Miracle 12/12/04 Roll Call (http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=6963067357&m=6683015177))

[jfritz126]

Great review Lauren!!!!! We are sailing the Miracle on Sunday out of Baltimore and can not wait!!!! It sounds like you had a great time. Thanks for taking the time to write a review.

http://www.jacksonville.com/images/galleries/miraclecruise/met_MIRACLEARRIVES6.jpg http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=008000&cdt=2004;5;9;15;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500
Until the Miracle May 9, 2004
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Until the Legend Party October 22, 2004


Holiday May 2, 1987
Imagination Jan 22, 2001
Victory Sept 13, 2003
Miracle May 9, 2004
Legend Oct 22, 2004

[Snowball]

Lauren - thank for the great review!!! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif Just a couple of questions - I heard debarkation took a long time - what time did you get off the ship? Did you go to Nick & Nora's? If so, how was it?

Just a few more days and I'll be boarding her! I can't wait!!! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Debbie http://www.roundrockrelocation.com/smiley-faces64.gif

Click here to visit the Miracle Party Cruiser's Group Board. (http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=frm&s=927093444&f=9693073227)

Here is a link to the 5/9/04 Carnival Miracle roll call! (http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?q=Y&a=tpc&s=927093444&f=6963067357&m=4603060727&p=1)
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Click here for the 10/22/04 Legend CTN roll call! (http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?q=Y&a=tpc&s=927093444&f=6963067357&m=1103001947&p=1)
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Triumph (Eastern) 05/00
Destiny (Southern) 04/02
Miracle (Bahamas) 05/04
Legend (Nowhere) 10/04

[cruise*crazy]

lauren ,I am sailing with Debbie on may 9th and your veview is making it hard to work the rest of the weeKl LOL IT WAS A GREAT REVIEW !! . I have a question , you said that the ship was rocking were alot of people sick ? My sister is sailing with us and thinks she will be sick how was it once you were in Florida ?

Rick

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;05;09;14;00;00&timezone=GMT-0600
Till I board the Carnival Miracle


Festival 1990
Tropicale 2000
Destiny 2002
Miracle 2004

[partman57]

Glad you had a wonderful time. We hope to take her from Tampa in January. I hate to inform you that you can look at my clock. We sailed out of Baltimore last year on Sister ship Legand to Bermuda. But you did get to be first on Miracle out of Baltimore....Happy cruising.

10/28 Legend
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[bevrosecar]

Lauren, I have a question. Did you have alot of noise in your stateroom? Thanks for the great review.

Beverly

Imagination 5/97
Miracle 5/30/04

[tlynnie]

My parents came over the bridge yesterday and saw Miracle sitting there, I was hoping to see some reviews! I'm glad you had a good trip!

partman, that clock is just depressing me, that's half a year since the Bemuda cruise! I'm heading to Canada next and hoping the weather there is better than we saw on the Legend!! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Too many days since the Legend (10/03)
Looking forward to Victory...6/04!!!

[bevrosecar]

Lauren, sorry. I re-read my post. It didn't come out quite right. Did you hear alot of noise from the lido deck in your stateroom.

Thanks,
Beverly

Imagination 5/97
Miracle 5/30/04

[tlynnie]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Did you have alot of noise in your stateroom? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Beverly... http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif, glad you clarified for her!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Too many days since the Legend (10/03)
Looking forward to Victory...6/04!!!

[bostonbabe]

Lauren --
Thanks for the great review! I'm sailing on the Miracle on 5/30, can't wait! I do have a question: How was embarkation/debarkation? Were the port facilities easy to negotiate? Thanks for any info!

Carnival Triumph '98
Eastern Carribean
Celebrity Mercury '01
Alaska

[cyndepet]

Lauren - thanks so much for writing the first review on the Miracle out of Baltimore! I'm sure there are many of us who have been anxiously awaiting this.

Since Baltimore is a new port for Carnival, how was the embarkation process compared to other ports? And was it easy getting to the port? Thanks!

Carnival Miracle 10/24/04
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[SheilaInAL]

So glad to hear you had a wonderful cruise! I totally agree with you about this marvelous ship and I'm making plans to sail on her again out of Tampa next spring! Waaaaaaa Hooooooooo!
Thank you for the wonderful review!

Sailing on the brand new Carnival Miracle!
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[seadays4me]

Beverly,

FYI, Was on the Legend last September. Room 8175 (upgrade) and did hear deck chair movement from the Lido deck. Also one late night the crew had a party. Sounded like they were having a great time, to bad we weren't invited.

[loops]

Hello Sheila:

I'm jealous, I want to sail her again too. Hey, maybe I can squeeze into one of your suitcases.

She was a bit on the rocky side when we sailed her out of Jacksonville, Fl in April. If you're prone to seasickness, start taking something the morning you leave. You can always get something from the purser's desk.

The Miracle is AWESOME!!


Miracle 4/12/04
Fascination 5/01/03
Ecstasy 3/15/92

[bevrosecar]

Tlynnie, Thanks!!! I would not want to accidentaly offend.

Seadays4me, thanks for the info!! Did it take away from your cruise experience?

Beverly

[kimberlys]

Hi Sheila:
I am also ready to sail the Miracle again.
If everything works out-it will only be 10 short months until we sail that great ship again! I can't wait!
http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif-kim

[lnd331]

Embarkation was so easy. Perhaps this was because we were the first sailing and no one was getting off, but we were on the ship by noon. Debarkation, however, was a nightmare. They told us all to get up and be ready for customs by 7 AM. So we get up and the ship hadn't docked yet. We didn't dock until about 8 and customs didn't start until 9 and they started calling deck 1 though 8 in order. So we didn't get called until after 10 for customs. The line to get to see the customs officers was horrendous. People coming this way. People coming that way and fighting to form 1 line. The Carnival people kept saying we should bear with them because this was the first time they have done this in Baltimore. Well, I'm sorry, but regardless of what pier the ship is tied to, they do this every week. They told us to take our proof of citizenship to customs and we get up there and all the guy asks us is if we're US citizens, stamps our form and sends us on our way. What a waste of time. They didn't start calling people to get off the ship until 11:30 and we didn't get off until 12:30 and there were many people still sitting waiting to be called. I have no idea what time the next group was actually cleared to board the ship. I heard a lot of people complaining and swearing they would never cruise again all because of debarkation. It was just long and drawn out, but I was home yesterday around 1 and can't complain since that was the only downside to the entire trip.

The actual port facilities were easy to navigate, but we were there early and didn't have to stand in any lines. The port is easy to get to and there were lots of people there to direct us to the right place.

Snowball - We did not go to Nick and Nora's, so I cannot speak from experience but I did hear other people talking about how nice it was.

cruise*crazy - The only person I saw get sick was the girl who sat with us at dinner. The ship was really rocking bad on formal night and she got her dinner wrapped up and left. I didn't think it was so bad while we were down south. It only seemed to be while we were out in the Atlantic, but we were sailing at 25 knots through 30-40 mph winds at most times.

bevrosecar - I assume you are referring to noise from above and no, we didn't hear anything from above.

partman57 - I thought that there was another Carnival ship here last year, but everyone kept telling me there wasn't. Oh well. I just hope they keep coming back.

Lauren

Celebration 7/99
Destiny 4/01
Pride 4/02
Destiny 3/30/03
Miracle 4/25/04

[Tera821]

[momofmeg]

I loved the Miracle and like you felt the food was tons better then usual. I felt the food was on par with my one Princess cruise which I felt could not be topped.

We sailed Miracle out of Jacksonville and Carnival is putting ships there now regularly but they are older ships. I personally wrote Carnival and suggested they do this again-put a great new ship with lots of great entertainment at ports that would be closer for those of us who hate flying. I would book again in a heartbeat.

We had just been on another Carnival cruise in Dec. just four months earlier and I felt Miracle was tons better in food and entertainment then Inspiration although Inspiration was a nice ship.

I have said before that if Princess offered the options that Carnival doesin the way of closer ports I would cruise Princess more as I loved everything about my Princess cruise but I can geniunely say my Miracle cruise was every bit as good.

Carnival Tropicale 10/15/98 Western Caribbean
RCCL Sovereign of the Seas 11/22/99 Bahamas
Carnival Fascination 09/23/00 Southern caribbean
HAL Statendam 05/20/01 Alaska
RCCL Sovereign of the Seas 11/08/01 Bahamas
Pacific Princess 09/29/02 Bermuda
Carnival Inspiration 12/14/03 Western caribbean
Carnival Miracle 04/09/04 Bahamas

[BigDoug]

I was on the Legend on the October 2003 sailing to Bermuda from Baltimore. Immigration is handled by the Customs Service & INS. We were required to go to one of the lounges with our ID and S&S card. Your card is then put through the system so that they know everyone has gone through immigration. It seemed if everyone had listened and brought the required items, the process would have gone much faster. Instead, only one family member would show up and then would have to round up the rest of the family. Also, on every cruise there seems to be several foreigners who don't go to immigration and slows up the process for everyone else. As for docking late, you can probably blame the Bay Pilots. The ship cannot go through the upper shipping channel without a pilot. We waited 45 minutes for the pilot to arrive at the end of our Bermuda cruise. Hope this helps explain some of the delays.

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2005;3;19;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500
Beating the Winter Blues on the Legend


Tropicale 9/95
Sensation 9/97
Carnival Destiny 10/00
Fascination 3/02
Imagination 3/03
Carnival Legend 10/28/03
Carnival Triumph 3/13/04
Carnival Legend 3/19/05

[lnd331]

Tera821

The stingray tour at Blue Lagoon was cancelled the day we were there due to high winds, so I'm sorry I cannot be much help with that question. However, it was a very relaxing day at Blue Lagoon. We had about 3 1/2 hours there to swim and relax in a hammock. There were also kayaks and water bikes there that you could rent.

Lauren

Celebration 7/99
Destiny 4/01
Pride 4/02
Destiny 3/30/03
Miracle 4/25/04

[cyndepet]

Hi Lauren - another question...which nights were formal? I want to book Nick & Nora's 1 night and would prefer not to do this on a formal night. Thanks! Cynde

Carnival Miracle 10/24/04
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[mysticalblues]

Lauren,

Did you drive yourself to the port and park there? If so, how was the parking, safe? How much did it cost?

6 of us are driving down from NJ for the 10/24 cruise.

Thanks,
Pam

Pam
1st time cruiser

[lnd331]

cydnepet

Formal nights were Monday and Friday.

mysticalblues

We were dropped off at the port, but I was told that parking was $7 per day and it looked pretty safe. I believe the lot was guarded 24 hours a day and you had to show cruise tickets to get past the front guard.

Lauren

Celebration 7/99
Destiny 4/01
Pride 4/02
Destiny 3/30/03
Miracle 4/25/04

[Tera821]

Wow, I didn't think to ask about parking...great question!!! I hope you have a wonderful first cruise. This will be my second and I can tell you that you'll want to get right back on the ship!!! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;10;3;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500
...until the Carnival Miracle October 3, 2004

[cyndepet]

mysticalblues - come and check out our thread on the roll call section - we're sailing on October 24th too!

Lauren - thanks for the great info!

Carnival Miracle 10/24/04
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[Tera821]

I might have to check out someone elses thread. Nobody is on the ship on 10/3/04 except for me! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;10;3;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500
...until the Carnival Miracle October 3, 2004

[krayziecr]

Can't wait until May 30th!!

Carnival Victory 5/28/01
Carnival Pride 5/25/02
Carnival Legend 5/29/03
Carnival Miracle 5/30/04

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Till I'm on the Miracle

[BigDoug]

FYI - Port of Baltimore information

http://www.mpa.state.md.us/cruises/index.htm

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2005;3;19;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500
Beating the Winter Blues on the Legend


Tropicale 9/95
Sensation 9/97
Carnival Destiny 10/00
Fascination 3/02
Imagination 3/03
Carnival Legend 10/28/03
Carnival Triumph 3/13/04
Carnival Legend 3/19/05

[partman57]

tlynnie, Hope you do have wonderful weather. My wife is still complaining about the weather going to Bermuda. She will never go back. LOL.
I also hope we have good weather next year. Would go more but have to much work. LOL. Happy Cruising.

10/28 Legend
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[madelinerose]

http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif Lauren, thanks for the review! We booked this cruise because we're 10 minutes from the port and have never cruised b4, so we wanted to start with ports close to home, just in case we don't like cruising (yeah, right!).

Question: If I've never been seasick before (on sailboats, smaller boats, local cruises) will I get seasick on the Miracle?

cyndepet..glad to see you're here. Yes, we're going to book Nick & Nora's for 2 nights. Looking forward to it.

mysticalblues - welcome! There's about 7 of us on the 10-24 cruise so far.

Can't wait - brand, new ship!

Karen http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif

Carnival Miracle 10/24/04
http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=00ff00&cdt=2004;10;24;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500

[GOTTA CRUISE NOW]

we are on the 10/24 Miracle as well. Planning on Nick & Nora's 1 night. When do you make the reservations, and where? I know on other ships they were either right inside the entrance of the ship as you board, or at the bottom of the clear stairway leading to the supper club.I'm kind of concerned about it booking up quickly for the night we want.

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=111111&cdt=2004;10;24;16;0;00&timezone=GMT-0500
10/24/2004 Carnival Miracle

[loops]

I would suggest booking your reservation when you board the ship. If I recall correctly, I think they had a table set-up at entrance when you board.

[momofmeg]

I second the last post. You are right they are down in front of the purser's desk which is where you board ship. We did not book then and when we tried later they were full up-so if you want to do Nick and Nora's book as soon as you board.

One thing I can say the food was great even in the main dinningroom-much better then the normal Carnival ship-it was as good as the food we had on our one Princess cruise and we thought no one could top Princess as far as food.

Carnival Tropicale 10/15/98 Western Caribbean
RCCL Sovereign of the Seas 11/22/99 Bahamas
Carnival Fascination 09/23/00 Southern caribbean
HAL Statendam 05/20/01 Alaska
RCCL Sovereign of the Seas 11/08/01 Bahamas
Pacific Princess 09/29/02 Bermuda
Carnival Inspiration 12/14/03 Western caribbean
Carnival Miracle 04/09/04 Bahamas

[madelinerose]

http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif Always another question!

Is Nick & Nora's as formal as the formal nights in the dining room???

Halos on another thread has asked the same question.


Karen http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

Carnival Miracle 10/24/04
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[cruisemates2]

Lauren,

Thank you for the review. We are going on the Miracle on Nov 7th and we are getting more excited about it with every review. I have seen pictures and now the reviews have been coming in and it sounds like we will not be disappointed with the ship. We will be with our family and friends celebrating our 40th anniversary, and we believe we have picked a beautiful ship to celebrate a beautiful occasion on. Thank you again for the great review.

Janet

[SheilaInAL]

Hey Hey Loops and Kim!

Ok, Kim, we gotta make room in one of our suitcases the next time we sail the Miracle (will it really be only 10 more months? Wooooooo Hoooooo!). Here's the deal: Since I plan to pack lightly next time (yeah, right), I'll stuff Loops in one of my suitcases. Loops...guess I need to make a hole in it so you can breath! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

I'm soooo ready to sail that awesome ship again! Come on, March, 2005!

Sailing on the brand new Carnival Miracle!
http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;04;12;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500

[jima53]

Glad you had a great cruise. We were on the 3/26 out of Jacsonville in a 8A. Really enjoyed the ship and crew. Fabulous serving crew of Onka and Ilna taking care of us at table 312. We also enjoyed the silly trivia games that Karl with a K, put on. My wife won one of the 24ct.gold plated plastic ships on a stick. All in all a good first cruise for us.

Jim

Carnival Miracle 3/04/04

Carnival Celebration 1/15/05
Zaandam in
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[INCHARGE]

Thanks for the great review. Can't wait til September to cruise on her. I need to know how to get to the oier from 95 from Virginia. I asked my kids to take me out there for Mothers' Day, so that I can see the ship. Someone told me, but I can't find the post. I am going crazy trying to find the instructions. If you can help, I would appreciate it.

Blessings 2 U
Miracle Sept 5,2004 7 day
Destiny June 13,2004 7 day
Disney Magic Sept 6,2003 7 day
Spirit Nov.2002 Panama 8 day
Paradise Oct 2002 10 day
Paradise Feb.2000 7 day

[loops]

Sheila,

Sounds like a plan! Just let me know what time the flight is? http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Kim & Sheila, you are both so lucky to be cruising the Miracle again. Unfortunately, we won't be going on another cruise for a while (unless we win the lottery).

___________________
Miracle 4/12/04
Fascination 5/01/03
Ecstasy 3/15/92

[lnd331]

madelinerose

Even though we did not go to Nick and Nora's, I would say that it is like formal night. Guys need a jacket and tie.

INCHARGE

The pier is pretty easy to get to from 95. Take Keith Ave (I think exit 56). Keith turns into Broening Hwy and the terminal is about a mile on the right. You can't miss the ship.

Lauren

Celebration 7/99
Destiny 4/01
Pride 4/02
Destiny 3/30/03
Miracle 4/25/04

[GOTTA CRUISE NOW]

Here's a question I saw posted on another sight, but I thought you would know since you already sailed out of Baltimore...
Does the ship sail under the Bay Bridge?

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10/24/2004 Carnival Miracle

[celbercrz333]

Gotta,
The ship would have to sail under the Bay bridge...only way out of the Chesapeake unless you use the C&D canal up in Md/Del. area. To Big Doug: Thanks for the website on the port of Baltimore. I will tuck the information away for another time. We are flying down to Miami for our next cruise. Might be nice to cruise from our home port sometime.
Joanne
Celebrity Zenith 10/2003
coming Fall 2004: Fascination

[bar10der421]

We were on the May 2 sailing (loved Miracle also!!) and they changed immigration and customs from aboard ship to inside terminal. Ship docked at 7:45, we watched last bin of luggage unloaded at 9:55, they called first group to disembark at 10:05. We were in the second group and were out of the terminal by 10:30.
We had to wait for friends and I went back inside at 10:45. They were already checking in new passengers which was an hour before we had started checking in the previous week.
While waiting to disembark, we could stay in our cabins until 9:00 and after that anywhere on the ship except the atrium lobby area.

5/2 Miracle cruise
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[Aunt Karen]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by lnd331:
First, let me say that the Miracle is an amazing ship! I have been on the Pride and was not nearly as impressed with that ship as I was with the Miracle.

My husband and I left on the April 25 sailing from Baltimore, which I was told was the first Carnival cruise to ever sail from Baltimore. So, I guess we were a little part of Carnival history. We were thrilled that Carnival has finally come to our hometown and hope that they bring more ships up north next year (hint hint wink wink Carnival). We actually ended up on the elevator with the captain one day and he told us that he thinks more ships are coming even though nothing has been annouced.

Anyway, to my review. We booked a 7A guarantee and were upgraded to an 8H, cabin 8200, which was midship on the Panorama deck. This location was perfect! It was midship directly under the lido buffet. This was the first guarantee I have booked and maybe Lady Luck was just on my side, but I was very impressed with this upgrade and location. Our room steward, Oswald, was fantastic! He is the first person on any of my 5 Carnival cruises to ever learn our names.

We had the late dinner seating, table 349 in the Bacchus Restaurant. Ioan and Olga were our waiters and they we exellent as well. Ioan is quite the comedian. I thought all of the food in the dining room was excellent and maybe it was just my imagination, but it seemed to be better than my previous cruises. The lido buffet had tons of choices and I have got to kick the habit of eating 6 meals a day!

The decor of this ship is amazing. I personally liked it better than any other ship I have been on. Some people may find it gaudy, but I think that the outrageousness just adds to the fun. The Mad Hatter's Ball is just crazy, with giant rabbits jumping out of the walls. Dr Frankenstein's lab is another interesting room, with a huge Frankenstein on the dance floor and I loved the gargoyles on the legs of the tables and bar stools. These were my 2 favorite rooms, but the entire ship was wonderful. There were 3 pools on lido deck, the aft pool being adults only. Since I don't have kids yet, that was my favorite place on the ship. There was also a children's pool on the spa deck.

The activities on this ship also seemed much better than any other ship I have been on. Again, maybe just my imagination but I really enjoyed this ship more than others in the past. The shows were fantastic. I did not see the first show, Generations, but Ticket to Ride in fantastic and a must see! Even if you don't like the Beatles, this is a great show. There was a hypnotist one night and he was a hoot. There was a juggler, a sword swallower, several comedians. The talent show and the crew skits were hilarious and so was the crew comedy improv. We like the piano bar and spent a good bit of time there. Greg, the piano man is an exellent pianist. That was always a good time. The karaoke is always interesting to watch and Dr Frankenstein's was rocking until dawn. There is always something to do on this ship and if you are bored, something is wrong.

As for the ports, we chose this ship because it was sailing from Baltimore and not really because of its itinerary. We have been to Key West before and we did the Duval crawl this time. Key West is an interesting town and we had a good time. Probably drank too much, but it was fun. It would have been nice to have more time here. I have been to Nassau before, but my husband has not. We chose to go to Blue Lagoon, which was a great day. Very relazing. Coming back we were bombarded with everyone trying to sell us anything they could find to sell. I was asked 30 times in the 5 minute walk back to ship if I wanted my hair braided. Nassau is just as I remembered it from my last visit 6 years ago. I personally did not like walking around town during the day and everything in town closes at 6 except for Senor Frogs. I don't understand why we were in port here until midnight. The only place to go was Senor Frogs and everyone from the ship was going there. We decided to stay onboard and go to the deck party. We had booked the snorkel tour in Freeport, but it was cancelled because of the wind. So we walked around the shops in port and went back to the ship. There isn't much to do there and a lot of people stayed on the ship this day.

Even though I wasn't impressed with this itinerary, the ship itself really made for an excellent vacation! I would sail the Miracle again in a heartbeat and hope that Carnival does send more ships north to Baltimore. It was so nice not having to fly anywhere! It was definitely a different experience sailing in the Atlantic versus the Caribbean. The ship was really rocking some nights and if anyone is prone to getting seasick, make sure you take something. I still feel like I'm rocking and I've been home for a day.

Anyway, let me know if you have any questions. I envy anyone who is sailing on the Miracle and am ready at a moment's notice if you need someone to carry your bags!!!!!

Lauren

Celebration 7/99
Destiny 4/01
Pride 4/02
Destiny 3/30/03
Miracle 4/25/04<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Waiting for a MIRACLE
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[Aunt Karen]

Oops.. I messed up something! Nice review. I am goint on the Miracle out o Baltimore in October.. we live in Bethesda, so we are like you.. chose the cruise because of Baltimore, and the date, not really the intinerary! My question for you was about the parking there.. any problems I went to the one site and saw that it was $10 a day. Did you use this? How far to the dock? Also are there shuttles or anything?? THANKS FOR ANY ANS ALL INFORMATION!

Waiting for a MIRACLE
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[lnd331]

Aunt Karen

We did not park our car at the port, but I heard it was $7/day and was right across from the ship. They had actually had buses waiting where we dropped off our luggage to take us around to the terminal because they don't want people walking around. Have a great time!

Lauren

Celebration 7/99
Destiny 4/01
Pride 4/02
Destiny 3/30/03
Miracle 4/25/04
Glory 4/16/05

[jim141963]

Thank you for the review. We are going on the Miracle on September 19th and we are getting more excited about it with every review.

Carnival Miracle
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Carnival Glory
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[cruisecrazy1]

Glad to hear some good thoughts about the miracle. Leaving on that ship in 9 days out of baltimore. Hope the weather holds up!!!! Jfritz i see you are also from York, Pa how did u like the miracle now that your back.