New York Is Thatta Way Man!: Another World's Longest Miracle Review

Hellooooooo Cruise Critic! Long time, no see!

It is I- she of the insanely long cruise reviews, back with another one! We did another sailing on the Miracle in May and I've finally made my way to blogging about it. Timely, not quite...but I have lots of pretty pictures to make up for it! :)

I've been writing about our pre-trip in New York for awhile, but I've finally gotten to the cruise portion of my review (and I'm hoping to update it at least a few times a week now that I have a bit more time on my hands!) and figured I'd bring it over here, too, for anyone who wants to read it :)

So parts 1-5 are up on my blog (1-4 being our pre-cruise in NYC and part 5 being embarkation/night one). I hope you all enjoy! And if you have any questions, please let me know!!! Also- thanks SOOOO much to everyone who's left comments on my blog. Blogger's been giving me problems with leaving comments of my own to respond, but please know the kind words have been very much appreciated! :)

Part 1: http://sunglassesandumbrelladrinks.blogspot.com/2010/06/new-york-is-thatta-way-man-just-another.html

Part 2: http://sunglassesandumbrelladrinks.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-york-is-thatta-way-man-just-another.html

Part 3: http://sunglassesandumbrelladrinks.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-york-is-thatta-way-man-just-another_12.html

Part 4: http://sunglassesandumbrelladrinks.blogspot.com/2010/08/new-york-is-thatta-way-man-just-another.html

Part 5: http://sunglassesandumbrelladrinks.blogspot.com/2010/08/new-york-is-thatta-way-man-just-another_10.html

-Nicole :)

Your pics are awesome.

Your pics are awesome.

Thank you! :)

Great so far, brings back some memories....I was on the sailing right after yours!!!!!

Great so far, brings back some memories....I was on the sailing right after yours!!!!!

Thanks! :) We'd have been on the sailing after ours (that's the week we normally cruise) but I had some friends coming in from out of town, so we bumped it up a week.

Glad you're enjoying it! :D

Love reading your reviews Nicole. Glad you're back.

Great review, can't wait to hear more!

Love reading your reviews Nicole. Glad you're back.

Good to be back! :)

Great review, can't wait to hear more!

Thanks! :D

My Mother and I are going on The Miracle in Feb. and I was just curious - could you tell me why the Miracle is so special to you? I noticed you have been with her 4 times?? Anything we just shouldn't miss?

This will be my 13th Cruise - but my Mom's first. Can't wait for the excitement you always see on the face of a "newby!";)

nicole, i am loving your blog... what kind of camera do you have ? the pics are amazing.....

i just came off miracle last week and it is bringing back alot of memories. cant wait to read the rest! :D

you young ladies write such wonderful reviews and appear to have the time of your lives every trip.

Cant wait for the rest.

My Mother and I are going on The Miracle in Feb. and I was just curious - could you tell me why the Miracle is so special to you? I noticed you have been with her 4 times?? Anything we just shouldn't miss?

This will be my 13th Cruise - but my Mom's first. Can't wait for the excitement you always see on the face of a "newby!"

You know, we didn't intend for the Miracle to be "our" ship. We book primarily for itinerary and the Miracle has carried all the itineraries we've wanted. We did a few years where we were constantly going to St. Maarten/St. Thomas/Nassau and the Miracle was doing the So. Caribbean and E. Caribbean out of NYC and we were intrigued by those.

But we do LOVE this ship. It's a smaller ship (but not small by any means) and we've never really had crowding issues on it (certainly nothing like the massive crowding we felt everywhere on the Freedom in February) and the ship layout flows really well. Everything is linear...like the dining room is in the back of the boat instead of the middle, so there's no need to, like, go up and around and back down to get around it (if that makes sense). And I think the theming is gorgeous :)

Things you shouldn't miss? They have an event called Rio de Sangria in the lobby one night where they serve like eight different kinds of sangria for around $5 a glass. Most of the Carnival ships don't have sangria at any point, so I always keep an eye out for that. And they used to have the martini luge, but I don't remember seeing this last go round :( Oh, and don't miss the shows! I've seen Ticket to Ride and Generation a zillion times and I love them each and every time. They're amongst the best shows Carnival puts on (those and the currently defunct Rock Down Broadway. BRING BACK ROCK DOWN BROADWAY, CARNIVAL!). Make sure you catch those!

I hope you have a fantastic trip! It's always fun to sail with new cruisers and see them fall in love with it as you have :)

nicole, i am loving your blog... what kind of camera do you have ? the pics are amazing.....

 

i just came off miracle last week and it is bringing back alot of memories. cant wait to read the rest! :D

Thanks! How was your trip!?

The regular pics were shot with my Nikon D60. The more colorful, artsy ones were taken with my iPhone using the Hipstamatic app :)

you young ladies write such wonderful reviews and appear to have the time of your lives every trip.

 

Cant wait for the rest.

Thank you!!! :)

Nicole, I'm constantly checking your blog to see updates. I love your reviews and look forward to every new posting.

We were on the Miracle on the 4/29 sailing and when I stepped onboard I felt like I already knew my way around thanks to your previous blogs and pictures. My family (there were 12 of us together) couldn't believe how I knew where things were, what not to miss, etc. LOL All thanks to you and your in depth trip reports. I love reading them and looking at the pictures!

It's funny because now my mom is reading them too. She calls you that Nicole girl. LOL

So a big thanks to you for taking the time to do this! I'm reliving our 8 days through you and only hope we get to sail the Miracle again in the next few years.

Nicole, I'm constantly checking your blog to see updates. I love your reviews and look forward to every new posting.

 

We were on the Miracle on the 4/29 sailing and when I stepped onboard I felt like I already knew my way around thanks to your previous blogs and pictures. My family (there were 12 of us together) couldn't believe how I knew where things were, what not to miss, etc. LOL All thanks to you and your in depth trip reports. I love reading them and looking at the pictures!

 

It's funny because now my mom is reading them too. She calls you that Nicole girl. LOL

 

So a big thanks to you for taking the time to do this! I'm reliving our 8 days through you and only hope we get to sail the Miracle again in the next few years.

Wow! Thanks so much! I'm so glad you've found these helpful! I know the same ship and the same itinerary can make for a boring review so I try to keep 'em a little fresh. I have a little something up my sleeve for this one :)

Pretty sure we'll be on the Miracle again this year for our winter cruise (Platinum this time!) and I'm thinking of adding some video to these reviews. I have a little digital camcorder and an iPhone 4 with fun video capabilities and I think that might add a new dimension to these :P

But I will be sailing a non-Miracle ship again soon! I think after our Platinum cruise, we might try out another line. Or maybe the Dream or one of the newer ships. Get some variety in there :P

Thanks again for the kind words :)

This is by far the BEST review I have ever read. So detailed....You write so well, the reader can see what you are thinking. You writing translates what you are feeling....WOW!

This is by far the BEST review I have ever read. So detailed....You write so well, the reader can see what you are thinking. You writing translates what you are feeling....WOW!

Awww thanks! You're very kind :)

I'm so glad you're enjoying this! These take forever to write (mostly because I take way too many pictures and have to pick and choose which ones to use :p) but it's so worth it to know people enjoy reading them and find them helpful!

Nicole , Thank you so much for your reviews. I am always checking for updates and your writing style is wonderful. I feel that I know you and Stephanie and you tell it the way it is.

I am booked on the Miracle B2B Jan 14th and 22nd, first time Miracle, and would love to say hello if you choose those dates

Nicole , Thank you so much for your reviews. I am always checking for updates and your writing style is wonderful. I feel that I know you and Stephanie and you tell it the way it is.

 

I am booked on the Miracle B2B Jan 14th and 22nd, first time Miracle, and would love to say hello if you choose those dates

Thanks for reading! :)

We were actually looking at the 1/14 sailing! We probably won't book until later this fall, but it's definitely one of the ones we're looking at! We're divided between the St. Lucia route and the Aruba route. On one hand, we all *really* want to visit St. Lucia (especially since we never quite made it there last year with the propulsion problem) and we *love* St. Maarten and St. Kitts, but on the other...Aruba and Curaco sound lovely and I'd love to get back to the Dominican Republic...we haven't been there since our very first cruise back in 2004 on the Paradise!

Hi Nicole,

I was on the 4/29 sailing of the Miracle and probably the main reason I booked was because of your great reviews of the ship.

I was not disappointed and loved her so much I am now booked again for the 5-14-11 sailing. The staff was wonderful, the food good

and the layout of the ship was perfect. The only time it felt crowded

was at muster. I am looking forward to the rest of the review.:D

Love your review, can't wait to read more....

Nicole another tremendous review. Can't wait to read the rest of it and to see your perspective of the cruise.

It was a pleasure meeting you and your family on the cruise.

I'm a native NY'er and I loved reading about your trip. Also made me realize how "I" need to be a tourist. Never been to strawberry fields:o

We sailed on the 6/24 Miracle sailing. I agreee....I love this ship...Never felt crowded....buffet setup was very good. Always a seat and no long lines.

Keep it coming:D

So glad to see you back Nicole. We were on your sailing but I never got a chance to see you guys. It's nice, as always, to read your detailed review. Keep up the good work. Sha

Great review. I will be sailing on the Miracle Sept. 20 out of New York.

Hi Nicole,

I was on the 4/29 sailing of the Miracle and probably the main reason I booked was because of your great reviews of the ship.

I was not disappointed and loved her so much I am now booked again for the 5-14-11 sailing. The staff was wonderful, the food good

and the layout of the ship was perfect. The only time it felt crowded

was at muster. I am looking forward to the rest of the review.:D

Thanks!

I'm so glad you had a great trip! We probably had most of the same staff and they really were so fantastic from top to bottom. I have not one complaint :)

Love your review, can't wait to read more....

Thanks! Hope you enjoy!

Nicole another tremendous review. Can't wait to read the rest of it and to see your perspective of the cruise.

 

It was a pleasure meeting you and your family on the cruise.

Thanks Debbie! It was so nice to meet you and your lovely family, too! :)