Fantastic MIRACLE to Bermuda - 9/27 LOTS of photos & food porn warning

[cruisenanny]

Originally Posted by davy jones

Great review so far. Don't you love those spa showers?

Yes they were great AND it gave Chris a little more sleep in the morning, with me not coming back from the gym so soon. Worked out well

[cruisenanny]

So after touring the ship a bit more, we decided to go to the cooking demo in the steakhouse. I highly recommend it for anyone who loves good food, even my "stuffy Chef hubby" really enjoyed it. This solidified our plans to go to Nick & Nora's steakhouse on night five.
They bring out 4 chefs who will be cooking each course, soup, salad, entree & dessert. You are given tiny samples of each course after it is demo'd by the chef. First was a delicious cream of mushroom soup followed by a spinach salad, then the steakhouse's only chicken dish and last, a WOW tiramisu.

Shaun, the assistant CD is in the background here. He was Great all week, a funny guy!

Tiramisu

The restaurant is below the whale tail funnel, & if you look up, this is what you see, pretty cool.

[cruisenanny]

So after the cooking demo, we walked around a bit & then went to the MDR for lunch. This was on my list of to-do's as I have never gone before, we have always done the lido. After 2 MDR lunch experiences o this cruise, I recommend the lido for lunch. The service was painfully slow & the food was not worth the wait. Chris got vegetable fajitas & I got the Mongolian steak salad. We both got the sushi as a starter, the nori was so tough we couldn't chew it and the filling was mostly cream cheese. More on our 2nd MDR lunch experience when we get there. After this lunch, it is nap time

[cruisenanny]

After a loooong nap, we woke up & leisurely started getting ready for dinner. We asked to switch to Your time dining today & once again Matre' d Drasko came through for us immediately. (he got a nice tip at the end).
We weren't crazy about where our late dining table for two was. (especially after a man ran by us vomiting on the first night! I felt horrible for him, but I must say it kind of put a damper on an already lackluster experience) Sooo, we figured if we weren't going to have a FUN experience with our wait team, why be tied down to the 8:15 dining time? As it turned out, the Your time dining was AWESOME and we found a great waiter, Marjam.
So we had a few cocktails in the room while getting ready, and then we took our carry on "bubbly" to Jeeves lounge to people watch a bit before dinner. We saw everything from Tuxedo's to shorts on the two elegant nights. It was nbd & everyone was happy.

There were REALLY cool old photos above the chairs in Jeeves lounge. This is where the trivia was held each day.


I had the stuffed mushrooms, WOW dish for me, and we both had the lobster & shrimp AND the prime rib!! Both were excellent. We shared our first ever warm choc melting cake and it was YUMMY. Soooo rich though, I only liked the cooked edges & Chris preferred the center "melted" part, what a team we are.
I'm sorry, but it seems the only thing I photographed was the stuffed mushrooms.

[jolyroger]

Originally Posted by cruisenanny

And some more room photos..

Holy Freakin Batman (yes I just said that) That cabin is beautiful!!!
I want one like that!!!!
Loving the review so far and bring on the FOOD PORN!!!

[JaniceB]

I am really enjoying your review. The ship is really beautiful. Can't wait to hear about Bermuda.

[Cmurph12]

Cruisenanny,
Sorry we didn't get to meet on this cruise. Missed the meet and greet. Did you make it there? I did meet captbill the first day though (recognized his hat) and was able to thank him for all his valuable info on Bermuda.
I loved the spa on the miracle. Spent a lot of time (and $) there. Had four treatments with three different girls and they were all lovely. The showers were awesome. I took only one shower in our cabin. We had a deck 7 forward cabin close to the stairs/elevators, so everyday I ran up the 2 decks and used the spa showers. Would leave my robe in the sauna while I showered, so it was nice and warm when I got out. It was always empty when I was there, and all I had to bring was conditioner and a washcloth. I think that is what I miss most
I am really enjoying your review!

[crusinpsychRN]

It's been so long since I've sailed Miracle. It's such a beautiful ship. Thanks for all your hard work doing the review.

[cruisenanny]

After dinner we decided to change into comfy clothes & go see "Just June"s" adult comedy show at the Punchliners comedy club down in the Mad Hatters ball. She was funny & so were all the comedians we saw throughout the week.
Mad Hatters Ball

Ceiling of Mad Hatters

Stairway up to the first level of the Phantom show lounge

We have had a few drinks & a bottle of champagne, being silly before the show

AND..... my first froo froo drink of the cruise, Miami vice

[cruisenanny]

Originally Posted by Cmurph12

Cruisenanny,
Sorry we didn't get to meet on this cruise. Missed the meet and greet. Did you make it there? I did meet captbill the first day though (recognized his hat) and was able to thank him for all his valuable info on Bermuda.
I loved the spa on the miracle. Spent a lot of time (and $) there. Had four treatments with three different girls and they were all lovely. The showers were awesome. I took only one shower in our cabin. We had a deck 7 forward cabin close to the stairs/elevators, so everyday I ran up the 2 decks and used the spa showers. Would leave my robe in the sauna while I showered, so it was nice and warm when I got out. It was always empty when I was there, and all I had to bring was conditioner and a washcloth. I think that is what I miss most
I am really enjoying your review!

Hi! We missed the meet & greet, our MDR lunch took longer than we planned
There was rarely anyone in the ladies locker room when I was there either, loved it!! like my own private spa area!!


Thanks so much to everyone who has commented on my review! Its great how many people have had OR will be having the cabin that we were in!! I'm glad I posted all the photos

[cruisenanny]

Clocks were set an hour ahead last night, so this is what i saw from our balcony after I got back from the gym!! Looks like it's going to be a nice day, YAY!!


Ok folks, I have got to do a few chores Back later with more!

[cruisenanny]

So after having breakfast in the MDR & reading the newspaper & funtimes for the day, we walked around outside finally!! It was very nice out & I was surprised that after a crappy first day at sea, there seemed to be no chair hogging!! There were chairs everywhere.

[cruisenanny]

Ladies, I don't know if you wonder about the condition of the public bathrooms like I do, but if you do, you will appreciate this next set of pics. The only bathroom I was in all week that wasn't PRISTINE was the one up on the lido deck in Horatio's. Avoid if you can.
Spotless

High power hand dryers, yay, cuz I have better things to do than wait for my hands to dry!! If you're the silly type, you can really coax some interesting, ummm, "noises" just by positioning your hands certain ways LOL these are powerful hand dryers indeed.

AND... the best thing ever, little towels by each door so you don't have to touch handles if you prefer not to!! I was impressed.

[Buffettfan 225]

Originally Posted by cruisenanny

Ladies, I don't know if you wonder about the condition of the public bathrooms like I do, but if you do, you will appreciate this next set of pics. The only bathroom I was in all week that wasn't PRISTINE was the one up on the lido deck in Horatio's. Avoid if you can.
Spotless

High power hand dryers, yay, cuz I have better things to do than wait for my hands to dry!! If you're the silly type, you can really coax some interesting, ummm, "noises" just by positioning your hands certain ways LOL these are powerful hand dryers indeed.

AND... the best thing ever, little towels by each door so you don't have to touch handles if you prefer not to!! I was impressed.

Thanks for posting the little extras and public bathroom--I am a dental hygienist and always using paper towels at door and backing my way out to not touch. Hope they finally got smart and put a trash receptacle there.

[cruisenanny]

We did some reading in Gatsby's garden, great quiet spot.


And snapped a few more pics in the area. Here, the dramatic entrance into the Phantom Theatre.

And this was the staircase down to Mad Hatters Ball, from outside the Phantom Theatre.

Us hanging out back on the lido deck, before we decided to have a hot dog & chicken fingers for lunch, yummm..

[cruisenanny]

Originally Posted by Buffettfan 225

Thanks for posting the little extras and public bathroom--I am a dental hygienist and always using paper towels at door and backing my way out to not touch. Hope they finally got smart and put a trash receptacle there.

Yes! There was a trash can in a convenient spot in every bathroom

[cruisenanny]

So, after the lido lunch it was... you guessed it, nap time! I think I napped on the balcony for a bit this day. Then time for in room cocktails, getting ready for dinner, etc.. Tonight was the "oddball" menu they throw in for the 8 night cruises.
We both had the NY strip and they were EXCELLENT, a WOW dish for both of us. I also got a side of the mac & cheese I had heard great things about. It was kind of bland but had a great creamy texture. Good enough that I tried it again later in the week..

Chris had the vanilla bread pudding for dessert & LOVED it, me not so much.

I had the almond phyllo rolls and they were AMAZING, yep, another WOW dish for me!! It was a good night in the MDR for sure.


After dinner we went to see The best of Marcus Monroe, comedian juggler.
He was pretty good & did some clever stuff. We left a few minutes early to go catch Marc Theobald in the Punchliners comedy club, another funny one!
Chris joined me tonight in a froo froo drink, pina coladas, very good.

After this we snuggled up for the night, Bermuda was tomorrow & we were hoping for the best. Ophelia was headed there as a cat 2-3 storm

[Crusin Karen]

Oh, your pictures bring back SUCH good memories... Interesting to read about the different foods they serve now. I would have loved to have had that mac and cheese. What's the "oddball menu?" A bit OT~hope you don't mind, but our DS and his DW just had a baby boy (Connor James, Grace Elizabeth's brother! ) and I wanted to buy them a bottle of champagne. The Barefoot champagne would be really neat...do you recommend it? Is it "fairly reasonably" priced? TIA and can't wait to hear about BEAUTIFUL BERMDA (been there 6x!)

[cruisenanny]

Originally Posted by Crusin Karen

Oh, your pictures bring back SUCH good memories... Interesting to read about the different foods they serve now. I would have loved to have had that mac and cheese. What's the "oddball menu?" A bit OT~hope you don't mind, but our DS and his DW just had a baby boy (Connor James, Grace Elizabeth's brother! ) and I wanted to buy them a bottle of champagne. The Barefoot champagne would be really neat...do you recommend it? Is it "fairly reasonably" priced? TIA and can't wait to hear about BEAUTIFUL BERMDA (been there 6x!)

Hi Karen! First of all, huge congrats on the birth of your Grandson Connor!! The Barfoot Pinot Grigio bubbly was just a spur of the moment "fun pick" for us and YES, I do recommend it. It was very good, pleasant bubbles, fruity & just a little bit sweet. I believe it was under $20, so VERY reasonable for a bottle of champagne.
I called the 8th night menu the "oddball" menu, but I guess it really isn't. Its just that Carnival usually does their fleet wide 7 day menu in order from day 1 to 7 (for a 7 day cruise, of course) but with the 8 nighter, that menu just gets thrown in the mix on a surprise day. This cruise it was day 3.
I tell you, this was our 9th time to Bermuda & it just never gets old for me! LOVE IT!
Bermuda days 1, 2 & 3 coming up tomorrow...
Lots to share, and a SPOOKY surprise or two

[wendymac]

Loving your review! We are planning to go to Bermuda next fall, so really looking forward to more of your review...thank you