Carnival Miracle Review – April 10 – 17, 2005

Carnival Miracle Review – April 10 – 17, 2005

Number Traveling: 4 Adults (2 married couples in our 30’s)

This was our (DH and my) 1st Carnival cruise. DH and I have sailed Premier and Regal (which are no longer in business) and RCI. The couple traveling with us had cruised with Carnival in the past.

We arrived in Tampa on Sunday around noon. We flew on Independence Air from Greensboro and arrived about 15 minutes early. WHEW!!! I had constantly checked this flight every day (including calling/emailing Independence Air for on time % for this flight) for the past 2 weeks…afraid that it might get cancelled. I even had a list of alternate flights (that would get us Tampa before departure) and Carnival’s emergency contact number with me (just in case). Fortunately, everything went fine with the flight.

Embarkation was smooth. We got to the pier around 1:30 (after stops to Best Buy and Wal-Mart). It wasn’t too crowded. It took us about 45 minutes to get through the line. One of our traveling companions could not find his birth certificate, but, after a few minutes, was able to board.

I’ll split the remainder of the review into categories.

Cabin

We were in cabin #5131 (Category 8C – Extended Balcony). The room was spacious with plenty of storage space. Thanks to this board, I had packed an over the door clear/plastic shoe bag, which worked great for toiletries, etc. that I didn’t want to keep in the bathroom. Meynardo was our cabin steward and was OUTSTANDING!!! He took very good care of us. I left him a note on Monday morning (along with a $5 tip) asking him to put ice in our cooler. He did and continued to throughout the cruise. He even stopped by at night to check to see if we needed additional ice. We left him an extra tip at the end of our cruise (in addition to the standard tips on the S&S card).

We didn’t have any problems with noise. We were not too far from the elevators and Camp Carnival was also on our floor.

Food

Overall, we thought the food was very good. We went to the dining room for breakfast on Monday morning (which was our first morning and also a sea day) and things seemed a little out of sorts. I think that more of us arrived at one time than they had expected. So, service was a little slow that day. We ate breakfast most other mornings on the Lido deck. We did return to the dining room on our last day for breakfast. Service was GREAT!! DH and I both commented on how good the service was, especially considering we were all about to get off…then again, that might explain why they were in such a good mood.

We didn’t have lunch in the dining room at all during the cruise. We were either off the ship (in port) or we could always find something that we liked available on the Lido deck. Between the deli, grill, Asian station, fruit and salad bars, and the “Taste of Nations” selection, even my picky DH could find something that he liked.

For dinner, we ate in the dining room all nights except Tuesday, when we went to Nick & Nora’s. We sat at table (booth) 176 on the lower level (deck 2). Uyang and Eka (both from Indonesia) were our servers in the dining room. They did a FANTASTIC job. When I had a hard time choosing between two dishes, I would ask Uyang for his input and his recommendation was always very good. One night, when I was trying to decide if I wanted to try a particular dessert listed, he suggested that I get ice cream. And, he was right, as he had been throughout the cruise. Since we’re on the topic of desserts, that is probably the one area where I think that Carnival could improve. I just wasn’t too impressed with the dessert offerings. My DH and our other traveling companion did enjoy the entrees…more than one on several occasions.

DH and I did make it to the midnight buffet a couple of nights. There were wings, fruit, and cheese available each of those nights. Also, there was grilled salmon, beef (sliced as you waited), and pasta (mixed as you waited) on one of the nights.

Soft serve ice cream and pizza were available 24 hours a day. I did try the ice cream and thought it was good. The other couple commented that the ice cream on this cruise was better than the ice cream on their previous Carnival Cruise.

Nick & Nora’s

We dined at Nick & Nora’s on Tuesday night. The food was outstanding. DH had the 24 oz porterhouse and I had the lobster tail. We had the wasabi mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables as sides. The service and atmosphere were very nice.

Ports of Call

Grand Cayman – We had visited Grand Cayman (and took the tour to the Turtle Farm and Hell) on a previous cruise, so we decided to just get off for a little while and check out the pier area. We walked around for a short time and stopped in one of the restaurants to grab a drink. DH decided to also get a fish sandwich. So, we had 2 drinks and a fish sandwich for a whopping $34. We both thought that was kind of pricey for what we had, but we weren’t stressed…after all, it was vacation (and we were going to Nick & Nora’s that night), so we made our way back to the ship.

Costa Maya – This was our first visit to Costa Maya. We had initially planned to visit the Tapas bar, but didn’t get off the ship until around 1:30, so, once again, we decided to stay around the pier area. We took a picture with one of the guys dressed in costume in front of the Costa Maya sign. We checked out a few shops before stopping at one of the open-air restaurants. We ordered a couple of fish tacos and I enjoyed one of the yard pina coladas. After that, we watched some of the entertainment going on around the pool area and made our way back to the ship.

Cozumel – Finally, all 4 of us made it off the ship together. We had decided that we would spend the day at the beach. So, we grabbed a cab. At first, we were going to Palm Beach…we were afraid that Paradise Beach might be too crowded since there were 9 ships in port that day. However, when we mentioned Palm Beach to the taxi driver, he didn’t know where we wanted to go. Since I had read that Palm Beach was close to Paradise Beach, I told him to take us to Paradise Beach. We passed right by Palm Beach to get to Paradise Beach. We could have gotten the driver to stop us there, but decided to check out Paradise Beach first, since we had read so much about it on the board. When we got there, it was not crowded at all. Then again, the weather probably helped us in that aspect since it was overcast and somewhat cool (not too cool…but cool for the Caribbean, especially considering our 2 previous scorching days in Grand Cayman and Costa Maya). We were greeted by a waiter who asked if we wanted to purchase an arm band. I wasn’t interested because I simply wanted to lie in a chair and sip pina coladas. There was a bit of misunderstanding as the other couple got the impression that they had to pay the $5 for the chair and umbrella. The guy didn’t really have a problem with the $5 anyway, as he wanted to use the water toys. I think both he and his wife got arm bands…I can’t remember for sure, but I know he got one. DH and I didn’t get the bands. I told the guy that we would be ordering food, so that seemed to appease him. We secured our area and proceeded to get comfortable. Fredi arrived and took our drink order. The pina coladas were excellent. DH ordered some steak and chicken nachos that were very good. In fact, everything that we had while at Paradise Beach was excellent. The other couple ordered chips and salsa and a fish sandwich. The guy raved about his sandwich. In fact, he ordered fish fingers about an hour or so later. Not to be outdone, DH also ordered fish fingers, which, I must admit, were very good. Fredi took very good care of us while we were there. It was a GREAT, relaxing day. Oh, the bathroom…ladies, the bathroom was VERY CLEAN. There wasn’t even any sand on the floor. There was a guy who was in there constantly cleaning. PB Tom and the crew do an outstanding job. We also met PB Tom while there. He was very friendly. We will definitely return to Paradise Beach.

Belize – This was our first visit to Belize. We had decided to do the Sights and Sounds tour through Carnival. We initially signed up for the 12:30 tour (there was also an 8:30 tour), but Carnival left a letter in our stateroom the night before stating that we had been changed to the 8:30 tour. We figured that there weren’t enough people signed up to warrant 2 tours. We were told to meet in the Phantom Lounge that morning for the tour. There were some issues with the tenders, so we were delayed for a while. When we got to shore, there were several locals standing around offering tours, etc. We told them that we had already booked a tour and that was that. On a return trip, we would probably not book anything through the ship and just book directly with the locals once we arrive. Our tour finally started around 10:30. We drove through parts of the city on our way to the Belize Cultural & Historical Center. We spent quite a bit of time there. After that, we went to the Best Western where some of the locals put on a cabaret type show. We were shown more of the city on our way back to the pier area. Once we arrived, the other couple headed back to the ship. DH and I decided to explore a little more. We stopped in one of the shops. We had asked the tour guide for a place to get some authentic local food and he recommended the Wet Lizard. We stopped in there and, after looking over the menu, decided to grab a couple of drinks and venture out a little more. We decided to walk back out towards the flea market area…away from the pier. While walking, I noticed a few workers sitting down, eating lunch from a Styrofoam container, so I asked them where they got the food. They pointed us towards the flea market area. We went to the flea market area and picked up a few souvenirs. We didn’t see any food right away, so we asked a couple of vendors. They pointed us to these people standing near a pickup truck. I walked over and asked if they were selling food. They had conch salad or something. I told them that I was looking for rice & peas and either chicken or beef. They pointed me towards some people sitting under a tent. I had seen them earlier, but didn’t know they were selling food. So, I approached them and asked if they were selling food. And, the lady was very nice and said yes. She said that she could cook and the food was clean. She only had beef plates left. So, for $5, we bought a plate with beef, rice & peas, and something that resembled potato salad (we decided not to eat it since it was a warm day and it had been out of refrigeration for a while). The food was very good and just what we were looking for. And, no, we didn’t get sick or feel bad at all from the food. In fact, the beef was very tender and very good. We wouldn’t hesitate to buy from the street on a return visit. The people in Belize were very friendly. We did not feel unsafe at any time. We were approached several times by some of the locals trying to sell their goods, but none were pushy or rude. A simple no yielded a thank you or a have a good day from most. DH was asked a couple of times if he wanted to buy something to “smoke.” He simply told them no and that was the end of it. We enjoyed our time in Belize and would not hesitate to return in the future.

Misc.

I had an outstanding peach martini in the piano bar. I had a peach martini in one of the other bars (it was just vodka and peach schnapps), but it was nothing like the one I had in the piano bar. I meant to ask the bartender what was in it, but forgot before we left. So, if anyone knows, please let me know. It was clear.

We did talk with one of the Camp Carnival counselors on the elevator. She told us that there were only about 100 kids on board that week. She also told us that the previous weeks had been very busy…there were 900 kids on a previous sailing…I can’t remember if it was Easter week or the week before.

Overall, we had a GREAT time. The Miracle is a very nice ship and we would not hesitate to sail Carnival again.

Thanks for your reveiw...DH and I will be on the Miracle 5/8/05~Our first cruise!

Thanks for the review...We will be sailing the Miracle on 11/6 in Cabin#5131!!!

Its been 15 years since we cruised on our Honeymoon, we are bringing our daughter (12) & son (10)....leaving the baby (2) home in Fl with Grandma!

Can't wait!

Leaving next week. Flutterbug maybe we will see you there?

Thanks for the fantastic review. Wife and I are on the Miracle June 12 and we can hardly wait. You sound a bit like us..a little adventurous, not afraid to go wandering on our own, and eating the local food.

Glad you had a great time.

Thanks for the fantastic review. Wife and I are on the Miracle June 12 and we can hardly wait. You sound a bit like us..a little adventurous, not afraid to go wandering on our own, and eating the local food.

Glad you had a great time.

Yes, we had a WONDERFUL time. And, yes, I do like to venture out a bit. When we sat down in the restaurant in Belize and I looked at the menu, DH looked at me. He knew what I was going to say. For me, part of going to different places is experiencing (or, at least trying to in such a short time) some of the culture that is there. I must say that Belize was very nice and the people were extremely friendly. We've been Jamaica in the past and, although I really love the area (and will return), some of the locals can be quite pushy...even to the point of being rude at times. We never experienced anything like that while in Belize.

Thanks for the great review! It will be Hubby's first cruise when we go, but he isn't the great adventurous type, I'm afraid. I'll see if I can get him to leave his "Mr. Accountant" persona and become a little Adventurous so that we can visit outside the gate in Belize too!

And I've sailed with Regency cruises also, the Regent Rainbow out of Tampa many, many years ago!

June

Hi CTyler:

Welcome back from Miracle and glad to hear that you had a great cruise. We have booked this exact cabin on our cruise in this coming August, and looking at the deck plan from Carnival's brochure, this cabin seems to be longer than cabin #5133 next door on the right. The length of cabin #5131 is equivalent to the length of #5133 plus the length of its balcony (which is 4' in the case of a standard balcony cabin). Am I reading it right? Since you indicated on your post that your view is not obstructed at all from your neighbor on your right. Having 4 in a cabin, we would definitely appreciate the extra footage inside our cabin! Looking forward to your confirmation of my insight. Thanks.

Eli :confused:

Hi CTyler:

 

Welcome back from Miracle and glad to hear that you had a great cruise. We have booked this exact cabin on our cruise in this coming August, and looking at the deck plan from Carnival's brochure, this cabin seems to be longer than cabin #5133 next door on the right. The length of cabin #5131 is equivalent to the length of #5133 plus the length of its balcony (which is 4' in the case of a standard balcony cabin). Am I reading it right? Since you indicated on your post that your view is not obstructed at all from your neighbor on your right. Having 4 in a cabin, we would definitely appreciate the extra footage inside our cabin! Looking forward to your confirmation of my insight. Thanks.

 

Eli :confused:

Eli, I'm not sure of the exact measurements, but, yes, cabin #5131 does extend beyond the cabin to the right of it. It is equal to the cabins to the left of it, but that didn't pose a problem for us. We had a great view!!

Hi CTyler:

Thanks for your response!:)