Miracle ~ 'Boonba Cruise' Review ~ 4/17/05

This was my fourth cruise, the DW's second and DS's first! Our first cruise on a Spirit class. We have previously done the Imagination and Triumph, so are familiar with Carnival. We chose the Miracle for it's itinerary, having picked the Miracle over the Valor as I wanted to try the Spirit class of ship which many claim to prefer.

 

We chose aft cabin 6264 as the DW, as well as myself, wanted to try an 'aft'! We were on the Empress deck, sandwiched between two cabin decks to prevent any unwanted noise from public areas, and were happy with our choice. I have already booked an 'aft' cabin for our next cruise, and I'm happy with that decision. Noise was minimal, tho' we noticed a little vibration at times, but no more than was noticed in the Baccus Dining room during breakfast, lunch and dinner.

 

Embarkation in Tampa was fairly smooth... Lots of people at the terminal when we arrived at approximately 1215 PM, and I believe a lot were leaving to go home in buses, as it was apparently a large group with charter buses.

A porter retrieved our bags from the cab, I handed him $7.00 for 5 bags, and he smiled and said "I'll take care of them for you". Last time we saw the bags until we found them outside of our cabin prior to 430 PM. Long line to get up the escalator, but it moved fairly rapidly... got our Noro-virus letter, and proceeded on. We registered, got our S & S cards in the FunPass line, and were given group 14. We waited approximately 1/2 hour until our number was called. We were having lunch on the Lido by 130 PM, so all went fairly well!

 

DW figured out the layout in about 1/2 hour and the 14 year old DS had it figured out in about 10 minutes. Even I conquered it the first day! YIPPEE!

 

Miracle was extremely clean and well kept.. Cabin was very nice, and the steward (Mario) and his helper were wonderful. Public areas were clean, as could be expected with the on-slaught of over 700 kids. For the most part, the crew was able to keep up with them, and we had no problems for the week. Had to conive a couple youngsters to let us use the chess board on the Lido, as they too seemed to enjoy it, but spent way too much time there. Amazing the young age that they start playing chess..

Days at sea were very relaxing (my choice - I LOVE 'sea days').. Lots of activities, even for those of us who chose not to get into the 'poolside' games and contests. We also signed up at the Internet Cafe for 100 minutes, got 20 FREE for signing that day, and I believe it was $55.00, which isn't bad considering it's a satellite feed.

 

Our ports of call were great. Tendering in Grand Cayman and Belize went without a hitch and there were no lines. Returning to the ship was also just as easy.. Only a short wait needed.. We opted for the Altun Ha/River Wallace tour through Carnival, and thoroughly enjoyed the excursion. Grand Cayman we chartered a boat for 24 of us through Captain Marvin's and had a wonderful day. Cozumel was nice, and we actually played Minature Golf there, ate at the Sonora Grill, then spent way too much $$$ on jewelry for my 'sweetie'. DS got a nice chess board. I got a FREE beer for buying all the jewelry!! :eek: I needed a 'bucket' by then! Costa Maya was really my favorite.. Lunch at Tapas (2nd floor) then lounging on the beach.. Got a 30 minute massage for the three of us for $45.00. I tipped $10.00, and everyone was happy. (Regular price is $20.00 per person for 30 minutes, so three of us at 30 minutes each for $45. was quite a deal). Don't pass this up! It's WONDERFUL! :p We missed the Grandeur mishap with the pier, tho' did see it when we returned to the Miracle. Too bad...

 

We all enjoyed the evening shows.. Generations was good, and the Hypnotist was hilarious.. we went back for a second and third show.. Mike Harvey was the name, I believe.. We missed the Tribute to the Beatles show as we were at Nick & Nora's but the food was so wonderful, it made it well worth it. I'd consider paying the extra $25. pp and do the supper club twice on our next cruise.

 

Our dining room team was great. Somchai made immediate friends with the DS, and our son actually got dressed in his suit to spend the second formal dinner by himself with the wait 'team' in the dining room while we were at Nick & Nora's for our anniversary. Food was top notch.. DW loved the beef dishes and desserts, and I had a different fish entree each night and sometimes at lunch. Last sea day I had BabyBackRibs ... WONDERFUL.. over 1/2 rack, and although they were a little sweeter that I prefer, they were great! DS enjoyed the 'Build your own Burger' at lunch!

 

Debarkation was a little slow.. Delayed about 1 hour due to customs, but we had an 1148 AM flight from Tampa and were at the airport by 10 AM, with lots of time to spare. We had VIP passes to debark early, but from the looks of it, so did 1000 or so others.. It was quite a mess finding our luggage as they don't place anything together.. We had five bags, and I'm sure each of them was in a different line about 150 feet long.. Hmmmm...m.m.m.m.m. We did find them after about 1/2 hour though.. Bright ribbons, puffies or something should help, but I noticed they sometimes set the bags on their sides.. Guess it's just 'the luck of the draw'.. though we made it and found them all!

 

All in all, we were very pleased with the Miracle.. CD Carlo Lombard was apparently a replacement for the regular, Mark Hawkins, but we enjoyed him. Most CD's are required to do the same 'programs' so any CD is OK with us.. He was a lot of fun tho', and could be found everywhere something was happening.. We had a WONDERFUL trip, and would cruise on the Miracle again in a heartbeat!

Any questions?? Ask away.. I'll do my best!

ps: The SLIDE WAS OPEN! :cool:

pss: The amazing thing is, we never found BOONBA! Where was 'Boonba'??

...

Okay, what was Boonba? Am I missing something?

 

June

We aren't sure at this point since 'Boonba' never made an appearance!! :(

One of the 'group' we met on the boards who's name was Phil had a sister named Bonnie. While they were growing up, Phil called his sister 'Boonba'. It just seemed kinda' interesting, so we decided to call our group/cruise the "Miracle Boonba Cruise". We made up 'pins/buttons' for everyone; but, alas, no Boonba ever showed up!?? :(

Phil just recently posted pictures showing they were, in fact, on a cruise, but no where could be found the Miracle name.. We think they were on RCI, and it would serve them right to have been on the Grandeur and spent the week in Costa Maya! :D

(Although that sounds great to me at the moment)!

Thus, the infamous, "Miracle 'Boonba' Cruise 2005"! :p

What nights were the shows on?

We aren't sure at this point since 'Boonba' never made an appearance!! :(

One of the 'group' we met on the boards who's name was Phil had a sister named Bonnie. While they were growing up, Phil called his sister 'Boonba'. It just seemed kinda' interesting, so we decided to call our group/cruise the "Miracle Boonba Cruise". We made up 'pins/buttons' for everyone; but, alas, no Boonba ever showed up!?? :(

Phil just recently posted pictures showing they were, in fact, on a cruise, but no where could be found the Miracle name.. We think they were on RCI, and it would serve them right to have been on the Grandeur and spent the week in Costa Maya! :D

(Although that sounds great to me at the moment)!

Thus, the infamous, "Miracle 'Boonba' Cruise 2005"! :p

 

That is hilarious!! What fun!

 

June

What nights were the shows on?

'Generations' was on Monday, the first full sea day. Tuesday was 'Juggling' and Comedy, Wednesday was 'Legends' which they claim is 1/2 Talent Show, 1/2 American Idol and 1/2 Tribute to the Legends of Music (those were the numbers. I got 1 1/2 too :rolleyes: ). Thursday was the Hypnotist.. Mark Harvey, I believe.. we loved his shows. He did the regular two shows, then had a late night 11 PM 'adult' show.

Friday was 'Ticket to Ride' show, which we missed due to dining at Nick & Nora's! Saturday was vocals by 'Yolanda Barber and the Comedy of Pete Michael'. We missed that as we were busy packing and trying to have a few extra brews and foo-foo drinks.. :p All good shows!!

i was so excited to read your review. we're going on the same cruise next jan and our cabin,5268, will be almost directly below yours.did you find that the back of the boat was a disadvantage for port or sunset views? did you feel you still had privacy on your balcony or could people above you easily look down on you? we had a balcony on our first cruise and hope to enjoy as much as last time! it was also great to hear you made all your ports. your itinerary sounds like what we had in mind, did you see wildlife on the river portion of altun ha tour? how long did you spend at the ruins? thanks for any info you have !:)

Did you feel you still had privacy on your balcony or could people above you easily look down on you?

If we were standing at the rail, we could see people standing at their railing, but not much else. From the Lido, one could actually look down on the balconies on the next deck, but it's a stretch. Sunsets and moon watching was superb! :)

Your itinerary sounds like what we had in mind, did you see wildlife on the river portion of altun ha tour? How long did you spend at the ruins?

'Exotic' birds, alligators, monkeys, baboons, lots of dolphins making their way up the river to eat, etc.. Someone saw a manatee, but I missed it. We were at the 'ruins' for about an hour... Was really hot that day. We were in port from 730AM to 430PM, and the tour was 830AM to 230PM, so there wasn't a lot of leeway.. A longer day in port and one could book with other vendors on different, more extensive river and ruins excursions. There were others I was interested in, but they didn't seem to want to cater to the Miracle's time in port. I thought that was odd, as the Miracle was the only ship in port that day! :rolleyes:

thanks so much for those replies! i was also especially happy to read a positive review this week to balance a less than happy one i also read, but it sounded like they had a more stressful time trying to manage a family vacation, that's why it's just me and dh! we're the parents of four kids/young adults!:) we've earned couple time!

I was also especially happy to read a positive review this week to balance a less than happy one I also read, but it sounded like they had a more stressful time trying to manage a family vacation, that's why it's just me and dh!

Try as I may, I just could not imagine how the other OP and I could have been on the same ship (tho' two weeks apart). I certainly noticed she was stressed with the kids, etc., but we were so happy with the food, activities and excursions I really saw a totally different viewpoint and was really amazed. I guess its a different perspective, and everyone has their own opinions. We LOVED our week on the Miracle.!! :p

The other review noted, though, that they also loved the ship and other portions of the sailing, but apparently cruising may not be their most desireable vacation. I wish her luck on future sailings.. As always, the positives usually outweigh the negatives, and naturally, 'cruising isn't for everyone'.

HI

which Date in January will you be on the ship