Back from 3/26 Miracle

I'm back from the 3/26 Miracle cruise. I will be posting a full review a little later, but I can answer questions if anyone has them. :)

It was a wonderful cruise. I'm still swaying and kind of dizzy. Lots of unpacking and laundry left to do.

Stay tuned................:D

I hope you had a great cruise! I leave on Saturday for the Miracle! Did you have good weather? Did you dine at Nick and Nora's? I'm thinking of making reservations for my mother's birthday......Any good advice?

The weather was great. It would be a little cloudy in the morning, but would burn off and be beautiful after a few hours. Always warm, even when cloudy.

Nick & Nora's: we did not dine there. We met friends from our Roll Call onboard. One person loved Nick & Nora's and another one didn't like it at all. I think it's very subjective. We just enjoyed the dining room so much, we didn't see any point in doing N & N's. We loved our wait team in the dining room, and would have missed seeing them.

You will love the Miracle!

Great, thanks for the info. I'm sure it was a full ship with spring breakers. Was it crowded and did you have long lines for tenders? Our cruise is sold out, so I was just wondering if the ship's layout spreads people out.

What tours did you go on? With Carnival or at the pier or pre-booked?

Glad to hear you had a good time, we leave on the Miracle on April 23rd. The next 2 1/2 weeks can't come soon enough. A few questions:

1. How was the port in Tampa ? What time did you get there ?

2. Was the pool full on the days at sea? Did you need to get up early to get some deck chairs?

3. How was the tendering in Grand Cayman, Cozumel, & Belize ?

Thanks

Here are the tours we took:

Grand Cayman ~ Reef & Wreck Snorkel (Carnival Tour)

I changed from an independent stingray tour at the last minute because I was worried about the tenders. We screwed up and waited too long to go to the tender line, and they made the announcement for general tendering just as we were leaving our cabin. So, we were in a long line. I showed my Carnival tickets to some workers, but they just told me to wait in line. We made it in time for our tour, but not by much. My own fault for not getting out of bed early enough.

The tour was great. Friends who did the stingray tour said the water was VERY rough. In fact, Carnival canceled the ship sponsored stingray tour because of rough seas. Our snorkel was right near where the ship anchors, and the water wasn't rough at all. It was very fun.

Cozumel ~ Paradise Beach

We went and got a tender ticket at 8:50. Got tender #2. Staff said it should go around 10-ish. Went up and had breakfast, then they called tender #2 at about 9:45. We were at Paradise Beach by about 10:30 or 10:45. Loved Paradise Beach. Our favorite day. (Hint: they said they wouldn't start handing out tender tickets until 9 am, but that isn't true. At 8:50, there were 4 tender #1 tickets left, but we needed 5 so we got #2 tickets. Tender #1 and #2 were called about 5 minutes apart. These are after the Carnival tours have already left on their tenders.)

Belize ~ Private Island Beach Break (Carnival Tour)

Tenders weren't an issue here, because the tour gets picked up right from the ship and dropped off at the ship afterwards. Bannister Island was nice, but not nearly as nice as Paradise Beach.

Costa Maya ~ Chacchoben Mayan Ruins (David & Ivan)

No tendering here, so we just walked off the ship. David & Ivan are independent tour operators and do a very good job. Ivan actually lived at the site of the ruins until about 3 years ago, so he was a very knowledgable guide.

What tours did you go on? With Carnival or at the pier or pre-booked?

All of our tours were pre-booked. Two with Carnival and one independent. The other day was just a beach day. See my post above for details. :)

Sue....I want to go back .... reality sucks....I want another kiss on the lips or miami vice... where is my cabin steward:( I have really bad PCD.....and I miss all your smiling faces:rolleyes:

Glad to hear you had a good time, we leave on the Miracle on April 23rd. The next 2 1/2 weeks can't come soon enough. A few questions:

 

1. How was the port in Tampa ? What time did you get there ?

 

2. Was the pool full on the days at sea? Did you need to get up early to get some deck chairs?

 

3. How was the tendering in Grand Cayman, Cozumel, & Belize ?

 

 

 

Thanks

The port in Tampa was fine. There is an aquarium right next door, but we didn't go to it. We arrived at the port around 11:30 to 11:45. A porter was right there to take our bags. We walked into the terminal, waited maybe 5 minutes and got right to the counter to check in. Waited a bit longer than usual to begin boarding due to some kind of special award the crew was receiving onboard. We had boarding #11. They started boarding at about 12:30. We were onboard by about 1:00.

We did not get up early on sea days. There always seemed to be quite a few deck chairs available. After the hairy-chest contest on Monday, my 3 kids got chairs in the 3rd row by the pool, and that was probably 2 pm. The last sea day, I didn't go up on Lido until about 11:00 and there were still quite a few chairs near the aft pool. The pools didn't seem crowded at all. The hot tubs were pretty crowded, but I don't use them anyway.

Tendering: see my post above.

Sue....I want to go back .... reality sucks....I want another kiss on the lips or miami vice... where is my cabin steward:( I have really bad PCD.....and I miss all your smiling faces:rolleyes:

Hi, Renee! I was wondering where you were! I miss you guys, too. I haven't even unpacked yet. We just got home last night. I feel like poop today, don't have my land legs yet. I'm feeling dizzy and icky. (Dave would say I'm a dizzy blonde all the time anyway. :rolleyes: )

going on the miracle in june.

tendering in cozumel.....the best thing to do is go down to get your ticket before your ready to leave, so then when they call your ticket you'll be ready by then? Can one person go down to get ticket for the whole family? or does each person have to be there to get each ticket?

I hope you had a great cruise! I leave on Saturday for the Miracle! Did you have good weather? Did you dine at Nick and Nora's? I'm thinking of making reservations for my mother's birthday......Any good advice?

We dined at Nick and Nora's on our March 26th cruise. We made our reservations as soon as we boarded. The food and service was wonderful. The only complaint that I had was that they set us at a table for two right next to their Bar. I was kind of jealous since all of the other diners had this wonderful romantic dinner atmosphere and we kind of felt like we were eating in the bar.

Do they allow you to select your table for Nick & Nora's when making reservations? Do you think it was worth the additional cost?

going on the miracle in june.

 

tendering in cozumel.....the best thing to do is go down to get your ticket before your ready to leave, so then when they call your ticket you'll be ready by then? Can one person go down to get ticket for the whole family? or does each person have to be there to get each ticket?

If you are trying to get off fairly early, then yes, I would go down and get your tender ticket by 9 am. Then, you have about 45 minutes to an hour to go up and eat breakfast before they will call your tender number. They called tender 1 & 2 within 5 minutes. Then, about 5 minutes later, they called 3, 4 and 5. They were loading tenders at 2 different gangways at the same time. Of course, things could be different on another cruise, but that was our experience.

Two of our party of 5 went down and we were able to get the tickets for all 5 of our family members. They ask you how many tickets you need, and then they just give them to you.

I had read horror stories on the boards about people waiting around for 3 hours for tenders, and I was very stressed about the tendering. I must say, it was really not that big a deal. :)

Hi! I'm on the April 30th sailing. I have a question concerning the snorkeling tour you did. I also have a snorkeling tour (ship sponser) in the Caymans. My tour is at 8:00 a.m. What time was posted for tendering in? Do I need to arrive at 7:00 a.m. or 7:30 a.m. ? Since my tour is ship sponser and right at the docks, please give info.

Also, was there alot of people in your tour? I figured that that early in the morning is going to be light :D !! I figure that after my tour, I grab a bite to eat, buy a few postcards and head back to the ship around 1:00 p.m.

Also, in Belize, I have a non ship tour booked. What are my chances on getting on shore early, esp since I'm traveling solo. I know on HAL this has worked in my favor and often I was able to board on the first tenders with the cruise sponser tours.

In Cozumel, how much was the taxi fare to PB? Also, do have to wait for a taxi to fill up with a certain amount of people, or will they leave with one or two people? How much time did it take to return from PB to the tender area?

Just wondering, what cabin did you stay in? We were on the Miracle last August and loved her so much we are looking at going on her again.

Hi! I'm on the April 30th sailing. I have a question concerning the snorkeling tour you did. I also have a snorkeling tour (ship sponser) in the Caymans. My tour is at 8:00 a.m. What time was posted for tendering in? Do I need to arrive at 7:00 a.m. or 7:30 a.m. ? Since my tour is ship sponser and right at the docks, please give info.

Also, was there alot of people in your tour? I figured that that early in the morning is going to be light :D !! I figure that after my tour, I grab a bite to eat, buy a few postcards and head back to the ship around 1:00 p.m.

Also, in Belize, I have a non ship tour booked. What are my chances on getting on shore early, esp since I'm traveling solo. I know on HAL this has worked in my favor and often I was able to board on the first tenders with the cruise sponser tours.

In Cozumel, how much was the taxi fare to PB? Also, do have to wait for a taxi to fill up with a certain amount of people, or will they leave with one or two people? How much time did it take to return from PB to the tender area?

I was on the march 26th miracle cruise too (Hi Sue and Renee!:) ) This is how we handled the tendering.

Grand Cayman: had an early tour booked for Stingray City with Captain Bryan. Went down early to the Phantom Lounge where everyone on Carnival tours were to gather. We told on of the crew members that we had an early, private tour and they said no problem and to just go to where they were loading the tenders and get on.

Cozumel: No tour booked to I went down to Frankie and Johnnies at 8:30 AM to wait for them to start handing out tender tickets at 9:00. At 8:45 they came in and started handing them out. I asked for 6 and got 6 for tender #1. We went to Paradise Beach and got a van taxi for 6 people for $24.00. Since we filled a taxi with 6 of us anyway, there was no waiting but I don't know if you have to wait when there are only 2 of you. Paradise Beach is only about a 15 minute drive.

Belize: Early tour booked for cave tubing with X-Stream. Went down to the tender boarding area when they were boarding Carnival tours on the tenders. Again, we told the person in charge that we had an early, private tour booked and she said no problem and let us board.

I am working on my full review and should have it posted later today.

Hi! I'm on the April 30th sailing. I have a question concerning the snorkeling tour you did. I also have a snorkeling tour (ship sponser) in the Caymans. My tour is at 8:00 a.m. What time was posted for tendering in? Do I need to arrive at 7:00 a.m. or 7:30 a.m. ? Since my tour is ship sponser and right at the docks, please give info.

Also, was there alot of people in your tour? I figured that that early in the morning is going to be light :D !! I figure that after my tour, I grab a bite to eat, buy a few postcards and head back to the ship around 1:00 p.m.

Also, in Belize, I have a non ship tour booked. What are my chances on getting on shore early, esp since I'm traveling solo. I know on HAL this has worked in my favor and often I was able to board on the first tenders with the cruise sponser tours.

In Cozumel, how much was the taxi fare to PB? Also, do have to wait for a taxi to fill up with a certain amount of people, or will they leave with one or two people? How much time did it take to return from PB to the tender area?

Our snorkeling tour was scheduled for 10:00 am. We met on the pier. The capers said to leave the ship 45 minutes before your tour. I had another tour in Belize that was at 10:15 am. Unfortunately, I got them mixed up and thought my snorkel in Grand Cayman was at 10:15, so we were late getting down to the tenders. Didn't get in line until 9:30 and they had announced general tendering by then. I was stressed out, but we made it to our tour with 5 minutes to spare, and then they didn't actually leave until probably 10:15 anyway. Read your capers and they will tell you how early to get in line. For an 8 am tour, you probably need to go down and get in line by about 7:15 to 7:30.

Yes, there were a lot of people on our tour, but it wasn't bad at all. The boat was full, and there were lots of people in the water, but you can spread out and get away from the crowds if you just swim away from the boat a little bit.

In Belize, we were picked up right at the ship for our Carnival tour, so I can't help you with the tendering process there.

At Cozumel, we payed too much for the taxi van and I knew it, but we didn't feel like hassling. We payed $30 for 7 people. I just wanted to get there, so we just took it. The van wasn't totally full and he didn't make us wait. If you only have 4 people or less, a regular taxi is less money. It should be about $3 per person. Coming back from PB, we paid $20 for 5 of us. I'm guessing it was about 20 minutes or so from PB to the tender area. It isn't very far.

Just wondering, what cabin did you stay in? We were on the Miracle last August and loved her so much we are looking at going on her again.

We were in 1230 and our kids were in 1232 on Riviera, oceanview. We loved the cabins! Last cruise we had inside cabins and thought they were great. After having oceanview, I won't go back to an inside cabin. I loved being able to watch the ocean from our window, and one day we saw dolphins playing in the water. The cabins were very quiet. We never heard a sound.

What time did you arrive at Paradise Beach? Wondering if it was packed since the Miracle arrives a bit later.

What time did you arrive at Paradise Beach? Wondering if it was packed since the Miracle arrives a bit later.

I don't remember what time we got to Paradise Beach but we were on the 2nd tender and got a taxi to the beach right away after arriving on shore. There were plenty of chairs left and in fact, we got chairs right behind Sue (the OP) and her group. Later the chairs did fill up. I'm thinking we probably got to the beach around 10:30. Maybe Sue will remember what time they got there. As long as you are on the first or 2nd tender and go straight there you should be fine. Go down to Frankie and Johnnies early for the tender tickets. They say they start handing them out at 9:00 but I went down at 8:30 and they actually started handing them out about 8:45. We got tender #1 but didn't make that one so we were on the 2nd one.

What time did you arrive at Paradise Beach? Wondering if it was packed since the Miracle arrives a bit later.

We went down to get tender tickets at 8:50, there were four #1 tickets left, but we needed 5 so we got #2 tickets. They called for #2 about 5 minutes after they called #1 ~ about 9:45. Right after that they called for #3, 4 & 5. In fact, we were on the tender with friends that had a #3 ticket. (Heidi, we must have been on the same tender. We were upstairs with Deb & Mike)

We went straight to the taxi area and got right to PB. I think we arrived there right around 10:30 or so. Heidi's group got there right after we did. Our group got a row of 8 chairs together right in the front row by the ocean. We had our pick of chairs. It started really filling up around 11:00. The capers said they wouldn't start handing out tender tickets until 9:00, but they started earlier than that. As long as you go down to get your tender tickets around 8:45 or so, you should be on one of the first tenders out and you'll be fine.

What about the tendering in Grand Cayman ?? It said we dock at 7:00, what time do they start handing out tickets for this port ?? We have an excursion, not booked through Carnival, that said we would meet at 8:00. Do you think this might be a problem ?? Thanks.

What about the tendering in Grand Cayman ?? It said we dock at 7:00, what time do they start handing out tickets for this port ?? We have an excursion, not booked through Carnival, that said we would meet at 8:00. Do you think this might be a problem ?? Thanks.

In Grand Cayman they did NOT hand out tender tickets. They let the Carnival tours off first, and then give the general announcement for everyone else to get in the tender line. Our general announcement was at about 9:30. Friends of ours who had independent tours booked said they went to the lounge where the Carnival tours were meeting to tender and told the Carnival employee that they had an early independent tour booked and she told them they could go on the first tender with the Carnival tours. Others have said they just kind of blended in with the Carnival line when they started tendering. If you have an 8:00 meeting time on the pier, you will need to be on one of the first tenders ~ don't wait for the general announcement. It's a short tender ride to the pier.