Nicole721

Really love the review and can not wait till your next installment. Great Job!!!

Thank you! The next installment should be up tonight or tomorrow :)

Great review! Thanks so much for takin the time to write it!!!

Thanks for taking the time to read and reply! I have to admit, though, I have selfish motives for writing it- through writing it, I can relive it. It helps with the post-cruise depression until we can decide where we want to go on our next cruise and book it :p

I have long been addicted to cruising. My second addiction has become your reviews. Love your style!!!:)

Thanks so much! Mom will be glad to know I got something out of college ;)

Boy, that's a lot more than a Maracle review. Haven't seen a picture of the ship yet. I assume that's yet to come?

 

Very very detailed review of your whole trip. Nice job. You must have taken notes along the way.

Yep...ship is coming up after the next installment :)

I actually didn't take notes. I have a journalism degree, so I'm used to keeping things in my head until I can write them out. I think Stephanie took some notes about things we definitely wanted to remember (like names of extraordinary staff on the ship), but other than that, just memory and pictures :) But, on the last night of the cruise, I went into the shops and found this gorgeous, handmade journal with (I think) linen paper and that's going to become my cruise journal so I can take notes on the next one :)

Nicole,

I started reading your blog and became hooked. I even started reading your other entries. I enjoyed this recent trip review in NYC so much that you have me thinking of DH and my next cruise in 2011. Thanks and can't wait to read all of your entries.

Thank you so much! I'm glad you're enjoying it! :)

Lovin' every minute! It's so nice to see our great City through someone else's eyes. Sharon

You're too kind to me, Sharon :) Thanks so much for reading and commenting!

Excellent! Can't wait for the other parts, especially about the cruise. Thanks for taking the time out to take us on the whole adventure with you.

I'm going to try to wrap up the last part of the NYC review tonight or tomorrow because the cruise stuff starts right after the next installment. Thanks for reading and commenting! :)

Interesting review, cant wait for more. Thanks

Thank you!!!

Indeed. My GF and I currently live in NYC and are doing an 8 night cruise in September. We are very excited as I have heard nothing but good things about the Miracle.

 

-D

I have nothing but good things to say about the Miracle :) She's my favorite ship (we've been on her three times already...twice this year...and we might sail her again in January). Such an easy layout to navigate and such pretty public areas.

Please let me know if you have any questions. I'm sure you and your GF will have a fantastic cruise :)

This has to be the longest review I've ever seen, but it's great. You're giving this New Yorker some ideas where to eat. You MUST have had a bad day at Century 21. It is a landmark--the one here on LI by me is fabulous. I cannot believe you took pics of PATH and the rat in the subway (welcome to NY). Dylan's is very cool but completely overpriced. Tiffany is...well, Tiffany! I love browsing there. Bloomies is great too. Did you make it to the giant Macy's? You didn't hit the Disney store two blocks down from Tiffany? That's fun too.

 

I certainly hope the next installment finds you at Juniors, because if you left NY without their cheesecake you missed out on the BEST!

 

I'm sure my DS and his friends are having a ball.....

Ha! I take pictures of EVERYTHING :p I'll give Century 21 another chance whenever we go to NYC next. It was just SO packed and all I saw was Ed Hardy stuff (and I'm not a fan of Ed Hardy clothes). But admittedly, we only had about 15 minutes to browse so I may have missed the good stuff. And Dylan's was DEFINITELY overpriced. But I think it's a "must see" for a first-time NYC visiter. It was a fun experience late at night (another thing I loved about NYC- everything is open so much later than in Chicago, where all the stores shut down by 9:00!).

No time to hit Macy's or the Disney Store (they were on our list, but taking the train everywhere took so much time out of our day and we had less time than we thought), or FAO Schwartz for that matter, but they're on our list for our next visit.

And yes, we did make it to Juniors. Their cheesecake was A-MAZING! I think I have a pic of it to put in the next installment.

Nice review...............!!!

Thank you! :)

Okay, part 2 is up! Stephanie informs me that my pictures are getting cut off. I'll have to play around with them a bit because they're probably too big (I'm still playing around with the settings on my SLR camera). I'll get on that ASAP. I'll try to work on Part 3 tonight, but Part 2 took the past 2.5 hours to write and I have errands to run so we'll see :)

Part 2: http://sunglassesandumbrelladrinks.blogspot.com/2009/06/worlds-longest-miracle-review-part-2.html

Part 1: http://sunglassesandumbrelladrinks.blogspot.com/2009/06/worlds-longest-miracle-review-part-1.html

Hey Nicole you are definitely my favorite reviewer!!

 

I am enjoying it so far. Since I live in NYC I can understand your frustration with getting a hotel with parking and all.

 

Anyway I have been anticipating your review and I hope you're finished posting it by Tuesday because I am leaving on that same cruise that day.

 

Hope you got lots of pics of food like last time. LOL

Awww thanks! Yes, lots of food pics :) I just finished part 2, and part 3 is our last day in NYC, so I'll be starting the cruise part probably tomorrow :) Have fun on your trip!

Definitely. I think we may have been in choir together as well. Perhaps not in the same class, but during the same years. I had a feeling when you mentioned the Cali trip that we took which was my sophmore year. I think we may have done shows together when we were younger as well...

 

-D

Yes! Cali was my junior year. Fun trip :) I see you'll be on the Miracle soon...she's a great ship! :)

Very nicely done so far. 22 year old son and 3 friends are on this cruise as I type this. Since we live on LI, it only took them an hour to get to the pier (sorry!). Looking forward to details. We actually did this itinerary on Imagination last year out of Miami, so know the ports!

Thanks! I'm sure your son and friends are enjoying their cruise! Stephanie is 22 (I'm 23) and we had SO much fun. And I'm pretty sure that we were the passengers from the furthest West since EVERYONE on our cruise was from the East Coast. I'm glad not everyone had a 13 hour journey home like we did :eek:

Nicole,

 

You didn't happen to go to Stevenson, did you? I think I may know you and may have gone to high school with you...

 

-D

I did! Small world, huh?

Same here ! I loved your last review, and can't wait to read the rest of this one....keep them coming :D

Will do! I really want to get to the cruise part, so part 2 and probably part 3 will be up today :)

Nicole, I loved your last review, so I'm really looking forward to reading a super long review of your latest cruise!!!

Thank you! :)

Nicole,

 

Great review by a fellow Chicagoan!!!

 

Bob

Thanks, Bob! I planned on writing about it, but being in NYC, for me, reaffirmed to me what a truly great city we live in :) NYC is nice, but I much prefer sweet home Chicago.

That is a long review but a good one.

Thanks...but it hasn't even begun to get long yet :eek:

Nicole, really enjoying your review. Thanks again. Sharon

Thanks, Sharon! And thanks for the well wishes before the cruise, too :)

I am so excited, I loved your last review :)

Aww, thanks!

I'm home!

Okay, so we got home last night, but I've been SO exhausted. But as promised, I've begun writing the World's Longest Carnival Miracle Review. I came home with more than 1300 pictures taken, so it's going to be pretty full of those, too.

It was a FANTASTIC cruise and I have lots of stories to tell and tips to give, and I've been writing this review in my head since we left two weeks ago. I got so much great feedback and comments on my last review, and I'm so appreciative. I'm super pumped to write this review, too.

The review is going up on my blog because the posts are too long to be posted here and it'll have way too many pictures, anyways, but I'll use this thread to post updates and answer any questions.

The first part of the review is up (http://www.sunglassesandumbrelladrinks.blogspot.com). It doesn't have nearly as many pictures as the rest will because it primarily covers our planning and our drive to NYC (sorry!!!). The next part will be up tonight or tomorrow, but I really hope everyone enjoys reading it as much I enjoy writing these :)

And, as always, I'll be happy to answer any questions. I'll also try to post the Capers at some point when things settle down a bit here.

Ahhh...this is my type of thread!

On our first (and most current LOL) cruise, we used room service the first day and thought it was alright, but on day 2, we discovered the dining room and we ate breakfast there every day following!

I usually had:

-Whatever danish/roll they came around with after orders had been taken

-Oatmeal with cream and brown sugar

-Some type of eggs with bacon/sausage/hashbrowns

-Juice, milk, and coffee

I don't eat it all, but rather pick at everything LOL

Cruising = massive eating for me LOL...I don't eat much at home, but when I'm on a cruise? I'm constantly at it LOL. I gained 8lbs. on my first cruise and lost it within the first week I was home. As a preemptive strike, I planned to lose 10lbs. before we cruise in May so I could gain it back on the boat ;)

I don't know why I can't get this to work...............:confused:

 

Try this:

 

http://community.webshots.com/photo/324547169/324557109xRodub

 

Or this:

 

http://community.webshots.com/user/pshaze

 

Pam

That works! Thanks so much Pam :)

MamaMicki,

 

Actually, I think your cabin in one deck above the life boats. We had rooms 6263,6267 and 6269 on the Miracle, which are extended balconies, on the same floor. I didn't like looking down into the life boats and the view looking to the right and left is obstructed by the outer portion of the ship. Here is a picture taken from our balcony.

 

http://community.webshots.com/scripts/editPhotos.fcgi?action=showMyPhoto&albumID=324547169&photoID=324557109&security=xRodub

 

We had unobstructed views on our Glory balcony which I liked much better even though it was not extended.

 

Pam

I can't see it :(