Magic or Miracle

My wife and I are in the early planning stages of a cruise next July (2019). We haven't been on a cruise since we got engaged in 2015. We have narrowed it down to the Magic and the Miracle. The Magic is an 6 day out of Ft Lauderdale with stops at HMC, Grand Turk and Amber Cove. The Miracle is a 7 day out of Tampa with stops at Grand Cayman, Mahogany Bay, Belize, and Cozumel. We have been to all stops except Amber Cove and Grand Cayman.

We need help from cruisers figuring out which cruise to take. Help US

A 7 day is more relaxing and I like the Spirit class better than the Dream class, so for me it would be the Miracle.

Amber Cove and GC are both great ports so no impact there...

Just trying to figure out newer ship vs older

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;p We have been on both more then once. We enjoyed both ships but the Magic has much more to offer. I would give up the one day for the Magic. We leave on the Magic this Sat. for 7 Day eastern our favorite. I'm sure you will enjoy what ever ship you pick.:cool:

Miracle has a great Serenity area -- bar, sun or shade, pool and hot tub. Our favorite Serenity area.

The Magic is my favorite Carnival ship, so the choice would be easy for me.

The Magic is my favorite Carnival ship, so the choice would be easy for me.

Agreed. Been on both multiple times and we would pick the Magic. There is so much to do, lots of places to eat and hang out.

Love the layout of the Spirit Class but the officers that were on the Miracle are now on the Magic. Sail for the ship, Miracle. Sail for the upper crew, Magic.

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I would go with the Magic. Larger ship with more bells and whistles.

Plus Half Moon Cay!

My wife and I are in the early planning stages of a cruise next July (2019). We haven't been on a cruise since we got engaged in 2015. We have narrowed it down to the Magic and the Miracle. The Magic is an 6 day out of Ft Lauderdale with stops at HMC, Grand Turk and Amber Cove. The Miracle is a 7 day out of Tampa with stops at Grand Cayman, Mahogany Bay, Belize, and Cozumel. We have been to all stops except Amber Cove and Grand Cayman.

 

We need help from cruisers figuring out which cruise to take. Help US

We've sailed both Magic and Miracle.

What are you looking for in a ship?

If you want to enjoy a smaller ship with a Serenity deck that has a pool, choose Miracle. She holds 2,124 passengers at full capacity and has two other pools.

If you want a larger ship with more activities on a ship, like the big theater and ropes course, choose Magic with 3,676 passengers at full capacity but only has two pools. She does have Tandoor, though. Yum!

What are you looking to do in ports?

Magic's ports are beach days.

Miracle's ports are a mix of beach days and other types of activities, like visiting Maya ruins, snorkeling, etc.

Admittedly I am biased. Miracle is my favorite ship. I just love the Spirit class.

We've been on both ships and all the ports. If you cruise for the ship, the preference is for the newer Magic. We just got off the Miracle and hated it's old ugliness, purple grapes in the MDR and open to the atrium noise steakhouse. Nicest thing we had on the Miracle was the ocean suite, almost twice as large as a regular balcony, and we even had 2 loungers and 2 chairs on the oversized balcony. But we much prefer the cleaner look and decor of the Magic.

However, if you are sailing for the ports, then the Miracle IMO, has the overall better ports. If I had to choose between Amber Cove and Cayman, Cayman wins hands down. We didn't even get off the Horizon in May when we ported in AC.

We have been on both and prefer the Magic.

I would choose 7 days always over 6 days.

Still the Magic has Dive-In movies and the Miracle does not.

Magic has Guys and Blue Iguana and Miracle does not.

I do like sailing out of Tampa, though. Quick and easy.

I'm sure I would choose the 7 days....

We've sailed both Magic and Miracle.

 

 

What are you looking for in a ship?

 

If you want to enjoy a smaller ship with a Serenity deck that has a pool, choose Miracle. She holds 2,124 passengers at full capacity and has two other pools.

 

If you want a larger ship with more activities on a ship, like the big theater and ropes course, choose Magic with 3,676 passengers at full capacity but only has two pools. She does have Tandoor, though. Yum!

 

 

What are you looking to do in ports?

 

Magic's ports are beach days.

 

Miracle's ports are a mix of beach days and other types of activities, like visiting Maya ruins, snorkeling, etc.

 

 

 

Admittedly I am biased. Miracle is my favorite ship. I just love the Spirit class.

Thanks for your input on these! It’s tough for us! I like newer ships myself. More dining choices and activities. As far as itineraries I like the Miracle one better. Belize has been about all time favorite port of the cruises we have taken.

I think it boils down to a new ship with food and activities vs itenerary

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I do like sailing out of Tampa, though. Quick and easy.

Hmmm, has Tampa upgraded their terminal facilities? Been a long time since I sailed outta Tampa. What I loved was the 2 hr cruise down the channel + under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. What I hated was the old, inefficient, terminal operation. But, hopefully it's better now.

We've sailed most all classes, we LOVED Miracle when we sailed her to Hawaii. If you do Grand Cayman, DON'T MISS Stingray City!

Magic it's newer and nicer.

I would pick the Magic. Yes the extra day on the Miracle is nice but honestly we vowed to not go back to Grand Cayman. We rank it down with ports like Nassau or Freeport. It was a dump. PLUS we like the larger, newer ships. So the Magic is what we'd pick, wouldn't be much of a decision to make with this one.

Thank you all for your suggestions! Both my wife and I are leaning Magic for the newer dining options and activities. It’s tough to turn down Belize and Mahogany Bay though

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Hmmm, has Tampa upgraded their terminal facilities? Been a long time since I sailed outta Tampa. What I loved was the 2 hr cruise down the channel + under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. What I hated was the old, inefficient, terminal operation. But, hopefully it's better now.

First time out of Tampa was 2008, last time so far was this year in February. It LOOKS the same on the outside, but I found them to be quite efficient and everything moved along very well on our February cruise. Best thing....after the cruise, I'm close to home!

First time out of Tampa was 2008, last time so far was this year in February. It LOOKS the same on the outside, but I found them to be quite efficient and everything moved along very well on our February cruise. Best thing....after the cruise, I'm close to home!

Well that's good to hear! Haven't sailed outta there in 15 years. Loved the sailaway + under the bridge, but the terminal was (at that time) horrible compared to Miami + Port Canaveral.

My wife and I are in the early planning stages of a cruise next July (2019). We haven't been on a cruise since we got engaged in 2015. We have narrowed it down to the Magic and the Miracle. The Magic is an 6 day out of Ft Lauderdale with stops at HMC, Grand Turk and Amber Cove. The Miracle is a 7 day out of Tampa with stops at Grand Cayman, Mahogany Bay, Belize, and Cozumel. We have been to all stops except Amber Cove and Grand Cayman.

 

We need help from cruisers figuring out which cruise to take. Help US

So, we sailed alongside Dream and Magic on our cruise, and on the exterior, you can tell the difference between the ships. Magic and Dream are huge ships, and they have more outdoor fun for children. We intend on sailing on one of the two next year, but that's only because we did this itinerary already. We chose Miracle primarily because of the ports! The Western Caribbean is something very special. Personally, I would choose Belize, Honduras, Grand Cayman, and Mexico over the eastern Caribbean. In Belize, you have the opportunity to snorkel on a World Heritage Site (2nd largest barrier reef in the world). Choose the sharks & rays excursion for this experience. Caye Caulker (Belize) is an island that's completely laid back and chill. If you guys are in your twenties or thirties, this is your type of island escape. Take a walk to The Split, and have a drink & enjoy your life! Enjoy the beautiful colors of Caye Caulker, and the really sweet natives.

As for the additional port, Grand Cayman is a must-do port. Stingray city is absolutely breathtaking, and the water is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G! My husband and I really enjoyed this port. We had multiple opportunities to kiss, and feed the stingrays. My children loved this port too, although, there were more adults there, and only a handful of kids. We chose the stingray encounter + turtle swim, but I wouldn't recommend the turtle swim for newlyweds; it's more for the little ones. I would recommend that you guys do the coral snorkel and stingray city excursion, if that's an option for you.

Here's your dilemma: Better & Bigger ship (Magic) with one less port, or Better itinerary + more excursions, and mediocre ship?

We chose Miracle because we weighed our options and the additional port won. If you're going to spend more time on the ship, choose Magic. If you want to experience beautiful Grand Cayman, and plan on doing more adventurous excursions at every port, then your choice should be Miracle.