Miracle Cruise 5/23 Quick Review

On this sailing was myself, DH, and our 2 DDs (4 & 1). It was my 25th Carnival cruise. DH is Platinum also. We started with a pre-cruise stay at the Hotel Maya, so that we could park there for the week. Cost was approx $189 with the ocean view/king bed upgrade, which wasn't too bad since the cost to park at port is approx $120. This included the free shuttle to/from the port. We had a room on the ground floor in building 4 which had an unobstructed view of the Queen Mary. Nice hotel with a nice vibe. Room was roomy, and I liked the laminate floors. I really liked the outdoor areas which had comfy furniture to hang out on. We walked around a bit, and enjoyed the beautiful weather. We opted to have pizza delivered, since we didn't want to drive anywhere or spend the high prices on room service or the hotel restaurant.

The next morning we got to the port at 9:30am, because we wanted to start our cruise vacation early. We waited 3.5 hours before we could board, yes...3.5 hours. Apparently, the folks really took advantage of relaxed debarkation on the previous cruise. I was just praying that my 1 year old would be agreeable. Luckily, both DDs were! We met up with some of the folks we had been chatting it up with pre-cruise. It's nice to put a face to a name.

We got on the ship, and were the first ones at the Red Frog Pub. We got our free beer and our DD got a shirley temple. You can probably see our pic on John Heald's page along with the flack we got from some folks for bringing our kids to a bar. Seriously, why do people feel compelled to talk crap. It's a Fun Ship for goodness sake! Enough on that. I left DH and DD, so that I could take our 1 year old to the room to tend to her. We had a 9B Premium Balcony cabin, room 6279. Fantastic layout! I had upgraded from an 8K extended balcony when this one opened up about a month before cruising as a birthday gift to DH. What a great choice! It's nice to have all of the extra room for our young girls. Not to mention, I loved the larger balcony!

Thanks for the review. We sailed on the Miracle last December and it also took forever for boarding but didnt think it was late disembarking passengers.

I apologize for not posting pics, but I'm just lucky to even get a chance to write this review at all.

We headed out to have lunch at the buffet, which wasn't too exciting. We then walked around the ship. By the way, the Red Frog Pub (RFP), was an awesome addition! We missed our group M&G since we were trying to decorate our door, and get situated. Muster came about so fast since we boarded late. We managed to sit with the special needs group. I didn't want to have DD waiting out on the windy deck for the entire muster. It's a much better way to keep the girls settled. We then went to dinner. We had YTD on deck 3. They got us a high chair, and were very accommodating to our entire family. The food was just okay. The highlight was the chicken tenders. I went to the Camp Carnival registration while DH took the girls to the cabin. Afterwards we went to the family welcome aboard party, and I won Best Mommy dancer WOOT WOOT! They gave me a Camp Carnival medal, and they gave one to our 4 yr old to make her happy. This was at the Frankenstein's Night Club. We walked around a bit more then turned in.

The first Sea Day was spent checking out the ship. In the morning, I had brought my DDs to Camp Carnival (CC), since it was specified time for under 2s. The time was from 8-10am. The Dr Seuss parade was that day, which was followed by the Storytime by Cory at the Phantom Theater. At that time, we booked the brunch which was scheduled for the last Sea Day in the morning. The cost is $5pp. Our older DD spent time at CC that day. At Cabo, we were able to bring both of our girls to CC from 1-5:50pm, which we did. This gave DH and I time to ourselves. Priority tendering for Platinums and Diamonds was held at the Alchemy Bar from 11am-1pm. Since we missed the time due to the CC babysitting times, we headed to Guest Services (GS) and they escorted us down. Tony's was where we had lunch. My mojito and DH's margaritas were yummy. Guac was yummy, and my enchiladas were ok. We then did some shopping, and were back on the ship by 4:20pm. It was a hot day. We stayed onboard for the next 2 ports, since there wasn't an opportunity to bring our DDs to CC in the middle of the day. They only offered that from 8am-noon on those port days. We enjoyed the ship, and our DDs played in their splash pool on the balcony.

More later....DD is calling...

Food overall was just okay. We tried the upcharge steak in the MDR, and it was tougher than it should be. The pizza is really good. The MDR mac n cheese is really good. We really enjoyed the Dr Suess brunch food.

We had fun with the trivia. Abby is awesome. Tell her that Captain Rob's family says HI! Hubby, AKA Captain Rob, led the men in the Gender Showdown, and they kicked our butts! The entertainment staff, as well as most of the ship, were very friendly. The Miracle has a nice vibe. The addition of the Skybar and the RFP were great. That area, including the Fountainhead seemed like where a lot of people would hang out. The casino was tight from what many were saying. Our contribution was only $60 one night at Blackjack. The drinks at the Alchemy Bar are YUM from what everyone was saying! We tried it once, and really liked it. Karorie at the RFP was very cool. Tell him that Gia says HI! Hasbro the Game Show was fun to watch, just once. They offer 2 shows during the week. Bingo was just okay. If there aren't a lot of participants, then the payout is low. The new screen would freeze at times, so you wouldn't be able to go back and check your numbers. Be prepared to keep up! It was too cold for the water slide, but from what others were saying--it wasn't great. DH and DD used the pool once on a sea day. The soft serve was popular, also the cones are great for a teething baby! We danced at the Frankentstein's club another night when DDs were at CC after 10pm, and we were lucky to catch the window of time when they played music that we liked. After that, we left. Check the Fun Times, and they'll list when certain genres will be played. I think it was usually between 10:30-11:30pm. One night was '80s night, another night was red night. We never made it to a deck party. The RFP was hopping after the shows let out. If you do go to a show, don't be late. We got to 80s to the max 15 minute late, and it was only on for another 5 songs. Gatsby Garden is nice peaceful area located at deck 3 forward. Deck 3 is also a nice place to walk around outside of the ship. I had purchased some Verizon Carnival gift cards, and didn't use them all. Keep them, because they don't give you cash back. You'll just have an available balance on the unused gift card(s). I could've sworn that I had read on here that cash would be given back on the unused portion. I almost forgot to mention. One night, for 2 hours, we had brown water coming from the sink and shower. It was very annoying because it occurred from 10:30pm-12:30am. Very annoying to deal with when our young children and ourselves are trying to sleep. This happened on Thursday night, so Friday morning--they gave us 4 drink coupons. They're not that useful for us, since we don't drink much and we had very little time to use them. I ended up getting a mojito at the RFP which was a mistake because it made me tired and we ended up turning in early on the last night. I was hoping to put DDs in CC, so that DH could enjoy our last evening. Oh well. 'Til our next cruise.

Debark was smooth. We put out our luggage the night before. The priority debark meeting area is Deck 3 Bacchus DR at 8:30am. They had coffee, juice, and pastries for us. We waited a short time, then were escorted off the ship. We waited some in the customs line. Our luggage was waiting for us. Exited, called the Hotel Maya, and they picked us up after a bit of a wait. If you ask, they'll drive you straight to your car. If you have any questions, please ask.

Thanks for your review. Can't wait to sail on the 'new' Miracle.

LOVE the Miracle, and 6273 is an awesome cabin (have stayed in it 2x). Would definitely recommend this cabin to any family travelling.

Thanks for your review.

Thanks from me for your review! A couple (more) questions from me. :D

What time did you eventually board the ship on embarkation day?

Can you pre-register kids for CC or just do it on embarkation day?

Thanks from me for your review! A couple (more) questions from me. :D

 

 

What time did you eventually board the ship on embarkation day? 1:15pm

 

Can you pre-register kids for CC or just do it on embarkation day?

pre-register.

;-)

LOVE the Miracle, and 6273 is an awesome cabin (have stayed in it 2x). Would definitely recommend this cabin to any family travelling.

Should have been cabin 6279.

Thanks for the review. We sailed on the Miracle last December and it also took forever for boarding but didnt think it was late disembarking passengers.

We were on the Miracle the week before you and left the ship at 8 am and we had the same long wait for embarkation the week before even with FTTF - passengers were still leaving the ship at noon. We had no idea why and wondered if there was a problem. There did seem to be a lot of late risers throughout the cruise so maybe that was it - some people take their time to leave,