Please take the Punch out of the Brunch

[Irishlinny]

I'm looking at the Miracle Jan 1st, so 4 sea days. Just so that I understand 100%, my only MDR choice for breakfast and lunch on those 4 sea days will be the punchliner brunch??

This is correct...but we all enjoyed the food very much. Just not good if you're used to going to breakfast before 9.

[mermaidofmanhattan]

Mermaid...

How was the Miracle otherwise?? We'll be onboard in October...

 

Hi Queenie,

 

We had a wonderful time, and my boys (10 and 15) especially enjoyed the ship. The weather cooperated and we had a lovely vacation.

 

The Miracle is not as huge as a lot of the mainstream ships which was a plus and the itinerary with 4 sea days, was ideal, as was sailing from Manhattan--merely a 15 minute cab ride for us. The decor is a LOT. Definitely not my cup of tea and I knew it wouldn't be so I was prepared--it's like stepping inside a huge, overly refrigerated, inside theme park with comic book overtones. That said, it's fun for kids, and adults that like sort of thing.

 

The staff and crew were very friendly and aimed to please. I found the mood of the entire ship to be kinda like a Catskills type family camp (but inside and highly refrigerated:() where there are lots oƒ silly activities, but they're warm and friendly in presentation. That said, we didn't do any of them, really! Here's the thing--we had a very nice aft wrap VS cabin 4228 with connecting 4230 for the boys, and we spent most of our time there enjoying the privacy, the space, and the views and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

 

The food was good at dinner, and pretty good in the buffets, but I really don't enjoy that scene. Because they only serve the Punchliner Brunch on the four sea days, you have to order room service, which is limited (we only ordered fruit and coffee) or go to the buffet on the port days which were late arrivals for two of them.:(

 

We had anytime dining but stuck with one server and pretty much arrived at dinner around 6:30 to 7 each evening, never had to wait and our server Harlene was excellent and charming. Also, we ate at the the steakhouse one night and it was very nice, not amazing, but nice.

 

People did, for the most part, take the trouble to dress for dinner in the MDR and more so on the "elegant" nights.

 

The Serenity deck is pleasantly, well, serene, comparatively, and we hung out there for a couple of hours on the last sea day. As for the other pools. I'd have to have a lot of cocktails to be able to tolerate the crowds and the volume of the music. I'm someone that prefers live music performed by really excellent musicians,and the more acoustic, the better-- and there is some live music on board, but the small solo performers were not good--other lines do much better with that. The shows are not great, but they're something to do--they're loud...and the rooms are freezing, so be ready!

 

All and all, we just weren't into most of what Carnival sells: I would not pay for any of the photographs taken on board--just not for me, not interested in casinos. bingo, nor any of the shopping options--just not interested in any of the stuff they peddle. Did our own smallish sailing excursion in St. Thomas and our own walking tour in San Juan. Grand Turk is lovely, but the three venues on the beach, Local Bar, Margaritaville and Jack's Shack assault you with thumping music as you arrive. Three different sound systems each blaring their own tunes...oh, my ears. Once, again--not for me.

 

If it were just my husband and I, we would sail on Celebrity, or even one of the luxury lines, but this cruise was what fit with our schedules, we didn't have to fly, it was a very relaxed intineray--AND, I knew my kids would have a wonderful time and they did. By the way, I found the kids on board to be very nice and pretty well-behaved. They had a lot going on for them in the clubs which was perfect. And really, we all had a terrific vacation!

 

I think you'll have a great time, if you know what to expect and don't expect too much!

 

Happy sailing!

[mermaidofmanhattan]

double post!

[mermaidofmanhattan]

I'm looking at the Miracle Jan 1st, so 4 sea days. Just so that I understand 100%, my only MDR choice for breakfast and lunch on those 4 sea days will be the punchliner brunch??

 

That is correct. And there is NO MDR SERVICE on the port days and two of the port days on our cruise are very late arrivals--3 pm and 1 pm--no MDR anything excepting dinner.