Review--Miracle 9/11-9/18

[sue cubic]

Will try to be objective here, in other words--just the facts.

 

Embarkation was very simple upon 2 PM arrival. No lines! Such slightly later arrival appears to be the way to go. Might as well grab an extra hour of sleep in the morning. Debarkation wasn't as smooth. We needed a wheelchair (as did about 30 other folks). There were plenty of chairs, but no one to push them! We were the very last ones off the ship, and were getting a bit nervous about making our bus connection.

 

Sail-away was most memorable, as it was 9/11. We went very slowly past Ground Zero, and blew the horn in tribute. Very nice touch, I thought.

 

Weather was beautiful the entire cruise, and it was probably the smoothest sailing I've encountered .

 

Food was excellent in both the buffet and dining room. I did notice that there are a few things missing from the breakfast buffet that I would normally expect. Notably--no lox, corned beef hash, link sausages. However, these were all available in the dining room at brunch.

 

After sailing on Glory last year, we much appreciated the food "stations" on Miracle. No more waiting in one long buffet line. The Asian food station appeared to be a big hit--there was usually a short line for that.

 

We love "your time dining", as who wants to keep a schedule while on vacation? We always offered to share a table with others, and met many very nice people at dinner.

 

Sea days always present problems with available lounge chairs. I didn't see any "chair police", but there were signs around that stated your belongings would be moved after 40 minutes. The Serenity Deck (adults only) is quite small and in great demand. Lovely place to read or snooze--if you can find a seat.

 

Shows were very good. Don't miss the "Ticket to Ride" show. Great entertainment and even better technology for a cruise ship. The "Legends" show was excellent--we had some very talented passengers aboard. Their performances were incorporated in with the show staff--costumes and all!

 

Comedy shows were excellent also. They swapped out 2 teams of comediennes halfway through the cruise, so we were entertained by 4 different ones. Open mike night was amazing--obviously it was not those folks' first time onstage.

 

Lounge acts were rather sparse--especially during "cocktail hour", which seemed odd to me. There were 2 guitar players, 1 piano player, a group called "Music Unlimited"--who played various kinds of music throughout the cruise, and a silly player piano that was covered up and which batteries were running down so it played everything very slowly (most annoying). You had to walk past that thing to get to the theater.

 

I don't have much experience with casinos, but it was confusing when you wanted to cash out. Cards and passwords, o my! Smokers are now limited to only a few machines in one corner of the casino--quite silly, as no one told the smoke to stay put! People stood in line to get to those machines.

 

Actually, the entire ship is quite unfriendly to smokers. They are limited to one forward pool section, a couple of clubs that are rarely open, and to the starboard side of deck 3--where there are a few ashtrays all down at one end and not a bench or chair in sight on the entire deck. I understand smoking is also allowed on balconies.

 

When all is said and done, it's the people you meet that really make a cruise enjoyable. This one was no exception.

[critcatny]

Thanks for the review. We will be back on the Miracle in a few weeks. Been on this ship 2x before but there are some new things I'm anxious to try. Serenity is new for us on this ship, the taste bar, and the Punchliner Brunch as well. Only wish the shows were different since we've seen them twice before. Can't wait!!

[chipq]

Thanks for sharing your review with us.

 

http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

[cruise pup]

Looks like you had an enjoyable cruise. I sail on the Miracle the week before xmas and am looking forward to it.

[kingstonKouple72]

nothing person.... but glad to hear the ship was not smoker friendly.

I like the casino.. but don't like dealing with the smoke.

[092306]

Thanks for your review. We'll be on the Miracle again in a couple of weeks. Can't wait!