Carnival Miracle Cruise Review with 89 photos & 8 videos

[Spaniel Lover]

Yes, that's right, the Platinum gift on the Carnival Miracle five weeks ago was that black journal.

 

 

We laughed when they appeared in our cabin (we get two, because each of us is platinum) because we had done back-to-back cruises on the Carnival Breeze a couple of months earlier... and so with two platinum cruisers doing two cruises back-to-back, we had come home with four of those journals after that cruise. If we had kept the two they had given us on the Miracle, that would have made six in our collection. So we went down to guest services and they were nice enough to trade us for a different gift.

Edited December 23, 2015 by Spaniel Lover

[Wanna_Cruize]

Thanks for the info. We've also gotten a few journals already, so I'm hoping they switch over to the duffels by the time we board tomorrow. From what I've seen online, it was supposed to start in December. We'll see.

[burtie]

Great info on this review. Thanks Much!!

Burtie

[bitemebaby]

Wonderful review, thanks so much! We are going on our second journey cruise On Jan 31st on the Miracle and this has gotten us excited to go on the Miracle again. Our first journey Cruise was Oct 31 on the Glory and was a lot of fun, 8 exciting ports and fun ship activities.

[cruisingaround27]

Thanks so much for this comprehensive review, Jim. We are going on the Miracle in July and can't wait!

[omar151]

I have read hundreds of reviews and you sir by far should win an award for best cruise review. Thank you for your pics and info. I will be back on the Miracle in February for my 11th cruise…slowly getting to Platinum with only 14 cruise days left ! :)

[tjmcdona]

It looks like you may have spent more time composing this review than the time you spent on the actual cruise :) I've been on Carnival before, but this is my first time on the Miracle and first time porting out of the West coast. There was a little bit of discussion comparing Carnival to Norwegian so here is my two cents.

 

I took my first Norwegian cruise last year. I had been told the service was top notch compared to Carnival and RC. I, honestly, didn't notice a difference. I thought the service was good on all three but none stood out above the others. Some people seem to like Norwegians anytime dining. I found it frustrating. There were times I'd show up and they'd say it's a 30 minute wait which really screws you up when you made plans to see a show after dinner. Then the one time I went expecting a 30 minute wait they said "come right in". Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

[blessed2travel]

Hi,

I am sad to think this will be my last voyage on her since she is set to go to China in 2017!

 

This is the same line-up that I just booked. Great review! Has anyone heard any rumors about which ship will replace the Miracle in California? I was hoping to do the 2 week Hawaii cruise in January 2018 for my 10 year anniversary.

[IslandCurls]

I've never been on the Miracle, but this was a really great review! Enjoy all your future cruises:)

[CrabbyMe]

We were in 7345 for the Christmas cruise, and I was almost the person that fell down the stairs. My husband had my arm in a death grip! So I'm glad there was no "unscheduled stop" for me!

Your pictures let me relive some of the great things! Nick & Nora's is DEFINITELY worth it!

[TB08]

I really enjoyed reading your review. My DH and I are going on the Miracle in September 17, 2016. We have been on two other cruises, Western Caribbean and Alaska. The Spirit Class ship, Liberty for Alaska was really our favorite as well. Seemed like the Freedom at the Caribbean had everything up front and we walked a lot. Good for me, I lost weight on that cruise but DH gained. Yep, he ate more as well. :)

 

We are in our late 50's and also not brave to go on our own so we are taking advantage of the excursions offered by Carnival. Even though they are short and sweet, it's just right for us because we enjoy spending time on the ship.

 

We are getting our favorite cabin, Aft View Extended Balcony on the 6th deck. Your mentioning of the vibration brought back memories of the Liberty, which did the same thing, but we liked the slight vibration for sleeping. As for the cabinets, found a piece of paper and wedged that in, remedied the squeak. HAHAHA!

 

Thanks for posting the wonderful pictures, especially off your balcony. Made me so excited for September to come. Don't want to hurry our summer but it's sure hard not to, especially with another cruise in our future. :p

[Trainertam]

I enjoyed your review so much I read others you have posted! We are leaving in a couple of weeks for the Carnival Miracle cruise to the Mexican Riviera, and I feel much more prepared now, thanks to you!:)

[daredneck]

Thanks "Spaniel Lover" That was one of the best cruise reviews ever.

 

What kind of camera were you using to take the time laps films?

[Spaniel Lover]

I shot those time-lapse videos with my Canon DSLR camera. I used an external timer to make the camera shoot one still photo every 2 seconds. That way you end up with 30 still photos taken every minute, or 1800 still photos after an hour of shooting.

 

After letting the camera shoot all those still photos, I imported them in to Microsoft's free program "Windows Movie Maker" and turned all those still photos in to the time-lapse videos that you saw. It's actually pretty easy once you get the hang of it.

 

Of course, if you have a GoPro, you can make time-lapse videos much more easily than I did with my DSLR. But the beauty of using a DSLR is that you can pick the right lens and filter for the situation you're in, plus you can do things like zoom and adjust depth of field as necessary. I like to get in to all that stuff, so I stick with my DSLR rather than buying a GoPro.

[sjn911]

Always awesome...just loved another Spaniel Lover review..thanks Jim....Sarah

 

Great on your viral video..my nephew got to take the Breakaway for his second cruise last spring break..first as a semi adult and his first was when Miracle was brand new as a much younger kid...LOL..He is in college and that slide image he had was hilarious..great kid with needed angels on his shoulder...enjoy your next cruises....Sarah

[Larry613]

This was the most comprehensive ship review I've ever read, and it was very much appreciated. We will be travelling on the Miracle in June with our daughter and her boyfriend; the latter has never taken a cruise before, and pointing out the "warts" as well as the highlights will certainly help to avoid disappointments.

[jeffwayne12]

We are looking to book this same AFT cabin, did you notice any vibrating in the room?

[EagleRockers]

Jim – What a terrific and comprehensive review. My husband and I have never sailed with Carnival although we have 22 cruises under our belt. On a whim, we booked the Miracle for a cruise in 2 weeks. It was a leap of faith for us, having heard nasty comments about Carnival. We decided to go with a grand suite and figure even if the cruise is lousy, the suite will be comforting. After reading your review (great pictures, by the way) you allayed our fears. I’m looking forward to the whimsical nature of the ship’s design.

Happy sailing to you and yours!

[lisakoivu]

Just this very day, my daughter and I decided to take a look at the Miracle for a possible Christmas cruise, and when I did a search on the forum, your review popped up FIRST - so now I need look no further. Score! Thanks for all your hard work.

[thecruisers723]

Thanks for your amazing review! We just switched from the 4 day Inspiration to the 7 day Miracle today. So we've got some research to do since it's just over 2 months away and we've never done the Mexican Riviera itinerary before. We were on the Miracle to Alaska 2-1/2 years ago. So I enjoyed seeing pics of the ship. And this helped give me some good ideas on what to do in ports. Love the Spirit class ships.

[ajaxgalca]

Thanks for your excellent information!

[cruisingbajan]

Excellent review and photos as usual.

[Funseekers]

Great Review! Thank you for sharing!

[MMastell]

Great review and your pictures are fantastic. We will be on the Miracle on April 16th. We are looking forward to the overnight in Puerto Vallarta. It will give us a chance to meet up with friends and my wife needs some light cosmetic dental work done.

 

We have a condo in Nuevo Vallarta and spend the Winter there. I have found Puerto Vallarta and Nuevo Vallarta to be VERY safe as long as you use common sense. The same common sense you would use in New York, Cleveland or any other major city.

 

We did this cruise for just a quick getaway since we hadn't cruised in over 18 months. That's a long time for us and it allowed my wife to go see our dentist in Puerto and enjoy the company of local friends.

 

Thank you for wonderful review and I look forward to sailing the Miracle. This will be my first sailing on the Miracle but I have sailed most of the other Spirit class ships and they are definitely my favorite class of Carnival ship. We also have an aft balcony on Deck 5. We've done afts on all of our other Spirit Class cruises and have never noticed any major vibration. I wonder if it's just Miracle or that level of cabin. We'll find out in less than two weeks. The nice this is that vibration doesn't bother me and some string around the closet door handles stops any rattling. We learned that trick a long time ago on a rough Transatlantic.

 

Take care and thanks again for the great review.

Mike

Edited March 31, 2016 by MMastell

[need2cruz]

Great review and your pictures are fantastic. We will be on the Miracle on April 16th. We are looking forward to the overnight in Puerto Vallarta. It will give us a chance to meet up with friends and my wife needs some light cosmetic dental work done.

 

We have a condo in Nuevo Vallarta and spend the Winter there. I have found Puerto Vallarta and Nuevo Vallarta to be VERY safe as long as you use common sense. The same common sense you would use in New York, Cleveland or any other major city.

 

We did this cruise for just a quick getaway since we hadn't cruised in over 18 months. That's a long time for us and it allowed my wife to go see our dentist in Puerto and enjoy the company of local friends.

 

Thank you for wonderful review and I look forward to sailing the Miracle. This will be my first sailing on the Miracle but I have sailed most of the other Spirit class ships and they are definitely my favorite class of Carnival ship. We also have an aft balcony on Deck 5. We've done afts on all of our other Spirit Class cruises and have never noticed any major vibration. I wonder if it's just Miracle or that level of cabin. We'll find out in less than two weeks. The nice this is that vibration doesn't bother me and some string around the closet door handles stops any rattling. We learned that trick a long time ago on a rough Transatlantic.

 

Take care and thanks again for the great review.

Mike

 

We're also on that cruise and also a balcony on 5 but probably 10-12 from the back. Curious to see how the vibration that he mentioned is also.

 

-Dave