Miracle 10/30

[Mom of Three Boys]

Had a great week on the MS Miracle. This was our second time on this itenary but first on this ship. Seven of us all together.

 

Had no problems at all at the Port. Very easy to find parking across from the Pier although had to pay in advance this time- last time was pay when you left. It was $12/day. Not too bad. Porters were readily available to carry bags to the ship.

 

Except for Sunday night and Monday day, the cruise was very smooth. Seas were 6-8 ft and winds >40. Some people seeing green :confused:.

 

Sailed to GC and went snorkeling with Captain Bryan. We initially had a 930 that was changed to 1030. It would have been nice to know that ahead of time but spent the am schlepping aroung Georgetown peeking at the $$$ jewelry stores. Hit the bakery at the corner of Fort St and the main road- bright yellow building. It was pretty good although oldest son got an eclair and didn't like it because wasn't like the doughnut shop in the states. Muffins were great.

The Stingray and snorkeling was awesome. Snorkled first by the reef to let some of the other excursions clear out yet before the second wave arrived. Spectacular fish, coral and water. Stingrays were plentiful and way cool. 68 yo DM thought this was the highlight of the trip.

For you guys with moustaches, DH says either take your own mask or trim it way back. Kept getting water in the mask and interfered with the experience.

 

Quick run over to Costa Maya. Only ship in port that day. Water was beautiful;same as in the pix that Tom-n-Cheryl posted in another thread. No damage from the hurricanes here. In fact, we off loaded supplies for Cozumel here although we were told earlier we would go to Coz to do that on Friday.

Stayed close to the little shops here and ate guacamole & chips while one of the kids swam in the pool.

 

In Belize, the tendering process was the worst. Granted it is the longest tender of the cruise and I believe both doors were open but all 2000+ trying to leave at the same time was not cool:cool:. It took well over an hour to leave and we were in the middle.

Seems that they could have staggered the departures based on the excursion times. If they were doing that it was not communicated effectively. It could also have been because the Valor changed her itenary and was in port that day also.

 

Our driver in Belize commented the children were late for school because it was cold, about 75.

Went cave tubing and had a blast. The ride was great the first 45-60 mins. See if you can find the sleeping giant and how did Hattieville get its name? The last 15 were pretty rough. The govt was grading the road when we left though. We were the only ones in our group but there were perhaps 150 all together that day. There is no daily limit on the # of people that can go on the river. We also did not book through Carnival because their age limit is 12 but we have a 10 yo so we went with ecotoursBelieze.com. Price is 1/3 less than CCL.

Along our hike we found a termite mound on a tree. I am told the termites had a minty taste. I'll take their word. The hike was not very strenuous but took about 30 mins. Worst part was carrying the tube on my sunburned shoulders.:(. During the hike our guide Charlie was very informative about the mahogany trees, ecology, the monkeys or lack of them in the forest.

 

The rapids were a bit faster that I thought they would be but the current in the caves was pretty leisurely. Our guide pointed out may formations, bats and the waterfall. For those that went, did the reality match the perception?

After the trip, short walk back to the start point. We had lunch at the little " restaurant" there at the beginnig of the trail, Xibalbla. Chicken was good and the double chocolate rum muffin was better than the flourless chocolate cake on the ship, IMHO.

 

As noted above, we did not make Cozumel due to storm damage. We were told they hope to have it open by late Nov. I doubt it will be the same as we remember from last year. We went to Chankannab last year but have heard it was wiped out.

We expected to have two days at sea and, I guess we did, but Friday was dreary and the Captain made tracks all day to get to some good weather in the Gulf on Saturday. It was spectacular. Not too hot but plenty of sun.

 

Unfortunately, about noon Saturday, he announced he was making full speed for Tampa due to a passenger medical emergency. While he didn't say what it was, rumor was young passenger had an allergeic reaction to something. Never did hear how that turned out.

We made the Skyway bridge about 7pm Sat night, about 10 hours ahead of schedule. Took pix of the bridge in the dark and the funnel had maybe 10 ft. clearance under the bridge. It reallywas quite a site with a waxing moon low in the sky with Mercury off to the right.

 

We had to stay on board while docked. That was different. Outside the ship at the termnial was a band that played well into the night. It was a bit much at 2am for it to keep going on.

 

The entertainment was pretty good overall. The band in the Phantom Lounge was first rate. The shows were good. The entertainment and performance was very good even though the Beatles are not my fav.

 

We had early seating in the Baccus dining room and, even if Baccus is the Roman god of wine, he surely had a better decorator than we did. That color is awful. Memo to CCL, on the refurb, go with a white wine.

 

Our head waitress and assistants could not have been better. Elena and Tamas were very personable and engaging with our kids. Stweards Sundram (Sonny) and Guchi, on Empress Forward were first rate also.

All in all the food in the dining room was very good. There was not a drop- your-fork-this-is-the-best-thing-I-have-ever-eaten-moment but it was not as bad as others have described.

 

We had kids in Camp Carnival and the O2 groups. They could go in or out. For the most part they enjoyed making and hanging out with new friends. Some of the activities for the older groups went on a little too late for my preferences but we usually could get in touch with someone that knew where they were.

 

We tried radioes to keep in contact with our kids. I would suggest a 10 or 12 mile rated two way radio at a minimum. There is too much steel between forward and aft. Camp Carnival also has cell phones available for rent for the day/week and that may be a more effective way to go if you are trying to keep in contact with your progeny.

 

I would recommend this itenary and ship to anyone that asks.

[skogler]

Thank you for the current review. We leave on Jan. 1st. What nights were formal? What time did you embark?

 

Thanks,

 

Scott

[Mom of Three Boys]

Skogler,

 

Our formal nights were Tuesday(Grand Cayman) and Friday(day at sea). I'm fairly certain that Monday is usually the first formal night but I think they changed it because of Halloween. Some people (adult people) did dress up for Halloween. You might want to check closer to your sailing date to make sure. Have fun, wish I was still cruising!