Review of 11/20/05 Carnival Miracle

[SailingSuzy]

My background- 8 cruises, Carnival,NCL, oyalCarribean.

Embarkation: My first time out of Tampa. I hated it. Seemed very disorganized compared to Miami. Parking is very close to the terminal.:) Getting signed in was pretty quick but for some reason the ship was not able to dock at Pier 2 that day so as soon as we checked in, they loaded us on buses for a 20 minute ride to another pier to board the ship. :mad: No luggage space on the bus so I had the snokeling gear on my lap and my DH was jammed into his seat holded our rolling bag on his lap. Put us in a bad mood right off the bat. NOTE: we tipped the porter $5 because we had one really heavy bag. It must have worked because our bag arrived outside our door 15 minutes after we did.

First impressions on the ship: Oh, my God! who was the decorator for this ship. Looks like they collected whatever was in overstock at the decorator store and just put it up whether it matched or not. It was kinda scary at first but after a while it just became a big joke. The hundreds of big pink lights in the dining room were very distasteful.

We had an extended balcony on deck 8. Typical room. Firm bed. Nice duvet. On the first day our room was freezing so we tried to adjust the thermostat. We never knew what to expect when we got to our room, freezing or too warm. This was a constant problem all over the ship. It was always warm in Gatsby's Garden, so if you are looking for the warm spot, try it.

This was the noisiest cruise we have ever taken. I will never again take a cruise over a holiday. Lots of kids and indulgent grandparents. Kids constantly running up and down the hall slamming doors. It was also a mistake to get a room one deck below the Lido. The roof over the balcony extended out about 10 feet so it captured the noise from below. Plus people on the Lido dragging chairs back and forth. :mad: I look forward to leaving the balcony door open to hear the ocean but not this time. TOO MUCH NOISE. I was constantly looking all over the ship for a nice quiet spot to read a book. Never found it. Next time I will take ear plugs.

Gotta go back to work now. Will write more later.

[SailingSuzy]

Our cabin steward was great. He actually showed up on the first day to introduce himself. All other staff was pretty good. Very goofy cruise director but I enjoyed his antics.

Spa: Big thumbs up for the spa. Nicest ladies locker rooms I have ever seen. Wonderful showers with nozzles coming out the walls. Sauna directly adjacent in locker room. Big fluffy towels. I highly recommend taking all your showers in the spa. Fairly nice exercise equipment in the spa. Just not enough. Hard to find an empty treadmill in the mornings. Must be a sign of the times that more people are working out on cruise ships. The hot tub in the spa is nice, not so many kids. I had a wonderful facial and the expected sales pitch was fairly low key.

Food: Mediocre. We only ate in the dining room one night. I wasn't very empressed and I didn't like having to wait for my food between courses. So we ate at the buffet the rest of the time. I was disappointed in the quality of the desserts. [The best deserts were available for sale $2 at the coffee bar on deck 2.] Usually something I look forward to but not this time. So I only gained 5 pounds instead of the usual 8. Highly recommend the sandwiches from the deli.

Entertainment: I expect the entertainment on Carnival to be rather amatuerish and it was. so we did not attend all the shows.

Photos: Almost every night they were taking photos so it's a good idea to take advantage. Where else can you sit for 20 different photo shots for free?

Ports: We were very disappointed that we were not able to debark in Grand Cayman. Winds too high. So we went on the Cozumel. Lots of sad devastation there. Denuded trees and the pier in rubbles. Had to tender in. About 60-70% of the shops are open for business. But the prices are not as good as they were last year and we could not find a good liquor shop. That is usually one of our main purchases but not this time.

Belize: Last time we were there we just went walking in the city and swore we would never go back. This time we went snokeling at Goff's Caye and I am in love with the place. A small island about 1/2 acre with about 10 palm trees. HEAVEN! Snokeling right on top of the barrier reef. Definitely recommended.

Costa Maya: I would like to recommend Mahahual but I don't think I will. It is so beautiful and unspoiled that if everyone finds out about it, then there won't be room for us anymore. A true Corona commercial. Massage for $15.

Debarkation: Much better than embarkation. If you don't mind taking your own luggage off, you can be the first to leave the boat at about 8:30 am. Otherwise, you wait. But very easy.

Cruising is like sex and pizza - even when it's bad, it's still pretty good.;)