Miracle 6/18 Review

[D4]

Me, DH, DD and her boyfriend were on the Miracle's 6/18 cruise. It was our 12th cruise (the BF's first cruise).

 

Our last Carnival cruise was 3 years ago and we said we wouldn't go on Carnival again. We had very poor dining room service that time. As an example, it took 45 minutes every evening to get our water glasses refilled after asking and we only drink water. We went on Royal Caribbean and Princess since then and the itinerary brought us back to Carnival for another try this summer. This was our 8th Carnival cruise and luckily this one was fantastic.

 

Pre-cruise - We flew in the day before and spent the night at the Holiday Inn Express at Rocky Point. Very nice. Getting a shuttle to the port cost $10 per person. The Bahama Breeze restaurant next door was wonderful.

 

Tampa port - WOW! Embarkation was amazing. We've never experienced anything like it. We got there about 11:30 and were eating on the Lido deck by 12:05. We walked directly up to the check-in counter and spent most of the time seated waiting to board. Simply amazing!

 

Ship and Cabin - The ship is in great shape and nicely laid out. 7A cabin was excellent. We had two chairs but no table on the balcony. There was a nice flourescent balcony light that we could control every evening. (I had read you couldn't always control it.) The sofabed was comfortable, but not long enough for the BF so he slept on the upper the whole week. DD had planned to have the upper but she took the sofabed. The beds were all very comfortable.

 

Food and service - We enjoyed the food and the whole crew was fantastic.

 

Shows, etc - Sorry, we don't go to any shows or organized events.

 

Grand Cayman - We did the Stingray City tour with Carnival. We had reservations with an independent tour, but cancelled them 4 weeks before the cruise because DH was in the hospital. We knew if he would be able to go on the cruise that walking and standing for long periods would be difficult, so we booked with the cruise line to make the tendering simpler. We've been to GC 5 times but never did the stingray tour. It was excellent and our highlight of the trip. The boat had their own photographer and videographer on board and I bought the photos on a CD and the DVD. They are great! We got out to Stingray City when there was only one other boat there. Near the end of our stay, there were lots of other boats there. I think there were about 24 on our boat and the tour people helped us out and 2 guys held the sting rays for everyone to pet, kiss, and get their pictures taken. I was very impressed and it wasn't a 'cattle call' tour at all. When we returned to the port, we got an independent person to take us to Hell and the turtle farm which my DH and DD insist we go to every time!

 

Cozumel - We've been there lots and didn't want to do a tour. We took a later tender to call our other DD and shop a little at the port. The tenders are very large and take a long time to load and unload. It was sad to see the destruction.

 

Belize - We booked through the cruise line to do the Altun Ha and River Wallace tour and the kids did the Cave Tubing throught the ship. (Our rule is that if we split up at a port, we all take cruise line tours just to make sure none of us are left.) This was the only day the weather was bad. Lots of rain, thunder, and lightening. We saw the ruins for about 5 minutes. DH and I were soaked and freezing even though we had rain ponchos. We took showers and turned on the heat in our cabin for the first time ever (we didn't even do that in Alaska!) The day was a total bust for us but the kids had lots of fun (they planned to get wet and they were on the bus for the worst of the storms.) DH and I had done the same tour 3 years ago so we know how nice it can be.

 

Costa Maya - We did the ruins with David and Ivan. The tour was as excellent as everyone says. I loved the ruins which are in the middle of a rain forest. Very different from Altun Ha and Tulum. They truly are in the middle of a rain forest. Ivan was wonderful.

 

Debarkation - The simplest and fastest we've ever experienced.

 

This was a great cruise! It's sad that it's over, but we're glad to be home with our dogs!

[june1300]

how long of a tour was the david & Ivan? we are on in august and are afraid our kids (9 & 11) will be bored if it is too long.

thanx

[D4]

I don't remember exactly. I think about 4 1/2 hours. Ivan really made it interesting. There was a 10 year old boy in our group that loved hearing all about it. It might be helpful if you got your kids interested in the ancient civilizations before the trip. Also on the way to the ruins, he talked all about the culture of the locals in each little town you pass and how things are changing rapidly.

[Schasz]

D4,

Thanks for the review on the Miracle and I am glad that you had a wonderful time. We are booked on the Miracle in December. Since Tampa is home for us I am happy to read that you enjoyed your brief stay and Bahama Breeze happens to be a favorite of ours.

 

John & Shari

[momofzeke]

Thanks for the review. We loved the Miracle. We also did the David & Ivan tour and thought it was great. We had Ivan as well. It was interesting to see the remains of the home he lived in on the site of the ruins. Glad you enoyed your cruise! :)

[EJLevin]

Glad you had a good time. Could you tell me if the tour in Costa Maya had alot of walking. It sounds interesting but I can't walk alot. We are going on the Miracle 7/30, can't wait

[silentbob007]

Thanks for the review ... glad Carnival worked out better for you this time.

[D4]

Glad you had a good time. Could you tell me if the tour in Costa Maya had alot of walking. It sounds interesting but I can't walk alot. We are going on the Miracle 7/30, can't wait

 

Yes, the Costa Maya tour had a lot of walking. We knew that could be a problem for my DH with his recent medical problems, but he did ok. There were lots of opportunities to sit on the steps of ruins while Ivan talked and while others walked up steps to the ruins. My DH didn't go up any steps. I would guess that we probably walked a mile or so and of course it was hot. One of the other guides with Ivan offered to take my DH back to the entrance (shops and sit down area) when he didn't want to go up the steps at the second set of ruins, but he preferred to sit and wait.

[D4]

Thanks for the review ... glad Carnival worked out better for you this time.

 

Thanks, we're glad too. This was our 8th Carnival cruise. They were all great except the 7th one.