Carnival Miracle 12/01/07 Review - The Good, The Great and the AWESOME...

[truecruiser]

thanks for the review trc! when i booked my liberty cruise last year, i was deciding between that cruise and this one (same time -- december). i wanted to go on both ships, and the miracle panama cruise was very enticing, but i ultimately decided to do liberty in december and miracle when it returns to NY in the summer.

 

looking at your pics, i now wish i did this itinerary. it looks incredible!

 

and, btw, i was cracking up at your geriatric comments. we sailed 12/2 also out of ft. lauderdale and experienced the same thing!!!! the poor comedians...they had nothing to work with. one of them said something to the effect of "my material is short becasue the average pax age on this ship is dead." lmao must be the port, lol.

[TallyRockChick]

Thanks for all the comments guys! Im so glad that everyone is lovin the review!! YAY!

 

DJ - We paid $579/pp before taxes and all that for our room. We booked back in Feb and since we were both past guests and I guess since we booked so early, AND cuz my TA rocks, we got upgraded to that room. I looked up the cruise we are going on next year and the same room we got is about $150 more pp. Love the upgrades!!! Hopefully one day we'll get upgraded to a balcony! That would rock so hard! Either way, we are hardly ever in the room so we really dont care where we are at. I did like being able to see how the weather was in the morning and I did like being on the 4th level. Only a couple levels up from the action and not too far from the Lido. Just a few flights of stairs and you are there!

Tally is about a 6 hour drive to Ft. Laud. Way cheaper then flying and I used to make the drive all the time in college to go home so its really not that bad.

[asader83]

Brandy,

 

Thanks again for the awesome review. I'm quite possible time is going backwards now that I'm down to 11 days. Hurry up already!

 

Also, a huge thanks for the link to the Capers. I've already printed them all off and got the highlighter ready!

 

I also put a link to your review in our Roll Call, and everyone loves it. For those of us that were unsure of what to do in Panama, we all decided after reading your review that we're all going to go together and find a dive bar and just hang! Too fun! So again, thanks for your hilarious review and answering all my questions.

 

Here's to hoping we all cruise together one day! (that eastern caribbean is looking very tempting...)

 

Thanks!

Amy

[TallyRockChick]

No problem Amy! Glad I could be of service. Seriously though, be really careful in Panama. There is a restaurant thats in the port shops though that looked pretty decent and from what I heard had cheap beers.

[djcellini]

Hi Brandy how are you today, I got upgraded to from an inside to and ocean view like you had, I know its a lil more money leaving out of NY City and such.... Its diff less expensive to leave out of FL. Flights to Fort Laud round trip no stops was only 110, thats a deal right there I tell you loll...

 

So hows the weather today down there, it's kinda dark and 40 here, stinks I know..........

 

18 days and counting for me..... :D

[TallyRockChick]

Its warmer today then it has been the past few. I was surprised too cuz it rained really bad here last night. They say its supposed to be cold on xmas. I hope they arent lying! I would HATE to be wearing a tank top on Christmas day!:eek:

[direfun2000]

Wicked review!!!

 

 

 

Enjoyed your writing style too.:D

 

 

 

Happy Cruising!!!!!!!!

[mumofsons]

Hi Brandy,

I really enjoyed your detailed review. My DH and I did this same itinerary on the Legend last February and we are going on same one in March on the Miracle.

You are right on about Panama - I would highly recommend anyone thinking about striking out on their own not to do it.

Loved the pictures especially Speedo guy, Mullet lady and Beer Man! What a great sense of humor. Although I am probably old enough to be your mum - we did not have an over abundance of older folk - most of the passengers seemed to be the 30 - 50 age range. There were very few kids. We did have quite a few of hover-rounds - boy when you get backed into by one of those things it hurts! Thanks again - I really did enjoy reading about all the fun you had and can't wait until it is our turn again.

[Skeeter1602]

Its warmer today then it has been the past few. I was surprised too cuz it rained really bad here last night. They say its supposed to be cold on xmas. I hope they arent lying! I would HATE to be wearing a tank top on Christmas day!:eek:

 

Ouch!!! rub it why don't ya!! LOL:) I hope you and Lex have a great holiday, and a happy new year!

[TallyRockChick]

Yeah, this cruise was elderly abundant. They all were with the same group for the most part too. They all had the same red keychain thingys around their necks. There were others that werent with the group too...but I would literally say that about 45% or more of the sailing was geriatric. Im not sure if it was the movement of the ship or what, but they all walk in a zig zag motion which makes it virtually impossible to maneuver around them when they are being slow.

This sailing didnt have very many kids but the ones that were there were very well behaved. Barely saw them at all!

[Retired Sparky]

Brandy best reveue ever Love the pic's . We are on the Miricale 01-02-08 we sailed on her last Jan. and loved it . Chose to go back becouse of Panama now I am not so sure !! . We always get balcony's becouse my wife smokes , and having room service for breakfest on the balcony is the only way to go . We have not yet booked shore ex. yet , becouse we wait till we all get on the ship together and talk . Cavetubing.com seems the way to go , did you pay in CASH or can you use CC. I am new to this site only joined becouse of your review .

[Ltvscout]

talk . Cavetubing.com seems the way to go , did you pay in CASH or can you use CC. I am new to this site only joined becouse of your review .

You pay in cash at the end of the trip on the way back to the port.

[GoinCruisin]

Great review!!!! I felt the same way about the Miracle, in many ways it was the geriatric cruise. And because of that, the bars/disco seemed to shut down somewhat early, or have smaller crowds. It was the one thing I disliked about the Miracle, but we still managed to have a great time... I would love to try the Miracle again, but I read too many reviews that echo the same thing, so I may try one of the other Spirit class ships. Thanks for the great review!

[TallyRockChick]

Cave-tubing.com is cash only at the end. Make sure if you have Richard and Timmy as your guides tell them that Brandy (the girl they pulled the bus over for so she could pee) says hi!!

 

I wouldnt let the old ones deter you from booking the ship. I heard that there was the same thing with the other ships that ported out of Ft. Lauderdale. I really think its just the time of year that we sailed and the port. All the snow birds had converged on South Fla. It was either the old ones or waited a couple weeks when school was out and had a mass of young ones. We chose our battle, and I think we came out on top. So much so that we are booking the Miracle again for next year.

[GoinCruisin]

 

I wouldnt let the old ones deter you from booking the ship. I heard that there was the same thing with the other ships that ported out of Ft. Lauderdale. I really think its just the time of year that we sailed and the port. All the snow birds had converged on South Fla. It was either the old ones or waited a couple weeks when school was out and had a mass of young ones. We chose our battle, and I think we came out on top. So much so that we are booking the Miracle again for next year.

 

I haven't had that experience out of FLL... but the Miracle was the same way when we were on her out of Tampa. It was odd... but it was February, so it made sense. I have found that of all the ships reviewed on this board, the Miracle gets called "quiet" and "subdued" more than any of the others, not sure why. We loved the ship, it was just a completely different atmosphere than other cruises I've been on. We had a pretty large group with us, and the group made it one of my top 3 cruises... had it not been for them, I would have rented a hova-round and just joined the rest :p I think one of the things that made the nightlife seem dead was the layout of where the bars were... the disco seemed so out of the way, I like the Conquest/Fantasy class ships where there are several bars/lounge/disco all in the same area, makes bar hopping easier :D

 

Thanks again for your review! Brings back fond memories...

[asader83]

Brandy best reveue ever Love the pic's . We are on the Miricale 01-02-08 we sailed on her last Jan. and loved it . Chose to go back becouse of Panama now I am not so sure !! . We always get balcony's becouse my wife smokes , and having room service for breakfest on the balcony is the only way to go . We have not yet booked shore ex. yet , becouse we wait till we all get on the ship together and talk . Cavetubing.com seems the way to go , did you pay in CASH or can you use CC. I am new to this site only joined becouse of your review .

 

Hey Retired Sparky! Welcome to Cruise Critic! Come join our Roll Call! Here's the link...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=464139

 

I'm from New Berlin! (Just moved out east...) Hope to see you on our board!

 

(Hi Brandy!) asader83

[bikergal78]

I just read your review. It was awesome! I got the link to this thread via the Belikin Beer thread :D

 

The pictures were great :p

[PaulMedik]

TallyRockChick,

 

Excellent review and excellent pics! Thanks for sharing. :)

[ladylonghorn]

TallyRockChick vbmenu_register("postmenu_12665929", true);

Cool Cruiser

Thanks for the review. We are on the Miracle on 1/10 going to St. Martin, St. Lucia and St. Kitts.

 

Couple of questions for you....

 

1. Embarking - I notice you got on the ship early. The papers say 1 PM to 3:30. Just making sure that wasn't an issue. Since you got on early, can you remember about what time you got to your room and saw your luggage?

 

2. Spa treatments - you mentioned you got a fly with specials $99 for 3 or $129 (I think) for all 6. Do you remember the regular prices at all? Getting a massage is that 1 thing that is a must for me!!

 

 

Thanks again for all the details!

[moore4220]

Hey Brandy, Your review was great. I'm glad I don't have internet access at work or I would be laughing more than you laughed at Bruce pre cruise. The Miracle is terrific, our itinerary was fantastic, and the people we met on board were even better.

[moore4220]

We were on same cruise, got to port around 11:30 and were on board by 12:10. We went to see cabin, they were not ready, so we toured the rest of the ship and soon met up with ALI on the Lido deck, who was more than happy to serve us many "drinks of the day". And, before we knew it it was time for the muster. When we went to get our life jackets, most (4 of 5 ) of our luggage had arrived.

[Payd]

Ooh you lucky ducks....Webshots stopped being stupid.

 

On to formal night dinner!

We both got the pumpkin soup which was creamy and fantastic

I also got the stuffed mushrooms which were SO FREAKING GOOD! Another thing I wish they had more then one night. They were cheesy and moist and YUMM-O! Rachael Ray-ish I know, but its a perfect word to describe!

I forgot to say that last night I got the caesar salad and so did Lex. Actually Lex got the caesar salad every night. It was good caesar dressing but had a little too much of an anchovie bite then I like.

Tonight, however, I got the wilted spinach with portobello salad. Uneventful to say the least. The picture says it all. I did start eating it before I remembered to take the pic, but still...you get the point.

 

 

and then....

LOBSTER!!!!

As days passed we heard various people say that their lobster was tough and chewy and "it took a saw to get thru it". Well I guess it was touch and go because our lobster was buttery and tender and tasted great. Granted we only heard a few say they had a less then stellar experience with the lobster and to compile a percentage of the complainers to the whole ship it would be a low one. Behold the buttery goodness:

and what surf and turf meal would be complete without some prime rib with au jus? The prime rib was good...not the best prime rib Ive had, but it still wasnt crappy either. The au jus was a little thicker then au jus should be, it was more gravy-esque but it was still tasty and had good flavor. The baked potato was dry but I was too full to eat it anyways. I like to eat my meat and then if I have room I'll go for the sides. Actually Im lying, I taste the sides and if the sides are great then I eat those too.

After dinner the servers did a little song and dance and didnt force anyone to get up so I didnt mind.

Rodolfo is on the left, and sweet cheeks Maryono is on the right.

 

We were on the Miracle on 12/09 and had the very same servers at table 403. Maryono was my favorite also. He was acting as head waiter the last two nights of our cruise, to prepare to take the lead in the new year. What an amazing man - making huge sacrifices to provide a good life and stability for his family!

 

Payd:)

[NCTribeFan]

Brandy,

 

I did have some issues on my Miracle cruise, but not enough to make me think I wouldn't sail her again.

 

In fact, I discovered that your itinerary sails next year on 12/15, which would be much better for us (since DD "may" be graduating on 12/13). Everything else sails on 12/14, or extends over Christmas (and costs double).

 

I specifically booked our itinerary because it was 2 days at sea and 4 ports, but now that I know I can sail in semi-rough seas (thanks to ginger and bonine), I'm seriously considering doing your itinerary.

 

Just as long as Alice isn't on my ship, again! :eek:

 

I'll have to bookmark this so I can go back and re-read your excursion reviews.

[TallyRockChick]

Payd - awwww....Im so glad that Maryono is getting a headwaiter job. He was so cute! Loved that kid!

 

NCT - Thats great that you are thinking about going on my itinerary. I very much recommend it...for sure go back and re-read my excursion experiences. Other then Panama, everything was awesome. Be careful in Panama. SCARY! Im going on Miracle again next year too. 12/7 8 day going on the east side - St. Maartin, St. Lucia, St. Kitts!

 

Ladylonghorn - we got to the port at 11:30 and literally just went right inside. We were walking on to the ship before 12. When we pulled up at 11:30 there were already a lot of bags with the porters. Im not sure why they say 1-3 is boarding because they basically start letting you on board as soon as everyone from the previous cruise is off. If you get there later, the lines are longer and it takes wayyy longer to get on board.

We went to our room pretty much right after we got on board because I had my makeup case with me and I wanted to drop it off. Our room wasnt ready and the stewards were in there cleaning up but they were really friendly and let me drop off my case while they finished everything up.

We were in our room pre-muster and our bags werent there yet. After muster we went to drop off our lifevests and our bags STILL werent there. After our roll call meet and greet and sail away (around 4:30??) we went to the room and the bags were there. I was surprised we didnt get our bags till that late because people that were there after us and on higher decks had already got their bags, but I wasnt too too worried about it anyways.

As for the massages....the full price for the massages were over $200 but that was for just that treatment. Like the hot stone massage for an hour was like $269. The $129 in port deal was basically for about an hours worth of various treatments including a full body massage and hot stone and head and neck and all that. It really was a great deal for the amount of treatments you got. I recommend waiting to get that treatment when its available.

Any other questions?

[NCTribeFan]

We may pass each other at the pier, then! And now I know what you look like, too! :D