Miracle or Conquest? for holiday cruise

We can book either Miracle out of Tampa with stops in Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, and Grand Cayman 7 days or Conquest out of Fort Lauderdale with stops in Nassau, Half moon cay, Grand Turk, and Amber Cove 6 days. Both are Dec 16 and the prices are similar for cruise and flight.

We have only been on RC Indy and Freedom, but are tired of RC ports. We have never been on Carnival. I need any insight or advice to help with this decision. TIA

2 Adults and 2 young teens and we will have 2 rooms

Miracle and the Western itinerary. I love the layout of the Spirit class ships. Even Half Moon Cay doesn't make up for Nassau, and that's bad coming from someone who used to live there and is 1/2 Bahamian. Routan is one of my favorite ports, the snorkeling is great. Grand Cayman has a great beach, Belize is good for more snorkeling, and Cozumel is another beach/shopping day. We've done that itinerary several times and will most likely book it again.

And 7 days beats 6 days!

Thanks for the info. Hopefully more will chime in, but I was leaning towards Miracle, as flights are at better times too

I would prefer the extra day with the Miracle itinerary, while I dislike Amber Cove on the shorter Conquest sailing. However HMC and Grand Turk are great ports for beach lovers.

Prefer the Miracle over the Conquest.

No opinion about the itins.

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I was on the Miracle last month, I liked the itinerary, it was a welcomed change from Bahamas itineraries, I liked the ship's layout, bigger than a Fantasy-class ship, but still small enough to navigate easily, but plenty of space in the common areas of the ship so it didn't really ever feel too crowded, except on Lido on Sea days. Just be prepared that the Miracle is an older ship and doesn't have many bells and whistles, the only specialty dining is the steakhouse, and still has the old style poolside grill, no Guy's or Blue Iguana, but the food served there was good. We had a good cruise, I would do the itinerary again.

I really love spirit class ships and sailing out of Tampa. Make sure you go up on deck when the ship goes under the bridge!

We were on the Conquest in April and had a great time but agreed it was not a ship we would take our 14 and 10 yr old boys on because they would have been bored. Talked to a family that had teens with them and there just was not enough for them to do in the evenings.

I've sailed both itineraries and they are both great. Nassau and Belize are pretty much the same to me in the fact that it's sort of a "book an excursion or stay on the ship" port. Miracle has fewer crowds but Conquest has more activities. I think your teens might get a little bored on the Miracle unless they like to hang out by the pool most of the time. My husband and I are 30 and even we got a little bored by the lack of activities. We were definitely thankful that we opted to book a balcony for that trip vs our usual interior cabin.

Also keep in mind that Conquest has the Dive in Movies at night, the 2.0 upgrades like Guy's burgers, blue iguana, etc. I really missed the movies on the Miracle!

All that being said, we are going on a back to back on Conquest this year and one week on Miracle next year, but we booked a balcony on Miracle since we already know what to expect. If I had to choose one itinerary over the other, I would choose the Miracle itinerary because the ports really are great.

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We cruised with friends with 3 18 y/o boys and a 14 y/o girl - all the kids had a great time and found plenty to keep them occupied. The 14 y/o girl loved Club 02 - we hardly saw her.

Whoops, I can't delete this extra post for some reason.

Miracle shows movies down in Mad Hatters.

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We cruised with friends with 3 18 y/o boys and a 14 y/o girl - all the kids had a great time and found plenty to keep them occupied. The 14 y/o girl loved Club 02 - we hardly saw her.

That's nice, what ship are you referring to? Miracle or Conquest. Thanks

I haven't been on either of these ships or to Amber Cove. I would take the Western for the ports and the extra day. I was in Belize and Roatan last November and loved both. Happy planning!

Miracle shows movies down in Mad Hatters.

 

 

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They only showed movies one night on my cruise and they were right during dinner, 3 movies back to back.

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We were on conquest with kids last year and everyone loved it. Beautiful, clean ship. Lots of open space. HMC is gorgeous. I do like the idea of 7 days over 6 days though!

We can book either Miracle out of Tampa with stops in Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, and Grand Cayman 7 days or Conquest out of Fort Lauderdale with stops in Nassau, Half moon cay, Grand Turk, and Amber Cove 6 days. Both are Dec 16 and the prices are similar for cruise and flight.

 

We have only been on RC Indy and Freedom, but are tired of RC ports. We have never been on Carnival. I need any insight or advice to help with this decision. TIA

 

2 Adults and 2 young teens and we will have 2 rooms

If your main motivation is different ports that RC does not go to, then I suggest Conquest's itinerary - you won't go to Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, or Amber Cove on RC. Just something to consider.

Miracle. Western is better itinerary for shore excursions with kids. So much variety and opportunity for learning fun!

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We can book either Miracle out of Tampa with stops in Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, and Grand Cayman 7 days or Conquest out of Fort Lauderdale with stops in Nassau, Half moon cay, Grand Turk, and Amber Cove 6 days. Both are Dec 16 and the prices are similar for cruise and flight.

 

We have only been on RC Indy and Freedom, but are tired of RC ports. We have never been on Carnival. I need any insight or advice to help with this decision. TIA

 

2 Adults and 2 young teens and we will have 2 rooms

We've taken both cruises, as well as been on both ships, we'd chose the Conquest, and we live within an hour of Tampa, 4 hours of Ft Lauderdale!

Hate the single dining room on that class of ship=Miracle! Hate Belize!

If your main motivation is different ports that RC does not go to, then I suggest Conquest's itinerary - you won't go to Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, or Amber Cove on RC. Just something to consider.

I was just about to mention this. Those are all Carnival-exclusive ports, and seeing something different from Royal is what the OP really emphasized. (I HAVE been to Grand Turk on Royal, but.....we were special. :D )

Also, Conquest DOES have the free/included dining options and FunShip 2.0 upgrades that Miracle lacks, as well as Dive-In Movies at night.

I personally might choose Miracle here for the new-to-me ship class, the longer itin and a couple of new-to-me ports, but the OP might be better off on Conquest. We liked Conquest so much we sailed her two Octobers in a row. :)