Just off the Miracle Feb 17th sailing

I won't try to call this a full review but a few notes from my cruise. There were four of us. Myself, DW, DD (12), DD (14)

Flew into Tampa the day before the cruise and stayed at the Embassy Suites. They have an airport shuttle but not a cruise shuttle. Great hotel though. Everything went great there.

Took an uber to the cruise port. Traffic close to the port sucked. Could tell the driver was feeling ripped off on this ride. Gave a decent tip to make up for it. For time using uber - everything went well with that. Definitely recommended.

I was booked for an 11:30am check in. Lines were quite reasonable and there was no wait to board. The check in room seating was empty so they must have been boarding for a while.

Baggage arrived by around 3. One suitcase was crushed. Talked to guest services about it later in the week and they gave us a full credit for the value of the suitcase. Awesome!

Ship left a bit late (5pm). Think it was waiting for the Paradise because it backs in by where the Paradise was parked and then goes down the river forwards. Two and a half hours to get to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge but unfortunately it was dark by the time we got there so we didn't get great pictures. We clear the bridge by 12 feet according to the cruise director.

Took the Allura catamaran excursion to see the stingrays in Grand Cayman. Highly recommended. Small group (25). Catamaran cuts through waves like a champ to make an easy ride. Fun crew! I used the Carnival price match to get the price down to about the same as the normal stingray trips. They were willing to drop us at the beach on the way back and we took a cab back to the ship later.

We did the ziplines and Tabyana Beach trip at Roatan. 45 minute curvy drive to get there. Be prepared for that. Ziplines and the beach were awesome. Snorkling at the beach was really good. Definitely recommend that you get one of the "snorkel guides" to bring you out to the far end of the reef. It's pretty cool. They do it for free - just the price of a tip as you see fit. On the drive back my daughter was feeling sick but the driver wouldn't pull over. She just got a barf bag from another passenger and was told they had to keep driving. As a passenger, I get why the driver would do that. As a Dad, that sucked. Point is, the roads are curvy and if you get carsick, bring drugs.

Belize port was cancelled. Too windy. It was windy since we left Roatan. We were told the waves were higher than the tenders. I guess that sounds like a good call. We all got just under $15 port credit back and the ship just headed straight for Cozumel at a slower speed. Extra sea day was fine with us. They added a whole bunch of activities, printed and delivered a new fun times, and got all the new information on the hub app. Impressive organization! I think Carnival probably comes out ahead financially with the cancelled port but the staff sure must hate it! A lot of extra work for all.

In Cozumel we did the three reef snorkling by boat. The three reefs are actually all within spitting distance of the port so it's not a long boat ride. That also explains why the trip wasn't too pricey. The snorkling was okay but not great. You basically just float with the current. Lifejackets are mandatory but they are inflatable and you don't have to inflate them. They have a photographer join and he feeds the fish to get good pics and then sells them for $25.

After all that, we had a day at sea and then we were back in Tampa! Passed under the bridge at around 2:30am. We did self debarkation back in Tampa. Our deck was scheduled for 8:30am. We were called shortly after 8:30 and were at the curb waiting for an uber by just after 9am. Longest wait was to get through customs and even that was pretty smooth.

Food was good. Staff was top notch as usual.

Cabin was always clean. Steward gave us the menu of options. With 4 people in the room we chose both AM and PM service to keep things as clean and organized as possible. No complaints or attempts to steer us either way by the steward. He was terrific.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Thanks for your review.... Sounds like you had a great cruise

What cabin were you in?

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Glad you enjoyed your cruise. Even though we do plenty of research prior to our trips it’s always nice to hear from people who chose the same trip and had a positive experience.

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Thanks for the trip report. Makes me so excited for our June 17 sailing on the Miracle. We did this same itinerary on the Legend when she was in Tampa.

I enjoyed reading your trip report/review.

Keith

Thanks for your report. We are sailing on the Miracle on March 24th. Too bad about Belize, but we've had that happen in Roatan and Freeport where the ships couldn't dock because of high winds and seas. I love the at sea days anyway, so another one wouldn't bother me. This will be our 32nd Carnival cruise and 45th overall.

What cabin were you in?

 

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7176 - extended balcony

7176 - extended balcony

Did you have much interaction with the CD?

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We were also on this cruise. Heard several people complaining about everything (I've never been on a ship that rides this rough, it took forever in the dining room, RCL is so much better, yada, yada, yada). However, we both had a very good time. The seas were a bit rough at times, but nothing really out of the ordinary for this time of year. I will admit that the ship did have quite a bit of vibration, at least in the aft section - we were on deck 8 aft. I wasn't really bothered by it and it seemed to improve as the cruise went on (or I got use to it).

The OP is correct about the traffic close to the port - it was the worse I've ever seen. Normally sailing out of Tampa is a piece of cake, but we didn't get to the port until 11:15 or so and it was crazy!! If you're familiar with the Tampa port, you know there is a little round about that you go through to get to the different terminals and the parking garage. There were 3 ships in port - vehicles lined up in every approaching lane - most not knowing what lane they needed to be in, and then the vehicles trying to enter or exit the parking garage. We were stuck in traffic for about 45 minutes.

We normally get to port around 10:30, but we only live 30 minutes away so decided to have a leisurely morning before heading out. My suggestion is if you are sailing out on a Saturday on either the Paradise, Miracle, or RCCL's ship, you should probably either plan of getting there earlier (around 10:00 or so), or much later (after 2:00).

The food in the MDR was good to very good with the exception of my prime rib on formal night - well over-cooked and dry (I asked for Medium), but I wasn't that hungry anyway. Everything else I ordered was spot on.

Someone asked about the Cruise Director. I've been on so many cruises that I don't go to the shows other than those on the Lido deck, but I typically see the CD around numerous times during the week. The only time I saw this CD was when he was trying to squeeze through the Alchemy Bar area and he was not at all personable. Perhaps something was going on at that time and he was in a hurry so he was purposely avoiding all eye contact to try to prevent anyone from slowing him down, but it was a bit odd. He may have been fine at the shows, and for the most part a CD doesn't make or break my cruise.

This was a Premier Casino cruise for us and we spent a lot of time in the casino. I thought the machines were fairly loose compared to other cruise casinos - at least I was able to play a lot and get more points than I usually do. The bar waiters were very busy (most people had the Drinks On Us cards), but they were some of the best I've encountered. Always around asking if you needed anything - shout out to Fatima!

I had not been on the Miracle since 2006 and though she doesn't have the bells and whistles of Guys Burgers, Blue Iguana, and waterworks, the grill made very good hamburgers and chicken fingers, the Alchemy Bar is very large & she does have the Red Frog Pub. I didn't feel I was missing out on anything.

I'm not hard to please, but overall I enjoyed the cruise and wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Miracle to anyone - with the exception of the few people I know who would complain about her showing her age in some areas, the vibration, or her lack of the 2.0 upgrades.

enjoyed the review.thanks.

Thanks for the review! We are on the Miracle in November and I can’t wait!

We sailed the Magic this same week and it was rocky! Nothing too major, but more than usual. Must be the time of year.

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Who was the CD?

This was a Premier Casino cruise for us and we spent a lot of time in the casino. I thought the machines were fairly loose compared to other cruise casinos - at least I was able to play a lot and get more points than I usually do. The bar waiters were very busy (most people had the Drinks On Us cards), but they were some of the best I've encountered. Always around asking if you needed anything - shout out to Fatima!

We are going on a Premier Cruise in May on the Miracle. What were the gifts you received for being on the Premier Cruise?

Also, we will definitely look for "Fatima" when in the casino.....thanks for the heads up.:)

Who was the CD?

Adam. He was fine. Did everything you'd expect from a CD but didn't really blow me away. Maybe his strong point is the behind the scenes work because the ship entertainment organization was quite good.

The best part of what I saw from him was the CD Q&A. He had some good stories. Definitely worth attending.

Enjoyed reading your review/report.

This was a Premier Casino cruise for us and we spent a lot of time in the casino. I thought the machines were fairly loose compared to other cruise casinos - at least I was able to play a lot and get more points than I usually do. The bar waiters were very busy (most people had the Drinks On Us cards), but they were some of the best I've encountered. Always around asking if you needed anything - shout out to Fatima!

 

 

 

We are going on a Premier Cruise in May on the Miracle. What were the gifts you received for being on the Premier Cruise?

Also, we will definitely look for "Fatima" when in the casino.....thanks for the heads up.:)

The actual gift was a nice bag - kind of a cross between a back pack & a beach bag?? Difficult to explain, but it was nice. There was also a leather covered journal & pin in the "welcome aboard" bag along with the Drinks on Us card. I believe the rest of the goodies (chocolate covered strawberries/chocolate dish, the cookies) are what we normally get from the casino when it's not a Premier cruise.

We were also given the steakhouse selection in the MDR along with a choice of bottles of wine on the last day. If you like a sweet white wine, the Moscato in the MDR is very good.

I've been on 4 Premier cruises and this was by far the best I've experienced when it came to bar service. I always tip at least $2 for the free drinks, but I don't think that influenced the service. My sister and I had purchased some Cruise Cash Bar and on the last night we knew we wouldn't be spending it all. Checked with the Guest Services to see if we could use it in the "additional tips" section when getting the Drinks On Us - were told we could use it as additional tips in any bar or the coffee bar. Fatima was shocked when I added a $25 tip and my sister added a $25 and a $50 tip before leaving the casino that last night. She really was great. Tell her Patricia & Shirley say hi!

Thanks for your review. Did your children participate in the kids club?

The actual gift was a nice bag - kind of a cross between a back pack & a beach bag?? Difficult to explain, but it was nice. There was also a leather covered journal & pin in the "welcome aboard" bag along with the Drinks on Us card. I believe the rest of the goodies (chocolate covered strawberries/chocolate dish, the cookies) are what we normally get from the casino when it's not a Premier cruise.

 

We were also given the steakhouse selection in the MDR along with a choice of bottles of wine on the last day. If you like a sweet white wine, the Moscato in the MDR is very good.

 

I've been on 4 Premier cruises and this was by far the best I've experienced when it came to bar service. I always tip at least $2 for the free drinks, but I don't think that influenced the service. My sister and I had purchased some Cruise Cash Bar and on the last night we knew we wouldn't be spending it all. Checked with the Guest Services to see if we could use it in the "additional tips" section when getting the Drinks On Us - were told we could use it as additional tips in any bar or the coffee bar. Fatima was shocked when I added a $25 tip and my sister added a $25 and a $50 tip before leaving the casino that last night. She really was great. Tell her Patricia & Shirley say hi!

This will be our first premier cruise and now we are much more excited about it. Thank you for all the information. By the way, do you happen to have the schedule of events held in the casino? I figure the more information we have before we sail, the easier to plan.

We will definitely send Fatima your "HI".:D:D:D:D

Adam. He was fine. Did everything you'd expect from a CD but didn't really blow me away. Maybe his strong point is the behind the scenes work because the ship entertainment organization was quite good.

 

The best part of what I saw from him was the CD Q&A. He had some good stories. Definitely worth attending.

Adam always power walks thru the ship with ‘blinders on’. We sailed with him several times and found him to be quite pleasant once he knew you.

My biggest consideration for a CD is how they handle themselves in an emergency. Had an issue on the Alaska cruise that was handled very well.

Is adam a tall,.good looking british man? I think he was our CD on fascination a few years ago

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Is adam a tall,.good looking british man? I think he was our CD on fascination a few years ago

 

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Yep

Thanks for your review. Did your children participate in the kids club?

No. They pretty much wanted to stick with us.

Yep

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Hi, love the reviews thank yo..

Stupid question but

What is a Premier cruises and how do you know if that is what you have?

I'm on the miracle may 27 out if tampa.. is that a Premier cruise?