Surprise meeting place on Miracle...

[Guest Time2gocruzn]

Amen to that GoinCruisin. Just sitting here in Wisconsin in the cold having had 8" of snow dumped on us yesterday. The cruise can't come to fast!

 

I can top that! I am in Iowa and got 14 inches, LoL!!:D

 

No advice, just wanted to say to the OP what an awesome thing to do! That many people is quite an undertaking!! If you pull this off your DH is going to cr*p his pants!!! Good luck!! I would be more concerned about bumping into people at the terminal at this point. If you can ever nail Carnival down on a time, I would plan for you and dh to be there early and tell all others to come late. Good Luck!!:)

[serene56]

What do you think that pier will look like come 1pm??

 

I figure lots of people when making their travel arrangments thought the ship was leaving at 4. WHen I booked it Nov 2003 I was told 4pm. So I booked flights and hotel with that in mind. If I knew that it was leaving at 8 I would booked my flight for the same day. Now I have a hotel which I have to be out of by 11. Theygive us free transportation to the port.. SOOOOO I will be at the port by 11:30 with luggage waiting. If it was anything like the LEgend wait===I should be fine.

Im like an 8pm departure. We have early dining so this will be one of the only sail aways that we were able to particiapate in. Now I can see what the big deal is.

[rucruizin]

Hi Trisha from Burque...

 

I'm over here in Edgewood where it's a little colder. I haven't met many cruisers from around here, nice to see another New Mexican. Make sure you get your green chili fix befaore you go. Hehe

[Trisha from Albuquerque]

Hi Randy...now that it getting close to "cruise time", I will check the boards more frequently. I just have to be careful that my husband isn't around so I don't spoil the surprise. Luckily, he doesn't get on the computer often. I wish we knew when the boarding will begin for our cruise. I'd still like to get all the relatives onboard early, so my husband and I can board later and be "surprised" somewhere on the ship. :D Actually, the 8:00 departure might throw him off if he suspects a cruise. Like me, I'm sure he thinks all cruises leave at 4:00. If we don't leave for the ship until 4:00, he may not know what is going on. I may tell him we are going to the airport and then be dropped off at the pier. Pretty sneaky, huh?

[MrPete]

I don't think I saw anyone respond to your actual question.

 

I would suggest you have everybody congregated at the front of Gatsby's gardens, which is an inside promenade. You would enter it from either side of the showroom on deck 3. At the very front, it turns around and starts heading back.

 

Another spot if it's not being used could be Mad Hatters, which is the lounge UNDER the main show lounge. There's a cool spiral staircase next to the entrance of the main lounge on Deck 2 starboard. It's also accesible in the front of the Rivera deck cabins. It' a place that very few people find easily.

[Randy & Carmen]

That Mad Hatters that Pete said WOULD be a great place......It was called Butterflies on the sister ship Pride and yes it is sorta hard to find......just make sure all your family gets down there....lol......They could all be down there waiting for you and hubby and then you and him could be walking toward the show lounge and you say....."Oh look, where does these stairs go?".....then you and him go down the stairs and SURPRISE, SURPRISE!:D

[Trisha from Albuquerque]

Thanks, Peter and Randy, for suggesting the Mad Hatters Lounge for the "big surprise". I'm glad somebody is familiar with the ship. Is the spiral staircase difficult to maneuver? My step mom is 90 and she will be the oldest member of our party. She's pretty spry for 90, but she might prefer not to tackle a staircase if it is the least bit difficult. My husband and I had a blast in the piano bar on our last Carnival cruise, so that is why I was thinking about Sam's. Checking out the piano bar on the ship is something we would probably do, even if there wasn't this big surprise. From the deck pictures, it looks like it is an enclosed room with a doorway....and hopefully there would be a place for people to hide. Do they serve booze in all the lounges before departure? The Mad Hatters also sounds like a good place. Thanks for the info. I'm so excited I can hardly sleep these days! I'll really be a nervous wreck 5 weeks from today! Eeeek!!! :eek:

[MrPete]

Is the spiral staircase difficult to maneuver?

 

Checking out the piano bar on the ship is something we would probably do, even if there wasn't this big surprise. From the deck pictures, it looks like it is an enclosed room with a doorway.

 

If she doesn't want to go down the stairs, she can access Mad Hatters from the deck below. She can simply take the regular elevator down and access it from the Riviera deck. But, if she chooses to attempt the stairs, just have her stay ALL THE WAY RIGHT, and have her take her time.

 

The Piano bar is enclosed, but with mucho glass, so the surprise might be up before you intend it to be. It's a deep room, with virtually nothing to hide behind.

[iluvdoxies]

Hi Trish- my husband and I are also part of Randy's group- the partae pirates!

 

We've also been on the Miracle when she was going out of Jax last year....

 

The piano bar may be locked up- it doesnt open till 9pm or so-- if it is unlocked, no bar servers will be in there and no, there is no place to hide once inside.

 

The Mad Hatter would be a great place as someone suggested! Not sure if it is staffed with bartenders unless there is something going on in there---

maybe you could call Carnival and arrange to have a cocktail party in there for all of you---not sure what the cost would be-

 

Does anyone have a suite? You could order a tray of party stuff to eat and chanpagne- check out what Carnival has to offer on their gift and services page.

 

Anyhow, good luck with the surprise! John and I also love the piano bars- hope the Miracle has a good player/singer in there.

[ahoys]

I vote for Gatsby's garden. The rest of the folks can relax in the chairs by the windows and still watch outside. There is a sofa about halfway down the hallway where others can sit. They can socialize while waiting for you. Mad Hatter's might have some sort of meeting or private party that could spoil your plans. Gatsby's is a safe bet. You won't "stumble across" it accidently before everyone is there.

[GoinCruisin]

Another thing to keep in mind is that there are several large groups on this particular cruise.... many are planning a meet and greet, so if you choose a public lounge, there may be alot of other people there. You might try doing what Vicki suggested and contacting Carnival about arranging a private party... good luck on the surprise!!!

[Trisha from Albuquerque]

Wow...thanks for all the great suggestions. I think I'll call Carnival and see if the Mad Hatter room is already reserved for a "pre-party". If that doesn't work out, I guess we'll shoot for Gatsby Gardens. I will be in "cell phone contact" with the rest of the group, so hopefully we could handle even last minute changes with success. I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!! :p

[GoinCruisin]

If you can, check some of the other groups if you can find them and see where they are planning on meeting... Carnival won't know about many of these meeting places, but if you arrange something with Carnival, they will close it as a private party and others won't come in there... Either way I am sure you will have a great time and it will be a lovely surprise!!!!!!

[Trisha from Albuquerque]

Hey GoinCruisin....My sister and brother in law will be joining us on the Surprise Cruise and they live in Raleigh! This will be their first cruise and I know they are very excited. She will be my "cell phone contact" while I am trying to get my husband to whatever surprise location we find. Also, if all else fails, my sister in law and her husband will be in a suite so we could "surprise" him there. I'd just have to think of an excuse to get him to the suite....we usually check out the room and then explore the public areas.....

[GoinCruisin]

Trisha, wow! It's a small world! We'll look forward to meeting you as well as meeting other "neighbors"!!!!

 

Good luck with the surprise! We'll help any way we can!!!!