Miracle in 2010

[snowy owl]

I thought I would start a new and current thread on the Miracle. The things that are all the the Miracle for 2010. So tell your stories here....

 

The first and major thing I know of is her collision with a pier. Post the good and bads and fun things about your cruise.

[mercedesmom]

Does anyone know if mini fridges are in all the rooms and how do you open the safes (magnetic or digital) Thanks:D

[Bourbonjim]

There was a mini-fridge in our balcony cabin. It had the usual assortment of mini-bars items. You operate the safe with a credit card, or any other card with a magnetic strip.

 

My wife and I were on the ship when it hit the pier. I was working out and did not feel the bump. Heck of a couple of holes in the ship though.

 

Carnival cruises continue to be excellent travel options. I just wish the company that operates the casinos would train their dealers to be more friendly, and ditch those horrible continuous shuffle machines. Oh, and install an ice cream machine closer to the casino.

 

The art glass around the ship is very interesting and beautiful.

 

If you get the chance to visit St. Lucia and St. Kitts, jump at that opportunity!

[Cherylbo]

If you get the chance to visit St. Lucia and St. Kitts, jump at that opportunity!

 

Anything in particular in St. Lucia & St. Kitts? It's our first time for the southern cruise.

[cruisin4fun323]

We were on the ship too when it wrecked we were on our decks and watched it happen.

 

St Lucia we shopped around the pier and that was all we did. Great strong drinks good shopping. St. Kitts we went to South Frigate beach it was 5 bucks each to get there another 5 to get back rode a open air safari jeep really great. Lots of things to do message, jet skis, trampoline in the ocean for kids. 10.00 for all day on trampoline which they had to swim back and forth to. Strong drinks and beer is 2/3.00 at one bar and 2/4.00 at the other. Shopping is expensive here and don't plan on getting beer to bring back on ship as it was 36.00 for a 12 pack.

 

There are lots of people with monkeys trying to take your photo. It is however very beautiful there and loved that we had to stay another 14 hours to get the ship fixed made for great night time photos.

 

LOVED the MIRACLE best staff and food we have had in a long time!!! We did try early dinning for the first time and LOVED it. We had Sushane and Pepito on 3rd floor. We stayed up later and more things to do. A must try is the White Chocolate Bread Pudding and Thai soup I thought I would hate them but was talked into them by Sushane and they were the best!

 

I loved the casino staff they were great. Drink staff was great as well.

 

Won bingo the second day for 175.00 not a lot of people go so better odds.

[CruzCrazy]

Anything in particular in St. Lucia & St. Kitts? It's our first time for the southern cruise.

 

 

We were in St. Kitts and St. Lucia in 2008 on the Miracle (going again in March 2010 because we love this itinerary so much!).

 

St. Kitts has some really spectacular views...try to stop for a photo op where you are looking down on the Caribbean and the Atlantic where they are separated by only a few hundred yards...simply breathtaking!

 

In St. Lucia, we just took a cab to Reduit Beach, which was nice (except for being absolutely HOUNDED by locals). I hear Jalousie Beach is very nice, so we may try to go there this time. The only trouble is the great distance from where the ship docks, so we'll have to work that out.

 

Here is a picture of the view I'm talking about in St. Kitts--can't wait to get back there!

[luv2gonow]

I'll be on the 6/24 sailing out of NY:D Sooo excited. Ports of call are Puerto Rico, St Thomas and Grand Turk. I was very excited about this itinerary...and still am....One question though.....

 

Did i make a mistake by not booking the normal route....turk, private island and nassau. I have been to Nassau....BUT is the private island really dumb to miss. They only do my itinerary 3x this year apparently.....

What do you think.

Thanks

K

[jimandsteph1070]

We are going in Dec. when she is back down in fort lauderdale. doin

Grand turk, Arbua , DR. Curaco. any ideas of what to do . thanks

 

 

steph

[*Luv2Cruz*]

I'll be on the 6/24 sailing out of NY:D Sooo excited. Ports of call are Puerto Rico, St Thomas and Grand Turk. I was very excited about this itinerary...and still am....One question though.....

 

Did i make a mistake by not booking the normal route....turk, private island and nassau. I have been to Nassau....BUT is the private island really dumb to miss. They only do my itinerary 3x this year apparently.....

What do you think.

Thanks

K

We're going in May with a CC Group to the other ports and all I've heard is great things about the private island HMC!:cool: Luved St. Thomas but could miss PR!;)

We must be related with the same first name!;) Enjoy!!:D

 

If anyone wants join us; see the links below!;)

[fourcruisin]

We were on the Miracle for our 3rd time last week. Loved it as much as ever. "Crash" was not a problem at all. Captain handled it very well and kept us informed.

 

St Lucia is gorgeous. Had a private tour arranged with Spencer Ambrose and it was amazing. He is the best guide we have ever had....I highly recommend him. He could not do enough for us. Such a wonderful man.

 

St. Kitts - we just stayed near the pier and shopped. Good bargains.

 

St. Maarten - 2nd time there so we just shopped and took a taxi to the other side of the island to shop at the Harley Davidson store. Enjoyed the sights along the way.

 

Food on the Miracle was excellent. Casino staff ok. Room steward was not the best we've had but figured it might have been an "off" week for him. He did get better as the week went on.

 

Ship is still in good shape but the common restrooms could use more frequent attention in cleaning.

 

Any questions?

[bills blasters]

Can anyone tell me if the Miracle has the Rotisserie on it.

We had one on the Splendor, and loved the Mac and Cheese. Hoping we will be able to get that on our next cruise on the Miracle.

[Blackchips Ahoy]

Can anyone tell me if the Miracle has the Rotisserie on it.

We had one on the Splendor, and loved the Mac and Cheese. Hoping we will be able to get that on our next cruise on the Miracle.

 

 

No. But if they converted the steakhouse into a rotisserie that would be a plus.

 

 

We were on that crash cruise last week. The gash in the hull woke up a few entertainers as it happened in their rooms. Like Kendall, the dreads steel drummer up on lido. He said that he ran down the hall, nekkid and screaming like a little girl, so that would have been a good laugh.

 

Honestly, the food stinks. The common areas are dirty. The casino staff is rude and unappreciative. The purser will keep lying to you until you go away. IMO, I would not sail again on the miracle for about 6 months or so. Maybe after the employee contracts churn over it might be a different story.

 

 

Don't let it ruin your cruise!:cool:

[fourcruisin]

No. But if they converted the steakhouse into a rotisserie that would be a plus.

 

 

We were on that crash cruise last week. The gash in the hull woke up a few entertainers as it happened in their rooms. Like Kendall, the dreads steel drummer up on lido. He said that he ran down the hall, nekkid and screaming like a little girl, so that would have been a good laugh.

 

Honestly, the food stinks. The common areas are dirty. The casino staff is rude and unappreciative. The purser will keep lying to you until you go away. IMO, I would not sail again on the miracle for about 6 months or so. Maybe after the employee contracts churn over it might be a different story.

 

 

Don't let it ruin your cruise!:cool:

 

Now, see, I thought the food was the best we've had in the 3 cruises on Miracle. I agree that the common areas are not as "pristine" as they should be. As I said before, our steward was lacking but he did step it up near the end of the cruise. We did tip him extra just because I hate to judge anyone since I don't know what is happening in their personal life.

 

Vacations are all about what you make of it. We always go with the flow and hope for the best and I agree with you to just go and have fun..

[Blackchips Ahoy]

Now, see, I thought the food was the best we've had in the 3 cruises on Miracle. I agree that the common areas are not as "pristine" as they should be. As I said before, our steward was lacking but he did step it up near the end of the cruise. We did tip him extra just because I hate to judge anyone since I don't know what is happening in their personal life.

 

Vacations are all about what you make of it. We always go with the flow and hope for the best and I agree with you to just go and have fun..

 

 

 

Yes, I agree. We made the best of our vacation even though we were constantly lied to by the purser. We upgraded 2 couples to adjoining balcony rooms so we could have a super balcony across the aft. It's one thing to have a policy to not open the doors, but it's another when they lie to you over and over again when you know that it has been done in the past. (Twice last year for us.) If this has been a policy, why did our PVP go up the ladder for approval to move the other couples KNOWING that we did this for the specific reason of opening the doors?

 

Regardless, our room steward was the best. Wayan made an animal every night and this cruise was the first time we had a towel kitty cat. Budget cuts are starting to show to the point that the supper club is no longer worth the nominal fee.

 

When you cruise about every 45 days or so, you tend to notice more changes as they happen more frequently.

 

Whatever you do, Don't let it ruin your cruise!:D

[dotshub]

Anything in particular in St. Lucia & St. Kitts? It's our first time for the southern cruise.

 

We were on the southern in October on the Victory. We did the scenic railway in st kitts then went to a beach, and a lengthy tour with Cosol in st lucia that was fantastic.

[Anyislandwilldo]

We were on the southern in October on the Victory. We did the scenic railway in st kitts then went to a beach, and a lengthy tour with Cosol in st lucia that was fantastic.

 

We also did the scenic railway tour in St. Kitts. Since it was the last stop on our cruise, it was nice and relaxing to sit back and enjoy the views as we rode the train. In 2007 we spent 12 days on St. Lucia. It's hard to advise anyone what to see on such a short stop. The island is very beautiful and offers so much to see. We drove up to Fort Rodney and climbed up the hill to the fort. The views are unbelieveable!!

[Blackchips Ahoy]

Anything in particular in St. Lucia & St. Kitts? It's our first time for the southern cruise.

 

 

St. Lucia was cool. You can take the ferry right from the dock area over to the downtown area for duty free shopping. Smokes are $100 for 5 cartons. Liquor is cheaper and there is more of a selection than back on the boat.

 

Whatever you do, don't book this excursion:

 

Cruise Law News

 

Posted at 11:59 AM on December 12, 2009 by Jim Walker

14 Cruise Passengers Robbed at Anse-La-Raye Waterfall in St. Lucia

 

The St. Lucia Star newspaper reports that on December 9, 2009, 14 "cruise ship visitors" and tour guides were robbed at gunpoint at a popular tourist attraction in St. Lucia. I learned of the incident on Professor Ross Klein's website "Cruise Junkie."

The incident occurred at the River Rock Waterfall in Anse-La-Raye.

The newspaper reports that 14 tourists had traveled in a tour to the waterfall. They were in the process of boarding a "safari jeep," in preparation to return to the cruise ship. Four masked men armed with firearms and knives approached the cruise passengers and robbed them of their jewelry and cash. One of the tour guides was physically injured.

Anse-La-Raye is a beach village where fishing boats are pulled up on the beach by the main street next to rum shops and small restaurants. The community is known for its outdoor "Friday fish fry" and Piton beer. The Anse-La-Raye website describes the waterfall as the "perfect place to spend several hours in quiet reflection. There is often a local musician strumming his guitar and singing soulful reggae numbers in a quiet salute to Bob Marley."

However, there are multiple accounts of violence in Anse-La-Raye as well as near the port. A couple of years ago, Canada's "Next Top Model" and her traveling companion were robbed in Castries, St. Lucia after walking a short distance from the cruise ship - "Model's Paradise Turns into Nightmare." After reporting the robbery, the Canadian passenger complained that "both the local police and the cruise line offered little assistance or sympathy."

"I don't want this to happen to anyone else . . . I think the cruise ship should have warned us."

This sparked a heated discussion on the popular CruiseCritic site about crime in St. Lucia and whether the crimes were being covered up.

Earlier this year, four crew members from a private yacht Diamond Girl were robbed at gunpoint while hiking near Anse-La-Raye.

In an article entitled "Caribbean Crime," Dockwatch (described as "the essential site for captains and crew") reports that crime on St. Lucia has sparked particular concern in the Caribbean. “The St Lucia government has ordered the police to take back the streets following the murder of six persons and an open threat from criminals to assassinate law enforcement officials,” said Edwin W. Carrington, Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), in his opening remarks at the Conference on Youth, Crime and Violence in St. Kitts and Nevis last June.

Violence in Anse-La-Raye is also described in this YouTube video entitled "Talking crime in Anse-La-Raye:"

 

 

 

St. Lucia is one of the regular ports of call for Carnival and Royal Caribbean cruise ships (shown below):

Credits:

Anse-La-Raye & St. Lucia port (Castries) Julie Leigh of Oxfordshire LEA

Anse-La-Raye fish fry canadianworldtraveller.com

YouTube video Anse-La-Raye crime Salaison

[Blackchips Ahoy]

We were on the Miracle for our 3rd time last week. Loved it as much as ever. "Crash" was not a problem at all. Captain handled it very well and kept us informed.

 

Yes, Captian handled THE HOLE IN THE BOAT like a pro.

 

St Lucia is gorgeous. Had a private tour arranged with Spencer Ambrose and it was amazing. He is the best guide we have ever had....I highly recommend him. He could not do enough for us. Such a wonderful man.

 

Yes, St. Lucia is nice. You got the good tour guide. People got robbed on St. Lucia back in December.

 

St. Kitts - we just stayed near the pier and shopped. Good bargains.

 

Us too. Aside from almost having to punch the guy with all of the little monkeys that he kept trying to put on my wife's head, we went to the local market for food and took a lot of pictures of THE HOLE IN THE BOAT!

 

St. Maarten - 2nd time there so we just shopped and took a taxi to the other side of the island to shop at the Harley Davidson store. Enjoyed the sights along the way.

 

We took the H2O taxi over to town and went back to DI for some more diamonds. Vijay is a good guy at DI. Again, the items appraised at almost 100% over the price paid.

 

Food on the Miracle was excellent. Casino staff ok. Room steward was not the best we've had but figured it might have been an "off" week for him. He did get better as the week went on.

 

I disagree. The food stunk, the casino personnel need training, and our room steward was most excellent 100% of the time.

 

Ship is still in good shape but the common restrooms could use more frequent attention in cleaning.

 

Any questions?

 

Um, yeah. The ship is in good shape except for THE HOLE IN THE BOAT!

 

[fourcruisin]

Yes, Captian handled THE HOLE IN THE BOAT like a pro.

 

 

 

Yes, St. Lucia is nice. You got the good tour guide. People got robbed on St. Lucia back in December.

 

 

 

Us too. Aside from almost having to punch the guy with all of the little monkeys that he kept trying to put on my wife's head, we went to the local market for food and took a lot of pictures of THE HOLE IN THE BOAT!

 

 

 

We took the H2O taxi over to town and went back to DI for some more diamonds. Vijay is a good guy at DI. Again, the items appraised at almost 100% over the price paid.

 

 

 

I disagree. The food stunk, the casino personnel need training, and our room steward was most excellent 100% of the time.

 

 

 

Um, yeah. The ship is in good shape except for THE HOLE IN THE BOAT!

 

LOL, but the bondo they used hardly even shows!!!!!

 

Monkey man was pushy in St. Kitts but the monkeys were were adorable!! Have pics of them with my family. Dh and I wanted no part of touching them though!

[Blackchips Ahoy]

LOL, but the bondo they used hardly even shows!!!!!

 

Monkey man was pushy in St. Kitts but the monkeys were were adorable!! Have pics of them with my family. Dh and I wanted no part of touching them though!

 

 

Yeah, they'll GET-CHA!!! :eek:

 

 

So, how much did they 'get-cha' for? :D

[CinWin]

We were just on the Miracle and really liked the ship. We had been on the Legend before but liked this ship's decor better. We thought the ship was clean and comfortable. Food was mostly good (especially the warm chocolate melting cake). To answer someone's question, yes, there is a rotisserie counter at Horatio's (lido) Restaurant. Crew were all very friendly and we especially liked the cruise director, Malcolm Burn, and his staff. The show band was excellent as well as the production shows. The rest of the entertainment was just o.k. - except one of the comedians was pretty funny. We also enjoyed the dinner at Nick and Nora's - except that my filet mignon was more tender than my DH's. We couldn't stand being in the casino or piano bar. The smoke was too thick - the worst of any ship I've ever been on.

 

As for the islands, in St. Maarten we took one of the ship's tours, "French Beach Break" (included lunch which was very good). Originally, we were supposed to go on a private all day catamarran tour with a group, but they had overbooked and it was a very windy day so we dropped out. We felt lucky that we were able to get on this really enjoyable substitute tour - the female guide was excellent.

 

In St. Lucia we did a private tour with Serenity Travel & Tours. We were disappointed with the tour because we had made the arrangement to only go to the volcano and then straight to the beach where we were to have lunch at a resort. Instead, they took us out with 3 other people who wanted to stop everywhere and sightsee. The lunch (creole food) was at the Beacon Restaurant instead of the Ti-Kaye resort as had been promised. By the time we got to the beach, we only had time to stay for about 40 minutes. It was enough time though for my DH and I to get hit and knocked around by two big waves. The other people we were with and one of the natives pulled us out of the water. It was quite an experience. The 2 Serenity tour guides were very nice, but next time in St. Lucia, we'll make other arrangements.

 

In St. Kitts, we grabbed a taxi and went to Cockleshell Beach ($26 each way for the 2 of us). Got beach chairs for $5 each and an umbrella for $10. Walked down to the Lions' shack for $2 beer, $4 rum punch and a very good barbecued rib lunch. We wished we could have stayed here longer too, but this beach was a long way off from the ship. We didn't know about the hole in the ship til we got back. If we had known, we wouldn't have had to leave the beach so soon. Since we had to stay overnight on the ship until it was repaired, it was nice and relaxing to just sit on our balcony after dinner to look at the stars and listen to the sound of the water lapping at the side of the ship. A very romantic evening! ;) It was especially nice because the ship wasn't moving so it wasn't too windy to sit out there. Overall - a very good cruise. :)

Cindy

[Thestral]

Interesting to hear the new stories about the Miracle. My friend and I leave in 10 days for a Western Caribbean cruise. I hope that they were able to fix/patch the hole with little problems!! Seems that I might be destined to go on ships with dents. I cruised on the Freedom last January and there was a giant dent in the right rear corner from someone smashing into something they shouldn't have. :)

 

I do have a question that for some reason noone will answer for me. What time are the shows?

 

I'm looking forward to a smaller ship then the Freedom. It was a gorgeous ship but too many people for my taste. I am also looking forward to being able to get from one end of the ship to the other without having to take several elevators up/down just to get to the other end of one deck.

 

Thanks!!

[pyrateslife4me84]

I'll be on the 6/24 sailing out of NY:D Sooo excited. Ports of call are Puerto Rico, St Thomas and Grand Turk. I was very excited about this itinerary...and still am....One question though.....

 

Did i make a mistake by not booking the normal route....turk, private island and nassau. I have been to Nassau....BUT is the private island really dumb to miss. They only do my itinerary 3x this year apparently.....

What do you think.

Thanks

K

I'm going on that same itinerary in May and am really excited for it--I've notice that it has been selling much better than the normal itinerary. I would imagine the reason they only offer it a few times a year is b/c it costs much more to take that ship down to the Eastern Caribbean than the Bahamas. The Bahamas are largely forgettable to me, and while I've heard great things about HMC, Grand Turk also has gorgeous beaches.

 

I don't think you made the wrong decision.

[*Luv2Cruz*]

Both itineraries are good options from NYC and pretty reasonable in May!:D Anybody interested in joining our CC group, see the links below!;)

[CinWin]

For Thestral,

Show times on the Miracle are:

 

First night and last night is a show for EVERYONE at 10:30 p.m.

All other nights: 8:45 for early seating and 10:30 for late seating

 

Also on 2 nights there were two different Adult Comedy Shows at midnight. :eek:

 

Cindy