Miracle Info from recent cruisers

[Sunsetters]

We had an amazing holiday on the Freedom a month ago and while on board we booked our next cruise on the Miracle for Feb.7th 2011.

For anyone that has recently cruised on her, can you tell me what kind of shape she is in, is she schedule for any repairs ect...and what your likes and dislikes were....Thanks...:)

[Luckysll]

Hi. I haven't been on the Miracle yet, but since you're going to be on the same cruise as the Miracle Maniacs (we're a CC group cruise), I just wanted to invite you to come on over to the roll call. A lot of us are also doing the week prior to this and doing a B2B, but we have one roll call for both cruises. Hope you'll stop by and chat.

[stargate fan]

We had an amazing holiday on the Freedom a month ago and while on board we booked our next cruise on the Miracle for Feb.7th 2011.

For anyone that has recently cruised on her, can you tell me what kind of shape she is in, is she schedule for any repairs ect...and what your likes and dislikes were....Thanks...:)

If October is recent enough, Miracle was wonderful. The ship was in great condition.

 

We spent almost all of our sea days at the aft pool. The area was so big and there were so many deck chairs that there was no worry about chair hogs.

 

The ship is pretty inside. The dining room is funky, with grape-shaped lights and vines decorating the ceiling. Many people have written that they do not like it while I found it very charming.

 

There is a deli, an Asian stir fry, pizza, grill, etc.

 

Is there anything specific you want to know?

[Sunsetters]

I had read a review that said she looked " tired". I certainly know to take ALL reviews with a grain of salt and base my own opinion, I was just wondering if we may have spoiled ourselves by starting our cruising on a newer ship like the Freedom.

Do they allow smoking in the small bar areas like the Sports Bar, Piano Bar ect....? We are non smokers, now before I get blasted....I have nothing against smoking, I just found on the Freedom in these areas that we had to leave after a few smokers got going...It was a little disappointing for us as we really enjoyed the Piano Bar with Greg..

[Cruisin Suzin]

I had read a review that said she looked " tired". I certainly know to take ALL reviews with a grain of salt and base my own opinion, I was just wondering if we may have spoiled ourselves by starting our cruising on a newer ship like the Freedom.

Do they allow smoking in the small bar areas like the Sports Bar, Piano Bar ect....? We are non smokers, now before I get blasted....I have nothing against smoking, I just found on the Freedom in these areas that we had to leave after a few smokers got going...It was a little disappointing for us as we really enjoyed the Piano Bar with Greg..

 

The Miracle was my first ship and I loved everything, including the grapes in the MDR...the pizza is to die for and the previous poster saying that the aft deck was huge and usually empty was right...

 

I am a non smoker as well and found the piano bar ok for about an hour...the casino another matter it was really smokey there as well but that saved me a fortune :rolleyes:. I also found that smoke smell from the next cabin, came through the vent...don't know if I was beside a group of heavy smokers or what...but we did bring bounce sheets and put them in the vent and that did help, as well our stewart would spray in our cabin...That was my only complaint...but think that would be on any cruise ship. Enjoy your cruise..

[Socref124]

We were on the Miracle Jan 7th and had a great time. The ship was in good condition and the staff was friendly and helpful. Three of the shows were awesome. The Generations show, Ticket to Ride and the Silent Film Skit. All three are a must see, in our opinion. Our biggest disappointment was the piano bar. The piano player was ok at best and this is the first Carnival cruise where the piano bar wasn't packed with people having fun. We ended up going to Karaoke and the disco lounge instead. The cruise director, Malcolm Burn, was awesome with a great wit. We saw him four or five times walking around the ship talking to passengers. Make sure you eat one night at Nick and Nora's supper club. There is an upcharge but it is worth it, in my opinion. Since we were on the ship it had an accident and tore a hole in it's hull. It has been repaired, but I am not sure if Carnival will schedule her to go to dry dock to make sure all is well or not. I think you will have a great time on the Miracle. Have fun.:D

[Socref124]

I had read a review that said she looked " tired". I certainly know to take ALL reviews with a grain of salt and base my own opinion, I was just wondering if we may have spoiled ourselves by starting our cruising on a newer ship like the Freedom.

Do they allow smoking in the small bar areas like the Sports Bar, Piano Bar ect....? We are non smokers, now before I get blasted....I have nothing against smoking, I just found on the Freedom in these areas that we had to leave after a few smokers got going...It was a little disappointing for us as we really enjoyed the Piano Bar with Greg..

 

I am a non smoker and DW is a smoker. I don't ever recall having any problems with smoke on the Miracle. I think you will enjoy the Spirit Class ships. They are a little smaller than the Freedom, but they are very easy to get around the ship. Smoking is allowed in the Sports Bar and the Piano Bar. Like I said earlier, we were disappointed in the piano player (Rick). He just wasn't as good as other piano players we have enjoyed on Carnival, Royal and NCL.

[Chihuahua-Mama]

I was on the Miracle in Sept 2009, and we had a lot of fun, it was my first cruise so I dont have anything to compare it to, but we enjoyed all aspects of the cruise. Malcolm Burn is awesome, and I agree, he was always around talking to the cruisers. My hubby was chosen to be a part in the silent skit and he had a blast working with Malcolm in that.

 

He also got involved in the kareoke and was chosen to play Garth brooks in the end show. The Carnival Legends.

 

We frequented the Piano Bar, I also agree there was not a lof of people there, but low crowds can be fun too, we got to make more requests and we sat directly at the piano bar every time. The Piano player at the time, was fun, and he knew us personally because we were there often enough :)

 

At the time we sailed, my husband was a smoker (since quit) and he did smoke in the piano bar and the sports bar, but he always stepped to the back of the crowd because he was the only one smoking. The sports bar, whenever we went there for him to have a smoke, was always empty, except for him, but this could have been the time of year.

 

Bottom line, we loved the trip SO much, we booked the exact same cruise this Sept :)

[gail811]

Just off the Miracle (my third time sailing her!) last week. I love the spirit class ships, and the Miracle is still looking good! They are replacing carpet in some of the hallways, and she is kept very clean! They have added the hand sanitizers in the buffet and dining rooms since I sailed last year, and during our 8 days they did a good job keeping tables clean in the buffet area. They were even washing the windows as we sailed; saw the scrubber come down from above and start washing the window I was next to during tea time. Some people think the decor (the grapes) are obnoxious in the dining room, but they did not bother me at all.

[Cruisefriends]

We were on Miracle in March of 2009 and to this date it is my favorite ship. I just loved the decor..and it was very easy to get around. We also spent our deck time on the back pool deck. One day it was so hot we went up a deck and there was a breeze. Can't say enough great things about Miracle.

[Chef P]

We had an amazing holiday on the Freedom a month ago and while on board we booked our next cruise on the Miracle for Feb.7th 2011.

For anyone that has recently cruised on her, can you tell me what kind of shape she is in, is she schedule for any repairs ect...and what your likes and dislikes were....Thanks...:)

 

 

It's been 5 weeks since I sailed the Miracle, ( we were the sailing that hit the dock in St. kitt's ) and she was in pretty good shape, aside from the hole in da boat ( captain speaking ) ........LOL

 

The only smoking we encountered that we couldnt handle was in the Piano bar.... The food was delicious, the staff was friendly

 

Loved the aft area, the pool is for adults only, the center pool does get a tad loud and rambunctious...

[steveNcindy]

Just off her a couple of weeks ago and thought she was in great shape. I think it did a dry dock last year where they also corrected some propulsion problems but could be wrong.

 

Food was very good, service was excellent. Didn't have many dislikes to report.

 

Smoke was pretty thick in the casion (I am a smoker and noticed it) but did not notice it in other areas.

[snowy owl]

check out this thread I started.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1135099&highlight=

[freddymale]

I had read a review that said she looked " tired". I certainly know to take ALL reviews with a grain of salt and base my own opinion, I was just wondering if we may have spoiled ourselves by starting our cruising on a newer ship like the Freedom.

Do they allow smoking in the small bar areas like the Sports Bar, Piano Bar ect....? We are non smokers, now before I get blasted....I have nothing against smoking, I just found on the Freedom in these areas that we had to leave after a few smokers got going...It was a little disappointing for us as we really enjoyed the Piano Bar with Greg..

 

in the piano bar they can smoke, but not around the piano, they have to go sit in the back

i was there every night loved peter he did a great job..if you go tell him Eric says hi, and ask him to play sarah,sarah :D

[Socref124]

in the piano bar they can smoke, but not around the piano, they have to go sit in the back

i was there every night loved peter he did a great job..if you go tell him Eric says hi, and ask him to play sarah,sarah :D

 

Not true as of Jan 7, 2010. We sat around the piano and DW smoked and so do others. If I remember correctly, halfway around was a no smoking sign, so half is smoking and half is non. Rick was the piano player in January too.

[zellers]

My opinion with the Miracle is not as positive, as the majority here. Although, we did have a wonderful time, it just didn't par with the Valor, or the Spirit.

 

Dh and I did a back to back, so to speak this past Jan. We started with the Valor which is a bigger ship. The food on the Lido was much better than the Miracle, the entertainment in the theater was above par from the Miracle, as well as the entertainment director. I can not speak for the piano bar, or the casino on the Valor.

 

We jumped from the Valor to the Miracle, for an eight day cruise. I can say it was very smoky in the casino, and unfortunately most did not like the piano guy. We found the food much better in the restaurant than the Lido. It was the same foods everyday only the signs were changed to either Mexican/Caribbean/American. The entertainment was a huge disappointment. Only the Ticket to Ride and the Generations show were worth while in seeing. I'm sorry, but we could not stand Malcolm (entertainment director,) he was not funny at all.

 

The Miracle is showing it's age, but the crew keep it looking spotless. I agree with the other poster on how clean they keep it. There are two pools that are much bigger than the Valor, and one smaller pool for adults. The staff are very friendly, and the service was wonderful especially in the restaurant. But, the ship just wasn't up to par with the other two ships - sorry :(

 

We felt we went from a 4+ star to a 3 star

 

We did have a wonderful time. A cruise is what you make it to be. And besides, things might be totally different with the entertainment and food by the time next year rolls around!

 

Always think positive! :)