Just off the Miracle, Dec 20 cruise

[Matt62]

We just returned today from the Dec 20 cruise on the Miracle. I am writing a full review which I will link as soon as it is done. The bottom line is that we are very experienced travelers (some might think jaded) but we chose this cruise because we wanted a fun atmosphere for our teens, a nice cabin (our OS was wonderful) and I liked the itinerary. (St Kitts was wonderful)

 

We had modest expectations for the MDR and while the quality of the food was hit and miss, it was nonetheless a pleasant experience with our teens, since this is the only time we really saw them.

 

The big surprise for us was the quality of the food on the lido deck (Horatio's). We have cruised Carnival, RCL and Disney and we were all pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed the "buffet deck" as we called it. We are foodies in a foodie town (Charleston) and usually wouldn't consider a buffet unless it was a last resort.

 

The Cruise was fun, the Carnival crowd is like cruising with a random mall selection of humanity, from a few affluent to some real characters, lots of tattoos and tramp stamps, too many smokers (but not as bad as I feared) to everything in between.

 

If you have any specific questions about the Miracle before I finish my review, feel free to ask.

 

Matt

[kcdancerkc]

What did you do in St. Kitts

 

Were there a lot of chair hogs saving chairs on the decks?:D

[BarJen]

looking forward to your review Matt, please post pics of the ship/ports of call if you have them. :)

 

 

Barry

[photonut4]

Okay I have to ask...what is a tramp stamp?

[thundercrack]

Tatoo above butt on women

 

[photonut4]

lol Thanks.

[Matt62]

looking forward to your review Matt, please post pics of the ship/ports of call if you have them. :)

 

 

Here is a photo of the Miracle, taken from the water taxi in Sint Maarten, and the other is a black volcanic beach in the very northern part of St Kitts. I've seen black sand beaches before, but nothing as stunningly beautiful as this one.

 

Ignore typos, it is 10:00am EDT where I am and although I am just barely 24 hours off the ship, I haven't eaten yet today and I should have had several thousands calories by now so I am getting a little shaky.

[framerman]

looking forward to your review, Matt, as we will be on her in Feb......same itinerary

[K&P Luv2Cruise]

Here is a photo of the Miracle, taken from the water taxi in Sint Maarten, and the other is a black volcanic beach in the very northern part of St Kitts. I've seen black sand beaches before, but nothing as stunningly beautiful as this one.

 

Ignore typos, it is 10:00am EDT where I am and although I am just barely 24 hours off the ship, I haven't eaten yet today and I should have had several thousands calories by now so I am getting a little shaky.

 

Looking forward to your review...we disembarked on 12-04-11 from the Aruba cruise, and just love this ship enough we booked for late March for St. Maarten, Antigua & St. Kitts !

[Matt62]

What did you do in St. Kitts

 

Were there a lot of chair hogs saving chairs on the decks?:D

Question 1 (St Kitts) We spent the day on St Kitts with Mark and Dan of Surfing St. Kitts; they were amazing and they made this stop the high point of our cruise. The gave my daughter (15) surfing lessons and rented my 18 year old son a board. We spent the morning on a spectacular, empty, beach (Sandy Bank Bay), then went to Reggae Beach for lunch at a beach bar (which was a decent place to grab a bite but the only crowded touristy place we went), then dropped our son back off on to Sandy Bank beach and my wife daughter and I took a tour of the entire island with Mark, a really interesting and nice guy. I could go on and on about these guys.

 

Question 2: Yes, there were plenty of chair hogs. We ultimately got chairs but it forces everyone else to go "hold" a chair too. They do not even try to enforce their "no holding a chair for more than 20 minute policy". Once we got enough sun, we retreated to the two lounges chairs on our balcony and that was great indeed. Our teenagers were not bothered by the chair hogging as they never seemed to stay in one place very long anyway.

[kcdancerkc]

What is the name of that black sand beach in your picture please?

 

Thanks, and looking forward to more from you

[RunsWithFlyingDolphins]

Love the miracle. Can't wait to read your review!

[momonthego17]

We just cruised on Miracle for Thanksgiving and I'm looking forward to your review!

[Matt62]

I'm still working on my review. We've had family in town for New Years and all that catching up you have post vacation.

 

But one of my kids saw me working on my review and asked why I was doing that, why was I going to all that effort I suppose for people I didn't even know.

 

I explained that some of the most important things we knew about, in advance, our cruise and our three ports of call came from reviews I had read on Cruise Critic about the Miracle and St Martin, St Kitts and St Lucia so there is a lot to be said for contributing to those who have contributed to you, both in cruise travel, travel in general and in life. It is also a fun way to relive your journey.

 

I should be able to post my complete Miracle Eastern Caribbean review tomorrow.

 

Matt

[w8ing2cruz]

Thanks Matt - even though we are sailing the alternate itinerary - I just EAT up anything Miracle at this point :p. Hoping to catch sail away on the webcam this afternoon - that's how sick I am :D

[emk323]

Sailing on the miracle may 22nd. First time ever to cruise..very excited....would love to see photos....we booked cabin 6200 balcony and 6202 interior cabin for the kids