First Time Carnival Cruiser Review of the December 20th sailing on the Miracle

[dstables]

Just off the December 20 sailing of the Miracle. We were a group of 12 family members celebrating my 50th birthday and Christmas. There was my DH, our twin DD 19, DS 15, and DD 13. My sister and her husband and 14 year old son also joined us and my mother and MIL and FIL rounded out the group. We have previously only sailed with Princess but chose this cruise because we had 5 kids sailing with us and because of the itinerary. I was somewhat concerned about our choice of cruise for two reasons. First was, three years ago we were looking at booking a cruise over Christmas and our travel agent strongly discouraged us from booking it saying that Christmas cruises are so crowded and over run with kids. The second was the numerous referrences to Carnival Cruises being the WalMart of cruises on CC. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised with our cruise on the Miracle and we all thoroughly enjoyed the cruise. DH and I last cruised on the Grand Princess in February 2011 and we did not find this cruise any more crowded than last February. There were more kids on this cruise but it certainly was not over run with kids. Although I did not really care for the decor of the ship this did not lessen the enjoyment value of our cruise and I would not refer to Carnival as the WalMart of cruises. Food and service on Carnival was as good as Princess.

 

 

We arrived at the cruise port around 11 a.m. There was already a long line to board the ship. The line moved fairly quickly. One thing that surprised me at the embarkation is that I had read so much about now strict Carnival was with the wine and pop/water that you carry on. I never saw one passenger while we went through security or while we waited to get our Sign and Sail cards have their carry on's inspected.

 

 

We have previously had balcony cabins while cruising but since we were such a large group we went with inside cabins this cruise. Our group had 6 cabins in a row on deck 7. I thought that Carvinal's inside cabins were well layed out and had more storage space than the Grand Princess. Our bathroom on this cruise was definitely larger and more functional. Our room stewart and his team were excellent. Very quick to respond if there was something we needed. I was very impressed that after the first day they knew everyone in our group's first name including the kids.

 

 

We chose ATD and again was a bit concerned with this choice after reading many reviews on CC but we knew that the early seating was too early for us and some in our group thought the late seating was too late so we took our chances with ATD and it could not have worked out any better. We wanted to dine at 7:30 and on the first night we all went down for 7:30 and were seated within 15 minutes. We had a table for 8 and right beside another table for 4. Our waiter and his team this night were excellent. Service was as good as Princess and the waiter and his team were very personable. As we left the dining room that night we thanked the hostess and said that we really enjoyed our waiter. Then next evening my DH and BIL went down to the dining room at 7:00 to see if they could arrange the same tables and waiter for 7:30. The hostess said she would try her best and did give them a pager and told them that we should all come back for 7:30. We did come back at 7:30 and waited maybe 5 minutes for the same tables and waiter. We continuted this process every evening except for the one evening we went to Nick and Nora's and we had excellent results in not having a long wait for our table and getting the waiter we wanted. There was only one evening that the hostess was not able to seat us at our usual table without a long wait so we opted for another table. From what I have read on CC this is not the usual procedure for ATD but it did work for us and we were very grateful to the hostess for accomodating our request that we were sure to tip the hostess at the end of the cruise. Everyone really enjoyed the food in the MDR and I thought the food was as good as the food we had on the Grand Princess. I did think that Carnival was lacking a bit in the dessert department, not quite as good as Princess. Every adult in our group did bring a bottle of wine on board so we did bring a bottle with us to the MDR. I was very surprised that we were never charged the corkage fee in the MDR. We brought our wine into the MDR fully expecting to be charged. The only time we were charged corkage on our wine was the night we dined at Nick and Nora's. Just the adults in the group went to Nick and Nora's and we had an excellent meal there and at this meal the desserts were outstanding! This meal was definitely worth the $30.00 per person charged.

 

 

Our first two days at sea were very windy days and the seas were rough. We did not have trouble finding chairs on deck but we were up and out early. We did see alot of chairs being reserved and sitting empty for along time. We always eat our breakfasts and lunches at the buffet and found the selections to be good and never had a problem finding something tasty to eat. We very much enjoyed the steel drum band that played throughout the day by the pool. We did not see alot of activies by the pool during the day that were organized by the CD or his staff. Our CD was Malcolm and other than at the evening shows we did not see much of him on the cruise.

 

 

First port was St. Maarten. This not a port that we have been to before. Ten of us headed out early to go do a little shopping. We found a cab large enough for all of us and the driver would stay with us for the day. We were charged $4.00/person one way to downtown for shopping. After shopping we dropped my mother off at the port and we continued to Orient Beach for the rest of the day. We were charged $6.00/person one way to the beach. We found the cab driver we had to not be very friendly and he never spoke with us or gave us any information about the island as we drove. I found this very unusual as most drivers love talking about their island. This cab driver appeared to have an arrangement with the bar that he dropped us off at. After he dropped us off it looked like he recieved a bottle of alcohol from the bar. We paid $20.00 for 2 chairs and an umbrella. Beer at this bar was $3.50/bottle or $18.00 for a bucket of 6. DH and I walked the beach and found a much better deal for buckets of beer. There were a number of bars selling buckets of 6 for $10.00 and chair rentals were less. So it might be a good idea to look around and not rent from the first bar your chairs and buy beer are at. We enjoyed our day at the beach. Weather was good but very windy which the kids enjoyed. Lots and lots of big waves to body surf in.

 

 

Second port was St. Lucia. Again we were doing a beach day, heading to Reduit Beach in Rodney Bay and found ourselves a cab to fit everyone again, 9 today. Cab fare was higher in St. Lucia. Cost was $16.00/person return and again the driver waited with us for the day. Today's driver was much happier to tell us all about his island and shared lots of information with us. The driver dropped us off at the St. Lucian by Rex Resorts. We just walked through the hotel and onto the beach. Rented chairs on the bench, I think we paid $5.00/chair and umbrellas were $4.00 each. Rodney Bay was gorgeous and we had a great day at the beach.

 

 

Third port was St. Kitts. DH and I have been to St. Kitts last February. We did a tour to Nevis Island then . Again we opted for a beach day with the kids. We found a cab again that would fit all 9 of us and a very friendly informative cab driver who shared lots of information about his beautiful island and stopped at some gorgeous spots for us to take pictures. We spent the day at South Friars Beach and the cab cost was $4.00/person one way. Chair rental was $13.00 for 3 chairs.

 

 

The last two days of our cruise were sea days again. Weather was excellent and the winds and seas had calmed down. DH and I were regulars in the gym every morning. Some morning I would have to wait for a treadmill but not usually too long. The gym was very hot the first few days but on the third they put a very large fan in the gym which helped move the air and kept it cooler.

 

 

We went to a number of the production numbers in the evenings. Thought that the theater was beautiful and the shows were good although I think the singers and dancers were better on Princess.

 

 

I have learned to read reviews of cruises with a grain of salt. We have always approached us holidays with a positive attitude and to enjoy and get the most from our holidays. We have never let little things upset our holiday. I had read some negative reviews about Carnival and most recently about the Miracle but I can't say there was much to complain about. Food and service were excellent. We had good weather, we weren't back home at work and in the snow and I had a lovely 50th birthday and Christmas with my family. What more could I ask for.

 

 

I would be glad to answer any questions. :D

[boaterette]

Nice review. I celebrated my big 50 on the Splendor. Happy bday to you.

[kcdancerkc]

How did you find the pools and hot tubs compared to other ships you have been on? Did you use the hot tub in the spa area?

 

Thanks!

[SE NC]

Thanks for your review! As I've said many times....if I based cruising on reviews posted on CC...I would have stopped cruising a long time ago!:D:p:D

[crusinpsychRN]

What port did you go out of for this cruise?

[CamaCama]

Great review, we'll be on miracle in 22 days!!

[near the beach]

We are also looking forward to being on the Miracle again after she gets out of dry dock in 22 days. :)

[dstables]

How did you find the pools and hot tubs compared to other ships you have been on? Did you use the hot tub in the spa area?

 

Thanks!

 

The pools and hot tubs on Carnival are about he same size as Princess. The biggest difference is Princess is fresh water which we prefer. Carnival's pools have about a 6 feet shallow edge about 6 inches deep that goes around the outside of the pool. I great area to sit in and cool down and still tan. We did not use the hot tubs in the spa area.

[dstables]

What port did you go out of for this cruise?

 

We sailed out of Fort Lauderdale on December 20th and returned on December 28th. Extra bonus for this trip was the weather in Flordia at this time of the year. We did 5 days in Disney World precruise and the weather was above average, in the 80's everyday.:D

[gelo7]

Very nice review.

[carters4usm]

Glad to hear the positive review on your Carnival experience. We've only sailed Princess before too, but are sailing on the Conquest at the end of the month. Some of the reviews about the quality of the Carnival experience have made me just a little apprehensive about this trip, so really glad to hear that you enjoyed it.

[RunsWithFlyingDolphins]

Great Review. I love the Miracle. Last time I was on her I did that same itinerary.

[dstables]

Forgot to include my thoughts on the laundry room on the Miracle. The laundry room was on our deck, deck 7 so it was very convenient but the room was so small that it was not very functional. There was only two washers and dryers and two irons and ironing boards. It was very hard for more than one person to be in this room at a time yet alone use both irons. The door to the room opened into the room right into the person ironing. The irons only worked well on the highest temperature. If you turned them down for more delicate fabrics the irons would link water all over what you were ironing.:mad: I did find the laundry rooms much bigger and more functional on Princess than Carnival. Princess must have at least 4 washers and dryers and 4 irons and ironing boards which all can be used at the same time.

[The_ZOO]

Thanks for the review. We are in Ft. Lauderdale right now getting ready to leave on this same trip tomorrow! I'm so excited.

[bbiggar]

The pools and hot tubs on Carnival are about he same size as Princess. The biggest difference is Princess is fresh water which we prefer. Carnival's pools have about a 6 feet shallow edge about 6 inches deep that goes around the outside of the pool. I great area to sit in and cool down and still tan. We did not use the hot tubs in the spa area.

 

Did they allow people to have a beverage at the edge of the pool? (setting it on the bench area)

[dstables]

Did they allow people to have a beverage at the edge of the pool? (setting it on the bench area)

 

I see some people sitting on the edge of the pool with drinks.

[Matt62]

We were also on this Dec 20th Miracle Cruise and I am still working on my review. Sorry, I am still trying to catch up and all I do is paperwork (lawyer).

 

I like and agree with this review. I would like to point out something this reviewer mentioned, i.e. the anytime dining. We did this fearing it would not go well as did this reviewer.

 

Well, there was this lovely Hungarian girl who was hostess and in charge of seating as far as I could tell, and if you treat her politely and with respect, it appeared to me that she would go out of her way to make your requests happen. On a moments notice she put my two "anytime dining" teenagers and their newfound late seating friends together in a big table just as they wanted. Her only request for this last minute large table request was that these teens wait until at least 7:45 to dine. She accommodated that the moment they arrived.

 

I've got a lot more detail on the way if you can bear with me.

[dstables]

We were also on this Dec 20th Miracle Cruise and I am still working on my review. Sorry, I am still trying to catch up and all I do is paperwork (lawyer).

 

I like and agree with this review. I would like to point out something this reviewer mentioned, i.e. the anytime dining. We did this fearing it would not go well as did this reviewer.

 

Well, there was this lovely Hungarian girl who was hostess and in charge of seating as far as I could tell, and if you treat her politely and with respect, it appeared to me that she would go out of her way to make your requests happen. On a moments notice she put my two "anytime dining" teenagers and their newfound late seating friends together in a big table just as they wanted. Her only request for this last minute large table request was that these teens wait until at least 7:45 to dine. She accommodated that the moment they arrived.

 

I've got a lot more detail on the way if you can bear with me.

 

I am sure that you are referring to the same hostess that we received wonderful service from. She was very pleasant and more than willing to try and accommodate our request. As I said earlier that I read all reviews with some caution. I read a review on the Miracle just before we sailed by a single passenger who had nothing but complaints about the Miracle. One major complaint was the ATD and how he never got to try the MDR during his cruise. The passenger stated that he was diabetic and needed to eat when his blood sugar was low and every time he went to the MDR the wait time was too long and for health reasons could not afford the wait and would end up eating in the buffet every evening. After my experience with this hostess I am positive that if this passenger had just been polite and respectful to the hostess and explained his situation she would had gone out of her way to seat him immediately. Some passengers would rather just complain than take a moment to solve a situation.