Carnival Miracle in St. Maarten, St. Lucia and St. Kitts Review with pics!

[elsplace2]

After Orient Beach we headed to Marigot. We went to a Marina where there were some beautiful yachts and it had an outdoor shopping area. It was very crowded here due to the 6 ships in town.

 

 

 

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Then we went to the beach I was waiting for, Maho Beach. This is the beach where all the low flying planes came in. It was a blast! Literally. We didn’t realize we were in a blast zone, and we thought we were far enough away, to not get sand blasted when a plane took off…..not so….we had to hang on to all our stuff and had all this sand on us in the end…it was so cool!! I was hoping it would happen again, so I can get a picture of the beach crowd but it didn’t while we were there….I guess it depends on the plane. We were here for only about 45 min., which was just enough time although I wouldn’t have minded staying there a little longer. Oh and this beach was packed too….someone who comes there every year said he never saw it that crowded….again thanks to the 6 ships in port!

 

 

 

 

 

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This is how close the runway is.

 

 

Depending on the plane, this is when you can get sandblasted, when they take off. Wish I had gotten the plane before this one!

 

 

Water was great, but gets very deep and is rocky once you go out a bit.

 

 

[elsplace2]

After Orient beach we stopped off really quick at a lookout point for some photo ops.

All and all we had a great day with Bernard’s tour, just wished there weren’t so many ships in port.

 

 

 

 

 

We got back to the ship around 2:30….he dropped some people off in Phillipsburg so they can shop. I guess it was about a 20 min. walk back to the ship. There were a couple of shops in the port area and we just went there.

Today we decided to go to the buffet for dinner. They had most of the things on the dinner menu, but not everything. Everything we had was very good. After dinner we walked around and ended up in the Phantom lounge around 8:00pm. They were about to do the movie theme music trivia. So we decided to play….again, a difficult game, just as the last one…..after that we headed to the Serenity area and enjoyed one of the round loungers and watched the moonlit sea. After a bit there we went back to the Phantom lounge to watch the Love and Marriage game, I believe it was 10:00pm….funny as always.

[Jbird81]

Fantastic review so far! Our family also did Bernard Tours recently, and loved it. The iguanas were definitely a great stop. :)

[elsplace2]

Today we did a tour with Carnival. The Land and Sea tour to Soufrie. It was a great tour. There were about 3 ships in port, luckily the Allure wasn’t one of them. We didn’t have to be at the pier to meet them until 9:30…so it was nice not to rush this morning.

 

Here are some pics when we were pulling in.

 

 

 

 

 

[elsplace2]

We got to the meeting place at approx. 9:10 and 5 min. later they had enough for a bus load. (Approx 24 people). So they took us to our small tour bus while a couple of others, who were waiting for others to join their group, stayed behind to start a new group.

 

We started off heading up a mountain to go to a couple of lookouts for photo opportunities. At these look outs, there are several other tours there as well so it can get busy and there are lots of venders who are selling things….and some of them can get a little pushy. (But not so bad that you get aggravated.) The first stop had a lot more vendors and more souvenirs….our tour guide recommended we wait for the next stop because they were cheaper, but they didn’t have nearly as many vendor’s as the first stop, so I wish I had done some shopping at the first stop. It did rain alittle at the second stop, but we were only there for about 15 min. so people can go to the restroom and get some photos. (If the line is long to the rest room, they will have rest rooms at the next stop, the Botanical Gardens.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pipeboy]

we are doing the victory in 2 weeks for my 50th. same deal get there....next day bam your 50...weird.

[elsplace2]

One more:

 

 

We drove up and over the mountains. It was beautiful. (If you get car sick, you may want to take some Dramamine or Bonine)…..I did, to be on the safe side, knowing there were windy roads and a catamaran tour, but DH didn’t and he was feeling a little quezy and he never gets “car sick”. Then we went to a Botanical garden where we saw some unique flowers and walked over to a waterfall. It was a very nice area. I enjoyed it very much, but DH, of course was a little bored. There are restrooms here as well. We were there for about 45 min.

 

 

 

 

 

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More of the Botanical Gardens.

 

 

 

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After the Botanical gardens we headed to our Catamarine (which was only about 5 min away). By now it was about 1:00 pm. There was already another tour group on it and already at the “buffet”. We found a spot to sit and I went to the buffet while DH saved our seats. They served buffet style, some chicken, and a couple of other sides…a very nice casual lunch. While we were sailing, there were some great photo ops….then it started to rain alittle, everyone huddled in the inside part of the Catamarine, fortunately it was just for about 5 min.

 

 

 

 

 

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We sailed to a little area to swim and those people who brought snorkel gear snorkeled…..we were there for only about 45 min. The water was a little cold, but you got used to it.

 

 

 

On our way back it started to rain again. But just for a short time….maybe 10 min., this time, but it seemed like a long time, because again we were huddled in the covered part and the wind and rain was cold for those who got stuck on the outer row of our huddle.

 

They take you to the port area on the way back where we were able to see our ship and get some photos.

 

 

[elsplace2]

The whole tour was about 6 hours. A little longer then I was expecting, but I really enjoyed it.

 

We got back to the ship around 3:30 and before getting on we did a little shopping in the port area….(which isn’t that many places).

We had dinner again in the buffet. Food was good as always. There wasn’t much to do tonight. A Big Band show was playing in the Phantom Theater, which didn’t appeal to us and at 8:30 was Karaoke. No comedy shows. We walked around a bit. Hung out on our balcony, went to McGuire’s Sports bar for another pitcher of Thirsty Frog beer, made our donation in the casino, then went to Karaoke. Kind of Boring! A few people went up and mostly sang ballads. We stayed for about 20 min. So we came back to our room and relaxed and hung out on our balcony.

[zonabelle]

We were on the Miracle in December in "your" room and did the same itinerary. We loved it so much that I immediately went online to search for a repeat cruise on her before she relocates to NY and was so lucky. We got the same room again that we had so adored and the cruise leaves on my birthday in March. It had my name written all over it so I snatched it up at once. We had a marvelous time. It is terrific to see and read your review and enjoy refreshing my memory and getting me all the more excited for the upcoming cruise. I named the balcony the "Harris" deck after our last name because it was a deck onto itself. We spent many hours out there and watched the flying fish. So many hours that I felt like we didn't get out and see the sights on the ship as much as we could/should have. So it is extra good that we are going back again. I loved the ship and all those relaxing sea days and I loved the ports. This time we go to Antigua instead of St. Lucia so I get the adventure of a new port too. I feel so blessed to live in FL so this is a bit easier for us to do on rather short notice. I am subscribing to your review and can't wait to read more!

:D:D:D

[elsplace2]

Today we decided not to do a tour, although I kind of wanted to do a little island tour for some photo ops. St. Kitts is a good port for shopping. There were lots of shops here compared to the other ports.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[KrystalWaters]

Thanks for the review. Love the pictures.:)

Happy Belated Birthday to you. I can't believe you turned 50...looking good girlie;)

[elsplace2]

The bad thing was there were LOTS of people wanting your money too, from cab/tour companies who hang around the shopping area and ask if you want to tour the island to people walking around with monkeys. Yes live monkeys. Even the “street” group entertainers walked around asking for tips. They had a tip box there while they were dancing. One male dancer took someone who was watching and had her dance with him, then practically demanded she put a tip in the box, seeing she danced with him. After their dance they walked around asking for tips even in the bar we were sitting in because we were able to watch from there. You watch you pay! (Not that they said that.)

 

The monkey guys would put their cute little monkeys on you, but wouldn’t tell you up front that if you take pics with the monkeys, they wanted money…for instance they put the monkeys on my DH and told me to take pictures…..so I had read about this about someone saying it happened on one of the beaches to them, so I asked how much is it? I believe he said we could take 5 pics for $20. Then if you said no thank you they would say 3 for $10 etc. but we watched them put these monkeys on person after person and told them to take pics with their cameras….then asked for the money afterwards. I’m not sure how much they would tell them but I wonder if these people were blindsided. So be forewarned! If you want pics with the monkeys, then you will have to pay.

 

 

 

 

 

[elsplace2]

Anyway, we were going to do a quick tour but they really didn’t want us to do an hour tour they wanted us to do 2 hours for $30 each. Which isn’t too bad, but we didn’t want be on a 2 hr tour and see churches or whatever, we just wanted to go to a couple of lookouts to take some scenic photos. We didn’t see any cabs either, to just hop in one and say take us to a couple of lookout points….maybe they were in a different area, but we weren’t looking hard, we were happy just shopping around today.

 

So we were back on the ship by noon went to the buffet for lunch, then checked out the serenity deck to see if it was crowded…..surprisingly it was for a port day and it was cloudy.

 

[elsplace2]

Within minutes of us getting up there, it started to sprinkle a bit, so we thought it would be perfect for the hot tub. It rained for just 10-15 min or so, we did meet a very nice couple in there and started chatting with them for about 45 min.

 

Afterwards we came back to our room took some photos on our balcony with our tripod and went to the 10th deck and with St. Kitts in the background. I wish we had thought about doing it on the other 2 islands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[thesawch]

Good review so far.

 

Do you remember who the ACD and the entertainment hosts (trivia/shipboard events) were?

 

Thank you.

Brandon was the ACD

[elsplace2]

After that we signed up for the bean bag tossing contest….we were out in the first round. We had no chance anyway, they had some people who obviously play on a regular basis…..unlike us who have never played before.

 

Came back to our room and balcony and waited for sail away, then for the Past Cruiser party at 5:15. (There was another one at 4:00) We got to the Phantom Theater around 5 and there was already a line. We ran into the couple from the hot tub while we were waiting in line. So they joined us when we went in. Drinks were plentiful! We had a good time.

 

We went to dinner in the MDR. Food was very good. Then we went to McGuire’s for a pitcher of Thirsty Frog….good beer! Then we went to the Phantom Lounge for the 8:45 show . A juggleling comedy act. We were going to meet the couple from the hot tub for the show, but they never made it. (Ran into them the next day and they said after dinner and all that drinking they just couldn’t stay awake! LOL ) It was very funny show! After the show we walked around and decided to grab a piece of pizza and then came back to the Mad Hatters lounge for the Adult comedy show at 10:45……boy we should have gotten there A LOT earlier. We got there about 20 min. early and it was packed and we could not find a seat so we stood in the back….I wanted to leave, because I was tired and didn’t want to stand, but DH really wanted to watch the show. I knew if I said I’d meet him in the room, I know he would have come too and missed the show, so I didn’t want him to miss it because of me.

 

Luckily the show was only a half hour…..and he was very funny. His name was Roman. (I believe they flew in a couple new comedians to St. Kitts to switch them out.)

 

Finally we were able to go to bed!!

[elsplace2]

Up again around 7. Went to breakfast then the gym…oh one cool thing about the gym is that the machines like elliptical, bikes, treadmills, have solitaire on them, plus all the equipment is new….so that was nice too.

 

Went to the Serenity Deck….as expected packed and nowhere to sit. Front pool area was packed too….I’m sure we could have found a seat somewhere on the upper decks. But fortunately we had a big balcony with 2 loungers and now that we were heading back, the sun will be on our side on the way back. As the sun was finally coming on to our deck we started to notice we were losing it again.….hmmm??? My DH looked out at the water and noticed from the trail, that the ship was turning around. So we were like, that’s strange but then thought it was just part of the route…..so we went upstairs to the Serenity Deck, again, to check to see if there was a place where we could sit, or just sit at the pool , seeing we lost our sun…..just as we got up there they were announcing that the outside aft decks had to be cleared, due to someone being critically ill and they were going to have the coast guard come to pick the passenger up. We were heading toward Puerto Rico which we already passed over 5 hours ago.

 

 

[elsplace2]

Finally the helicopter arrived and was circling around the ship. I was thinking that’s such a long time for a critically ill person to have to wait, (5 hrs) but what can you do?? (Rumor had it she had a perforated bowel). Crowds gathered to watch the air lift. We all hoped and prayed that she was going to be OK.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Crowd that gathered, hoping and praying she would be fine.

 

[maxxedout2]

Thanks for the Pics and Review.

 

...we're soon to be on the Miracle...same ports.

 

:cool:

[elsplace2]

The evactuation went extremely well and the ship honked it’s horn as the helicopter flew off into the sunset.

 

 

The ship made it's turn back home, with about 14 family members of the woman, stuck on the ship, I'm sure being worried sick.

 

 

 

By now it was around 5:30. So we went back to our room and then to dinner by 6:15 in the buffet.

After dinner we went to the comedy show at 7:30. Carl Guerra… Very funny. Although you felt guilty having a good time while others on board were worried about their loved one.

 

Our dinner mate from the table next to us from the 1st 2 nights, had asked if she could join us seeing her husband didn’t want to watch the show….then the 3 of us went to the Ticket to Ride show which was very good and entertaining.

 

After the show we went back to Mad Hatters for the 9:45 show and the adult version of Carl’s Comedy…some of the act was the same but of course now had a bit of a different twist.

There was a notice in our mailboxes that the ship will be delayed in pulling into Ft. Lauderdale and would be in around 9:30am and they apologized for any inconvenience.