Miracle Review 4/28-5/6 Grand Turk, HMC, Nassau

[Poorplaya]

Great review and pictures so far, cant wait to read and see the rest

[reerun25]

Love all the info about HMC!!

[drrtcw]

truly a great review. i leave in 6 days for the same cruise and I CANNOT WAIT!

[mdxter]

Well are you up yet??? ready for you to continue your review....:D!!

[flipflop82]

Could only hope that Malcolm left the ship... we had him last time and didn't care for him. He was barely visible.. only saw him emcee the shows at night; never saw or heard him beyond that. It would be nice to have someone different this time.

 

 

I was on this cruise as well and I felt like I saw Malcolm everywhere I turned! I actually liked him a lot. Not sure if it was because he was a fellow NYer (raised in the BX) or what, but I thought he did a great job. The adult scavenger hunt in the Mad Hatters Club that he MCed was hysterical!

[msheep]

Nice review , can't wait to hear about your day in Nassau :D

 

I'm doing the same itinerary in early Sept., this is my first cruise to the Caribbean, very excited!

[Mike Washington]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

cabana 9:

 

 

 

HMC was absolutely the best beach we have every been too!!!!

We where in Cabana 9 on this day! We thought we where there early, but you where there before us! LOL

The Cabana was great to get out of the sun for a few and grab a nice Ice Cold Drinkie.

[mamagina]

HMC was absolutely the best beach we have every been too!!!!

We where in Cabana 9 on this day! We thought we where there early, but you where there before us! LOL

The Cabana was great to get out of the sun for a few and grab a nice Ice Cold Drinkie.

 

 

We saw you guys! You had a nice day too. It was so beautiful down by our beach!!!

[mamagina]

Continuing HMC day:

From where we were sitting we could hear the music from the Pirate Boat Bar but not too loudly. Just right. We took a walk (just leaving our stuff on the chair, bringing only the camera and our ship cards) really not worrying if anyone would take anything—that is what is nice about the private island—no id, wallets really nothing to worry about! It took us about a half hour each way to reach the sign that says not to go any further. On the way, we passed the wedding in the white gazebo and then a little further down the stables with the guests going on the horseback riding excursion. We spoke to some of the people and they said first they went on a dry ride with regular saddles and then back to the stable where they put different water saddles on the horses so they could swim. We saw the people get back on noticing that they have no place to put their feet. They just hung on to the reigns. We saw one guy fall off. It did look like a lot of fun though! PICS

After our hour long walk, it was time for LUNCH! It was just a two minute walk to the BBQ area from where we were sitting. In fact the people in Cabana 10 brought their lunch back to the cabana to eat. At about 1:00 there were no lines and lunch was plentiful! Lots of salads, tons of fruit, dessert, and typical BBQ food—hamburgers hot dogs, etc. The Jerk chicken was particularly good. Someone asked if there was any fish but there was none prepared. There were veggie burgers if you asked and we had one and it was really good. Ice tea, lemonade and water were available and they were selling cans of soda and beer. We brought a plate of fruit back to our chair and we were in paradise! Spent the afternoon swimming and watching some of the games at the Pirate boat—“swim around the ship” and tug of war. We brought a mask and snorkel with us and we really didn’t see much. No real coral or rocks so just some fish. The water was very clear.We really waited till the bitter end to leave. Even then there was a line in the plaza waiting for the tender so we found some nice chairs in the shade to take our traditional “Last tender back with the garbage and the bar staff!” There are very clean bathrooms in the plaza and a gift shop so I made a couple of stops. We only got up when the Carnival staff started saying “last tender!” We did not stand on a line at all and just boarded the boat. When we got back to the ship we noticed that there was one more tender after us. DH was convinced that it was only staff but I was sure there were a couple of stray passengers on too. Also not a long enough stay!!!

 

 

Everyone had a safety waist belt on:

 

 

The view back to the pirate boat area from the sign that says you can't go any fourther:

 

[mamagina]

More horsey pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

Gilligan pushing the ship:

 

 

 

[mamagina]

Pirate Boat:

 

 

Tender plaza area shots:

 

 

 

I wish I could stay here forever:

 

 

Not far enough!!!:

 

 

[mamagina]

The crew with the garbage and the leftovers from the "bar" getting on the Tender:

 

 

 

 

 

 

We just hung out in the serenity area for the rest of the evening. Waited for a sunset that was so/so, had a lovely dinner in the dining room and blew off the show, checking out some of the music venues and just walking on deck 3 and deck 9.

 

Could not figure out what kind of animal this towel is :):

 

[mamagina]

Day 6—Nassau:

We have been to Nassau many times. We have stayed at Cable beach, the Atlantis and the Comfort Suites on land vacations so we have done the slides and on cruises we have done the glass bottom boat, done the old Yellowbird (who remembers that????) snorkeled, gone to Junkanoo and Cabbage Beach, rented scooters, done the island tour, been to every version of the straw market since 1980, seen the forts and the flamingos, done the history tour, rode the horse drawn carriages, gone to Blackbeard’s Cay, done a day pass at both the Wyndham and the Sheraton and I don’t know what else. The two places we have never been are the Blue Lagoon and the Hilton British Colonial. I was agonizing on where to go asking everyone that I chatted with on the ship, what they were doing in Nassau but I still couldn’t decide. It bothered me to pay $110 to sit on the beach downtown but that morning we woke up to this view of the hilton from our balcony and DH said “let’s do it., it will be so easy. Since that seemed to be the continuing theme of this cruise I went along:

 

We had an absoutely delightful day and I woud do it again in a minute. Five minute walk along the water brought us to this beach with these very comfortable lounge chairs:

 

 

 

 

[mamagina]

The pool was delightful and pretty much empty all day. We swam laps and lounged and had free wifi!!

 

What more can you ask??

 

Clean restroom, pool bar and $60 credit from our $110 fee (if you book it on line through a tour company it is only $100 and you still get $60 credit). We didn't want to take a chance on the weather so we paid at the hotel desk. We decided to have lobster tails in the restaurant but they also have a very nice $28 per person lunch buffet with beverages (non acoholic) which we could have used the credit on too. Really a great deal! There were shrimp and all kids of salads and hot dishes. Since we had plenty of that on the ship we decided to go with the local lobster tail lunch for $34. It was great and a nice light alternative.

 

 

 

We swam in the ocean. There were others from the ship there too and we say some using the kayaks--you had free use of kayaks and snorkle equipment. A nice quiet low key day. Just perfect.

 

 

 

 

We hung on the beds on the lawn:

 

 

[mamagina]

A few more shots:

 

Wish I was there right now!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LizaMM]

WOW! That looks like a fantastic day in Nassau!!!!

 

I am planning on staying on the ship but might have to keep that in the back of my mind.....if not for this trip but maybe for next time ;)

[cruiserjt]

Leaving Tuesday - Absolutely cannot wait - the beaches look beautiful. We will be going to British Colonial as well - Were there a lot of choices for lunch?

 

WOW THANK YOU for the pictures. Tuesday cannot be here soon enough.

 

Teri

[mamagina]

They had a full menu at the pool bar and the bar staff would be more than happy to bring whatever you ordered right to your beach chair. Burgers and salads looked fine and it would be tough to spend the whole $60 (for two) just on food. Get appetizers. We decided to eat in the restaurant in the lo lobby. For $28, I believe tax and gratuity included, they ad a really nice buffet which included beverages too. They also had a menu. Prices for burgers and such were like $1-2 higher than the pool bar. Like $12 outside vs. $14 inside for a burger. The lobby restaurant was open from 12:00-3:00pm only. The pool bar was open until 5:30.

[mamagina]

WOW! That looks like a fantastic day in Nassau!!!!

 

I am planning on staying on the ship but might have to keep that in the back of my mind.....if not for this trip but maybe for next time ;)

 

Wait and see what the weather is like! Beautiful day, head over! We have never stayed on a ship in port yet and we were seriously considering it for Nassau this time. We were happy we went.

 

I'm sure we will try staying on board at some point. We usually try to maximize our time and are usually one of the last to get back on board.

[KCTravel]

Hi Gina:

I have to say a huge THANK YOU because we are in some of your HMC and BCH pictures!! We didn't take many and only got a few of the two of us. I hope you don't mind if I copy one or two??

 

This was our second time at BCH and I had my favorite salad--tropical salad with grilled shrimp. We were going to eat on the beach but the wind kicked up and I could just see my salad flying away. We ate up on deck around the grill which was very nice. I have to say the service was much better this visit than when we were here previously.

 

Loving your review!!

Karen

[mamagina]

Hi Gina:

I have to say a huge THANK YOU because we are in some of your HMC and BCH pictures!! We didn't take many and only got a few of the two of us. I hope you don't mind if I copy one or two??

 

This was our second time at BCH and I had my favorite salad--tropical salad with grilled shrimp. We were going to eat on the beach but the wind kicked up and I could just see my salad flying away. We ate up on deck around the grill which was very nice. I have to say the service was much better this visit than when we were here previously.

 

Loving your review!!

Karen

 

Copy away! That is sooooo funny that I caught you in our pictures. I was sure someone on the horseback riding excursion was going to spot themselves. Never thought about the beach pictures. I might have you in more. I took about 400 photos. I'll look through if I can figure out who you are! ;)

[sandys57]

Thanks for the photo from Jack's Shack. Never could quite figure out just how far down the beach it was. Maybe we'll venture away from the cruise terminal a bit and see the surrounding area this time.

.

 

 

DH and I were in Grand Turk last November. We walked down to Jack's Shack. It isnt that far of a walk from the pier. Maybe 10 minutes, if that. We enjoyed our time there. Met up with many we had met via roll call then at meet and greet. The drinks there didnt seem to be any more expensive than anywhere else we have gone. The water at Jacks Shack is much better than the water closer to the boat. Carnival has an area of lounge chairs, just as you get off the boat, and right next to Margaritaville. Although that area is nice for lounging and relaxing, and maybe hearing the music from Margaritaville, the water is full of rocks. If you stay in that area, you need to wear water shoes. However, just a short distance away, the water is free of rocks and you can enjoy the water without hurting your feet or slipping on rocks.

 

Have a wonderful time on your cruise.

[VickiD59]

Thats exactly what we did when there two years ago; we hung out on the lounge chairs under the palm trees and swam a bit at the beach. In my review I had described GT as, if the Flintstone's lived in the Caribbean, this would be where they'd hang out. I was surprised at how rocky... not even just rocky.. but how hard the sand was. Like it was poured on top of cinderblocks. It looks beautiful, but it's deceiving when you first step into that water. This time I'm prepared with water shoes :cool: and possibly walking down the beach a ways.

[mamagina]

DH and I were in Grand Turk last November. We walked down to Jack's Shack. It isnt that far of a walk from the pier. Maybe 10 minutes, if that. We enjoyed our time there. Met up with many we had met via roll call then at meet and greet. The drinks there didnt seem to be any more expensive than anywhere else we have gone. The water at Jacks Shack is much better than the water closer to the boat. Carnival has an area of lounge chairs, just as you get off the boat, and right next to Margaritaville. Although that area is nice for lounging and relaxing, and maybe hearing the music from Margaritaville, the water is full of rocks. If you stay in that area, you need to wear water shoes. However, just a short distance away, the water is free of rocks and you can enjoy the water without hurting your feet or slipping on rocks.

 

Have a wonderful time on your cruise.

 

You are correct. Lots of rocks. It is even dangerous to walk in. I walked slowly until the water was up to my knees and then I swam. It was a little better at the far end of the Margaritaville beach. Next time we will go further. We really wanted some shade and you would need an umbrella at Jack's beach.

[LisaH]

Could only hope that Malcolm left the ship... we had him last time and didn't care for him. He was barely visible.. only saw him emcee the shows at night; never saw or heard him beyond that. It would be nice to have someone different this time.

 

We agree with you about Malcolm...yawn. But our cruise on the Miracle was one of our best. I have a review on CC from 2/12.

 

We are booked on the Breeze for 2/13 with John Heald...yahoo!