Reflections on the Miracle - May 6-14, 2012

[Irishlinny]

This was our 9th Carnival cruise and our 3rd on the Miracle out of NY. We were sailing with a bunch of folks we met on this cruise 2 years ago. I’m not doing a full review, but rather some thoughts and comparisons to past cruises.

 

Embarkation was very smooth. We got to the port at around 10, got boarding number 2 and were on the ship around 11:30.

 

The bar staff on Lido were great! Very attentive and pleasant.

 

Muster drill took longer (for obvious reasons), but not because of a lot of additional information…there was a lot of time spent just standing there and they required complete silence (even when they weren’t saying anything). The staff was much more visible (I couldn’t even see them on our last 2 cruises), but that was the only real difference. A lady behind us passed out.:(

 

DINING:

 

The food in the dining room was good…not anything to write home about, but good. My favorite stuffed mushrooms were a disappointment…tiny and mostly flavorless. I often ordered the cheese platter (which is offered for dessert) as an appetizer. I had the Brisket, flat iron steak, lobster and shrimp, prime rib, beef stroganoff and the lasagna Bolognese (still my favorite entrée!). We had Anytime Dining and we only really had a fairly long wait one night when we had a large group. We were very impressed with Frances (our waiter one evening) who made it a point to get to know our names…very unusual with Anytime. When he saw us the next night in the bar outside the restaurant and called us by name, we knew we had to request him again…he was excellent! All the servers we had were great.

 

The food on Lido was good…we usually ate from the grill or the deli for lunch. All of us thought that the burgers were better on Lido this year, and the buns didn’t have that stale quality they used to. For breakfast they have an omelette station where the pizza is served and they also have 2 where the deli is. That one is better if you want some sides so you don’t have to wait in a 2nd line to get them. I know they say they have changed their coffee on Lido, but it still wasn’t good (and I am NOT a coffee snob)…I wasn’t even overly impressed by the Starbucks coffees we bought a couple of times.

 

We tried the Taste appetizers a few times and they were good (they start serving those at 5:30 on deck 2 outside the sports bar). We didn’t try the drink specials they had there, however.

 

We did the Punchliner Comedy brunch on our last sea day, which was Mother’s Day. The new menu is interesting, and everyone seemed to like what they ordered. A word of caution…for dishes like the Filet Mignon and eggs, or the Huevos Rancheros, be sure to tell them how you want your fried eggs cooked. They didn’t ask and the eggs came out just barely done. If you like them over easy or cooked through, you’ll want to specify. The comedy is really a waste in there…it’s only about 10 minutes and if you’re not in a position where you see the guy, it’s more of an interruption than anything else.

 

The steakhouse was superb, as usual! Just wish it didn’t take so long! Service and food were both excellent.

 

ENTERTAINMENT:

 

We tried the Big Band show one night, but it just wasn’t doing it for us, so we left early. We had already done Ticket to Ride 2 years ago (very good), so we didn’t do it again.

 

Being smokers, our place of choice in the evenings was Frankie & Johnny’s. The bartender, Ernesto, was fabulous! The band, Music Unlimited, was very good, too. One night they had Karaoke in there (not our thing, but it was packed that night).

 

Made it to the late night comedy one night and it was funny (and not over the top obnoxious, although they do warn you ahead of time to leave if you are easily offended).

 

I never made it to the Piano Bar…hadn’t heard too much good about Brennan and I hate to walk in and walk out.

 

SERENITY:

 

While I’m sure Carnival thought this was the best thing since sliced bread, those of us who love the Spirit Class ships know better. This had the single most effect on our cruise than anything else. We spent the majority of our time on the aft Lido on our last 5 cruises on Legend and Miracle…it was perfect. Now that it is Serenity, the whole cruise experience has changed. Good luck finding a seat there…next to impossible, except at the bar. We guesstimate that the aft Lido used to seat around 300, and now it seats perhaps 150 (including the bar and tables). When you walk back there, it’s like a library or morgue. There are nice couches in the shade…people lie on the whole couch and go to sleep!:rolleyes: We had no interest in sitting back there since the entire area is now non-smoking, but even if you’re a non-smoker, good luck getting a place to sit. The bar (which was always hopping before) is now quiet. This forces everyone onto the rest of the Lido deck, causing those areas to be very crowded…good luck finding a lounge or table.

 

The forward Lido sounded like our best alternative…we could smoke on the starboard side and it wouldn’t be as crazy as main Lido. This area was not bad in the morning except the chair hogs were out in force. We saw 8 lounges saved one day….it took 2 hours for 4 of the people to show up, and the other 4 were still untouched when we left 3 hours later! There is no attempt to rectify that.:mad:

 

At around noon, the annoying voice of the assistant CD would start at the main pool, along with all the splashing and screaming children, and we would end up retreating to our “bowling alley” balcony. Rather than hanging around on Lido ordering drinks like we used to, we were in our cabin. I guess I should thank Carnival because it saved us between $400 and $500 on our S&S!;) But it’s not the experience we had enjoyed so much in the past.

 

The hot tubs were always full of children, and many of them were toddlers! There were a few toddlers in swim diapers in the hot tub and the pool…just so gross! I asked a waiter to call Security to remove the child…they didn’t show up for an hour, and the child was no longer in the pool. They did manage to get one kid to stop doing cannon balls into the pool, though. If you sat on the wall of the pool, you WOULD get splashed over and over again…the kids were totally oblivious and the parents were who-knows-where. Carnival really needs to have an adult area where people can smoke and enjoy the Lido without being subjected to the kids. The aft used to be perfect for this…wide open…plenty of ventilation…primarily adults…and plenty of seats. Again, Serenity ruined it.

 

Interestingly enough, one of the smoking areas is on deck 3 starboard, yet they have removed the ashtrays which used to be there. People ended up putting out cigarettes on top of the firehose box. The only reason we could come up with for doing this is that maybe they are thinking of trying the Miracle out as a non-smoking ship when she goes to CA….time will tell. One more note if you’re a smoker and looking forward to buying your cheap cigarettes on board…they have jumped substantially in price! On the Freedom in Nov, I believe it was 2 cartons for $52….now it is 2 cartons for $75! Since our ports were San Juan, St Thomas and Grand Turk, we stocked up in port instead where they were about $25 per carton.

 

PORTS:

 

San Juan was really not worth it because we were there from 3 pm until midnite. We had seen the Fort years ago (pretty sure it hasn’t changed much…LOL), it was too late to do a beach thing, and we didn’t feel like doing a city tour. Figured we would just wander around, but there really wasn’t much near the port…the port is not like the other ports where you can wander around and shop. There is a Senor Frogs across the street, along with a number of pricey stores. We walked around a little and got back on the ship. Weather was overcast and humid.

 

St Thomas was overcast. We went to the Emerald Beach Resort at the Best Western, hoping the sun would come out. The beach was nice, but the restaurant/bar still hadn’t opened by 11:30, so we headed out. They never asked us for money for the chairs or anything, which was nice. When we got back we walked around some of the shops and then went to Senor Frogs…what an overpriced dump that was.

 

Grand Turk was by far the best stop of the trip, and we finally had a beautiful day! Unfortunately, it took us an HOUR to get off the ship!! I have never had that happen before and I’m not sure what made it different, but it was horrendous! Everyone was converging from all sides and different floors…it was ridiculous. In San Juan, they had opened 3 gangways to exit from, but refused to do it in GT…no clue why. When we finally got off, we headed to Jack’s Shack. I had injured my knee, so a group of us decided to grab a taxi up there…$3 each…well worth it not to do that walk in the afternoon heat on the sand! We love Jack’s Shack, and it was definitely the highlight of the trip!:D

 

Overall, this was another great cruise with wonderful friends! The ship was clean, the staff was wonderful, the food was good and the drinks were flowing! If anyone has any questions, I will be happy to answer if I can! :)

[Jimmy Geegitz]

Huh, I love the serenity area. I am not a smoker tho so I am not as limited to space as smokers are. Thanks for the input very interesting. We will be on the Miracle in Sept. Can't wait.

[VickiD59]

I feel the same way about San Juan.. the port time is too late in the day to do anything. We'll be there on July 4th; don't know if that's good or bad. St Thomas is our favorite of the three ports (beach day), with San Juan being the least. Grand Turk is a nice wind-down day - walk off the boat and your there.

Thanks for sharing :)

[Irishlinny]

Huh, I love the serenity area. I am not a smoker tho so I am not as limited to space as smokers are. Thanks for the input very interesting. We will be on the Miracle in Sept. Can't wait.

I don't have any issues with the Serenity areas on the ships, as long as they don't plunk them down in the middle of my favorite spot;) The issue is finding a seat in them (whether you smoke or not). I wish they had created them in a different area of the ship (like they do on the other ships).

 

Have a great time...we still LOVE the Miracle:)

I feel the same way about San Juan.. the port time is too late in the day to do anything. We'll be there on July 4th; don't know if that's good or bad. St Thomas is our favorite of the three ports (beach day), with San Juan being the least. Grand Turk is a nice wind-down day - walk off the boat and your there.

Thanks for sharing :)

Glad you found this, Vicki! I was going to find the other thread and let you know I posted this;) Hope I covered the info you were looking for. I like the HMC itinerary better than this one, I think, but heck, I don't really care as long as I'm on a cruise! Have fun!!:D

[FlipFlopCruiser]

For the muster drill on Miracle....do you go directly to your station or do you go to a lounge first and then to the deck?

[Irishlinny]

For the muster drill on Miracle....do you go directly to your station or do you go to a lounge first and then to the deck?

You go directly to your station...no life jackets required (thank goodness!;)).

[mamagina]

Except for the smoking issue, you really should have been able to enjoy the Serenity area. It is really not fair that they do not do something about chair hogs. We were on the cruise before you and we watched 4 chairs for almost 3 hours. Finally some people came back bragging about how much fun they had a mini golf and how much they enjoyed lunch. Too many empty chairs with stuff. How hard could it be to have a deck attendant note when something is on a chair for a half hour and scoop it up in a bag till the owners return? A woman we met on our cruise said that she was in the serenity area at 7:30am and there was stuff on the two chairs next to her. She decided to "lease them out" :) to other people telling the new occupants that someone may come back to claim them. By 3:30 no one ever came back so she just put the stuff back on the chair and left! Sad!

[BigDogCT]

Thanks for the post, we sail on Tuesday. We have an extended balcony on the 9th deck Starboard side, mid-ship. Should we expect the smokers on the deck above to be flinging their butts over the side of the ship and into our balcony?

[VickiD59]

extended balcony on the 9th deck

 

There aren't any cabins on deck 9 :confused:

[BigDogCT]

There aren't any cabins on deck 9 :confused:

 

Okay, the 8th deck. Sorry, we haven't sailed yet, but it's the Panorama deck and I know that it is the deck below the Lido deck.

[hill6]

I concur with Linnys comments. We did hang out with Linny during the cruise so many of the experiences were shared (brunch, Frankie and Johnnies, etc).

 

I would like to add that the buffet food has improved since last year and it was pretty good then and we do not like buffet food. They have added omelet stations during breakfast to make it go smoother. Some have two omelet stations going and the pizzeria makes them too (you can still get pizza - DH asked).

 

Be sure to try the guacamole the one day they have it on the buffet at lunch (first or second sea day).

 

The serenity area has so much wasted space with the big round chairs and the pergolas/hammocks. They take so much space to hold so few. Folks were actually laying on the deck back there.

 

The hot tubs were horrid. On the last day at sea I actually had to yell at two kids who were trying to drown each other in there. I do have pictures so I am not lying.

 

We still love the Miracle but some of the changes we hope they rethink.

[hill6]

Vicki I did post a bunch of comments on your other post.

[Irishlinny]

Except for the smoking issue, you really should have been able to enjoy the Serenity area. It is really not fair that they do not do something about chair hogs. We were on the cruise before you and we watched 4 chairs for almost 3 hours. Finally some people came back bragging about how much fun they had a mini golf and how much they enjoyed lunch. Too many empty chairs with stuff. How hard could it be to have a deck attendant note when something is on a chair for a half hour and scoop it up in a bag till the owners return? A woman we met on our cruise said that she was in the serenity area at 7:30am and there was stuff on the two chairs next to her. She decided to "lease them out" :) to other people telling the new occupants that someone may come back to claim them. By 3:30 no one ever came back so she just put the stuff back on the chair and left! Sad!

I agree...the chair hog situation really needs to be addressed. Supposedly Carnival is addressing it, but I didn't notice anything different. I saw a security person on Lido only 3 times during the whole cruise:rolleyes: Between the chair hogs and the toddlers in the hot tubs (which is actually unsafe for small children), they really need someone up there during the day.

Thanks for the post, we sail on Tuesday. We have an extended balcony on the 9th deck Starboard side, mid-ship. Should we expect the smokers on the deck above to be flinging their butts over the side of the ship and into our balcony?

 

Okay, the 8th deck. Sorry, we haven't sailed yet, but it's the Panorama deck and I know that it is the deck below the Lido deck.

Unless the people are flaming something-or-others, they shouldn't be tossing their butts over the side:eek: We had a balcony on starboard side and never had that happen. Besides, the Lido is enclosed except at the aft;)

[FlipFlopCruiser]

You go directly to your station...no life jackets required (thank goodness!;)).

 

Thanks!

[BigDogCT]

I agree...the chair hog situation really needs to be addressed. Supposedly Carnival is addressing it, but I didn't notice anything different. I saw a security person on Lido only 3 times during the whole cruise:rolleyes: Between the chair hogs and the toddlers in the hot tubs (which is actually unsafe for small children), they really need someone up there during the day.

 

 

 

Unless the people are flaming something-or-others, they shouldn't be tossing their butts over the side:eek: We had a balcony on starboard side and never had that happen. Besides, the Lido is enclosed except at the aft;)

 

Thank You. I hadn't thought about that possibility until you mentioned smoking on the Starboard side of the Lido deck. Seemed likely that people would flick butts overboard and I got concerned we might be getting hit by them on our deck.

[Irishlinny]

Thank You. I hadn't thought about that possibility until you mentioned smoking on the Starboard side of the Lido deck. Seemed likely that people would flick butts overboard and I got concerned we might be getting hit by them on our deck.

They emphasize not to do this...fire is serious danger on ships. Even on deck 3 where they REMOVED the ashtrays from the smoking area (go figure:rolleyes:), people were still not throwing them overboard.

[Silent Penguin]

DINING:

 

The food in the dining room was good…not anything to write home about, but good. My favorite stuffed mushrooms were a disappointment…tiny and mostly flavorless. I had the Brisket, flat iron steak, lobster and shrimp, prime rib, beef stroganoff and the lasagna Bolognese (still my favorite entrée!).

I read this too fast and thought you ordered all of these at one dinner seating~not that that's a bad thing....

If we wind up going on a second Carnival cruise, it might just be on the Miracle, so I am gratified to learn so much about it from your review.

[LizaMM]

Thanks so much for your thoughts! I am glad to hear that had an enjoyable week.

 

I appreciate your update on the smoking....so, you CAN smoke on the Starboard side of Deck 3.....VERY good to know!!

 

I have not sailed a Spirit Class ship in many years so I am thinking that the whole Serenity change will not be noticeable to me. Last year on the Valor I spent a MAJOR portion of my cruise on the Serenity Deck. I did not really mind having to go down to the Lido Deck to smoke. It will be interesting to see where I wind up hanging out on the Miracle!

 

I am kind of surprised that there were so many children on your sailing. I would think it would be much less with public schools still in session.

 

I'll post back to the Piano Bar thread after my cruise because I will be checking out the Piano Bar no matter what! If I need to walk out I'll just grin and bear it! I used to feel like I needed to stay for a bit when I went in there BUT I have had several poor PB experiences in a row and I don't think I need to feel the need to be polite any longer :o

[CthyC]

Hello...you said you had a bowling alley balcony, can you tell me a little about that? Do you have any pictures?

[Irishlinny]

DINING:

 

The food in the dining room was good…not anything to write home about, but good. My favorite stuffed mushrooms were a disappointment…tiny and mostly flavorless. I had the Brisket, flat iron steak, lobster and shrimp, prime rib, beef stroganoff and the lasagna Bolognese (still my favorite entrée!).

 

I read this too fast and thought you ordered all of these at one dinner seating~not that that's a bad thing....

 

If we wind up going on a second Carnival cruise, it might just be on the Miracle, so I am gratified to learn so much about it from your review.

OMG! LOL! No, those were all on different nites;) I didn't notice a crane by the port that would be ready to lift me off, so I used self-restraint:D The Spirit class ships are still our favorite (despite the Serenity)...have sailed them 6 times. Perfect size and layout. Hoping I fall in love with the Breeze in November...time will tell!

Thanks so much for your thoughts! I am glad to hear that had an enjoyable week.

 

I appreciate your update on the smoking....so, you CAN smoke on the Starboard side of Deck 3.....VERY good to know!!

 

I have not sailed a Spirit Class ship in many years so I am thinking that the whole Serenity change will not be noticeable to me. Last year on the Valor I spent a MAJOR portion of my cruise on the Serenity Deck. I did not really mind having to go down to the Lido Deck to smoke. It will be interesting to see where I wind up hanging out on the Miracle!

 

I am kind of surprised that there were so many children on your sailing. I would think it would be much less with public schools still in session.

 

I'll post back to the Piano Bar thread after my cruise because I will be checking out the Piano Bar no matter what! If I need to walk out I'll just grin and bear it! I used to feel like I needed to stay for a bit when I went in there BUT I have had several poor PB experiences in a row and I don't think I need to feel the need to be polite any longer :o

I hurt my knee prior to the cruise, so stairs were not a good option, and since the aft elevator doesn't go up to the deck above Serenity, it wasn't an option to hang out there. I just really missed being away from the children. And there weren't all that many of them, at least not school age...hence the toddlers in the hot tubs.

 

Let me know what you think of the PB player...I almost went a couple of times, but since we were enjoying the band in Frankie & Johnny's, I didn't feel the need.;)

Hello...you said you had a bowling alley balcony, can you tell me a little about that? Do you have any pictures?

We had 7258, right in front of the aft elevator on the port side. There are only 3 of these (on decks 6, 7 & 8). The cabins just aft of them also have very large balconies, but they are handicapped, so you could get moved if they need them. There is also one on deck 5, but the balcony is not as deep (because of the lifeboats). We've had 7258 twice and 8232 once...they are awesome! The cabins are identical, but the balcony is 3 times longer. The best part is having lounge chairs on the balcony! Here's a shot from the Legend of 7258...

 

[RRLLAL]

Thanks for the writeup. We were on the Miracle a few weeks before you with the same itinerary. We had done the Pride out of Baltimore and fell in love with the Spirit class thus we did the Miracle and are doing the Pride again for our next cruise. Love the payout and ease of getting around.

 

We too had one of the "bowling alley" balconies. We were in 6232. Loved that balcony. Got another bowling alley on our Pride cruise next year.

 

As to Serenity, it was our 2nd favorite place. 1st is the casino. :D

 

BTW, cig prices must have just gone up when you cruised. I am a smoker too and when we were on it they were $52 for 2.

[Crusin Karen]

Linda, we were on the cruise before you in 2011. I think I remember you had the "monsoon" at HMC. We were supposed to be on your cruise this year and I was on the roll call for a while, but we had to cancel. Love the Spirit class ships also. We always had 8248, the aft wrap balcony with the seperate rooms, on Spirit and Miracle. 2011 cruise we had 8232, the bowling alley balcony cabin. I was wondering what you past Miracle cruisers would think of the new Serenity area. We were usually seated at the main pool, but I went back to aft pool a lot to hang out. Loved the sundae ice cream station they set up every afternoon! Have NEVER been to a Serenity area. I think the only ship we have been on that has one is the Dream. Wanted to book Miracle for NEXT May, but she is going west, so we thru caution to the wind and booked a "brand new ship" , the Splendor. We live 20 minutes from the Manhattan cruise port so we take what we get! ;) Thanks for your review; I have actually been looking for it! Happy cruising on the Breeze~!

[VickiD59]

Okay, the 8th deck. Sorry, we haven't sailed yet, but it's the Panorama deck and I know that it is the deck below the Lido deck.

Have a great time BigDog, regardless of where your cabin is ;)

[Irishlinny]

Thanks for the writeup. We were on the Miracle a few weeks before you with the same itinerary. We had done the Pride out of Baltimore and fell in love with the Spirit class thus we did the Miracle and are doing the Pride again for our next cruise. Love the payout and ease of getting around.

 

We too had one of the "bowling alley" balconies. We were in 6232. Loved that balcony. Got another bowling alley on our Pride cruise next year.

 

As to Serenity, it was our 2nd favorite place. 1st is the casino. :D

 

BTW, cig prices must have just gone up when you cruised. I am a smoker too and when we were on it they were $52 for 2.

People (like us) just love Spirit class ships! They are pretty much perfect, IMO. And booking early to get those balconies is well worth it!

 

Interesting that you (a smoker) loved the Serenity. I really wish that they would have kept it smoking on one side. With the pool in the middle, the smokers were pretty well segregated, but oh well. It didn't ruin our cruise...just made it different.

 

Also interesting that the cig prices obviously JUST went up! We bought enough to get us to the 1st port and then bought them cheaper;)

Linda, we were on the cruise before you in 2011. I think I remember you had the "monsoon" at HMC. We were supposed to be on your cruise this year and I was on the roll call for a while, but we had to cancel. Love the Spirit class ships also. We always had 8248, the aft wrap balcony with the seperate rooms, on Spirit and Miracle. 2011 cruise we had 8232, the bowling alley balcony cabin. I was wondering what you past Miracle cruisers would think of the new Serenity area. We were usually seated at the main pool, but I went back to aft pool a lot to hang out. Loved the sundae ice cream station they set up every afternoon! Have NEVER been to a Serenity area. I think the only ship we have been on that has one is the Dream. Wanted to book Miracle for NEXT May, but she is going west, so we thru caution to the wind and booked a "brand new ship" , the Splendor. We live 20 minutes from the Manhattan cruise port so we take what we get! ;) Thanks for your review; I have actually been looking for it! Happy cruising on the Breeze~!

Hey Karen! Sorry you had to cancel...would have liked to have met you. We had quite a few folks who posted and then we never heard from them again:( My favorite part of cruising is meeting new people and making new friends. And yes, we were the ones who had the monsoon in HMC...it was awful! And that was the cruise that we took all the kids and a couple of their spouses on, too. Thank goodness we had a cabana, at least we didn't have to leave.

 

I will be very interested to hear your thoughts on the Splendor...please share after you sail! I hope to keep my wits about me and do a full review of the Breeze with pics...everyone wants to hear everything about a new ship:)

[KCTravel]

Hi Linny:

Thanks for sharing about your cruise! Wondering if you had the comedian/juggler we had on our cruise: Dana Tyson?? We thought he was a comedian from the description in the Funtimes and was appearing the Nassau night in the Phantom Lounge. He was awesome!!

We got to see most of the comedians at least once and they were really funny and we never made it to the Piano Bar either. We did see Ticket to Ride again and we all noticed some changes for the better--new costumes, not as campy and more songs by Music Unlimited.

So agree with you about Serenity. I loved the Aft Lido on the Spirit class and don't feel Serenity adds anything, rather detracts seats/lounge chairs. We aren't smokers but we never had any issues on the Aft Lido.

We looked for you as we were getting off but it was early and probably before you arrived!

Love the Miracle, sailing her in October and will really miss her next spring!

 

 

Hi Karen from NJ--say Hi to Jim!!

 

Karen from South Jersey