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Just Off Miracle, Quick Review

Laurie S.

By Laurie S.,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Laurie S.

Laurie S.

Posted
Posted

My fiance and I just finished the seven-day Mexican Riviera cruise on Miracle. I'd be glad to answer any questions, and here are a few observations of this cruise, which was a lot of fun!

 

This was my fifth Carnival cruise, and all have been on the Spirit class vessels. This was my first time on Miracle. We had an aftwrap suite, #4237, and it was wonderful! We hate the crowds on the lido, and much preferred to hang out on our balcony where we had sufficient sun, no ash, and no smoke drifting in. The balcony is completely covered on Deck 4 on the aftwraps. We'll have the same room, but on Legend, for our upcoming repositioning cruise and we can't wait.

 

Our room steward wasn't great, but he pretty much did his job. He was a little slack until the third day and then he did better. We never complained because I know they have a huge workload and it was no biggie for us. We did have to call for towels once, and the service picked up after that.

 

The only real problem with the room was the balcony door, which needed a seal replacement. There was a constant whistle, no matter how you closed it. For seven days, we could live with it, but not for the longer cruise we have coming up.

 

I can't provide any reviews on the shows, bingo, or casino (other than the bar) because we weren't interested in any of those. We did, however, love Tommy and Vinnie, the guitarists, and Frankie G. in the piano bar also was great despite having an awful cold. My fiance is a former professional musician and he had great interactions with Vinnie and really enjoyed it. Our favorite hangout was the atrium lobby bar. We spent a lot of time there in the evenings.

 

We did do karaoke and had a blast. We're working on performing as a duo in San Carlos, Mexico, and it was a good practice for me since I don't have the background in vocal performance that he does. I may try out for the Legends show on the next cruise, but I really wish they would offer a passenger talent show again and drop Legends.

 

We did the Steakhouse the first night and it was delicious. However, we were so stuffed by the rich food that we hardly ate the whole next day and cancelled our second reservation. Once was enough. Starting on the third night, we did our Anytime Dining, usually about 8 to 8:30. We had the same table every night with the "twins" who provided wonderful service. I thought the food was very good and the wine steward, Vanya, quickly learned that we loved the Moscato onboard and kept it coming. We never had to wait for a table, and had the same table every night but once.

 

We bought the Cheers program the second day and it was awesome! Three days my fiance "broke the bank" and hit 15 drinks, mostly beers. They allowed me to charge additional drinks for him on my Cheers account once that happened, and we didn't even ask to do it. The bartenders just said, give us your card. Neither of us ever were drunk or even close, although I remember being on the happy side a couple times. :)

 

I got to try all the drinks that I wanted to, and fell in love with the Tiramasu Martini and Kiss on the Lips. I didn't like the Bloody Mary, Sex on the Beach, Cruiser, Mai Tai, or even the Margaritas, and I'm a margarita drinker. I make them better according to my fiance. We did smuggle on our margarita fixings with no problem, 11 cruises in a row now. Two thumbs up to the Cheers program!

 

My fiance uses an electronic cigarette, one of those big ones that don't look anything like a cigarette, and it's pink, his favorite color. It looks more like an asthma inhaler. He used it in all the bars, the lido, and even in the MDR during dinner and the Seaday Brunch. No one said a thing or even gave it a glance, and I was watching to see if there was a reaction. Absolutely nothing from passengers or staff. He did have several people ask questions about it on the lido because they wanted to get one, too. And, yes, he would have stopped if someone had said something.

 

We also had FTTF, which didn't do anything embarking because it was delayed. Didn't matter, because we already had priority boarding from having a suite. But, it was wonderful to go directly to the room with all our stuff, especially since he was having a nauseous reaction to his heart medication. He had to delay taking it due to the delay embarking. We used FTTF on the first day at Cabo, because we needed to be on the first tender to get to the dive shop. Also, I used it at guest services at least six times. Never had a platinum get grouchy behind me. It wouldn't have been pretty, if they had, so that was good. I found, for us, that FTTF was a good thing. And, getting escorted off the ship quickly when disembarking was great since we had to drive back to Tucson that day, 500+ miles.

 

As for excursions, we're divers, and that's all we did. We used a private operator in Cabo, and the ship's excursion in Puerto Vallarta, due to timing issues. In both places, the ship remained one hour earlier than the port. That meant a time change before reaching Puerto Vallarta, which would have been two hours ahead otherwise.

 

Overall, we had a blast and the ship was great. One thing I noticed was that the passengers were super friendly this time and only saw one grouch who stumbled into the piano bar and ticked everyone off, including Frankie G. Very different from my other cruises. I think we were all having such a good time with beautiful weather that everyone was happy.

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SailAway1959

SailAway1959

Posted
Posted

What a wonderful review! Thank you so much for posting it. We are sailing on the Miracle in November and you review makes the wait even longer. ;-)

 

I'm glad you had fun and I'm going to see about upgrading to one of those aft wrap around cabins. We had one on the Spirit once and absolutely loved it.

 

Thank you again.

 

Vicki

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Lunarias

Lunarias

Posted
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Thank you so much, going to be on her in late April to Alaska, glad to hear the Piano Bar was good, we had one here at home the closed recently (super bummed) and I'm excited to be able to experience it again. Glad you had a good time!

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cooltj

cooltj

Posted
Posted

Laurie

 

Glad you had a great time! Sounds like you guys had a really relaxing time!!! :D

 

Did you notice if they've put the new menus on the TV for the MDR? It sure would be nice to see what was going to be served in the main dining room How did you like the new menus?

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happy cruzin

happy cruzin

Posted
Posted
Laurie

 

Glad you had a great time! Sounds like you guys had a really relaxing time!!! :D

 

Did you notice if they've put the new menus on the TV for the MDR? It sure would be nice to see what was going to be served in the main dining room How did you like the new menus?

 

I was on the same sailing - with Laurie - and the new menus are not on the Miracle yet. I believe they are still just on the 4 pilot ships at this point.

The current menus were on the TV - daily.

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gtaylor

gtaylor

Posted
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Thanks for the review, headed to the Miracle soon, also in a Vista Suite.

 

Do you know what was offered in the Main Dining Room on the first night? Thinking of the Steakhouse for the free bottle of wine (assume they still do that), but wouldn't want to miss lobster.

 

gary

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gtaylor

gtaylor

Posted
Posted

Thanks.

 

First night lobster was my understanding, too, but if anyone knows for sure on the Miracle ???????

 

We'll do Cheers, so the free bottle doesn't matter much, if fact would probably bring it home as a souvenir/gift.

 

gary

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ccruisequeen

ccruisequeen

Posted
Posted

My mom had the steak and ribs the first night. I had a salad and chicken tenders off the appetizer menu.

Thanks for the review, headed to the Miracle soon, also in a Vista Suite.

 

Do you know what was offered in the Main Dining Room on the first night? Thinking of the Steakhouse for the free bottle of wine (assume they still do that), but wouldn't want to miss lobster.

 

gary

 

 

 

 

Copyofth_Carnival-VIFP-Platinum_zps41db4d4e1_zps02e438c7.jpg

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zumbafan

zumbafan

Posted
Posted
I was very happy we didn't have the new menus since I love the cold soups. The only time we turned the tv on was to watch our progress. :)

 

My daughter will be happy to hear that- she loves the cold soups!

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  • 3 weeks later...
FunCruise1234

FunCruise1234

Posted
Posted

Hi Laurie,

I have a few quick questions: What time did you arrive at Long Beach and when did you get on board? Second, approximately what time did the ship arrive at Long Beach (when you returned)? Lastly, did you notice what internet packages were available (was unlimited an option)?

Thanks!

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Laurie S.

Laurie S.

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We got there about 10:30, but didn't get on the ship for two hours. There was some sort of a delay in getting the passengers off from the previous cruise. I don't remember exactly when the ship got in, but it was before 7 am. There was no unlimited internet option.

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riffatsea

riffatsea

Posted
Posted

Lobster is never on the first night!

They save that for elegant night which is the first full day at sea (2nd night) of the cruise.

Thanks for writing. It is interesting that the ship is treating electronic cigs differently than airlines/airports which don't allow them whenever normal cigs are not allowed.

Glad you had fun although it is hard to imagine drinking 15 drinks a day and not feeling anything! Wow!

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