Carnival Miracle - Short Review 02/14/15

[Wavesprite]

Just wanted to post a short review as we just got off of the Miracle to the Mexican Riviera. We've sailed on Carnival before (as well as Holland America, Princess, Norwegian, etc). Also, we've sailed this route before and didn't have any plans to even get off the ship.

 

I was sailing with DH, my DS (13) and DD (10). We were in Ocean Suite 6158 on the port side.

 

We had driven to the port the day before and Saturday was beautiful so we walked around Long Beach and rented a little boat for an hour and drove it around the harbor and around the Miracle which the kids thought was really fun! It was HOT day!! We could see that people were still disembarking around 11:30 and around 12:30 just starting to cross the bridge onto the ship.

 

We headed to the ship and there was NO PARKING at all. The garage was full as well as outside, I was a little bit panicked, but finally after three go arounds, they let us (and another truck) into a closed off area and we found spots. Whew

 

Because we were in the OS we got to go to the priority boarding room, which was AWESOME! The lines were HUGE to get registered, we werent right through security (no line) and they didn't even inspect the wine, or waters, or sodas we had all packed in one rolly suitcase. We came around a corner and MORE LINES of people waiting to get their cards. The lady saw we had our cards and we got to right on the ship. I felt really bad for everyone in those lines, it was hot! Our room was ready so we headed right there and were suprised by how large it was. The double sink in the bathroom and tub were really nice and the size of the balcony was really great. It had two chairs, a table and recliner. (hint: one of the chair backs reclines so you could really make the chairs into a recliner of sort). Oh, and there were two electric plugs in the room. One in the "dressing area" of the bathroom, and one behind the TV. I was glad we had brought a white extension cord with us. Also under the TV (on the wall) was a connector for a DVD player (with red, white, yellow) plugs.

 

We thought the ship looked like it was in great shape and loved the layout, maybe the most out of all of the ships I've been on.

 

Food: We thought the dining room food was great, always warm, and plentiful. We did not eat there on elegant nights, but saw some crazy "non-elegant" clothing. We did not eat at the steak house either. We usually do, but Nick and Nora's is kind of a strange location and "open to the elevators" not an enclosed restaurant. We all liked the pizza and deli's. The kids loved the 24 hours ice cream. My DS loved the burgers and fries (but why do they close at 6pm??? each day?) Breakfast was good, there were 3 or 4 omelette/egg stations open.

 

Entertainment: We didn't go to any, but my DS did win the James Bond trivia with no help from mom or dad. There were alot of adult groups playing, and he did a great job. The Love and Marriage show was fun, and we played bingo once.

 

Excursions: We planned on staying on the ship in all three ports, but ended up taking the tender into Cabo late afternoon and took a boat out around the arch and point ($30 for the four of us). In Mazatlan we stayed on the ship and in Puerto Vallarta we took the city bus for $3 for all of us to the Malecon and walked around then took the bus back. We really enjoyed the pool on the days we were in port and everyone was off of the ship.

 

We did hang a ENO double nest hammock on our balcony on port days which was awesome.

 

Our room steward was awesome, her name is Sunny and she was so sweet. There was no "basket of goodies" in our bathroom.

 

We saw tons of wildlife: dolphins, whales, turtles, sea lions fro our balcony whcih we used a LOT.

 

One complaint besides burger grill closing at 6pm was the TV remote in the cabins. They've gone to a throwaway remote and it is HORRIBLE. If you get frustrated, your room steward can't switch them out, but call guest services and they will bring you a "old school" remote. Also the TV channels are in Florida, so the timing is strange.

 

DISEMBARKATION: I have never ever seen so much "self assist" folks. It took them almost 2 1/2 hours JUST to get those folks off the ship. We were group 4 and got off the ship at 11!

 

Any questions, go ahead and ask, but like I said we didn't do much on the ship or off except relax. My DH and I work opposite shifts and use vacation as just a way to do nothing but read and talk and hang out......

Edited February 23, 2015 by Wavesprite

[bonstersd]

Thanks for posting your review. I board her on Saturday, and our weather will be quite different than yours... rain, rain, rain. But, hopefully that should go away by the first sea day. Can't wait to see all the marine life!

[jljlinda]

Wavesprite,

 

We will be sailing on the Miracle's Apr 4, 2015 sailing with our daughter and her family which includes some of our wonderful grandchildren. One such grandchild is Toria (age 5) and she loves to sing Frozen's "Let It Go."

 

Now my question: Do you know whether or not the Miracle karaoke venue has the music for "Let It Go"? Fingers crossed that it will be available!! Thanks!!

[Wavesprite]

I do not know if karaoke has it, BUT, camp carnival had a talent show on the last sea day and one little girl sang it and they had the music for it!

[islandatsea]

Thank you for taking the time to post your review. Sounds like you had a good time :) .

[CrzRani]

Thanks for the concise review. We will be boarding the Miracle on April 11 and I can't wait to get back on her. My husband didn't go with me the first time, so I can't wait for him to see how much I love this ship. Plus, she will have her 2.0 upgrades!! I've seen her before hand, so this will be awesome@

[BK512]

Wavesprite,

 

We will be sailing on the Miracle's Apr 4, 2015 sailing with our daughter and her family which includes some of our wonderful grandchildren. One such grandchild is Toria (age 5) and she loves to sing Frozen's "Let It Go."

 

Now my question: Do you know whether or not the Miracle karaoke venue has the music for "Let It Go"? Fingers crossed that it will be available!! Thanks!!

 

They do indeed have the music...my son said someone sang it during the teen karaoke event (which he didn't even tell me about until it was over :( )

[jljlinda]

I do not know if karaoke has it, BUT, camp carnival had a talent show on the last sea day and one little girl sang it and they had the music for it!

 

This is great news! Was the talent show in the theatre open to all guests?

[erewhon]

Thank you for reviewing your cruise.

[Wavesprite]

This is great news! Was the talent show in the theatre open to all guests?

 

Yes, when the kids register for Camp Carnival there is a schedule of all the weeks events and throughout the week there are talent show sign up and rehearsals. (it's not high pressure, but you have to sign up before the last day of the cruise).

 

The talent show for the kids on our cruise was the last sea day (last day of cruise) at 4pm in the Mad Hatters Ball and it was open to everyone. They listed it in the Fun Times. It was really cute. All of the participants got a medal for participating. There were dancers, and singers this time, but in the past I've seen kids just get up and do some jokes.

[Avelinnne]

Thank You Wavesprite for the thorough review of the Miracle.:) We are booked for the Miracle on 4-18-15 so I'm interested in the key highlites to this ship. We have been on the Carnival Spirit which is in the same class. But can you tell me if the Miracle has a seaside theater? I so enjoyed it on some of the other ships. Thanks so much!

[Wavesprite]

No, the miracle doesn't have an outdoor theater, if that what a seaside theater is. :)

[WPTNGirl]

We sailed same route in January and had great trip. We also had Sunny for our room steward and she was AWESOME. Best we have had on our 8 cruises. In Mazatlan we did the hop on hop off tour but just stayed on the bus the whole trip. The bus did stop at the cliff divers for about 10 minutes for us to watch. Great way to see the city.

[Avelinnne]

Thanks Wavesprite, I have been hunting all over the boards even you tube videos of the miracle to see if the miracle has a seaside theater. Got the answer finally, Thanks :-)

[DANCING GRANDMOMMY]

Wavesprite,

 

We will be sailing on the Miracle's Apr 4, 2015 sailing with our daughter and her family which includes some of our wonderful grandchildren. One such grandchild is Toria (age 5) and she loves to sing Frozen's "Let It Go."

 

Now my question: Do you know whether or not the Miracle karaoke venue has the music for "Let It Go"? Fingers crossed that it will be available!! Thanks!!

 

Bring your CD with you.