My Miracle Cruise-April 12

[kimberlys]

Hi Everyone:

 

We got in late last night from the Miracle.

It was great! The weather was a little cool, but we had a fabulous time! I met a few people from the boards. HI Linda and Sheila ! It was wonderful meeting you in person. The ship is beautiful and all the pictures I have seen are exactly what you will see, but experiencing it first hand makes it much more real!

 

I agree that one of the coolest aspects of the voyage is going under the bridge in Jacksonville. Everyone is up on deck and then everyone cheers when its all over.

We left Jacksonville on Monday, and our first port was supposed to be Key West, but we didn't get there because the conditions would not allow us to dock (rough and choppy waters).

Of course, many people were complaining and moaning and groaning about it. I have figured out that some people will never be happy ! They said Carnival did this on purpose to make more more money by adding an extra sea day. But then Friday was supposed to be our last Sea Day and they took us to Freeport, Bahamas after we left Nassau. I really believe that Carnival wants to make us happy!

Another exciting thing that happened was the Coast Guard helicopter rescue we got to watch while in the middle of the ocean. This happened Tuesday afternoon (after we missed Key West). There was an emergency up on Lido deck, later someone said a woman had some sort of heart trouble. The coast guard helicopter flew out and dropped this guy on the ship. It was just like in the movies! Then they dropped this stretcher and put the lady in it and up she went! Then the helicopter flew away. Now remember the conditions were windy and the waves were choppy! The Coast Guard guy was still on the ship but they came back about an hour later and got him. It was something to see, and we heard that the lady is fine!

I need to mention our room. I have to say I think we had the absolute BEST room on the ship. We had room 7298 on the Verandah deck.

It was the corner room with the wrap-around balcony. This room had like 4 rooms to it. When you first walked in there was the sitting area, then to the right was the Vanity room, then off of that was the bathroom. Then through the Vanity was the bedroom. And the balcony was HUGE!!!! We never heard any noise or any other people. I felt like we had this entire ship to ourselves!

 

Another thing I liked about this cruise. It was fun, but not too wild and crazy. Last year we sailed on the Victory and it seemed like the drunken ship of cruises! It had a lot of unsupervised kids who ran around wild.

But on the Miracle it was a totally different crowd. There were kids, but they seemed very well-behaved. I did not hear anyone running the halls at all hours of the night.

 

I will write more later, and maybe I can figure out how to post pictures (when I find my camera)! I have so much more to say, but I wanted to let you know that it was GREAT!

-kim

 

until we sail the BRAND NEW MIRACLE!

 

[kellyccz]

Thanks Kim - I will be sailing on the Miravle on Nov. 21st (leave for Tampa in 214 days) and cannot wait. Sounds like you had a great time. When you get your pics together, I'd love to see them.

 

Kelly

 

Carnival Miracle 11/21/04

Carnival Victory 3/23/03

Carnival Fantasy 3/3/02

Carnival Fascination 6/15/01

 

 

 

 

[Snowball]

Kim - thank you for the wonderful review! In just 3 more weesk I'll be boarding her.

 

Just a couple of questions, if you don't mind. Did they have the chocolate buffet? Did you eat at Nick & Nora's, and if so, how was it?

 

Debbie

 

Click here to visit the Miracle Party Cruiser's Group Board.

 

Here is a link to the 5/9/04 Carnival Miracle roll call!

Click here for the 10/22/04 Legend CTN roll call!

 

Triumph (Eastern) 05/00

Destiny (Southern) 04/02

Miracle (Bahamas) 05/04

Legend (Nowhere) 10/04

[kimberlys]

Hi Again,

I don't know if they had a chocolate buffet, but I know they had lots and lots of good food!

We didn't eat at Nick & Nora's but I looked at the restaurant, and it looked very nice. I might try it sometime if just me and my husband cruise the Miracle, but our kids were with us so we ate in the Dining Room each night.

Another thing-my parents cruised for the very first time and it was their 50th wedding anniversary!

They had the time of their life. I wasn't sure if they would enjoy it, but they cannot stop talking about it.

As soon as I get my thoughts together I will write a more organized review.

-kim

 

until we sail the BRAND NEW MIRACLE!

 

[finoky]

Kim thanks for sharing. The Miracle is next up for us so I love hearing about this ship. Sounds like you had a great time and really enjoyed your cabin location. We will be looking into trying to book that very same one.

 

 

Tony

 

2004 Legend March 28th

2003 Paradise

2002 Paradise

2000 Destiny

1999 Fascination

1998 Fantasy

[jimmy627]

GLAD you had a good time we are looking forward to our Miracle sailing

 

 

 

 

 

 

11/27/2004 CARIBBEAN PRINCESS

 

cruisemates1@aol.com THE MIRACLE 2-13-2005

[halos]

Thanks Kim!!!!! I'm looking forward to the details!

 

I believe in Miracles

MIRACLE JUNE 19, 2004

Calm Seas, Good Friends

[loops]

Hey Kim...glad you got home safely. We had an hour delay in Atlanta.

 

To all you future Miracle cruisers...I will post my review sometime this week. It was an awesome cruise!

[cricket]

It is so nice when people post their reviews because it truly helps us out. Your review was really good and I am looking forward to seeing those pics! Thank you for your time.

[britt-britt]

hello we were on the 3/20/04 sailing of the Miracle and they did have the chocolate buffet.

[Snowball]

When and where did they have the chocolate buffet? This is very important information.

 

Debbie

 

Click here to visit the Miracle Party Cruiser's Group Board.

 

Here is a link to the 5/9/04 Carnival Miracle roll call!

Click here for the 10/22/04 Legend CTN roll call!

 

Triumph (Eastern) 05/00

Destiny (Southern) 04/02

Miracle (Bahamas) 05/04

Legend (Nowhere) 10/04

[Bungalow Bill]

We were on the same cruise and dined at Nick and Nora's, but first I'm glad to hear the sticken lady is OK. My wife and I talked to a 60-70ish woman in the area of the emergency shortly before it happened. We exchanged "have a good day's" about 15 minutes before the "blue star" announcement. Understanding this to signal that someone's life was in danger, my wife (nurse)and I hurried to the scene. The staff was in control of the situation, and we couldn't tell through the blankets and oxygen mask whether or not it was the same woman. It was within 10 feet of where we were sitting before the cold and wind drove us from the Lido deck.

 

Nick and Nora's was the best part of our cruise. The food, atmosphere and service were top notch. It compares favorably to the vast majority of restaurants we have dined in, including some very expensive places in NYC and Hawaii.

 

The dining room, OTOH, was disappointing. Our wait team had little idea of what they were doing and detracted from the two dinners we ate there. The formal dinner was a complete comedy of errors including serving three of our four main courses 10 minutes before the last one and serving half of the drinks to our table, then serving two other tables before realizing there were drinks left over. I had to chase the waitress down and show her where the extra drinks belonged.

 

Horatio's bistro dinner selections were very close to the quality of the dining room's, IMO. The steak I ate there was superior to the one I had in the DR, and every night they had a roast beef or Virgina ham to carve slices from. Factor in your flexibilty in when to eat and avoiding the wait staff snafu's makes it a compelling choice. We had the late sitting, so we were able to check out the bistro before deciding where to eat. We met a couple at Nick and Nora's who alternated between Horatio's and Nick and Nora's after the first night at the dining room.

 

The ship is beautiful and most of the staff is excellent. Our steward didn't understand much english, but he worked his tail off to make us happy. There was only one time that I had to wait more than a minute or two to place a drink order (other than in the dining room).

 

Unfortunately, the weather really sucked. It's interesting how different people can have varying views of the same experience as we didn't hear anyone blaming Carnival for not docking at Key West. I was awakened by the rough seas and watched the crew try to dock. It was simply too difficult, and the rough ride the rest of the day convinced those I spoke to that the Captain made the right choice. Carnival did their best to make it up to us, and GBI was a fun stop.

 

As others have mentioned, the Beatles' tribute is a great show. The other show was entertaining, if not of the same quality. The ship's staff is eager to please and will only get better as their experience increases.

 

At the end of the day, my disappointments were the weather, the dining room wait staff (although I spoke to many people who liked their wait staff) and, to a lessor extent, our cruise director. It was tacky to announce the helicopter rescue mission like it was a entertainment event. I have no doubt Todd could make Satan's arrival sound like an event everyone should look forward to.

[kimberlys]

Hi Everyone:

Tomorrow I will be writing a more detailed review, but I wanted to ley you know MY dining room experience was wonderful. Our wait staff was exceptional, as was the food. There were many nights our waiter gave us exceptional service as if we were his only table, and the food was just as good as my previous cruises. I was discussing the cruise with my mother and there was honestly not one thing we CHOOSE to complain about.

The weather? Maybe it was not the best, but the cruise was still enjoyable. My review may be a bit different because I had the absolute BEST room on the entire ship! No wind, no cold, no crowds, no noise . . . . just the wide, blue ocean. It doesn't get much better than that. I miss my room and my balcony. I'm having serious cruise withdrawl. I can't wait for my next one!

-kim

 

until we sail the BRAND NEW MIRACLE!

 

[OhioBeachBum]

Hey, everyone! Sorry I missed the meet and greet. Turns out Kimberly that we were just down the hall from you and didn't know it! We were in 7286. If you saw a little blonde haired girl running down the hall followed by her blonde haired brother saying "I want to press the button", that was us! I'm gonna post a review of our trip with pictures later this week but I thought I'd add my two cents.

 

Regarding the dining room, our wait staff was EXCELLENT. We were at table 204 and had Roland and Francis. They went out of their way to make our kids feel special. They had the kids up and dancing every night. We had wine every night and any left over wine was sitting on our table the next night. Since my daughter had to go to the bathroom EVERY night just before the main course came, they were considerate enough to either hold my wife's entree or cover it to keep it warm. We thought the food was above average and was basically on par with Horatio's.

 

Our room steward (Adrian) was EXCELLENT. We never wanted for anything and, once again, he went out of his way to make the kids cruise experience one to remember. We had brought on a small cooler with bottled water and he kept it iced down for us without us even asking. We had towel animals every night with chocolates and cookies.

 

My wife and I went to Nick and Nora's Thursday night and it was EXCELLENT. For some reason, they kept giving us extra stuff "compliments of the Chef". They gave us a free appetizer (asparagus soup for my wife and a small sushi for me). They also gave us some type of champagne after dinner drink that was GREAT! Finally, they gave us chocolate covered strawberries and some assorted chocolates and truffles. We didn't notice any of the other diners getting any of these "extras" and I'm not sure why we did. We suspect one of our dinner waiters had something to do with it because we mentioned we were going to Nick & Nora's to him earlier in the day when we ran into him. I had the Caesar salad, sushi, porterhouse and flourless cake (along with all the extras - we were STUFFED!). My wife had the mixed greens salad, some appetizer I can't remember, HUGE lobster tail and creme brulee. The service was top notch all the way around and well worth the extra charge.

 

We made extensive use of Camp Carnival as well. We hadn't planned on it but because of the weather and missed port, the kids needed something to do. I can't say enough about how good the Camp Carnival folks were. They deserve a medal for being able to do that job day after day. Our kids loved all the activities and ASKED to go back every day. They had a variety of activities and it gave me and my wife some much needed alone time (wink - wink). They're very meticulous about the security of the kids and keep very good track of them.

 

I'd also like to say that EVERY Carnival employee we ran into always said "Hi" and was extremely courteous.

 

Embarkation, although hectic, went very smoothly in my opinion. We packed WAY TOO MUCH. This was our first cruise so it was bound to happen. I think it took about and hour and a half or so to get checked in and on the boat. I thought it was pretty quick given the number of people. Debarking went equally smooth once our color was called. I definitely would put something on your luggage to make it stand out. I got that tip on this forum and it was a GREAT idea.

 

Yeah, the weather could have been better but it happens. Because the weather was questionable in Nassau we ended up just going to the Colonial Hilton and spent the day on their beach. It's a short walk and they only charged us $30 and that includes chairs, towels and umbrellas (I'm a Diamond Hilton Honors member so that may have made a difference). We were going to take the glass bottom boat in Freeport but it sold out. We weren't impressed with Freeport so we just looked around at the straw market and then headed to the pool for the day.

 

This was our first cruise and we were very pleased. I'm not sure I'd do it again with the kids because they're happy just sitting all day on a beach playing and swimming. The wife and I, however, are definitely going to do another cruise on our own.

 

The ship was TOTALLY impressive and beautiful except for the hot pink grapes in the Bacchus dining room. We dropped some cash in the casino but I think we came out ahead. The wife and I both did the Blackjack tournament and we both made to the final 7. It was my wife's first time playing Blackjack so it was quite ironic she would make it (with a little coaching from me). She didn't win but it made for a good story. I ended up taking second place during the second tournament - OH WELL!

 

I really liked the "drink of the day" and I'm not much of a fruity drink person. We got the special glass and used it all week. I had a massage and the wife had a manicure. The massage was great but my only complaint would be the sales pitch at the end to get you to buy some of their products.

 

I disagree with Bill's statement about the medical emergency being turned into an entertainment event by Todd the CD. They had to close off the rear of the ship to do the air lift so an announcement was definitely in order. Otherwise, people would have been going back there (to the adult pool) and would have been greeted by blocked off doorways. If it turned out to be a spectacle, it was only because some of the passengers chose to view it that way. I'm glad to hear that the woman is doing OK.

 

Overall, we had a great time and it's something the kids will remember for a long time. I'll post my pictures later. Take care and happy cruising!

 

Cruisin' on the spankin' new Miracle!

 

[Bungalow Bill]

Come on, Ohio. The announcement ensured that the situation became a spectacle. If you just use normal crowd control, maybe 75 people are directly effected and 250 even notice. Instead they chose to announce to 2600 people that an emergency airlift is about to occur on the aft portion of Lido deck and everyone should should be careful not to use the flash on their cameras.

 

If you have to make an announcement, use the sound system on Lido deck...don't tell the whole ship. How many curious guests made their way up Lido just to watch?

[loops]

I was in my cabin at the time and heard/saw the helicopter. I never heard any announcement.

 

Do any of you know what the deal was with the guy that was taken off the ship in handcuffs on debarking day??

[Bungalow Bill]

I also saw them taking him away, but never heard why.

 

I heard there was a couple planning on getting married in Key West. Apparently their families were already there. Anybody know what they ended up doing?

 

BTW, I thought embarkation was a breeze. We arrived around 10:45, were on the ship by 12:15 and in our room around 1:00. Disembarking wasn't as much fun.

[loops]

Embarking was easy for us too. We got to the port around 11:30 and were let on the ship at 12:15, had lunch on Lido deck at 12:30 and headed for our room.

 

Disembarking was a breeze for us. We had an early flight (11:57 AM), so we were let off the ship at 9:00, our luggage was the first row of luggage as you walked into the warehouse and we hopped onto the shuttle for the airport. We were at the airport by 9:40.

 

We had a great experience. Our wait staff were top notch (Katarina and Nimesh). Our room stewardess (Delia) was very friendly. We have absolutely NO complaints other than not winning the Win a Cruise bingo this time.

 

I'm going to try and post a full review within the next couple of days.

[OhioBeachBum]

I actually talked to one of the folks in the wedding party regarding the missed Key West wedding. They were scrambling to get the marriage license reissued for Nassau so they could get married there. They had folks waiting to get on the ship in Key West so it really messed things up for them. I didn't hear any more after that.

 

Cruisin' on the spankin' new Miracle!

 

[kimberlys]

Hi Again,

Ohiobeachbum-I think I rode the elevator with your family one evening on the way to dinner. I remember your children; they are adorable.

I agree that I did not think the cruise director made an entertainment event out of the medical emergency. I know there are many people who complain about the abundance of announcements made on a cruise, but we heard very few. I know my family had a great time, and we're thinking about cruising the Miracle out of Tampa next year. My parents want to know when we're going again!

-kim

 

until we sail the BRAND NEW MIRACLE!

 

[britt-britt]

Bungalo Bill- Was Vladimere your waiter in the dinning room? We had the same expierence in the dinning room about a month ago. We thought it was due to lack of practice. Vladimere couldn't keep up and there were only 2 people out of 6 in our party that showed up for dinner. We had lobster one night and it was rubbery w/ a strong fish smell. My husband didn't recieve one of the main dishes he ordered. But, I will have to say this didn't affect our cruise experience at all. We had a blast and are already planning another one.

[bensmomee]

The couple did get married. Ken, the Maitre D', was recognizing anniverseries, birthdays, etc. on the first night and introduced the couple who were planning on being married the next day in Key West. They were sitting about 3 tables over from us. Ken announced on the final night that they finally got married. I don't know where, but they did it ;o)

 

Off topic, does anyone know who won the Carnival Idol contest? We asked Tim, the asst. Cruise director, and he was clueless at de-embarkation.

 

As to the review of the ship and the cruise, we found it be wonderful. The ship was gorgeous and the service awesome. The weather was cool and it was a bit windy, but if you sat on your balcony it was comfortable, due to the wind being blocked, and we got tan. Mother Nature is always unpredictable. Our only complaints were with the pool and jacuzzis, which were over run with kids. We knew there were going to be loads of kids, but I didn't expect to have to fight for a spot in the jacuzzi. We tried the adults only, which was much smaller than the 2 poolside, but that was always full also. We felt it prepared us for our Disney cruise next year ;o) We also didn't like how people saved the chaise lounges poolside and left them empty for HOURS when other passengers could have used them. They should set a limit because it was ridiculous how many were "saved".

 

We were disappointed that we weren't able to visit Key West, but we saw the swells and completely understood. It gives us an excuse to take another cruise!!!! We snorkeled in both Nassau and Freeport and enjoyed Senor Frog's.

 

Thanks for sharing info on the woman who became ill. She was in our thoughts and prayers and we're relieved to hear she's doing well.

 

Happy cruising,

Dawn

[emerald777]

WOW! A whole bunch of reviews!!! Thanks to all of you! Kim, I think I have the cabin next to yours in Sept. It's 7300. How big did the balcony look? Was it big enough for a lounge chair?? Thanks!

[jetsetter]

Great posts everybody..I am looking forward to the Miracle in November (21st) See ya Kelly! Can anybody offer some view points on the cruise director? Did you like him?

[loops]

The cruise director was Todd...We was very enthusiastic and friendly.