Just off the Miracle - Short review

[famof4togo]

Any questions, please ask....

 

We just returned from a 5 night cruise on the Miracle.  Myself (age 41) and my son (age 11) traveled with a group of other mothers and my sons friends.   We stayed at the Hotel Maya the night prior which I could not recommend more, they have a "park and sail" package which for $219 we got a balcony room with a view, parking and transportation to the ship its a great deal and a nice place to stay.  Its so cool to wake up and see the ship from the balcony!  We took the 10:30am shuttle to the ship and we were on board the ship by 11:15am without incident.  New muster is the best thing ever...Yes the ship is almost 20 years old so manage your expectations but in no way did the wear and tear distract from our experience.  Our balcony cabin was standard and we found the crew to be fantastic all the way around.  THE FOOD - I would agree the food in the dining room has gone down hill a bit but there are still plenty of yummy food to be had....the every night steak was absolutely horrible and embarrassing frankly but we did enjoy the calamari, pasta dishes and soup dishes....we ate at the MDR the first two nights and our service was excellent.  We enjoyed our breakfasts and brunch in the MDR.  However, overall we all preferred the quick eat options...between a small group of 11-13 year old boys they probably consumed over 100 Guys burgers and the Blue iguana, pizza and sandwich spots were a great hit!  We did not eat at the buffet.  The boys enjoyed going to their "club" but the actual club itself was a bit run down and lacking in entertainment...but they met many friends to go "pal around with".  Lots of basketball and mini putt.  Only one of the two waterslides were running and the water pressure was so lacking that they had to push themselves down most of the slide.  ENTERTAINMENT - This I found lacking...there were only 2 comedians on board and their shows were redundant.  We missed the poolside activities such as harry chest and bellyflop, thought they did have a few games poolside during the day.  The production shows were very lacking and while there was trivia's and other activities during the day I did not feel they are quite up to the standard of previous cruises.  We played bingo, we participated in trivia, we watched the Love and Marriage show, Deal or no deal and they now had a "adult" game show which was a watered down version of Quest.  We did have lots of fun gambling (tripped my money), the piano bar and the night club.  I was not a fan of the CD she is new and seemed to be trying a bit too hard.  I received a enjoyable message (no hard sell) and we had a great meal at the steakhouse.  Our children had the time of their lives....they immensely enjoyed their freedom and stayed out most nights till 3am and stayed up together all night the final night...they met many friends and plan to stay in contact....to them all night pizza and ice cream was perfect.  CABO was fantastic - we spent the day at Mango deck and the beach.  One thing to note the very first tender was at 10:45am so do not plan an early excursion.  ENSENADA the boys went on a deep sea fishing trip of which they enjoyed and caught a lot of fish, us gals just took the shuttle ($4 roundtrip) into town to do some shopping / eating.  OVERALL it was a great getaway!  I would not say the ship was as "lively" as previous cruises and they were not as many kids as I had anticipated for a Spring Break trip.  I will definitely cruise again but do look forward to our next trip being on the Panorama to experience a newer ship with more amenities. 

[PattiPB]

Thank you for your review!!! I'm on the Miracle in a week, and definitely hoping for a fun and lively experience. How long was the tender line going to and from Cabo?

[famof4togo]

20 minutes ago, PattiPB said:

Thank you for your review!!! I'm on the Miracle in a week, and definitely hoping for a fun and lively experience. How long was the tender line going to and from Cabo?

We have sailed on Carnival many times and for a Spring Break cruise it just wasn't as lively a trip...I am sure that depends on who is on board but pretty much the only places going off after 10pm were the Casino and the Club....places that I usually expect a crowd (Alchemy bar before dinner / piano bar late night) were not going off like I am used too...even poolside during the day was more subdued the normal...a good time to be had still of course....hubbys theory is the "fun" people are anti-shot LOL.

 

Tenders were from 10:45am to 5:15pm... priority going to excursions.  We were able to go get tender tickets starting at 9am that morning, Deck 3 by the piano bar, we went right about 8:45am and the line was super long, past the shops.  We got a 11:15 tender.  They did ask us to bring our vaccination cards but we were not asked to show them at any point.  We took a water taxi over to Mango Deck for $10 a person round trip.   Line to get back on ship around 4:30pm was very short.

Edited April 1, 2022 by famof4togo

[SuperCatMom2]

Thanks for the review. We sail in a few days. Who is the CD? 

[Buckimion]

16 hours ago, SuperCatMom2 said:

Who is the CD? 

The OP is referring to Georgia from Australia. However, Frank the tank signs on beginning April 17th for a couple of months.  

[SuperCatMom2]

Cool! Thanks. He seems fun. Any thoughts?

[sanmarcosman]

Do you know the name of the fishing boat excursion company? Through Carnival?