Our Cruise on Carnival Miracle sucks

[Sandi149]

Sandi does HAL go out of N.Y

 

The Noordam does but only until this year, then she's moving down to Florida. I thought that would be perfect but now I would have to fly down to FL.

[KroozNut]

Always wanted to try HAL....their ships just look so elegant. Next year I will be 50,:eek: so I will tell hubby that it's for that.....LOL!!!:D

 

HAL is very nice, and we like them for much different reasons than Carnival. Hopefully you will too, but be prepared for a completely different experience than what you may be used to on Carnival (in a good way).. ;)

[DqALEX]

The Noordam does but only until this year, then she's moving down to Florida. I thought that would be perfect but now I would have to fly down to FL.

I'm going on the Victory out of NY this July I'm looking forward to getting some nice pictures going out of N.Y

[Sandi149]

I'm going on the Victory out of NY this July I'm looking forward to getting some nice pictures going out of N.Y

 

Ohh your going to love the NY sailaway....nothing like it.

[cruz4evr]

Always wanted to try HAL....their ships just look so elegant. Next year I will be 50,:eek: so I will tell hubby that it's for that.....LOL!!!:D

 

 

We recently came back from a cruise on the Noordam and it was fabulous. I encourage you to try a HAL ship but as you know they will no longer be sailing out of New York in 2009, instead they will leave from Florida. :D

[Sandi149]

HAL is very nice, and we like them for much different reasons than Carnival. Hopefully you will too, but be prepared for a completely different experience than what you may be used to on Carnival (in a good way).. ;)

 

Ohhh yes I know, I posted a thread over on the HAL board a few weeks ago. People get more dressed up and it's more of the traditional and elegant type of cruise experience like years ago. That's ok cause hubby and I can adapt to anything. :p:D

[DqALEX]

Ohh your going to love the NY sailaway....nothing like it.

That and its and hour and 1/2 drive from Pt. Pleasant. No long drive to Florida this summer with the kids.

[French_Fry]

My friends and I have just taken the Miracle to the Southern caribbean and for all 8 of us it was the worst ship we have been on. We asked other cruisers what their feeling was about the ship and it was the same as ours.

Food was nothing special, Entertainment wasn't all that good, and service was ok at best. The casino was very smokey.

We took a private tour on St Lucia and there was a cruise critic on our van and he said the same thing. I am sure he will write something as well about the ship.

We have all been on the Spirit and it was wonderful so I am not beating up on all Carnival ships. However, we have decided not to ever take another Carnival cruise again.

One night they had an entertainer that had appeard on MTV and other shows. He couldn't get anyone to laugh and kept walking around the stage trying to think of something funny. He kept turning his back to the audience. The best night of entertainment was the salute to the

Beatles.

There were very few slots for non smoking and by the 4 day it didn't make any difference.

Our waitress Tanya was good but not as good as others we have had on other ships.

We did have a problem with a noise in our room on day 5. Around 5:30am we could hear what sounded like scraping except it was constant. We couldn't get back to sleep. When we got back from breakfast it had stopped but we went to the Pursers desk to tell them about it. He asked if we had called when it happened and of course we hadn't. He said if it happened again to call while it is happening. The next night the same sound woke me up at 4:15am, so I called. They sent down housekeeping who said "yes you have a noise" and she would report it to the Pursers office. After an hour of the noise, I called the Pursers desk again and they told me it was a technical problem and they would have to send someone later to check on it because it was too early to call anyone. Of course they came in the afternoon after the noise had stopped. So nothing was settled. They did send us some chocolate covered strawberries. However, that did not make up for the lack of sleep. I was very disapointed in how they handled the situation. They did not seem concerned at all. So if you happen to stay on the Riveria Deck on the odd side of the ship, beware. And by the way all our friends heard the noise too. It just didn't wake them up like it did us.

 

 

So what else is new!:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[Skeeter1602]

Abigail 2008 I agree with you. This ship is horrible the only difference however is I will more than likely cruise Carnival again just keep with the larger ships. This ship is way to crowded, the Cruise Director stinks, and our food was horrible. With that being said I would not let this ruin my cruise. It just did not make is as great as my first two were.

 

 

Crowded? Where did you come up with this opinion? The Spirit class ships are known for never feeling crowded even when filled to capacity. On my Miracle cruise (it was booked full) I always felt like the ship was pretty empty most of the time. I later learned it was full and couldn't belive it. I wasn't happy with our cruise director (tori) but that sure wasn't a deal breaker by any means.

 

I guess I am "glass is half full instead of half empty" person. I dont think any cruise could be (as you described) "horrible". There is just to many things to find great, thaen "horrible". Unless you take the "Half empty" attitude. I guess that is what you did.

[eyesing2]

I was primarily responding to those who say that cruise ships/cruise ship casinos are as "smoky" as Vegas casinos. I was a smoker for years as well as my DH and can certainly relate to the rights of both sides. There are many considerate smokers. I just believe smokers have the right to smoke and the rest of us have a right to not breathe it. I will definitely be looking for those non-smoking areas on the cruise ships.

 

I agree! I am also an ex-smoker and go to Vegas every year, but I don't recall Vegas ever being as smoky as the casino on the Holiday. They had a non-smoking section however, it was along the back wall of the casino requiring you to walk through all the smoke. They were also higher denomination machines. I didn't understand the logic as I felt I was paying extra to be in the non-smoking section, which was barely better that the rest of the casino, because the smoke seemed to float back there. They had a perfectly acceptable bank of machines at the front of the casino which would have made more sense. Guess next time I'll be more prepared on what to expect! Better yet - I'll keep my gambling to Vegas and the boats here at home! More money for souveneirs and shore excursions!:D

[scperk]

I was primarily responding to those who say that cruise ships/cruise ship casinos are as "smoky" as Vegas casinos. I was a smoker for years as well as my DH and can certainly relate to the rights of both sides. There are many considerate smokers. I just believe smokers have the right to smoke and the rest of us have a right to not breathe it. I will definitely be looking for those non-smoking areas on the cruise ships.

I don't know if you are aware that NCL only allows smoking only in the casino..I was on the Pearl last october and it was not very bad in the casino...I was on the Miracle last week and the only problem we had was my friend smoking at a smoking table and having the dealer and another "lady" complaining about her smoking there..I myself quit smoking in 1971 and it does not bother me because both my parents still smoke..There are several non-smoking table on the Miracle.........Dennis

[Cruiser from MS]

Crowded? Where did you come up with this opinion? The Spirit class ships are known for never feeling crowded even when filled to capacity. On my Miracle cruise (it was booked full) I always felt like the ship was pretty empty most of the time. I later learned it was full and couldn't belive it. I wasn't happy with our cruise director (tori) but that sure wasn't a deal breaker by any means.

 

I guess I am "glass is half full instead of half empty" person. I dont think any cruise could be (as you described) "horrible". There is just to many things to find great, thaen "horrible". Unless you take the "Half empty" attitude. I guess that is what you did.

 

 

Yes, I felt this ship to be crowded. This ship (or maybe this class of ships) does not accommadate wheelcharis easily. Don't get me wrong I do not mind traveling with the handicapped as my father was handicapped. This ship did not make being handicapped easy. The lobby was always way to crowded you could not attempt to listen to the classical music. The other two ships I have been on had about the same number of passengers but it never felt congested or crowded. As for me I did not like this ship and did not see what was so great about this ship. None of what I said made me not enjoy my cruise because after all I love to cruise, I will personally stay with the larger ships.

[Sandi149]

Yes, I felt this ship to be crowded. This ship (or maybe this class of ships) does not accommadate wheelcharis easily. Don't get me wrong I do not mind traveling with the handicapped as my father was handicapped. This ship did not make being handicapped easy. The lobby was always way to crowded you could not attempt to listen to the classical music. The other two ships I have been on had about the same number of passengers but it never felt congested or crowded. As for me I did not like this ship and did not see what was so great about this ship. None of what I said made me not enjoy my cruise because after all I love to cruise, I will personally stay with the larger ships.

 

I really find what you say surprising about the ease of getting around. I have only been on the spirit class ships (legend, miracle) and from what people say on here, the Spirit class are designed much better for getting around than say the conquest class ships. A lot of people complain about how that class is always so crowded and that all the decks don't go straight through from the front to the back.

 

I also never found the ship to be crowded at all. Not saying that you didn't, because maybe on your sailing it was, but when we sailed, the lobby was never overly packed. IMO my cruise on the Miracle was pretty much perfect. I had no complaints at all. Maybe I was just lucky, I don't know but whatever other people complain about, I didn't experience.

[Cruiser from MS]

Sandi, I really think it is the time of year I like to cruise. There are a lot more people in wheelchairs and handicapped. I just felt this ship did not accommodate this as well as on the Liberty or Conquest. For myself I found the Conquest to be easier to get around, but then again I had only cruised that class ship and really liked it. The number of handicapped people that was on my cruise could account for the lack of service from the room stewards and waiters.... But again I have to say we did enjoy our cruise and will cruise Carnival again.

[Sandi149]

Sandi, I really think it is the time of year I like to cruise. There are a lot more people in wheelchairs and handicapped. I just felt this ship did not accommodate this as well as on the Liberty or Conquest. For myself I found the Conquest to be easier to get around, but then again I had only cruised that class ship and really liked it. The number of handicapped people that was on my cruise could account for the lack of service from the room stewards and waiters.... But again I have to say we did enjoy our cruise and will cruise Carnival again.

 

Ok...well you are certainly entitled to your opinion to not like the Miracle. You are just in the minority on this site. But hey, not everyone is going to like something right. :p If you like the Conquest, then stick with that. :)

 

I really do think the OP is a troll because she hasn't come back yet. There are 138 posts in this thread and she hasn't been back since and still only has that 1 post.

 

Anyway, I see your cruising on Princess next week. I hope you have a fabulous time. I'm sure you will though. :D

 

Edited to add: Ooops....I see the Princess cruise is next year. I bet you wish it was next week.....LOL

[Cruiser from MS]

Thanks Sandi for not bashing me. The only reason we are going on Princess is because Carnival does not offer the cruise I want for Hawaii. I don't like to fly and don't want to fly all the way to Hawaii. By us having cruised Carnival we get upgrades with Princess and so we choose Princess for the upgrades. No matter what happens on a cruise or how bad a situation is it is still a cruise so it can't be all bad and our cruise certianly was not all bad and we still had a great cruise.

[Sandi149]

Thanks Sandi for not bashing me. The only reason we are going on Princess is because Carnival does not offer the cruise I want for Hawaii. I don't like to fly and don't want to fly all the way to Hawaii. By us having cruised Carnival we get upgrades with Princess and so we choose Princess for the upgrades. No matter what happens on a cruise or how bad a situation is it is still a cruise so it can't be all bad and our cruise certianly was not all bad and we still had a great cruise.

 

You certainly don't have to explain to me why you are going on Princess.....but you know what, I don't like to fly either. :p I am still very new to cruising and plan on trying all the lines before I pass from this earth. (hopefully that will be a long long time from now) :D For my next cruise I'm looking into HAL. I will definitely sail with Carnival again though. They do give a great product.

[Crusin Karen]

Thanks Sandi for not bashing me. The only reason we are going on Princess is because Carnival does not offer the cruise I want for Hawaii. I don't like to fly and don't want to fly all the way to Hawaii. By us having cruised Carnival we get upgrades with Princess and so we choose Princess for the upgrades. No matter what happens on a cruise or how bad a situation is it is still a cruise so it can't be all bad and our cruise certianly was not all bad and we still had a great cruise.

You get upgrades on Princess if you have cruised Carnival??? Our lst (of 2) Princess cruises was to HI and we chose Island Princess for just the same reason. Those 5 sea days down and back are wonderful! ;)

[Crusin Karen]

That and its and hour and 1/2 drive from Pt. Pleasant. No long drive to Florida this summer with the kids.

You live in Pt. Pleasant? My parents and brother live in Bay Head! :eek:

[Grtcdnwolf]

Hmmmm a bad day on a cruise ship...

 

or snow...

 

what to do what to do???

[djcellini]

Thats BS I was on the Miracle back in May and this past Jan and had tons of fun, she is a really nice ship........... :D

[Cruiser from MS]

Thats BS I was on the Miracle back in May and this past Jan and had tons of fun, she is a really nice ship........... :D

 

I did not say I did not have fun, I just did not like the ship and to US it was to crowded. Sorry I did not mean to offend you.... I was on the Miracle the same time you were on it in January. you liked it I did not care for this ship, but enjoyed my cruise. Sorry, if I don't agree with you but that's life.

 

Crusin Karen I am really looking forward to my four sea days in a row going and coming. I sure hope we have calm seas.

[dbbcruiser]

In reading the posts on this thread, I just couldn't let this go without chiming in. I was on this cruise and, as you can see by my cruise history I am a pretty experience Carnival cruiser. I have to say that this was probably one of the most dissapointing cruises I have taken, with the exception of the Holiday many years ago. The ship itself is probably not at issue as I would equate it with any other ship in the line. I believe what affects someone's time on a ship is dependant upon the itinerary, the fellow cruisers, general staff, their specific staff such as waiter and room steward, etc. Over all, it is the experience itself that determines whether or not someone has a good time and that can vary from week to week and ship to ship. With that in mind, I belive the OP experienced exactly the issues listed and the only reason they didn't post again was due to the "bashing" they have recieved from subsequent posts, which were really unbelievable.

 

I, too, heard the scraping noise and it wasn't the anchor, as sometimes we were moving when it occurred. I was in the wrap aft Cabin 7347, not on Riviera, and still experienced this sound. It was as though someone was scraping the lounge chairs on the deck above, constantly, and I know that wasn't the case. Did it ruin my trip? No, but it was bothersome. And I have no way of knowing how loud it was for someone on Riviera so I would not be in a position to judge whether or not it could have ruined my trip if I experienced exactly the same sound as the OP did. This cruise was made up of mostly senior citizens and over-all rude people that were more concerned about eating their way through the week rather than being curtious to those around them. I've never seen such a cluster@#!* on Lido during breakfast and lunch. Our waiter at dinner was definately nothing special and our room steward actually walked in on us getting dressed one day and wouldn't leave when my husband told him to. Yes, that's right. We were both standing there in our underwear and instead of instantly leaving, he proceed to try to explain away is faux paux. The karaoke host was an absolute joke and the over-all ship activities were the most dissapointing I've ever experienced on a Carnival cruise. Alternatively, we loved Nick and Nora's (wish every meal tasted like that without the extra cost) and the weather was great. (There - something positive to satisfy the "loyals").

 

I now believe the itinerary had a lot to do with the demographic on the ship. Going from a Wednesday to the following Thursday apparently attracted those that were retired and could afford to take almost two weeks off of work. It wasn't something that I thought of when I booked but will keep that in mind the next time I book a cruise. The other factor is the number of at-sea days. The more ports you're in, the less everyone is trying to eat all at the same time. This was the first cruise I've taken where this was a factor and will keep that in mind for future bookings as well. All in all, my husband and I had a nice vacation. Our room was what I believe to be the best on the ship and really made a difference in our over-all cruise experience.

 

Now, with all that being said, I would simply like to point out to everyone on this board that not everyone's experience is going to be the same and just because someone has a bad experience, doesn't mean that they're "trolls" and that they're full of s#!*t. People use this board for many reasons but mostly to help them decide on which cruise would best suit them. If, by posting my negative experience, someone decides that a certain ship is not for them then fine. I think the only way a forum of this sort is of benefit is if it is completely open to everyone's input, not just those that agree with the "loyals".

[DqALEX]

You live in Pt. Pleasant? My parents and brother live in Bay Head! :eek:

I own the Dairy Queen here on Bridge av. When you come down to visit them stop in and say hi.

[Jdleong]

Did you find one thing that was good about your cruise?

 

 

 

Fred

 

 

That was the cruise I changed for the Princess cruise...but I am still going in November to Acapulco...It will be my 10th on Carnival and I will finally be a VIP like you!

 

Jan