Carnival Miracle Reviews

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Embarkation - we drove from our home in Syracuse, NY down to Manhattan the night before the cruise. We stayed in the Hampton Inn Times Square North (8th Ave) which offered valet parking for $30/night and a full breakfast buffet in the morning. It was great to kick off our vacation with an evening enjoying the bright lights of Times Square (7th Ave) which was just a block from the hotel. The morning of the cruise we woke early and after our filling breakfast (with free morning paper) we took a cab to the 911 Memorial/construction site. Sadly, it is now a tourist trap and the memorial is blocked from view by curtains. You need to pay admission to enter and the "exhibit" does not open until 10am. So we chose to have a quiet moment around the edges of the site. We could see the beautiful new construction soaring into the sky. We took a cab back to the hotel, checked out at 9am, retrieved out car from valet parking and headed to Pier 90 where our ship was docked. We took 8th Ave North 2 blocks and turned left of 55th St. That takes you directly to 12th Ave (Hendry Hudson Pkwy) and the entrance to Pier 90 is right there. My husband dropped us off at the passenger terminal entrance, a porter took all our suitcases for us (we tipped him $3) and then my husband went to park the car. Plenty of parking at the Pier. $280 for 8 days. Must pay in advance, cash or credit cards are accepted. Because we arrived and assembled our family by 10am we were able to go through security in no time at all. Then we headed to check-in and received our stateroom sail-and-sign cards and were directed to a waiting area to board the vessel. We were allowed onboard around 11:30am but staterooms are not available until after 1pm. Lunch buffet is served on Lido deck 9 and the elevators only would go to deck 9. Passengers were able to relax on Lido deck or on Atlantic deck 3. If you choose to purchase beverages from the bar while the ship is still in port, expect a small, additional NYC tax to be added. It's around $0.45, but just an FYI. Each passenger is allowed to bring aboard one 12pk of soda per sailing. This can save you some cash. We were allowed to head to our stateroom on deck 6 by 1:15pm. The ship left the port at 4pm. Our luggage arrived piece by piece (not all at once) throughout the late afternoon and it all arrived before dinner. Dinner dress was "come as you are" for the 1st evening. We did get all of our luggage but a memo went out to all guests on about day 2 notifying us all that one of our fellow passengers was missing 2 pieces of luggage and we were asked to check that we had only our own luggage. Of course this seemed silly by day 2. One would think that a stranger's luggage would be turned in on evening 1 if it had been delivered to the wrond stateroom. I'd prefer to think that everyone on board was honest and caring and didn't keep someone else's luggage, and that those 2 pieces of luggage simply didn't make it on board. We chose to eat our breakfasts and dinners in the Bacchus Dining Room every day. We've sailed several times before and find the buffet to be crowded and the selection to be very boring and predictable. I can go to a salad bar and stand in line for "mall style" chinese buffet any old day. Plus I hate that so many hands (touch all the serving utensils). Not everyone uses hand sanitizer before lining up for the buffet. Lots and lots of kids and teens at the buffet too. Hard to find a seat while you're wandering around balancing your dishes on a tray, bumping into people, trying to locate the rest of your family so you can attempt to sit together. If you're looking for a nicer dining option, slow down and dine. It's not a free-for-all buffet feeling, but you an have as much as you want. Just have it served to you. If you want 3 lobster tails, 2 filets, a second or third sushi appetizer, another serving of scallops, or 2 different desserts you only need ask. Your wait staff will gladly deliver. As for lunch, we were usually very full from breakfast and skipped lunch. If you get hungry during the day, I recomment skipping the traditional buffet. They offer a "grill" poolside and you can get hamburgers with all the fixings which are quite good. I also highly recomment the deli where they offer grilled paninis/sandwiches and their pastrami and corned beef are delish. The deli is open 11am-11pm. 24 hour pizza on this ship is not that great. It tastes like prepacked frozen pizza. The 24 hour ice cream/frozen yogurt is self serve (soft serve) and it wasn't that great either. The texture had a "grit" to it and it tasted like artificial sweeteners were used. Save the calories for dining room desserts which are very good - especially the chocolate melting cake served with hard vanilla ice cream. Heaven! And offered every evening in the dining room only. Beer costs around $5.70 a pop, but you can buy a bucket of 4 beers for $22. If you usually order a bottle of wine at dinner each evening, purchase a wine package and save some money. They push the wine packages the 1st evening at dinner but it's a fair deal and you can enjoy a variety of wine for a good price. Mixed drinks/frozen drinks vary from $7.50 to $12.50, depending on whether you go for a basic glass, a souvenier glass with the Carnival logo on it, or some ridiculous (and large) blowfish cup or an (enormous) and hard to carry coconut "head" cup. The only benefit to purchasing a souvenir glass (with the Carnival logo on it) is a $0.75 savings on refills in that cup only, during the rest of your sailing - keep in mind that the savings is on "drink of the day" or a short list of "drink specials" which change each day. If you're into those very sweet, tropical style cocktails then this may be for you. Frozen cocktails range from $7.25-$8.75 on average. The "Miami Vice" is very good - it's half strawberry margarita, half pina colada. Yum! While we had a larger stateroom with a larger balcony, I cannot stress to you how tiny the shower is. Water pressure wasn't that great and some passengers complained that at certain points they either had only scalding hot water or freezing cold water, a few didn't have any shower water. These issues were taken care of, but good to know that spa-like showering isn't to be had on board. They have built in shampoo and body wash mounted in dispensers in the shower but I'd suggest you bring your own body wash and scrubber, shampoo and conditioner. Their products are watered down and they do not lather up and you are left with a film on your skin that doesn't rinse clean. You might want to plan to shave your legs outside of the shower. It's almost impossible to do in the shower. What is provided to guests are plenty of bath towels, beach towels, and bath robes. They do not offer body lotion (like many hotels, and other cruise lines). Lotion would be very nice to have to keep your skin moist from the sun and salt air. So bring lotion/moisturizer from home. There is a hair dryer in the cabin. Ours was in the desk/vanity drawer (not in the bathroom) and it was built in and on a short cord so you couldn't really move far or in a circle to style your hair while drying it. Just an FYI for the ladies. The beds are truly heaven. The mattresses, linens, pillows are to die for. You will sleep well and they have room darkening shades. Having a balcony for us is a must. On this cruise ship, our stateroom door was not a sliding door so you need a door stopper (you have to ask your room steward for one) to prop it open which is a pain since it sticks out on the balcony (and not inside the cabin) when it's open and takes up space. We've cruised on other lines where the balcony doors are sliding doors and it's a space saver for sure. Easier than opening a very heavy balcony door too - and it is very hard to open and it slams shut every time. Grand Turk has a dock and it's a very short stroll (with a view of the pretty beach) to the entrance of the cruise center. We enjoyed the huge pool for our day in Turks. We rented a cabana (it's considered an excursion you buy through the ship) and it was well worth it. It's small but all you need. We had air conditioning inside and there was a large L-shaped sofa and large coffee table as well. We had a key and we could store our things inside, lock it up, and wander around the shops and Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. The music and bar/restaurant service was great. Expensive, but good. We could sit in the sun, the shade of the porch on our cabana, or inside in our air conditioning. The pool has a swim up bar too. We ordered quesadillas and two kids of wings and probably 2 drinks per person. It was about $80 for the tab for that. There is a wave runner (surfing simulator) on site and for $29 you can use it for an hour. The line was fairly short and the staff on the wave runner were excellent with the kids. We didn't have the nerve to try it. We had a wonderful day on Half Moon Cay (private island). We also rented a cabana on the beach there and it was worth it. It was open air with a covered area. They have a fridge for you and a table and chairs, two nice louge chairs. They supply you with fruit, veggies, dip, salsa, chips, soda, and bottled water. We also had float pads for the ocean, and snorkel gear for everyone in our family. They run an air conditioner and a fan (that doubles as a misting fan). They set up a BBQ on the island for lunch. Burgers, hot dogs, jerk chicken, green salad, potato salad, fruit, cookies, lemonade. They have covered dining areas to sit an eat lunch in a tropical setting. They have 3 bars set up on the island. A "shipwreck" on the beach (called Captain Morgans), and then two bars in open-air (covered) structures. Great music on the island, a few games (limbo contest, swimming relay, sandcastle building contest). You can sign up for horseback riding, parasailing and such. We have been to Nassau, Bahamas 4 other times and so we found this to be a boring port for us. You are bombarded with locals hawking junk, offering tours, hairbraiding, etc. No good beaches unless you book an excursion to take you to a remote area or over to Atlantis. We find Nassau to be dirty and if you wander too far off the main shopping/city limits, you get a vibe that you aren't too safe. We have had locals approach us offering to sell us illegal drugs. Never, ever get off the ship in Nassau after dark and if you must (stay in a group). Our 13 year old loved Club O2 and we hardly saw her the entire cruise. After one scare we quickly came up with a check-in plan so we would know where she was planning to be, with whom, and for how long. The 2nd night of our cruise she failed to return to our cabin over an hour after the last organized activity in Clob O2. It was late, after 1:30am and my husband and I searched the ship several times over without any luck. Security saw that were were distressed and once they learned we had a missing child on board I cannot say enough about how professional and wonderful they were. They located our wandering teen with a few others. They were sipping on cocoa in the ship's library, talking. But, a missing person (especially a minor) is a big deal at sea. They were moments from waking the captain, and within an hour of contacting the coast guard before the kids were finally located. Note: Camp Carnival for younger kids requires parents to check their children in and out. Club O2 is for older teens and they have freedom on the ship. Security understand this age group very well and they seem to know all the teen hang outs. The kids weren't up to anything bad, but they just got lost in time. Honestly, there aren't clocks on board. The kids got a lesson on checking in with parents and the consequences of not doing so. Again, I cannot say enough about how wonderful the ship's security is.

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We just returned from the Carnival Miracle May 6-14, 2012 sailing. We left from NYC for eight nights with stops in San Juan, St. Thomas and Grand Turk. There were two days at sea on each end. We are seasoned cruisers in our mid 40s and this was our fourth time on the Miracle since 2008 so I will touch on a few key things. We had an aft balcony cabin and DD and her friend (both 23) had an obstructed balcony cabin. Their cabin was 5176 and was hardly obstructed at all. We live in Jersey and made it to the port in about an hour. Check in was quick and we waited maybe 25-30 minutes to board (Zone 8). The Serenity Area is a large waste of space in my opinion. There are large round chairs that two can sit in but they take the room of 3-4 chairs. They also had hammocks inside pergolas that took up a lot of room too. On more than one occasion, folks were laying on the pool deck on their towels as no seats were available. There were couches that sat six that on more than one occasion I found folks napping across the whole couch making it useless to others. The chair hogs were out there on a daily basis very early (before 9 am), not surprising considering that they took away about 50% of the prior seating in addition to making the area non smoking. I find the area being non smoking a bit ridiculous as you drove "adults" away from the "adult" area of the ship and forced them to smoke in an area that is open to children. I do not smoke but it did not make sense to any of us. The staff was tremendous. We did not see anyone who was not smiling or who did not greet us with a smile. We had a crew member remember us from two years ago. A few crew members stand out. Our cabin steward Ardita was great. Our room was spotless and he took care of any requests immediately. Ernesto in Frankie and Johnnies was about the best bartender I have ever met. INengha was a drink server on the Lido Deck and he took great care of all of us and knew our favorite drinks after the first day. The food on the Lido Deck was the best it has ever been. This is one area that Carnival has greatly improved over the years. We do not like buffet food, but the food there at times was better than the dining room. The grilled chicken was juicy there but very dried out and almost inedible in the dining room. The chips and salsa at the grill are great. I ate them every day. One day they had a small Mexican section on the buffet that had guacamole that was very fresh and tasty. I wish it was offered daily too. Additional omelet stations have been added at breakfast to help the lines move quicker. They even had the pizzeria as one. You were still able to get pizza (DH asked). One thing we found strange was you were able to get your own bacon at all buffet stations except one. At that one they served you one piece of bacon at a time....Odd. The food in the dining room seems to have declined. The portion sizes were different for folks at the same table. One person in our group asked for the macaroni and cheese without chicken and it appeared like he got a child's portion compared to someone at our table who ordered it with chicken. The quality of the mac and cheese was not good along with the grilled chicken previously mentioned. The prime rib was also not as good a quality as it had been in the past. DH did like the jerked pork and gave it high compliments. The warm chocolate melting cake is as good as it has been in the past. I also had a special request on evening (mussel allergy) on a dish that for some reason does not list it the mussels as an ingredient. I have written Carnival about this on a number of occasions but they have not changed it. So if anyone orders the Seafood Newburg be aware that it contains mussels. If you have a food issue, all you have to do is ask the person at the dining room entrance to see the menu for the next day so you can review it for any special requests. Nick and Noras. We had dinner there the second elegant night with our friends. The meal is tremendous and the food top quality. We did find the service to be slow at the beginning of our meal as it took almost 30 minutes to get bread. The service the rest of the time was fine. It is a very nice meal to experience and the food is well worth the $30 fee per person. Punchliner Brunch. This is a new concept with the Miracle being the first ship to have it. Good idea but in need of some modifications. It is done on sea days from 9 to 1:30 and no regular breakfast or lunch menu is available. The first show is at 10 am and is hourly after that. Be aware if you arrive too early you may be done eating with no comedian appearing. The comedian's skit is very short (approx 10 minutes). I feel the shows should be every 30 minutes since they are so short. DD did not like the Fruit Loop French Toast at all. Two of us at our table had the Huevos Rancheros. My eggs came out over easy. The second persons came out sunny side up (almost half raw) and had to be remade. Neither of us was asked how we wanted them cooked but they came out so different. There were eight of us and we were sat at a table for 12 in a corner where we were not able to see the show. We didn't like that at all. The server also forgot to take one of our parties order and the assistant put a rack of dishes/cups on the stand right behind our table and began to unload them during the comedy act. Be aware that also when this is added to the ships that they will begin to charge for Lattes and Cappuccinos during the brunch and dinner to pay for the "upgraded equipment and the barista." Our parties' consensus was that we tried it once but will do the buffet going forward. Punchliner Comedy Club -- Last year they made the Mad Hatter Ballroom into the comedy show. I highly recommend that you go at least once during your cruise. They have two different comedians each night. They have family friendly shows as well as adults only. We went to the adults only shows and my recommendation is to arrive early. The shows are packed. We had two different sets of comedians during the cruise. They are also the same comedians who do the brunch. Pools/Hot Tubs/Chair Hogs. I previously addressed the chair hogs at the Serenity Area but I will say that they were out in full force at the forward Lido pool. Fortunately we are all early risers. A large number of chairs had stuff on them for hours with no one there. I was sitting on the side of chair talking to someone that was unoccupied for two hours and a rude child told me to move as it was his stuff on the chair. I stood up and he then grabbed the stuff and huffed away. He was not anywhere in the pool area the entire time I was there. There were a large number of folks who to decided to jump in the pool and do cannon balls or splash everyone. They were not stopped as there was no security. The only time I seen security was on their walk thru at 10 am and 3 pm. One person in our group did ask for security one day and it took an hour for them to show up. Good thing it wasn't an emergency. Hot tubs -- all I can say is enter at your own risk. Young children under five (a bunch of whom were in swim diapers) were the main occupants. I cannot even imagine the large amount of urine/feces that was in those during the day. In many cases mom and dad were not in the hot tub. I counted 12 kids in the hot tub and one adult on more than one occasion. I know that he was not the parent to all of them. There was another day that I stopped two kids from trying to drown each other in the hot tub. Our ports were San Juan, St. Thomas and Grand Turk. San Juan - it would be so nice if the ship could arrive earlier in the day to enjoy a truly beautiful port. St. Thomas was overcast and there was some lightening that drove us from the beach so we went shopping. They just opened a Senor Frogs on the pier if anyone is interested. Grand Turk is a gorgeous port. We were scheduled to arrive at 1 pm and share the port with the Glory who arrived only a few hours before us. We arrived at 12:45 and the first folks were allowed off the ship nearly an hour later. The line trying to get off the ship was halfway down Deck 2. Some folks said it took them an hour to get off the ship once they started debarkation. It was complete chaos. We were lucky and it only took 25 minutes. There has to be a better way to do that. We have not experienced that in any of our prior visits there. The best part of Grand Turk is Jack's Shack - A bar not too far down the beach. The owners are transplanted from the US. The food and drinks are a good price and it is so much quieter than Margaritaville. The cab ride down there is $3 a person if you don't want to walk. Debarkation in NY went well. The self debarkation seemed to take a long time between decks. Not sure if a large number of folks did it or not. It took the better part of an hour for them to get off the ship. We were group 5 and were off within 10 minutes of them calling group 1. We are all sad that the Miracle will not be in NYC next year. Our group is very unsure about cruising on the Splendor as it appears that they have an even more restrictive smoking policy. Time will tell but I can say that she is our favorite ship and I wish she was staying.

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This was our 8th cruise with Carnival and the first time we sailed on a Spirit Class ship. We loved this ship. The layout was much better than either the Conquest class or the Fantasy class. My wife and I are in our late 50s and love to cruise. We don't really participate in any of the activities/games and don't drink alcohol. We just like to relax, take in the beautiful water and stroll along the deck. The Good: The Miracle is the most beautiful ship that we have been on. There is quite a bit of open deck, which we love. The decks are very nicely laid out and easy to get around. The ship was very clean, they were constantly cleaning the decks and common areas. The food was better than average. Embarkation was a breeze. We drove to the port and used Park and Go which was great! You can get an on-line deal, pick up and drop off at the ship was very simple. Debarkation went well too. The Bad: We used the carnival loyalty coupon for our ship board credit but were not given the credit. For those that do not know, on Carnival cruises, you can purchase a coupon for your next cruise and for purchasing that coupon, you get up to $200 in ship board credit on that next cruise. Before sailing, we checked our account to make sure that the credit was there and it was. But low and behold, when we got on the ship, it had disappeared. We didn't know about it because we didn't check our account until the last few days. Since it was the weekend, we couldn't do anything about it because the corporate office was closed and no one on the ship had the authority to issue a $100 credit. We finally did get the credit on our credit card 10 days after the cruise ended. The cabin steward was the worse we have had. He had the mini-bar locked, we asked him to open it, which he did. The next day, it was locked again. The room was cleaned okay, but it took a while, who knows maybe he had an extra territory to cover. The cruise director, Malcolm, was not very active. When he came on to do his announcements, he often didn't tell us what his name was. We didn't do the welcome aboard show, so when we went to the next show, he came out on stage without introducing himself. The lido restaurants more than once closed before the scheduled time. We went to get a late lunch a couple of times about 10 min to 3:00 but found they had been cleared already. Of course, its no big deal because there is always something to eat but sometimes you want just a cookie or a small salad plate instead of a burger or pizza. The pizza stand and deli stand could have been staffed with crew members that were more cordial. We had ordered calzones once and waited for the requested time to see the guy give our calzones to someone else. This area needs to be improved. As stated, we love to stroll on the deck, especially in the front of the ship. The forward deck of Lido was closed most of the cruise, which was annoying. I asked one of the ship officers why and she stated it was closed because of high wind! That was nonsense. We've been on cruises with high winds and this was definitely not the case. It appeared as though they were using it to store broken deck chairs. The Ugly: We were at the back of the ship on Lido where there is a very nice Serenity area. While we were sitting there having lunch, three near fights broke out over deck chair savers! REALLY!? The poor towel people had to put up with these supposed adults fighting over chairs. Talk about ugly Americans. Also, the Professional Shopper, Michael, was quite condescending. We purchased a portfolio that included some coupons for free stuff. One of the coupons stated to go to a particular store. On St Kits, that store did not carry the item that was free. When I went to Michael to explain, he started to inform me where I went wrong, that I should have not read the coupon but listened to his presentation. All the while, he had the free item in his desk. Better customer service would have been to say well I'm sorry that happened. Here is the item that you were supposed to have received. In conclusion: Would we go on Carnival again? Absolutely. Would we travel on the Miracle again? Yes, and maybe there will be a different crew.

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My husband (same-sex, we are a gay couple), my mother, and I cruised on the Miracle out of New York, bound for three ports of call in the Eastern Caribbean: San Juan, St. Thomas, and Grand Turk. We stayed in an Ocean Suite on the Empress Deck. This was my third Carnival cruise and I must say, the Miracle was noticeably classier in its decor and easier to navigate than my past ships (Fantasy and Fascination). One of Carnival's greatest assets is its dedicated crew, who worked non-stop meeting all guests' needs without hesitation. The Ocean Suite was fabulous with lots of space, a private balcony with chairs, a whirlpool tub, and vanity area. Neither the crew nor the fellow passengers cared one bit that my husband and I were traveling together, that we were gay, etc. We felt totally safe and at ease with regard to this issue. I spent an entire day at sea in the spa. The services were very good (teeth whitening, facial, and manicure), but somewhat overpriced. Every service also included a salespitch of this or that beauty product. In fact, this is my only real issue with Carnival: every event turns into a salespitch. Alcohol is pushed in your face wherever you go (and this was very irritating to me since I don't drink). Bingo cards are $20 each. The Art auction is really a salespitch in disguise. Photos are taken every 5 seconds and then offered to you for sale. I understand that this whole cruise thing is a business, but my husband and I already paid thousands of dollars for our suite and shore excursions, and it just felt like too much at times. I spent a lot of time in the cabin and ordered room service for the first couple of days. Nick and Nora's Steakhouse is EXCELLENT and well worth the $30 per passenger charge. I recommend the Surf and Turf. Shopping is decent. There are two main stores, one upscale and one so-so. At the nicer store I got a few cute things, including a watch and lotions that I treasure as mementos from the trip. The other store basically peddles Carnival logo this-and-that. All three ports of al call were beautiful: San Juan, St. Thomas, amd Grand Turk. But the people in St. Thomas generally had a "couldn't be bothered" attitude, and Grand Turk was much more charming and friendly. At least I thought so. San Juan was classically elegant and pleasant. We went on the walking tour. Fellow cruisers were iffy. We met some nice people on the ship, but there were also some odd ones, and just plain dirty ones. Some people took the time to look nice, but there were others who rolled out of bed each morning and strolled into Horatio's Dining Room still clad in their PJs and bedroom slippers. That was just inexcusable to me. There was also a crazy old lady who gave our family a lot of trouble, but I won't get into that. Talk about uncomfortable. Beyond. The "saving" of deck chairs was also a real issue and although signs were posted against the practice, Carnival did not enforce their policy of "no saving seats." The comedians were absolutely terrible. Terrible to the point of uncomfortable. Terrible to the point that I donned sunglasses indoors out of embarrassment for everyone present. The ship is trying this new thing called a "comedy brunch," with George Lopez photos plastered here and there, but to be honest, the brunch would be better sans "comedy." The DJs for bingo, games shows, and entertainment, however, were beyond amazing. One of the staff I found to be very witty and fun, and I ended up writing a customer compliment for him at the end of the cruise. Nothing is perfect, and overall, the cruise was delightful and relaxing. I would travel the same route again with Carnival. They really make an effort to please, and it shows.

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PRE-TRIP PLANNING My wife and I enjoy cruising. With the Norwegian, Princess, and Royal Caribbean cruise lines, we have explored the Eastern and Western Caribbean. The decision to take the Carnival Miracle was because it was going to the South Caribbean and was a different cruise line. The port of calls for the cruise were Grand Turk, La Romana, Aruba, and Curacao. We enjoyed ourselves immensely on the Carnival Miracle. Our next cruise will be on the Carnival lines. Next step is trying to plan shore excursions. We usually take the shore excursion sponsored by the cruise line even though they are more expensive. The reason is that they guarantee you are back on the ship. We got overviews of each port by researching on the internet two main sites (http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/ http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ ). It is usually customary to tip the driver and tour guide. Although we enjoyed snorkelling in Huatulco, it was an activity we did not want to continue in our excursions. Our first port is the Grand Turk (http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/newport.cfm?ID=155 ). We had stayed in the Grand Turks previously for a week and had enjoyed the third largest barrier reef, walking on the beach around Grace Bay, Jo-Jo the dolphin, the conch farm, and the unique experience of driving on the left hand side of the road (British roadways). Using a suggestion from the cruise mates forum http://www.cruisemates.com/forum/ we were looking forward to relaxing close to Jack's Shack (#2 of 9 of restaurants) -- beach, lunch, drinks. There is even a free rum shot coupon from the bar's website http://www.jacksshack.tc/CouponPrinted.php The second port is at La Romana in the Dominican Republic (http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/newport.cfm?ID=92 ). We had previously stayed at an all inclusive, now called Be Live Hamaca Beach in Boca Chica. We took a tour to Santo Domingo which highlighted the oldest church in the Americas, locations where Christopher Columbus stayed and where his son the governor ruled. That is why our decision was to take Altos de Chavon village tour (#3 of 16 attractions). Also, we will follow the advice of wearing walking shoes over the cobbled streets. It was designed by Oscar de la Renta The third port is Aruba (http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/newport.cfm?ID=2 ). We thought about hopping aboard the Kukoo Kunuku party bus, going on the Balashi Brewery Tour, and finishing off by doing some shopping at the duty-frees. "4x4 ing" on the island also looked inviting. But, we settled on the Best of Aruba & Beach shore excursion as it would also leave us a couple of hours of power shopping. The fourth and final port is Curacao (http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/newport.cfm?ID=15 ). The Sea Aquarium tour looked inviting but we swam with the dolphins in Cuba and the sting rays in the Grand Cayman. We chose the Discover Curacao Island Tour will allow more time to enjoy the ambience of Curacao and some shopping, although the Double the Fun Tour had raving reviews. With excursions out of the way, ship planning is next on the list of things to do. We like the early seating for eating so that we can see the early live stage productions. We also looked at how the bed(s) are set -- 2 twins make one king. Prepaying gratuities, purchasing spa packages like massages & pedicures, making reservations at Nick and Nora's Steakhouse, choosing any speciality items such as the Party Cooler package which includes a cooler, four bottles of Corona beer, bucket hat, beer mug are just some of the different items we decided on. GETTING THERE We made "red-eye" flight arrangements to fly to Fort Lauderdale. Our plane departed at 11:55 pm from Edmonton to Houston. After a 2 hour layover we changed planes and proceeded to Fort Lauderdale. We purchased 2 bottles of wine for consumption aboard the Carnival Miracle at the Dufry Duty Free shop in Edmonton. Our late departure from Edmonton made us go through US Customs in Houston. Because we had to re-enter the main concourse area from the Customs area, we had to go through security again . Therefore, we had to put our wine in our suitcases. Otherwise, the wine would not make it through security. We had made arrangements with our travel agent to book transfers from the airport to the cruise terminal. We attached our cruise luggage tags as we waited for the bus. Many other cruisers also caught the bus from the airport. After tipping the bus driver for offloading our luggage we became part of the masses waiting to board the ship. You can imagine trying to process over 2000 cruisers in less than 5 hours. At times it felt we were in Disney World with the lineups. After getting our "Set & Sail" card, we were offered 3 choices as to what embarkation photo scene to choose. ABOARD THE CARNIVAL MIRACLE -- DAY ONE (April 2) We were not able to go directly to our stateroom as room stewards were cleaning all the rooms from the departing previous cruisers and the new "cruisers" luggage was coming aboard. Most new cruisers like us headed to the 9th deck to wait and also eat at the buffet. So, the hardest part was finding a table where to eat. We eventually found a table where we joined another couple. We headed to the 10th deck to see if they had spa embarkation specials. My wife chose the 75 minute bamboo massage and I chose the 75 minute lime and salt massage. We saved $40 each and made our appointment for 5pm. Around 1:30pm we decided to check if our stateroom 5240 with a balcony was ready (having a balcony allowed me to smoke outside beside our stateroom rather than have to go to the designated smoking areas on the 3rd and 10th deck). The room was ready and our suitcases had arrived. Therefore we offloaded our suitcases. We had purchased the Corona cooler package as part of our bon voyage package and it was there but our pink package was not. We met our stateroom steward Fernadez Leny. He said to check at the host podium on the 3rd floor dining area as they were in charge of all packages. At 3:15pm, there was a Muster Drill which is a practice of going to a designated spot for an emergency in which lifeboats need to be used. We went to Muster station D. Once the drill was over, we headed back to our room. My wife had a small nap as we did not get much sleep on the airplane, while I sat out on the balcony. Also, the lack of sleep probably caused me to have diarrhea and I didn't bring Imodium. Our 4pm departure from the Fort Lauderdale cruise terminal was delayed because the adjacent ship was being moved by a tugboat and we were still loading groceries. Kathija, who was from South Africa, gave me a delightful massage at 5pm. My wife enjoyed her deep tissue massage. After completing our massages, we went to the 3rd deck part of the Bacchus Dining Room (decorator scheme is burgundy grape-like) to dine. My wife had tomato soup as the starter and shrimp and noodles for the main course. I had a salad and a medium flat iron steak. The meal was very flavorful. The piece de resistance was the heavenly vanilla Cr??me Brule we had for dessert. While we waited for dessert, the bon voyage steward can over and said the reason our pink package did not arrive is that they did not have any women's XXL pink shirts but could get it in XL size (which was not listed on the internet). Because the XL shirt happened to be the size we wanted, we agreed to keep the package (pink bag, pink shirt, and pink visor). After supper, we explored the shops on the third deck. Then, we headed back to our room, had a nap until 11 pm and went to Mad Hatter's Ball (decorator scheme is Alice in Wonderland) on the 1st deck to listen to the adult show from a comedian. SEA DAY -- DAY 2 (April 3) Our bodies were compensating for the lack of sleep. So we slept in until 10am. Although I did get up at 7am to watch the sun rise. At 11 am we went for brunch on the 2nd deck of the Bacchus Dining Room. We were entertained by a comedian from Georgia for 15 minutes. While my wife ate an omelet and I had Eggs Benedict. Also, the coffee in the dining room is so much better than the buffet area. We went up to the 3rd deck to view the shops. Our first stop was the photo kiosk where we purchased our embarkation photo. Our next stop was the jewelry, women's accessories, and perfume shop where I bought a $10 digital sports watch and my wife bought a $10 watch for one of our daughters. We brought our purchases back to the room and changed into sun wear. Usually when you get back to the room (put your sign out), the steward has cleaned the room, made the bed, and designed a towel animal. You look forward to their creativity. Having a late start to get sun meant we could not find any room by the two 9th deck swimming pool areas. However, we did manage to find a couple of chairs on the 10th Sun Deck which overlooked the pools. My wife's skin can absorb the sun's rays better than mine. I found in the short time that I was on the sun deck my knees got a little pink. I departed at 2pm for the art auction with champagne, while my wife stayed in the sun and finished her book. She later joined me at the auction. As we stayed until the end of the auction, we were each given a thank you print. We went back to the room and changed as it was formal night in the Bacchus Dining Room. There was about 10 photo booths set up to take pictures. We used 5 of them all dressed-up, prior to dining. As our tastes are very similar we each ate a Greek salad, 'shared' alligator fritters, Maine lobster, and Cherries Jubilee. After the meal I had to change into something more comfortable. So I removed my sports jacket, white shirt and tie and replaced them with a colorful Jamaican shirt. We then proceeded to the 2nd deck Phantom Hall (decorator scheme is Phantom of the Opera). We watched a well choreographed performance by the dance troupe in conjunction with a live band. GRAND TURKS -- DAY 3 (April 4) Around 7am, the Carnival Miracle docked into the Grand Turks wharf beside the Carnival Pride. We did not book a shore excursion so we had a leisurely buffet breakfast on the 9th deck Horatio's Lounge around 9:30am. As we proceeded off the gangway from A deck, we had our pictures taken. All cruisers walked from the wharf and then entered in Dufry's Duty Free Shops which is on the cruise line properties. Most cruisers enjoyed the sandy beach or went to Margaritaville http://www.margaritavillecaribbean.com/welcome_grandturk.html . We proceeded past the cruise line property along the beach to almost the next wharf to Jack's Shack. I used my coupon to have a free rum shot. The price of drinks is cheaper than Margaritaville. In reflection, we should have stayed on the cruise line property. Although we were interested in taking the historical shore excursion tour, one of the couple's that took the tour was not impressed with it. We headed back early and read off of our balcony until supper time. At the Bacchus Dining Room, my wife ate the Cornish hen and I had the rack of lamb as main courses. I really enjoyed the white chocolate bread pudding for dessert. When the meal was finished we walked over to the photo kiosk to see our elegant dressed-up pictures from the previous night. We had lots of choices as went to 5 different stations and at least 3 variations of shots were taken. We took our purchased pictures back to our stateroom. Then we proceeded to the Phantom Hall to watch the hypnotist show. Before we made it a night, we watched to different comedians do their routines at Mad Hatter's. LA ROMANA -- DAY 4 (April 5) It was fascinating watching the Carnival Miracle try to manoeuvre into port. The ship had to back into the dock. The Carnival Miracle is one of the quickest in terms of expediting cruisers off the ship. Again, there are photo opportunities as one disembarks. We walked to the bus that was designated in going to the Altos de Chavon village. Our tour guide, "Tony" -- Anthony Torres was very informative during the short bus ride (25 minutes) about the area of Casa de Campos. As a group, our first attraction was the amphitheater. It was incredible. Next we walked through a courtyard where some of the locals were in dancing costumes and some were playing music near the amber museum. Some of the group took pictures posing with the dancers. Although we were given 15 minutes in the museum, the confined space with a large group made breathing muggy. Some cruisers persisted in the area, especially those purchasing larimar and amber jewelry. We were given 75 minutes of free time to explore. The number of indoor shops was limited, small in size, and expensive --linen, cigar, golf, artisan. There were two outside booths -- one selling dolls under a tree and the other a table of handicrafts. There were photo opportunities of the buildings, landscape, and a costumed man and his donkey. Even after having a beer at one of the 3 bars, we had too much time to kill. When our "free" time was up, Tony took us to the church in the main courtyard and then took us to a historical museum about past inhabitants. We saw those during our free time. When we returned, we had a nap before eating at the Bacchus Dining Room 3rd deck. For main courses, my wife had the turkey breast filets while I had the Petit filet mignon (beef tenderloin) and short ribs. We purchased two more pictures at the photo kiosk. Someone tried to walk out of the photo section without paying so the security alarms went off. Next stop was the fun shops where we purchased two Cruising Divas baseball caps (2 for $20 or 1 for $16.95), 2 children tops for our youngest two grandchildren (2 for $20 or 1 for $12.95) , and an XXL navy blue fleece shirt with a Carnival insignia on sale for $29.95 from $64.99. We dropped off our purchases at our stateroom before proceeding to Phantom Hall. The main singer did a lot of Frank Sinatra numbers in the Big Band swing style and involved some of the kids from the children's program. He worked in conjunction with the dance troupe and orchestra. It was relaxing and very good. ARUBA -- DAY 5 (April 6) As the ship was to arrive in Aruba at noon, we had a causal morning. It started in the Bacchus Dining room where my wife had pancakes, strawberries and whipped cream and I had Belgian waffles with blueberries, syrup and turkey bacon along with a toasted bagel with cream cheese and salmon lox. We relaxed in Serenity lounge, an adult only location on the 9th deck, for about an hour. At 11am, we decided to go to the Phantom Theatre to listen to the shore excursion expert as to what places to visit and shop in Aruba and Curacao. Being on the 2nd deck, we were able to collect a Curacao print, a child's bamboo shirt and a Del Sol Frisbee, during his product demonstrations. One of interesting things he said was to get a postcard and mail it in Curacao because they had very colorful stamps. Stamp collectors and grandchildren would appreciate this. He gave us a heads up that today being Good Friday that most of the shops would be closed, however, because 3 cruise ships were arriving, shops close to the wharf would be open from 12-5. I saw a group of dolphins follow the ship before we docked at noon. At 12:30, we got on the bus to start our Best of Aruba & Beach tour. Our tour guide, Alex, was also our motor coach driver. We drove past the airport, Balashi brewery, and salinization plant. The plant takes ocean water and makes it drinkable and also produces the islands electricity. As this increased the price of potable water, there was usually a 50 cent charge to use a public washroom. Our first stop was at a rock formation which we climbed and had a view of the island. We purchased bottle water and bought a couple gifts -- nightgown and beach bag. Then bus drove past a cemetery with mausoleums that were brightly painted. Alex said that the last inhabitant were to be put at ease because the color was to match that of their house. Then headed to the arid side of the island (lots of cacti along the way) to see the land bridges, our second stop. Our third stop was the California lighthouse where had a $3 coconut with a straw. As we drove past the public beaches, there were a lot of tents. Apparently the locals come down to the ocean for two weeks as family groups to enjoy getting away from their normal living. The action on the island is at Palm Beach where the resorts are located and our final tour stop. We walked along the beach and found a couple of chairs to enjoy the sun and beach ambience before out hour was up. Many people on the tour including ourselves got off the bus on main street to do some power shopping. First, we went to Effy jewellery. We got our free peridot coupon necklace and purchased the matching earrings for $10. Then, we went to the market and bought another nightgown, bag, souvenirs, and a matching "leopard" purse set. The market seemed to have the best prices. Before boarding the ship, I bought Oriens, a Van Cleef & Arpels parfum and Million, a Paco Rabanne eau de toilette, at Maggies because they were not on the cruise ship. We went back to the room and had a shower to clean off the sand and the day's humidity. Being refreshed, we headed to the Bacchus Dining room. The advantage of any time dining is that you are not stuck to a time, for us it was a good thing this trip. We both ate Seafood Newberg (mussels, shrimp, scallops, and mushrooms). The next destination for the Carnival Miracle is New York, so they put all their Southern Caribbean apparel on sale in stages. We could help purchasing 6 Aruba shirts at $5 each compared to $16.95. For the evening's entertainment, we stayed in the Phantom Theatre. We watched the "game" show, followed by bingo and then the Love and Marriage show. We walked past the fun shops which were closed and noticed tomorrow's sales items were yellow Curcacao T-shirts. CURACAO -- DAY 6 (April 7) It was interesting watching a tugboat carry the ropes to the bollard stations so that the ship could secure itself to the small wharf, as the ship docked in Curacao. We went to the 9th deck for a buffet breakfast before going on the Discover the Island Tour at 8:30. Our 62 year old driver, Marcel, and talkative guide "Wa Wa" drove us around on the tour. Our first stop was an old Dutch army infirmary. Inside the main building was old mahogany furniture from when the island had mahogany and an organ donated by Queen Julianna. Another building had the front part of an old airplane engine. Then we went by the salinization plant and a variety of neighborhoods before arriving at the Hata limestone caves by the airport. Edsel, the cave guide, instructed us that we had to climb 49 steps before entering the cave. Inside we saw stalactites, stalagmites, bats, water pools and interesting configurations. One of which looked like the Virgin Mary. We proceeded over a tall arching bridge to the curcacao liqueur factory. Our favorite sample was the orange flavored one. We purchased the taster pack -- 5 flavors. At the gift shop on site we purchased a postcard and stamps. On the bus ride back we composed our letter to our youngest granddaughter. We were part of the group that got off the bus by the roundabout rather than the ship. It saved walking time. We walked across the pontoon bridge into the main shopping area. We used our Effy jewelry coupon again and got citrine pendants and we purchased the matching $10 earrings. We then went searching for the Post Office which was closed on Saturday, however, the mailbox was open. It was a good thing I had bought stamps. On the way back to the ship, we walked into a few of the stores but we mostly window shopped. We also walked past the produce market and fish market. After we walked back over the bridge we stopped at a kiosk and bought a pink dress for our granddaughter. The Aruba labelled nightgown my wife bought for $14 cost $4 more because it had a Curcacao label at the street kiosks. The liqueur was scanned through the security as we boarded. This means it is detained and put in storage until the final night. We were starved at 1:30 pm because we hadn't eaten since breakfast so we "pigged out" by eating hamburgers, fries, and strawberry soft ice cream by the poolside venue on the 9th deck. We headed back to the stateroom for a nap exhausted and full. We got up prior to the ship leaving the wharf at 4pm. The shops aboard the ship do not open until we are out at sea. This meant those yellow T-shirts were to go on sale at 4:30. There was a crowd of 60 cruisers that had the same idea. There was a mad rush when the doors eventually opened at 4:45 and shirts were flying. Remembering that the t-shirts were actually one size smaller than they should be, I luckily located a XXXL for me and a XL for my wife quickly. As we had a late lunch we had a later supper 7pm. My wife did not enjoy the meatloaf and I found my Atlantic salmon dry. The savior was the bread pudding with vanilla sauce. We caught the last part of the game show at Phantom Theater before enjoying 2 sessions of karaoke in Mad Hatter's. We then watched Showcase of the Stars in the Phantom theatre, before heading back to our room to sleep. SEADAY -- DAY 7 (April 8) We got up at our own leisure and had a late brunch at the Bacchus dining room. The comedian Jorge Solano entertained for 15 minutes. The day was overcast. So we sat in our balcony chairs peacefully reading and occasionally glancing at the ocean. Sometimes seeing flying fish jump into the next wave. After I finished reading my book, I headed down to the 3rd deck fun stores. The St. Kitts shirts did not capture my interest. We went to the champagne art auction at 1pm. Once you have your bid card they give you some stickies. You apply the stickie to a piece of art you are interested in. I do that sometimes just to hear about the artist like art history. They only bring up art that cruisers are interested in because there is no way 6000 paintings will be sold in 1.5 hours. If you are more serious about the painting or collector's item talk to a sales associate for a price before the auction. There is usually about ? 1/2 hour viewing period. We went for high tea at 3pm on the 3rd deck of the Bacchus dining room. A waiter comes by with a dolley loaded with 4 different kinds of desserts on the top level and cucumber sandwiches and salmon lox on baguette slices on the bottom level. The lemon meringue "tarts" were mouth watering. I can see why they ask cruisers to bring expandable pants. It is easy to gain a pound a day. With good intentions, we brought our workout gear but failed to use them. It was another elegant dress night in the Bacchus Dining Room. For supper, we both had corn chowder and chateaubriand and a baked potato. That night we watched an outstanding well choreographed production called "Ticket to Ride" in the Phantom Theatre. The theme was Beatles songs. When it was over we went to Mad Hatter's for some adult punchline comedy. John Knight gave the first show and Jorge Solano gave the second show. Usually when we arrive by to our room at night, the sheets are turned back and there are chocolate wafers. Tonight it chocolate Easter eggs on the pillow (It was Easter Sunday). SEADAY -- DAY 8 (April 9) The main feature about cruising is relaxing. No beds to make. No meals to cook. I let my wife sleep in this morning. I went to the 9th deck Horatio lounge for an omelet and brought my wife back a coffee and a yogurt. (The coffee is better in the Bacchus Dining Room). She enjoyed them while reading off our balcony. Around 11am, I went to the 3rd deck fun shops. I purchased two $5 Grand Turks t-shirts, a citrine colored Italian charm bracelet for $20 regularly $89, and a $40 set with bracelet, earrings, & pendant with blue Italian charms regularly $146. I received a raffle ticket for a prize which would be drawn at 2:30pm. I also pre-ordered cr??me caramel for the evenings supper at the Bacchus. My wife was hungry, so we went to the Bacchus Dining Room on the 2nd deck upon my return from shopping. My wife had blueberry pancakes while had a toasted bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese. After eating we checked out the shops and purchased two cartons of gold Marlborough cigarettes for $52 before going back to the room. At 1pm we went to the final champagne art auction in Mad Hatter's. My wife left at 2:30pm to check if our raffle ticket was the lucky one, because you had to be in attendance. At the same time, fashion watch sets came on sale. My wife bought 3 different sets. However, we later returned two of them. One set was missing a facet and the other one set I couldn't see our son wearing. We did buy him a $10 Bijou Terner digital watch. At met my wife at the 3rd deck Bacchus Dining room for high tea. Later we went back to our room for more reading off the balcony. For supper we both had the prime rib. I tried the frog legs for an appetizer. The cr??me caramel we had for dessert was exquisite. We went back to our room to get a start on packing our suitcases. As we were in zone 18 we could leave our suitcases outside our room between 9pm and 12, and the crew would transport the suitcases to zone 18 in the cruise terminal. We would not have to lug them off the ship. We kept out the clothes we would be wearing the next day. We walked to Phantom Hall on the 3rd deck and observed the final games of bingo on the cruise, before watching the final stage performance. Included in the performance were talented cruisers who were selected to perform songs. After we came back my wife showered so that she could put most of her cosmetics in the suitcase. We then put our large suitcases outside our room for pick-up before going to sleep. FORT LAUDERDALE -- DAY 9 (April 10) We woke up after 7am, so we missed the ship docking. We put yesterday's clothes and the final cosmetic items in our travel cases. We later transferred these articles to our suitcases at the airport. We went up to Horatio's lounge for a relaxed buffet breakfast with our travel cases, so that the room steward could clean the room. We then went to the garden room to wait until zone 18 was called to disembark. POST TRIP We went to zone 18 and picked up our large suitcases before going through US Customs at the cruise terminal. We were given directions as to where our bus was in order to transfer to the airport. We arrived at the Fort Lauderdale airport around 10am. The plane was scheduled to depart at 4:44pm. After we walked through security we went to Hudson News, where we purchased 2 bottles of water, 2 payday peanut bars, and a couple of motivational books (one was called ADAVANTAGE). With the long break, I had three smoke breaks. Therefore I had to go through security another three times. As the flight was full, we were all to take advantage of getting our small travel cases packed for free. The flight took 3 hours to Chicago. We had a 1 hour layover before taking a 3 ? 1/2 hour flight to Edmonton. Our quick departure from the Chicago airport meant we arrived in Edmonton early 11:30pm before going through Canada Customs.

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