This cruise was a very pleasant surprise for us. The food, entertainment, activities, staff, ports of call and excursions were all at a superior level and we really enjoyed ourselves. Would highly recommend this cruise and ship. Family friendly and full of things to do.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We literally walked on - no waits; we had preboarded so it was a simple take your pic and hand over the room key. Then the family walked right on board. Couldn't have been easier or smoother.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
I was so happily surprised with the quality of the food in the main dining room. Lobster tail is still offered once a week as is escargot which I've seen dropped on many other cruises. Prime Rib and steaks cooked perfectly to preferences and lobster was neither over nor undercooked. Really enjoyed the fine dining experience on board the Miracle. As in most ships nowadays the dress is a little too casual (after all I don't want to feel I am eating at McDonalds with everyone in T-shirts and shorts), but most people were at least dressed appropriately. Breakfast buffet was plentiful. Omelettes were great and the basic fare of a breakfast buffet. Only disappointment, perhaps, were the pastries which were dried out and not fresh and fluffy. Seated lunches on seadays we only did once. Wouldn't bother again as the menu was just breakfast foods mainly. Too cheap to try the steak house, but why bother when food is great at Bacchus!?
Bacchus Dining Room
5 out of 5
Loved the food - fresh and new menu each night plus favourite options you can choose from each night. Meat and lobster cooked to perfection. They are very understaffed though and the waiters and servers are definitely rushed and work at a frantic pace. Doesn't affect your experience but you do feel empathy for them. They are doing the best they can but it must be hard to work at such a pace twice every night.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Once again pleasantly surprised by the amount of activities. We love to take part in activities - games, trivia, contests. We've noticed a real drop in amount and variety of activities aboard other vessels but Miracle had it all. We enjoyed taking part. (only trouble is where is the time to relax and read by the pool?) Miniature golf course is a lot of fun, too.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
I keep repeating myself, but once again thrilled with the level of entertainment. The shows were entertaining - the level of talent probably the same as most ships, but the backdrops, sets, and costumes looked new and were very creative and decorative. Really enjoyed the comedians at Punchlines as well. They refreshed comedians half way through the week so the material was always fun and new. They offer a family friendly show and R- rated show each night which is very nice. Throughout the day at several locations singers were performing at bars, pools, or lounges. Wish we had more time to sit and listen, but it really made for a great overall experience to always be surrounded by live music.
Children's Programs
5 out of 5
Our 2 grandchildren regularly took part in Camp Ocean (aged 4 and 6) and I can't stress how much they loved it! The 4 year old would cry when we picked her up to get lunch on seadays. They always came out with crafts and even were given a nice backpack on their last night. Each were given a note addressed to them expressing the staff's enjoyment with working with them. Both kids are really wanting to cruise again, a lot has to do with their experience in Camp Ocean. Kids were also treated very well on board - any games, shows, or activities included the children. Staff always recognized and greeted the children positively.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Can't think of anything negative at all. Staff were friendly and accommodating.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Don't know how they do it but never entered a dirty bathroom. Tried to catch them missing a toilet or sink but never happened. Servers were on top of clearing tables at buffets and restaurants. Design of the ship was a bit Greek in restaurants, comedy club had an Alice in Wonderland theme, a beautiful walkway with trellised and table and chairs along the windows was very attractive to stroll through. Design may not be to everyone's taste but it was fun and interesting. Didn't feel the décor was shabby or tired at all.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
What can I say. Cabin is the same as on any ship, but we don't spend any time here other than to sleep or shower. Comfortable enough and has enough room to store everything. We had a grandchild with us so there was a bunk above. Bunk had a good ladder and a board so you felt secure having them up there without falling out (onto you! - although I did get a stuffy in the head once!). Steward maintained the room extremely well.
Ship tip
Have a great time! There is something for everyone, and if you don't want to do anything there didn't seem to be an issue at all at finding a deck chair to hang out in! Also, we bought a 5 bottle of wine purchase for about $122. US. You get to choose from a selection of wines and when you present your voucher to a waiter or bar attendant they will give you your choice of bottle. We enjoy wine with our meal when we are out and felt the cost to be reasonable so we were happy with that choice. There is also a more expensive option which allows you a more varied selection and more bottles but we were very happy with what we had. Included the majority of wines one would expect. (chardonnay, zinfindel, pinot grigio, etc)
Although we didn't visit Tampa one thing I had really wanted to do but didn't get a chance to do was to visit the Manatee Viewing Center at Apollo Beach. A nearby factory warms up the water and attracts hundreds of manatees and large fish so you are always able to see lots of these lovely creatures.
We chose to do the Stingray City and Turtle farm excursion. The Stingray City part was a bit disappointing as the ocean was very choppy and quite deep. There weren't a lot of stingrays until the end when they fed them, then many more came. But we did get a chance to pat, kiss, and have a stingray backrub! We have done this activity in Grand Turk and in Bora Bora where the water is much more shallow and there are more rays to perhaps that affects how I viewed the stingray portion. The turtle farm was amazing and we could have spent a whole day here alone. Lots of opportunity to pick up and play with the turtles. There is a bird area where we had a great time feeding the birds. There is a beach area with a water slide and playground. We had intended to also snorkel with the turtles but ended up running out of time and didn't get a chance. Great place! Guide on board the bus was also very informative and we were able to learn a lot about Cayman Islands as well.
We did the Guambalimba Park and Tabyana Beach excursion. The guide on the bus gave a great history and facts about the island and kept us entertained on the somewhat lengthy bus ride. The tour of the park was amazing and we saw so much. We saw Sammy the sloth in a close tree (he had amazingly moved to a different part of the tree after we passed by at the end of the tour, but still was shy and didn't show his face) There were of course lots of iguanas (which is always fun for me as I love lizards!) The highlight was being able to have the large macaw and parrots perched on your shoulder and the monkeys on your back! (sorry, unintentional!) The beach was amazing. Pure white sand, snorkelling close at hand, free use of deck chairs. The kids loved it and we had to make sure we found a beach again later in the cruise.
Knowing there isn't much to do unless you go on an excursion and having a 4 year old (there are very few excursions available for little ones) we chose to do the Belize Zoo and Riverboat ride to view wildlife. I didn't expect much out of this tour but was pleasantly surprised. We had a good drive around the area learning the history, politics, and info about the area along the way, so we felt we really had been and experienced Belize. The zoo was actually really good and we saw lots of animals we have never seen before including a tapir and jaguar, up close and personal (our 4 year old even got to pat the tapir, Belize's national animal). The riverboat cruise was a fast trip along the river, didn't see a lot but did see 2 crocs, monkeys, iguana, bats, and manatees - although all we saw of these were brown snouts from a distance. If you want to learn about Belize, experience Belize and its wildlife this is a great excursion.
We just wanted to go to the beach. Cozumel - a tropical island - surrounded by ocean - where there is ocean there should be sand - not an unrealistic expectation? Wrong! Turns out beaches are owned by resorts that charge you. We grabbed a taxi and asked to go to a beach. Most resorts charge $30 a person. We wanted a beach - no amenities, just sand and water. Well, there is a beach downtown. OK let's go. We get out. Well, tide is high there is no beach and entry to what would not be a nice beach anyway is closed off. We get into another taxi and choose to go to a resort that has a small beach and chairs and amenities but only expects you to order food or drinks. So anothery $36 taxi fare and off we go. We went to Carlos and Charlies which was a great day spent at the beach. We enjoyed their drinks and chairs. They had a raft to swim out to and the kids had a blast swimming and collecting shells. But we spent $16 original unnecessary taxi to downtown, $36 to resort, $30 taxi back to ship, and the drinks about another $20-25. To find sand and ocean on an ISLAND! Shopping at the port is great though.
Getting off the ship was almost as easy as getting on. Our original tag we had for disembarkation was at a later time than we were comfortable with as we had a 1:30 flight back home. It was simple to get new tags at front desk. There is transfers at port to get you back to the airport, fairly inexpensive - I believe it was about $40 for the 6 of us.
Wow.. Sounds like you really enjoyed yourselves on this cruise.. Lovef reading your review... I'm taking my lovely lady on the Miracle in November... Will be our first time on this ship... Really looking forward to it... Nice to see a review from someone who enjoyed the ship and didnt spent their review ranting about how they didn't like this and that.. Hope you continue to enjoy cruises fir years to come... 😃🚢🌊🍹
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