Carnival Miracle 1/24/2009 Part 2featured

We knew we wanted to get an early start, so we got up early (around 7:30 am) and had a quick breakfast in the hotel of muffins and croissants that we bought the night before. We also packed up the car the night before, so all we had to do was get pretty for the embarkation picture and check out. We checked out around 9:15 am and were quickly on our way to Port Everglades.

It was a quick drive up 595 to Port Everglades, but there were MANY cops out (especially for a Saturday morning). Since the previous guests were still departing, it was hard to find a porter to take our luggage before we parked. They told us we’d have to wait until 10:30 am, so we just parked ourselves there and waited. Someone came around 10 am, so we dropped off our luggage with the porters (and tipped them well- always a must if you want your bags to actually make it onboard with you) and parked the car.

Since we were amongst the first people there, we quickly moved through security (they found the box of wine in my carry on and asked me what it was. I told them it was wine and nothing further was asked) and check-in and were seated in the VIP section. If you’re going through Port Everglades, I’d suggest coming early, as well, because there’s limited seating for VIP (Platinum guests, suite guests, Carnival Vacation Club members and special assistance guests) and even less for regular guests. There was a hold up (some sort of agricultural problem with customs that would later delay our departure by a half-hour or so) and we didn’t actually board until around 12:30 pm.

It’s seriously the best feeling when you first step foot on the ship. We left the Miracle on May 29, 2005 and it was nice to come back to her! We did a quick walk-through of the ship before heading up to the Lido deck for lunch.

Lunch was the usual first-day Lido average fare. Mom went straight for the grill (which now featured fried chicken tenders…she stuck with a cheeseburger), grandma went for the rotisserie, and I don’t remember what Stephanie had. But me? I went straight to the pizzeria for some De Chevre pizza (mushroom pizza with lots of goat cheese goodness).

After lunch, I went to grab a Caper at the espresso bar (I always know to grab one there in the mornings to tear out the Day at a Glance) and saw a new promotion. Now, Carnival offers Drink of the Day and Specialty Coffee drink cards. For $23, you get one hurricane glass and five DOTD’s. If you don’t like the current drink (like we didn’t like Blue Margarita’s), you can replace it with another (like the Goombay Smash…yum!). We jumped on that one, and along with the drink tickets we ordered before we left and the wine we had in the room, we were set. We also ran upstairs to Nick and Nora’s to make a reservation for Grand Turk day to make use of the OBC missing St. Lucia gave us.

Around 2:00 pm, we headed for our cabins (4199 and 4203…which Carnival has now reclassified as interior rooms, even though they have french doors that open to an obstructed view- a lifeboat…at least in case of emergency, we were first on the lifeboats!), but the doors were open and so we assumed they weren’t done. We got a quick glimpse (and were relieved to see they were the same size of the balcony cabins we had become accustomed to sans the balcony) before heading down to the lobby to wait for our rooms to be done.

On our last trip on the Miracle, Stephanie and I began a tradition of getting a cheapo massage in the massage chairs, so we headed over and got our five minutes worth. They were strong! They kind of hurt, so we spent half the time laughing and half the time groaning. As we were looking out the windows outside, we saw our luggage! At least we knew some of our luggage would make it on! Kudos to Stephanie for finding us polka dotted suitcases. You don’t see those everyday!

We headed back to our room and since the door was closed, we took it to mean it was done. Here’s my major gripe for the week: the housekeeping. We got into the room and the counters were sticky, there were nasty crusty stains on the top of the seat couches, and there were hairs in Stephanie’s bed (and pillows), so who knows if those were even changed from the last guest. I was really grossed out and part of me didn’t even want to stay in the room anymore and wanted to ask for a switch (irrational, I know). I brought a travel sized Lysol, so I did my best with the counters, but they were still sticky. I went into Mom’s room (which was totally clean, but it was also a handicap cabin, so perhaps for germ issues, they pay more attention to them or something) and she called the purser’s desk to get it rectified. I was really upset because this wasn’t the standard I was used to on Carnival and I was wondering if the standards truly were slipping.

Stephanie went around the ship for awhile re-exploring while our room got “cleaned.” While we were gone, Mom met the steward and said he was very nice and apologetic. When we met him, he made it a point of learning our names and addressing us by first name every time we passed in the hallway. I don’t know if it was him or the assistant room steward (whom we rarely saw) who did the room originally, but I think that they were really rushed because it seems stewards have more rooms assigned per steward now and since we were at the end of the hall, maybe the service suffered on ours.

Not long after our room was done, it was time for muster drill. Since grandma was in a wheelchair, they directed us to the Jeeve’s Lounge, where we sat with her comfortably (amongst perhaps the largest population of ECV’s I’ve ever seen outside of Disney, but more on that in a later post) while everyone waited outside packed like sardines. Kudos to Carnival for giving special needs families an alternative place to do muster and kudos for letting them go early so they can make use of the elevators before the herds come in. It was quick and relatively painless, and before we knew it, we were up on deck bidding farewell to Fort Lauderdale and heading out towards the open seas. Stephanie and I toast sailaway with a drink. Mom and grandma toast with ice cream.

At 5:00 pm, we headed to the spa for the spa raffle. The spa facilities on the Miracle are no where near as nice as the ones on the Glory (the last ship we were on). We encountered our first “WTF Are You Thinking” cruisers, who would wait until a raffle prized went unclaimed on first call and then pretend to be the winners. WTF are you thinking? Not cool. We didn’t win, but we didn’t particularly care because nothing spectacular was handed out. We did get calls for the rest of the week for miniscule discounts at the spa…none of which were worth it (we were waiting to see if the mix-and-match 3/$99 was offered…it wasn’t). We ducked out a bit early after the raffle because we had early dinner.

Rust spot (I hope) in the spa whirlpool.

Before we left, we all decided that grandma would not come with to main seating dinner and instead eat on the Lido deck. With a full day of activities, she was just too tired to get dressed and go to dinner, so we’d go for main dinner and she’d nap, and then we’d go up to the Lido deck with her afterwards. We let the room steward know of this and he knew not to come do the room until the “Do Not Disturb” sign was down. So, Stephanie and I got ready for dinner (most of our luggage had already arrived) and then we went to go get Mom and headed down for dinner.

We were seated right near the entrance of the Bacchus dining room at a four-top (as we prefer it…we love meeting new people, but dinner time is kind of family time for us). Jogi, the assistant Maitre’D came to introduce himself to us and every night, he’d come by and chat with us. He was one of the nicest people we met on the cruise and I was sorry to hear he wouldn’t be with the Miracle when we return in May. Sarapee from Thailand and Dalibor from Serbia were our servers and they were fantastic. The table to our left had skipped dinner, but there were two really nice women to our right who we enjoyed chatting with all week. Dinner was pretty good, but when you cruise as much as we do, it gets kind of monotonous. And since I’m a picky eater, once I find something tolerable, I stick with it. I started with the Asparagus Veloute, which was rich and delicious and then had the Heart of Iceberg Lettuce (with blue cheese dressing…Carnival has amazing blue cheese dressing!). The salad was good, but the “side” fritters of tomato and zucchini weren’t all that great. Then, I had the NY Strip Steak. I usually order my steaks medium well, but I’ve noticed that on Carnival, if you want something other than well done, you should order it one step below. My steak was past well done, but I was too full to care, but for the rest of the week (except for the supper club), I ordered my steaks medium and they came out perfectly medium well. Mom had the ribs because they’re only available for one lunch and the first dinner (despite being on the “Always Available” menu on the first night…they disappear thereafter) and she thought they were pretty good. Stephanie had the Chicken a la Grecque and I don’t remember what she thought, but I don’t think she liked it. For dessert, Stephanie had the Creme Brulee (she thought it was just okay) and Mom and I both had the Tiramisu, which was very good.

Asparagus Veloute

Heart of Iceberg Lettuce

NY Strip Steak

Barbecued Baby Back Ribs

Chicken a la Grecque

Creme Brulee

Tiramisu

After dinner, grandma was awake from her nap and ready to get some dinner, so we went up to Horatio’s with her for dinner. We had coffee and fruit (okay, and maybe a Warm Chocolate Melting Cake, which are there every night) and she tried a little of everything before deciding she really wanted a corned beef sandwich from the deli. I’ll post the Lido dinner menus when I finish this review along with all of the other menus you don’t usually see (ice cream parlor, Rio de Sangria, Martini fluge).

After dinner, we headed to my favorite area on the boat: the Phantom Lounge. It’s loud and tacky in decorum, but I love the Phantom of the Opera, so I love it. We arrived just in time for Bingo (which we lost) and to play scratch-and-wins. On our last cruise, we came ahead $20 and won a bottle of champagne from the loser card raffle. This time, we broke even, but I won another bottle of champagne!

We stayed for the Welcome Aboard show, which fell below standard. Our cruise director, Brent Mitchell, was funny and charismatic, but when the show began, there was no female singer! It was just kind of…odd. We heard a variety of things (she missed the boat, equipment malfunction, she was sick), but she seemed just fine when we saw her and the dancers at the bars later in the week. The male singer (Brent Thiessen) was very good, but the show just fell flat without the two singers. Around this time, I felt the boat really start to rock and roll. The Miracle had a broken propeller and allegedly, broken stabilizers. This was a problem for Mom and Stephanie (who both had on Scopamine patches), and Grandma didn’t complain, but I honestly barely felt it at it’s worst beyond feeling the actual sway. Mom must have left me in the rocker for too long as a baby because the more the boat rocks, the sleepier I get.

We contemplated going to the casino or the piano bar, and ordering room service and watching TV, but we were all so tired. We went back to the room, and found some sort of towel animal…I’m really not too sure what it was. Stephanie and I alternated showering and unpacking before settling into bed early (and that Carnival bedding is some of the most comfortable bedding I’ve ever slept on anywhere!) and watching Nancy Grace (which we do, and don’t know why, every night before we go to bed on a cruise).

Before bed, I checked my iPhone, and my service was gone. Our vacation was truly underway.

Up next: Our first day at sea!

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